THE PRISONERS OF HOPE
I want to bring this into the “now” and in V 10 we have a prophetic revelation of the Dominion of Jesus Christ extending to the limits promised to Abraham unto the remotest parts of the earth. V 10 describes His Kingdom as being “from sea to sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth”. In Psalm 72:19, David’s prayer was that “the whole earth be filled with His Glory”. David declared this at the end of his blessing on his son Solomon who was to replace him as king, and Solomon is the type of the Sons of God as kings and priests in the Kingdom Day of Jesus on this earth. On this Day, David’s prophecy will be fulfilled as the Glory of The Lord fills the whole earth. The Sons of God are a company who will be birthed from the womb of the church, a priesthood formed to usher in the 1,000 year Kingdom of Jesus on this earth. The generation on the earth now will see this come to pass.
Zechariah sees in V 12, a group called the “Prisoners of Hope”. He sees in fact the Sons of God, who, in spite of affliction and trial which makes perfect, have maintained their Hope in Jesus to deliver them up in His own Glorious image. At this point I want to say to those His Faithful Ones, even when your circumstances are uncompromising and you feel the pressure of the wine press and the heat of the perfecting fire, STAND IN YOUR HOPE. The Lord of Glory has never forsaken you even when you wondered if He had. You are not alone; there is a company with you in similar circumstances. Be encouraged and live in your Hope. What a Glorious calling to be a Prisoner of Hope. This is a prison you cannot escape for you are called and chosen. Jeremiah 18:12 talks of those who say “there is no hope”. What a contrast.
What is this Hope? The Apostle Paul in Colossians 1:26 tells us that it is a mystery, but then goes on to reveal that the mystery is “Christ in you, THE HOPE OF GLORY”. It says that this mystery has been hidden from ages and generations. This is because it is to do with The Lord Jesus Christ, and can only be made manifest to those who receive Him as their Saviour and have Him in them. It is important to understand that the literal meaning of the Greek word used for “mystery”, is: “that which is known only to the initiated”. To be “initiated”, means “to be admitted into a group or the knowledge of a subject”. The Christian belief through the centuries has centred on death and the Glory which will follow, but I declare to you, that there is a group of initiated people on the earth right now called “The Sons of God” or His “Elect”, who have seen into the mystery and its fullness is known only by them. They are prisoners of their initiation, and their imprisonment has made them free from the bondage which has held creation captive since the fall of Adam.
Zechariah says in V 12, that our prison is a Stronghold. This literally means “a place cut off from access”. It is the womb of our forming. It is the Secret Place of the Lord Most High. It is a high Spiritual realm with its entrance through the flaming sword. Nobody can access this realm unless they have hungered for the Tree of Life and thirsted for the Living Water. Jesus saw this hunger and thirst and drew us to this Prison of Hope. Look at His Glorious promise to us: “I will render Double unto you”. Sonship went to Joseph who had the “double portion”. Job is a type of the Sons of God, and it says in Job 42:10 “when The Lord turned Job’s captivity, He gave him twice as much as he had before”. The mystery of this is unfolded in the names of his children who followed, but that is another preaching.
Beloved Sons, we are Prisoners of Hope. Isaiah 61:7 confirms this. The V 3 “mourners in Zion” will possess the double, and have everlasting joy. We will have “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness: called the Trees of Righteousness, the planting of The Lord, that He might be Glorified”. What a Glorious prison. What a Glorious Hope.
Hear the Word of The Lord, that “Your circumstances are but for a short time. They will turn around and you shall receive the double portion blessing. Your prison is not a pit but a high place in the Potter’s workshop. You have a Hope birthed within. Draw on this for it is your strength. This Hope is from The Lord for you to hang on to. It is not a “maybe”, but the Hope of Truth and strength which carried Jesus to the cross with great joy in the Glory which would follow and His restoration to Life Immortal. This is your Hope; let it be your stronghold, for surely you will prevail”.
Isaiah goes on to say in V 10 of a Spiritual adornment as jewels unto the Lord. Zechariah says the same in V 16: “they shall be as stones of a crown, lifted up as an ENSIGN IN THE LAND”.
What a Glorious progression. From Prisoners of Hope to His Ensign in the earth!
Each of the tribes of Israel had an ensign, or flag, which they displayed wherever they went or camped. The ensign of David’s Tribe of Judah was a Lion. For two thousand years Jesus has had an Ensign in the Earth called His Church. He is about to unfurl again the Ensign of the Tribe of Judah called The Sons of God. In Revelation 5:5, Jesus Himself is described as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah of the royal Kingly line of David. So too His Sons, whom Jesus will display as His new Ensign in the Earth, as they appear on the Glorious mountain of Zion as Kings and Priests of the royal line of David, bearing the image of Jesus in whose Name they will proclaim a New Day of Glory and Peace as they exalt Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Victorious, Immortal all conquering Lamb of God will behold from His Heavenly Throne as the Ensign of His Sons is driven by the wind of the spirit of God blowing in the land and causing the eyes of men to behold again the Ensign of Judah in the land.
