God continues to draw us back to His Word in regards to what has been and what will be concerning His people—those called by His Name both the Jews and the Church. Over the past months He has been bringing me back to the Septuagint Bible which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament and the one that was in use during the time when Jesus came to earth. Yes, I believe God is calling us back to the times of Jesus’ first coming and the birth of the Church that followed—2000 years ago as we approach what it appears to be the last hour of the Church Age before the return of Christ. It was a shepherd boy that discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 which coincided with Israel’s returning to the Promised Land. The scrolls found were from the Septuagint! I had been praying about what God is calling us His people to do today and was led back to begin reading in that translation 2 Chronicles Chapters 6 and 7 which is Solomon’s actions while building the Temple. It included prayers, sacrifices and worship and the outpouring of God’s anointing and consecration of it. A surprise awaited as I read 7: 8-16 which includes the familiar promise for a nation that God gave Solomon. Prior to this verse Solomon had kept the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days and on the 8th day they had celebrated the Solemn Assembly we studied last week! This is the focus of our study this week as God spoke to Solomon and echoes to us today at such a time as this!
Last week we studied the significance of the 8th day in biblical history that was resounded in modern times as Israel was attacked on the Solemn Assembly (October 7) which has become known as the Simchat Torah War. As we learned, it occurred on the Jubilee of the day following the 1973 Yom Kippur War. We know that the Jubilee is a biblical pattern given to Israel that still finds significance in modern history as Jonathan Cahn’s Oracle reveals. With this in mind, God brought to my attention two other Jubilees that occurred in 2023—the founding of Intercessors for America based upon 2 Chronicles 7: 14 and the reversal of Roe vs. Wade! God moved upon the heart of Derek Prince on one of his speaking tours to challenge a group of people to form a ministry focused on praying for the nation. Could it be that the prayers of Intercessors for America played a vital role in the overturning of Roe vs Wade? This should inspire and impel Christians today to pray for this nation at such a time as this!
Let’s examine the text today and glean the message God wants us to hear. We know that God’s Feast Days are appointed times for His people. Chapter 7: 9-10 says: “And on the eighth day he kept a solemn assembly; for he kept a feast of seven days as the dedication of the altar. And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he dismissed the people to their tents, rejoicing, and with a glad heart because of the good deeds which the Lord had done to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel His people.” On the Hebrew calendar the seventh month is Tishri that began this year on September 16 and ended October 16. The 23rd day fell on October 9th which was the Monday following the attack on Israel. It was at that time God appeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard thy prayer, and I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. If I should restrain the heaven and there should be no rain, and if I should command the locust to devour the trees, and if I should send pestilence upon my people; then if my people, on whom my name is called, should repent, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, I also will hear from heaven, and I will be merciful to their sins, and I will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7: 13-14 Septuagint) (Notice the usage in the word “repent” in this translation and the word “humble” in newer translations. There are many other differences changed from the Septaugint.)
What were the circumstances that God presented to Solomon concerning the nation? It would be a time of distress—of peril upon the nation. If there was no rain, the crops would not produce resulting in famine and the people would not have adequate food or water and the economy would be affected. If locusts came upon the land and devoured the fruit-producing trees, hunger and the economy would result. Lastly, if a pestilence came upon the land, sickness and disease would come upon the people and/or livestock which could result in deaths. Now, let’s compare these circumstances to our recent experiences in America. We have witnessed the destruction of our food supply from diverse causes—lack of rain in some areas and massive flooding and storm damage in other locations. We have seen random acts of destruction on factories, livestock and supply lines disrupting the food supply. We have even seen locust and other infestations that have hampered crops. Of course, all these have had an adverse effect on the economy and inflation with the price of foods skyrocketing! Without question, we experienced the greatest pestilence in modern history—a very serious infectious disease that spreads quickly and kills a large number of people—COVID 19.
The condition for the healing of a nation begins with its people and personal repentance. God told Abraham that He would save Sodom if there were ten righteous men. Just as God expected Israel to exert a controlling influence in the affairs of their nation, He expects the Church to do likewise. This promise is a conditional one. (1) God’s people are required to repent. Repentance in the Bible means a complete change of orientation involving a judgment upon the past and a deliberate redirection for the future. It involves a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from self to God, leading to a radical turning away from a sinful course to God. True biblical repentance goes beyond remorse, regret, or feeling bad about one's sin. It involves responding to God's love by being transformed in our convictions and actions, turning towards God and away from whatever dishonors Him. (2) Pray. We know many scriptures including the Lord’s Prayer that puts conditions on God hearing our prayers—"forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us!” That is a big one and calls us to follow the command of I John 1: 8-9 “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Only when we are in a right relationship with God and others will He hear and answer our prayers! “If we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (I Jn. 5: 15) The difficulty is not getting God to answer but getting God to hear! “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18) Fellowship with God conquers evil and results in prayers being answered!
It is God’s desire to renew, show mercy and heal our nation—to cause an undesirable condition to be overcome—to mend the troubles—to restore to purity and integrity. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle between God and the forces of evil. There is a very definite, scriptural reason clearly recorded from Genesis through Revelation. Ephesians 6:12 reveals that we war not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. An Old Testament example of spiritual powers is found in the tenth chapter of Daniel. Daniel set himself to pray for twenty-one days with special earnestness for divine intervention on behalf of his people. In verse 13 we have an angel who explains the delay in having his prayer answered as the “prince of the kingdom of Persia (modern-day Iran)”—a demonic stronghold or entity withstood him. Another angel, Michael, came to the assistance of the first angel. It was Daniel’s prayers that got the angel through, not the angel that got Daniel through. This account reveals that behind every kingdom or nation or great city there is an invisible rulership. Jonathan Cahn makes this very clear in his book The Return of the Gods. There is never a breakthrough in the kingdom of God until these spiritual powers have been brought into subjection by prayer. When that happens, the avalanche of revival will flood a nation or a kingdom or a city. The great barrier to a real move of God is in the unseen realm. We as Christians have been given authority by God in Jesus Christ for pulling down Satan’s strongholds. (2 Cor. 10: 3-5) Jesus said in Luke 10: 18-19 “I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” And in Mark 16: 17-18 Jesus said “And these signs will follow those who believe; In My Name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” The authority in the name of Jesus belongs to every believer as a born-again Christian. Jesus gave every believer on earth the power to use His name, which is recognized in legal terms as "The Power of Attorney." This authority is binding on the receiver of the authority since the issuer is alive and in right mind when it was issued. Jesus gave every believer unlimited and general power of attorney in all matters and with the right to use His name in every situation. To ask in His name is to ask according to His nature, and to ask by His authority is to ask in accordance with His will as revealed in His word. Jesus' authority rested with His submission to the Father, so our authority rests with our submission to Him. God has equipped believers with His Word, His Spirit and the power of the Name of Jesus and His blood! As long as there is an intercessor, there is hope!