Winds of Heaven writes: Be sure to note the text highlighted in Green as this is where we are at the present time. It is time for the 'ingathering' of all of those who will receive the Lord as Christ BEFORE the Great Tribulation begins.

AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
Page 1
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the
times (kairos). Mt 16:3
You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favour to her; the appointed
time has come. Ps 102:13
Not all moments of history are equal. Some are hinges on which a quantum increase of the kingdom
swings. We are currently in one of these.
If we fail to discern accurately what God is doing in this moment much will be lost to this generation. It is
imperative for us to understand the times, like the sons of Isaachar, that we might know what to do (1 Chr
12:32).
The New Testament has two Greek words for ‘time’.
Chronos refers to the general flow of time, from which we derive our English words chronology and
chronometer (the instrument by which we measure time – i.e. a clock or wristwatch).
Kairos, however, refers to an ‘appointed time’ for a specific purpose. As a momentary window it demands
an accurate and forceful response for its purpose to be achieved. For example, it was the word used in the
weaving process for the momentary opening of the fabric through which the shuttle travels. It was also
used in archery for the narrow aperture in space and time through which an arrow shoots to hit its target.
A kairos, therefore, in God, is an opening in time through which God comes to achieve a particular
purpose, demanding an immediate and forceful response. Jesus describes this when he explained that the
kingdom of God must be taken forcefully (Mt 11:12). Responding to a kairos requires spiritual violence.
First, it must be recognised; and secondly, it can only be entered through radical obedience.
The wisdom writer aptly declares that, “Without a vision (or prophetic revelation) the people live
carelessly”, or as Eugene Peterson puts it,
If people can’t see what God is doing,
they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
they are most blessed.
Pr 29:18
We have been stumbling “all over ourselves” for the next best thing in church growth and community
impact; and, particularly in the prophetic and larger Charismatic streams, for increased spiritual
phenomena, because we have not discerned accurately what God is doing.
AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
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With the knowledge that God does nothing except he reveals his counsel to his prophets first (Amos 3:7), I
submit the following word for your discernment.
“October 8”
In November 2009 I awoke one morning with the voice of God ringing loud in my spirit with the words,
“October 8”.
There was nothing more; and so, for the next eleven months I pondered it’s meaning, sensing it was
significant.
And then, as the date approached, I received a phone call from a particular leadership team inviting me to
meet with them on “October 8”. I had no other appointments for that date, and so, I knew this meeting was
significant. After a five-year journey they were at an impasse, meeting to consider the future of the group.
A season of maturity and harvest
To back up a bit, for several months leading up to this I had seen a phenomenon across the larger body of
Christ: that we are in a season of full maturity and harvest. Seeds of character and destiny planted over
years, and especially in the last season, are coming to full maturity. Decision by decision, seemingly
insignificant at the time, choices have been made, imperceptibly forming characters and destinies. What
was not visible in the seed is now made visible in the mature fruit. It is only at harvest that wheat and
tares can be distinguished. This explains why, on the extreme end of the scale, there has been a sudden
outbreak of high profile ministers being brought to the light for gross departures from the faith, from false
teaching to double lifestyles of adultery or homosexuality.
A harvest of two seeds
We are entering a harvest season, but a harvest of what? It is the harvest of two seeds: of wheat and tares
– of the flesh and of the Spirit. Our response to the kingdom of God determines whether we sow to the
Spirit or to the flesh. It is important to understand that the “flesh” is not referring to our physical bodies,
which are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but in the Pauline sense, to our fallen human nature that is
predisposed to self-effort and self-will, particularly in our attempts to serve God. These two seeds are
within all of us. When yielded to two kinds of Christians result. They are illustrated in Ishmael and Isaac.
While both were of the same father, Abraham, Ishmael was conceived by the flesh. With the delayed
realisation of the promised son Abraham impatiently resorted to his own plans and power to bring it to
pass. Isaac, on the other hand, as the son of promise, was born through Abraham’s faith and patience at
the ‘appointed time’, twenty-five years after the promise. ‘Ishmaels’ and ‘tares’, therefore, are attempts at
achieving the divine purpose prematurely through our own efforts.
We must remember that the parable of the wheat and tares is a kingdom parable addressed to the
generation from whom the kingdom was about to be taken. The parable, therefore, as with all the kingdom
parables, is not about heaven and hell, but about yielding to the character of the king and his kingdom.
AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
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Therefore, being a ‘tare’ is not so much about losing personal salvation, or living in gross sin, but rather
about missing the fullness of the kingdom through the dominance of self. Sons will always remain sons.
However, the question is whether they will be mature sons. Those who refuse kingdom maturity will be
disinherited, losing the kingdom, while those who submit to the maturing process of God’s disciplines will
inherit Father’s business.
A sifting & sorting
The last season has been a sifting and the next will be a sorting. In the sifting we have made decisions,
seemingly inconsequential at the time, but with spiritual consequences as they have determined whether
we are in reality ruled by the kingdom of God. We may think we are “serving” God, while unwittingly our
service begins and ends in self-determinism; that is, we decide when, where, and how we “serve”. The call
of the kingdom is never convenient. We are being sifted every time there is a clash of loyalty between God
and our money, God and our career, or God and our family. This is not to say these things are not
legitimate. However, it is to say that this will play out in small real life decisions, moment by moment, as
to whether we will put the kingdom of God first – first in our affections, first in our relationships, first in
our schedules, and first in our finances. The high call of God in Christ Jesus does not brook with
competing loyalties. For the person who is seeking the kingdom these competing demands will be regularly
denied. Others may, but you may not. The way into the kingdom is exceedingly narrow, and few are they
who find it.
In the sorting there will be much movement as God’s people are realigned. The decisions made in the
sifting will determine alignment in the body. Previous loyalties and relationships in the body will come
under much tension and even break as Christ marshals the troops in military order for war. Those who
have refused to yield to God’s authority in the body or in the competing demands of life will be taken out of
the frontline. The Lord of the harvest will re-assign labourers according to their obedience in the sifting.
“October 8” – The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) 2011
Returning to “October 8”. On checking the Jewish calendar for 2011 I was amazed to discover that it is the
date for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
This has great prophetic significance for the body of Christ in 2011.
By way of background, the corporate life of the old covenant church, Israel, revolved around the three
annual feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
They provide a powerful type and shadow of spiritual truths and ‘appointed times’ in God’s calendar for
the universal body of Christ.
The typical and prophetic significance of the first two feasts has already been fulfilled: Passover, fulfilled
by Christ, our “Passover lamb”, in his substitutionary death; and Pentecost, in the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit in the upper room. However, the typical and prophetic significance of Tabernacles remains to be
AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
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fulfilled.
Unfortunately, with the decline of the church from the second century, the spiritual truths of Passover and
Pentecost were gradually lost, needing to be restored. God intervened and through the Reformation
(1500s), the Evangelical Revival through Wesley, Whitfield, and Edwards (1700s), and the Pentecostal
Revival (1900s) the truths of Passover (justification by faith & holiness) and Pentecost (baptism of the Holy
Spirit) have been restored. Each feast restored has been a major kairos or ‘appointed time’ for the global
church.
Nevertheless, this still leaves, Tabernacles, the last great feast to be fulfilled.
The feast of Tabernacles consists of three parts: in order, they are the feast of Trumpets, leading up to the
Day of Atonement, followed by the feast of Ingathering.
Mid-twentieth century was an ‘appointed time’ – a new kairos for the body of Christ. There was an opening
in the spirit and the feast of Trumpets began. This was a shift from the feast of Pentecost (Pentecostal
Revival of the early 1900s) to the feast of Tabernacles (present and future moves of God). The feast of
Trumpets in the Old Testament was a ten-day period marked by the blowing of trumpets, fasting, and
humbling before the Lord, all in preparation for the Day of Atonement.
The blowing of trumpets, signifying the prophetic ministry, announced the feast. Mid-twentieth century
saw a new awareness of the prophetic, particularly through the Latter Rain outpouring (various ministries
and churches in North America & beyond). The Healing Revival (William Branham, Oral Roberts et al)
and the Evangelical Revival (Billy Graham, Bill Bright et al) also occurred at this time. All of these were
sparked in 1948, or thereabouts, coinciding with the restoration of the state of Israel. The Charismatic
Renewal (1960s) and Jesus Movement (1960s) followed rapidly on the heels of the Latter Rain and Healing
revivals as a flow-on effect, taking the move of God to all nations and denominations. Many of its most
influential teachers spoke out of the truths of the Latter Rain and Healing revivals. Subsequent
outpourings of the Spirit, the Third Wave (Vineyard, 1980s)), and especially the Toronto Renewal (1990s),
have flowed on from the Charismatic Renewal. Through these moves of the Spirit ‘spiritual’ worship
(singing in the Spirit/prophetic song of the Lord/scripture in song), ministry of apostles and prophets,
prophecy and the laying on of hands, unity of the body of Christ, maturity, restoration, healing and
deliverance, and intercession became common currency in the larger church.
And so, for the last sixty years, in this feast of Trumpets, the call has gone out for the Bride to prepare
herself for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. There has been a strong Elijah anointing on various
prophetic voices preparing the way of the Lord. The call to bridal intimacy, to maturity, to repentance and
humility have all been preparatory for a new kairos – the Day of Atonement, and finally the feast of
Ingathering.
2011 – a new kairos for the global body of Christ
October 2010 to October 2011 is an ‘appointed time’ for the global body of Christ.
AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
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All that the feast of Trumpets signifies will accelerate and be completely fulfilled. There will be a shift into
another dimension of the Spirit and of God’s purpose for the church. The Day of Atonement and the feast of
Ingathering will begin to be fulfilled.
Passover and Pentecost were preparatory for Tabernacles, the last great feast and climax of the Jewish
year. The Day of Atonement was the centre point of this feast.
So, what does the Day of Atonement signify for the church?
As Passover speaks of salvation from sin and death the Day of Atonement must speak of something more.
The Day of Atonement speaks of a mature church entering the fullness of all that Christ, as our Passover
Lamb, has purchased – entry into the inner sanctuary, that previously inaccessible realm where God
manifestly dwells – the Holy of Holies. As the culmination of Israel’s year it speaks of the church
ultimately attaining to mature manhood, to the fullness of the stature of Christ (Eph 4:13). And as the
one day of the year when the Apostle and High Priest went through the veil into the presence without
perishing, it speaks of the church moving into apostolic order and resurrection life – into a fuller
experience of the powers of the age to come. Inscribed by the finger of God on the tables of stone, the Ten
Commandments contained in the Ark of the Covenant, declare God’s holy judgments against humankind –
the penalty of death. And yet, the blood of the sacrifice, now sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, allows the
Apostle and High Priest, on behalf of the whole nation, to appear in the presence of God’s eternal
judgements and yet live. The Day of Atonement, is therefore, the fullness of the first-principles of Christ,
particularly the final two – eternal judgement and resurrection life:
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying
again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
and of instruction about washings (baptisms), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of
the dead, and eternal judgment.
And this we will do if God permits.
Heb 6:1-3
The first principles of the doctrine of Christ will be fully restored to the church as she goes on to maturity.
Each principle corresponds to the feasts of the Lord as they have been restored or fulfilled in the church:
1. Passover - Repentance from dead works & faith towards God, restored through
Martin Luther and the Reformation - justification by faith (1500s).
Ascension Gift Ministry: pastor & teacher.
2. Unleavened Bread & Firstfruits (within Passover) - doctrine of baptisms,
restored through the Anabaptists - baptism in water (1500s); holiness,
restored through John Wesley - sanctification (1700s).
AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
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Ascension Gift Ministry: evangelist.
3. Pentecost - baptism of the Holy Spirit, restored through the Pentecostal
Revival (early 1900s).
4. Trumpets (within Tabernacles) - laying on of hands, fulfilled through Latter
Rain Revival, Healing Revival, & Charismatic Renewal (mid 1900s).
Ascension Gift Ministry: fuller restoration of teacher & evangelist; partial restoration of apostle;
complete restoration of prophet.
5. Day of Atonement (within Tabernacles) - eternal judgement & resurrection
life, yet to be fulfilled - the next move of God (2011?).
Ascension Gift Ministry: complete restoration of apostle; apostolic alignment of Christ’s global
body.
6. Ingathering (within Tabernacles) - maturity - one body of Christ and the
harvest of the nations, fulfilled in the coming move of God (mid 2000s?).
Sifting – brokenness before the Lord
As the feast of Trumpets comes to completion 2011 will see an acceleration of the sifting. The call to bow to
the government of God, to humility and brokenness before the Lord, will intensify. Additionally, the
difference between wheat and tares – between flesh and spirit – will become more visible. There will be a
dividing between the holy and the profane.
Sorting – apostolic alignment
This will lead to a sorting of God’s people. There will be a major apostolic alignment across the larger body
of Christ. True apostles who have been internally processed and aligned with Christ as the chiefcornerstone
will become the foundation of the dwelling that God is building by his Spirit. They will emerge
from the willing embrace of obscurity through the fires of suffering and persecution. They will come into a
new level of authentic spiritual authority, functioning as true fathers and mothers of the faith. Eschewing
titles and positions they will serve through relational and organic networks in humility of spirit, but with
great authority. Individuals and groups will be faced with the decision to either accept or reject this new
breed of apostolic leader. Those who have baulked at the government of God through the heart sifting of
the last season will recoil and refuse this new alignment. They will reject Christ’s authority in his body,
choosing to isolate and rebelliously dwell in a dry land. Nevertheless, Christ’s authority will return to his
church and the fear of the Lord will be restored. A new breed of Christian, with a teachable heart, will
seek out spiritual fathers and mothers for the wisdom of God. They will lay down their lives for the sake of
the body, investing themselves in the redeemed community. As the church comes into apostolic order there
will be a quantum increase of the government of God. God’s favour will increase, accompanied by miracles,
signs and wonders. Even so, the miraculous will be with apostolic purpose; that is, for the harvest. This
will be in stark contrast to those who are currently pursuing supernatural phenomenon to engage a
AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
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constituency and advance their ministries. The apostolic oneness of Christ’s body will be restored, with the
increase of new citywide organic wineskins. These will be apostolically related and organisationally
decentralised, bypassing the institutional system of church. Through these new organic apostolic networks
the body of Christ will be prepared and equipped in the supernatural for the harvest of the nations.
How to respond to an ‘appointed time’
When the kingdom comes to each of us it comes in a way that is imperceptible to the natural man. Our
senses and cognitive capacities are inadequate for the knowledge of God. The natural man cannot receive
the things of the Spirit. As helpful as book-learning may be it is not adequate, apart from the Holy Spirit,
to reveal God. Therefore, I must recognise that without humility of heart and reliance on God, I do not
have the equipment or the ability to understand the Christian life, let alone live it.
The kairos, while in space and time, is not of this world and must be spiritually discerned:
However, as it is written:
“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him” —
but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
1Co 2:9-10
Jesus, in response to the Pharisees’ demand for a sign, pointed to the contradiction of them interpreting
signs of the weather, but not discerning the signs of the ‘times’ (kairos):
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the
signs of the times (kiaros).
Mt 16:3
Confusingly, various end-time scenarios have used this text to give weight to what they see as the signs of
the second coming, usually apocalyptic disasters and social trends. However, Jesus was not referring to
the supposed signs of his second coming, but of the actual sign of his first coming.
In fact, he said that the only sign of the kairos would be the sign of the “Son of Man” (see Lk 11:29-30).
God becoming man – the incarnation – is the sign of an ‘appointed time’ – of when heaven comes to earth. I
will return to the full significance of this in a moment.
AN ‘APPOINTED TIME’ FOR THE BODY OF
CHRIST: A WORD TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
FOR 2011 by David Orton December 2010
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Thus, the first coming of Christ sets the pattern for every future kairos. He does not come from Jerusalem
as a positioned leader of a religious institution with man’s credentials and endorsement. In fact, he comes
with heaven’s imprimatur from outside officialdom as an illegitimate carpenter’s son from an insignificant
town called Nazareth. And so, like the Jews of Jesus’ day, we are expecting him to turn up in a particular
way. And therefore like that generation we stumble over the visitation of God because it doesn’t fit our
criteria. Like the Pharisees we develop our watertight theologies to protect the enscripturated truth, but
crucify the personification of truth when he stands among us. Or like the crowds we want the miracles –
the acts of God, but short-track the ways of God. Or like that generation, we may feel the sting of injustice,
expecting him to come as the liberator, but refuse him as the slave-master.
Here is the rub. Christ comes to us incarnationally – that is, in his body. This offends us. We want to
relate to him direct, which we do as our High Priest. But Christ the Apostle comes through his body,
through those whom he sends as apostles. We are offended at the earthen vessel – it is not the colour or
the shape we expect for an apostle – and therefore, we miss the treasure, Christ.
Do you want more of Christ in 2011?
Here is the condition:
You will not see me (Christ THE Apostle) again until you can say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord (apostles)’.
Mt 23:39
Every Blessing
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