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Redeeming The Time

Spring 1999
By Martha Lucia

On December 26, 1989, while in Greenwich, England, I stood straddling the meridian line of
time with one foot in the east (yesterday-the past) and one foot in the west (today-the future). I
heard the Lord say, "I have dropped My plumb line. When the time-line hits My plumb line, time
is reversed." In Isaiah 28:17 God says, "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness
to the plummet: and hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the
hiding places." I believe the Lord was saying that He had dropped His plumb line of
righteousness and judgment, a kairos time. At that moment chronos time gave way to kairos
time. Nine years later in March of 1998, praying with a group of people on behalf of the land at
the site of a large sun dial, I had a vision of time running around the outside of the world, hitting
at Greenwich and reversing itself. In this I believe the Lord was saying the kairos time of
righteousness and judgment had begun. I believe we entered a new time zone with God, the
age of the "Church of the Lord Jesus Christ" when we, as His agents, must execute His written
judgments. One scripture that shows us how we execute judgment can be found in Hebrews
11:7. By Noahs simple act of obedience, he executed judgment on an unbelieving world. This
year, 1999, is the Jewish year 5759, the "year of redemption and salvation." I feel it is Gods
timing for redemption and salvation to be blown to the ends of the earth! Even the timing at
which I heard God speak these words is significant. It was nine years after hearing the word at
Greenwich, when the Lord showed me His plumb line. The number nine has to do with
redemption and light and is linked to the hidden judgments. It is significant that even now as we
are writing on redemption, it is ten years after hearing the Lord at Greenwich. The number ten
is the number of the redeemed Church, the Church living in the fullness of time. As we stand in
this last year of the century, we need to be blowing the rams horn, calling forth redemption. As
watchmen we need to watch for the kairos times to pull forward the future times and also restore
the past, bringing them both to the plumb line of Gods righteousness and judgment.

The prime meridian line in Greenwich, the zero longitude, represents the place on earth from
which every place is measured in terms of distance east to west, as well as the point from which
chronological time is measured. From this location thousands of observations have been
collected to build an accurate map of the sky. It was from here in the late 1800's that a standard
time was set; the prime meridian at Greenwich became the center of world time. God has used
the "map" of the sky as a sign to man since the beginning of creation. Gen. 1:14 says, "Let
there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." Thousands of years before Greenwich
was established as a scientific observation point, wise men (astrologers) saw the star in the east
pointing to the sign fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus, the Messiah. In Joshua 10:12-14 God
caused the sun and moon to stand still while Joshua completed Gods plans. God has plans to
do these same acts again (Is. 28:21). In Isaiah 38:7-8 God turned the sun dial back 10 degrees
as a sign to Hezekiah. God also uses a plumb line to adjust or test things, examine minutely
and critically, to show what is exactly true. In Amos 7, God used a plumb line to test and
examine Israel. On two other occasions, 2 Kings 21:13 and Isaiah 28:17, God used a plummet
(mishqeleth) for testing. Genesis 1:1-2 states, "In the beginning God created the heaven and
earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." From the beginning of time, Gods
creation was formed using His plumb line, aligning the earth with His righteousness and
judgment, calling forth order out of confusion and chaos, fullness out of emptiness, and light out
of darkness. Today as His line of judgment and righteousness has been dropped again, we are
returning to that point of departure that came with the fall of man. To get there, the effects of
the fall must be reversed; all things satan has stolen must be redeemed: the land, the soul of
man, and time.

In our past issues we have been writing on different aspects of redemption. Each part, the land,
the soul, and now time, are individual puzzle pieces that must be brought together for Gods
plan of redemption to be fully understood. As different parts of this picture are forming and the
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ joins together in unity with the Father, the redemption of all
things is drawing nearer to completion. You will recall from the first issue of The Watchman that
God is looking for a man among them to stand in the gap before Him on behalf of the land. God
strategically places watchmen to see His course and the course of the enemy. The watchman
must cry out what he sees: what is happening in the land, what is occurring in the heart of man,
where the seasons and times are pointing. These are all pieces of the puzzle of redemption of
which we must have understanding in order to keep the Church headed in the right direction. I n
Ecc. 3:1-10 the Word says, "To everything there is a season (zeman), and a time ('eth) to every
purpose under the heaven." Zeman comes from the root word zaman meaning to be appointed,
to be determined, to be fixed. 'Eth means the right time, the proper time, and a season. It
describes regular events, an appropriate time for non-recurring incidents, and a set time. The
Greek equivalent is kairos. God has set appointed times to complete His purposes that will
propel us into eternity. As the Holy Spirit reveals to us the times and seasons which the Father
holds in His own power, then we will know how to pray in order to legislate the heavens and the
earth to accomplish the purpose of that time or season. Gods full redemption is when
everything, all of creation, is as it was in the beginning. I pray God will bring enlightenment to
your spirits as you read and connect all these thoughts, so that together we can join God in
calling out for His redemptive plan to be completed.

