God's Prophetic People - A People of Passion, Purpose And Power

God's Prophetic People

D. The Three-Fold Anointing There is a misconception of what the true anointing of God really is. Some think that the anointing is when people really raise their voices during preaching or exhorting; when the veins pop out of their necks. Some think it is when the music in a worship service becomes ethereal in nature. Others believe someone is anointed when they express themselves in a very strong or emotional way. The following from the Jewish encyclopedia will give us insight into what anointing really is. The prophetic aspects of God's prophetic people are those divine deposits which not only enable this generation to receive, articulate, and fulfill God's plans and purposes for themselves, but also to proclaim them to a lost and dying generation.

• Physical/natural anointing = cleansing and refreshing; a symbol of wellbeing, or set apart • Religious/spiritual anointing = consecration; it raises the person high above the condition of ordinary to the status and investiture of the divine spirit (prophetic state) 6

The basic meaning of anointing is to rub or smear oil or grease upon an object or person. The most common ointment in biblical times was olive oil, although other substances were used. Sacred anointing oil was carefully compounded and reserved for special use by priests and prophets. There were five principal ingredients that were blended together for the anointing oil: pure myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, cassia, and olive oil. The spices included represent a blending of the sweet and the bitter. In the life of the believer, it often takes the bitter things in life (trials, sufferings, etc.) to produce the true anointing of the Holy Spirit. As the ingredients in the

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A People of Passion, Purpose, and Power / © Brian Daehn