Posted with permission by The Ministries of Francis Frangipane.
In spite of increasing tensions around the world, the Holy Spirit says, for many, this next year will be a year of release. While we must absolutely intercede for our nations, we also must refuse to become fearful or restrained by the pressures of the world around us. The constrictions experienced by this age are not death throes, but birth pangs; they are not part of what restricts us, but releases us.
“Do not focus on the fearful things around you, the threats of terrorism or the portent of economic collapse; focus steadfastly upon your transformation!” God is doing a quick and deep work, and this world is the perfect setting in which to manifest Christlikeness. Darkness provides the perfect contrast to the rising glory of the Lord within us. “So, look for My release,” says the Lord. “For this year it shall come powerfully and suddenly.”
Year of Release
Beloved, the Father’s heart is impassioned for our release! Even now, the Holy Spirit is focused upon bringing new freedom to our lives, whether that release manifests in greater purity, more confident power or deeper intimacy with Christ, a spiritual release is coming.
Yes, Christ enters our lives as Lord and King, but He never stops being our Healer, Comforter and Deliverer. Even when He must confront and rebuke us, it is so He ultimately can release us. Remember, Jesus began His ministry with an amazing announcement, a proclamation which would define His eternal relationship with the church. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19).
Jesus was anointed (that is, He was prepared and empowered by God) to proclaim “release to the captives.” He didn’t come to condemn captives, but to free them. He is not angry that we are “blind”; He comes to give us vision. He’s not disappointed that we are “downtrodden”; He comes to lift us up.
If you have received the anointing of Jesus Christ upon your life, then there is a constant updraft of divine energy working in your spirit to bring release from sin, recovery from wounding and freedom from the limitations of the flesh. The instant you look to God, you know His power is working; the moment you turn to prayer, resurrection power kicks into gear.
Jesus came proclaiming “the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19 NIV). The Amplified adds, “. . . the day [when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].” Regardless of what you feel like, look like, or have recently been acting like, right at this very moment, the Spirit of God is extending His favor toward you, assuring you a release is on its way!
What This Means
In practical terms, this means if you’ve been incarcerated by sin or the devil, this year you will triumph over your enemies. If you have loved ones trapped in bondage, they too, as you intercede, shall know the Lord’s freedom. It also means if you have been treading water spiritually and going nowhere, a release is coming to you as well. This year shall mark a season of measurable spiritual fulfillment for all who desire to live like Christ.
Remember, though fearsome things may occur around us, something more awesome still is occurring within us. Christ’s church, the woman, is with child. This year shall be the year of great release!
For additional information and resources, please go to: www.frangipane.org
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Years ago, the Lord gave me a warning vision, which He now wants me to share with you, along with what I learned from it.
In this vision, I saw a Christian standing before God with outstretched hands. This person was clothed in filthy rags that hung from their body in shreds, and their hands were filled with broken bits of pottery, which they were presenting to God as an offering.
Afterward, I asked God what the vision meant and He showed me this:
If Christians do works (deeds) from a selfish motivation such as to earn love, acceptance, approval or praise from God or from people, it only leads to self-righteousness, which renders our garments as filthy rags and our deeds as unrighteous garbage in His sight. But if we do works from a selfless motivation such as the desire to obey God and please Him because we love Him, our deeds will be considered righteous. For the condition of our heart determines the motivation of our heart, which then determines whether our deeds are righteous or unrighteous. However, righteous deeds do not make us righteous in the sight of God because righteousness is only granted to us by faith in Jesus Christ who purchased it for us through His suffering, death and resurrection.
Then the Lord brought the following portions of scripture to my mind:
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”
Revelation 19:7-8 says, “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”
God wanted me to share all this with you because we are in the last days and Jesus will soon return for His Bride. However, many Christians are totally unprepared because of the condition of their hearts. Therefore, God is now shaking everything that can be shaken in order to reveal every area of darkness, selfishness and self-righteousness that is hidden in our hearts so that each one of us can clearly see it. Then, we must be willing to repent and ask for forgiveness so that we can be cleansed from unrighteousness. And, we must be willing to surrender to God and accept His discipline so that He can deal with the condition of our hearts.
If we are willing, God will cleanse us and clothe us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ; then He will prepare us and send us out in the power of His Holy Spirit to accomplish the righteous deeds of the Bride of Christ.
I will end this post with this exhortation from Hebrews 12:5-6 and 25-29:
“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.’ See that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns from heaven.At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,for our God is a consuming fire.”
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The following is a dream Francis Frangipane received from the Lord. Permission was granted to post it on this website by the Ministries of Francis Frangipane.
In a dream, I saw a temple standing in an open field. My view of the temple was from its side, about two hundred yards away. I could not see its front, yet it must have been completely open because great light flashed out from the inside. It pulsed like lightning yet was solid like sunlight. I knew this light was the glory of God.
