Articles
Four Permissions or Commands? Let the Unjust, Filthy, Righteous and Holy Be As They Are Part 1: Does YHWH Ever Say To Not Pray
Barbara L. Klika, MSW, Undershepherd, Life Coach
July 2014
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets
sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to
worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the
prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he
that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev. 22:6-11 KJV
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Are we just in another downward cycle of violence in the world or is the time at hand? How are His people to respond? How do we conduct our lives in the midst of such wickedness that the world has not known since the time of Noah? Messiah gave these four directions that specifically apply to the seasonjust prior to His return.
…for the time is at hand.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he
that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Each of us must go through a learning process as we come face to face with events. Some of us have learned gradually through the years but some will have to learn on a steeper curve. I am grateful that our Abba was gracious to me and allowed me to learn it step by step over many years because many times I felt sick as I could begin to comprehend Daniel’s response to what he was shown. As we grapple with the different approaches to deal with evil, we are influenced by what we hear others say. Some urge greater political involvement by Believers. Some say circle the wagons and isolate. Some encourage adaptation to the current status in order to survive and go on.
I am reminded of the Pesach season in which we were praying around the city multiple times weekly. The day one began to pray “against” the egg festival activities, that He would make them not want to do it, a rebuke arose out of me that shocked us all, including me. “NO! You can’t pray that way.” We questioned, how is it that we have been praying for them for years? We didn’t understand! “The people will do what the people will do. I have raised up a Standard ….and the people will not.” There was such a sense of sadness and grief about it, as well as finality. This sent us all into a season of searching the Scriptures to learn if YHWH ever told people not to pray because several were certain it would never be from God to not pray for others! To our surprise we did find indication of this in several places though it was hard for us all to accept at first.
“Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them,
nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.
Jeremiah 7:16 NKJV
“So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them;
for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.
Jeremiah 11:14 NKJV
Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good.
Jeremiah 14:11NKJV
Perhaps we have some greater understanding as to why Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet? He, too, lived during a time of great tragedy and transition. Yet, even Yeshua spoke of not praying for some people.
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me,
for they are Yours.
John 17:9 NKJV
Over time, it became clear that it is a type of “Christian witchcraft” to pray about the will of other people and try to manipulate it through prayer. It is certainly acceptable to pray for their hearts to be pierced and for His will to be done in each one’s life, but it is not acceptable to pray directly against their will. There is a time and a season in which we are to rest and not intervene, much as we are to leave the tares among the wheat, even when we have spotted them.
The idea presented about end times to “let” these four things occur may seem unorthodox to you as it has to me. Is this permission or command? The season we are in has bearing as to how to proceed..
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven: … I said in my heart,
“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 17 NKJV
Paul told us point blank that the first exodus was for our benefit so I have no trouble believing that all things written are for our good in a similar way.
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
A directive to allow something to happen also occurred at the time of the separation of Israel. As we see in comparison to the fullness of the iniquity of the Israel, the fall of the northern and southern tribes of Israel the separation then came at His command for His purposes. People were not to interfere.
1Ki 12:24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel:
return every man to his house; for this thing is from me.
I cannot prove so but suspect that the time table for all things to come to their fruition, the fullness of the iniquity, has YHWH’s flexibility…He may extend grace in times of teshuvah/repentance and return, and lengthen time tables as we might see it, though all is still well within the scope of His omniscience.
The words revealed to John by Messiah Yeshua suggest four permissions: let the unjust be unjust, the filthy be filthy, the righteous be righteous and the holy be holy, still. Let them. Allow them full reign whatever they desire. In this way His words will be proven true. I believe He is allowing the fullness of iniquity to ripen until the proper time as He has done in the past. Along the way, He uses these circumstances to purify and cleanse His people. When the iniquity is complete, He will move. It will stand clear that there is no way that gives life except His way. Human beings will have been allowed to demonstrate what comes of the unregenerate nature, fired by the unholy alliance with evil and evil personified. The full bloom of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will be manifest.