THE SECRET PLACE OF THUNDER

  (An excerpt from "Intimacy & Adversity")

  Doug Fortune

“I answered thee in the secret place of thunder...” (Psalms 81:7)

This small portion of a somewhat obscure verse has arrested me... as I read those words I am suddenly transported to another place, another realm. Recently, as I pondered those words, the Lord spoke to me. He said, “What if I ushered you into that ‘secret place of thunder’ and I showed you things and told you things that could not be uttered or shared? Could I trust you?” I was quite taken aback, for in one question my deep inner motivations were thrust to the surface.

You see, I had to admit that what makes me tick, what motivates me is equipping people, teaching people who they are in Christ that they grow up into maturity, imparting a ‘sent one’ mentality. Certainly this is not an evil intent, for that is the manifestation of the gift of an apostle. However that is what I DO, that is my TASK- revealing the mystery of Christ. And suddenly He wants to show me some things that I CANNOT reveal... can you see my dilemma!? I’ll admit that I didn’t answer Him right away. I pondered... Hold that thought, and for a moment let us turn our attention to Moses and the prophetic picture we have in his encounter with God in the ‘secret place of thunder’.

“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice... And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 19:16-19, 20:21)

* “And it came to pass...” How we love to memorialize, spiritually embalm and attempt to perpetuate past moves of God! Why do we do that? Because this mindset has to do with habit, the things we DO. Somehow with each new wave of revelation, we begin to think that this is really IT. In my own lifetime I have seen it happen with the Jesus People Movement, the Charismatic Movement, the Shepherding Movement, the Word of Faith Movement, the Prophetic Movement, the Revival Movement, the Apostolic Movement. Through all of them we began to think that this was really IT. We must understand that IT comes (whatever IT is) to do one thing- “And IT came to PASS!” You see, the prophetic revelation of Christ is progressive! God is continually breaking open the seals of our understanding so that we can BE. However we have the tendency to get wrapped up in what we are DOING. This is why we tend to perpetuate past moves of God, because we get caught up in doing, rather then being.

The ‘secret place of thunder’ has to do with BEING. Keep in mind also that progressive revelation is not necessarily NEW truth, it is simply an epiphany, an unveiling of what has always BEEN. For that is the essence of the process of Christian maturity, simply BEcoming who we already ARE in Christ. Let us remember that the Father created us as human BEINGS, not as human DOINGS.

* “on the third day in the morning...” Goodness!... could we ask for a better description of the time we are in today? Indeed this IS the morning, the dawning of the first Light of this new day, the millennial Third Day from the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As exciting and filled with awe and wonder as this Third Day is, we must remember that it is ‘coming to PASS.’ Let us not memorialize and spiritually embalm this Third Day like we have done in the past!

* “there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount...” Thunders speak of Biblical mysteries. Lightnings speak of revelation- the sudden entrance of spiritual Light. Indeed this is a day when Biblical mysteries are being revealed as apostles and prophets are stewarding or dispensing the message of our appointed completion in Christ! “Having made KNOWN unto us the MYSTERY of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed IN Himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things IN Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even IN Him.” (Ephesians 1:9-10) The word translated as dispensation in that verse is oikonomia in Greek, meaning administration (of a household or estate), or stewardship. The words translated as fullness of times is pleroma ho kairos, in Greek; pleroma means repletion or completion, and kairos is the appointed time (as opposed to chronos time, which is the time of the natural realm- 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, etc.). That verse really conveys the idea of a stewarding or dispensing the message of our appointed completion in Christ as a many-membered New Creation Man made up of saints of all the ages.

The “thick cloud upon the mount” speaks also of the message of our appointed completion in Christ, and is alluded to in Hebrews11:39-12:1. Speaking of the many heroes of faith, it says, “they did not receive the fulfillment (completion) of what was promised, because God had US in mind... so that they should not come to perfection (completion) APART from US... we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses...” (Amplified Bible- parenthesis mine) There is a connective joining there. We are sharing in the spiritual substance of restored truth revealed through those who have gone before us (the cloud of witnesses), and they, in turn, share in the spiritual substance of Christ revealed through US. So the thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount speak of the mystery of Christ (Christ IN US, the hope of glory) being revealed through a corporate expression of Him- the cloud of witnesses.

* “the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud...” The trumpet is symbolic of the prophetic proclamation of God’s purpose. When I refer to prophetic proclamation, I am not speaking of the ‘read your mail’ kind of personal prophecy, which is primarily for the edification of the saints. Rather I am speaking of the proclamation into the heavenlies, speaking into the atmosphere, resonating the ‘groan from the Throne’ for the purposes of God to come to fruition in the earth. THIS is the sound that I am hearing loud and clear! It’s getting louder and clearer every day, as so many are hearing the same decree that ‘there should be time no longer’; “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:” (Revelation 10:5-6) The word translated as ‘time’ there is chronos in Greek, implying the time of the natural realm- 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, etc. We have shifted into a season wherein the kairos appointed time (the time of the spiritual realm) is overtaking the chronos (the time of the natural realm), and there is a great acceleration occurring. Just as we see in the natural realms of technology, science, medicine, etc., where advances are made at an exponential rate, so I believe it is in the spiritual. The voice of the trumpet, the ‘groan from the Throne’ for the purposes of God to come to fruition in the earth is exceeding loud!

