AWE (Pt. 2 of 3)

This entry is Part 2 of the discussion begun in the previous post, "NewMoon". You will find it helpful if you read that post first. There will be a Part 3 dealing with Yom Kippur , the Day of Atonement, following this entry.
In part 1, "Newmoon", we discussed how important this time of year and its ordained feasts are, not only to the Jewish people and Israel, but to all believers in Christ as well. It is a time, over the course of these next ten days called the Days of Awe, or the Days of Repentance (Teshuvah), following the Feast of Trumpets, to take the opportunity that the Lord has given to examine ourselves, repent, and change before the judgment of Yom Kippur is finalized or "sealed". The Feast of Trumpets is directly associated with the new moon that begins the month of Tishrei ("beginning"). That new moon means renewal, restoration, repair, rebuilding, even the cutting/polishing (of a sword) according to the meaning of its Hebrew root word, chadash. Our repentance and determination to change what we need to change within us individually, also institutes the same renewal, restoration and repair on a far wider scale (see scriptures from "NewMoon").
For the Feast of Trumpets, there is a poem ("piyyut") or writing that is included in the liturgy of the synagogue/temple. It has been called "one of the most stirring compositions in the entire liturgy of the Days of Awe." This poem is called "Unetanah Tokef". Although I will be referring to excerpts from it, it is too lengthy to include it in its entirety on this post, so I am providing a link to it (here). When I read it, it seems to me to parallel the Book of Revelation in an awesome way.
The Days of Awe for reflection and repentance, concluded by Yom Kippur when the inscriptions of judgment (in the Book of Life, or the Book of Death) are sealed, is not about the judgment of the dead, with which we are familiar. It is the weighing and judging of the living by God. 
In Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of the Book of Revelation, Christ addresses the seven churches, and calls them to repent and change the troubling issues He has found in them, and also commends them for what He has found pleasing in them. Judgment means "justice", receiving what we deserve, good or bad. According to these chapters in Revelation, Jesus told the churches that if they did not repent and change in the problem areas He had seen in them, He would remove something vital from them. They will suffer a loss. If they do repent and change, they will gain something precious from Him.
The Book of Revelation tells us, therefore, that the believers are also called to difficult days of repentance and change, in the face of Christ's examination and pending judgment. This is not something we can ignore, incorrectly thinking that the requirements of these fall feast days do not pertain to us. Jesus also describes Himself as having "the sharp, two-edged sword" (Rev. 2:12), which brings us back to remembering the meaning of the New Moon root, chadash.
The Piyyut of the Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah referred to above, says in part regarding this examination and judgment:
And all creatures shall parade before You as a troop.
As a shepherd herds his flock,
Causing his sheep to pass beneath his staff,
So do You cause to pass, count, and record,
Visiting the souls of all living,
Decreeing the length of their days,
Inscribing their judgment.
On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
Our Good Shepherd inspects us, and all living, not the dead at this time, and inscribes the judgment. He is also described as follows in the Piyyut:
In truth...
The exhorter, the all-knowing, the witness,
He who inscribes and seals...
You open the book of remembrance...
And the seal of each person is there.
We are inscribed on the Feast of Trumpets, and the judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur.
Christ opens the seals of the scroll that no one else can open (Rev. 5:1-3).  Rev. 7:3, and 9:4 describe a seal that has been placed upon people. He also identifies Himself as the faithful and true witness (Rev. 3:14).
The Piyyut also says that it is at this time that it is decided who shall live and who shall die. The various manners of death, and suffering for the living are described in the Piyyut as being by water and thirst (Rev. 8:10-11), fire (Rev. 9:17-18), sword (Rev. 6:8), wild beast (also Rev. 6:8), famine (Rev. 6:5-6, 8), earthquake (Rev. 6:12), plague (Rev. 16:1-2, 21).
Some, as a result of judgment, will not attain peace and rest but will be pursued (Rev. 6:3-4), and tormented (Rev. 9:5-6).
As the Piyyut comes to a close, it brings forth a truth that is completely revealed only in the Book of Revelation:
Your name is fitting unto You...and our name has been called by Your name.
Revelation 3:12, 14:1, and 22:3-4 all refer to those who have had the name of the Lord written upon them, or given to them.
The Piyyut also points out the mercy of God that gives us all the opportunity to repent, and change ourselves and the judgments written against us saying of God:
You are difficult to anger and easy to appease. For You do not desire the death of the condemned, but that he turn from his path and live.
The Apostle Peter gave us this same insight when he wrote:
"The Lord...is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."   2 Pet. 3:9
Peter then goes on to write that at the time of judgment, the heavens and earth melt, and pass away. Because of this, we look then for the new heavens and the new earth to come. The Book of Revelation also concludes with this renewal of the heavens and earth (Rev. 21:1). This is also in accord with the renewal found in chadash, the New Moon of Tishrei ("Beginning"), the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah. This feast marks the beginning of creation to the Jews, and as such, it must include Jesus, who called Himself "the Beginning of the creation of God" (Rev. 3:14).
I think we can see that throughout the Book of Revelation, Jesus continually uses words and phrases which would immediately bring to the remembrance of His Jewish-based Church the following: the call to the Days of Awe, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets with its New Moon, and the chadash renewal attached to it, the sealing of judgment on Yom Kippur, but also the sprinkling of the blood of atonement upon the mercy seat (the propitiation) of God by our eternal High Priest for all of those who will heed the call of the feasts, and receive that mercy. 
As priests before God, we also, through our own obedience and faith, take part in the approach to the mercy seat, which the Jews call the throne of God, and the application of that blood of mercy of the sacrificed Lamb of God represented by Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur reflects the truth that mercy and judgment reside side by side in God:
"In mercy the throne will be established; And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness."  Isa. 16:5 (see also Ps. 89:14, Ps. 101:1, Hos. 12:6)
The Apostle James tells us that mercy rejoices against judgment (Jam. 2:13).
Please see the next installment in this series entitled "Mercy", which studies Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the next feast of the LORD.

