The rise of the house of David, part 8

I was in Toronto to speak at a convention when a Canadian prophet laid hands on me and prayed to establish me as “David in America.” This was on September 24, 1995. At the time, I thought this was a bit odd, but I have learned to record all things and wait for confirmation and understanding. I have also learned that the roles we play in God’s plan are not to be taken too personally, since we often shift from one role to another.

Prophetic roles can be played by many people, each being directed by Christ Himself to reveal His plan to a different group of people. We steward our callings as well as the roles we play. Many people, even prophets, have not understood this, causing them to claim exclusive rights to their calling as “Elijah,” or “David,” or some other biblical calling. This often causes unhealthy disputes and competition, when they should embrace others with similar callings.

Looking back on the Canadian prophet’s prayer to establish me as “David in America,” it is clear that he was referring to the rise of the house of David in which I was playing a leadership role. But my dominant calling, revealed as early as June 1982, was centered around Joseph or Ephraim. That was why I had to undergo twelve years of training from November 1981-1993.

The calling of Joseph was to work to establish the Fruitfulness Mandate, that is, to teach the message of Sonship leading to the manifestation of the sons of God. The calling of Judah, given to David, was to establish the Dominion Mandate, or the Scepter, until Joseph (or “Shiloh”) could receive his authority to rule the world. Ultimately, Joseph’s brothers had to bow to him, according to his dreams, and this included Judah.

So the house of David rose from 1993-2000 and was given authority to begin the work of the Kingdom. As we will see, this phase morphed into the work of the house of Joseph in order to bring about Christ’s universal Kingdom and the eventual restoration of all things.

The Angel Peniel

In 1995 the feast of Tabernacles fell on October 9-16. On the weekend prior to the feast, I was in Franklin, North Carolina, where I had been asked to teach at Sister Thea’s conference. On the way to the conference, I had received revelation of the three churches: the Passover Church from Moses to Christ, the Pentecost Church that manifested the rule of “Saul” from 33-1993 A.D., and the Tabernacles Church, which ministers in the Age to come. So that was the main theme of my messages in North Carolina.

On the final morning of the conference, Sunday, October 8, 1995, as I was having breakfast, I suddenly saw an angel standing in the corner of the room near the wood stove. I could not see his face, at least not directly, but the rest of him was clearly visible. It was evident that no one else noticed him, as everyone else continued to fellowship around the table.

I asked (silently), “Who are you?” His quick reply was: “Peniel.”

I thought that was quite strange, because I had always thought that Peniel was a place, not a name. I quickly finished eating, and then excused myself to search this out more fully. Only then did I come to see that Jacob named the location Penuel, but the name of the angel he had wrestled was Peniel. Genesis 32:30 says that “Jacob named the place Peniel,” but the next verse (Genesis 32:31) says, “Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel.”

The word “place” in verse 30 comes from the Hebrew word, which often means “a condition of body or mind” (Strong's Concordance #2725). It appears that the spiritual condition of Jacob's mind was Peniel, but the place on earth was called Penuel. Years later, during Gideon's battle, it was still called Penuel (Judges 8:8).

I believe that Jacob’s spiritual condition had been altered by the presence of Peniel, and the account tells us something of Peniel's job description. In the sequence of Jacob's prophetic journey to Padan-aram and back, he prophesied of all the feast days. (See The Laws of the Second Coming, chapter 4.) His experience at Penuel represented the Jubilee just before he concluded his journey at Succoth (Tabernacles). See Genesis 33:17.

The Loss of Peniel’s Leadership

As I studied the Scriptures that day, I discovered that Israel had been led by Peniel in coming out of Egypt, but that they had lost Peniel's presence when they worshiped the golden calf. God gave them a substitute angel at that point to lead them into the Promised Land after 40 years in the wilderness. Peniel is the Angel of Tabernacles, which they lost. The substitute angel was Michael, the Angel of Resurrection (Daniel 12:1, 2).

Peniel means “God's face” or “God's Presence.” The Hebrew word panah (plural, paniym) means both face and presence, and the “El' at the end means “God.” When God manifests His presence in the face of the sons of God, as He did with Moses, this will be the work of Peniel. When God raises the dead, it will be through the work of Michael.

