The
Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, see thou do
it not; I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of
Jesus, "worship God,"... for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of
prophecy.
Revelation 19:10
"He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant.
Whose feet they hurt with fetters, he was laid in iron. Until the time that his
"word' came. The "word" of the Lord tried him." Psalm 105:17-19
| J |
ohn in
Revelation 19:10 was one, Joseph was one, also Mary the sister of Martha and
Lazarus. It is said of Mary in John 11:3, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of
spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with
her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.” The
house was filled with her worship, a life poured out unto Him. As we study the
life of Joseph we will see the process that the Spirit of God will take any
believer through who desires to have the testimony of Jesus Christ, the
testimony of a true worshipper of God, which is a prophetic life.
The word "prophet" or "prophesy" in the Hebrew is the word
"naba" meaning to speak by inspiration. This divine inspiration of the Holy
Spirit comes from living a life of spiritual ascendancy, union with the Lord.
There is the requirement of our lives being laid down in spiritual sacrifice of
love to the Father. Christ gave His life in sacrifice for our lives - so that
we would give our lives in sacrifice unto the Father that His will would be done
through our lives in the earth. This is true worship of God that will bring
union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is then that the mind and heart of Jesus our Lord is revealed in and through us in prophecy to His Church. Through our lives those around us will testify of the reality of the triumphant victory of Christ over sin, Satan and spiritual darkness. They will know that Jesus Christ is now in the throne of His Father ruling and reigning over Satan, sin, death and spiritual darkness forevermore, and we the overcomers with Him.
It is then that the mind and heart of Jesus our Lord is revealed in and through us in prophecy to His Church. Through our lives those around us will testify of the reality of the triumphant victory of Christ over sin, Satan and spiritual darkness. They will know that Jesus Christ is now in the throne of His Father ruling and reigning over Satan, sin, death and spiritual darkness forevermore, and we the overcomers with Him.
Genesis 37:3, states "Now
Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his
old age: and he made him a coat of many colors." What is not stated at this time
but is seen in the life of Joseph is that Joseph loved God more than all of his
brothers. Divine love is always reciprocal. The Word of God says in Proverb
8:17, "I love them that love Me..." This special love that Jacob had for Joseph
was from God, for God at this time had chosen to reveal His love and call upon
Joseph's life. The word "coat of many colors" in the Hebrew means, a long robe
of distinction, which speaks of the robe of the priest.
In the Spirit realm of
the heavenly, one who is chosen to minister unto God, that God may minister
through that one to reveal His mind and heart and His divine will in the earth
is apart of that eternal ministry that the Lord revealed to John in Revelation
1:5b-6, "Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen."
The coat of distinction,
representing the "call" of a priestly ministry unto God in Joseph's life speaks
of him being separated and consecrated unto God. The word ‘consecrate' means "to
set apart, dedicated to the service or worship of God, to be set a part to a
sacred office." We can see that this is true of Joseph, for it was only after
his father made the robe and that he began to wear it that the "Spirit of
prophecy came upon him through dreams. "Joseph never experienced receiving a
"word" from heaven until he began to wear the robe." Through the separation by
God, Joseph had entered into the supernatural realm of the Spirit, the realm of
the Spirit of Prophecy, the testimony of Jesus Christ. The same will happen in
our lives when we are called and separated unto God to serve Him in the realm of
the throne.
Joseph's dreams were:
"For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and
also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made
obeisance to my sheaf," Genesis 37:7. "And he dreamed yet another dream, and
told it has brethren, and said, behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold,
the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me," Genesis 37:9.
In both dreams given to Joseph by God, he was in a ‘place' of ascendancy above
his family. In the first dream he was exalted on the earth, the dream spoke of
sheaves and the field. In the second dream he was in ascendancy in the realm of
the heavenly for he was exalted above the sun, moon and stars. The dreams given
to Joseph were prophetic, meaning that they came from the living God in His
throne, spoken by the greatest authority in existence, therefore its' very
nature is that is has to come to pass.
The Words were quickened
by and filled with the life of the Holy Spirit. When a true prophetic word comes
from the throne of God the nature of that "word" is that it must be spoken,
because God Himself had spoken it. So in order for the will of almighty God to
be done in earth as it is done in heaven; as it was spoken in heaven and
revealed in the earth, it must also be spoken in the earth in order for it to
come to pass in the earth, and this is what Joseph did, he spoke what God spoke.
