Over the last eighteen months, the Lord has taken both my husband and I through a significant season of deep repentance, like we have never experienced before. We both chose to follow Jesus from a very young age, and have always been careful to live right before Him, but the Lord recently revealed there were things in our lives that were displeasing to Him. Through visions and dreams He began to show me how our western culture is laced with the work of the dragon (the devil), in ways that we were simply not aware of. As a result, God took both of us through a very challenging journey of ridding our lives of every possible thing, that we now understand to be detestable to Him.
I’ve had several encounters where the Holy Spirit has woken me in the middle of the night, with visions and dreams, revealing how I had been exposed to the occult through family ties, church involvements and seemingly innocent things in my home. The Holy Spirit showed us what those things were and empowered both my husband and I to break ties and do away with every unclean thing.
It has been an eye-opening experience to say the least!
Like many church going believers, we were diligent and faithful in our walk with the Lord, to the best of our understanding at the time, and I would have said we were more devout than some. Many of us in western cultures are quite ignorant to many aspects of the occult, and yet if we touch any related thing we are guilty of sin, and open ourselves up to curses as a result (see Exodus, Deuteronomy).
“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”
Hebrews 12v1-2 (emphasis added)
It’s not easy for any believer to realise that they have sinned against God, especially when done in ignorance. Each time the Lord would reveal items of sinister origins in my home, my heart would break and I would fall to my knees in grief and repentance, for having sinned against Him. Also during this season, the Lord soon began showing me the number 55 through supernatural signs in my day-to-day life. When I asked Him about why I was seeing the number 55 so frequently, He clearly spoke the following words into my heart, “Grace upon grace,” and gave me the understanding that His grace was covering me, as I was going through this time of repentance on a whole new level.
In the Bible, the original Greek word for grace is “charis”, which means “grace, kindness, benefit, favour, gift”. (See Strong’s Concordance.) God’s grace is evidenced all throughout the Bible, and He is seen to be continually leaning towards favouring people, even though they don’t deserve it.
Every person who chooses to follow Jesus receives His gift of salvation, purely by grace, and not by any of their own good deeds.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—”
Ephesians 2v8
Jesus is Perfecting His Bride
Through this season of purging almost everything we owned, the Lord revealed to me that many things in my music studio were also tainted by the world, and He asked me to get rid of many items that had sinister origins. Over several months, He showed me that certain music instruments and audio equipment had originated in the occult, and this realisation absolutely broke my heart to know that I had touched things so detestable to God. The majority of Christian musicians use some, or all, of these same instruments and audio items in their homes and churches, as they are widely considered neutral and simply tools to glorify God.
With all God revealed to me, my husband and I literally had to get rid of the majority of my studio items. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, we sold some instruments, but mostly, we had to destroy many of the other items depending on their associations. My wonderful and gracious husband literally ended up dismantling tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear and sending it to the local dump. It was not easy but absolutely necessary in order to obey God’s word to my heart.
“Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.”
2 Corinthians 6v17 (NLT)
After getting rid of so many things, I no longer had many of the basic items to record my music, like audio units, headphones or even instrument cables. This was quite an arduous and emotional process, as I sought the Lord on my knees for months about what could stay and what had to go. The Lord would often wake me during the night, throughout this season, and give me specific words and visions about the origins of many items. It was both startling and devastating for me to realise that we had essentially been raised in ‘Babylon’ and that the devil’s hand was in much of what we owned. I went through quite a long season of repentance for having touched things that I never imagined could be unclean.
For example, the audio interfaces that my husband and I sent to the dump were made by a company named Universal Audio, and each unit was named Apollo (the name of a false Greek god). Additionally, many of the items I owned were either named after Greek gods, or had hidden meanings with satanic origins. I only became aware of these things through words of knowledge from the Holy Spirit, and a lot of subsequent ‘digging’ online to research the inventors of these products. For example, the very first electic guitar pedals made decades ago, by the company Strymon, were named “Demoniser” and “Womaniser”. I was appalled that these were the origins of some of the most well-known guitar effects in the world, which are now branded with much more friendly and appealing names, to hook in unsuspecting users. The Strymon products I owned were named BigSky, TimeLine, Mobius, Volante, and various other non-offensive names, but God told me the origins were sinister and He convicted me to have them all destroyed.
Furthermore, some of the synthesisers I owned were from a company named Moog, and the Lord gave me a vision in the middle of the night and revealed a demonic wizard behind the creation of this brand. As this vision continued, God also gave me the words “reiki master” and showed me a dragon (the devil) floating through the spiritual realm. After hours of online research, I came across some obscure articles and learned that the founder and creator of Moog had significant ties to the occult, and that one of his engineers was (and is) a practicing reiki master. It was very alarming and devastating for me to realise I had brought such sinister things into my home.
Now, some months later, I have been slowly replacing some of this equipment, and researching every brand and logo in detail, to avoid purchasing anything that is detestable to the Lord. I have contacted a few companies, enquiring about the origins of their brand names and logos, and some of these entities have actually refused to disclose the true meanings of their brand imagery. I even experienced one case of a company giving an evasive and deceptive answer, and a non-believable explanation for their logo design. Many brand names are founded on the occult, sinful rebellious concepts, or the new age, and it has been my experience that most companies like to keep this fact hidden. That’s exactly how the devil operates, through deceptions and trickery, so that people don’t know what they’re really getting into. Bringing any form of the occult into our homes is a serious issue, as it can bring curses upon us and our families. (See Deuteronomy 7v26)
During this season, the Lord also revealed that several branded shoes, clothing and homewares we owned were also detestable to Him. For example, the name Nike is based on a false Greek goddess, and in fact, so many clothing products are named after Greek gods, or based on words that are dishonouring to the Lord. The majority of all I owned had to go, as I discovered that most brands are based on occult themes or have demonic origins.
As we began replacing my studio items with alternate brands, the Lord began giving me the number 55 to let me know that His grace was on me when selecting things from this world, that He approved of. The Lord told me that I am covered by His grace as I completely depend on His voice to lead me in what is clean and unclean in this world. This has not been an easy process to navigate, and I haven’t always gotten it right, and He has been gracious to me as I’m learning how to hear His voice more accurately.
As He’s been taking me through this process, I’ve been reminded that Jesus is coming back for His perfect bride (His true church; His chosen people). I believe He is currently taking His church through a season of repentance and ‘cleaning house’, so that she is without any imperfection when He returns (see Revelation 19v7, Ephesians 5v27, 2 Corinthians 11v2).
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”
Revelation 19v7
Examples of 55 in My Day-to-Day
Over the last few months, God has been using the number 55 in my day-to-day to remind me of His grace upon me. For example, on the 24th of November 2023, I ordered a new digital piano to replace some of the keyboards that I had to get rid of. During the purchase over the phone, the interstate call to the salesperson lasted for 11 minutes and the sales receipt was processed at exactly 9:55am (AEDT). My subsequent email reply to the salesperson was sent at exactly 9:44am (ACDT), which I came to realise later that morning. Once the new keyboard was in transit a few days later, the tracking record showed that the item was scanned into the city depot at exactly 05:55:00am. Grace upon grace! Hallelujah, praise the name of the Lord! Later that day I bought some grocery items at the supermarket, and the payment was processed at exactly 2:44:00 - 2:44pm to the very second! When I drove home a few minutes later, the time was exactly 2:55pm when I pulled into the garage.
In another example, I recently ordered a sustain pedal for my new keyboard, to replace various ones I had disposed of. The new pedal arrived at the post office at exactly 11:44am, on the 11th of December, and I received email confirmation that it was ready to pick up at exactly 12:11pm! My husband and I drove to the post office to pick up the item, and pulled into the shopping centre car park bay at exactly 12:55pm - grace upon grace - and the underground pillar next to us was number 11.
In another example, on the 19th of December 2023, I ordered a guitar strap and the courier tracking showed that the item was dispatched from interstate at exactly 1:55pm. A few days later, I was notified that the item was with the driver for delivery at 7:55am, and it later arrived at the post office at exactly 10:44am. The Lord has been making it clear that His grace is upon both my husband and I, as we are doing our best to follow His voice in replacing studio equipment with items He approves of.
In another example, on the 14th December 2023, I opened my laptop to check my emails and it was exactly 5:55pm. As I scanned my messages, I saw a notification that an item of clothing I had ordered was received at the postal sorting facility at exactly 5:55pm! During this season I had very few pairs of shoes or clothes left, as I had gotten rid of every brand that God had revealed to me was either haughty, prideful or had ties to the occult in some way. It was a very humbling experience, to no longer own many clothes and shoes that I enjoyed wearing, but I knew the grace of the Lord was upon my husband and I, as we continued to humble ourselves and obey Him.
In a further example, on the 12th of May 2023, the Lord woke me at exactly 4:55am, which also happened to be day 7 of a 40 day fast (where I was eating breakfast only). I have never found fasting easy, and by day seven I was finding the hunger very physically and emotionally challenging. God was using the number 55 through supernatural signs, to let me know His grace was on me to press on and continue with my sacrifice to Him.
I am continually amazed each time the Lord shows me these signs throughout the day, also with an urgency from the Holy Spirit, that there is no time to waste in doing the Lord’s work while we still can.
Significance of the Number 5 in the Bible
Many Bible scholars agree that the number five represents the grace of God, and this number is represented all throughout the scriptures. As an example, the New Testament records five key gifts the Lord graciously gave to His church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (see Ephesians 4v11). In another example, we see that Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men, plus women and children, which began as five loaves and two fish (see Matthew 14v13-21). What an amazing provision from the Lord! We see the grace of God on those people, where they were generously fed and nothing was expected from them in return. Additionally, there were twelve basketfuls of bread left over for the twelve disciples who were serving the people, as God’s grace is upon those who follow and serve Him.
We also see many instances of the number five all throughout the Old Testament, and examples of this can be found detailed in the book of Exodus and Numbers, where God gives very specific instructions for preparing the Tabernacle (see Exodus 26), and the altar.
“Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.”
Exodus 27v1 (emphasis added)
Many of the finest details of the curtains, frames and posts, right through to the largest measurements of the Tabernacle in cubits, were units of five. It was purely by His grace that God chose to come to earth, and fill the Tabernacle with His glory (see Exodus 40v34), in order to be with His people, and the level of detail including the number five is quite predominant throughout these chapters.
In further examples, the first five books of the Bible are known as the Pentateuch (or Books of the Law) written by Moses, and they set the foundation for understanding the rest of the scriptures. Furthermore, in the English translated Bible, the words “Jesus” and “grace” both consist of five letters.
Interesting to note is the fact that God created humans with five fingers per hand and five toes on each foot, and that He graced each person with five senses for: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting. There are many more examples of the number five found in the Bible, and we see evidence of God’s grace towards His people all throughout its pages.
Salvation Comes Purely by God’s Grace
God loved the world so much that He gave the most precious thing He could possible give - His only Son, Jesus (see John 3v16). The purpose of the Lord calling people to repentance is so that they can receive His free gift of salvation, purely by His grace. When we repent before the Lord, we receive His wonderful mercy and grace to be completely redeemed and cleansed of all our sins (see Romans 3v23-24). Through our faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross, we are saved by His grace - which is, His undeserved favour!