The temple was so close that I knew with just a little effort I actually could enter the glory of God. His holy presence was clearly within my reach. There were also others directly in front of me whom I recognized as people from church. And while the temple and its light were visible and readily accessible to all, every head was bent downward and turned away from the light; each was occupied with other things.
I heard one voice say, “I have to do laundry.” Another said, “I have to go to work.” People were reading newspapers, watching televisions, and eating. I was sure everyone could see the light if they wanted to — even more sure that we all knew His glory was near. There were even a few people reading the Bible and praying, but everyone maintained the downward thrust of their gaze; each had a mental barrier of some kind between themself and the place of God’s presence. No one, though, stood up and steadfastly walked into the nearby glory of God.
However, as I watched, suddenly my wife lifted her head and beheld the temple. She stood and walked without pausing toward the open front. As she drew closer to the light, a garment of glory formed and thickened around her; the closer she went, the more dense the light surrounding her became. Finally she stepped in front of the temple, turned, and stood in full view of the blazing glory of God. Then she entered the temple.
Oh! How jealous I felt. My wife had entered the glory of God before me!
Suddenly, I realized that there was nothing stopping me from approaching God’s presence — nothing except the multitude of things I had to do and responsibilities that, in truth, ruled my life more than the voice of God. Pushing the weight of these pressures from me, I determined to rise and enter the temple myself. But, to my great regret, in my dream as I rose up, I suddenly woke up!
The longing and disappointment within me seemed unbearable. I had been so close to entering God’s presence. How I wanted to stand in the temple and be swallowed up in His glory! I cried, “Lord, why did You let me wake up?”
Immediately the word of the Lord responded. He said, “I will not have My servant’s life fulfilled by a dream. If you want your dream to come true, you have to wake up.”
Today God is awakening us to the reality of His presence. Indeed, if we truly want Christ to shine upon us, we must arise from the distractions that entomb us. The Lord’s promises must become more to us than dreamlike realities reserved only for the hereafter. For this reason Scripture says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14). Right at this moment the presence of the living God is near enough to reach; we can enter the outraying of His presence. But if we want our dream of standing in God’s fullness to come true, beloved, we must wake up.
One night many years ago, I was lying in bed not feeling very well, so I asked my husband to pray for me. While we were quietly waiting on the Lord to show us how we should pray, I had the following visionary experience:
I saw Jesus standing before me holding a gift in His hands. The gift was red with a white ribbon wound around it and fashioned into a bow on the top. Suddenly, Jesus held it out toward me and said, “I have a gift for you. Will you take it?” I answered, “Yes,” then cautiously reached out to receive it from Him. The moment the gift was in my hands, a feeling of unworthiness filled my heart. This made me reluctant to open it, so I just stood there silently staring at it.
Jesus waited for a few minutes then asked me if I wanted to open it. I answered, “Yes,” but still did nothing. Then, He tried to encourage me to open it by telling me to pull on the bow. I did, and the bow opened easily enough that I also loosened and removed the ribbon. What I was left holding was a neatly folded red material that was very soft. Jesus told me to open it, so I did. After unfolding it very carefully, I discovered that the gift was a long, crimson red hooded cloak.
When the gift was finally revealed, Jesus informed me that this cloak represents the covering of His blood. Then, He told me that my feelings of unworthiness to receive it and my resultant reluctance to open it come from a lack of understanding the full purpose and scope of His sacrifice, which therefore prevented me from laying hold of everything that He has paid for.
Then, in order to remedy this, Jesus proceeded to show me how and why His blood was shed:
The blood of Jesus was first shed when He was praying just before He was arrested. Knowing all that He was about to suffer, Luke 22:41-44 says that Jesus knelt down and prayed saying, “’Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done’….And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” By submitting to His Father’s will, Jesus agreed to lay down His life to pay for the sins of all of mankind. As He went through this terrible struggle, His blood flowed in order to seal salvation for all time, for everyone who will believe in Him and receive Him as their Savior.
The blood of Jesus was shed when the Roman soldiers beat Him with rods and scourged Him with a whip called a, “Cat of Nine Tails” (an instrument of torture including nine separate strips of leather, joined together and embedded with pieces of stone and metal). Isaiah 52:14 says, “…His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.” Jesus was mercilessly beaten in punishment for all of the righteous works He had done on earth to heal, deliver and restore people. As each strike with this whip tore the flesh from His body, His blood flowed in order to seal healing, deliverance and restoration for all time, for everyone who will believe in Jesus and receive Him as their healer, deliverer and redeemer.
The blood of Jesus was shed when the soldiers placed a crown of thorns on His head. Though He was rejected as the King of the Jews, Philippians 2:8-11 says that because Jesus “…humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” And, in Revelation 19:16 it says, “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” As the thorns from this cruel crown dug into His brow, His blood flowed in order to seal His Kingdom authority for all time, for everyone who will believe in Jesus and receive Him as their King and Lord.
