THE RELEASE OF THE JOSEPHS AND WEALTH TRANSFER

© 2002 Morris E. Ruddick

I have been hearing a similar question lately: WHEN?

WHEN are the Josephs and Daniels coming forth? WHEN is the wealth transfer going to start taking place? WHERE are the Josephs and Daniels? HOW and for what PURPOSES will this wealth transfer play out?

In early 1996 I wrote:

"A time is coming soon when there will be changes in the infrastructures of the world's systems that will create reversals resulting in discontinuities and shortages such as the world has never seen. In the same manner that Joseph the patriarch was sent ahead to prepare for what was coming to the earth, God is today sending individuals ahead to prepare for a time of great change that will precede the greatest harvest of all times. These will be individuals who clearly hear God's voice and who possess a unique understanding of the times, who will be thrust into positions of influence within the economic, governmental and business infrastructures that guide the course of world events. And much as in the days of Joseph, the needs of the Body and the funding of the coming harvest will be met in unusual ways, as God taps the Body into His unlimited resources and unites us in a common singular vision."

Then in early 1998 I wrote:

"We have been experiencing some unusual transitions in the heavenlies. Not the least of these transitions is a time before us in which we will begin seeing manifestations of the scripture in Proverbs 13:22 -- that the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. The dynamic emerging is a transfer of wealth. But it should be explained that this is happening on a very strategic level. It will not be an across the board phenomenon. Likewise, there will be a subtlety associated with the way it takes place. It's going to involve the Josephs and Daniels of our day. These modern-day Josephs and Daniels are persons who have been uniquely prepared and raised up to meet the unusual Kingdom needs of the era we have entered. These men and women of God are anointed business and government leaders who possess significant character; a clear maturity in the Lord; and a distinct understanding of their calling. Persons, like Joseph and Daniel of old, who will be recognized and respected by the people of the world they work with. They will operate with unusual wisdom and authority; a wisdom and authority recognized and respected by the gatekeepers of the world they work alongside."

WHEN WILL THE JOSEPHS COME FORTH?

In addressing the question of WHEN, recognize that before us is the early stage of disruptions and reversals I described in early 1996. We've passed the turning point. The time of the Josephs is at hand.

Joseph the Patriarch experienced a long, difficult preparation. But the timing of his promotion to serve alongside Pharaoh was strategic. It incorporated God's sovereignty. It was not something Joseph could force. It reflected the unique convergence of subtle, divine alignments and circumstances bringing Joseph into the place and position of his calling: divine calibrations like Pharaoh's troubling dreams; Joseph's reputation as a man of God who interpreted dreams; his repute as one whose work God blessed; and Joseph's prophetic wisdom and anointing.

Apart from God's intervention, Joseph's situation as a slave, and subsequently as a slave-in-prison was hopeless. Yet he never deviated from his faithfulness to the Lord and to those he served. Genesis 39:5 says: "So it was, from the time that he [Potipher] had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field."

This principle was also in operation when Joseph was in prison; and when he was finally promoted by Pharaoh. The modern-day Josephs will have favor and authority within their spheres along the way. Like their prototype, there may be a sequence of steps today's Josephs take before emerging into the fullness of what the Lord has called them to. Likewise, those in seats of power entrusting the Josephs with their areas of responsibility will have the blessing of God upon them.

Similarly, Joseph's hopeless situation as a slave in prison made his promotion even more remarkable. Joseph was gifted and talented, but his elevation to the courts of Pharaoh could only have taken place by the hand of God. The timing for Joseph's promotion preceded a time of an extensive, crippling, horrible famine. So it will be today, as the hand of the Lord moves His modern-day Josephs into position. The timing will be significant and will precede a time of unusual need. Those called as today's Josephs will be moved into position prior to a time of exceptional disruptions.

Like their Biblical example, today's Josephs will be entrusted with keys that serve pressing humankind needs, as well as God's redemptive purposes amidst times of discontinuities and fear.