Our Father has revealed His call to repentance, His seal of judgment, and His provision of mercy in the Days of Awe, and Yom Kippur.

NewMoon (Pt. 1 of 3)

I would like to tell you some wonderful things about the fall feast, Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23-26), which we are about to observe. It is also known as Rosh Hashanah. There is so much to tell you about this feast and the ten days that follow leading up to the next feast, Yom Kippur, that it will require two blog entries. So please also read the next entry, "AWE", which will be posted a few days after this one.
The LORD commanded all the generations of Israel to keep the feast days as holy appointments with Him. However, these feasts, both spring and fall feasts, are not just for the Jewish people. All of the feasts are a type and shadow of the Messiah for whom Israel was to wait and watch for in faith. Jesus, of whom the feasts prophetically pertained, faithfully observed them, and the apostles wrote and taught about the feasts. For those of us who have experiential knowledge of the Messiah, Jesus, how much more important is it for us to know and observe the significance of these feast days, and to incorporate that knowledge of Christ into them? 
The Feast of Trumpets is the first day of the month of Tishrei ("beginning" ), so it is the beginning of beginnings. As we will see, this feast marks the beginning, not only of the secular Jewish year, but of a vital spiritual process.
Elul is the month before Tishrei, and it is the month we are in now as of this post. It is the last month of the Jewish secular year. From the 14th century, Jews have understood the letters of Elul to be an acronym, (Hebrew letters aleph, lamed, vav, lamed) for the phrase Ani l'dodi v'dodi li which translates, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." (Song of Songs 6:3). To us, this verse, as well as the entire Song of Songs, refers prophetically to our Messiah and His Bride. The Aramaic meaning of Elul is "to search". In the Song of Songs, the Shulamite (to be perfect, to be peaceful, to be in a covenant of peace, to be complete, be finished, to make whole, restore, to be performed) woman must search for her Beloved, her Bridegroom.
The Feast of Trumpets is not only associated with the blowing of the shofar, which also signals the rapture of the Church in scripture (1 Cor. 15:51-55), but its timing is directly tied into the first appearance of the new moon which marks the beginning of the month of Tishrei. It is a feast that is directly associated with the new moon. For this feast to begin, the new moon must be  watched for diligently and then the shofars, or trumpets, are sounded when it is first spotted in the sky. Therefore, we may not know the exact day and hour (Mt. 24:36, 25:13) when this feast will begin. We only know as a result of looking up, and watching or searching the skies when we see these things begin (Lk. 21:28).
Psalm 81:3 also refers to this feast, and rather than the English translation we have, the Aramic/Targum phrase with which Israel would be familiar is, "in the month in which the day of our festival is concealed". This commanded feast of the LORD, left so vaguely described in Leviticus, requires us to search it out for its meaning and importance. So let the search begin!
The Hebrew root word used for "new moon", with which this feast is so closely associated, is chadash. This means, "renew, make anew, repair, renew oneself, to rebuild, restore, cutting or polishing (a sword)". The pictographic meanings attached to the Hebrew letters of the word khadash: cheth, daleth, shin, might be expressed by the idea of a separation, a wall, between a protected inner chamber, and a sharp devouring, consuming, destruction as with teeth. In this wall there is a door, by which movement into or out of is provided. Either you can enter in, with the door closed against the destruction, or you can be outside the door, separated from the protection of the inner chamber. To enter through the door involves a path or way of life. 
This feast and its connection with the new moon includes in its meaning that it is a time to make a changing choice. On one side there is renewal, repair rebuilding and restoration. On the other side, there waits destruction.
This new moon root word, chadash, appears in other verses:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."  David, Ps. 51:10
"Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."
                                                                                                            David, Ps. 103:5
However, chadash also carries far beyond the individual:
"...and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations." Isa. 61:4

