A little later we will see what the overturning of the land looked and felt like to others besides Michael, but right now we are seeing the progression of events from Michael's perspective and the Father's specific unfolding to Him of His marriage to the land. We will say here, though, that it was the Father Who brought about the actual details of the overturning in each soul. The Father gave His Son words to say to us, and then the Father Himself brought them home to each soul in very unexpected and sometimes shocking ways. Michael was the keenest observer as the land was overturned. It was occurring quite apart from anything He was personally determining. Father was demonstrating that He was continuing with the work in His own hands, just as He had taken the work into His own hands when He spoke Messiah into the human vessel He had chosen and prepared.
The next specific communication from the Father in regards to Messiah marrying the land came on August 21, 2000. Michael wrote:
Yesterday, in this time of the anointing with myrrh, while communing in regards to our current events, my mind was brought to its end. I could no longer reach into the depths and understand it all. I could not pass over the conflicting images and cross images, and I concluded that I could go no further in grasping the nature of the marriage. We have read in the prophecy how the land is married, but I could not fully grasp the significance of that truth other than in some symbolic metaphor.
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. Isa. 62:4.
I had noticed how, in my visits with people, some of the Shulamite seemed to connect with my own heart. As lightning, the light was clear and the purpose of our spiritual union was evident. With others, there seemed to be a wall that was impenetrable. They did not seem to be in unbelief, just bound in their little world of trouble, and unable to grasp my light. They were unable to draw into me and they could not let me draw into them. I wondered how it would unfold that the whole church could grasp my light and our souls would meet in union. There are differences between the ability to process information between men, women and children. How was I to accomplish such a task in bringing all into union with myself?
Immediately, after I had decided I was at the end of my ability to grasp it, in His characteristic way, the Father brought the Scriptures home to my mind. As clear as a pure note from a flute, the light dawned. As simply as a flower opens to the sun, I took in the light as it broke through my clouds of thinking.
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man (Messiah), saying, We will eat our own bread and provide our own apparel; only let us be called by your name to take away our reproach of being unmarried. In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and lovely to those of Israel who have escaped. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem and for eternal life. After the Lord has washed away the moral filth of the daughters of Zion, pride, vanity, haughtiness and has purged the bloodstains of Jerusalem from the midst of it by the spirit and blast of judgment and by the spirit and blast of burning and sifting. And the Lord will create of the whole site, over every dwelling place of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy, a defense of divine love and protection. And there shall be a pavilion (cottage) for shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge and a shelter from storm and from rain. Isa. 4 Amplified.
After the light dawned on how seven woman would lay hold of one man (Messiah), I had a dream which seemed to fill the remaining void. I was riding on the front of a large fire truck. My seat was high and lifted up on the most prominent part of the front of the truck, and I could look down on the power lines below. My Father was driving the truck and seemed to be behind the scenes. I looked down, and below I saw a comely woman who was almost black from the sun. Immediately, in my dream, I thought of the Shulamite, since her blackness was from the sun. I reached down with my right arm and drew her up to my seat with me. Then, as if a calculated gesture, I faced her and kissed her directly on the lips for all to see. I wanted all to know I had taken her to myself and that she was honored and blessed by me. I had made her in union with myself. After I kissed her, I saw this large truck, on which we were riding, drive through some cords and power lines, since it was so much higher than they. I expected to see sparks and receive all kinds of repercussions from the encounter, and wondered if my Father knew about the cords and wires, but we drove through them with no effect at all. I felt that my Father had a clear grasp of the whole passage and my dream ended.
All through the night I was brought through the images and realized all things would come to their natural and symbolic completion. Seven women will be able to take hold of me. They will be able to enter into the depths of understanding in regards to the vision and union with Messiah. Their hearts will be knit with Messiah and no earthly considerations will hinder them. This is not an earthly marriage, since they still wear their own clothing and eat their own food. They are free and separate in that way. They are bound in another way to my truck. It is the binding of the heart, since they feel their need. When they meet with me, it is not the need of someone who feels bad about themselves, or the need of one having a bad day and wanting to be comforted. It is the need of a hungry and open soul. It is the need which draws from me and into themselves, the healing virtues I have to give. They also feel reproached, since they have such a longing for the promised Child, and yearn to bear Him.