When he did speak the "word," his dreams; the prophetic anointing manifested in
his life and the dreams began to come to pass for shortly afterward his brothers
sold him.
"The Joseph
Anointing"
The "Joseph anointing,"
is an anointing that comes from God through a prophetic word spoken by God into
one's life. This anointing comes as we believe that the "word" given to us is
from God. As we believe this "word" we will speak it forth. Speaking the Word of
the Lord causes faith to come according to Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." I have found that the best way to
speak this Word of God given to us that it may come to pass by our faith is to
speak it in prayer to God day and night. We then enter into a life of
intercession with the Lord in His throne that the Word that originated in His
heart will come to pass on earth and increase His Kingdom in the earth through
our lives.
The purpose of the
"prophetic word" is, not only does it come to pass, but it transforms the
nature of the one who is standing on that Word to come to pass. So there is the
manifestation of the will of God within the individual, in that they are
conformed to the image of the heavenly, and there is manifestation of the Word
of prophecy without to increase the faith of those throughout eternity of the
reality and sovereignty of the living God. This is truly what scripture means by
the Holy Ghost when it says, "...worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the
Spirit of prophecy," Revelation 19:10b.
Now, back
to the dreams.
The intention of God is that this prophetic life of Joseph would be an example to the Church in the latter days that we, too, would come into a prophetic anointing by the word of God spoken to us that we would be exalted in the earth to serve the purposes of God through an exaltation in the heavenlies according to Ephesians 2:6-7: …and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
The prophetic word which Joseph’s dreams were composed of immediately began to come to pass. Genesis 37 reveals to us that his father, Jacob, sent Joseph to find out the welfare of his brothers. Because of the jealously in their hearts that was stirred up because of the coat of distinction and the dreams of exaltation of himself, they planned to kill him after seeing him coming from afar off. The Lord intervened through Reuben, and then Judah, and he was sold to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver as they journeyed to Egypt.
It is said in Genesis 39:1: … and Joseph was brought down to Egypt. In the realm of the natural after we have received a prophetic word from God, our circumstances will take a downward position. Why? In the Kingdom of God we always go down before we are exalted by the prophetic word given us, if it is personal. The reason why the Holy Spirit brings us down is to humble us. Deuteronomy 8:2 says: And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.
It is the perfect will of God that the Body of Christ is to be in a reigning position with the Lord in His throne. This is the place of the Bride of Christ, the overcomer. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in His throne (Revelation 3:21).
The only way we are to overcome the natural nature is through humiliation in circumstances in our lives. This “way” brings death to the self life. For the self life is full of pride, fear and bias (not being able to love; or offense when we are hurt by someone). This nature can never reign with Christ. This reigning is not for after we die, but this reigning for the Body of Christ is for now, in our lifetime, as it was for Joseph in his lifetime. We will find that he first had to reign in the heavenlies at the throne before he came into a reigning position in the earth, through the exalted position in the government of Egypt.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant; whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came, the word of the Lord tried him (Psalm 105:17-19).
In Genesis 39:7-20, Joseph had another experience of being tried by the Word of the Lord to find out what was in his heart. This lying accusation by Potiphar‘s wife is the second great test in Joseph’s life as the word of the Lord tried him. For the first experience of being tried by the word of God was when he was cast into the pit by his brothers and then sold to the Ishmaelites. We can see from Joseph’s life that every time he was tested, the trial brought him down further to a lower place and to more confinement.
It is said of the Lord Jesus: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). And in I John 1:1-2: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.)
All prophecy has to do with the “word.” True prophecy is a quickened “word” from God; it is Jesus Christ. And it is its nature “to come to pass.” It always manifests, even as John said of the Lord Jesus: for the life was manifested. The true nature of prophecy is that it is a “word of life,” even as it is said in Scripture in I John 1:1b, of the Word of life. The nature of this “word” is to try us in order for it to come to pass. For our nature must be changed to the nature of the very “word of life” that the Holy Spirit is speaking through us in prophecy, teaching or song.
Psalms 105:19 states: Until the time that his word came, the word of the Lord tried him. This is the next thing that happened in Joseph’s life after he had the dreams and shared them with his family.