"...let us go to Gilgal (a wheel, rolling), and renew the kingdom there."  1 Sam. 11:14
"...Asa...put away the abominable idols..., and renewed (NKJV-restored) the altar of   the LORD..."   2 Chron.15:8
"...Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD."  2 Chron. 24:4, 12
"Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth."
                                                                                                               Ps. 104:30
Individuals, cities, the kingdom, the altars and the house of the LORD, and even the whole earth are affected: renewed, restored, repaired by the chadash, new moon renewal.
Believers are familiar with the idea of renewal and restoration. We see many references in the New Testament to the "new" things promised through Christ, who is the Messiah prophesied in this feast: new wine, new tongues, new wine in new bottles, a new lump, a new creature, a new man, a new testament, a new living way, a new name, new heavens and a new earth, New Jerusalem, and "make all things new".
How far reaching the renewal is! It starts within ourselves, but it is not limited to ourselves. We, who have been given all of these promises of renewal in Christ, must understand the importance of this renewal feast, not only to us, but to all creation. However this renewal is a process. It is a process with a beginning. This process, this "path or way of life", begins with repentance. This may not sound like fun, but the result and reward is miraculous renewal.
The chadash renewal of Tishrei begins on the feast day of Trumpets, but there are ten days that follow this day. These are the Days of Awe/Repentance, or Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. The ten days end at the next feast of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The rabbis say that these ten days are given to us for an opportunity to change, and an opportunity given to be written and then sealed in the Book of Life, rather than the Book of Death. Believers know this book as the Lamb's Book of Life (Phil. 4:3, Rev. 3:5, 13:8, and more). Though believers may not be familiar specifically with the Book of Death taught by the rabbis, we know that there is more than one book consulted in judgment:
"And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books."   Rev. 20:12
As the rabbis teach that on the Feast of Trumpets, we are written into one of these books. We are given the ten days between the two feasts for repentance (change of mind, feeling regret, a determination to change, an effort to repair the affects of one's misdeeds), prayer, and charity for change and renewal, before we are sealed into the book on Yom Kippur. Our repentance determines on which side of the "door" we choose to be. 
We may say, "I am Christ's, so I am saved from all", but scripture doesn't say we are guaranteed to be saved from this destruction. Our "works" define how we are building on the foundation of that protective khadash wall. Are we building with gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble-things which can burn? Our useless works will be burned, and we will be saved as through fire. The Day (yom) will declare it (1 Cor. 3:9-15). Christ said that we must pray that we are worthy to escape these things and to stand before Him (Lk. 21:36). At that last trump, when Christ returns, we who are in Christ, whether dead or still alive, will meet Him in the air for sure (1 Cor. 15:51-52, 1 Thess. 4:16-17), but we don't want to meet Him singed and smoky! At least, that's the way I'm looking at this opportunity found in these feast days.
The Prophet Jeremiah wrote:
"Turn us back ("shuv" , part of teshuvah or repentance: to turn, return, restore, refresh, repair) to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old, unless You have utterly rejected us, and are very angry with us!"  Lam. 5:21-22
We can also see this call to "shuv" , or repentance, again in the Song of Songs. The Beloved (Bridegroom) and His friends tell the Shulamite woman, His beloved:
"Return, return ("shuv, shuv") O Shulamite;  Return, return ("shuv, shuv") that we may look upon you!"  Song of Songs 6:13
The Beloved even repeated the call twice for emphasis in the above verse.
The "search" in the month of Elul, the "beginning" found in the month of Tishrei, the new moon chadash renewal of the Feast of Trumpets, and the following ten Days of Awe/Repentance, are not just for the Jews and Israel, but for the Church, the Bride, all believers. These days given for our repentance and change impact all creation.
We are being examined by the LORD and His Spirit over these ten days (see next post, "AWE"), and according to the verses cited earlier, the resulting process of repentance and renewal has far reaching affects. The Jews carry out this period with only a prophetic knowledge of Messiah. We come to these same feasts and ten days with the sure and living knowledge of Christ. How much more effective can a believer be in this spiritual renewal of self, cities, years, kingdom, heaven and earth as we obey the command of the feasts through Christ?
In Part 2 of this topic titled "AWE", which will be posted a few days after this entry, we will see how this feast of Trumpets, its following ten days, and Yom Kippur are represented in Jewish traditional liturgy, and revealed in a powerful, parallel manner by Jesus in the Book of Revelation.

Our Father has called us to the Feast of Trumpets' new moon chadash restoration, renewal and repentance.

Psalms

If it is even possible to measure and weigh such a thing, to me the Book of Psalms is one of the greatest books of scripture. It has everything: prayer, song, worship, praise, prophecy, even Messianic prophesy, and deep spiritual revelations. Every time I open the Book of Psalms, I find something new and amazing.