The blood of Jesus was shed when a soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a sword to make certain that He was dead. Leviticus 17:14 says, “For the life of all flesh is in its blood: its blood is its life.” And, in John 4:10, it says that Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and the living water that all of mankind desperately needs. As the blood and water flowed from the wound in His side, it flowed in order to seal eternal, abundant life for all time, for everyone who will believe in Jesus and receive Him as their way, their truth and their life.
After Jesus showed me all of this He said, “When you are covered by My blood, you are covered for all that My suffering and death accomplished for you. Will you receive My gift?” When I answered, “Yes,” He told me to turn around, so I did. Then, He draped the cloak over my shoulders and covered my head with the hood. Once the beautiful, crimson cloak was covering me from the top of my head down to my feet, Jesus smiled and said, “I’ve got you covered. Therefore, you don’t need to ask for it, you just need to lay hold of it every day by applying the covering of My blood over everyone and everything within your realm of authority.” Then, with a heart filled with gratefulness, I hugged Jesus and thanked Him for this beautiful cloak — the covering of His precious blood.
For years, my feelings of unworthiness prevented me from receiving many of the benefits of this precious gift. But now, I understand that no human being could ever be worthy to approach God or receive anything from Him except for His Son Jesus. However, because God loves mankind and wants us to know and love Him, Jesus willingly came to the earth to seek and save the lost, to heal all who were sick and oppressed by the devil, to destroy the works of the devil, and to give us abundant life by becoming the ultimate, sacrificial Lamb of God.
Jesus gave mankind the most precious gift that anyone could ever receive! The pure, precious blood of Jesus Christ paid for our forgiveness and salvation, for our redemption and restoration, for our deliverance and healing, for protection from the evil one, and for abundant and eternal life so that mankind can have the opportunity to have an intimate loving relationship with the God of all creation!
Additional Scripture references: Isaiah 53, Luke 19:10, Luke 22:17-20, John 3:14-15, John 10:10, John 14:6, Acts 10:38,
1 John 3:8 and 1 Peter 2:24.
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The following is a stunning vision given to American preacher, Tommy Hicks (who was a major figure in the powerful 1954 Argentina Revival).
VISION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST AND THE END-TIME MINISTRIES
My message begins July 25, about 2:30 in the morning at Winnipeg, Canada. I had hardly fallen asleep when the vision and the revelation that God gave me came before me. The vision came three times, exactly in detail, the morning of July 25, 1961. I was so stirred and so moved by the revelation that this has changed my complete outlook upon the body of Christ, and upon the end-time ministries.
The greatest thing that the church of Jesus Christ has ever been given lies straight ahead. It is so hard to help men and women to realize and understand the thing that God is trying to give his people in the end times.
God is going to take the do-nothings, the nobodies, the unheard-of, the no-accounts. He is going to take every man and every woman and he is going to give to them this outpouring of the Spirit of God.
In the book of Acts we read that “In the last days,” God said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” I wonder if we realized what he meant when God said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” I do not think I fully realized nor could I understand the fullness of it, and then I read from the book of Joel:
“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain” (Joel 2:23). It is not only going to be the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, but he is going to give to his people in these last days a double portion of the power of God!
As the vision appeared to me after I was asleep, I suddenly found myself in a great high distance. Where I was, I do not know. But I was looking down upon the earth. Suddenly the whole earth came into my view. Every nation, every kindred, every tongue came before my sight from the east and the west, the north and the south. I recognized every country and many cities that I had been in, and I was almost in fear and trembling as I beheld the great sight before me: and at that moment when the world came into view, it began to lightning and thunder.
As the lightning flashed over the face of the earth, my eyes went downward and I was facing the north. Suddenly I beheld what looked like a great giant, and as I stared and looked at it, I was almost bewildered by the sight. It was so gigantic and so great. His feet seemed to reach to the North Pole and his head to the south. Its arms were stretched from sea to sea. I could not even begin to understand whether this be a mountain or this be a giant, but as I watched, I suddenly beheld a great giant. I could see his head was struggling for life. He wanted to live, but his body was covered with debris from head to foot, and at times this great giant would move his body and act as though it would even raise up at times. And when it did, thousands of little creatures seemed to run away. Hideous creatures would run away from this giant, and when he would become calm, they would come back.
All of a sudden this great giant lifted his hand towards heaven, and then it lifted its other hand, and when it did these creatures by the thousands seemed to flee away from this giant and go into the darkness of the night.
Slowly this great giant began to rise and as he did, his head and hands went into the clouds. As he rose to his feet he seemed to have cleansed himself from the debris and filth that was upon him, and he began to raise his hands into the heavens as though praising the Lord, and as he raised his hands, they went even unto the clouds.
Suddenly, every cloud became silver, the most beautiful silver I have ever known. As I watched this phenomenon it was so great I could not even begin to understand what it all meant. I was so stirred as I watched it, and I cried unto the Lord and I said, “Oh Lord, what is the meaning of this?” And I felt as if I was actually in the Spirit and I could feel the presence of the Lord even as I was asleep.