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2v8-9
Thoughts from Isaiah Chapter 55
For the last eighteen months, the Lord has embedded the following scripture in my heart from the book of Isaiah chapter 55, with an understanding that this message is for many believers in the western church today.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
Isaiah 55v6-7
The words in the above scripture are a message of grace, as well as a serious warning to all those who are ignoring God’s call to their hearts. His word to all those who are going their own way, and resisting fully committing their lives to Him, is to - seek Him while He may be found, as He is only near for a time, and then the door of opportunity will be locked forever. (See Luke 13v22-30, Isaiah 55)
The Lord has given me an understanding that many western believers have been delaying committing their entire lives to Jesus. They have not turned from living their own way, nor have they taken up their cross to follow Him. These types of professing Christians believe they have all the time in the world, and they do not realise it is purely by God’s mercy and grace that time is currently being extended to them.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…”
2 Peter 3v9-10
When Jesus returns for His people, it will catch everyone by surprise and only those who are preparing right now, for His return, will join with Him for eternity.
Are you at peace with God, or do you feel an uneasiness about whether you will be welcomed by Him into His kingdom? Will you be found on the inside, enjoying the great wedding banquet, or will you be blind-sided along with all the other outsiders, and find yourself locked out of God’s kingdom for eternity? (See Luke 13v23-30)
The Lord is being patient in returning for His people, as He wants to give every opportunity for many to receive salvation. There are many people who are currently fooling themselves about their place with God, when they don’t actually know Him at all. If you have been delaying following Jesus with your whole heart, I implore you to repent and seek the Lord while He may still be found, as now is the time to follow His call!
Are you walking in the grace of God, experiencing His peace, favour, wholeness and purpose for living or do you feel a little out of step with God, continually trying things your own way and never quite achieving peace and security through your own efforts? Have you been delaying what He’s placed on your heart due to the cares and worries of this life, or possibly because of fear of what others will think of you? Are there things that you know the Lord is asking of you, but haven’t quite had the courage to step into them? Dearly beloved, now is the time to get on board with His call in your heart, as soon it will be too late.
As you follow Jesus, His grace will enable you to win your race!
Five Foolish vs Five Wise
I want to share a parable that the Lord recently explained to me, where He gave me an understanding that this simple story is a lesson about two types of people: wise believers and foolish believers.
The Parable of The Ten Virgins
Matthew 25v1-13
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Jesus is coming back at any hour. We do not know when, other than it is soon! (See Matthew 24v36, Revelation 22v12) The five wise virgins mentioned in this parable represent believers who are preparing for His return, whereas the five foolish virgins represent believers who are not preparing for His second coming at all.
During these last days, all God’s people will need their oil to light their lanterns, so that they can see in the darkness and meet with Jesus when the cry goes out that He has arrived. Let us not be caught out like the five foolish virgins in the parable, who didn’t bring enough oil to light their lanterns, to meet with the bridegroom. Please don’t be left stumbling around in the dark wishing you had prepared your oil earlier.
I believe the Lord showed me that the oil in the lamp speaks of the Holy Spirit, who will guide you to meet with the Saviour, Jesus. There are dark days ahead and you will require the infilling of the Holy Spirit (oil) to light the way, so that you won’t stray from the Lord. Jesus warned that many believers will fall away from Him in the last days. It’s important to understand that Jesus didn’t say people would necessarily leave the church, but rather He said that they would leave the faith, and that many people would also start to follow false prophets. There are numerous false prophets rising up in churches everywhere around the world today, and many believers are beginning to stray from their original faith in Christ, to follow false teachings of convincing ministries.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24v9-13
Those without that oil will be caught off guard, totally unprepared, and make all the wrong choices in the stress and urgency of the moment when they hear the cry go out. They will eventually succumb to the mark of the beast (see Revelation 13v16-18), as they have been living in denial and chasing after the things of this life here on earth (see Mark 4v19), rather than giving up everything to follow Jesus. They will not be at all ready, and will fail to notice how quickly the mark of the beast has come to their doorstep.
