Many years ago I found myself being drawn for months into a study of the the kings of Israel (Judah and "Israel" which had split off from each other [long story]). There is a whole long list of them. For most people that would be a rather boring tedious study but for some reason, The Holy Spirit seemed to always draw me back into it with that kind of realization that there was something God wanted me to see in all that - something about His Church. For quite a while after that I could rattle them off like the names of my own children. In those days when my wife was having a hard time falling asleep, she would ask me to tell her all about the kings of Israel. It wouldn't take long and she was fast asleep. And me? I would have that spark ignite again and would end up pondering or studying all that for hours. OK you can laugh about that!
Don't ask me to run them all off like that today though. 30 years have gone by since then. I can barely remember most of their names or anything in detail about them. Maybe that is a subconscious desire built into me at my age to value my sleep...
But there are some things that I was left with from that time of study about the kings of Israel (which is also a study of that portion of the history of the nation and people of Israel and God's relationship to them. He communicated with them. He cried out to them through His prophets when they wandered from Him. Israel was God's chosen people. He appointed kings to rule over them during that period of their history. What I was left with after all that and even today is that they, in some way or another, either:
Did evil in the sight of the Lord
OR
Did what was right in the sight of the Lord "but did not tear down the high places" (which offended God)
That was God's bottom line for each of them. His divine measuring stick of the sum total of their rule. But it used to nag at me about that second one. They did good. And studying all that, I surmised that they really did. They did good. But even with all the good they did, what was this consistent "BUT" about the "high places" and "not tearing them down"???
The high places were the places set aside to worship other gods that the children of Israel had acquired from their contacts with other nations. God had set the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) apart to be HIS people. By Inspiration, the temple of God was built in Jerusalem. Even though it was forbidden by God, after a while those other high places just seemed to become a part of the nation's "culture" and nobody (even the kings) seemed to be bothered about it. Eventually to the point where everyone conveniently forgot what God had said about that being VERY displeasing to Him. So the people of Israel grew in numbers to become a great nation and they remained the people of God, but the whole time, there were those "high places" still standing there among them AND being used to worship other gods.
Now here and there, a prophet would be sent to speak to these kings about all this so they really had no excuse. One of them, in constant tears warned them that if the nation didn't repent that God was going to allow them to be captured and taken off to a foreign land in captivity (Babylon). A lesser known prophet was sent specifically about those high places and scolded them that they had failed to tear them down. He also told them that someday there would be a king raised up named Josiah, a young king, and that HE would "tear down the high places." That HE would DO what the Lord said to do about those places.
Several generations later a young boy named Josiah was made king (of Judah) and he like a few others "began to do what was right in the sight of God." While he was in his twenties somebody found the book of the Law of God and brought it to him and he began to read it. True to what had been foretold about him, he ordered that all the high places were to be torn down and had them and a lot of other offensive things destroyed. No compromises. That's what the book of the Law said, that's what he did. He didn't seem to care how those things had become a part of the culture for years or how many valued those places and those gods. He didn't seem to care that some people would feel badly about it. He just did what God said to do and destroyed them. Things went pretty good for the nation during his rule. You can read about Josiah in II Kings 22 and on about how he went about cleansing the land. Brutal! He lived his life out and another king took his place and guess what? That king screwed up just like all the rest. Oh man!..
There's something to notice about all this. First, the "People of God" were a mess for a long time during this period. Second, God spoke to them quite a bit through His prophets. He warned them of exactly what was going to happen if they didn't tear those offensive places down, etc. Third, God told them He was going to do it and later raised up the foretold king who under the inspiration of the Word demonstrated what God was saying to do and what things would be like if they did it. There was a clear demonstration of His will. Fourth, the nation reverted right back into it's fallen state and, as a cumulative result of generations of disobedience, got carried away into captivity in Babylon. Then Babylonians basically gutted out the Temple of God...
How much more bizarre can it get?
Around this time when I was so engrossed in all this I had an understanding come to me that God was going to raise up a generation of "Josiah" that would set things straight in His Church. that they would tear down all the high places that have been built in "Christianity" just like king Josiah did back in that day. Oddly a few months later, a young couple we knew had a son and called his name "Josiah" and again it sparked in my heart that God was indeed saying this. I was a young man back then. I'm really not now. that was back in the early 1980's or so.
There were two other things that happened, both in about 1980.
One night late' I felt compelled in an unusual way to go to the scriptures and found myself turning pages at almost supernatural speed then suddenly my eyes focused on a particular scripture and in particular an expression within that scripture. "To the church at" (followed by a location). It was shocking as in a matter of minutes I found myself over and over again through the new testament turning without trying to another page without trying to read it focusing on a scripture there with that expression or description of the church. Every last reference to that expression and there are many. I was astounded by the expression... "Lord, What are you saying to me?!!" I said, and every time I said or thought that, I would be led to arbitrarily turn to another expression of that...
The second thing that happened that year was I had a vision where I was caught up into the presence of God in the midst of believers worshiping Him in a "building" that had no walls. If you are reading this on my blog there is a page there on the side menu with a full description of that vision. It was a vision of God's Church. Absolutely beautiful only because of the notable fact that the presence of Jesus was there. There was nothing else about it that made it attractive in any other way. I honestly, not then or now could tell you anything about the "building" itself other than it was a place more than a building as we perceive buildings and that it had a roof or a covering of some kind and everyone there was standing on something solid. It did not have any walls or partitions anywhere. The presence of Jesus didn't inhabit the "building." It inhabited the people assembled there. Assembled where? In the presence of God.
Somewhere over a long period of history, the concept of "The Church" has gotten mangled almost beyond recognition compared to the early church or if you will the true church. It has also become pluralized (if there is such a word). Along the line there developed a "worship" of individual buildings and later a "worship" of organizations. People began to use the word "church" to describe a building and later to describe a separate organization. Carnality took the place of the prominence of Jesus and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
But I believe that much of this phenomenon started when there came up a move to separate the "Church" from the Israel of God. That was a major error. No one can separate the true church from the true Israel. No one can separate the true Israel from the true Church. There is no separate Gentile church from the Church which is Israel by faith. By faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus (Yeshua) we gentiles are "added to the commonwealth of Israel"... Now that should not be confused with the present nation "Israel" just because it happens to be located on some of the real estate that once comprised "the Promised Land"...
"Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is ONE God"
The Church of Jesus Christ (the called out, the chosen ones) cannot be defined in plurality any more than God can be defined in plurality. There are not "many churches" and certainly not "many churches in a particular locality". The day is coming when God will raise up a generation of Josiah's who with one mind and one accord will crush the worship of so called "church" buildings and organizations in our hearts. We will no longer be able to stand before God and hold and admiration of those things in our heart. We will only be able to see Jesus in us the hope of glory. In that day nothing else will matter to us except the glory of God in His Son Jesus. We will have no reverence for positions and titles in the Church or individual so called "churches" because it will all be about Him. We will see Jesus and because of that we will become like Him. Nothing else will matter not even our own earthly lives. The Church (the called out, the chosen ones) will be a mirror reflection of Jesus in our midst and the world will have that chance to see Him in us or reject Him...
