Seek The Light

And Peter - Watchman Nee

2012-01-05T16:36:00.001-06:00

Scripture Reading: Mark 16:7; Matt. 28:7

Can you find the difference between these two passages after reading them? The Gospel of Matthew says that after the Lord’s resurrection, an angel told the women to tell His disciples of His resurrection. The Gospel of Mark records that the angel asked the women to tell the Lord’s disciples and Peter. Oh, the words “and Peter” cause tears to fall. All of the four Gospels record the story of the Lord’s resurrection. But only the Gospel of Mark has the words “and Peter.” Since John was the one whom the Lord loved, why does the Bible not say “and John”? Since Thomas was doubtful about the Lord’s resurrection, why does it not say “and Thomas”? The angel did not mention the best disciples or the most needy disciples. He specifically mentioned Peter. Why? What made Peter different from the others?
What kind of person was Peter? Three days before the resurrection, Peter committed a great sin, a sin that would cause the Lord not to confess him before the Father’s angels. Peter not only denied the Lord before men, he even denied the Lord before a maid who was despised by others at that time. But the Lord wanted the women to tell the disciples and Peter about His resurrection. The words “and Peter” have a very deep meaning! If any brother or sister had Peter’s experience, they might think:
“Oh! I have fallen. The sin which I have committed is not a common sin. I am afraid that I cannot draw close to the Lord anymore. The Lord might have already forsaken me. I am afraid that from now on, whenever the Lord has any important thing to do, He will not take me along. I will not be able to have special experiences like I had when I was with Him on the mount of transfiguration. I will not be able to accompany Him like I did in the garden of Gethsemane. I told the Lord that I would die for Him, and the Lord said that before the cock crowed twice, I would deny Him three times. I thought that the Lord misunderstood me. When He was taken, I even cut off a man’s ear with a sword, thinking that I could love Him courageously. Yet I fell. I did not fall before the high priest or before the powerful Pilate, but before the questioning of a maid. I denied the Lord once, twice, and finally I even swore in my denial of the Lord. At one time I confessed that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God. At another time I said to Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life’ But eventually, I fell just as the Lord was about to be crucified. I committed the great sin of denying Him. Although I cried with regret, I do not know how the Lord is going to treat me. It would have been better if He had not known that I denied Him. But when I denied Him, He turned His back and looked at me. He knew what I had done. What should I do? I dare not come close to Him anymore. Although He loves me, I dare not approach Him because there is a sin which separates me from Him. Perhaps from now on, I cannot be close to Him. Yet, after the Lord resurrected, several women brought back word that they were to specifically tell me about it. Oh, the Lord has not forsaken me, even though I denied Him three times. He does not hate me, nor is He angry with me. His heart was thinking of me. He did not mention anyone but me specifically. It is as though He was only thinking about me. ‘And Peter!’ ‘And Peter!’ These words are truly the most beautiful music in the world, the most wonderful tidings! If the Lord had only told the women to tell the disciples, I would have thought that I was no longer worthy of being His disciple and that I was no longer one of His disciples. I would not dare to go see Him. But since the Lord said, ‘and Peter,’ I know that He still wants me. Although I do not have the strength to go see Him, ‘and Peter’ encourages me to go. The message brought back by the women is true. The Lord told the angel to mention my name specifically. The Lord did not forsake me. I can still draw near to Him. Let me rise up and go see Him!”
Here was a fallen, sinful Peter, a Peter who had denied the Lord. Yet the Lord specifically mentioned him. This is the gospel! Brothers and sisters, do you know that once the Lord saves you, He saves you eternally? Although you may be discouraged, the Lord will never be discouraged. A sinful person like you may feel shame in turning back to Him, but the One you have sinned against considers that there is nothing wrong in returning to Him. Why should you keep thinking of your failure when He is not concerned with it? If the Lord can remove the veil from your face today, you will not fear Him or be afraid to come near to Him. Peter might have remembered that he said to the Lord, “If all will be stumbled because of You, I will never be stumbled” (Matt. 26:33). He might have also remembered what he said at the lake of Gennesaret, when he saw the glory of the Lord: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord” (Luke 5:8). After Peter realized his true condition, how could he dare see the Lord again? He might have remembered the Lord’s pleading: “So were you not able to watch with Me for one hour?” He might have heard the Lord’s command in his ear: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Matt. 26:40-41). His condition was far below the Lord’s requirements. How could he dare to go see Him? But he went to meet the Lord anyway. He dared to go because of the words “and Peter.” Brothers and sisters, if you know the Lord’s intention behind the words “and Peter,” will you still turn away from Him, instead of turning toward Him? If you realize the profound significance of the words “and Peter,” you have to come near to the Lord.
Among the four Gospels, only the Gospel of Mark records this matter. Mark was a young man who followed and learned from Peter. The Gospel of Mark was dictated by Peter and written down by Mark. The words “tell His disciples and Peter” were specifically dictated by Peter. These words might not have been important to other people, but they were very important in Peter’s heart. When the Holy Spirit was writing the Bible, He specifically wanted to show us that, even though these few words were considered unimportant by Matthew, Luke, and John, they were very unforgettable and important to Peter who dictated the Gospel of Mark. “And Peter” had special meaning for him. Each remembrance of these words was sweet. Words of grace are especially memorable to the person who receives the grace.
Brothers and sisters, when you are at the Lord’s table meeting remembering the Lord, are you still afraid of God in your heart? Is there any sin separating you from God? You may have deeply wept, repented, and admitted that you disappointed the Lord. But do you dare say to the Lord, “Lord, I come to You”? Please consider this: If He was willing to go to the cross because He loved you, would He stop loving you just because you failed, fell, and backslid? Would the love He had on the cross decrease? It may be very easy for you not to love Him, draw near to Him, or return to Him; but it is impossible for Him to forget you, forsake you, or not love you. During the three days after the Lord was crucified, Peter was silent because he had fallen. But the Lord did not forget him. Therefore, if you do not have the strength to come to the Lord, as long as you are willing to believe in His words, He will give you the strength to draw near to Him. If you fall, He can make you rise up again. Although it seems that you will not be able to draw near to Him anymore, remember in faith the words “and Peter,” and you will be able to draw near to Him. When you want to come close to the Lord, but feel that you are very far from Him and have no strength to come near to Him, you need to remember the words “and Peter.” The more Peter fell, the more the Lord wanted to remember him. Although Peter dared not come too close to the Lord, the Lord’s heart attracted him and kept him from running away from Him. May you not misunderstand the Lord’s heart. If you ever hear the words “and Peter,” you should know that the Lord has not forsaken you. The Lord did not desert Peter, and neither has He forsaken you. “And Peter” means “and you”—“you” who have failed like Peter. May you see the Lord’s heart for you. If you see the Lord’s heart, you will run toward Him.

Just What Do You Mean....Hell - J Preston Eby

2012-01-04T19:14:00.002-06:00

Infinite Grace
A "Second Chance?"
Hell - The Hadean State
The Keys Of Death And Hell
When Christ Preached In Hell!
The Punishment Must Fit The Crime
The Good Shepherd
To Hell And Back
The Great Gulf

INFINITE GRACE

FROM the earliest years of my memory there stirred deep within my bosom an insatiable longing after Christ. Though only a child, I wanted to know Him who once was spat upon for me, who was crowned with thorns for me, who died and rose again and ascended into the highest heaven for me. I wanted to intimately know the Christ, the great and good Friend who was compassionate to all men, who forgave the thieves and harlots and drunkards, and healed the sick and gladdened the sorrowful, who brought the dead to life again, and loved and blessed the children. Oh, how I wanted to KNOW HIM!

Sometime after my twelfth birthday, the Lord came to me in a remarkable visitation, flooding my life with billows of His presence, power and glory. From that moment Christ became a living Reality. He filled the skies. He filled the earth. He filled my life and flooded mv heart with unspeakable love for His creation. He whispered in mv ear and flooded within the depths of my spirit the precious knowledge that He is the Good Shepherd who will seek until the last lost sheep is in His fold. He proclaimed the omnipotence of His love in the sweetest of tones. The Good Shepherd who came from heaven, and gave His life, will seek, and seek, and seek, and save, and save, and save, until He has brought all men back to God. This is the work of the Redeemer and the redeemed. I remember sitting, some time after this experience, in the auditorium of the public school in the rural community where we lived in southern Alabama, looking at the several hundred students assembled there, as the Spirit mused in my heart, "Someday, someway, somewhere, Christ will save them all!" The revelation was real to me, Christ was there bursting forth in my spirit, and I rose and departed with gladness that Christ is indeed Victor!

I do not hesitate to preach it. I do not hesitate to tell it. At the same time I have warned the sinner that if he sins, the face of God is against him; that if he will not submit to Christ, hell is in front of him; the way of the transgressor is hard, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men; let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience. But let us not falsely say that such men will never be saved; let us not limit the Holy One of Israel!

Most Christians believe that once a person dies, his or her fate is sealed for ever. If anyone has been fortunate enough to have repeated the "sinner's prayer" one moment before death stole the spirit away, he is guaranteed, according to the "orthodox" teaching, that he will go straight to heaven. Matters not whether he was truly drawn to the Son by the Holy Spirit; as long as he muttered the correct words before the final beat of his heart yielded to the stillness and silence of death, his salvation is eternally secured.

The question is, does physical death end the availability of God's grace? The death that came to Adam was first and foremost a spiritual death, and all men enter this world " dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). Does physical death render our moral character changeless? Does it irrevocably fix our eternal destiny? Are the grace and mercy of God tied to our heartbeat? Here is a young man driving along the road on his way to an evangelistic meeting where he will hear an anointed message of salvation. Conditions are such that he may be saved this very night. His heart is tender. His mother is praying. The Holy Spirit will be mightily dealing. But - enroute to the meeting there is a terrible accident. The brakes are slammed on, the car skids wildly, spins uncontrollably off the highway, rolls down the embankment, crashing violently into a tree. Death is instant. Abruptly the young man is gone "out into eternity." The question comes--was the mercy and redemption of God tied to his heartbeat? Was there mercy for him if he would have made it to the meeting, but eternal damnation instead because a drunken fool pulled out in front of him in the darkness?

I do not hesitate to say that there is not one passage of Scripture in the whole Bible that indicates that the grace of God is limited to physical life, or that the mercy of God is tied to ones heartbeat. I am sure that my readers recognize that it is the spirit of man that is of the greatest importance to God. Why should there be salvation provided as long as the mortal body remains animate, but no salvation for the much more valuable spirit of the same man or woman as soon as the last mortal breath is drawn? Oh, I know the writer to the Hebrews states, "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27), but that proves nothing relative to the question under consideration. It merely establishes the fact of judgment - not the process following judgment. The passage is conspicuous for what it does not say. It does not say, "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this eternal damnation." The whole theory of eternal torment rests upon a faulty translation of a couple of Greek words, and actual distortions and perversions of what the Scriptures say.

So the Church system concludes that God has both the will and the power to save a breathing man, but no will and no power to save a non breathing man. It teaches that God has both the will and the power to regenerate a spirit which has a body of dust, but no will or power to save the same spirit without a body. God's mercy and power limited to the temporary function of certain animal organs! Good heartbeat, good mercy! No heartbeat, no mercy!

If, instead of bringing every sin into judgment, punishing that sin; we imagine the poor sinner suffering the eternal torments of hell with its unbearable anguish, the pangs of conscience, the taunts of fiendish demons, one hour of which is more than all his earthly sorrows rolled into one - lengthen this out to endlessness and season it with hopeless despair - and its horrors will be absolutely inconceivable. Though our lips may be afraid to frame the words, our hearts will whisper, "Can such be the final fruit of God's glorious plan?" Is this the response for which He hungered when He purposed that sin should estrange His creatures from Himself? But this is far from all! Multiply this single case by scores of billions of human beings, who age after age, have been hurdled into this hopeless hell - all tortured and tormented while the ages roll, and roll, and roll... without mercy and without remedy.

If the above scenario be true then something horrid must have happened to both God and His saints in heaven. Before the death of these people God loved them all, and in many instances they loved each other, saved and unsaved alike, and would have performed a great number of kindnesses for one another. Many of these had Christian friends and loved ones who were very concerned about them and prayed earnestly for them. But now that both saint and sinner are out in "eternity," God and all the saints in heaven have either lost their love and compassion for their lost loved ones, or else God has brainwashed all the saints so that they have erased from their memory the fact that their beloved mothers and fathers, their lovely sisters and brothers, their precious daughters and sons, and their good friends and neighbors are suffering the most terrible pain and hideous torture for all eternity.

So we see this: there is more love and compassion in the natural world in God and the saved ones, than there is in the spirit world. Furthermore, there is more love for sinners while they have bodies than there is for sinners without bodies. What has happened to cause God and the saints to turn from love and pity for the lost, to a feeling that the lost are now getting what they deserve and should suffer the torments of the damned for all eternity? What, I ask, has happened to God and the saints to cause them to love and seek the lost as long as their frail, mortal bodies endure, but to turn from that love for the precious unclothed spirit of the very same man or woman? Can we believe that God, having created all things for His pleasure, having so loved His creation that He freely gave heaven's most precious gift, after a few paltry years, the brief span of a man's mortal existence, throws up His hands in futility and disgust, saying that He has done all He can and men would not respond, so He must cease all effort, seat Himself upon His golden throne, and consign His creation to everlasting hell?

Yet this is exactly what we are told today. But how foolish! God is not that fickle, and God does not give up that easily. In fact, God does not give up! He started the whole program of creation and redemption and, blessed be His wonderful name! He will not cease His work until He is Victor - "All in All" throughout all the vastnesses of infinity for evermore!

How often we have heard preachers warn people that "the day of grace will soon be over for ever." Now nothing could be further from the truth, for as long as God exists the grace of God will be with us. The end of the grace of God, were it possible, would mean the destruction of God Himself, for grace is one of His eternal, immutable attributes. Please notice that Paul shows that the grace of God is going to be displayed and made known in the ages to come through those who have received it here and now in this dispensation. "And has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ, that in the ages to come He might show (Greek: exhibit, put on display for all to see) the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7-8).

Not only does this passage tell us of the great revelation of God's grace in the ages to come, but it also shows us that it is for this very reason that God is saving a firstfruit company now. The unveiling of the grace of God to the whole creation is the true reason for the manifestation of the sons of God. God has no intention of bringing all the world into the fold now. If that were His purpose He would surely bring it to pass, for He is the omnipotent God who works all things after the counsel of His own will. The whole purpose of this age is to gather out a people to display his grace in the coming ages. James also declared this truth when at Jerusalem he said, "Simeon has declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out a people for his name... that the residue (rest, remainder) of men might seek after the Lord and all the Gentiles upon whom My name is called...known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:14, 17, 18).

This so-called "age of grace" is coming to an end, but grace will be more manifest in the future than in previous times. This age which is presently coming to a close should more properly be called the church age, for grace will not end, but the present form and administration of the Church will end. In the age to come God will move from calling out a body from among the nations, to the saving of the nations themselves. In ages beyond that God shall deal with the residue of men and all the reaches of His vast creation.

Ray Prinzing writes,

"God's purpose antedates time, for He purposed it in Himself before time began, and then arranged for the times in which He will fulfill it. Therefore His purpose is not in bondage to any man's time, be it a day, or a thousand years, but all time has to serve that purpose. Furthermore, God's grace, whereby this purpose shall be accomplished, also antedates time, for we read, 'Who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world (ages) began' (II Tim. 1:9). The sufficiency of grace was freely given before time began, hence God's grace is not bound to time either. Grace can take all the time it desires for its manifestation, for it is not subject to the confines and limitations of time. The religious traditions of some speak of an age of grace, as if all other ages would be devoid of grace. This is utter nonsense. You cannot possibly limit the grace of God to any one age, for it is manifest in all ages, and is not bound to any certain age alone.

"Since man is saved by grace, not of self-works, and grace is a gift of a sovereign God, then obviously He can administer that grace to man whenever He chooses. The length of time has no claims upon that grace, it is but a servant to His grace, to reveal by degrees the wonder and glory of God's bountiful grace and mercy. Should God so arrange that this be the hour when He gives grace in your life, then bow low before Him in worship and praise. Yet if you have loved ones who have not yet been given this inflow of grace, do not despair, 'In Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order' (I Cor. 15:22-23), and God has fitted the ages so that there is an appointed time for grace to work in every life. We do not know HIS times and seasons, therefore we warn every man to turn to God now, knowing that we reap what we sow, and to continue sowing to the flesh means more harvests of suffering and sorrow. And we thank God for each heart that is opened to receive of God's grace now"

The limitation of God's mercy, if it were possible, would be the condemnation of God Himself. If there are limits to His mercy, the Word of God, which says that "His mercy endures for ever (all ages)," is a lie. The limitation of God's mercy is a trick of the devil, to discredit God and to defeat His Gospel. The limitation of God's mercy makes the disobedience of Adam more powerful and more enduring than the obedience of Christ. I am glad for a Gospel that is coextensive with, and greater than the devil's work in spirit, soul and body. I am glad for a Gospel that is not limited to one age, or to the threescore-and-ten years of man's frail existence, but reaches out into the ages to come until God is all in all. I am so glad for a Gospel which tells me that God has made a way by which even His banished may return. How gloriously true, then the words of the chorus: "His love has no limit, His grace has no measure, His power has no boundaries known unto man,

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He gives, and gives, and gives again!

A "SECOND CHANCE?"

The following words by George Hawtin are most challenging:

"The established visible Church has preached its multiplied sermons seeking to prove its tradition that the vast majority of God's human creation will be lost, finally, irrevocably, and eternally, and not only will they be lost to God forever and ever, but they will be given up to the most sadistic, inhuman, ungodly torments that could be devised by the vilest fiends. According to the tradition of the Church this hellish torment is to fall upon all who do not believe. It matters not a whit whether they had opportunity to believe or not. It matters not at all if they were born in the darkest jungles of Africa, the swamps of Borneo, or the deserts of India or China. The fact that they never heard there was a God will be no excuse whatever. The fact that they never heard that God had a Son will not impede their dreadful destruction. Heathen who never heard that God had a Son are, according to this teaching, faced with the same dreadful doom as men who heard the Gospel from their birth and yet rejected it. To add to the stupidity of their teaching they make pitiful attempts to prove that this is the justice of God and that God is manifesting His love in the punishment of sin. The doctrine of eternal punishment is based on a literal interpretation of some of the metaphors of Scripture, to the complete neglect of many other Scriptures. No doctrine has ever been propounded with more confidence and greater bitterness nor with a grossness and coarseness more hideous and repugnant, and, in the face of the love and kindness of God, more inconceivable and incredible"

Some people say that the ultimate salvation of all men makes a "second chance" Gospel. Not so! We do not have a "first chance" Gospel, nor a "second chance" Gospel, nor yet a "third chance" or "fourth chance" Gospel. Salvation is not by "chance" at all - it is by grace ! Had it been left to "chance" no one would have been saved, now or later. Salvation is of God! "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; BEING JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ" (Rom. 3:10-12, 23-24).

But if, for the sake of illustration, we choose to use the term "chance," before we speak of a "second chance," we must make sure that those whom we have consigned to eternal damnation have had a "first chance." "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent ? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring glad tidings of good things!" (Rom. 10:13-15).

Billions upon billions have lived and died; and billions live today in ignorance of even the existence of the true and living God; much more in ignorance of His blessed Son. Some say there is no excuse for them. They could know if they wanted to. What an abominable lie! With Christendom divided into six hundred and sixty-six different sects and beliefs, with strife and hypocrisy and apostasy on every hand, it is no wonder men are confused! We cannot expect men to believe until they hear the Word of God in power and see the living God in manifestation. Nothing short of that is "the Gospel."