When Elizabeth became pregnant with John she said, "Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." Luke 1:25. Elizabeth had been barren, and this was a reproach to any Israelite woman. The seven women are barren and ask to be united to the name (character) of Messiah Who would take away their reproach. They would no longer be barren but be with the Child of His making. They would be united with Him in soul and purpose. They would be consumed in His consummation. These seven, who are able to move into this holy relationship with the Messiah, represent the whole church and all who seek this union. They are the tokens of the age and they are prophetic symbols of the time. The whole world of the faithful will find their reproach taken away in them. They will behold the union of the Seven with Messiah and will be enabled to take it to themselves by faith.
Through our sojourn together, we have seen ourselves as a people of prophecy. It is as though our Father delights in turning the world upside down and having all His words literally fulfilled in us. We have seen it time and again. The marriage of the Lamb is taking on a most vivid representation, and so is the marriage of the land. God is being wedded to His woman of the Revelation and the Child born will take away her reproach, for she shall give birth to Messiah, and He is caught up to God and to His throne. Since she takes hold of Messiah and becomes one with Messiah, her natural offspring will be Messiah. The Anointing will be fulfilled in all who seek His appearing. She hears the call, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." She goes into the chambers with Him and is satisfied. She has brought enough oil from her previous experience to cause her to grasp the moment. She does not sit in His chambers wondering what is going on. She is able to lay hold on one Man. Her old boyfriends of doubt and unbelief are dismissed from her presence. God (Messiah) alone will be exalted in this day.
As I have previously stated, the marriage has not yet occurred. We were brought into the new land at Passover and the woman must be prepared to go into the King. Before she can truly be united in Him and experience full union, there is a time of preparation. The first six months is the anointing of myrrh. As with Esther, this bitter anointing has to do with her vision and purpose being made plain to her. There are many moments of uncertainty how it will all come out and whether or not she will be able to fill the position chosen for her. The second anointing is the anointing of "sweet odors" as was given to Esther as well. This is the time of falling in love. It is the time of rejoicing and anticipation of the union. This period of the anointing begins in the year of rest when the woman ceases from her work and enters into His love. By Passover, she will be fully prepared for this union when she is married to Messiah. The seven women are different in temperament and outlook. They cover the full range of experience. They comprise the total light given off from their union with Messiah. They are complete in Him and He is fully revealed in them. They stand as seven lights on His stand. They are the congregation of God personified.
As Messiah was revealed, so it will be with the seven candles. These seven lights will know soon enough who they are. They will kiss the Son, and by this, become bound to His carriage. Though she is black from the sun, she will be fully accepted in the beloved and no more be termed desolate. She shall live in the King's house by divine decree and by her need being filled with His presence. Wherever she goes, the congregation is at her feet. She is clothed with Messiah and her crown is her witness of Him. The glory that has passed from Messiah to her shall be seen and felt by all. Amen! (So let it be).
When Michael wrote, "The marriage of the Lamb is taking on a most vivid representation, and so is the marriage of the land," He was in the midst of the toggling process between strong evidence from the Father that the consummation would be literal, and short periods of time, where it seemed He was being relieved of having to go there; but all the while not knowing for certain the final outcome of the matter. For two months the Father took Messiah through the excruciating agony of being pressed again and again with the intimations of this incomprehensible thing that was being asked of Him.
This greatly troubled me, and for many weeks I could not feel free with this image of things. I did not want to have sexual intercourse with a woman. When the Father revealed this to me, at one point, I simply said, NO! I would not do that. It would make Him look bad and the church would be ridiculed. The Father would wait for my resistance to subside and then bring everything around again for me to consider a little time later. The Finished Work.
Michael said, "I believed there would be a ram in the thicket," just as Abraham's trust and willingness to follow the Father's instructions were taken right to the edge, without having to cross over into the actual performance of the deed specified.
Still, if a literal, physical consummation was what the Father was bringing about, then every person in the congregation needed to know the Father's voice for themselves; each person needed to go to Him in earnest, and hear from Him personally that what was being brought about was of Him. Michael felt the necessity of preparing the congregation to face the reality of this test, should the Father actually require it of Him. Michael had no burden to convince the congregation that He should carry out the consummation. What He wanted was that every man be convinced in his own heart, and for himself know what the Father was bringing to pass. Michael said,
For this reason, while in public meetings with the church, I often stated that everyone should ask the Father if what I was presenting concerning myself was true. I urged all men to pray and receive from Father Himself who I am and whether or not I was anointed by Him for His purposes. The only way I could be satisfied was if my Father bore witness of my work and not just me bearing witness of myself. "It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." John 8:17-18. The Finished Work.
