The Mantle and the Ephod

The Mantle and the Ephod

I’ve something rolling over and over in my spirit and it has been for years. I don’t know how this article will end up, nor who it is for, but I will try to do the best to say what I am feeling in my spirit to the best of my ability. With calls the past few years to men in state leadership across the US, the feeling has increased to the point that I’m sure where the Holy Ghost is pointing me to write.

Two years ago I felt the Holy Ghost speak to me one morning that the blood of the prophets was on the hands of the ministry of one particular organization of oneness Pentecostal people. As I have traveled and attended in various oneness organizations, I do not have much doubt about the accuracy of the particular organization He spoke to me of that day. Of all available assets, they have proven to be the one in the past few years that have given me the most grief.

In preparation to move to another state with the military unit I work for, I recently called two regional ministers to inquire of the type of ministries and churches they had in the area that I am moving to. I did this mainly to try and avoid the spiritual setbacks I’ve endured the past few years. During the duration of the conversation I inquired about prophetic ministries within their state, similar to the late, Bro. T.W. Barnes. I might as well have slammed my head into a cinderblock wall….

Talk about walking an iceberg into the conversation! You’d have thought a leper or someone with Ebola had asked them to lay hands on him and pray for him. The conversation ended very shortly after that question. I told both men of a prophesy I had heard the year before from a well-known evangelist in our circles, who prophesied to an entire state that God was going to restore 5-fold ministry to the Apostolic movement whether they wanted it or not. He got the same response at that camp meeting as I got on the phone with these two district bishops.

That being said, I give you the Mantle and the Ephod:

And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.  And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. Exodus 28:1-8

I’ve been amazed at the great details of the tabernacle plan and the priesthood under Moses ever since my childhood. Here was a man who was called of God as a child, grew to manhood in the courts of Pharaoh, while refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. This man, called of God to be a prophet, rose up and killed an Egyptian who rose up against one of his own Hebrew brothers, then fled after being pushed away by his own people to endure 40 years on the backside of the desert tending sheep for Jethro his father. Still, 40 years of running from God and the call of God on his life…did not stop him from being pulled back into service at the burning bush to rescue the people of God from Egypt and eventually anoint his own brother as the first high priest of the nation.

Prophetic and priestly ministry has always been intertwined, ordained of God for specific purposes in the ministry of the people of God. They have cords intertwined throughout the word of God that cannot be ignored. We are not under the Law of Moses anymore. Christ tore down the wall of partition by his death on the cross to make Jew and Gentile one people. Although some would say that modern apostolic ministry has their root in the Hebrew priesthood that simply is not true. Modern Apostolic ministry has it’s roots and examples in the book of Acts, a good 99% of our oneness movements no longer resemble biblical ordained ministry and have chosen to acquire a more Baptist model of leadership.

There was however something very powerful in the priestly ministry instituted in the Torah. From the earliest days when Moses poured the holy anointing oil over Aaron’s garments and vestments, the ministry of the ephod and the hierarchy of oneness ministry has had a power, authority and responsibility placed upon them.

And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. Exodus 29:4-9

Shortly after the anointing of Aaron and his sons, Nadab and Abihu, violated the Law and offered strange fire to God. They were instantly slain. God’s judgment was speedy, dramatic and traumatic. You would think a people who saw the fire fall, saw the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day, this people who had seen the fire stand between them and the Egyptians while they crossed over the Red Sea would have had this engraved in the core of their being by the incidents recorded in the word of God, but they did not. I submit that while we may look back on it in chagrin and shake our heads at our headstrong Israeli brethren, we are not much different!

But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD's people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men. And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 1 Samuel 2:18-31

Where Nadab and Abihu were slain instantly, Hophni and Phineas were not. They not only stole sacrifices meant for the altars of God, meant to be burnt with fire on the altar, they were committing sexual sin with the women who gathered at the door of the tabernacle. The depth of this sin was magnified by not only their own actions, but that their father, high priest of the nation…knew about their sins and DID NOTHING to stop them! How like that generation we have become. For 8 years I have walked back among this organization, and of 8 incidents of ethical, moral and biblical correction brought before them, not one single time has any minister, sectional or district leader stepped forward to correct the sins brought before them by ministers licensed with their organization. God is against it.

