(Judg 6:15)  And he said unto him, Oh my Lord [‘Adonay – supreme in authority], wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. (Judg 6:16)  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. (Judg 6:17)  And he [Gideon] said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign [miracle] that thou talkest with me.

  THE SIGN, THE MIRACLE SHOWN GIDEON: THE SACRIFICIAL ALTAR OF LOVE

(Judg 6:18-24)  Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present [sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary): meat offering], and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid [innocent flesh], and unleavened cakes [a pure mind] of an ephah of flour [two thirds of a bushel, i.e. two measures: Mat 13:33]: the flesh he put in a basket [a container], and he put the broth [soup (as if a rinsing)] in a pot [a container], and brought it out unto him under the oak [an early type of the cross], and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock [stone], and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched [to lay the hand on (for any purpose); to reach; strike, smite] the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock [(as compressed); a rock or boulder – logos: John 1:14; judgment: John 12:48], and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived [discerned] that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And the LORD said unto him [a disembodied voice speaking into his faith (ear-gate) vs. “appeared unto him” in his sight (eye-gate): Judg 6:12 - the false prophet, sight: Rev 13:11-15], Peace be unto thee; fear not [63x]: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom [Jehovah is Peace]: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites [the Abiezrite family, of the tribe of Manasseh, a son of Joseph – a type of Jesus Christ].  .

  THE SIGN – THE SACRIFICIAL LOVE ALTAR SHOWN YOU AND ME

(Mat 12:38-40)  Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees [walking exclusively by sight – the sign language of unsaved people “which have ears to hear, and hear not” Ezek 12:2] answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign [miracle] from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation [Judg 6:1] seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah [a dove] was three days and three nights in the whale's belly [Jonah 1:17]; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

1.       The sign of the prophet Jonah typifies (parallels and is symbolic of) the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This miraculous event in the life of Jesus Christ is the utmost greatest most wonderful glorious miracle of God’s love for us (sacrificial) ever presented to mankind. This event, which we perceive to be “the miracle of the cross” has been compacted and compressed down by God from rhema (fruit) into logos (seed, “rock” – John 2:24; 1 Cor 15:36), and thereby rendered in “sign language” for an unsaved people who walk by sight; it is the “sign” of the old wooden cross. Sin burns (Num 21:8). And in the latter days, the cross shall be “lift up an ensign to the nations from far” (Isa 5:26 with Num 21:5-9). However, please note that we have already entered into “the latter days.” The difference between this present moment and the ensuing balance of the latter days being a matter of enormous exponentially increased intensity, i.e. pressure.

2.       (Mat 24:21,22)  For then shall be great tribulation [pressure: affliction, persecution, trouble], such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

3.       (Rev 12:12)  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

4.       The Fifth Seal, which is the Great Tribulation (Rev 6:9; 7:13-17), has been launched by Satan “having great wrath” (Rev 12:12), and is being directed by the Wicked One, toward the saints – with extreme collateral damage. This is war. The Fifth Seal was opened in 1962 when God was expelled from our educational system (exorcised, i.e. the Light). In God’s stead, an oppressive cloud of heavy darkness “entered into the land to destroy it” (Judg 6:5), and burdensome adversity began to fall like a thick ever darkening blanket upon the saints in the United States and throughout the world (Rev 13:7; Dan 7:21,25; 8:24). Satan’s foundational weapon of warfare against godliness is “fear” which underlies and permeates all his activities. Fear is the opposite of “faith,” actively opposes faith, and seeks to annihilate, to completely extinguish faith. Faith is power. Fear is power. Since that singularly destructive most consequential attack upon our educational system in 1962 (blasphemy against God: Rev 13:6), Satan’s efforts have been cumulative and are rapidly accelerating “because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Rev 12:12; Mat 24:22), gaining more power in 1973 (legalized abortion), gaining more power in 1992 (President Clinton’s election, i.e. homosexual empowerment and women’s rights empowerment), gaining more power in 1998 (the Clintons’ re-election – would you believe), gaining more power in 2001 (“9/11” the overt destruction of the twin-towers, an attack in New York City – a very explicit illustration of our own vulnerability, resulting in massive pervasive fear), and gaining more power in 2003 (The Gulf War – our attack of destruction and our occupation of Iraq – an overt response stimulated by our now existent massive pervasive fear). Satan’s power, manifested as “fear,” is continuing to grow stronger and stronger every day, in every way. However my dear saints, “fear not” (11x), “be not afraid” (7x), for we shall soon arrive at the crest of this tremendous torrent of gross and “present darkness” that is sweeping, smothering the land; this “evil day” (Eph 6:13) shall come to its determined end, and “he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Mat 10:22).

  THE SACRIFICIAL LOVE SIGN FROM HEAVEN

(Mark 8:11-12)  And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting [testing] him.  And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation [the 42^nd generation: Mat 1:17] seek after a sign? [“which have eyes to see, and see not” Ezek 12:2]. verily I say unto you, There shall no sign [“from heaven”] be given unto this generation.

1.       For I am that visible sign “from heaven” (John 6:30-33) that you seek - God has answered your requests. Here “I AM” (Exo 3:14), standing before your very eyes, and you do not perceive me (by sight), nor do you receive me upon the authority of my Word (by faith), which I now speak and have spoken (John 1:14). While Jesus Christ was yet in this world, He was the visible sign in the flesh for those then walking by sight. Upon His death, i.e. His bodily absence from this world, the cross of Jesus Christ, which stands as a symbol of the entire Gospel (rhema compacted and compressed down into logos), then became the only visible miracle, “sign” for those walking by sight. Christ Jesus was “taken up” (Acts 1:9) into heaven from whence He came, but His wooden cross remained – for us to see.

2.       For a born-again Christian, saved by the work of the cross, to ask for and to seek additional “signs,” miracles, while laying prostrate at the foot of the cross, he or she is in literal fact contradicting the Gospel and saying to all the world the cross is insufficient. Seeking to see additional miracles is a direct manifestation of our immaturity in the Lord, and disbelief and denial of the finished work of the cross. Jesus said “It is finished.” (John 19:30). In the original Greek text, “finished” means complete.

Amen