This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.(Exodus 12:2-4 KJV)
We have now entered the biblical month of Nissan (!syn in Hebrew), which is the first month of the biblical calendar, in the year of Ayin Hei. This month is a vital point in the year that represents a time to declare our faith, a time of miracles and a time go to war. We are in such an amazing time in history as God is awakening His glory in the earth.
The month of Nissan is the first month of the spring season, which is comprised of the three months of Nissan, Iyar and Sivan. The three tribes corresponding to the months of spring are Judah, Issachar and Zebulon; who in the desert encampment around the tabernacle were situated to the East. Their joint camp was known as the camp of Judah, whose name means “praise”. Every year during the spring season we have an opportunity to spring forth into a new cycle of blessing and watch as God shows himself strong as He delivers us from the hands of our enemies. This season begins with Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which celebrates the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. We also begin Counting the Omer this month which leads us into the Feast of Pentecost, where we receive fresh provision and power as Holy Spirit activates His fruits within us.
Nissan is also linked with the Tribe of Judah, who was Jacob’s fourth son born to Leah. When Judah was born Leah said, “Now will I praise the LORD”, as such his name means praise. The root word for his name means to extend ones hands in reverence or worship. When Jacob blessed Judah he said, “Judah, you are he whom your brethren shall praise; your hand shall be in the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you are gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be”. When Moses blessed Judah he said, “Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people; let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies”. Judah always went first into battle revealing to us the importance of our praise to God in overcoming the devil.
The Month of Redemption
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me”.(John 1:29-30)
The month Nissan, which means “their flight”, is the month of redemption where we celebrate our flight and liberation from the slavery of sin by the blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. During Passover, the beginning of God’s annual cycle of blessing, God gives us instructions to remember His work of deliverance. We are instructed to purge our homes of any leaven, which symbolizes sin and impurities, and not eat leavened bread for eight days. It is the time we embrace our Kinsman Redeemer and declare that we have been redeemed out of the hands of our enemies.
There are two Hebrew words used to describe redemption in the bible. The first is the word padah, which means to loose, to let go, to set free, to preserve or to deliver. The second is the word qanah, which means to set upright or to erect, to found or create, to acquire for oneself, to buy or redeem and to be acquired or to be bought. Both of these words embody and give us the full picture of what it means to be redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.
The Blood of the Lamb sets us free from the chains of sin and oppression and allows us to experience true freedom in Him. It also gives us the authority and enabling power to become sons and daughters of God. By the Blood we have full access to our Father in Heaven and are given the enabling power to rule with Him in Heavenly places. The Blood allows us to make an exchange at the throne of Grace where we receive mercy and enabling power to help in our time of need. Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
It is very important to see these two aspects of redemption as there is so much available to us during this season. This is the opportune time to have generational blessings restored and receive a new level of authority as we sup with the Lord this month. We also have the opportunity to present ourselves to Lord with a special First Fruits offering which blesses all of our harvest (see Exodus 23:15-16). Because Jesus became the Passover Lamb and the First Fruits of many brethren we have the opportunity to be liberated and elevated to a new level of authority as we align ourselves with His plan and calling for our lives. Be redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and delivered from the hands of your enemies!
The Month of Miracles
And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.(Exodus 3:20-21 KJV)
The month of Nisan is also the month of miracles. As we saw earlier the word Nissan, a proper noun, means “their flight”. In the Hebrew language, nouns are built using root verbs. The proper noun Nissan is derived from the root verb nissam, which means miracles. This allows us to see that our redemption is and was a miraculous work of God. There is miracle working power in the Blood of Jesus!
When the Lord delivered His people from Egypt He used ten plagues or miraculous signs to show the world that He is the only true God. I believe this also showed His people the same thing confirming that He is the “I am”. During this month the great “I am” is ready to perform the miracle of redemption and miraculously deliver us from the hands of our enemies. As we crossover the threshold of the open door set before us we are assured that we will not go empty handed.
You may be thinking that you have already experienced the miracle of redemption, and if you have believed in the Lord Jesus then you have but only the beginning. Salvation is the miracle of new life but it is also the beginning of the path that leads us to becoming a partaker of the Divine nature; the miracle within the miracle. It is Holy Spirit working within us that continues to change us into His image as we move from one level of faith to the next. This month allows us to crossover into our new level of faith as we are miraculously transformed into His image.
It’s Time to go to War
And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.(I Samuel 30:8)
During the month of Kislev, the month of dreams, the Lord was revealing strategies of war. Though Kislev was the time to receive the new strategies to engage the enemy it was not the opportune time to go to war. This month is the opportune time to activate those strategies and confront the enemy on the battle field. We now have the choice to engage ourselves in this battle or allow our reality to be created by someone other than our King. We are in the year to access new glory as we lift up our eyes to see, but we must go to war this month in order to experience victory.
Whenever we think of or speak of war in the Kingdom we must remember that we are not warring against flesh and blood. We wrestle with principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. We must also remember that our position in the battle is to be seated at the table the Lord has prepared for us in the midst of our enemies. Maintaining our place of worship, which I believe means to guard our heart is the key to victory. This is a spiritual battle that can only be won using the armor of God and the sword of the Spirit.
I am reminded of a dream I had last year where I was taken into a large manufacturing building where a battle arena had been assembled. I was taken over the top of two very large angels that were standing back to back guarding a chamber that overlooked the arena. When I looked down at the arena I saw two robotic looking arms with a flat plate where the hand would be. Then I saw the devil on one of the flat plates and an angel on the other. Somehow I just knew that the devil had initiated this battle. He had set the rules and the venue but he did not have access to the room I was taken into.
As the bell rang both robotic arms lunged forward but before the devil had a chance to get positioned something amazing happened. A large lightning bolt came from the angel and struck the devil totally destroying the robotic arm he was on. The fight was over moments after the bell rang. When we are positioned at the table with the Lord we become spectators to the battle that is already one. Even when the devil sets the rules and the stage for the battle he has no chance of winning! The secret to victory is staying at the table and not engaging the devil on the battlefield. When His glory comes all heaven breaks loose!