Bridge Over Troubled Waters
We, as well as others in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, are appreciative of the calls and inquiries from friends who reached out following the recent tragedy of the collapse of the I-35W Bridge. We are located nearly one hundred miles away from the metro area, but frequently travel over that bridge, the last time being only five days before it collapsed. Needless to say, the grief of those who suffered loss and the overall shock to the community will last a long time, and your prayers for all affected touch the heart of God. The following are a few comments/prayer directives for the intercessors who seek to understand the big picture:
The Prophetic Witness
Those who read the prophetic networks are aware of a word circulating which has identified both the Katrina disaster and this recent bridge collapse as relating to the spiritual realities spanning the USA from the mouth of the Mississippi by New Orleans to its headwaters by Minneapolis. We believe this word is accurate and has much "meat" in it; although, like many of the parables of the Spirit, this, too, comes in the form of "dark sayings" that need interpretation and discernment. Watch and pray.
God's Mercy
While "weeping with those who weep" and upholding the community in its time of grief, we must realize that God's mercies were clearly proven in this tragic event and that the Scripture which declares that "mercy triumphs over judgment" (see James 2:13) was powerfully fulfilled. Though hundreds of motorists were violently plunged down a sixty foot drop with cars, trucks, broken concrete slabs, and twisted steel crashing upon each other as the massive structure gave way, Minneapolis is thus far mourning only five fatalities and eight missing persons. May God's hand rest upon the many injured who are still hospitalized at this writing, some of which are in critical condition.
That only thirteen souls (so far) were lost in a catastrophe of this magnitude, involving a crowded eight-lane interstate during rush hour, is a MAJOR MIRACLE of God's mercies and intervention. He is deserving of our praise and thanksgiving. In our sorrow, let the church not lose the opportunity to thank the Lord. In addition, many of the readers may have missed the fact that local authorities reported that the fatalities were limited partly due to the fact that the Mississippi River was flowing at a slower speed than normal and was at a lower water level than usual. Coincidence? We don't think so.
Empathy
What Minneapolis has tasted of in recent days, along with other cities which have suffered natural and terror related tragedies, is but a taste of the harsh reality experienced by hundreds of millions, many of whom are our brothers and sisters in the faith, who live in troubled areas of the world. Once the dust settles over most Western cities, the citizens, for the most part, return to "normal life" with massive governmental and local support systems that can restore civil conditions within days or weeks.
This is not the case in many developing countries where mayhem, chaos, and corruption are everyday realities with infrastructure, food supplies, sanitation services, and law enforcement systems that are far from stable and reliable. Let this harsh reminder of how quickly the "bottom can drop out" and how vulnerable we really are, serve us by generating genuine empathy, understanding, and compassion for those millions who do not enjoy the comforts and relative safety of life in the West.
Forty Years—the Prophetic Clock Is Ticking
While construction of the I-35W Minneapolis Bridge went on for a number of years, it was only opened to traffic and public transportation in 1967. This bridge was exactly forty years old at the time of its collapse! Significantly, this is the same prophetically loaded season of forty years that also accompanies the anniversary of the legendary Israeli Six-Day War and the liberation of Jerusalem, which also occurred in 1967. According to many, this forty-year span of time is neither accidental nor insignificant in God's timeline, and those who are called to stand guard upon the walls of our cities and nations will do well to listen to the prophets, increase their diligence, and pay greater attention to the signs of our time.
As most in the U.S. know by now, there are nearly 77,000 similar bridges all across the nation, many of which are aging and in similarly distressed conditions as the bridge which collapsed in Minnesota. May God grant our intercessors the grace to guard against further catastrophes, and may He grant our governing authorities the wisdom to upgrade and strengthen these and other critical elements in our transportation system before disaster strikes again.