King David did not write all of the psalms, but he organized the use of psalms in worship. As the Israelites carried the ark of the covenant up to the tabernacle in the City of David, David, after consulting God regarding the proper order, assigned the singers and musicians:
"Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy."  1 Chron. 15:16
The instruments appointed by God to David to be played with the psalms were just as important as the voices that would sing them:
"Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph ("gatherer", gather/harvest, to gather in, take away, assemble, to be brought in, together), of Heman ("faithful", believe, assurance, trust, steadfast, established, verified, made firm/sure/lasting, pillars, be carried by a nurse, confirmed, stand firm, to be certain) , and of Jeduthun ("praising", celebrating, make confession, give thanks, cast out, to revere or worship with extended hands, to throw a stone, shoot an arrow), who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbols..."  1 Chron. 25:1
These specifically chosen men and their sons following, were to prophesy on their instruments. Several psalms, according to traditional knowledge, had instrumental breaks ("higgayon/higgayon sela") amid the singing so the instruments alone could prophesy (examples: Ps. 9:17, Ps. 92:3-4).
Regarding the presence and importance of stringed instruments used for the Psalms, it is interesting that in Rev. 14, those who follow the Lamb, Jesus, wherever He goes have the voices of harps (v. 1-5). The harp is the voice of the redeemed! Since the instruments of the Psalms were given to David by God, and are called "the musical instruments of God" (1 Chron. 16:42) we can rejoice that we, the redeemed of Christ, known to God before the foundation of the world, were included in the Psalms, and are voicing our prophetic praise within them.
Even the musical instructions at the beginning of some of the Psalms carried great significance: 
Psalm 9: To the tune of "Death of the Son" or "To Die for the Son"/Muth Labben
Psalm 22: "The Deer (or great ram) of the Dawn (dayspring, rise, early, seek early, to look for diligently with painstaking care)"/ Aijeleth Hashahar
Psalm 45, 69, 80: Set to "The Lilies" (for whiteness and trumpet shape, to rejoice, exult, to be bright, be glad, to leap, to spring / Shoshannim, A Song of Love
Psalm 56: Set to "The Silent Dove in Distant Lands (or strangers)/ Jonath Elem Rechokim
Psalms 57, 58, 59, 75: Set to "Do Not Destroy" or Thou Must Not Destroy, Corrupt/ Al Tascheth
Psalm 60: Set to "Lily of the Testimony (evidence, testimony, witness)"/ Shushan Eduth
Often, Jesus has been called "The Lily of the Valley" among Christians, and there was also a hymn written with that title. He is mentioned as a "lily" prophetically in Song of Songs 2:1-2.
The apostles encouraged the believers in Christ to sing psalms (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16, James 5:13). It is believed that the "hymns" that Jesus sang with His disciples after the Passover Meal, or Last Supper (Mt. 26:30), and the songs sung by Paul and Silas while they were in prison (Acts 16:25) were the Psalms 113-118, 136, which are the Pascal Psalms, also called "The Great Hallel", sung after the fourth cup of blessing in the Passover Seder.
The Apostles quoted from the Psalms in their teachings to the Church. One such quote shows us the riches and depth of the Psalms:
"...to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says, "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." (Now this, "He ascended" - what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?...)  Eph. 4:7-9 
Paul quotes Psalm 68:18 above, and revealed that this verse refers to the Messiah. From this verse in Psalms, Paul reveals to us that Jesus descended into Hell, and then took those held in Sheol out with Him when He conquered death, Hell, and the grave, before He ascended to His Father. The Apostle Peter also tells us that Jesus preached to the captives in Hell (1 Pet. 3:18-19).
When we go back to that verse in Psalms, and look at it in the original Hebrew, we discover something amazing. The root word for the phrase "led captivity" (shebeh/shebun) means "a precious stone on the breastplate of the high priest". It was a stone with divisions of "flashes and flame". The Book of Hebrews makes clear that Jesus is our High Priest, not a mortal high priest like the Levites, but an eternal High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek, who had no beginning and no ending (Heb. 5:9-10, 6:19-20, 7:1-3). This verse in the Psalms not only tells us that the earthly Levitical high priest wore a stone on his breastplate that represented the captives of Hell, but also that this stone prophesied Messiah's deliverance of those captives. This verse reveals the truth that our eternal, heavenly High Priest must also have worn this priestly breastplate and captivity stone from eternity, since the earthly things were patterned after the heavenly (Heb. 8:4-6). Jesus entered Hell and ascended with the captives as part of His role as High Priest forever. This is only one example of the depths found in just one verse from the Psalms.
The reading of the Psalms is considered so important, that groups called, "Hevrot t'hillim",  societies of Psalm readers, divide the Psalms among themselves and read them daily at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Every day, the rich prophetic prayers and worship contained in the Psalms are spoken on earth, as they exist in heaven.
I encourage you to read and meditate upon the Psalms and all the scriptures.