* “all the people that was in the camp trembled...” There is a great shaking going on today in the ‘camp’ of Christianity when you combine all the following elements:

1. “on the third day in the morning...” We ARE moving into the millennial Third Day-
Y2K didn’t happen, there is no ‘one-world empire’, the so-called rapture hasn’t happened, all the ‘doomsday prophecies’ are falling to the ground unfulfilled, people are getting wise to the fact that ‘doomsday eschatology’ simply is NOT coming to pass.

2. “there were thunders and lightnings...” The REVEALation of the mystery hidden for ages by religion, Christ IN US- the corporate Body (not just the so-called clergy), is happening before our very eyes! The doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:15) is being dismantled as the Priesthood of the individual believer is being revealed to so many.

3. “the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud...” The prophetic decree for God’s purposes to come to fruition, His glorious Kingdom to manifest in the earth is increasing in amplitude because so many are joining their voices with the ‘groan from the Throne’. Just like the opera singer that breaks the wine glass by resonating the natural frequency of the glass until the amplitude of the sound waves exceeds the wave capacity of the structure of the glass and causing a sonic impact (breaking out), even so, look for a spiritual ‘sonic impact’ to cause the Kingdom of God to burst the worldly structure as the “kingdoms of this world ARE become the Kingdom of the Lord and His Christ!” Let that groan, that prophetic declaration of His dominion rise up within you, “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves GROAN within ourselves...” (Romans 8:23)

* “And Moses brought forth the people OUT of the camp to meet with God...” Anybody with ears to hear is hearing the call to come forth out of the ‘camp mentality’! This end-time manifestation of Christ in a corporate Body (I’ll call it that rather than an end-time move of God, because God doesn’t move, WE move closer to Him) is much more vast than any particular ‘camp’ can contain. “But we’re apostolic... but we’re prophetic... but we’re receiving deep revelations... but we’re cutting-edge, present truth, Third Day, Sonship, Kingdom, Third Wave, Intercessory, Tabernacle of David worship warriors, prophesying, miracle working party animals!... surely OUR ‘camp’ will get it ALL!” NOT!... we all have only a piece of the puzzle, no one ‘camp’ is getting it all.

There is also another aspect of the ‘camp’ mentality that we must come out of. As you read this, keep in mind that this is in no way a call to isolation, an independent spirit and exclusiveism. Those old characteristic trademarks of the ‘prophetic movement’ must die in the wilderness! However, there is an aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles that speaks of intimacy. “Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” (Matthew 17:4) Peter, prophesying of the ultimate fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, speaks of individual booths, individual tabernacles. Yes, in ministry this is the day of corporate anointing, however there is also the call to a place of intimacy that is only big enough for you and the Lord. This place is outside the camp, a solitary place where there is no one but you and God alone. He is calling, “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” (Song of Solomon 2:13-14)

* “And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” Mount Sinai speaks of the Law, it speaks of a relationship based upon duty, a relationship based upon bondage. “Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (Galatians 4:24-26) How many of us in Christendom have a relationship with our heavenly Father that is based upon the law, where the emphasis is always upon obedience and sacrifice? That’s where I used to be. I was always trying to DO something to gain approval, to increase in ‘anointing’. “Maybe if I pray harder, fast a little longer, give more in the offering... the preacher says I have to ‘pay the price’ for the anointing!” What foolish vanity and pride, to assume that somehow I can DO something to gain God’s favor.

In Hebrews 10:5, Jesus said the Father didn’t desire sacrifices and offerings but that He had prepared Jesus a BODY; “Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a BODY hast Thou prepared me.” I believe this is speaking of more than just the physical body of Jesus while He was on earth. Consider also Hebrews 10:8-9, “Above when He said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the FIRST, that He may establish the SECOND.” Exactly what is the FIRST that He taketh away? Sacrifice and offering! Exactly what is the SECOND that He is establishing? The BODY! Where exactly is He establishing the Body? Hebrews 10:5 started out by saying, “Wherefore when he cometh into the WORLD...” It is in the WORLD where He is establishing His BODY, and that is US! He is establishing a many-membered Son that DELIGHTS to do his will! “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God.” (Hebrews 10:7).

I must admit that my law-based ‘mount Sinai’ mentality is going up in smoke as the Lord descends upon me in the intense fire of His holy love! The Lord desires a relationship that is love-based rather than law-based. He desires intimacy, where I invite Him to ‘into-me-see’... He desires to draw us into the secret place of thunder. That’s where He drew Moses, “And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 20:21) Moses left the safety of the crowd behind and pressed into the unknown, into the thick darkness.