The fact is that the fate of Israel is directly related to the state of the church as both journey along a similar path in God's plan. Just as the nation of Israel struggles with confusion, disorientation, and intimidation while standing in the midst of the greatest fulfillment of divine promises in the last two thousand years, so the church of the Lord Jesus often acts equally dumbfounded, spineless, and anemic in the face of the great battles and victories she must walk through at the closing of this age. May God help both Israel and the church reach for the fullness of Him who formed and called us to Himself.
The Comatose Church
For more than eighteen months now, Ariel Sharon, Israel's "last of the lions" as he had been called by some (Ariel means "Lion of God" in Hebrew), has been laying comatose in a medical institution outside of Jerusalem relying on life support systems to cheat death. In previous writings, we have addressed Prime Minister Sharon's incredible (and imperfect) life and service, and we draw attention to it today only as a prophetic witness to the church.
As surely as Israel is a sign to the world and especially to the saints, then Ariel Sharon's comatose condition is likewise a sign within a sign. This man, whose very life and name have been intricately associated with Israel's miraculous survival and military exploits during the struggles of the last sixty years of statehood, is now helplessly hanging between life and death. Unconscious, dependent upon resources outside his own body and soul for life support, Ariel Sharon is a warning sign to all, and the Spirit's call is loud and clear, "Awake! Awake!"
The Word of God commands us, "'Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:14-17).
Are You Awake?
Is it possible that from heaven's perspective the warrior church has fallen into a comatose, drunken stupor, buried underneath the cares of the world and the burdens of unconfessed, unrepented of, and therefore uncleansed sins? As it is written, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). Is it possible that apart from the artificial life-support systems of political structures, Christian entertainment, and technological gimmicks, our man-centered churches are also desperately hanging between life and death? If Israel is a sign, and if the forty-year cycle is significant, then we had all better wake up to the hour in which we live before the plug is pulled, exposing our true nakedness and weakness.
Many will insist on partying on through the darkening night, desperate to drown out the sound of the alarm with the loud music and games of our generation as did Belshazzar's guests on that fateful night when "Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. Then the king's face grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; and his hip joints went slack, and his knees began knocking together" (Daniel 5:5-6).
Belshazzar, who saw firsthand God's dealings and the humbling of his legendary father Nebuchadnezzar, should have known better than to violate and desecrate the sacred vessels which had been taken from God's temple in Jerusalem. Instead, hardening his heart and lifting up his soul to idol worship, he used the vessels in his idolatrous palatial orgies. The day of reckoning arrived with sudden terror.
It wasn't until a Hebrew prophet, Daniel, was brought on the scene that the meaning of the mysterious and alarming sign was interpreted. Refusing the king's flatteries and briberies, Daniel spoke out saying, "Now this is the inscription that was written out: 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.' This is the interpretation of the message: 'MENE'—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. 'TEKEL'—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. 'PERES'— your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians . . . That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. So Darius the Mede received the kingdom…" (Daniel 5:25-31). What took a lifetime of pride and arrogance to brew was undone in one fateful night as the Persian forces crept into the glorious city, struck down the king along with his guests, and took over the empire with hardly a fight.
Which kingdom will also in such a way be weighed, divided, and plundered so suddenly in our days? What nation is in such immediate peril? The answer is any kingdom that is man-centered and God-resistant; whether it be the size of one heart, one family, one community, or an entire nation, all will in such a way suddenly come to a terrifying end when the handwriting is upon the wall.
We pray that the God of heaven and of earth may grant us all mercy and grace to turn to Him with our whole hearts and walk the walk of the believer. As the Apostle Paul exhorted us saying, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3).
One New Man Call is a faith ministry supported by friends of the vision of Jew and Gentile dwelling as one in God's one Olive Tree. To learn more or to support this work, contact us at the address below.
In His grace,
REUVEN AND MARY LOU DORON
(C) 2007 One New Man Call
One New Man Call
P O Box 164
Hayfield, MN 55940 USA
Ministry Contact: OneNewManMail@aol.com
