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Priscilla's complete narrative for 'Emmanuel Reconciliation'
EMMANUEL RECONCILIATION 7/27/11
This painting began with a dialogue with God that went something like this: “Lord, you gave me the painting ‘A CITY ON A HILL’ right after ministering in France last year. Don’t you have a painting for me this year for after ministry in France with all that focus on reconciliation?”
For the first time I heard God change the way I receive paintings. He said so clearly to me, “Well, what would you like to paint?” I was so surprised and had to sit for awhile to get in touch with my heart. I did not want to ask for something foolish. I believe God gave me the desire to ask for what He wanted me to paint. I said, “I would like to paint what reconciliation looks like from Your perspective”.
The passage 2 Cor. 5:17-21 was the theme of ministry in France and is so for this painting.
THE BACKGROUND
All of heaven rejoices over God’s plan of reconciliation and over any and all manifestations of it here in this realm. Heaven celebrates in the “waiting” for its completion.
We in this realm may not be here on earth when it is completed but we are invited to enter into the invisible celebration (the hope of glory) on a daily basis. We are to learn to live a celebrant life here on earth (on earth as it is in heaven we pray in the Lord’s prayer).
Psalm 42:8 (Message Bible) “Then God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night! My life is God’s prayer.”
We learn to celebrate the One who is in charge of this marvelous work. It is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). Amazingly, He is inviting us into this work and celebrate with Him in giving us the “ministry and message of reconciliation” as it says in the 2 Cor. 5 passage.
The straight lines are like that of a harp vibrating in full spectrum with frequencies (the wiggly lines) that echo heaven’s worship of God. Such celebrations welcome what we would call “imperfections”, like the irregularity of the lines that represent sound frequencies. God delights in our unique “abnormalities”. The harmony and celebration is so strong the seemingly poor representation of scientific sound waves really doesn’t matter. This is so true when His splendor surrounds our heart and fills our eyes and ears.
THE MIDDLE IMAGE: THE DNA
I suggest you treat yourself to two videos on the internet that I watched close to 100 times remaining in AWE and WONDER each time “ DNA double helix video (Dean Kenyon’s discoveries featured- 9 minutes) and DNA replication video . There are a lot of different ones and I hope you get the special two I enjoyed. Even if not, refresh yourself with the way DNA replicates itself.
Within our DNA is all the information given to describe who God has made us to be. The DNA code is called THE LANGUAGE OF LIFE. (This reminds me of God’s law having been written in our hearts.)
The 2 Cor. 5:17-21 text says that for those of us who are in Christ are a NEW CREATION. The Amplified version of the Bible says, “the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away.” The new has come instead.
This is my perspective on this passage of Scripture since painting this image. Before I invited Jesus Christ, the Messiah (Yeshua Ha Maschiach) into my heart my spirit was dead. I had a sensitive soul; I had my own unique DNA in soul and body but was dead in my spirit before Christ. Then when I invited God and accepted the gift of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (that Jesus died and rose from the dead paying my full penalty for my sin) He put His DNA in my spirit. Then I became full of His “nature”...that of the God Incarnate/Emmanuel. As the text says, “the old is GONE and the new has come”. After that it is a matter of bringing forth the full reality of the old being gone and the new being within. This is called the reconciliation, redemption or sanctification PROCESS. My personal DNA must become fused with His DNA over time.
DNA must be EXACTLY DUPLICATED IN EVERY CELL. In this transcription process the DNA code must be read. The DNA becomes “unzipped” for this reading.
I believe this kind of thing happens when we are still and looking deeply into God’s Word or simply with faith expectantly waiting in His presence. God, so to speak, UNZIPS HIS DNA for us to read His very nature/character/heart so we can DUPLICATE, becoming an exact replication of Him. His DNA fusing with our DNA - a unique expression of His nature. So the text says, “we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.” In our own unique way we express God’s heart and mind.
In this painting I have represented God’s DNA UNZIPPED, so to speak. This is His invitation to take Him into your life and read His nature, His heart, His perspective. God’s nature is so creative and FULL OF COLOR. It is the celebration of life. GOD IS LIFE.
We can only really read His nature on His terms. He said be still..KNOW I AM. Ps. 46:10
FOREGROUND IMAGE
In Numbers 17 there was a dispute, grumbling and blame shifting going on. God was going to put an end to it all and show the Israelites who God chose to be priest. 17:8 “Aaron’s staff (rod) had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.”
The privilege of being chosen is the privilege of responsibility. 18:1 the Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your father’s family are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the priesthood.”
The budding, blossoming and production of almonds from a DEAD STICK, rod or staff is a picture of HOPE and acceptance of the PROCESS. God is the one who created process. God created the passage of time and the developmental stages. God orchestrated the unfolding of life, seasons and rhythms. He called it all good.
Jesus is Emmanuel, GOD - the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 2:2) and our interceding High Priest (Rom. 8:34). He is watching over the slowly but surely unfolding of the reconciliation plan.
The almond tree represents WAKEFULNESS. So the rod of Aaron means the WAKEFUL PREISTHOODwhich is staying alert until Christ’s return. Jer. 1:11,12 in the Hebrew literal translation we find “I saw a rod of a wakeful tree” (branch of an almond tree). The almond tree is the first to blossom out of the wintry slumber; it blooms in January.
The rod, staff, stick or branch (all acceptable) connotes authority. Karen Pryor in her writing, A TASTE OF TORAH, recognizes this and adds the John 15:5,6 passage where Jesus says, “I AM the vine, you are thebranches. He who abides in me and I in him, he it is who bears much fruit.” Pryor says, “Then without repentance and appropriation of the forgiveness that is so fully and freely offered us by our merciful Father (reconciliation) we face the consequences of death and despair.”
In Ezekiel 37:15 Ezekiel is told to get two sticks and write Judah on one and Ephraim on the other. Then God made the two become one. The Judah stick represents the Jews and the Ephraim (son of Joseph, with no tribe, of Gentile mother) represents the Gentiles. 37:26 “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them”v.27 “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
The two sticks made one is represented here in the rod or staff of Aaron. The fusion of God DNA and our own unique DNA and the fusion of Jews and Gentiles - the combined acceptance of Yeshua Ha Maschiach, Jesus Christ the Messiah will bring the full integral authority, full revelation of Emmanuel, God with us. It is Yeshua’s blood (red) and the refining fire of God’s love (gold) that brings the fusion for the reconciling blessing for all creation.
1 Peter 2:9, 10 “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
The fusion of the two sticks (the two trails of blood red with the gold in between) is also a description of the Covenant God made with Abraham, Genesis 15. God passed through the middle of the blood sacrifice taking full responsibility for the keeping of the covenant.
I heard God whisper to me as one of my brothers in the Lord was viewing this painting, “seeing is believing”. I understood that it meant that as we see this image we are to raise up our faith into what we are seeing.
Let us be WAKEFUL PRIESTS, full of HOPE and soaked in HIS GLORY.
The dictionary says that reconciliation means: to call back into union and friendship the affections which have been alienated; to bring to acquiescence: content: quiet submission; to make consistent or congruous.
EMMANUEL (God with us) RECONCILIATION is before us.
Know its celebration!
Live in this celebration now and forever more!
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