Zeal is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as:
Great energy or enthusiasm for a cause or objective. Hence to be Zealous means having or showing ZEAL.
In-Game Representation
ZEAL is only used 16 times in the Bible
ZEALOUS is used 8 times
Other In-Game characters can be seen on the Omega Team Page.
Zeal in the New Testament:
zelos (Greek)
This word gives the sense of heat, ardor and having a fervent mind, in a positive sense. In a negative sense however, it can incorporate jealousy, envy and malice.
1. How are we to use Zeal?
Isaiah 59:13-17
13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 And judgement is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgement.
16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
[i] The LORD uses zeal as a cloak. (An over-garment that hangs loosely from the shoulders.)
After you put on all the armour of God, you must now also have a cloak of Zeal.
Zeal is God’s Cloaking Device. As the finishing generation of saints we must now also include the “Cloak of Zeal” as part of our armour. It is to be included with the rest of the armour as outlined in :
Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
[ii] In order to finish properly you will need the Cloak of Zeal as well. With this cloak, Satan and his forces will not be able to see your weak points. Sharpshooters will not be able get between the joints in your armour. Zeal keeps you moving quickly – it is much harder to hit a moving target.
Joel 2:3-6
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
[iii] Just like Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness, the LORD’s angels will join you in the battle. Of course there is also the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Zeal will give you the energy and the wherewithal to pay attention to the fine details. Zeal makes the individual meticulous when it comes to the eradication of sin. Not even the smallest space must be left for it.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
[iv] Zeal will make you appear to be invincible and unstoppable. The horse is a symbol of power. Today we commonly use the term: ‘Horsepower’ (hp) which is a unit of measurement of power (the rate at which work is done). There are many different standards and types of horsepower. This term was adopted in the late 18th century by Scottish engineer James Watt to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
[v] God’s zealous people are noisy for the LORD, with praise, worship and prayer. These people are bold about the LORD and they can be heard afar off. Some people get excited about sports, others with celebrities or material possessions. But in these last days, God will have a people that will get truly excited about Him and His presence.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
[vi] Demonic forces are afraid of God’s Zealous last days people. There is to be one last major move of the Spirit of God. This move will bring in the greatest harvest of souls that the earth has ever seen. When this harvest is taken, the Bride of Christ will exit via the rapture. Those who reject this move will then be left to be face the devices of the beast (anti-Christ).
Matthew 8:29
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
The devils know that the time for them to be tormented is coming. But, until then, they would like to deceive as many persons as possible, because misery likes company.
Psalm 149:4-9
4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in your mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;
7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute upon them the judgement written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Joel 2:7-11
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
[vii] God’s Zealous people will move quickly, and overcome all obstacles. They will also operate under God’s authority and work well together as a team. Among the Zealous, there will be no infighting. Everyone will be certain about their call and the role that they have to play in this end time assault on the enemy’s kingdom. These are they which are saved to the uttermost and are impervious to the enemy’s weapons (see Isaiah 54:17). There are no scarcely saved in the ranks of the zealous.
9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible: who can abide it?
[viii] God’s Zealous people will do their work thoroughly {SEARCH & DESTROY}. They will not allow the traditions of men or devils stop them from doing what the LORD has commissioned them to do. In this scripture, ‘Walls’ represent boundaries of dominion, ‘Houses’ represent the seats of government/earthly authority, and ‘Windows’ are unauthorized points of entry.
The Zealous will operate under and with the Authority/Power of the LORD. All the elements of creation will be subject to us. They tremble and withdraw their shining as a sign of their subjection to us.
2. The Lord Jesus was full of Zeal
John 2:13-17
13 And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. {Psalm 69:9}
The Lord Jesus drives out the money changers from the Temple.
The temple was converted into marketplace. The motivation for many to go there was no longer prayer but to make money. Zeal for the Lord is usually followed at times by outwardly unconventional, and extreme behaviour.
3. Zeal is needed to properly remove sin from the camp.
Numbers 25:6-13
6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 And when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
The LORD makes a special note of Zealous people who make it a point of duty to do righteous works on God’s behalf. Below is another example:
II Kings 10:16-17
16 And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.
II Kings 10:30
30 And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because you have done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
{SPECIAL NOTE: These events took place during the Old Testament and will not be appropriate for today, since we are now living in the age of grace. Rather, we need to viciously excise sinful and wicked habits from our own lives with zeal.}
4. Zeal is needed to maintain/restore Family Honor
Genesis 34
It is believed that Dinah was around 14 – 15 years old. Here is the first instance of rape recorded in the Holy Bible. Jacob was more wealthy than the whole city of Hamor (which was more of an encampment). Eventually, Simeon and Levi killed all the men in that city, the number of these men is not known.
Go behind the devil with zeal if he messes with your family. One popular tactic that the devil uses in these last days is to harass the children of Bible-believing Christians with spirits of homosexuality, trans-sexuality and suicide. This being a strategy to bring a reproach unto your family, and by extension the Church. The overall plan being to get the Church to condone this kind of behaviour and to compromise on the standards that God has set. These spirits will not leave with just counseling and therapy. Do not let the devil get the victory here, it will take lots of prayer, and even fasting as well to break these strongholds.
5. The Lord Jesus demands that we be Zealous
What is your Temperature?
Revelation 3:14-19
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
[1] Being lukewarm is not good, and being cold to the LORD is even worse. You cannot rely on a lukewarm person. A lukewarm person is unstable, this is because of the half-hearted approach and attitude towards any task that they may be assigned. These persons are generally unthankful and ungrateful for anything that the LORD may have done in their lives.
[2] Likewise in the natural, lukewarm food is likely to get you sick. The food may be contaminated and the temperature festers the rapid growth of bacteria and food borne diseases. This can result in food poisoning, which may cause the person that digests this food to vomit or spue it out of their mouth.
Coldness
Matthew 24:12-13
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
It may seem like the LGBT community may be winning a lot of legal battles and getting their way. Also radical religion with grave acts of terror may seem to be a constant thorn in the earth. Do not let any of these events cause your love for the LORD to grow cold.
6. Zeal in prayer
James 5:16-18
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Be zealous in Prayer, because this is the kind of prayer that gets results. Beware of sleepy prayers and lukewarm prayers, you will be lucky if this kind of prayer even leaves the room. Falling asleep with your spirit open, leaves you vulnerable for a demon to hack your spirit. Say your prayers fervently, cover your spirit properly and then go to sleep.
7. Zeal for Gifts and Rewards
I Corinthians 14:12
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
Revelation 22:12
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
One day, each of us will have to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t let this occasion be filled with sorrow and regret, where you wished that you had done so much more for Him. Here and now is where we have the opportunity to make a difference for Him. Redeem the time and make everyday count. So when it is all said and done, you would know that you did everything you possibly could, and you did it with zeal.
