Restoring Desolate Heritages: Mandates, Commissions and Promises
Restoring Desolate Heritages: Mandates, Commissions and Promises
by Paul Keith Davis
Restoring Desolate Heritages
Interestingly, many of the most significant things that transpired in the last generation took place in desert regions. There were numerous important visitations and revelations given in the 1960s in the Arizona desert with direct application to our present mandate.
We have a short season left in the desert but it will actually be a very good time for the righteous. Our grooming will be brought to completion and a new commissioning imparted to prepare us to apprehend our desolate heritage. It will be a time for the literal fulfillment of Isaiah 49:8 saying:
“In a favorable time I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; and I will keep you and give you for a covenant of the people, to restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages.”
The Lord has been holding us by the hand and watching over us in preparation to become a covenant to the people and a light to the nations in order to restore the land and cause the people to inherit the desolate heritages.
Stepping Stones to Fullness
Although it would be wonderful to prophesy that we will walk in the fullness of our inheritance over this next year, we believe it is more accurate to identify this as a season of finalization in preparation and also commissioning for the crossing over; Joshua was commissioned on this side of the river in anticipation of leadership for advancement.
In this next season many people will be commissioned with the “mantles” of others who have gone before us. There is presently an emphasis on honoring our spiritual fathers and mothers who provided leadership in the last great outpouring of God’s Spirit. They were pioneers who overcame great difficulties to manifest God’s Kingdom in their generation.
Although some experienced failures and made costly mistakes, the foundation they provided is our platform to launch the next major outpouring. This opens the door for the deposit of God’s Spirit they carried to be appropriated to individuals in this generation.
In our own ministry, we have been emphasizing the importance of honoring healing revivalist such as A. A. Allen, Alexander Dowie, John G. Lake, William Branham and others. Some of these have been the most dishonored individuals of the 20th century Church, yet used most notably in soul winning and the miraculous. Our adversary has effectively attempted to neutralize the testimony of these individuals as forerunners by overly emphasizing their shortcomings and weaknesses. Even so, the Lord is allowing a body of people to recognize the pioneering influence these individuals conveyed in order to position us to carry forward the unfinished commissions.
Paying the Price
Spiritual gifts are the result of supernatural grace purchased at Calvary’s Cross. Nevertheless, personal spiritual maturity can be costly requiring that we buy from Him:
“Gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” Revelation 3:18
It has always been the Lord’s intent that we progress from Glory to Glory, but unfortunately, the Church has historically failed in this responsibility. Children should always start on a higher plain than their parents. That is the entire Biblical principle of heritage and inheritance. Proverbs 13:22 states:
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.”
We are once again presented with an opportunity to apprehend our desolate heritages and appropriate them to our generation. Mantles of revelation and power that were introduced in prior generations are accessible. We must pay whatever price is necessary to achieve this place in God. The important aspects of this revelation are to highlight the “open door” opportunity set before us for this purpose.
The Lord has clearly demonstrated through these revelations that individuals will be visited by His spirit over this next season for the purpose of “mantle” impartation. Many of the people soon to emerge in leadership are not presently known or recognized in broad public forums. Nevertheless, they are known in Heaven and have been prepared to carry notable deposits of revelation and power.
Therefore, this prophetic promise is to initiate our desperation to contend for this heritage. Our council is to position ourselves before Him so that His Spirit can be released to us in much the same way that Elisha captured the anointing that rested upon Elijah.
Recently the Lord gave me a revelation that dealt with our desolate heritage. In the experience, I found myself in a desert and mountainous region excavating an archeological site in hopes of finding treasures of great value. As I did I uncovered ancient books containing revelations that were started by leaders of the past that are to be finished in our day. I considered these books of greater value than gold or silver. Some were older than others but I knew this would be the completion of all mandates, commissions and promises.
This revelation speaks of our opportunity and responsibility to carry forward the task initiated by individuals of the former generation. Even as Joshua completed the commission of Moses so also will we facilitate the fullness of unfulfilled promises.
Lovingkindness and Truth to Awaken His Glory
The desert is a place of visitation and impartation to be established in lovingkindness and truth. Psalm 57:7-11 states:
“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.”
Our present opportunity is to embrace this final segment of our desert experience to be fully prepared for what is to come. The Shekinah glory descended upon the Tent of Meetings and Moses was granted the privilege of meeting with God face-to-face for an extended period of time. Although Israel was not yet in the Promised Land they remained in the desert in order to prepare them to occupy the land of promise. So shall it be in this day. This coming season will be a time of visitation and tokens of God’s glory manifested among the righteous.
The righteous will bear the glory; there will be tokens of God’s glory resting upon a body of people that will illuminate them to shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our Father.
Realms of Glory
Corporate meetings will experience realms of glory on a level we have not yet experienced in this generation.
We are entering the season of human history prophesied by Isaiah when he foretold there would be a Heavenly brightness shining upon the righteous in the midst of great darkness. It is by the Spirit of Truth that we will be illuminated as we share in the mysteries of the Kingdom reserved for this hour. Isaiah 60:1-3 declared:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
There is a “weighty” presence or Glory that the Lord intends to place upon His people during these last days as a testimony to the nations of His redemptive virtue. It is truly amazing that sinners saved by grace can be endowed with this commission and responsibility. As Daniel prophesied, “many will be purged, purified, and refined…and those who have insight will understand” (Daniel 12:10).
The understanding this company possesses will be the mystery of “Christ in us, the hope of Glory.” It is only through this refining process that we are capable of manifesting His Glory in the earth without it destroying us. If we have the understanding that the process we have been in is for preparation then it gives us the hope of our calling. Without that understanding we would be prone to discouragement, hopelessness and feelings of disqualification.
Another purpose for highlighting this reality is to equip the prayer and intercessory ministries with a key to unlocking this 21st century provision. It will be through prayer, praise, and prophetic proclamation that we will contend for this reality. It will not be accomplished through human soulish striving but by a revelation of the Spirit and the activation of our faith to speak in agreement with God’s plans. As recorded in Job 22:26-28:
“For then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you; and you will pay your vows. You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways.”
The end result of this expression of God’s Glory will be a notable harvest of souls beyond anything we have presently experienced in modern Church history. It will not only be a message to our nation but also the nations of the earth; nor will it be administered or controlled by human agency, but by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
The Glory Separates
Korah’s rebellion was judged by God’s glory. Numbers 16:19-21 outlines that:
“Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.'”
In the same way that Korah’s rebellion was judged by God’s glory, so also will the seeds of rebellion be separated from within us as individuals and a corporate Body! Only from this place are we able to separate the clean from the unclean.
The stress and turmoil in the world will continually increase as this present age reaches its completion and the Lord’s Kingdom is prepared to be revealed. The confrontation between light and darkness will also escalate as evil will become greater. Likewise, the children of light must respond to offer hope and salvation through the Lord’s redemptive work.
I recently saw this escalation in a revelatory encounter. In it I saw a door being opened from the bowels of hell releasing a horde of evil spirits of a profound nature. I was actually able to recognize the characteristics of some of them. One had an appearance like Adolf Hitler and another like Joseph Stalin. I believe these represented evil spirits that functioned through these historical tyrants.
I watched as these evil spirits began to manifest themselves before people and train the individuals to walk in realms of darkness and evil never before seen in our generation. It was as if individuals were being identified and equipped to carry “mantles” of darkness as foretold by ancient prophets concerning the latter days.
While this was taking place I heard an audible voice say, “The children of Light must respond in like fashion.” With that admonition, I saw angels descending from Heaven that were specially prepared for the end-time confrontation. They too were commissioned to meet with individuals through angelic visitations in order to train the people to walk in mantles of revelation and power.
Light vs. Darkness
The Lord’s Kingdom that is characterized with righteousness, peace, and joy will become more pronounced within an overcoming Body of Believers while darkness runs a parallel course of acceleration. While we are in this world we are admonished not to be a part of this world’s spirit. Light shines brightest during times of exceeding darkness!
Those who have yielded themselves to the work of God’s Spirit will be developed in righteousness and:
“Will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Matthew 13:43
The last few hundred years of Church history has seen numerous expressions of spiritual “breakthrough” that changed every following generation. God used Martin Luther with a breakthrough anointing to reestablish the reality that the just shall live by faith.
Following Luther, John Wesley and others advanced further with the message of sanctification and a breakthrough anointing that altered present understanding of the Christian life. We then experienced another breakthrough during the days of William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street outpouring; following that came yet another during the days of William Branham and the Latter Rain outpouring.
Presently, we stand on the brink of the most significant breakthrough of all leading to the manifestation of a Body of Believers who function as sons and daughters of God and do the works that He did. This will be the only antidote for the darkness and evil that will permeate the coming years. Our current admonition is to embrace our opportunity for preparation and qualification for this responsibility.
This generation will see the greatest demonstration of grace never experienced and every indication points to its imminent reality. This generation will come forth with shouts of “grace-grace.”
Vision for the Future
The Bible stresses that mankind will perish when there is a lack of true spiritual knowledge, and without a vision the people are unrestrained and without order. Therefore, the spirit of revelation is a prerequisite to cooperate with God in this last day functioning of His plans.
To each of us is given a measure of faith; therefore it requires spiritual vision for us to appropriate our faith towards the things that are of lasting spiritual value. The Lord is granting to us in this season fresh deposits of His revelatory anointing to provide clarity, insight and the true knowledge of Him. This will begin to sanctify us for the coming battle.
Recently I heard the Holy Spirit say, “You can see things as they appear or you can see them as they really are.” This admonition is challenging us to begin to see things from Heaven’s perspective; that was the experience granted Gehazi when Elisha prayed for his eyes to be opened. When the revelatory anointing was granted, Elisha’s servant saw the mountains filled with Heaven’s host that greatly outnumbered the enemy. Suddenly his perspective changed from fear to faith because of spiritual vision and seeing things from God’s point of view.
Leaders will become increasingly aware of this opportunity and find great grace to train and equip a body of people to live in Heaven’s revelatory realm. This also will go hand-in-hand with the functioning of the panel of judges who are being delegated to separate true prophetic utterance from the false.
There is an “occupying” anointing that is being distributed among us. It is one thing to experience breakthrough but altogether another to occupy where the enemy has been displaced. We must be prepared and mobilized with a plan of occupation when we address various cities and regions. We are given the authority and dominion to occupy the areas for which we have spiritual revelation. Jesus said:
“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes (along) seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” Luke 11:24-26
This present season highlights the importance of formalizing a plan of occupation by mobilizing the Body of Christ. Great grace will be given in this next season for training and equipping leaders who are not afraid to conquer and occupy the land for which they are given spiritual vision.
It is a sad reality to discover that many of the places that once experienced great spiritual victory have now become havens of darkness. Even so, our grace for this season is to take back that ground and remind the Lord of His promise stating:
“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.” Joel 2:25
Focus Ahead
In a recent dream, our friend Bob Jones was told, “Those who strictly observe past glory will have little expression of present glory because they are solely focused on something that is fading.”
“For if that which was but passing and fading away came with splendor, how much more must that which remains and is permanent abide in glory and splendor! Since we have such [glorious] hope (such joyful and confident expectation), we speak very freely and openly and fearlessly. Nor [do we act] like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze upon the finish of the vanishing [splendor which had been upon it].
“In fact, their minds were grown hard and calloused [they had become dull and had lost the power of understanding]; for until this present day, when the Old Testament (the old covenant) is being read, that same veil still lies [on their hearts], not being lifted [to reveal] that in Christ it is made void and done away.”
2 Corinthians 3:11-14 (Amplified)
Those who observe the fading glory of days gone by do so strictly from a misguided perspective and will have no understanding of the things that are yet to take place. Though we build upon the foundation of things that have taken place in the past, we cannot remain exclusively driven by prior expressions of outpouring and revival. There is something new and fresh on the horizon that will be a continual unfolding of the divine attributes and glory of Heaven.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. We cannot allow ourselves to be content to have a retrospective point of view when the greatest glory is yet to come. The Spirit produces liberty and emancipation from the bondage of the past providing the hope of a glorious future in His rest. The Holy Spirit is currently at work equipping and supplying a body of people to live in freedom.
Focus on Light – Not Darkness
There is an admonition coming from the Lord highlighting our need to be more concentrated on the things that He is preparing to do rather than our adversary. Although there is merit in knowing the plans of the enemy in order to mobilize ourselves through prayer and intercession to overcome his plans, it remains imperative for us to set before us the promise of Heaven for this generation.
Our secular media has become a conduit to sow fear and intimidation into the hearts of people. Likewise, there are some misguided doomsday ministries who unfortunately overemphasize the darkness of this generation without giving adequate attention to the light that will also be delegated to a prepared and set apart people. Where darkness abounds, grace will much more abound.
The revelatory anointing resting upon God’s people will allow foresight into the coming darkness. However, it also permits insight into the deposit of virtue and glory to be unleashed in unprecedented measure. We cannot allow ourselves to become overly concentrated on the darkness but exuberant with anticipation of God’s greatness to be demonstrated. Light will always overcome darkness! We are living in a time of great darkness but our directive is to be concentrated on the Light. We are to arise and shine, for our Light has come.
Paul Keith and Wanda Davis
WhiteDove Ministries
Email: mailto:inquiries@whitedoveministries.org
Paul Keith Davis, founder of WhiteDove Ministries, is a well-known author and travels extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad speaking at conferences and churches with a message of preparation and expectancy for the Lord’s empowering presence. Listen to Paul’s It’s Supernatural! Radio interview with Sid Roth here.
This article reprinted by permission from https://www.elijahlist.com/.