In this teaching we are speaking of a personal prophetic word given by God. In order for a word to be considered prophetic and from God, it must be a confirmed word. As in the case with Joseph, he had the dream twice. This is considered a confirmed word from God. This is to be the case in our lives, for any word spoken by God will be confirmed by the Holy Spirit at some point.
Waiting on God, the Door to the Intervention of God
I have pondered in my heart for many days lately to know the true reason, or the spiritual reason, as to why waiting upon the Lord was the most important factor in regards to the Lord manifesting Himself in His personal presence. In the natural this spiritual principle of waiting for the door to open for the Lord to manifest His presence does not make sense. But of course Scripture says in I Corinthians 2:14: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
What really started me to press into the throne of God in prayer, holding this question in my heart before Him, was the unusual testimony of a Bible teacher who lived in the early part of the twentieth century who walked very closely to the Lord. This man of God understood to a great degree the spiritual position of waiting upon the Lord. We have come to understand the spiritual position of prayer, praise and worship, which brings us into spiritual communion and fellowship with the Lord, but until now we have never understood fully the spiritual importance of waiting upon the Lord.
I read in the testimony of this man of God that the Lord called him to a life of waiting in His presence in the early hours of the day. And on this one occasion he waited and then went back to bed. To his amazement the Lord pulled him up out of bed by the shoulders to wait longer on this particular morning. And through that experience on that morning, the manifest presence of the Lord showed up in his class on that same morning and a major visitation came to the entire school. When I read that I really began to wonder: How could this happen? How is waiting upon the Lord related to the manifest presence of God in visitation?
It was while I was worshipping on the phone with someone, as the Holy Spirit revealed and quickened the words, “the rest of God,” to me, that I was quickened in my spirit that this was my long awaited answer, and it made spiritual sense to me. Whenever God speaks His eternal prophetic word to us -- prophetic in nature, meaning that the “word’ is to come to pass -- the “word” is a word of faith. Within that very promise is the substance of the faith of God. If we believe that “word” and receive it as being from God and begin to stand on it for its fulfillment, we will enter into a spiritual position of waiting. This spiritual position of waiting upon God for the fulfillment of the prophetic word becomes the preparation that is needed for God to fulfill that word in our lives through manifesting Himself through us, even as the supernatural word of God was manifested through Joseph’s life.
The waiting is God’s way of manifesting Himself in the earth realm through us, bringing fulfillment to the prophetic word spoken to us. Isaiah 30:18 says: And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. As we wait we come into union with the Lord who also is waiting that He may reveal Himself to us. And this is His particular way of revealing Himself.
The process that He takes us through while we are waiting is to cause the prophetic word given to us to try us, bringing a dividing of soul and spirit in our lives, where our faith is then purified. Then the spirit-man is released in ascendancy to the throne with Christ by coming into union with the Lord in His state of waiting.
This union is called the “rest of faith,” where there is such union with Christ in His throne that He can then flow through us in manifest presence in our lives to whomever and whatever situation that He chooses, and through whatever word that He chooses to speak through us. This waiting brings our spirit into the “rest of faith,” which is union with Christ in a preparation and condition through which He can reveal Himself through us.
Joseph lived a life of waiting upon the Lord for the fulfillment of the prophetic word given him for eleven years, up until the time of Genesis 40, when he interpreted the dreams of the chief butler and the chief baker. This interpretation of the dreams that manifested in three days was supernatural. This was totally impossible for any human to do. It came from the throne of God because Joseph had ascended to the throne of God in the Spirit realm, through years of faithfully waiting upon the Lord for the fulfillment of what was spoken to him by God when he was seventeen years of age.
The intention of God is that this prophetic life of Joseph would be an example to the Church in the latter days that we, too, would come into a prophetic anointing by the word of God spoken to us that we would be exalted in the earth to serve the purposes of God through an exaltation in the heavenlies according to Ephesians 2:6-7: …and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
The prophetic word which Joseph’s dreams were composed of immediately began to come to pass. Genesis 37 reveals to us that his father, Jacob, sent Joseph to find out the welfare of his brothers. Because of the jealously in their hearts that was stirred up because of the coat of distinction and the dreams of exaltation of himself, they planned to kill him after seeing him coming from afar off. The Lord intervened through Reuben, and then Judah, and he was sold to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver as they journeyed to Egypt.
