April 14, 2026
- Apr 14
- 6 min read
The Two Mandates
Iran’s leaders, in their maniacal and suicidal determination to destroy Israel and America, dominate the Middle East, and terrorize the world, refused to agree to any concessions in their so-called negotiations with American leadership. This was not unexpected. One can’t help but think of the crazed Pharaoh in Exodus whose heart was so hardened that it mandated his and his army’s destruction. Vice President Vance ended the meetings fairly quickly, and Trump has taken decisive action by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. In this turning of the tables on Iran’s attempt at blockading the strait, Iranian oil will not be allowed to flow from Iran, which will completely cripple the nation financially. Trump has not backed off on his pledge that Iran will not have nuclear weapons and will no longer be able to terrorize other nations. Their bullying days are over.
We will pray regarding this at the end of today’s post. However, the subject Larry Sparks wrote about in yesterday’s post - combining reformation with revival - is so profoundly important, I want to continue addressing it somewhat this week. I have written on this subject in previous posts, but it cannot be emphasized enough.
Just before He left for heaven, Jesus gave two commissions to His followers.
The First Commission:
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved, but the one who has not believed will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name, they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’” (Mark 16:15-18 NASB)
The Second Commission:
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”’ (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB)
The Genesis Connection
These two commissions must be understood in the light of Genesis 1, for they are actually recommissions of what took place then. Jesus came to restore - restart, rebirth, revive, redeem, recover, reform, refill, and recommission. Commission One in Genesis was: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God told Adam and Eve, “Reproduce! I have placed in you the ability to multiply My image and likeness. And I want a big family!”
Then came Commission Two: “Rule over... all the earth...over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28). Psalm 8:6 restates the mandate, “Thou doest make him to rule over the works of thy hands, Thou hast put all things under his feet.”
Obviously, this plan was interrupted at the fall. When Adam sinned, he lost the image, likeness, and Spirit of God; he also lost his dominion, the delegated authority to manage and steward the earth. And God lost His family.
Jesus Came to Restore
These two losses are what Jesus came to restore: 1) God’s family, and 2) their lost governance and stewardship of the earth. Regarding the first, He said in Matthew 16:18-19, “I will build My church.” The word “build” is oikodomeo,(1) which means to build a family or household. In choosing this word, Christ was saying, “I’ve come to get the family back!”
He followed this in Matthew 16 by calling this family His “church,” the first mention of this concept in Scripture. “Church” is the word ekklesia, which means “called out from.”(2) It was not a building, worship service, or organization; at that time in history, ekklesia was not even a religious term. It referred to an assembly or group of people “called out from” the general population in order to govern. Study.com says an ekklesia/ecclesia “played a central role in the political life of the city [Athens]. The Ecclesia had the power to nominate and elect magistrates, who were responsible for administering the city’s affairs and carrying out the assembly's decisions. The Ecclesia also had the authority to pass laws and to decide on issues related to foreign policy, defense, and the administration of justice. In addition to its legislative powers, the Ecclesia also participated in the judicial process in Athens. The Ecclesia members would try cases involving serious crimes, such as murder, and they could impose punishments.”(3)
By choosing this well-known secular word, ekklesia, Jesus was saying, “Not only will I recover My family, but I will also reestablish them as My spiritual government, My ambassadors on earth” (See also 2 Corinthians 5:20). His other comments in Matthew 16 amplified and explained this further. Jesus said that this Ekklesia would be given the keys (authority) of His Kingdom, through which they would bind and loose (lock and unlock, forbid and allow), and that the gates or government of hell would not overpower them.(4) Jesus was clearly stating that the spiritual authority He would give His family would enable them to represent His Kingdom as ambassadors here on earth, and that they would not be overcome by the government of hell.
The Recommissioning
After declaring this, Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, legally recovering the family and its authority. He then recommissioned His body on earth–twice. The “Great Commission” in Mark 16 was/is intended to multiply God’s family through salvation. The “Great Commission” of Matthew 28 was and is meant to align people’s thinking back to the ways of God through discipleship–enabling them to function as His ekklesia, stewarding the earth. The first (Mark 16) changes people’s nature—who they are—transforming their spirit. The latter (Matthew 28) changes people’s thoughts and actions–how they live–transforming their soul (mind, emotions, and will). God not only wants kids; He wants them to become mature, responsible sons and daughters who know His ways and think His thoughts, enabling them to partner with and represent Him.
When Mark’s commission occurs in mass, resulting in the salvation of many people, we call this a revival; when Matthew’s commission occurs in mass, resulting in societal change—government, laws, morals, education, culture, etc.—we call it a reformation.
Obedience to BOTH of these mandates is absolutely essential. I will highlight the differences between them more fully in tomorrow’s post, but here are a few comparisons and differences between revival and reformation:
Revival brings people into God’s family; Reformation teaches them His ways.
Revival births them spiritually; Reformation trains them practically.
Revival transforms human hearts (our nature); Reformation transforms human minds (their thinking).
Revival restores God’s life to individuals; Reformation restores His laws, principles, and ways to cities and nations.
Revival’s fruit is internal, produced within us; Reformation's fruit is external, released from us.
Revival is accomplished through “preaching” (Mark 16:15); Reformation takes place through “teaching” (Matthew 28:20).
Revival creates converts; Reformation creates disciples.
Revival produces God's bride, family, and worshippers; Reformation produces God’s Ekklesia, those who represent His Kingdom authority and rule.
In the Charismatic/Jesus People revivals, which Larry addressed yesterday, the body of Christ worked toward fulfilling Mark 16 - growing God’s family. The commission of Matthew 28 - discipling nations - not so much. We will look at this more tomorrow.
Pray with me:
Father, You have said through Your prophets that revival and reformation have begun. As Your voices on earth, we declare that all nations will experience outpourings of Holy Spirit. As the waters cover the sea, Your glory will cover the earth. Even as sin abounds, grace and glory will abound more! Entire regions of the earth will be delivered and see the light of the gospel, and strongholds will melt under Your power and fire. Youth will see Your light and become volunteers in this day of Your power. They will run with endurance, war with strength, speak with prophetic insight, and build with apostolic depth. They will be the Amos 9:13 generation: plowmen will overtake reapers.
And, Lord, we realize the war in Iran is connected to the great revival that has begun. The powers of darkness controlling that region are being dislodged, just as Baal was in Pharaoh’s day. We ask that this process be finished–leave nothing undone. End this evil regime and its reign of terror. Give Your wisdom to President Trump and our leaders in this endeavor. Let no miscalculations be made, no wrong moves. All this we ask in Yeshua’s name, Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that we will experience the rain of revival and the wisdom to reform nations in the great outpouring of Holy Spirit that has begun.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3618 and 3424.
Ibid. Ref. no. 1577.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/ecclesia-ancient-greece-history-facts.html
In those times, city councils often met at the gates of their cities because, in their thinking, the gates were a picture of government. Why? Gates determined what entered the city physically, just as government did so legally.
You're not going to say anything about your anointed portraying himself as Jesus Christ on his social media account? Just complete silence in the face of the most blasphemous, antichrist action of any sitting president in 250 years? No rebuke, but continued sycophancy?
You continue to insist that good fruit can come from a dead tree.
You should listen to Jesus more and your political preferences less.
Thank you, Chuck, for confirming my wonderings about Pharaoh and today’s Iran leadership. A prayer that even as Pharaoh and his armies were eliminated without harm to the citizens of Egypt, so shall the prince of Persia along with the leaders and armies of Iran be totally eliminated without harm to the Iranian citizens.