The Twelve Gates Of The Holy City

Chapter Fourteen

(The Seventh Gate of The City, Dan)

 

Dan means: JUDGE Gen. 30:6 says, "God has vindicated me: He has listened to my plea and given me a son. Because of this she named him Dan."

Dan also means an umpire, to execute judgment, or to minister judgment. One of the names of God is Adonai. The name `Adonai' means Lord, Master or Ruler. So the purpose of Dan is to judge and to rule, therefore, I am going to focus my attention in teaching Dan to those who are to rule over the House of God.

Dan was called to be a judge. He was called to lordship, to rulership. If you have not gone through the sixth gate, Issachar, it disqualifies you to enter the seventh gate, Dan. Because, if you can be bought, you cannot be a judge. But, if you cannot be bought, then you can minister pureness of judgment. Jesus said in John 7:24, "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.

In any situation there is one judgment that is the answer. There are many judgments, but just one judgment. This answer will come through a word of wisdom and will be God's judgment for that situation. When I use the word judgment, people usually think of something negative. Judgment is not negative. It is positive. There is a judgmental kind of criticism that will condemn you, but I am speaking of a ministry of no condemnation. The judgment that flows out of the old nature will condemn you. Judgment that flows from the new nature will not condemn you, it will not minister death, but will minister life and righteousness.

Jesus said in Matt. 7:1-5,

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

How many have heard this statement, "Christians should not judge!" How stupid! Jesus was not telling us here not to judge. He was telling us how to judge. 3. In John 7:24, Jesus said,

"Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment"

The word for judge used in Matt. 7:1, is the word `KRINO', which means to separate, to select, to choose, to determine, to conclude, to correct, to esteem, to decree, to sentence, to think, to approve, to have an opinion, to deem, to resolve, to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong, to pronounce judgment, to rule or govern, examine, investigate, discern, to decide, etc.......

Simply stated, "If you make a judgment, you have made a decision." What do parents make every day concerning their children? Decisions. It is a cop-out to say, "We must not judge." In many homes there is very little discipline, and as a result there is chaos.

Discipline requires decisions and follow-through. Unfortunately, the chaos that is in the home, because there are no decisions made, has been carried into the church and many pastors are afraid to rock the boat. Sons of the Kingdom do not condemn or criticize others. Those who have such a critical spirit will reap what they sow. Usually, those who are unqualified to give advice are forever giving free advice. Those who are qualified to give advice follow the principle Peter gave in I Peter 3:15, "Be ready to give an answer to every man that ask you."

Don't you ask a seasoned minister unless you are prepared to receive and accept the truth. When you ask me, I cannot allow your sentiments, your feelings, your reputation, your tithes and offerings to bribe, to sway or to pervert my judgment. There is a nature in me called Dan that is tempered by the nature of Issachar that cannot be bought. Because I cannot be bought, I don't allow our friendship to cloud the decisions I must make concerning the welfare of the assembly. I don't care what Moma thinks, here is my judgment. I don't care what the consensus of opinion is, here is my judgment. I don't even care what I think, here is my judgment. My judgment is His judgment; righteous judgment.

You see, righteous judgment is the judgment of the Lord and cannot be questioned. In any given situation, Jesus would render the right decision. Then why have so many wrong decisions been made? We will see the key in just a few minutes, but we have not waited for His word to come. While it is true that those who are unqualified are forever giving free advice, it is also true that judgment and justice is rendered by those the King has called, appointed, chosen and anointed. Those who are given the responsibility of judgment have judged themselves. These are proven ministries who have met God's requirements. This self examination is currently being experienced in the church as a Day of Atonement.

This feast day is a day of humiliation when justice may be denied to us in order to prove us. We are all reluctant to judge ourselves, but this is the day in which we must consider the plank in our own eyes. This will qualify a ministry to render pure and righteous judgment in the earth.

What then, is the basis for that righteous judgment? Righteous judgment is the judgment of Jesus; His fairness and His decisions. Righteous judgment cannot be based on our experiences. "Well, It has been my experience-----" Our experiences are valid and may be helpful, but we must not limit God to deal with others the same way He has dealt with us. There is only on way you can learn the ministry and that is by doing it. The key to a successful ministry, however, is submitting it to a proven ministry for their judgment and leadership, in order that you might become seasoned.

If you will realize you are immature and that you are a novice, then you will submit your ministry to proven ministry. When you are making a righteous judgment concerning another person's life, you must realize that they are a unique person and God will deal with them in their uniqueness. There are no two people alike, just as there are no two snowflakes alike. The principal of no two snowflakes being alike indicates to me that God's judgments are unsearchable.

Usually, I can spot immediately, problems and scriptural solutions to those problems in a person's life. But what if I am not sure? Then this Dan nature from within me will cause me to wait on the Lord and I will receive the word of wisdom for that situation. If you ask a seasoned ministry a question concerning your life, don't be surprised if he tells you that he first must pray about it. Don't be surprised if they tell you to come back at the same time tomorrow and they will give you the answer.

Be careful of the man who has all the answers. Chances are, he hasn't been through Dan. Chances are, he can be bought and is just trying to flatter you. Have you ever made a wrong decision? Do you know why? You were hasty. Your good or bad experiences do not qualify you for this kind of judgment I am talking about. Experience is sense knowledge. The righteous judgment of Jesus goes beyond that, beyond what the eye can see into the realm of the spirit.

God does not always deal with others the same way He has dealt with you. The Pharisee in you will always want God to deal with others the same way He deals with you. God's judgments are unsearchable. Even as each snowflake is different, every situation you face is different. If God's judgments are unsearchable, then I must have some help to find them.

If you needed to know something from the scriptures and you knew I was knowledgeable in that area, would you not come to me and ask, rather than not know? There is someone who is available to us who knows every answer. Maybe we should hang a sign up outside saying, "The church that knows all the answers." I didn't say, "The pastor that knows all the answers." Collectively we should have enough of the Holy Spirit in us to be able to give an answer. Who has all the answers? The Holy Spirit, and He is in us!!! If we will just wait on Him, Dan will come forth.

Paul said in I Cor. 2:9,

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him, but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit."

God has revealed to us things that no eye has seen. Things beyond experience.

"The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man's spirit within him? In the same way no man knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."

No man knows the thoughts of God!! Now, that should let the air out of a lot of preachers sails! However, there is within me, the Spirit of the Son who knows all the answers. My problem is that my mind is so cluttered and my mouth so much in motion that I cannot hear. If I would stop and be still and know that He is God, I would never make a mistake.

Show me one mistake Jesus made. What was His secret? He waited for the voice of the Father within.

He said, "I don't say anything but what I have first heard Him say it."

He said, "I don't do anything but what I see my Father doing."

My problem is that I have said too many things that He didn't say, and I have done too many things He never did. But I'm learning to let Dan come forth. When Dan comes forth the righteous judgment, the answer will be there.

"We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This what we speak, not in words taught us by

human wisdom but in words taught us by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to Him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The

spiritual man makes judgments (decisions) about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment"

The key to this statement is, "The Spiritual man." The natural man cannot be allowed to judge the Spiritual man. I must be in the Spirit to make Spiritual judgments. I cannot make Spiritual judgments (decisions) with my natural man (self-soul). In my Spiritual man I have the mind of Christ.

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Jacob's prophecy to Dan is recorded in Gen. 49:16,

 

"Dan will provide justice for his people, as one of the tribes of Israel."

Those of us in the five-fold ministry get into trouble if we lose sight of the truth that Jesus was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is our pattern in all things and it was not His desire to lord His position as Emmanuel over us. How many there are in the five-fold ministry that desire to lord over God's people.

There are well known seasoned ministries that are about to become one of the stars that will fall from heaven.

I want to show you why. This will be good strong meat for those called by God into the ministry. You must learn to dwell among the people of God and not above them.

Gen. 49:17 says,

"Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horses heels so that its rider tumbles backward."

Don't let this fool you. Both Jesus and Satan were represented by the serpent.

In Matt. 10:16 Jesus said, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves."

We live in a perverted world today, and much of our thinking has been perverted. We too often lose sight of the fact that Satan has perverted everything his hands has touched. music, art, drama, sex, man, and the animal Kingdom.

The word serpent is the Greek word (OPHIS) and carries the idea of sharpness of vision, wisdom. Jesus told us to be wise like a serpent. Satan has not only defiled the serpent but he has also perverted wisdom. Dan was to be a serpent by the roadside.

Jesus said in John 3:14, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up."

Not only was Jesus lifted up as the representative of sin but also as all wisdom. Jesus' wisdom in offering himself up as a sin offering far exceeded Satan's wisdom in crucifying Him. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and Satan is as a roaring lion.

I know men in the ministry that cannot be bought, but refuse to pass through the experience of Dan. There are men in the ministry who are called to be Dan (to make righteous judgments in Israel) and instead of allowing the wisdom of God to put the kingdom of darkness in confusion, they become shrewd and cunning in their wisdom. Instead of a blessing to you, they become a menace and an

instrument of destruction that causes many to fall backward. Because they pervert wisdom they become bitter and thrust out the tongue and instead of edifying God's people, they bring condem- nation.

Psalms 140:3 says, "They make their tongues as sharp as a serpents; the poison of vipers is on their lips."

The word viper means to overwhelm, to break or to bruise. Some men pastor like that. They

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overwhelm their people and bruise them and even brake them and cause them to fall back or

backslide. Every minister that takes the wisdom of God and perverts it for their own gain and have caused the riders on the horse to fall backward, will be judged in this life by God. He will let the ministry experience the righteous judgment they have perverted.

Do you know what the remedy for all of this is? Gen. 49:18 says, "I wait for your salvation, O Lord."

Do you know why I have made mistakes in the ministry? Because I did not wait on the Lord. Do you know why I have made mistakes in my personal life? Because I didn't allow time for God to work all things out. The word `WAIT' means to look for.

Here are some scriptures concerning waiting on God.

Psalms 40:1 says,

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Isaiah 25:9 says,

"And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

 

Isaiah 26:7-9 says,

"The path of the righteous is level, O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth.

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desires of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness."

 

Isaiah 33: 2-6 says,

"O Lord, be gracious to us: we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in

time of distress. At the thunder of your voice, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter. Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts men pounce on it. The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and

righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, and rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure."

Isaiah 40:31 says, "They that wait upon the Lord."

Psalms 25: 3-5 says,

"No one who waits on you will ever be put to shame but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse."

Psalms 27:14 says,

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

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Psalms 37:9 says, "For evil men will be cut off, but they that wait on the Lord will inherit the earth."

Verse 34, "Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to possess the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it."

Dan was the tenth stone on the high priest's breastplate and the stone is a Beryl stone. The word Beryl means to break or subdue. God has called for the ministry in this hour to break and subdue and punish everything that is evil.

Song of Solomon 5:14 says, "His hands are as gold rings set with Beryl."

Deut. 33:22 says, "Dan is a lion's cub, springing out of Bashan."

Ministries that have gone through Dan are wise as serpents and bold as lions. When they spring, it is going to be at the enemy. When they claw and when they mangle and when they kill and destroy, it will be against the enemies of God's people.