"THE TRUTH IS..." A Midnight Tale Of Graveyard Bones The Holy Spirit speaks whenever and as He wishes but His teaching is often at night when everything is quiet and I am studying or meditating. Sometimes he wakens me in the wee hours of the morning to show me something. So it was the night I was reading about Elisha and midnight or not, he opened to me a thrilling graveyard tale... Elisha had died and been entombed in a cave, and before a year had passed, the Moabites invaded the land. A local funeral procession, on their way to bury a man, spied a small band of invaders so they quickly tossed the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and ran. When the corpse was let down and fell on the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and he stood up on his feet. (2 Kings 13:20-21) I had read that account for decades and passed right over it. Oh, I had seen it as a miracle but I had not discerned the deeper message that was hidden within the miracle. Suddenly I felt the Holy Spirit had just handed me a precious box filled with answers that I had been seeking for years. In mere moments, so many things were made clear to me. Revelation is for sharing so hold fast to your chair. We are going to visit the graveyard with a whole new perspective.... ********************************** As we study the scriptures we often wonder why such events are recorded with a few brief sentences, then dropped, leaving us in suspense. In this particular case we have to wonder if the man who was revived stood in the cave bewildered and confused as the band of Moabites passed, or did he impulsively grope his way toward the light of the entrance and frighten them into a retreat? Either way, the tomb was apparently left temporarily open by the fleeing pall bearers, allowing the man to emerge or the Moabites to see the bewildered man standing just within the tomb with his grave clothes on? Either scenario would have scattered this mob for sure!!! Who loosed the wrappings of the poor man’s grave clothes and removed his face cloth? I ask this because of a similar miracle in which Jesus commanded Lazarus to “Come Forth.” He came forth “bound hand and foot with grave clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin.” Then Jesus said to the bystanders, “Loose him and let him go.” (John 11:44) We can only guess that the pallbearers returned after the Moabites scattered, to retrieve the corpse of course and rebury it, only to find a still-bound wriggling figure, groping aimlessly. We know the man survived his ordeal because we have this very brief account. We could ask a dozen questions but alas, there are no real answers to appease our curiosity… Therefore we have to believe that the Holy Spirit limited the details for a very good reason, and we must concede that a lot of detail is not always necessary to validate a miracle. We either accept such accounts by faith or we don’t. They may leave us curious but they do make their point. I can also see how a more detailed account might distract the reader from the purpose of the story, especially if that purpose is to unveil a revelation hidden within the miracle itself. Without the mystery of brevity, it would be just another wonderful story. ******************************* In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit filled and “came upon” the king, the priest and the prophet only. As these holy men of God performed their assigned tasks, they were often recorded as directed by the Holy Spirit, and thus we have the historical and spiritual accounts of Israel’s history. Because it was never meant for man to know all the mysteries and ways of God, and because we can only digest so much understanding at a time, there are many revelations hidden within these accounts and one stumbles across them only as they earnestly seek the depths and as the Holy Spirit chooses to enlighten. A great deal of new light has been shed just in the past sixty years and has proven to be such a blessed on-going work of the Spirit that we can only rejoice in the revelation of one treasure after another that surfaces. In this newest revelation to me, the grave of the faithful was suddenly transformed into a chamber of jewels that are divinely guarded and sweetened by the perfume of the Savior. Scholars may have known about this for centuries but I have never heard it spoken, taught, argued or in any other way acknowledged in all my 68 years. If they did know about it, perhaps they felt it would be best not to entertain it publicly for it borders on the incredible and could easily be misconstrued by the foolish and the weak. But it was a totally new understanding that I welcomed with joy and since light is meant to repel the darkness, I have decided to share it so those who have discernment and understanding can rejoice with me…. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” All scripture therefore is the work of the Holy Spirit who is so one with the Father and the Savior that, as Jesus said, He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us. We are also assured that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that includes - through the grave. No one can dispute the powerful anointing of Elisha, the prophet who was mentored by Elijah. Elijah was so faithful he was caught up bodily into heaven and because Elisha saw him as he was taken up, and because he had requested it, Elisha was given a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. But Elisha would eventually still taste of the grave. His spirit would be comforted in Abraham’s Bosom, a holding place for Old Testament Saints, but his body would return to the ground from whence it came in the creation of Adam. God puts a lot of emphasis on the bones of man. In Ecclestiastes 11:5 we read: “…as thou knowest not the way of the Spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child.” For the first Passover of the Exodus, God commands that the remains of the Passover lamb (representing Christ) should be removed from the house and not one bone of it (the lamb or the crucified Christ) could be broken. This command is later confirmed in John 19:36. The scriptures also speak of dead bones, rottenness of bones and sin-laden bones as well as the valley of dry bones, shown to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37). Elisha’s bones were not dead as are the bones of those who have no hope, nor were they dry as the bones of Israel during his dispersion. Elisha’s bones were saturated by the living waters of the five books of Moses, Joshua, the Judges and the accounts of Samuel – scrolled copies he may have inherited from Elijah, a highly respected mentor at the School of the Prophets, and his bones were saturated with the anointing of his calling and the Holy Ghost power of resurrection. “Don’t you know that the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you?” It is the same Spirit that raised our Lord and Savior that shall keep your bones and mine, should Jesus tarry, and it is by this same power that we too shall be raised. Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” In Malachi 3: 16-18 we read: “Then they that feared the Lord spoke often to one another: and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him. Then you shall return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that served God and him that served him not.” One who dwells in the secret place of the Most High and abides under the shadow of the Almighty has saturated bones. He that walks in the anointing of his calling and does not waver from obedience has saturated bones. He that keeps his mind stayed on the Lord and trusts the sovereignty of his Word has saturated bones. But just as there are varying levels of anointing and faith, so there must be varying levels of saturation. The more intimate and steady your walk with the Lord, the more saturation you will have. I was teaching a seminar before a roomful of pastors and prophets when the Holy Spirit directed my attention to a prophetess in the front row and say to her, “Thus sayeth the Lord of Hosts, you are precious jewels to me, my daughter.” I spoke it but I didn’t really understand it. I thought He was saying she was as precious as jewels to Him, but now I understand that He was really saying, “You have saturated bones.” Saturated bones are as precious jewels for they are the accumulated treasure of a person’s soul. Every long night of soul-wrenching prayer, every heart-wrenching intercession, every deed of kindness, every faith walk, every stand of trust, every tear of divine joy, every offense forgiven, every stand for truth, every fruit of the Spirit and every poured-out praise adds more oil of the spirit and living waters of the Word to our soul which saturates our bones. Then add all this to the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that will never leave us nor forsake us… When the time comes, these saturated, spirit-filled bones will be commanded and strengthened to support new flesh that is incorruptible – flesh that has not walked through a decadent world – flesh that needs no blood to keep it alive for the saturation of the Spirit will be sufficient. God told Ezekiel to command the dry bones of the valley to live. As the bones came together, each to it’s own frame, new sinews covered them, new flesh covered the sinews and new skin covered the flesh but they had no breath (spirit) and they were as dead men. So God told Ezekiel to speak to the four winds and prophesy to the winds to come and fill these slain that they might live. Ezekiel prophesied to the four winds and the breath of Spirit came with revival and the once dry bones of the valley stood on their feet as a great army, made alive by the winds of the Spirit of the living God. (Ezekiel, chapter 37) This chapter is a prophecy of the physical and spiritual renewal of Israel during the end times, following her dispersion to all the nations of the earth. She came into her physical renewal in 1948, she has yet to return as a nation to her spiritual renewal but it will come. I also see this chapter as a literal pronouncement by the Father that dry bones are without spirit, without faith, without acknowledgement of God, without the Blood of the lamb, without hope, without living waters…that is, until the four winds of the breath of the Holy Spirit comes forth to indwell and saturate those bones with new and abiding joy that cries out: “Oh death, where is your sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory?” The interred bones of Elisha were saturated with enough power to raise a dead man to life again almost a year after Elisha had died. The dead body of Our Lord was so saturated that, not only was He raised up again but His resurrection was so nuclear that nearby graves burst open and many saints that slept arose from their graves and were seen by many in the city (Matthew 27:52-53). If I were a gambling gal I would wager there is enough Holy Ghost power lying six feet under our towns and cities to blow them apart. Go back three to four hundred years, before this country was settled, before the trees were cut down and towns and cities were built, to the pioneer days and the early settler days and think about the bodies of believers that were perhaps buried under that old oak tree in your front yard or down by the creek, or up in the hills. All along the Oregon trail, along the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Hudson and the Colorado rivers. And it’s just lying there resting, waiting to explode at the sound of the trumpet… When Jesus sent the Holy Ghost to indwell the believers, it was an earnest pledge – a down payment on our salvation. The Holy Spirit is the holy seal of that pledge that is applied to every believer as their name is written down in Glory. At that moment we became part of a blood-bought church, our own spirit, our very souls, our lives and our eternity purchased by the Blood of Jesus. The price He paid was not negotiable and it was not cheap. We express our gratitude and our trust in that purchase as we work out the rest of our salvation, as the Apostle Paul admonishes us to do. Jesus Himself will make the final payment when He calls the Church home and resurrection and rapturous redemption is completed at last. Remember how Michael contended with Satan over the body of Moses? Satan would have turned those saturated bones into an idolatrous shrine for idolatrous people. Michael did not have the authority to rebuke him in his own name so he said, “The Lord rebuke you.” No archeologist, no son of Israel, no greedy mercenary, no curious theologian would ever find this grave. It’s sacred place, prepared by God’s own hands, would remain a secret known only to God, to Michael, and to Satan, and Satan was commanded to keep his mouth shut. Michael is the archangel who guards Israel. I believe he also guards the grave of Moses. Moses is currently on leave of absence from his duties but the remainder of his assignment will resume at the proper time. He will return to Israel with Elijah as the two witnesses of Jacob’s Troubles (the tribulation) and their saturated bones will unleash power not seen since the Exodus. It boggles my mind to realize that Israel was abuzz with such events 2,000 years ago, and still they do not believe. How do they explain the resurrected saints that appeared to many in Jerusalem? How do they explain the bursting open of the graves? Perhaps it is a nation so acquainted with the miraculous they cannot see the miracle within the miracles, and so to them, each event is just another wonderful story… All of this answered another question for me: I have never found cremation to be an acceptable option for believers. Something in my spirit would not agree with it, and in fact, I would shudder when I heard someone I knew and loved was cremated. Over the years I have been successful in talking a few friends out of it ahead of time but I never really had a strong argument against it until now. The only argument I had previously was that if God buried Moses with His own hands, then burial is God’s directive. It is a statement of faith in the resurrection to come. Now I understand why God buried Moses and why cremation for the believer is not an option. One day our anointed and saturated bones will come together again, new sinews will cover them, flesh will cover the sinews and skin will cover the flesh and they will stand up on their feet when they hear the call to “Awake and arise!” It is a promise that transcends death: “I will send the Comforter and He will abide with you FOREVER. He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.” At last, we can lift up our hands and our praises to the Savior with the joy of a new understanding, “It is so, Lord Jesus, according to your word, it is so”…. Joan Krempel
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