The five wise virgins are those who are following Jesus Christ alone, not those who are following friends, family or even church leaders. Jesus is calling each of His sheep to walk on the narrow path, and hold firm to the end. The wise ones are those keeping their oil topped up and they are the ones who will be ready when the bridegroom returns.
As believers, are we ready for the return of our Saviour? We must be eagerly awaiting the arrival of our bridegroom, in order to be prepared when He returns. We do not know the day or hour, we must simply be prepared at all times. We prepare our oil by spending time with Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit every day. The five wise virgins will be ready, waiting and will be received into the kingdom of God - what a glorious day that will be! The five foolish virgins will ask for oil too late and miss out on the great wedding party.
God’s Grace to Endure Difficult Days Ahead
Those who know the Good Shepherd (Jesus) hear His voice and follow Him (see John 10v27). There is much that will take place in the times ahead and He has been speaking to both my husband and I for some time, preparing our hearts for the persecutions that the believers will face.
We believe it is going to take everything within us to withstand the difficulties ahead, and we are so thankful to the Lord for His word that directs our path (see Psalm 119v105), and His voice that leads and guides us each day.
On the 5th of January 2024, I came across a recommended video in my YouTube feed, that was 4:55seconds in length, titled “Bound by Faith: Sapir Cohen’s 55 Days of Captivity in Gaza as Hamas Hostage & Miracle Release Prayer”.[1] Sapir tells her story of how she was led to read Psalm 27 daily for a month, before she was abducted and taken hostage by Hamas on the 7th of October 2023.
During her time in captivity, she came to realise why she had been led to read that specific Psalm - it was because it was a promise of how God keeps His people safe during war, even when they have been besieged by their enemies. One particular day, her captor drew a picture of a memorial candle and wrote her name on it, and then he said these words to her, “You are my enemy, I don’t like you. But when you’re here, there’s light.” As a Jew, Sapir is one of God’s special chosen people and there is a light that shines from them that even their enemies cannot deny.
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
Deuteronomy 7v6
After 55 days in captivity, Sapir was miraculously released from her enemies - grace upon grace! Some may struggle to understand how this is the grace of God, and choose to be angry at Him for allowing bad things to happen to His people. However, those who know God, understand that even when bad things happen to them, He is their confidence, refuge and strength. The grace of God is upon each of those who are His chosen people, and by His grace, He is continually calling the Jews back to Himself through the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Romans 11v5, Isaiah 11v11).
“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”
Romans 11v5 (emphasis added)
Even though the Jews have always been God’s first chosen people, His grace now extends to all people who choose to believe in His only Son, Jesus Christ (see John 3v16). Jesus came to earth with the message of salvation first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles (which is simply those of us who are not Jews), so that all might be saved!
“Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Romans 10v12-13 (NLT)
Therefore, when any of us as believers go through the most difficult of situations, God’s promise to each of us remains the same, that He will never leave or abandon any of His chosen people.
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31v8
The events that are currently happening in Israel are very significant in these end times, and are a sign that the end is very close before our Saviour returns. As we are now witnessing many signs and wonders in these last days, I’m reminded that Jesus told us about these things well in advance, so that we could prepare our hearts for what is to come.
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24v9-14 (NLT)
I take great comfort in the knowledge that the end will come, as then we will finally experience the reward of our salvation that we have been longing for. The sooner these things take place, the sooner we will receive our crown and enter our wonderful new home with Jesus for all eternity. Hallelujah!
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.”
1 Thessalonians 4v16-17 (NLT)
Take heart dear believer, as Jesus is coming back soon! Wait expectantly for Him, stand firm and know that His grace will enable you to finish your race.
Stories To Inspire. Bound by Faith: Sapir Cohen’s 55 Days of Captivity in Gaza as Hamas Hostage & Miracle Release Prayer (Jan 5, 2024) Accessed: Jan 24, 2024 [Online Video] Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN1HdSkPYD4 ↩︎
