Accounts will be settled in 2024
I was reading in Matthew today when the Lord revealed something to me about debt and forgiveness that I have not seen before. The Father impressed upon me the importance of this revelation for His children at this time. He said it was vital that we understand and act upon this word immediately because He will be settling debts this year. This is a year where the scales in this world will be balanced. We must prepare for this in our hearts before He begins to call in accounts, so we can have His forgiveness rather than justice. I believe this process is already underway, and He is working His way downhill. In other words, He is starting with leaders, and He is starting with His church. I have written a few messages recently on this topic and I addressed how the Father balanced the scales of justice with the blood of Jesus, the only Son of God, in my book “Prodigal to Prince,” but this one takes on a sensitive nature as it addresses our relationships with each other.
I was reading the parable in Matthew 18 about the king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. He called in one of his slaves who owed him a great deal of money. This slave must have been a slave with more responsibility and authority than the other slaves since he was able to acquire such a large debt. In the Bible, slaves had different stations or levels of authority much like Joseph in the Old Testament. He was a slave in Potiphar’s house, but he was in charge of all the other slaves in the household. A wise king would not have allowed such a substantial debt to be added to the books of a slave who had no means to repay it. This slave was most likely a leader among the other slaves which would also account for the reason he was called in first. The king would most likely start with those in authority, so the other slaves might witness the way the king and slave handled the situation. Since the slave could not repay his debt, the king was going to have him thrown in prison until he was able to repay all of it. The slave begged the king for more time to repay the debt, and since the king felt compassion on the slave, he decided to completely forgive him his debt. He might have wanted the slave to be an example to the other slaves, but interestingly enough, the situation ended up being an example to the other slaves of the king’s mercy and grace. When the slave pleaded for more time and mercy, complete forgiveness was given.
That same slave then went out and found a fellow slave who owed him a small amount of money. He physically assaulted his fellow slave and demanded that he repay his debt immediately. The fellow slave must have been underneath the first slave’s authority because the first slave felt he was justified to assault his fellow slave when he tried to acquire payment for his debt. This act was not justified, but it would make more sense if the fellow slave had to submit to the first slave than the other way around. For example, an employee would most likely not even think of assaulting their boss if the boss owed them money, but an unrighteous boss might abuse their employee if the employee owes them money. They might even get away with it because of the position they hold over the employee. Power and authority that is self-centered and corrupted by sin can always find ways to abuse its position. I believe, the Lord revealed this relationship dynamic to me in my spirit in order to show me how He plans to address the unforgiveness in His church today starting with those in authority.
The fellow slave pleaded with the first slave for more time, but the first slave refused. He had the fellow slave thrown into prison instead until he could repay all that he owed. When the other slaves saw this mistreatment, they went and told the king. This is another reason I believe the first slave must have been in a position over the other slaves because the other slaves did not involve themselves with the first slave directly. They did not try to stop the assault from occurring even with the numbers on their side. They most likely feared him and not just because he was choking the fellow slave. If he was one of their superiors, it would make sense for them to avoid directly addressing his misbehavior. They decided to go over his head, so to speak.
Matthew 18: 34 says, “And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay ALL that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” The king had previously forgiven the slave’s debt completely as if it had never existed just as the Father forgives us our sin when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but when the king saw the unforgiveness in the slave’s heart towards a fellow slave for an even smaller debt, the king withdrew his forgiveness of the debt and placed back on the head of the first slave the original debt. He also demanded immediate repayment of the entire amount and applied only justice instead of mercy to the unforgiving slave.
Jesus was sharing this parable with His disciples, not the masses, so when He said, “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart,” He was speaking to those who had already answered His call and believed in Him. In fact, Peter had already confirmed that they believed that Jesus was the Son of God in Matthew 16. Jesus had already told Peter that He was going to give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and He was going to build His church upon him. Peter was the one asking the question that led into the parable by asking Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?” He was letting His disciples know that their forgiveness was directly related to how they forgave others. He was letting the twelve know what was being expected of them as His disciples. The Father was holding them to a very high standard.
We are also held to this same standard. This was not the first time that Jesus spoke of this standard of forgiveness. When He taught them how to pray in Matthew 6, He said they were to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” He continues on in Matthew 6:14-15 by saying, “For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses.“ He was telling them that unforgiveness in their own heart could separate them from the Father.
I heard the Father speak to me in my spirit. He told me that unless His children are willing to forgive others from their heart for any and all debt or offense, He will withdrawal His forgiveness and will require immediate payment for any and all outstanding debt owed because of their unforgiveness. He will settle all accounts this year with His children starting first with those in authority that they might be an example to those who are following on how to receive His forgiveness. If those in authority refuse to show forgiveness to others then the example will shift to one of justice rather than mercy. God desires mercy rather than sacrifice the scripture says. To receive mercy, we cannot withhold mercy. To receive forgiveness, we must forgive others any and all wrongs against us.
The Father emphasized to me that the first slave’s unforgiveness was visible to others. As it says in Matthew 12:34, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” This was not unforgiveness that the first slave was unaware of either. It was obvious enough that others saw it. The Father will expose any unforgiveness in our heart that we might not be aware of having in us if we ask Him to show us. He wants to show us mercy and forgiveness, and He will make a way for it if we are willing to let go of carnal feelings, pain, and offenses of our flesh.
The ability to love and forgive others from the heart comes from the Spirit of Christ living in us. If we ask the Father to grant us the ability to love and forgive as He does, He will give us the grace to do so because the Spirit of Christ is continually transforming us into His image. If we are struggling with forgiveness, we need to spend time seeking Him asking Him to expose the unforgiveness in our heart and help us to let go of our carnal and fleshly desires to hold onto that unforgiveness. He is looking for a heart that loves Him completely and is willing to lay aside all of our fleshly desires including unforgiveness and bitterness, seen and unseen. Many times, one might hold onto unforgiveness or bitterness because it gives them a false sense of control and security. The first slave wanted to control his fellow slave to the point of having him thrown in jail in order to acquire his payment. We are only able to truly forgive others when we give all control over to the Father and align ourselves with His will.
