Keepers of the Flame (The Power of a Prophetic Symbol)

Zechariah 8:12-13 (NLT) 12) For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the sky will release the dew. Once more I will make the remnant in Judah and Israel the heirs of these blessings.

13) Among the nations, Judah and Israel had become symbols of what it means to be cursed. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing! So don’t be afraid or discouraged, but instead get on with rebuilding the Temple!

Source Defined: The point or origin of a stream or river; a fountainhead; the point or origin of provision.

Symbol Defined: Something that stands for or suggests something else; a visible sign of something invisible. (A dove is a symbol of peace.)

A Brief Biblical Sampling Prophetic Symbols A Brief Biblical Sampling

1. _______ Stones A Symbol of _______ Legacy

Joshua 4:19-24 (NLT) 19) The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20) It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.

21) Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22) Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’

23) For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24) He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

2. _______ Manna A Symbol of __________ Sufficiency

Psalm 78:23-25 (NIV)  23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above        and opened the doors of the heavens;  24 he rained down manna for the people to eat,        he gave them the grain of heaven.  25 Men ate the bread of angels;        he sent them all the food they could eat.

3. _______ Mantle A Symbol of ________ Authority

2 Kings 2:13-14 (NKJV) 13) He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14) Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

4. ___ Oil A Symbol of ________ Harmony

Psalm 133:1-3 (NKJV) 1) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2) It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. 3) It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forevermore.

5. _____ Fire A Symbol of _________ Constancy

Leviticus 6:12-13 (NIV) 12) The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. 13) The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

“Fire is the motivating power in prayer “Fire is the motivating power in prayer. We need to have the live coal from God’s altar in our hearts. This flame is not mental power or fleshly energy. It is the very being of the Spirit of God. Prayer ascends by fire. There is no incense without fire; no prayer without flame.” --E. M. Bounds

Walls of Prayer (A Source and a Symbol)

A Symbol of Continuous… _______ Prayer

Isaiah 62:6-7 (NLT) 6) O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. 7) Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.

A Source of Continuous… ______ Power

Jeremiah 1:10; 18-19 (NKJV) 10) See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant…

18) For behold, I have made you this day    A fortified city and an iron pillar,    And bronze walls against the whole land—    Against the kings of Judah,    Against its princes,    Against its priests,    And against the people of the land.  

 19) They will fight against you,       But they shall not prevail against you.       For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.”