"The Four Horses"
A Prophetic Parable of Authentic Apostolic Attributes
Kelly
Deppen Bridges Revelatory Ministry
I went out to hike
through the fields today. What beauty! We have a pristine twelve
inches of snow on the ground and a cloudless blue sky.
The mountains that surround our valley are snow capped and everything
declares the Beauty of the Lord.
About a quarter mile
behind our home there is a horse stable. The animals kept there, three
Arabians, are magnificent. They are perfectly kept and exercised. I
understand that the man who owns them shows them, and they are champions.
If horses have personalities, and I believe that they do, I would ascribe
'confident' to these animals. They always have their noses in the
air as they walk to the fence to take a pat on the neck or an apple. Each
horse has an air of accomplishment and assurance.
Occasionally, if there are apples on offer, I see a bit of competition
between the three as they edge one another out of the way in order to be the
first one at the fence.
I have the strongest sense that these animals are entirely aware of who they
are!
No identity crisis or lack of self-esteem here. They are magnificent and they
know it.
Today, I saw something so beautiful in the personas of these horses. I
cried. As I wept at the 'inner beauty' of the horses I heard Holy Spirit
saying to me:
"Watch
and learn. I give you a parable."
In between the powerful
mahogany legs of the three Arabians I saw four short, squatty, little buff
colored legs.
I strained over the
fence to get a better view---this was strange.
A little nose poked out
from behind the big horses, and I was able to see the most adorable Shetland
pony. The little fella could not have stood more than forty inches from
the ground. He has a white and buff body and a flowing blond mane.
And, there he stood, encircled
by the fine Arabians.
My first reaction to the Shetland was shear hilarity! What was this
little runt of a pony doing hanging out with the big guys? Where had he
come from? Completely adorable.
And Holy Spirit began opening a Visual Parable to me:
I called the horses to the fence; I especially wanted to meet their new little
buddy.
Something remarkable happened.
As the four horses made their way over to the fence, the Arabians maintained an
encirclement around the little Shetland!
They came over to me in somewhat of a choreography, big horses on the outside,
little fella safe and protected within.
At the fence I reached up and patted the neck and manes of two of the Arabians,
but when I put my hand through to stroke the Shetland pony the large horses
chortled and snorted at me. I was forbidden to touch their little charge.
The Powerful Arabians were In Charge of:
Themselves
Their Movements
The Weaker
The Parabolic Confirmation I Received:
I saw the large horses as God's Apostolic Ministry.
In Zechariah's vision in chapter 6 horses portrayed the four winds from heaven
or the movement of God's Spirit in the realm of the earth.
The angel explains to Zechariah that these horses are "the four
spirits of the heavens that go forth from standing before the Lord of all the
earth." v 5
The symbolic horses, sent from heaven represent apostolic moves
that God has initiated from the very Throne Room of Heaven.
In the parable the Lord shared with me today, I saw horses as apostolic
ministry and the leaders of various moves of God in the earth--- the movements
entrusted to the sent ones, the apostolic.
In scripture, the horse is an animal that is: symbolic of the Lord's
supernatural patrol of the earth and the governing of the earth and the church.
The Longing of My Heart
For many years I have had a longing in my heart to see the advent of the
True Apostolic Ministry. I am pleased to report that I have seen and I
experience this apostolic ministry here and now--in the land of the living.
However, as is true with any new thing, there are myriad counterfeits.
I believe one reason that I experienced this Visual Parable today is to
hear the Heart of God for the Relationship of the True Apostolic and the Body
of Christ.
The True, Sent Apostolic will be:
God-confident
Confident in their Relationships with the Corporate Body and the People
Groups to whom they are sent.
Confident in their Calling to Be CARING toward the Body of Christ.
A Prophetic Word on this:
I perceive that we are now in a season in the Lord in which He will no
longer allow self-appointed 'apostles' and apostolic ministries to
self-maintain.
He will be requiring them to be acknowledged and recognized by those who
have been forerunners in authentic apostolic ministry.
God will require that apostolic ministries have Relationship with one
another. This does not mean networks and pyramids. This means dialog
and peer level accountability.
No longer will God tolerate financial extortion of the Body by the
self-appointed.
Authentic Apostolic Ministries will be marked by the Loving Care the Savior has
for His Bride. This will be the depth of Love, Care, and Oversight the
Lord requires.
Fellow-Citizens in the Household of God:
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the
Lord:
In whom ye also are built
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Ephesians 2: 20-22
"There are basically two kinds of
authority-those who use their authority and the people for their own selfish
purposes, and those who use their authority, and give themselves for the sake
of the people. Christian authority is always the latter."
Rick Joyner
Morningstar Journal 2003
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