The Consequences of Prophecy- The Shriveled Hand, Lying Prophet, & Patient Lion

The core message repeated here at PMT is “Pray, Hear, & Obey”. Because we recognize the beauty and joy that comes from hearing from God directly or through His Prophets, it is imperative that His People know what to do when they receive a message from Our Creator. The rewards for being faithful to His Commands for our ministries and lives are far greater than we deserve, but the discipline for failing to follow His Instruction and out rightly ignoring it can be heavier than the pain Unbelievers experience.

An unnamed man of God, received word from the Lord to travel from Judah and go to Bethel in the Northern Kingdom of Samaria, to give their king Jeroboam a message. The man arrived as King Jeroboam was standing by the altar preparing to make an offering.

The man of God cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: “A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you”.

The man of God further declared: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: the altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out”.

When King Jeroboam heard this, he stretched out his hand from the altar and ordered his guards “Seize him!”

But the hand he stretched out towards the man of God shriveled up into a monstrously decayed limb.

At the same moment, the altar of Bethel split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the Word of the Lord.

Despite standing before the altar of his false foreign god, King Jeroboam instead pleaded with the man of God, asking “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored”.

The man of God obliged and interceded with the Lord, and the King’s hand was restored.

In an act of thanks, King Jeroboam invited the man of God to come to his palace to have a meal and that he wanted to reward him with a gift for helping to restore his hand.

The man of God rejected the king’s offer, explaining “Even if you were to give me half of your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came”.

So the man of God left Jeroboam, King of the Northern King of Samaria, and went back home a different route than the one he had traveled.

A certain old prophet who lived in Bethel heard from his sons, the exploits of the man of God and what he had told the king. Wanting to meet him, the old prophet asked his sons to saddle a donkey so that he could find the man of God.

The old prophet caught up with the man of God who was sitting under and oak tree, tired, hungry, & thirsty. After confirming that he was the man of God who had confronted the king, the old prophet asked him to come back home with him to eat in his home.

The man of God again repeated what he had told King Jeroboam previously “I have been told by the Word of the Lord: “You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.”

The old prophet answered “I too am a prophet, just like you.”

But then the old prophet began to lie to convince the man of God to go home with him and eat, telling him, “An angel said to me by the Word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he can eat and drink”.

Relieved that his hunger could finally be satisfied with bread and his thirst slaked by cool water, the man of God eagerly went with the old prophet and eat and drank at his home.

When they arrived at the old prophet’s home, he received a True Revelation from the Lord concerning the man of God. The old prophet, in shame over his deceit, cried out to the man of God “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.

When the man of God went on his way, a lion attacked and killed him along the side of the rode. But the lion did not attack the donkey the man was riding, nor did the lion eat the man’s body, but instead sat beside the man’s dead body and the donkey. When travelers saw the strange sight, they shared their story with the city of Bethel where the old prophet heard what had happened.

Riddled with guilt for his lie that led to the man of God’s death, the old prophet went to fetch the body, which he found between the lion and the donkey. The old prophet picked up the body and brought it back to his own city, where he and his sons mourned over him and buried the man of God in the old prophet’s own tomb.

Despite all these things, Jeroboam did not stray from his evil ways and continued to appoint priests to the high places (ref. 1 Kings 13).

The man of God remained faithful to the message that he had received from the Lord when King Jeroboam offered him food, drink, and a reward for helping to restore his arm since it was easy and obvious to know that what the evil idolatrous king was advocating was contrary to what God had told him. The old prophet told what some might consider a well-meaning lie, to provide the man of God life essentials such as food, water, & rest, but it was directly counter to what God had instructed. The man of God not only lost his life but was buried away from his family, a tragic dishonor that would have been considered crushing in their culture. It might seem unfair to us that the man of God received such a stern punishment when King Jeroboam had his hand restored and continued in his evil ways, and the lying old prophet received no noted retribution.

The man of God received direct instruction from God and chose to listen to a stranger with a contrasting narrative, which on the surface seemed more gentle and easy than the path that God had given him. We are greatly blessed in the fact that God is still moving in our world and speaking directly to His People, but we must also recognize the weight of being able to hear from our Creator. When given direct commands from Him, we must not let outside voices redirect our paths, especially if they directly run counter to what He has directed us to do. So if we Pray to Hear His Voice, then we must Obey it, or suffer worse consequences than one who never heard Him.