Our Father has placed eternal depths of truth in the Psalms.
 

Test

There is a command in the word of God that is trickier than it seems on its surface, yet it is vital to our spiritual lives. This is the command:
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test (test, examine, prove, scrutinize (as metals), to recognize as genuine after examination) the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."  1 Jn. 4:1
Deceiving spirits are very subtle and cunning (Gen. 3:1). Since the warning and commandment above is given to believers, we can conclude that it is possible for believers to be deceived. Individuals and whole nations can be deceived, as we see around us daily. In the Book of Acts, the Bereans ("well-watered"; to pierce through/beyond the other side) searched the scriptures daily in order to discover if what they were being told, in this case by apostles Paul and Silas, was true (Acts 17:10-12). The Bereans were eager to hear from them, but didn't automatically accept nor reject what they heard, but tested it, authenticated it by searching scripture. As a result, they became strong believers. Neither the apostles, nor scripture considered the Bereans as being disrespectful to the Holy Spirit because of this careful confirmation and authentication process of theirs, but referred to them as "noble".
We are told, "do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thess. 5:19-21).
The LORD says of false prophets that come in His name, and I want to include false prophesying spirits here as well, "I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart." (Jer. 14:14).
Proverbs tells us, "The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps ." (14:15).
Challengingly, the scripture also says that God can send false prophets, and I again want to include false prophetic spirits, in order to test His prophets, and to test His people in general, "to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deut. 13:3, 1 Ki. 13:11-26). One old prophet paid with his life for not correctly testing what he was told was the word of the LORD by another verified prophet. Doesn't sound fair, does it? But the LORD has to test us to know if we can discern the truth from the lie, especially in those whom He has specially called.
However, the testing of spirits does not apply only to our discerning of others. It also involves testing those spirits speaking within ourselves as well. Are we testing the spirits of what we spiritually hear and see? Are we testing those spiritual words and prophecies that seem to be spoken or shown to us by what we believe to be the Holy Spirit? We are to test the spirits, and not just quickly accept and believe all that we perceive is being spiritually revealed to us. We live in perilous times, when people are deceiving and being deceived (2 Tim. 3:13). Like the Bereans, we need to search the scriptures to authenticate the spiritual word coming forth.
There is one giant roadblock to our effectively testing the spirits of others, and ourselves. This roadblock is spiritual pride. The greatest experts in the world tested Jesus to discern if He was indeed the Messiah, the Christ. Their own spiritual pride, religious agenda and self-righteousness prevented them from accepting what their tests clearly revealed: the authenticity of the Man who stood before them, the One who was sent by His Father to save them.
Because of this same spiritual pride, we often do not test what the Holy Spirit is seemingly speaking to us. Is what we are hearing really the Holy Spirit, or is it a lying spirit sent to test us, or to make us turn onto the wrong path? It is not blasphemous or evil to test every spirit. It is commanded. Stop, think, measure, weigh. God will not be angry with you.
Satan knows all about this trap of spiritual pride. He fell into it himself. He is the master of it. He is defined by it (Ezek. 28:12-15, Isa. 14:12-15). His workers, those deceitful spirits, are attracted to the spiritual pride that they see in us, knowing that we are open to deception because of it. Even Jesus was brought into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested by the lying spirit, Satan (Lk. 4:1-13). Not only did Jesus pass the test of the moment, but He successfully tested and challenged the spirit that was speaking to Him by a true comparison with the Word of God. Jesus was not only tested in His true and complete knowledge of the Word (He IS the Word) however. He was also tested in the area of spiritual pride (v. 6-7 and 9-11). There was no spiritual pride found in Jesus by which He could be hooked and fooled. These verses of the tempting of Christ found in Luke are an important study for us, deeper than would appear on a quick reading, dealing with common flaws not only in the human character, but in the religious character as well.
We are told in 1 John that the Spirit of God will always confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, while the lying spirits will not so confess and testify (1 Jn. 4:2-3). Therefore the lying spirits should be very easy for a believer to discern, right? I don't think so, because the lying spirits are subtle. The effect on our lives of these untested spirits takes the form of separating us from our faith, from fellow believers, from the completion of our assignment and place in the Body of Christ. This is a form of denying Jesus having come in the flesh, as His having come is manifested in us. These spirits will increasingly take us out of the Holy Spirit, and into the flesh, out of the Word of God, and into our own imaginations, as they are given the opportunity by our refusal to test them.
Perhaps we think that because we have been walking in faith for so long, having had the experience of hearing from the Holy Spirit so often in our lives, that we no longer need to test the spirits, because "we know the real thing when we hear it, when we feel it." Scripture does not allow this kind of exception to its command to "test the spirits". Remember the example of the old, experienced prophet in 1 Kings 13, mentioned above. These spirits don't come wearing signs that say, "I'm a liar; don't believe me." They come with convincing lies.
Recently it was reported that two gifted leaders, one a worship psalmist and the other a church leader, left the ministry saying that they were no longer of the Christian faith! What spirit have they been listening to that would cause them to completely abandon their faith? Evidently, these two men had been listening to these lying spirits for quite some time until the point came when they ended up denying Christ, which is the identifying test for these spirits, according to 1 John. We might say of ourselves, "That could never happen to me!" That is exactly the kind of spiritual pride that opens the door to just this kind of deceiving spirit. Scripture warns of a falling away that must occur before the day of the Lord, before His return (2 Thess. 2:3). Many believers, even strong, gifted believers will abandon their belief. Even the elect will be vulnerable to these deceiving spirits (Mt. 24:24). We are seeing this already.
Accepting what we are told by spirits without testing them can be very harmful to others as well. Because of this, Jesus remarked to His disciples on one occasion, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." (Lk. 9:55). Our untested words can have a harmful effect on the hearers, as well as on ourselves.
Seven times in the Book of Revelation Jesus makes this statement, "He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."  Jesus wanted us to hear from the Holy Spirit, and only the Holy Spirit.
All will be tested. All that can be shaken, will be shaken. None of us are exempt. We will be tested to see if we will test. These times in which we are living makes this of vital importance to us.

