One can see in each of the prophets sent to reveal the sins of Israel, that God was addressing the departure of the faith of the people from His covenant, which resulted in idols being made. It was for this reason that the wrath of God was forthcoming.

Many ministers today point out the need of an intercessor to stand in the gap to turn away God’s wrath. They claim that prayer is our priesthood, yet they are only doing half of God’s will – that’s half a cup. These cups are not going to run over with God’s grace because something vital is missing from their understanding.

We’ll begin our study in Ezekiel 22:30 so you can discern who is making intercession according to the fulness of God’s will and the idolaters who are offering themselves to stand in the gap.

Ezekiel 22:30
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”

How was this “gap” created in the first place? A gap is a breach of the covenant, whereas the people begin to serve God their own way. Every departure from God’s way to create an individual path is an idol. Now let’s look at the idols in this breach, because God is addressing these same idols in the church today.

Ezekiel 22: 25
“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.”

Contrary to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the false prophets today have been instructed in the art of false prophecy:

Prayer will not remove these idols, nor return the church to the fulness of Christ. Prayer alone is not your priesthood. Prayer is one ninth of Christ – a portion – and your faith cannot be completed in His fulness with one ninth of His glory.

What about Jesus’ government, truth, and Spirit, the gifts, callings, graces of God, preaching, and prophecy? The anointing carries these nine tokens in the fulness of Christ that your faith would be completed in charity.

The priesthood is to be joined to the stewardship. That’s the fulness of Christ. If your priesthood has no stewardship then you’re serving the Lord with that which is half of His glory. Now if you serve God with only half of His glory, what does Apostle Paul say, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In other words, your endeavors to please God will not be fruitful with half a gift.

Jesus brought this to our attention in the parable of the foolish virgins whose vessels were empty. They did not contain the glory of God so were denied access to Christ at the hour appointed by God. Jesus opened the door to receive His bride, and only those who contained His fulness were allowed entrance into His kingdom.

The empty vessels were turned away. Though the foolish virgins cried loudly to Jesus through the door, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” Jesus told them why the door would remain shut. He said, “I don’t know you.”(Matthew 25:1-12)

What disqualified the foolish virgin from Jesus’ kingdom? The oil was lacking from her vessel. What does the oil represent? The oil was for the light, which came from the seven lampstands. The number seven represents the stewardship. It is through apostolic stewardship that the church receives the light of the knowledge of Christ. If the church does not have the mind of Christ, she cannot reciprocate to Him.

The restored church is already waiting at the door with our vessels full. The rapture can take place at any moment because the church has been purified, made white and clean. The foolish believers are still scampering around, scurrying the countryside looking for the anointing. They go from conference to conference, from ministry to ministry looking for the oil of the Lord because they don’t have it.

They’re asking, “Who has the new word from the Lord? Who has the next formula to learn how to get blessed, how to prosper, how to prophesy the right way, how to hear from God!” The church of the wilderness has not prepared herself, so she is not ready. She did not prepare herself with the oil God restored to the church. She has denied the Lord His fulness and He will deny her access to His kingdom and glory.

While ministers advocate awakening and repentance, they are not turning hearts towards God and His new covenant, but towards their own indoctrinations – this is NOT true repentance, so it is not God’s glory.

It’s true that men in all nations should repent, but when not directed to the new covenant stewardship and priesthood, these are not calls of grace. The call will not redound to the grace of God—it is not praise worthy.

As in the days of Ezekiel, ministers today rapaciously devour souls, turning hearts away from the stewardship and priesthood selected by God to represent Jesus Christ. They have taken the precious things of Jesus’ covenant (like prayer and prophecy) and redirected it to the lust of the flesh, to thus turn prophecy inward to the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. These doctrines are accursed of God and therefore His wrath is determined upon all nations and all people who follow these pernicious ways.

So then, the call of God is not to prayer, but to restoration: to bring the people back to the terms and tools and stewardship of the new covenant, which they abandoned. It is because the ministers abandoned the covenant of Jesus that the wrath of God is coming upon the world. 

You might be saying, “I thought prayer was a good thing! Are we not to pray?” Yes, prayer is good, if it is used in the sanctified way in which God intended. Anyone can pray, anyone can direct their voice towards God and believe they are standing in the gap. 

The thought that stands out in the mind of the idolater is to turn away God’s wrath (self preservation). However, the thought that is in the Father’s heart is to give knowledge that is set in order by His steward to turn the people towards the new covenant of Jesus Christ.

To turn away God’s wrath is again half the portion of Christ. One needs to turn people to the new covenant God sanctified in the blood of Jesus, not to the smorgasbord of false doctrine.