When the Lion roars many things happen. The earth is about to hear the roar of the Lion of Judah at a volume level it has never heard before. The results are going to be astonishing.

When a lion roars, it can do so with enough force to raise a cloud of dust. It is said that a lion’s roar can be heard 5 miles (8 km) away.

Five is the number of grace. Grace is God’s ability being released so that people can become who He says they are and do what He says they can do. Eight is the number of new beginnings. God is doing a new thing, can you not see it [Isaiah 43:19]?

Dust can be a metaphor for our carnal fleshly nature. Our carnal nature is food for the false lion’s [the devil] diet. The devil has authority to operate in the arena of his specialty, selfishness and sin. Dust can also represent dry, arid areas devoid of His Spirit [water]. These can be our attempts to do His work our way.

When Jesus, the real Lion roars His intention is to reveal to us and remove from us our fleshly [selfish, sinful] ways. Many times this will happen in an anointed service during worship or when the Word of God is preached with authority.

“The LORD roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth tremble. But the LORD is a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the sons of Israel” [Joel 3:16]. We will see later in this blog that Zion and Jerusalem, in their final representation in Scripture, are the Body and Bride of Christ.

‘Heavens and earth’ can sometimes be illustrations of two imbalances in our lives. Pride [thinking too highly of ourselves] and depression [thinking too lowly of ourselves] are two extremes that are detrimental to our progress as Kingdom citizens.

The Lord’s roar causes these two destructive aspects of our immaturity or woundedness to tremble. In this time of instability He brings order out of our chaos and consistency out of our inconsistency.

He is after our growing up in all things that pertain to Him. He is our refuge and stronghold. Our focus must be on Him and not ourselves. This is one aspect of maturity.

“He said, ‘The LORD roars from Zion and from Jerusalem He utters His voice. And the shepherds’ pasture grounds mourn, and the summit of Carmel dries up'” [Amos 1:2].

The ‘shepherds’ pasture grounds’ are those areas of responsibility in the Kingdom of God. Notice ‘shepherds’ is not capitalized which tells me this verse is not about Jesus, the good Shepherd. I believe these shepherds are the under-shepherds that represent Him in His Church. Those shepherds who seek to keep their environment [the culture or atmosphere of their influence] from being stirred up by the Lion are in danger of being fodder for the evil one. Remember, lions can stir up dust when they roar. These shepherds are supposed to be representatives of the main Shepherd, or Lion.

When shepherds attempt to keep their environment [church, ministry] “safe” they are actually creating a dangerous place for themselves and the people they lead.

When David and all Israel were bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Zion the first time they came to the threshing floor of Nacon. This is where the oxen pulling the cart stumbled causing the Ark to shift. It was here that a man died because of his error. An interesting thing about this story is that David is the one who actually erred when he allowed the Ark to be transported in a way that was contrary to God’s plan [2 Samuel 6].

The Hebrew word for ‘threshing floor’ means a smooth, void place. It represents those places in our lives that we attempt to keep under wraps, calm, free from anything we have no control over. They can be internal or external, or both. It can also represent those areas that we do not want uncovered so we purposefully act like everything is okay, refusing to deal with them. Or, maybe we do not know these areas exist and we panic for fear someone may find out about them when they become unsettled, or begin to surface.

The Hebrew word for Nacon means to be set up, established, secure or fixed. The oxen stumbled in a place that was smooth and void. The “threshing floor of Nacon” was a set up. It was meant to appear safe but it was a place of stumbling. A man died and the move of God was delayed because the leader, in this case David, did not take the time to understand the ways of God.

Going back to the Amos 1:2 passage we see the shepherd’s pasture grounds ‘mourn’. The Hebrew word here means to lament. Lamentation is a deep sense and expression of grief and sorrow. David, the shepherd of Israel [2 Samuel 5] got angry – at God – when Uzzah died. David, like most of us, got angry when things did not go the way he thought they should. The definition of Uzzah is strength. This story is a warning to everyone who depends on their own strength to do God’s works.

There is a solution for those of us who fall prey to the temptation to do God’s work man’s way. Jesus said in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Mourning here depicts a genuine sorrow for our immature ways [selfish and sinful behavior]. The Greek word ‘comforted’ here is the word that describes the work of the Holy Spirit, who comes alongside believers to help them. Dependence on God is a pre-requisite for successful Christian living.

Paul said [2 Cor. 7:8-11] there was a worldly sorrow that leads to death. This sorrow is shallow and selfish. It’s focus is on ‘what is going to happen to me’. He also said that there is a godly sorrow that leads to repentance that leads to life. Genuine repentance is focused on who has been affected. It is concerned more with the heart of God and the life of the person or people that we have hurt. This kind of repentance says, “what have I done and how can I fix it.”

“In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight. In the jungle, the quiet jungle the lion sleeps tonight.” These are a few of the lyrics from the #1 hit song by The Tokens in 1961. For the longest time the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, has given the world a token representation of His real identity. That my friends is about to change.

The writer of Hebrews states this, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven . . . ” [12:22,23]. We know that Zion, in its complete fulfillment, is the body of born again believers that have assembled for worship [intimacy and war].

Zion has taken a path from being a small portion of the city of Jerusalem in the Middle East to the vast array of assembled saints all over this planet, and residing in heaven.

• General assembly ~ A festal gathering of the whole people to celebrate. It comes from a root word that means to be aroused from sleep, to arise from lethargy or rest, to show up.
• Church ~ An assembly of believers assembled for worship and ready to receive their command, or orders for combat. Church is a people preparing for war not a place where we can come and learn how to be comfortable.