And from those clouds suddenly there came great drops of liquid light raining down upon this mighty giant, and slowly, slowly, this giant began to melt, began to sink itself in the very earth itself, and as he melted, his whole form seemed to have melted upon the face of the earth, and this great rain began to come down. Liquid drops of light began to flood the very earth itself and as I watched this giant that seemed to melt, suddenly it became millions of people over the face of the earth. As I beheld the sight before me, people stood up all over the world! They were lifting their hands and they were praising the Lord.
At that very moment there came a great thunder that seemed to roar from the heavens. I turned my eyes toward the heavens and suddenly I saw a figure in white, in glistening white – the most glorious thing that I have ever seen in my entire life. I did not see the face, but somehow I knew it was the Lord Jesus Christ, and he stretched forth his hand, and as he did, he would stretch it forth to one, and to another, and to another. And as he stretched forth his hand upon the nations and the people of the world – men and women – as he pointed toward them, this liquid light seemed to flow from his hands into them, and a mighty anointing of God came upon them, and those people began to go forth in the name of the Lord.
I do not know how long I watched it. It seemed it went into days and weeks and months. And I beheld this Christ as he continued to stretch forth his hand, but there was a tragedy. There were many people as he stretched forth his hand that refused the anointing of God and the call of God. I saw men and women that I knew. People that I felt would certainly receive the call of God. But as he stretched forth his hand toward this one and toward that one, they simply bowed their head and began to back away. And each of those that seemed to bow down and back away, seemed to go into darkness. Blackness seemed to swallow them everywhere.
I was bewildered as I watched it, but these people that he had anointed, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, in Africa, England, Russia, China, America, all over the world, the anointing of God was upon these people as they went forward in the name of the Lord. I saw these men and women as they went forth. They were ditch diggers, they were washerwomen, they were rich men, they were poor men. I saw people who were bound with paralysis and sickness and blindness and deafness. As the Lord stretched forth to give them this anointing, they became well, they became healed, and they went forth!
And this is the miracle of it – this is the glorious miracle of it – those people would stretch forth their hands exactly as the Lord did, and it seemed as if there was this same liquid fire in their hands. As they stretched forth their hands they said, “According to my word, be thou made whole.”
As these people continued in this mighty end-time ministry, I did not fully realize what it was, and I looked to the Lord and said, “What is the meaning of this?” And he said, “This is that which I will do in the last days. I will restore all that the cankerworm, the palmerworm, the caterpillar – I will restore all that they have destroyed. This, my people, in the end times will go forth. As a mighty army shall they sweep over the face of the earth.”
As I was at this great height, I could behold the whole world. I watched these people as they were going to and fro over the face of the earth. Suddenly there was a man in Africa and in a moment he was transported by the Spirit of God, and perhaps he was in Russia, or China or America or some other place, and vice versa.
All over the world these people went, and they came through fire, and through pestilence, and through famine. Neither fire nor persecution, nothing seemed to stop them.
Angry mobs came to them with swords and with guns. And like Jesus, they passed through the multitudes and they could not find them, but they went forth in the name of the Lord, and everywhere they stretched forth their hands, the sick were healed, the blind eyes were opened. There was not a long prayer, and after I had reviewed the vision many times in my mind, and I thought about it many times, I realized that I never saw a church, and I never saw or heard a denomination, but these people were going in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Hallelujah!
As they marched forth in everything they did as the ministry of Christ in the end times, these people were ministering to the multitudes over the face of the earth. Tens of thousands, even millions seemed to come to the Lord Jesus Christ as these people stood forth and gave the message of the kingdom, of the coming kingdom, in this last hour. It was so glorious, but it seems as though there were those that rebelled, and they would become angry and they tried to attack those workers that were giving the message.
God is going to give the world a demonstration in this last hour as the world has never known. These men and women are of all walks of life, degrees will mean nothing. I saw these workers as they were going over the face of the earth. When one would stumble and fall, another would come and pick him up. There were no “big I” and “little you,” but every mountain was brought low and every valley was exalted, and they seemed to have one thing in common – there was a divine love, a divine love that seemed to flow forth from these people as they worked together, and as they lived together. It was the most glorious sight that I have ever known. Jesus Christ was the theme of their life. They continued and it seemed the days went by as I stood and beheld this sight. I could only cry, and sometimes I laughed. It was so wonderful as these people went throughout the face of the whole earth, bringing forth in this last end time.
As I watched from the very heaven itself, there were times when great deluges of this liquid light seemed to fall upon great congregations, and that congregation would lift up their hands and seemingly praise God for hours and even days as the Spirit of God came upon them. God said, “I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh,” and that is exactly this thing. And to every man and every woman that received this power, and the anointing of God, the miracles of God, there was no ending to it.
