The wisdom of the desert is the revelation of the Name, which is an Eternal Gospel proclaimed to all the inhabitants of the earth, all nations, tribes, languages and peoples (Rev 14:6). The Name is an Eternal Gospel because it declares the good news of God’s eternal Kingdom in our midst, revealing God’s timeless, sovereign ‘I’ awareness and ‘AM’ presence here in the midst, embracing all humanity first personally without exception. The Eternal Gospel proclaims that God is ‘I AM,’ revealing God, through God, in Holy Trinity, not only to all nations, tribes, languages and peoples but to all conscious inhabitants of the earth as well. This universal witness of the prophets was always the ancient witness of desert wisdom, but with the rise of monasticism, it became the white martyrdom that continued to bear witness to the Name just as the costly witness of red martyrdom had done. The Name-hallowing martyrdom of persecuted martyrs in the era of the great persecutions did not end when the persecutions ended, but continued as prophetic white martyrdom in the desert in the succeeding era of Imperial Byzantine Christendom. Since the eventual collapse of mediaeval Christendom in the East and in the West, both pre-modern and modern Christianity have been succeeded by a Post-Christian, secular age, but desert prophecy and white martyrdom still bear enduring witness to the Eternal Gospel of the hallowing Name, unveiling the revelatory glory of the Kingdom of God. Since every inhabitant of the earth is aware and present, if they listen to the Word that names the Name, they are free in God to turn and see, to awaken to God at centre in the midst, to bear witness to God in the revelation of his Name, whatever their nation, tribe, language or race.
Desert prophecy was always an Eternal Gospel communicating right-glorification of God, upholding glorification by hallowing the Name, which mysteriously sustained Holy Orthodoxy from within, but was never confined to any national or tribal boundaries. The saving Word of prophecy, often martyred, was always confirmed by the hallowing glorification of the Psalms, as in “the Lord,(‘I AM’) is King!” (Psalm 96:10). Prophecy in the the Book of Revelation saw itself as fulfilment of all prophecy by hallowing the Name, the Name which reveals ‘I AM’ is God, King in his Kingdom. Desert wisdom never quenched radical prophecy nor disdained pure prayer of the Spirit in the heart, which were both God’s God-centred glorification of God in Holy Trinity. By means of the Name, God indwells every human being, making all peoples his people, all hearts his sanctuary, all seers God’s seers, awake to God in their midst. All prophecy is fulfilled when the Name is revealed and the unconditioned Kingdom is unconditionally received, recognised and remembered. Ezekiel’s prophecy is fulfilled whenever peoples awaken to God, who is ‘I AM’ indwelling them all, so they become God’s and God becomes their God (Ezekiel 37:27-28). Zechariah’s prophecy is fulfilled when ‘I AM’ is unveiled in the midst of all nations, tribes, languages and peoples, so that all shall be God’s, awake through God, to God, in his Kingdom (Zechariah 2:10-11a). The New Jerusalem of Revelation 21:24-22:3 is the New Jerusalem of Isaiah 60:3,5,11; its glory is the glory of ‘I AM,’ unveiling God’s God-centred glorification of God in Holy Trinity. The Apocalypse gathers all ancient prophecy together here in the revelation of the Name and consummates all prophecy here when God is ‘I AM’ unveiling God in the midst. The scope of this Eternal Gospel, this prophetic wisdom, is all-embracing, because ‘I AM’ indwells the hearts of all the inhabitants of the earth without exception, including every nation, tribe, language and people.
The Spirit’s witness to the truth of the Eternal Gospel is sure and steadfast but it takes many mysterious and sometimes paradoxical forms, in accordance with the needs of every nation, tribe, language and people. This witness has sometimes been martyred but red martyrdom bears great spiritual fruit in harvests of enlightened awakening far beyond the cultural boundaries of particular Christian nations, tribes, languages and peoples. White martyrdom, also, is a desert witness that speaks way beyond confined boundaries too, speaking a language of ineffable words and translucent images that transforms idols into transfiguring icons, transcending all national and tribal limits, penetrating and permeating many languages to speak to the hearts of all peoples. This prophetic witness is very ancient, as old as wisdom herself, whose witness has inspired saints in every age, reminding us that contemporary global awareness has only recently begun to catch up with some of her more obvious, extrinsic insights. It is the witness of wisdom that inspires prophecy to awaken pure prayer in the heart, restoring a radiant martyrdom of unbounded prophecy in the unbinding energy of enlightened prayer. All idolatrous God-substitutes are unseated here at centre when the Name is hallowed, enthroning God at centre in glory, communicating glorification to every heart. This is the desert’s witness to the revelation of God’s Name, the desert’s legacy of purification, illumination and glorification in the Kingdom of God, proclaimed in every generation as an Eternal Gospel of wisdom and glory, imparting healing to every nation, tribe, language and people.