[FamilyofGod] ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: HEAVEN XVII: Daniel's Prophecies
Heaven XVII:
Daniel's Prophecies
Do you have an indescribable craving in your spirit for something you can't even put to words? Is there a cry in the depths of your being for a walk with God unlike anything you've seen or heard of in any of the people with whom you are acquainted? Are you thirsting for a place of intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ the likes of which will clearly demonstrate your being One with Him? ... A place of spiritual existence in which the works that Jesus did are commonplace in your life?
Then you know exactly how I felt in 1969 while ministering with Bill Christopulos in Salt Lake City. Brother Bill came over to my house one day after seeing (in the realm of the Spirit) the cry that consumed my whole being. My whole demeanor reflected that cry, that unrest, that place of absolute dissatisfaction with where I was in Christ Jesus. Brother Bill walked in and sat down. Without any greeting or social commentary he just dived in, "Reg, what is it that you want from the Lord?"
There was no hesitation or delay in my response. It simply erupted from my whole being, "Brother Bill, you remember how it was with Elijah and Elisha? You remember the miracles that Elijah did, how he raised the dead, how he demonstrated the power and authority of the Lord in the midst of Israel in a way no prophet before him had done? You remember how when asked that same question, Elisha had the unbelievable boldness -- the unmitigated gall, if you will -- to say to Elijah, "I want double everything you've got in God!"
"Brother Bill, that's where I am. I have some stupendous promises from God. I've seen some of what my destiny should be in the Lord. I really don't know what my full inheritance is supposed to be, but there is a level of dissatisfaction in me that I can't put into words! I've come to the place that I want a double portion of whatever my inheritance was supposed to be in the Kingdom of God!"
He was quiet for a minute, but my answer to his question really seemed not to catch him off guard. "Brother," he said, "I don't really think you know or understand what you're asking for! I don't think you have any idea what it will cost you!"
I interrupted him, "Brother Bill, I don't really care what it costs! I'm determined to have God's best, and I won't settle for anything less!"
If Bill Christopulos found my rather brassy and perhaps presumptuous answer humorous, he kept a straight face while he continued. "You don't understand, Son! It will cost you your friends. It will cost you your family. I will cost you your business. (I was President of Intermountain Electronics Corp. at the time.) It will cost you your standing, your reputation in the community -- and likely your reputation among your fellow-Christians."
The thirst in my being for all that God had for me knew no bounds, and remembering Jesus' promise in Mark 10:30, I had no qualms about responding, "I don't care what it costs! I'm determined to have all that would have been my inheritance in God -- and double!"
Now he smiled broadly. "My brother, God is going to give it to you."
That was 42 years ago. It was 62 years ago that Jesus stood at my bedside and began to lay out His plan and purpose for my life, and to show me a vision of what lay in store. It was 60 years ago today that the Lord took me to Heaven for my first trip and made some very specific promises to me of what He was going to have for me.
In 65+ years of actively walking with the Lord (although there's not a day in my life that I haven't known Him), there isn't a miracle that I haven't seen or been a part of -- with the exception of walking on water, or turning water into wine. I cannot begin to imagine how many folks I've led to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Wouldn't even try to calculate the number of people healed from every conceivable disease, illness, infirmity or weakness!
I've seen blind eyes healed, the deaf made to hear, the crippled made to walk, arms or legs replaced which had either not grown because of birth defects, or lost through accidents or disease, teeth replaced supernaturally, organs instantly made whole or replaced in their entirety, cancer made to cease completely with formerly cancerous organs or tissue replaced, speech impediments removed, people healed of Parkinson's, Tuberculosis, Asthmatic attacks -- and the list goes on and on.
Thousands of people have been set free from evil spirits -- every kind of demonic activity you can think of. If you've seen the movie, The Exorcist, with its demonic displays and graphically displayed activities, there is nothing in that movie that I've not seen in real life -- and yet I've seen the authority of Jesus' Name (His Onoma) free people completely who've been in that kind of bondage.