There have been some people who accepted Christ as their Saviour at the "first chance" they ever had. Three thousand people did that on the day of Pentecost. But I have asked many men if they accepted Christ the "first chance" they had, and few have answered in the affirmative. Most of us should be filled with thanksgiving to the Lord that not only did He give us a "second chance," but a third and fourth and sometimes a multitude of chances! I doubt if there is any reader of these lines who can truthfully say that he has obeyed God every "first time" that God has spoken to him. If God had taken our first answer or refusal to submit to Him, and had not given us a second opportunity, it would have been too bad for us! We simply would not be walking in God today if He had not given us many "chances." Christians are very free to grant this privilege to themselves, but seldom to the sinner, and never to the sinner whose heart has stopped beating. But does not the grace of God teach us that since in this life there is on the whole, so little of the Gospel of Christ touching the masses of humanity, the vast majority of men dying as they lived, like natural brute beasts, there must be an opportunity for the goodness and kindness and salvation of our ever-faithful God to reach them in the world to come? Indeed, since man has so poor an opportunity here, and the majority no opportunity at all, they must by the justice of God have an opportunity in the age or the ages to come. Justice demands it! And grace demands it I This is both reasonable and Scriptural. As one has written,

"Jesus gave a wonderful teaching in Matthew 11, one aspect of which is often overlooked. He said that if Tyre and Sidon had only witnessed the mighty works which were done in Chorazin and Bethsaida they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. That is, more knowledge and information, more light and revelation, would have brought them to repentance . Do you think, therefore, that God will torment the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon for ever because of their lack of knowledge? Again, He said that if Sodom could have witnessed the mighty works that were done in Capernaum 'it would have remained until this day.' Do you think that the inhabitants of Sodom will be tormented for ever just because they lacked the opportunities of Capernaum? Nay, indeed! God will not inflict ultimate punishment on men who have not had ultimate knowledge. 'For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to been be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth' (I Tim. 2:3-4). It is not just a matter of one 'chance' "

HELL - THE HADEAN STATE

There is one Hebrew word and three Greek words which have been translated "hell" in our commonly used King James or Authorized Version of the Bible. In the Old Testament we find the word Sheol which according to our Hebrew dictionaries means "the place of the dead." The word always appears in the singular, never in its plural form. It is not the "places" of the dead, not the individual graves where reside their respective bodies, but the realm of the dead, the abode of the dead, or the state of the dead. The word is derived from the root shael, which means, by implication, "to request, to demand." And this reminds us forcibly of the common and inevitable end of all flesh. There is a realm and a state beyond this life which inexorably beckons men onward through the fleeting years of earthly ambition and toil till at last it lays its demand upon them, drawing them into its inescapable embrace.

In the New Testament there appears the word Gehenna referring to the Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, which was the city dump outside the walls of Jerusalem, a place of constant burning of refuse. It is interesting to note that those who are pictured as going into Gehenna are, without exception, not the sinners of the world, but the sinners among God's people. How precise the type! Gehenna was the city dump of Jerusalem, the Holy City, where every unclean and unnecessary thing was burned and consumed. The antitypical Gehenna to which our Lord alluded in His teaching is the process of purifcation by which every unclean and unnecessary thing in the lives of His Holy People is purged and consumed by the fires of His judgment. "The Lord whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple...but who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appears? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi (the Priesthood), and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness" (Mal. 3:1-3). Gehenna stands as a type of the place or process of the purification of God's people. It is referred to in the Old Testament by the name of "Tophet," located in the Valley of Hinnom, a place where many sacrifices were made and dead bodies consumed.

Next we consider the Greek word Tartaroo - the English form is "Tartarus." The passage where this word is found is II Pet. 2:4. "God spared not the angels (messengers) that sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment." Jude also presents the same truth without mentioning the name as he writes, "And those angels (messengers) who kept not their first position of power and authority, but left their habitation, He has kept in chains under thick darkness, for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6). The whole thought is of a restraint, a confinement, a prison, a condition in which apostates are held for a specific period of time, in the same manner as prisoners are often held in jail awaiting the day of trial. Tartarus is not the judgment itself, but a state or condition in which persons are inescapably held over unto a day of judgment. I see men today who are apostates, they have turned from the truth, they have usurped the gifts and anointing of God for their own advantage and to their own ends, making merchandise of God's people, they have perverted the ways of the Lord and turned the truth of God into a lie, and have sunk into the blinding darkness of delusion, captivated by the fleshly ways and methods of this world, chained in the snare of the devil, they continue going through the motions of their "ministry," unable to escape from the devilish trap into which they have fallen, and are held there in their personal "Tartarus" reserved unto a day of judgment.

This brings us to our fourth and final word, the one we wish to consider in this study - Hades. Hades is the Greek word most often translated "hell." Where do the dead go? They go into what has cornmonly been called "the unknown." Concerning the literal meaning of the word Hades there can be no doubt. It comes from the Greek a(i)des. The "a" is a prefix which is equivalent to our "un-" and the stem "-id" means perceive. Thus we have un-percieve or imperceptible; the unseen. That is Hades - the unseen world, the unknown realm. Our English word hell is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word "hillan" or "helan," meaning a cavern, anciently denoting a concealed or unseen place. In parts of England men still say, "I plan to hell my potatoes," meaning to bury them in a hole or pit, that is, a covered place, out of sight. And in the old days a young couple seeking to be alone, sought a hell, a place where they could make love without being seen by prying eyes.

We know that the dead haven't passed out of existence altogether, for man is not only a body and soul, but also spirit. And when the spirit of man" passes from this present tabernacle of flesh it goes into a realm unseen by the eyes of mortal man. David, in speaking of it at the time his first son by Bathsheba died, said, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." He knew there was a place where he would be able to join that infant child. And likewise the phrase often used in the Old Testament of their being "gathered unto their fathers" meant far more than having their bodies buried in the same grave. It bespoke a gathering in the unseen world. And our Lord spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, linking their names together as all being in the same place, and also added that their God is "not a God of the dead, but of the living," thus affirming that they were alive at that time, even though they were in the Hadean state. Indeed, they were all in Hades - the invisible world of departed spirits.

Some have contended that hell (Sheol and Hades) is never associated with the idea of suffering, pain or torment. That is far from the truth! A careful examination of the Hebrew and Greek words in context reveals that there is both the positive and negative aspects of hell, and there are those passages which connect hell, either literally or metaphorically, to darkness, restraint, distress, sorrow, suffering, pain, and torment.

Hell is certainly a place, a realm, a dimension of consciousness and existence, yet more than a place - it is a state or condition - in its negative application the inner state of depravity, perverted desire, burning lust and ambition, devilish emotions, mental anguish and despair - and because it is so twisted and warped it cannot obtain lasting fulfillment, being tormented by the fires of its own unsatisfied passions. Heaven and hell both are states of the soul rather than the body, whether it be the natural or the spiritual body. The spirit possesses the qualities of soul apart from the body, for the soul is so closely united to the spirit that only the sharp two-edged sword of the Word of God can separate between them (Heb. 4:12). These are realities transcending place and time. As the poet puts it:

"I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that after-life to spell,
And by-and-bye my Soul returned to me,
And whispered, 'I myself am Heaven and Hell;'
Heaven but the vision of fulfilled desire,
And Hell the shadow of a Soul on fire."

Heaven and hell may dwell in the same home, sit at the same table, sleep in the same bed, but between them there is a great gulf fixed. Here, for example, is a home in which one boy goes wrong, bears about with him a guilty secret he may not be able to tell the rest, and yet he must keep the dreaded company of his guilty, tortured self. Every time that boy hears the happy laughter of brothers and sisters rejoicing in the joy of the Lord, the fires of hell are burning in his heart. Every time he receives his father's blessing or listens to his mother speaking of him in the language of maternal pride, he knows that between them and him there is a gulf fixed, and over it neither he nor they can pass. To the sinner abiding in his sin even the language of love is part of the torture of hell!

Here is another home in which an angry and unhappy man has power to inflict suffering on those who are weaker than himself. He has lived for wrong and vicious, devilish ideals all his life, and they have grown stronger as he has grown older. He has power to oppress and abuse and crush one faithful, beautiful woman, whose very presence and purity of character are a rebuke to him. The more nobly she lives, the better for him she cares, the fiercer seems to burn his anger and hostility, because he knows that he is not worthy of such devotion. He does not repent, but he suffers remorse, and inward self-hate, and between the two there is a great gulf fixed. The fires of hell are burning in that man's experience now, for guilt is often made more devilish by the presence of holiness.

In our acquaintance with life have we never suspected that the fires are burning where the world sees not? There are people facing life today with a smile who are not to be counted heroes, merely because behind the smile is anguish. Some people can smile in the shadow of the cross, and they do well. They are God's great ones! But there are others who wear the smile of dreadful joy, the smile of sin's make believe. Down beneath are the fires of hell, kindled by the pollution and the corruption and the wickedness on which the soul has fed. We can meet with hell in the palace, in the halls of Congress, in the business establishment, in the world of entertainment, in the home, on the street, and salute it and pass it by, and never know, but hell knows, for it has seen heaven. Naked and open are we to Him with Whom we have to do, and, believe me, nothing but the tender mercies and the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb can avail to save us from what we are in the great day of revelation, whether it come on this side of the grave or on the other, when delusions are gone, and we find ourselves in our heaven or our hell. We may eat, drink, and be merry; we may stifle the Voice within us, but some day it wakens and will be heard, and the wakening shall lead to brokenness and repentance, praise the name of the Lord! The truth is, nature is a mirror of the unseen world. Every form of death, all disease, decay, failure, pain, every fruitless seed, each ruined life, is the shadow of hell, and of the working of that spirit which destroys and mars God's handiwork, as all beauty, purity, harmony, and enduring love is the reflection of heaven.

THE KEYS OF DEATH AND HELL

"Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the living One: I was even dead, but behold, I am living for the ages of the ages: and I have the KEYS OF DEATH AND HADES" (Rev. 1:17-18, Diaglott).

To John on the isle of Patmos there came One who announced Himself as "the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last." At His girdle hung "the keys of Hades and of death." Ah, the enemy has usurped control over mankind, ruling with fear, and bringing creation into bondage to the whole dreadful realm of death. Death was the adversary's "trump card," his final victory. He beguiled man into sin, and "sin when it is finished, brings forth death" (James 1: 15). After all the beguilement, which the enemy has exercised with ruthless working and deception, causing man to become perverted and corrupt, sinking into the quagmire of fear, sorrow, and hopelessness, the final result was death with its habitation in Hades.

When Jesus came into the world in the humiliation of the Incarnation, He started on a route of conquest that took Him through the lonely years prior to His introduction at the muddy waters of Jordan, when the bony prophetic finger of John the Baptist was pointed at Him and those significant words were uttered: "Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29). For some thirty-three and a half years He overcame and lived an impeccable life so that it was said of Him that "He was tempted in all points like as we, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15).

Jesus' flawless life was followed bv a decisive death. He went to Calvary to endure inexplicable and incomparable suffering: suffering of which we can only have a hint; suffering we can only look at curiously with a sob in our throats; suffering veiled in the mystery of the bearing of sin; suffering surrounded by torn rocks and a sun that refused to shine and an earth that writhed in agony. As He hung there alone, God reached down His giant fist and gathered the accumulated sins of men and placed them upon Him. In the awful agony of Calvary, Christ made His soul an offering for sin. The sin of the world was imputed unto Him, and the waves of God's judgment were released upon Him. When He had become an offering for sin, He gave up the Ghost and came down from the mystery of His sufferings, having finished that work. What men saw was a man banging limp - every bone out of joint, a swollen tongue protruding from burning lips that cried out, "It is finished!"

For centuries now Christians have supposed that when Jesus cried, "It is finished," that meant that His work of redemption was completed. Many refer to this as "the finished work of Calvary." But there is too much stopping at the cross. If we stop at the cross we end with a dead Christ, and a dead Christ can save no one! Paul wrote, "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins" (I Cor. 15:17).

We must get our thoughts broadened about the redemptive work of Christ. He died for our sins, but He was also raised again for our justification! There is no "finished work" at the cross. There is not even a "finished work" at the resurrection! The redemptive work of Christ was not finished until He had ascended up on high bearing the precious blood of His atonement into the Holiest Place of the heavenlies, as it is written, "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:12, 24). When the Christ cried, "It is finished," it was the cup of suffering - the excruciating agony of the cross - that was finished, not the plan of redemption. When He died He then entered the darkest night of death, and was ushered through the somber gates and behind the fearful bars of Hades. "You will not leave My soul in Hades" (Acts 2:31). The Christ not only died He went to hell!

One day, in Satan's realm - the dark domain, where souls of dead in chains of death remain, The Prince of darkness, boastful, spoke aloud to his abject, imprisoned, awestruck crowd: "Hearken, you spirits. Lo, I bring this day Another victim bound beneath my sway, Jesus, the Nazarene, the Master Fraud - Who proudly claims Himself the Son of God! I laid the snare, which the Imposter caught, And to the tree of shame the Boaster brought', And now, between two thieves He helpless hangs, In Death's dissolving and resistless pangs. You shall behold Him pass through Hades' door, To walk among the living - nevermore! My power shall hush the Archpretender's breath, And bind Him hopeless in the realm of death."

Then Hell itself in fear began to quake, And, in alarm, thus to the Devil spoke, "Jesus! Do you not fear that mighty Name? And is this Jesus - Nazarene - the same Who once cried, 'Lazarus! Come forth!' and swift the bands of death were loosed, his fetters rift, And through your gates impassable he broke, So soon as that almighty word was spoke? Let but that Jesus once invade these halls, And in that hour your boasted empire falls! What if the victim you do proudly claim Shall as the Victor bring your pride to shame?"

And then He arose the conquering Christ! What a marvelous turn of events! He took control of the situation as with one exultant shout He grasped the keys of death and hell from him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, stripped away the power of death, burst asunder the bars of hell, stalked boldly out in eternal triumph over all the dread powers of that unseen realm, entered back into His body in the garden tomb, passed through the walls of rock as water passes through a filter, ascended up far above all heavens, stepped up to the Father's throne, and presented the tokens of His redemption. The Father said, "Sit down, Son, at My right hand until your enemies are made your footstool!"

One hundred seventy-five years ago, the world was in chaos because "The Scourge of the Earth" (we know him as Napoleon Bonaparte) almost conquered the world. Everything fell before him. The British feared that soon their homeland would be invaded by the troops of France. In one last effort to stop the tremendous on-rush of Napoleon's army, they sent their greatest general. General Wellington invaded the heartland of Europe. The people waited as the forces were joined at Waterloo. Eagerly they followed the watchman on the tower of Winchester Cathedral as he looked out over the English Channel in the fog waiting for some sign of a ship to bring them news of the outcome. The hope of England rested on that report. Finally, as the fog lifted just a little bit, the watchman saw a ship blinking the signal of what had happened. The letters were taken down. Wellington Defeated. The fog sank and with it all the hope of England. The people quivered at the thought that soon they would hear the tramp of French troops upon their land. However, an hour or so later, the fog lifted and again the message was sent forth: Wellington Defeated Enemy! A wild shout of glee went out all over England; that feared invasion never came.

There is a great hero whose name is Jesus. On a hill outside the city wall of Jerusalem, He went forth to take on the combined forces of death, hell, and Satan. He did this with His hands and feet secured to across, and a lion out of the pit leaped forth in rage and threw itself upon Jesus. The world waited to see what the outcome of that life and death struggle would be. Hour after hour His life oozed forth drop by drop. The people waited, hoping that soon He would respond to their taunts, "Come down if You be the Son of God and we will believe on You." Jesus never moved. Finally the great cry - He bowed His head and gave up the Ghost. Word went out in the midst of that midday blackness, Jesus defeated. A pallor hung over the world. Life went out of the hearts of His disciples, joy was gone from the earth, all was black, hopeless and meaningless. But then, on the third day, as the sun began to break over that lonely sepulchre, a new light came with a dazzling radiance. The huge stone that blocked the door began to move back as if by some unseen hand. Those Roman troops were startled by the appearance of the messengers resplendent in white. Then, out of the darkness of that tomb, out of the very pit of hell itself, there stepped forth One who was dead and could now say, "I am He that was dead and, behold, I am alive forevermore and have the keys of death and of hell!" Word went out through all of Jerusalem. At first, just a whisper - then a voice - then a cry - then a shout - a chime - and a chant sublime:

JESUS DEFEATED DEATH!
JESUS DEFEATED HELL!
JESUS DEFEATED SATAN!

Jesus has the keys; He proved that He has the keys of both death and hell; for He unlocked both and arose Victor. Death could not hold its prey! Hell could not hold its prey! Oh Christ! You Son of the living God! You are the resurrection and the life. You were alive; You were dead; and, behold, You are alive forevermore and in Your nail-pierced hand does hold in triumph the keys of hell and death. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory? Oh gates of hell, you shall not prevail, for the Redeemer of Israel and the Saviour of the world holds in His triumphant hand the key.

Who now has the key of death? Our Lord Jesus Christ. Who now has the key to hell? Our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God, no one passes through the gates of either of those two, hell or death, except the Lord open or close those gates. And now He proclaims, "Fear not; I have the keys of death and of hell." And what reason do we have to not fear? Those reasons are found in the statement of the Christ. He is the first. He is the last. He is the Living One. At one time He was dead, but behold, look! He is living for the ages of the ages. And this ever living One has the keys. . We commonly think of keys being used to lock or unlock doors, but there is another sense in which the word key is used. Many times when we say we have the key to a thing, we mean that we have the solution to a problem. Jesus was saying to John and to us all that He has the solution to the unseen world. He has all the problems connected with it unraveled and solved. He had worked out the problem for Himself, overcame in it, and now stands to proclaim to all men everywhere the Great Emancipation. Through His death and resurrection Christ took away from the enemy his power of death, and from hell its' power of containment; no longer can negation claim the final victory over any man - Christ has the key, and shall ultimately bring every man into the fullness of His life. Christ has the power to redeem, and He has the keys of death and hell.

Praise God! Not only does the firstborn among many brethren possess the keys of death and hell, but He shares them with His overcoming ones in whom is in-wrought the triumph of His life. Jesus said to Peter, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it" (Mat. 16:18). The gates of hell have not prevailed against our Lord Jesus Christ, and they shall not prevail against His Church. What are the "gates" of hell? Gates are used either to bar entrance or prevent exit. What does it mean that the gates of hell shall not prevail against Christ's Church? I used to erroneously imagine the conflict between the Church and Satan as a game of "Cat and Mouse." Satan was the cat and the Church was the mouse. Satan was big and powerful - the Church was small and weak, always on the defensive. But that's not what the verse about the gates of hell means. Far from it! The picture instead is of a victorious church laying siege to hell and breaking down its gates to release its prisoners! The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the example and prototype.

WHEN CHRIST PREACHED IN HELL!

A lady wrote to me more than a year ago, expostulating about this thought of the wicked ever having any opportunity in the next world. She said she did not see it in the Bible, and craftily raised this question: "There is no need for us to witness to the lost for they will all be saved someday, someway, somewhere - right?" I thought her eyes must have been closed, as well as her ears, because the Scriptures are so meticulously clear on this point. God will never save our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, or any other person who has lived or ever shall live without a means, an instrument through which to reach them. And we are that instrument! God declares to His elect in Isa. 49:6: "I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation unto the ends of the earth." The method by which God causes men to believe is revealed in Rom. 10:14-15. "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not BELIEVED? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not HEARD? and how shall they HEAR without a PREACHER? and how shall they PREACH except they be SENT?" Does the salvation of all men negate this procedure? By no means! It only intensifies it! The idea that if God is going to save all men then we need not preach or witness is an incomprehensible absurdity. It leaves God with a wonderful objective, but with no means of accomplishing His objective. The simple truth is that God purposes to save all men. The means by which He shall accomplish this is a people, a royal priesthood, the sons of God, who become one with the priestly ministry of Jesus the great High Priest, to intercede, witness, speak, exhort, warn, intreat, proclaim and preach the will of God and the good news of His glorious salvation until this ministry conquers all men for God. Most Christians are content to witness and preach the Gospel to a few lost souls here on earth, but how many would desire to so become ONE with the ministry of Jesus the Saviour until they would go even to HELL to PREACH? Jesus did!

It was for this very reason that Jesus Christ, after His death and resurrection, went to preach to the spirits in prison, the spirits of the the men who had been disobedient in the days of Noah. To them He carried the word of reconciliation, showing not only that Christ had died for their sins, but that He was risen for their justification. If perchance our minds are numbed with the glory of such a thought, let us consider the words from Weymouth translation. "Christ also once for all died for sins, the innocent One for the guilty many, in order to bring us to God . He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in (by) the Spirit, in (by) which he also went and preached to the spirits that were in prison, who in former times had been disobedient , when God's long-suffering patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons - eight in number - were brought safety through the water" (I Pet. 3:18-20).

