A Shepherd's Rod for the Biblical Year 5781 and the Gregorian Year 2021

Pe Aleph 5781
(Artwork from Simon Glimm)
 
Beloved People of God,
 
This prophetic word is meant to serve us as a piecework and guideline for the biblical year (note: 5781/2021). I encourage every reader to pray over this word, and to proclaim the plan of the Father over the coming year.
 
September, 18th, 2020, and the New Biblical Year 5781
 
On the eve of 09/18/2020 we, the Body of Christ, have entered the new biblical year 5781 together with the Jewish people. This is of importance to us who have been grafted as wild olive shoots into the precious olive tree, as we partake in the fatness (note: anointing) of the root (see Romans 11:17-18).
 
Romans 11:17-18:
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
 
The Apple of God's Eye
 
According to Zechariah 2:8b, Israel is the apple of God's eye with Jerusalem functioning as His pupil; so for us as Christians from the gentile nations it is beneficial to look at our lives and environment through Israel. This will result in walking confidently and with enlightened eyes into our future with Jesus Christ.
 
Zechariah 2:8b:
… 8b for whoever touches you (note: Israel) touches the apple of his eye.
 
The revelations we receive by this approach contain strategies helping us to position our lives in the center of the will and peace of God, just as Epaphras prayed (see Colossians 4:12).
 
Colossians 4:12:
12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
 
The Expression of Knowledge
 
As God's people we are currently in the biblical cycle of the “eighties” that are connected to the Hebrew letter “Pe – mouth”.
This is the decade connected to the verbal “expression of knowledge”, and is the basis for the coming years within this biblical decade (see Habakkuk 2:14).
 
Habakkuk 2:14:
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
 
The Numeric Value of 1
 
The biblical year 5781 is connected to the Hebrew letter “Aleph” which also has the numeric value of “1“.
Everything first takes a special place with God and is connected to the principal of giving in form of a “firstfruit” (see Exodus 13:1-2 i.c.w. Leviticus 23:9-11).
 
Exodus 13:1-2:
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
 
Leviticus 23:9-11:
9 The LORD said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.
11 He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.
 
The principle of giving a firstfruit points to Jesus Christ and His resurrection, because the sheaf from the barley harvest is counted from the day of resurrection, and reaches its climax at Shavuot/Pentecost (see Leviticus 23:15-17).
 
Leviticus 23:15-17:
15 “ ‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.
16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.
17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the LORD.
 
Furthermore I would like to take a closer look at the meaning of the number “1” first used in Genesis 1:1-5.
 
Genesis 1:1-5:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.
 
There is a basic principle embedded in the creation of the first day which points towards the new dimension of “the heavens“, whereat the first heaven (note: earth) is put into order by the spoken light of God.
 
Here it is about the presence of Jesus Christ who impacts the earth as light in form of the enlightened word of God (note: the revelatory truth) to bring order through the presence of the Holy Spirit predetermined by God; and this also includes being trained in revelatory truth (see John 16:13-15).
 
John 16:13-15:
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.
15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
 
The Eternal Light of God
 
It is the presence of the eternal light of God, namely Jesus Christ, which caused time to enter the space created by God in the beginning of creation in order to separate light and darkness.
 
The testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophesy and the prophetic word are a light shining in a dark place (see Genesis 1:3-5; John 1:1-5; John 8:12; 2 Peter 1:19; Revelation 19:10e).
 
Genesis 1:3-5:
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.
 
John 1:1-5:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
 
John 8:12:
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
 
2 Peter 1:19
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark (note: dirty) place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
 
Revelation 19:10e:
… 10e For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.
 
This light is set by God the Father to pierce into the realm of “chaos” to establish the divine order connected to “Shalom – peace” (see 1 Corinthians 14:33a).
 
1 Corinthians 14:33a:
33a For God is not a God of disorder but of peace …
 
The Hebrew word “šālôm” is closely connected to JAHWE as “SHALOM” at the time of Gideon, but also with Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace (see Judges 6:24; Isaiah 9:5).
Shalom” also means “completeness, prime condition, well being, peace as well as peace in relationship with God and people, safety, health, success, rest, contentment and consensus.” (part excerpt from Strong's Concordance, No. H7965).
 
The state of chaos merely indicates that right elements are present within a realm, but they are not in the right place.
At the word of the Father, Jesus created a sphere of governing light, and this resulted in the substance, which had previously been in a state of chaos, coming into God's order.
Jesus was – as it were – the so-called “God particle” bringing divine order, so that light was separated from darkness.
 