I’m not talking about a paper cut. I’m talking about stealing from the offerings and tithes of a church, ministry refusing to judge matters before the church that covered up sin and unrighteousness, district officials refusing to even hear a complaint about sin, declaring their ministers were autonomous and unable to be corrected! I’ve seen heresy taught openly in the pulpit, ministers throw out holiness, godliness, separation, standards of modesty and dress, slander saints who worship God like our Apostolic forefathers, even tell their churches that worship was out of order. I’ve had pastors and evangelist alike try to grind axes of personal vendettas over the pulpit and attack over the pulpit to fulfill their own agendas.

I’ve even had backslidden ministers follow me not only from one church to another to slander me to the next pastor, but follow me completely out of district to another state, and contact other oneness organizations to lie on me and defame me in an effort to keep me from being used in the ministry. No, I did not take them to the board. I kicked the dust off my feet as a testimony against them and watched God shut down their ministries.

How can a minister in an organization be autonomous…completely self-ruling…with no one able to tell them what to do and what not to do? (Or at least they are until they upset the district board, or violated the feelings of the presbyter or district superintendent!)  (Please don’t get upset with me for saying that. Actually a preacher in the ALJC told me the same thing so blame him, not me. ;) )

In my travels I’ve had very humble men and women come to me in tears asking me how I put up with what I had gone through. I asked them what they were talking about and they read my mail to me and told me what God had showed them. They told me of ministers taking stands in their churches for men and women who offered large tithe checks, yet operating in a spirit of Jezebel in our churches, using false prophesies and counterfeit gifts in the church while the ministry, content to have the supernatural operating among them never bothered to check the message of the “prophet” against the word of God. Don’t argue with me about this. The man they warned me about was my own father-in-law, and they were dead on target! I’ll talk about the Jezebel spirit operating among us later on. It probably won’t be in this blog, but I’ll handle it before the week is out. Check back.

There has been among us for the past 30 years a growing resistance to prophetic ministry in the Pentecostal movement. I realize most of our organizations are mostly pastoral organizations, but gentlemen, Apostolic Pentecostals do NOT have a One-fold ministry! You never hear of the priests rising up against the false prophets of Baal in the days of Elijah! Why is that? I’ll tell you why…the guy in charge was backslidden! Let that sink in.

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.  1 Kings 19:9-21

And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, 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. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 2 Kings 2:1-15

After a year of sitting on this blog I have decided to post it unfinished. Like the parabled Stone-soup, it can be added to. No message builds itself without intertwining into the life of the person it is being birthed in. No modern-day so-called group or licensed agency of pastors claiming to be an "extension of Levitical priesthood" will ever silence the voice of prophetic ministry among the true Body of Christ. You might silence it in your own organization, but it is shear heresy to preach the any one organization encapsulates the body of Christ. Let the chips fall where they will. I'm ready for the fight. Just pray the cloud from the fallout doesn't wipe out more souls than Chernobyl!

I pray that the prophetic ministry in the body of Christ will rise up as it did in the days of Elijah and anoint a few men with the oil of anointing and a Jehu spirit that will spare not and rise up to slay and destroy the Ahab and Jezebel spirits out of the kingdom of God that Jesus said would be in the last days church. There is no room for peaceful coexistence with those types of attitudes in spiritual political correctness of this last days church! Ahab was a backslidden, hard-headed, non-listening, reprobate, God-hating Oneness leader who chose to abuse the power of his office and let false prophets of Baal sit at the king's table!

Christ is not coming back for a church sitting on their duff "occupying until he comes." Check with our boys who just got back from Iraq and Afghanistan and see if they have the same complacent idea of the meaning of "occupy!" Sometimes you just have to suit up, arm yourself, kick open the door and go in guns red-hot and blazing.

Now if you will pardon me, I have a mantle to go catch that was promised to me 30 years ago.