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

The Consequences of Prophecy-The Arrows that Fell Short

As we begin a New Year, we are filled with a new sense of purpose and motivation to start this new decade, better than the one that came before. In the same moment that we embrace the future, we must be prepared to learn from but move on from the past and the mentalities that previously limited us. Prophet Elisha’s Final Prophecy teaches us that whenever God gives us instruction, we should accomplish it with the intensity of a Warrior who has already been assured Victory.

During Israel’s long line of wicked and evil kings, King Jehoahaz came to power and followed in the same worship of foreign gods as his forefathers before him. And because he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, God’s anger was kindled against Israel. He allowed Israel to continually be attacked and destroyed by Hazael, the King of Syria. The destruction against the people of Israel was so intense that King Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord to save them from the foreign attacks. God saw the crushing oppression that Israel experienced under the Syrian King and gave them a savior who delivered them from the hand of the Syrians and peace and stability returned to Israel. Despite God saving them from the terror and destruction they had experienced under the Syrian regime, Israel did not turn away from their idolatry and worship of foreign gods (ref. 2 Kings 13: 1-6).

After King Jehoahaz died, his son Joash replaced him on the throne, but King Joash followed in the same sins his father had. And just like during his father’s reign before him, the King of Syria (King Hazael’s son Ben–Hadad) harassed Israel, which had been left with a pitiful army of fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers (ref. 2 Kings 13:7-11).

When Prophet Elisha became terminally ill, Joash, King of Israel visited the dying prophet, weeping “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” Joash recognized that his pathetic military would be incapable of eliminating, let alone confronting the threat that the Syrian military posed.

Elisha began to give King Joash a series of prophetic actions to perform.

“Take a bow and some arrows” and Joash retrieved his weapon.

“Draw the bow” and Joash drew his bow. Elisha then placed his aged hands upon the young king’s hands.

“Open the east facing window” and Joash opened the window.

“Shoot!” and Joash released the arrow.

Elisha explained that the arrow that Joash had just shot was “The Lord’s Arrow of Victory, the Arrow of Victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have utterly destroyed them” (ref. 2 Kings 13:14-17)<.

Elisha gave King Joash further instruction.

“Take the arrows and strike the ground with them!” and Joash struck the ground with his arrows three times before stopping.

Elisha became enraged at Joash for his half-hearted display: “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times”.

So King Joash of Israel fought and defeated the armies of Syria three times and recovered the cities of Israel that had been claimed by Ben-Hadad, King of Syria. Despite this achievement, because of his reservations, King Joash failed to totally defeat the enemy which God had given King Joash the opportunity to totally annihilate (ref. 2 Kings 13: 18-25).

When God has given us word through His Prophets that we will be successful in an endeavor that He has given us power and authority over, we need to act with the confidence and passion of someone who knows the battle has already been won. King Joash was too focused on his tiny military and the earthly limitations he recognized that they were hindered by, rather than recognizing that Prophet Elisha had already told him that he would be victorious in battle, due to God’s intervention. King Joash’s stopping after only striking the arrows three times showed his lack of faith in what he thought God was capable of and felt that the commands that Elisha was giving him were truly not meaningful.

As this New Year begins, we pray that you have the Wisdom to recognize when God is speaking through His Messengers to give you His Word regarding what He wants you to accomplish at your work, within your family or community, and in your personal ministry efforts. Once you have received this confirmation, act with zealousness and the assurance that God’s Word will never fail, but if we don’t fully trust in Him and commit to the responsibilities that He gives us, we will lose the fullness of the blessings God wants to give His People.

