Interpretation of Scripture


This week, we had a meeting with Margaret Barker - she’s a graduate of Cambridge University and is widely known amongst theologians for her work on the Early Church Fathers. She said that without the traditions of the Early Church, the Kingdom of Heaven cannot come. The traditions that she spoke about are exactly what we have been teaching here at our ministry; the traditions speak of the secrets of the kingdom. These were mysteries that were not written down for the most part. These are teachings that the Lord gave me through visitations. I just started reading the Early Church Fathers in the last five years and have found revelations the Lord gave me twenty years ago in their writings. I can see clearly that the way the Early Church interpreted the scriptures has been lost to most churches today.

 

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul took a physical event that happened in the Old Testament and revealed the spiritual meaning of it. Paul showed that the crossing of the Red Sea was symbolic of baptism, and the cloud that followed them by day was also a type of baptism. This shows that we can’t just read the Bible as a history book; we have to interpret it spiritually like Paul did. The secrets of the kingdom can also be referred to as tradition. This apostolic tradition was how the apostles interpreted the mystery of the scriptures. 

 

In John 6, Jesus revealed that the manna that came down from heaven was really His body. What is it called when we eat the body of Christ and drink His blood? It’s called communion. The Early Church taught that communion was the teaching of the secrets of the kingdom. Jesus said that His body is bread, and the bread is also meat. Paul said that the veil is also the flesh (Heb. 10:20). So when we are eating the body of Christ, the manna, we are really eating through the veil. If you’re eating through the veil, the veil will eventually disappear. Once the veil (flesh) disappears we’ll be walking in the glory of God.

 

Let’s remember it was only the high priest who went behind the veil. We can intercede and worship all day long, and it doesn’t matter. A priest is required to study and learn how to die to himself and teach others the same process. The priests who go through that process are the priests who are going to be able to cross over into the Kingdom Age.


When Jesus taught the multitude that they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood, the teaching was so hard to understand that many of Jesus’ own followers left him. Thousands walked away and followed Him no more because they thought Jesus was talking about cannibalism! He did not make it easy for them. He offended His own disciples and did not chase after anyone who wanted to leave. 

 

Origin, one of the greatest teachers of the Early Church, taught that if we only give a literal interpretation of Scripture the way the Jews did, we make ourselves to be enemies of Christ. We think that Jesus is at war with Satan, but in the book of Job, we see that Satan goes in and answers to God. Jesus already defeated him at the cross, taking death captive. The only enemy that Jesus has is the carnal mind (Rom. 8:7). 

 

A sign in the scriptures is not a miracle. Instead, a sign is a mystery which reveals something that will come at a later time. When the Jews asked Jesus for a sign, they wanted to see a physical miracle. The sign of Jonah was a prophetic mystery of the resurrection that would take place - Jonah was a sign of Jesus who was to come. Every sign in the Old Testament points to something in the New Testament; every sign in the New Testament is a mystery being revealed for the age to come. The New Testament is still being unlocked. Every time we get revelation it is a sign of what is coming. 

 

The Lord has been highlighting the foolish virgins to me. When the foolish decided they wanted the oil, it was already too late. The Lord showed me that at this point the wise will be already going into a glorified body. As the foolish start to see the wise transition into the glory, they become desperate to learn. We need to remember that it is by our faith that the Lord moves and that we need to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Death-to-self is Him moving completely through us. It takes a lot of faith which means we trust in God to do what He says He’ll do. 


We need to be in that place of being able to forgive others quickly and to have compassion for those who are being tormented. For the Lord to trust us with His Glory, we can’t have any pride. We have to be dead to all that. We have to be dead to all the little things in our way and to the cares of this world. It takes a desire for holiness and death-to-self to be in that place.

 

Jesus said we need to take His yoke upon ourselves and learn of Him. Sheep are never yoked; only oxen are yoked. Oftentimes, a farmer would yoke a young ox to a mature ox to teach the young ox to be tame for the yoke. The younger ox is wild, but the older ox is stronger and more mature and no matter what direction that young ox wants to go, the older ox is going to drag it into place to plow to hit the mark. We need to be yoked to Jesus. When Jesus is taming us, there is a difference between fighting Him and choosing to submit and surrender. The more we become tame and submit, the more we’re in the process of killing the flesh. A lot of work will get done with these oxen that become tame - they become apostolic. We have to be willing to mature from sheep to oxen. Honestly, how much more time do we have? This transition is about to happen. When we get to Houston we need to be ready to run. Lord, get us ready to bring in the Harvest. Amen.

 

Sincerely,

Apostle Michael Petro

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Passover 2021 and the Final Move of God

Image
As the congregation gathered for Passover, there was a tangible presence of the Lord in worship. But even in the midst of it, the Lord was telling me that some are still holding onto a spirit of pride and it’s time to let it go. The Lord wants that spirit killed now. Too many are sitting back to observe, worried about what they’re going to look like, but this is not the time to spectate. This is the time to enter in. There was a heavy anointing for healing as almost every person rushed to the front. Many were slain in the Spirit and many cried out in travail. The spirit of revival began to break out. The Lord told me that He is releasing a new anointing for this season, but we have to learn to be sensitive to the Spirit of God. The Lord will pass by those who won’t humble themselves to enter in. The days of pride and the carnal mind are over. It’s time to enter in to the Spirit of Yah. As the presence intensified, some were crying, some were repenting, some were soaking in the presen
Read more

The Torah

Image
We have been taught that the final harvest has to do with people, but the Early Church taught that the harvest is actually the fruit in our lives. Understanding what that fruit is and how it is produced by the Torah is the foundation for the final move of God. The Early Church’s understanding of fruit goes against modern day church’s theology. For one, most churches have thrown out the Torah, and instead teach that Jesus did it all at the cross. Fourth century Early Church Father, Eusebius, speaks about those who have done away with the Torah:   “ Some of the heretics simply deny the Law and the Prophets for the sake of their own doctrine . And under the pretense of grace , they have sunk down to the lowest abyss of perdition .”   This proves that the message, “We’re not under the law - we’re under grace” was not part of the Christian faith and was not believed by the Early Church - it is heresy. That is why I thank God for getting me out of that belief system that would’ve taken me st
Read more

The Time is Now

Image
The Time is Now The atmosphere is charged with warfare right now and we should be feeling it in the Spirit. While one party is pushing socialism and communism, the true patriots are standing up to fight. As the body of Christ, we should be all the more prepared and determined to come against these opposing forces with everything we have. We need to remember that our lives are not our own. In the Early Church, those who renounced Christ so that their lives would be spared were not welcomed back. The Lord is looking for those who are prepared to battle no matter the cost. When Elijah met with the prophets of Baal it became a battle for the nation: God’s true prophet facing the false prophets within the corrupt system. Today’s mainstream media have become those false messengers; they’re the prophets of Baal who have an agenda that only exalts the message of Jezebel. It’s a deadly mixture of governmental intimidation and false religion. This false seed is what births the one world governm
Read more