As a brief review, the Greek word for "redemption," exagorazo, means to buy or redeem from,
as applied to our redemption by Christ from the curse and yoke of the law. It generally conveys
to buy up, to buy all that is anywhere to be bought, and not to allow the suitable moment to pass
by unheeded but to make it ones own. Figuratively, it means to rescue from loss. When
redemption is related to time, it has a meaning of gaining or protracting, a pulling forward of
time.

Two of the Greek words for "time," which we will look at, are chronos and kairos. Chronos is a
measurement of moments by a chronometer, an instrument for measuring time. Chronos is a
passing moment without any moral impact. It has length as in a space of time designating a
fixed occasion or particular period or interval. It has no relationship to accomplishment. Kairos,
however, does indicate a time of accomplishment, an opportune time, an opportunity to
do. Kairos implies not the convenience of the season, but the necessity of the task at hand
whether time provides a good, convenient opportunity or not. Kairos is the appropriate time or
season for necessary accomplishments to take place. Chronos time embraces all possible
kairos. When kairos is used in conjunction with time (chronoi), it is a time when certain
foreordained events take place or necessary accomplishments need to take place. The
recognition and redemption of the kairos time will propel the Church toward accomplishing
Gods foreordained events.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:15-17 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as
wise (sophos), redeeming (exagorazo) the time (kairos), because the days are evil. Therefore
do not be unwise, but understand (suniemi) what the will of the Lord is." Derived from the
Hebrew, one of the meanings of the word wise (sophos) in this passage is to be a watchman. In
order to see Jesus return, as watchmen, we are to walk diligently after the will of God. When
Gods will is understood (suniemi - collecting and putting together the pieces of the puzzle), we
are able to join Him in exagorazo, pulling forward time and buying up the opportunities. If, when
Gods purposes are known in this time and season, we take the opportunity to buy them back
(exagorazo), we will be joining Him in accomplishing the NOW time. Today is the day of
salvation yet the days are considered evil, malicious, perverse, tragic, and shrewd. Psalm
74:16 says the days and the nights belong to God, therefore, we must redeem them. For a day
is coming when time will be suspended (Zech. 14:6-7). Jesus says in John 9:4, "I must work the
works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." We must
be about the Fathers business and seize every day. Take it by force!

In Col. 4:2-6, Paul continued to instruct the church at Colossae on the subject of pulling forward
the opportune time. We are to pray earnestly and be vigilant so God will o pen a gate where we
can make known the secret truths of Christ, bringing forth revelation knowledge. We are to walk
with wisdom (sophia - to be prudent with others and know how to regulate circumstances),
gaining as much opportunity and time as possible in view of persecution and death. In Mark
13:23 Jesus says, "But take ye heed (blepo): behold, I have foretold you all things." Blepo
stresses the need for earnest contemplation, to see, to perceive. We cannot let the suitable
time pass by unheeded; we must contemplate it, see it, perceive it, and own it. In order to
perceive things we must apply the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask (aiteo), and it shall
be given you; seek (zeteo), and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every
one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened." The Greek meaning of ask (aiteo) is a demand of something due. "Seek" (zeteo)
means to search for something hidden. The battle is over the Word of the Lord and the
fulfillment of that Word. So as we put a demand on His Word and search for the hidden riches,
seasons, and times yet to be revealed, He will open to us the revealed knowledge. His Word is
forever settled in the heavens and He says, "Ask and I will show you things not yet
accomplished."

Jesus said in Matthew 16:3, "And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red
and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the
signs of the times (kairos)?" The Pharisees and Sadducees were looking for a sign from
heaven and the sign stood before them in the person of Christ Jesus. These men were learned
men, who had opportunity to have heard the prophetic word spoken by Malachi, "Behold, I will
send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD."
(Malachi 4:6) But due to their spiritual blindness and dullness, they failed to recognize the time
of the visitation, the sign and fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus confirmed that John the Baptist was
the fulfillment of this prophecy. From Matthew 17:11, we see that Elijah came to restore
(apokathistemi) all things. Apokathistemi means to restore lost dominion or authority, to be
brought back again, or a restitution of a thing to its former condition. The coming of Jesus to the
earth to live among men was the beginning of the restoration of ALL things. Through Him and
His atoning blood sacrifice the plan of redemption was established. Through redemption,
exagorazo, ALL things will be brought back to their former state.