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

Spirits Amongst Men-King Herod: The Jewish King who missed the Messiah

The term “power couple” is liberally applied to men and women who are both generously blessed with wealth, prestige, & status due to their family lineage or own successful endeavors. But many of those in the public eye have come across their success in thanks to their occult practices and worship of the demonic. Whether it’s failed presidential candidates participating in “spirit cooking”, now scorned Hollywood Elites encouraging new forms of “sacred prostitution” for both actors and actresses to get roles, or supposedly-suicided elite-insiders with whole islands dedicated to abuse of the innocent & worship of ancient gods, these practices have not died out in our modern culture. The penalties inflicted upon of those in power who rebel against the One True God, will mirror the consequences faced by Wicked King Ahaz & Queen Jezebel.

Our previous article detailed how King Ahab was notorious amongst the kings of Israel as being the most evil and corrupt leader the nation had ever had. King Ahab was heavily influenced by his wife Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre, a former priest of Asherah. Jezebel may have been a high priestess of either Ba’al or Asherah, the King and Queen of Heaven. “There was never anyone like King Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel” (1 Kings 21:25-26).

The Fiery Battle between the prophets of Ba’al and Prophet Elijah ended with 400 prophets of Ba’al being executed, and Jezebel intensified her persecution of followers of the True God of Israel.

Despite Queen Jezebel’s best efforts to completely eliminate Elijah’s School of Prophets, King Ahab still relied on their insight as he recognized they received supernatural knowledge that the prophets and seers of Jezebel’s court lacked. When confronted by a huge confederated army under King of the Arameans, Ben-Hadad, King Ahab trusted a Prophet of God and placed his junior officers in charge of leading the assault, a typically foolish decision by most military standards. But by placing the inexperienced officers in the front lines, God showed that the battle was won by His Strength, rather than the strength of Kind Ahab’s military.

The prophet instructed King Ahab to fortify the surrounding cities, since King Ben-Hadad would be attacking again the next spring. When confronted a second time, the Israelites inflicted a crushing defeat again, but instead of destroying Ben-Hadad and the rest of his army when they were trapped, King Ahab tried to be diplomatic and signed a peace treaty and established trading relations with Ben-Hadad and his allies. The unnamed Prophet of God explained that because Ben-Hadad was not killed as God had instructed, King Ahab would take his place instead.

When King Ahab lusted after an ancestral vineyard belonging to Naboth, Queen Jezebel created a conspiracy to have Naboth executed under false charges of cursing King Ahab and God. After Naboth was murdered, God sent Prophet Elijah to confront King Ahab in the vineyard he had confiscated illegally. Prophet Elijah declared that where the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs would like up King Ahab’s blood as well. And because Queen Jezebel had lead King Ahab astray into worship other gods and conspired to steal Naboth’s land through his murder, Jezebel would be devoured by dogs by the wall of the palace.

King Ahab’s final confrontation with God’s Prophets came when he asked for advice regarding the recapturing of the territory of Ramoth-Gilead. Prophet Micaiah had previously been very sarcastic and disrespectful to King Ahab and responded to King Ahab’s desire for insight with a similar contemptuous air. When pressed further, Prophet Micaiah explained that the false prophets that King Ahab had been listening to, were being tricked by a deceiving spirit which had King Ahab believing that his military campaign would be successful, when in fact, God intended to use the battle to kill King Ahab. for not relying on His Prophets. During his battle to try to retake Ramoth-Gilead, King Ahab was shot by an unaimed arrow which struck him between the seams of his plated armor.

In a fitting twist of irony, King Ahab died watching the battle and his blood drenched the floor of his chariot, which was taken to a pool in Samaria where the prostitutes gathered to bathe. It was there that the dogs licked up his blood as the Word of the Lord had declared (ref. 1 Kings 22:1-38).

After the surviving members of her family had been killed off during a coup by the army general Jehu, Jezebel planned to face her death looking beautiful and gracious like a queen, so she put on her makeup and did her hair to impress that final image upon the people of her city. She address Jehu with contempt, before her eunuch assistants tossed her from her window, where her body was further crushed by Jehu’s horses’ hoofs. After Jehu took control of the castle and eat and drank, he commanded his men to burry Jezebel’s body, but only her skull and feet and palms of her hands remained after the stray dogs of the city had eaten her blood and her flesh. The newly crowned Jehu remembered Prophet Elijah’s words that “the dogs would eat the flesh of Jezebel and her corpse shall be as trash on the surface of the field, so there would be no place for people to mark Jezebel’s grave” (ref. 2 Kings 9:30-37).