Michael shared later, "I was solicitous to the Father and very desirous to have the consummation aborted if the Father saw fit to abort it. I had no unction to carry anything out from myself. I prayed many times that this cup be removed from me."
The following excerpts from handwritten notes taken during September, reveal Michael's appeal to the congregation to hear the Father for themselves and to look candidly at the foundation of what they believed and why they believed it. Did they believe Michael was the Messiah, the Father's instrument, or not? Was their faith and belief based on the reality of the Father's personal word to them or based on religious notions that would not stand the test in a crisis?
One can never read an account from history that truly reflects the experience of that moment. Jesus said, Go, sell all, and come follow Me - Your whole family and your own life. Jesus kept becoming more invasive into their private person. He offended the order and laws of the temple. In Jesus' day, a good Pharisee looked at His invasion of their temple and said to himself or others, What does he expect? Lambs make noise and we must provide animals for the people. This man Jesus disregards what God has commanded us to do, they said. As Messiah lived in their midst He became more outrageous. Then, when He was arrested, that was just too much for His followers to take. They could not bear the reproach of the people. The reproach seemed reasonable since their Master had done many things that made them draw back and wonder.
The Lord wants to bring heaven's order to the land. Messiah comes to destroy everything — even your well ordered life. Messiah is outrageous and unfathomable. Everyone will receive a Messiah that provides a land, keeps the economy stable, binds up families, keeps everyone's needs met. It is attractive to the lovers of loaves and fishes. But will you be able to bear what the Father is actually doing, or are you so unacquainted with His voice that you will run in terror?
We are here to be married. We think we know what that means, but anything in the way of God's ownership is going to be overthrown. Messiah requires ALL. He receives ALL of your kingdom. We go to heaven naked - no wives, husbands, children, no possessions, no kingdoms. Expect terrors and your kingdom to be overthrown. The only security is to be quiet on the bosom of the Father with your mouth shut. These principles would have saved the disciples their great embarrassment had they believed them.
Jesus and His disciples were in the same place. They both had to believe in His Messiahship. Do you think He was this GOD that just walked over to the cross? Peter said, No way! I will not deny you. Jesus said, Yes you will. Men don't mind dying for a cause, but would you go to a cross for a Messiah who is considered an adulterer, a criminal or a Sabbath breaker? When the newspaper gets a hold of this and people ask you, Do you support this guy? What will you say?
When the Father speaks to me, I have to believe Him. Do you believe in Me? Really? It is easier to believe when Messiah is strong up front, but few believe when the cross comes. The Lord's terrors are far greater than the earth's terrors. God's terrors are light that changes your whole kingdom because it exposes you to yourself. You are actually made to see things as heaven does.
Heaven is nothing like earth. Living at peace and without difficulty is what God has for us in His natural world. Two may live in the same house, but don't you see that they have to be free? Father would have you free from all conflict, EVER. One will never, never be offended, for any reason AT ALL - that is heaven. Humanity is only into it for themselves. Human love is all about "myself and what I get." Emotion comes from the heart that thinks it is going to lose something. I want you to receive a peaceful heart, open, expressive, joyous and in love - not like a dog on a chain that has to be kept back from its own desires. God is love. What some men have is good manners.
What I want you to see is this: I want your ideas of what it means to love to be broken up. How you love someone deeply and in the Lord, and it not be in your flesh, is what you must know. When people are free, the love of heaven can be born. If you believe Me and become empty, the Father will reveal it to your heart. Do not add or take away from what I have said. Don't run off with things from your own head. The mind never tells the truth. The truth is the Spirit. He doesn’t come by information, but by His presence. Heaven is made up of beings who hear and understand His voice.
I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me. Do as I have said, Go ask Father Who I am. The Father didn't force the rich young ruler, not even a little bit of force was used. Messiah has to come down to the dark world and save that which was lost. The second coming has much more with it than the first. Did we not say the Son of Man would come a second time and all that are offended will be gathered out?
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity. Matt. 13:41. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt. 22:13.
When the people understood what Messiah came to bring, nobody stood with Him. Men are usually willing to make any sacrifice for some supposed glory, even if it costs them their lives. But when their true nature is exposed to them by Messiah, they want Him crucified, for He shows them the truth about themselves. This is the one offense the earth cannot stand.