And then again, as these people were going about the face of the earth, a great persecution seemed to come from every angle.
Suddenly there was another great clap of thunder, that seemed to resound around the world, and I heard again the voice, the voice that seemed to speak, “Now this is my people. This is my beloved bride.” And when the voice spoke, I looked upon the earth and I could see the lakes and the mountains. The graves were opened and people from all over the world, the saints of all ages, seemed to be rising. And as they rose from the grave, suddenly all these people came from every direction. From the east and the west, from the north and the south, and they seemed to be forming again this gigantic body. As the dead in Christ seemed to be rising first, I could hardly comprehend it. It was so marvelous. It was so far beyond anything I could ever dream or think of.
But as this body suddenly began to form, and take shape again, it took shape again in the form of this mighty giant, but this time it was different. It was arrayed in the most beautiful gorgeous white. Its garments were without spot or wrinkle as its body began to form, and the people of all ages seemed to be gathered into this body, and slowly, slowly, as it began to form up into the very heavens, suddenly from the heavens above, the Lord Jesus came, and became the head, and I heard another clap of thunder that said, “This is my beloved bride for whom I have waited. She will come forth even tried by fire. This is she that I have loved from the beginning of time.”
As I watched, my eyes suddenly turned to the far north, and I saw seemingly destruction: men and women in anguish and crying out, and buildings in destruction. Then I heard again, the fourth voice that said, “Now is My wrath being poured out upon the face of the earth.” From the ends of the whole world, the wrath of God seemed to be poured out and it seemed that there were great vials of God’s wrath being poured out upon the face of the earth. I can remember it as though it happened a moment ago. I shook and trembled as I beheld the awful sight of seeing the cities, and whole nations going down into destruction.
I could hear the weeping and wailing. I could hear people crying. They seemed to cry as they went into caves, but the caves in the mountains opened up.
They leaped into water, but the water would not drown them. There was nothing that could destroy them. They were wanting to take their lives, but they could not.
Then again I turned my eyes to this glorious sight, this body arrayed in beautiful white, shining garments. Slowly, slowly, it began to lift from the earth, and as it did, I awoke.
What a sight I had beheld! I had seen the end-time ministries – the last hour. Again on July 27, at 2:30 in the morning, the same revelation, the same vision came again exactly as it did before. My life has been changed as I realized that we are living in that end time, for all over the world God is anointing men and women with this ministry. It will not be doctrine. It will not be a churchianity. It is going to be Jesus Christ. They will give forth the word of the Lord, and are going to say, I heard it so many times in the vision, “and according to my word it shall be done.”
The Lord gave me a vision about how light affects darkness. At the beginning of this vision, all I could see was a room without windows, and the inside of the room was completely dark. Then the Lord asked me to tell Him what I could see. I answered, “I see a room that is completely dark.”
Suddenly, one small, lit candle appeared in the center of the room, and the Lord again asked me what I could see. So I answered, “I see one lit candle shining in the center of the room.” Then He asked me to describe what effect the lit candle had on the room. I thought about it for a moment and then answered, “That one small light is now illuminating most of the room. There is no longer any darkness anywhere near the candle, though there is still some darkness in the furthest corners of the room.”
After the Lord showed me this vision He said, “Do not be afraid of the darkness because light always exposes and dispels darkness. The darkness that is in the world can never overcome or extinguish My light. As the world becomes darker, it will only cause My light to shine brighter.”
Jesus is the light of the world, so when you belong to Jesus, His light lives in you. However, even if you belong to Jesus, you may still have some darkness lurking in the corners of your life. The Lord once told me that, “Nothing escapes His notice, nothing escapes His gaze, and nothing escapes His hand. Therefore, if there is any darkness within you, the light of Jesus Christ will expose it.
A few weeks after the Lord gave me this vision, He gave me the following word:
“The Son is rising! The Son is rising! As My light shines upon the earth, it will illuminate and expose every place of darkness hidden in the souls of mankind. This shining has now begun. People must choose whether they will turn their face toward the light and allow Me to burn away the darkness, or whether they will turn away from the light because they don’t want to face up to the darkness that is within them. Now is the time to choose. My light has already begun to shine. If people choose to stand and face My light, I will expose and burn away all that is dark within them. Then, My glory will be able to rise upon them. If they do not face the light, they will be choosing to remain in darkness, and then the darkness will be able to overtake them. It is one or the other; choose NOW!”
I pray that people everywhere will turn their face toward the Son of God and cry out,
“SHINE, JESUS SHINE!”
Lord, the light of your love is shining In the midst of the darkness, shining Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us Set us free by the truth you now bring us Shine on me, shine on me
Lord, I come to your awesome presence From the shadows into your radiance By the blood I may enter your brightness Search me, try me, consume all my darkness Shine on me, shine on me
As we gaze on your kingly brightness So our faces display your likeness Ever changing from glory to glory Mirrored here may our lives tell your story Shine on me, shine on me
Shine, Jesus shine Fill this land with the Father’s glory Blaze, Spirit, blaze Set our hearts on fire Flow, river, flow Flood the nations with grace and mercy Send forth your word Lord, and let there be light!
