Circular Letter March 1983

I greet all of you very warmly with the precious Word of God from Psalms 50:5: “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

God made a covenant with His People in the Old Testament and also with His New-Testament church. On special occasions, He made a calling that His people should be gathered. This occurred upon deliverance from Egypt through Moses and also when the covenant was made on Mount Sinai.

Joshua gathered the people before entering the promised land. As commanded by the Lord, the priests were to carry the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders. The Ark of the Covenant contained the Word of God for Israel with all the promises that were fulfilled at that time.

The prophet Elijah gathered the people on Mount Carmel, where God answered by fire and caused a decision and inner turnover in the hearts of His people.

In Deuteronomy 4:10, Moses reminded the people of Israel of what the Lord had commanded them: “Gather me the people together” and in verse 13 he emphasised the purpose of the gathering: “He declared unto you His covenant.” The Lord God had first revealed to Moses what was to take place. Moses declared the Word of the Covenant he received from the Lord to the people of the Covenant. He saw the land from afar but was not allowed to enter it. However, the people of the Covenant entered and experienced the fulfilment of all the promises God had given to them.

When the Lord commands that His people be gathered, He always wants to do something extraordinary. Since December 28, 1982, I have been more than ever convinced that now God is calling His people of the New Testament covenant together for the last time, because He intends to do something extraordinary. What the Lord told me in that morning with a raised voice is as biblical and up-to-date as possible. “Gather my people unto me with whom I made a covenant by sacrifice!” Overwhelmed by the voice coming from above on the right, I looked left and saw the clock indicating 4:13. This is the absolute truth and I have been newly made aware of the responsibility to continue performing my commission faithfully till the end.

Two parties are needed to make a covenant. God made the eternal covenant with us at Calvary in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, but every individual has to accept this covenant with God. Our “Yes” is manifested through personally turning to Christ, the Crucified. Whoever believes that God has brought the perfect sacrifice for sins in Christ may be His possession. However, as always, it is absolutely necessary to follow God’s call. God’s people must be united to hear the revealed prophetic Word as it came out of God’s mouth. Only through the leadership of the Holy Spirit can there be unity in the midst of His people so that we can first hear what God is saying for the last time and then experience God’s last working in us.

Jacob summoned his sons to a historic event and proclaimed to them prophetic blessings for the future. He said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” (Genesis 49:1) Jacob acted as a prophet. He was not seeking recognition and gathering people to share his own opinion with them – he was a man whose life was subject to the prophetic Word and thus under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. All prophets through whom the Word of God came were led by the Holy Spirit. Likewise, all believers hearing the revealed prophetic Word  must be subject to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

God has always called together only those that He has made partakers of His plan of salvation. “Gather yourselves together and I will tell you what God told me.“ This is the only thing that matters. God’s commission, the Lord’s utterance must sound before we can act in His name. Jacob was old, his eyesight was weak, but spiritually he maintained a clear prophetic vision till the end. The mystery consisted in the fact that he had received the birthright and thus the right to inheritance and blessing. So it is with all true believers. At this time, they have the birthright and thus the full entitlement to inheritance and promised blessings from God. Jacob’s wrestling with God paid off: the sun rose over him, a new day began and his end was crowned. At the end of our run, we will also only speak about what God has done in our lives and we will receive the crown of life.

So no more debates, interpretations, fanaticism matter – only that one thing ““Gather my people unto me” is what matters. The calling is loud and clear. Nobody should lightly bypass it, but should be aware that God does not want to gather His people to a man or a doctrine. He requires of us to come to Him, because He made the covenant with His own on the cross of Calvary. No longer does God leave His people subject to the willfulness of people, but He is unconditionally claiming the blood-bought flock. He takes care of His fold as the good Shepherd who laid His life for the sheep of His fold. With a mighty voice He is calling: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me!”

The time of fulfillment came in the days of Moses. The promise given to Abraham came true after 430 years. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” Oh, how faithful God is! We shall see and experience the fulfilment of His Word. Moses was commissioned by God to gather the people and lead them out to serve God and not to end in a religious slavery again. First, Moses and Aaron had lengthy negotiations with Pharaoh. Great wonders and signs took place, but Pharaoh’s heart was still more and more hardened. The deliverance of God’s people could only take place when the whole of Israel complied with God’s instructions, killed the lamb and put its blood on the doorposts. The negotiations were over. The whole of Israel was delivered and not a hood was left behind.

The moment God’s people truly claims in faith and receives the full salvation and blood of the New Covenant, not a single member of the body of Jesus will be left behind, but together we will gain still more and more ground of victory and eventually enter the promised land.

On Mount Sinai Moses had to call elders together. Then the Lord descended on the mount, took from the spirit that was upon Moses and put it on the elders present there. Thus, the single-mindedness that came from above and rested on the prophet Moses and the elders sharing his responsibility passed to the entire people. This is the biblical order. Moses and all those who were commissioned were led by the same Spirit and had the same Word and goal. All that rebelled against him died. God never changes His ways and how He acts. The same spirit that was upon Christ, upon all the prophets and apostles and also upon the last church messenger, now rests upon all those who will experience completion through the final ministry. This is the only way to ensure full harmony with God, His Word and harmony in the midst of God’s people.

In the time of Moses, the working of the Spirit was so strong that out of fear Joshua cried: “My lord Moses, forbid them.” Moses said: “… would God that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:28-29) What happened on the day of Pentecost? They were all gathered with one accord and the Spirit of Christ came upon the apostles, all who were present and then on the whole New Testament church.

Now, at the end, we can expect full restoration and mighty outpouring of the Spirit. Thus, the church will be transformed to a condition in which it can perform the last commission to the glory of the Lord. He is the One speaking with us. Everything that is our own must be silenced. He does not speak through our thoughts, but only through His revealed prophetic Word, which He watches over to fulfil it. His hand is not shortened and we shall see His Word become reality in this time.