THE VOICE

 

Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice. Revelation 3:20

Howard Barnett

    Elijah, the prophet, told Elisha, "if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."1 Elisha was granted his request for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah by seeing the whirlwind. The whirlwind had brought a blessing for Elisha and deliverance for Elijah, for Elijah was to come again and only the spiritual eye would be able to see his return.

    The prophet Malachi, speaking with the mouth of God said, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."2 His return was to be two-fold. He first would turn the heart of the fathers to the children and secondly he would turn the heart of the children to their fathers. A foundation would be laid with the voice of God that would reach the children of many generations. And God knowing the nature of man, spoke of the refreshing that would again come upon the earth, to turn the hearts of the children back to the foundation of the fathers.

    John the Baptist, while preaching in the wilderness quoted Isaiah, saying, "For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."3 The prophecy of Isaiah saw more than the path made straight. "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."4

    The turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers would reveal the glory of the Lord. The spirit of Elijah would help bring this to pass. God was revealing that he would make straight the way of the Lord. " And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."5 God was preparing a way that was not known to the ear or eye of man.

    After seeing Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the high mountain, "his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things, But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise, shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist."6 Jesus had revealed that the spirit of Elijah that had been doubled to Elisha, had also been with the ministry of John the Baptist.

    Jesus in revealing the voice of Elijah used the future tense -‘shall’, knowing that this same spirit would minister in the end time to turn the hearts of the children to the foundation that was in the fathers. This voice out of the wilderness was continuing to cry. "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!"7

    "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins."8 The ministry of restoration, down through the ages, has been an unpopular voice in the earth. As prophet after prophet has cried ‘make ye straight the way of the Lord’, the religious, self-righteous minds of the flesh sit down in their chairs of self-justification and pass judgement upon the trumpet’s of God. Heresy! They have cried out as they stoned and burnt any voice that their natural ears weren’t tickled by. But as the first speaking of the ministry of restoration warned them, "there is a wrath to come". "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."9

    John knew of the stones placed in Jordan for a "sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day."10 The prophetic seed, the living ark of God, was about to roll back the spiritual Jordan, even as the first ark carried fifteen hundred years earlier had provided the access to the Promised Land. Joshua, whose name means Savior had seen fifteen hundred years ahead to Jesus - the Savior.

    We see the one baptism at this crossover place in Jordan the figurative with the prophetic. When Jesus came out of the water He was the baptism. When John said, ‘I have need to be baptized of thee’, he was recognizing the living water, the Holy Ghost and the fire with the eye of Elijah. So many have misunderstood the statement of Jesus, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."11 The word ‘becometh’ in the Greek is PREDO and means ‘to tower up’. Jesus becomes our high tower! He raises us up through the living water, the Holy Ghost and the fire. There is one Lord, one faith and one baptism - and they are all Jesus. "The spirit, the water, and the blood"12 were bearing record in the earth. "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."13 The true element of baptism, shown here in the Jordan, is not the water or the dove or the voice of the Father. The element is Jesus. He is the living water, He is the Holy Ghost, and He is the fire!

    The spiritual eye would have perceived Elijah. The spiritual eye would have seen Jordan dry up when Jesus stepped into the water. The spiritual eye would have recognized the twelve stones placed there by Joshua. The spiritual eye would have beheld the mantle of the anointing as it fell upon his shoulders. And the spiritual eye would have wept for joy. A spiritual ear recorded the voice. Yet the natural eyes saw only water and the natural ears heard only thunder. The heavenly voice had proclaimed ‘the beloved Son in whom I am well pleased’. The spirit of Elijah was by his side.

    Jesus was to speak of John the Baptist, "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come."14 John the Baptist was to die in prison a short while later. But the voice of Elijah was not cut off. Later that year, "Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."15 The heavenly voice had commanded ears to hear.

    As Jesus approached his final hours his soul became troubled "and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: other said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."16 Jesus, the living name of the Father, had glorified that name. The heavenly voice proclaimed there was to be a second glorification of the name. The natural minded only heard thunder. Jesus was to conclude his prayer of glory in John 17 with the promise: "O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."17 Jesus, the I to be in them, is "Christ in you, the hope of Glory."18

    Jesus walked out of the grave and "shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."19 They began waiting for the promise of the Father. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind (PNEO in the Greek which means ‘breath’), and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (DIAMERIZO in the Greek which means ‘divided’)tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."20 The heavenly sound of a mighty breath is a voice!

    The psalmist had stated "the voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire."21 Jesus had come to his new temple. His voice was now their voice. Speaking in tongues is His rest and his refreshing. "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear."22

    This voice has recorded it’s presence in every generation for 2000 years. It has been present at every revival and move of the Spirit in recorded history. It will not be silenced by any form, fashion or authority of man. The voice is declaring the coming glory of the King.

    As the voice has revealed the spiritual doors of access - we have overcome. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."23

    He has bid us to rest in the "fire" of his glory at his appearing.

    "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."24

He who hath ears to hear, let him hear

REFERENCES

 

1 II Kings 2:10-11

2 Malachi 4:5-6

3 Matthew 3:3

4 Isaiah 40:3-5

5 Isaiah 42:15-16

6 Matthew 17:10-13

7 Isaiah 40:6-9

8 Isaiah 58:1

9 Matthew 3:7 and 3:9

10 Joshua 4:6-9

11 Matthew 3:15

12 I John 5:8

13 Matthew 3:17

14 Matthew 11:7-14

15 Matthew 17:1-5

16 John 12:27-32

17 John 17:25-26

18 Colossians 1:27

19 Acts 1:3-5

20 Acts 2:1-4

21 Psalm 29:7

22 Isaiah 28:11-12

23 Revelation 3:20-21

24 Revelation 21:3

 

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