The three commands at Lazarus's tomb

The three commands at Lazarus's tomb—“Take away the stone,” “Lazarus, come forth,” and “Loose him, and let him go”—are presented as a practical pattern for refusing to leave God alone until a dead dream, unanswered prayer, or barren situation comes back to life. The sequence joins Jesus Christ’s raising of Lazarus to three responsibilities assigned to those awaiting breakthrough: remove the obstruction, call the promise into manifestation, and strip away the graveclothes that prevent freedom after resurrection has begun.

The Threefold Pattern at Bethany

The commands arise from the raising of Lazarus in Bethany. Jesus Christ did not treat the tomb as the end of the story, even though the dead man had remained there long enough for the situation to appear irreversible. In the book’s interpretation, the scene becomes a model for people whose hopes seem buried, delayed, or beyond recovery. Lazarus’s return to life demonstrates God’s power, but the commands also show that the people surrounding the tomb had a role to play in preparing for, announcing, and completing the restoration.

The order is essential. First, an obstacle must be confronted; then the dead situation must be addressed directly; finally, the restored person must be released from what still restricts him. Resurrection is therefore not treated as a single instant that solves every consequence. It begins with supernatural life, but it moves toward practical freedom.

“Take Away the Stone”

The first command, “Take away the stone,” assigns responsibility to people rather than to Jesus Christ. The book emphasizes that Jesus did not remove the stone Himself. Mary and Martha, along with those present, had to act. The stone represents the visible or concealed hindrances that stand between a person and new life: obstacles to prayer, obedience, contact with the anointing, answered prayer, or the fulfillment of a dream.

This command also requires action that may lie outside familiar experience. Removing the stone means refusing to wait passively for God to do every part of the work. The people at the tomb had to rise and do what Jesus instructed before they saw the miracle. In the same way, the book urges readers to take responsibility for removing whatever blocks progress, including the hindrance that insists a person will never rise again or that a prayer will never come to pass.

Bethany gives the command an additional symbolic setting. The book associates the place with unripe figs and misery, a location where fruit has not yet appeared. Yet Lazarus was raised there, in the very setting identified with fruitlessness. Once the stone was removed and the dead man came forth, Bethany was reinterpreted as a place where dead dreams could become living testimony. The change in the place follows the change in what happened there.

“Lazarus, Come Forth”

The second command, “Lazarus, come forth,” is a direct summons to life. It is treated not merely as a historical call to one dead man but as a pattern for addressing desires, prayers, and dreams that appear to have entered a grave. The book tells readers to call their dreams out of the grave with determination, even when the result is not immediately visible.

The delay before Jesus Christ arrived at Lazarus’s tomb is central to this interpretation. Mary and Martha experienced the delay as evidence that their request might not be answered, but the book presents it as a test of determination and as part of a larger victory over death, hell, and the grave. Delay could make the situation appear hopeless, yet it could not prevent Lazarus from coming forth. The command therefore gives language to persistence: a person must continue expecting the promise to emerge rather than treating delay as a final verdict.

Lazarus’s restoration also affects people beyond the tomb. His return to life brought attention to the power of Jesus Christ and caused many to believe in Him. The chief priests even considered killing Lazarus because his life became a reason that many Jews turned toward Jesus Christ. The miracle consequently carries a public dimension. A restored dream is not presented as a private possession only; its visible fulfillment can bless a family, influence a city, and become evidence through which others recognize God’s power.

The book connects this command with its broader teaching about authoritative speech. Moses changed God’s announced course through intercession, refusing to withdraw until God remembered His agreement with the people. The angel’s declaration that the great mountain would become a plain, Elijah’s statement that there would be no dew or rain “according to my word,” and the instruction to declare a thing so that it may be established all reinforce the idea that faithful speech is treated as action. Within that framework, “Lazarus, come forth” is a command whose purpose is not merely to describe hoped-for life but to call life into the open.

“Loose Him, and Let Him Go”

The third command, “Loose him, and let him go,” addresses the condition of Lazarus after he had already been raised. Lazarus came out of the tomb alive, but he was still bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was covered. Resurrection had occurred, yet restriction remained. The command shows that restoration must be followed by release.

The graveclothes become an image for the habits, attitudes, memories, and spiritual prisons that survive a crisis even after the crisis has been overcome. Bound hands represent whatever limits a person’s ability to serve, labor, or work in ministry. Bound feet represent former habits and sins that cause repeated falls and prevent forward movement. The face coverings extend across the eyes, mouth, ears, and thoughts: the eyes lack vision and direction, the mouth cannot speak and decree the Word of the Lord, the ears hear negativity rather than a fresh word from God, and the thoughts remain shaped by past failures instead of a renewed mind.

This interpretation prevents the resurrection image from ending at the tomb. A person may receive a restored dream yet continue to live according to the mentality of the old life. The book warns against remaining beside the breakthrough while still unable to walk beyond it. The dream may be alive, but its purpose remains limited until the bindings are removed and the person learns to see, speak, hear, think, serve, and move in the new condition.

The discussion also connects graveclothes with the remains of Jezebel, of whom only the skull, hands, and feet were left. Those surviving parts are read as symbols of places where bondage remains. The head, hands, and feet are then contrasted with the places where Jesus Christ was pierced: in Him, what had signified bondage becomes a sign of freedom. The contrast supports the book’s assurance that believers do not have to remain controlled by a Jezebel spirit or confined by the graveclothes of the past.

Delayed Dreams and Completed Freedom

The three commands provide a framework for several kinds of delay. Some delays arise because circumstances are not yet ready; others test faith and patience; still others result from a person’s own choices. Joseph is used as an example of a dream delayed through an unwise decision to share it proudly with his family. His path was redirected through a pit, a prison, and finally the palace, but the apparent abandonment was understood afterward as God’s reworking of the route toward fulfillment.

The book pairs faith with patience in confronting such delays. Faith is said to unlock doors and gain God’s attention, while patience demonstrates confidence that the dream will come forth regardless of appearances. The command to speak to the dream is therefore repeated as a discipline: the reader is urged to tell it to come forth every day and to expect it to approach, even when no immediate evidence appears.

The final movement is release. The destiny does not end when the dream emerges from the grave; it begins there. The person must not merely celebrate a breakthrough while remaining trapped in old patterns. By removing obstacles, calling the promise forth, and allowing the graveclothes to be taken away, the reader is invited into a continuing life of obedience, prayer, and freedom. The three commands thus transform the Lazarus story from a record of miraculous revival into a sequence for moving from obstruction, through resurrection, into usable and sustained liberty.