|
Elwin teaches The Book of Revelation
from a totally spiritual point of view I have never heard it taught this way before. Make sure you study the scriptures for yourself during this teaching. This literature does not reflect my belief one way or the other. I'm still searching for the truth. Elwin R. Roach
Contrary to the misguided beliefs people have of the Apocalypse, we saw it is none of the above. Apocalypse is a transliterated word which comes from the Greek, apokalupsis and was translated quite accurately in the King James Version of the Bible, as well as many others as, appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, revealed, and revelation. These words speak of an unveiling, uncovering and bringing into view. The New Testament Greek Lexicon says that apokalupsis is used of events by which things, states, or persons are hidden from view until they are made visible to all. Thus, the Apocalypse! Rather than the apocalypse being "A cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil," as many dictionaries define it, the final stage of the Apocalypse is the unveiling and bringing into view the very life and majesty of Jesus Christ, and this includes His glorious body of the sons of God. Paul spoke of this fact a few years before John wrote about it while on the Isle of Patmos. He said, "For all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck, is waiting and longing to see the manifestation (apokalupsis) of the sons of God." Romans 8:19 (Weymouth NT). A dear sister and longtime friend recently wrote: "I also want to comment on your recent article beginning the teaching on Apocalypse. You are opening a beautiful subject and I know God will expand upon your thoughts. One thing which was quickened to me as I read is you mention the ‘veil that is over the face of the people.’ Do you recall that we sing the song from the scriptures where Isaiah saw ‘the Lord high and lifted up and His train filled the temple?’ Years ago the Lord brought to my understanding that the ‘train’ is a part of the Bride’s garment. The veil is what covers the face of the Bride –– at the wedding the veil is removed. When, and as the veil is removed off the individual, as well as the collective, corporate Body of Christ –– the redeemed soul (by the Blood of the Lamb), the Bride, is caught up to the Bridegroom (Spirit) and there is UNION we become One in Christ –– no longer duality –– the deadly wound of carnality is healed, and this is the Company of Saints joined unto the Lord as well as individually." Truly, there will be that union when the veil is removed, a oneness to be openly seen worldwide; for the revelation/apocalypse of Jesus Christ includes His body, i.e. the sons of God of whom the above verse (Roman 8:19) speaks, and to be reminded — we are his body and members in particular. 1 Corinthians 12:27. We are bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, and spirit of His Spirit. Although veiled, in every respect, we are as He is! We were created and hidden in Him in the Beginning, and we will be revealed together with Him in the End. Paul made this point clear in his letter to the Colossians: "When Christ, our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:4. There are some who have a hard time grasping this fact, while a growing number believe this marvelous event has already taken place, that everything is finished, and there is nothing we should be looking forward to. In my humanity I would like to be able to generate enough faith to step into the perfection of Christ's manifested glory, or to simply believe it. This would certainly make it a lot easier on my flesh if that were possible; but it is not, for it would be contrary to what the scriptures read and not to mention what the book of our own lives read. Whether we like it or not, the processing will continue to the end, and then His appearing. You see, the processing unveils a man’s secrets that are etched ever so deeply in his life. They expose the intents of his heart. Everything is dealt with and manifested in such a way and expressed to such a degree that nothing greater could bring about such a perfect work in the man. "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil," Ecclesiastes 12:14, and then "God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ" Romans 2:16. This is part of the processings, and until it has worked its work, they will continue. These are spiritual realities, plain and simple. They speak of the processings of God in judgment right now, right here, today in the life of every son of God who is being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, and the process unveils within their books a number of things. Prior to the unveiling of Him and His body to the world, there is an unveiling to His body some things that must be dealt with, such as, the harlot, the false prophet, locusts, beasts, the dragon, and his angels of which the book of Revelation speaks. The processing helps to unveil these things for the purpose of bringing the elect unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. It is not in anger, nor is it to embarrass His chosen vessels, but to glorify them. One of the processes includes being plucked from our vine of life, as Jesus was plucked from His and finally taken to Calvary. As it was with Him, we too are severely bruised, crushed beneath great pressures as the fruit of every good vine is crushed. However, we hear some saying, as it were, "I am a full grown, ripe grape of God. Royal purple of deity is my covering. I am deliciously sweet with the overflowing presence of God’s life. I know my origin, and I am attached firmly to that everlasting vine. I am, therefore, finished. There is nothing that lies ahead except for me to simply be. For I am, and this I am that I am will feed the nations from the fruit that I am in this perfect state of the I am." In one sense, this may very well be true; but don't we know that once the fruit of the vine is ripe, the time for being plucked has come and the processing to begin? Ripe fruit of the vine of life may be tasty; but creation is not longing for a cup of unprocessed grape juice or clusters of churches, but the new wine, the last wine, the best and finest wine of the ages. The crushing of Jesus began in the Garden of Gethsemane. It continued throughout the night before the high priest's court of vicious interrogation and false witnesses, and then before Herod and Pilate. The crushing continued by being scourged, taunted, and ended after nine excruciating hours upon the cross. We, likewise, are crushed, made helpless, shamed, and we lay dead, as it were, in the darkness of the tomb, in hell, where those good things within that are held captive can be freed to rise with us in resurrection life. We have to go to the depths of our being, the very hell of ourselves in order to lead it all captive. It is then, praise God, we rise victoriously alive as unveiled overcomers in the world that creation so eagerly awaits. And as it was with our Lord, it is by the resurrection from the dead that we are declared the sons of God. That's the way it was with Jesus, and so will it be with us: "And declared...the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Romans 1:4. If it was not until His resurrection that He was declared the Son of God, I seriously doubt that we will be declared the sons of God by any other means. We certainly can't declare it ourselves, and if we do, our declaration won't make it so. Although Jesus was called the Son of God on various occasions, such as, at His baptism in the Jordan River, which symbolized His death and resurrection, when He alone heard His Father say, Thou art my beloved Son; in whom I am well pleased, and again to Peter, James, and John upon the mount of transfiguration, it was not until His resurrection from the dead that He was declared to the world that He was the Son of God. The declared order is first to the individual who dies to self and rises alive in Him. The second unveiling and declaration is to His body. And finally, to the world. This apocalypse is yet to be seen. Doing miracles, healing the sick, and casting out demons does not qualify or make a person a son of God. Many who are workers of iniquity can do that and are certainly not sons of God: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:22-24. Although miracles like this are wonderful, and can be by the power of God, they do not make one a son of God; but birth, death, and resurrecting from the dead does. His resurrection was God's declaration to the universe that Jesus was His Son! That divine fiat signed, sealed, and delivered a Son — not a child, not a man walking upon the waves of the sea — but a resurrected, manifested overcomer who had all the authority and power of His Father. What an Apocalypse! Yet, greater to come will be the Apocalypse joined together with His glorified body of the sons of God all over the world! There is a body of people who are being processed at this present time. They are a great work of God in progress, and He is making sure that nothing is left unfinished. We are confident that since His first born Son was able to accomplish what He was sent to do, being obedient to the very end, and finished it in open display at Calvary, He is well able to finish His work in us as well. What He finished in Himself and for the world, He will finish in us. He gave up His life by fulfilling Passover, He imparted His life and fulfilled Pentecost, and He will surely fulfill Tabernacles by being gloriously manifested in His body all over the world. Until then, we will be in the fiery process of being made ready for that great Apocalypse. A dear friend wrote concerning this preparation: "A strange but wonderful statement from the inspired pen of the prophet Isaiah says, 'When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel' (Isa. 24:13,15). Those of God’s elect who walk in the dealings of the Lord in this hour have truly learned to glorify God in the fires! We glorify God in the fire when we bear it patiently. We glorify God in the fire also, when we are really and fully persuaded God will not put us in the fire except for our good, and His own glory. We glorify God in the fire when we say, ‘Lord, don't let the fire go out until it has purged away all the dross.’ Then we glorify God when we wish for the good of the fire, and not to have it extinguished; when the soul can say, ‘Here I am, my God, do with me as seemeth good in Thy sight.’ "We glorify God in the fire when we are not grumbling and complaining, but humbly submitting to His will, content to walk by faith and not by sight. We glorify God in the fire, when in the midst of the fire we can sing God’s high praises. Years ago we learned to sing the high praises of God in the assembly of the saints, in great joy and rejoicing. But now, praise God, we have learned to glorify God in the fire! Thus the children of Israel glorified the Lord; the song of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace is a sweet song! as are all songs that are made in the fire. Then we glorify God in the fire when we can bless God for not letting us alone; but we glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Blessed are you that have gotten into Christ’s fire! Blessed are you that have found His fire in your souls, in whatever fires He has been pleased to send you, and into whatever furnaces He has been pleased to cast you! "Our hearts and souls are the workshop of God. It is there that He is changing us and bringing us into union with Himself in the spirit. And what a mighty work it is that He is doing there! The change comes not by a wonderful spiritual experience with waves of joy and glory. Oh, no! It is the blow of His hammer that breaks our hard heart! It is the stroke of His ax that strikes at the root of our life! It is the plunge of His pruning knife that cuts away the natural, worldly, and religious things that sap our spiritual strength! It is the furnace heated seven times hot that consumes our dross! It is an overthrow, a shipwreck, utter desolation that He brings to our carnal mind and our old religious ways! It is His bitter cup of suffering that mellows our self-confident spirit! And without ceasing God works — the everlasting God, He neither slumbers nor sleeps, sang David in one of his sublime psalms. Absolutely without sleeping He works. He visits us in our dreams, He searches our reins and instructs us in the night seasons, as if He had no other man’s perfection on His hands but ours! We see, we hear, we taste, we feel Him and His work in us every day and night, and every hour and moment of the day and night! This is the experience of every son of God who walks with Christ in the spirit and is being changed into His image and likeness!". The cross was the final phase of His mission in the world. The cross was the finishing tool for Jesus to end that physical realm in the form of the first Adam. It brought an end to it so the greater could be known. It ended His life that a greater could be held. It finished his life as a single Son of God that a great harvest of sons could be raised up. That rugged cross was the instrument that shed His atoning blood so every soul could be and would be saved. Although the cross shed His most precious blood, it did not take His life; for when He knew there was nothing left for Him to do, He laid down His life: "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." John 10:18. Until He had drank the entirety of the cup, even the bitter dregs that was given to Him by His Father, John 18:11, he refused the vinegar. In humble obedience He had suffered to the very end. Then He asked for it, which to me was a testimony to the world that the cup He drank outwardly, He had drank inwardly: "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John 19:28-30. Jesus finished what He was sent to do on this side of the veil, and His last words announced the conclusion of His most amazing journey — Mission accomplished! It is finished! Such an earth shaking, life changing journey on behalf of creation that could only be done by the uniquely, first begotten Son of God. As tremendous as it was, that was only the laying of the cornerstone for what was to come afterwards. You see, the house was not finished when He said, "It is Finished." The first phase was finished, not the whole house; but the process had begun. We are concerned when we hear friends that we love dearly say that everything was finished on the day of Passover, that there was nothing left to be done, or that our new life is fully manifested, that our journey is over, and there is no processing to be done. To believe that, one would have to disregard the scriptures, deny reality, and forsake the spirit of truth, not to mention turning a blind eye to the experience in the crucible of affliction of every overcoming saint that we all have ever known, including ourselves. The scriptures would be made out to be a lie if there is no processing, and if that were so, we might as well toss our Bibles on a shelf to gather dust. It is also espoused by some that there has never been such a thing as sin, that it began and only exists as an illusion of the mind. Our friend, John Gavazzoni, sent this timely e-mail recently which says something about this: "...That moment during a meeting with Harry Robert Fox that I referred to, and you asked me to share again was indeed a memorable one, so much so that if I were an Old Testament patriarch, I'd have built an altar on the spot. It was one of those times, Elwin, when the doors of our hearts were beginning to open wide to fresh considerations not allowed us within the boundaries of conventional orthodoxy. "We were engrossed in a really spiritually vital discussion that brought us to feeling the need to define the nature of sin in the light of God's marvelous grace. As I recall, grace was the central subject of that part of the evening. Well, as it sometimes happens when hearts are being opened to fresh reconsiderations, we weren't aware that we were allowing something quite 'stinky' in along with our 'fresh' reconsiderations. "I can only describe the process as one in which we were heading in the direction of concluding that sin was really nothing at all, just an illusion. I do remember feeling some growing discomfort with the direction we were going in our loosy-goosy theological meanderings, when someone actually went all the way to the end of the direction we were heading, and in so many words, actually said that sin amounted to nothing. "Well, Harry, who is usually quick to be supportive, and slow to be confrontational, obviously realized that we had gone much too far down that path, and suddenly brought us all up short with a stern, paternal interjection: 'So Jesus died for nothing, then?' It was the equivalent of the time-honored discipline meted out by old-fashioned parents, i.e., having our mouths washed out with soap. "Harry's been a gift from the Lord to many of us, as you can understand from the above." — End quote. There is an undeniable fact: If there were no sin and/or processing of those afflicted with it, if the finished work of Calvary took care of everything, there would be no sanctification, which is a process of being delivered from and overcoming sin. There would be no cleansing by the washing of the water of the word, which is a process of being delivered from and overcoming sin; no discipline nor chastening of the Father, which is a process of being delivered from and overcoming sin; no putting off of the works of the flesh, which is a process of being delivered from and overcoming sin. There would be no mortifying of our members which are upon the earth, which is a process of being delivered from and overcoming sin; no purging of the old leaven, and no refining fire by which the sons of Levi are purified that they might offer an offering in righteousness unto the Lord which is also the same process. If there is no processing there would be no washing of our robes to make them white in the blood of the Lamb, and there would be no pruning of the branches that they may bear more fruit. The soul must make herself ready for her marriage union with Christ, which is likewise a process of being delivered from and overcoming sin. Let us think with our spiritual senses about this, and in doing so we will be able to see that being forgiven our sins is not the same as being delivered from them. You see, a wife may forgive her husband for cheating on her; but it's quite a different thing for him to be delivered from the very desire to commit adultery. His wife can forgive him while he still harbors that spirit of lust and infidelity in his heart. However, a certain amount sorrow, of hellfire, anguish, and heartache (processings) can deliver him from that sin, and so it is with our own processings. It is good that we were forgiven 2000 years ago by our Lord's death; but there will be no manifestation together with Him until we are delivered. Until the process works deliverance and changes hearts, we will have no part in the Apocalypse. This is some of what the book of Revelation is about when it speaks of lightning, thunder, the false prophet, the beast, the harlot, etc.. These are some of the things that reside in the many membered body of Christ; that is, until the time of their unveiling, judgment, and destruction. The book of Revelation not only points out (in signs) the glorious victory of life over death, but also reveals those things that lay hidden in darkness, deep within every soul of the elect of God. Within the body of Christ are dark things that we know nothing about, that is, until that part of the Apocalypse comes about. This unveiling, of course, is not to the world, but to ourselves alone. It is then that those things that were bedded down in darkness are discovered, dealt with, processed, and conquered. Job must have known something about this mystery that lies in darkness, for he said, "He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death." Job 12:22. (KJV). \pard plain "He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light" Job 12:22 (NASB). And the New King James Version has it this way: "He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light." The mysteries of God are hidden in deep darkness, and they have been kept there since the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was first sampled. Only a few in ages past have been privileged to see and hear those things to which our depths are ever calling. The windows of darkness and death were opened to a few at the advent of Jesus Christ, the Life and Light of men. They saw with the natural eye the outward manifestations of the Son of God — healings, demons cast out, the dead raised — and a smaller number saw Him by the Spirit as the Son of God. And now, at the end of this age, we are privileged to see and hear what has been hidden and covered for millennia by the dark shadow of death. How is it, do you suppose, that these mysteries are being revealed to such lowly people with no credentials to speak of? Did they come to such visions and revelations of our Lord by attending power-filled meetings? Are they finding God’s mysteries in the great, theological libraries of the world or ancient texts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls? Do they come by reading the best of Sonship and the Kingdom of God newsletters. Or are the mysteries, perhaps, unveiled because of sacrificing one’s will and time in fasting and prayer? If any or all of the above methods could prevail and reveal what is beyond the veil, there would be no mysteries yet to be solved. Teaming millions of scholars and religious zealots would be enlightening the world at this present time to such marvelous mysteries of God. But since those efforts have failed, His secrets remain wrapped in darkness and unknown by most. Only a few has He chosen to confide in and reveal such marvelous riches. This privilege, of course, has not come easily nor without cost, and by experience we can now know what Paul meant when He said: "...We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22. Although much can be gleaned from the fields of anointed meetings and conferences, and especially prayer, they are not necessarily the keys that unveil the reality of these mysteries. They may play a part in the whole picture by laying foundational groundwork for building up the house and imparting life changing truths; but very seldom do we see God's apocalyptic mysteries manifested in the earth as a result, and there are at least two good reasons for this. For one, it is not God’s season; and two, man’s carnal mind veils everything that pertains to the Spirit. Even with spiritual minds, if it is not the season for the mysteries from darkness to be known, they will remain veiled. No amount of human intellect, speculation, or drawing up dispensational charts will bring about the unveiling of Jesus Christ, no more than the greatest of scholars and religious speculators could bring forth the birth of the Messiah before His time. Therefore, as we are thoroughly processed unto a perfect man, together with creation, we will earnestly await on tiptoe the great Apocalypse of Jesus Christ!
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ...Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy..." Revelation 1:1, 3. It goes without saying that the majority of those who "read" the book of Revelation are not blessed, but stressed. They are not happy, but unhappy. They are not encouraged, but discouraged. Rather than being fearless overcomers, some become fearful when they read this prophecy. For all they see is gloom and doom, woes, plagues and pestilence, fire and hail, brimstone and fire, the false prophet, the antichrist, the mark of the beast, a great dragon, and, of course, a great whore clothed in purple and scarlet sitting astride a seven-headed beast full of names of blasphemy. There will never be blessings to those who read this prophecy in such a dismal array of shadows. The fact is, they have not read the book at all, not if they view it in this such a way, which is the carnal, adamic way. They are focusing on the symbols and what they might mean in the natural and are missing the reality. This tells us that they are void of the spirit of revelation, and this is no fault on their part. If God hasn't chosen them for it at this time, revelation will not be their portion. Even so, and unknown to many, they are, failing to read and hear the words of this prophecy. You see, the compound Greek word for read is anaginosko which entails more than our English word. It means to know again. It is an upward knowing, a severe, intense, spiritual knowing. The suffix, ana, means up or severally, and ginosko means to know. In the truest sense, this is what it is to understand what we read. It is to know by anointed intuition. It is to know by the Spirit. It is to know by revelation from on high. Although anaginosko carries the thought of intense, upward spiritual knowing again, we must not discount that it also means to read on the natural level, for it is often used as such in the New Testament. Notwithstanding, neither should we discount that in some cases, especially in a spiritual book of signs and symbols, namely, the book of Revelation, that it means more. There is much more to reading than merely taking the words at face value, or attempting to decipher them with the natural mind and seeing nothing beyond that scope of understanding. Anaginosko is not that type of reading or reasoning in this case. It opens the reality of the heavens that was in Christ long before the ages and prepares it in his elect to be manifested in due season. (Psalm 19:1) speaks of this: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork." This verse is referring to the stars, constellations, and galaxies in the natural heavens, and the way they are so meticulously arranged; they are declaring the glory of God. They are not only declaring it by simply existing by divine appointment and placement, with God's creative glory being seen in them by creation, but they are also prophetically declaring from the beginning to the end the ongoing, progressive glory of God in the earth and in His corporate body. It is by this that those who read the prophecy of the apocalypse of Jesus Christ are blessed! For they are knowing again the mystery that has been reserved in the heavens to this day; but when they truly read, it will no longer be held in reserve. As the apostle Paul wrote, so shall it be in such a grand and glorious unveiling: "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God...To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 3:9-11. (fellowship: Grk, koinnia, partnership...(literally) participation...benefaction -- Strong's Exhaustive Conc.) The participating partnership of this hidden mystery has not been on display, yet it has been known by those of the church; not the church(s) of the world, but the Ecclesia, the called out, the ones separated and joined to Him; but the mystery will be revealed when the time is right. It will be when they who are spiritually minded are made ready and are able to read the prophecy of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. They will understand and be blessed by what they read. They will know again that which was in Christ before the foundation of the world. Only one, however, is worthy to open the book with the seven seals; namely, the one who prevailed, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He was a lamb slain, and also a lion resurrected. He prevailed over death, and every enemy contrary to Life. And by prevailing, He was found worthy to look upon, open, and read the book of His many membered body. He alone is worthy to open the seals that bind us between its covers; for it is He who died for us, rose for us, ascended for us, saved us, and brings us to His glorious victory. He alone is the one who knows and understands every page of this book. He is the one who opens the seals so we can be uncovered, judged, and freed from all that comes forth when each seal is opened. Let us also note that more of Christ is seen when each seal opens, making us altogether ready to be an anointed apocalypse to the world. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ...Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy..." Revelation 1:1, 3. Are we reading and knowing again? Hopefully so. And by reading, are we also remembering as Isaiah the prophet wrote? "I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old ." Psalm 77:11. What are the works of the LORD and the wonders of old? The Psalmist told us this: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet." Psalm 8:3-6. (old: Heb. qedem; the front...absolutely the fore part -- Strong's) We are unlikely remembering when the moon and stars were hung in the heavens; for the book of Revelation is not addressing those matters; but if we are reading, understanding, and seeing into the depths of this revealing prophecy, we are remembering some of the LORD'S wonders of old to which it refers. To remember something, it had to have been known before whether it was ten minutes ago or ten thousand eons ago. Remembering something cannot be the first time of knowing it. When all things were created in Christ, nothing was remembered; it was being made known. And now, eons hence, we are remembering, we are knowing again the prophecy of this book, which speaks of the unveiling of that which are the wonders of old, that which was the absolute fore part. It is the prophecy of the Apocalypse, and we are blessed by knowing them again, we are made happy by remembering them and we are embracing those marvelous wonders with thanksgiving! We are not shaken nor troubled when we read this book, not by any means, for we are in truth reading it unto the rapture of our spirits, souls, and bodies in the heavens of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Captain of our unveiling. The book of Revelation has not been read by many; this is clear. The words of the book have surely been preached and taught for hundreds of years; but in hearing they most likely have not heard, and understanding is greatly lacking. Jesus spoke of this when He said, "Therefore...because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13:13, 19, 16, 23. Paul's words relate to this point: "Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." Ephesians 3:4-5. To paraphrase, these verses could be read: "Whereby, when you read, you will remember. When you read, you will know again. When you read, you will understand what I know in the mystery of Christ, Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed, made known again, unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." Knowing again signifies that the veil is removed from our understanding. It is then that His life is revealed and pours forth to swallow up anything in us contrary to life, and then the huge macrocosm of worldwide sin, sickness and death. Mortality will all be swallowed as surely as light swallows darkness. The appearing of our Lord in His many membered body will intensify until there is no more death. It grew exponentially by the disobedience of one man, and likewise has immortality grown, and shall continue to grow, by the obedience of one Man (Romans 5:12-21). The microcosm of the one man, Jesus, will grow exponentially, and consume all things human. None can escape it. No one can escape the all-encompassing light and love of God any more than he could escape from being born when God said, "Come forth." Each of us are but a small part in the whole picture of the apocalypse; but in Christ there will be no end to who we are and shall be, and that is no small thing. As our existence dates back before the creation of the earth, the founding of the world, and on into infinity, so shall our increase proceed forward into that glorious infinity, ever growing, multiplying, and helping to fill the universe with Christ's glorious life. What an Apocalypse! What a manifestation of the sons of God! Paul Mueller compliments the thought of this appearing, this ever-expanding glory of God's Kingdom, and, "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." Isaiah 9:7. "And now, in this new Kingdom Day, God is sending the next phase of His Kingdom to the earth, which is the beginning of the era of the reign of Christ in a greater way. We are now in a transitional period! It may even be another revolutionary period! The Kingdom of God is progressing from the Kingdom within us to the Kingdom manifested outside. We are moving or progressing from the old age of the church to the new order of the universal reign of Christ. Christ has always reigned! David declared the reign of the Lord (1 Chron. 16:31 & Psa. 47:8), and Nebuchadnezzar also confidently affirmed the reign of the Lord over all (Dan. 4:34). But there was to be a future time foretold by the prophets, when ''the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High' (Dan. 7:27). At that time also, ''he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father' (Rev. 2:26-27). "This is that time; this is that Day! Christ is being more revealed or more manifested now as the King of kings and the Lord of lords! He is revealing Himself more to His elect, and is also affirming and confirming their 'genealogy' in the Kingdom of God, which is their relationship with the past order of things in the Spirit, just as He affirmed the genealogy of Jesus to begin the last age. God is not starting over! He is bringing to completion, to fullness or to final manifestation that which He began many centuries ago! Although this is a time of a distinct transition, or a spiritual revolution, it is also a time of the continuation of the plan and purpose of our Father, which He began in the Garden of Eden. Jesus said, 'My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, AND TO FINISH HIS WORK' (John 4:34). And that is our calling as well! We are not called to start something totally new! But we are called to do the will of our Father, as Jesus was called, and also to FINISH THE WONDERFUL WORK OF OUR FATHER (Rom. 9:27-28)." -- End Quote. Our Father finished His work and rested. We are now to bring our portion of that finished work into manifestation. Whether we are preaching, teaching, singing, shouting for joy, or sitting silent, we are significant parts of manifesting the finished work of God. Whatever it is that we are doing or not doing, we are helping to fill up that which is lacking. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith, He is our Beginning and our End. Therefore, as it is in music, it makes no difference if we are a high pitch or low pitch in His song, an accent or a rest, we all make up the whole. And heaven and earth reverberates with the harmonious symphony of the wonders of old to the groaning creation. What a joy, what splendor to sing the Song of the Stars! So, where were we, we who are called to finish our portion of the work of God? Do we remember? Where were we, dear sojourners, when the foundations of the earth were laid? Where were we when our genealogy was in the makeup of that foundation? Let us declare if we remember. In so doing, our past will become our present, and our future will embrace those in dry places. "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 2It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God." Isaiah 35:1-2. Rosemary Garzon speaks of remembering in her article, The Dew Upon The Roses, December 1999. "Let us turn our thoughts toward Ezekiel, as he sat by the river of Chebar; for it was there where God opened his heavens to see and to remember His glory. The river of Chebar speaks above and beyond a natural river of water. It could be called the 'River of Remembrance.' ... 'Chebar' is ''Kebar' in Hebrew, meaning: 'length; extent of time, that is, a great while; hence long ago, formerly, hitherto.' It comes from 'kabar; to plait together, to augment (especially in number or quantity, to accumulate).' (Strong's Exh. Conc.). "Yes, Ezekiel's heavens were opened to see and remember some of the glorious things from the realm of the Spirit before he came to earth in a physical body. He was made to see and understand their place in future events yet to take place in God's Plan of the Ages. He was beholding these things in his present lifetime here on earth; thus, there were three dimensions of time coming together: the far distant past, the future, the present. From this understanding, we see the root word, kabar -- to plait together --in effect. It takes three stands of hair, rope, or any other things to plait together, even bringing Ezekiel's visions into clear focus. All earthly things are patterned after heavenly things. The very ultimate of heavenly patterns, of course, is the 'Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.' We see Ezekiel beholding some of the patterns he knew in the Fatherland before ever coming to this earth realm. "Within each of us, who were with the Father before the foundation of the world, there flows this River of Remembrance, even Chebar, in the deep recesses (the valley) of our being. It is sealed, as it were, until the appointed hour when the Lord releases the flow. As He begins to give you drink from this 'brook,' you will KNOW from whence you came; you will remember that Council Room Meeting, as our Father laid out His Plan of the Ages. You will remember that 'His Plan' was the cause for the euphonic singing of the Morning Stars and for the sons shouting for joy (Job 38:7) when they beheld the foundations of the earth being laid. They (you -- we) knew and understood the ultimate goal of our Father. Yes, you will remember your place in Him." -- End quote. Remembering is not merely being able to remember events, or something we may have been taught. Remembering has nothing to do with being a casual observer or student. It speaks of being re-membered with that to which we were once joined. I do not like to use "play on words" to express spiritual truths. I especially dislike using English words for this purpose, since the language is derived from various languages, such as Greek, Latin, French, German, Gaelic, etc. I find that doing so generally leads us away from the meaning of the original word. Nevertheless, remembering the wonders of old speaks clearly of being joined again, plaited together, being re-membered with who and where we were, who and where we are, and who and where we shall be. To remember comes from the Hebrew, zakar, which means, to mark (as to be recognized), also to be male. There will never be any recognition of who we are, in Whom we were created when the foundations of the earth were laid, if we do not remember and know again. If we are not plaited together with the Past (with He who is the Beginning), as well as the Present (which is through Him), and with the Future (with He who is the End), we will be undone. We will be lacking. We will have no form nor godliness. When we are plaited together, however, re-membered, we will have the mark of the uniquely begotten Son of God upon us. That mark is the mark of the Male, the mark of the One who has the Seed of Life. This is what it is to read, know again, i.e., remember. The remembering is to receive the mark of identification. It is to be marked as a son of God to be revealed in due season. What a mark to bear! What an apocalypse! Can we bear it? Yes we can, that is, when we come to the river of Chebar. We will remember, and in remembering, we will understand that which we remember. I am beginning to wonder if there is anything we can learn, or if it is merely remembering that which was created in the Beginning. Perhaps King Solomon knew what he was talking about when he said that there is nothing new under the sun. Of course, there are new things to those who do not remember them. Moreover, everything that comes into the world is new in the sense of manifestation. By inspiration, Isaiah wrote, How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth... Jeremiah 31:22. And, Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19. The new things of God are not new to Him, only to us. For example, we were brand new babies when we were born; but that was not the beginning of our being; for we were together with all the sons of God when He rolled out the foundations of the earth -- remember? If not, we will; for Paul said it was God's pleasure to make known such things unto the holy apostles and prophets, who in turn made them known to us: "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself" Ephesians 1:9. And Matthew quoted from the Psalms: "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Matthew 13:35. That Psalm of which He referred is, 2I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old Psalm 78:2. These dark sayings of old, that which have been kept secret from before the foundation of the world, are not things which had been in the world at another time. They date back farther than that. They go back prior to what we call history, and the wonder of it is that Jesus was there as the Beginning, and having been created in Him, we were also there. It was then, in Him, that things were laid out. Jesus was, no doubt, remembering some of those things when He said, "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34. And also Paul, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Ephesians 1:4. Are we learning anything from what is being read in this article? It is highly unlikely; but we might be remembering a few things! And whatever we remember becomes alive to us once again. That is what a revelation is, and everything that is a revelation is a remembrance, and those remembrances are the ever-expanding wonders of old that were in the absolute fore front of creation. In the larger scope of things, there is nothing new under the sun; but when remembrance dawns, light shines, and understanding is embraced. You have heard it said that everything in the universe is simple to they who understand it, but when understanding is lacking, even the simple things can be so confusing. That is the way it is with hearing the word ministered, reading the Bible, or other material. Some hear, read, and understand, while others remain in darkness. In one place of the Bible, it shows that understanding came when the law was read. "And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. Nehemiah 8:3. "They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear (or God, translating it, margin) and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read." Nehemiah 8:8 (NIV). Brethren, do we know what it is for something to be read and to be made clear; that is, to be made clear enough by the Spirit of revelation that understanding breaks forth like the dawning of a new day? I truly believe we do; for we are distinguishing the difference between night and day, light and darkness, good and evil. We are reading and remembering the wonders of old, and in the midst of our remembrance, I hear the shout for joy! Hopefully, we will never read the scriptures, or any inspired word, the same again. Rather than scanning pages for data, let us pray that we can read, let us pray that we can read and know again, let us pray that we can remember the wonders of old. When we do, we will understand, and in understanding we will embrace and walk in that which we understand, bringing forth the Apocalypse to the world!