I've personally been involved in and seen three people raised from the dead -- not including being raised from the dead myself 28-plus years ago after suffering a massive heart attack. I've seen corruption removed from governments and corrupt individuals removed from office -- sometimes almost instantly -- while the Lord raised up the righteous to replace them.
Consider the Day of Pentecost when seventeen distinct nationalities with their own languages heard people they knew had no prior knowledge of their tongues began to speak fluently in those languages and dialects praising and glorifying the Lord. Not only have I been witness to it on many occasions, I've personally had people come up to me and ask where I learned to speak such perfect Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, Castilian (Spanish) or some other language. Obviously it was the Holy Spirit speaking through me, and it was a sign to those who heard.
Does that all sound good to you? Great! But, folks, that's all nothing more than the fulfillment of Jesus' promise that "verily, verily I say unto you, the works that I do shall ye do also....." (See John 14:12)
I'm not complaining about what I've seen and experienced in God -- not by a country mile! But that's just a drop in the bucket! I remember a prophetic Word that came forth one day in the midst of one of our gatherings in which the Holy Spirit said, "All that you've seen and experienced is less than a single drop in a ten-gallon bucket of that which I've prepared for you."
You know what that does to me? You think I've been thirsty before to see the handiwork of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life? There is literally a scream inside of me that I can't even begin to put into words to be so One with the Lord Jesus Christ that when people see me, they see Him; when He speaks or when I see Him do something in the Heavenlies, I can declare those things and call them into being, doing the "greater works" of which He promised in that same commitment that John referenced in John 14:12.
That thirst, that craving is whetted additionally by the promises Jesus made to me as we were preparing to leave Heaven (and I'm somewhat getting ahead of myself in my narrative of the experiences I had during this trip to Heaven) and were standing at the Gate. Add to that the vision He embedded in my Spirit at age seven when He appeared at my bedside, and you have something that can only be described as "a consuming fire!" (See Hebrews 12:29)
So, why am I talking about this now? My discussions in Heaven with David, with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and now, Daniel, burned something into my inner being I can only describe as being etched, engraved -- carved if you will, in the deepest recesses of my mind and spirit. There has been in me a lifelong recognition that we as the people of God have lived our lives so far beneath God's destiny for us that it is tantamount to our settling for a piece of tinfoil instead of reaching out and taking the handful of gold and diamonds being offered.
That brings me to my continuing discussions with Daniel.
"It seems to me," I said, "that your prayer life and your fasting became a real source of controversy and antagonism. We've all heard -- perhaps more than any other story of you -- about your daily routine of prayers; and how jealous the princes and presidents were of you and your standing with the king. They tricked the king into signing a decree which required all the inhabitants of the land to worship only him, and blocking them from offering a prayer or making a request to God or any idol other than him.
"You went about your daily practice of prayer and intercession and waiting on God as though the decree didn't exist. That resulted in them petitioning the king to have you thrown into the den of lions to be executed because of your disobedience. My question to you is this: what happened to you when you were thrown into the den of lions? I know that the Lord shut the mouths of the lions, but what happened? What took place there?"
Daniel began to chuckle. "To tell the truth, the whole experience was quite astonishing," he said. "You have to realize just how angry King Darius was when he realized what was being perpetrated by these jealous princes and presidents. He and I had really developed a wonderful friendship. God had given me immense favor with him. The presence of the Holy Spirit in my life caused him to desire my presence and companionship on a daily basis. He trusted me and he trusted the counsel of the Lord that came through me.
"There was literal pain in his face as he stood by and watched them throw me into that den. Those presidents, princes and lords wanted to ensure that I couldn't somehow escape from the lion's den so they had a large stone rolled across the mouth of the den. In a way it was almost funny.
"When I picked myself up off the floor of that den after being unceremoniously dumped in, the first thing I saw was the angel of the Lord standing between the lions. They didn't roar. They didn't growl. They didn't lick their lips or make any motions that would indicate their desire to kill and eat me. They were tamed to the point that I was almost tempted to pet them. I didn't, of course, but they were completely quieted. The angel of the Lord made them feel like they had already eaten to the full. They didn't exhibit any hunger or desire for food. They just laid down and went to sleep."