WHERE WILL THE JOSEPHS BE FOUND?

Joseph was fully integrated within Egyptian society, yet Genesis 39:3 and 39:23 tells us everyone saw that the Lord was with Joseph and made all that he did to prosper. There was no question of Joseph's spiritual identity among those he served. Yet on the other hand, Joseph was not recognized by his brothers until he chose to reveal himself to them.

The modern-day Josephs will operate within the context of the world's systems. They will be accepted and respected by those around them. The Josephs of today may not be recognized initially by the traditional religious community. For the most part, there will be a subtlety in the way they operate as instruments of God's purpose within the systems of the world. But they will bring answers and solutions reflecting a wisdom from above that no one else within their domains will have.

Answers and solutions that simultaneously serve to meet pressing societal needs, while achieving God's redemptive purposes.

THE WEALTH TRANSFER

The paradigm has shifted. September 11, 2001 set in motion ripples of change that have yet to be fully realized. The time requires radical reassessments of our mode of doing things as individuals and as a Body. It was a wakeup call. A wakeup call directed to the Body. We are at war. And we can no longer respond effectively with the frameworks of our past ways of doing things.

The days we have entered are perilous days. Days requiring new mind-sets, approaches and strategies challenging the traditions of men. A time for the Body to pursue and embrace the scriptural admonitions for unity and coming into the full knowledge of the Lord.

Perilous times. But what is unfolding is being met with anticipatory responses by the Lord. It is a time in which we can expect the Body to undergo a mobilization. It will be a mobilization bringing transformation. It will be a time for unique agendas being released from God's throne-room, serving the accomplishment of His purposes. Like as in the days of Joseph, there will be unusual strategic alliances with gatekeepers of the world's systems. There will be amazing ways the Lord provides during the interim, while setting in motion His long-term redemptive purposes.

One of the extraordinary divine responses for these days will be the wealth transfer referenced in Proverbs 13:22. This transfer of wealth is going to play out in some very unusual ways. Non-traditional ways. In many instances, it will run counter to what the world is striving for; yet will also utilize the world's systems in its execution.

Like in the days of Joseph, there is already underway a divine orchestration and alignment of pivotal people and the keys to resources. Even with the coming of the Josephs and the manifestation of the wealth transfer, we typically will only see in part. Most of those called as Josephs and Daniels will participate at a level reflected by clearly-defined, compartmentalized segments of the big picture. But there is a mosaic, a tapestry being woven. The role of modern-day Josephs and Daniels is to be obedient to the specific agendas God has prepared and entrusted them with.

But to genuinely understand the wealth transfer will require a grasp of the Kingdom perspective and of God's economy.

The Kingdom perspective reflects a higher order and way of doing things. God's Kingdom rule was His intention for man at creation. But, man lost the wholeness and fullness that God intended at the fall. God then began His plan of redemption and restoration through His chosen people Israel, through whom Messiah Jesus would come. The foundational principles for God's Kingdom rule were laid out in the Pentateuch, the Torah. The release of the process of the fulfillment of God's redemption and restoration - and the ability for us to exercise authority in God's Kingdom came through Jesus. Indeed, the history of God's people has been marked by the conflict associated with the redemption of God's Kingdom on the earth, from the forces of darkness that took this God-intended dominion, relinquished at the fall of Adam.

The marketplace will be the context for the majority of the wealth transfer. The Kingdom perspective in the marketplace operates on the premise that there is a unique difference between a Kingdom executive, official, entrepreneur, or business-owner with a calling of accomplishing God's purposes and agendas in the fabric of society; and an upstanding, moral Christian business executive or business owner. Today's Josephs and Daniels will be those operating with a Kingdom perspective and a Kingdom agenda.

Although the Kingdom perspective and God's move into the marketplace is very Biblical, it does not always fit a modern-day mind-set of how the church typically views the role of Believers in business. New mind-sets embracing the role of today's Josephs and Daniels are needed by both those called into the marketplace and those of the church and parachurch hierarchy, before the wealth transfer can move into the level for which it is intended.

