The Messiah's Secret

“And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and directed that should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.” Luke 8: 54,55

My Story

I’ve been a member of the Church of England for most of my life, baptised, confirmed and married and now a Reader in the church. 
I married Douglas in 1970 and we lived in Ramsbottom a few miles from Bury, where our two girls where born and later baptised in the local church. It was at my eldest daughter’s baptism that I made a fresh commitment to my faith.

In 1976 we moved house, and my faith grew considerably during the twelve years that we lived there. 
I had received some healing through the laying on of hands and in 1980 I came to know Jesus in a personal way. I realised that all that had been written about Jesus was true and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit was real, transforming heart and mind.

Again in 1988 we moved house to where we live at this present time. In 1992 the Lord gave me direction through a thought that would not go away, to start a pottery business. At the time I was very reluctant but I started going to evening pottery classes. I soon discovered that I hadn’t got a flare for making things out of clay. However in spite of this I went to buy a kiln from Pilling Pottery, Mr Cross and his son ran the pottery, Mr Cross gave me direction he advised me to buy ready made blank glazed mugs, decorate them with floral and Biblical transfers and fire them at a high temperature. I believed that the Lord was speaking through him and I started by supplying churches and a few Christian Book Shops and gave all my profit to various charities. 
In 1994 I placed an advert in the Mother’s Union Magazine which covered the whole of the UK. 
In response to the add a lady from Dunalong Church Northern Ireland contacted me for a selection of my mugs to be sold for fund raising towards the re-roofing of their church. In total I total I sent 400 mugs to Northern Ireland, these mugs I though would possibly find their way into the homes of people in the midst of the troubles in Londonderry. The texts that people chose were relevant to the situation, just at the time of the start of the peace process.

On the 30th May 1996 I was having my afternoon break. Thinking about my pottery the orders that 
I was in the process of completing. When I was rocked in my chair, even though the chair didn’t physically move. At this moment the words came immediately into my mind were, the disciples were setting up the kingdom of God at the beginning of Acts.
Almost two weeks later, in the morning of the 11th June, I awoke with the words, “ Jesus could only be received as the Messiah after his death, resurrection and ascension.”
The two words came together; the disciples were setting up the kingdom of God in preparation, anticipation of Jesus’ return with the angels of God.  This prompted me to write it all down which was the start of the ‘Messiah’s Secret.’
I like millions of other Christians had been taught that the nation of Israel had rejected Jesus as their Messiah before his death. It is shown in this book that it was impossible for the leaders and nation of Israel to have received Jesus as their Messiah until after his death, resurrection and ascension. 
I also realised that over the centuries the Jewish people had at various times had been accused of killing their Messiah, causing anti-Semitism and great suffering, when in fact they had acted in ignorance. God had not revealed to them directly that Jesus was the Messiah, but indirectly through the signs, the miracles and healings that Jesus did. He deliberately spoke in parables which were not easy to understand. The time for receiving Jesus as their Messiah proved to be very difficult for the Chief Priest Caiaphas as he did not believe in the resurrection. It must have also been difficult for him to accept and that God had allowed him to be defiled by the Romans.

After the Lord gave me the initial words on the 30th May 1996, “The disciples were setting up the kingdom of God at the beginning of Acts” and then two weeks later the words,  “Jesus could only be received as the Messiah after his death, resurrection and ascension.” The two words then came together. The disciples were setting up the kingdom of God in preparation, anticipation of Jesus’ return with the angels of God.

About a month later I had a vision of a door opening into a room full of new furniture. A new settee, a table and chairs, new curtains and wallpaper, everything was new. 
As I studied over the following months I began to see the New Testament in a new and exciting way.

In 1996 I was in my second year of a Lay Readers course and at my church we were going through an interregnum – a time between one Vicar retiring and another Vicar coming into the parish. In December 1996 our new Vicar was licensed. During Christmas of 1997 over a three week period the gospels opened up and I discovered in the word so much about Jesus that I hadn’t heard before. I then broke them down into headings and these formed the chapters in my book with an explanation about this on the back cover.
Soon after our new Vicar arrived it became apparent we were of different churchmanship, as a result although I had finished my Readers course, I wasn’t taken on as his Reader.

I left my church in the Autumn of 1997 and over the following six months I began to write my book, “The Messiah’s Secret. “It was born out of suffering and hurt.

In 1996 I began to write ‘The Messiah’s Secret’ over the next five years as the Lord opened up the scriptures. 
In 2001 I published ‘The Messiah’s Secret.’

In April 2000 I was licensed as a Lay Reader at St. Mary’s Rawtenstall.

William Wrede 1901
Only recently I fully realised that William Wrede in 1901 wrote his book based on a theological study of Mark’s Gospel “The Messianic Secret.”
I have never read or studied “The Messianic Secret” by William Wrede.
Dorothy Newton 2009

Dorothy Newton