You will be tested to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. By the end of Jesus' ministry He offended them all. We can't be saved the way the disciples were. You must stand upon their shoulders and see out further than they saw. There will be no Moseses that lose their tempers here. We are called into the brightest light there has ever been. There will be no second chance. You have had sufficient light. Do what you know already. The key rests in whether you will open your hand, sell what you have and give it all away. You hang on to more than God does. Doesn't that tell you where you place yourself? Let Him be King; let Him be your eyesight, your mind. God has always been the heart's keeper, but you've tried to keep it yourself. You are required to trust the Father, His person, and not your reasoning power. Peace is not agitation, but the pouring of the Holy Spirit into the soul. Without Him, you will not understand My words. Give Me your families. One will not come unto Me, until they have given up their kingdom first. Your possessions are the way you think about things. Receive Me and you receive My Kingdom. I will give you what you let Me give you. I will take what you give me, nothing more. The Kingdom is the Anointing of God.
One must be certain that his orders come from heaven. Don't be surprised at great upheavals. They help strengthen the plant. The cross for the disciples of Jesus determined the loss of their hopes. Hopes were what was in the way. When the crisis comes, then you can lay hold of reality.
It is not an especially hard thing for one to take responsibility for his own decisions that only affect himself, but when one's decisions affect others, it becomes a much greater weight. Michael had to deal with real confrontations, but they were not confrontations from people. People did not contend with him. His confrontations were of the nature revealed in his statements just quoted. He was having to tear down every previous fortress, and then take responsibility for the repercussions. He had to see the earth crumbling and be willing to stand the knowledge that he was responsible for it. This was almost overpowering.
It was on September 26, 2000, while driving to town, that the Father finalized the two month long toggling process regarding the consummation. He came down on Michael in a close and strong way, and told Him very clearly that the consummation would occur, not only spiritually, but literally and physically as well. The literal consummation of Messiah's marriage to the land had to occur to complete the vision.
The Father also unfolded His vision of our time in the new land, which was going to be a mirror image of the ministry years and closing days of Jesus' life the first time He came. Regarding the consummation and marriage of the land, the Father instructed Michael, "Make it after the pattern in the heavens." Michael told us the next day, Yesterday was the first time I saw it must happen.
The Father showed me it was an important visual revelation for those who would have faith in it, and that they must take it to their hearts and be infused with the visual impression of it. They were to be literally married to God. Anything less than a literal marriage to God would not be sufficient for them to enter into the kingdom of light. They would remain in their pseudo-faith and be lost at last. That is, they would not have faith sufficient to carry them through His present and near future events. They would end up wandering around, wondering where they were going. Michael
Michael said that when the Father told Him this, there was a measure of peace in the fact that the Father's final word brought the back-and-forth to an end; but it did not make the agonizing issue itself any easier to face. The upcoming Sabbath was September 30, 2000, the first day of a new year of rest. This was very symbolic to us of entering into God's rest in the new land. We would be partaking together in a communion service, and Michael was instructed to share with the congregation what the Father had just opened up to Him. The church was to have an opportunity to decide whether they wanted to follow the Lamb withersoever He was being led.
No human will ever fully know or comprehend the anguish that Michael felt as He was required to face the consummation, and carry it out. It felt to Him like He was sinning to do what the Father was requiring of Him, because in the very beginning He had made an agreement with the Father to take the images in The Song of Solomon to the limits without "crossing over." In The Finished Work Michael described His understanding of those instructions at the very beginning:
It was strongly impressed upon me that I must enter into the full expression of the Song of Solomon, but I was not to take it to the flesh. I must take the images to the limit, but I was not to cross over into the flesh. It was My Father and Him only coming down upon me, since I could not grasp the significance of it all in my own thinking, without Him. Each day I read it carefully, and was made to understand some of the most intricate nuances there presented. This study was very difficult for me to undertake, since it involved images that revolved around human lovemaking. I struggled to keep the images heavenly, and My discomfort with this book of Scripture increased. At the time presented, it seemed almost impossible to do this. How could one kiss a woman on the mouth, as stated in the Song, and it not be flesh? In my mind, lips were flesh. Laying one's head on the breast of another, as was portrayed in the Song, was flesh. I did not understand how this could be done, so I felt it meant that I was to go to the limit of the experience without an intimate physical relationship with someone; I was to go to the limit without actual intrusion in the act of sexual intercourse. I agreed to follow these instructions.
... Early on, the vision began to change and so did my instructions. I was left with the clear message that literal, physical, intercourse with someone would occur. This greatly troubled me, and for many weeks I could not feel free with this image of things. Michael