I have often wondered about this “thick darkness where God was” knowing that 1 Timothy 6:16 says that He is “dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” Does anyone else find this a bit confusing? Is He in the darkness or is He in the light?... the answer is YES, He is. The difference in our perception is our vantage point. The view from mount Sinai is thick darkness, because the law-based ‘mount Sinai’ mentality sees only our failure to keep the Law and consequent judgment, and causes people to stand afar off. However, the view from another mountain is quite different; “And after SIX days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light... While He yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them...” (Matthew 17:1-2, 5) Six millennial ‘days’ have passed since Adam rebelled, and the view from this mount of transfiguration He has called us to is glorious light! “And all of us with unveiled face, because we continued to behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another...” (2 Corinthians 3:18 Amplified Bible)

This is the same difference of perspective as we view the cross of Jesus Christ. “And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.” (Luke 23:44-45) The earthly ‘mount Sinai’ mentality sees only the darkness of the cross and watches from a safe distance. This view of the cross is from the OUTSIDE, looking on. This is where we will find the multitude.

However, there is another view of the cross; “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and IN HIM is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) You see, IN HIM there is NO darkness! We must embrace the perspective of our being IN Him! “Knowing this, that our old man IS crucified WITH Him...” (Romans 6:6) Jesus Himself said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men UNTO Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.” (John 12:32-33) You and I were IN Christ, hanging on the cross, and the view of redemption laid before us is glorious. The view of the cross from the INSIDE (IN Christ), looking outward is filled with LIGHT! That’s why Paul could say, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Psalms 139:11-13 speaks of this perspective also; “If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee. For Thou hast possessed my reins.” When He possesses our ‘reins’, having total REIGN as we live IN Him, even the night shall be light about us.

Some view the Lord’s call to intimacy, His desire to draw us into the secret place of thunder, the same way as the people of Israel did as Moses brought them forth out of the camp to meet with God. The law-based ‘mount Sinai’ mentality that religion has produced sees only failure, and causes people to stand afar off. “I just can’t draw close to Him, you see, I’m such a sinner.” The ‘sin-conscious’ mentality that religion has formed in us has done more to hinder the advance of the Kingdom than the occult or the devil himself could ever hope to do. We must recognize that this ‘sin-conscious’ mentality is anti (instead of) Christ! It even produces a perverted solution for the need for intimacy, a sort of ‘spiritual voyeurism’ of sorts; “And all the people... removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let NOT God speak with us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:18-19) “That’s right, pastor, YOU go talk to God and tell us what He said. (After all, that’s what we’re paying you for!)”

* “Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 20:21) There was something in Moses that drew Him toward the Father no matter what the circumstances looked like. Perhaps that Burning Bush he had encountered earlier had lit a flame inside him. We can read of another one who was drawn into this secret place of thunder. “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) Paul heard unspeakable words, words that were not meant to go any further than Paul’s ears. Perhaps that’s why it is called the SECRET place of thunder. I believe that God wants to draw us into a place of intimacy (into-ME-see) where He can whisper things in our ear that are not meant to be communicated second-hand. Allow me grace for a moment to illustrate this rather graphically. The physical relationship between husband and wife is a beautiful and holy thing. However, when viewed by someone other than the husband and wife, someone outside of that intimate relationship, it becomes pornography. Sorry to be a bit graphic there, but I believe it illustrates the point well. O God, deliver us from ‘spiritual voyeurism’!

We can read of yet another one who was drawn into this secret place of thunder. “And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.” (Revelation 10:4) Thunders are symbolic of ‘mystery’ and a Biblical mystery is simply truth that is veiled or cloaked until its appointed time when it is then revealed. Perhaps John was instructed to seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not, because they are to be received only by personal revelation in the secret place of thunder. As the Lover of our soul, I believe there are some things the Lord wants to show us that are only meant to be shared personally and intimately... in reality, perhaps these are the things that really matter.

Earlier I shared how the Lord spoke to me and said, “What if I ushered you into that ‘secret place of thunder’ and I showed you things and told you things that could not be uttered or shared? Could I trust you?” I didn’t answer Him right away, I pondered... As I pondered I realized that I must come to grips with the issues of identity and self-worth. Perhaps the Church at large is in this same quandary, an IDENTITY crisis. Is my identity and self-worth found in what I DO?... if so, I will never enter into His REST. My identity and self-worth must be found in who I AM IN HIM and who He IS IN ME.

“God IS love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth IN God, and God IN him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment (kresis in Greek, from which we get the word crisis): because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:16-18) What a wonderful passage that captures the heart of the Kingdom message, “as He IS, so are WE in this world.” That verse speaks volumes concerning our IDENTITY, even imparting a boldness for us when we are faced with an identity crisis (the day of judgment/kresis). Yes, boldness to declare our identity IN Christ by our actions, even in the midst of crisis, when it may be easier to declare our identity in the self-life of the Adamic nature. However, we must keep in mind that the context of that verse is intimacy, love. For when we dwell in intimacy (into-me-see), when we dwell in a love-based relationship (rather than law-based), we dwell IN God, and God dwells IN us.

Like Moses, let us press into that secret place of thunder, to that place of unashamed intimacy; “Let us all come forward and draw near with true hearts...having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a GUILTY EVIL conscience...” (Hebrews 10:22 Amplified Bible)