Our Father has commanded us to test the spirits to see if they are of Him.

Terror

The earth is filled with violence and destruction today. Hatred, wars, terrorism and large scaled devastation are in front of our eyes daily. The spiritual and physical degeneration of men is on exhibit all around us. The prophet Isaiah saw similar situations, and gave us much food for thought. Isaiah prophetically saw the ruin of earth and its inhabitants, but also showed us the opposing move of God. We will be looking in Isaiah 24 and 25.
In Chapter 24, great devastation has come upon the whole earth. The cause of this wasting is the corruption of man:
"The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance (engraved, inscribed commandments, prescribed limit, set time), broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left."  Isa. 24:4-6
In Isaiah's vision, because of man's pride and wickedness, a curse has come to the earth to destroy it. However, spiritually, in the midst of the devastation, a cry and a song go forth to glorify the majesty of the LORD:
"Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light (KJV: "in the fires"; Hebrew: "Owr"- from the East which is the region of light, the original light of creation, revelation, root: to shine, become brighter), the name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: "Glory to the righteous!" (v. 15-16).
Isaiah reveals that this exalted praise comes in the middle of the devastation. It is born out of the light, the "owr" light of Christ, the same light that He commanded His disciples to be, and the "owr" light of revelation.
However, Isaiah sees something that interrupts this moment of spiritual rebirth for him. He is horrified by what he sees. He cries, "I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously."  (v. 16). The Hebrew word used here for "treacherous", and "treacherously", is the word bagad. The pictographic meaning of each of the letters of the word could mean "a house within which is gathered those whose way of life is self-willed and proud". The translated meaning of the word bagad is: transgressor, deceitfully, unfaithful man, offend, to be covered or act covertly and fraudulently, to oppress, to afflict, perfidy (meaning: fraudulent, deceptive, covert methods used in order to attack, and do violence on the unsuspecting). We especially see perfidy today in the form of terrorism, which operates under various agendas: political, social, religious, racial, economic, financial. It is terrorism, or perfidy, committed by individuals, groups, nations. Not only are there natural terrorists committing perfidy, but spiritual as well. Jesus warned of those who are inwardly ravening wolves, who come among the flocks of believers disguised in sheep's clothing (Mt. 7:15-16). These are false prophets (religious imposters; uttering falsehoods under the name of divine prophesies), according to Christ, with an agenda of destruction, however, we are able to identify them by their fruits. Satan, himself, is the king of perfidy, disguising himself as an angel of light in order to destroy God's people (2 Cor. 11:14-15).
Isaiah's eyes are drawn in terror and hopelessness to this treachery of men. However, the LORD assures Isaiah and us that He has already ordained His opposition:
"Fear (pakhad: sudden alarm, great terror, the fear God causes, God as the object of fear and reverence, revere, tremble, make shake)) , and the pit (pakhath: to dig a hole in a path to catch animals), and the snare (pakh:calamities, to spring a net, that by which anyone falls, to plot against anyone, a sheet of lightning) are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the noise (voice, crying out in a loud voice of joy or sorrow) of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken."  v. 17-18
Those who are treacherous have already been prophetically caught, and will not find escape from their ordained future. Jesus spoke of the Day of the LORD coming upon the whole earth like a snare, or "pakh" in Hebrew. God's people must be watchful, He warned, and pray that they escape from these snares meant to capture and destroy the treacherous. God's people are meant instead to be worthy to stand before the Son of man (Lk. 21:31-36).
In Chapter 25 of Isaiah, once again, because God has already planned and determined the end of those who bring the devastating curse upon the earth, great and magnifying praise is declared:
"O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels (purpose, plan, devise, determine) of old (distance, long ago, remote) are faithfulness and truth...therefore the strong people will glorify You;,,,for You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat..."  Isa. 25:1-4 (excerpt)
The praise here has its source in the fact that God has already done the work. His plan and purpose was set in motion and accomplished in past time and distance. That plan if faithful and it is true, and it will come to pass. The fear that God uses against the treacherous ones is the noise, or sound of a voice. One of the great sounds of a voice is the sound of praise, whether from heaven, or from the earth. In many instances of terror and despair, King David lifted his voice in praise to God, his Deliverer (example: Psalm 57).
The prophet in Chapter 25 exposes "the terrible nations", and "the terrible ones" (v. 3-5). The Hebrew word here is arets. It is translated: oppressor, violent, striking terror, terrifying, ruthless, harass. However, these "terrible ones" have been disarmed and made powerless like a strong wind that blows ineffectually against a wall (v. 3-5). How has the Almighty God already defeated these terrible ones? He overcame the terror of their most powerful weapon - He overcame death itself:
"He will swallow up death forever, and the LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day, "Behold this is our God...this is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."  v. 8-9  (excerpt)
When I first read these two chapters from Isaiah, my eyes were on the devastation of the curse, the treacherous ones, and the terrible ones. I almost missed the overcoming praise, and the victory obtained in God's plan formed from before the beginning. He sent Christ to disarm the power of the enemy, and as Christ comes again, His prepared snare will capture those who are determined to deal very treacherously.
The suffering is great, but the majesty is even greater. The Terror has indeed come to the earth, but it can never overcome the power of the light of Christ, which is also the light inside each of us. It is very easy for our eyes to be caught in the Terror, but that is not the place where the power of God resides. Be caught up into the majesty, and the praise, and the omniscient counsels of old, instead. As we see the Terror all around, the place of praise is also sounding. The Book of Revelation shows us that as seals, trumpets, bowls of wrath, and thunders are being released upon the earth from heaven, the greatest praise ever heard is also coming forth. Now, more than ever, it is the time to press into the presence of our Father. Receive His Son in a new, deeper way, because worthy is the Lamb:
"And they sang a new song, saying:

