The desire of the Overcomers is to be empowered by Our Heavenly Father to operate in a calling without leaven (or sin). The Church Age has fulfilled its leavened ministry which disallows it to enter into the Holy of Holies for sin cannot stand before Our Heavenly Father. There has been much writing describing the three Feasts and all of their implications and attributes so I will not rehash them here. My focus has been and will be on the “barley” company, those who are called into the first squadron by Our Heavenly Father.
In 1996, I was asleep one Sunday morning in August and both of my calves cramped. I immediately awoke and hopped out of bed to relieve the cramping. It was successful. Never before had that event happened. This coincided with my study in the Book of Malachi. In chapter 3 there were two types of followers: the disgruntled (the Pentecostal church, wheat company) and the obedient (the Overcomers, barley company). The following Scripture was a prophetic reference to the cramps:
Mal 4:2
“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. (NLT)
The day this happened to me, a Pentecostal prophet from Iowa had come to the church we were attending and preached on the same passages I had been studying. Our Heavenly Father told us in Malachi chapter 3, the messenger was coming: For He [is] like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. Further: And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien– Because they do not fear Me,” Says the LORD of hosts.
The Church prophet had attempted to assign the obedient ones in Chapter 3 to be likened to the Pentecostal church today but Our Heavenly Father had already revealed to me that they were the disobedient ones. The prophet read Malachi 3 and when he came to the “obedient” followers, he solicited a verbal response to his question: “And who are these people that are obedient?” The congregation responded, “The Church”. For emphasis, he asked the question again. And again the congregation responded, “The Church”. A third time, he walked from the other side of the sanctuary over to the section I sat in and pointed directly at me and said, “Who do you say it is?” As he was walking toward my section, Our Heavenly Father told me “not to challenge Saul’s anointing”. I responded, “The Church”. At the end of that month, Our Heavenly Father removed us from the Pentecostal church. That was 13 years ago. Our removal was necessary in order that we would receive direct instruction from Our Heavenly Father without an intermediary “telling” us what Our Heavenly Father said. Don’t get me wrong, I am not critical of the church or its five-fold ministers. It was time for me and my family to move to a different realm of revelation and understanding associated with our callings.
This year during the night of the Feast of Trumpets, we were in Norfolk, Nebraska for a birthday celebration. In the middle of the night I was awoken once again by the cramping of both calves, however it only happened long enough to wake me up without forcing me to jump out of bed for relief. Thank you Lord! I said nothing about the event. That morning our friends shared that the wife had awoken early at 5:05 AM and was given the Scripture Psalm 50:5. That day was the celebration at a hilltop state park visitor center in Iowa with an excellent 360 degree view. At the end of the party, my wife and I were watching the sun setting. We could see downtown Omaha in the distance. There were many clouds in the sky but one drew our attention for it was uniquely luminous with various shades of colors from white, yellow, orange, pink, and purple. It looked like an open book and did not change shapes. Another cloud caught my wife’s attention. Suddenly, she saw a vision. There were large, purple arms extending from the cloud and had a “scooping or gathering” motion. She looked away for a few moments and then looked back. The arms reappeared with the same motion. Later that night she told me of the vision.
The next day, Our Heavenly Father directed us to Deut 30:1-6:
1 “NOW it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you,
2 “and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,
3 “that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.
4 “If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.
5 “Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
6 “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (NKJV)
The sign of the cramps were an indication of a new move and understanding. The vision was an indication that the “gathering in” was now at hand. We were instructed by Our Heavenly Father to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with friends in Virginia thus we had to fly to Norfolk, Virginia. When notifying our friends of our intention, the husband called a small meeting for me to share. Our Heavenly Father instructed me to share on the “Circumcision of the Heart” and to disclose the events of the “other” Norfolk. This was done on the 1st day of Tabernacles and was to be a double witness of the events.
The cloud we saw was a reference to Rev 10: I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud
Its book-like shape is found in the same chapter: He had a little book open in his hand.
The vision referenced Psalm 50:5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
I believe we are now in the “circumcision” phase of entering into the Promised Land. Before Joshua could conquer the land, all the men had to be circumcised. The flesh had to be removed and It took 3 days to heal. In order for us to satisfy Deut 30:6, we must go through a circumcision. It may be painful but that will pass. The reward will be the ability to love Our Heavenly Father in a way we currently don’t fully comprehend. In addition, we have been given a promise, “that we may live”. Selah.