Prophetic Prayer-
Understanding the Lord’s Prayer

While it is typically used as a standard format to teach young Christians how to pray, the Lord’s Prayer has deep prophetic implications. Too often mechanically rehearsed, this basic prayer teaches us how to ensure He hears us, but more importantly, how to prepare to hear our Father’s Voice.

Abba, Father, Jehovah, Hallowed by Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done. On Earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us today our Daily Bread.
Forgive us of our debts as we forgive all our debtors.
And bring us not into trials but deliver us from temptation.
Amen.

Though scholars still debate the colloquial interpretation that Abba means something similar to “Papa” or “Daddy”, this wasn’t the first time that Christ implies that only those who have an cherished and close relationship with Him would truly know G3D (ref. John 1:18). At the same time, the opening stanza, which started with a gentle intimacy, is juxtaposed by an open declaration that His Name should be respected, honored, and revered. At first glance it seems contradictory, yet it perfectly matches the expectations of a healthy relationship that one would have with their earthly father, one of familial love while also displaying admiration. Christ’s relationship with His Father is a prophetic precursor to the one we now are able to have with Him.

While several of the next stanzas are requests concerning our own needs and affairs, Christ teaches us that our focus should first be on His Kingdom and His Will. By addressing G3D with the adoration and admiration that He deserves, we can recognize that by concentrating on pursuing things that advance His Kingdom first, He is faithful to provide for all our anxieties which are inconsequential by comparison.

It is here that we discover our purpose.

We are to be stewards of the time, talents, and treasures that he has entrusted to us to accomplish the Sacred Directives that He has for His People. By first seeking to understand His Will, we can direct our lives to match His Resolutions. Thanks to the aid of modern day prophets, we can receive truly personalized direction in our lives to know what it is that G3D wants us to do regarding our careers, finances, and personal lives. But we must be willing to live our lives with His Will as our ultimate focus.

And if we are faithful, He will provide.

Though we tend to think of our daily bread in regards to our nutritional and financial needs at first glance, we often forget to be grateful for the ways He continually blesses us. When our finances and fridges are well stocked, it is not simply by our effort, knowledge, and hard work, but by His Grace. Those who are currently experiencing the effects that CVD-19 has had on our economy and the supply chain have a better understanding that we can do everything right according to the financial experts and still have struggles providing for our physiological needs. Outside of financial assistance, He also gives us the necessary resources to impact those around us in a way that is glorifying to Him. Whether it is additional patience, understanding, kindness or any other gifts from Heaven we pray for in our times of need.

But even with His overwhelming assistance, we will fail.

The majority of Old Testament Prophecy related to how Israel would be punished for their turning away from G3D or predicting the Final Sacrifice that would pay for all the sins of Mankind. While Christ has payed the Ultimate Cost, we must be aware that we have traded our lives for Eternal Salvation in an uneven exchange. Just as He continually forgave Israel, and permanently forgive His Followers, we must forgive the petty debts and trespasses others have leveled against us.

Despite being Forgiven, it does not mean life is without consequences.

Many of the issues in our lives are the result of our poor choices, but sometimes to accomplish His Will we will be placed in uncomfortable or even crushing circumstances that will test our Trust and Faith in Him. This is an opportunity for the gifts of prophecy and discernment to help you distinguish between trials that are meant to help you grow and develop your spiritual gifts and penalties stemming from walking outside of the pathway that you know He desires for you.

If we want Him to hear our prayers, we must first draw close to Him, making ourselves spiritually vulnerable and open while also showing admiration for His Greatness beyond comprehension. We need to arrange our thoughts to focus on fulfilling His Will and act accordingly, asking from our generous Father for anything that we might need to accomplish our roles. We will still make mistakes, but by His Unending Love we will be forgiven and should remember the unearned grace that has been extended towards us when dealing with other flawed humans. This does not absolve us of the retributions from living outside of His Divine Will, but by hearing His Voice we can recognize the difference between a challenge that will strengthen our connection and glorify Him, and a difficult situation He never wished for us to endure.

The Lord’s Prayer perfectly encapsulates PMT’s constant message that we should Pray, Hear, & Obey. By seeking first the Kingdom of G3D through prayer, listening to His Voice, & implementing His Will we will have our needs taken care of, but more importantly, we will grow closer to the One who created us and who has grand plans He wants to flow for our lives. We will better know our Father above, when kneel in prayer and make ourselves low.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

The Consequences of Prophecy-
Out of the Mouths of False Prophets

While it is easy to call out prophecies that fall short, it’s harder to recognize lying spirits that lead us into enterprises that will ultimately doom us. Our desires for greater wealth, renown, or influence to please ourselves and our egos can lead us into traps just as easily as culturally and self-imposed obligations to please others. Often lying tongues do not come from the mouths of false prophets, but from a guilt or desire to go down a path that you know is against His Will.