Despite the crafty and deceptive efforts of some to twist and explain away the plain meaning of this passage, it reveals that Jesus, after His death and resurrection, went and preached, not to men in the flesh, but to spirits in prison; not to angels, not to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or any of the other Old Testament saints; but to those men who had been disobedient to the preaching of Noah in the days preceding the flood. And what did He preach to these long-departed spirits? Well, I Pet. 4:6 certainly answers this question! This passage is only a few verses further on from the one under consideration, and as Peter continues speaking of the same subject we are informed, "For this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead , that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.."

The message is clear - though these were dead, and lived on in the spirit, the gospel was preached unto them that they might be judged, or dealt with, the same as men who were alive in the flesh. Please notice, precious friend of mine, it was not doom or gloom or judgment that was preached to these, but the gospel, the good news which is the power of God unto salvation was preached even to these spirits in prison, the disobedient ones!

It is written in the plainest of plain language. But there are some people who will not understand plain speech. They do not believe that the Christ went down into hell to preach the Gospel to dis-embodied spirits of wicked men; they think He went down somewhere in the heart of the earth to rescue Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the righteous people out of a place called Paradise and take them up to heaven. He may have done that, but there is not one shred of evidence for it anywhere in the pages of God's wonderful Book. The Bible nowhere says that. He preached to the disobedient and it was the Gospel that was preached to them, informing them of the death of God's Son, who was given as a propitiation for them, and that God had faith in the blood of His Son to deliver them from the bondage of sin and death and hell into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Shall our unbelief make the faith of God of none effect? Certainly not! If we believe not, yet He abides faithful. God's plan goes on just the same, and "God WILL have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:4). God will do what HE WILLS to have done whether we believe it or not.

Ah, does the fact that God purposes to save all men mean that it is meaningless to witness and preach? A thousand times no! Christ went to Hell and preached. God has chosen through the foolishness of preaching to save men, so we shall not preach less , we shall not witness less , for armed with the hope that the preaching will ultimately bear fruit we must preach more than ever before to those who are lost, for this is God's means for their salvation! Those who should give up preaching to the lost and witnessing to their loved ones are those who believe that most of them will burn for ever in hell anyway! What on earth could be more frustrating, worthless, unprofitable, vain and disappointing than witnessing and preaching to men when we actually believe that only a small fraction of them will ever be saved? Why bother? To what end all the effort? The devil gets most of them in the end anyhow! But, blessed be God! He has committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation, for God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself (11 Cor. 5:19-20), therefore that is exactly what must be reconciled - the world!

I would point out to you, dear reader of these lines, that, contrary to popular teaching, it was not during the three days and three nights while the Christ's body lay in a Palestinian tomb that He went and preached to the spirits in Hades. Christ was not in Hades on a preaching mission during the time of His death, there was nothing to announce at that time, for redemption was not complete until after His resurrection and ascension. He was not there at that time to proclaim an as yet unrealized victory; He was there, rather, taking your place and mine as part of the penalty of our sin. He was there as a willing victim, not a deliverer. How and when then did He preach to the spirits in prison? Peter explains this. He says that Jesus was "put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive again) by the spirit," and then adds "By which (i. e. by this quickening in the spirit - the resurrection; also he went and preached to the spirits in prison." There is nothing in this text to indicate that Jesus went on a preaching journey during the time He was dead. The use of the expression "by which He preached" refers to Jesus' resurrection - "quickened by the Spirit." It was after He was raised from the dead, after He was both "delivered up for our offenses, AND raised again for our justification" (Rom. 4:25) that He went on this mission.

With the release of the mystery of iniquity into the Adamic race, the wickedness of man became great in the earth, "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5), and God used a restraining work to bold the upsurge of evil in check, restraining it according to HIS purpose. YET He did allow it to go a certain course for a certain length of time, knowing full well just how far HE could allow man to express these evil inclinations, and just where to draw the line. At the appropriate moment the spirits of these wicked men were put in prison, as society today puts a criminal in prison; the flood swept them away into hell and hell restrained the Antediluvians from committing more wrath upon earth.

The Christ, after His painful life on earth, His agony upon the cross, and His victorious resurrection from the dead, did not at once ascend into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. He went down to hell. He went down to the deepest hell, approaching its portals with the cry, "Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!" Entrance was not to be gained without some resistance, however, for the keepers of the gates hurled back their challenge over the ramparts of Hades: "Who is the King of glory?" To which the hosts of heaven replied, "He is the Lord strong and mighty - the Lord mighty in battle. He is the One who has just come freshly from the battlefield of Golgotha, where single-handedly He dealt a deathblow to all of Satan's plans and purposes, bore the sins of men, cut off the old Adamic order and died a decisive death, meeting the requirements for man. He is the One who has just grasped the keys of death and hell and strode out of Satan's domain triumphant. He is the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. NOW - will you lift up your heads, O you gates? Lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!"

Again, unsatisfied, the challenge rang out, "Who is this King of glory?" Again the triumphant response came, "He is the Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. He is the One who is in charge of all the Celestial Hosts. But not only that, He is King now of a multitude which no man can number. He is God's delegated authority. He is the One who is to bring to God the fruit of His purposes. He is the King of Glory. Now swing back those gates and let the King of Glory come in!" Finally the gates could prevail against Him no longer. The gates swung back. He entered in, stepped up before the assembled throng, and began His mission.

The Christ was there on business! Wherever He went He did business for God. He went there to begin His new age deliverance ministry among a group of spirits that had been imprisoned there for two thousand three hundred and fifty years. They had been "disobedient in the days of Noah," and they were so bad that the Scripture says, "their thoughts" and all the "intents of their hearts" were "only evil continually." They were so bad that God could not wait for them to die, and another generation to arise, but in order to re-establish some order on earth He had to sweep all of them off the earth into hell. The fact that they remained there so long indicates that they were very bad, for I cannot doubt that the God of mercy was all the time in some way pleading with them to repent. They were ignorant and rebellious and would not learn of God. The race of Cain was a filthy, sensual, polygamistic race; they were hateful and violent and they were murderers. They were boastful and vile in the extreme, and would have nothing to do with the God who made them. They were the offspring of a murderer who slew his brother. I am sure that Christ felt a great, divine pity for the offspring of that murderer; and in a loving spirit, the One who reconciled the world unto God, not imputing their trespasses unto them, went down to hell.

And what was the result of such a wonderful mission? "Wherefore He says, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive... now He that ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things " (Eph. 4:8-10). Some suppose this leading "captivity captive" refers to the Lord at His ascension leading the Old Testament saints out of Paradise into the more immediate presence of God. The phrase is a quotation from the Old Testament, and in the two places where it occurs, on both occasions it plainly refers to the leading captive of FOES. In Judges 5:12, in the song of Deborah as she was leading the strains of a victory song after subduing the armies of Sisera, we read of her prophesying to Barak, singing, "Arise, Barak, and lead your captivity captive, you son of Abinoam." What was she speaking of? Barak went out against the armies of Sisera - he captured of the enemy, taking dominion over them with the sword - and any that were captured alive were led back captive to his own land, thus he "led that captivity captive," parading back victoriously. Who were the captives? The armies whom he had conquered!

So also in the passage from which the phrase is quoted in Eph. 4:8-10. The quotation is from Ps. 68:18 where we read, "You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive: You have received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord god might dwell among them! There is every suggestion here that the captives thus led were not the righteous but the unrighteous, for they are described as "rebellious." And Christ will dwell among the rebellious! What a word! What a work!

And when did Christ lead captive a host of rebellious ones? "When He ascended on high." He had preached to those spirits who were damned through their terrible wickedness in the time of Noah. Thank God, He gave them an opportunity of salvation, and He opened the Kingdom of Heaven to every son of Adam when He arose from the dead and ascended on high. He captured those wicked men from the snare of the devil and made them His subjects in the same way He conquered the proud, rebellious, murderous spirit of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. It is quite evident that Saul of Tarsus was not on his way to a revival meeting when the Lord struck him down on the road. Saul made no premeditated "decision for Christ" before his conversion. Saul's will was set on the destruction of the Church. But the will of God was that he become an apostle of Jesus Christ! When Saul, smitten, and blind, was led away into the city for his encounter with Annanias, he was led away as a captive, a conquered foe of the Lord Jesus Christ! Paul the apostle had total faith in Jesus and was motivated by the love of Christ, yet he never considered himself a "volunteer" for the Kingdom of God. He described himself as a "conscript," saying, "Not that I ... am already perfect, but I press on to lay hold of and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold upon me and made me His own." (Phil. 3:12, Amplified). He always spoke of himself as the "servant" or "slave" of Jesus Christ.

This is precisely what our Lord did when He went down into hell and led captivity captive and gave gifts to the rebellious.The Moffatt translation reads, "When He ascended on high He LED A HOST CAPTIVE." Weymouth says, "He ascended on high, He LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES." Another version renders, "When He ascended on high He CARRIED AWAY CAPTIVES." Out of the dark abyss of hell He took those prisoners. Now they are in heaven, forgiven and cleansed, whiter than the lily which sprang out of the dark earth. He took them from hell.

Then in the realm of Death's unbroken shade
Appeared the Conqueror in light arraved.

It was as tho' in crimson and in gold
The splendor of a thousand suns had rolled

Their mingled glory in one matchless beam,
And lit up Death Shade with the lustrous gleam.

Ineffable that glory; as it shone
Like to the radiance of the Great White Throne,
Whilst through the open gates and broken bars.

Toward realms of light more fadeless than the stars,
The Prince of Life a host of captives led
From out the night and bondage of the dead.

Christ has led captivity captive! The official name for such an event in the Roman world was called a "Triumph." It was a spectacle well known to every citizen of Rome. Tens of thousands of spectators would gather. On those occasions, when a great general would return, the army would gather outside the city and move through the triumphal arch on their way to the temple. First would come the trumpeters, sounding in thrilling tones the notes of victory. Behind the trumpeters would come great floats upon which had been erected the pictures of the cities which had been conquered - towers, wall, and all. Then would come rumbling by, the wagons filled with the spoils of victory. Then came seventy white oxen walking philosophically to their death, to be offered in sacrifice to the gods. Behind the oxen came, in chains, the chieftains and captains of the armies of the enemy who, like the oxen, would soon meet their end. Then there were the lictors, harpists, flutists, and those bearing incense. Great roars of victory went up! Then came the general in a purple toga, with a golden crown upon his head, with the ivory scepter in his hand, and with the laurel branch, the insignia of victory. Behind his magnificent white chariot came the rest of the conquered army, chained with their heads down. At last came the victorious army of Rome, each soldier wearing a crown. In the midst of the cries of the people, the sounds of the trumpets and the harpists, the fragrance of incense, they made their way to the Temple of Jupiter.

This was a Roman "Triumph" and Paul is telling us that Jesus Christ, the Captain of the well-fought fight, the greatest General of all times, has come and has had a greater victory than any of these. He has come, not only into the opposition and hostility of this world, but He has gone into the very portals of Hell. There He has taken on the most violent and the vilest of the underworld, and now He leads into the metropolis Of the Kingdom of God a great triumphal victory. Behind Him come all the hosts of heaven, all the saints of Old Testament times, and all those to whom He preached in Hell and that have trusted in Him. This is the Triumph!

Paul tells us, secondly, that this triumphal march, this triumphal entry into the Kingdom of God is still going on. The same apostle in II Cor. 2:14 says that God causes us always to be led in triumph by Jesus Christ. This is a triumphal march that is going on right now. But it is somewhat different from the triumphal marches of Rome. You see, in the army of Christ all of the vanquished have enlisted, and all of those that were once our enemies, such as Paul himself who once opposed Christ and who now is one of the leaders of that army. So, as we look at the Triumph of Christ we see that the vanquished and the conquerors merge as one. The apostle Paul once went forth to war against Jesus, but he was struck to the ground outside Damascus, the sword was smitten from his hand, and he was conquered by the Son of man. But in that conquest Paul was to realize his greatest victory and he, too, was to become a part of the ongoing triumph of Christ - a triumph which is even now proceeding into the heavenly city of Zion.

THE PUNISHMENT MUST FIT THE CRIME

If Christ went to hell once, and preached, and led out a host of captives, I wonder why, on the same errand, He should not go or send to hell twice or even a thousand times? He considered the dreadfully and unspeakably wicked in the days of Noah fitting subject for His mercy, and shall He not so consider the poor, wretched creatures who have gone to hell by the billions from heathen lands and by the millions from our so-called Christian cities? They never heard the name of Jesus, except as profanely used or in some empty religious platitude. They know nothing of His word or His power. The Churches too often cared nothing for them, and care next to nothing for them today. I speak plainly, because it is necessary. I am not seeking to extenuate the crime of anyone, and I am urging no plea for the undue mitigation of just punishment. But unlimited mercy is an attribute of God, as love is His nature, and when endless punishment is taught I claim the right to enter protest against that horrible dogma. I admit, and declare, and warn men, that those who sin against light and knowledge will have the heavier penalty. They invite the just judgment of God. No man who rejects the Christ will go from earth into the joys and purity of heaven; he will certainly go to hell.

As Charles Pridgeon has stated, "One of the elements that makes punishment effective is its certainty. If a man thinks that there is a chance for him to escape the punishment for a wrong doing, he may take that chance. Every one needs to learn that this law of certainty has no exceptions. There is no chance about it; what you sow you reap (Gal. 6:7). Every sin has its certain consequences. This is true even of the wrongdoer who thinks that he has escaped the working of this law. He is mistaken. The evil has already wrought damage to his character, and one day its direful consequence will be manifest, unless divinely dealt with. Every offer of salvation; every presentation of more or new light; and every opportunity proffered, brings added responsibility. Every rejection increases guilt and multiplies the consequences. From this law there is no escape. The normal harvest exceeds by many fold the sowing. This is a wise provision in reference to punishment. The enjoyment or gain that comes through sin is very small in proportion to the evil consequences that naturally come to the one who so yields. This is one of the natural laws of the harvest. God means this law to cause men to halt and to cease from sin. Sin costs the sinner too dear; it cost God His only begotten Son!"

But, on the other hand, the doctrine that a temporal fault is to be punished with an eternal punishment is, in the very nature of things, unreasonable, illogical, and wicked. Such a doctrine could not be divine. As Adam fell, we fall each one, for Adam lives yet in his progeny. Because Adam had the principle of sin and death imposed as an actual feature of his biological life, his descendants also have inherited a life principle which involves a built-in death principle. The moment a child is conceived the nature of disobedience is in him and the power of death - so that in the same moment he is conceived he is a sinner by nature and also begins to die; he is dying ere he is born, and eventually the death principle wins out over the life principle and he does die. And, fallen in Adam, men prove he is in them, by walking just as he walked. Adam yet relives old Adam's life in every unregenerated man, as Christ in us yet lives Christ's life.

With all emphasis I must declare that at the very most, the worst offender on earth, has committed a crime which is inherent in his own nature, and the eye of the all-seeing God sees what even we. in most cases, cannot see, that the most wicked sinner on earth is simply doing that over which he really has no control. People tell me that "man has a choice," but I declare to you that when I came into this world some 47 years ago Adam had already made my choice for me. I wasn't consulted, God didn't ask me whether I would prefer to be born a sinner or a saint - Adam answered that question for me in the dim and distant past! What "choice " do dead men have? Never in my life did I have a choice until the day when the Spirit of God came and illumined my mind, convincing me of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and showing me the things of Christ, taking the glories of Him and unveiling them to my astonished soul; then, and not until then did I have a choice - and it did not take me long, beloved friend, to make that choice!

The Psalmist acknowledged that he had been "shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps. 51:5). This was not a confession of some illicit act on the part of his mother, which resulted in his birth. Perish the thought! For the following verses bear out the fact that it was the hereditary "mystery of iniquity" which was passed upon all men, stamped upon the very "genes" of his makeup, the "seed of Adam" has blueprinted into its genes the propensities for evil, which he acknowledged, and for which he sought deliverance. "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God; renew a right spirit within me" (Ps. 51:6-7, 10).

Men have, in their very blood, been saturated with sin, with lawlessness, with nervous temperaments and diseases which have been the direct cause of their transgression. God in His great mercy knows this, and thus it is written, "And the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every living thing, as I have done" (Gen. 8:21). I do not hesitate to say that all the multiplied sins upon earth today are the result of hereditary weaknesses, inherited from Adam! And if God in His great mercy will not send a flood again, because He pities man in his weakness, shall He then proceed to commit an even more horrendous act by torturing men in everlasting hell-fire?

Any penalty which does not take into account the fact that a poor miserable human creature has been the victim of such an inheritance is an unjust penalty. The law of man may punish without mercy, but even that law should be merciful to the ignorant. But even when the extreme penalty of death has been visited upon the transgressors, the bigot adds to it a penalty far in excess of the crime when he says that a man who has not been drawn to the Lord will go to a burning, torturing hell and live on in misery, without hope or mercy, through unending eternity. That is a vile and devilish doctrine, which has no support in the Word of God. Those who say otherwise are ignorant or perversely wicked.

It is foolish to say that it is necessary to preach an everlasting hell to keep people from being wicked. I should be wicked if I preached it, and in conflict with both the love and the justice of God who is the Father of my spirit, and the Creator of my soul and body. I clearly see that it would be vile and wicked to make punishment so tremendously exceed the guilt. One should take into account what God remembers in dealing with humanity. He never forgets that we are "dust," and He remembers just the kind of muck from which our souls and bodies came. "Oh," you say, "when people are wholly bad, and their thoughts are evil, and that continually, they must go to hell!" Yes, that is right! they cannot go to heaven! And they must stay there for ever and ever!" you erroneously add. Then why did God send His Son to get them out of hell? Why did the Christ, after He arose from the dead, grab the keys of death and hell and descend into hell? What was He doing there? WHY does the blessed Redeemer HOLD THE KEYS? Thank God! hell is not the end of the matter. Banishment and torment do not spell the ultimate results of God's great plan. The end of all God's dealings is one of victory, deliverance, and full redemption and restoration.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

To tell me, as I find in the Westminster Confession of Faith, that God had, by a predestined plan, so constructed man that he was born, and from all eternity designed to be wicked, and a vessel of wrath, that God Almighty might show His power by sending him to everlasting hell that is the most infernal lie that a man's tongue could utter, or type could print. That my God, the infinitely good and holy God, was the predestinator, and creator of multitudes of harlots, whore-mongers, thieves, murderers, liars, to let them grow up, and to live and lust and die, and then glorify Himself by torturing them in eternal hell! Horrible! I tell you that all the divines that ever hatched a cocatrice egg could never make me swallow that.

Write it between your eyes and never forget it. The Good Shepherd who came from heaven, and gave His life, will seek, and seek, and seek, and save, and save, and save, until He has brought all men back to God. This is the work of the Redeemer and the redeemed. I desire to make this perfectly clear, because it is necessary to do so. When Jesus came He sought for sinners, wherever Satan had gone. He sent His disciples into the world to seek even farther for them. He seeks for sinners still. And He shall seek for them throughout ages yet unborn. The Good Shepherd will seek them until He finds them. If He didn't, He wouldn't he the Good Shepherd! He will seek them on earth and in hell. "Where shall I go from Your presence" the Psalmist asks. That question is unanswered and unanswerable. It has stood upon the page of Scripture for three thousand years, and no one yet of all the myriads that have read it has been able to devise a reply. Heaven says, Not here. Hell says, Nor here. It is not among angels, or demons, or the lost, or in the vast silent spaces of eternity. There is no creature anywhere not manifest to His sight. He who made vultures, able from immense heights to discern the least morsel on the desert floor, has eyes better than they. Then David says, "If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there!" (Ps. 139:8). Thanks be to God that He will seek His lost ones through all the Universe - through all the Earths and all the Hells until He has found and saved them all. He must seek until He finds.

"Where are you going Shepherd?
To find My sheep.
How far will you go?
As far as My sheep.

How far may that be?
To the world's end.
How long will you seek it?
Until I find it.

When you find it,
will it come to you?
No, it will flee from Me.
Where will it go then?
To the rocks and the sand.

When will it stop?
When it can run no more.
What will you do then?
Carry it home.