Scripture Verses:
Matthew 6:22, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
Psalm 139: 7-12, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”
Isaiah 60: 1-3, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
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During my childhood, terrible things happened in my family that caused my heart to become filled with fear and mistrust. By the time I was fifteen years old, I was so unhappy that I had a very pessimistic outlook on life. But then I had a near death experience that turned my heart toward God. Before I had that experience, I didn’t believe in God, but afterward, I not only believed that God exists, I also had a great desire to know Him, although at the time, I had no idea who He was or how to find Him. About six months later, I was invited to a church where I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I immediately knew that Jesus was the one my heart was longing for.
After I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I began to experience some real peace and happiness for the first time in my life. However I continued to struggle with fear and mistrust. I enjoyed reading the Bible, except for the scripture verses where Jesus referred to His Father as, “Your Father who is in heaven.” Though I believed that the Bible is the true word of God, I could not believe that Jesus` Father was a loving father because I had had some very frightening experiences with my earthly father when I was a child, and then he had abandoned me when I was nine years old. These bad experiences had created a fear and distrust of father figures that kept me from being able to accept Him as my Father. But this did not prevent me from believing that Jesus loves me, so my relationship with Jesus continued to grow.
Over the next twenty-six years, Jesus gently and gradually led me through a process of repentance and forgiveness toward my parents, and deliverance and healing from many things that I had suffered as a child. However, even after all of this progress, there were still some areas of my life that continued to be governed by fear and mistrust.
For many years, I fervently prayed that Jesus would make me fearless and faithful. Then in the year 2000, through a dream, Jesus invited me to take His hand and go with Him on a journey home to the heart of God. When I accepted His invitation, Jesus began to lead me along an upward spiritual path that has been both more difficult and more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. As we travelled this steep, narrow way together, He began exposing and delivering me from all the deeply rooted fears and mistrust that were planted in my heart as a child. Along the way, He also revealed the truth about the real nature and character of His Father. In John 8:32-36, Jesus said, “…You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Through this journey, Jesus, the wonderful Son of God, set me free from fear and from the evil things it produced in my heart. He also healed my heart and filled it with faith, hope and love. Because of this, my view of God has been so completely changed that I was finally able to accept Him as my heavenly Father.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life that brought me home to the heart of God. Now, I have the best, most wonderful, loving Father that anyone could ever have. Now, I can live under the shadow of His wings and abide in His shelter, in His place of rest where I am loved and accepted, secure and protected.
Two years before Jesus invited me to go on this wonderful journey, I received a word from the Lord telling me that a very difficult time would come upon the world in the future during which Christians would need to live according to Psalm 91. At that time, I had no idea what He meant by this because I assumed that all we would need to do is claim the promises of protection contained in Psalm 91. However, once I was able to accept God as my Father and my relationship with Him began to grow and become more intimate, He began to teach me what it means to live according to Psalm 91.
The first thing my Father taught me was that it is wrong to assume that the wonderful promises contained in Psalm 91 can be claimed by anyone who calls themselves a Christian. To prove this, He pointed out that the very first verse in Psalm 91 clearly reveals that these promises apply to those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High God and abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Then He also pointed out that verses two, nine and fourteen reveal some prerequisites that must be met before anyone can dwell in the shelter of God and abide in His shadow. These prerequisites are:
We need to make God our refuge, our fortress, and our God in whom we trust (verse 2).
We need to make God our dwelling place (verse 9).
We need to hold fast to God in love (verse 14).
We need to know His name (verse 14).
After He pointed these things out to me, I decided to look up the online definition of the words dwell, abide, refuge, fortress, trust and hold fast so that I could gain a better understanding of what these scripture verses mean. According to www.meriam-webster.com/dictionary, the words dwell and abide both mean to live, but the word abide also means to remain stable or fixed in a state; to continue in a place; to accept; to wait for; to endure, and to bear patiently. The definition of the word refuge is a place that provides shelter or protection. A fortress is a large and permanent fortification (something that defends or strengthens). To trust means to have an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed. To holdfast means something to which something else may be firmly secured. I could not find a definition for the word phrase, to know His name, so I asked the Lord what it means and He told me that to know His name means to know the true nature and character of God.
Once the meaning of these words began to sink in, my Father brought the scripture portion from 1 John 4:16-18 to my mind, which says, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
He then explained that the shelter of the Most High God is a place of rest, under His wings, close to His heart. It is the place where perfect love dwells. However, fear cannot live with perfect love because fear is the opposite of faith. This does not mean that God will not protect people from harm if they are afraid, but the shelter of the Most High God is a secret place (Psalm 91:1, King James Version) – a special place that is reserved for those who have an intimate relationship with God. So if, as it was in my case, fear prevents them from being able to believe that God is love and that He loves them, and if their concept of God is distorted so that they are not able to receive God’s love or love and trust Him as they should, then they will not be able to make God their refuge, their fortress, and their God in whom they trust, they will not be able to make God their dwelling place, and they will not be able hold fast to Him in love. Therefore, it would not be possible for them to live under the shadow of His wings, close to His heart.
