Eight years ago, we found out an investment I made was a Ponzi scheme, and we nearly went bankrupt. We didn’t just lose the money and everything but our house. We had a legal liability to go with it. This week we got an email from our lawyer with these words, “I am pleased to send the attached order of dismissal. This is over!” I forwarded it to several friends who helped me through the depression; It brought tears. Life during that long season was putting one foot in front of the other with an intellectual sense of many lost opportunities and the heart experience of resurrection into new dimensions of the Kingdom.

New beginnings and the number 8 – Later that day, the Lord spoke to me about the number eight. It is the number of new beginnings. In the biblical sense, the number 8 means that you will start a new phase in your life. According to the Bible, the number 8 is a symbol of new beginnings. The Lord also spoke to me that it wasn’t just about me. The nation is on the threshold of new beginnings, and it will touch the nation(s) in the sense of reformation. It’s new beginnings, the dawning of a new day (Isa. 60), with new wine (Lu. 5:38), and new mindsets (Rom. 12:2). Old things are passing away, and the new is here (2 Cor. 5:17).

Then the Lord took me to this passage:

Luke 9:23-24 – Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. NIV

Luke 9:28-31 – About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure (Exodus in Greek). NIV

Luke 9:37-38 – The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. NIV

Luke 9:42-43 – But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his Father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. NIV

Then Jesus walked me through the progression of my own experience with these verses.

#1. The cross is a place of resurrection (Lu. 9:23-24) – New days come after dark nights. There is always walking out the way of the cross and losing my own life and gaining His. A loving Father put me in a confusing wilderness so He could speak clearly to me. Jesus described His own glorification this way.

John 12:23-28 – “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”  NIV

Falling to the ground and dying is part of every believer’s journey (the cross). It’s the place of learning the power of His resurrection.

#2. The Council (Lu. 9:28-31) – Eight days after Jesus talked about #1, He took Peter, John, and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray. It’s a picture of Mt. Zion or the divine council. The resurrection takes us somewhere. As sons, we’re invited to the Father’s council. We wrote Seers and Doers to describe this experience. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah discussed His exodus. Just like the Jewish exodus from Egypt, Jesus led believers from the Old Covenant into the Kingdom. That’s exactly what sons do.

#3. Opportunity (Lu. 9:37:38) – When they came down from the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. When we’re broken before God (#1) and present in His council (#2), we bring something from heaven to earth that people are hungry for. Although courageous, we’re not in the business of promoting ourselves, the Father promotes His sons and makes their names great. Divine appointments and open doors that no man can shut become the norm.

#4. Signs and Wonders Follow – This trademark for new beginnings in the Kingdom is the power and authority the Father invests in sons. We’re not servants feeling lost and abandoned; we are sons who co-labor with the Father. We have the exciting privilege of doing the works and even greater works.

Mark 16:20 – Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. NIV

Heb. 2:2 – God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. NASU

Just when we thought Covid-19 would destroy the world’s economies and injustice would divide our nation, we are seeing they are diversions from the enemy that distract us from what the Father is really doing. Reformation is in the wings, and it is a season to celebrate it and contend for it.

Isa. 60:1-3 – “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. NIV

We think you will enjoy our free blog and the books and online courses that go together. Our latest book gives an overview of God’s strategy for reformation, Intentional Reformation. Your ‘invitation’ to the courses listed below is here. You can get the Intentional Reformation Primer for $0.99 – great introduction.

• Releasing Kings book > OnlineHeartPlan.com course to find your purpose, vocation
• Seers and Doers book > Seers-and-Doers.com course to pray with results in business

Cutting room floor

We should also have in mind that number 8 comes right after number 7 that is known as a symbol of completeness. If something has ended with number 7, it means that something new has to begin with number 8. We have already said that number 8 is a symbol of a new beginning and also a symbol of a new order.

Also, Jesus used to call Himself “the son of man “and this term is used exactly 88 times in the Bible. It is also known that the last book of the Bible is the Book of Revelation and this book contains 888 words. In Greek language all the letters of the name “Jesus” have the value of 888, which is one more sign that number 8 was very important in the life of Jesus Christ and also in the Bible in general. There are also other facts that may be the connection between Jesus and number 8. Jesus showed Himself as alive 8 times after He resurrected.