THE LORD’S PRESENCE
- Abraham in Genesis 22 went to sacrifice his son according to God’s instruction. Isaac said to his father, behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham replied and said, my son, God will provide a lamb for a burnt offering. Abraham came to the place which God had told him of; he built and altar, laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said Abraham, Abraham: and he said here am I. And he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. As Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by the horns. God provided a burnt offering instead of Isaac. The Lord was present.
- Moses the prophet of God was in the presence of God several times and includes Exodus 3:1-12.
He came to Horeb the mount of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (Picture this in the eye of your mind.) And God called unto him out of the fire. This is the presence of God; and in verse 12, after some discussion God spoke to Moses saying certainly I will be with thee: and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. The Lord was present.
- As Elijah and Elisha, 2nd Kings 2:11 crossed river Jordan on foot after the miracle of parting the river into two, to walk over on dry ground; they were talking, when suddenly there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. The Lord was present, fire was there and that was a presence that took Elijah back to heaven.
- In Daniel 3:20-27 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused the king’s order to bow to the golden image. They were ordered to be cast in the furnace of great fire. Some of the people who cast them into the fire were consumed by the outer heat of the furnace. The three men cast into the fire strolled around inside the fire. Instead of burning, it was like air conditioned furnace, calm and unbelievable because a fourth person was there in the fire. Verses 27 reads, “ —-being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” This was the presence of the Lord the fourth person in the furnace of fire. Fire is always associated with true children of God and He is always present with them.
Now think and meditate about this statement and revelation found in scroll 236, paragraph 2 and last 3 lines. See if this is for you and if you can claim and confess it; it reads, “And the Lord Jesus is now preparing us for the Translation! Oh ye watch, for I am placing thunder, fire and lightning of the spirit around My elect.” This is a nugget cherish it, remember it; thunder, fire and lightning of the spirit are placed round us for the Translation. The Lord said I am placing these around My elect. Are you an elect, the promise is yours, amen.