I thought about the whole picture for a minute and then asked, "Did the angel of the Lord stay with you that whole night?"
"Yes, he did," Daniel answered. "He motioned for me to sit down and just rest. I suppose I could have gone to sleep, but I didn't. I just quietly prayed and meditated on what God was doing.
"Even as the new day was dawning, I heard the voice of King Darius as he cried out, 'Daniel! Oh, Daniel! Servant of the Living God! Is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?'
"You know the rest of that story. It may not have been very dignified or the usual thing for a king to do, but the king grabbed me and embraced me when his servants brought me up from the lions' den.
"It probably seems a bit extreme, but Darius didn't want even a trace of the kind of jealousy and hatred and conspiratorial conduct remaining among the royalty and nobility of the palace; so he gave the command that every single one of those lords, princes and presidents should be taken, along with their wives and children and thrown into the lions' den. What a picture! You've never seen anything like it! In the same way that the angel of the Lord had made the lions feel completely satisfied and full so long as I was among them, when I was removed it was as though their hunger was suddenly increased! They might as well have been starved! As each person was thrown into the den, the lions ripped them in pieces and devoured them before their bodies ever had a chance to hit the ground.
"My deliverance from the lions, and the subsequent devouring by the lions of all those who had conspired against me sent a chilling message to all would-be conspirators. It was a demonstration of the Lord on my behalf of His utter protection and His vindication of my relationship with Him!"
Daniel's very clear description of this event left an indelible picture of God's deliverance in my spirit -- a picture that has lasted with me during the past sixty years, and one I've come to personally appreciate as I have seen the Lord's protection and deliverance of me in rather extreme circumstances when my life was clearly in danger.
Our conversation now turned to some of his rather cryptic but graphic prophecies.
"In the prophetic experiences you had, the Lord opened up much of the future for you and showed you things that would happen well past your lifetime, and things that are happening even now, thousands of years after you prophesied them. You not only saw events to come that were immediate and affected kings like Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and Darius during the years you served as Prime Minister, you also saw the coming of Messiah, his death and resurrection, and events which would follow in the years afterward.
"The thing that gets a lot of preachers today is the fact that the Lord told you to seal up those things that He showed you until the time of the end. In spite of my youth, I've heard so many theories concerning "the time of the end" as to be ridiculous. Not only that, it causes confusion for many believers. Am I wrong, or am I living in that "time of the end" which the Lord showed you?"
"You know that because of what the Lord showed you concerning Israel more than two years ago," Daniel answered, smiling broadly. "There is a revelation that comes by the Holy Spirit," he continued, "in which the things that have been sealed up are unsealed to and for those who are in union with Him."
Something flashed past me in that moment that I'd seen throughout the Word.
"Can I ask you a question concerning something you saw (recorded in Daniel 7, 8, & 11) and mentioned several times throughout your sharing of the prophecies? Even Jesus made mention of this in His teaching and prophesying."
"Certainly," he responded. "But don't ask me to open the book which has been sealed up. There is a very specific timing in which the Holy Spirit will bring things to your remembrance in years to come -- things you've seen but not understood, things you've heard in the realm of the Spirit for which you've had no context, and fresh revelation. There is a day and an hour for this revelation to come forth. Some of those things you will see, hear, and understand before others of your generation. Some of them will be seen and understood by other brethren and shared throughout the body of Christ both before and about the same time as the Holy Spirit begins to reveal them to you. Don't worry or fret if you see and/or hear things that don't seem to mesh with what you are hearing commonly taught.
"In some things you will be a forerunner as you share; in others you will receive revelation and share simultaneously with other men and women to whom the same revelation will be given. At times you will see and hear and speak things that are totally at odds with preachers and teachers who've arrived at what they think is truth but have been steered astray by human intellect and unhearing ears to what the Holy Spirit is saying."
"Now, ask your question."
