Burned Alive: A Revelation of Yeshua's Fiery Love for His Bride

BURNED ALIVE

Copyright © 2018 by Gerald R. Loewen

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The views and opinions expressed in this publication belong solely to the author, and do not reflect those of Word Alive Press or any of its employees.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (KJV) taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, which is in the public domain. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

EPUB Version: 978-1-4866-1721-0

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Preface

Part One: The Heart’s Desire of the Bridegroom

1. The Call

2. A Bride Being Made Ready, Part One

3. A Bride Being Made Ready, Part Two

4. A Bridegroom Looking for a Bride

5. The Bride—Perfection through Suffering

6. Discernment for the End-Times Bridal Warrior Company

7. The Bride—Perfection through Warfare

Part Two: The Bride Corporate

8. The Father’s Heart—A Call to Oneness

9. House of Saul, House of David

Part Three: In Waiting for the Bridegroom

10. The Order of Melchizedek

11. The Sons of Issachar

12. The Messianic Kingdom

13. Church—It’s Not All About You

14. Judgment

15. The Time of Jacob’s Trouble

16. Burned Alive!

Epilogue

Appendix One: Church Age vs. Kingdom Age

Appendix Two: The Great Invitation

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

—Revelation 3:18, ESV

And so it was that Adonai Elohim spoke to Ruach: Make the fire seven times hotter. For this is what is needed for the manifestation of the Sons of God.

Come, said the angel. Let me show you the wife of the Lamb, for our God is a consuming fire; exposing the hearts of men.

Acknowledgements

First of all, I would like to thank the Lord for calling me into relationship with Him and sanctifying me in the truth all these years. It has been a thirty-five-year adventure and it’s not over yet.

Secondly, I would like to thank my wife Carolyn. You have been absolutely invaluable in helping me grow up in Him. For this I am eternally grateful.

Walter Roberts, Keith Parks, and Mike Rowe: I truly appreciate your editorial assistance in bringing this manuscript to its final form. I take personal responsibility for any remaining errors.

Finally, I thank all of those who the Lord has used mightily in moving me forward in the Kingdom. There are many of you. The Lord has divinely planted you in my life throughout the decades. For this I am eternally grateful.

Introduction

The book you are about to read is divided into three parts. Part One concerns itself with the primary call on every believer’s life: to become part of the Bride who has made herself ready. It is a call to intimacy with the Saviour and a call to become like Him. It is a call to holiness. Part Two is an expression of the realities within the current Laodicean church and what the Father is doing during this hour with her. In Part Three, we will explore God’s plans for the Bride and the manifest sons of God (Romans 8:19) within the context of the approaching time of Jacob’s Trouble.

Some definitions are in order. I do not consider the church and the Bride to be one and the same. Revelation 19:7 refers to the Bride who has made herself ready (ESV). This begs the question, what does readiness look like? To answer, we go back to Genesis 2, where the Lord, after Adam had named all the animals, said that it was not good for him to be alone, thereafter taking a rib out of Adam and building Eve. Upon seeing her, Adam said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (Genesis 2:23, ESV).

We can glean two things from this event. The first is that Adam needed to have his own kind in order to be in union with her. Is this not like Abraham sending his CEO, Eliezer, to find a bride for Isaac amongst their own people and not the Canaanites? A Bride for King Jesus will need to look like Him!

The second point I wish to make here is that if Adam is also a symbol for the church, we can see that His Bride (Eve) is just a part of it, not the whole; in the same manner, a rib was taken from the whole and made into a Bride for Him.

Finally, I am reminded of the parable of the ten virgins. They were all invited to the wedding, but only five were ready. All are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, but many will not be wearing the required garments of righteousness. There are many believers today who have been justified by faith but have never made Jesus their Lord. There is a second work of grace available to those who are justified. It is called sanctification, and unfortunately for the body it is no longer a popular teaching. Those who have not submitted themselves to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, thereby living an ongoing repentant dying-to-self life, are not making themselves ready.

The word church has a lot of baggage associated with it these days. It means different things to different people. Most people who read this word will understand the term in the context of going to church. Yet this is not the biblical meaning of the word. The Greek word translated as church refers to a gathered ruling body of people,¹ such as the ancient Greek legislature. All people who have been justified by faith form the body of Christ. Therefore, we who believe are the church. However, we have changed its meaning from being the body to doing a religious activity in a building. I make a distinction in this work between what we have come to know as the church and what we have come to know as the Bride.

I can see from my studies in preparation for this work that I would most likely be labelled a Christian Zionist. I think the label is a fair one because I am convinced that the God who never revokes gifts, callings, or covenants will literally fulfill the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants via the new covenant at the end of the age. This body of work keeps that perspective in mind.

I see a third group of people besides the church and the Bride. Romans 8:19–25 speaks to this group, called the manifest sons of God, the people whom all of creation is waiting for.² I believe that these are people who have made themselves eligible for God to do a sovereign work of grace in them. This work will make them completely and totally like Jesus. It will comprise a baptism of the Holy Spirit, which includes fire. The seraphim, the holy ones who Isaiah encountered, will be used to cleanse totally and completely those who have been chosen by God.

My sense is that these are the ones who will rule and reign as kings and priests with King Yeshua. They will have the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:5, ESV) and do mighty supernatural exploits in the power of the Lion of Judah. But they will carry out these exploits with the heart of the Lamb of God inside them.

Admittedly I do not have strong scriptural support to draw a distinction between the Bride and the manifest sons. I draw a distinction because the Bible talks about them in different ways with respect to roles and function. I suspect, but am not dogmatic, that God has different roles for each during the time of Jacob’s Trouble and the rule of Christ in the millennium.

It is fitting at this point to discuss the hermeneutic (method of biblical interpretation) I used throughout my exploration of the Scriptures. As you will see, this is particularly important when we talk about the prophetic scriptures that point to the end of human history as we know it.

I didn’t study hermeneutics when I attended Bible college. Perhaps that’s a good thing! In fact, I had no idea until about a year ago that there was a different way of looking at the Bible beyond a literal interpretation. It wasn’t until I was given a book by a Reformed Covenant minister that I discovered that a person’s interpretative principles may lead them to believe that everything Revelation says quite literally means something else. When I first came across this, I was shocked.

So I went into research mode and decided to investigate. I had never in almost thirty-five years of following the Lord evaluated what interpretive method I was using. I had gone through a process with the Lord where I came to believe that the Bible indeed was the Word of God and that it was supernaturally authored. I came to believe this right from the beginning.

In my research on the end-times, I discovered a website commentary on the book of Revelation.³ Its introduction on hermeneutics, I felt, nailed every single point I had used throughout my years of biblical interpretation; I just had never put it into words before. For this reason, I’m going to draw heavily from that commentary’s thoughts, although I will phrase it in my own words. It is the interpretive method I have used to guide me in the meaning of all scriptures, not just the prophetic.

I can’t approach the Scriptures from a preconceived idea of what I want them to say or what I think they should be saying. If my interpretation is driven by a preconceived theology, then I will interpret everything I read through the grid of that theology. I also need to be consistent and leave no room for contradictions. Truth leaves no room for contradictions.

Which translation of the Bible you use is very important. I’m sure you have experienced this as well over the years; a preacher quotes a text, and when you look it up in your Bible it seems to have an entirely different meaning. Different translations will do that. For this reason, I keep a number of translations on hand. I use the King James Version, the New International Version, the English Standard Version, the Jewish Bible, the Amplified Bible, the Tree of Life Version, and the One New Man Version. I also use Greek and Hebrew lexicons to assist me. I compare scripture against scripture to try and maintain an error-free interpretation.

I try to find out the author’s intended meaning. This is where an understanding of the cultural context helps. Jesus is and was a Jew and spoke to Jews within this cultural context. In order to understand the original meaning, Scripture must be understood in its most normal, natural sense, as it would have been understood in the day. This is referred to as a literal or face value sense, the same normal understanding of words we have when we read any other book.

This principle comes into play particularly when reading prophecy. There are more than fifty facets of the life of Jesus and His first coming that were literally fulfilled. In these cases, a literal interpretation of the Scriptures has been historically verified. Amazingly enough, however, many use a different method of interpretation for the prophetic scriptures concerning His second coming! Why would we change our method of interpretation for His second coming? Prophecy that is not fulfilled literally is not prophecy. The Old Testament prophets were in danger of being killed if their prophecies weren’t fulfilled literally (Deuteronomy 18:20–22).

