And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Luke 1:39‭-‬43 KJV

Today we celebrate the visit of Mary to Elisabeth. It may seem strange to celebrate it so soon after Ascension Day yesterday.

The angel Gabriel announces to Mary the fact that Elisabeth, beyond the normal age for conceiving a baby is now expecting. The meeting for Mary is a verification for her to hear how such a miracle could take place. It also speaks to us that Pentecost has been taken out of context in the sense we see it in the light of the baptism of the individual believer, the Upper Room coming of the Holy Spirit.

About two years ago the Lord began to open my eyes to some of the narrow theology I had been taught. Growing up in the Pentecostal churches we were taught something very precious concerning the Holy Spirit. We saw the Holy Spirit change young people through this same Acts 2 experience. However 2 years ago the Lord began to open my eyes that the Holy Spirit was very prolific around the preparation for the Coming of Jesus and John the Baptist.

Luke 2 cites two individuals who for many years had an extraordinary interaction of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Ana was 84 years in the temple, fasting and praying, whilst all around her there was turmoil and occupation. For Simeon the Holy Spirit was upon him revealing purposes in the same type of detail as Isaiah who lived 800 years before all this.

The Holy Spirit led them both to understand the times they were living in. That God was about to come with a “Consolation” and who better than to bring this Consolation but the Comforter Himself!

As Mary arrived at Elisabeth’s house the greeting made John inside the womb leap! John in the womb was spiritually bearing witness to the mother to be of the Saviour and Lord! As a result the Holy Spirit filled both Elisabeth and Mary to make prophetic declarations to that which God was preparing.

The Holy Spirit filled them and took them unto a realm of seeing and knowing the new great things God was about to bring. One virgin womb and one dead womb brought back to life.

When you consider that 400 years of silence had passed where God appeared not to be saying anything now quietly the Holy Spirit and angels began to visit specific people.

This meeting shows us a common purpose sealed by the Holy Spirit, and Mary begins her prophetic declaration called the Magnificat, where what is explained is the way that God lifts us out of insignificance and obscurity and births within us something eternal.

What we see birthed in both women is prophetic because the Word of God via the angel was believed and the proof was the conception and carrying of the proof of God’s word.

And it assures us today as we celebrate this today that God brings significant prophecy when what He is birthing is prophetic. Denominations can determine what manifestation we can expect, however in a time of carrying what God births in us, we cannot help to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit when we interact with eternal purposes!

Mary prophesies that all generations would call her blessed. Much controversy has been going on since the Reformation concerning the veneration of Mary. Whilst we need to revisit the concept of veneration we must also agree with Scripture that indeed Mary is most blessed. She physically carried our Lord!

There may be a proliferation of much prophetic material, understanding, but I am not convinced that we are seeing the intensity of the Holy Spirit in our day. I believe He desires to reveal and prepare us in a new Consolation, but instead of it being the Consolation of Israel it be the Consolation of the Church .

It may be that the religious, the learned may resist the new things, fresh understandings, fresh vision to prepare us for the Coming of the Judge of all the Earth. Did not Gabriel appear in the Temple to Zacarias to announce that the preparation of the people was over? Was not the time for being ready now here?

In Luke 1 the people were made ready by John to receive their Messiah. 400 years of turmoil, war, kings, and silence from God was their preparation. What is ours going to be???

Right now what God births is quietly being formed in the spiritual womb of prayer and preparation. The next step is that as Gabriel points Mary to Elisabeth, God will point us to those also prepared.

When we meet it shall be the filling of the Holy Spirit that shall take place. God is joining prophets and teachers to birth a transition for the Church, that has yet to experience the full apostolic authority.

New work groupings will take place in homes certain that the Consolation of the Church is underway. The Holy Spirit will fill His People and cause them to confirm what God has revealed.

When we compare the prophetic words of Mary, Zacarias, Simeon we see against a backdrop of war, instability and spiritual decline that God will raise up a people without status to bring the initial impact that shall envision the whole collective.

John himself knew what prophetic purpose he had in being in the desert.

The people and the generation that is being raised up today are being joined by angel words as they are all birthing something out of impossibility. What is being birthed is far greater than a new church building, a evangelistic programme. It is bringing in the final and full revealing of the Glory of the Church, where who is birthed is not the Saviour but the Judge of all the Earth, the Ascended Lord!!!

Shalom!