These Prisoners of Hope will fulfill David’s prophecy and the Glory of The Lord will fill the earth. This generation is about to see a new move of God on this earth as Jesus begins His 1,000 year Kingdom reign of Glory, and the rudiments of the world and the pride of ungodly humanism is burnt up in the all consuming fire of His Glory. Isaiah 31:9 says that The Lord’s fire is in Zion. It also says that men shall pass by for fear of the Ensign.
The prophet Isaiah is given vision of these things in Isaiah 29. In V 1,The Lord refers to
“THE ARIEL OF GOD” or literally, “The Lion of God”, speaking of Zion the city of David. This city was rendered invincible by God.
The mighty city of David, now “Spiritual Zion”, is where the Lord dwells, and it is where His Faithful Ones dwell with Him. Whilst “THE ARIEL OF GOD” here refers to the city of Zion, I believe that The Elect of God take on this title as “The Lion of God”.
Isaiah 29 goes on to speak of the Lord’s dealing with them, yet Ariel shall emerge unvanquished. V’s 7 and 8 speak of the position of all those who fight against Mount Zion, The Ariel of God, The Sons of God. I counsel the opposers of this Glorious end-time prophetic Truth to consider, for you will not prevail against the Lion of Judah and the Ariel of God.
The Prisoners of Hope are the Ariel of God. They will be the Ensign in the Earth.
An ensign is a ‘Display” of something. Many people are an ensign to themselves. Self and pride lifts up self to display self. When Jesus lifts up the Ensign of His Sons, it will be to display Him, not them in regard to pride or their self promotion. Jesus will never lift up anybody to display the person. He will only lift up those who display Him. The situation in the close of the church day is that we are seeing churches and leaders intent on displaying themselves.
In Isaiah 11:9, the Lord speaks of a day when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of The Lord, as the waters cover the sea. In V 10 He says: “and in that day there shall be a root out of Jesse (the seed of David) WHICH SHALL STAND FOR AN ENSIGN of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and it shall be a Glorious rest to Jesus”.
You see beloved, whether man, religion, me or you accept it or not matters nothing. The Lord will perform all of His will, and that prophesied day will come. Yes it may have been in part in former days but the Day is yet to come when the earth is filled with the knowledge of Jesus as a Glorious rest to Him. The Day of Rest is the Seventh Day, and the Feast of Tabernacles is yet to be fulfilled on this earth.
Read Psalm 94. The psalmist asks The Lord to “shine forth”, and to “lift Himself up” as judge of the earth. Yes, The Lord could come and reveal Himself again in physical form, but He has chosen to “lift Himself up” in a people who have sought Him and with them He is forming a glorious Ensign which shall go forth in the land declaring the Day of The Lord, setting the captives free and bringing wisdom peace and life to this travailing world. In that day, Spiritual principles will be used to direct natural affairs. World leaders will see the Ensign and be drawn to the Sons of God as they were in the day of Solomon’s reign. They came to Solomon for his wisdom and direction for their affairs.
Since the fall, the world has generally been governed by ungodly rulers with its rudiments born from humanism and darkness. This will change on The Kingdom Day as Godly wisdom becomes the Light which will light up the hearts of man. Kingdom principles will oppose natural laws, but they are Truth. Man’s fallen natural laws are born from death and corruption, whereas Jesus Kingdom Truth is born from Life and this Life is the Light of men. His Kingdom is associated with Light, because Jesus is the Light of the world. His Light is associated with Knowledge and that is why Isaiah prophesied that it would fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Look at the world today. The evil perversion in the hearts of man. The greed which leads to wars and destruction. The false religions and the blindness of their adherents. The compromising Christian church more intent on promoting programmes than speaking Truth. Rejecting the prophets. The world is probably worse now than in the days of Sodom and even more spurious, the masquerading church which condones to the Sodomites and embraces them into leadership.
The hearts of The Prisoners of Hope cry out, “How long Lord, Let Thy Kingdom come to earth. Let Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.
This is a prophetic message, and I write to declare that “the Ariel of God” will soon be lifted as an Ensign to Himself.
How do you react to this? I know that there will be those that scoff and reject this word. There will be those that will try to intellectualize it, and there will be those that seek to see if these words are Truth. The Faithful Ones will eat it as the Bread of Life.
I write only to Exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and proclaim the word that He has given to me. He is drawing you and speaking to you right now no matter what category of reader you fit into. Only the Spirit of God can bring Light and Truth and I encourage you to call out to Jesus who has promised that all who seek shall find.
If right now you feel a trembling or challenge in your soul, it is The Holy Spirit drawing you. Respond to Him. Cry out to Jesus and He will meet you where you are and touch you. If you need Him as your Lord and Saviour, acknowledge that He is the Son of God, confess that He died for you and that you believe that He rose from the dead, and ask Him right now to come into your heart. He will, as He has promised.
I call the Name of Jesus over this Word and ask The Holy Ghost to bring this word to Light to each who has read it.
ALL GLORY TO JESUS
LARRY WILSON
