During the reign of King Jehoiakim, and over fifteen years before Nebuchadnezzar carried off most of Judah to Babylon, Jeremiah had prophesied that Judah would be held in captivity for seventy years.
All of the scribes and priests had access to the prophecies of Jeremiah, but the Bible only states that the old prophet, Daniel, understood it was time for the captivity of Judah to be finished in Babylon. So, Daniel humbled himself with fasting, supplications, and prayers, interceding for the Lord to act upon Jeremiah’s prophecy.
While Daniel was still speaking, praying, and confessing his sin and the sin of Israel, the angel Gabriel showed up and said:
“O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you… (Daniel 9:22-23)
In the above example, we read how the Holy Spirit enlightened Daniel to pray Jeremiah’s prophecy into being. Then, while Daniel is still praying, Gabriel arrives to give the old prophet even more understanding.
Okay, this is the exact same place I believe we stand right now with:
...that he might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace (Ephesians 2:15)
There is no use attempting to bring unity to the Body of Christ if the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers are not brought into the one new man relationship. We Gentiles need the Jewish believers and the Jewish believers need us.
Without the one new man coming into being, we will not attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the fullness of Christ. We instead will continue to be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Eventually, the one new man has to arrive at this level of power, love, and revelation:
so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:10)
Because I feel this is so important right now, I’m changing my Tuesday regimen of praying and fasting for the prisoners of Asia, which has been my practice for more than four years. But instead, I will be fasting and praying for the one new man to come forth in the Body of Christ.
Who knows? Maybe Gabriel will show up and give us understanding.
If you agree and feel the Holy Spirit is leading you to do so, join me on Tuesdays in fasting and praying for the one new man.
(Conclusion for now……if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)
Larry Who 