It is said in Genesis 39:1: … and Joseph was brought down to Egypt. In the realm of the natural after we have received a prophetic word from God, our circumstances will take a downward position. Why? In the Kingdom of God we always go down before we are exalted by the prophetic word given us, if it is personal. The reason why the Holy Spirit brings us down is to humble us. Deuteronomy 8:2 says: And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.
It is the perfect will of God that the Body of Christ is to be in a reigning position with the Lord in His throne. This is the place of the Bride of Christ, the overcomer. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in His throne (Revelation 3:21).
The only way we are to overcome the natural nature is through humiliation in circumstances in our lives. This “way” brings death to the self life. For the self life is full of pride, fear and bias (not being able to love; or offense when we are hurt by someone). This nature can never reign with Christ. This reigning is not for after we die, but this reigning for the Body of Christ is for now, in our lifetime, as it was for Joseph in his lifetime. We will find that he first had to reign in the heavenlies at the throne before he came into a reigning position in the earth, through the exalted position in the government of Egypt.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant; whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came, the word of the Lord tried him (Psalm 105:17-19).
In Genesis 39:7-20, Joseph had another experience of being tried by the Word of the Lord to find out what was in his heart. This lying accusation by Potiphar‘s wife is the second great test in Joseph’s life as the word of the Lord tried him. For the first experience of being tried by the word of God was when he was cast into the pit by his brothers and then sold to the Ishmaelites. We can see from Joseph’s life that every time he was tested, the trial brought him down further to a lower place and to more confinement.
It is said of the Lord Jesus: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). And in I John 1:1-2: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.)
All prophecy has to do with the “word.” True prophecy is a quickened “word” from God; it is Jesus Christ. And it is its nature “to come to pass.” It always manifests, even as John said of the Lord Jesus: for the life was manifested. The true nature of prophecy is that it is a “word of life,” even as it is said in Scripture in I John 1:1b, of the Word of life. The nature of this “word” is to try us in order for it to come to pass. For our nature must be changed to the nature of the very “word of life” that the Holy Spirit is speaking through us in prophecy, teaching or song.
Psalms 105:19 states: Until the time that his word came, the word of the Lord tried him. This is the next thing that happened in Joseph’s life after he had the dreams and shared them with his family.
In this teaching we are speaking of a personal prophetic word given by God. In order for a word to be considered prophetic and from God, it must be a confirmed word. As in the case with Joseph, he had the dream twice. This is considered a confirmed word from God. This is to be the case in our lives, for any word spoken by God will be confirmed by the Holy Spirit at some point.
Waiting on God, the Door to the Intervention of God
I have pondered in my heart for many days lately to know the true reason, or the spiritual reason, as to why waiting upon the Lord was the most important factor in regards to the Lord manifesting Himself in His personal presence. In the natural this spiritual principle of waiting for the door to open for the Lord to manifest His presence does not make sense. But of course Scripture says in I Corinthians 2:14: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
What really started me to press into the throne of God in prayer, holding this question in my heart before Him, was the unusual testimony of a Bible teacher who lived in the early part of the twentieth century who walked very closely to the Lord. This man of God understood to a great degree the spiritual position of waiting upon the Lord. We have come to understand the spiritual position of prayer, praise and worship, which brings us into spiritual communion and fellowship with the Lord, but until now we have never understood fully the spiritual importance of waiting upon the Lord.
I read in the testimony of this man of God that the Lord called him to a life of waiting in His presence in the early hours of the day. And on this one occasion he waited and then went back to bed. To his amazement the Lord pulled him up out of bed by the shoulders to wait longer on this particular morning. And through that experience on that morning, the manifest presence of the Lord showed up in his class on that same morning and a major visitation came to the entire school. When I read that I really began to wonder: How could this happen? How is waiting upon the Lord related to the manifest presence of God in visitation?
It was while I was worshipping on the phone with someone, as the Holy Spirit revealed and quickened the words, “the rest of God,” to me, that I was quickened in my spirit that this was my long awaited answer, and it made spiritual sense to me. Whenever God speaks His eternal prophetic word to us -- prophetic in nature, meaning that the “word’ is to come to pass -- the “word” is a word of faith. Within that very promise is the substance of the faith of God. If we believe that “word” and receive it as being from God and begin to stand on it for its fulfillment, we will enter into a spiritual position of waiting. This spiritual position of waiting upon God for the fulfillment of the prophetic word becomes the preparation that is needed for God to fulfill that word in our lives through manifesting Himself through us, even as the supernatural word of God was manifested through Joseph’s life.
