On February 3, 2022, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the Biblical standard of the ministry of the prophet is far greater than the prophetic ministry we see operating in the Church in America, if not the world.  The Holy Spirit began to highlight the prophet Ezekiel’s encounter with the Lord where in a vision he sees something resembling a throne and, “high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.  Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him (Ezekiel 1:26-27 NASB95).  Ezekiel then states the following –  “As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance.  Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.  And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.” (Ezekiel 1:28 NASB95).

We in the Church can read these passages appreciating them, even believing them, but until we encounter the Lord as Ezekiel did and see what he saw, we will be missing something.  That “something” is what the Lord will bring forth in the revelation of those He is raising up to minister to His flock.

The only words I have to describe the prophet’s encounter in Ezekiel chapters 1-2 is that it is saturated in the Glory of God and a revelation of who He is.  Those He is raising up to minister to His flock and feed them Fresh Bread will be saturated in His Glory with the character of Jesus.  They are those who have said, or will say, “YES!” to His calling upon their lives.  They will surrender to The One who purchased them with a price, and they will eat His scroll (be filled with His message), go where He sends them, and they will preach the message He gives to them.

The Glory of God that Ezekiel saw will be in, and upon, this new breed of minister and prophet will be a direct result of the level of consecration and suffering they have walked through.  The power of their ministry will be Biblically evident in the authority that they wield at His command.  This is not a new standard from a Biblical point of view, but it will be a higher standard than what the Church currently moves in.  In this way, the prophets will be tested by the Church.

This is not to say that those who are currently moving in the prophetic office are not true prophets.  What I am saying is that those who will be ministering in the future will move at a much higher level of spiritual authority and power that is clearly set forth in scripture.

The Lord then began to reveal that many local churches are filled with a pack of wolves acting as Church leaders – not just one single wolf in sheep’s clothing, but a pack of wolves.  The Spirit then revealed that these wolves have conspired together in greed to keep the flock of Jesus Christ in bondage, without Fresh Bread or Living Water.  The Lord has given these ministers (the wolves) time to repent, but they have not and therefore they will experience the full weight of His wrath and judgment.  The prophet Jeremiah saw it clearly and the Lord is about to release the judgment the Lord revealed to him in our day – “For both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the Lord.  “Therefore, their way will be like slippery paths to them, they will be driven away into the doom and fall down in it; for I shall bring calamity upon them, the year of their punishment,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:11-12 NASB).  

The Lord began revealing to me His message to me in 1997 that continues through to today for pastors and other Church ministers – change or perish.  This message of repentance has been largely ignored.  This latest revelation continues in that same vein.  Much of what is happening in the American Church and across the country stems from the weakness and corruption of the prophets as well as pastoral and other ministry offices – ‘”Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, “Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood and make them drink poisonous water, for from the prophets of Jerusalem pollution has gone forth into all the land.”’ (Jeremiah 23:15 NASB). 

What was happening in Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah is happening in our day and in this country.

But there is good news!  In the same vision of the pack of wolves, I saw the Lord Jesus personally directing His flock to the ministers He has raised up, where they will clearly see and understand that His Glory is upon them.  They will feed ravenously upon the Fresh Bread that these leaders, the Lord’s true shepherds feed them.  A great shift is coming in the Body of Christ as the Lord leads His people to men and women who are true shepherds.

Currently the Church in America has little if any Biblical understanding of the doctrine of judgment coming from the Lord.  The day is coming where the Church will grow up and understand that the Lord is a righteous judge, and He brings calamity upon His people to purge and purify them in holiness (Isaiah 45:7; Jeremiah 23:18-20).  This aspect of the Lord’s character will come to be understood and taught by the leaders whom the Lord is raising up.  The Church will no longer shun the prophet who declares the word of the Lord regarding judgment coupled with the call to repentance.  These are aspects of the ministry of the prophet that are not only Biblically valid but will be a powerful facet of these ministers in the days to come.

The prophets that the Lord is raising up will move in the anointing we only read about in the Bible but have never witnessed.  We will see the same level of authority as the prophet Isaiah moved in during the reign of King Hezekiah during the invasion by  Sennacherib, king of Assyria (2 Kings 18-19).  Isaiah received a word from the Lord to encourage Hezekiah and the people of Judah, prophesying that the Assyrian army would not enter Jerusalem (2 Kings19:32-34).  The next day, the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians (2 Kings 19:35).  Humiliated by the Lord, Sennacherib returned to Assyria and was killed.

The victory Hezekiah experienced through the prophecy of Isaiah would be heard of throughout the known world.  As a result, “many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and choice presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter” (2 Chronicles 32:23 NASB).  The Lord will bring purity to the office of the prophet that will allow Him to demonstrate that He is the Lord and that there is no other.

In like manner, the prophet Samuel called upon the Lord to deliver Israel from the Philistines.  While he prayed and made an offering, “the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel.  All the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.” (I Samuel 7:10-11)  The Bible goes on to say, “the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel.  And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel” (I Samuel 7:12-13 NASB).

We see a similar occurrence with the prophet Elisha during the siege of Samaria in 2 Kings 6:24-7:20.  The desperation of the hour brought the king of Israel to a point to threaten the prophet.  But Elisha prophesied saying, “Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria” (2 Kings 7:1).  He also prophesied that the royal officer to the king would see the prophecy come to pass but he wouldn’t eat of it (vs 2).  Both prophecies were fulfilled in 2 Kings 7:15-20 the next day.

The level of authority and prophetic fulfillment in the ministries of these prophets and others including Moses, Elijah, and Daniel point in the direction where the Lord is taking His Church.  Their lives and ministries are there for all to read and believe.  These are well known prophets, but the Bible speaks of lesser-known prophets, some with no name recorded, who brought specific words to the kings of Judah and Israel and their powerful prophecies were always fulfilled by the Lord.

These Biblical accounts are recorded for our benefit, and we will see this Biblical level of ministry come to the Church fulfilling the word of the Lord that the glory of the latter house will be greater than the former house (Haggai 2:9a NASB).

Mark C. Biteler