"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face." I Corinthians 13:12.

OFFICE OF EVANGELIST

About 18 months ago I was driving a friend and prophet to the airport when I had a brief open vision of a tremendous move of God. It was distant on the horizon, like a squall line.

"This will be the real office of the Evangelist," the Lord told me.

"What have we seen so far?" I asked.

"You have seen in a mirror dimly," He said.

For months it burned in my spirit that our contemporary understanding of the dispensations of the Five-Fold ministry offices was not complete.

HISTORY

Most of us can trace the outline:

1950s: The Evangelist 1960s: The Pastor 1970s: The Teacher 1980s: The Prophet 1990s: The Apostle

Just recently the Lord began reminding me of a photograph I took years ago for a college photography class. It showed the reflection of the sky and a set of corrals.

DIMLY

"In a mirror dimly," I heard again. I then realized that in the photograph reality is actually the reverse of the image.

And the Lord showed me this: The apostles and the prophets are to be the foundation of His end-time move. That which is reflected last in the mirror -- the apostles and prophets -- will actually be first in His coming move and we are presently in a time of transition between the dim image and a glorious reality.

Soon apostles will take their rightful place and they will establish proper order and government. Situated beneath the head of Christ, they will provide fatherly direction and sacrifice.

THE APOSTLE AND PROPHET

The Apostle will cover and release the Prophet into his true ministry and he will speak without restriction. His words will be creative and creating.

The declared word of the Prophet will release the Teacher who will search out and confirm all that is spoken in the written Word. He will be a father first, which is better than having ten thousand teachers.

THE NEW PASTOR

This established confirmation will provide release for the new office of Pastor. This new pastor will be a shepherd who has been purged of all hireling spirits and is dedicated to the provision of the sheep.

The nurture and mentoring provided by the true Pastor will ignite the Evangelist. This new evangelist will be one with Good News, not one with a mixture of good and bad. Even what seems "bad" from his mouth will be good because of its purity. It will be truth and love.

LIKE THE OIL DRIPPING DOWN AARON'S BEARD

Because this progression will be like the oil dripping down Aaron's head, all will be blessed by the anointings that preceded it. Consequently, the Prophet will be apostolic; the Teacher will be apostolic and prophetic; the Pastor will be apostolic, prophetic, and an insightful teacher. And the end time company of evangelists will walk in all of the anointings. They will declare that which is unseen and it will become seen. The Word of God will be fire on their lips and their love for the lost will have them seeking out the uttermost parts of the earth.

"STANDING" IN TRANSITION

We are now standing in the period of transition. To our one side is the mirror that reflects the natural. The movements of the previous decades were God-ordained, but they were birthed from the bondwoman. Like the Law, the mirror only reflects a small portion of a Greater Glory. If we are looking to the past then the mirror is before us and the doorway to the future is behind us. We must turn and behold a new thing. For our ears shall hear a word behind us saying, 'This is the Way, walk in it.'