Three years after reconquering lands and cities that had been previously taken by the neighboring Arameans, wicked King Ahab sought to recapture a city that had not been returned under the conditions of the peace treaty between the nations. Ramoth-Gilead (Gilead Heights) was a Levitical city and city of refuge (Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:8; Joshua 21:38) in the Tribe of Gad’s territory, east of the Jordan River. While King Ahab of Samaria may have wanted the city back to cement his military victory over his defeated neighbors and secured a further foothold into their territory, he recognized that he could not reconquer the region without help from the Southern Kingdom of Judea.

King Jehoshaphat was a pious king and “the LORD was with him, because he followed in the early ways of his father David” (2 Chronicles 17:3-4) and recognized the religious need to restore the City of Refuge to the Levitical Priesthood, which he had given authority to teach the Book of the Law of the LORD to the citizens of Judea (2 Chronicles 17:7-9). But King Jehoshaphat was also compelled through political pressures to assist King Ahab as well, since Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram had married the King of Samaria’s daughter, Athaliah.

There is a great irony in the names of these two rulers’ children. King Jehoshaphat who had been blessed greatly by his trust and service to G3D, had named his son Jehoram meaning “exacted by Jehovah”. Wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, who had introduced worship of Baal and Ishtar on a national scale and curated the anger of the G3D of Israel, fittingly had named their daughter Athaliah meaning “whom G3D afflicts”. Predictably, this mixed faith political marriage led to tragedy for both families.

Wicked King Ahab hatched an ingenious plan to get the honorable and righteous King Jehoshaphat to agree to side with him in the invasion to take back the Gilead Heights. He invited the King of Judea to come down to Samaria and declared that the city belonged to them and that it was their duty to take it back. He pressed King Jehoshaphat asking if he would join him in battle. But the G3D fearing king replied first “I am as you are, my people are your people, my horses are your horses”, before stopping to inquire of the LORD.

Ahab called forth prophets of Adonai, and Ahab’s Prophets, as Jehoshaphat referred to them as, were all in agreement that the two kings should join forces and that they will have victory in battle.

King Jehoshaphat questioned King Ahab’s yes-men and asked if there are any prophets of Jehovah from whom they can ask for insight.

Since Ahab’s prophets were from the Northern Kingdom and were not recognized by King Jehoshaphat as legitimate prophets, it is heavily implied that they were part of the cult that worshipped the golden bull idols in Bethel and Dan which had been established by Samaria’s first king Jeroboam. Zedekiah, son of Kenaanah, the de facto leader of Ahab’s prophets, conducted an empty prophetic performance using a pair of iron horns declaring “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed”. The use of metal horns further connects these false prophets with Samaria’s calf worship cult.

King Jehoshaphat pressed further till King Ahab agreed to summon Prophet Micaiah son of Imlah, despite the fact that all of his previous prophecies had been negative declarations from G3D for Ahab’s evil behavior. When he arrived before the kings, Prophet Micaiah was instructed to match his prophecy to Ahab’s 400 sycophants.

When asked what would happen if they went into battle, Prophet Micaiah responded sarcastically and taunted that if they go they will prosper for Yahweh will give the city to the king. King Ahab wanted to hear these words, but recognized that Micaiah is being blatantly sardonic and demands that Micaiah tell him G3D’s True Message. Prophet Micaiah predicted that King Ahab would die in battle and explained how a lying spirit had entered the mouths of King Ahab’s false prophets to entice him to go into battle so Samaria could finally be rid of their most destructive ruler.

False prophet Zedekiah who had done the performance with the iron horns, slapped Prophet Micaiah across his face asking if that was the ear that the Spirit of G3D left Zedekiah to speak to Micaiah. Micaiah predicted that like the false prophets of Baal which had been executed in mass during their confrontation with Prophet Elijah, Zedekiah would have to go into hiding to avoid a similar death.

Though King Jehoshaphat questioned the authenticity of the prophecies that Ahab’s stooges had presented, and requested an honest prophet of Jehovah, he still went into battle with King Ahab as his ally even after Prophet Micaiah predicted the devastation that awaited them.

Perhaps he felt compelled by family politics and obligations to help his son’s father in law or a sense of religious duty to reclaim the city that belonged to the priests. Maybe it was a sense of honor to not go back on his promise to Ahab to join him in battle before inquiring of G3D first. In any case, all of these whispers in Jehoshaphat’s ears were just as destructive as Ahab’s false prophets’ lies.