Isaiah refers to the angel Peniel in Isaiah 63:9, 10, which says,

⁹ In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence [paniym] saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. ¹⁰ But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy. He fought against them.

Verse 9 referred to God’s redemption of Israel when He brought them out of Egypt. When they were threatened by the chariots of Egypt at the Red Sea, we read in Exodus 14:19,

¹⁹ The angel of God who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.

The pillar of cloud was the presence of God through the Holy Spirit, represented by Peniel, God’s face/presence. Isaiah 63:10 then refers to the day Israel lost “the angel of His presence” when they rebelled against God by worshiping the golden calf in Exodus 32.

After the people worshiped the golden calf, Moses interceded for them, beginning in Exodus 32:31,

³¹ Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves.”

God's response in Exodus 32:34 was:

³¹ But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.

We know that they had already been led by God’s angel from the first day that they left Egypt. Hence, this had to refer to a different angel. A few verses later, in Exodus 33:2 and 3, God says,

² And I will send an angel before you ... ³ for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, lest I destroy you on the way. ⁴ When the people heard this sad word, they went into mourning, and none of them put on his ornaments.

This was a “sad word,” because God's personal presence was not going to lead them into the Promised Land. Peniel, God’s presence, was being replaced by a different angel, later revealed to be Michael. Peniel would have led Israel into Canaan from Kadesh-Barnea on the southern border of Canaan, without having to cross the Jordan River. Michael, however, would eventually lead them into Canaan from the east, and they had to cross the Jordan to get there.

In other words, Peniel, the Angel of Tabernacles, gives people the glorified body (“face”) without having to die first; Michael, on the other hand, is the Angel of Resurrection, who brings people into the Kingdom through death and resurrection. Either way will work, and both are important. But Peniel is the Angel who was released in 1995 to bring those who are “alive and remain” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) into the glory of the feast of Tabernacles. For “we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51).

Israel's lack of faith in the days of Moses postponed the fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles for 70 Jubilees. You might say that Peniel was largely unemployed during this time, because he was unable to fulfill his calling to manifest the sons of God. Likewise, the feast of Tabernacles was largely forgotten, especially during the age of the Pentecost Church.

It was not until 1948-1952 that God brought this feast back to the attention of the church through the Latter Rain movement. This was accomplished through George Warnock’s book, The Feast of Tabernacles, published in 1952. It remains a classic to this day, and in the early 1980’s it gave me the foundation of teaching that I needed to understand the importance of this feast.

It is like a great 70-year captivity to the Babylonian flesh. But then, a year before the Jubilee was to be declared in 1996, God released the Angel of His Presence back into the world in order that the feast of Tabernacles could be fulfilled in this generation (or this Jubilee cycle).

Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun

When Peniel revealed himself in North Carolina that Sunday morning, I did not know that he had already been released in Japan by a group of United States Marines. But six weeks later, I had a meeting in Portland, Oregon, and a missionary named Ginny drove up from Roseburg to attend the meeting.

She had just returned from Japan. She told me that a group of about 40 Marines at the base in Japan had prayed and fasted from October 1-7 in order to be allowed to have “revival” meetings on the base. But the chaplain would not allow it.

On Sunday morning, October 8, they went to the sea wall and asked God about the dark spiritual force that was over the base. Suddenly, out of the heavens the voice of God spoke audibly, and they all heard Him say, “Its name is Evil Report.”

The voice came again, “Whose report do you believe?” They all responded that they believed God's GOOD report. The voice then came a third time, saying, “Blessed are those who believe all that the Lord has spoken will come to pass.”

The day begins in Japan, “the land of the rising sun.” When the sun later rose over North Carolina, Peniel revealed himself that same day, thanks to the 40 Marines in Japan, who broke the power of the Evil Report after 70 Jubilees of history.

When Ginny told me that story, it confirmed to me the reason for Peniel's release, and it told me that the feast of Tabernacles will shortly be fulfilled in us.

In 2001 Peniel was actually commissioned, for we did not realize until then this was required. Peniel is the main Angel of the New Net of Prayer, and (like all angels) he is called “to minister through those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).