The waiting is God’s way of manifesting Himself in the earth realm through us, bringing fulfillment to the prophetic word spoken to us. Isaiah 30:18 says: And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. As we wait we come into union with the Lord who also is waiting that He may reveal Himself to us. And this is His particular way of revealing Himself.
The process that He takes us through while we are waiting is to cause the prophetic word given to us to try us, bringing a dividing of soul and spirit in our lives, where our faith is then purified. Then the spirit-man is released in ascendancy to the throne with Christ by coming into union with the Lord in His state of waiting.
This union is called the “rest of faith,” where there is such union with Christ in His throne that He can then flow through us in manifest presence in our lives to whomever and whatever situation that He chooses, and through whatever word that He chooses to speak through us. This waiting brings our spirit into the “rest of faith,” which is union with Christ in a preparation and condition through which He can reveal Himself through us.
Joseph lived a life of waiting upon the Lord for the fulfillment of the prophetic word given him for eleven years, up until the time of Genesis 40, when he interpreted the dreams of the chief butler and the chief baker. This interpretation of the dreams that manifested in three days was supernatural. This was totally impossible for any human to do. It came from the throne of God because Joseph had ascended to the throne of God in the Spirit realm, through years of faithfully waiting upon the Lord for the fulfillment of what was spoken to him by God when he was seventeen years of age.
We have to
be in spiritual union with the Lord in His throne in order to hear His will and
to tell of those things that are to manifest in the earth. The fullness and
reality of the prophetic word is not so much to hear the word, which is only
half of the true prophetic process of heaven, but that the word is to come to
pass. This is how it is made known that it came from God.
It is stated in Genesis 41:1a: And it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed…. At this time in Joseph’s life he had come into complete identification with the nature of the Lord and King, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His death. Now he has come to the place of resurrection on the third day in his trials. For two whole years had passed since the supernatural manifestation of the prophetic ministry that went forth to the chief butler and chief baker came to pass. So it was the beginning of the third year for Joseph that he was resurrected out of thirteen years of captivity.
Again he flowed by the Spirit of God in prophetic ministry in supernaturally interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh. It was a divine arrangement of God, for there was present the witness of the chief butler that what this man said came to pass. So there was a witness in the heart of Pharaoh and his court that this interpretation was true. And the “word of wisdom” given by Joseph to choose a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt to prepare for this time of plenty and famine was also believed by Pharaoh and his court, for surely it was from God (Genesis 41:33).
Another important fact that we should look at is in Genesis 41:32: And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. How did Joseph know such deep truths of the ways of God in the heavenly realm of the prophetic? He knew by experience, for when the Lord gave him the personal dreams of exaltation over his family, the dreams were given to Joseph twice (Genesis 37:6-9).
The dream was given to him twice for it was established by God and was shortly to come to pass. Not long after he had the dream and shared them, the dreams began to come to pass as his brothers sold him into slavery. Remember this key point and principle regarding the prophetic, the heavenly realm and rule of God’s kingdom: In order for a revealed word of God to come to pass, which is what makes it prophetic, IT HAS TO BE SPOKEN! UNLESS IT IS SPOKEN IT WILL NOT COME TO PASS! Usually the Spirit of the Lord will continue to confirm His word to us that He has spoken initially. Then faith will increase to speak that word forth that it may come to pass.
You will see this principle of the Kingdom in the first chapter of Genesis being used by God Himself when He said, “Let there be Light,” and light was! Whenever someone receives a true prophetic word from God, there will be such unction from the Holy Spirit on that word that it has to be uttered. This is why Joseph spoke the word he had received in his dreams to his brothers and his father. He couldn’t help but to speak it. There was a supernatural unction on that word by the Holy Spirit.
From Joseph’s own personal experience with the prophetic word given him twice and shortly it came to pass in his life, and the fact that the chief butler and the chief baker -- both, which were two -- each had prophetic dreams the same night, and interpreted the same day, with both dreams being the same in that the number three was mentioned in both dreams and interpretation, and that the dreams came to pass “shortly,” in three days, Joseph knew that Pharaoh’s dreams lined up with his previous experience of the word being given twice, so he knew from spiritual experience it would shortly come to pass.