"You make several references to the 'four winds of heaven.' Jesus uses this same phrase when He is teaching the disciples. Then John refers in Revelation to the 'four winds of the earth.' What does that mean? Is there some great significance to this picture of the four winds?"
As was pretty much true throughout my visits with everyone in Heaven, Jesus either stood by or was fairly close at hand as we conversed. I glanced over at Him and His eyes were twinkling. He nodded His head toward Daniel ever so slightly, indicating that it was OK to answer that question.
"I will take you back first of all to a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah that Isaiah delivered in which he said, 'and the government shall be upon His shoulder.' That wasn't just the government of Heaven, that was the government of all the nations of the earth. You'll remember that Isaiah prophesied about the government being 'upon His shoulder.' Let me ask you a quick question. Where is your shoulder?"
I'll admit to being caught a bit off guard. Not too certain of where he was going with this, I pointed to my shoulder(s) and said, "right here! On my body."
He laughed and said, "OK. Good. Now, let's apply that picture to the body of Christ -- and actually, when you have your discussion with Paul and the other apostles, they'll expand on this for you, I'm sure. Jesus is pictured as the Head of the body. You and all the other believers in Christ are pictured as the torso, the arms, the hands, the legs and the feet. The torso includes the shoulder. Therefore the government of the nations of the earth -- and in a more practical sense, the area of town, the city, the state and the region where you live -- is upon your shoulder.
"As you get older and more mature this will become much more significant to you. What I'm getting at is that the responsibility for the government of the city, the state or the nation in which you live becomes more and more your responsibility. You have an assignment -- a divine assignment -- to watch over and govern the area in which you live, first and foremost, in the realm of the Spirit.
"Let me make this more personal. In the years ahead, the Holy Spirit will lay upon you a very great and important responsibility to rule through prayer, through intercession, and through decrees and declarations over the area in which you live. It will grip your whole being and you will become the very picture of your name -- Regner -- which means 'King.' Do not be surprised if that rulership or governance takes place in the natural realm. Father God will lay upon you increasing responsibility, and if you commit yourself to His purposes for righteous government, you may find yourself actually serving as I did."
My eyes must have glazed over for a minute trying to take it all in because he said, "Don't think about this too much right now. The time isn't yet. You will likely forget about this conversation -- at least in your conscious memory -- in the months and years ahead, but at the time appointed by Father God it will come back to the forefront.
"Now let me come back to the way your phrased your question to me concerning the four winds of heaven. Whenever you see a reference to the four winds in these prophecies, they always spell a significant change of government in the earth. That's where you -- and every praying and interceding believer -- come in. It is the responsibility of believers to agree with God's plan for Kingdom governance in the earth and to exercise the authority they've been given over the spiritual forces of wickedness that attempt to contaminate the civil governments of this earth.
"Does that make sense to you? Do you understand what I'm saying to you? If you will agree with the Lord for righteous governance over the area in which you live, He will put you in the right place at the right time to enforce and enact His Will!"
Daniel had gone from the smiling, almost jovial, personality to a very serious look on his face. Although the significance of what he was saying would fade away in my consciousness for a number of years, the Lord had used this opportunity to plant a seed in the core of my being -- one that would begin to flower and grow in the years to come, and one that would begin a process of revelation in my spirit concerning the degree of spiritual authority vested in us as sons and daughters of God.
I've really run long in this Coffee Break, but I wanted to finish this phase of my sharing before moving on to my experiences with Peter, James & John and Paul. I won't take the time right now -- or at least during the next few weeks -- to share what Daniel had to say about the 70-weeks prophecy. That's a pretty strong subject, one likely to be filled with some controversy once shared, so I'll wait until later this next year to share what I saw and heard in a separate Coffee Break series.
"In the midst of the turmoil all around us we need to see the coming Kingdom. The shaking has started and the Kingdom of God is about to be manifest in this world like never before. The greatest move of God that the world has ever seen is knocking on our doors if we have ears to hear and inner eyes to see." (Neville Johnson)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
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