For their roles in bringing idolatrous worship onto a national scale throughout Israel, making political and economic alliances with other evil kings, and the conspiracy to frame and murder a righteous man for his land, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were punished with crushingly dishonorable deaths. They were shown the Power of God during the challenge between the Prophets, but refused to turn from their false idols and repent and instead continued to attack God’s Messengers. God is long-suffering and forgiving even to those who had previously chased after other gods, but leaders who ignore His Word can only gain so much for their loyalty to their occult worship. In the end, those they abused will have Justice as the wicked will have an everlasting death.

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

Spirits Amongst Men-The Demise of Ahaz & Jezebel-Feasts Fit for Royalty

The term “power couple” is liberally applied to men and women who are both generously blessed with wealth, prestige, & status due to their family lineage or own successful endeavors. But many of those in the public eye have come across their success in thanks to their occult practices and worship of the demonic. Whether it’s failed presidential candidates participating in “spirit cooking”, now scorned Hollywood Elites encouraging new forms of “sacred prostitution” for both actors and actresses to get roles, or supposedly-suicided elite-insiders with whole islands dedicated to abuse of the innocent & worship of ancient gods, these practices have not died out in our modern culture. The penalties inflicted upon of those in power who rebel against the One True God, will mirror the consequences faced by Wicked King Ahaz & Queen Jezebel.

Our previous article detailed how King Ahab was notorious amongst the kings of Israel as being the most evil and corrupt leader the nation had ever had. King Ahab was heavily influenced by his wife Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre, a former priest of Asherah. Jezebel may have been a high priestess of either Ba’al or Asherah, the King and Queen of Heaven. “There was never anyone like King Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel” (1 Kings 21:25-26).

The Fiery Battle between the prophets of Ba’al and Prophet Elijah ended with 400 prophets of Ba’al being executed, and Jezebel intensified her persecution of followers of the True God of Israel.

Despite Queen Jezebel’s best efforts to completely eliminate Elijah’s School of Prophets, King Ahab still relied on their insight as he recognized they received supernatural knowledge that the prophets and seers of Jezebel’s court lacked. When confronted by a huge confederated army under King of the Arameans, Ben-Hadad, King Ahab trusted a Prophet of God and placed his junior officers in charge of leading the assault, a typically foolish decision by most military standards. But by placing the inexperienced officers in the front lines, God showed that the battle was won by His Strength, rather than the strength of Kind Ahab’s military.

The prophet instructed King Ahab to fortify the surrounding cities, since King Ben-Hadad would be attacking again the next spring. When confronted a second time, the Israelites inflicted a crushing defeat again, but instead of destroying Ben-Hadad and the rest of his army when they were trapped, King Ahab tried to be diplomatic and signed a peace treaty and established trading relations with Ben-Hadad and his allies. The unnamed Prophet of God explained that because Ben-Hadad was not killed as God had instructed, King Ahab would take his place instead.

When King Ahab lusted after an ancestral vineyard belonging to Naboth, Queen Jezebel created a conspiracy to have Naboth executed under false charges of cursing King Ahab and God. After Naboth was murdered, God sent Prophet Elijah to confront King Ahab in the vineyard he had confiscated illegally. Prophet Elijah declared that where the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs would like up King Ahab’s blood as well. And because Queen Jezebel had lead King Ahab astray into worship other gods and conspired to steal Naboth’s land through his murder, Jezebel would be devoured by dogs by the wall of the palace.

King Ahab’s final confrontation with God’s Prophets came when he asked for advice regarding the recapturing of the territory of Ramoth-Gilead. Prophet Micaiah had previously been very sarcastic and disrespectful to King Ahab and responded to King Ahab’s desire for insight with a similar contemptuous air. When pressed further, Prophet Micaiah explained that the false prophets that King Ahab had been listening to, were being tricked by a deceiving spirit which had King Ahab believing that his military campaign would be successful, when in fact, God intended to use the battle to kill King Ahab. for not relying on His Prophets. During his battle to try to retake Ramoth-Gilead, King Ahab was shot by an unaimed arrow which struck him between the seams of his plated armor.

In a fitting twist of irony, King Ahab died watching the battle and his blood drenched the floor of his chariot, which was taken to a pool in Samaria where the prostitutes gathered to bathe. It was there that the dogs licked up his blood as the Word of the Lord had declared (ref. 1 Kings 22:1-38).

After the surviving members of her family had been killed off during a coup by the army general Jehu, Jezebel planned to face her death looking beautiful and gracious like a queen, so she put on her makeup and did her hair to impress that final image upon the people of her city. She address Jehu with contempt, before her eunuch assistants tossed her from her window, where her body was further crushed by Jehu’s horses’ hoofs. After Jehu took control of the castle and eat and drank, he commanded his men to burry Jezebel’s body, but only her skull and feet and palms of her hands remained after the stray dogs of the city had eaten her blood and her flesh. The newly crowned Jehu remembered Prophet Elijah’s words that “the dogs would eat the flesh of Jezebel and her corpse shall be as trash on the surface of the field, so there would be no place for people to mark Jezebel’s grave” (ref. 2 Kings 9:30-37).

For their roles in bringing idolatrous worship onto a national scale throughout Israel, making political and economic alliances with other evil kings, and the conspiracy to frame and murder a righteous man for his land, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were punished with crushingly dishonorable deaths. They were shown the Power of God during the challenge between the Prophets, but refused to turn from their false idols and repent and instead continued to attack God’s Messengers. God is long-suffering and forgiving even to those who had previously chased after other gods, but leaders who ignore His Word can only gain so much for their loyalty to their occult worship. In the end, those they abused will have Justice as the wicked will have an everlasting death.

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

Spirits Amongst Men-Fiery Battle between Prophets

Pagan influences within cultures wax and wane throughout their development, either leading to their prosperity or ruin. During the rule of King Ahab, his queen consort Jezebel ordered for the heavy suppression of the worship of the God of Israel, to the point that God’s Prophets went into hiding, leading to a drought that destroyed the country. The Faith of the Nation was turned towards false idols, until Prophet Elijah challenged the ruling religious elite to see whose God truly controlled fire and water.

King Ahab came from a long line of exceptionally evil and destructive kings over Israel, “but Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30).

One of his most notable offenses was marrying Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Sidonians. Jezebel’s father Ethbaal, had been a priest of Astarte, considered another name for Asherah, before Ethbaal murdered his father King Phelles. The worship of Astarte/Asherah was primarily focused on fertility rites and the cult was noted for its sexual practices. It is believed that Jezebel may have been a high priestess (qadishtu: sometimes translated temple/shrine prostitute) of Asherah, “the Queen of Heaven” and goddess of fertile harvests, who was responsible for prosperous rain falling from the sky. Likewise, Jezebel’s dedication to the fertility goddess of the region encouraged King Ahab to erect Asherah poles in her patron goddess’ honor. Asherah’s husband, Baal-Zebul/Zebub, “King of Heaven” was also heavily promoted by Jezebel, who had King Ahab build a temple and altar to Baal in Samaria and Ahab served and worshipped Baal. Baal, like his wife Asherah, was noted for his power over “the storm” and violent downpours. Because of his connection with flies, Baal-Zebub’s worship often included fecal matter and cutting up of one’s own skin so flies could lay eggs in the open wounds.

“Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the Kings of Israel who were before him” (ref. 1 Kings 16:31-33).

As Israel’s focus turned to these two gods of gentle showers and fierce storms, God sent Prophet Elijah to King Ahab declaring “As the Lord God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be now dew or rain during these years except by my command!”

For three years Prophet Elijah hid from King Ahab and Jezebel’s political and religious persecution and executions, till the Word of the Lord came to Elijah to “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land” since the famine in Samaria had crippled the region. When Ahab saw Prophet Elijah, Ahab challenged, “Is it really you? You destroyer of Israel!” blaming the drought that was destroying the nation on Elijah and the God of Israel. But Elijah corrected Ahab, “I’m no destroyer of Israel. It is you and your ancestor’s household who have been doing that, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commandments and have followed the Baals. Gather all of Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel and bring the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah that Jezebel funds from the state treasury” (ref. 1 Kings 18:1-2, 17-19).

After the Israelites gathered together, Prophet Elijah issued a challenge to the prophets of Baal that they should build an altar to their god and place an ox on the wood and whosever altar would light with fire that would be the true god that Israel should worship.

They accepted the challenge and went about shouting and calling on the name of Baal from morning till noon. But there was no answer from their god, so they went into a mayhem and danced in a frenzy around the altar they had built.

At noon, Elijah began to taunt the Prophets of Baal-Zebub: (implied by 1 Kings 18:27, creative liberties taken)

“Shout louder! He’s the god of storms right? Maybe he can’t hear you?! Speak up!”

“You honor him by relieving yourself in his temple correct? Possibly he’s currently preoccupied on the bathroom himself?!”

“He’s Lord of the Flies, is he not? Perhaps he’s buzzed off somewhere?”

“Baal and his wife Asherah are both fertility gods aren’t they? Methinks they were enjoying each other and fell asleep afterwards. Someone needs to go wake them from their post-coitus nap.”

Stung by Prophet Elijah’s insults against their gods, they cried even louder and began to gash their skin open with knives and lancets until their blood gushed all over themselves as was their custom. They carried on like this till the evening sacrifice, but they never heard a response from their god. (ref. 1 Kings 18: 28-29).

Elijah gathered Israel about him and built an altar of twelve stones for each of the tribes of Jacob and built his altar in the Name of the Lord. He dug a deep trench around the altar and had water poured over the bull and wood three times, saturating the materials so much that water overflowed and filled the trench.

Elijah cried out to “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I, your servant, have done all of this in obedience to your word. Answer me, Lord, so that this people may know that you, Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts again,” (ref. 1 Kings 18:30-38).

Then God’s fire fell from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust and even the water within the trench.

When all the people saw what had happened, they fell flat on their faces and cried “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”

Having won the contest, Elijah triumphantly ordered “Arrest the prophets of Baal! Don’t let even one of them get away!” So the people seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook of Kishon and executed them there.

Elijah confronted King Ahab, whose gods of rain had failed to provide a drop of water for Israel for three years, during the drought.

“Get up and have something to eat and drink, because there’s the sound of a coming rainstorm”.

A little while later, the sky turned black with storm clouds and winds and there was a heavy shower.

The supposed King and Queen of Heaven were unable to answer let alone provide for those who worshipped them. They were false idols who had no power and no voice. The Israelites again had to be reminded that God has power over all His Creation including fire and water. The nation suffered greatly because they had turned away and forgotten about the God of their Forefathers and it took a direct challenge against the ruling political and religious elite, for them to turn to the God of Israel. Any icons of power man can erect by his own strength and cunning, will be mocked and torn down but the One True Living God.

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

Spirits Amongst Men-Salvation Corrupted to Sacrilege

It is a constant trope that all politicians and national political leaders are inept at best or corrupt at worst. After the death of King Solomon, the wisest and richest man ever, Israel was ruled over by a series of evil kings that led the people into idolatry, divided the nation, and plunged the land into an era of deep poverty and sorrow. Righteous King Hezekiah understood that in order to restore his country back to its original glory, it must first return its Heart back to the God that founded it.

Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz, thought to be one of the most wicked and immoral rulers of Israel’s history. By the time of King Ahaz’s rule, the Nation of Israel had already split between the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judea. When confronted with the threat of Assyrian invasion, rather than join the Northern Kingdom of Israel in repelling them, King Ahaz instead formed an alliance with Assyria, which led to the capture of its neighbor’s major cities and deportation of the people of Israel. But it was not enough to betray Israel, King Ahaz began to adopt the culture, government, and religion of his Assyrian overlords. King Ahaz sacrificed his sons, by passing them through fire, and this precedent led to the rest of Judah murdering their infant children by sacrificing them to the Assyrian gods (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Chronicles 28:3). Wicked King Ahaz persistently defiled the Temple of Jerusalem with the introduction of new foreign gods and increasingly debased forms of worship, such as implied human sacrifice, religious prostitution and scatological ceremonies. After all this debauchery, King Ahaz shut the doors of The Temple, hoping the True God of Israel would be forgotten.

Despite his father’s example, Hezekiah took after his mother Abijah, who was the daughter of High Priest Zechariah. On the first day, of the first month of his reign as King, Hezekiah decreed that the doors of the Temple of Jerusalem be reopened and the temple grounds be cleansed of all the evils that had corrupted the holy place of worship. Because work in the Temple could only be carried out by the priests and Levites, Hezekiah reinstated the Levitical Priesthood and assembled them in Jerusalem, and ordered that they consecrate themselves before purifying the House of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place.

The cleansing of the Temple took sixteen days to complete, but despite the worker’s hurried efforts, did not finish the work in time for Passover, which began on the fourteenth day of the first month. After much deliberation and counsel, the rulers deemed it fit that Passover should still be observed, even if a month later. So Passover was scheduled to be held on the fourteenth day of the second month, so that it would allow the priests to consecrate themselves and furnish the tools and articles for worship, and would give the people of the land an opportunity to ready themselves for the celebration that had not been celebrated for decades. But the hearts of the rest of Israel was as hard as their fathers’ before them and despite receiving an invitation to participate in the festivities, they rejected the messengers that King Hezekiah had sent. But citizens from the least prominent and most humble tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, decided to participate even though they had not had the opportunity to properly cleanse themselves.

But Righteous King Hezekiah prayed for his people, saying, “May the Good Lord pardon everyone who set his Heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness”. And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

Not only had Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple and cleansed it of all the idolatrous worship his father King Ahaz introduced, Hezekiah reinstituted The Temple Worship, with large processions of priests and Levites singing with all their might, filling the city with their Songs of Praise. The citizens who participated in the Passover Feast and finally experienced the majesty of worshipping the God of Israel, were inspired to go back home and destroy all the idols, high places, and other instruments of worship to the Assyrians false gods, their fathers had erected.

After the Assyrian idols were destroyed and the worship at Jerusalem had been reintroduced, the King of Assyria became jealous of the prosperity that the Southern Kingdom of Judah began to experience and sought to invade it and take it for himself, since good King Hezekiah had cut off political alliances with his heathen sovereigns.

King Hezekiah strengthened the damaged walls of Jerusalem, rebuilt the military fortresses throughout the kingdom, made weapons of war for all the citizens to defend their regions, and prepared the capital city for besiegement. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, sent messengers to blaspheme the God of Israel, declaring that the gods of all the other nations failed to protect them, and that Jerusalem would be captured just the same, since their God was powerless to confront the power of the Assyrian Empire.

Rather than bend to the might of their former allies, or rely on the military preparations they had enacted, King Hezekiah joined Prophet Isaiah and prayed in the newly cleansed Temple and cried to Heaven for deliverance.

And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors, and commanders and officers in the Assyrian camp overnight, leading to the destruction of 185,000 troops.

The defeated Assyrians fled back to their lands with shame in their hearts, where King Sennacherib, while worshipping one of his gods in their temple, was assassinated by his sons, sending the Assyrian Empire into tumult and chaos. So the Lord saved the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, King of Assyria, and Good King Hezekiah was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

Rather than relying on the aid of foreign nations and bowing to their forms of government, cultures, and gods, King Hezekiah put his trust in the God of Israel, which the nation and the people had seemingly forgotten. His first acts as King focused on the sweeping religious reforms which brought the soul of the country back to centralized worship in Jerusalem. These changes were not just cosmetic dressings, but affected the mentalities of the common people who took it as their own responsibility to destroy the idolatrous worship throughout the land. When threatened by an outside force, several magnitudes greater than himself, Hezekiah turned to God in prayer first and God not only healed the faithful during Passover, but destroyed the Assyrian invaders and caused their empire to begin to crumble.

A nation concerned with looking like its worldly neighbors, rather than the God which established it, will fall and collapse as all governments establish by men do. The healing of a nation can only begin when it returns to the things that once made it great. A God focused nation can only return to prominence, when it’s Heart and Soul are focused on the Worship and Glory of the Almighty, rather than itself.

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