We saw in our previous study what it is to be blessed when reading and hearing the words of the prophecy of the Revelation (Apocalypse) of Jesus Christ. Rather than focusing on the symbols and what they might mean in the natural, and missing the reality to which those symbols point, we came to the understanding that the compound Greek word for read is anaginosko which embodies more than our English word, which is to know again. It is an upward knowing, a severe, intense, spiritual knowing. The suffix, ana, means up or severally, and ginosko means to know. In the truest sense, this is what it is to understand what we read. Concerning this book, it is to know by anointed intuition. It is to know by the Spirit. It is to know by revelation from on high. There is much more to reading than merely taking the words at face value, or attempting to decipher them with the natural mind and seeing nothing beyond that scope of understanding. It opens the reality of the heavens that was in Christ long before the ages and prepares it in His elect to be manifested in due season. It is by this that those who read the prophecy of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ are blessed! For they are knowing again the mystery that has been reserved in the heavens to this day; but when they truly read, it will no longer be held in reserve. All men will see what is the fellowship, participation of partnership, of the mystery which has been hidden in God from the beginning of the world. The principalities and powers in the heavens will be manifested and known, along with the manifold wisdom of God. For this is the eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, as mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 3:9-11. They who read and hear the words of this prophecy will understand and be blessed by what they read. They will know again that which was in Christ before the foundation of the world. They will know and understand that they were a part of it, and they will be again. They will remember the works of the Lord and His wonders of old, that which was the forefront, that which was in the beginning in Jesus Christ We are not shaken nor troubled when we read the words of this prophecy of the Apocalypse, not by any means, for we are in truth reading it unto the rapture of our spirits, souls, and bodies in the heavens of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Captain of our unveiling. If we recall, in order to remember something, it had to have been known before whether it was ten minutes or ten thousand years ago. Remembering something cannot be the first time of knowing it. When all things were created in Christ, nothing was remembered; it was being made known. And now, eons hence, we are remembering, we are knowing again the prophecy of this book. We are blessed by knowing them again. We are made happy by remembering them. And we are embracing those marvelous wonders with thanksgiving! It’s like going back home after a long journey. When we truly read, we will remember. When we truly read, we will know again. When we truly read, we will understand the mystery of Christ that was not made known in ages past. But today, it is being revealed, made known again, unto us whose eyes and ears are opened by the Spirit of revelation. The veil is removed from our understanding, and His life pours forth like a crystal river to swallow up anything in us contrary to life. Mortality will all be swallowed as surely as light swallows darkness, and as long as death exists anywhere in the universe, the appearing of our Lord in His many membered body will intensify until death is utterly destroyed. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. This, my dear friends, is one of many apocalypses of our Lord and His many membered body! And none can prevent that light from shining in its brilliant glory. What a wonder it is to read and remember again the wonders of old and be joined again, re-membered, together with whom and where we were, with whom and where we are, and to whom and where we shall be. It is then that we will declare as did our Lord: We will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Matthew 13:35. We will open our mouths and utter dark sayings of old Psalm 78:2. From within His ageless pavilion we will come forth and manifest His glory, power, wisdom, and might, but not before many things are unveiled and made manifest to the elect, such as, the rider and His four horses charging through their land. You see, the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ is not only an unveiling of Him and His many membered body in glory to the world, but it is first an unveiling of Himself to His body. THE HORSEMAN The thought of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" has been written about before. With some I am in agreement and some I am not. I have also mentioned them before. Nevertheless, I believe it bears to be noticed again. The Rider of the four horses is the same as the one of Revelation 19:11-16, but serves two different purposes. The one of chapter 19, like the kings of the past, goes in the forefront of the battle leading His army into victory over every enemy. We see Him as a Conqueror coming as the King of kings upon His white horse of righteousness and with His mighty army upon theirs. This is the same King as in Revelation six with the four horses; but the one of Revelation nineteen comes sweeping through the heavens of humanity astride His horse and with the host of His mighty army. It is by this invasion that He, together with us, conquers and establishes His Kingdom in the earth, while the rider of Revelation chapter six rides alone with the purpose of conquering each and everyone of us. It is significant to note that the symbol of the horse and rider in scripture is associated with war. In the days of old, the strength of armies was reckoned by the number and greatness of their horses. In scripture, horses were never mentioned as being used for agricultural purposes, but for riding, drawing chariots, and for war. The horseman of Revelation six portrays conflict, war, and destruction. These four horses are war horses, and are sent into our own earth to destroy every enemy. They destroy the usurper: the carnal mind, the will of the flesh, the lusts of the flesh, the emotions of the flesh, and the works of the flesh. Simply speaking, the Rider and four horses are the adamic man’s worst nightmare coming to fruition. Many teach that the rider of the white horse is the anti-christ, while others believe he is Christ. And whether Christ or the anti-christ he is usually portrayed as a passive individual who brings peace to the world for a short season. The reasoning behind this is due to the verse saying nothing about arrows, only a bow. This may sound logical, but only ten minutes of research in a concordance of any kind will reveal a lot. Even to the casual observer a simple truth about bows and arrows can be seen. Every place in the Bible where a bow is mentioned as being a weapon, arrows are expressly implied. One is never used without the other. They are always joined. Like Christ and the Church, or a man and his wife, they are inseparable. The fact is, more often than not arrows are omitted when bows are mentioned. The Hebrew word, qesheta, is used seventy-four times, and only thirteen times did the writers bother to supply the word arrow or arrows with it. Bow stands alone the other sixty-one occurrences when it speaks of the mighty men of war and their bows. The bow is used only once in the New Testament, Revelation 6:2, and there is nothing in this verse to remotely suggest that this solitary occurrence should be different than all the rest. Let us notice this bow wielding rider of the white horse. He is going forth conquering and to conquer. The word conquering and to conquer in the Greek is nikao, which means to prevail, to overcome, to be victorious. In every case it is used in the new testament, the context is of victory, whether it is Christ's victory over the enemy in one form or another, or it is the victory of his saints over the enemy. The way it is used here, conquering and to conquer is a way of saying, He will be prevailing until He has emphatically prevailed. It is to say that He will be overcoming until He has completely overcome. It speaks clearly of ongoing, repetitive conquests until there is left nothing to conquer. If this is not Christ riding forth out of the inner realm the of Spirit invading the carnal dimensions of soul and body, the Church and the world are in serious trouble. If it is truly the anti-christ, as some errantly teach, the enemy of God would then conquer, and continue conquering, until he is eventually the absolute victor, which we know shall never be. This rider can only be Christ. It is the Lord riding alone upon the white horse of purity, of righteousness, of light, of illumination; and is not this holy invasion within the corridors of our own souls? Surely we hear the hoof-beats of this mighty steed thundering out righteousness in every dark valley of our being. Don't we hear the pounding hoofs of the valiant charger as he races through the valleys and mountains of our cherished world, carrying its Rider to grand battlefields and glorious victories within? The Rider has His bow, it is fully bent, and the arrows of divine conviction are piercing every targeted heart. Every enemy within falls down before Him. His resplendent rays of glory, like lightning, blazes through our dark skies to enlighten our understanding. Those bolts of fire pierce every treasured tradition and legalistic idol. It vaporizes every dogma, creed, and human interpretation of the truth, while burning away every carnal concept, thought, imagination, and lie. Christ is conquering the human heart and capturing that which He redeemed. In so doing, He gives each conquered soul a mount of his own. Not one person, however, will ever ride or conquer until he himself has been conquered; but once this battle is won in the Sons, they will then sit astride their white stallions of conquest and go forth conquering with Him. They will ride into battle across the heavens and the earth, riding as victors in the heavenly host of His great army. The red horse is the next to come. From the Greek, we can see it is suggesting more than merely a four legged animal with hoofs and a red colored coat. The word for red in this verse is purrhos, meaning like fire or specifically flame colored. The fact is, the word does not suggest a color at all, but speaks of an appearance, a manifestation of flaming fire. Purrhos, as many already know, is a derivative of pur, which is the Greek word for fire. Pur is the root of our English words: pure, purity, purify, purge, puritan, purification, purgatory, etc.. Hebrews 12:29 uses this word to describe God: "For our God is a consuming fire (pur)." Malachi wrote this of Christ; that is, the Rider of the red horse: "...The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple...But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire...and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness" Malachi 3:1-3. This, we can count on, brethren! The rider of the red horse will break us. He will build the fire in our lives that will bring each of us to the cross, and it will work a righteous work. It will change us. It may take a long time of fiery judgment and tormenting darkness for some, but there is hope even for those. The fire will come to an end. The great fire of God will last only until it has melted all pride, arrogance, and self-reliance as they are replaced by humility. The flames of the red horse will continue until all that is of self has died at the cross of Jesus Christ. Never believe the fire cannot bring every soul to the cross, and neither believe it will last forever. Be assured that once the fire is kindled, the smoking flax shall not be extinguished. The passion of His love will never be withdrawn, not until it has worked His holy purpose in every soul. But for sure, once the unquenchable fire has consumed every thing flammable, and has worked its marvelous work, and the cross has drained the blood of all wanton flesh, beauty shall rise from the ashes, and life shall bloom from the earthen tomb of death wherein every soul abides. He first began His conquering on the white horse of life and revelation, piercing and convicting us of sin. Following comes the fiery red horse that refines. And thirdly we see him riding the black horse of darkness. When this horse invades our land, great darkness falls upon our earth, upon the natural man, the carnal mind, the fleshly nature of the first man. Black has no light or color. It speaks of having no understanding, no expression, void of substance. The black horse is a revelation, an apocalypse, of darkness. It is knowing what is in the first Adam. It brings the understanding of what he is, how he works, what his utter futility and worthlessness is in the light of Reality and Truth that the Spirit brings. It reveals one's black nature as it did to the Shulamite maiden in the Song of Solomon. It wrecks the ship of pride, and with pride being foreign to our humbled esteem, we echo her plea and cry out: We are black but comely, draw us O LORD, and we shall run after Thee. With the black horse charging through our world, our black, carnal wit ceases to be a factor in our lives. We recognize our dark souls of the ground for what they are and see that they have no value. They are worthless; but we also see our comeliness in Christ, which is of great value. The rider of the black horse also carries a balance in his hand, measuring the wheat and barley and setting the same price on each. Once the blackness of the carnal nature of Adam is revealed, and his glory darkened, the wheat and the barley are weighed. We understand that the wheat represents Christ in His coming down into a natural state as the Son of God in the human form of the first Adam. He was one grain which came to fall to into the ground and die, else it would abide alone. The barley typifies Him in His going up in resurrection life. Wheat is walking through the Valley, while barley is ascending upon the Mountain. One speaks of Death while the other of Resurrection. Christ as one grain of wheat is limited. He can influence our thinking and improve our natural life, He can feed our hungry stomachs; but as wheat He can do nothing about our nature. As wheat our nature remains carnal. So long as He is the man from Galilee, even though He walks upon the stormy sea, casts out demons, and raises the dead, He is limited. Before His resurrection, not one act, not one miracle, not one sign or wonder was on the higher plane of incorruption. But when He comes to us as barley, as the indwelling Spirit, as our resurrected Lord from heaven, He is unlimited. We can eat our fill of a different bread, namely, the multiplied barley loaves of His transfiguring Life. We have more leftovers than with what we started. It’s an inexhaustible, everlasting source of Life! We thank God that He sends the rider of the black horse who balances the death of Christ in us with His resurrection life, and that there is three times more barley than wheat, and this is for the same price: "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny." After the hooves of this horse sound the fifes of death and also the trumpet of Christ’s life in our land, a voice is heard coming from the midst of the living creatures saying, "...and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." Revelation 6:6. Once the wheat of death is exchanged for the barley of life, we hear the command: Hurt not, waste not, the oil and the wine! Do not prostitute, misuse, or exploit the anointing of My Spirit. Do not infringe upon the word of My revelation. In this place of resurrected life we are entrusted with the holy oil and wine of Christ. But sadly, there are those among us today who are uncircumcised in mind and heart. The spirit of Babylon is alive in the soil of their earth. As it was with Eli’s sons, they tread the courts of the holy temple of God and usurp His holy things with overflowing sin and pride, self-indulgence, and promotion of themselves. Sadly, they will not receive the words of wise counsel or admonition. As the sons of Eli, they refuse to cease from laying with women (spiritually and physically) that assemble at the gate of the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:22). By serving self, they are hurting, misusing, prostituting, and exploiting the spirit and the word of God. It is not a pleasant sight, but the truth is, the black horse and its rider is unveiling this exploitation today as He passes through the lives of self-aggrandizing souls of Adam. "And I looked, and behold the pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth" Revelation 6:8. The fourth part of the earth is that portion of earthiness not already dealt with by the three preceding horses. It speaks of the conclusion of the process of conquering individuals upon the battlefields of their souls. The pale horse speaks of the end, the final subjection and destruction of everything within us that is contrary to the Life of Christ and His Kingdom. The Pale Horse first kills with the sword. This is when His Word pierces and divides asunder of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). He kills with death as He sends "...a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD" Amos 8:11. He comes as the beasts of the field, in varied facets of destruction, one, of which, is in the form of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is ravenous. He devours every particle of flesh that remains. These are ways the pale horse kills with death, by piercing with the sword of His Word, by the famine of hearing His Word, and devouring the carnality of Adam. But there is still one more way — by death! How does He kill with death? In 2 Timothy 1:10 we note that Jesus came to abolish death. He also came to destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil (verse 14); and, of course, He holds "the keys of hell and death" Revelation 1:18. The consummation of this is mentioned in Revelation 20:14: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." The Spirit has made it clear. The second death is the death of the first death. "And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Corinthians 15:26. This is what the pale war horse of death is about — the Second Death putting to death the first death in the midst of our very being. In the sixth chapter of Revelation our Lord comes in four manifestations. He comes to us individually as a warrior; but in Revelation twenty we see Him sitting upon a throne. He is seated with all power and authority. He is no long warring, for the war has been won. The victory has been made sure. The last horse whose name is Death has gone out and finished the individual battles in the overcomers. The apocalypse of the last Rider and horse captivates and deals with death, the last enemy in us. However, when the King sits upon the great white throne, something has happened to both the adamic footstool of the earth and the throne of man's heavenly dominion. They have come to nought. No place of consideration or right can be found for them. All authority comes out of the height of a greater throne than Adam's time-worn world. The Lord sits upon the white throne and judges men and kingdoms from what is written upon the tablets of their hearts. At this point the war is over. Every battle has been won. The weary warriors have come home. The wounded are healed. The casualties are raised from the dead. Ever man's fate is judged. Their destiny is determined. The presence of Christ's light opens their books. The nature of their spirits, the character of their souls, and the deeds done in their bodies become clear. In such sober splendor nothing is hidden. Whatever is revealed from the depth of their own being determines what judgment is necessary to transform them into loving creatures of Life. If there still remains even a splinter of wood, hay, or stubble (that which is enmity against God, the nature of man, the scheming works of man, or the worthless vanity of man — 666), that individual will be subjected to the Lake of Fire. This is the Second Resurrection, the Second Death, "the resurrection of damnation," so called. Please note that the throne is white from which all who are in the second resurrection are judged. In type, the first Adam and God's kingdom under his fallen rule are judged, and what comes out of it is a complete change. We see this in the transfiguration and the glistening white light of Jesus on mount Hermon. This event typified not only the resurrection of the one man Jesus, the Last Adam, but the entire body of the last Adam as well. Every member of the last Adam are the same members as the first Adam, only transfigured in resurrection, yet every man in His own order 1 Corinthians 15:22-24. Before Jesus judged any man born of the first Adam, He began with Himself; he came in likeness of the first Adam. He was not raised up from the earth as was the first. He did not come from the dust of the ground which could not reach the heavens of God. He was not from the realm that could not resist the tempting elements of the dust. He was lowered from heaven and took on the form of flesh. Even though He was the Lord from heaven, He humbled Himself, being clothed upon with those same garments of dust. In those rags He, of course, could feel their mystifying lure. John, the beloved, heard a great voice while in exile on the isle of Patmos, saying, "...I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last..." Revelation 1:11. He was not the first Adam in the Garden who lived and then fell, but He became the first when he descended into the lower parts of the earth of Mary and died. There was no other way to lead her captive and give her life. He had to become the first Adam in order to save and transfigure/resurrect those with the stroke of death, which is ALL. Paul said that the woman (every soul) shall be saved in childbearing. Mary could not be saved until she bore the Son of God, and neither can any other. Like her, they must hear the Word of God, believe and conceive, and then birth the Son from their own souls. Jesus became everything the first Adam was before the fall, but He was not a living soul like the first. He was a quickening spirit. He was not formed and then the breath of life breathed into His nostrils — He was Life. Clay was formed around that Life, the Word of God. This is how He was conceived, which is the same way every new creature in Christ comes forth — by the word of God! 1 Peter 1:23. Mary, perhaps, can be a type of the Last Woman. Upon hearing Gabriel speaking with the Voice of God she said, "Let it be according to Thy Word," and she conceived Life. This Life eventually became her own salvation (1 Timothy 2:15). On the other hand, the First Woman, Eve, heard the voice of the serpent, and by her actions she also said, "Let it be according to thy word." She was tempted by a seducing spirit. She believed and gave herself to it, and by that conception, in dying, she died. The word to which she gave herself utterly destroyed her, while Mary was saved by the Word to which she gave herself. One woman died due to her faith, while the other was saved from death by her faith. Jesus came in like fashion of the first Adam, and within the confines of that body of carnal passions, He ruled over it. In doing so, He struck the deathblow to all death. All of humanity was raised from the earth in the first Adam and lived. Then in dying, he died, taking all to the grave with him. At the beginning of a New Day, Jesus was lowered from heaven and died, becoming one with the First Adam. He then Lived, and became the Last Adam. And in Living, this Last Adam will take all out of the grave in resurrection with Him. Life overcomes all death as easily as Light dispels darkness. The first Adam was the deathblow to creation, while the Last Adam is the Breath and Seed of Life to the same. Where the first Adam from beneath failed, the Last Adam from above is victorious. The first Adam was raised from the dust of the ground, he lived, and then died upon eating forbidden fruit. The last Adam was lowered from the heavens, he died in the womb of Mary, and then Lived by every Word that came forth from the mouth of God. He was lowered from the glory of Life that He had with the Father in the highest heavens. He was placed in the dark confines of Adam's death, deep into the lower parts of the earth. He was conceived in a tomb of clay. His journey began in the belly of humanity, in the womb of Mary, the last woman. From Eve's belly, the first woman, all death proceeded; while from Mary's womb came all Life. Jesus came as the First from Mary's womb and then was sealed as the Last when He died without sin. He then rose from earth's tomb, marking His victory once for all (Hebrews 10:10). The first woman compassed a seed as she took the word of the serpent into the womb of her soul, and death to all was her perpetual fruit. The last woman also compassed a Seed, but that quickening Word was the fruit of Life to all. What a contrast between the first and the Last. After the apocalypse of the rider and His horses thunder through our land, we will mount our own and ride with Him to overthrow all the kingdoms of this world. All the heavens, all the governments of the world will be brought to nought. They will become the kingdoms of our Lord and His anointed. That which has been hidden from the foundation of the world will be declared and come to pass. From within His pavilion of darkness we will come forth in His rapturous glory of His power, wisdom, and might. But this is not before many things are unveiled and made manifest in and to His many membered body. Keep in mind and spirit, the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ is not only an unveiling of Him and His many membered body in various ways to the world; but it is first an unveiling of Himself to His own. There are many things to be revealed, but everything in the proper order. Therefore, let us be on tiptoe and with outstretched necks anxiously looking for and awaiting His apocalypse to us, in us, and through us! The Apocalypse Part 5 Publication #207.08 He Comes In Holy Myriads Of Himself To Execute Judgment
The saga of the Apocalypse continues to unfold as we read the words of this intriguing prophecy. When there is a severe, intense, spiritual, upward knowing again of what this cryptic book entails, we will surely fall at His feet as dead. If John, the apostle of love, the closest to the man Jesus, could not stand, I doubt that we will either. Even so, we will know again the mystery that has been reserved in the heavens. When we truly read, it will no longer be held in that pavilion. We will see and understand what is the full fellowship and participation of the mystery which has been hidden in God’s treasury from the beginning of the world, and in holy awe, we are beginning to see as the veil is being lifted by the spirit of revelation. We will remember the works of the Lord and His wonders of old, those things which were in the beginning in Jesus Christ. As we read, we remember. As we read, we know again. As we truly read, we understand the mystery of Christ that was not made known in ages past. But today, it is being revealed! It is being made known again, unto those whose eyes and ears are opened by the spirit of revelation. The veil of partition is being removed from their understanding, and His life pours forth like a crystal river to swallow up all things human that are contrary to the Kingdom of God. As long as death exists anywhere in the universe, the appearing of our Lord in His many membered body will intensify until all death is utterly destroyed. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. This, my dear friends, is one of many apocalypses of our Lord in His many membered body! It is truly amazing to be able to read and remember again the marvels of old and be joined again, re-membered, together with whom and where we were, with whom and where we are, and with whom and where we shall be. Amazing, indeed, for it is then that we will declare as did our Lord: "I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." Matthew 13:35. We will open our mouths and utter dark sayings of old Psalm 78:2. From within His hiding place, the pavilion of His habitation, we will come forth and manifest His glorious power, wisdom, and might, but not before many things are unveiled and made manifest to the elect, such as that which we noticed last time concerning the Rider, Christ, and His four horses charging through and changing our land. If we recall, the Horseman of Revelation six portrays conflict, war, and destruction. He rides upon war horses, and they are ridden into our own earth to destroy every enemy. They destroy the usurper: the carnal mind, the will of the flesh, the lusts of the flesh, the emotions of the flesh, along with the works of the flesh. Simply speaking, the Rider upon His four horses are the adamic man’s worst nightmare coming true. The bow wielding Rider of the white horse was seen going forth conquering and to conquer. The word conquering and to conquer in the Greek is nikao, which means to prevail, to overcome, to be victorious. In every case it is used in the new testament, the context is of victory, whether it is Christ's victory over the enemy in one form or another, or it is the victory of his saints over the enemy. The way it is used here, conquering and to conquer is a way of saying, He will be prevailing until He has emphatically prevailed. It is to say that He will be overcoming until He has completely overcome. It speaks clearly of ongoing, repetitive conquests until there is nothing left to conquer. If this is not Christ riding forth from the inner realm of the Spirit invading the carnal realm of soul and body, the Church and the world are in serious trouble. If it is truly the anti-Christ, as it is often taught, the enemy of God would then conquer, and continue conquering, until he is eventually the absolute victor, which we know shall never be. We saw that the red horse was for refining; for the word for red is purrhos, meaning like fire or specifically flame colored. It speaks of an appearance, a manifestation of flaming fire. Purrhos is a derivative of pur, which is the Greek word for fire. Pur is the root of our English words: pure, purity, purify, purge, puritan, purification, purgatory, etc.. Hebrews 12:29 uses this word to describe God: "For our God is a consuming fire (pur)." Malachi wrote this of Christ, which can be no other than the Rider of the red horse: "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple...But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire...and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness" Malachi 3:1-3. The Rider of the red horse will reduce us to ashes. He will build the fire in our lives that will bring each of us to the cross, and it will work a righteous work. He will change us, no ifs, ands, buts, or maybes about it. It may take a long time of fiery judgment and tormenting darkness for some, depending on their steadfast hold on that which feeds and entices self; but the fire will come to an end. The great fire of God will last only until it has consumed all pride, arrogance, and self-reliance, as they are replaced by godly sorrow, holiness, and humility. This is a mandate for every soul that is called to be an overcomer and a part of the Great Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. He first began His conquering on the white horse of life and revelation, piercing and convicting us of sin. Following was the fiery red horse which refines. And thirdly we see him riding the black horse of darkness. When this horse invades our land, great darkness falls upon our earth, upon the natural man, the carnal mind, the fleshly nature of the first man. His face no longer shines with self-aggrandizement. Black has neither light nor color, which speaks of having no understanding, no expression, void of substance. The black horse is a revelation of darkness. It is knowing what is in the first Adam. It brings the understanding of what he is, how he works, what his utter futility is in the light of Reality and Truth that the Spirit brings. It reveals one's black nature as it did to the Shulamite maiden in the Song of Solomon. Pride and self-worth is shipwrecked, and with such idols sinking to the bottom of the sea of forgetfulness, each of us can echo her plea and cry out: "I am black but comely, draw me O LORD, and I will run after Thee." With the black horse charging through our world, our black, carnal wit ceases to be a factor in our lives. We recognize our souls for what they are and see that they have no value in the economy of God. They are worthless in that sinful state of being; but we also see our comeliness in Christ, which is of great value. "And I looked, and behold the pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." This horse speaks of the conclusion of the process of conquering individuals upon the battlefields of their souls. The pale horse speaks of the end, the final subjection and destruction of everything within us that is contrary to the Life of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. The pale Horse first kills with the sword. This is when His Word pierces and divides asunder of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). He kills with death as He comes as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is ravenous. He devours every particle of flesh that remains. The pale horse also kills with death, which is the second death. This is mentioned in Revelation 20:14: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." The second death is the death of the first death. "And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Corinthians 15:26. This is what the pale war horse of death is about—the Second Death putting to death the first death in every member of His body and then the world. After the Apocalypse of the Rider and His four horses thunder through our land and conquered all that is within us, we will mount our own and ride with Him to overthrow all the kingdoms of this world. All the powers of the heavens and all the governments of the world will be brought to nought. They will become the kingdoms of our Lord and His anointed ones. That which has been hidden from the foundation of the world will be declared and come to pass. From within His pavilion of darkness we will come forth in the rapturous glory of His love, power, wisdom, and might that could be called the last move of God, and Charles Newbold, Jr. says it very well: "The real last move of God doesn’t need a man to lead it, doesn’t need a band to hype it, doesn’t need a building to corral it, doesn’t need a billboard to promote it, doesn’t need intercessors to pray it in, doesn’t need a TV show or even a microphone to barker it, doesn’t need a PR program to defend it. Can’t take up an offering for it or seed into it, can’t hype or manipulate it, can’t own it. "It has already begun in the secret places of men’s hearts, men who rarely even know one another. It is already taking place in the hidden corners of David’s cave of Adullam where a few misfits and malcontents have hidden out in Jesus and are being quietly shaped into a mighty army of glorified sons. A few here and there are being knitted together in love whose light, when they cross paths, becomes greater than the sum of the two, or three, or four, or whatever number they are. "It is the light of life, the very life of God they radiate, exposing the darkness and causing turmoil everywhere they go—unspoken, but spoken against; loving, but hated by the world; merciful, but treated unmercifully; strong through brokenness; powerful in weakness; mighty men of valor without guile or malice; strong and powerful in the Lord without gender. "Released one by one, becoming two by two, becoming four by four, then eight by eight—on an exponential curve. Yes, a movement to end all revivals. "Can’t start it, can’t stop it, can’t own it, can’t harness it, can’t telecast it, can’t alter it, can’t do anything about it. It is already in motion and is bigger than any man or collection of men. It is the coming forth of Zion, the ushering in of Tabernacles—the feast of Ingathering; that is, Jesus gathering into Himself His true assembly of called-out-ones. "These are those who are called, chosen, and will be found faithful. Nevertheless, whosoever will may come. Either way, all were known before the foundation of the world." —End quote. Despite this fact, "He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about him dark waters and thick clouds of the skies," Psalm 18:11. And He has been unseen in those dark waters of His people, in the thick clouds of His many membered body, but that which has been hidden will not remain so forever. Although we likewise have been with Him in those obscure places (thick clouds, dark waters, the cave of Adullam), we will be revealed in due season. Until that season arrives, no man or religious regime can bring forth that light any more than they can stop its gleaming when the time comes for its apocalypse. It is then that He will be seen coming in the clouds of His saints. Jude wrote of this: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints" (vrs. 14). The Emphatic Diaglott says that He comes IN holy myriads OF HIMSELF. Brethren, regardless of how you cut it, this speaks of an APOCALYPSE! A GREAT AWAKENING! A GREAT UNVEILING! Yet it is but one portion of THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST! And please note that there is a primary purpose for this apocalypse—"TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT (Grk. Krisis) upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." In contrast to this, Jesus said: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Luke 6:37. This could be an impasse to some; for on one hand He says not to judge, and then on the other hand Jude says that judgment is given to those in whom the Lord comes. But there is no impasse. You see, when Jesus was speaking to his disciples, they were not qualified to judge. At best, they had someone with them, Jesus, who could shed light upon the Law by which they would most likely judge; but the Spirit was yet to be given as we read in John 7:39, and it is by His Spirit that righteous judgment comes. Not only that, it was not the time for judgment. It was not even time for God’s household to be judged and made perfect. And 1 Peter 4:17 tells us that judgment must begin there. That was the starting point, and afterwards the rest of the world, but every man in his own order, 1 Corinthians 15:23. Jesus said of Himself that He came not to judge; however, with Him being a mature Son of God, He could judge when the occasions arose. "Ye judge after the flesh; I judge (Grk. krino) no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me." John 8:15-16. And, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge (Grk. krisis): and my judgment (Grk. krisis) is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." John 5:30. A little while later, He said "...For judgment (Grk. krino) I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind." John 9:39. Here is an example of one type of His judgment, and it was one of His objectives, which was to open the eyes of those who were blinded by the oppressive laws imposed on them by the religious order of that day. The oppressors, however, who claimed to see were blinded even more. It was not as if Jesus was sitting on His judgment seat and pointing certain ones out and causing some to see and some to be blind. It was simply the condition of their hearts that either opened or closed their eyes. If they hungered for the truth, their judgment was that they saw. Those who loved the lie and hated the truth, their judgment was that they became more blind and walked in gross darkness with the Law being the cane by which they tapped out their stumbling steps. With this, His coming was a judgment at that particular time which had to do with seeing and not seeing. He also said that He spoke in parables so that the religious folk could not see; but He spoke plainly to His own that they could see and know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, Luke 8:10. Some might wonder why He didn’t open the eyes of the religious rulers as well. Surely, they would have received Him if they only knew who He was and from where He came. They might not have known exactly who He was, that is, the Son of God; but they knew from where He came; for one of the ruling Pharisees, Nicodemus, came by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these signs that You do unless God is with him" John 3:2 (NKJV). Moreover, when you know that the religious rulers are the embodiment of the ancient serpent that beguiled Eve, and continues to beguile every carnal soul by twisting the truth into a lie to beguile even more, you can’t entrust the secrets of your kingdom to such a crafty arch-enemy. Therefore, in this war, the word of God was used as a weapon to blind rather than to open their eyes. Notwithstanding, there will be a time when they will hear His words and see. This is an altogether different judgment and a different era He called