It is foolish to deeply entangle yourself into something and try to seek G3D’s Guidance once you’ve already made a decision. If you weren’t going to follow the advice that His Messenger delivered, it would have been less destructive on you to have never inquired of the Lord. The consequences of listening to these falsities over His Word are devastating. Seek first the Wisdom of the Lord or you will be crushed by the stupidity of Men’s Logic.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

The Consequences of Prophecy-
Waiting on Your Personal Prophecy

Remaining patient while anticipating G3D’s Promises can be one of the hardest aspects of receiving prophecy. Though we want events to fall within our instantaneous modern timelines, we often fail to appreciate that our waiting is a demonstration of our faithfulness and confidence in His Word. While the World was waiting for the Greatest Prophecy to be fulfilled, two elderly believers dedicated their lives to seeing their own personal prophecies finally come to pass.

After the Birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph continued to fulfill their religious obligations, first by circumcising Him on the eighth day and Mary performing her purification rites and presenting Jesus at the Temple on the fortieth day. Due to their poverty, they offered the minimal sacrifice of a pair of doves during Jesus’ consecration.

A righteous and devout man name Simeon lived in Jerusalem who had the Holy Spirit upon him. The Holy Spirit had prophetically revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the long awaited Christ. He like many others in the city had been waiting for the consolation of Israel following the national sacrifice on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), when the red string tied to the door of the Temple would turn white to indicate that the sacrificial animal led into the wilderness had died and G3D had forgiven the sins of Israel.

The Holy Spirit inspired Simeon to come into the Temple while Mary and Joseph were preparing to present Jesus. Simeon instantly recognized the Messiah and took Him into his arms, and gleefully praised G3D before he began to prophesy.

“Lord, please allow your servant to peacefully depart this life, for You have kept Your Word. My eyes have seen Your Salvation, which you have shown before all the people and nations of the World. He is a Light for Revelation to the Gentiles and a Sign of Glory to Your People Israel”.

Mary and Joseph were left amazed at what Simeon had said about their little boy, but Simeon continued to bless them and prophesied to Mary, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and lifting of many in Israel, and will be a sign that will be spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul as well), that the thought of many hearts will be reveal” (ref. Luke 2:25-35).

Even after the amazing words that Simeon had showered on Jesus’ parents, God had more blessings.

A prophetess named Anna was also at the Temple and continued worshiping there, fasting and praying night and day. She was around eighty four years old and had become a widow after seven years of marriage. Despite her loss, she kept her faith strong, unlike her family before her. She was the daughter of Phanuel and belonged to the Tribe of Asher, which had many times over failed to earnestly worship and live according to His Commands and had fallen into idolatry as part of the Northern Kingdom of Samaria, but nevertheless, Anna was a faithful servant.

Prophetess Anna also approached Jesus and His Family, and she gave praise to God and spoke to those around her who were waiting for the sign that the city’s sins had been forgiven, informing them that this child was the permanent Redemption of Jerusalem.

While the entirety of Jerusalem waited in eager anticipation of the sign that the nation’s transgressions had been forgiven, two of G3D’s faithful servants were able to see and even hold the Final Sacrifice. They had received prophetic revelation of His Coming and patiently waited for decades to see it fulfilled, knowing that the Lord is faithful and would keep His Promises.

Though it is tempting to simply relegate their experiences to benefiting from extreme patience, we see that even when they were not receiving immediate fulfillment of their revelations, they dedicated their lives to continuing to praise G3D and living upright lives. Simeon is described as a righteous and devout man and Prophetess Anna spent her life at the Temple in constant prayer, fasting, and worshiping, in direct contrast to how her tribe (Asher) had behaved for hundreds of years. They did not just play a waiting game while going about their lives, they trusted and praised Him through their life choices even when failing to receive immediate feedback. For their years of perseverance and constant righteousness, they enjoyed a blessing so profound that Simeon felt nothing could ever rival it and he was now ready to die.

Prophetic Timelines are extremely variable and G3D’s personal promises to us may take a few moments to come to pass, or they may require a lifetime of waiting. But unlike some recent book, movie, or television series finales, you will not be left feeling an anticlimactic sense of being shortchanged for what you invested. We shouldn’t think that our human understanding and desires will supersede what He wants for us; His Prophetic Promises to His Children are worth the effort and wait.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

The Consequences of Prophecy-
The Humble Wife Who Received a Five Fold Blessing

While many people are excited about the concept of receiving a double portion of anointings for their faithfulness, He desires to bless us even more greatly. Cursed with barrenness and taunted by her romantic rival, a desperate woman turned to G3D and was showered with more gifts than she ever dreamed of, but at the cost of her greatest treasure.