John the Baptist came preaching repentance. He was pointing to repentance as a means of
seeing the return of the Lord and the restoration of ALL things. Peter continued with this
preaching in Acts 3:19-21,

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times
(kairos) of refreshing (anapsuxis) shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send
Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive (retain) until
the times (chronos) of restitution (apokatastasis), of all things, which God hath spoken by the
mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."
This passage clearly announces repentance is tied to the return of the Lord. Peter strongly
emphasized this by saying think differently (repent) and turn about (be converted). Why is this
necessary? So the kairos of anapsuxis (revival or breath) can come from the Lord. The kairos
time of the breath of the Lord and revival must be discerned, redeemed, and restored. Jesus
will remain in heaven until that fixed time (chronos) of apokatastasis of all things, which God has
spoken in His word since ancient times, is accomplished. Every prophetic word spoken in the
prophetic books of the Bible will come to pass. Apokatastasis means a restitution of a thing to
its former condition. The apokatastasis of all things is to be understood as the day of judgment
and of the consummation of the age when the Lord will return.

Long before John the Baptist and Peter preached the message of repentance, Isaiah
prophesied to the Lords servants in Isaiah 42:22-23, "But this is a people robbed and spoiled;
they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and
none delivereth (natsal); for a spoil, and none saith, Restore (shuwb). Who among you will give
ear ('azan) to this? Who will hearken and hear (shama') for the time to come?" Isaiah was
crying out the heart of God: none delivers, no one defends, pulls them away, rescues, or frees
them; and none say restore, no one says turn about, no one leads back to the point of
departure. Who will pay attention, and hear with obedience, for what is ahead? Who will pay
attention to the words of the prophets since TIME began so he can respond with obedience at
the moment the word is manifested? If we know what the Word says about the "things that
must be fulfilled" and "until certain things are accomplished," we can ask the Holy Spirit to help
us know the times and seasons which the Father has in His authority (Acts 1:7). Although we
may not know the date, we must be able to recognize the sign that is before us and seize the
moment, fighting even as Jacob wrestled through the night to the point of victory. We, as the
Church of the Lord Jesus, must begin to recognize the fullness of time, the point at which the
word spoken by the prophets is before us. Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees who did not
recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, we must depend and expect the Holy Spirit to
help us discern the signs. When we tie the prophetic words with the activities in the spiritual
realm, we must then pray to pull forward time (the fullness of time) established on the earth. If
we dont see the kairos time and seize the moment, chronos time will be prolonged until the
kairos time for that event comes again. God is waiting for a generation who will understand the
redemption plan and begin to pull it forward, and put it into action, in order to hasten the day of
His coming. We should know the Word and be listening to the prophets and watchmen, taking
what they say and interceding until we see the Word fulfilled. Jesus said in Matt. 11:12, "And
from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom (basileia -the foundation of power, the
foot) of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force (harpazo-pulling or
taking)." To be violent means we must press through until the victory is realized. There can be
no more giving up. Any way the enemy can prolong time, he will. If we give up, we will be
siding with the enemy prolonging the enemys rule over the world. Peter describes the type of
people we should be in 2 Peter 3:12: "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat?" In this he is saying we need to watch and speed the coming of the day of the
Lord. In Matthew 24:21-22 Jesus said great tribulation is coming upon the earth and except
those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects sake those
days shall be shortened. (Lord, show us how to pray in order to shorten the days.) Jesus
continued in Matthew 24:42 saying we must "take heed, watch and pray for you do not know
when the hour is."

God created man as an eternal being. When Adam fell, eternity was suspended and time
began. Death ruled instead of life, shame covered us instead of glory. Jesus, as the atoning
sacrifice, bought back all things to make this world and all that is in it whole again with the blood
He shed at Calvary. We, the Church, are here as His agents to execute the redemption plan of
the Father. In Revelation 21 and 22, we find reference to a new heaven and a new earth, the
river of the water of life, and the tree of life. The Greek word for "new," kainos, means
qualitatively new. This implies that the earth and heaven as we know them now will no longer
exist. They will have different characteristics and attributes. This newness will be a restoring of
all things. Eternity will be brought back and all things returned to Gods original intent.

"And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein
are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein,
that there should be TIME NO LONGER: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when
he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his
servants the prophets." (Rev. 10:5-7)
When Gods purposes are completed, there will be no more need of time, we will have returned
to the point of departure, back into eternity.

In Jeremiah 5:1 God said, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now,
and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that
executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it." God has established a plumb
line of righteousness and judgment (Is. 28:17) and has built His kingdom upon these
principles. God is still looking for those who will execute judgment and seek truth in order to
complete His works and acts on the earth. The psalmist writes in Psalm 149:6-9 about it being
an honor for the saints to execute vengeance on the nations, punishment on the peoples, and to
bind the kings with chains and the nobles with fetters of iron. We, the Church, must recognize
this honor and be about the business of dividing satans kingdom and taking the spoils. The
victory of the cross forever sealed satans fate and forever revealed Gods justice. We must rely
upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit to know the truth and execute judgment. In John 16:8
Jesus said the Holy Spirit came to reprove the world of sin, to bring righteousness, and to
execute judgment. Jesus Himself was the plumb line when He paid the price of sin, judged the
prince of this world, and established the kingdom of righteousness. By Jesus act of obedience,
He executed judgment on satan and his kingdom. The Holy Spirit is here carrying out the plumb
line that Jesus laid.

We are at the end of the age when the judgments of God are being revealed and an age when
the Church will demonstrate these judgments against satan and his works. Paul writes in Eph.
3:10 that through the Church, the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite
variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities
(principalities and power) in the heavenly sphere. He goes on in verse 11, "This is in
accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and
carried into effect, in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord." We have moved into a new age, the
age of the "Church of the Lord Jesus Christ." The gates of hell will not prevail against the
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this age we believe the glory of the Lord is rising on the
Church and the Spirit of the Lord God is upon us as Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 60 and 61. In the Old
Testament the day of the Lords visitation was a time when God brought judgment. Jer. 8:7 says
"Yea, the stork in heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the
swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the
Lord." We must be a people who know the times and the season of Gods judgment.

As the watchman stands at the place of the plumb line (zero) and cries out "Redeem the time for
the days are evil," we are to buy up and pull forward every opportunity before us and redeem
everything behind us to the point of zero, when time will be no more. God watches over His
Word to see that it is performed. In Isaiah 45:19, God says He has not spoken in secret, He
speaks the truth and declares what is right. He goes on to say, "Declare what has been told
long ago." God has made known the end from the beginning and from ancient times things,
which have not been done. Gods purposes will be established and He will accomplish all that
He pleases. The Lexical Aids to the Old Testament in the Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible say of
the ancient times (H6924) that the Hebrews "backed into" time, i.e., they saw the past as
"before" them and the future was "behind!" In Isaiah 58:1, Isaiah 61:4, and Amos 9:11 the Word
speaks of rebuilding the old waste places and raising up the age-old foundations that have been
devastated for generations. As we re-walk the old waste places, the ancient foundations, and
generations of desolation, we must redeem them, pulling them forward to zero. The future
events, yet to take place, must also be pulled forward to the point of zero. The point of zero is
the point of departure, the place of origin, the meridian line, if you will. God promises in Joel
2:14 that He will restore the years that the enemy has devoured. These are aspects of the past
which must be restored. As we, the Church, move into the future with the re-establishing of the
foundations laid by the apostles and prophets, we are beginning to restore the ancient
foundations. We must have one foot in the future and one in the past pulling together all things
to the plumb line of Gods righteousness and judgment. We must go to the places where Gods
foundations were destroyed and once again declare His word. These destroyed places of the
past are in our future until they are redeemed. Chronos time will take us to that zero point, that
point of departure from Gods righteousness and judgment, and as we declare Gods purposes,
the kairos time is seized. Ecc. 3:15-16 says, "That which hath been is now; and that which is to
be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. And moreover I saw under the sun
the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity
was there."

In the days ahead (or perhaps already upon us) there will be time, times, and half a time as
described in Daniel 7:22-27, Daniel 12:1-7, and Rev. 12:14. Although we may not completely
understand all the meanings, the Word clearly says it will be a time when the enemy will speak
against God; he will attempt to wear down the saints; he will try to change the times and the
laws; and scatter the power of the holy people. All his efforts are an attempt to prolong his time
on earth. We must be prepared to stand and over come by the blood, our testimony, and love
not our life unto death in order to thwart his plans. This is a time for the wise (watchmen) to
shine and turn many to righteousness (Daniel 12:3) and a time to find the place in the
wilderness that has been prepared where we will be nourished (Rev. 12:14). God has already
declared the end from the beginning and has plans and places prepared for His Body as he
continues preparing His Bride.

The decisions made in time will determine eternity! God is saying, "Everything you redeem I will
fill with my Glory!"

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