"You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals;

For You were slain,

And have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

And have made us kings

And priests to our God;

And we shall reign on the earth."



 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,:

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom,

And strength and honor and glory, and blessing!"

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them saying:

"Blessing and honor and glory and power

Be to Him who sits on the throne,

And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

Rev. 5:9-13 (Listen Here)

Be reconciled anew with the Father through His Son. Don't let Terror pull your eyes away from the One Who overcame the world (Jn. 16:33, 1 Jn. 4:4). During these days, there are many important things required from the people of God, but sometimes, in the midst of the Terror, we forget the beauty and power of praise, as revealed here by Isaiah. Disarm Terror's power by keeping your eyes and praise even more so on the finished work of our Father, and of His Son, and of His Holy Spirit.

Our Father has already seen it, known it, provided for it, and done it.

"I Will Praise You in This Storm"

Fusion

fusion- the process or result of joining two or more things to form a single entity.
      - the merging of diverse, distinct, or separate elements into a unified whole.
      - the union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei resulting in the release of enormous quantities of energy when certain light elements unite.

Above are some definitions of the word "fusion". I found that the definitions added clarity in our topic today. There are people for whom I am currently praying that desperately need a healing miracle. The situation is literally "life and death". Perhaps you also have people in your prayers who desperately need a miracle. I wondered, "Where are the miracles of Christ?" I have indeed seen miracles, and received them myself, but I cannot say that miracles, signs and wonders are routinely pouring from my life as I would hope to see. As I once again began to pray, I thought, "But healing isn't a thing...He's a Person."
Fundamental truths that I learn regarding salvation, healing, everlasting life, resurrection, atonement, sacrifice, life, holiness, righteousness, faith itself, prosperity, deliverance, peace, joy, prayer, and many other parts of our walk, are thought of as "blessings", "promises", "works", etc. Thinking of them in that manner though makes all of those powerful fundamental truths become "things". However, all of these are an aspect or quality of a Person. I create a distance from the Person when I think of these aspects as things to be achieved or received. Saying,  "I need healing", "I need provision", "I need a miracle", "I need deliverance", in a way de-Personalizes, making an aspect of the Living God into a thing we receive from Him. I hope I am explaining effectively what I am feeling in a way that it can be understood.
Our Father has always been a very personal God. Although He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present in character, God has always dealt very personally with the individual: from the greatest kings to lowliest leprous outcasts; from small children, even children who have not yet been born (Ps. 139:13-16, Jer. 1:4-7, Lk. 1:41-44), to people who were very old; with sinners, and with those whom He called righteous.
From the beginning, God walked and talked with Adam in the Garden, and was personally connected to him. God knew immediately when His preciously created man fell.
When God introduced Himself to Moses, He spoke the very personal "I AM...". He used His personal relationship with men, to identify Himself to other men: "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
When God provided His salvation, He didn't send a thing, He sent a Person, whose very name IS "Salvation", Yeshuah, Jesus.
Salvation isn't a concept, or even a miracle. He is a Person. Healing isn't a doctrine or an answer to prayer, He is a Person (Ex. 15:26) . Peace and joy aren't just things we all desire, but a Person (Jn. 14:27, Neh. 8:10). The provision of everything we need for our lives is a Person (Jn. 6:35, 48, Gen. 22:14, 2 Pet. 1:3).  Resurrection and everlasting life isn't a goal, promise, place, or thing. He is a Person (Jn. 11:25). Faith isn't just a thing we should try to have and speak. He is part of a Person, as in "the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20). The force of life in all men isn't a thing to be debated regarding "when" or "how". He is a Person (Jn. 1:4). Even light is not a thing, but a Person (Jn. 1:9, Jn. 8:12). Truth is not a thing, but a Person. Our daily spiritual walk and progress is not an effort we make, but a Person: "I am the way (road; journey; course of conduct; a manner of thinking, feeling, deciding; a progress; a mode or means), the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6). Is it possible to "become" what we are called to become if we think of all of this as doctrines, tenets, blessings, works, things, rather than Christ, Himself? 
The victory of Christ is not to make "things", even miraculous things, available to me. The victory of Christ is to reconcile me (bring back a former state of harmony: definition-pleasing combination of elements in a whole) with Himself, and His Father, my Father (Rom. 5:10-11, 2 Cor. 5:18-19, Col. 1:19-22, Eph. 2:13-18). The victory of Christ is to make me one with the Persons of the Godhead. Jesus prayed to His Father:
"...for those who will believe in Me...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one. and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." 
                                                                                                           Jn. 17:20-24
The commands, "Be thou holy as I am holy", and "Be thou perfect as I am perfect", are not for the purpose of demanding that I attain some sort of spiritual goal I don't think, but to call me to a fusion with the Person who is holy, with the Person who is perfect (2 Cor. 5:21, Col. 1:21-22) until it can no longer be differentiated where I end and He begins. Then I become holy also, and then I become perfect also. The Father wants us to find Christ and cling to Him, meld into Him. We understand that scripture tells us that we have received Christ, that it is "Christ in us, the hope of glory", and "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation...", but our walk is often about ourselves, and what we do, and who we are, rather than this fusion with Christ. There is no "us" or "me" if I am one, fused, with Him. There is only Him. Jesus also said:
"Abide (Grk-meno-remain, not to depart, to be held, kept continually, to remain as one; Heb.-yashab- dwell, remain, to sit down, seat, marry) in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If  anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." 
                                                                                                         Jn. 15:4-6
The fruit comes with abiding in and with Christ, as a branch is one and the same with a vine. Jesus also said:
"If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me: but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Jn. 10:37-38,  AND
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."   Jn. 14:10-14
Usually we read these verses with the emphasis on the works. However, I am now reading them here with the emphasis on that to which the works point: the fusion relationship. The "works" came from Christ's fusion with the Father, His inseparable relationship and identity with His Father. He said even if we don't believe Him, believe the works that He does, because the works are His Father's.To Jesus, the words and works were evidentiary of the fusion with His Father. Even His own identity was secondary to this fusion relationship: Believe Me or not, but  believe the works of the Father in Me.
We look for the works apart, but do not sacrifice ourselves to the necessary fusion into the Father's identity, as Jesus did. Jesus speaks above about going to His Father. We accept that the greater works that Jesus spoke of would result from His bringing His blood offering to His Father. It is also the result of the even greater fusion accomplished once His flesh body was cast off. That last separation, that veil, which was His flesh, is rent, and the way into the reconciling unity that He provided for all of us with the Father is completed (Mt. 27:51, Heb. 10:19-20).
In John 17, Jesus prayed that the world will come to the knowledge and belief that Christ was sent to us from God because we are one in Christ and the Father. We wonder why we seem to see such indifference of the world toward the Christian faith, even its disgust. Is it because they have not seen the Christian faith as it has been intended all along? Trying to bring the world to Christ when we have not been willing to come totally to Christ ourselves is futility, and would seem also hypocritical. The Holy Spirit has come to us for the purpose of fusing us into Christ, but we, perhaps unaware of the opposition of our natural mind, desire to keep the distance and separation, and retain our separate identity. If we want to see His glory, if we want to be "Exhibit A" to bring the world to belief, if we want to see the "works" as they were always intended, then it will require fusion with the Person of Christ.
What is the beginning point of this process? Perhaps just the acknowledgement of the depth expected in our relationship with Christ, and the Father. Keeping this at the forefront in our minds, which tend to pull us the opposite way. Having my focal point as entering into Christ, and He into me, growing into the unity, the knowledge, the perfect, the measure of the stature of His fullness, growing up in all things into Him-Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15). Saying as John the Baptist said, "He must increase (become greater, cause to grow, enlarge), but I must decrease (make less or inferior in dignity, make lower, to lesson in rank, influence, authority, or popularity, smallest, least)." (Jn. 3:30). Perhaps understanding that the real meaning of taking up my cross daily and following Him is not only about others persecuting me for my faith as He was persecuted, but that I lay down my own life, my own identity, freely- no man takes it from me - in order to enter into Christ and the Father:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..."
                                                                                                              Gal. 2:20
Look at what we have been called to do according to the above verse. This is the standard that has been set for our relationship with and in Christ. Are we prepared to enter into Him in such a way? Is the world seeing Christianity in its intended fullness as stated above? Or have they only seen people who talk, but are not being? Are those coming with prayer requests who are perishing, either spiritually or physically, receiving that above effective standard of care from me? It is a standard in which I cease, and He lives instead. This is where I can, from this experience, also be directing those who have needs: "Come, fuse into Jesus and into the Father with me."
These are going to be my first steps in understanding.
I've had it all wrong. Healing isn't a thing, He's a Person. As we pray for needs, whether for ourselves, or someone else, let us, as a first step, seek a deeper fusion with the Person who IS all in all (1 Cor. 12:6, 15:28, Eph. 1:23).

Our Father has sent a Person, Jesus, for our reconciliation and fusion into Him.