In June of 2020, my Father told me that the difficult time He spoke to me about back in 1998 had begun. Then, on August 16, 2021, He spoke the following word to me:
“Fear is rising in the world and it will continue to rise. Fear is your worst enemy!
You must not allow fear to enter your heart. The devil is the author of this fear,
but I am using it to draw My people under My wings, into the shelter of My love
IF they will run to Me,
IF they will put their faith, hope and trust in Me,
IF they are willing to let go of the world and make ME their refuge,
their fortress and their God in Whom they trust.
I am also using this fear to draw the hearts of mankind to Myself.
My people must combat fear and overcome it in
order to live according to Psalm 91.”
Oh children of God, I implore you to heed this word and surrender your heart fully to God!
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The following article was written by Francis Frangipane. Permission to post it on this website was granted by the Ministries of Francis Frangipane.
The sense of distance we often feel between Christ and ourselves is an illusion. As we enter the days prior to Christ’s Second Coming, the Lord shall begin to remove that falsehood. Indeed, He promises, “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20).
The Scriptures tell us that Christ is the vine, we are the branches; He is the head, we are His body; He is the Lord and we are His temple. From start to finish, the Bible declares the Lord not only has a dwelling in Heaven, but that He also abides perpetually in redemptive union with His people. The ever-present focus of His activity is to guide us into oneness with Himself.
Thus, for all that the Holy Spirit has come to establish in our lives, whether through gifts, virtue or power, His highest purpose is to lead us into the presence of Jesus. The Holy Spirit labors ceaselessly to establish intimacy between ourselves and the Lord Jesus. Someone once said that intimacy means “into-me-see.” This holy transparency fills the letters and words of the Bible with the heartthrob of God. Like sheep, we actually hear the Shepherd’s voice speaking to our spirits, bringing comfort, correction and direction (see John 10:27).
Not only are we privileged to know Christ’s teachings, He is so close to us in spirit that we can discern the tone of His voice as He instructs us. This is heart-to-heart intimacy.
Listen to His wonderful promise: “I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).
Jesus says, “I know My own, and My own know Me.” How intimate is this relationship? The union between Christ and our hearts is of the same nature as His union with the Father. He explains, “even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father.”
Yet, the sense of distance between Jesus Christ and us persists. You may have prayed, “Lord, You said You are with us forever but I feel alone. I cannot perceive You.” If Christ is within us, how can we find the living flame of His presence?
In the Song of Solomon, this quest to find the secret place of His presence is given wonderful expression. The bride says, “Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming, climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills! My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag” (Song of Sol. 2:8-9).
This is our Lord, full of vitality! He is “climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills.” To see Him on mountains, though, is to behold Him from afar. He is still distant. How do we live in a moment-by-moment sense of His indwelling presence? We still ask, “Where within me are You, Lord?”
The bride continues, “Behold, he is standing behind our wall, he is looking through the windows, he is peering through the lattice” (Song of Sol. 2:9).
Yes, Christ dwells within us, but He is standing behind our “walls.” The walls between us and the Savior are primarily the work of unrenewed minds and hardened hearts. We have barricaded ourselves behind fears and carnal attitudes; we are held hostage by sin and worldly distractions.
Yet these barriers can be eliminated. To the degree they are removed, we possess functional oneness with Christ and experience true spiritual advancement.
Removing The Walls
Even now, let us pursue the removal of these barriers. How? Imagine that, even as you are reading, the Lord Himself has quietly entered a nearby room. You look, and suddenly the room is vibrant and alive, shimmering with waves of light. Instantly, your senses are flooded with His holy presence as the living, probing light enters you and descends into your heart. The darkness that shrouded your inner sin nature is gone and your heart is exposed.
My first question: Knowing that Jesus Christ is in the room, would you enter?
If you could not bring yourself to move toward the room, what would be your reason? If it is because you feel you have failed the Lord too many times, then shame has become a “wall” between you and Christ. If fear keeps you distant, then fear is the barrier between God and you; if an unrepentant heart is keeping you from intimacy with Christ, then heart hardness is your cause of isolation.
Remember, the pure in heart see God (see Matt. 5:8). If we repent of our wrong attitudes and sins; if, instead of shame and fear, we clothe ourselves with the garments of praise and salvation, the barriers between ourselves and the Lord can be removed.
But let me ask you a second question: How would you enter Christ’s presence?
It is my opinion that we would not pick up tambourines and dance into His glory. No. When the greatest apostles and prophets beheld Him, His presence caused each to fall face down as a dead man before Him. For me, it would be with great trembling that I would approach the room of His presence. I would inch my way closer.