Friends, you will never get away from Jesus. Jesus will follow you everywhere and demand your heart's surrender. I am so glad for a Gospel that is coextensive with, and greater than, the devil's work in spirit soul, and body. I am so glad for a Gospel that is not limited to this age, but reaches out to all ages! I am so glad for a Gospel which tells me that God has made a way by which even His banished may return. I am so glad for a Gospel that is not limited to earth, but reaches into the depths of death and hell. I am so glad for a Gospel of Everlasting Hope, of Everlasting expectation, and for the conviction and divine revelation that the miserable and the wicked shall at last be brought to repent of their sin, and to find their God and Father. I should not want to be an elder, or pastor, or leader, of a people that would wish me to preach eternal damnation.

TO HELL AND BACK

Mothers, your boys have sinned. They were dragged into sin and died in sin, and you have been weeping because they went to hell. Mothers, if the Christ would guide you down to hell to talk to your son there, would you not go? Would you not go and plead with your son to come back with you to the Kingdom of God? If I had my choice of any mission field, I think, if the Lord would send me there, I would like to have a lick at the devil at his headquarters in hell. I have never been afraid of him on earth, and I will not be afraid of him in hell. I would like to take the captives out of his hands. I mean what I have said, that if ever I am permitted in the good grace of God, there is not a hell in the universe to which I would not ask to be sent as a revelation of the Christ, that He might fill even that part of the "all things." There is nothing I should like better than to be sent on an evangelistic tour down to hell, and clean it out.

There is no hell that could be more vile than the hell I see around me right here in Florida; the hell of sin, sorrow, torment, fear, demon possession, hatred, murder, strife, drugs, vile rock music, immorality, rebellion, cursing, nervous breakdown, godlessness and wretchedness. We have a great deal of hell here in Florida, and there are no hells that could be worse than Miami, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, London, Hong Kong and Calcutta. "Oh, but there is a hell that is full of murderers!" you say. Well, these cities today are full of murderers. "But there is a hell that is full of devils!" you say. Well, these cities today are full of devils. "But there is yet another hell that is filled with liars, fornicators, and blasphemers!" you say. Well, these cities today are filled with liars, fornicators, and blasphemers. "Ah, but there is a hell where the devil himself dwells!" you say. Well, the devil himself is also right here on this earth, cursed to crawl upon his belly, to eat the dust of the carnal mind and nature of man. He that is joined to the devil is one satanic spirit. Or is it that people cannot be that bad? What about Dachau and Buchenwald? Just let a war start and see what devilish, satanic, vile, brutal, inhuman things men do!

Germany is the place where the Reformation started, it is a place of high education and culture. But it was Germany also where in the second world war some people made lampshades out of people's skins. It was a German who said, "We will eliminate the Jews from the face of the earth," and Germans killed in mass killings and devilish tortures. Remember how the Church in the dark ages persecuted the saints? You would not believe that a human being could conceive such evil! What makes them act like that? He that is joined to Satan is one spirit with him! That is why Cain slew Abel. The devil is a murderer from the beginning and that murderous spirit entered into Cain.

We have lots of hell beyond us, but our work is to follow Christ, to be willing, as Sons, not only to ascend the throne, exalted far above all heavens, but to be poured out as a River of Life into the lowest parts of the earth, into all the hells, and clean them out by His conquering power and transforming life, until there is no more hell anywhere. What father would not go to any of the hells of the world, what father would not trudge through the saloons of the Bowery or the sex-filth of Times Square in the hope that he might run across his son or his daughter who is captive to the devil there and bring them back to God and to the Kingdom? This is the Spirit of the Father who "so loved the world" and it is the Spirit of the Son who "descended into the lower parts of the earth" and it is the Spirit of every Son of God, born of the incorruptible seed of a Divine Hope, a Divine Faith and a Divine Love.

If you would not walk across the street to see some poor soul delivered and converted by the redeeming power of Christ, don't waste your time relating to me how you are one of God's "chosen ones" to help in the delivering of the whole creation from the bondage of corruption. The Spirit of Reconciliation must reign within our hearts even now. The Ministry of Reconciliation must proceed from our lives even now. Rivers of Living Water must, even now, pour forth from out of our innermost being, bringing hope and victory and life to all who will come and drink!

While preaching about the harlot who washed the feet of Jesus, J. A. Dowie related the following story which graphically illustrates the truth of which I write:

"This poor woman who came in from the streets is called 'Hamartolos'; in the original word, that is to say, a prostitute, a harlot; a poor, wretched, outcast woman. Oh, is there any being upon God's earth so much to be pitied, so deplorably miserable, as such an one? Perhaps she had known virtue, and a happy home. She may have been pampered and petted; perhaps educated and made to think that she was the cynosure of all eyes. Now she finds herself, by the betrayal of her heart's affection, a poor wretched outcast, whose only means of sustenance is to prey upon unclean and vicious and foul humanity. I know nothing so sad as this. In all its naked horror it appeals to no one. I have never ceased to shrink almost with terror, man of mature years though I now am, whenever I have been accosted in the street by such an one.

One night in Melbourne, Australia I had been engaged in writing in a newspaper office. I had been asked to write something for that paper, and I had written it for God, and for the people. It was very late. I came downstairs, and stood out in the cold night air for a moment, with bared head. I was looking up at the stars from the quiet, silent street. A little way off was a great thoroughfare where the people were coming out of the theater, and were crowding the street. I was in a quiet part of the street, standing there thinking what way I should go home; whether I should take a cab or whether I should walk.

I was enjoying, for a moment or two, that cool, fresh air, when I heard a clear and beautiful voice say to me, 'Good evening, sir.' I turned around and saw the lovely face of a very beautiful girl. I said, 'Good evening,' but I trembled as I said it; because I knew at once what kind of woman she was. Yet she did not seem to be deeply stained with sin. 'Good evening,' she said; and I again said, 'Good evening,' and that was all. She said, 'Will you go home with me?' And then, having silently prayed, I turned to her and said, 'Home with you?' 'Yes.' 'Where is your home?' So she told me. 'Oh, no,' I said, 'that is not your home. Your home is the house of her which is the gate of hell. The dead are there. If I went home with you I should share the fate of all who enter there, unless God delivers them. But will you go home with me?' She was trembling violently, holding on to an iron post with a ring at the top of it, and her fingers were grasping the ring. 'Home with you?' she said. 'Yes, sir, but where do you live?' I said, 'I live on earth, but my home is in the heavens. Oh, won't you go home with me to heaven, I will take you to a lovely woman tonight in Melbourne who will be as kind to you as to her own daughter.' She then knew that she had spoken to one who was a child of God.

"I am sure that she had not been long in sin. She opened her eyes wide and held up her hand, and I will never forget her cry - 'It is too late. The waters have gone over me. It is too late,' and with that she darted away. I went after her, but she was lost in a moment amidst the great multitude that was surging up and down the streets. 'Too late! The waters have gone over me.' I went home that night with these words ringing in my ears: 'Too late! Too late! The waters have gone over me.' I said, 'It is not so, God; we shall search for that woman in this city until we find her.' And blessed be God, today that woman is living a holy and happy and virtuous life"

This is the ministry of the Good Shepherd.
This is the ministry of the Son and the Sons.

Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

Weep o'er the erring one, Lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Down in the human heart, Crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;

Touched by a loving heart, Awakened by kindness,
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.

Oh God! Every man of the untold billions of earth is Your creative offspring. They may have wandered far from You. The mark of Cain may be upon the brow; but even Cain You would permit no man to kill; and You did send into the abyss Your sinless Son to bring back those who had sinned when the whole world rejected Your thousands of years before. Here in this land, and in all lands, there are many spirits in the prisonhouse of sin and darkness, and damning lust and fear, and vile habits and wretchedness, and all kinds of devious and guilty ways. God bring them out into the light! Help us, Oh Father, to BE THE LIGHT and shine, and shine, and shine, till there is no more darkness anywhere. Help all who read these lines to understand Your great love.

Jude tells us to "convince some, who doubt; save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 22-23). It is our job to do the snatching. Christ has shed His blood and poured out the Holy Spirit of power! Our part is to pick up our weapons and go out against the powers of darkness and drive them off the land. Christ bought us with His own blood - we belong to Him. And so, by the same token, do all men. John said that Jesus "is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (I Jn. 2:2). No person is exempt from Christ's work of salvation. What remains is for us to work with God - to fight the good fight that loosens Satan's bold on lost men and women and compels them to come into the banquet hall. Do you believe that the weapons with which God has equipped you are effective? Do you believe that merely speaking the Word of Reconciliation in faith, in utter dependence upon the Holy Spirit, will cast down strongholds and bring down every high thing that exalts itself against God? Do you believe that your weapons can and will bring minds - rebellious minds to obey Christ? They will! Let us challenge hell's gates. They cannot prevail against God's Church! Let us break them down in order to bring out the captives that they might serve Christ and know true freedom.

I do not wonder sometimes that those who only read my writing think that I am a hard and vindictive man, especially as I warn men of the error and abominable apostasy of the nominal Church systems. But if you only knew, I am one of the most peaceable and gentle men in the world. I am a very quiet man (except in the pulpit), and believe that I am merciful and compassionate toward every sinner. I have only been a fighter because I had to fight. Was Jesus Christ not a great fighter? Is He not a great fighter still? And is He not the Prince of Peace? Is He not God's Lion, the Lion of the tribe of Judah? And is He not the Lamb of God? God's Lion is a Lamb! God's Lamb is a Lion!

I call God to witness and you to witness that when I have had to fight - for whom have I fought? I fought for God. I fought for Truth. I fought for reality. I fought against the false shepherds who were taking away the key of knowledge, who entered not in themselves, and them that were entering in they hindered. I fought those who fought the right ways of the Lord, deceiving the people and holding them in bondage to slavish forms of empty religion. Stephen fought the devils in the Jewish system to their very faces although he knew he would die. He saw his Master in the heavens. Do you see your Master in the heavens? Do you see Him by your side? Do you know Him within, in the depths of your spirit? Do you hear His voice? Do you know what He wants you to do? He wants you to follow in His steps, to become His salvation unto the ends of the earth. He wants you to deliver His creation from sin, sorrow, death, hell, and the demonic power which curses this world. Who follow in His train? Not those whose Christianity consists in a feeble conformity to a creed, and go through the motions of a Sunday morning ritual.

The peace of God means war with sin. He that is a friend of evil is the enemy of God. This is the kind of peace Jesus left. He made warriors of men. They went forth to fight the world and the devil, in Greece and Rome, with thirty thousand gods. They marched up the Acropolis; they marched upon the Parthenon; they threw down the altars of the boni dei; they threw down the altars of Venus; they destroyed the altars of Jove; they threw down the altars of Mercury. They smashed them, by the Spirit's power they trampled upon them; they triumphed, and they died.

Oh, that is such a sublime verse where Jesus said, "All authority is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore and teach all nations..." (Mat. 28:18-19). Do you see that? There is a tremendous power in that "Therefore," I am with you. I will back you. Every angel in heaven if needful will come forth and surround you. Fight! What does it matter, the puny governments and armies and courts of THIS WORLD? All authority is given to the Christ of God, and we are His body! The hosts of God will troop over all the skies, ten thousand times ten thousand millions, if need be. "I command ... Go therefore, you poor fishermen, and tax-gatherers and discredited rabbis, go, I am with you." If only we realized what power there is behind us!

General Grant marched out because he felt that it was an honest nation behind him that would lay all its millions of dollars down to carry that thing through, and can we not march out and take the devil's forts, knowing that we have got all the omnipotence of heaven with us? Cowards you are, talking about "holding the fort"! Get out of your forts! What is the use of going inside of fortifications? I tell you, the army that fights behind entrenchments is whipped every time. God is raising up a Sonship company that will go for the devil's fortresses, to batter him, shatter him and break up his kingdom. God is even now, in the end of this age, preparing an army of overcoming ones who shall go forth in the fullness of the power of the Spirit to pull down the strongholds of creed and ritual and religious ignorance and set the captives free; who will beat down the strongholds of sin and rebellion and let the prisoners go free!

I am not afraid to take the blows from the devil, and I am not afraid to give blows! I have a shield upon which I can take the fiery darts. I am glad for the fight. It is the good fight of faith. It is the good fight of love. The thing, however, that bouys up my heart above everything else is the hope, the hope that springs perennial in this breast, that I shall see victory; victory for purity and righteousness and peace; that I shall hear a song of universal joy from the whole earth, and from bell, and from the farthest reaches of the universe when they sing: "Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigns, and the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." Blessed hope!

We must have it! We shall fight it out to the end, and we will win. Sin shall be abolished. Disease, death, pain, and hell shall pass away. Then, O Christ, and then alone, will You see the travail of Your soul and be satisfied. Then, O Christ, and then alone, can we be satisfied; when the last rebel has bowed at Your feet, and there is no more fight; for there is no more rebellion anywhere. Hallelujah! God shall reign forever! It is a living hope; this hope that, at last, every poor sinner will have heard the glad sound, and that at last every poor spirit in earth and heaven and hell will bow before the Christ, and will own His sway, and there shall be harmony and peace and unity everywhere, for God shall be All in All. That is my hope.

THE GREAT GULF

"Oh," you reply, "the story of Lazarus, and the rich man who in Hades lifted up his eyes, being in torments, teaches us that there is no bridge between heaven and hell, no way to escape the tormenting fire." I shall speak very plainly about that. In the first place the story of the rich man and Lazarus is usually considered without any reference to its setting. Near the close of Jesus' ministry He had eaten dinner with a Pharisee, at which time He not only healed a man with dropsy, but gave some pointed instructions about how to give a dinner party. When He left the house, great throngs followed Him (Lk. 14:25).

Many of this crowd were publicans and sinners. In Lk. 15:1-2 we read, "Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners to hear Him, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners, and eats with them." It is against this background of criticism from the scribes and Pharisees that the teaching of Lk. 15 and 16 are given. That whole discourse is called a parable. "And He spoke this parable unto them, saying" (Lk. 15:3). The Greek is very definite in making the word for parable clearly a singular noun. It is "the parable this." Five seemingly separate stories enter into His teaching to carry the truth of this parable. His usual method of teaching all but the inner circle of His disciples was by a parable. "All these things spoke Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spoke He nothing unto them" (Mat. 13:34). "But privately to His disciples He expounded all things" (Mk. 4:34).

Now, it is not my purpose to explain the meaning of the parable in this writing, for that is another story altogether. I would be remiss if I did not point out, however, that while the story itself is a parable, in all parables there must be a correspondence between the type and the anti-type or they fail to have validity as parables. Let me illustrate. Jesus spoke a parable, saying, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow." He then explained how the seed fell upon various kinds of soil, and the result from each. Now, since this is a parable, it is obvious that Jesus is not just relating a series of facts; He is not talking about a certain literal farmer sowing actual seed such as wheat or corn. Each part of the story is a symbol, a metaphor, an illustration of something else, and we know, of course, that the sower is the Christ, the seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the soils are different kinds of hearts. But - if there were no such thing as seed, and no such activity as sowing, and no actual soil in existence, then the parable would have no base, no strength, no meaning - it would not be a parable at all, but merely a fantastic, unrealistic, imaginary fairy tale! It is the FACT of seed, sowers, and soils that gives the parable its strength.

So, in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, if there is no such thing as Hades, and if there is no sense of suffering of punishment in Hades, then the application of the parable fails. There must be some reality to these things or the parable is not a parable at all! But in the parable Lazarus is said to be in "Abraham's bosom." The phrase "Abraham's bosom" was a well-known one, current among the people of Judea to express the state of the faithful Israelite who had died and been "gathered unto his fathers." Abraham's bosom typifies a position of acceptance and favor in the Kingdom of God, for, "If you be Christ's, then you are Abraham 's seed , and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29), and "many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mat. 8:11).

The rich man wanted Lazarus to come and cool his tongue. He had been a very bad man, and so was tormented in the hell he had created for himself. But when he asked that Lazarus should cross, Abraham said, "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; no one can cross it." Abraham could not cross that gulf. It was a fixed gulf to him. Ah, no, Abraham could not get across to him! I know Abraham could not pass over it, and I do not wonder at Abraham's not being able to pass over it. I am not a great admirer of Abraham. A man that will hide behind his wife and say she is his sister in order to save his own skin, is not to be greatly admired! That is just what Abraham did. Abraham got behind Sarah's robes, saying to her in effect as follows: "Now, when Abimelech comes along, you say to him that you are my sister, and not my wife; you are so beautiful that if he knows you are my wife he will kill me. But it won't matter, even though you are carried off to his harem, you will know Abraham's skin is alright." I think that was a very pitiful kind of a man, if his name was Abraham. I do not wonder that he could not cross the gulf.

I do not wonder that Isaac could not cross. He was just the same kind of fellow, and did exactly the same thing. I do not wonder that Jacob could not cross. He was one of the cutest scamps that ever lived. He persuaded his brother to sell him his whole inheritance, his entire birthright, for a mess of portage, and then deceived his poor old blind father and brazenly lied and stole his brother's blessing. A very mean man was Jacob. "But these are Patriarchs!" you say. I know that, that shows what a poor lot the best of them were. Wonderful that God Almighty could make so much out of them! And we are a poor lot, too, and it is wonderful what God can make out of us.

The Bible says that Abraham could not cross that abyss, nor could Lazarus. There is no denying that, but the Christ crossed that abyss. There is the difference! You say that Abraham said, "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they which would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us." Let me remind you that, although Abraham said that, the Christ did not. That is right, Abraham, you could not bridge it! And even if you could, you did not have the keys to the gates . But the Christ crossed that gulf, and His salvation bridged it. Christ bridged it! The Christ Himself is the bridge! It is no use talking nonsense, saying that the gulf was not bridged. It was not bridged at the time Jesus told that story, but when He arose and grasped the keys of death and of hell, He made a way for His banished to return.

It was bridged by Jesus Christ, and there is not any gulf that He cannot bridge. I believe it! If there is, then He is not God, because there is no gulf that God and His love cannot bridge. Jesus Christ has bridged the gulf between God and man, between Israelite and Gentile, between bond and free, between male and female, between rich and poor, and between heaven and hell. He has bridged all the gulfs, blessed be His name, and so "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). Thank God! a greater than Abraham is here. He bridges the gulf between heaven and earth and between earth and hell, for it is written, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). Weymouth translates, "That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of beings in the highest heavens, of those on the earth, and of those in the underworld, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The hymn writer captured the wonderful truth of this when he penned these immortal words:

Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan!
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!
Oh, the mighty GULF THAT GOD DID SPAN at Calvary!

My greatest desire is to be filled with all the fullness of God and come into the image of Jesus Christ. My greatest obsession is that I might be counted worthy to stand in that glorious company of the manifested sons of God. As God knows my heart, it is not a selfish desire. The reason I want to be like Jesus is because I love Him so; but also because it is the only way I can ever be used in the restoration of fallen creation. I see the desperate needs of the world around me, and realize that I am powerless to do anything about it on a sufficient scale. Oh, yes, I can pray, agree with God, and see occasional conversions, deliverance's, and victories. But anyone who says that they have reached the place where their ministry is meeting the needs of this sin-cursed world is either blind to the needs of man, a proud hypocrite, or a compulsive liar.

But God has a purpose in His people. God's purpose is NOT to redeem a bunch of people to sit at a bus stop and wait for a heavenly bus to come along and take them out of this mess. God is preparing SONS to change the world, to seek and save, to redeem and restore all back into God. These Sons will not be found looking up into the sky, expecting Jesus to come and snatch them away to heaven! God has redeemed us and is putting Himself into us so that He may send us to clean up the mess that the devil has made.

For this day of deliverance the whole creation groans! For these Sons who shall bring the deliverance all creation travails! "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us . For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God...because the creation itself also shall he delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now" (Rom. 8:18-22). From within the prison house of sin and death and hell can be heard the groaning and the travailing of the whole creation. We know this groaning is not a groaning for the manifestation of merely God or of His Son, Jesus the Christ. Somehow, through the infinite wisdom and work of God, there is a faint ray of knowledge deep within the subconsciousness of the prisoners, that their release is going to come through the ministry of the Sons of God. God will not singlehandedly deliver the prisoners, and neither will Jesus the Christ. But some of the very prisoners of that prison, who once mingled with all the rest, have been ushered out to become a firstfruit of redemption and commissioned of God, chosen of God to pass through a process of training, preparation, testing. and transformation that they may return and release the captives.

The processing, the purging, the change, the transformation and the testing that the chosen ones must go through is of great importance to us. Hear now the inspired admonition of the apostle Paul in whose spirit this hope burned brightly: "I entreat you, therefore, brethren, by the tender compassion's of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, well-pleasing to God, your rational service. And do not conform yourselves to this age, but transform yourselves by the renovation of your mind, that you may ascertain what is the will of God, the good, and well-pleasing, and perfect" (Rom. 12:1-2, Diaglott).

In God's wonderful plan there is the call for the presenting of our bodies. There is the ascertaining of His will, and the being conformed to the age and the ages that are to come. We are not to be married to this age, but we are to remain unmarried to it that we might be married to that age and those ages that are coming. The children of this age, Jesus said, marry and are given in marriage to this age, but the children of the resurrection, the Sons of God, those destined to deliver the creation, neither marry nor are given in marriage to this age, but are keeping themselves unto the age and the ages to come, and the gracious and glorious ministry reserved for that time.

Ah, let us surrender ourselves unto God for the blessing and deliverance of ALL CREATION!

MAYBE - r jackson

2011-11-09T19:26:00.000-06:00

MAYBE

Maybe we know what God is: There is only one Spirit in the universe and we all make up that Spirit. We make up that Spirit when we are created and after we die. God, all creation together is God, all creation working together to create all things. If the majority of spirits want a certain thing to happen it will, because we have the power of thought. If we are Spirit now and we came form spirit and are connected to other Spirits, we are the same as other Spirits, we are all equal and the same in Spirit we are only different in our physical bodies, all of us together are the Spirit of God. God made us in his image.

We were all part of God in the beginning, so we must still be part of God when we are born in a physical body an we must go back to Gods Spirit when this physical body dies.

So what is the purpose of it all? All the people of the earth are of the same Spirit ( only one Spirit) and this Spirit is God the Creator. God is Spirit not a spirit. Think of your wife in Spirit, she is the exact same Spirit as you are, your neighbor is exactly the same Spirit as you, all the people are exactly the same Spirit as you and that Spirit is God. All of our Spirits make the Spirit of God, all living things are part of the spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the ocean and we are all a cup of water from the ocean. When our physical body dies we go back to the ocean.

What is our purpose as Spirits of God here on earth? What is the purpose of an oak tree? To grow from a tiny acorn and become a beautiful huge tree that gives shelter and food for mammals, shelter for humans, shelter for birds and rebuilds the soil. The oak tree has no choice in what it must do. It does not think about what it is to do, it just does it. It does what God created it to do. We do what God created us to do, although we may not know what that is.

Let your spirit shine brightly for the world to see. Maybe that is your purpose! Do what God created you to do. Be his temple here on earth, and you will be rewarded.

The Way We Are - r jackson

2011-09-04T17:51:00.001-05:00

Always remember that whomever you are reacting with, be it friend or foe, love one, wife, child or parents, that they are all seeking exactly the same thing that you are seeking, peace and happiness. It is so very easy to get upset at other people when they do things that we judge are the improper thing to do for the situation. We all do this judging, and we all in our hearts know it is wrong to judge other people, because there is no right or wrong , there’s only what we deem as being right or wrong. A good example would be if you were raised in a good Baptist home in the southern United States drinking alcohol would be wrong, but if you were raised in Italy drinking wine would be as normal as drinking water. There are hundreds of like situations when comparing what is good and what is bad, the only correct policy would be not to judge because you are not qualified to judge.

Why are we the individual person that we have become? Why are we all so varied in our personalities? Everyone thinks that the way they see things is the correct way and everyone should see things as they see them. When you begin to study the makeup of people you begin to understand why people think about things as they do.

Every human being is different from every other human being. We are products of our environment and all of environments have been totally different. When a child is conceived is when their personality begins to be formed. The things that the mother does, says, and thinks all affect the child while it are in the womb. Her moods affect the child. The food she eats and all the things that she takes into her body has an effect on the child. Even people she comes in contact with while the child is in the womb affects it. Every child is completely unique before it is born into the world. After birth so many things can and will effect the entire lifetime of the child. The way the doctor handles the baby (the baby in my opinion should never be spanked), the attitude of the nurses, visitors and endless instruments of influence. As the child grows it is influenced by everyone and everything it comes in contact with, parents, teachers, classmates, preachers and siblings. Some of the influence is good some are bad. There is no way to control what type of influence the child receives.

Can an adult person control their behavior? Our behavior as an adult is controlled by our influences that we have been inundated with since birth. It is extremely difficult to control the behavior that those influences have created within us. There are thief's, murderers, child molesters, wife beaters, and hundreds of other crimes that people commit, and all of these behaviors are a results of bad treatment or bad behavior given to the person when they were a child.

Back to being judgmental. How should we react when we have contact with bad behavior, be it serious crimes or things such as bad tempers, rudeness, hurtfulness and all the other thing people do?

Everyone on the earth wants peace and happiness. Everyone.

When you are reacting with someone, remember the person you see is not the person they are, underneath all the rough exterior they are seeking peace and happiness but they have also been influenced by something they have little control over, and that is the good or bad influence and treatment they have received from other people during their lifetime.

We Are Part Of The Creator - r Jackson

2010-12-05T18:57:00.007-06:00

WE ARE PART OF THE CREATOR

If a daylily needs more light it grows taller or leans toward the light.

What makes plants do these things and thousands of other things. I say that is the power of the CREATOR in everything. The CREATOR is omnipresent, which means, present in all places at all times.

We all have heard that God is in us. We think he is in a certain little spot inside of us, maybe in some little secret corner of our heart or maybe somewhere in our brain, but this is wrong. God has completely saturated our body. He is our body, our spirit. We are his physical body on earth, Jesus was Gods body on earth. When Jesus died he left his earthly body behind, the body that was Jesus, but we keep dragging him out at Christmas and at Easter for a few days and then we put him back in the closet. The other part of Jesus, his spirit, went back to the Spirit of the Creator and again became part of the Creator. When we die our bodies stay on earth and our Spirit goes back (it does not go anywhere,) it is absorbed back into the Creators Spirit, where it came from in the first place. All this is because there is only one Spirit in the Universe and that is Gods or the Creators Spirit. We are all part of that one spirit, as is everything else in the universe.

We will all, everyone of us, return to the Spirit of the Creator when our body dies, we are all a drop out of the same pond. We will not go to a place called heaven, we will not walk the streets of gold, we will not see momma and daddy, we do not have a physical mansion waiting for us in heaven, we are spirits in a physical body, Jesus was a spirit in a physical body, the Creator has no physical body, a spirit can not walk, a spirit has no eyes, a spirit needs no shelter.

This information is very hard to believe because of our BIG EGO. Our BIG EGO believes that when we die we must be more important than other Christians. We know that they have not lived as good a life as we have. Our BIG EGO will not let us believe that every one will return to the Spirit of The Creator when they die. OUR BIG EGO lets us believe that we will be special when we go to heaven. OUR BIG EGO lets us believe that the bad people will not be saved but sent to a life time of burning punishment, PLEASE deflate that BIG EGO and let it become a small ego and then no ego.

Jesus Christ had no ego BIG or small, He was guided by love, love is the only system that he operated under, nothing else. Since he operates under the Love System, think about all the things this will eliminate from what we have been taught by earthly man. When you get rid of that BIG EGO, your wonderful brain will start to work again and the Creator will start to teach you his ways.
see The Ego In Man

Lonely People - r jackson

2010-11-16T08:53:00.005-06:00

Lonely People

Some people have a demon of loneliness inside of them. No matter how hard they try they cannot get rid of the loneliness. They go through life lonely and wishing for a normal live. The may have been abused or hurt by a lover, by friends or family. They may have been born with a lonely spirit. Some times they get so depressed they try and commit suicide. A lonely person will not tell you how lonely thy are, they don’t want you to show them pity. That person may seem normal to you if you know them. This is one reason that we must show love for everyone that we meet. We must keep our hearts in tune to what's around us, be aware of the hearts of the people that you know and come in contact with. Love everyone, they are part of God as you are. Never make a judgment call about how anyone acts or about their ways. It is not your duty to judge anyone. That is Gods Job.

What about these lonely people, what can they do that will cause them not to be lonely? When a person is first conceived there is a tiny cell that has all the genetics of that person within it. That cell contains the spirit of God. From that one cell all your body organs will be formed, your heart, your brain, all the parts that make up you physical body. That original cell that contained the spirit of God is still in you. It causes your lungs to function, your heart to beat, your brain to think and all of your body functions to work. You have no control over any of these things. You also have no control over your thoughts. God inside of you and inside of everyone else controls these things.

People don’t understand why they are unhappy. They have all the things that they thought they always wanted but they are still lonely and unhappy. They have many so called friends, they are married, they have children, they have relatives but they are still lonely and unhappy. Oh dear what can the matter be?

The only way you will ever be happy is to be in tuned with the Spirit Of God. How do we do this? It is hard for our imperfect spirit to conform to the will of God, but that is all it takes. Give yourself completely to Him. Have no desires but to be trying constantly to do the will of The Father.

When you are defiant and say you are not going to do something and in the same moment something comes over you and your attitude has changed, you know you will do what you had told yourself that you were not going to do and do it with a happy spirit—that is God working on you. You have no choice in the matter it is a done deal.

If you do what the Great Spirit ask you to do you will be rewarded by so many things. Your life will be made easier and all the little simple things and more complicated things will be done with ease. You will work with renewed strength. You will no longer be lonely.

The Third Day - Des Walter

2009-07-17T20:30:00.003-05:00

Life is a journey and everyone is on the road somewhere. The problem is that many do not know where they came from, nor do they know where they are going. It is not simply a journey from the cradle to the grave, but a journey of discovery. Of course if we have no clear sense of direction then we can hardly expect to arrive at any particular destination. This means that for most the journey of "life" has no real meaning. Such an attitude indicates they have no sense of God in their lives, nor any concept of his plan and purpose for man.
Our whole reason for being is wrapped up in God. Can you imagine a God who puts millions of people on the earth but has no real purpose in view? This would have to be the height of stupidity and certainly not the actions of the Creator of heaven and earth. Man was created in the image and likeness of God, and it is his purpose to manifest his glory through man on the earth. The journey of life is therefore designed to bring man to the realization of his true identity and raise a consciousness within him of the divinity that was imparted to him in creation.
God gave to Israel a parable concerning this journey in the form of the Tabernacle. It consisted of three main areas that conform to the direction our life’s journey is to take. Each area depicts an area of growth and development towards the goal of being ONE with the Father. The outer court represents the first step towards our ultimate goal in searching for a way to heal the estrangement and separation we feel towards our Father in heaven. We look for a sacrifice that will restore our fellowship with God and anything else we feel may bring us closer to him. Then we seek for a spiritual experience that will give us access to the Holy place where at least we can touch spiritual things and embrace some spiritual gift.
However God has issued to us today the greatest invitation that has ever been given to mankind. We have been invited to come WITH BOLDNESS INTO THE MOST HOLY PLACE, by the blood of Jesus, by a NEW and a LIVING WAY that he has opened for us through the veil that has separated man from God down through the ages. The reason behind this invitation is that God is raising up a people who will demonstrate the fullness of the Godhead BODILY, not in part as in the past, but in fullness. The goal on our journey is the MOST HOLY PLACE, which is located in the innermost part of our being. To get there we must pass through the outer court (the flesh) and through the Holy Place which is the SOUL, and discover that God is not up in the sky but there in the very center of our being. This is where we discover who we are, for the "I" that we are, is actually the "I AM." As we reach our goal we find all our religious traditions and doctrines of men, which have kept us from discovering TRUTH have been swept away as our true Spiritual Guide the Holy Spirit leads as home.

PENETRATING THE DARKNESS
As the light of God dispels the darkness of our ignorance we discover the reality of our nature is DIVINE, even as it was in the beginning. Now we no longer look up in the sky waiting for the man Jesus to return and become KING, because we know he is KING ALREADY. Our life now comes under his control and in our renewed consciousness we know that we LIVE and MOVE and have our being in him. The work the Spirit began in us is now being finished as we find the "I" of self, that we thought was a separate entity from God, being raised to the "I AM" which I am in Christ.
As we approach the coming millennium many Christians are prophesying doom and gloom with wars and strife of every kind. However I see the most exciting time ahead as the Sons of God become manifest having discovered their true identity in the I AM and are now fitted to become the Saviors of the world. Thus the groaning creation will find its salvation in a people, who like Paul are living as Christ. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, "In thee and THY SEED shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Beloved we are the "seed" of Abraham through CHRIST.
Thus we are lifted out of the selfish concepts of our religious beliefs, where all we were interested in was getting our sins forgiven and escaping the flames of hell. How infantile is such an attitude, when compared to the reality, that we are being conformed to the image of his SON Jesus Christ, and becoming the vessels in which the glory of the Lord will be displayed to the world. In this is the will and purpose of the CREATOR fulfilled, as the MAN created in his likeness and image manifests the glory of the FATHER our heavenly Father glorified.

The Day of the Lord.
Theologians have argued over the meaning of the word "DAY" in the account of creation. Peter explains, "Be not ignorant of this one thing, that ONE DAY is with the Lord as a THOUSAND YEARS, and a thousand years as ONE DAY." 2 Peter 3:8 The truth is that God does not function in TIME at all, such as we do. God functions in ETERNITY, where TIME as we know it does not exist. Most Christians live either in the PAST or in the FUTURE. They keep harking back to great times in the past, when God did something for them. Or they say, "Won’t it be wonderful when we all get to heaven, or when Christ returns from the sky at the end of the age! So their hope is either centered in a past experience or in the future. For them there is very little for the "now."
Even the Christian calendar emphasizes this same thing. At Christmas we remember the Birth of Christ in Bethlehem with great celebration. However, we know almost nothing of the next thirty years, until he appears at the river Jordan. Then we follow him to the Cross-where he dies and is buried, and raised from the dead on the third day. Again this is a time of great contemplation and rejoicing that we call EASTER, when we celebrate his resurrection. We follow him then to the Mount of Olives where he ascends out of the midst of the disciples.
At that point we loose sight of him, and we do not know where he is gone. All celebrations are over, so we must wait for Christmas when we bring him back as a baby again, and celebrate his birth all over again. This is the revolving cycle of the Church’s calendar.
Beloved the PAST is gone and we cannot bring it back, and the future is not ours, for it has no reality for us at this moment. The only moment you can do business with God is N-O-W. The only moment you can trust him is N-O-W. The only point at which TIME and ETERNITY ever meet is in the N-O-W. If you do not trust God NOW nothing in the past or the future can make any difference. NOW is the time of acceptance behold NOW is the day of salvation. If Jesus Christ is not Lord in your life NOW then he is not Lord at all.
As we come to the end of this millennium we enter the THIRD DAY from Christ, and the SEVENTH day from Adam, in which God finished creating the MAN who would manifest his glory, and sanctified all of creation, setting it apart for himself. Thus we are in the DAY OF THE LORD mentioned in the book of Revelation, where it says, "John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day." I was taught that the Lord’s day is SUNDAY, but this is far from the truth. The day of the Lord is the day when man ceases to live out of a sense of separation from God, and discovers Christ not only dwells within, but that he is living his life out from the Most Holy Place of our being.
This is a time of spiritual awakening of epic proportions, when the Body of Christ is rising out of its mortality and death, through the process of Resurrection. These have heard the voice of the Son of God and have been raised from the dead in the perfection of the Christ, who is their life. Their whole purpose in living is to declare the image of God, in loving, blessing and redeeming all mankind through the ministry of reconciliation, until all creation has been released from its bondage.
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and in THREE DAYS I will raise it up." This he spoke of the Temple which is his body." Jn 2:19. We are now living in the THIRD DAY from Christ. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of this day when he said," Arise, shine for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but the LORD SHALL ARISE UPON THEE AND HIS GLORY SHALL BE SEEN UPON THEE." Isa 60:1-2.
So this day for some will be a day of darkness, but for others it will be a day of light and revelation, which will turn the night into the brightness of day. We are reminded that in the days of creation in Genesis, that the DAY always began in the evening. "And the evening and the morning were the First Day." For Israel the Sabbath began at sundown on the previous day. So it is obvious that at this time some will enter the dawn of a NEW DAY of divine realization, while others will enter a time of darkness bringing with it a sense of impending doom.
To look today about us with NATURAL EYES, one could only consider this to be a time of great conflict when fear is filling the hearts of many people. There are wars and rumors of wars, with political and economic collapse in many parts of the world. There are floods and famine and other disasters in many countries. In view of these things many Christians consider this is a time of great darkness and unrest. On the other hand for those upon whom the SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS has risen, and their consciousness of the "I" has been raised to the "I AM," this is the glorious THIRD DAY or the DAY OF THE LORD.
The people, who claim to be Christians today, are in fact a mixture, and this is the day when the Lord is going to purify HIS Church. Among those who belong to a Church today, are many whose righteousness does not even equal that of the Pharisees, or those who are in the world. I believe this to be the result of the "Gospel" that has been presented to the people. The people have been told, that as a result of Adam’s sin in the garden, God has placed all men under the curse of death, and this will result finally in being cast into an eternal burning hell. The only escape from such a judgment is to receive Christ as Savior and have our sins forgiven, and then we can go to heaven. The alternatives in this spurious Gospel is HEAVEN or a BURNING HELL.
Today we have a large number of people who have responded to the preacher’s appeal and "asked Christ into their heart" but their motivation is to escape HELL FIRE. In this response there is absolutely nothing for God. When Israel left Egypt under the mighty hand of God, there were many Egyptians who joined their ranks, who were called "A MIXED MULTITUDE." These were convinced Israel’s God was greater than the Gods of Egypt, so decided to join what appeared to them to be the winning side, and leave Egypt. But they did not come out through the Passover Lamb. These people became a snare and a problem for the children of Israel. The Church today is also a MIXED MULTITUDE and this is the day when God is dealing with this mixture.
Do not misunderstand the purpose of this purging, for it is not an arbitrary culling of the flock of those who did not do everything right, or were not baptized using the right words. Nor is it that God does not love those who have just joined the group for questionable reasons. But God is calling OUT a people UNTO HIS NAME. "You who were sometimes alienated end enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now has he reconciled in the Body of his flesh through death, to present you HOLY AND UNBLAMEABLE AND UNREPROVABLE IN HIS SIGHT." Col:21-22. "Therefore if any man be IN CHRIST, he is a NEW CREATION."
God is not just looking for those who want "to go to heaven," but those in whom the mind of Christ has been activated, and their consciousness has been raised to behold the CHRIST dwelling within, expressing himself as "I AM." There will be no revelation of the true Sons of God until there is a purging of his people, and a falling away of those who at this point in time have not been touched by the Spirit of revelation. These will not be cast away nor will they be lost, but will find their place when God has prepared his "Called out ones."
There are so many Christians today who are bound by carnal doctrines and false concepts of God, which will not allow them to see GOD DWELLING IN EVERY MAN. Their "God" is up in the sky and though they pray, he is powerless to do anything for them, because that "god" is just a figment of their imagination. The true God says, "Ye are the temple of the LIVING God, as he has said, I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK IN THEM, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." 2 Cor 6:16.
The greatest problem Christians face in the earth today is not the devil, but ignorance. The prophet Hosea said, "My people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge." In this day the Lord is rooting out every plant (thought) that my heavenly Father has not planted. All the false doctrines and concepts that are the product of the carnal mind of man must be taken away. Only then will the confusion and false images we have developed in our imagination be rooted out and then we can enter into REALITY.
God is LIGHT and in him is no darkness at all. Light represents understanding, and darkness represents ignorance for us today. We must therefore dwell in the LIGHT that is TRUTH, being taught by the Holy Spirit. We cannot know TRUTH apart from revelation by the Spirit of God. All Truth is a manifestation of God, because he is the GOD OF TRUTH. Truth will take us beyond the boundaries of the physical into the realm of the Spirit, where we touch the reality of all things.
Man did not originate from the physical world but came from God so therefore we are essentially creatures of SPIRIT, who live in a body. Our mortality is a consciousness that declares that the reality of our being is to be found in the BODY. Once we are aware we are Spirit having come from God, we no longer consider we are mortal creatures.
It follows, that if our origin is God we must be Spirit, for God is Spirit and so the divine nature must be inherent within us. This truth is revealed to us in Jesus Christ who although he was born of a woman yet he could say, "I and my Father are one." Jn 10:30. When he asked the disciples who they thought he was, Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God." Matt 16:16. Jesus told him, that knowledge came from the Father in heaven and could not be discovered through the mind of man.
So in this day we must discover this type of knowing which reveals to us the hidden things of God. The Apostle John tells us, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth IN HIM, and HE IN GOD." 1 Jn 4:15. This confession of the identity of Jesus Christ implies surrender and obedience, and not mere lip service. When it is genuine this confession is proof of our fellowship with God.
There are several words used in the GREEK language that speak of different levels of knowing. "Ginosko" means to know by experience. Consider how long it takes for us to learn by experience the art of driving a car. This is only one issue, so gaining knowledge this way would limit us to knowing only those things that may appeal to us in the first place. This word is used in such scriptures as :- Jn 8:21, Jn 8:32 & Rom 10:19.
Another Greek word for knowledge is "EIDO" which refers to a higher knowledge that is FROM ABOVE. We do not have to experience this knowledge in order to know it; all that is needed is for the Spirit to BREATHE it into us. This is what Paul speaks about when he says, "That the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened that you may KNOW"...through the Spirit of revelation. Eph 1:18, also 1 Jn 2:20.
Then there is the Greek word SUNEIDO, meaning a knowledge that is absolute. This is when we know that we know. It is the knowledge gained by experience together with revelation knowledge whereby we become united with the TRUTH as revealed by the Spirit of God. "For it is GOD that works in you both to WILL and to DO of his good pleasure." Phil 2:13. "Suneido" is found in 1 Cor 4:4 and 2 Pet 3:17.
We have to accept the fact that the "natural man" cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and neither can he know them. The mind of man can search out many things but when it comes to spiritual issues, it has no capacity to know them, for they can only be spiritually discerned. Man’s persistence in trusting his own intelligence in order to know God has kept him in the dark, and so hidden from him the life giving power of the Spirit of God. Saul of Tarsus was convinced in his mind that Christianity was anti God, and so set his heart to destroy it. Here is the proof that the natural or soulish man has no capacity to know or understand God.
It was not until Saul had a spiritual experience over which he had no control, that he received information his natural mind could never have known. This knowledge came to him in the form of LIGHT, which illuminated TRUTH in him. He saw the one his natural mind considered to be an imposter, and put to death as a common criminal, now standing ALIVE in the Spiritual world of his own being, and he was speaking directly to him. The voice that transformed his life said, "Saul Saul, why are you persecuting ME?" Saul responded by asking, "WHO ART THOU LORD?" The answer to that question had not yet entered into his understanding, but the VOICE coming from within provided all the answers he needed
In the WORDS he heard within, Saul discovered the one he now called LORD was the one he was trying to destroy. Saul had yet to discover how the LORD he believed to be DEAD, was actually alive. His subjection to the Lordship of Christ having now been accomplished he replies, "LORD what do you want me to do?" No amount of human reasoning could have had this result in his life, because humanly speaking; he believed he knew the TRUTH about the lowly Nazarene. All true conversion involves these same elements of illumination that results in the over riding of the natural mind and therefore the will. No human source can ever discover what is TRUTH.

THE VEIL
It is obvious that the veil in the Tabernacle and Temple, represent for us a VEIL OF IGNORANCE. Physically, the veil was simply a heavy curtain and from a strength point of view, could easily be brushed aside by any man. For this reason, the veil itself had no power to restrict entry to the Most Holy Place where God dwelt. If we wanted to keep people out of a place we would use a very strong barrier of wood or even steel and stronger locks to make the barrier impregnable.
Could it be that God never had any real desire to exclude man from his presence at all? After all, I am sure God could have devised a far better barrier if this was indeed his purpose. What then does this VEIL actually represent for us in the pattern of the Tabernacle. Under the Old Covenant, the High Priest was the only man who was given the right to enter into the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year. Therefore we know that God’s presence was not designed to be a total exclusion zone for man. Now the High Priest of the Old Testament was himself a TYPE of one that was to come, which is Jesus Christ. Every year on the Day of Atonement, there had to be a sacrifice made for the sins of the people as well as for the High Priest, before he could enter into the Most Holy Place.
BUT THIS MAN, Jesus Christ, after he had made one sacrifice for sins forever, not only entered into the Most Holy Place, BUT HE SAT DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD!! Heb 10:12-13. This is a most instructive statement and we need to understand what the Spirit is saying to us today. For the first time God allowed someone to share the secret place of his divine presence. Not just as a fleeting visit, but to remain there on a permanent basis, in a relationship which was not even for shadowed under the Old Covenant. To sit in the presence of God implies equality with God that was never before revealed. On the "RIGHT HAND" of God, suggests the place of authority, and so the scripture adds, "From that time there is an expectation that all enemies of the seated one will become subjected to him." Heb 10:13.
Now we are discovering the reality of this THIRD DAY into which we are moving. For some 6000 years of history man has believed he had been evicted from the Garden of Eden and thus from the presence of God. However 2000 years ago there came a MAN born of a woman who declared he came down from HEAVEN. He said, "No man has ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." Jn 3:13. His name is JESUS.
He confounded the people of his day by claiming that he existed BEFORE ABRAHAM. Such a concept today still causes consternation, whenever it is mentioned that ALL mankind has existed since the day God said, "Let us make MAN in our image and after our likeness." No, I am not suggesting we existed in the form we have today, for having come out of GOD we must originally have been SPIRIT. Now if you have ears to hear listen to what the spirit is saying to us today.
God only created ONE SON, not two or a thousand, ONLY ONE, and he is referred to as the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD. Then where did all the other sons come from, for are we not called, "THE SONS OF GOD?" 1 Jn 3:2. The answer is that every other SON was created IN THAT ONE SON. Paul declares this truth in Eph 2:10. "We were CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS." Beloved you were IN CHRIST in the very beginning, as SPIRIT waiting for the moment of our manifestation as the dwelling place of God on the earth.
Christ, who was called the WORD or LOGOS by John, was in the beginning with GOD and WAS GOD. Just think about it for a moment, we began existence IN CHRIST who is the same substance as the FATHER, who IS SPIRIT. This is the THIRD DAY beloved, the day of RESURRECTION, when the CHRIST came forth triumphant over hell and death. He could say, "I am he that LIVETH and was dead, and behold I AM ALIVE FOR EVERMORE, AMEN, and have the keys of hell and death." Rev 1:18. This is the THIRD DAY for us also, who WERE RAISED IN HIM ON THAT RESURRECTION DAY.
Now this only begotten Son was told he had dominion over all the works of God’s hands, and there is no mention of any ENEMY. But let us pursue this amazing truth a little further. God said to him, "Be fruitful and replenish or fill the earth." Now most Christians today believe this simply involved Adam and Eve having children and they then have children etc etc. So we have these childish questions about where Cain’s wife came from? I want to tell you, God’s plan and purpose went far beyond any natural conception. Here is the TRUTH behind this plan of God to FILL THE EARTH. James tells us,
"Of his own will begat he us with the WORD OF TRUTH, that we should be a kind of FIRST-FRUITS of his creatures, or of the HIMSELF KIND." Jas 1:18.
Take careful notice of what James is saying. He says we have been BEGOTTEN BY THE WORD OF TRUTH! It was TRUTH beloved that birthed us IN CHRIST. The darkness of our ignorance was swallowed up in the knowledge or LIGHT of the TRUTH, birthing us into a new understanding of our identity IN CHRIST. These "IN CHRIST" people are the ones God has purposed to use to fill the earth. Not a sinner saved by grace, or those who repent of their sin and ask Christ into their hearts, this is not what God had in mind. It is those who do not look back to Adam the man of dust as being their origin, but to the CHRIST OF GOD in whom they were created and begotten.
Paul tells us quite plainly, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST. According as he has CHOSEN US IN CHRIST before the disruption of the world, that we should be HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME before him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by JESUS CHRIST TO HIMSELF according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED." Eph 1:3-6.
The TRUTH is, that we were CREATED IN CHRIST, BLESSED IN CHRIST, and CHOSEN IN CHRIST, and made totally acceptable to God IN CHRIST. That little phrase "IN CHRIST" is the key to the whole purpose and plan of God in this age and in the ages to come. Paul presents the GOSPEL quite differently to Peter who ministered to the CIRCUMCISION, which is ISRAEL. Paul ministered to the GENTILES or the UNCIRCUMCISION, who were not at Mt Sinai when the LAW was given to Israel
Speaking about redemption or Salvation he simply says, "IF ANY MAN BE IN CHRIST HE IS A NEW CREATION." 2 Cor 5:17. He says, "IN ADAM all DIE, but IN CHRIST shall ALL BE MADE ALIVE. I want you to notice carefully that it is not BECAUSE of Christ or THROUGH CHRIST, but I-N C-H-R-I-S-T. Here we have the contrast between two different ideas concerning our ORIGIN and IDENTITY.
We have been taught right from Sunday School days, that we came from Adam the man of DUST, who sinned in the garden. Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." The problem is that Bible teachers interpret S-I-N as being transgression of the Law. But the Greek word for sin is HARMATIA, which has nothing to do with LAW, but is a sporting term, which means, MISSING THE MARK.
If an archer shoots an arrow and misses the bull’s eye, you do not call him a criminal as having broken some LAW. He failed to hit the mark. However under the Hebrew concept of the LAW GOD in the Old Testament many sins were punishable by death, and this concept has infiltrated the so-called "Gospel" many Churches preach.
The TRUE concept of Sin as revealed in the New Testament under the NEW COVENANT is MISSING THE MARK. The "Mark" is the MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF CHRIST. Any thought, word or deed that does not meet the standard of CHRIST is called MISSING THE MARK. It is not a legal question but one of maturity. When a child spills food we do not treat it as a federal offence, but help them to try again and we encourage them to do better. Here is the attitude of Jesus towards the woman taken in adultery. Jn 8.
The THIRD DAY has nothing to do with LAW or the Old Covenant. Jesus said, "I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, AND THE THIRD DAY I AM PERFECTED." Sickness is not a REALITY except to those who are still living out of the Adamic mind. For if Christ is my LIFE, HOW CAN I BE SICK? Likewise "demons" have no reality but are the product of the carnal mind. However, because these things have been the plague of mankind through their ignorance of truth God HAS GRACIOUSLY MINISTERED TO THEIR AFFLICTION.
NOW as we come to the THIRD DAY we are discovering that there is not very much healing taking place in the Church, as in the days of the Pentecostal revival or the Charismatic renewal. In every Church we find sickness and other problems everywhere. Has God forgotten his people? NO, but he is causing us to GROW UP and not remain as babes. Remember, Jesus said, "On the THIRD DAY he would be PERFECTED." This day beloved is the day of our PERFECTING.
In the early New Testament Church the saints were told they would lay hands on the sick and they would recover, and they DID. They were told if any body was sick they could call for the elders of the Church who would pray for them and they would be healed. That was the ORDER for the first TWO DAYS, but this is the THIRD day. This is the reason why so many today among God’s people have cancer and heart attacks, and are dying of so many maladies.
Many Bible teachers and Church leaders are depriving God’s people of their inheritance in Christ by denying them access to the TRUTH, because it is contrary to their theology which keeps the people totally dependant upon them. The third day is the day of our liberation from all bondage to men, and the issues that are the product of the carnal mind
You may be shocked to know that JESUS NEVER HEALED ANYONE. Healing is counteracting the virus or bacteria that is affecting the human body, causing sickness. In the case of the man with the withered arm tell me what medical intervention took place in his "healing?" What did Jesus DO to the arm or the man? The answer is nothing. Jesus simply SAID something, "STRETCH FORTH YOUR ARM," and immediately he stretched out his arm. Can we honestly call that healing, as we understand healing today? NO.
A man lay at the pool of Bethesda for 38years, hoping one day to be made whole. Jesus came to him and said, "Wilt thou be made whole?" The man answered, "Sir I have no man when the waters are springing up, to throw me in." Jesus said to him, "RISE, TAKE UP THY BED AND WALK." Jesus never rebuked any bacteria or disease causing germs, but simply said, take up your bed and go home. Can you see what I am trying to say? Jesus never healed anyone, but what he did was to SPEAK A WORD into their SPIRIT that caused the body to respond.
If CHRIST is your LIFE and dwells within you, you do not need to find someone to pray for you to be healed. Paul said "if that SAME SPIRIT of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell IN YOU, he shall quicken or make alive your mortal body by HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLS IN YOU." Rom 8:11. Jesus himself said, "If any man thirst (has a need) let him COME TO ME AND DRINK, (he dwells within you) and out of his INNERMOST BEING (the MOST HOLY PLACE WITHIN YOU) shall flow rivers of L-I-F-E." Jn 7:37-38.
On the THIRD DAY I shall be perfected. This word means to be totally complete or WHOLE. Can you imagine any thing that you may have need of that could not be supplied by the indwelling Christ who made all things. In Christ’s ministry healing was simply the voice of authority that spoke into the spirit commanding them to do what they could not believe themselves they were capable of doing. Much of the "healings" we have witnessed in the past I believe were psychosomatic. However as the darkness of the Adamic mind regained its authority the problem often returned in a week or two, or was transferred to another part of the body.
The medical profession recognizes that a very large proportion of sickness is psychosomatic, or has its basis in the MIND, that in turn produces the affect in the body. This is not confined to those who do not claim to know Christ, but applies equally to those who claim to be Christians. The mind is very powerful and its effect can be either positive or negative. For this reason our transformation under the hand of God requires our MIND to be RENEWED by the Holy Spirit. The carnal mind has no capacity to embrace the reality of our IDENTITY and ORIGIN.
For this reason Paul instructs us (that is you and me) to, "Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God thought it not a thing to be grasped at, to be equal with God? But made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil 2:5-9
The renewing of the mind is not simply changing our mind about certain facts. It is not just believing different or new doctrines, but THE MIND OF CHRIST. It is a mind that is birthed in the realm of heaven or Spirit, and is certainly a part of being BORN FROM ABOVE, that Jesus spoke about. It is programmed by SPIRIT and not by mortal humanity.
The MIND together with the EMOTIONS and the WILL form the basis not only of what we know as knowledge, but also control the reasoning behind our actions, and the way in which we interpret and live LIFE itself. The difference between the SOULISH MAN and the SPIRITUAL MAN is the difference between the ADAMIC MIND, and the MIND OF CHRIST.
In this THIRD DAY the RENEWED MIND rejoices in the fulfilling of the will and purpose of God in the MAN that was created in the beginning. God said, "Let us make MAN IN OUR IMAGE and AFTER OUR LIKENESS, and let them have DOMINION.." The religious mind today mimics the Pharisees of Jesus Day; calling it blasphemy that A MAN (for that is what JESUS WAS, flesh and blood) could claim that I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE. Many preachers have told me it is heresy to suggest WE ARE GODS! Well beloved if Jesus said that is what we are, then I am going to believe HIM. Jn 10:30-38.
The natural mind is so immersed in the LAW of the Old Testament involving S-I-N and its consequences, that GRACE is not allowed to function in reality. What did the Psalmist mean when he said, "I have said YE ARE GODS and all of you are children of the MOST HIGH GOD.”? Psalm 82 :6 Did he mean what the natural mind THINKS he is saying, that now we do not have ONE GOD, but thousands of Gods? That is childish thinking.
GOD IS SPIRIT and the only origin from which all LIFE comes. If that SAME SPIRIT that raised Christ from the dead DWELLS IN ME, then GOD MUST DWELL IN ME. If GOD DWELLS IN ME then the Psalmist was correct when he stated, "I SAID YE ARE GODS." Can you separate my spirit from me? NO a thousand times NO! Then how can anyone argue with me that "I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE.”? Only the ignorant carnal mind would run the streets shouting, "I AM GOD." Because what people are looking at is simply the BODY and GOD IS NOT A MAN WITH A BODY!! The GOD in me is invisible to all except those who have spiritual vision, and there is no need to tell them God dwells in me.
Does this mean that I TAKE THE PLACE OF GOD? Absolutely NOT, for GOD remains GOD in me in you in all of creation and he changes NOT. Tell me, if I were born of a PRINCE would I not be a PRINCE? What did Prince Charles have to do to become a PRINCE? The answer is NOTHING, because he is BORN OF ROYALTY.
I AM BORN OF GOD, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS therefore I MUST BE in the reality of my being, (that is SPIRIT) WHAT EVER MY FATHER IS, and that is GOD. However we are predestined to be conformed to the IMAGE OF HIS SON, who was born of a woman. So through the renewing of our mind we also will bear the IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY, in these bodies of ours, and in this we will manifest the Glory of God.
Jesus as the pattern son never ONCE told anyone that HE IS GOD!! His only claim before man was that he was a SON OF GOD. Yet IN HIM dwelt all the fullness of the GOD HEAD BODILY. The mind of Christ caused him to make himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.
Just because there are people with darkened minds that read these truths and make a fool of themselves by telling everyone they are GOD, does not make these things untrue. I believe there are thousands of people today telling everyone they are Christians and been baptized in the Spirit, who have never touched reality in God. Of these, many who have cast out demons and prophesied and done many wonderful works, will hear the LORD say, "I NEVER KNEW YOU, depart from me ye workers of iniquity." Matt 7:21-23.
Religious people do not get upset with those people, nor do they suggest we do not tell people about salvation and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, because it may be dangerous, and they might get the wrong idea. Beloved, Judgment is beginning at the house of God, and we will see many fall by the wayside as the Lord sorts out the MIXED MULTITUDE, who will not be a part of those who are being CALLED OUT from the darkness and death of the carnal mind.
It is the TRUTH that will MAKE US FREE. So few of God’s people have ever understood what is the plan and purpose of God for us today. Orthodox theology has devised its own agenda, then attributing it to God. It says we should accept Christ as our Savior and go to Church, read our Bible, and wait for the MAN JESUS to come from the sky and lift us off planet earth, while God pours terrible judgments upon those left behind.
No wonder God’s people live with the fear of death and impending doom, being subject to every disaster, sickness, plague or ungodly behavior that besets mankind. Christian marriages are disintegrating, their children often caught up in drugs, alcohol and promiscuous behavior. Society no longer looks to the Church as having the answer to mankind’s need, and so heathen religions are growing even in Australia at an alarming rate.
Jesus prayed, "THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, AS THOU FATHER ART IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. AND THE GLORY WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN ME I HAVE GIVEN THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, (IN THE SAME WAY) AS WE ARE ONE. I IN THEM AND THOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BE PERFECT IN ONE, AND THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW THAT THOU HAST SENT ME, AND HAST LOVED THEM, AS THOU HAST LOVED ME.
FATHER I WILL THAT THEY ALSO THAT THOU HAST GIVEN ME, BE WITH ME WHERE I AM, SO THAT THEY MAY BEHOLD MY GLORY WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN ME, FOR THOU HAST LOVED ME BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.
I suggest you read those verses again thoughtfully, for here is the heart of God revealed concerning us today. This is exactly what is happening today in the world. First of all he prayed that we all might be ONE, not just with one another but also with HIM. Christendom has never seen unity in 2000 years of history. Even in the New Testament Church, in Corinth the people were divided following different leaders.
It is fair to say the Church is the most divided community on the earth. It is divided by doctrines, methodology and moral stances particularly. Each Church believes it has the Truth, which is the reason they have to exist. The world economy has grown rich through the millions of dollars spent on the building of Cathedrals, Temples, Church buildings, and other construction work associated with Church enterprises. Even in third world countries today we can see the Church spending vast amounts of money on buildings that are simply monuments representing the ego of their leaders.
Jesus never built a building nor did he ask his disciples to do so. When Jesus was shown the Temple in Jerusalem by the disciples, he said, "There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matt 24:2. When asked by the Jews for his authority to clean out the Temple, he said, "DESTROY THIS TEMPLE, and in three days I will raise it up." However he was not speaking of any material temple, but he spoke of the TEMPLE WHICH IS HIS BODY." John 2:19-21.
The Father’s heart for his people is that they be ONE. In the natural this would have to be the impossible dream. I have not yet seen ONENESS even within individual Churches, let alone between Churches. O yes, they do have "combined meetings" at times but this falls far short of the union Jesus spoke about. The big question is, "How can God’s people become O-N-E?"
Far from encouraging oneness, the Churches actually divide Christians by making DOCTRINE the basis of fellowship. The Apostle John said the basis of fellowship was the sharing of that which they had HEARD, and SEEN, and their hands had handled of the WORD OF LIFE. Those are the things that we declare unto you, so that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the FATHER and with HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.
How rare would such fellowship be today when Christians came together to share with one another the things they had SEEN and HEARD and touched concerning Jesus Christ in their own personal lives. Jesus said, "If two or three are gathered together IN MY NAME, I AM THERE in your midst." Matt 18:20. What a contrast this is to a hundred or a thousand people coming together to follow an order of service and listen to a man preach a sermon. Where is the personal participation of God’s people sharing together their own personal experiences with Christ, and what he has been saying to them in their daily lives. We have lost almost completely the true concept of FELLOWSHIP.
The majority has failed to touch reality in God in their daily lives, so they really have nothing from God to share with anyone else. With such a person it is not possible to FELLOWSHIP. Why is it that when you meet a another Christian, so often they will talk about their job their family or the weather, but the conversation usually ends when you mention Christ? My own mother in the latter years of her life asked me why Christian people who called in for a visit, would talk about anything but spiritual things?
In this THIRD DAY, CHRIST is calling a people UNTO HIMSELF as Jacob prophesied many years ago, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until SHILOH come, AND UNTO HIM SHALL THE GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE BE." Gen 49:10. So here is the first key as we seek for that oneness for which Jesus prayed, that CHRIST must be the center that brings and holds us together, and not doctrines, or formulas.
However there is a far more vital issue involved in the unity of Gods people today, and that is not just having CHRIST as a symbol in the center, but that each one must be IN CHRIST. This is the dynamic that makes us O-N-E. CHRIST is not a PERSON or it would be impossible for us to be IN HIM. CHRIST is the ANOINTING, whose task it is to bring the INVISIBLE GOD (Spirit) into this world and make him visible.
In Jesus Christ the anointing produced the miracles he did, and displayed the likeness and image of God in flesh and blood. Nicodemus said he knew Jesus had come from God, because of the things he could do. Within the anointing is our identity and sense of origin, which breaks the power of the Adamic consciousness linking us to the earth. Every person IN CHRIST has the SAME SPIRIT and therefore the same FATHER, which makes us all brothers and sisters. Here is the dynamic of the UNITY and ONENESS that Jesus sought for us.
We are talking about FAMILY, but not just any family, for this is the FAMILY OF GOD. The BOND that binds us together in God’s family is far greater than any earthly tie for it is SPIRITUAL and cannot be broken. The magnitude of this bond is so great that to enter into it is referred to as a NEW BIRTH. Paul expresses it this way, "As we have borne the IMAGE of the EARTHLY, (through physical birth) we shall also bear the IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY (through a spiritual birth).
I can testify that I have had the privilege of meeting many of my brothers and sisters in Christ even in foreign lands where I could not even speak their language but the spiritual bond made us one. I did not have to inquire what doctrines they believed nor were they concerned about mine, for we were ONE IN CHRIST and nothing was more important. The tragedy is that having been in a variety of Churches and fellowships over many years of ministry I meet so many who have not yet been birthed into that household of God. These can only relate of the earthly plane.
The family of God is still scattered through the religious world, but there is a trumpet call from Zion that is being heard by those whose ears have been opened. Like the silver trumpet call in Israel, it is calling a people OUT UNTO THE LORD. This is a spiritual gathering, and is happening all over the world. For those who respond there is a glorious oneness that is developing, with a love that surpasses all other love, which is testifying to the world that they are of God. BY THIS, (LOVE) Jesus said, all men would know that you are my disciples.
Finally, Jesus prayed that we might be WHERE HE IS to behold his glory. As the light of God fills our hearts and minds, the veil is lifted revealing the MOST HOLY PLACE OF OUR BEING. Seated on the Throne of his glory is the CHRIST OF GOD. These are Paul’s words, "BUT WE ALL WITH UNVEILED FACE BEHOLDING AS IN A MIRROR, THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE BEING CHANGED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY EVEN AS BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD." 2 Cor 3:18.
Beloved we are not waiting for the Day of the Lord to arrive, I tell you IT IS HERE NOW. Open your heart now and hear the voice of the Son of God speaking from within your being, calling you unto HIMSELF.
What does it mean to be called OUT unto the LORD? Do we have to separate ourselves from everyone who does not believe as we do? The answer is NO. In fact there is really nothing you can do to achieve the kind of separation God has in mind. It all happens from within, as LIGHT and understanding illuminates the CHRIST dwelling within. In a mystical way our perceptions change, and our knowledge become aligned with the Holy Spirit is saying. Our outlook on life and the future changes, as we begin to see things from God’s point of view. We no longer fear the future or become depressed with world events, as we walk in the LIGHT of a DAY THAT HAS NO NIGHT.
Paul speaks about the CROSS, by which we are crucified unto the world and the world is crucified unto us. We find we no longer are a part of the thing the Bible calls the WORLD or COSMOS, and so we find ourselves on the outside, and unable to fit in with the religious world we used to be a part of. Notice I never mentioned doctrines as the basis of the separation. IT IS A SPIRITUAL THING and is not caused by our own intellect. Even in families there can be an estrangement, even though the natural family bond is not broken. People say, "You are different, but cannot explain exactly how."
Why was Jesus despised and rejected of men, and a man of sorrows? Because he was ONE WITH THE FATHER. Why did even the disciples not understand some of the things he did and said? For the same reason as many today who have experienced this being CALLED OUT. Paul explained that if any man be IN CHRIST and therefore ONE WITH THE FATHER, they are A NEW CREATION, for the OLD IS PASSING AWAY AND ALL THINGS ARE BECOMING NEW." The NEW CREATION belongs to the realm of HEAVEN or SPIRIT, while the OLD CREATION is at home in the sphere of EARTH.
In the closing chapters of the book of the UNVEILING OF JESUS CHRIST, the Apostle John wrote these words as he saw this CALLED OUT PEOPLE,
"COMING DOWN FROM GOD out of heaven, prepared as a BRIDE adorned for her husband. And a great VOICE out of Heaven (Spirit realm) saying, Behold the tabernacle of God IS WITH MEN, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be WITH THEM and be their GOD. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more DEATH, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be no more pain, for the former things HAVE PASSED AWAY. And he that sat on the THRONE said, BEHOLD I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW." Rev 21:2-5
Beloved, I want you to know we are entering THIS THIRD DAY, which according to Jesus is the DAY OF OUR PERFECTING. We are being adorned as a BRIDE in preparation for the consummation of our UNION with CHRIST. That preparation is separating us from everything else except that which is compatible with our beloved. Even in our marriage service we vow to forsake all others and everything that is not compatible with this union, to cleave unto our beloved.
Jesus said, "IN THAT DAY you will know that I AM IN MY FATHER, AND YOU ARE IN ME, AND I AM IN YOU." Jn 14:20. No more will we worship the Christ of God in some ethereal heaven up in the sky, but his glory will be revealed in HIS HOLY TEMPLE, which is our body. This TREASURE beloved, we have in these earthen vessels that the Excellency of the power MAY BE OF GOD AND NOT OF US. 2 Cor 4:7.
May you be blessed as you allow the WORD to become FLESH!

The Restoration Of Man - Des Walter

2009-07-10T20:11:00.004-05:00

THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT A BOOK,
BUT A LIVING PERSON, JESUS CHRIST,
John 1:1

For many Christians, the Bible is simple a "BOOK" just like any other book, so that if we are capable of reading the language, then we should be able to understand what it is saying. Such an attitude has resulted in much confusion, among God’s people. Paul declares to Timothy, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." In Job 32:8 we find another interesting statement, "But there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding." The word "Inspiration," simply means it is GOD BREATHED.
Everything on this earth that has breath is being sustained, and a correspondence is maintained by God breathing in them. Knowledge and information is passed between God and man also by means of the breath of God. To use another analogy God and man are not "Hard Wired," so that means that there must be a spiritual link that connects us to God. A Radio has the capacity to tune in to the transmitter of a Radio Station and be able to pick up the signal without a hard wire connection between the Radio and the Station. We now have "Mobile Phones" that do not require a hard wire back to some Phone connection, but has the capacity to pick up the signal from towers scattered over the country, just like a wireless.
In the same way the connection between God and man is the ability put within us whereby we can hear his voice and receive knowledge and direction through the SPIRIT. However, we do not function constantly in our life on a spiritual frequency, but often one that is natural. This means that a man can live his whole life without hearing the voice of God even though God dwells in every man. Having laid this foundation let us explore these things further. There were men who discovered that it was possible for a man to actually hear from God and to receive information that he wanted to be made known to mankind. These are the ones that Paul spoke to Timothy about, confirming that what they had written was what God had BREATHED into them, the words and knowledge he wanted recorded.
From this we understand that just as a book on medicine is written in medical language, which is only intelligible to Doctors, so a book that is generated by the SPIRIT can only be understood by those who have the same "Breath" breathed into them. I pick up a book on electronics and I do not understand what the signs and symbols mean, so if I was asked to speak on electronics everybody would end up confused not because I wanted to confuse everyone, but I would not know what I am talking about. Can you not see that the reason for the utter confusion in the religious world is that a man says, I understand English so give me a Bible and I will tell you what it is saying. That man is ignorant of the fact that the book called the Bible DOES NOT SPEAK. It does not say a word. The man is using what we call the mind to interpret the letters and words that are ink on the paper, and that is what he will tell you. Now that is not illegal and nor is it wrong if you want to learn some academic subject, but it is very confusing when you use the Bible that way.
People look at the "CHURCH" in the world today and ask the question, "Which Church or denomination is right?" They are all different having different doctrines and different rules or laws to which you must adhere to be a member. So, many people walk away from the Church without realizing many times they are walking away from God also, for there is a big difference between the Living God of all creation, and the God the traditional Church presents. Here we are discovering the reason for the confusion. In the beginning Man was spoken into existence as God breathed out the words, "Let us make MAN," and there was the man. Breath is required if we are to communicate through words. There are three words in our English language that are translated from the ONE Greek word, "PNEUMA," and those three words are, SPIRIT, WIND, and BREATH.
It is interesting that in the Hebrew language those same three words are also translated from ONE word, "RUACH." These three words define the mystical connection between God and all of his creation, even down to the animals. The elephants began to get agitated and trumpeted one hour before the tsunami hit Asia. How did they know when humans were ignorant of what was happening until they were in the wave of destruction. The birds disappear before the storm arrives, for there is a spiritual connection involved between them and their creator. But so often, man fumbles along in the darkness as if he has no connection with the divine.
"Inspiration," is not some magical power that we can conjure up but is the BREATH OF GOD breathing IN US that results in a divine knowledge or wisdom being made available to us to accomplish something that God needs to do. In the scriptures, we see that God breathed the words into certain men, who were required to record them for all mankind. One day the religious leaders sent out spies to gather information about what Jesus was saying, that would provide evidence that would allow him to be brought to trial for treason. When they returned to their masters, their only comment was, "We never heard another man speak like this man." It is recorded of Jesus that, "His Words are SPIRIT and LIFE." The truth is that the GOD BREATHED word will never return to God, without first having accomplished what that word was sent to do.
John begins his Gospel by saying, "In the beginning was the WORD," which is the Greek word LOGOS and means, a word uttered by a living voice, and embodies a conception or idea. God spoke out of his infinite mind in creation, and that word found expression as MAN who is spirit and in the likeness and image of God. Therefore the "Word of God" is not simply words that are spoken, but a PERSON who is CHRIST. So we can see that when God speaks whatever he says is intended to bring forth an expression of the Christ. John continued by saying, "And the WORD was with God (Face to Face) and the WORD WAS GOD." So after creating the heavens and the earth, the pinnacle of all creation was to be an expression of himself that is called MAN. But that man was at that point, a true spirit form with no visible body. That man was CHRIST the only Son of the living God who would remain in the (Invisible) spirit world until the time appointed when he would be revealed as the Savior of the World.
But as the Son of God, his role was to see what the Father was doing in the spirit realm, and then bring it to pass in the earth realm. He now brings forth a manifestation of himself but because he was to dwell on the earth he needed to have a body that would make him visible. So he forms the body from the dust of the earth complete in every detail, except it had no life. We are told that the Lord God the Man of Gen 1:26 who is Christ, now BREATHED INTO the NOSTRILS of the body formed from the dust of the earth the breath of life which he had received from God. This was ADAM who was placed in the Garden of Eden who was the same spirit as the man in Gen 1:26. This man was put to sleep in which he lost consciousness of his true identity which was established in Creation. He now discovers he is no longer alone but the woman has been taken out of him and presented to him as a separate entity. He recognizes that she is bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh for she was taken out of him, so he calls her "Woman."
The female part of Adam, which is the woman, begins to function on her own, which is not what God created in the beginning when the male and the female functioned together as one. This woman had lost that spiritual connection to Adam, which she had in the beginning so she had no way of tuning into the voice of God. The woman who now represents the SOUL is separated from Adam who represents the spirit, and so she has lost her connection with the spirit. It was at this point that another voice was raised in her, that came from within but it was the voice of the snake, which represents the CARNAL MIND. Of course the Garden of Eden is an allegory and not literal so it enables us to understand how man functions as a "Living Soul." The "Snake" we are told is more subtle than all the beasts of the field, and represents the natural or Carnal MIND. This is what has kept mankind in darkness and under a hypnotic spell for so long. God had told Adam that he could eat of all the trees in the Garden except the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day you eat thereof you will surely die.
There had been no death in the Garden so Adam had no previous knowledge of it, but the snake saw its opportunity to possess Adam through the woman and thus to be able to produce his own heritage. But Eve is functioning alone with no input from the Spirit, so the snake threw doubt on what God had said, asking the question, "Did God say you shall not eat of every tree in the Garden?" Eve exercises her natural mind to challenge the assumption of the snake, being far more subtle than she is, so the carnal mind becomes the one that wins the argument. Eve convinced herself that she would not die if she ate the fruit of the forbidden tree; in fact she believed she would be as God. So she ate of the fruit and took it to Adam to share with him.
Adam had the ability to make a choice being under no pressure to eat the fruit, for he never spoke to the snake so it had no influence over him. But because he had the foreknowledge of God he realized what Eve had done, therefore it was necessary for him to partake of the fruit with her, or there could be no redemption for anyone. Therefore he ate the fruit with his eyes wide open knowing exactly what it would cost him, but he did it willingly to become ONE with you and me. We recognize that Christ is that Spirit that dwells in every man, so we all have the breath of God breathing in us, yet for so many there is no consciousness of any divine activity within them, for they have no spiritual awareness.
In Job 32:8 he reminds us that "Wisdom" is an expression of the Christ dwelling within us, so he says, "There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. Here we are told that the communication between God and man is through the SPIRIT and not through the natural mind. Listen to Job again, "Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knows not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, it is not in me: and the sea saith, it is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold; neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire the gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it; neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?
There are really two questions here; the first is WHERE is the source of wisdom, and secondly how does it get from its source to find expression in me? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living (Souls), and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, we have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God has ordered its pathway and he knows where it is stored. For he surveys everything concerning MAN from the END to the very beginning, and establishes it.
Let us answer the two questions posed here by Job regarding wisdom, the first being the source of wisdom. It may come as a shock to many people and perhaps especially those who present themselves as ministries to God’s people that Wisdom is not to be found in the natural man. Job spoke about the "SPIRIT" that is in man, but he declares that it is the "Breath of the Almighty" that gives them understanding. Here is another translation, Job 32:8 "But there is a spirit in mortals; and the inspiration of the Almighty is that which teaches." This is more accurate and helps us to understand more clearly what Father is saying to us. God breathing his word into us is not simply dropping words of wisdom on us, but it must be taught to us. So wisdom comes from God through the "Word" imparted by the spirit.
We come to the conclusion that apart from God man is no better than the brute beasts of the field. Some of the heinous crimes perpetrated by man in the world today have so often brought forth the response that such a person "Is an animal." The second question is probably more important than the first, for it concerns the way in which the Wisdom of God is delivered to man. Job tells us that the communication of wisdom is through the spirit in us receiving understanding. If we are to hear what the spirit is saying to us here, we must go back to the Garden of Eden, for it is here that we find the answers that have eluded us for so long. In Gen 2:21 we read that the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept. In so many cases I believe Adam is still sleeping being ignorant of his true identity and the knowledge of God. Jesus said concerning Lazarus "He is asleep."
So we can see that the separation of the soul and spirit has brought about a dynamic change to the way we function as a person. Man had now become a LIVING SOUL expressed as that woman that Adam called EVE functioning as a separate entity from Adam, the spirit. Since that time man had no divine connection to the spirit and therefore he has lost the inspiration of the almighty that he should have had, giving him wisdom and direction in his life.
Now we need to hear the truth concerning these things or we will remain in the sleep state and walk in the darkness of ignorance. Gen 1-3, represent an allegory, which does not mean that we can treat them as a fairy tale with no truth. But it means that we cannot read these chapters and interpret them as being LITERAL. An allegory is writing in which abstract ideas are personified, conveying a different meaning from that which is expressed, so that it becomes a continuing metaphor. First of all let us be clear that it was not possible to separate the FEMALE from the MALE, because CHRIST is spirit and spirit cannot be divided, for that is impossible, you cannot have half a spirit for there is no such thing.
So we must look at the "Allegory" to listen to what God is saying to us here. In the allegory Adam represents SPIRIT and the "Female" represents the SOUL, which are separated the one from the other to begin to function independently. But in the beginning the Spirit and the Soul functioned together, with the SOUL having the womb through which MAN was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. However, the true "SEED" of the woman or the SOUL is in the spirit, therefore she cannot reproduce according to the divine will but can only reproduce the SEED of the SERPENT. The reason for this is that the Serpent’s "SEED" was planted in the "MIND" of the Soul representing EVE in the Garden of Eden. This happened when Eve lost the argument with the snake and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This means that while we believe that we were separated from Adam (Spirit) in the Garden of Eden, we will have a sense of separation from God in our present lives.
This is evident when we speak of God up in the sky in some ethereal heaven, or praying to God that is out side of ourselves. The "Soul" of man consists of three main aspects and they are, Mind, Emotions and the Will. Let us consider the mind, because the other two, the Emotions and the Will receive their activation from the Mind. The Soul of man is a part of the SPIRIT, for it is not physical, and is invisible for no one has seen their Soul. However, the function of the soul is directed by one of three laws according to the scripture and this will determine how we live our lives. Paul speaks of one of those laws in Romans 7:22, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man," and the Inward Man is Christ. The Psalmist says in, Psalm 37:23, "The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way." This is true when a man is governed BY THE LAW OF THE LORD THROUGH HIS CHRIST MIND.
The Mind of MAN was created by God in the beginning so that he would be, "In the likeness and Image of God." For God to be able to create all things even the Atoms and the millions of living creatures as well as the heavens and the earth, he must have an INFINITE MIND, therefore man was designed with the same capacity. But when the WOMAN (Soul) began to explore a knowledge system that had nothing to do with God, the carnal mind took control of her. From that very moment the mind of the woman became "Carnal" or "Natural" and no longer spiritual, because it was based upon a pseudo knowledge system based upon the five natural senses of the soul, Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell and Taste that are not based upon TRUTH. It is through this counterfeit knowledge that man declares his own reality.
At the end of Creation God inspected all that he had created and pronounced it VERY GOOD, for there was no such thing as evil. Once you introduce evil into your understanding you have violated truth. The words "Good and Evil" are not absolute terms for whenever you use the adjective "GOOD" it is a comparison term, and it poses the question, "Good compared to what?" If I say, "That was a "GOOD" cup of tea, I am saying it was good by comparison with other cups of tea I have had. We need to remember that the Mind of man is not "Robotic" with abilities that would automatically function, or we would all become an "Einstein." Some have been gifted with the knowledge of Music and so became great composers, while others were gifted in different ways bringing forth wonderful inventions that enable mankind to do extraordinary things.
The Apostle also speaks of a different mind, Romans 8:7 because the carnal Mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." This is the same "Mind" of man but Paul refers to it now as being CARNAL. Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, (that is) I have the nature of flesh that is subject to sin. This is the same as ADAM declaring to God, "I AM NAKED." I have the nature of FLESH because my mind is functioning under the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH, which is the nature of the unregenerate man. Adam began life in the Garden of Eden with his mind being governed by the Law of God as it was given to man in the beginning. But when the SOUL of man was separated from him and became a separate entity as the WOMAN, the mind no longer came under the direction of the spirit but declared its own reality, for it was separated from Adam the spirit.
We are then told that Eve the Soul began to function on her own and the Mind that was originally under the control of the Spirit, came in contact with the serpent. Eve had never had anything to do with the serpent before this, because it was not some slithering snake talking to Eve, but it was simply her "Mind" that was separated from the SPIRIT OF TRUTH, asserting its own natural knowledge as reality. This "Mind" was no longer controlled by the Spirit, but is now under the control of the woman, functioning independently from Adam who had been united to her in creation. Another "LAW" had now taken control of the mind of Eve because the Law of the Spirit of life in Adam was now being over-ruled by the law of the flesh to which she had not submitted. But it did not happen without a battle for the Law of the Spirit had been well planted and had never been questioned until this moment.
The battle for supremacy was in fact the battle between the divine authority that had been in control of her life up to this point, and a new mental energy that was emerging as Eve ponders her unquestioned allegiance to God under which she had previously lived. It all had to do with authority and who would control the future of this woman that Adam called Eve. The snake in the allegory set out in the scriptures personifies this authority, but is actually the will of the WOMAN opposing the WILL OF GOD. We would naturally consider that God was far stronger than the Woman so there could be no doubt what the outcome would be, but the woman won and declared that she would NOT DIE if she ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Eve relied on the carnal mind instead of God, declaring "MY WILL instead of God’s will."
Never forget the warning given to Adam, when he was told that, "The "Serpent" was more subtle above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, 'Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?" The challenge here was to Eve asking her, "Do you really believe God?" For her to deny that God had told them that they could eat the fruit of all the trees of the Garden would have been too much, but that was not the question, for her memory would have saved her. BUT do you really believe that you will die if you eat that fruit.? This required her to explore the whole activity of the mind without any input from spirit, and the snake knew this.
In the Allegory the snake speaks of a superior WISDOM that is why it is the symbol of the Medical Fraternity mounted on a Pole. So here is our introduction to the "VOICE" of the Snake. This is no ordinary snake that has been divinely gifted to be able to speak, but let me present to you the SATAN of the Bible, who is declared to be the ACCUSER OF THE BRETHEREN, who accuses us day and night before God. Beloved when the Snake deceived Eve it deceived all of mankind who would be BORN OF THAT WOMAN and that includes everyone. The voice of the snake is the voice of the natural or carnal mind that challenged God’s authority in Eden for control of the MIND that is the authority centre for the whole being of man.
Now we are beginning to see how the mind has control over what we think and what we do. Here is Paul’s experience in Rom 7:18-23, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I really desire I do not do, but the evil, which I do not want to do, that is what I do. Now if I do that which I really do not want to do, it is no more the "I" of my true identity that does it, but sin (a controlling force in my mind) that dwells in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present and opposes me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."
This helps us to get an insight into the mind of the man that has been impregnated by the serpent in Gen 3, and its effect has not changed to this day. The subtlety of the snake lies in the fact that we do not have any consciousness of its activity, for to us our mind appears to function normally. Our sense of loneliness, or lack of the consciousness of God’s presence we put down to our circumstances, or lack of knowledge, so we seek for answers, which many times are irrelevant. There is a LAW operating in the carnal mind of mankind today, including the Christians, which declares that you will not obey the will of God for you are, perhaps unknowingly being governed by the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH. If you understood this and began to rebel against it then of course you would set about to cancel it out, but for most Christians they do not consider their life to be unusual or in any way even sinful. That is the subtlety of the Snake.
Paul tells us in Romans 8:5 "For they that are after the flesh are of the same mind and agree with the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit live in harmony with the things of the Spirit. For to function out of a carnal mind will result in death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is an enemy of God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be changed. So then they that are functioning out of the carnal mind cannot under any circumstances please God." Now we realize that the carnal mind IS DEATH, it is a poison for which there is no antidote. The "Infection" that has put the poison into the mind of man, is a "Knowledge System" that challenges everything concerning TRUTH." Remember what God said to Adam in the Garden of Eden, "The day you eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, IN THAT DAY YOU WILL D-I-E."
It is so remarkable to me that many Christians today have embraced the concept of good and evil without considering that this has robbed mankind of experiencing the Life we received in creation. Good and evil constitutes another life that does not flow from God but is the life lived by a MORTAL HUMAN BEING. But we have been so used to living in the wilderness that many Christians cannot even imagine what Jesus was talking about when he said, "I have come that you might have LIFE and have it in abundance."
When Jesus Christ came preaching that the Kingdom of God is IN YOU, it hardly raised a stir among the people and it is not very different today. The "Good News of the Gospel" is that we have never been excluded from the presence of God, nor from his bountiful love and mercy, but calls upon mankind to focus on another life that has been available for 2000 years. This Life is "ETERNAL" and has its source and continuous flow from God, and was demonstrated for everyone to see, by Jesus Christ during his life here on earth.
The Gospel contains a clear invitation to return from the wilderness of our experience to the care and provision of our heavenly Father. There will never be a repeat of what happened in the Garden of Eden, for we are no longer coming to Mount Sinai reminding us of our past failure, but to Mount ZION the CITY of our GOD.
A New Heavens and Earth.
"Father, open the eyes of your people that they might SEE and understand that the NEW HEAVENS and the NEW EARTH are a reality for us today."
John, who was a prisoner of Rome on the Island of Patmos, but who lived as a free man in another world, which he saw in a vision, recorded it for us so that we could enter into that same reality. There could never be a release from the slavery of this world of good and evil, until we have been released from its power. We will put in order the issues that must be dealt with before we can be free to enter into the New Heaven and Earth. There is no simple transfer from darkness into light. The darkness itself must be exposed and its power must be seen to be destroyed. There are three basic issues that we will deal with in this study, in order to understand how we can be released from the bondages that presently prevent us from walking into the liberty and freedom of the Sons of God.
The first one is the raising up of the KING who is represented as the birthing of the "Man-Child" by a people on the earth. The next one has to do with the destruction of the "Beast" that rises out of the sea of humanity. Finally, we need to see that "Babylon" which has imprisoned so many, who has tried to walk with God, is finally destroyed and its power removed never to rise again. In all these issues we are not looking at a calendar and certain consecutive dates in the future, but we must recognize all the works of God were finished FROM THE BEGINNING. It is important to note that all of the opposing forces to our walk and development in God are WITHIN US and not external to us.
Everything that could hold you bound in any way, and able to restrict your growth and development in Christ has already been dealt with. To bring the victory into reality in your own personal life only requires that you "BELIEVE" (that is to have FAITH) that it is already accomplished at the CROSS when Jesus said, "IT, (That is everything that has sought to change or destroy the will and purpose of God on this earth from the "Snake" in the Garden of Eden to DEATH ITSELF) IS FINISHED." This word "Finished" literally means to perform the last act, which completes a process, to accomplish the perfect will of God.
The beginning of our personal release from mortality to immortality begins with the birthing of the man-child in Rev 12. The first command given to Adam was to be fruitful and fill the earth. This he did in Gen 2:7 when he brought forth a manifestation of himself who would be the SEED in all of mankind. The opposition to God on the earth has always been focused on the destruction of that Seed. Now move the clock forward about 4000 years and a "Virgin" in Israel brings forth a seed which is not the "Seed of the Serpent," but the "Seed of God." The divine messenger told Mary, " And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
So we can see that God has fulfilled every requirement to set us free and to overcome all opposition to our walking as Christ in this world. The KING was born 2000 years ago and, "Of his Kingdom there shall be NO END." Christians celebrate Christmas and hold special services to commemorate the birth of Christ, but that event has little or nothing to do with them personally. But this was the birthing of the Christ IN EVERY MAN, for we are ALL IN CHRIST according to Eph 2:10, having been created in him. Herod the King tried to kill him at the time of his birth, just as Pharaoh tried to KILL MOSES who was the deliverer of Israel from Slavery. Religion has majored on the word "SAVIOR" of the world, but this word is not used in Matthew or Mark because in the whole of the Old Testament the concept was on the DELIVERER.
The revelation of God from Genesis is that "God is the deliverer of his people" and it is that concept on which, virtually the whole Old Testament is based as the Hebrews did not seem to have felt the need of a title for God that would sum up this "Saving" aspect of His relation to man. When Jesus began his ministry he did not elevate the concept of SAVIOR, but the KING and the Kingdom of God. This carried on from the "Deliverer" concept of the Old Testament. Israel was 400 years in Egypt many of which were spent in slavery. Their cry that ascended to the Lord was not to be "Saved" but to be SET FREE, so that looked for a DELIVERER. The Passover has been wrongly considered as the sacrificial Lamb of God dying to "SAVE" God’s people. Instead, Passover was the symbol of a slain LAMB that would lead Israel out of the greatest military nation on the earth at that time. Israel never had a gun or a sword but calmly walked out of Egypt with the wealth of the nation, and not even a dog could bark against them. The mighty army of Egypt that followed them perished in the Red Sea without a shot being fired. Such is our deliverer.
Psalm 2 sets the world stage in this battle when it says, "Why do the nations assemble together with commotion (uproar and confusion of voices), and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme." This must have included Pharaoh who heard about the birth of a deliverer for Israel, and ordered the death of every male child, but not only was Moses born but he survived and was raised as the son of Pharaoh in the palace. Finally he fulfilled his destiny by delivering Israel from servitude under Pharaoh, and crushed the power of Egypt’s army.
Likewise when Jesus was born Herod the King at that time tried to find out where he was to be born so he could destroy him, but he also failed just as did Pharaoh. Jesus Christ grew up in obscurity as far as the world was concerned for he could have been mistaken for any man, but known to God’s people. The Psalmist says in Psalm 2:4, "He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord has them in derision and in supreme contempt he mocks them…… Yet I have anointed and installed MY KING (firmly) on my holy hill of Zion." I will declare the decree of the Lord. He said to me, you are my Son, and today (I declare) I have begotten you." (Amp)
Yes, that prophecy applies to Jesus Christ, but also to every one who has HEARD THAT VOICE whoever they are, all over the world. There will be many red faces among those who today consider they are the select of the elect and the ones, who will become the "Man-Child," when that "one" (Many membered body) is revealed to the world as CHRIST. If that Man-Child were to be born in a certain place or through a certain people, it may be destroyed, but it is being birthed IN A PEOPLE in the silence and obscurity of the spirit.
John tells us, that there is something that is appearing in the realm of Spirit, and not in the Middle East, and it has to do with a WOMAN. This woman began her so called existence in the Garden of Eden when the Lord God was said to have put Adam to sleep and removed the female part of his being. This inevitably was the intention of the serpent to frustrate the purposes of God in producing the man-child. Although in creation that Woman was a part of Adam who represents the Spirit, yet in her state of separation she lacked the divine seed to bring forth after the spirit. This woman represents all of mankind for she became the "Mother of all living." The first MAN came out of God, but since that time every other man has come out of that woman. The first man she gave birth to was a murderer and his name was CAIN.
When God spoke to Adam about being "Fruitful," he was not speaking simply about the union of an egg and a sperm as in natural childbirth, but the bringing to birth of man’s true identity, which is Christ. This was revealed in prophecy by the Prophet Isaiah, "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son and shall call his name Immanuel which is God with us." Isa 7:14. Then in Isa 9:6, after King Ahaz had brought Israel into a time of darkness, the hope of salvation was promised and was fulfilled ultimately after 4000 years of human history, just as the Prophet Isaiah said it would be. In fact the destiny of all mankind including Israel was revealed through another woman who was a virgin who birthed the deliverer.
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace." However, this child that was born represented a people who would fill the earth all having the same seed of divine destiny within themselves. This is the one that Peter identified in Matt 16:16 as "The CHRIST the Son of the Living God." In this, God was fulfilling his own desire when he said, "For you are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2Cor 6:16.
The prophecy of Isaiah had now been fulfilled and God had taken up residence on the earth walking as man. He is "EMMANUEL" God with us, and this was confirmed by his ministry for he told the people that the Kingdom of God was within them as a present experience, and it was not some event that would come thousands of years later. Living in that Kingdom today involves the Government of our life resting upon his shoulder, and to us he becomes the Wonderful counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. No wonder the Psalmist declared, Mercy and Truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Psalm 85:10.
But we must go on, for there is yet to be a manifestation of the Christ that will flow forth from a people on this earth not as a Babe born in a manger any longer but this will be the birthing of the MAN CHILD, the King of Glory with divine power to RULE THE NATIONS. His birth in Bethlehem was as Savior and Redeemer, despised and rejected of men and a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. However, they rejected and crucified him and buried him in a rock tomb, thinking that was the end of him. BUT on the third day the tomb burst open to reveal the power of death had been forever broken, and the NEW CREATION MAN revealed himself in all his glory to those with eyes to see. The "Nations that the Christ is to rule over are not simply the present nations of the world, but are the Nations Israel had to conquer when they took up residence in the Land of Canaan. They are the "Nations" of "Ites" who had settled in to the Promised Land but had no right to be there. God said to Israel "YOU cast them out for I have given the land TO YOU." God acted on their behalf as the DELIVERER.
The cross continues to destroy the power of death for all those who dare to believe we were created immortal, born to rule and reign victorious over sin and death IN THIS WORLD. The resurrection is the end of our false identity as a Mortal Human Being, and the end of the power of DEATH, as the transformation of our MIND destroys the power of the serpent’s deception, being replaced by the MIND OF CHRIST. Now we can say, "For me to live IS CHRIST expressing himself through me? If you have seen me in reality you have seen my Father, for "I" and my Father ARE no longer separate entities but we are O-N-E."
Now we have a people all of whom are walking in the reality of their true identity with Christ dwelling IN THEM, but this is not the end of the story, for so many Christians declare that Christ dwells in them, but there is no evidence for others to see. It is so easy to parrot the statements above without any reality attached to them. It is the Apostle Paul who tells us that our ministry is to birth this Christ bringing him into manifestation in our lives. Not by seeking to imitate Jesus Christ as so many Christians do for that is a waste of time. We must do what Mary did and birth the Christ, but not as a physical experience, but spiritually. Paul said to the Galatian Christians, "My little Children for whom I am suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely formed within you." James 4:19. (Amp)
The "Woman" in the Garden of Eden is what all of mankind has become, "A Living Soul," functioning out of her soul’s faculties, which include the Mind, the Emotions and the Will. The Living soul can never become CHRIST, for the soul functions out of MORTAL LIFE, and so that life has to die before the Christ Life can function instead. You can only LIVE ONE LIFE AT A TIME, either Mortal life or Eternal life, but never can the two function together. This is the whole purpose of the CROSS-, to surrender our mortal life and lay it down on the cross. This has nothing to do with the cemetery for you were IN CHRIST when he died on the cross, so HIS DEATH was YOUR DEATH, which means that 2000 years ago YOU died to your human identity to take up your true identity as the one who walked out of the tomb on the third day. He did not die INSTEAD of you, but he died AS YOU.
Jesus declared that he had power to lay down his life and he had power to take it up again, and we also have the power to do the same. BUT the life he lay down was not the life he took up in resurrection. His body was changed from mortal flesh and blood as he lived on the earth, to an immortal body that nothing on this earth could touch such as sickness, pain or death, he could walk through the walls and appear and disappear, and be here and then appear somewhere else. "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." Rom 8:21. "Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”? Phil 3:21.
Now we come to the time of the true manifestation of that Christ that is being birthed in us today, in Rev 12. John saw this day when in the spirit realm there appeared a SIGN or a SYMBOL of a spiritual reality. It was a WOMAN, clothed with the SUN and with the MOON under her feet, and with a crown or tiara of 12 Stars upon her head. What a picture of the BODY OF CHRIST the WOMAN that was taken out of the man in the garden of Eden, that was deceived by the snake and brought mankind into a wilderness. But NOW there has been deliverance and a transformation, she is clothed in LIGHT, just as Adam was in the Garden before Eve took the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. She has the crown of a KING on her head and the Pseudo reflected light of the moon that she had walked in for so long is now under her feet.
There is another ominous sign or symbol that was seen in this vision and this was a Red (color of fire) Dragon with seven heads and ten horns, which are symbols of power and authority. This "Dragon" is nothing but the serpent from the Garden of Eden pretending now to be a dragon. It represents Satan who accuses the brethren day and night and is the enemy of God. This "Dragon" is on a mission just as Pharaoh tried to kill Israel’s deliverer by killing all the male children, and Just as Herod tried to kill the baby Jesus who was said to be King of the Jews. Now the dragon remains before the Woman who is about to deliver the MAN-CHILD who is to rule the nations.
However, the woman who was considered to be separated from Adam, now has been restored to her rightful place IN CHRIST making it possible for the MAN–CHILD to be brought forth. All duality has now gone, as the TWO shall be one, for the man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife and the two shall be one. As soon as the Man-Child was delivered it was immediately caught up into the realm of spirit to God and to the Throne, out of the reach of the dragon, and immediately to his position of power and authority. In this birthing Christ and his Church which is his Body, have become ONE in the Lord God Almighty who will rule as a shepherd over the nations. This brings a change to the earth as God’s need for the opposition is drawing to a close. This event signals a great change that is taking place to the earth, for the woman or the Body of Christ is divinely preserved at this time.
The age-old serpent and dragon was cast down and was relegated to the dust of the earth. But there was also a war that broke out in the heavens of man’s being. The spiritual part of man needed adjusting for the serpent had infected and polluted the mind in the Garden of Eden so there was a skirmish as the snake tried to defend his place in the heavens of mankind. But with the help of Michael the Arch Angel whose name means, "Who is LIKE GOD?" For man was created in the likeness and image of God, so they overcame the serpent by the blood (LIFE) of the Lamb and by the testimony of their lips, because they did not love their lives but willingly laid then down in exchange for life everlasting.
The Beast Rising out of the Sea
In this study we are not going into the details of these visions, which closely relate to the visions of Daniel and their application to the Roman Empire and the emperors themselves. John begins in Rev 13:1 stating that he stopped as he stood upon the Sand of the sea. This refers to a great multitude just as the Lord promised Abraham, in Gen 22:17, "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." There is a distinction between the "SEED of Abraham," which would be as the STARS of heaven, and the natural seed, which would be as the sand, which is upon the seashore. One was a heavenly seed and the other was natural.
In Rev 12. John had been is looking at the scene from a heavenly perspective, but now he stops to check out the scene from the earthly viewpoint. A "BEAST" that has all the traits of a wild animal, rises up out of the sea of humanity and this represents MAN living under the power of the carnal mind. This runs parallel with Daniel’s vision only he speaks of four beasts, while here there is only ONE Beast, but it has the characteristics of all four that Daniel saw. We need to note that none of these "Beasts" have the power to function on their own, and so they receive their power, position and authority from the "Dragon." So the "Man-Beast" is dependent upon the dragon for its ability to function, and so

However, it becomes evident that this "beast" is simply MAN functioning under the power of Satan or the carnal mind. When ever man believes he is separated from God all that is left is nothing more than the animal. That man is capable of giving way to the animal instinct and can function accordingly.
The "Beast" has ten heads alluding to the fullness of human power and authority, as ten is the number of testing as far as man is concerned. Then the "Beast" also has ten "Crowns" designating his position and his authority. Some of the crimes today against humanity bear all the hallmarks of animalism, and it is difficult at times to understand how any man could do such things.
The world or the Earth wondered after the "Beast" as it suffered a set back, in that one of its "Heads"heads was killed but it was able to recover. We will not go into the historical side of this for that is not our concern in this study. Remember this "Beast" is not physical or material, for this whole book is written in Signs and Symbols.
The beast has grown and developed over the years under the Nazi Regime when millions of Jews were sent to their death in gas chambers and other horrible means. