Clouds and Thick Darkness

In late April our ministry hosted a special three-day School of the Spirit meeting. On Monday, April 28 the theme of the evening service centered around “Winds of Change.” Much to our surprise, shortly after the meeting, the winds and rain began to fall in the South Alabama /Pensacola region in an extraordinary way. Over 20 inches of rain saturated the area in the following 24 hours with an unprecedented 6.2 inches falling in one hour.

While the flooding and resulting damage was unfortunate, we must also evaluate this situation to determine if there is something the Lord is saying through it. I prayed earnestly into this and feel there may be multiple messages, but one primary passage prevails. Psalms 92:7 says:

Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

The Lord coming in clouds and thick darkness speaks of a divine visitation bringing God’s justice. This type of visitation is like a two edged sword. It will produce judgments and blessings simultaneously; favor and grace upon righteousness and discipline upon unrighteousness. Those that have been faithful through repentance and intercession will find the coming season producing cleansing and blessing.

We will be cleansed and sanctified by His Spirit so that we can become partaker’s of His Divine nature and His Holy character. Furthermore, we will experience the release of the Spirit of Truth in a profound way in order to deal with the sin of unbelief within the church.

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged…But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. –John 16:8-13.

We have the incredible privilege of living in the generation that will witness the unveiling of great mysteries and hidden secrets reserved for the “time of the end.” (See Daniel 12:4). Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is beginning to unleash “great and mighty things” related to our prophetic mandate. These Scriptural directives impart insight with understanding concerning the revelation of His Glory and Nature.

His Divine Nature

The Scriptures stipulate we have His precious and magnificent promises by which we become partaker’s of His Divine nature through the true knowledge of Christ. (See 2 Peter 1:4-8)

The time of the end is a period for revealing and reinstating great truth and exposing the hidden things of darkness. An “overcoming” company of believers will begin to “taste the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.” (See Hebrews 6:5) Conversely, those that have not been faithful to God’s Word will find this visitation producing correction and Divine discipline.

Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of His throne. For there to be a true unveiling of the Lord’s manifest presence, there must be a foundation of Righteousness and Justice upon which His seat of authority is established. These two pillars constitute the essential framework for true kingly authority. The Bible tells us that those who “overcome” will be pillars in the temple of God.

Revelation 3:12—He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

Ps 89:14-15 Your throne is founded on two strong pillars the one is Justice and the other Righteousness. Mercy and Truth walk before you as your attendants. Blessed are those who hear the joyful blast of the trumpet, for they shall walk in the light of your presence. (TLB)

We are to be the pillars of Righteousness and Justice through which the Lord will execute His judgments in the Earth. With maturity we will become the trees of Righteousness that bare fruit reflecting His Divine attributes.

The Lord Our Righteousness

In Jeremiah 33:16 the Lord first revealed Himself as Jehovah Tsidkenu-The Lord Our Righteousness. A righteous God pronounced death as the penalty of sin, yet that same God became flesh, the righteous branch, to taste death for every sinner and provide the righteousness that is transferred or imputed through His grace.

When the Lord descended before Moses in a cloud He is described as compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth yet HE WILL NOT LEAVE THE GUILTY UNPUNISHED. (See Exodus 34:5-7) The heart cry of the Spirit is to REPENT and RETURN to the Lord that times of refreshing may come from His presence providing true righteousness.

In the Old Testament there is evident revelation of Israel as being a nation seeking after righteousness, yet in its passionate desire for righteousness, the people discover their own unrighteousness. Therefore, we become people that are seekers after hearts of purity and communion with God in holiness by His grace. God will always have a remnant of people in the Earth who seek after Him and His Righteousness.

The righteousness of God is revealed to us through the written Word—The Revelation of Jesus Christ. When the first written law was given in the form of the Ten Commandments we recognized the first five commandments dealt with right relationship with God. The second five commandments related to a right relationship with our fellow man.

All proper relationships first begin with a wholesome understanding and relationship with God Himself. Only after we have a spiritually healthy relationship with the Lord can we move into proper relationships with our fellow man based on sincere fraternal affection. The Lord is looking for those that can walk together in agreement and unity so that He can pour out His anointing upon them.

When righteousness has been established in the hearts of believers through the Word, we may then move into a subsequent aspect of righteousness, which is Holiness. The Spirit of Holiness is the very power of the resurrection as described in Romans 1:4:

Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead

God’s great power is released to us through the Spirit of Holiness. The Lord desires to establish Righteousness and Justice in us as a foundation of His throne and manifest Presence. This manifested power of God lies in the cross as stipulated in 1 Corinthians 1:18:

For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

As we seek the Lord’s Face through times of spiritual intimacy and waiting on Him, even more so than seeking His hand, we then become partaker’s of His Holy character by being reflections of His image. We will begin to truly KNOW HIM and the power of His resurrection though it may include the fellowship of His sufferings. Gods manifest power is essential to us in becoming the light of the world during the coming times of great darkness.