How can we break the sense of distance between ourselves and Christ? In the same way we would repent of sin and shame before entering the room, let us turn our gaze toward His living glory. In trembling obedience, let us enter the fire of His presence for, in truth, He is closer than the room next door. He is, even now, standing behind our wall.
Please pray this with me – Lord Jesus, I remove the wall created by my fears, sin, and shame. Master, with all my heart I desire to enter Your glory, to stand in Your presence and love You. Receive me now as I bow before Your glory.
Adapted from Francis Frangipane’s book, I Will Be Found by You, available at www.arrowbookstore.com. To read more from Francis Frangipane, go to: www.frangipane.org.
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This week, as the time for celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus approaches, I have been pondering all that Jesus accomplished through His life, His death and His resurrection. As I thought about all of the horrendous suffering Jesus endured, my heart overflowed with thanksgiving and worship because God the Father loves us so much that He was willing to send His beloved Son, and because Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His life as the ultimate Passover Lamb.
Back in 2012, I had a visionary encounter with Jesus that gave me a little glimpse into the greatness of His love. In most of the encounters I have with Jesus, I meet Him in a garden, which represents my heart. Each time, I enter my heart garden by opening a little wooden gate that is situated in a hedge surrounding the garden.
In this particular encounter, just as I was opening the gate, I saw Jesus standing in the center of the garden. As soon as I saw Him, I sensed that I should enter the garden in an attitude of worship. So, I began to approach Jesus with my hands raised and a song of worship on my lips. As I worshipped Him, I circled around and around Him, gradually drawing closer with each step. When I was within about two feet from where He was standing, I stopped and stood facing Him with my head bowed. After a few minutes, I raised my head and looked at His face. He was looking at me with such tenderness that I impulsively reached out and placed the palm of my hand on the side of His face.
Instantly, I wondered if I had done something wrong because I did not ask Him if I could touch His face, but Jesus just smiled and placed His hand over mine. The moment His hand covered mine, the most pure, exquisite love began to flood my soul. For a little while, we stood there silently gazing at each other. Then Jesus removed his hand, but my hand remained on His face and I continued to gaze at Him.
Suddenly, an intense feeling of sorrow filled my heart at the thought of how Jesus suffered and died. Then, I began to gently stroke His forehead and tears began to stream from my eyes at the thought of how people had, “…spit in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him,and said, ‘Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?'” (Matthew 26:67-68). The sorrow in my heart grew at the thought of how soldiers had made a crown of thorns and of the excruciating pain it caused Jesus when they put it on His head (Matthew 27:29-30).
Then, I put my arms around Him to hug Him, but as I gently stroked His back, I could feel deep rutted scars through His tunic, so I began to sob in intense sorrow at the thought of how Jesus was repeatedly scourged until, “…His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind“ (Isaiah 52:14).
Then, I reached up and touched His face again. When I looked into His eyes, my tears continued to flow at the thought of how after Jesus had suffered all of this, He was nailed to the cross, yet as He hung there gasping for breath in excruciating pain, He looked at the people who had done this to Him and said, “…Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
All the while, Jesus stood there silently watching me. When my tears finally subsided, Jesus smiled.
Since I had this encounter with Jesus, I have often wondered why He still bears these terrible scars, but I never knew the answer until the Lord asked me to post this encounter on the Bride of Christ Arise website. When I asked Jesus what title He would like the post to have, He told me that He wants it to be called Trophies of Love because His great love for mankind is what enabled Him to suffer and die on the cross. Therefore, He chose to keep His scars as trophies of the great victory accomplished by His love.
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Today (March 9th, 2021), while spending time with my heavenly Father I asked Him what was on His heart? This was His response:
“My people are on my heart. Many of them are lost. They are like sheep without a Shepherd. They have been ravaged by wolves. They are wounded and blind, and they need to come home.”
I wasn’t sure if He was referring to Christians or others, so I asked Him and He answered, “These are My people. They call themselves by My Name, but their hearts have wandered away from Me. They have left their first love, and they have been looking for love in all the wrong places. Please keep praying for them because I want them to come home.”
When Father God said this to me, I could feel the longing in His heart for the Christians who have become lost. Then I began to cry and the Spirit of the Lord led me to pray for the lost in Christ. I prayed that they would wake up and realize the truth about their state. I prayed that they would repent for leaving their first love and for loving the world more than God. I prayed that they would fall on their knees before God and surrender their hearts totally to Him, and I prayed that they would come home to the loving heart of the Father.
If you have left your first love, or if you have never truly known the love of the Father, and if you look for love and acceptance anywhere other than in God, then you are one of the lost in Christ. You are a prodigal son or daughter of God as in Luke 15:11-32. However, Father God wants you to know that you are very much on His heart, and He is waiting for you with outstretched arms, longing for you to come home.
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