Bully’s Blog

or The Holy Voodoo Doll

The Lord’s plan from the beginning has been to take each man through three stages of development before transfiguration. The first is to give him access to the Tree of Life (bread) and test his obedience as a priest. Adam failed this test. The second is to give him access to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (wine) and test his wisdom as a king. Solomon failed this test. The third is to give him access to and membership of God’s council of elders as a decision maker, one whose words in and of themselves change history. This is testing as a Prophet, one who has been willing to be broken bread and poured out wine, and whose final years are spent giving wise words to the next generation.[1] The Old Covenant prophets passed this test.

Under the new Covenant, we are all Prophets in Christ. He is broken bread and poured out wine for us, and the riches once hidden away in the Ark, all the riches of wisdom and knowledge, are now opened to us (Colossians 2:3). We eat the bread and drink the wine. We are still tested as individuals as Priests and Kings, but as a body, the church is Prophetic. How do we, now as part of God’s heavenly council, change the world by our words?

Firstly, filled with the seven eyes of the Spirit as Pentecost altars, as walking burning bushes, we are the “angels full of eyes” roaming to and fro on the earth and bringing what we see to God’s throne for judgment. Jesus and the church, the Totus Christus, is a corporate High Priest representing the rest of mankind before God as an Advocate.[2]

Secondly, and here is my point, one of the purposes for our worship service is to be a “pre-enactment” of future history. Not only are we a corporate Kinsman Redeemer, we are also a corporate Kinsman Avenger (the Hebrew term covers both these ideas). Not only are we to break bread and drink wine  and then become broken bread and poured out wine on behalf of the world, we are also, like Ezekiel, to make a clay model of any Babylon God has burdened us with, and build ramparts against it. In our worship, we are called to both rescue the unborn being dismembered every day in our Molechite culture and also take the children of our enemies and dash them against the rock (Psalm 137:9). True, wise judgment is both good to the repentant and severe to the unrepentant (Romans 11:22).

We see this pattern in the prophets. First, God chooses a man and puts him through a death and resurrection. The Lord enacts the coming judgments as liturgy in the throne room. Once commissioned, this prophet speaks God’s Words to the corrupted house of God and the liturgy is re-enacted among God’s people. Finally, the shockwave makes its way through the surrounding pagan nations. Garden, Land, World; Law, Manna, Rod or Word, Sacrament, Government. It is the outflow of the open Ark, so it begins with words, with liturgy. Jesus was tested in the wilderness and garden liturgically, then He went to the cross. Jesus breathed on the disciples liturgically, then He sent the Holy Spirit. Jesus exiled Judas liturgically, then He exiled Judah, and this is the context of Peter’s statement:

1 Peter 4:17 “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Ezekiel follows this pattern. Zechariah follows this pattern. In Revelation, it is Scroll-seals, Trumpets, Bowls. It is the spreading of the three-level Tabernacle as a new sky over the peoples of the world.

In church, we bleed liturgically for the lost. In church, we take the names of those who consciously, publicly, repeatedly exalt themselves against the Lord of Armies to oppress and deceive the helpless, and to slaughter the innocents, and by our words make a holy voodoo doll. Like Jeremiah, we take the rebels down to the Valley of Hinnom, smash some clay pots and say, “Thus shall the Lord do to you if you don’t repent.” (Jeremiah 18). (All of this of course depends upon our own prior repentance and walk with God.)

Then we leave redemption-vengeance up to God. But He waits for our words. In answer to Moses’ request (Numbers 11:29), by the priesthood and kingdom of Christ all the Lord’s people are now prophets, and as His body we make future world history by our Words. This is our role as bleeding, sacrificial co-redeemers, joint heirs with Christ.

This is the mature, prophetic ministry of Christianity today, and we need to sing, without apology, the battle songs God wrote for us to sing.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”  –Matthew 6:6

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[1] See Priest, King, Prophet.

[2] See Under Your Feet.