the last day: "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge (Grk. krino) him not: for I came not to judge (krino) the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge (krino) him in the last day." John 12:47-48. There are many facets of judgments. Some are brought on by reaping the harvest of what we had sown, whether good seed or bad. There are judgments of loss as well as rewards. Other judgments are measured in harsh overtones of God’s wrath that are exacted to the rebellious, the disobedient, hypocrites, and liars. The judgment which is given to the saints of the Most High when our Lord appears in myriads of Himself will surely meet each person’s needs for correction. In no manner will this judgment be the way it is administered in the world of carnal man. Man’s judgment requires that people think of themselves as being superior over the ones they judge, and it may be surprising to us; but on that natural plain, most of us stand guilty of unrighteously judging everyday from that elevated platform we have erected. For instance, when we are cut off in traffic, or the one between us and the changing signal light in rush-hour traffic slows down and barely makes it into the intersection and putters through on a yellow, while we are caught by the glaring red light—we often judge unrighteously. Of course we do! We sometimes utter, or at least think, "You idiot!" Or perhaps for some, much more graphic expletives are spewed out. To say or think such things places the person as being ridiculously inferior to ourselves, and we feel supremely justified in judging them as such, and this is without knowing anything about the person whatsoever. It could be that he or she just left the hospital where their only child had just died due to a horrible accident, yet the individual is judged as being an idiot. And ever so sadly, some of those so called "idiots" are shot and killed in a fit of "road rage." What about people we know, even our friends and loved ones? When they do things that we deem as foolish, of course, we don’t pull a gun and shoot them; but we may severely judge them by saying, or thinking, "Hey, stupid, I could never do anything so feebleminded as that." Are we not setting ourselves up as being superior and judging them, while demeaning them in our minds? Most likely. I couldn’t have had better parents; but some of you may not have been so blessed. Therefore, when your father, mother, step-father, or step-mother, who was incapable of love due to his or her horrendous treatment while growing up, and you were treated so terribly unjust and harsh as a child, do you harbor resentment, or perhaps hatred toward them? If so, this is judgment coming from the emotions of hurt and anger, it lowers them to such levels that they are deserving of your unforgiving stand. Such judgment will never heal those people, or you. Such judgment can never correct the wrong. Such judgment only energizes the problem. Although feeling justified, it is another part of the judgment that is toward yourself to make you more worthy than those who wounded you. That which was done to you as a child was horrendous, and must be dealt with, and it will be; but unrighteous judgment is not the answer in order to be freed from its grip, yet it is man’s way of judging and it goes on all the time. It is little wonder that the world is in such a convoluted mess. And how about when tragedies hit our lives and tear out our hearts—the death of a child, grandchild, husband, wife, brother, or sister; infidelity; divorce; a crippling disease; or a daughter or wife is raped—have you/we ever gotten mad at God due to such ravaging fire-storms? Perhaps just a little? Or maybe much more than just a little? If so, we were judging God and making Him much lower than ourselves. In doing so, we were placing ourselves as being greater than God. We knew better than Him. We would have prevented the tragedy and spared many lives unnecessary pain. We can hear the decree from our aching hearts: "Our ways are surely better than Yours, especially in this situation; for there can be no purpose in it whatsoever. The only thing that is coming from it is a dark valley of sorrow. There’s no sense to it, and I wonder why I should continue this dreadful journey. You seem to be so indifferent and uncaring in all this, and I can find no reason to serve such a God." Sounds like blasphemy, no question about it, and during unprecedented hardships, I am sure some of us have had such uncontrolled thoughts, especially since we knew that He could have prevented them from happening. As many of you know, we have had our share of tragedies over the past several years, and another since our previous mailing, which could have caused hard feelings toward God with some of us. We knew that my 86 year old mother, who had been in poor health and in much pain due to collapsing vertebras, could pass on at any given time, and that time came July 10, 2008. We were not upset with God for taking her. It was the timing that disturbed us, especially for my youngest sister, Belinda. You see, she, along with her husband, Bill, and ten year old grandson, Sebastian, flew in from San Antonio, Texas to be with her for three days. They arrived here from El Paso in a rental car at 2:00 p.m., and as the routine had always been, Margit and I met them at our favorite Mexican Food restaurant before stopping by to see our mother (she wasn’t expecting them until 5:00). We had a wonderful meal together and got to our house, next door to our mother’s, at 3:30. Belinda walked over to see if she had been laid down for her usual 3:00 to 5:00 nap by the lady who was helping to care for her, and she had been about 30 minutes before. Belinda chose not to awaken her and came back to our house to visit until 5:00. Incidentally, our mother was so excited about her baby daughter, son-in-law, and great-grandson coming in. She was beside herself and had planned on having a big pot of beans and cornbread, fried cabbage, and fried chicken for supper—everybody’s country favorite. She had called me about the time we reached the restaurant, and said that she had just gotten off the phone with Clifton (her nephew) and invited him and Barbara for supper, and asked us to pick up a head of cabbage and have Margit to fry it, since he has always loved fried cabbage so much. She would do just about anything for anyone, but especially for Clif (they were only five years apart and he was more like a little brother that she never had). She laid down for her nap so thrilled that she would be waking up to her darling daughter’s smiling face and would be having a small family reunion. But it was not to be. When the time came, Belinda went over to get our mom up from her nap, she found her lifeless body in a peaceful repose of sleep. (She was the thirteenth close family member to die in the past eight years.) Although we miss her terribly, none of us were angered that our ailing mother had been taken from us—it was the timing! "One more evening, God! After 86 years, couldn’t You have given her just one more evening? What would it have hurt to have given our sister, her great-grandson, and the rest of us a wonderful evening with her before taking her home?" That was a burning question we all had, especially Belinda, and she has beaten herself terribly for going to eat before stopping by to see her mother for the last time, and then again for not waking her up at 3:30 when she may have still been alive. Notwithstanding, I believe that in our hurt, and the way we viewed the ill timing, we judged God as not caring about our feelings, and for unjustly inflicting such long-lasting regrets upon our sister. I am not sure how this will affect Belinda in the days to come. She seems to be doing fairly well; but I don’t know what is working deep down. So many emotions can come rushing in like tidal waves, and the human mind can be swamped during times such as this and other innumerable tragedies. Even so, these thoughts of hurt and pity elevate us above God, while our esteem of Him is lowered to almost nothing. That is what anger does. That’s the ugly nature of anger regardless of to whom it is directed. Such self-serving insolence, and unrighteous judgment on our part, don’t you suppose that might be the case? I think so. But praise God! He knows our frail frame and the depths of our weak humanity, and He judges us much more righteously than we judge Him! Therefore, in situations like this, even when there are no good reasons to be seen why such tragedies occur, do you think we can find it in ourselves to return the throne back to God who hurts along with us, and let Him heal our wounded, angry, judgmental hearts? Hopefully so, for He desires greatly to have a Father/Son relationship with us regardless of our unbelief, resentment and/or anger toward Him. He wants to be one with us during times of calm or storm, heartbreak or joy, suffering or happiness, lean or abundance. He is our Father, and by the Spirit of our Lord, we will be able to have that relationship as a faithful son to Him at all times. If you are sincere about having that relationship, be reminded that it will never happen through doctrines, legalisms, rituals, or merely belonging to a social church. If that were a likelihood, Margit could go back to Germany to be with her family, and I could stay here in Alamogordo to be with mine. We could still have a husband/wife relationship. We could hold each other in our arms, take late afternoon walks, have candle light dinners, and visit our family and friends together. "Ha! That’s impossible!" you say. Indeed, it is! But that is what many think a relationship is with God. You know, He is somewhere in heaven, while they are in church on Sunday morning singing and talking about His greatness, and they will hopefully be invited someday to go and be where He lives. But this is not relationship. It is when God is known as Father by the Spirit of the Son that there will be a relationship; for where our Father is, we are there. Where our Lord Jesus is, we are there. That is relationship! Being together, and this being together is in one Spirit, one Soul, and one Body. A mystery, perhaps, but so wonderfully simple and true when we read and hear the prophecy of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, and it begins to dawn upon our understanding. It is then that we will see that we had judged things, events, people, and God as evil, and that our judgment was unrighteously wrong. Can we not see that we have set ourselves up as being worthy to judge events and others throughout our lives and perhaps to this present day? We have judged the actions and motivations of others, as if we knew every detail about them. We have judged the color of their skin, their demeanor, their looks. We have judged the value of people’s lives with our own being the standard by which to evaluate their worth to the world and even to God. Well, haven’t we in the past seen some as being worth very little or next to nothing? This would have to be the case when we believed God was going to burn them in hell forever. For only worthless people would merit such eternal rejection and everlasting torment, that is, according to the self-righteous minds of carnal judges, or at least grossly ignorant and doctrinally blind. Of course, we thought that our loved ones who were basically good people had worth, for we knew their hearts; but they had failed to do what was required of them to be saved before dying, so their lot was the same as the very bad, worthless ones. Since we could not justify such an unequal balance, we, therefore, judged God again for not being as compassionate as ourselves. We may not have voiced it, but that was at least our subconscious thoughts. With statements like the one above, "according to the self-righteous minds of carnal judges," am I setting myself up as a judge over these. I hope not. We can’t help from seeing the obvious, especially when our eyes are opened by the Spirit of truth. The crux of the matter comes in what attitude I or anyone else might have about these things. It also depends on whether we are speaking of such in the spirit of love and genuine concern, and it is for everyone’s eventual good, including those in error, or it is due to feeling superior and worthy of judging those lessor than ourselves? We can certainly see, know, and understand things without judging. They are simply matters of fact, and we don’t have to judge them at all. We can, however, judge when it is in righteousness, which is together with the Spirit of Christ, and with this, it will never be in a superior state of mind. Nevertheless, at times we have established ourselves as the touchstone of all truth. Such judgment truly sets us in the framework of being superior to others when we look upon their character or actions as being less than our noble standard of life. We, no doubt, had not looked at our thoughts and words as setting ourselves up as judges; but this is what it has often been. Moreover, we have done the same with spiritual matters. Although judgment is given to the saints of the Most High, at times we may have not been high enough to judge righteously. Surely, if our judgment was merely set by our theological persuasions alone, or by what we had heard others say about the teachings of this brother or that sister, our judgments were not true, even if we were doctrinally right and they were wrong. The fact is, we can be very doctrinally right but very spiritually wrong. However, when a word being ministered does not ring true to the Spirit that we know by revelation, by rightly dividing the word of truth, and live the truth of it, we can judge it if we are in one Spirit with our Lord in the matter. Some today are totally against any form of admonishment, correction, or warning; but such positions are contrary to the written word, the anointed word, and the Spirit of truth. It is out of harmony with what God has done, is doing, and will continue doing. Hear the words of Ezekiel: "Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head....But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul....If the watchman sees the sword come, and blows not the trumpet, and the people be not warned...and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand...I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." Ezek 33:4-7. This Hebrew word for warn is zahar. In these verses it speaks more than merely of warning someone of an impending danger. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance gives this: "to gleam; figuratively to enlighten (by caution)." It carries the thought of teaching, of bringing people to an understanding of what is going on around them. In most English Bibles the word is translated admonish, shine, teach, warn, receive instruction, etc. Such as: "And thou shalt teach (zahar) them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do." Exodus 18:20. And they that be wise shall shine (zahar) as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Daniel 12:3. "A poor, yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction (zahar)." Ecclesiastes 4:13 (NASB). I suspect that there are more than a few of these old, foolish kings. There are times to clearly sound the trumpet of the impending danger, as when the members of the body of Christ are ministered a word of error that robs them of an intimate relationship with their Father, and follow on to destroy their spiritual walk in Him. Of course, those who do so are not alone; for the air passing through their sounding vessels is God-breathed from the throne. They and the Holy Spirit are one. They see clearly, they hear clearly, and they judge clearly. This is true and righteous judgment that is not to be repented of. However, let us not take the occasion to contend with everything with which we disagree. At times there must be heresies, as Paul said in 1st Corinthians 11:19, so those of truth can shine apart from the false, so they can learn to discern by the training. They can’t be told every step of the way by others what is truth and what is error. They must be exercised in spiritual matters in order to mature. Even so, when we are one with our Father, and we are joined in spirit, soul, and body to our Lord Jesus, we won’t be alone, and we will know when to speak and when to be silent. This is worthy of thought for all who would think to judge matters at hand, and truly, there are matters at hand that are in dire need of judgment. Not by rising over everyone who sees differently, but a word of enlightenment that not only exposes the error, but corrects it as well. Of course, if correction will not be received, those fruitless tares will be bundled and corrected by fire later on. It’s a harder way, but correction just the same; for our Father loves those whose eyes have been blinded by deceit just as much as He loves the wheat. Now, for those who are being judged, whether righteously or unrighteously, stop crying. Stop singing old Charlie Brown’s song, "Why is everybody always picking on me?" It’s part of the process. Inquire of the Lord with a sincere heart. You may be in error, and if so, a good house cleaning and renovation will do wonders and give you the peace of God that passes understanding. One the other hand, if you are not in error, expect opposition from the religious orders that are blind to the truth, and they will most likely remain so until the last day when your anointed words of fire will judge and correct them. It will be in that day, the day of the apocalypse of Jesus Christ and His body of many members, judgment will be seen in the world. As these flames of fire are revealed, the nature of their glorious appearance will have a way of piercing into the deepest recess and darkest pit of every soul and reveal it for what it is and for what it is not. This Godfire will expose every lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Not one soul will be left without conviction and will be reduced to a godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation. He comes in holy myriads of Himself to execute judgment from His throne, which is pure and white. White, of course, speaks of righteousness. Everything about the throne of God is righteous. It could never be any other way. His throne is of love, of grace, of wrath, of salvation and power unto mankind. But you will never see this throne except in the lives of those who He comes in so as to rule and reign! That is where that Great White Throne is located! In those just like Him! Every soul will surely shrink in despair before God's judgments, that is, until it is clearly understood that He does not open anyone's book to embarrass or destroy him. His purpose of opening people's books is to deliver them. God brings no man to judgment apart from opening his book and imparting His life, first as fire then gentle rain. That is the true spiritual message conveyed by these beautiful symbols in the book of Revelation. As it is with any good father who would never discipline, scourge, or correct his loving child without letting him know what the problem is, God will never judge and deliver you, or any man, until the carnal corruption in his heart has been drawn into the open for the person to clearly see and understand. Once the problem is exposed, it can then be dealt with by His stern, sometime wrathful, yet loving hand. When the inner nature of a man’s soul erupts with evil works, rebellion, or uncleanness, don’t lose hope. But with repentance, thank God for exposing the deceit that was harbored in darkness. Cast yourself upon the tender mercies of the Lord who judges you in unconditional love and infinite goodness, and yield yourself to His mighty hand that He may bring forth victory in your earth. We must never be discouraged nor feel condemned when God reveals the man of sin who sits in the temple of God which we are, but neither should we become complacent about it as so many seem to be doing. Nevertheless, whether we are down-trodden or complacent, God will send forth judgment unto victory regardless of how long it takes and regardless of how severe the dealings. He will never abdicate His throne, He will never terminate His judgments until every man is conformed to the image of God's glorious Son! That is a promise! The Apocalypse Part 6
Publication #208.08
Pavilions of Darkness
"He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about him dark waters and thick clouds of the skies," Psalm 18:11. "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour." Isaiah 45:15. Where does He hide Himself? In us. In you and me. In His people where the heart is desperately wicked. Man’s heart is a dark pavilion and overgrown with long ages of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What a mystery it is that He made darkness His secret place; yet, it is from that cavern we receive the riches of Christ. For He said, "I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. Isaiah 45:3. The word am was supplied by the translators, and the Hebrew word for God is the plural, elohim, which means gods, and is also translated in some verses as judges (Exodus 21:6, 22 &22:8-9). It, therefore, could be read as: "...I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, the gods of Israel." A couple of other verses where men were called gods are Psalm Chapter 82. "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods," and "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men." Psalm 82:1,6. Although they were the elect of God in those days, enough so that He called them gods, due to having walked in darkness (vrs. 5), they judged unjustly and accepted people of wickedness (vrs. 2). In turn, this caused the foundations of the earth to be out of course (vrs. 5), and they died like men (Heb. ’âdâm). With God being light, one would think it strange that He would make such darkness His secret place, but according to Psalm 18:11, it is clear that He does. Moreover, by our own experiences, we understand this to be an undeniable fact. Although He may not be seen or known by those of the world, He is known by those who dwell in those pavilions with Him, even as David was known by those who dwelt in the cave of Adullam with him. Not many will at first choose to go into such places to find God. They would rather find Him on the sunny slopes and mountain tops of life’s shining experiences, and He is found there at times; but today and for the most part, this is not the case. Where, then, do we suppose these pavilions of darkness are? None other than the dark waters of His people. They are the thick clouds of His many membered body. Moreover, He will remain there until it is His pleasure to come forth as fire and to execute judgment, and contrary to what some say, we will also remain there until that time as well. It would be reckless to say otherwise; for our Lord Jesus who is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, and the Author and Finisher of our faith, has not brought our faith to an end. We can rest assured that He will do it; but we do not yet see it. If what we are at this time is the end of our faith, the finished product, the manifestation of the sons of God, it is not what we were taught, nor does such impotence measure up to our revelation of Sonship. Our dear friend and co-laborer in Christ, J. Preston Eby, said something of this in one of his resent articles (From The Candle Stick To The Throne, Part 79): "As the anointed body of Christ enters into the fullness of the seven spirits of God in this new kingdom day, great and glorious blessing shall surely pour forth upon the earth-realm. The hour is nigh at hand when the sons of God shall minister as none has ever ministered! What will make their ministry so unique and transcendent? The operation of the seven spirits in and through them! It matters not whether the sons simply speak the word or whether they appear before men in the power of resurrection, from them shall flow forth the mighty, deluging, irresistible flood tides of divine life, power, and glory upon all the ends of the earth. Little wonder that this day is described by the apostle Peter as 'the times of the restitution of all things.' We have seen the gifts of the spirit in operation, and how we bless and magnify God for them, limited as they have been; but soon you will see the seven spirits of God begin to operate in the manifest sons of God! We have not yet seen this, despite the claims of some who presume that they have already entered into the fullness. I have heard all the claims of those who proclaim that they have arrived in the highest heaven and all their lower heavens have now passed away; those who declare that they have fully come out of Babylon and now stand on the heights of mount Zion, and all lesser realms and days are forever over; those who say they have experientially entered the fullness of the Day of the Lord, and they now dwell in the brightness of a full revelation and word; those who say they have already put on life and immortality and will never go by way of the grave; but I do not hesitate to tell you that I have not seen either in their lives or in their gatherings even one thing I have not seen in Pentecost for seventy years, nor have I heard one word of teaching or revelation that I have not heard a hundred times before in various ‘sonship’ groups since the days of the Latter Rain outpouring in 1948. The rhetoric is powerful, but the manifestation is weak and beggarly! Yet, for those who meet the conditions and qualify for that mighty company of overcomers there awaits the spirit, given without measure to them, and the unimagined and yet incomprehensible ministry of the seven spirits of God!" Until the advent of that appointed time, some may feel that such will never be, that He has taken up permanent residence in darkness. They can't imagine Him ever surfacing again, at least in their lifetime. But with patience, we can be assured He will not remain so forever, and neither will we. There is that set time for Him, together with us, to rise out of our clouds of darkness, as our night is being turned into the Day. Many of us have been with Him in those obscure places, in those thick clouds, dark waters, even the cave of Adullam for quite some time; but we will have our day in the Sun/Son. But until that season arrives, no man or religious regime can bring forth that light any more than they can stop its shining at the time of its apocalypse. It is then that He will be seen coming in the clouds of holy myriads OF HIMSELF to execute judgment! It is then that wisdom will excel folly and light will excel darkness. Ecclesiastes 2:13. The light will prevail as surely as when one flips on a light switch in a dark room! It is destroyed! Darkness has no power over light, and it is certainly not forever. Moreover, be sure to know, this apocalypse will come by the might and Spirit of our Lord Jesus. It won’t be in need of men to organize it and keep it in the bounds of their creeds, doctrines, and rituals. There will be no so called "holy days," such as Saturday, Sunday, or Easter; for this will be the Day of the Lord every day of the week and year. It will not need to be promoted for the world to know that God is on the move. There will no number one men and women standing in high places over the people of "their" churches. Wherever the sons of God are, there will be the manifested Church of Jesus Christ. This Church cannot be wrangled or owned be enterprising entrepreneurs, and neither will there be in this company those seeking their own glory. It is all Jesus Christ in those who are conformed and transformed to the express image of their Father. Frankly, this great awakening is already dawning in the secret pavilions of people’s hearts. They are not known by the world nor by those of mainstream religion. For that matter, there are not many of them who know one another, a handful here, a few there, and some scattered around the world; but as a whole, they are not known by one another. Things are taking place with some of the mavericks and misfits in the secret pavilions of darkness with David, that is Jesus, in the cave of Adullam. Although standing by, unseen and unheard by most, their Commander is building them into a mighty army of soon to be glorified sons of God with which to be reckoned! These members of the body of Christ, like vapor particles of dark clouds are being joined together in the Spirit of their Lord, awaiting the first command, the first charge, the first lightning bolt that will bring them cohesively together and send them earthbound as mighty torrents of consuming fire. What a manifestation! Men and women such as these are despised by the world, especially by those of this nation whose religion is humanism/liberalism/socialism/communism/selfism. There is a driving passion to destroy every particle and semblance of Jesus Christ, and their present targets are those of mainstream Christianity; for they are the only vestige of Him who are visible and not hidden in pavilions. Those who are in the obscure cave of Adullam are presently weak, very weak, but being weak they qualify to be mighty men of valor, and they are awaiting the command that will release and reveal them like the world has never known. If we think the three and a half years Jesus was manifested as the Son of God was tremendous, and it was, what do you suppose it will be when He comes in the clouds of holy myriads OF HIMSELF to execute Judgment? Truly, greater works than what He did as one Son that will bring and end to all revivals, religious movements, secular, and political schemes untold. This is the apocalypse of Jesus Christ gathering into Himself His Ecclesia, the called out ones, the true assembly of God and His Christ! Praise God, we are not destined to remain in these dark pavilions forever, or according to the Hebrew, pavilions (sûkkâh) are temporary booths, or tabernacles. And although temporary, these tabernacles serve an ordained purpose. For one, they are to be dwelled in for seven days each year at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles which was for all the males (sons) who were born of Israel. So, tabernacles are not permanent dwellings. Praise God! And while in the midst of fire we have come to know during this season when the burnt offerings are being consumed, it may seem like there will be no end to the blaze. However, an end is ordained. It comes at our transformation, after the holy flames of God have finished that for which they were fashioned, to consume all pride, self-reliance, and to reduce us to ashes and utter weakness. The Power of Weakness When we first heard the message of becoming mature sons of God, our notion was to become powerful; for it is common for a man to increase himself. The stronger he is the more power he has. The more power he has, the more he will be able to do the things that are set in his heart. This is the way of the world, but is not for the world alone; it has saturated the church as well. This viral way of thinking has pervaded every quadrant and corner of the world’s religious systems. For instance: if a man, saint or sinner alike, wants to become rich, he generally doesn’t seek to become poor. If he wants to live, he flees the threat of death. When he looks to be strong, it doesn’t make sense for him to become weak. Should he desire to build, it is not in him to tear down and destroy. He will not root out when his desire is to plant and bring forth a great harvest. His general idea is to improve upon and add to that which he already has. A good example of this is that just about every household in this nation is overflowing with stuff, so much so that we have run out of room for our stuff. Therefore, we either build bigger homes or rent storage sheds for our stuff, and all the while, we are buying more stuff, which is making our lives a little stuffy, don’t you think? Notwithstanding, God’s thoughts are different than ours. His thoughts are not man’s thoughts, and His ways are not man’s ways. God’s thoughts and ways are foolishness to the carnal minded man. That is why a large number of people look upon those as having missed the mark who seek to find Him in the dark pavilions of their hearts rather than in the confines of religious organizations. More than a few who seek after all those things that entice the Gentiles believe God has been angered and is measuring out His wrath upon those who walk through the wide valley of the shadow of death, who are weakened by disease, who are weakened by hardships, or who are weakened by being overrun by varied pressures, tragedies, and deaths in the family. Those judges of our lives do not understand the basic principle, when we are weak He is strong. Jesus became poor that we, His body, might become rich, and as we become poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven becomes ours. God told Jeremiah that before he could build or plant he had to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down Jeremiah 1:10. This goes on in our own lives before our presence and word affect others in the same manner. In order for Jesus to become the Lion of the tribe of Judah, He had to be led in humility as a sheep to the slaughter (Acts 8:32). Before all men could drink of the River of Life, He had to empty Himself. He divested Himself of authority so He could come forth with greater authority. In death, He ceased from the Father’s works so greater works could be done by those of His corporate Body. He sounded no alarm to his followers. He did not call legions of angels to defend Him in His most crucial hour. He opened not His mouth. Rather than robing Himself in glory, He submitted to the humility of being stripped naked. He could have taken His rightful place upon Earth’s throne; but He relinquished it to endure the pain of being nailed to the cross. Not a likely seat of majesty, honor, and authority. Jesus could have ascended in majestic glory upon mount Zion; but rather, with plucked beard, flayed back, face marred beyond recognition, He climbed shamefully upon the infamous hill of Golgotha. Rather than taking His position as the anointed King of kings, He emptied Himself and became the servant of all. The richest man in the universe became the poorest of all, having no place to lay His head. He was such a man that the grandest shrine to His honor would pale in the presence of His dead body; yet no shrine. A tomb had to be borrowed for His burial. Even at His birth, the palace chambers with midwives were not for Him — a borrowed stable was His delivery room, and the animal’s feed-trough took the place of a goose-down bed. He was not born in the midst of great men who would marvel at His majesty, but among the beasts of burden. They were his companions in birth, and throughout his life such were also his friends. What a wonder to say the least! Out of Darkness came forth the Mystery of the ages — and that Great Light shined in a dark world! He was crucified in the weakness of flesh as the son of man, but "He was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Romans 1:4. Where men destroy their enemies by killing them, Jesus destroyed the devil through His own death. What a paradox! To the natural mind it doesn’t make sense. But who would ascribe God as having a natural mind? Seeing, therefore, that Jesus became weak and suffered the death of the cross that we would live, can we expect it to be different with us? Are the servants greater than their Master? Not at all. Paul spoke of the difficult road that we were to walk: "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, being made CONFORMABLE UNTO HIS DEATH; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead" Philippians 3:10 -11. Day by day, the written word is opening to us in this area. It is becoming alive by the spirit of revelation. It is also becoming increasingly clear that our lives are bearing it out. There are three things we see transpiring today: (1) The letter declares these truths, (2) the Spirit is quickening them to us, and (3) we daily walk it out. Who can deny such things, especially when that which is written and revealed to us becomes a reality? In relation to the hardships we endure while in our tabernacles, Paul said: "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 5:4-5. While in TABERNACLES, HUTS if you will, we groan, we are burdened, and for what purpose? That we might be clothed upon by a glorious body, and that mortality might be swallowed up of life! God wrought us, He made us, He called us to endure the same suffering as Jesus so we could be arrayed in the same glorious garment of life. Again, it doesn’t make sense to the natural mind that one must die to live, weep before he can laugh, know sorrow to be filled with joy, to be humiliated to be lifted up, to become naked to be clothed upon, to know darkness to come forth as Light. Paradoxes, yes, but true, just the same. Today, rather than large assemblies of God’s elect being gathered, most are dwelling in booths: small home gatherings, or individually, isolated, and alone. No wonder we don’t see those with a vision drawing together and trying to get something going, and the ones who try, fail. More than a handful of people meeting in one place for any length of time is a rarity. The simple truth is, it is the season of tabernacles, booths, huts! Until the seven day Feast of Tabernacles is over, and the dawning of the eighth day comes, we will remain alone. And it matters not if we are attending meetings or not — if we are in the Feast of Tabernacles, we will still be alone with God in His Dark Pavilions. On the other hand, if you are caught up in the latest "move of God," so called, and the excitement of large crowds is where you find your "life," it is very doubtful that you are in Tabernacles. For such things are the very opposite of this solemn Feast of Tabernacles where there is a rejoicing in the Spirit, but no display of the carnal soul and fleshly emotions. Some of what we see can be, I am sure, of God — but I cannot see it as the Feast of Tabernacles of which the sons of God are now partaking and anxiously awaiting its fulfillment. I certainly do not have a corner market on understanding all there is to know about the Feast of Tabernacles. Without a doubt, there are many who have a much greater understanding of this symbolic feast than myself; but to relate briefly from my obscure place, and with that feast being a type of the real feast, it appears to me that the seven days of rejoicing before the LORD while living in makeshift huts speaks of what we are and have been experiencing for sometime. However, after seven days of offerings by fire, perfection comes and is highlighted by the eighth day which is an holy convocation. The Hebrew for convocation in Leviticus 23:8 means to call out, that is, to address someone by name, and a solemn assembly speaks of a festival or holiday. (Strong’s). The Lord has been calling to the sons of God. They have been called by the true name/nature by which they were born, which was the same as Jesus Christ. They have been also called out of worldly Babylon and into their booths wherein they feast. We have long touted the fact that we are the anointed sons of God; but our understanding of this anointing may have been lacking. We had assumed it was the anointing of life and power, the anointing to rule and reign, the anointing to do exploits and to raise the dead, and this is not altogether wrong. For God hath wrought us for the selfsame life and power of Jesus. However, He not only made us for the selfsame life, but also the selfsame death. We see this anointing when the woman anointed Jesus with a precious ointment from an alabaster box, and the anointing was on behalf of HIS DEATH, of which Jesus said was good and was for HIS BURIAL! (rf. Matthew 26:7,10,12). Do we want the power of resurrection in our lives? Then let us receive the anointing of not only life, but that of death as well. We don’t have to enjoy it, but we can endure it as our Lord before us did: "...The Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame" Hebrews 12:2. Let us, therefore, rejoice for the joy that is set before us while being swept over by the cloud of death. Do we want to reside with God in His glorious Temple, which is the Lord coming in the corporate myriads of Himself? Then let His presence be known to us so that we can praise Him as we ought while in these tabernacles, while we abide in these temporary huts of humility when the renewing of our minds is made and our transformation comes. Before we are caught up to the throne of God, however, we must first descend into hell. Its dominion of darkness will embrace us sorely, this is sure, yet it can neither hold us nor destroy us. After it has worked its purpose, we shall turn and command it. We shall ascend with power and dominion over death, hell, and the grave. We can now see why Paul could say: "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in MY infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9b. To enforce his conviction of this truth, our Lord told him:" My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" 2 Corinthians 12:9a. And Paul wrote: "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." 