We are approaching a phase in which, amid God’s apostolic dynamism, we as the people of God are being led into a new quality of relationship, one established by the presence of God’s love. The only requirement for this is a willingness to accept the closeness of the Father, who is Spirit, and to allow Him to love us in the way He desires.

 

We know from the Word of God that God the Father is Spirit (cf. John 4:24a).

 

24a God is spirit, …

 

Therefore, this concerns first and foremost our spiritual nature, as He imparts His living Word with a revelatory power intended for us. Through this, He draws us into the realm of the presence of His shield and into the power of the faith that emanates from God.

 

As a result, in the near future we will enter the great reward God has predestined for us — a reward that encompasses His presence and enables us to move forward in blessing (cf. Genesis 15:1).

 

1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’

 

This refers to standing within the embrace of God’s communication, which is prophetic and resembles the sound of many waters. This is accompanied, among other things, by the fluttering of the wings of the cherubim and results in a new walk in the dimension of faith, which is established within us through the Word of God (cf. Revelation 1:15b i.c.w. Ezekiel 1:24a; Romans 10:17).

 

… 15b, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

 

24a When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty [Note: Shaddai], …

 

17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

 

As we know that it is the testimony of Jesus that is the spirit of prophecy, from which it becomes evident for us that it is the sound of many waters (cf. Revelation 19:10e i.c.w. Jeremiah 10:13a).

 

… 10e for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

 

13a When he thunders [Note: utters his voice], the waters in the heavens roar; …

 

 

When we are ready to let God, our Father, love us, we are called to move forward fearlessly and continue on in faith, even when it challenges us (cf. 1 John 4:18).

 

18 There is no fear in love (Greek ‘agāpē’). But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 

This great reward also corresponds to the pruned vine in the Valley of Eshkol, where apostolic unity in the form of teamwork was established, and where Moses sent out twelve spies individually. In this context, the number ‘12’ points to the apostolic mission into a new field of God’s great reward (cf. Numbers 13:23-24).

 

23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol [Note: cluster of grapes], they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.

24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there.

 

This leads to an apostolic deepening of relationships among those who possess the right spiritual perspective for this time and the time to come. It is God’s magnificent love that we must implement from the spiritual realm into our live, so that His love may be recognized by people as we move forward together (cf. John 3:16 i.c.w. John 13:35).

 

16 For God [Note: the Father] so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

‘… 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’

 

This presupposes a covenant or agreement within the apostolic calling, for it directs our gaze away from ourselves and toward the One whom we reverently bear. In this way, He reveals to us the manifold qualities of His body — like a vine that bears many clusters of grapes (cf. John 15:5 i.c.w. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

 

5 ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

 

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

13 For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14 And so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

 

 

The Hebrew word used in Numbers 13:23-24 for ‘cutting off the vine’ is ‘kārat’ and is also

 

associated with ‘making a covenant’, where a sacrificial animal was divided into two parts and blood was shed. This explanation is meant to serve as a reference to the covenant established by God the Father through Jesus Christ with us, from which true spiritual unity arises.

 

This so-called apostolic covenant leads to a shift in thinking — away from an apostolic ‘individual existence’ toward a mindset of apostolic togetherness. It is an entry into the realm of God’s promise, which leads to a testing of our hearts to see if we have the right spiritual perspective to find the love that the Father has in store for this time and the time to come.

 

We are called to join with those who recognize this love and together bring it to earth and into our spiritual atmosphere. In doing so, our hearts are further tested to see whether our spiritual gaze is directed solely toward the future, or whether we recognize that the Son of God, with His redeeming glory (Note: a great vine with many clusters of grapes), is at the center. This glory is accompanied by the power of the royal priesthood, symbolized by the pomegranate, and the biblical-Hebrew mindset, represented by the figs.

 

The focus is on the proper spiritual symbiosis between the older and younger generations, which encompasses the influence of the spirit of Elijah. It is the Holy Spirit who turns the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the fathers (cf. Malachi 4:5-6).

 

5 ‘See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.

6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.’

 

This results in a great demonstration of trust by the older generation, which, though it precedes the younger generation, turns its face toward the younger generation, while the love of the Father — who is Jesus Christ — remains at the center.

 

This gives rise to a cherubic dynamic of God’s glory, which reveals the holiness of the LORD and the throne of His grace (cf. Hebrews 4:16a).

 

16a Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, …

 

 

It is like the two golden cherubim on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, which face one another (cf. Exodus 25:18-20).

 

18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.

19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.

20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upwards, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking towards the cover.

 

Our task is to bear witness to the victory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and to the love of the Father in apostolic unity, and to take care during this phase to move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit through the faith provided by the Father (cf. Numbers 13:23; Galatians 3:13-14).

 

23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.

 

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written [cf. Deuteronomy 21:23]: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’

14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

 

This profound glory of God’s love is ineffably precious and worthy of reverent honor within the kingship and priesthood of Christ, as understood through a biblical-Hebrew mindset (cf. Mark 6:7 i.c.w. Luke 10:1-2).

 

7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

 

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.

2 He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

 

Thus, for the Father, the harvest work and the workers He has commissioned refer to disciples who do not merely speak or comment on others; rather, grounded in the Word, they are clearly active, loving servants and proclaimers of the Word — members of the Body with a calling and apostolic mission who serve and do what brings glory to God and manifests His plans on earth by doing everything out of the Father’s love.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm