FROM THE HEART OF SISTER GWEN
Give us Barabbas!
Beloved Intercessor,
“Then Pilate called in the high priests, rulers, and the others and said, ‘You brought this man to me as a disturber of the peace. I examined him in front of all of you and found there was nothing to your charge. And neither did Herod, for he has sent him back here with a clean bill of health. It’s clear that he’s done nothing wrong, let alone anything deserving death.’
“At that the crowd went wild: ‘Kill him! Give us Barabbas!” (Barabbas had been thrown in prison for starting a riot, and for murder.) Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out again. “But they kept shouting back, ‘Crucify! Crucify him!” (Luke 23:13-21 M.B.)
It seems these days that I can hear the masses crying in America, “Give us Barabbas!”
Jesus was standing before Pilate for his final interrogation. The custom in Israel during the Passover was that the authorities must release one prisoner to go free on that day, no matter how great his crime, and the people had the right to choose which one should be set free. This custom, no doubt, was adapted from the Law of releasing a scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:10).
Barabbas was a mystery. His name is also mysterious. In the Hebrew “Bar Abba” means “son of the father.” Some of the early translations say his name was Jesus Bar Abba. (Matthew 27:15-18, M.B). The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha translates vss. 16-17: “And they were holding at the time a notorious prisoner, called [Yeshua] Bar-Abba [son of the father]. When, therefore, they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release to you, Bar Abba or Yehoshua called Moshsiach?” (Messiah/Christ).
See how closely the false Christ will resemble the true Christ! He will come in the roll of Yeshua (savior, redeemer), son of the father. And he will be riding a white horse, (Rev. 6:2) carrying weapons of warfare, and wearing a crown, playing the part of a king. Just like the true Jesus, the Messiah, will come riding a white horse, (Revelation 19:11-15).
Many will be deceived in these last days, and follow the wrong man. When Hitler came into power in Germany, multitudes were deceived into believing he was the answer to Germany’s economic crisis. Even pastors of the churches said, “He is a man, sent from God to save Germany.”
There is one group of people who will NOT be deceived—they are not the ordinary Christians, THEY ARE THE INTERCESSORS. You can never deceive the intercessors.
The intercessor’s torch has been given to the ETH and S, and all our friends. It is important we do not fall down on the job. We are responsible to pray until November 4. These are the most important dates of the calendar for America. According to government rules, we, as a ministry cannot tell people how to vote, but we can pray that God will tell them. And pray that they have ears that are tuned to heaven’s voice, and not the voice of man.
There are many needy people looking to us for prayer. As I pray through these requests, my heart aches for the hurting, broken hearts. There are so many who are suffering. And there is coming even greater suffering as times become worse. And unless America has a revival, and turns back to God, the only direction we can go is down! Pray for revival! Pray for us to turn back to the God of our fathers.
Sister Gwen