1 Corinthians 1:27. Therefore, my friends, if you happen to be among those who are acquainted with the bitter waters of grief, and the lonely pavilions of darkness has been your place for seven days, take heart — you will shine on the morrow! Light Came Out Of Darkness "The people which sat in darkness saw GREAT LIGHT; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death Light is sprung up." Matthew 4:16. At various times we all have sat in darkness. Our first darkness was that of the world. It lasted until we saw the Great Light of Jesus Christ, and our souls were filled with unspeakable joy. What a day it was when He came forth into our lives as our Savior. He was as a warm summer’s dawn, and we were delivered from the power of darkness, and set into the kingdom of God’s dear Son as Paul wrote in Colossians 1:13. Most of us joined ourselves to a denominational church of some sort, wherein we were blessed for a season. Those confines satisfied, but not for very long. Where we had once known freedom and had seen light, darkness soon squeezed tightly about us. Our quest for life was calling us to be free, and it was not long that we saw again His Great Light, and to our surprise, it was not in the church where we presumed it had to be. It was in us, in our own hearts and mouths, Romans 10:8-9. It was in the same place we first saw it but had not realized it. With this new light shining, we tried to remain and share it with our friends, yet we found this to be futile; for our Lord had not called to them by name. Not only that, the longer we stayed attached to "our" church, the dimmer the light grew and the lonelier we became. The sweet, and sometimes not so sweet, people could not provide that for which our souls hungered, and surely, the man or woman we had set on an exalted pedestal could not supply that for which our souls longed. It was then that many of us took a leap of faith and left the protection of our "coverings." Once again the light shined brightly and illumined our pathway. We had no idea where it would lead; but we knew we could not remain in the stagnation of darkness to which the church system of dos and don’ts had descended. Our exodus was a must in order to continue our search for life, and life more abundant, as Jesus said He would give. Out of darkness we came. We were lights that came out of darkness. We had not, however, expected to leave one darkness for another. This was not in our vision. We could see in a vague way the grand things that pertained to Sonship; but what lay between us and our destiny was out of sight. The farther we walked, the more things changed, and they were not always pleasant. And now, rather than in the midst of manifested glory, we find ourselves secured in God’s pavilions of darkness. Even so, there is the true Light that still brightens our days within, sometimes brighter than others, as we have come to know. Outwardly, the dark waters and thick clouds may cover us over; but inwardly, we persevere and hold fast to He who is our Life. Many of us know the pain of sorrow, anguish, and longsuffering. They weigh heavily upon us at times. In the heat of the day, or the cold of the night, there seems to be little hope as the fierce winds of circumstances taunt us, and the waves of the storm beat relentlessly upon the eroding sands of our shorelines. Where we have built our beliefs upon the sands of man, they have washed away, and we have suffered loss; but that which was built upon the Rock remains. But let us rest assured, fellow hut dwellers — although "...weeping endures for a night, joy cometh in the morning" Psalm 30:5. And Jesus will "...give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" Luke 1:79. We may presently be in the shadow of death. Maladies and ongoing traumas may be very real; but as this seventh day of Tabernacles draws to a close, we can rejoice. The Great Light of our Lord shall guide our feet into the way of peace. It matters not if our minds and bodies are racked with pain, our eye is single. With our eye being single our whole body is full of light Luke 11:34. And this hidden light within our pavilions, if it has not already done so, will guide our feet into the way of peace. Although the pavilions of darkness are not pleasant, and at times there may be much suffering in these confines, we are not forsaken. Darkness may shroud us on all sides, yet we are blessed. When it seems that our frail ships will sink in these fierce storms, our Lord’s presence insures safe passage. Many of us can already say that in the face of overwhelming circumstances: "We have His perfect peace that passes all understanding. We do not complain, but rejoice always. Although we are compassed about by adversities, inwardly we do not walk in darkness. For we have the light of Life." (rf. John 8:12) Those lacking insight to why we are dwelling in makeshift huts will be quick and ready comforters. But their comfort will be akin to that of Job’s friends. If, however, they took the words of Paul to heart, they would be a little more at ease. He said: "But with me: yea, it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but He that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, UNTIL THE LORD COME, who both WILL BRING TO LIGHT the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God." 1 Corinthians 4:3-5. It appears to me that whether the things hidden are those evil things of the world mentioned in John 3:20, or they are God’s chosen vessels, when it is time for the Lord to bring them forth, every man will praise God. The manifestation of Christ in men’s lives works this way. When an evil man’s heart is made bare by the light of Jesus, and the fire of His Spirit burns it clean, he shall praise God, and especially with those whose hearts are fixed upon Him. His light will penetrate the darkness of their suffering as He lifts them out of the strange place of God’s dark pavilion, that secret place where we are. There is no doubt about it, we abide in His pavilion of dark waters and thick clouds, of which we are, and therein are we hidden! But praise God, we will not remain hidden forever! For He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness. He will manifest the counsel of our hearts, whether it be good or evil. Since our eye is single (It is, isn’t it?), the counsel of our hearts shall manifest good. These holy myriads of Himself that He comes in, and for the purpose to execute judgment, will come forth as a great light in a hopelessly dark world. That is what we have to look forward to, brethren, which is but one portion of the Apocalypse Jesus Christ. This fiery light shall strip bare the forests, revealing the nakedness of man to be judged, and because of it, everyone in the Temple of God will declare His glory Psalm 29:9. All the hidden things of the world, all those things covered over by man’s own righteousness and religious rituals (fig leaves), shall be exposed. Neither fig leaves of man’s religious practices, nor the flourishing leaves of his glory withstand the flames of the Spirit’s great light. There are other things that will strip a forest naked. The lack of rain will cause it to dry up and die. The icy chill of winter will rid broad-leaf trees of their covering. It takes more for the evergreen trees; those people who never change and seem to be everlasting in their self-willed ways. But fire will strip them clean. Regardless of what it takes to expose man for what he is, God will make sure it is done so he can be made whole in Jesus Christ. And as those in His temple praise Him, it will ultimately cause every soul to praise in like manner as we recall from 1 Corinthians 4:5. The gates of hell shall not prevail against this great exodus from the cave of Adullam to execute judgment. None can prevent God’s mysteries from coming out of darkness: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" 2 Corinthians 4:6. Huts of darkness may be our temporary living quarters; but we are not of the darkness and cannot remain there. "We are the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thessalonians5:5. In this pavilion of dark days, we may wonder on occasion how we can possibly make it; but our destiny is secure. When His candle shines upon our heads and in our minds, and when His light illumines our way, we will walk through the darkness (rf. Job 29:3). At times our sight may be diminished, especially in the season of affliction. During those time, the enemy seems to prevail against us as he plows through our lives. Deep furrows are made upon our backs, as it were; yet these days will not last forever, and don’t we know that the soil must be prepared and made ready for it to embrace the Seed? Furthermore, we know our Lord is righteous, and He will cut the cords that bind us tight Psalm 129:1-4. The Spirit in us refuses to relinquish. It won’t give up, for it rests neither day nor night until it brings us forth from darkness and into the full habitation of our mighty God and Father of spirits. There is a time and season for everything, and we are now living in the time of being hidden in God’s pavilion of Darkness. It is the season of being unseen and protected in the secret of His tabernacle. Yet there is also the time when He shall set us upon a Rock Psalm 27:5. And I can say this, brethren, anyone who is upon the Rock of Jesus Christ is no longer hidden! They are in plain view. They can be seen from a great distance. The seven days of Tabernacles are then over. Hence — the apocalypse of the body of Jesus Christ to execute judgment! In the closing hours of Tabernacles, we hear David’s words echoing down through the ages and into our own hearts: "O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it." Psalm 90:14-17. Amen and so be it! The Apocalypse Part 7 Publication #209.08 Pavilions of Darkness The Antichrist
We noticed in our previous article on the Pavilions of Darkness that God hides Himself in the most unlikely places of the universe; namely, in darkness, in dark waters, in thick clouds. These are His secret places wherein He abides; where the hidden riches of His treasures are held in reserve. Psalm 18:11 & 45:3, 15 It is strange that the church system has taught its people to look for Him somewhere in the heavens of outer space, rather than where the scriptures make it clear — in the pavilions of darkness, in the dark waters of His people, in the thick clouds of His many membered body. And herein He will remain until the hour of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ! Some who know the truth of the matter claim that the time of His appearing, that is, their appearing, has come; that the dawn of the Sun’s rising has arrived, that there is nothing more awaiting, all we have to do is to realize who we are and stop identifying with Adam. But the sad fact is, we see nothing more than what’s been in times past. For that matter, we see less than that which was in the past, such as in the days of the outpouring in 1948 which is known as Pentecost, or Latter Rain. And as great as that manifestation was, it did not establish the Kingdom of God in the earth. It did not to put an end to sorrow and death. What we hear can be enticing; for the words of man’s wisdom are often very convincing; but that which is claimed has had no spiritual strength, vitality, or impact. It hasn’t shaken the foundations of the world inwardly or outwardly that we can see. There hasn’t even been so much as a breeze blowing through the mulberry leaves of the kingdoms of men. Ill winds are certainly blowing, and fiercely in certain areas. They are surging through the religious, economical, and governmental kingdoms; but the winds are not that of the manifestation of the sons of God, not by any stretch of the imagination. The winds that are shaking things are, no doubt, of God; but they are in no way that of the appearing, the apocalypse of our Lord coming in holy myriads of Himself. It will come, but only to those who meet the conditions and qualify for that mighty company of overcomers. There awaits the real demonstration of the Spirit and power that’s given without measure. It is then that the incomprehensible ministry of the sons of God will be seen after everything that hinders and has sealed us tight is broken by the One found worthy to do so. It is then that our carnal coverings are removed, revealing from deep within that which has lain dormant. It will come forth with vibrance to reveal the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many of us have been with Him in those obscure places, in those thick clouds, dark waters, even that dark cave of Adullam. For some it has been a long time; but we will not lament because we know the purpose, and we will have our day in the Sun/Son. And the beauty is, no man or religious regime can stop its shining at the time of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. It is then that our Lord will be seen coming in the clouds of holy myriads OF HIMSELF to execute judgment! Jude 1:14-15. It is then that wisdom will excel folly and light will excel darkness. Ecclesiastes 2:13. To be reminded, this apocalypse will come by none other than by the might and Spirit of our Lord Jesus. And it will certainly not be in need of special men and women to orchestrate it. There will be no need to keep it hemmed in and bound by religious creeds, doctrines, and rituals. Men will not be able to promote it in order to let the world know that God is on the move; for as it is with the Sun, no one has to go to be told by an astro-physicist to know it is shining, and also with the wind. No one has to be told when it is blowing. We may need weather forecasters to tell us when it will be a windy day in certain regions, such as when they forewarned Galveston, Texas that Hurricane Ike was on the way; but no one had to be told once it’s fierce breath began to blow hard upon them. And so it will be with the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. No one knows the day and hour; but you are being told that it is coming, and once it arrives, nobody will have to be told, and no one will have to make claims or spin a good yarn to convince the world that it is so; for a blast of fire in the face is convincing of itself. Moreover, as this fire-storm blows, there will be no personalities standing in high places over the people of "their" churches and TV audiences. Wherever the sons of God are, there will be the manifested Church of Jesus Christ. This Church cannot be wrangled or owned by enterprising entrepreneurs, and neither will there be in this company those seeking their own glory. It is all Jesus Christ in those who are conformed and transformed to the express image of their Father. Frankly, this unveiling is already dawning in the secret pavilions of people’s lives. They are not known by the world nor by those of mainstream religion, and it is no mystery as to why this is. They are scattered throughout the world. There is a handful here, a few there; but as a whole, they are not visibly collected together, and they are not pushing themselves to the forefront to be seen by anyone. Yet, things are taking place with these derelicts and misfits in the secret pavilions of darkness with David, that is Jesus, in the cave of Adullam. Although standing by, unseen and unheard, their Commander is building them into a mighty army of soon to be glorified sons of God with which to be reckoned! These members of the body of Christ, like vapor particles of dark clouds, are being joined together in the Spirit of their Lord, awaiting the first command, the first charge, the first lightning bolt, His blazing word that will bring them cohesively together and send them earthbound as mighty torrents of consuming fire. What a blazing apocalypse! Although obscure and weak, they are obedient to the call, which qualifies them to be mighty men of valor. They await the command that will release and reveal them like a flood-tide of fire all over the earth. The three and a half years Jesus was manifested as the Son of God was tremendous; but what do you suppose it will be when He comes in the clouds of holy myriads OF HIMSELF to execute Judgment? There will be much greater works than what He did as one Son. It will bring an end to all revivals; for this will not be to revive people to their former estate when they were first saved, but to transform them to a new State called the Kingdom of God. Religious movements as we had known will cease, along with secular and political schemes. This is the apocalypse of Jesus Christ gathering into Himself His Ecclesia, the called out ones, the true assembly of the living God and His Christ! From temporary tabernacles we will see this MAN moving into the Temple! No more booths, pavilions of darkness, but the glorious Temple of God wherein dwells Christ Jesus and His body. And please know, this Temple is not one to be built in the land of Israel. It is His body of many members. It is where He presently dwells and from where He rules and will always rule. Out of weakness, like a helpless worm in a cocoon, we come forth from the confines of Adullam, transformed and made new. God will measure out His power upon those who walk through the deep valley of the shadow of death, who are weakened by disease, who are weakened by hardships, or who are weakened by being overrun by varied pressures, tragedies, and deaths. Some will judge our adverse circumstances and inactive lives as being out of the will of God; but they do not understand the basic principle, when we are weak He is strong. You see, Jesus became poor that we, His body, might become rich, and as we become poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven becomes ours. We do remember, don’t we, that in order for Jesus to become the Lion of the tribe of Judah, He had to be led in humility as a sheep to the slaughter? (Acts 8:32). And before all men could drink of the River of Life, He had to empty Himself. He divested Himself of power and authority so He could come forth with greater power and authority in holy myriads of Himself. In death, He ceased from the Father’s works so greater works could be done by those of His corporate Body. He sounded no call to arms to his followers. He did not call legions of angels to defend Him in His most crucial hour. He opened not His mouth. Rather than arraying Himself in glory, He submitted to the humility of being stripped naked and beaten. Rather than taking His rightful place upon earth’s regal throne, He relinquished it to endure the anguish of being nailed to a rugged cross. Not a likely seat of the Royal Master. But rather than taking His position as the King of kings, He divested Himself and became the servant of all. The richest man in the universe became the poorest of all, having no place to lay His head or call His own. In death, he had no hallowed mausoleum to enshrine His pierced body. He was not laid in repose where the bodies of men of honor are committed. No eternal flame was lit for Him. A tomb had to be borrowed for His burial. At His birth, a stable was borrowed for His delivery, and the animal’s feed-trough took the place of a goose-down bed, symbolizing that His body would feed the nations of the world. He was not born in the midst of great men who would marvel at His majesty, but among the beasts of burden. They were his companions in birth, and throughout his life, such were also his friends. What a wonder to say the least! Out of Darkness where He was hidden came forth the Mystery of the ages — and that Great Light shined in a dark world! The Apocalypse of God’s firstborn Son! He was crucified in the weakness of flesh as the son of man, but "He was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Romans 1:4. Men destroy their enemies by killing them; but Jesus destroyed his enemies by dying for them, and even at their own hands. He set the precedent for every son to follow. Go thou and do likewise. It doesn’t make sense to the natural mind that one must die to live, weep before he can laugh, know sorrow to be filled with joy, to be humiliated to be lifted up, to become naked to be clothed upon, to know darkness to come forth as light. What a paradox! To the natural mind it doesn’t make sense. But God’s mind is not natural! Seeing, therefore, that Jesus became weak and suffered the death of the cross that we could live, can we expect it to be different with us? Are the servants greater than their Master? Not at all. Paul spoke of this difficult road that we must walk: "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead" Philippians 3:10-11. After we are conformed to His death, what comes next? Resurrection, of course! For that is the principle of life. A seed must fall into the ground and die before it can sprout as a plant and live. We have fallen into the carnal ground of our minds and bodies, and as the plantings of the Lord, we too shall rise out of obscurity and live. We have long vaunted the fact that we are the anointed sons of God; but our understanding of this anointing may have been lacking. We had assumed it was the anointing of life and power, the anointing to rule and reign, the anointing to do exploits and to raise the dead, and this is not altogether wrong. For God hath wrought us for the selfsame life and power of Jesus. However, He not only made us for the selfsame life, but also the selfsame death. We see this anointing when the woman anointed Jesus with a precious ointment from an alabaster box, and the anointing was on behalf of HIS DEATH and BURIAL, and Jesus said what she did was good! (rf. Matthew 26:7,10,12. Can we say the same concerning our own anointing? Has it been unto death? That’s a difficult one; but don’t we want the power of resurrection in our lives? Then let us receive the anointing of not only life, but that of death as well. We are not mandated to enjoy it, but we can endure it as our Lord before us "...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame" Hebrews 12:2. We will, therefore, rejoice for the joy that is set before us while being swept over by the shroud of death and we descend into hell. Its dominion of darkness will and has embraced us sorely, this is sure, yet it can neither hold nor destroy us! But after it has worked its purpose, we shall turn and command it! We shall ascend with power and dominion over death, hell, and the grave. Moreover, when we hear these words by the Spirit of revelation, we can say: "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." With confidence, we will know that God’s grace is sufficient; for our strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9. Truly, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and hath chosen the weak things to confound they who are mighty. 1 Corinthians 1:27. Therefore, my friends, if you happen to be among those who are acquainted with the bitter waters of grief, and the lonely pavilions of darkness, take heart — you will shine on the morrow as He comes in the holy myriads of Himself to execute judgment! There are various ways that God brings judgment. Some of those ways are by His right hand; by Christ being manifested in His word and in His saints of glory, bringing people to a godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation. One, I am sure, will be much more pronounced, the apocalypse of Jesus Christ together with the sons of God. Other forms of judgment are by His left hand. This judgment may entail rogue rulers, enemies of the State, wars, world class bankers, failing economies, terrorism, wars, and countless other circumstances beyond man’s control. The Antichrist With the present political and economical situations of this nation, many are very concerned. Millions have been gripped by fear. They feel that all might be lost: homes, jobs, retirement, even their freedom. Some are saying that the greatest depression the world has ever known is on the horizon. Some have a degree of hope by believing the president-elect has the answers. He is looked upon as their savior — a black man riding from the east upon a white horse to save the day. Some are too busy with games and entertainment to have thought about him one way or the other. Many are in such a stupor from drugs and alcohol addiction that they can’t think at all. While others believe this mysterious man who came out of obscurity is not their savior, but the antichrist. The notion could be equally applied to numerous U.S. presidents, not to mention many cabinet members and Supreme Court justices, as well as those who occupy the halls of congress; yet not in the sense of what is commonly thought about the antichrist. According to the Bible, and I am sure to the surprise of many, there is no such thing as "the antichrist"; that is, not as it has been so commonly taught, and with such rigor that most people assume it is a primary tenant of faith that is rooted deeply in scripture. But there are no scriptures on which to base this presumption when the scriptures are taken in context and the greater picture is seen. Even so, with this being one of the foremost thoughts in so many minds since the election, Barack Obama seems to be the closest man so far to fit that infamous character’s assumed image. None of the other supposed antichrists had such charisma as to command a world-wide following, nor were they worshiped so greatly. Other figures of days gone by who were tagged as this man of infamy include Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, Pope John Paul II, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan to mention a few; but none have taken center stage and have been so gloriously arrayed as this young man. It is no small wonder that he has so polarized the people with either being seen as the savior or the antichrist. He certainly is a very interesting individual to say the least. And I have no doubt about it; he has been raised up to serve God’s purpose that no other could fill, whether for good or evil. Moreover, as His sovereign plan unfolds — I believe those of the world will first be affected with wonder. They will then be astonished, and later on, stunned, if you please! But let us back off a bit and scan this idea of the antichrist a little more closely by seeing what the scriptures have to say about it. There are only four verses that use the word: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that *(the) antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is *(the) antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:18, 22. "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of *(the) antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come (Grk, is come, present tense); and even now already IS it in the world." 1 John 4:3. "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an *(the) antichrist." 2 John 1:7. Since each verse contains the definite article, the or of the, does this mean that the antichrist is one specific man of the future who will be the devil incarnate and who will deceive and rule the entire world? Not by any means! For the context of these verses in no way suggests such an idea. Let us, therefore, take into consideration the context: "Little children, it is the last time (Grk. hÇra, hour): and as ye have heard that the antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it IS the last time (hÇra, hour). They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is *(the) antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."1 John 2:18-22. The antichrist(s) were the ones John was talking about at that time which he called the last hour. He was not remotely talking about 2,000 years or so down the road, and neither was he mistaken about what he was saying. Namely, that the antichrist was the same as the many antichrists and that they were already on the scene. He was saying that the many antichrists were they who went out from them, they were not of them, if they had been, they would have continued with them, but they went out so they could be revealed for who they really were — the antichrist. And whoever denies the Father and the Son, he is the antichrist. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 1 John 4:1-6. Again, we have the same scenario. The plurals, many false prophets and they who are of the world, are synonymous to the singular he who was at that time not of God and could not hear what the apostles were saying by the Spirit of Christ. Nowhere do these verses suggest the antichrist would be coming two or three thousand years later. "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This IS a deceiver and an (the) antichrist." 2 John 1:7. John was equating the singular and plural as being the same, and the context was no different in this verse than it was with the others. It was for that time period, for that day, for that hour, and he was not saying that the many deceivers were a man called the antichrist two thousand years later. The apostle was referring to people who denied Jesus had come in the flesh of His physical body. Neither did they believe the Spirit of Jesus Christ had come in the flesh of His many-membered body, nor did they confess or manifest His Spirit in their own lives, as a confession suggests. Paul also wrote about a man that many think is the same notorious antichrist. He called him the man of sin, the son of perdition that Daniel the prophet spoke of who would sit (Grk, kathizÇ, seat, settle, hover) in the Temple of God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). And Jesus referred to the man in Daniel’s prophecy as well, who was called the abomination of desolation. (Matthew 25:15). Neither Daniel, Paul, nor Jesus were referring to someone in our day; but this man was for that time, a Roman general whose name was Titus. He desolated the city of Jerusalem, then opposed and exalted himself above God by destroying the Temple that represented the very presence and power of Israel’s God. This was an act of setting himself up as God. It was a declaration to the world, especially to the Jews, that there was no god greater than the self-exalted Titus Flavius Vespasianus who later became the emperor of Rome. This was the abominable man of that hour for the Jews. It was their last hour, and it ended in 70 A.D. He fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel, Jesus, and Paul. Let us note that the Temple that was destroyed will never be rebuilt as it has been supposed by many. You see, when God destroys anything, especially that which has to do with the Old Covenant, He does not set out to rebuild it. With the New Covenant having been established by Jesus, the new Temple of God became His many-membered body. He does not dwell in buildings made by human hands, not even one in Jerusalem that men want to build in order to help pave the way for Him to come again. The fact is, He has much better accommodations wherein He is already dwelling — His body of many members, His body of many mansions, that is, His body of many abodes. So let the Muslims have the Dome of the Rock where the Temple once stood. God doesn’t need it, Jesus doesn’t need it, and neither do we! We are secure where we are in Him, and He in us. Satan and all who are one with him are deceivers. They appear as light but are not of the light. It is impossible for them to confess, or manifest the light, the anointing, the Christ. They are the opposite, or instead of Christ. They are actors, imposters. Again, they are the antichrist(s). There is a many-membered body of Christ, and there is a many-membered body that makes up the antichrist (not one man). This antichrist is comprised of all the religious systems and people who are void of the Spirit of Christ. They are also those who may be embraced as secular saviors, those who embody the political ideals that people look to for their safety, prosperity, and welfare. You see, in the same manner that those of the body of Christ are inspired by the Spirit of Christ Who makes blind eyes see, the body of the antichrist is inspired by the god of this world who blinds eyes that could see. Antichrist, from the compound Greek word, anti-christos. Anti means, opposite of or instead of, and christos means anointed. The Antichrist is principally the spirit of the religious, political, and economic systems of the world. It is that which takes the place of Jesus Christ! Anything that exalts itself as a solution to the pollution (as our late friend, Stacy Wood used to say) is instead of Christ. It is a pretense! It is something that can suggest a supreme answer to the question of extreme problems. It is a deceiver. It is also, of course, anyone who rises in self-exaltation to be a superior guide for people when it is Christ who is to be the principle guide. The antichrist is not a political leader, although many of the rulers of the kingdoms of men are certainly antichrists. People have voiced their grave concern about Barack Obama being our president, and they believe he is the antichrist. It may be noted that most of our presidents and politicians have been deceivers (antichrists) in one fashion or the other. How else could they have been elected? Even at that, they were playing into the hand of God, of course, they didn’t know it. A deceiver is one who transforms himself into an angel of light. He is, therefore, anti-light, or instead of light, darkness, a lie. He is an antichrist. The world is full of them, and I do not doubt that the people will suffer greatly in the days to come. However, we should not be shaken over it. For, you see, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" 2 Timothy 1:7, and Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27. Moreover, "This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." Daniel 4:17. Are you still unconvinced that it is God, and not the people or the electoral college who place the person of His choosing in office: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance (Grk. diatag‘, arrangement, institution) of God." Romans 13:1-2. Man, oh man! That’s a hard one! It does appear that there will be a flood of unprecedented hardships and evil to sweep over this nation and the world as the Psalmist wrote: "The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves." Psalm 93:3. However, let us not forget that "The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever." Psalm 29:10. So what is there to fear? Even if this man is a cunning serpent and brings the U.S. to her knees, as many believe will happen — the most High, the Lord rules this kingdom. It may be true that God’s plan is to use a chastening rod called Barrack Hussein Obama; and if so, can we not say, Praise God; for is this not one of the things that will set the stage for the apocalypse of Jesus Christ and His many-membered body? Perhaps by the Spirit of Christ we can say it; but it’s a little difficult in the natural. One the other hand, Obama may prove to be one of the best presidents this nation has ever had. I hope this is the case. We will see. Even if that comes to be so, one thing is sure, neither this man nor any other man or woman nor political party is the solution to this mountain of pollution. It is like our dear friend and co-laborer in Christ, Preston Eby, said: "Adam is the man who made this mess, so Adam is not the man who is going to get us out of it." You see, man has spent 6,000 years bringing us to this point of degradation, and he can only make it worse. There is only one man who has the answers, actually: He is the answer, and that man is Christ Jesus in the body of holy myriads of Himself. This body is being raised up to be the solution to the pollution! Praise God! What an hour! What an apocalypse! The Apocalypse Part 8 Publication #210.09 The Abomination of Desolation "Therefore when you see the *'abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand)," Matthew 24:15 (NKJV). *(abomination: Grk. bdelugma; "a detestation, that is, (specifically) idolatry" (Strong’s Exh. Conc.). "Of idols and things pertaining to idolatry." Thayer’s) It has been believed by many, and generally taught, that the abomination of desolation is the infamous Antichrist. It is said that he will make a covenant of peace which he will break after 3 ½ years. The present political and economic situations have set such a stage that some have come to believe our new president is the Antichrist; if so, he would supposedly be the fulfillment of (Daniel 11 & 12), (Matthew 24) and (Luke 21). Many have become very concerned over all this, and a foreboding fear has gripped their trembling hearts. They feel that all might be lost, including their freedom. People are stockpiling food, money, guns, and ammunition. People are saying that the greatest depression this nation has ever known is on the horizon. To the contrary, as mentioned in our previous article, it is also believed by some, especially the younger generation, that our new president is the answer to all their fears, that all will be well, or become well, under his watch. This brilliant black man is looked upon as their savior and will save the day. However, I have grave doubts. I do not see such redemption as a part of God’s curriculum. Notwithstanding, it is truly amazing to see such a spirit in action. I have not heard much of what he is saying since the election; but from what I witnessed during the campaign, I believe he could have said almost anything, and it would have been heard by the majority, it seems, as being the solution to the pollution. For instance, I believe he could have plainly said something like the following, and it would have been received with open arms: "My fellow Americans, these are my plans for when I am elected your president. I will bring this nation down by raising the taxes so high for every corporation, business, and every soul of any means. I will institute laws that will remove every weapon and firearm from every home that could be used to protect the owners of those homes and lands. I will render null and void the fourth amendment to the Constitution. I will see to it that there will be no laws imposed that will hinder the search and seizure of personal properties by U.N. forces, military personnel, law officers of the nation, states, counties, and cities. To protect women’s rights to the extent that they will have absolute liberty over their bodies to do with them as they please. I will insure that they will be able to have abortions without limitations which will be paid for by special government agencies to be formed for that cause. Moreover, for the sake of the well-being of Homeland Security and the Government, no one will be free to come and go as they please. This will also be for the good of the common people." Not by any means am I suggesting that President Obama declared such things; and my scenario is not to demean him in any way; but I present the above only to shed light on the spirit that has pervaded the world whether for good or evil, and each person has their own opinion of which it is. But what I am saying, had he been a man with such plans, and had he expressed them before the TV cameras of the world, this permeating spirit would have made his words to flow like quick-silver, like electrically charged poetry, or a fresh stream gushing out of obscurity and carrying the mind into the ethereal seas of tranquility. Such was the spirit that seemed to cover the entire world, and it was most interesting to watch. Of course, if something like the above had actually been said, the opposition would have been all over it, while those so enamored by him would have fought to the death for him and his plans, saying: "But he said it so well, and he made us feel so good. There is no way he could possibly bring bad things into our lives." The fact is, I heard similar things spoken by those being interviewed by the media when asked why they were voting for him. This scenario, of course, is extreme; but I wanted us to reflect and realize that it was a spirit that swept over the people that caused them to be so swayed by one man with such questionable associations, and being accused by radio talk show hosts of having intensified liberal views of Socialism. Regardless of what was tied to him, it did not matter to his supporters. With that, let me ask; From where or from whom did this spirit come? Was this one man alone able to mesmerize a large percentage of the world? Was it the liberal news media responsible for influencing the people to such a degree as this? And do we think it was the majority of voters that elected him to the presidency? Or could it be that it was from the devil that such power and authority was given? Some believe this to be the case; but, frankly, I do not believe it was any of the above. For if we put any faith in what Daniel the prophet and the apostle Paul said, this cannot possibly be true. They made it clear that it is God who sets men as rulers over nations, including all the powers descending from those heads. He even sends lying spirits into the mouths of prophets and strong delusions to people so they will believe a lie. That’s right, God does things like this. Check it out for yourselves in (1 Kings 22:22, 23) and (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Daniel recorded this for us:; "This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." (Daniel 4:17). Paul’s account was: "For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God." (Romans 13:1, 2). There are times when the powers that He places over nations for bringing about blessings and abundance, especially when their foundations are grounded in Him, and we have seen such with this nation, Canada, and western Europe; but the right hand of blessing is showing signs of being withdrawn, and there is no wonder. If we look at the signs of the weather in the field of politics, economics, religion, and morality, it certainly appears that there will be a flood of unprecedented hardships and evil to sweep over this nation and the world, even as the Psalmist wrote: "The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves." (Psalm 93:3). However, let us not fret, fear, or forget that "The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever." (Psalm 29:10). So what is there to fear, brethren? Even if this young man is a cunning serpent and brings the U.S. to her knees, along with the world, as many believe will happen — the most High, the Lord rules in all the kingdoms of the world. It may be true that God’s plan is to use a chastening rod called Barrack Hussein Obama with the help of the 635 members of the House and Senate, the 9 Supreme Court justices, the 42,000 or so special-interest lobbyists, not to mention the banking system along with the feds. Even if this is so, can we not say, Praise God; for can we not also see that this could very well be a part of what will set the stage for the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ and His many-membered body? Although to some, Barrack Obama may be their messiah/savior, which would make him an antichrist according to the word’s definition, instead of Christ, this does not make him the Antichrist which many are expecting and believe is already here. Frankly, and no doubt to the surprise of many, there is no place in the Bible that singles out one man as "the Antichrist." Moreover, there was more than one man, Titus and his army, who were involved in Jerusalem’s destruction, and they were collectively called the abomination of desolation of which Daniel and Jesus spoke. Paul’s reference to him was the man of sin, the son of perdition. Our friend, Royce Kennedy wrote a significant amount concerning this man, of which we include a portion: "Here is a brief account of an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus .And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city, and upon the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings lying round about it, brought their ensigns to the temple, and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to them, and there did they make Titus imperator with the greatest acclamations of joy.’ All of this was in direct violation of Jewish law, and was spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Their sacrifices, their ensigns, and the fact that these ungodly, heathen Romans were on ‘holy ground’ was deemed by Daniel to be an abomination before God, and they were there to bring desolation upon the Jews and upon the city itself. "Josephus said: Now the number of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand; as was the number of those that perished during the whole siege, eleven hundred thousand [1,100,000], the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation, but not belonging to the city itself; for they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread, and were on a sudden shut up by the army. "The destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D.70 is, by now, a well established fact; but we will need to revisit the Book of Daniel to certify if the prophet did actually foretell a worldwide tribulation and a future rise of the Anti-Christ as being propagated by notable bible scholars and religious leaders today. We will have to do diligence to observe who said what, to whom, and to what intent. We study these biblical truths so as to add a better understanding to the times we live in, and to have a better knowledge of what is likely to happen next. We need not look into a crystal ball or consult a palm reader; for as Daniel himself noted, ‘the wise shall understand.’" Luke gave this account of what Jesus said: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Luke 21:20 (NKJV). You see, the uncircumcised army of Titus with their idolatrous banners was not the only one to have defiled the holy place. Among others, there was one we hear little about. By noting history, we can see that what Luke wrote about was also the Roman general, Cestius Gallus and his army. This was the first part of the abomination of desolation which occurred in A.D.66. His army surrounded the city of Jerusalem, which was considered by the Jews as the holy city, i.e., the holy place, and it was defiled by this abomination of idol worshipers. There were many notable men who maintained that both Luke 21 and Matthew 24 were speaking of the armies of Rome being the abomination that defiled and ultimately destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, which was the end of that age. Clearly, it was not a prophecy for the latter days of this age. To list a few of these scholars of the past: "For this it seems to me that the abomination of desolation means the army by which the holy city of Jerusalem was made desolate." (St. John Chrysostom of Antioch (347-407), The Ante-Nicene Fathers). "Luke to show that the abomination spoken of by Daniel will take place when Jerusalem is captured, recalls these words of the Lord in the same context: When you shall see Jerusalem compassed about with an army, then know that the desolation thereof is at hand (xxi. 20). For Luke very clearly bears witness that the prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled when Jerusalem was overthrown." (Augustine's commentary on Matthew 24:15 The Abomination of Desolation (379) vol. 6, pg. 170). "This portion of our Saviour's words appears to relate solely to the destruction of Jerusalem. As soon as Christ's disciples saw ‘the abomination of desolation,’ that is, the Roman ensigns, with their idolatries, ‘stand in the holy place,’ they knew that the time for their escape had arrived; and they did flee to the mountains." ( C.H. Spurgeon (1888), Matthew: The Gospel of the Kingdom, pg. 215). "The abomination of desolation means the Roman army and is so explained by (Luke 21:20). The Roman army is further called the abomination on account of the images of the emperor, and the eagles, carried in front of the legions, and regarded by the Romans with divine honours." (Albert Barnes (1949), Matthew pg. 254). Quoting Flavius Josephus, Phillip Schaff, in his History of the Christian Church, vol. 1 pp. 397-398, gives us a vivid picture of the destruction of Jerusalem: "‘Titus (according to Josephus) intended at first to save that magnificent work of architecture, as a trophy of victory, and perhaps from some superstitious fear; and when the flames threatened to reach the Holy of Holies he forced his way through flame and smoke, over the dead and dying, to arrest the fire. But the destruction was determined by a higher decree. His own soldiers, roused to madness by the stubborn resistance, and greedy of the golden treasures, could not be restrained from the work of destruction. At first the halls around the temple were set on fire. Then a firebrand was hurled through the golden gate. When the flames arose the Jews raised a hideous yell, and tried to put out the fire; while others, clinging with a last convulsive grasp to their Messianic hopes, rested in the declaration of a false prophet, that God in the midst of the conflagration of the Temple would give a signal for the deliverance of his people. The legions vied with each other in feeding the flames, and made the unhappy people feel the full force of their unchained rage. Soon the whole prodigious structure was in a blaze and illuminated the skies. It was burned on the tenth of August, A.D. 70, the same day of the year on which, according to tradition, the first temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. No one can conceive a louder, more terrible shriek, than arose from all sides during the burning of the temple. The shout of victory and the jubilee of the legions sounded through the wailing of the people, now surrounded with fire and sword, upon the mountain, and throughout the city. The echo from all the mountains around, even to Perea, increased the deafening roar. Yet the misery itself was more terrible than this disorder. The hill on which the temple stood was seething hot, and seemed enveloped to its base in one sheet of flame. The blood was larger in quantity than the fire, and those that were slain were more in number than those that slew them. The ground was nowhere visible. All was covered with corpses; over these heaps the soldiers pursued the fugitives. "‘The Romans planted their eagles on the shapeless ruins, over against the eastern gate, offered their sacrifices to them, and proclaimed Titus Imperator with the greatest acclamations of joy.’ Thus was fulfilled the prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place." — End quote. "Although many commentators hold that Matthew here portrays not just the Fall of Jerusalem but also the Great tribulation before Antichrist comes, the details in vv. 16-21 are too limited geographically and culturally to justify that view." (Frank Gaebelein, The Expositors Bible Commentary). A summary by another of the destruction of Jerusalem: "In 66 AD, the Jews, greatly troubled by the procurator of Judea, Florus, revolted against Rome. In that same year, Cestius Gallus, came upon Jerusalem to end the revolt, but for some reason withdrew and nearly lost his troops to the retaliating Jews. "In 67 AD, the Roman Emperor, Nero, sent General Vespasian to end the uprising once and for all. Giving time for civil war in Jerusalem to weaken Jewish forces, Vespasian marched through Galilee, where the leader of the revolt in that region, Josephus, surrendered. Convincing the general to spare his life, Josephus later accompanied the Roman army as it laid siege to Jerusalem. "In 68 AD, Nero committed suicide, and civil war ensued as four emperors took the throne between June 68 AD and December 69 AD. It was during this time that Vespasian, the fourth and final emperor of 69 AD, was proclaimed Caesar by the army, and so decided to head for Rome, leaving the problems in Judea to his son, Titus. It was Titus who laid siege to the city, and ultimately destroyed it, along with the temple. In perfect harmony with the words of Jesus, Josephus attributes this desolation to the unwillingness of the wicked Jews to surrender." (Jeff Randolph, Brief Summary of the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD). The Roman armies were an abomination to the Jews, not only because they consisted of uncircumcised heathens, but as mentioned previously, because of the images of their gods that they had upon their ensigns. You see, images and idols were always an abomination to the Jews. Therefore, when the disciples of Jesus and followers (later to become Christians) were told by Jesus that when they saw the Roman armies compassing their holy city, that is, the holy place, with those idolatrous images of abominations flying on them, they should know that the city’s destruction was at hand. All three, Daniel, Jesus, and Paul were foretelling what would be the defilement and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and this would be at the end of that day by the son of perdition, the man of sin, the abomination of desolation. Those prophetic words were not a forewarning of an antichrist for our day. Since this plain truth was not seen by the dispensational Bible scholars, the scriptures pertaining to A.D. 70 have been so convoluted by theories, suppositions, and charts with a 2000 year break in their "middle of the week," it boggles the mind. The simple fact is, the prophecies were fulfilled and became history when the Roman armies with their images and standards of false gods compassed the holy place of Jerusalem, and ultimately sacrificed to their idols on the Temple altar. And when Jesus said, "Whoever reads, let him understand," and Daniel wrote, the living may know, it was made clear that what was being said could be heard by those in Christ, but would not be understood by anyone else. He was drawing attention to those who could hear the true meaning of His words. Namely, when you see the abomination which makes desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, standing in the holy place, trampling about, advancing into that which is forbidden, trespassing that which is holy, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, that is the sign of Jerusalem’s destruction. Again, His words were not warnings of the Antichrist that goes by the name of Barrack Hussein Obama. However, we will, no doubt, in the course of events be facing many hardships; even so, the warnings of Jesus were for that day and not ours. The predicted abomination of desolation, the man of sin, is a thing of the past. Both the written and anointed word of God must be rightly divided, or confusion will be the product. Another thought to consider; abomination in the Hebrew and Greek has to do with idolatry, idol worship. Therefore, if this is speaking of President Obama, would it mean that he will be taking idols into some church and worshiping them; such as, in the Sistine Chapel, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ, or perhaps the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. (the largest Catholic church in the Americas)? Or would he impose a national law or draw up an executive order saying that all the people and every church in the U.S. would have to become idol worshipers of his choice, an abomination that would bring spiritual desolation upon on them? If indeed he is the abomination of desolation, prior to the idol worship mandate, would he make a covenant with the people of this nation and the churches promising them peace and safety, as well as an international peace pact in the Middle East guaranteeing Israel’s security, only to break the covenant after 3 ½ years which would bring about world-wide famine, plagues, wars, tumultuous weather conditions, et al? Are we getting the picture? Such a notion is not in the realm of reality, and it is certainly not in the realm of scriptural truth. For instance, generally when people teach on the Antichrist, two words in (Daniel 9:27) that are in conjunction with the word covenant have been ignored and replaced by two others. They are the words, confirms the covenant, and the words used in dispensational teachings are, makes a covenant. This is one of the errors that helps to cloud the true meaning: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:27. It is not, He shall make a covenant but He shall confirm the covenant, strengthen it, and it is the abominations that are made desolate in this verse. At the consummation of those abominations having been destroyed, that which is determined, Christ, will be poured out upon those having been desolated by the abominations. We will quote again Brother Kennedy for clarity on this thought: "We understand that we can only ‘confirm’ something that is already in place, and the verse in Daniel 2:27 did not say ‘make a covenant’ as we are told to believe. Messiah did ‘confirm the covenant with many for a week.’ The issue is closed forever! The experts seemingly, have mistaken Messiah for ‘antichrist’ and in so doing, have ran thousands into shipwreck. Those deluded by this error will no doubt seek to invent their own antichrist....There will always be curious minds busy at work, trying to create a man to fit their off-the-wall beliefs. To confirm the latter part of Daniel 9:27, Jesus said: ‘The days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.’ (Luke 19:43, 44). This prophecy carries profound ramifications, and totally underscores the words of Daniel quoted in the passage above. Neither Daniel nor Jesus Christ inserted an antichrist in this lesson as we can clearly see." Jesus confirmed, made strong and unbreakable, the old covenant by His death. It caused the animal sacrifices to cease. His death stopped the abominations of the legalistic Pharisees and Sadducees by making them desolate. God’s determination of life and liberty for all in Christ was and shall be poured upon all the desolate souls of mankind. Is this not clear? If not, I need to take an English grammar course beyond my high school Language Arts education; or better, pray that the spirit of revelation is mercifully received by all who read these few pages. Frankly, it is the hour for the minds of intellectual giants of the world and of Christendom to be pierced deeply by one of the five smooth stones of David’s sling. It is time for that huge head to be cut off by the anointed word of the Lord so God’s people can be made free from worry, fear, and intimidation. It is time to know that neither the antichrist of religious contrivance, nor the economic collapse, is a giant to fear. But rather, it is time to rejoice; for the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ is drawing near! Praise God! The Apocalypse Part 9 Publication #211.09 Dispensationalism And The Rapture
We noticed in our previous article what the abomination of desolation was and especially what it was not. For one, we saw that the abomination is not President Obama even though some believe he is. Hopefully, I made it clear that the abomination of desolation was not in the remotest way speaking of this man or any other individual man. I especially wanted the reader to know that I spoke no ill toward him, that God had ordained him for His special purpose. Moreover, whether that purpose is for good, ill, or nil, how can we take sides and be for or against him? Don’t we know that we are not citizens of this world? And this nation is one of the kingdoms of the world that will become the kingdom of the Lord and of His anointed. Don’t we know that we are foreigners in a strange land, ambassadors of Christ, and when we get uptight and bent out of shape over what we see in the adamic world of darkness and death, our allegiance can be misdirected? We can become as the Jews who were incited by Barabbas, the insurrectionist in the Jewish resistance against the Romans. If we find ourselves vilifying the leader of this nation, then we are vilifying God and declaring that we know better than He does about what is good for the people of this country as well as the world. Such a testimony is openly declaring that we believe we have better judgment than God, the very one who put the man in that office to either frame or de-frame the nation. Many believe His appointment is for framing, for building up; but as I wrote last month, I do not see this is part of God’s curriculum at this time, and the fact is, I would certainly not be disappointed if I am proven wrong. My natural man says, "I hope I am wrong," while my spirit says, "So be it, Father. Thy will be done." Having said that, let me ask again; Who was it that placed Barack Obama in office? Was this one man alone who was able to memorize a large percentage of the world? And he, was indeed, mesmerizing to many, and we have seen it before. We saw it with John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Billy Graham, and such is not necessarily bad. Not by any means. There are certain people who have a god-given charisma about them that causes others to take notice. I believe there was a spirit that overshadowed the multitude when Billy Graham would minister his word of salvation. Thousands, perhaps millions, were mesmerized, and this was good. They were transfixed by the spirit that I believe was more often than not the Spirit of Christ. The same happened with Kennedy, Reagan, and also with Adolf Hitler; but I don’t believe it was Christ’s Spirit working in them. It was a spirit sent by God to serve His purpose at the time; but it was not the anointed Spirit of Jesus Christ. Notwithstanding, some of it was for good and some for evil, and it was all in God’s hands. Do you think not? Consider this: "I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! ...Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? ...Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me." Isaiah 45:6-11. [This is what the LORD says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? Isaiah 45:11 (NIV).] You see, it is the LORD who brings both good and evil upon nations for the purpose of bringing them to salvation (talk about tough love, this is it). Therefore, it is no great wonder that so many were mesmerized by Barack Obama whether for good or evil. It was a spiritual phenomena, and God did it. It wasn’t the news media, it wasn’t the voters who were smarter than the opposing team that elected him to the presidency, nor was it the electoral college, and it certainly wasn’t the devil that pulled a fast one and out-witted God’s will and plan. Some, however, believe this to be the case. Notwithstanding, if we put any faith at all in what Daniel the prophet said, along with the apostle Paul, this cannot be true. They made it clear that it is God who sets men as rulers over nations. You see, "...there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." Romans 13:1. Moreover, He even sends lying spirits into the mouths of prophets and strong delusions to people so they will believe a lie. For instance, when it was time for the reign of king Ahab to end, a lying spirit was sent by the LORD to deceive him. Incidently, the lying spirit went into the mouth of Micaiah, the true prophet, as well; that is until Ahab commanded him to tell the truth in the name of the LORD: "So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead." 1 Kings 22:15-29. And that is where Ahab was killed. (1 Kings 34-35). The leaders of the world’s nations may not have prophets that lie to them; but they have cabinet members and advisors, and lying spirits that can be major influencing factors on the decisions of these powerful heads of state. Make no mistake about it, lying spirits are at work; for we can see the fruits thereof on a daily basis. For instance, the executive orders that are signed, congressional and judicial decisions that are made, the bills and laws that are passed, plus much more, are clearly born of that spirit. If we can see the natural signs of the weather in the skies of politics, economics, and religion, we can assume that there might be a flood of unprecedented hardships and evil to sweep the world. And if this comes to pass, let us remember what king David wrote of such matters: "The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves." Psalm 93:3. However, he also wrote: "The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever." Psalm 29:10. Therefore, even if a devastating flood of unprecedented proportions comes that would overwhelm the status quo, and threaten that which we have become accustomed to enjoying, what is there to fear? Not only does the LORD sit upon the flood and is in full control of its roaring waves, He brings the flood as He breaks open the dark clouds of heaven to pour His deluge upon earth’s floor. Even so, in the midst of the torrents, we will abide in safety under the shadow of His wings: "How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." Psalm 36:7. Under the shadow of those wings there is darkness; but there was also darkness in the cave of Adullam that overshadowed David and his men; there is protection therein. Those who flee unto Christ rather than to the world’s resources of mammon (finances), political leaders like Saul, or the leaders of men’s religious systems, they can be assured well being and peace in the midst of the storm. And it is thereunder, brethren, where we will remain until the time of the apocalypse of Jesus Christ! "It is not by might, nor by power, nor by presumption or wishful thinking, but by My Spirit saith the LORD of hosts." Zechariah 4:6. (Italics supplied). Dispensationalism Presumption is to believe something as being true in the absence of proof. The doctrine of Dispensationalism has been promulgated by believing the concept is true, yet without proof, which in turn has been the principal cause of skewing much of Christendom’s thinking. It is said that Dispensationalism is the divine ordering of worldly affairs in specified eras of time. The adherents of Dispensationalism generally strive for a literal interpretation of the Bible rather than seeing that there are spiritual aspects of the scriptures as well. Frankly, I believe there are dispensations; but I prefer calling them ages or eons wherein God dispenses His sovereign will and rule. You see, the definition of the word is fine. The problem comes in failing to see that there are spiritual meanings to many scriptures, especially in the book of Revelation. There is also a problem in how they use mistranslated scriptures, inject them into certain dispensations/ages, and teach them as being something that they are not. When words are erroneously translated, and the scriptures are deciphered by the natural mind, faulty data is compiled with which to build doctrines void of firm foundations. The rapture is a primary example, and it has been planted deeply into the dispensations of the great tribulation, the pre-tribulation, the mid-tribulation, and the post-tribulation. By doing this, each of the supposed dispensations listed are flawed, especially since the rapture itself is flawed. It can easily be established that this doctrine is believed in the absence of proof and has been built upon by faulty data. Such a house cannot stand in the face of fact. It will surely fall when the tides of truth come rolling in; but those who love the truth and have dug deep and built upon the firm foundation of the Rock will abide and lift their voices in great rejoicing. Dispensationalism is a term with which many are familiar; but few know its origin or what it entails. Therefore, we will take cursory glance at its origin and structure. The roots of Dispensationalism can be traced back to the Roman Catholic Church’s Counsel of Trent (1545-1563). One of the main objectives of the Counsel was to counter the influence the Protestant Reformation was having upon their church. The Catholics were abandoning the church by the droves, and it was commonly accepted among Protestants that the Pope was the embodiment of the antichrist. One of the first decrees of the Counsel was to apply an aggressive surge to counter the damage the Reformation had inflicted. The Jesuits were the ones who led this new strategy which helped to reconvert large numbers back to the Catholic church. This was especially effective in Hungary, Poland, and Germany. This method is defined and known as subtle *casuistry (ca·su·ist·ry). Some years later, a Jesuit priest by the name of Francisco Ribera, a doctor of theology, played a major role in this covert scheme. He published a 500 page commentary on the book of Revelation titled, In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarij. It was this book that put everything in the book of Revelation into the far, distant future, thus, Futurism, or Dispensationalism, with the intent of distracting the populace from believing the Pope was the antichrist. Ribera taught that the antichrist would persecute and blaspheme the saints of God, rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, deny Jesus Christ, and abolish the Christian religion. He wrote that this man of the future would claim to be God, be received by the Jews, kill the two witnesses of God, and would conquer and rule over the entire world. And now much of Christendom teaches the same *tenets of faith. Ribera’s book became one of the major instruments that helped to counter the Reformation. This planned deception came to be known as the Catholics’ Counter Reformation. [*A religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof.] During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther and the other reformers used a system of prophetic interpretation called the Historicist Method. For the most part, it taught that the beast of Revelation was active in the past, is active in the present, and would be active until Jesus' second coming. In response to the Historicist method, Francisco Ribera taught that the beast and its mark was neither of these, and it would not be active and fulfilled until the end of the age. This man was a worthy protectorate of the Pope, to say the least. Ribera was the first to teach that all the events in the book of Revelation were to take place (literally) during the three and a half years reign of the antichrist, which put it a long way off, which would take the eye of scrutiny off the Pope. This ruse did not end with his exhaustive book that helped to garner quite a number of those who had left the Catholic church during the Protestant Reformation. Another Jesuit priest, Emmanuel Lacunza (1731-1801) took the baton of subtle casuistry and built on what Ribera had taught. He also wrote a book, The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty, but he didn’t use his own name as the author. It would have been unlikely that a Protestant anywhere would have read a book written by a Jesuit Priest. Therefore, by deception he used the name and title, Rabbi Ben Ezra—purportedly a Jew who had accepted Jesus Christ as his Messiah. Amazingly, as it is today, converted Jews were considered in those days to be Christians who were higher than Gentile Christians, more favored by God, and much wiser than most born again believers. Therefore, Lacunza, no doubt, assumed that his book would be widely received if he was believed to be a converted Rabbi. His book was first published in Spain in 1811 or 1812, and as hoped, it was eagerly accepted by the Protestants. It was so well received that it made its way to England and became part of the Library of Charles Manners-Sutton, the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England. What greater endorsement could a "Christian" book receive than one written by a Christian-Rabbi-Jew? Another stepping stone for Dispensationalism/Futurism was a legendary preacher, Edward Irving. It has been said that he was a very eloquent speaker of his day. He was one of the leaders of the Catholic Apostolic Church of England, and he translated Lacunza's book from Spanish into English, which was around 1827. It seems that in his reading and translating the book, a foundation in his doctrinal belief were laid. Then came a sign from "heaven." A vision that placed the capstone on the ruse: Margaret MacDonald’s Vision It was here that Dispensationalism really took form and with sweeping effects. It altered the Protestants view of the truth concerning the end of the age. The doctrine of the rapture took flight due to what happened in Port Glasgow, Scotland in 1830. According to a young Scottish lass by the name of Margaret MacDonald, she had a dream or vision of the coming of the Lord before the great tribulation. Because of Lacunza’s book having influenced several noted Bible teachers of that day, they picked up on the thought of a rapture at the end of the age. However, it was Edward Irving and John Darby who were responsible for it being popularized in Scotland and England. It is said of Darby that he borrowed from Margaret MacDonald's vision, modified her views, and then taught them under his own name without giving her credit. Notwithstanding, he visited C.I. Scofield several times in the U.S., and his dispensationalism became part of his Scofield Reference Bible. It was the notes in Scofield's Bible that became the major factor for this new teaching which found favor here and abroad. Notwithstanding, the following is Margaret MacDonald's handwritten account of her 1830 revelation as it appears in Memoirs of James & George MacDonald, of Port-Glasgow (1840) by Robert Norton, pp. 171-176; The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets; In the Catholic Apostolic Church (1861) also by Norton, pp. 15-18; and The Incredible Cover Up by Dave MacPherson, (1980): "It was first the awful state of the land that was pressed upon me. I saw the blindness and infatuation of the people to be very great. I felt the cry of Liberty just to be the hiss of the serpent, to drown them in perdition. I repeated the words, 'Now there is distress of nations, with perplexity, the seas and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear — now look out for the sign of the Son of man.' Here I was made to stop and cry out, 'O it is not known what the sign of the Son of man is; the people of God think they are waiting, but they know not what it is.' I felt this needed to be revealed, and that there was great darkness and error about it; but suddenly what it was burst upon me with a glorious light. I saw it was the Lord Himself descending from Heaven with a shout, the glorified man, even Jesus; but that all must, as Stephen was, be filled with the Holy Ghost, that they might look up, and see the brightness of the Father's glory. I saw the error to be, that men think that it will be something seen by the natural eye; but 'tis spiritual discernment that is needed, the eye of God in His people. Many passages were revealed, in a light in which I had not before seen them. I repeated, 'Now is the kingdom of Heaven like unto ten virgins, who went forth to meet the Bridegroom, five wise and five foolish; they that were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them; but they that were wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.' 'But be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is; and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.' This was the oil the wise virgins took in their vessels — this is the light to be kept burning — the light of God — that we may discern that which cometh not with observation to the natural eye. Only those who have the light of God within them will see the sign of His appearance. No need to follow them who say, see here, or see there, for His day shall be as the lightning to those in whom the living Christ is. 'Tis Christ in us that will lift us up — He is the light — 'tis only those that are alive in Him that will be caught up to meet Him in the air. I saw that we must be in the Spirit, that we might see spiritual things. John was in the Spirit, when he saw a throne set in Heaven. But I saw that the glory of the ministration of the Spirit had not been known....I said, Now shall the people of God have to do with realities — now shall the glorious mystery of God in our nature be known — now shall it be known what it is for man to be glorified. I felt that the revelation of Jesus Christ had yet to be opened up — it is not knowledge about God that it contains, but it is an entering into God — I saw that there was a glorious breaking in of God to be. I felt as Elijah, surrounded with chariots of fire. I saw as it were, the spiritual temple reared, and the Head Stone brought forth with shoutings of grace, grace, unto it. It was a glorious light above the brightness of the sun, that shone round about me. I felt that those who were filled with the Spirit could see spiritual things, and feel walking in the midst of them, while those who had not the Spirit could see nothing — so that two shall be in one bed, the one taken and the other left, because the one has the light of God within while the other cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven. I saw the people of God in an awfully dangerous situation, surrounded by nets and entanglements, about to be tried, and many about to be deceived and fall. Now will THE WICKED be revealed, with all power and signs and lying wonders, so that if it were possible the very elect will be deceived. — This is the fiery trial which is to try us. — It will be for the purging and purifying of the real members of the body of Jesus; but Oh it will be a fiery trial. Every soul will be shaken to the very centre. The enemy will try to shake every thing we have believed in — but the trial of real faith will be found to honour and praise and glory. Nothing but what is of God will stand. The stony-ground hearers will be made manifest — the love of many will wax cold. I frequently said that night, and often since, now shall the awful sight of a false Christ be seen on this earth, and nothing but the living Christ in us can detect this awful attempt of the enemy to deceive — for it is with all deceivableness of unrighteousness he will work — he will have a counterpart for every part of God's truth, and an imitation for every work of the Spirit. The Spirit must and will be poured out on the church, that she may be purified and filled with God — and just in proportion as the Spirit of God works, so will he — when our Lord anoints men with power, so will he. This is particularly the nature of the trial through which those are to pass who will be counted worthy to stand before the Son of man. There will be outward trials too, but it is principally temptation. It is brought on by the outpouring of the Spirit, and will increase in proportion as the Spirit is poured out. The trial of the Church is from antichrist. It is by being filled with the Spirit that we shall be kept. I frequently said, Oh be filled with the Spirit — have the light of God in you, that you may detect satan — be full of eyes within — be clay in the hands of the potter — submit to be filled, filled with God. This will build the temple....Jesus wants His bride. His desire is toward us. He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry. Amen and Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus." — End quote. After reading her account of the vision, as well as other letters she had written and what others in her day wrote about her, she no doubt loved God and was very devout. Not only did her interpretation of the vision pose problems, but Irving, Darby, and Scofield compounded it by influencing the churches to believe that which the two Jesuit priests had written for the purpose of protecting the Pope from being labeled the antichrist and to win back those Catholics who had abandoned the ship during the Reformation. Margaret MacDonald apparently lacked the understanding in what she saw; namely that the soon appearing of the Lord was speaking of His appearing in them at that time, lifting them, and manifesting them in a higher realm spiritually; for the prophecies that came not only to her but to others as well almost always ended with, "Behold He cometh, Jesus cometh" and not He will be coming. This would indicate He was already coming to them at that time (Jesus cometh, i.e., Jesus comes — a present, continuing, indicative action); but they had failed to see the spiritual reality of He that COMES, who was coming to them even then. They were looking for that which was outward rather than inward, and to them, this natural view came to be known as the rapture and was hailed to be the factor marking the end of the age. It is somewhat ironic that the foundation of the rapture was laid in the cement of Roman Catholicism by a Jesuit priest, Francisco Ribera. His book then influenced another Jesuit priest, Emmanuel Lacunza. Lacunza influenced Irving, Irving influenced Darby, Darby influenced Scofield. Then Scofield and Darby influenced D.L. Moody. And as history has it, Moody influenced the Pentecostal Movement. You see, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, the Assemblies of God, had no publishing house of their own. Therefore, they bought their Sunday School materials from the Moody Press. If you want to find the root of most financial, political, and legal corruption, we are told to follow the money trail. It is same with errant doctrine—follow the paper trail to find its origin, which we have done. The paper trail of Dispensationalism, or Futurism, leads back to Ribera, and since the 1830s his method of prophetic interpretation has been finding inroads to the churches, and especially after World War II. Since then many of the Protestant churches have wholeheartedly adopted Dispensationalism as a tenet of faith, and even without any credible foundation with which to stand, it is accepted almost everywhere. We see especially the rapture being propagated not only in Sunday School classes, preached from the pulpits and over the airwaves, it’s all over the world wide web, and books have been printed by the millions as well as movies that dramatize the end-time rapture theory that Irving, MacDonald, Darby, Scofield, and Moody popularized. In brief, such is the historic paper trail of Dispensationalism and the Rapture, a trail that has led many to spiritual shipwreck upon the rocky shoals of error. It has helped to set the stage for the belief that a world ruler will rise as a superhuman who is ordained of Satan, the Antichrist, the Abomination of Desolation, i.e., the Beast of Revelation 13. Many believe this man to be Barack Obama. If you believe this to be true, please know that there is one thing in particular that must happen. He must be killed by a wound to the head and then raised again to life. Remember? "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." Revelation 13:3. I do not believe this will happen in the remotest sense; but if you do, watch and see if such a scenario plays out. Of course, if you believe this to be true, you may also believe that you will be "raptured" before it takes place; for this is one view of Dispensationalism! Rather than looking for and fearfully awaiting the dreadful apocalypse of the "Beastly Antichrist," let us with great anticipation look for the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, of whom we are paternal members in particular! The Apocalypse Part 10 Publication #212.09
The Heavens Archangels(?)
We have been noticing that revelation in the Greek is apokalupsis which simply means to uncover. This is what the book of Revelation is about, uncovering. And it goes without saying, there are marvelous wonders of Jesus Christ being uncovered in that book of signs and symbols. For that matter this applies to all scripture. There are mysteries to be uncovered and known in every verse of scripture. This uncovering, this apocalypse, is what takes place when the substance of a thing is exposed that had been hidden inside a menial form, such as words written upon stone, parchment, or paper. For instance, As Eugene Peterson (author of The Message Bible) wrote: "Imagine a pot of stew on a stove. A person enters the house and becomes aware of rich aromas coming from the kitchen. The smells are inviting. He guesses at some of the ingredients. He asks others in the house what is in the pot and gets different opinions. The cook doesn’t seem to be anywhere around. Finally, everyone troops into the kitchen. One of the company takes the lid from the pot; they all crowd close and peer into it. Uncovered, the stew with all its ingredients is exposed to the eye: Apocalypse! What was guessed at is now known in detail and becomes food for a hearty meal." (Reversed Thunder, Pg. 19). This has been the same with all scripture, especially with the book of Revelation. However, a genuine apocalypse hasn’t been the norm. People over the ages have entered the household of religion, and upon reading or hearing searing sermons on this concluding pot of stew of the Bible, various and sundry smells, speculations, and imaginations have been instilled into the minds of millions. Some have smelled frightful aromas of the four horsemen, the mark of the Beast, the false prophet, Babylon the great, Armageddon, stars falling from the heavens, massive hailstones, locusts with the stings of scorpions, plagues, a bottomless pit, a lake of fire, writhing bodies in eternal torment, ad infinitum. That which many smell from this apocalyptic pot of stew is the invidious fumes of burning flesh and molten sulfur. These odors and projected images of terror and calamity have greatly influenced the thinking of Christians throughout the ages, causing the book of Revelation to be grossly misunderstood, misinterpreted, and terribly misrepresented. Others have been called to greater enlightenment, and they discern this is a hearty pot of stew. They smell something much differently than most of the world. To them it has a delectable, very savory aroma, and as they read the verses of the prophecy of this book, the lid is lifted from where the aroma is coming. The reality of what has been simmering for centuries is discovered. It is revealed to those who smell the sweet fragrance of Life rather than pungent odors of death. Now that there has been an apocalypse of the contents of the vessel(s), Jesus Christ, He can be eaten. By eating His substance, of course, we become one with Him in a new and living way. It is then that we are able to not only reveal the substance by the spoken and written word, but we become the manifested word to the world. The ages are full of instances when anointed words lost their substance. They once resounded as thunder from on high; but after being written they often suffered the same fate of death as Adam and Eve after they were written in the earth as a man and a woman. The Jews knew the scriptures, especially the leaders; but they didn’t hear the voice of God flowing from them. They memorized them. They tied them to their foreheads and arms (phylacteries). They revered the scriptures. They also found them to be useful tools to control every detail of everyone’s life. The words were read, memorized, and studied, but not heard. The scriptures had become a book of the dead to be used rather than a means by which to hear the voice of God. When it came time to see, touch, feel, and hear the Word to whom the scriptures testified, the leaders refused Him; for their eyes were holden (restrained) from seeing who He was (Luke 24:16). In their religious zeal, they separated the written word from the spirit of the word, and in their blindness became twice dead and plucked up. Someone said, "Ink became their embalming fluid," and it has continued to this day. Instead of being able to lift the lid from the scriptures’ pot of stew, men saw only the letter of the word by man’s religious mind. This surface perception presents a problem with Biblical teachings. Things are taken too literal rather than seeing them in the light of the Spirit. In order to know anything as we ought, there has to be an apocalypse. Tradition has been a major factor on how the scriptures are read and perceived. During the dark-ages the religious leaders were extremely traditional, and their doctrines played well with the people who were fearful, superstitious, and believed all kinds of fables and fairy tales. A prime example of one of those fables is the devil of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy Inferno (Dante’s Inferno). And much of what that disgruntled poet wrote was carried over from the dark-ages and kept intact until now. Most Bible teachers have not had an apocalypse of the scriptures, or at least not to a large degree, and especially not in the area of the devil, judgment, hell, and the lake of fire. Therefore, rather than seeing as those things are, the veil remains and they continue having images that will someday have to be cast down. I truly believe that although the soul of every child of God has been quickened by His Spirit, the mind of the immature understands but only a small amount of the things that pertain to the vast and marvelous realm of the Spirit in which we were born. Even with ourselves, we had been like Israel when reading the Scriptures. A dark veil had been over our spiritual eyes at times, and we were limited to that which our carnal minds could interpret rather than seeing things as He sees them. Revelation by the Spirit carries us beyond what the natural mind can grasp. When we read any chapter or verse in the Bible, if we understand it with our natural mind alone, then we have failed to discover/uncover/reveal the true meaning which lies hidden beneath the lid of the pot of stew. If we fail to see any truth beyond that which is obvious to the natural mind, then we have not been touched by the Spirit of revelation. If that which we understand is not a living apocalypse of truth, it is the letter that kills. The Heavens There are countless examples of understanding the scriptures by the natural mind versus understanding them by the Spirit of revelation, but we will only notice one or two at this time. Heaven is one such subject that is sorely misunderstood and is in need of being noticed. Pinned to the minds of many professing Christians reside images of a natural heaven. Their life-long pursuit is to go to that heaven ‘after they die’ and escape the fires of hell. There are various ways of trying to insure that they see this hope come to pass; namely, by faith, confession, works, belonging to the right church, believing certain doctrines. Moreover, the fear of being eternally damned is quite a motivating factor that keeps the congregation’s numbers up. So, you really want to go to heaven, do you? If you believe heaven is the way it is generally taught, it might be good to be reminded of what Peter said about it: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 3:10. If the heavens are burned up and pass away, and you are in heaven, then you will likewise be burned up and pass away. John saw it this way: "...heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together." Revelation 6:14. With the natural concept of heaven, we can see a graphic picture: Everyone is frolicking around in a lush garden, some perhaps in or about their mansions, others are sauntering down golden streets, and they all hear a deep rumble as the ground begins to quake. They look toward the horizon and they can’t believe their eyes. It is like huge tidal wave moving toward them and rolling the entire landscape into something like a giant jelly roll. Of course, such a thought is absurd; but if these things are taken literally and carried to the end, this is an example of what could be concluded. Notwithstanding, with the heavens ablaze and being rolled up like a scroll, do you still want to go to heaven? Those heavens that Peter wrote about which would pass away were the ones of the Jews prior to A.D. 70. Those heavens were their religious authority and power over the lives of the people, and the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote about the signs seen over Jerusalem just prior to their demise. "Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius [Jyar], a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, 'Let us remove hence.'" (The Works of Josephus: The War of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 5, Section 3). Thus the heavens passing away with a great noise. What was going on in the heavens was being manifested in Jerusalem’s earth. All her works, her pompous hierarchy, and her religious practices passed away. Her world, her heaven and earth, was burned up. The authority, power, and the works of Israel were destroyed that day in the heavens, and whatsoever came to pass in that realm of authority came to pass in their earth. As the heavenly host of chariots and troops destroyed the city and Temple in the heavenly realm, the city and Temple were destroyed in the earthly realm. Jesus said something about this spiritual law to Peter, and it still applies: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19. Or more accurately: Whatsoever you bind on earth will have been already bound in heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth will have been already bound in heaven." And The Amplified: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven" with the footnote: "The perfect passive participle, here referring to a state of having been already forbidden [or permitted]."(Charles B. Williams), author of Williams New Testament. Whether it is a loosening or a binding of powers on earth, it can’t be done unless it is first done by the power from God’s throne from where all power comes, and it is in this heaven the man child, the sons of God, are caught up and made ready for war. Michael And The Dragon "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" Revelation 12:3-5, 7-9.Some believe that this is speaking of Jesus and Mary, His resurrection, and ascension. It is also believed that this is an account of Satan and his hoard of evil angels having been cast out of heaven before the dawn of man. I do not hold to any of these assertions, and especially not the story of Satan and his angels being cast out of heaven thousands of years ago (The Lucifer Question free upon request). Is it not clear that the entire book of Revelation is a prophecy? It is a herald of future events which must come hereafter. It is not a historical account of Jesus of Nazareth. These future events and entities were given to John as signs that were to be revealed in due season. For each sign there is an ordained apocalypse, one of which is Michael. Archangels? Michael has been thought to be one of God’s two archangels with Gabriel being the other; but there is no place in the Bible that suggests that Gabriel is or ever was an archangel. He is identified as a man of God in the four references of him in the Bible, three of which are: "...The man *Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, Daniel 9:21 ,"...and the angel (messenger) answering said unto him, I am Gabriel (a man of God or from God), that stands in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings." Luke 1:19, "And in the sixth month the angel (messenger) Gabriel (the man of God) was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph..." Luke 1:26. Have you ever stood in the presence of God? Could it be said of you that you are a man of God? And have you ever received a message from God and then sent by Him to deliver it? If the answers are ‘yes,’ you would fit the description and could be called ‘gabriel.’ This would be the same as declaring with authority from whom and from where you had been sent. It is like delivering a mandate from a king with his seal embossed upon it. Therefore, it is not so important to know the messenger’s personal name that his mom and dad gave him at birth as it is to know from whom and where he is sent. That is what gives the messenger his authority. Of course, if it is God who bestows the name, as he did in naming Jesus, it will tell those to whom he is sent the nature, character, authority, and power of the man. This surely applies as well to those who have passed on to the other side of the veil, and if so, they are likewise sent with messages from God; therefore, those angels would be called gabriels, men of God. When the angel/messenger that was sent from God to Daniel, Mary, and Zacharias whether from this side of the veil or the other, the personal name, Gabriel, would not have been nearly as powerful as the seal of God that declared from where he came and by whose authority he spoke. So gabriel was an identifying factor of the messenger and his credentials of authority. Regardless whether it is Gabriel or gabriel, one thing is certain, the scriptures say nothing about him being an archangel. It is strange that so much has been built upon there being two archangels, Michael and Gabriel, when there are only two places in the Bible where the word is used. One is in Jude 1:9 when the archangel Michael contended with Satan for the *body of Moses. The other is in reference to Jesus, and He is identified as the archangel: "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel...." 1 Thessalonians 4:16. He is not imitating the archangel, HE IS THE ARCHANGEL! [*It is well known within Christianity that there is a body of Christ; however, what is not so well known is there was also a body of Moses. Paul declared this fundamental principle by saying that Israel was "baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor. 10:1, 2 ) This indicates that the people of Israel who were of the Old Covenant were the body of Moses in the same manner that the people of Christ who are baptized into Him and are of the New Covenant are the Body of Christ. Archangel has a very simple meaning, and when it is translated properly the air begins to clear considerably. The word is a transliteration from the Greek. A transliteration is a word that is not translated from an original language, but it is changed in spelling and pronunciation but usually retains a similar sound. In reality, it is a made up word that has no real meaning until someone gives it a definition which may or may not be accurate to the original word. The word archangel comes from the Greek word archaggelos which is a compound word of archo and aggelos. Archo is a word that means to be first or chief in rank or power, and aggelos is the Greek word for messenger, and the transliteration, angel, is used in most English Bibles. With archo meaning to be first presents a problem with popular beliefs. How do you suppose there can be two angels that rank first? We have all heard, I am sure, the expression, "Too many chiefs but not enough Indians, "which is to say that nothing is getting done due to too many "heads" having too many different opinions about a matter. But this is not all; it is taught by many that there were three archangels at one time with the third having been Satan before he was kicked out of heaven. Such a notion is ridiculous. Can you imagine a nation having two or three kings or presidents? Daniel makes it clear that there is only one who is the first: "...And lo, Michael, first of the chief heads, hath come in to help me..." and "...Michael, the great head, who is standing up for the sons of thy people...." Daniel 10:13 & 12:1 (Young’s Literal Translation). The footnote for Michael in these verses of The Geneva Study Bible has this:"Even though God could by one angel destroy all the world, yet to assure his children of his love he sends forth double power, even Michael, that is, Christ Jesus the head of angels." And Wesley’s Notes: "Michael here is commonly supposed to mean Christ." The question is, if by definition there is only one archangel, how can these two verses speak of two? Frankly, they don’t; for the one who shouts with the voice of the archangel is the Lord Himself who is like God, and the one who contended with Satan over the body of Moses is the archangel, Michael, who is like God; namely, Jesus Christ! You may question how this could be? Did Jesus bless people and contend against the devil before he was born the son of God? Surely so; for before He was conceived by His Father and born of a woman, He came to Abraham as Melchisedec, the Prince of Salem, meaning peace. This was an epiphany. He had not yet been born, therefore, He had no father nor mother, no beginning of days nor end of days. We can now see why our priesthood is after the order of Melchisedec. Melchisedec was Jesus, and this is the priesthood order of Jesus Christ to which we have been called. If He could appear as a man to Abraham, He could certainly contend with Satan before He put on His earthly body. (Sorry, there is neither space nor time to address this point. Hopefully, at another time.) Since Michael is one of the signs in this apocalyptic book, it would be good to know the meaning of His name, which would reveal much. Michael is a Hebrew name which means "who is like God." This is no secret, many know this. Although it could be said that anyone born of God is like God; but with Michael being the First, the Head, the Chief, the Archangel, what name comes to mind with this one who is like God? JESUS CHRIST, of course! Hebrews 1:3 also says that He (Jesus) was the expression of His (the Father’s) person! It Michael is a Hebrew name which means "who is like God." It should be clear that it is impossible for there to be more than one archangel. Since Michael is symbolic of Jesus and the heavens are contained within His people, then the context of this war takes on somewhat of a change. That change being, He and His angels/messengers (aggelos) are in a war that first pertains directly to us. Therefore, not only are there certain individual messengers of Him, but in verse five they are called male sons and these are the ones who war with Satan and his messengers. There are at least two realms of messengers (possibly three, depending on whether we want to include demons). They are messengers which are inwardly and outwardly. Those outwardly are people who are motivated and moved according to the spirit of God or Satan. (There may be spirit beings that have never taken on a human body as well. That remains a mystery.) The realm within would consist of spiritual messengers that are the warriors of this monumental war in our own lives. On one hand they would be the spirit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, rebuking, binding, loosening, etc, with the Sprit of Christ being their power. On the other hand there would be the spirit of religion, depression, worry, fear, anger, hatred, murder, envy, strife, greed, lust, perversion—or to sum it up—all the evil and negative thoughts and spirits of the human mind. Jesus is the Lord over the holy things in this heaven of our minds (figuratively the air), and Satan is the lord over the unholy. These are the "angels" that are engaged in war. We can see in the above verses of Revelation 1-5 that the man child (male son, huios Grk.) was born where the dragon stood and still stands, which was before the woman who appeared as a sign in heaven. The man Jesus was born on the earth by a natural woman of the earth. The birth of the male son of many members takes place where the signs of the woman and the dragon appear, which is clearly in the second heaven. This is a spiritual birth of mature sons of God, and since they are birthed in heaven and caught up to God their Father and His throne, what heaven do you suppose that would be? The third heaven, of course, the one to which Paul was caught up and saw things so high that they were unlawful (impossible) to be uttered in the earth. It is from this third heaven that all power and authority comes. It is by the supreme authority and power of God in the third heaven that Michael and His brethren war with the dragon and his angels. This is the realm of the soul. It is this heaven wherein Satan has power to temp a man with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. It is also here that the mind of the man is steeped in the letter of the word by the father of lies. However, with the power of the higher heaven, the sons of God bind in heaven this tempter and teacher of lies along with his messengers and cast them out. They cast down every imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. That carnal realm of our soulish heavens is burned up and passes away with a great noise. When victory is known in that heaven, it will also be known in the earth of every son of God, and also corporately. This war and victory is in both the corporate body of Christ and in each individual. It is then, my friend, that we will walk as manifested sons of God in the earth. For that which is loosed in heaven is loosed in the earth. What an apocalypse of Jesus Christ! This is not the power of a gift from the Holy Spirit. It is the embodied power of God! It is not something He gives us then can be taken back. It is our life, His life! The life and power that was in Jesus becomes ours in fullness without measure. Revelation 12 is a chapter that speaks of our warfare together with Jesus who was our forerunner. He gained victory over the devil, the great red dragon, that old serpent that He fought in the wilderness. He cast him and his angels from the heaven of his soul. He cleaned His house from one end to the other. What a victorious example for us! He raised the bar and set it in the heavens forever! And together with Him, our one and only Archangel, we will also clean His corporate house that we are. He demonstrated it in type when he cleared the Temple of the animals and money changers. Therefore, let us not only count on the same war when we are caught up in the Spirit to God and His throne, but victory as well! We will be overcomers in every sphere of the heavens! Our natural man would love to overcome without conflict; but the truth is, there can be no overcoming without conflict. By definition, the words victory and overcome implies struggle against opposition. No one can have victory without war. There must be something to conquer to have victory of any kind. As long as we are moving and having our being in our religious thoughts, dead doctrines, dogmas, isms, schisms, creeds, or in nothing but our daily affairs of life, and in everything under the sun, we will have no problem at all with the devil. We will have nothing to overcome. There will be no war waged against us if we are one with the nominal religious orders of the world. It is when we are born and caught up to God and His throne that we break the barriers of the heavens. It is then that we meet with terrible opposition. Until then, we encounter nothing more than what the rest of the world does on a daily basis. Some of it is good and some of it is evil. There is tribulation in that world, and no one has to be told about it or schooled in that arena of life and death. Every one knows about it by experience; but this is not the overcoming we read about in the book of Revelation. This overcoming is first and foremost by the absolute power and immutable authority of Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, and the supreme Head of His Melchisedec priesthood. He is the life and overcoming power in His body that is but for a little while obscurely housed in the most holy place of His Temple, reserved for His appointed apocalypse and made ready for war in heaven! The Apocalypse Part 11 Publication #213.09
"7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:7-9 (NKJV). The casual reader may wonder why that since Lucifer is used so often elsewhere in the Bible that nowhere in these verses is that well-known name mentioned. They might think that since it was by the spirit of revelation John heard, saw, and wrote concerning this infamous character, that every base would be covered and Satan's original name would have been included. That is, if Lucifer had ever been this adversary's name. I am sure we are all familiar with the popular concept that much of the world has of Lucifer. You know, that he was created the most beautiful angel in the universe, full of wisdom and with power second to none except for God Himself. He is seen to have been heaven's choir director who led all the angels in their high praises before God. He was unequaled by anyone or anything throughout the universe. Some believe that he was one of the "three" archangels who ruled over all the hosts of heaven prior to his coup d'état. It was then that everything came crashing down and a third of the angels with him. We understand, of course, that there can only be one archangel. I believe that was made clear in our previous study, and the first verse of the book of Revelation plainly says that this war in heaven was to be a future event rather than one before Adam was formed and placed in the garden, eastward in Eden. Lucifer The above scenario is generally what is believed and taught; however, with observation, I believe we will find this is not quite the case. First, it is not realized by most just how many times Lucifer is found in the Bible. It is assumed that Lucifer is interchangeable with Satan and is used as often. Would you be surprised to find that it is used only once? One time alone! Not ten or twenty, not three or four, not even twice. Only once! One time in the entire Bible! And amazingly, contrary to Jesus and Paul saying to let every word be established by two or three witnesses, orthodoxy has built a worldwide doctrine upon this single verse. That's shaky ground to stand upon to say the least. This lone occurrence is found in Isaiah 14:12. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" By the way, have you checked to see if this is true, that there is no other place Lucifer is found in scripture? And were you surprised? I was years ago after being challenged to the same task. Again, only once is it used in the King James Version. Having checked nineteen other translations I only found three that cite Lucifer in this verse: the Darby Translation, the 21st Century King James Version, and the New King James Version, and this one has the note: "literally Day Star." The overwhelming majority of the newer translations render the word properly. The etymology of the word is interesting and sheds some light. The Hebrew word is heylel (from the root halal) which means shining one (Young's Concordance), morning star (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance), and bright star or splendid star (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon).The fact is, Lucifer is a transliterated French word from the Latin lucifero and is not a proper noun. It is a title and not a name. It is a word that describes the subject in question. It has never been the name of the devil, and neither was it the name of the king who was being indicted in Isaiah 14. The word was found throughout Latin manuscripts and especially in Jerome's Vulgate which became the common Bible for the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Therefore, by the end of the dark ages, the word had become the accepted name to most of the world. Milton's Paradise Lost also had a lot to do with Lucifer being the former name of Satan. Although Lucifer is mentioned only once in the English translations, Isaiah 14 is not the only place Jerome used the word in his Vulgate. Three good examples in the Old Testament are: "When his candle shined upon my head..." Job 29:3; If I beheld the sun when it shined." Job 31:26, and "By his sneezings a light doth shine." Job 41:18. He also used lucifero in the New Testament: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star (Grk. phosphoros - to shine) arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19. No one will argue that this Lucifer/Lucifero, the Day Star, is Jesus Christ; so there is no just cause to say that the one in Isaiah is speaking of Satan. Lucifer is a word that tells something about the one being addressed. It describes the man, which in this case was the king of Babylon, and the word describes Jesus in 2 Peter. On the other hand, Satan has been a murderer and liar from his beginning, the one whose nature is darkness and who has never stood in the truth at any time, according to Jesus. This adversary had never been given the honor of being a light bringer, a light bearer, a shining one, except by man. God has not. Such a thought is foreign to scripture. There are two verses, however, we should notice in reference to Satan having to do with light. The first is 2 Corinthians 11:14. It says that Satan is able to transform himself into an angel of light, but according to the Greek word for transform, metaschematizo, it has to do with an external disguise. No one would think that a man who disguises himself by putting on a gorilla costume at a masquerade party is really a gorilla, and neither should we think that this dark thing becomes light by putting on a mask that looks like a glossy, plastic sun. Therefore, Satan's transformation is a scheme that presents an external condition that looks similar to those who have been transformed by an internal nature. That is, "...be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2. The other verse in question is in reference to what Jesus' statement after the seventy returned from their mission and reported to Him, saying that even the demons were subject to them through His name: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven." Luke 10:18. This might seem to give credit to the traditional thought; however, if we look at it in the context of what had just happened, we will see something else. The falling of Satan from his place of power had taken place at the time that the seventy were casting out the demons by the authority of Jesus. Satan fell from his place of dominion over the people who were sick and demon possessed. It was at that time Jesus had seen him falling from heaven rather than falling from the sky thousands of years in the past. The Amplified Bible speaks of these very things in a footnote of Isaiah 14:12: "Some students feel that the application of the name Lucifer to Satan is erroneous, even though it is commonly taught to that effect. Lucifer, the light bringer, is the Latin equivalent of the Greek word phosphoros, which is used as a title of Christ in II Peter 1:19 (...until the day star arise in your hearts.) and corresponds to the name `bright morning star' in Revelation 22:16, which Jesus called Himself. The application of the name Lucifer has only existed since the third century A.D., and is based on the supposition that Luke 10:18 (I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven) is an explanation of Isaiah 14:12, which authorities feel is not true." Jesus said that the father of the Pharisees, the devil, had never stood in the truth at anytime. And don't we understand that truth is light? And without truth there is no light to shine. The authorities of the Greek say this about this deceiver that is void of light: "...In the truth he has not stood." John 8:44, The Emphatic Diaglott, Westcott & Hort, and Marshall's Interlinear Grk/Eng N.T.). Since he has never stood in the light of the truth, and also since he "...has been sinning from the beginning," I John 3:8, (The Diaglott), there is no honest way we can say that Satan was ever a glorious, shining angel of light who bore the name, Lucifer. The simple fact is, Isaiah 14:12 cannot possibly be speaking of Satan. Fallen Angels Fallen angels before the age of man is a common belief by almost everyone in Christendom. However, we have seen that the war in heaven between Michael and his angels and the dragon with his angels (Revelation 12:7-9) is not of the past but would take place in the future, sometime after John received the apocalypse. Thus, orthodox religion's foundation of sand is being washed away by the sound waves of truth. But what about the angels who left their first estate? Do we think that the verse in Jude is a bit more stable? Brace yourselves for another washing word. "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 1:6. Allow me, please, to present one more short lesson from the original language. In so doing, another a truth will be known. Both Greek words for kept and left are in the aorist active participle as in the imperative sense. For instance, the imperative aorist expresses action in the simplest form. It is undefined and does not distinguish between complete or incomplete action. The perfect tense in the Greek, which we do not have with these words, speaks of an action that has been completed. Both of these words are in the aorist active imperative. A good example of this is found in John 17:11: "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me." The only way this word, keep, could be used in the perfect tense, kept, would be if someone was speaking or writing about this event after the death of the apostles. They would then say, "The Holy Father kept through His name those whom He had given to Jesus." Do you see the difference between perfect past and the imperative sense, which is the case with? Jude1:6 and John 17:11. Since these two verbs are not in the perfect (past tense), it is clear as to why the Concordant Literal translates them as keep and leave, rather than kept and left. This, therefore, indicates that those being held in darkness with unbreakable chains are the ones who were at that time, when Jude wrote his letter, not remaining in the place of their initial walk. These angels, or messengers (aggelos), were those in the days of the early church who were leaving and going on tangents from where they first began. They fell into and submitted to the same temptations of which Sodom and Gomorrah had lusted. Verse 7 speaks of this; and remember as you read that angels, unlike men, are not tempted with fleshy lusts. And angels of heaven neither marry nor are given in marriage. Therefore, we believe Jude is referring to men who are the earthly messengers rather than spirit-being angels, and because of their perverted desires they were at that time of the early church held in darkness. They were held, even as we see with some today, in their strong delusions to believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). And this is until the day of judgment when they find themselves in the midst of the lake among the flames of refining theion/godfire. Sodom and Gomorrah were used as examples concerning these messengers who had left their first estate at the time Jude penned those words of warning. The illustration of Sodom and Gomorrah giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh portrayed why the same vengeance of age-abiding judgment awaits those who were leaving the place they started. They were ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. They were false teachers at that time, not angelic beings before there was any flesh on earth to lust after. These angels were also compared to the people who were saved out of the land of Egypt, and afterwards they were destroyed for not believing (vrs. 5). These messengers who wandered from the faith were asleep. They were dreamers of grandeur who defiled the flesh, despising dominions, and spoke evil of dignities (vrs 8). (The Greek for dignitaries is doxa, meaning: glory, that which is apparent.) Jude told those of the common salvation that even Michael the Archangel, the Chief Messenger, Jesus Christ, did not bring a railing accusation against the devil when there was a dispute over the nation of Israel--the Body of Moses. How brazen those were who did not remain in the strait way and narrow path of the man they claimed to preach. They spoke evil of His manifested glory in others. They degraded that which was so apparent. They belittled it, and made fun of it, we are sure. For we see the same today. It is not unusual for people to call it the devil or the flesh of human emotions when the glory of God fills a person or a congregation, and it is so apparent to anyone who has an eye to see or an ear to hear that the prophecies, healings, and the high praises of worship are all the very essence of the Spirit of God. Some speak evil of these things. Even John Darby who was one of the proponents of the famed Rapture teaching, came to the conclusion that the charismatic manifestations in 1830 of Margaret McDonald, her brothers James and George, and others were demonic. Since it is said that he taught on the Rapture as early as 1827, it appears that his source of the doctrine did not come from her, especially since he felt her vision was demonic. He spoke evil of this doxa/glory, and from what he believed, many still hold to and speak evil of her experience as well as everyone else who have visions, prophesies, speaks in an unknown tongue, or heals the sick. They maintain that ALL the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit ended with the apostles. Did the Spirit and Power of Jesus in His body die when the apostles died? If so, would that make His body a zombie? Frankly, neither His Spirit, His power, nor His manifestations end; the increase of His government shall never end, and for it to increase there must be manifestations of what Jesus began. Enough said on that issue. Again, the angels of which Jude referred spoke evil of God's manifested glory in others. They degraded that which was so apparent. They belittled it, and made fun of it. That was the lot for those of that day, and that is the lot for those today whether they sit at home or stand behind their vaulted podiums and speak evil of Christ's glory that is clearly apparent in the members of His body. Thinking themselves as someone special and beyond reproof, they speak evil of the One seen and heard in His body as well as those things which they know nothing about. They surely know an abundance about natural things in the manner of brute (Grk. alogos, irrational) beasts; therewith, they corrupt their own souls. Being blinded by their own pseudo glory they have strayed and fallen headlong into the vat of greed, personal recognition, worldly gain, and rewards--a sinkhole into which many have fallen, and with no anointing remaining, they perish like Core of old as they are swallowed up and are consumed spirit, soul, and body by the world. They pollute the assemblies, the holy feasts of Christ's when they attend and remain in its midst and feed alongside the ones called to these high places. They are like warts on one's nose, very noticeable and not complimentary to the appearance at all. It is difficult to see the spirit of love when such things are so evident when those who are among the saints are void of reverence and have no fear of retribution. Sadly, they at times billow like clouds with great congregations building up almost overnight. From their pulpits they thunder exalted words of promises and wonderful things to come; yet their words are without life, no power, there is no water in those clouds. The stability of Christ is not there. They are carried about by winds dogma. Some are seen as huge, fruit-laden trees, and they are doing a lot of things, works without measure; but there is no life in that humanoid fruit, so it withers away. They might as well be trees that bear no fruit at all which are worthy for nothing except to be cut down or plucked up by roots; for the fact is, they are as good as being twice dead. Not only that, the angels of the first century A.D., and those today come at times as raging waves of power. Before TV cameras, thousands of bodies fall in rapid succession as if a literal ocean wave is sweeping over them, but only to find shame awaiting the exalted ones at the end of their day. The man of God for the hour, the one so many believed would change the world and set the stage for Christ's return is exposed--caught in adultery, homosexuality, embezzlement, et al. His foam of shame goes streaming through the airwaves, highways, byways, and subways. Again, there is no stability in them. They roam the heavens as wandering stars. Reserved in their souls is the blackness of gross darkness, and they will be chained in that lifeless void unto the end of the age. They will be bound by their own darkened delusions until the Lord comes in myriads of the saints of Himself to execute remedial judgment upon them, and all others, yet in everyone's own order. This flaming judgment will convict, convince, and correct all who are ungodly. All their ungodly deeds will be consumed in that fiery lake, and the hardness of the ungodly sinners that have spoken ignorantly or intentionally against Him will find their part in the lake of fire that burns with brimstone (godfire). Jude 1:3 through Jude 1:15. Some find fault when I even mention such things as this; but first find fault and speak evil against the man of dominion, the dignitary called Jude, the apostle; for he was the first to pen those words, I have only paraphrased his warnings and indictments. Selah! Pause! Think!
The Apocalypse Part 12 Publication #214.09
Buy The Truth and Sell It Not And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Revelation 17:4-5. Bible scholars generally say that this infamous harlot with many daughters was birthed when Constantine made Christianity the State Church, and her many daughters are said to be the Protestant Churches that rebelled against their mother and became independent from her. Could this be true? We will see. Anglican priest, Rev. Sam Pascoe, sums it up in a very short version of the history of Christianity that devolved into harlotry. He said: "Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise." It is doubtful that we could find many voices today that would deny that the church in America has become a major enterprise, and an enterprise by definition is a business. We are also told that the Church is the body of Christ. But make no mistake about it, a business is not the pure, unadulterated, living body of Christ. Moreover, an enterprise that claims to be is an imposter. In short, when a religious body becomes an enterprising business, it is not only an imposter, but a prostitute. Not in the literal sense, of course, but when a woman, which is a type of that church, sells the word of God and her services, she becomes a religious prostitute, plain and simple. For instance, I was brought to this understanding in 1987 after I had left my barber business (Shiloh Hair Sculpturing) and started full-time writing and mailing out The Pathfinder as well as traveling once a year for several weeks at a time. One of our stops was a special three day conference where I was one of the speakers. The music, worship, and the word of life flowed freely from the heavens. Everything was great--except for one point that troubled us. It was when one of the elders of the church took the offerings. We knew the church wanted the invited ministers to be blessed; but the manner in which the offerings were taken (not received) did not set right in my spirit, nor in Margit's. I was praying about this the evening after the last meeting, and after the gratuity had been given to us, a question was formed in my mind. When a man or woman renders his or her services and gets paid for services rendered, what does that make them? Prostitutes! I knew that the word I had ministered was the living seed of God, and it was sown into the wombs of the people's souls. They then gave their money to me via the church. Needless to say, this gave me great concern; for ministering by writing and speaking would be my only source of income since we no longer had our business. In my thinking, I felt that I would never be able to receive another offering; for in doing so I thought I would by default be a prostitute. I would starve before that happened. I had no idea how our calling could continue by turning down all donations to the ministry; but one thing for certain, I refused to be paid for my services. This attrition remained with me until the next day when we were to spend the night with our friends Preston and Lorain Eby. They took us out to dinner, and while waiting for our orders, I expressed my concern about all this. Preston responded by saying something to this effect: "Today is my 50th birthday, and Lorain wanted to take me out to dinner, and I can guarantee that she did not do it for services rendered. She took me to dinner because she loves me, and she wanted to bless me. It had nothing to do with anything else." He continued by saying: "And it is the same when I minister. People give, not because of services rendered, but out of the love of Christ by which they are filled. They want to bless me. I have blessed them with the word of God, and they in turn have a loving desire to bless me. However," he added, "there have been times when I would refuse the money from certain ones when I discerned that their motives were wrong. What made it wrong was that they were paying for my talents and/or wanting to impress me. Therefore, it is an honor to receive the offerings made in the spirit of Christ's love. It is not prostituting the word of God. Some do, of course, but not you nor me." What a relief! A word of understanding, wisdom, counsel, and might set me free that evening of J. Preston Eby's 50th birthday. I don't know about him--but it was my Jubilee! You see, the body of a wife and that of a prostitute can perform the same act, but one is holy and for love while the other is unholy and is for money. There are various reasons church members pay their Old Testament tithes: pride, self-esteem, to ease the conscience, or with hopes of escaping hell, and some truly give out of a real love for God, Jesus, their pastor and church. However, I believe that many in denominations over the earth minister and/or pay their tithes who do not know God nor have any love for Him whatsoever. For how can they love Him when they don't know Him? How many, do we suppose, really know and love Him? You may disagree, and that's alright; but the evidence we have states very clearly that the gods that many Christians love are the ones of their own making, their own ideas, their own imaginations about Him. The challenging question may have been raised in some of your minds, "What evidence do you have that their gods are merely the ones of their own imaginations?" Simply said, when their god is one who is an all forgiving god on this side of the veil, but will never forgive a sinner on the other side--that is a god of their own imagination. When their god on this side of the veil is the god of infinite love, but on the other side he hates sinners throughout eternity--that is a god of their own imagination. If their god will have all men to be saved, but most will be forever lost--that is a god of their own imagination. If their god is going to reconcile all through Christ Jesus, but most will be tormented forever--that is a god of their own imagination. If their god gathers all things together in Christ as one, but billions remain eternally separated and lost--that is a god of their own imagination. If all die in Adam, and their god only makes a few alive in Christ, and without grace much more abounding--that is a god of their own imagination. If all men are condemned by Adam's offense, and their god does not justify all by the one just act of Christ--that is a god of their own imagination. If all die in Adam, but their god does not make all alive in Christ--that is a god of their own imagination. If they say that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord, but on the other side their god will not hear or receive their confession--that is a god of their own imagination. If, on one hand, their god will become All in all, but on the other, they say the majority of humanity will be eternally separated from him--that is a god of their own imagination. Frankly, such a god appears to be schizophrenic--and that is a god of their own imagination. This is more evidence that they do not know God; for those gods do not exist in the Bible nor in reality. These are gods of man's own making, products of religious minds that began a long time ago, and those ancient images have been passed on and carried down to this day. It is little wonder that Paul said: "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5. Such things as the above are imaginations of exalted thoughts that became prevalent by the Church of Rome, and they spread like a plague sweeping through all Christian agencies over the centuries. These imaginations of God have been raised high in the minds of people, standing against any reality of knowing the true God, and without knowing Him there can be no love for Him. All they can muster up is a love of their own image of Him. How can this be anything other than idol worship? That's what it is! And we are told: "You shall have no other gods before Me," and "You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." The indictment of this commandment is that images are not to be made for the purpose of serving and worshiping them whether it's a carved tree, a chiseled stone, or a mythical image formed in the mind. Moreover, part of this harlot's name, Abominations, speaks of idol worship in the Greek. It stands to reason then, most Christians neither know the living God nor love Him, especially when all they have known is to follow and abide by their churches' creeds, dogmas, doctrines, laws and by-laws. I believe the primary root of this condition of not knowing or loving God originated in how we came to God, or perhaps, came to church. Many were born and raised in churches. Some came to Him because of what they were told He would do for them, such as pie in sky; you know, heaven, mansions, golden streets, and prosperity here and now. What a marriage, to say the least! Many married Him for His riches/money/heaven, and there are some, we assume, that don't care if He lives or dies as long as they can get His stuff. The church system, especially in the U.S., is a very enterprising business. It has grown materially wealthy by merchandising the scriptures, the gifts of God, and His anointing. It's all been for sale, and this woman makes herself known on every street corner of society and window of opportunity. It is not this way, praise God, with the Bride of Christ. With her it is the way it is supposed to be. She is His lover because of her deep rooted genuine love that came from knowing Him so very intimately. This intimacy was when His word would flow deeply into her being by the anointing of His Living Spirit, when she was bathed in His presence during time of quietness and solitude, when His Spirit and word swept over and through the high assemblies of the saints. Knowing Him and loving Him came by walking with Him and talking with Him in everyday life. Knowing and loving Him came during times of fierce storms, deep valleys of darkness, peril, and in the wildernesses of loneliness and deep sorrows. Although adversities unnumbered compassed her about, she knew her Lord and Love was not far away, was guiding and directing the way, and awaited her beyond her scope of vision. Perfect trust was her companion; for she knew Him, she knew He would never leave Her. She knew He would not forsake her at any cost. This, my dear friends and sojourners in Christ, is what burns love into every fiber and breath of our being. It is impossible for the thrills and frills of Mystery Babylon the Great to work the same. It is impossible to love anyone, even God, without truly knowing them. It is possible to be very fond of the image of someone that's been formed in our minds from what we have been told; but that is not love for the person or for God. Millions thought they loved Elvis Presley, the Beatles, President Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, or the one who has been placed as leader of this nation, Barak Obama; but the only ones who ever loved any of them were those who knew them. Albeit, knowing them did not guarantee their love. Some who knew them, really knew them, might not have cared too much for them, discounting the Pope, of course. Everyone who knew him surely loved him as well, don't you think? Even so, being such a lovable man did not make his god the true God, unless, however the Pope came to know Him; but given what we still see in that system he ruled, it would appear that he did not know God. It is my own opinion; but I believe if he had known God and submitted himself to Him in all things--Catholic priests today would be married, as well as the nuns. Even if we know someone or a religious organization, that does not insure that we truly love them. Many know and love their pastor and church, while others know both, and that is why they may not love them. But when you know God, you will love Him! That, I promise! Now, let me pose a question to those whose well-being depends on offerings from their congregation or what is coming in from the articles, tapes, and CDs that are mailed out, which applies to Elwin Roach as well. What would happen to most preachers, evangelists, writers, and priests should God stop paying them? Would they continue preaching, teaching, writing, and ministering? Depending on their motives for serving God would determine what they might do or not do. It would make a huge difference whether their god was created by their own imagination or if it is the living God that is known and love. Those who are true lovers would remain true and faithful to their call, while those who serve because of blessings and promises of heaven, or it is merely a job, would promptly tender their resignations and exit the house; this I truly believe. But there are things other than prosperity and security in the world with which to be tested on whether we are lovers or prostitutes. What if we started losing the most precious things in our lives--our family members, our firstborn son or grandson, our husband or wife, our brothers or sisters, and all at a much too early age? Or what would we do if our children and grandchildren who were raised in church, in home fellowships, who were home-schooled, who praised God and worshiped with us for years, but in spite of it all--they rebelled, turned to drugs and alcohol, dropped out of high school, seared their lungs with tars from cigarette smoke, became pregnant, or just defied all logic to what we expected and futilely demanded of them? Would we still love, be faithful, and serve God? If things didn't turn out the way we had planned, which is usually the case, what would we do? I will tell you. If it was formed in our minds by our godlike ability to create, most likely, we would not be faithful to remain in the midst of our fire-storm, and the love for the image of the god of our minds would fail. However, if it was the God we knew and loved, we would continue come hell or high water. We would prove to be lovers rather than prostitutes and not abandon ship as soon as our livelihood was threatened. This could sound harsh, or even brash; but please don't think I have any ill thoughts or feelings toward anyone in any established church or denomination--for I don't! I do not know whether or not any given church is functioning in the love for God or the love for their ideals. That is for each to discern for him or herself. This is a spiritual issue that I feel is of paramount importance and must be addressed, especially in this day of The Revelation of Jesus Christ--The Apocalypse! Are we beginning to see, at least in a small way, what MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS is all about? She is a woman that grew from Eve to become a world-wide system comprising all religions. Denominations and churches that operate by the same spirit are daughters of that religious system. However, that spirit has been in the corporate body of Christ as well as in individual members. Remember, this book is a book of the Revelation/Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, and this harlot, whether world-wide or in one member of Christ's body, will come to an end. Until that end, however, the woman's foundation in every vessel and organization has been beastly, earthy, carnal. They have become inebriated, excited, elated, and overwhelmed by the beauty and mesmerizing spirit of the harlot arrayed in purple. She has appeared to be of the royal lineage of the King of kings, but she is not. The kings of the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, and all nations have been made drunk with the wine (religious spirit) of her fornication that they paid for. The merchants of the earth in that system were made rich. Those earthy men, women, and organizations of this harlot were made rich by merchandising the word and gifts of God. They were selling their services, for this is what prostitutes do. They have a false prophet that preaches, teaches, and ministers the word of God, but there is no truth or life therein it. A false prophet, as it was with the Pharisees, can only speak lies; for they are of their father the devil who is the father of lies. The people have bought those lies as they lay in the bed of Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots. But it is not so with the ones in whom the harlot has suffered God's plagues and has been burned with fire unto mourning, famine and death; for strong is the Lord God who judges her in the world and in us. (Rev. 18:8). That which the holy ones buy is the truth, the unadulterated word of God in its pure form of life that will endure the ages. Buy The Truth and Sell It Not We buy what may appear to be the same as the word and spirit that those of the world buy from the harlot. It may look like the same act of giving and receiving of the word, wisdom, discernment, understanding, and the spirit: but one is for services rendered, while the other is for love. One renders death, the other genders Life. The richest man in the world at that time understood the value of that which came from God rather than man. King Solomon said: "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." Proverbs 23:23. From the very beginning, it was this way with him. After David died and twenty year old Solomon took his father's place as the king of Israel, the LORD appeared to him in a dream and asked what He should give him. He asked for understanding and discernment so that he could rightly judge the people. In doing so, he was not only given that for which he had asked, but what he didn't ask for as well: "And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days." 1 Kings 3:11-13. There is a great undergirding of truth with Solomon choosing on behalf of the people rather than for himself. Such a heart can not only be trusted with the spiritual treasures of God, but with that of the earth as well. It is no wonder that he said to "buy the truth, and sell it not." However, there is more to it than refraining from merchandising the word of God. For instance the Hebrew word for buy is qanah and according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, it means "...to erect, that is, create; by extension to procure, especially by purchase; by implication to own." And to sell it not is makar and means, "...to sell, literally (as merchandise, a daughter in marriage, into slavery), or figuratively (to surrender). So with this, what can we see in Solomon's charge to buy the truth and sell it not? We will first notice the phrase, sell it not. As the word states, the truth is not to be sold. We are not to merchandise those spiritual things that we have so freely received, that which a part of our Lord Jesus who is the Truth. Sons of God are not money mongers standing on street corners hawking the gems of the Kingdom. There are no schemes up our sleeves, and we don't peddle God's wares. However, there is a legitimate form of selling that which pertains to spiritual matters. If someone has a bookstore or website and they can offer books to others for a price, I see nothing wrong with that; for you see, books should not be necessarily classified as the "truth," even though there may be potential truths contained between their covers, yet there is still no truth in them unless what is read happens to be by the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life." Just because something is a fact does not make it the Truth. It's the same with Bibles; the book is packed full of potential truths, and I say potential, because until a word or scripture is quickened by the Spirit, it is but the letter that kills. Therefore, I could sell Bibles all day long and do it with a clear conscience, knowing I would not be transgressing Proverbs 23:23. However, when it comes to priceless, spiritual truths that are received at times and transposed to the pages of The Pathfinder, I cannot and will not sell them; for these truths have been quickened to me, they are alive, they are living entities, and to sell them would be like selling Jesus or our daughter into slavery or prostitution. Selling is generally an exchange of money for a product or service. However, there are other ways to sell the truth that do not involve money, and are just as wrong. Let us consider the words Ray Prinzing penned quite some years ago: "How precious, we are to be BUYERS, but not SELLERS: Methinks [Ray often used that old English word, methinks] we have often sold a word of truth--sold it (exchanged it) for a fear, for a worry, to satisfy the flesh, to gain a little prestige, or whatever. Sometimes we do learn by our experience--and I recall once that in a corporate share time, people were sharing their 'portions of revelation,' and it almost seemed to be a 'can you top that?' type of sharing. Yet I went ahead and shared a very special thought which God had quickened to me, and realized the moment I shared it that I had sold it. Not because I wanted it sold, but responding to the moment, I had given it away for a moment of pride--'that I have a revelation that surpasses yours.' The sorrow was that in that moment of self-pride, the life had gone out of the Word that was shared. So we learn to keep God's secrets. You buy the truth, but you do not sell it. It is not given to us to sell, but to DWELL--to dwell within us, that it might work within us, that it might change us. As was said of Joseph, 'Until the time that his word (of deliverance, release from prison) came: the Word of the Lord tried him.' (Psalm 105:19)" Haven't we all done the same? A word of revelation came so clear and living; but as soon as we spoke it, the life of it left, it died , and we couldn't revive it. This does not mean that we can never share that which has been given to us by the Spirit; but it does mean that the motive can abort the living word. And then there are those times when the motive is right, yet any given word of truth has not worked in us to be mature enough to give it birth. There are other ways to sell the truth, and one would be in the form of prostitution. It is the way I, and perhaps all of us, had done in our earlier years. That form was to plant the word of Truth into the womb of Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and her daughters. Although with honorable, but ignorant intentions, we would impart the precious truths we received from on high to those who were joined to and were one with the Babylonian church system of the world. We would even share it to our own carnal souls. This was done by receiving a revelation only to take it into our adamic minds, structure it, shape it, compose it, or decompose it to the lower level of the human intellect, and from there broadcast it to whosoever we could find that would listen, supposing we had something of value to give. Ah! Harlotry! Praise God! Those days are gone, and the new day of buying the truth has dawned upon us. No longer will we prostitute it; but we will certainly procure it as the Greek and English word, buy, means. It also means, to purchase. There is a price to be paid. However, the price for the truth is not like the price one would pay to a harlot. Truth will cost something, this is sure, yet it is entirely different from what is paid to the woman of the night. Jesus said to John while on his Isle of Tribulation, called Patmos: "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. Revelation 3:18. *[buy: Greek, agorazo; to go to market, that is, (by implication) to purchase; specifically to redeem. From Strong’s #58, agora; to gather.] This tried gold, of course, is not heaven's pavement that carnal imaginations have wrought; rather, this is the gold that speaks of the pure, refined nature of God in earthen vessels. It is priceless, and Jesus said that we are to acquire it, gather it, to melt it into every fiber of our being. Although the word buy in this verse can mean exactly that, to buy something by paying money for it, we know that the nature of God cannot be bought any more than I could buy my natural father's nature. I was born with it, and over the years it was refined in me by the fires suffered, and it's been the same with you. That's the way it works in the natural, and that's the way it works in the Spirit. I do believe, however, that Jesus was telling John that whatever it might cost a person, whatever he had to sacrifice, whether it was his reputation, his fame, his fortune, his earthly wares, his all--that is what he must do. So the bottom line is this: When tribulation comes, suffer it. When fire comes, suffer it. When floods come, suffer it. And that which has been birthed in you, the nature of God, will be refined and have great worth. By the time you have come to the end of this life's journey, it will most likely have cost you everything, but you will not have paid a dime for it. This is what happened with Jesus when He sold everything He had, His Life, to be exact, and bought the field, the world, that contained the Pearl of Great Price. But no money was exchanged, except for the thirty pieces of silver that Judas was paid. Talk about prostituting the Word! He sold the manifested Word of God for a pittance; but at the great loss of his life after casting the silver pieces back to the chief priests who paid him for his adulterating services. Again, "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and *instruction, and understanding." Proverbs 23:23. None of these commodities, truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding is bought with money. One might think that *instruction could be bought with money, such as by a college professor. But noticing the footnote, we can see that only a masochist would pay someone to beat him; yet with the well disciplined son, he pays not only with the pain and sorrows of chastisement, but also by giving up his rebellion, envy, pride, arrogance, and selfishness of the old nature. Not one of these good virtues come except by fire. First by the fiery revelation of and from the one whose eyes are coals of fire, and then by the same one whose judgment feet are fine brass as if they are burning in a furnace. There is a fiery revelation of Jesus Christ and His mysteries as He sets ablaze the truth in us. His eyes of fire tell us this. And ultimately that revelation is tried by the fire of His feet. What a two-fold apocalypse, to say the least! The beginning and the end of perfection. It starts with the eyes in the head and finishes in His burning feet. What a process! It first works in us individually, then corporately, and afterwards the world. *[instruction: Hebrew, mûsâr; From H3256, chastisement; reproof, warning or instruction; also restraint. (Strong’s). H3256 yâsar; to chastise, literally (with blows) or figuratively (with words). (Strong’s)] Moreover, we can gain some understanding when we look more closely at the Hebrew word qanah for buy. According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, it means "...to erect, that is, create; by extension to procure, especially by purchase; by implication to own." Qanah is often used in the sense of buying something with money. Such as: "The field which Abraham purchased (qanah) of the sons of Heth..." Genesis 25:10. "And he bought (qanah) a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money." Genesis 33:19. And, "But if the priest buy (qanah) any soul with his money..." Leviticus 22:11. Following are a couple of verses that use the same word, and we can see that the English word, buy, could not be used when translated. "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten (qanah) a man from the LORD." Genesis 4:1. You see, Abraham bought a field; but Adam created/erected a man. "And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor (qanah) of heaven and earth." Genesis 14:19. God is a Possessor, Creator, Maker, Erector--but not a buyer. With a little understanding, especially by knowing that qanah means to erect, create, to procure, we can more readily see the apocalypse of what has been hidden to many for so long. When that revelation comes, and it has been tried in the fire, regardless of what it might cost us, let us procure, lay hold of, and take possession of the very substance of God. Let us, therefore, draw upon the power within and create that which we see and are becoming. Erect that glorious expression of Truth in the world, who is Jesus Christ. This is what Paul called the manifestation of the Sons of God. There are many things that do not cost us anything. They are freely given, and often before maturity sets in: "8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8. These are gifts and callings of God, but some use them as merchandise. They sell them. They prostitute them to the kings of the earth and the members of their congregations. But praise God others use them in the spirit of love to the glory of God. With them, many souls are saved and blessed. These possess the truth with thanksgiving and go on to raise a standard of our Lord Jesus in the world. They create portions of God's Kingdom wherever they are; for they have truly bought the truth and sold it not. I have used (Proverbs 23:23) "...buy the truth and sell it not" in the disclaimer of our articles, and although some may not know it, this is to convey a simple fact, and that fact is this--we do not sell the truth. Moreover, this is not to send a message that our readers should be buying the truth by sending us offerings. The gifts that come in are not received as anyone "buying" what we write, but they are expressing their gratitude as family members do, one to another out of love, and certainly not for services rendered. The truth is, God does not need mammon/money to send His word to an individual or to the world. I don't recall any campaigns that the disciples of Jesus held to raise money so the truth could go to the next city. The Kingdom of God is not made of peddlers, hawkers, beggars, or merchandisers, all of which are the job descriptions and comprise the work ethics of prostitutes; namely, MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH! The Apocalypse Part 13 Oracles of God Publication #215 "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices..." "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat..." Revelation 4:5 & Exodus 25:22. Where do we suppose the throne of God might be from whence these foreboding lightnings, thunderings, and voices are coming? The above verses give us a sure clue; but clear as it may be, some will maintain that it is a literal throne floating somewhere in the far reaches of the heavens which will descend and hover just above the Earth. We've seen paintings that have Jesus seated on a literal throne of gold in the clouds with millions of angels all around Him. Beautiful paintings and beautiful imaginations, but not such beautiful reality. Most Bible students and scholars agree that the mercy seat and the throne of God are one and the same, and one thing is clear; whether coming from the throne, Mount Sinai, or the mercy seat, when He speaks, it is not casual conversation by any means. It is much more! He imparts His thunderous power, with flashes of lightning comes revelation (an apocalypse), and He speaks personally to the corporate body of Christ who are the many voices that will then speak the same words to the world. They who speak are those who are related to and round about His throne. They have been caught up to the place of authority, to the God and His throne. They hear His voice with crystal clarity. It is in that place, the throne-room of God, that those in His image first see and receive the lightnings of revelation, hear the thunders of power, and also the voices of authority. Prior to Jesus, we see a figure of this in the Holy of holies: "And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place." (1 Kings 6:16). For reasons unknown to me, oracle has not been a word widely used in Christian circles today. What comes to many people's minds when this word is heard is what they remember from the movie, The Matrix, where the oracle was portrayed as a happy old lady who enjoyed smoking cigarettes and baking cookies. She was a mysterious woman possessing the ability of foresight, which she used to advise and guide the humans attempting to fight the Matrix's system. Webster's Second International Dictionary defines an oracle as, "the medium by which a god reveals hidden knowledge or makes known the divine purpose." Words such as oration, orator, oratory come from oracle. They all find their root in the Latin orare: to pray, utter, or speak. We note, then, what the Oracle of God has to do with us. And in this, let us see if we can expect an apocalypse of this often overlooked holy phenomenon. The oracle in the Old Testament is the most holy place in the temple. It is also used in 2nd Samuel 16:23 as a verb. Therefore, the oracle is both the Speaker and that which He speaks, and it always originates over the mercy seat. Those spoken oracles are the living expressions of His thoughts, His desires, Himself. They are His substance spoken. This is what the Word of God is. And when those who stand in that Most Holy Place and hear those living oracles of God, they become as He is--oracles. Oracles start first with the Orator (God) over the Mercy Seat of the Oracle (Shrine) from where He speaks. The Words He speaks take form as a message, which is an oracle, the living Word of God. The Greek form of oracle is logion which means utterance and is found in four places. Each time the word is in the plural (Acts 7:38, Romans 3:2, Hebrews 5:12, and 1 Peter 4:11). Such as: "...because that unto them were committed the oracles (logion) of God." Romans 3:2. " "For the word (logos) of God is quick (za - alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. Logos is by no means a static, lifeless, printed word in the Bible called the letter that kills. It is a spoken word that carries the thought and intent of the speaker. It is especially the divine expression of the substance of God. The Logos/Oracle connects humanity with deity, it brings forth truth and reality. The Logos is a word that is energized by God and comes directly from Him. The Word of God is neither a history, a biography, nor an autobiography of Himself. The Bible is a wonderful book, the number one best book and best seller to have ever been written; but by definition, is not the word of God. The word of God is living, it is alive, it is powerful, and when we are speaking, writing, or living the Word of God, we are doing so from what we heard from between the cherubim and above the Mercy Seat, the center of the Most Holy Place, that is, the Oracle. It was from there that the oracles of God were spoken to the high priest, and this was through the Urim and Thummim on his breastplate. Each word came out of the heart-center of God, from His throne, from within the holiness of heaven's Orator. As mentioned above, oracles are two things, yet they are but one. The Most Holy Place from where God speaks is one oracle, and the other oracle is the word He speaks, and the third oracle is the messenger of that living, powerful word of God. The Oracle is the medium by which God extends himself to His oracles and then to the world via those anointed oracles which are members of His body, even those who are after the order of the Melchisedec priesthood. When any man, woman, or child hears His words and they speak them, those words are the living, holy, powerful, throne-sealed oracles of God. They are sent into the world with that great seal, and when they speak it is out of the throne and they proceed as lightnings and thunderings and voices. Such is a part of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ! Let me share with you about a time when it was clear that I had spoken from that most Holy place of God, straight from His throne room of authority and immutable power. I heard the oracles (logion) of God and for moments of time, I was an oracle of God. Without premeditation or forethought, I spoke into being part of the mighty, heavenly substance waiting for the proper time to be finished and manifested in the earth as it had already been finished in my heavens: It was during the mid 1980s that an elderly couple, the late Ray and Hazel Duncan, moved to Alamogordo from Amarillo, Texas. One of their friends told them about us, so we were contacted once they were moved in. There was good fellowship between us the first couple of weeks, and they read some of our Bible studies we had given to them. After reading a couple of the articles, they asked if there was anyone else who had material on the Kingdom of God that we could recommend, which we did; namely, J. Preston Eby and his Kingdom Bible Studies, and we gave them several to read. It was about a week later they walked into a shoe store where Margit and I were visiting our friends who managed it, Walter and Ella Arvizu. Hazel wasn't in real good health, and was almost blind; but she did fairly well with her very thick glasses. Even so, she needed assistance to keep from falling when she walked, and Ray helped his almost feeble wife into the store. After an exchange of a few words, I asked how they like Brother Eby's studies. They both agreed that they were very good; however, Hazel surprised me when she said, "But is sounds like he believes everyone is going to be saved." I wasn't aware that she didn't know it. Since it was now clear that they still held to the conventional view of the majority of God's creation burning in hell forever, I knew that our new-found friends may soon be new found ex-friends; for I responded with a firm, "Yes he does believe that all will be saved." I was hoping she would not ask what I believed, yet I was sure that would be her next question--and it was! I said that I would tell them what I believed, but I first had them to sit down with Margit and I facing directly across from them, with Walter and Ella standing to our left at the counter. As I opened my mouth to speak, it was like a great thunder storm suddenly appeared with continuous lightning bolts striking in fury, and claps of thunder resounding without end. The word and scriptures came in torrents. The brother looked stunned, while his wife was shaking her head, and this was not in agreement. Just as the final lightning bolt struck its vital target, she cried out, "No! No! No! It's not that way! I can't take anymore of this, and I won't take anymore!" Although being heavy and frail, she surprisingly bounded with ease from her chair, turned to her husband, grabbed him by the arm, and while pulling him out of his chair, said--"Let's get out of here!" As they bolted toward the door, I turned to Walter and Ella, and when I saw the look on their faces, my heart sank. I could hear them thinking, "How could you beat such a dear, elderly sister like that?" And then I wondered the same. With that having been said and done, it was time for my next appointment to arrive, so I went back to work across the street from the shoe store. We didn't see our new ex-friends for two years, and I beat on myself all that time for being so brutal. The Eby's were in El Paso for a few days (this was when they lived in Crystal River, Florida), and the brethren set up a meeting for him to speak. We drove the 90 miles south to hear the rich word and see our friends. When we walked into the building my heart sank as it did two years before; but this time it was due to not wanting to face Ray and Hazel, especially Hazel. But of all the people at the meeting, I could never have imagined that they would be there; but there they were on the far side of the large hall. I didn't feel quite as bold as I did two years earlier, so I cowardly chose chairs to sit out of their line of vision. Hopefully, they hadn't seen us when we came in. Ha! Fat chance! They saw us! For as soon as the meeting ended, Hazel was up like a bolt and headed straight for me. The many brothers and sisters was a sea of people; but Moses must have there somewhere; for a channel opened between her and me. I knew there was no stopping her, so I braced myself for the tongue lashing and upbraiding of my life, and I felt it would have been well deserved. But praise God! It was to the contrary. As she approached, tears were streaming down her aging cheeks. And her first words were: "Brother Roach, please forgive me for the way I acted up there in Alamogordo two years ago. But I need to explain why I was so overwrought and angered. You see, I had been an Assembly of God minister for over 50 years, and every word you spoke was shaking and destroying the foundation of every sermon I had ever preached along with everything I believed. It so disturbed me that we moved back to Amarillo before the week was over." She continued with such genuine sincerity, by saying: "I was able to get away from you, my tormentor; but I wasn't able to get away from your word or God. I was in such anguish and overcome by what you had said that I was finally nearing death. I couldn't get out of bed for three months. I was dying! I was literally on my death bed and in agony every minute. It was then that I cried out, 'God, please, I know I am dying, but I don't want to, but I can't endure this suffering any longer. Therefore, if what I was told by Brother Roach is true, I want to know it, and I want you to reveal it to me. If you show me that it is true, I will embrace it.' "Instantly," she said, "the heavens opened in my spirit, and I saw this wonderful, wonderful truth of God's mercy and grace unveiling to my soul. I knew then that through our Lord Jesus Christ that ALL, EVERYONE would be saved and not suffer eternal torment! And having gone through those three months of hell on earth, in my earth, I was so thrilled! "Such immeasurable love, joy, and peace flooded my entire being. His Spirit surged through my body with such force in His wings that I was raised up in Life. Praise God! It was like a resurrection. I got out of my death bed healed and rushed into the living room and shared it with Ray. And without any reservations, it was revealed as quickly to him, and he received it with open arms as well." And then she ended it with: "And, Brother, I want to thank you so much for being so bold, so powerful, and so straight forward that day in the shoe store. For you see, that was the only way I could be reached. A soft word would have never shaken those falsehoods that had become such strongholds. If you hadn't spoken as you did, those walls would still be standing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" It was then time for more tears, mine too, and hugs. What a revelation! What an unveiling! What an apocalypse! And this will be some of what to expect, and no less, at the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ and His manifested body--the unstoppable power bursting from the most Holy Oracle of God! If this can take place with individual vessels all over the world, as it did with me some years ago, do we think it will not and cannot be the same at the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, but on a much larger scale of the entire corporate body of Christ? If we say nay, then we be eating hay, and not the word of God that is heard between the two cherubim on the Mercy Seat. There was another time that stands before me that merits mentioning when I spoke from and as the Oracle of God. It was during a meeting in 1986. It was on that trip that our dear friend, the late Stacy R. Wood, Jr., who pastored a church in Omaha, Nebraska at the time said this to me: "The first time you came by, you spoke more like a college professor, and it seemed that you weren't sure that you believed what you were teaching. But this time, you blasted us out of the house." I realized, that this was not a compliment, but a needed adjustment. Notwithstanding, there was a reason for me declaring my words with the force of a hurricane. Something happened in our previous meeting that caused such an outburst. While I was ministering in that meeting such an anointing came over me and in me that the words I was saying/declaring came as an avalanche over me and the people. I left my protective covering of the podium and was walking up and down the isles. Some had tears flooding their faces, others were spellbound, and others exuded sheer delight. I glanced over to Margit, and she was awestricken. The Spirit and Word were so intense, I knew that every word was penetrating deep within souls, and there would be awakening, life changing results. There was such an anointed power driving each thought and word. This anointing increased by each word spoken, so much so that my human body could not contain it any longer. I felt that if it continued that I would literally explode, leaving body parts scattered all over the walls. To keep that from possibly happening, I ceased from speaking and I went back to the podium. I grasped the sides of it for stability, and closed the meeting; for I could no longer remain in that vein of power that was surging through me from on high. I could no longer endure that which had been finished in my heavens and was being finished in the earth of that congregation. It was too great for my immature untried, unprepared, unchanged vessel. Afterwards, I thought to myself, "Wow! What a wonder! That was a tremendous word. That's what I'll minister tomorrow night in Omaha and with as much force as I did tonight." Silly me. As you already know, it didn't work. I learned quickly that it is not a specific word that brings the anointing, and the higher the volume made no difference either. It was clear that it is the anointing that brings the word. The word in the previous meeting was with supreme authority and power that rushed from the throne like a river, and I imitated it in Omaha. I gave it my best shot; but it couldn't be regained by me forcing the letter of that word from my soul by the breath of my lungs. It was this imitation that Stacy saw the second time in Omaha, and his kind, but direct, words helped guide me back on the narrow path that leads to the oracle of God. When it is found by any of us, we can speak as oracles and not only speak as oracles, but be the oracles--the word of God! It is in the oracle of God, in the Holy of holies and between the cherubim over the Mercy Seat that God meets us and from where He speaks to us. It is not in our theological reasoning nor in our special doctrines that He meets and speaks to us, but in that High and Holy place of the Shekinah Glory. It is this place where we have been meeting and hearing Him since being born of Him. It is from this place that we have been speaking and writing His anointed word. However, it has been only in a measure. It has been more at times than others; but at the time of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, we can expect the river of life to flow from the throne with such intensity that it will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. We recall that Jesus only spoke those words He heard His Father speak, and from where do we suppose He heard His Father? From the Oracle of God, straight from His Holy of holies. Therefore, when we speak, let us speak as did Jesus, as the Holy from the Holiest of all, as oracles from the Oracle of God. We will be the Word of God spoken from the most Holy place of God. We will be the living expressions of who we are in Him and He in us. But how do we do that? We know that flesh and sweat won't bring it to pass. We have all tried various things: fasting, praying, poring over the scriptures, shouting hallelujahs, lifting our hands and voices in praise and preaching, but so often to no avail. Sometimes one or all of these things may have manifested due to hearing the voice of the Holy Oracle thundering from the most Holy place of our own tabernacles. If that happened to be the case, those oracles/voices were expressions of our Lord from within our individual thrones. These were appearings, apocalypses if you please, yet in a measure, of the great King. But at the end of the age, it can no longer be in a measure, and they who hear the call to "Come up hither" are caught up to that throne of God, and they will be a part of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. It will come to pass that those things which were shown to John, and was told would be hereafter, will become an instant, living reality. As it was with Solomon when the Temple and his own house were finished together after twenty years with anxious expectation, so it will be with the sons of God. The Temple of the body of Christ and our individual houses will be finished and manifested together, at the same time. There'll be no more waiting, no more expectation in the Holy place, but expectation's reality in the most Holy place! The throne will be firmly set in our heavens as surely as the Solomon's Temple was set in Jerusalem. It is there that we shall sit with power and authority over our charge, yet not with pride or arrogance but with humble austerity of those tried in the refining fires of the ages. That which was revealed to John was the apocalypse of Jesus Christ and the sons of God. This should be clear if we understand scriptural types and signs. For instance, the one sitting on the throne appeared like the brilliant jasper and fiery sardius stones. They were the first (alpha) and the last (omega) precious stones in the breastplate of the high priest. The names of Judah and Benjamin were engraved upon them which helps us see more into the depths of these signs. Judah means praise, and it was by praise that battles and wars were won, which speaks of those who overcome and receive crowns, i.e. kingship, and Benjamin means the son of the right hand. Each stone then unmistakably is associated with the appearing of the sons of God as kings upon the throne in the heavens. When this takes place in each member of that body, the power and authority of the King of kings and His anointed corporate body will be seen and heard worldwide as lightning, thunder, and many voices--THE APOCALYPSE OF SONSHIP! The splendor of the jasper and sardius stones stand in the forefront signifying the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ and His overcomers. The sons of God whose race is coming to maturity, and they are seen to have been invested with the authority, power, and dominion, and they shall reign unto the ages of the ages. "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices..." "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat..." Revelation 4:5 & Exodus 25:22. Thus the manifestation, the unveiling, the apocalypse of Jesus Christ in us, through us, and from us! The Apocalypse Part 14 Oracles of God Publication #216 "...Out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices...." "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee..." Revelation 4:5 & Exodus 25:22. It is this majestic throne that symbolizes the highest form of dominion, power, rule, and authority, and it is from this royal station that the King of kings speaks and conducts His official business. That sovereign business is symbolized by the natural wonders to which we are so accustomed, and in symbolic terms they proceed from this high and most holy realm. There was a time, quite some years ago, that we imagined these spectacular displays would hale from a place in the starry skies of outer-space. This, we thought, as did those who tutored us, would come from somewhere beyond the Milky Way, or perhaps from the Orion nebula which is one of the spiraling arms of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Somewhat closer, yet still a long way off. Whichever scenario one would choose, the awesome powers of God's wrath could be seen as streaming down from several light years away, breaking open our eastern skies like a shattered plate-glass window from a kids baseball that was intended for a home run. During those early months of our trek through the streets, avenues, highways, byways and sometimes alley-ways of our new-found religious life, and very often that is was it was, religion, we saw things on the natural plane of things. Everything was as physical as our ground-formed, fleshly bodies. What else could we have done? For this was a new thing for us, a new walk, a new life that we had never known. And most to which we could relate was that of the former life; but the new life was taking over, possessing us, and having dominion from the Throne. Thus the thunderings, lightnings, and voices! Hallelujah! What an apocalypse! The beginning of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ in us! We were never the same, and, praise God, never will be! It is within our inner-space, not out there somewhere, but in here that we saw the lightnings, thunderings, and voices, and likewise with the entire corporate body of Christ. The fact is, it takes place in the same heaven where Jesus was when His feet were planted firmly upon terra firma, the ground; and in spite of this, He said that He was in heaven. (rf. John 3:13 & 14:3). Such resounding manifestations within the body of Christ are beyond natural comprehension. The mind of man cannot grasp that which is so high and can only be described in human terms of things he knows, such as lightnings, thunderings, and voices that are personified from the Throne of God! At first they are unveiled, seen, and heard by those who are one with Jesus Christ and His Throne, but when the time is right, those many voices will thunder the same to the world and open every soul to our Lord's rapturous glory to bring about godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation. That was the order of things in the Tabernacle of the Old Testament. The Spirit of God called the Oracle would deliver His words that were called oracles to the high priests who became oracles. The high priest would then go out and speak to the people those living oracles of judgment, power, and authority while being tempered with mercy. It is quite easily seen why the lid of the Ark of the Covenant was called the Mercy Seat; for both the lid and the Ark pointed to Jesus in every way. The acacia wood symbolized His humanity that was overlaid with the gold of His deity. The Law inside the Ark represented His Father which would indicate that Jesus had Him in His heart. This, of course, enabled Him to live by nature in perfect harmony with every aspect of the Law. The pot of manna, of course, spoke of Jesus as the Bread of Life, and Aaron's rod that budded foretold His resurrection. The Mercy Seat was the place of God's merciful judgment for Israel's sins, and everything that had to do with the law of Moses found its focal point therein. That Seat of Authority was in the center of everything. For instance, the tabernacle was located in the center of the camp of the twelve tribes. The Holy of holies was in the center of the curtains, which was the outer wall. And the Mercy Seat, or Throne, was centered in the Holy of holies. Therefore, the Seat for meeting with the invisible God was in the center of it all. And as the Holy Place was made for the Most Holy Place, the Most Holy Place was made for the purpose of housing the Throne of Mercy. It would be good to note that the Mercy Seat was not a seat with which we are generally familiar. When the King James Version of the Bible was translated into English, the word to them meant the center or origin of a thing. Such as, in New Mexico, and as in most other states, there are County Seats (Louisiana has Parish Seats). Everyone knows that these Seats are not chairs in which to sit, but origins and centers of County governments. The Seats of the governors of those states are not chairs in any sense of the imagination, nor is the Seat of the President a plush, leather covered chair stationed behind his 1880 Resolute desk. The seat of any government is the central point of its origin. And likewise with the Mercy Seat! It was the central point of mercy, the place where mercy originated! In the book of Hebrews it is called the Throne of Grace: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrew 4:16. The Throne of Grace, the Mercy Seat, was made of pure gold which is typical of God, and Jesus was the express image of God. He manifested His nature in word and deed. With this, it is easily seen that this throne, the Mercy Seat, is a perfect type of Jesus Christ. Mercy Seat is used one time in the New Testament: "And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly." Hebrews 9:5. It comes from the Greek word hilastrion. It is only found three other times, and translated propitiation. It had to do with the propitiation of our sins as well as the whole world (rf. 1 John 2:2, 4:10). The other instance is Romans 3:25, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past..." Jesus Christ is "the propitiation" for our sins, and the writer of Hebrews called it "the mercyseat." What we have then, is that Jesus Christ was, is, and will be the Mercy Seat for us and all of humanity as long as there is any sin anywhere in the universe! Praise God that there is a time when there will be no more sin; for when the root of all sorrow, tears, pain, and death, which is sin, has been destroyed by the fire of God, all those horrid things vanish to be no more as we read in Revelation 21:4. Our gracious Lord became the center of God's mercy toward us and the world. It is from there that He is Alpha and Omega of mercy. It originates in Him, and as with all things, it ends in Him. So let us praise God that we have "... a merciful and faithful high priest...to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17. I remember reading or hearing someone say, "God's age of grace is about to end. He will be evacuating His body from the planet, and after He snatches them away there will be no more mercy for those left behind." Such as men's wishful dreams are, this will never happen! It is not scriptural! It is not remotely part of God's plan! And it is totally contrary to His character and nature. Should God ever abandon His Mercy, He would have to abandon His Throne of Mercy as well, which is Jesus Christ and who is the Merciful High Priest. This, you can take to bank: God is not removing His Holy Spirit from the earth and leaving everything to the devil, as it is commonly preached. The day of grace is not on the threshold of ending. The door of mercy is not about close. The fact is, we have only seen a fraction of grace and mercy in comparison to what will be coming. Just wait and take note of what the sons of God will be raining upon creation that eagerly awaits their glorious manifestation. This great company of kings and priests who are after the order of Melchisedec will truly be an apocalypse of Jesus Christ's mercy, grace, and power to creation. Moreover, it will not end with this or the coming age, but will continue throughout the ages to come. Due to the very purpose and nature of our God's love, grace, and mercy, the Son of His express image, and those of His body, this love, grace, and mercy will be shed abroad to all until all things are made new. Truly, we have only had a fore-taste of God's mercy and grace which are centered in Jesus Christ; yet there is more, much more. Through the vast ages to come, He will continue to unfold these unfathomable treasures, manifesting them through His vessels of mercy. This is a sure thing that will be freighted by the power of unmerited love. It will pour down from the Throne until the fullness of God and His Christ is revealed to all and in all, even until God becomes All in all! And the oracles of God have a major role in bringing it to pass as they interface with Him. In chemistry an interface is something that forms a common ground between two things, two objects, or liquids. Therefore, the Oracle is the interface between God and man, Eternity and time, Heaven and earth, Spirit and man. It is here that they all meet and become one. The Oracle is that common ground for opposite entities and realms to have communion. On a very simple plane, soap is an oracle; for its influence on oil and water enables them to mix and become one solution. Regardless of the realm, oracles are the means by which interaction is experienced, and it is herein where divine expression is first known. It is by this Oracle, the Word, that God projects Himself into another dimension, into a dimension where He can be seen, touched, and heard. It is from here, the Mercy Throne of God, that lightnings, thunderings, and voices proceed in order to set the sons of God in order and then the world. Everything that God is--whether it is His thoughts, His intent, His will, His power, His authority, His love--it is contained in His Word which is His Oracle that expressly speaks. Paul certainly knew something of this: "For of (Grk ek, out of) Him, and through Him, and to (Grk. eis, into) Him are all things." Romans 11:36. The apostle summed up very well in this short verse what Ray Prinzing termed as the law of circularity, and I know of no simpler way it could have been said. For truly, out of Him, through Him, and back into Him are all things. The ALL that came out of Him by the sound of His word will proceed through Him, and this is by His word which is fire, and the ALL will return back into Him from where it came. Nothing lost, nothing wasted, but ALL made new and drawn back into Him through Jesus Christ! It is in and by the Oracle alone that time and eternity meet, that God and man become one. It is from this union that man acquires divinity and God robes Himself with flesh. Man becomes God and God becomes man, and this God/man amalgamation takes place in and around the Throne of Grace. The lightnings and thunderings and voices that proceed from that most Holy Oracle are seen, experienced, and heard by those who have overcome and are caught up to that throne and their Father. This is a revelation, an apocalypse to the Sons of God, those who are made after the order of Melchisedec the great king of Peace and priest of the Most High. One might think that time should stand still once we enter this heavenly bliss; for who wouldn't desire to bask in such a glory filled place for ever? But it is not to be, dear sojourners and God's firstfruits of all His creation. Not by any means! Although you will go no more out from that place within your spirit, you must be those lightnings, thunderings, and voices to those of the earth. You must be as the high priests of old. You must become those oracles and then descend to the earth from the Holy of holies. You must go into the midst of those who await you and those who hate your. If not, you will be of no value to them as the firstfruits of what they are to become. To be of any spiritual worth whatsoever, you must descend. You must keep looking down. "Down," you say! Yes indeed--down; for if you are looking up, you are the one in dire need; but if you are looking down, you are upon the Throne of Grace and can help those in their day of sorrow and of human affliction. For instance, where would we be today if Jesus had never descended to our lowly state of death? Most miserable! "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven...the Son of man which is in heaven." John 3:13. We hear much today about ascending into heaven, going to heaven, caught up to heaven, raptured into the clouds of heaven, and living forever in heaven. Not much is said, however, about descending from those Elysian fields of heaven, and we can see why. With the final goal being the everlasting paradise of heaven for practically every believer, most would not embrace the idea of ever leaving it regardless of what their belief might be about that long-sought-after place. The first time the Hebrew word, yarad, is used, from which comes the word descend or come down, is in Genesis 11:5. This was after men were building the tower to heaven, and the Lord came down (descended) to see the city and tower the children of men were building. He descended, confused their tongues, and scattered them upon the face of the earth (Genesis 11:6-9). Yarad is used throughout the scriptures, and generally speaks of moving from a higher position to a lower one, such as when water descends downward in a river, a person descends a stairway, or makes his descent from a mountain. There is no great significance in most of the verses where the word is used in a generalized manner. It merely indicates a move from a higher place to a lower one. However, when it is used in reference to God, His messengers, or other things from heaven's embrace, the descent always affects the earth in some way or another. The effects can be profoundly severe, leaving individuals and nations shaken to the core, or they can come as unbridled blessings, ushering them into wonders unknown. It can be as refreshing as spring showers descending upon thirsty gardens or as hail that destroys autumn fields ripe for harvest. Each of these heavenly descenders affects and brings change to the earth upon which it falls, and so do those things that descend from the Throne. God's descent can come as a voice. Very often it will announce marvelous promises which affect the hearer by building faith that will stand against all odds. For instance, a promise was given to Jacob when "...he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the *angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the LORD stood beside him and said, I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring." Genesis 28:12-13. [*angels: 4397. mal'ak...to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; spec. of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher). (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance).] Joseph, a type of Jesus, descended into Egypt, and his going down blessed the whole world. "And Joseph was brought down (yarad) to Egypt..." Genesis 39:1. We need not recount his many trying years as a slave and a prisoner; we know the story well. However, due to his descent--the whole world was saved, even those who crucified him, as it were. Jesus, likewise, descended from His Father's house and into a hostile environment. And the whole world will be saved because of Him descending into that world of death. He then descended in the grave, ministered to those in hell, and led captivity captive. Joseph descended into Egypt, a type of Jesus descending into the world, and he saved their world. Joseph and Jesus are only two examples of how the descent of the Holy affects everything and everyone. If those things relative to the holy heavens of God never descend, there will never be a change in the world. It will never get better but will only get worse due to the law of sin and death. Therefore, our thoughts should not be so much on going to heaven, but descending from there. It is not wrong, of course, to desire the paradise of heaven and all it has to offer. That has been every man's quest since the day of Adam's downward fall, and it has been God's ultimate will for all as well; but once the Kingdom of heaven is embraced, we may have to leave the comfort of that blissful place. Yet, the assurance is, when we do leave, we take it with us. That is what Adam failed to do. Rather than taking the Kingdom of the Garden into the world with him and subduing it thereby, he left it and was subdued by the world. Nevertheless, once we know where we sit, and the time of lightnings, thunderings, and voices come, it is then that the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ will be known, and the world will be changed. Those who are one with the Throne of Mercy and Grace will manifest heaven on earth and turn it once again upside down. When heaven's hosts descend to the earth, it can be traumatic to those upon whom it descends as well as the descenders. It can be as it was with Joseph when he descended into the pit and then to Egypt. He suffered greatly, and during the time Jesus graced this earth and shook the world to its core, He also suffered greatly (Hebrews 2:18, 5:8, 13:12). Yes, indeed, the sons of God shall know what it is to descend and to suffer; for you see, the world, especially the religious world, does not want such regal beings coming down. They already have trees cut, crosses hewn, spikes forged, and all are made ready for any man from heaven who might invade their dark kingdoms of religion, commerce, and politics. I can tell you with all assurance, my friends, the more you descend into the earth, the more you will suffer reproach and bleed. Even right now there are some who would kill you if they could. And that should be no great surprise; for you have threatened their welfare by descending into their world. You have shaken and set on fire their high mountains, and they don't like it. Moreover, once you descend into the depth of their very being, into to the core and caverns of their base minds and dark souls--they will rise with all the fury of hell against you. There will be no just cause for their waves of hatred, threats, and lies; but your presence alone will be enough, and the more you love them, the more they will hate and try to kill you. Some of you already know this, and you are left bewildered at the madness of it all. Your every attempt to reason with them has failed, and nothing you can say or do will calm their storm. Where a soft word once turned away wrath, it only enrages it until it is ultimately broken and consumed in the flames of God's presence. It must be clear by now that this is a spiritual war, one on one and also corporately, and such an enemy will not relent. It is not yet opened in full force, yet I believe the day is swiftly approaching when there will be a mass assault upon the sons of God, and please be assured--if you cannot run today with the footmen, how then can you contend with the horses? Jeremiah 12:5. If, however, we are not wearied with the individual footmen, and we rise to the occasion and cast the serpent out of those self-exalted heavens and rout out the demons of their dogmas and political correctness, we shall do well in that great day when the dragon and all his marauding messengers are cast out. Yet, we must know that the greatest victory comes first in casting them out of our own heavens, especially the dragon of religion and all its damnable doctrines of spiritual bondage. It is then that salvation, and power, and the authority of Christ in His Kingdom will forever be known. It is then that we can descend into the earth and move and dissolve those tremendous mountains of oppression. Once our heavens are made secure, once the dragon and his hoards have no longer a seat of power, we who ascended to that Throne of Grace can then descend and shake the earth, rattle men's powers, and roll over their carnal kingdoms. Our presence will ignite everything that can be kindled. The mountains of men--flesh, carnality, humanism, legalism, left-wing right-wing politics, and religion from beneath--shall burn and tremble in the presence of heaven's descenders, the mighty oracles of God. We can see it as being akin to mount Sinai when the LORD descended upon it: "And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly....and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness." Exodus 19:18, Deuteronomy 4:11. When our God in any form or fashion descends upon the mountain of man--there is a great change! It disrupts foundations and kingdoms fall. It ignites the weeds, the grass, the straw, as well as the wood, the hay, and the stubble, not to mention all the trees of the field. Every phase and facet of man burns. The whole lump goes up in smoke, leaving nothing but charred mountains of ashes and valleys laden over with rubble. The kingdoms of men become extinct when the Throne's holy oracles descend with lightning, thunder, and voices. None can stand in their presence and live as they had before! "Wait ye upon Me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My decision is to gather the nations, to draw together the kingdoms, to pour upon them My indignation, even all My fierce anger. For all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My zeal. Yea, then will I turn unto the people a pure language, that they may call upon the Lord, to serve Him with one consent." Zephaniah 3:8-9. The descending (pouring forth) of indignation and fierce anger is by no means passive. It is not as the sons have been in the past, as a gentle rain, a chiding spark, or flickering flame; no, not by any stretch of the imagination! It is an inferno of power, of intense judgments! God who is merciful and full of grace who will go to any depth, height, or extreme to save and transform His creation. This has been the divine purpose from before the foundation of the world, and it is going according to that purpose. The oracles He sends down are filled with the fiery blaze of lightning, the roar of thunder, and the terrible voices of God's zeal. They represent the intensity of God's dealings, His passion toward His creation, and severe redemptive judgment upon the whole world. These flashes of lightning and flaming words that set the heavens and the earth on fire are not literal fire, of course. This is obvious, since people remain after the firestorm, and they are blessed. You see, after the earth is devoured by the fire of God's zeal, "...Then will I turn unto the people a *pure language, that they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent." [*pure pure language: a living word of ever increasing revelation and uncontaminated by human touch or traditions.] The prophet was relating how all the nations and kingdoms, those of the entire earth, will be drawn together and devoured (eaten, Heb.) with fire. One might think that to devour or consume something either by eating or burning would totally destroy it, leaving nothing, not even a molecule. However, even in the world of science, we learned that nothing can be absolutely destroyed. We know that the appearance can be altered, that its molecular structure can be changed, the electrons and protons of its atomic makeup can be separated (fission) or joined (fusion). Things coming in contact with the energy released by those two actions will be dissolved, vaporized, and perhaps disappear from sight; but their elements still remain. They merely took on a different state of existence. A less intense form of dissolving can be seen with a cube of sugar being dropped into a hot cup of water as it is being stirred. It won't be long until the sugar is dissolved. Its form is destroyed as it disappears totally from view, but not from taste, and this is because it still remains. It has not been annihilated, brought to nothing, taken out of existence. The sugar cube has simply been changed. It has been dissolved, that is, loosed from its former shape and texture to take on another shape and texture, sweet water, and by tasting that the water is sweet is testimony enough to know that the sugar was not utterly destroyed. "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be *dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 2 Peter 3:11-12. [*dissolved: Grk. lu, to "loosen" (literally or figuratively). KJV translates the word as: break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-) loose, melt, put off. (Strong's Exh. Conc.)] Jesus used the same Greek word, lu, after He raised Lazarus from the dead. With His friend being bound in grave clothes from head to foot, He said, "Loose him, and let him go." John 11:34. Both words, dissolved and loose, come from lu. So what does this tell us? That Lazarus was to be dissolved? Of course not, but loosed, as the verse says, and so it is with the heavens. Namely, the heavens that rule over the world will be dissolved, loosed. The powers of the world kingdoms and the world itself will be loosed from their grave clothes. When the heavens, the world, and carnal thing in them are dissolved by lightnings, thunderings, and fiery voices, every vestige of sin and death will be loosed from every creature and authority. These powers descending from the Mercy Seat, that is, the Throne of Grace, will dissolve the clothing of death from creation and loose them from all things human: sorrow, suffering, worry, hatred, fear, ignorance, disease, perversion, poverty, all bondage, and especially death. Creation will be loosed and enter into the new and glorious state of being in Jesus Christ. Every realm of the heavens and the earth, both spiritual and natural will be dissolved/loosed, but they won't be annihilated. For any of God's creatures to be annihilated is foreign to Him. For instance, how could and/or why would He take something of Himself, from where all things come, and annihilate it? Since nothing can be utterly destroyed, brought to extinction, it is absurd to think that God would annihilate any portion of His being. No, there will never be anything that God created totally obliterated and done away with completely and without leaving a trace. However, He is very much in the business of changing things into new forms, conditions, and natures. He first changes things downward and then He changes them upward; such as, "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men." Psalm 90:2. "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." Isaiah 45:7. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Revelation 20:15, 21:5. All things! Again, ALL THINGS WILL BE MADE NEW! Such a bold statement by our Lord doesn't leave much wiggle room for debate. With that being said, do you know how all things will be made new? BY FIRE! It may seem strange to some; but fire is the primary means by which all will be made new. However, some have difficulty in seeing the merits of fire. I have been asked a number of times by well-meaning people why do we need fire to bring about a new heavens and earth? They want to know why it can't be like they have heard and read from the ones who feel that all that is necessary to bring about a new world order of perfect love and harmony, a new age of heaven on earth, is to change the way we think? Some terms for this change of thinking are known as: Christ-conscious, cosmic-conscious, self-conscious, unself-conscious, transformed-conscious, altered state conscious, paraconscious, paradigm shift conscious, aligned conscious, visualization conscious, transcendental meditation conscious, tuned into the collective consciousness of the universe, to name a few of the "change of thinking" concepts said to usher in the age or new world order. With those posing the questions and statements assume that any or all of these human thought processes are effective ways to carry everything into the golden age of the gods. Such avenues appear to them to be much better ways than judgment. They want to know why there has to be judgment, and fire, and cataclysms to bring about these divine changes, and those are good questions that should be answered. From what I see, the answer is very simple. Sin and death cannot be destroyed by scientific or psychological processes such as the things we listed; and above all, sin and death cannot be destroyed by anything that is already dead, which is the whole of mankind! Every human being died in Adam when the woman said, "We will be as gods." And they both died that day from eating the forbidden fruit and the seed of every human being that was housed in the loins of that man died with him. Therefore, outside of Jesus Christ who is alive, no one can produce life, immortality, or establish the Kingdom of God regardless of the consciousness to which one ascends or ten thousands upon ten thousands ascend. Death has never been able to gender life and never will. So quit sweatin' it, my friends. Ok! Only by the resurrection life of Jesus will His body be made alive, and only by the fire of God will it be transformed; for it takes the heat of His fiery trials, His ministers of fire, and His flaming words of fire to change the elements of our structure. This is what prepares the glorious family of the sons of God. Moreover, there must be this divine process to end all the evil in the world. Jesus came as one man with His gospel of mercy and grace to build His church; but it will be Jesus with the sons of God who will come with His irrefutable rule, authority, and power to execute the judgment of fire and overcome and subdue all the nations of the earth inwardly and outwardly! The new heavens and earth will rise from the ashes on fire, as holy firebrands. Every aspect of sin, rebellion in every soul, and every morsel of corruption will be destroyed by God's fire. Every vestige of the primordial curse upon man and the world must be eradicated. There must be a loosening of the restrictions and limitations imposed upon the world by the curse of sin and death. The universal bands of man's rule by the carnal mind and nature must be forever broken. This godfire will prevent handicaps and shortcomings of man's fall from being carried with him into the foundation and structure of the new heaven and earth. Man's conscious ways cannot do this. The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ and His flaming body of fire certainly can and will! The world will pass away, and its lusts thereof; but he that does the will of God abides forever, as the apostle of love burned into the pages of his book! 1 John 2:17. Praise God! |