Jerusalem, as understood from this side of the Cross, is the Bride of Christ in all her glory. John, in the Book of Revelation [the revelation of Jesus Christ not the antichrist], saw the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven adorned as a Bride that was ready [Revelation 21:2]. Three key words in this verse are the words ‘new’, ‘adorned’, and ‘ready’. This is very similar to Jesus saying to pray for heaven to invade earth [Matthew 6:10]. This is the complete opposite from the “take me out of here mentality” that so many Christians ascribe to.

The New Testament talks a lot about things that are new.

             There is:

• New wine
• New wineskins
• New things [treasures]
• New tongues
• New garments
• New covenant
• New commandments
• New teaching [Kingdom authority not religious dogma]
• New creatures in Christ
• New things have come
• New creation
• New man
• New self
• New and living way
• New heavens
• New earth
• New name
• New Jerusalem
• New songs
• [All] New things

There is also a new day dawning on the planet. This new day will see the Bride of Christ ready, and adorned.

• Ready ~ A Greek word that means to make or be ready, to prepare and be prepared. It comes from a root word meaning to receive one coming. It speaks of being fit. Metaphorically, ready represents the oriental custom of sending on before kings on their journey persons to level the roads and make them passable. Also, metaphorically this word means to prepare the mind of men to give the Messiah a fit reception upon His arrival.
• Adorned ~ A Greek word meaning to put in order, arrange, to adore. The root word is kosmos which means the correct and harmonious arrangement. It speaks of divine order in the creation of all things. Kosmos comes from komizo [kom-id’-zo] and it means to care for, preserve, and to provide for.

This all speaks of the Bride making herself ready by attending to the desires of her Husband. Revelation 19:7 tells us this very truth. “The marriage of the Lamb has come and His Bride has made herself ready.”

The phrase ‘made herself ready’ is the same terminology used in Revelation 21:2. Here is an interesting question. When was the marriage of the Lamb? John said ‘it has [had] come.’ John wrote Revelation decades after Jesus ascended into heaven. He did not say the marriage of the Lamb will come. He said it has come [past tense].

I believe the marriage of the Lamb took place on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. I believe the outpouring of the Holy Spirit [New Wine in a new wineskin] marked the beginning of the marriage celebration between the Lamb and the church. If this is not the case then a case can be made that any act of intimacy between Jesus and the saints is an act of fornication.

How did the Bride make herself ready? Well, I believe one way was that she was in one place and in one accord in the upper room waiting for the Promise of the Father. The Scripture says she made herself ready, not that she made herself perfect. Making herself ready meant being in the right place at the right time to receive the New Wine that the Father promised to pour onto and into His people. Wine was a staple at weddings in that day. Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding. He made water into fine wine.

On the Day of Pentecost the saints were accused of being drunk, and they were. Peter said, “these men are not drunk as you suppose”. He did not say they were not drunk. They were drunk on God’s Presence and the miraculous activity associated with His Presence. The Day of Pentecost was an enormous celebration of the coronation of Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

“For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. They will walk after the LORD, He will roar like a lion; Indeed He will roar and His sons will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses, declares the LORD” [Hosea 11:9b-11].

• “I am God and not man” = I am not like you. I am not limited by you. I invite you to become like Me.
• “The Holy One in your midst” = I have come to you to work through you. You must change because I don’t.
• “I will not come in wrath” = What? If He does not come in wrath what does this do to all the prophets and prophecies of impending doom and God’s destroying people and things?
• “And His sons will come trembling from the west, from Egypt and Assyria” = Revival when they hear His voice.
• “And I [the Lord] will settle them in their houses” = He will place them in houses [churches] where they can be raised up to become effective workers in His Kingdom

“A lion has roared [the sound of conquest]! Who will not fear [show reverence, worship]? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy [speak God’s word under God’s anointing]” [Amos 3:8]?

“For thus says the LORD to me, ‘As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, against which a band of shepherds is called out, and he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise, So will the LORD of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill'” [Isaiah 31:4].

• “As the lion or young lion growls” = Jesus and those who declare His word
• “Over his prey” = His food, purposes, goals [He said His food was to do God’s will]
• “Against which a band of shepherds” = The company of those ministers not in sync with His voice
• “Is called out” = To oppose what He is doing by doing what they want to do
• “He [the lion] will not be terrified by their voice” = He will not be distracted nor deterred by their hollow attempts to convince Him to change His message
• “Nor disturbed by their noise” = He remains focused in spite of their ramblings
• “So will the Lord of hosts” = The lion is the Lord
• “Come down to wage war” = His mission to bring deliverance. This is similar to Exodus 3 where God said to Moses He was coming down to deliver His people and told Moses to go do it.
• “On Mount Zion and on its hill” = I believe this is a picture of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came on the saints who were assembled in Jerusalem. The purpose of Pentecost was to equip the saints for war.

It is interesting to me how there have always been and will always be shepherds who will contradict and try to confound the work of the Lord. This should not surprise us as the Bible tells us satan at times appears as an angel [messenger, preacher] of light.

I believe Jesus’ roar will result in the greatest revival of souls the earth has ever seen. When He roared in Acts 2 3,000 souls were saved. Now that we are in the last of the last days His roar will result in millions, possibly billions of souls being added to the Kingdom.

Saints, this is a great day to be alive. We are to be about our Father’s business. As His business associates we are to occupy until He comes. Occupation is the result of victory in a war. The occupation force is to bring peace and transformation.

Can you hear Him roar?

For HIS Glory!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury
A Hisstorymaker