GOD'S ECONOMY

It needs to be said that if the wealth transfer is viewed or approached as simply mega-philanthropic activities, then something very significant is going to be missed. There is no question that the "wealth transfer" will reflect a time of unusual benevolence and charitable projects benefiting the Kingdom. But that dimension is only going to be part of the equation.

Understanding the extent of the wealth transfer will require an understanding of God's economy. Comprehending God's economy during times of increased disruptions and discontinuities. It will be during these times that we will see the emergence of alternate economic systems. Economic systems and strategies based on God's economy. Economic strategies bypassing the confusion and downturns that will hit many mainstream modes of doing business. In God's economy, the alternative, bypass systems will allow Believers to move in and out of the world's system - sometimes to operate within God's economy and sometimes to operate in both. There are already operational models that are bypassing downturns being experienced by the world's system.

Kingdom agendas in the marketplace will involve an understanding of the dynamics involved in entrepreneurialism. The basic principles of entrepreneurialism are Biblically-based and they work. They work regardless of whether the business is a micro-enterprise, a family-business, a community business or a larger corporate enterprise. The book of Deuteronomy is replete with wisdom for the ages on economics and business. These principles reflect the wisdom needed to be the head and not the tail. They are foundational to operating in challenging times.

God's economy is also based on the operation of the Old Covenant model of "kings," which reflects the central role of anointed, kingly leader-administrators in the accomplishment of God's purposes. It was these "kings" who time and again changed the course of nations and brought redemption to God's people. Kings like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, Joseph, Mordecai and Daniel. This "kingly" model aptly fits the role that can be expected from those called as modern-day Josephs.

There is no doubt that there will be Josephs and Joseph companies serving to funnel unusual levels of resources into key Kingdom agendas. There will continue to be humanitarian as well as evangelistic agendas. But the Kingdom agendas for the days before us will stretch traditional perspectives on what has heretofore been viewed as God's primary agendas and the strategies for accomplishing them.

At their core will be God's purposes of redemption and restoration. There will be alliances between ministries, churches and modern day Josephs. Relational networks connecting Kingdom opportunities with resources. Alliances operating between governments and Josephs and Daniels. Coalitions linking Joseph operations, corporations and parachurch ministries. There will be initiatives that range from a community and neighborhood focus to being global in scope. Agendas accomplished between business cartels and the Josephs they are aligned with. Initiatives, networks and alliances breaking the shackles of religious tradition that too often has approached the business community with the attitude of pay, pray and get out of the way. Cooperative results without any organizational need for recognition or credit. Cooperative efforts guided by Joseph initiatives.

Understanding the breadth of the wealth transfer will incorporate recognizing the incredible changes underway in the infrastructures and assumptions that govern the nature and order of doing business and the affairs of nations. There are now economies without borders. Seats of power in this emerging global economy are not always being found within the economic and political bins of superpower nations. This is a radical departure from the basis of conducting business as it has been in days past.

In God's economy, micro-enterprises represent an important alternate economic system. Entrepreneurial Kingdom ventures are already appearing and bypassing the economic down-cycles of regions. Micro-enterprise development will impact entire communities around the world for the Lord. Successful regional businesses will sponsor and work together to establish rural community-based businesses, for God's purposes. Believer-directed business start-up incubator programs will create businesses that will flourish while competitors struggle and lose ground. There will also be Believers who establish special venture funds, as well as operations that acquire failing businesses and turn them around. Businesses will be set up specifically with Kingdom agendas in mind. Some will incorporate a business and a foundation working together. Others will involve a business-ministry alliance. In some cases, a business, foundation and ministry will work in concert as strategic instruments fulfilling God-ordained purposes.

THE PURPOSE

In a word, the wealth transfer is going to reflect an interlinking of secular enterprises with overriding ministry and Kingdom objectives.