Halal

 The Hebrew word halal is a glorious word. It  means "to shine, to be clear, to be brilliant, to flash forth light, to be praised, to be praiseworthy, glory, celebrate, rejoice, to sing". It sounds like a word that would be used regarding the Lord's glory and presence. It may surprise you to know that halal is a Hebrew word for "marriage"! In the language of God, this is what marriage is meant to be: halal. We can understand why Paul said that marriage is a type of Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:25-28). Marriage was always meant to be this, even before the beginning, since Christ was the Lamb sacrificed before the foundation of the world. Neither Adam and Eve nor other men, created the concept of marriage, and they did not define it. Halal takes natural man and transforms him, which is why the LORD said that men leave (azab- forsake, leave behind, abandon while at the same time repair, restore, set free) father and mother, and instead become joined into a halal oneness, or echad, with his wife (Gen. 2:22-25). Echad is an interconnected plurality in the same way of the trinity plurality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Halal marriage leaves behind the natural condition of man, and restores and repairs the original divine echad. This halal marriage, like the union of Christ and Church, shines with glory, and sends forth that light. Yes, marriage encompasses love, but it is the sacrificial type of love, like the sacrificial love of Christ (see also 1 Cor. 13). This is what makes it shine with glory. It is the glory of Christ, which is the same glory as given Him by the Father, born out of His sacrificial love.
Man tries to define marriage in many ways, some being more profane than others, but seldom do we hear the true purpose and quality of it as God intended it. Shouldn't the Church have the true understanding of marriage, especially as we, the Church, have been spiritually defined by it in scripture? It is very evident in many cases that most of the Church does not understand halal. Can we be shocked that the world desires to define marriage in an equally ignorant manner?  If we want to pull down those carnal strongholds (root meaning: used of those joined to any one by the bonds of natural blood or marriage, to hold one's self to a thing, to adhere or cling to, to be closely joined to a person or thing) of falsehood regarding marriage that we empowered, we need to cast down our own reasonings that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Other disobedience is punished when our obedience is fulfilled first (2 Cor. 10:4-6). We are not to look at marriage based on outward appearance or considerations (v. 7). That is not halal marriage. This is where our warfare begins-inside our own minds, souls, and flesh.
I would like to look briefly at two marriages in scripture that I think illustrate halal. In Gen. 24, Abraham sends his servant back to his own people to find a bride for his son, Isaac. Abraham makes his servant swear to find the correct bride from Abraham's own people by putting his hand under Abraham's thigh (includes the meaning *shaft of the Holy Candlestick of the tabernacle which divides into three branches). The servant travels back to Abraham's homeland, but seeks God's help in identifying which woman is the right woman for Isaac. He bases his request to God on a spirit of generosity and sacrifice to be found in the unknown woman. Rebekah ("ensnarer of men by beauty") comes to the well, and not only gives the servant a drink, but waters all of his camels also. In fact, she runs repeatedly to water them. She runs to keep emptying buckets of water from the well into the trough as needed for thirsty camels (root-ripen fruit, recompense, to deal bountifully with). Though she is outwardly beautiful, it is her inner qualities that identify her as the halal bride. Even before the servant finds out that she is indeed one of Abraham's kin, he puts a golden (shimmer, golden splendor of the heavens, of the sun, of the purest oil, brilliant like gold) nose ring or earring on her, and golden bracelets on her wrists. To shorten the story, although Rebekah has the beauty to capture any man of her choosing, she chooses of her free will to leave her father's house and country, and accompany Abraham's servant to far away Canaan to become a bride for the master's son, a man whom she has never met. As she nears Isaac's tent, she does so covering her natural beauty, and Isaac receives her as his wife (Gen. 24:65-67). As the years go by, it is because of this halal bride Rebekah, and the revelation that she receives from God, that the patriarchal blessing and covenant inheritance is to be given to Jacob, rather than Esau. Jacob, renamed Israel by God, produced the sons and grandsons that became the tribes of Israel, from which Jesus came into the earth. Rebekah's halal marriage established the way for the coming of the Messiah.
In another example of halal, Ruth ("friendship, female companion, mate, neighbor woman") leaves her natural family and homeland, and freely chooses to accompany her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem in Judah. Ruth attaches herself to her mother-in-law in every way. Her mother-in-law was named Naomi ("my delight, favor, grace, beauty, brightness, splendor"). Ruth said to her mother-in-law, Naomi:
"Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God;
Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried;
The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." 
                                                                                                             Ruth 1:16-17
This kind of commitment to Naomi, and to Naomi's spiritual identity, laid the groundwork for the halal marriage that would soon enter Ruth's life.
After traveling back to Naomi's homeland, Ruth sacrificially gleans in the fields to feed not only herself, but Naomi. This causes Boaz to first notice her, and ask others about her identity. On her mother-in-law's advice, Ruth places herself at the feet of Boaz, who becomes her kinsman-redeemer. Looking at the situation based on natural considerations, this would seem an unlikely marriage. However, this was a halal marriage and from this marriage came the family line that produced not only King David, but again, as in Rebekah's case, established the way for the coming Messiah, Jesus, the Son of David. 
Marriages created in man's image produce various things, some of which man considers good. However, halal marriage produces Christ.
Halal marriage was created to personify kingdom glory, and the image and reign of Christ here on earth. As we are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb in eternity (Rev. 19:6-9) as a halal bride who has made herself ready, part of making ourselves ready should include gaining the revelation of what marriage in God's heart truly means. Also, because of the direct connection between halal marriage and the Lord Jesus Christ, I am sure that it must be the halal bride who joins with the Spirit to say, "Come!...whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."  Rev. 22:17 (see also Jn. 4:13-14, Jn. 7:37-39)

Our Father has ordained and purposed halal.