Simeon and Anna

You may have heard about the so-called silent years between Malachi and Matthew, and I contend that we have reason to believe through many sources and many historical accounts that God was not silent. The Word of God–the living Word of God–was speaking to God’s people, otherwise how would we explain Simeon?

²⁶And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

Luke 2:26 KJV

Simeon was of great age. Nobody really knows how old he was. He could have been 109 years old, I don’t know. It doesn’t tell us.

³⁶And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

Luke 2:36-37 KJV

It tells us about Anna, the prophetess. How could there be a prophetess that was either 94 or 105, depending on which theologians you look at? It says she was in the temple day and night continuing in prayers. How did people know she was a prophetess? They didn’t say that she prophesied, that would mean that she was occasional used, but rather that she was a prophetess. This means that she received from God an ability to relay things out of the Holy Scriptures regarding what is about to happen.

I’m telling you that there is something so upon you. It is getting ready to happen to you right now.

Simeon was a major scholar. Many people believe he was a scholar of the old covenant and that is how the Lord was able to give him revelation by the Holy Ghost. Isn’t that what He said? It was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost!

Notice he didn’t have to come up with a concoction of who the Messiah is. He could go into the Holy Scriptures and find out definitions in Isaiah and so on, about Christ, but revelation was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost about what time he was living in. This is what is so powerful about the vision that God gives. It gives you purpose for living.

If you’re saying, “Doc, I’m just so tired. I’m tired and tired, and just tired and tired,” the Lord is going to re-?re you!

We know that Anna was a prophetess. She was not just temporarily or occasionally used in the charismatic gifts or the gift of prophecy–she was a prophetess. The original language is just as clear about her prophetic office and function as Deborah, Miriam or any of the Old Testament prophets. She is described in the Bible as being “of a great age”. It says that she had been eighty-four years in the service of the Lord since she had been widowed. Very possibly, she was over one hundred years old and spoke to all of those who were in the temple regarding Christ. Isn’t that powerful?

Zacharias

When the Lord appears to Zacharias through the angel Gabriel, Zacharias was in ministry. He was in the priesthood. The angel talks to him about his wife, Elizabeth, who could not have children. She was barren and Zacharias was old. Now, Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin. So it’s clear that we are dealing with families.

What kind of man was Joseph? He was a devout man. He was a godly man. Then Mary, what kind of woman was she? She was a virgin. What about Simeon? What kind of a man was he? He was a man that wouldn’t die “until”!

Zacharias said, “Hold up, angel of the Lord. I’m old and my wife is… How’s this going to happen?”

The angel answered, “I’m Gabriel and you will not speak.”

Ok, watch this. He took away through the anointing the ability for him to make a sound that was contrary to the sound that God had given him. The power of God started moving upon him immediately. He went home and he was younger. His wife was younger and they were getting along a lot better than when he used to run his mouth. Then who do they give birth to? They give birth to John the Baptist!

God chose an earthly family with the right spirit, the right call, the right preparation, to give birth to the one that would find Himself in the Holy Scriptures.

²³He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

John 1:23 KJV

Another miracle happens. Gabriel comes to Mary. He tells Mary, “You know, you’re full of grace, the Lord is with you and you’re blessed among women, and you’re going to conceive and give birth to a son. You will call His name, Jesus because He will save His people.”

The Angel was sent by the Word–the living Word. God sent the angel to tell Mary the message, so that Mary could say, “yes” and receive the impartation. Then he tells her something very important. I want you to listen. This is the best message I have ever preached. Listen. Gabriel says, “And beside all this,” he tells her, “the Holy Ghost shall come upon you,” because she had said, “I don’t know a man.” In other words, “I’m a holy daughter of the Lord.” He said, “the Holy Ghost will come upon you.” Now watch this. He said “the power of the Highest will overshadow you. That’s why the Holy One which will be born of you will be called the Son of God. Besides all this, this is the sixth month with your cousin Elizabeth.”

Notice how he works with families. He puts families together. Your house can be inducted into the resident Lord and Savior. He has made your house His house. What God starts in your life will not stop with you giving credit or voice only to what He started. It will transfer to you giving credit and giving voice to the One and the only One that deserves all of the praise and the honor and the glory.

Then Mary goes to see Elizabeth and she walks in to salute her. Now that word “salute” and “salutation” is the word “shalom”. She walked in and said, “Shalom on you” or “upon you” or “with you” or “the peace of God is with you.” It wasn’t just a salutation, although I’m sure that the same salutation was being used all over the nation with a lot less results and sometimes with no evidence. The words were spoken, but the sound wasn’t in the word till the sound of Mary’s salutation hit Elizabeth’s ears.

I want you to see this. Listen to me. When your cousin gets anointed and calls you something like Elizabeth called her, “the mother of my Lord,” it’s not natural. When she says, “shalom” the power of God is in her salutation. It’s in the sound of her voice. We know this because Elizabeth said that from the very moment the sound of Mary’s salutation hit her ears that the babe within her jumped for joy and she was filled with the Holy Ghost and began to prophesy. Where were they? They were in Elizabeth’s house.

This happened through the connection. A word–or the word–with a sound, took someone who was already pregnant with a mission, and lifted them up to another level of participation with God’s big plan.

God is going to ?ll your house with His power and with His blessing so that He can fill your family, your children, your enterprise, and your business. Everything that you set your hands to do with the Lord, He will fill, because you are the family of God–the children of the Most High. God works with families!

When the Word of life–when He, the living One–releases a message of covenant to you and your house–when you open the door and say, “Yes, come on in”–then the “shalom” will come and preside in your house.

Your house will be full of this. Every part of your house will be full of this.

Forty days after Christ’s birth they took the Lord into the temple to present him according to the law or custom of Moses. They brought offering and they brought Jesus. We see Simeon who lifted Jesus up and the Bible tells us clearly that he said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” So where he is, is what God revealed to him. God empowered him to see, and whatever God reveals to you in His sound, through His voice or His breath, will cause His impact in your life.

Never pay or take a double thought about anything that contradicts what the Lord is saying in His Word.

This is not only an individual book. This is not a private interpretation. This is a collective living word. It’s for the entire family and if you aren’t a member of the family, then there’s enough room at the table. There’s bread at the table.

It’s the best time of your life so far. It’s your next phase of your call, the next phase of your ministry, the next phase of your victory!

Now say this, “I attentively hear and actively receive the assurance of victory, the joy of salvation, the experience of breakthrough, and the elevation to my next phase of service. I will hear, receive, be healed, be strengthened, be blessed, rejoice, and allow the redemption of the Lord to be all over my stuff.”

If you believe that, rejoice about it today!