This is a divine principle of the Kingdom of God that rules in the heavenly realm over prophetic ministry. This spiritual prophetic principle of the word being given twice and coming to pass shortly is a valuable principle that the Holy Spirit will use in the last days to accomplish the will of God concerning His Kingdom in the earth.
Joseph, by the mighty hand of Almighty God, had come into a prophetic identity with Christ and His Bride. Genesis 41:56a says: And the famine was over all the face of the earth…. And in Genesis 41: 57a: And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because the famine was so sore in all lands. Revelation 2:26-27a states: And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Joseph’s life is an example of the life of a true overcomer that the Holy Spirit has used in the Bible to encourage us in our day that we may overcome to the throne of God. For Revelation 2:26-27a is a present promise to the Church, to those who will give their lives to come into this identity with Christ that Joseph came into, the life of a true worshiper of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: WORSHIP GOD (emphasis added): for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
There are a people in the Body of Christ who are coming into full identification with the life of Joseph, a people who have entered into the Joseph anointing by the leading of the Holy Spirit, those who have come into the testimony of Jesus, the Spirit of Prophecy (Revelation 19:10) through a word of promise that is to come to pass in their lives -- those who will enter into severe dealings for a period of two years after which the word of prophecy will come to pass.
We see this in Joseph’s life in Genesis 41:1: And it came to pass at the end of two full years…. During this time there will be a birthing at the throne of God in the lives of those who received in faith the prophetic word given them years before. It can be many years before that the prophetic word was given, but there will be the experience of coming into great trial and travail of spirit, which will begin the last two years of testing, that will bring the birthing that is needed to enter into union with the Lord Jesus in His throne and place of divine government, that those who have now been birthed at the throne can come into a spiritual place of authority and government in the earth.
This is what happened in Joseph’s life. There was a birthing at the throne for Joseph in the Spirit realm before there was the actual manifestation of coming to the throne in the natural realm to further the purposes of God on earth when he was made a governor and ruler under Pharaoh.
Joseph was living in the realm of the Spirit of God, the supernatural realm, after going through thirteen years of testing. It is only through a people coming to live in this realm of the Spirit that the will of God concerning the Kingdom of Christ can be manifested in the earth. If we study our Bibles closely, we will see that nothing happens in the earth to further the purposes of heaven without it being supernatural, by the Spirit of God. It is the same in our day and will be forever. Even the heathen King Pharaoh knew the Spirit of God was in Joseph for he said, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? (Genesis 41:38). The Spirit of God was in him because he had become one under the control of the Spirit.
It is only as we are birthed in the realm of the throne, which is the realm of dominion and government, a ruling position, that we can know the mind of God. This last two years of severe testing and trial will birth us into this realm so that the Holy Spirit can bring forth an overcoming people functioning out of the realm of the throne, so that the Lord Jesus Christ can rule and reign through a chosen people in the earth in an exalted position that the divine purposes of the Lord concerning His Kingdom can be manifested.
It is stated in Genesis 41:1a: And it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed…. At this time in Joseph’s life he had come into complete identification with the nature of the Lord and King, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His death. Now he has come to the place of resurrection on the third day in his trials. For two whole years had passed since the supernatural manifestation of the prophetic ministry that went forth to the chief butler and chief baker came to pass. So it was the beginning of the third year for Joseph that he was resurrected out of thirteen years of captivity.
Again he flowed by the Spirit of God in prophetic ministry in supernaturally interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh. It was a divine arrangement of God, for there was present the witness of the chief butler that what this man said came to pass. So there was a witness in the heart of Pharaoh and his court that this interpretation was true. And the “word of wisdom” given by Joseph to choose a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt to prepare for this time of plenty and famine was also believed by Pharaoh and his court, for surely it was from God (Genesis 41:33).
Another important fact that we should look at is in Genesis 41:32: And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. How did Joseph know such deep truths of the ways of God in the heavenly realm of the prophetic? He knew by experience, for when the Lord gave him the personal dreams of exaltation over his family, the dreams were given to Joseph twice (Genesis 37:6-9).
