Asking God

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Figure 1. As the storm clouds gather overhead...

In that day you will no longer ask me anything.
I tell you the truth,
my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
John 16:23 NIV84

Introduction

Undoubtedy, the Lord God has been subject to many requests and petitions over the years. Some, He may have answered; though many will have been ignored.

The Lord will not answer the pleas of those who hate good and love evil. Here, the Lord is addressing the leaders and rulers of israel - people, one might imagine, who have every right to expect an answer:

1 I [Micah] said:

Listen, you rulers of Jacob,
You chiefs of the House of Israel!
For you ought to know what is right,
2 But you hate good and love evil.
3 You have devoured My people’s flesh;
You have flayed the skin off them,
And their flesh off their bones.
And after tearing their skins off them,
And their flesh off their bones,
And breaking their bones to bits,
You have cut it upas into a pot,
Like meat in a caldron.
4 Someday they shall cry out to the LORD,
But He will not answer them;
At that time He will hide His face from them,
In accordance with the wrongs they have done. (Micah 3:1-4 (Tanakh))

If the Lord won't reply to the failed leadership of Israel, how much less will He answer those who make no pretence of loving Him?

Accountability

There are those that declare that there is no god. If there were, then He would do something about all the suffering in the world!

But what these people deliberately refuse to accept, is that the Lord has offered them a Covenant Contract that will enable them to dwell safely in His presence - a contract aimed at the avoidance and prevention of evil.

Ezekiel chapter 18 reminds us that there is no 'original sin': it is the one who sins and only the one who sins who will be held to account.

Consequently, those who inflict evil will be held to account in the Court of No Appeal on the Day of Judgement. With their names missing from the Book of Life, their evil detailed in full in the Books of Record, they will receive short shrift from the Lord Jesus, the presiding judge.

The Lord will End the Age before the Flock are wiped out:

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. [22] “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:21-22 NIV)

People may find conditions bad now but, in days to come, with the exponential increase in evil, they will become infinitely worse.

The Lord also picks out groups who pose a particular threat. One such was the House of Esau, which gave rise to the Esau Precedent.

Recall that Ishmael was Isaac's half-brother. Because the House of Islam also overstepped the punishment of Israel^†, they fall within the scope of the Esau Precedent, and are [collectively] therefore slated for Death (see also: House of Islam).

[^† 10 For the outrage to your brother Jacob,
Disgrace shall engulf you,
And you shall perish forever.
11 On that day when you stood aloof,
When aliens carried off his goods,
When foreigners entered his gates
And cast lots for Jerusalem,
You were as one of them.
12 How could you gaze with glee
On your brother that day,
On his day of calamity!
How could you gloat
Over the people of Judah
On that day of ruin!
How could you loudly jeer
On a day of anguish!
13 How could you enter the gate of My people
On its day of disaster,
Gaze in glee with the others
On its misfortune
On its day of disaster,
And lay hands on its wealth
On its day of disaster!
14 How could you stand at the passes
To cut down its fugitives!
How could you betray those who fled
On that day of anguish!
15 As you did, so shall it be done to you;
Your conduct shall be requited.
Yea, against all nations
The day of the LORD is at hand.
16 That same cup that you drank on My Holy Mount
Shall all nations drink evermore,
Drink till their speech grows thick,
And they become as though they had never been.
17 But on Zion’s mount a remnant shall survive,
And it shall be holy.
The House of Jacob shall dispossess
Those who dispossessed them.
18 The House of Jacob shall be fire,
And the House of Joseph flame,
And the House of Esau shall be straw;
They shall burn it and devour it,
And no survivor shall be left of the House of Esau
— for the LORD has spoken. (Obadiah 1:10-18 (Tanakh)) ]

[Many, describe Islam as a religion of peace, that the jihadists are not what Islam is all about. Were that the case, then the Islamic community as a whole would arraign, convict, and sentence those who bring the name of Islam and Allah into disrepute.
So, there are the jihadists and their supporters and paymasters; and there is also the silent majority.
The silent majority perhaps think that their silence grants them immunity; when in fact their silence and refusal to act makes them complicit.]

God as abstraction

[Jesus] Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don't let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-13 NLT)

[The language of the Lord's Prayer has been kept as simple and straightforward as possible by using the Tyndale NLT.]

A study of the Lord's Prayer raises the question, "What is the force of Jesus' Prayer?" Which raises another question, "As it stands, is it sufficient?"

As to the question of force, dissection of the narrative indicates that it can be mapped to the Covenant and its components:

You may be surprised that the text "May your Kingdom come soon" has been associated with the rebuilding of David's Fallen Tent! Many, doubtless see it as a reference to the End of the Age. Consequently, many wish their Earthly lives away in order to be with the Lord - as does Paul, for example:

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8 NIV)

We see, in this passage, an expression of Paul's blindness. What he - and many others fail to realise - is that we can dwell with the Lord here on Earth. We do not have to wait for the New Jerusalem! Admittedly this has to be at the Spiritual Level for now, since David's Fallen Tent has yet to be rebuilt. But once it has been rebuilt, then Israel will be a kingdom working within the framework of the Messianically Amended Covenant and its Model. Neither the Levitical Priesthood nor the false priests of the House of Desolation, will shepherd Israel. The shepherding of Israel has already been handed over to the Priesthood in the Order of Melchizedek: they will make themselves known in due course, as directed by the Most High. Work on the rebuilding of David's Fallen Tent has already started (see: A work in progress).

Currently (24-Jan-2025), David's Tent lies in ruins. Israel is no longer a Kingom, as the Lord intended:

but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:6a (Tanakh))

The Lord has promised to rebuild David's Fallen Tent, and build it as it used to be. But that will only come after a major shake-up of the House of Israel:

"For I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground. [10] All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, 'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'
[11] "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be," (Amos 9:9-11 NIV84)

At that time, Israel will cease to be a state existing with the permission of the nations (inception 14 May 1948); for it will be restored to a Kingdom serving the King of Kings. Equipped with the Messianic amendments to the Covenant, the outpouring of the Spirit, Jesus' accomplishments secured through His life and sacrifice, and the shepherding of the Priesthood in the Order of Melchizedek, this Kingdom will last forever.

Zion has been secured at the Spiritual Level:

Then I looked up---and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand! [2] I asked, "Where are you going?"
He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is."
[3] Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him [4] and said to him: "Run, tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. [5] And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the Lord, 'and I will be its glory within.'" (Zechariah 2:1-5 NIV84)

With Zion secure at the Spiritual Level, it follows that:

In the last days ...
the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. [2] Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Figure 2. The beacon of hope, truth, and assurance
anchored deep at the Spiritual Level
in the rock of the Lord's word (Mic. 4:1-2)

For the most part, our initial encounter with the Lord is at the Academic Level. In other words, it is a rather impersonal encounter. In this context the Lord's Prayer directs our focus and attention to the Lord and his Covenant.

Having committed to the Lord and his Covenant, the limitations of the Lord's Prayer become apparent. Having handed over the direction of our life to the Lord, we are then faced with the difficulty of knowing what He wants us to do! While the Covenant outlines many generalities, it cannot - being a universal contract - meet the specific needs of every individual.

The only way a person can know what the Lord expects of them, is by having a chat with Him. As Job found, academic knowledge is fine up to a point; but that academic encounter must lead to a face-to-face encounter with the Lord:

I had heard You with my ears,
But now I see You with my eyes; (Job 42:5 (Tanakh))

For it is in the discussion which follows that the Lord can explain His plans and guide the individual in the right direction - a direction which will bear much fruit.

When one encounters the Lord face-to-face, the whole dynamic changes. For it is now possible to directly ask Him what He wants us to do with our lives. Yes, there are some guidelines in the Covenant; but now, talking face-to-face. the Lord can get into the specifics.

However, there are many gods in existence! So it is important that we avoid the false gods, and chat only to the Lord God Almighty. But to do that it is necessary to identify Him! Not only that, but our outreach must unequivocally point people to the Most High, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[Essay: The House of Desolation and the new-covenant church point people in the direction of the lord Satan.]

[Essay: The advantages and dangers of shorthand-notation when referring to the Lord God Almighty.]

God as personal friend

How is this friend to be identified?

Here are some false gods who are passed off as being 'GOD':

Today, in order to avoid confusion with (ii) above, we can identify our 'Friend' as:

The God of the Messianically Amended Covenant.

The concatenation of 'Name' and 'Covenant identifier' forms a primary key which will point to the Most High.

This level of specificity also works for other stages of the Covenant. For example, God_{Eden Covenant}, God_{Post-Eden Covenant}, or God_{Mosaic Covenant}.

Alternatively one can use the name recommended by the Lord God himself (God's name):

And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh.” He continued, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, 'Ehyeh^† sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14 (Tanakh))

[^† The word אֶהְיֶה‎ (Ehyeh) is the first person singular imperfective form of הָיָה (hayah), 'to be', and owing to the peculiarities of Hebrew grammar means 'I am' and 'I will be' (Google).
How to say 'Ehyeh']

We too - like Moses - can refer to the Lord God by his everlasting name 'Ehyeh'!

God's name, by itself, is open to misuse! The House of Desolation link His Name to their 'covenant with Death'. The new-covenant church link His Name to their 'new-covenant'. Islam link God's name to a doctrine so corrupt that it will appeal directly to the baser desires of people. The Lord describes the inclinations of man's hearts:

The LORD saw how great was man's wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5 (Tanakh))

And it is to these people that Islam offers a licence (Islam - background) which will free them to indulge their every evil fantasy. There is no sin; neither is there redemption. There is reward only for those who deserve it. Their enemies are those who do not subscribe to Islam. In their hatred of the Jews, Islamists seek the 'final solution'; this would then enable them to seize the land of Israel for themselves. Their zeal is expressed in their atrocities, but also in their emotional outbursts.

Such misuse is possible when using a partial key - in this case God's Name - and then associating it with a corrupt context, such as the 'covenant with Death' or the 'new-covenant' or the "Qu'ran".

Formation of primary key:

Name + context ↦ primary key

The Covenant is a dynamic entity which is subject to amendments across the timeline. Covenant context can - and does - change across the timeline:

Figure 3. Changes to the Covenant across the timeline.

Thus, it is possible to refer more specifically to the Covenant at various intervals on the timeline. Today (2025-01-20), at this time of David's Fallen Tent, the Messianically Amended Covenant operates at the Spiritual Level - since, as yet, there is no implementation in place. Then, as we look forward, we anticipate the instantiation of David's Rebuilt Tent, and the reinstatement of Israel as a Kingdom^‡ serving the King of Kings.

[^‡ Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6 (Tanakh))]

An ambiguity

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (John 16:23 NIV84)

Does John 16:23 amount to the equivalent of a blank cheque? Are there no restrictions? Are we free to ask for anything we like?

[Essay: John 16:23: a deliberate obfuscation?]

The Lord's Prayer directs our attention and our prayers to the Covenant:

And when thou mayest pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, because they love in the synagogues, and in the corners of the broad places -- standing -- to pray, that they may be seen of men; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.
[6] `But thou, when thou mayest pray, go into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who [is] in secret, and thy Father who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.
[7] And -- praying -- ye may not use vain repetitions like the nations, for they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard,
[8] be ye not therefore like to them, for your Father doth know those things that ye have need of before your asking him;
[9] thus therefore pray ye:

Our Father who [art] in the heavens! hallowed be Thy name.
[10] Thy reign come: Thy will come to pass, as in heaven also on the earth.
[11] Our appointed bread give us to-day.
[12] And forgive us our debts, as also we forgive our debtors.
[13] And mayest Thou not lead us to temptation, but deliver us from the evil,
because Thine is the reign, and the power, and the glory -- to the ages. Amen. (Matthew 6:5-13 YLT)

This is then extended to individual and collective discussion with the Lord...

Version: 2025-01-27