With the above mentioned scripture we see clearly that Jesus Christ is the light and the word, whereby the word of God is an alive, active and sharp two-edged sword that deals with the inner man and cuts off unwanted things (note: darkness; see Hebrews 4:12).
 
Hebrews 4:12:
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
 
This means God separates darkness from light in us that we may shine brighter in the world. This procedure shows that God's separation is good.
By this divine separation during the first day relative time entered eternity; for this reason Moses speaks of a day of God that can be like a thousand years (see Psalm 90:4).
 
Psalm 90:4:
4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
 
God identifies with our temporary time on earth, but He reigns and stewards from eternity.
On the first day there was neither sun nor moon to give structure to the temporary time, as they weren't created until the fourth day (see Genesis 1:14-19).
 
Genesis 1:14-19:
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.
16 God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth,18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And there was evening, and there was morning – the fourth day.
 
The creation of the first day is thus a new dimension in time amidst eternity where the Father invites us to live in His beloved son, Jesus Christ (see John 3:16).
 
John 3:16:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
 
By revelation knowledge and walking in the revelatory truth of God's word we are able to cope with chaotic situations; we achieve this by speaking and using the power of the revelatory truth from the word of God which in turn manifests order and Shalom – peace.
 
The Hebrew Letter “Aleph”
 
As mentioned earlier, the Hebrew letter “Aleph” carries the numeric value of “1” and means “bull, get accustomed to, thousand, teach, instruct, leader, strength, master/ LORD“. Also, its pictographic description is that of a “bulls head”.
 
The “Aleph” is the so-called “fathering letter“, because everything begins with the Father who as the Almighty One is beginning and end (see Revelation 1:8).
 
Revelation 1:8:
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
 
It is called the “fathering letter”, because the Hebrew word for “Father – āb starts with an “Aleph”.
 
Jesus as well said that He did not come in His own name, and He did not do His own works but only did what He saw the Father do (see John 5:19.43).
 
John 5:19.43:
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. …
43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; …
 
In midst of the presence of the Heavenly Father there is this gentle whisper that caused the prophet Elijah to drop his self-protection and step into the entrance of the cave (see 1 Kings 19:12b-13).
 
1 Kings 19:12b-13:
… 12b And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
 
This quiet, gentle whisper carries within the presence of the “I AM – JAHWE” who for instance makes use of the elements of wind and fire to reveal Himself to the people and to call them, so that they may comply and walk in this divine election of God (see Genesis 3:8a; Exodus 3:2.14 i.c.w. Matthew 22:14).
 
Genesis 3:8a:
8a Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day (note: during the day wind), …
 
Exodus 3:2.14:
2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. …
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
 
Matthew 22:14:
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
 
Furthermore, the “Aleph” points to the role of Jesus Christ as High priest in the order of Melchizedek who intercedes for us in the presence of JAHWE (see Hebrews 7:25 i.c.w. Hebrews 9:24).
 
Hebrews 7:25:
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
 
Hebrews 9:24:
24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. …
The reason for this is that the face of the “bull” or “ox” is an indication of the face of the Heavenly Father in form of priesthood and strength. The Father wants to reflect this characteristic in His people on earth through the sonship of Christ in combination with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
 
The Face of God and Knowledge
 
In order to better understand this particular characteristic of God's face we should take a close look at the Hebrew word for “face – pānîm” which means “faces” as well as “the presence of a person, complexion and front”. (note: part excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the word “face- pānîm” with word key number 6574)
 
This Hebrew word “pānîm” is set in the plural, and this explains that God is interested in speaking to us in a multi-faceted way. He doesn't merely have a face, but reveals Himself in various characteristics.
 
According to the biblical calendar we are in the decade of “Pe” which is associated with the “mouth”. As the mouth is part of the face and plays a vital role in regards to communication I see a special emphasis on this.
 
Please note that the Hebrew word for “face” begins with the letter “Pe”.
 
In a prophetic context and in conjunction with the decade of “Pe” the mouth is an indication for the Holy Spirit leading us as God's people into the realm of the verbal “expression of divine knowledge“.
 
This recognition of divine knowledge can be expressed via the different facets of the “face – pānîm” of God.
 
The four revealing characteristics of the face of God are:
  1. The face of the lion => The face of the lion is connected to the Spirit of the LORD as well as the Spirit of the fear of the LORD.
  2. The face of the ox => The face of the ox is connected to the Spirit of might.
  3. The face of the human being => The face of the human being is connected to the Spirit of understanding and counsel.
  4. The face of the flying eagle => The face of the flying eagle is connected to the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge.
In the context of the order of Melchizedek the four faces point to the following levels of authority in Christ (see Hebrews 5:5-6 i.c.w. Genesis 14:18-20):
  1. Kingdom of Melchizedek => face of the lion
  2. Priesthood of Melchizedek => face of the ox
  3. Law of Melchizedek => face of the human being
  4. Oracle of Melchizedek (note.: Urim and Tummim = guidance of the Holy Spirit into all truth; see John 16:13-15) => face of the eagle/flying eagle
The knowledge of God is coupled with concealment, because it is part of the treasures hidden in Jesus Christ (see Colossians 2:3).
 
Colossians 2:3:
… 3 in whom (note: Jesus Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
In order to be able to act in the position of the royal priesthood of Christ, it is essential that we walk in the power of His blood and live in His sacrificial death at the cross.
 
We achieve this by first accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God in our life by faith and then follow Him wholeheartedly and unconditionally (note: in faithfulness, with honest heart, in humility).
 
This results in Jesus Christ living in us through His Holy Spirit and His blood, and by this activating the kingdom and priesthood (see Revelation 1:5-6).
 
Revelation 1:5-6:
… 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
 
When we foster and cultivate our personal relationship with Jesus Christ it leads to us increasingly recognizing the Heavenly Father in Him and the way in which He appears to and communicates with us.
 
Jesus Christ is the One who connected the supernatural realm of the Father with the natural realm (see John 14:6).
 
John 14:6:
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
 
Motto For The Year 2021
 
The Herrenhuter motto for the Gregorian year 2021 is taken from Luke 6:36, where it says:
 
Luke 6:36:
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
 
The mercy or grace of the Heavenly Father always requires an act of faith and should not merely be understood as pity without deeds (see James 2:17.26).
 
James 2:17.26:
17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. …
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
 
To have pity on someone means nothing more than merely identifying with the respective person in distress, but not helping him or her hands on.
 
But as God's people we should act/react just like Jesus who acted from a higher realm in the Father's will, and helped the people by healing them or delivering them from demonic oppression (see John 5:19).
 
John 5:19:
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. …
 
With the story from John 5:1-9 I would like to focus on becoming active in regards to grace/mercy in the from of compassion; this implies getting active from a higher spiritual realm in Jesus Christ.
 
John 5:1-9:
1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 4 – and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the LORD would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.
5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
 
Jesus went up around the time of a feast, this means He entered a higher spiritual realm.
 
God calls His people to come up to a higher, spiritual level and to get active there.
 
Some believers set their standards way too low and thus only meet their own expectations, but God wants us to set our standards higher according to His will.
 
The standard established by us should be consistent with the high thoughts of God or His ideas (see Isaiah 55:8-9).
 
Isaiah 55:8-9:
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
 
Nowadays as humans we live in a mindset which wants to tell us that it is sufficient to have pity on our fellow humans; but this is not God's plan.
 
We are instructed to influence the people in our environment in the wisdom given to us by the Heavenly Father, just as Christ did (see John 7:15-18).
 
John 7:15-18:
15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”
16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.
17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
 
Reacting on the Call of Jesus
 
Regarding the scripture from John 5 the lame man became an over-comer of his paralyzed status, because he reacted on the invitation of Jesus by getting up and going higher.
The lame man renewed and lifted his thoughts to a higher level, where Jesus spoke to him (see John 5:8-9).
 
John 5:8-9:
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, …
 
This process of change in the life of the lame man started, as he got up and left the place of weakness (see Galatians 5:16.25 i.c.w. Colossians 3:1-2).
 
Galatians 5:16.25:
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. …
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
 
Colossians 3:1-2:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
 
Renewing the Mind
 
As afore mentioned Jesus went up to Jerusalem during a festivity.
This means that we cannot go up until we have lifted our thinking/mindset to a higher place and finished an old time, so that we may begin a new time of joy (see Ephesians 4:23-24 i.c.w. Romans 12:2).
 
Ephesians 4:23-24:
… 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
 
Romans 12:2:
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
 
The lifting up of our thinking/mindset becomes clear by the following example: When we move in a certain direction, our body follows our head.
Wherever our head turns, that is where our focus is.
We can't look back by viewing life through rejection and sorrow and at the same time expect to enter our future, because our body always follows our head.
 
As Jesus Christ is the head of the church, we should allow Him to to be our head and thus we may be able to advance with a clear conscience by the blood of the Lamb without being blocked by a mindset of sorrow from the past (see Hebrews 1:14).
 
Hebrews 9:14:
14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
 
May our head, united with our heart, be submitted to the Father through our sonship in Christ, so that we may go forward fully aligned with Him and experience how the heavenly is revealed through us, our walk and our mouth on earth.
 
Amen and Amen.
 
A spirited and sweet year 5781/2021,
 
Daniel Glimm