But what will be the focus of the Josephs? What key purposes will the wealth transfer serve?

At the focal point of the purposes for the wealth transfer are God's end-time agendas for Israel; the Body; and the peoples and nations.

The coming of the Josephs and the wealth transfer is about God's Kingdom. It's about restoration, redemption, dominion and authority. It's about all peoples and nations coming under the Lord's loving dominion and serving Him. As ambassadors and emissaries, endowed with His power and authority, the Body of Messiah is tasked with establishing beachheads for the return of Jesus the Messiah; preparing for restoring the Kingdom of God to Israel; and offering hope and the message of redemption to the peoples and nations. Those tasks will require the Body of Messiah becoming unified in the fulfillment of His great commission; of reaching the Jewish people and the peoples of the nations with the truth and good news of God's liberation from the bondage and chaos created at the fall.

The mobilization of the Josephs and Daniels will coincide with the mobilization of the Body as one. It will coincide with the Body coming together, Jew and Gentile, to accomplish God's end-time purposes of restoration and redemption. It is not going to be about talent or exceptional, prominent personalities. It's going to be about a yielded, and often broken Body - that is flowing with a power and authority that will only come by means of the cloak of humility and complete submission and dedication. It's going to be about individuals and organizations that serve and cooperate without the need for recognition and credit.

The great commission, found in each of the Gospels and Acts 1:8, has its purpose outlined in a key Old Covenant Messianic passage in Daniel 7: 14. "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed."

Indeed, the time of the Josephs is at hand, with increasing evidence that a broad array of wealth transfer agendas are in the process of unfolding.

The Body, Israel and the peoples and nations. The time we are entering is summed up well with the verses at the end of Isaiah 59 through the beginning of Isaiah 60. It tells of the pivotal time for Israel's redemption; and of the time prior when the Church is mobilized. A time, that will parallel the unique story of Joseph the Patriarch, with Kingdom authority and dominion, and restoration and redemption. The passage reads: "So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the West, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Israel. Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you." (Isaiah 59:19 - Isaiah 60:5)

The time of the Josephs precedes the onset of the time of disruptions and discontinuities. As they emerge into the full operation for which they have been prepared, they will be found functioning in the midst of the world. These forerunners will be ambassadors for God's Kingdom rule. Like Joseph of old, they will offer hope and practical solutions in the name of the Lord. It will be a time in which peoples and nations will be touched as God's people fulfill the admonition of Isaiah 58, by extending their soul to the hungry, afflicted and oppressed. It is the time Isaiah saw, in which darkness will increasingly cover the earth. But the Josephs, as forerunners for God's mobilized Body, will be a genuine light dawning in the darkness.

The Body of Messiah, Jew and Gentile together, is God's instrument for the coming restoration of His Kingdom. The Church has been a forerunner in serving as a light to the nations. But in the times we have entered, the Church will find its role in standing along side Israel - both the people and the land. As the remnant of Messianic Jewish Believers grows, so the Church will become a support in their role of reaching their people with the Good News. As that transpires, we will enter the time of the greatest harvest the world has ever seen.

THE PRAYER

Father God, we come to You in the incomparable Name of Your Son Jesus, and we bless Your Holy Name. We thank You Lord, that wisdom and might are Yours; You change the times and the seasons; You remove kings and raise up kings; You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

Lord thank You that you are releasing the Josephs and Daniels of this day into the fullness for which You have prepared them. Lord, You are aligning things and setting things in motion for the wealth transfer - as You are bringing Your Body together in unity. Lord, as You are mobilizing us, You are transforming us - and bringing us into a time marked by the Body flowing in the full knowledge of the Lord.

Lord, we proclaim that Yours is the greatness and the power and glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and earth is Yours. Yours is the dominion and You do exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You and You do rule over all; and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great, and to strengthen. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and You have set the world upon them. You will guard the feet of Your saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength, no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven You will thunder against them.

Lord, we thank You that Your hand is strongly upon today's Josephs and Daniels. Thank You for the turning point before so many. Open doors before them. Give them unusual favor. Anoint them and keep them in the palm of Your Hand. Pave the way before them. Guide them with Your eye. Position them and protect them. Bless them and use them mightily in the accomplishment of your agendas within their individual spheres. Encourage them and connect them to those they will be serving with. Keep them from evil and give them wise, discerning hearts.

Lord, thank You for the mobilization underway. A great mobilization directed by Your Spirit. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear - that we might enter into the flow of this mobilization. Lord, you are mobilizing key segments of Your Body. You are mobilizing the Josephs and Daniels; as well as the modern day Cyruses and Pharaohs and other gatekeepers into the world's systems.

Lord thank You for the unprecedented revival underway within the Jewish community. Lord, your Chosen people are having the veil removed and are embracing Jesus their Messiah. Lord, awaken the Church to this move of your Spirit!! Reveal by Your Spirit, the new paradigm needed for enhancing this Jewish revival. Build bridges to enable key segments of the Church's infrastructure to be aligned to stand along side our Jewish brethren in this incredible move of Your Spirit. Lord, we pray for the mobilization and release of resources for this Jewish revival. We pray for the salvation and restoration You are bringing to Israel. And with that we are praying for the mobilization and release of resources for the coming harvest.

Lord, in this and other arenas, we are believing for the Church to be given supernatural revelation into, and deliverance from the bondages and blindnesses which have been stumbling blocks to enter fully into Your flow. Revelation Lord, release the revelation!! And deliver us O God. Give us the gift of repentance. Rend our hearts. And Lord, we pray, that by Your sovereign power, You would lay an axe to root of the hindering mind-sets and precepts of men that have been limiting factors in the Church recognizing the time and season; and being able to FULLY embrace Your agendas.

Lord mobilize and release, we pray! We petition You Adonai: let the Body of Messiah become one! Open the gateways into the full knowledge of the Lord. Release!! Release!! Release us from doctrines of men and into Your fullness. Release us into operating in Your presence as our modus operandi. Release the Josephs and Daniels!! Release the resources needed and the wisdom and perspective we need to be entrusted - like Joseph of old, to handle the resources according to Your purposes and agendas.

Lord, release the entrepreneurial bypass strategies. Release the wealth transfer we pray. Give the Body a heart for the poor, oppressed, afflicted and lost. Help us to operate outside the box of our own limiting perspectives. Help us to recognize and network with the modern-day Cyruses and other gatekeepers You have prepared for this day. At the same time, give us discernment to distance ourselves from the counterfeits and wolves in sheep's clothing. May we become genuinely led of Your Spirit in all we do.

Lord, connect the unique segments of Your Body you have prepared for this hour. Yet Lord, may these "connections" reflect a wisdom and discretion in their organizational makeup and networking that just baffles the evil one. Lord, release the Kingdom incubator start-up programs; the Kingdom venture funds and the array of Kingdom strategies that will fund the work of this soon-coming Harvest. Release the funds and the revenue streams we pray O God.

Thank You O God, for glorifying Yourself in these times. We lift up the Name of Your Son, Messiah Jesus - that He may draw all men unto Himself. Thank you Lord for the mobilization and the release!! We thank You Adonai for the Body coming together in unity. We thank You, O God, for ushering us into Your presence, and that we might operate according to the full knowledge of the Lord and Your power. Thank You for allowing us to be a part of this day. Thank you for preparing the hearts of the people. Lord, our hearts are expectant!! Lord, You are awesome!! You indeed are a God of miracles - and NOTHING is too hard for You. We praise and worship You Lord. Thank You for allowing us to be Your ambassadors and emissaries - for allowing us to be instruments of Your purpose for this hour.

Let revival reign, O Lord. Let Your Kingdom come O God.