The Gatekeeper Anointing

The Gatekeeper Anointing
Billy Humphrey
November 2nd, 2003

In the year 2000, my wife and I were in our 9th year of ministry as youth pastors at our local church in Norcross, Ga. During this season we decided to rename and revamp our youth ministry. The previous name was tired and no longer reflected the values and vision of the ministry. The driving force of our ministry was an intense yearning to see revival break out in Gwinnett County to sweep 100,000 souls into the kingdom of God. Most of our preaching, teaching and discipleship were anchored around this cause and we wanted a name that reflected this. After many discussions and brain-storming sessions with our key staff we believed "we" had found a name that accurately portrayed our passion. In reality the Lord had directed us to a name that had far greater significance than we could have realized. The new name was 212. 212 was derived from the Fahrenheit temperature for the boiling point of water. The idea was that everything that we were about was to be boiling, on fire for God. 212 really seemed to fit.

I searched the scriptures diligently through every chapter 2 verse 12 to find a reference that supported our vision and values. Unfortunately, there was no chapter 2 verse 12 that seemed to work. I then turned to one of our theme scriptures Isaiah 64:1 and read it more thoroughly. To my surprise, it was right there before me:

Isa 64:1-2 Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence; 2 As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil; To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

The boiling point was compared to the visitation of God that Isaiah prayed would shake the nations. Isaiah's prayer in vs.1 had already become a theme scripture for us and now it was clearer than ever.

About a year later a good friend showed me an obscure scripture that caught my attention.
1Ch 9:22 All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. They were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted office.

It was stunning to see 212 right there in the middle of the scripture. I thought that it was interesting, but honestly, I had no clue what a gatekeeper was. I had heard of gatekeepers, but I thought that it was one of those ethereal, prophetic teachings that did not really relate to everyday life (I have since learned differently). Further, I thought that if Gatekeepers were an important part of seeing revival come that I would have already known about it because I had spent, what I thought was, a lot of time studying revival. How little I really knew and how little I still know. Isn't it wonderful that God doesn't base his calling and anointing on our lives upon our lack of understanding or our barrenness but upon His plan and endowment of grace?
Throughout that year the Lord would periodically bring back that scripture to my mind, but I did not doing anything about it. Finally, I decided to study and find out what exactly a Gatekeeper was. As I began to look at the whole passage in I Chronicles 9 I recognized that there were powerful truths hidden in the symbolism of the duties of the Gatekeepers of old. Further, it became clear to me that there were modern day Gatekeepers who were commissioned in similar ways as the ancient Gatekeepers in the Tabernacle of David. The revelations that were within this once obscure scripture staggered me.

In this article I want to unfold the powerful symbolism that the Lord showed me regarding modern day Gatekeepers and their role as it relates to the great revival to come. Let's look at some of the key points of the whole passage together.

1Ch 9:22-33 22 All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. They were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted office. 23 So they and their children were in charge of the gates of the house of the LORD, the house of the tabernacle, by assignment. 24 The gatekeepers were assigned to the four directions: the east, west, north, and south. 25 And their brethren in their villages had to come with them from time to time for seven days. 26 For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. 27 And they lodged all around the house of God because they had the responsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning. 28 Now some of them were in charge of the serving vessels, for they brought them in and took them out by count. 29 Some of them were appointed over the furnishings and over all the implements of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the incense and the spices. 30 And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. 31 Mattithiah of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office over the things that were baked in the pans. 32 And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. 33 These are the singers, heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night.

In Charge of the Gates

The first thing that I noticed was that the Gatekeepers were in charge of the Gates of the Tabernacle of the Lord. They were the ones who opened and closed the Gates to the presence of God. This was amazing to me because I knew that God had deeply wounded my heart with the desire for revival. I literally sensed a personal responsibility to "open the heavens" so that the Lord would come down in power. Now the Lord was defining my role as one who was "in charge of opening" the gates for the presence of God to come into the county and into the region. God had confirmed to me in the renaming of our ministry the very DNA that was already alive in my heart. We had been commissioned to open the gates to see the presence of God invade the region. In the same way modern day Gatekeepers are prophetic intercessors, another name is watchmen, who are commissioned by the Lord to open the gates over a region to see the King of Glory come in (Psalm 24:7)

This Trusted Office
The next point that struck me was that it was a "trusted office". In other words, there were literally people whom God was entrusting with the responsibility to fervently pray and intercede for the heavenly gates to open in geographical regions. The urgency of this responsibility gripped my heart with an even greater desire to see God come and break in with power in the region. The truth that He would entrust people in partnership with Him in regard to the manifestation of His Glory caused me to passionately set my heart towards the reality of His visitation and subsequent habitation. Modern Gatekeepers have been given a responsibility as forerunners to prepare places and people for the invasion of the glory of God.

They Lodge Around the House of God

The Gatekeepers literally lived in chambers around the House of God. The reason that they stayed there, so close to the Tabernacle, was because they had a revelation that it was their responsibility to open the gates (v. 27). I believe that as they began to serve in their ministry that they became captivated with the beauty of the Lord. Once their hearts were captivated by His beauty their natural commitment to serve became total surrender from a heart of voluntary love. This spoke so strongly to my heart of the difference in commitment that the Lord desires of His people compared to the way many believers seem to live today. Much of the church in the West has settled into complacency and casual Christianity. Yet God desires to see His bride alive with a heart that is smitten with the knowledge of His love, living lives of radical commitment to Him and His purposes. This truth needs to set in upon us. Once we get a true revelation of the reality of his love and His beauty, commitment to night and day intimacy with Him is natural.

Appointed over the furnishings

The furnishings of the Tabernacle included serving vessels, flour, wine, oil, incense, spices, anointing ointment and showbread. Each of these is full of revelation in its symbolism. Yet, for our purposes here we will focus on the flour, wine and oil. Throughout the Old Testament these three are used together. Flour or grain, new wine and oil are symbols of specific Kingdom realities. Jesus said look unto the fields for they are white unto harvest (John 4:35). The reason that the field where white was because it was covered with grain. So grain or flour is a symbol of souls. We are familiar with the symbol of wine as a symbol of the new move of the Holy Spirit which is to be held in a new wineskin (Mat 9:17). We are also familiar with oil as a type of the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. (Isa 10:27) As we unveil the symbolism of the flour, wine and oil we see that Gatekeepers are directly involved with not only preparing for the new move of the Spirit of God which will see massive signs and wonders and salvations, but also furnishing these things or bringing them forth. The ministry of Gatekeepers is directly tied to entering into revival in a region.

These are the Singers
Finally, the scripture declares that some of the gatekeepers were singers who were free from other duties and they were employed in intercession and worship to the Lord day and night. God provided that the Gatekeepers could live lifestyles of prayer, worship and service night and day before Him. Comparable to this today is the prayer movement that God is raising up across the nations where people are supported as full-time prayer missionaries to pray in the great revival that is to come. God is recoiling in power at the prayers of these modern day Gatekeepers in order to explode in a blast of His power so stunning that the entire world will experience it (Acts 2:17). His Glory will visit and engulf the entire planet just as waters cover the sea. (Hab 2:14)

In my first contacts with these scriptures many of the truths did not strike me. God had not unlocked the power of their revelation to me. As the Lord began to deal with me about resigning our youth ministry and transitioning into the ministry of IHOP-ATL, the power of this scripture captured me in a brand new way. I had been stirred to understand that the revival to come and the prayer movement were one reality in God's economy. They were not exclusive of each other but simply complimentary facets of the same purpose. I also realized that God had deposited a hunger and passion for revival in me that would not subside. It is still an itch that I cannot scratch. However, I had not realized when we renamed the youth ministry 212 that it directly related to Gatekeepers in the Tabernacle of David. When we finally studied the Tabernacle of David and realized that it was a ministry of 24/7 worship and intercession it was after God had begun to deal with us about transitioning our ministry to start IHOP-ATL. Honestly, we never put it together that the Gatekeepers were in a 24/7 prayer ministry until after God had begun to transition us into the same type of ministry. Two things are for sure: 1) His ways are perfect 2) We are much more dim than we think. When we finally got the revelation that God had given us the name 212 to point to a reality that He was calling us into in the days ahead we were shocked and radically blessed at the same time.

Now, every time that I see the number 212, it is a reminder to me that God has called me to be a Gatekeeper. And not only a Gatekeeper but a Gatekeeper in the modern day Tabernacle of David, living a life of 24/7 worship and intercession to see the gates open and the King of Glory come in.

I pray that this revelation will grip your heart as it has gripped mine. Perhaps you too, are a Gatekeeper, called to open the presence of God in your region. I believe that the Lord is raising up an army of Gatekeepers to open the Gates in these last days for the revival to come. It is overwhelming to consider that the Lord has given us the dignity of having intimate relationship and even further, partnership with Him. As people in partnership with the Un-Created God we need to leave the entrapments of this world and give ourselves in passion and recklessness to His purposes. It is those who live lives of lovesick abandonment who will enter in to the reality of complete commitment to Him and His purposes.

If you believe it's possible that God has called you to be a Gatekeeper pray this prayer:

Heavenly Father, I pray that you would give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation that I may understand the truths and the calling of being a Gatekeeper. Tenderize my heart to serve you in night and day intercession to see your glory invade the land. Increase my faith to believe that my prayers and service will affect the spiritual climate of my region. I speak to the every Gate and say be open. King of Glory come in and have your way in this region, in Jesus' Name, Amen.