We first met Mary in America. Her father had been touched by God at our last FREEDOM! retreat at Rivendell, and he had invited us to his daughter’s graduation party. It was there we discovered she was due to leave for Ireland in September and spend her next year on a NET team. NET is a Catholic youth evangelization program that happens to have been founded by old friends of ours in St. Paul, Minnesota!
We asked Mary where she would be based and she answered, “Donegal.”
“Wow!” We replied “That is where we plan to be this September too!! – We’ll have to see if we can connect!”
We eventually made email contact with Mary but because of her packed schedule she said the only possible time for us to meet would be at the NET commissioning service in Letterkenny Cathedral at 1.30 pm on Sunday 30th.
This was the weekend of our Tabernacles gathering in Donegal which I had felt should be from 1 pm Saturday to 1 pm Sunday. I typed into Google maps the location of Maurice and Carolyn’s cottage and then Letterkenny Cathedral, and hit ‘Directions’
I looked to see how long it would take for the journey;
30 mins.
So our retreat was to end at 1pm, the service to begin at 1.30, and it was a 30 minute journey!!!
“Hilary I think we’re meant to be at the commissioning service!” I exclaimed. “Yes I agree!” she replied.
It is time for the second work of Christ as prefigured in the law of the two doves in Leviticus 14. Jesus like the first dove in the offering had to die at his first coming. As the second dove dipped in the blood of the first and then released into the world, the second work of Christ is a living work proclaiming and demonstrating the victory of his first work. This work will be done by Jesus, the head, in conjunction with his prepared body. (Heb.10:5)
As such, I realized the Donegal coat of arms (pictured above) represents both the first work of Christ in the cross, and the second work in the hand carrying the message of the cross in ‘Tabernacles’ power throughout the earth.
Mary was one of 46 young people who had come from all over the world now to be commissioned to carry the gospel throughout Ireland. Each young person was given a cross in hand.
Over ‘a wee cuppa tea’ and homemade tray bake after the service, the leader of NET in Ireland happened to come over to talk with us. I mentioned to him the number 46 was significant. The first temple was filled with God’s glory (2 Chron.5:14) and Haggai (Ch.2:9) foretold that the glory of the later temple would be even greater. Historically there is no record of this happening with Herod’s temple, but when in John 2, Jesus spoke of the raising up of his body in three days, the Pharasees responded skeptically referring to the 46 years it took to build Herod’s temple. Since 1953 we have known that each person’s body has 23×2 = 46 chromosomes, I believe this detail was included in John’s account because it identifies the ‘latter temple’ that will be glorified as the ‘living stones’ that form the body of overcomers who are now being prepared to be joined with their head in resurrection power!
“I knew it was to be 46 Netters – months ago.” Tony, the NET leader said, “So wasn’t surprised when the 46th person had his application to go to America repeatedly turned down!!! Now you’ve explained to me the significance of that number 46!”
In John’s gospel the 8 miracle signs reflect the 8 days of Tabernacles. The eighth miracle sign corresponding to the last and greatest day of the feast is the 153 fish caught in the NET. 153 is the gematria for Sons of God!
I asked Mildred from Uganda why she had come to NET in Ireland. “It was missionaries from Ireland who brought the gospel to Uganda. “ she said. “Now it is our turn to bring the gospel back to Ireland in it’s time of spiritual darkness.”
Is this the beginning of the fulfillment of Patrick’s vision and of the great dragNET being cast throughout the earth in the second work of Christ and fulfillment of the Feast of Ingathering?
“And I, if I be lifted up will draw ALL men unto me!” Jesus said in John.12:32
The word for ‘draw’ is literally ‘drag’, as in Matthew 13:47:
“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragNET that was cast into the sea and caught fish of EVERY kind.”
The bishop’s charge came from the story in Mark’s gospel where the disciples exhibit a denominational spirit, “Master we saw a man who is not of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him,” Jesus replies, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
The bishop warned against counting anyone out of the kingdom of God….including ourselves!
This echoed a return to the hospitable and inclusive spirit of the early Celtic Church, before the watershed synod of Whitby when the centralized and institutionalized Roman version of the religion won the day.
As the congregation prayed the Lord’s prayer in the Irish language, hope arose in me. It sounded and looked like the glory of the later temple might well recapture and surpass the glory of the original temple in the land of Patrick, and his vision of a global harvest – find it’s fulfillment in our day.
P.S. Upcoming FREEDOM! retreat at Rivendell 2nd-3rd November. Details at paulkyle.org/events