The dream was given to him twice for it was established by God and was shortly to come to pass. Not long after he had the dream and shared them, the dreams began to come to pass as his brothers sold him into slavery. Remember this key point and principle regarding the prophetic, the heavenly realm and rule of God’s kingdom: In order for a revealed word of God to come to pass, which is what makes it prophetic, IT HAS TO BE SPOKEN! UNLESS IT IS SPOKEN IT WILL NOT COME TO PASS! Usually the Spirit of the Lord will continue to confirm His word to us that He has spoken initially. Then faith will increase to speak that word forth that it may come to pass.
You will see this principle of the Kingdom in the first chapter of Genesis being used by God Himself when He said, “Let there be Light,” and light was! Whenever someone receives a true prophetic word from God, there will be such unction from the Holy Spirit on that word that it has to be uttered. This is why Joseph spoke the word he had received in his dreams to his brothers and his father. He couldn’t help but to speak it. There was a supernatural unction on that word by the Holy Spirit.
From Joseph’s own personal experience with the prophetic word given him twice and shortly it came to pass in his life, and the fact that the chief butler and the chief baker -- both, which were two -- each had prophetic dreams the same night, and interpreted the same day, with both dreams being the same in that the number three was mentioned in both dreams and interpretation, and that the dreams came to pass “shortly,” in three days, Joseph knew that Pharaoh’s dreams lined up with his previous experience of the word being given twice, so he knew from spiritual experience it would shortly come to pass.
This is a divine principle of the Kingdom of God that rules in the heavenly realm over prophetic ministry. This spiritual prophetic principle of the word being given twice and coming to pass shortly is a valuable principle that the Holy Spirit will use in the last days to accomplish the will of God concerning His Kingdom in the earth.
Joseph, by the mighty hand of Almighty God, had come into a prophetic identity with Christ and His Bride. Genesis 41:56a says: And the famine was over all the face of the earth…. And in Genesis 41: 57a: And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because the famine was so sore in all lands. Revelation 2:26-27a states: And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Joseph’s life is an example of the life of a true overcomer that the Holy Spirit has used in the Bible to encourage us in our day that we may overcome to the throne of God. For Revelation 2:26-27a is a present promise to the Church, to those who will give their lives to come into this identity with Christ that Joseph came into, the life of a true worshiper of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: WORSHIP GOD (emphasis added): for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
There are a people in the Body of Christ who are coming into full identification with the life of Joseph, a people who have entered into the Joseph anointing by the leading of the Holy Spirit, those who have come into the testimony of Jesus, the Spirit of Prophecy (Revelation 19:10) through a word of promise that is to come to pass in their lives -- those who will enter into severe dealings for a period of two years after which the word of prophecy will come to pass.
We see this in Joseph’s life in Genesis 41:1: And it came to pass at the end of two full years…. During this time there will be a birthing at the throne of God in the lives of those who received in faith the prophetic word given them years before. It can be many years before that the prophetic word was given, but there will be the experience of coming into great trial and travail of spirit, which will begin the last two years of testing, that will bring the birthing that is needed to enter into union with the Lord Jesus in His throne and place of divine government, that those who have now been birthed at the throne can come into a spiritual place of authority and government in the earth.
This is what happened in Joseph’s life. There was a birthing at the throne for Joseph in the Spirit realm before there was the actual manifestation of coming to the throne in the natural realm to further the purposes of God on earth when he was made a governor and ruler under Pharaoh.
Joseph was living in the realm of the Spirit of God, the supernatural realm, after going through thirteen years of testing. It is only through a people coming to live in this realm of the Spirit that the will of God concerning the Kingdom of Christ can be manifested in the earth. If we study our Bibles closely, we will see that nothing happens in the earth to further the purposes of heaven without it being supernatural, by the Spirit of God. It is the same in our day and will be forever. Even the heathen King Pharaoh knew the Spirit of God was in Joseph for he said, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? (Genesis 41:38). The Spirit of God was in him because he had become one under the control of the Spirit.
It is only as we are birthed in the realm of the throne, which is the realm of dominion and government, a ruling position, that we can know the mind of God. This last two years of severe testing and trial will birth us into this realm so that the Holy Spirit can bring forth an overcoming people functioning out of the realm of the throne, so that the Lord Jesus Christ can rule and reign through a chosen people in the earth in an exalted position that the divine purposes of the Lord concerning His Kingdom can be manifested.
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