THE "OVERSHADOWING" (Part One of Two)
By Tricia Tillin
Contents of Part One
Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. (Isa 30:1-3)
In earlier articles I have spoken of an event called the Overshadowing. I wrote not so much from research and overt references to this event in literature or from the mouths of the false teachers, but by examining the doctrines of the revival as a whole, and drawing inferences from them that led to an inevitable conclusion.
For previous studies see "Doctrine of Demons" especially parts 2, 2A, 3 and 4;
the Gatekeepers part 2; and The New Thing part 3B
Plus, I have been led by the Lord to understand, spiritually, that an event - one that I myself called an overshadowing before ever I saw or heard the terminology from the revival - could very likely prove to be the biggest test of faith that Christians have ever faced.
Whether or not such an overshadowing could ever happen in reality is something that cannot be proven one way or the other - time will tell. Nonetheless, it is a matter of fact that occultists and false religions all around the world do look for and expect an overshadowing. It is one major part of the satanic deception of these last days, and therefore must be considered as part of the series of events leading up to the reign of the Antichrist predicted in scripture.
Now I have been alerted to recent publications on the internet that specifically speak of the overshadowing as a soon-coming event on the prophetic calendar! It is this that prompts me to write again and examine the teaching. What are the implications for Christians?
First, let us look at just three recent messages posted to prophetic lists.
The first is by a popular Scottish "prophetess" Cathy Brown:
THE EARTH OVERSHADOWED BY CHRIST
During a time of prayer, I saw the nation of Scotland being overshadowed. Raising my eyes towards heaven, I noticed that it was not only Scotland, but that the whole earth was gradually being overshadowed.As I gazed upwards, I saw that the source of the shadow was Christ Himself, seated upon a white cloud with many legions of angels by His side. ...The overshadowing in the vision speaks of an impartation of power to the church to enable her to fulfill the great commission and the two great commandments.
...Angelic encounters are often a part of the overshadowing process...
To be overshadowed by the power of God is a transforming process. One cannot help but be changed as the weighty glory of God descends on the earth. In the process of being overshadowed the voice of God is clearly heard, power is imparted on a residual and abiding level, the will of God is made clear and the manifest presence of the Godhead is gloriously revealed. The experience of overshadowing is life changing and permanent.
The world is going to experience the overshadowing of God and the nations will be changed and saved according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
By Catherine Brown, Scotland - Mar 7, 2002
www.gatekeepers.org.uk
Secondly, in the following word Jon Hamill speaks of seeing the face of God in Heaven and says "I believe what I saw was a representation of the countenance of the Ancient of Days." and "as this Shining One began to bend low towards the sea of glass... I saw God literally immerse His face into this sea of glass."
THE SHINING OF THE ANCIENT OF DAYS and THE WHIRLWINDS OF HEAVEN! Mar 26, 2002
By Jon Hamill, Lamplighter Ministries
Intercessory Missionary, International House of PrayerImmediately the sea of glass lit up with an explosion of brilliance, the light from His countenance going far and wide, never losing intensity. I knew that the light shining forth through the sea of glass represented a fresh release of the knowledge of God-the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. ...
And just as the explosion of the first nuclear bomb demarcated for the world a new dispensation of history, which also saw the restoration of Israel, I knew that the Ancient of Days was releasing some new dispensation of His story.
Hamill sees God blow into the sea of glass, producing whirlwinds and "holy tornadoes"
These 'holy tornadoes' may well represent the portals many prophets have been speaking about recently. Within these portals we will find a tremendous release of the knowledge of God-literally the light of His countenance, the fire of His love, connecting heaven and earth. Light will dramatically separate light from darkness.
We will also find the breath of heaven, the winds of judgment and restoration. Resurrection power will sweep over not only individuals, but also Lazarus nations and generations, and I believe we will see the army of God arising in a new way. And we will find healing pools, a release of the 'sea of glass' that brings healing to body, mind and spirit.
Secondly, I was really gripped by the passage that 'His voice is as the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.' ... Imagine how the earth would light up as the very countenance of God shines upon her desolate shores! I believe the eventual result of this breaking in is the establishment of a 'bridal canopy of fire' that overshadows our nation.
Ezekiel 1 actually describes the appearing of God's glory as a very dramatic whirlwind! .... In Ezekiel 43, the prophet was alerted that this same glory was being restored to again overshadow the land. In areas where idolatry and sin has provoked the withdrawal of God's glory, He is going to re-introduce His glory. Many churches and many houses of prayer in America and abroad will be renewed as "The glory of the Lord comes into the house by way of the gate facing towards the east" (Ezekiel 43:4).
This emerging Great Awakening will unlock great blessing, but also a measure of judgment. As God erases the gray and separates light from darkness, the choices made to embrace light or darkness will carry greater consequences."
Thirdly, read the following account from Bill Yount of a "corporate anointing" that is coming like "liquid fire"
"I HEARD ANGELS ON HIGH PROCLAIMING, "IT'S COMING! IT'S COMING!" AS LIQUID FIRE STARTED TO FALL
WILLIAM C. YOUNT - 18 Feb 2002In the Spirit I saw in the heavenlies a "Corporate Anointing" over many cities hanging like a large canopy and beginning to be activated to descend upon them. I heard Angels on High proclaiming, "IT'S COMING! IT'S COMING!
I then saw what appeared to be "Liquid Fire" starting to fall from heaven like rain upon these cities. Each drop of rain had fire inside of it. As it fell it was plummeting upon the roof tops of churches burning holes right down through these roofs.
I sense these church roofs represented "spiritual authority" that was being tried by fire as the wood, hay and stubble was being consumed in the leadership of these churches - giving way to God's authority coming upon His House!
This "Liquid Fire" continued penetrating down through the ceilings of church sanctuaries falling upon pulpits and church pews. "Seemingly" good programs and plans were going up in smoke as this "Liquid Fire" drenched the inside of the house.
This "Liquid Fire" seemed to be declaring, "GOD'S PLANS ARE TOO BIG FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL CHURCH!" Then like pieces of a puzzle Angels began giving out only a part of Heaven's "Blue Print" to each church. So these churches in turn would need to come together with other churches to have Heaven's "Blue Print" fully revealed for their city!
A new "spiritual roof " or covering like a Canopy was coming on churches as Angels descended upon roof tops. Divine order of Authority was being established in leadership positions. [he is talking about the new apostles and prophets and the fivefold ministries networked round the globe.]
What amazed me was that even as pastors and churches were only beginning to slightly come together - even the slightest connections were forming this "Canopy of Glory" and beginning to activate this power over the cities.
Two or three churches coming together began to become like a powerful magnet drawing other churches to them - connecting them like pieces of a puzzle coming together as Heaven's "Blue Print was being revealed.
An Alternative Viewpoint
To these reports, let's add one that has more validity, and which speaks of a deceiving spirit getting ready in the heavens to shake the faith of all:
Monday, 1 April 2002: One sabbath February 2001, we were at our home with friends studying scripture. I wasn't thinking about anything in particular when I had the one and only vision I have ever had. It was like a movie being played in front of my eyes. I saw a beautiful being surrounded by other beautiful beings in the sky.
He said that he was Jesus and that he had come to bring us peace ...believers thought that the wars they had gone through were the tribulation ... and that he would show all of us where we had misunderstood the scriptures. I then 'saw' the people of the world worshipping this being.
I knew that this was not Yahshua, the real Name of the Messiah of the scriptures, but was satan claiming to be Him. This vision sat me back in my chair. The people that were with us that day asked me what was wrong. I told them what I have just told you. I knew this was the 'lying wonders' spoken of in scriptures. [Sent to mailing list by "M". Original on file]
1. It is a Counterfeit Birth of Christ:
Luke 1:31-35
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Using this passage, some teach that there will be a latter-day birthing of a CORPORATE CHRIST into the Body, that is, specially chosen and anointed believers who are totally submitted to the spirit that will impart the Christ-seed to them. Therefore the spirit that is to come (the "glory") will once again "overshadow" the Woman, the Church, and bring about another conception in her, that of the Christ that is to rule the world.
Roman Catholic teaching is that Mary is the new "Ark of the Covenant" into which God deposited the things pertaining to the New Covenant. They reach this conclusion by comparing the scriptures about the Ark of the OT Temple, which was overshadowed by God's presence and glory, to the accounts of the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary.
I would like to once again quote from the Navarre Bible, the commentary on Mark 6:3. "The power of the most high will OVERSHADOW you", are a clear echo of the overshadowing cloud (Exodus) or light, the "glory of the Lord", which stood over the Ark of the Covenant in the Exodus, and later in the temple of Jerusalem. For the Jews, this hovering sign marked the presence of God, Himself. To us, the Ark and Mary were just ordinary vessels. To God, they were His creations and He owned them and nobody else dwelt among them but Him. God dwelt and overshadowed nothing else or nobody else other than the Ark of the Covenant and Mary. (Except "the void" in Genesis.) [Christus Rex et Redemptor Mundi]
However, some teachers in the Church take this even further, saying that the NEW "woman" is to bear the CORPORATE Christ, the many-membered ruler of the new dispensation of glory. This is commonly known as the "manchild" of Revelation chapter twelve.
The Ark, of course, represents the LAST CHURCH, which will come forth on earth and is of the sixth church, the church of the Overshadowing. This last church, therefore, is called the church of the Manchild. ["The Pattern"]
Therefore the "overshadowing" is first and foremost the method of impregnating the "woman" of Revelation in order to bring to birth the corporate ruler of the endtimes Church and world.
Man is entrusted with the seed of the WORD, but the precious seed of the MANCHILD (the Christ) to be planted in the womb of the church, which is the soul of man, is the prerogative of the Holy Ghost Himself.
Jeremiah 31:22, "A woman shall compass a man." This phrase, spoken by the prophet to backsliding Israel, of the coming of Jesus Christ, now speaks to us of the spiritual woman, the church, compassing the manchild, which shall come forth out of the travail of the souls of God's people. This picture, therefore, represents the overshadowing of the Spirit of God over the church or the body of Christ, in which is being formed the FIRST FRUITS of God unto immortality in the earth.
In the realm of the church, this church is called the sixth church, or the church of the overshadowing. We do believe at this time, we are in this church, and that we are now being overshadowed by the direct ministration of the Spirit of God to produce in the earth that which all the saints and prophets of old prophesied about. This church is depicted in scripture as the woman in Revelation 12.
But now is the time of the overshadowing, when the manchild church is being brought forth within the woman church. "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Revelation 12:1. This is not Mary, the mother of Jesus. This chapter
was written of the future and not of the past. Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost and brought forth Jesus Christ, the son of God. The church is being overshadowed by the Holy Ghost again to bring forth the Christ in us, not in a physical sense, as with Mary who had a natural child, but in the spiritual sense..."The Pattern"
Big Mike's Website - quotes are from "The Pattern" - a Sonship book written by Cecil J.duCille. If you need to research Sonship-MSOG doctrines, I suggest you download the entire book and read it, as it explains the doctrines perfectly. (Beware: do not read this book unless you are rock solid in your own faith and biblical understanding.)
2. It is a Counterfeit Marriage of the Lamb
For some time now, within revival churches and outside them, the concept of a "Mystic Marriage" with Christ has been taking shape. In some cases women - and even men - are experiencing spiritual love affairs with a being they believe to be Jesus Christ, including intercourse and orgasm. This is all part of a teaching that links to the above impregnation of the "seed" into the "woman".
The marriage supper of the Lamb will not be in heaven in some far off galaxy, but right here and NOW. ...God is at present calling out His people to become the bride of Christ. It takes male and female to bring forth life. CHRIST THE MALE and the church the female are necessary for the bringing forth of seed.
To carry out the whole analogy, the man must marry the woman, which is the relationship between us and Christ, and the issue of such a marriage will be the perfect man which must come forth as the sons of God. The wedding feast, therefore, is the new thing which God is doing in the earth at this time, in which He, the Spirit of God, is overshadowing the elect (called out of the called out) and INSEMINATING their souls with His own DIVINE NATURE. [(Capitals in original) From "The Pattern"]
Taking the scriptures allegorically - which is what the revival does in many cases - it is easy to see the connections in terminology and thought-patterns.
The concept of COVERING comes into play, since a husband covers his wife in the conception of the child. This covering, however, is also a metaphor for the overshadowing, since God is supposedly coming upon and over his Bride by means of a glory cloud (as with Mary - see above.)
One scripture used is that of Boaz (a type of Christ) and Ruth who was covered by his mantle:
And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. Ruth 3:8-9
Compare the spiritual covering of God over Israel:
Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. Ezek 16:8
The covering of God, however, is spoken of in scripture as the glory-cloud, as in this passage describing the Exodus:
He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. Ps 105:39
Thus if we leap from Ruth to Israel to the glory-cloud (as false teachers do) following the trail of the covering, we end up with the concept that God is going to cover the endtimes Church with his glory-cloud in order to marry her and bring forth the new "christ-child".
Several
other types and symbols are useful in this respect, including
the BRIDAL CANOPY (huppah) that is spread over the Bride and
Groom. A messianic-prophetic site explains the bridal canopy
this way:
Even today the Jewish people say that the TALIS (Prayer Shawl) is a religious symbol, a garment, shroud, canopy, cloak which envelopes the Jew both physically and spiritually, in prayer and celebration, in joy and sorrow. ... The bride and groom are covered with the canopy of the prayer shawl.
In Biblical times, Jewish men wore this garment called a TALITH, TALIS, TALIT or PRAYER SHAWL all the times, not just at prayer. TALITH contains two Hebrew words; TAL meaning tent and ITH meaning little; thus, LITTLE TENT. Each man had his own little tent....Six million Jews could not fit into the tent of meeting that was set up in the Old Testament. Therefore, what was given to them was their own private sanctuary where they would meet with God.
In Ruth 3:9, Ruth ... said to him, "spread the corner of your garment over me for thou art my nearest kinsmen redeemer". In the NKJV it says, "Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative." Ruth said, "Take me under your WING." "Cover me", is a term of intimacy. .... This is a symbolic expression of marriage. (In Mid-East culture, they cast a garment over one being claimed for marriage.)
As you study the Hebrew and Greek, this covering with the garment is expressed as "the HOVERING (or BROODING) of the Spirit of God over the face of the waters", in Genesis 1:2. "The HOVERING OVER and SPREADING OUT OF THE WINGS of the eagle", in Deut. 32:11. "The OVERSHADOWING of the Most High" when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, in Luke 1:35. The OVERSHADOWING that came upon Peter, John and James as they went with Jesus to the Mt. of Transfiguration to pray, in Luke 9:28. And when Peter's shadow became the OVERSHADOWING, as people were healed when his shadow (filled with the overshadowing presence of the Lord) fell upon them, in Act 5:14.
The Prophet Elijah passed his mantle on to Elisha in II Kings 2. Many believe that this mantle was actually his talis and was symbolic of the power of prayer that Elijah had saturated that mantle with. The mantle that Elijah left behind as he was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven, was that which Elisha struck and parted the waters .[Ram's Horn Site]
So now we can add a few more symbols to this idea, concepts that are already circulating in the churches - concepts like the coming down of the "mantle of Elijah", which is the same as the "overshadowing of glory", to empower the endtimes Church.
Elijah's Mantle - Double Portion of Spirit Power
According to Malachi 4:5, the Last Days Church is destined to corporately walk in the power of Elijah, preparing the way for the Lord’s return. ... it will be the overcomers who will walk in a double portion of Elijah’s spirit as did Elisha. The Last Days Church will be just such an army of anointed overcomers.
When the double portion falls, there will be those who will “cross over” into a new level where only those who have been trained by the Spirit and harnessed under the discipline of the anointing can walk.
... I will therefore take the liberty to reference this phenomenon as the release of a corporate anointing. ...It will be the corporate accessing of the double portion which will prepare the Bride of Christ for her groom. "The Double Portion" by Barbara Urban
If you have been following the thread of allegory above you will now see the connection. Many who do not understand the core doctrines of Sonship-MSOG fail to see what all the fuss is about, and take each symbol on its own merit. That is a huge mistake. Whether churches choose to believe it or not, the central message of the Manifested Sons of God and the Adoption to Sons is identical to the New Age message of spiritual evolution to godhood, and the reign of the Antichrist. Therefore we would do well to investigate these teachings as a whole, in order to see where they are leading.
The endtimes deception is not a pick-and-mix religion from which churches and leaders can select parts of the teaching to suit themselves, while claiming to dismiss the more loony aspects such as immortalisation, the corporate christ ruling mankind, and the physical transfiguration that replaces the biblical Rapture.
Even though some leaders choose to avoid the more controversial and heretical aspects of this teaching, (but do adopt beliefs like birthing, the glory-cloud, gold dust, impartation, covering and so on) their acceptance of ANY of it will eventually draw them, as if by hooks, down the path to an Antichrist error. The only safe course of action is to reject these doctrines absolutely and completely.
3. It is a Counterfeit Anointing
We have become familiar with the theme of the revival - more! more! No amount of anointing is sufficient for today's power-hungry believers, so this teaching appeals to them. For, the "overshadowing" is the ultimate in the search for more power, and according to the following quote, the full overshadowing of the glory can be achieved right now on earth by those who are prepared to reach supremely high levels of prayer, submission and worship:
The angel Gabriel said that the virgin birth will take place when the power of the Highest will overshadow her. I want you to notice he is not saying the power of the Holy Spirit but he says the power of the Highest. ... the Lord began to show me that the power of the Highest is another realm beyond the power of the Holy Spirit. It will be called the empowerment of the Holy Spirit..... The greatest power possible demonstrated by the Holy Spirit is that it touches between eternity and the natural world. The power of the Highest will overshadow you and then this miracle will be wrought.
The word overshadow comes from the Greek word epikaizo. This Greek word here epikaizo has been used three times in the New Testament. Every time it is used, it refers to a special manifestation of God's power. It is not the ordinary level of manifestation.
What is the ordinary level? It is found in Acts 1:8 (Pentecost) ... if you understand that the release of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8 is God's power at one volts, then at the end level at the 240 volts level, the power of the Highest is going to overshadow Mary. The overshadowing of the power of the Highest is not just that one-volt level but it is at the 240 volts level. At this level, it is going to cause a creative act upon Mary.
I will guarantee you that if you spend 10 to 16 hours a day for 365 days in prayer... If you live a life that is 100 percent surrendered 365 days a year.... The epikaizo of the power of the Highest is going to happen to your life. The third thing that takes place is worship. ... If you continue in steadfast prayer, if you continue in steadfast surrender, if you continue in steadfast worship, then you will reach epikaizo.
My friends, if epikaizo takes place in your life, your very skin will be transformed. ... Every time you talk about creative miracles and the growing of new limbs, you are talking about epikaizo the creative highest power of God. The spiritual creates the natural. The natural is dissolved by the spiritual. (Eagle Vision Ministry)
Corporate Anointing
Individuals, then, are urged to attain to the overshadowing that creates the highest level of anointing; but this is also a "corporate anointing" for the Christ is seen as ONE BODY, united in spirit, mind, purpose and destiny.
The anointing is a Person! ...Jesus is the "anointed one", ... But the New Testament reveals "Christ" to be both Head and Body! Jesus is our glorious Head and we are His Church, the Body of Christ - the CORPORATE MESSIAH! ... The anointing that abides upon and within us all is the CORPORATE ANOINTING.
..."Christ" is more than an individual. .... The spirit of Moses was multiplied and placed upon the 70 elders (Num. 11:24-25); even so, the New Testament Mediator has become a many-membered Man in His corporate Body (1 Tim. 2:5)! This "mystery of godliness" (I Tim. 3:16) began with a Seed being planted in a habitation of purity, Mary's womb. Paul's apostolic, intercessory burden was that Christ, the anointed One, the Spirit of the Son, be fully formed in a virgin Church (Gal. 4:19)! This glorious Body of Christ is the Church of the firstborn, Mount Zion, the city of the living God (Heb. 12:22-) [Capitals in original].
[Alan McSavage: Spirit of the Word Archives, from Greater Immanuel International Apostolic Team]
4. It is the Return of the Shekinah Glory
Further instances of the glory-cloud's overshadowing, this time in the Old Testament, lead us to another aspect of this teaching: that the Shekinah Glory that departed the Temple because of idolatry and rebellion against God, is shortly to return in fulness to the "temple of his body" = the Church.
The people of God is the only temple on earth now recognized by the Lord as His temple. In Haggai 2:7 and 9, there is a prophecy which is yet to come to pass, and it cannot be speaking of a natural temple, as there is none now standing which would have the approval of God. This temple, of course, must be the temple of the human body which God desires to dwell in, "not made with hands."
"And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." ["The Pattern"]
It is plain from the above that this teaching expects a latter-day overshadowing of the temple of the CHURCH in order to fill her with glory.
The Holy Spirit is brooding over [OVERSHADOWING] the body of Christ, … the same Spirit that raised up Christ from the dead is quickening our mortal bodies to become partakers of the divine nature... These are the ones the Lord is preparing for the coming of His glory, the fulness of Christ. We will be the holy temples that the Lord arises upon with His shekinah glory to draw the kings and Gentiles to the brightness of His rising. ... It must be a holy temple for His divine habitation so that His shekinah glory can be revealed on this earth. (Haggai 2:9). "Come Up To Tabernacles!" Power For Today Prophetic Ministries.
CONTINUE TO PART TWO
© 1995-2013 Tricia Tillin of Banner Ministries. All rights reserved. Cross+Word Website: http://www.banner.org.uk/ This document is the property of its author and is not to be displayed on other websites, redistributed, sold, reprinted, or reproduced in printed in any other format without permission. Websites may link to this article, if they provide proper title and author information. One copy may be downloaded, stored and/or printed for personal research. All spelling and phraseology is UK English.
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