Fathering Lineage
God’s point of view for Abraham was more than the origination of nations. He was a father of nations in more than the sense that he had children who became nations. God saw Abraham as an international leader.
God says, “How can I deal with Sodom and Gomorrah without first speaking with Abraham, seeing he is a father of nations.”
The Malachi discussion of fathers is more than a review of parents and children. The term “fathers” and the words “sons” have expanded meaning. This emphasis becomes more apparent as we read the prophecy in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the quotes of the angelic announcements, and the ministry of John the Baptist.
We cannot say that John the Baptist had a message for parents and their male children. We cannot say that John the Baptist had a message emphasizing the natural family. We must understand the “fathering” and the “inheritance” aspect from a Hebrew mindset and the emphasis of God upon lineage.
We must see “fathers” and “inheritors” in the context of God’s Oikos, a lineage of inheritance through which the purposes of God become available in greater opportunity for fullness in each succeeding generation.
From this Scripture, and the other mentions made of Elijah in terms of his role in that Oikos, both in reality and metaphorically, we find a prophetic picture in the word “fathers” and “inheritors.” We especially see this meaning now as we apply the revelation to spiritual fathering and inheritance.
By the time the angel announces what Malachi prophesied, an emphasis appears that is consistent with the prophecy. “Father’s hearts should turn toward inheritors.” While this does nothing to diminish the entire “body of work” discussion of fathers and sons, an emphasis that is clearly upon sons in submission, the announcing angel emphasizes fathers to the prophetic warning and preparation work of John the Baptist.
This does not mean that this emphasis is a constant but that the focus of fathers and sons turning their hearts is usually about the submission of sons but can also speak clearly to any situation in which fathers no longer value inheritance, as the situation was in the case of the Messianic generation.
The Messianic generation had lost its primary passion for inheritance. The message of John and the emphasis of Jesus points to this spiritual condition, and we do well to read that emphasis again, so we do not miss the point in our generations.
When Jesus says, “You did not recognize that your generation was being brought to accountability by My visit. You thought you were above such accountability. You rejected any visit from the Owner of the inheritance because you considered yourselves the highest authority with regards to the land and the promises. You usurped the Father, so you also devalued fathering.” [Compiliation of several statements made by John and Jesus.]
They were made accountable for the inheritance, so they were accountable as fathers of that inheritance.
The use of “fathers” is Hebraic, broad, and connected to the general meaning of lineage and inheritance. The use of the word “sons” speaks to estate and preparation for expanding the purpose of heritage.
The generation of Jesus was so far removed from the spirit of the Law and Prophets that they rejected John and killed Jesus. Both John and Jesus were threats to their usurpation of the inheritance, a rejection of the Father.
Fathers of Nations
Now, to our generation: fathering nations will mark the moves of God in the Earth in the Roaring Twenties. This context determines our framework for understanding what God is doing in the Earth and judging what is going on culturally in each fathering nation.
If we do not see with this Divine mindset, we will focus on lesser priorities or issues of nearly no importance at all. We will be tithing on spices while ignoring the Messianic claims of Jesus on His inheritance, the nations.
While we have been talking fathering for twenty years or more, and some of the current discussion by sons is abominable blasphemy, fathering leaders emptied of lineage and inheritance thinking are a threat to the kingdom at a most critical time in history.
The current church-anity considers Ecclesia as a relatively temporary condition because it dismisses the kingdom foundations – even when the apostolic and prophetic are included in the mix – as is evidenced by our discussion of successors instead of inheritors.
We are actually hashing out ideas about “I need a personal father” when the real issue of a personal father is the greater context of fathering nations and the leadership alignments within them. Especially in the United States of America, we see fathering in the same dysfunctional context that produced coaching.
Some of the fathering networks (whatever that is) actually base their strength of function on money while providing nothing more than a label (not DNA available) for people who want to identify with surface slush success imaging.
If you have ever seen what happens when some of these fathering things suffer from a loss of the fathering leader, you recognize that the entire enterprise was based upon something impossibly inconsistent with the Bible.
Fathering functions personally only when it aligns nationally and internationally, but that alignment isn’t about imaging but inheritance. To understand this matrix as a spiritual Oikos, the international estate of the Messiah distributed by assignment to His representatives as fathers of nations, we must see the connection with assigned fathers as preparation for Messianic inheritance.
“Father says to His Son, ‘Today I have begotten You. You are My Son. Ask Me, and I will give you the nation is as Your inheritance.'”
Father has the nations. Inheritance is the strategy for fathering them. Those that are born in His kingdom share this inheritance with the King as a strategic way of securing the nations under the dominion of the King. This relationship brings the descendants of the first Adam into the lineage of the Second Adam to fulfill the Dominion Mandate.
Nothing else can do that.