We also need to understand that a scripture can have more than one meaning. Our understanding of a scripture in the Old Testament may have a particular application for our spiritual walk with the Lord today, but it’s more fundamental meaning might be what the prophet wanted to communicate to his own people.

Isaiah 60:1, for example, states, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (ESV). This speaks of a time in Israel’s future glory when the remnant of Israel will be saved to rule and reign with King Jesus. Isaiah’s intended audience is his own nation. Secondarily, this scripture has a spiritual interpretation: a time is coming when the manifest sons of God will be revealed and Christ will be fully seen through them.

When we speak of the end-times, we cannot afford the luxury of eliminating the primary meaning of the text as it would have been understood in the day it was written.

Context is everything. What is the context in which something is being said? Placing a passage in context means taking the words and understanding what they meant to the audience in the time when they were spoken. What do the verses around that passage say? Who said it? Who was the intended audience? What is the general theme of the book in which it was written? What was the cultural context— Greek or Hebrew, Gentile or Jew? Does it contradict other scriptures that speak on the same subject? You get the picture.

We can have a greater depth of understanding when we compare scripture against scripture. I don’t want to come to any conclusions about a truth unless I have studied all relevant passages on the topic at hand. Although I have found commentaries to be helpful, I try as much as possible to use the anointed Scriptures themselves to produce clarity.

Now we need to talk about figures of speech. Getting figures of speech right is of particular importance as they amplify or provide a deeper meaning than the literal reference. For example, Jesus said, I am the door (John 10:9). He obviously wasn’t a door as in a house, but rather the door to God, the door to heaven, the door to the messianic Kingdom. Prophetic and apocalyptic scriptures use figures of speech more abundantly than other types of passages.

Many prophetic predictions given to people in the Bible had a near-time implication and application. In other words, the hearers of the prophecy knew what the prophet was speaking about. The same prophecy could also have a future fulfillment and be relevant to the end-times generation. The near-time fulfillment could be seen as a type of a future fulfilment, an anti-type. For a near-time or far-time interpretation to be valid, it must clearly be compatible with the context and specific wording of the text itself; it must also be consistent with the rest of Scripture that speaks to the same issue. For example, prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was fulfilled; however, the same prophecy has a future fulfillment coming.

We also need to realize that people are different and different prophets spoke on the same subjects to different audiences, and their different personalities came forth in their utterances. For example, Psalm 22, written by David, gives the reader one perspective of the crucifixion of Christ. Isaiah 53 gives another perspective of exactly the same event, and Daniel 9:26 simply says, Messiah will be cut off and have nothing (NASB).

Initially I didn’t come to the prophetic scriptures with the above understanding. However, I did take scriptures at their natural face value. Sandra Teplinsky, in her book Israel’s Anointing, makes a very important point about an interpretative trap we can easily fall into. I know that I have fallen into it, and perhaps you have, too. She explains how she was raised to look at the Scriptures, within a literal and grammatical historical context.⁴ As she matured, she heard directly from the Lord more and more. She asked the Lord about attending a conference and the Lord gave her a scripture: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob (Isaiah 2:3, NASB). She took this to mean that she was to attend the event.

She had an awesome God encounter at the conference, and from that day forward she referred to any God encounter as the mountain of the Lord. She had a subjective and limited application of this verse, however, and as she was to learn, this was not God’s foundational meaning for the verse. In this scripture, God is actually speaking to the Jews about a future fulfillment of the Davidic covenant in which Jesus will rule from the highest mountain in Jerusalem! Sandra wrote, If the fundamental meaning of the Scriptures is discounted we miss what God is saying foundationally to us in his Word about who He is and how He operates.⁵

I need to appeal to the Hebrew understanding of the Scriptures and how the Jews interpret them. The traditional Jewish approach to studying the Hebrew Scriptures is straightforward, and generally literal. You will find this throughout the synagogues in the world today. Words are understood at their normal face value in the grammatical and historical context. They are given the same common sense meaning that their original listeners or readers would have given them.

The disciples, who had the Torah, the prophets, and the wisdom literature, saw it that way. Jesus quoted from the Torah using a literal face value meaning. It really struck me that everything that had been prophesied about the first coming of the Lord was exactly and literally fulfilled. There are dozens of such prophecies. How could I possibly warrant changing my method of interpretation from a literal one to an allegorical one for His second coming? I had, and have, no rationale, and zero biblical basis, for doing so. Anyone can tell you that the book of Revelation is filled with symbolism. However, when using the literal grammatical and historical method of interpretation, you only interpret a word as a symbol if it makes no sense to look at it literally.

I will end with this. David Baron (1855–1926), a Messianic Jewish scholar, wrote:

Like thousands more, the writer has in the infinite grace of God been brought out of the darkness of Rabbinical Judaism… into the marvelous light and liberty of the glorious Gospel of Christ. He accepted Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world, on the ground of a literal interpretation of the prophecies concerning Him; and he cannot consistently, without doing outrage to his convictions, accept one principle of interpretation for one set of prophecies which have already been fulfilled, and another principle of interpretation for another set of prophecies not yet fulfilled. Rather, he honestly believes that the manner of fulfillment of those prophecies which are now history, supplies the only sound basis for the interpretation of those prophecies with regard to Israel and the kingdom which yet await their fulfillment.⁶

Preface

The hour was late. The Bridegroom was coming. The final touches were taking place for the wedding supper of the Lamb. A sense of excitement, a sense of awe and wonder, permeated the atmosphere of heaven as the angels went about their preparations. Adonai had been waiting for millennia to fulfill His plan, which He had initiated before the foundations of the world. Shivers of excitement reverberated through His body as He anticipated the consummation of His marriage to His Bride. Only the Father knew the time, the time when the house had been made ready and He could signal for His Son to retrieve His Bride.

Adonai’s heart of love had found it difficult to tarry as He watched His prized creation, humanity, destroy itself and curse His creation. Tears of anguish, sorrow, and grief had washed over Him as He watched the destruction of His beloved city Jerusalem and the rebellion of His called-out ones, the Hebrew people. His chosen people had been intended to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, ministering to the nations of the world, and in this calling they had failed Him. They had run after other lovers.

It grieved His heart to know that, due to a hardening of their hearts, only a remnant would be saved. It grieved His heart to know that they would not recognize His Son Yeshua as their Messiah, unless their very existence as a nation was at stake. Then and only then would they mourn for Him, setting the stage for the nation to be saved.

The preparations for this eventuality were at hand. War had broken out in heaven on the seventieth anniversary of calling His people from around the world to once again become a nation. Feeling resolute and steadfast, Adonai let Michael loose to cast Satan down to earth. This period would also see the birthing of the sons of God.

The covenant He had made with Abraham would stand. The covenant He had made with David would stand. Oh how the nations had raged against His people because of these covenants. There had been nothing like it in all of human history. Driven by insane jealousy and pride, Satan had made it his objective throughout redemptive history for the people of Jacob to be destroyed in order that the Messiah’s family line be obliterated, thereby denying the possibility of one coming who would destroy him.

Two thousand years ago, Satan had thought he had the victory, but alas, this proved not to be the case. He had then determined that if he couldn’t destroy their Messiah, he must destroy the people. He would ensure that there would be no throne of David, that there would be no remnant under Messiah to rule and reign with Him. Yes, he would have his holocaust for the Jewish people, and yes, he relished the fact that the day was coming when he could release his full fury through his chosen vessel, the man of lawlessness.

Nevertheless Yahweh had an immutable plan. Those who survived the second holocaust would be called by the Messiah to gather and form a nation. Driven by a deception that only sin could release, despite Yahweh’s plans, Satan would try once more to destroy the possibility of the throne of David ever being established. He knew there was a bottomless pit waiting for him, and he was bound and determined to avoid it. His last outrage against the people of the Holy Covenant would make all previous attempts look small in comparison.

But Adonai was resolute. He had decreed His covenants, and nothing would thwart His plan, not even the disobedience of His children as in times past.

Now a warm glow filled His countenance. Adonai remembered the conversation He’d had with His Son Yeshua before the foundation of the world. Adonai smiled to Himself as He recalled Yeshua agreeing to go down to the earth as a man and redeem humanity for Himself. The Father, motivated by love, had wanted a people who would one day rule and reign with Him. He had wanted a people who would sit on the throne with Him as kings and priests. In fact, He had wanted a faithful wife for Himself and a Bride for his Son.

He had known that His people would rebel against Him, though, so He had decided to reveal Himself to those who hadn’t asked for Him. He would be found by those who hadn’t sought Him. He would send his Son not only to redeem His people, the Jews, but then He would go to the Gentiles as well, and both Jew and Gentile could rule and reign with Him as they said yes to the salvation Yeshua offered them.

In eager expectation, the Father delighted over the fulfillment of His plan. He would finally have a Bride for His Son and the covenants He had made with Abraham and David would be fulfilled. This was to be the Son’s inheritance and He would ensure that the Son received it. Yeshua had learned obedience through what He had suffered, and now the Father was steadfast in His determination that Yeshua would receive the reward for His suffering. The Father could do no less.

A look of satisfaction and contentment arose upon His countenance. Grief and excitement filled His heart at the same time. He had invited so many to the wedding supper, but most had not prepared themselves. The Bridegroom would find during this period of great and unprecedented darkness that the love of many had grown cold, that many had fallen from faith in Him, their Kinsmen Redeemer. Half of those who had been invited to the wedding would be found asleep, with no oil to light their path to the coming Bridegroom. Yeshua recalled that when these virgins had come into relationship with Him, He had counselled them to buy gold refined by fire and salve to anoint their eyes, and receive garments of righteousness that only the precious second work of grace could achieve.

But they would not do it.

The Father would have a Bride for His Son, thereby fulfilling His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If His kindness, grace, love, and mercy over the centuries would not bring the people in, it was time for judgment. One way or another, He would have a people who would call out to Him in bridal passion.

The hour was late. It was time for the Great Tribulation. Satan had been cast down to the earth.⁷ It was time once more for Adonai Elohim to use the Prince of Darkness to move His plans forward. A Bride would come forth, Jew and Gentile, who would look like His Son.

Yes, He said to Himself. The Lamb will have a Bride.

So the stage was set. The author of the play was about to step forward from behind the curtain and reveal His unimaginable glory.

* * *

We are the generation that will witness this great event, the climax of all human history. He will first be seen in His people before He comes for His people. Those who have made themselves ready to be part of the Bride will receive a baptism of fire that has never been seen before.

The fruit of this will be a people in which the glory of God inhabits.⁸ They will have the full measure of the Lord Jesus Christ and will operate with the powers of the age to come. For the first time in human history there will be people on the earth who wholly, fully, completely look like and represent Christ our Saviour in His fullness. They will carry out supernatural exploits for the King of kings because supernatural exploits are what will be needed during the earth’s darkest hour.

The Bridal Warrior Company is God’s answer to the fury of Satan releasing his steal, kill, and destroy agenda upon Israel and the church. Israel was held captive in Babylon for seventy years. Now, on the seventieth anniversary of the formation of the nation of Israel, the hordes of hell will be allowed to come against her and disperse her, taking her into captivity again. This is all happening now, on our watch.

The Bridal Warrior Company represents those who have been called out from the body of Christ by the King. All have been called, but few are chosen; few are chosen because few are willing to answer the call. There is a cost involved. It will cost you everything. Because the primary call on our lives is to be made in the image of Jesus, it follows that Satan’s greatest deception is to keep us from knowing who we are and who Christ is in us. It has been the Father’s intention all along that we rule and reign with Him forever. Does it not follow then that one of Satan’s greatest deceptions is to keep us from knowing who Christ is in us, what our destiny is, and what the global ramifications are?

The book you are about to read is primarily a story of pilgrimage. Wrapped within the story of God’s redemptive timeline for both Jew and Gentile is a story of God’s call on one man’s life and how God used the tapestry of his life’s experiences and the cross of Christ to mould and shape him into the image of His Son. It is a story about the revelation that Adonai gave him along the way of the ways of Adonai. It is a story of how he fell in love with Yeshua and how the heart of Yeshua loved him into the Kingdom, out of the kingdom of darkness and emptiness. It is a story of human destiny along God’s redemptive timeline. This timeline takes us from before the foundations of the world, where we were created, to the Messianic Kingdom. It is a story of Yahweh’s love perfecting a man, and His love for the people of God, both Jew and Gentile.

It is your story and it is my story, but ultimately it is His story, Yeshua at work, the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. To Him alone be given all the glory and adoration due Him.