Hannah is introduced during the time of the Judges. There was no centralized government at the time and Israel was just a loose association of confederated tribes, which only banded together during military emergencies. This lack of unity unfortunately blended into families and households as well.

Hannah is the wife of Elkanah, but she is not his only wife.

Elkanah has a second wife named Peninnah, and she has birthed multiple children for her husband already, which gives her great pride and status over the barren Hannah. Peninnah would torture and mock Hannah for her lack of children, provoking her severely and making her miserable every opportunity she had.

It is implied, because she is listed first amongst Elkanah’s wives, that Hannah was Elkanah’s first wife, but it is quite clear that he loves and favors Hannah despite having no children by her. When making the yearly trip to Shiloh to worship and offer sacrifices to the Lord, Elkanah would give portions to Peninnah and to her sons and daughters, but Hannah would receive a double portion because of his devotion to his adored wife.

Nevertheless this double portion from her husband could not be enjoyed.

Whenever the family went up to Shiloh to offer sacrifices at the Tabernacle, Peninnah would torment Hannah so intensely that, Hannah could not eat the double portion that her husband had especially set aside for her because she was so overcome with grief and wept with an intensity that shook her soul.

Elkanah saw the distress his beloved wife was experiencing and asked why she wailed with such great sorrow and refused to eat the double portion that he set aside to display his favor for her. He asked “Am I not better to you than ten sons?” failing to understand why she mourned.

After the rest of the family finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah went to pray at the entrance of the Tabernacle, where Eli the High Priest sat watching the festivities of the yearly pilgrimage.

Hannah was filled with bitterness in her soul, weeping in anguish, as she prayed to G3D. She made a vow, “O Lord of Hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give me a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head”.

Eli, the High Priest, watched Hannah as she prayed to the Lord, and noticed that her lips were moving but she was not saying anything aloud. He didn’t realize that she was praying within her heart so her voice was not heard, and confronted Hannah, thinking that she was intoxicated.

After chastising her, Hannah answered back in tears that she had not had anything to drink, but that she was filled with sorrow in her spirit and was pouring her soul out to the Lord. She was not a wicked drunkard, but was so burdened by her pain and misery that she could not speak till now.

The High Priest was moved by her pain and pitied her, sending her with a blessing: “Go in Peace, and the G3d of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him”.

Rather than continuing in her anguish, she thanked Eli for his sanctifying words and went back to her family and ate and her face was no longer overcome with sadness.

The next day they rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord and returned back to their hometown where Elkanah knew his wife Hannah. The Lord remembered her and she conceived and bore a son whom she called Samuel, because G3d had fulfilled her prayer.

The next year when the family was preparing to visit the Tabernacle at Shiloh to worship, Hannah stayed behind. She planned to finish nursing him before she gave him forever to the Lord.

After Samuel was weaned, Hannah kept her promise and brought him and three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine as sacrifices. After slaughtering the bull, they brought the child to Eli and presented Samuel as a lifelong servant to G3D.

Hannah continued to care for her son after presenting him at the Tabernacle, bringing him a little robe every year when she came up with her husband Elkanah to perform the yearly sacrifice. Eli repaid Hannah’s faithfulness in bringing Samuel with a blessing that “The Lord give Hannah children for the loan that she gave to the Lord”.

And G3D continued to bless Hannah so that she conceived three additional sons and two daughters.

While Hannah was originally ridiculed by Peninnah for not having any children, Peninnah having at least two sons and two daughters, Hannah may have been blessed with more children ultimately with a total of six children, five of which she was able to raise with her husband. In addition, her first son Samuel became the 13th Judge and one of the great Prophets of Israel.

G3D gave excessive blessings to Hannah because she came to Him with an earnest heart, but more importantly, she kept her vow to give her first born son in service to Him. She desired so greatly to simply be a mother, but this yearning was not greater than her devotion to G3D. For this, He gifted Hannah far more than the double portion of food that her husband gave her, she had five additional children in addition to her legendary son Samuel.

We look forward to receiving greater blessings, but often fail to recognize what we will have to give up in the process in order to obtain them. Hannah wanted to be a mother but it also meant that she would have to give up her first born son. By trusting G3D, she not only gave birth to a righteous and great man, she had five more children to bring her great joy. When we are diligent and faithful to Him, He will not stop short by simply giving a double portion, our blessings are often multiplied many times over.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

The Consequences of Prophecy-
The Wife of the Royal Clothes Keeper & The King Who Tore His Garments

The Prophetic is often filled with surprises that you will typically fail to notice, until someone more experienced points it out to you, like my beloved prophetic wife did for me. When a young king became distraught over a terrifying prophecy and tore his clothes in anguish, the king did not search for his royal clothes keeper, but the wardrobe minister’s wife. Ironically, it was because the king destroyed the beautiful material that her husband was in charge of, that the king and his administration were spared.

Righteous King Josiah is a favorite of Judah’s kings for writers to extol over, and someone who we’ve already previously written about. His fascinating royal lineage, which ran through to King David, and his complete rejection of his father Amon’s administration re-instituting multi-faith worship in the Temple make for dramatic narratives. Even his birth had been prophesied several hundred years previously, foretelling of how he would tear down the graven images his predecessors had erected for idol worship and even go so far as to exterminate the priests and desecrate their graves and even burn their bones on their corrupt altars.

Despite overwhelming religious reforms that he started when he rose to the throne at eight, King Josiah’s major project during his reign was the reconstruction and restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem. Hilkiah the High Priest found a copy of the Book of the Law of the Lord, who passed it along to Shapham, King Josiah’s scribe. When Shapham the Scribe read the book to King Josiah, the king tore his clothes in anguish over what he heard.

His heart was spurned over the sins of his fathers before him and how they had not kept the words that had been written. Even more, King Josiah recognized that the Lord’s Wrath would justly be poured out on them for their failure to maintain their sacred covenant with Him.

Josiah instructed a small detail of five righteous men, possibly symbolically mirroring the five books of the Pentateuch, which was most likely the scroll found, to go inquire of the Lord. This band of holy travelers included Hilkiah the High Priest, Shapham the Scribe and his son Ahikam, Asaiah, one of the king’s servants, and Abdon the son of Micah.

During the time of Josiah’s reign, two prophetic giants were well known in Jerusalem. Jeremiah, who would later be known as the Weeping Prophet after the destruction of The Temple and Jerusalem, but who had been preaching redemption and a returning of the hearts of Israel back to G3D since before Josiah became King. Jeremiah was also suspected of having been an associate of Shapham the Scribe, due to his extensive list of writings. Zephaniah, who was the mentor to Jeremiah, and one of Josiah fiercest supporters for his religious reforms, is thought to have helped shape Josiah’s insistence on making his entire country follow The Covenant, rather than just making it something done by the aristocracy, whom Zephaniah criticized for their adoption of foreign gods, values, and even wardrobes (Zephaniah 1).

But King Josiah’s party did not contact either of these men, but instead sought out a prophetess named Huldah, who was Jeremiah’s relative and the wife of King Josiah’s wardrobe keeper, Shallum.

While we tend to take it for granted that there are many prominent female prophets/prophetesses today, there are only a few listed throughout the Bible. This is not because they were rare or purposefully excluded, but because they tended to spend their time attending to the spiritual affairs of their fellow women. Huldah the Prophetess was in the college, sometimes translated Second Quarter, where she is traditionally said to have taught the women of Jerusalem.

She did not mince words and quite bluntly declared “Thus says the Lord G3D of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the King of Judah, because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger will all the works of their hands. Therefore My Wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched”.

But despite the prophetic declaration of ruin upon the city, there was good news for the young king.

The Prophetess changed her tone as she addressed King Josiah’s men again, “But as for the King of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord G3d of Israel: Concerning the words which you have heard-because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before G3D when you heard His Words against this place and its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you.”

Huldah, ended her prophecy of destruction for Israel, with a one of hope for Josiah, “Surely, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants”.

There is a great sense of irony in the fact that rather than turning to his wardrobe keeper after having torn his royal garments when distressed, Josiah’s men instead turned to Shallum’s wife, Huldah the Prophetess. Further, it is because King Josiah tore his clothes and wept, that G3D chose to hear his prayer from his tender and humble heart. When trouble begins to arise, fools will often turn to the professionals who are filled with human understanding and knowledge, while wise men will instead inquire of the Lord.

Here at PMT, you will sometimes hear Prophet Kent Simpson say “The Gift’s the same, Only the Clothes have changed”. But even thousands of years ago, He wasn’t concerned with the quality or style of our clothes, but the gentleness of a heart turned towards Him. No matter how soft Josiah’s linens, velvets, or silks were, Huldah’s Words from God were an even greater comfort.

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator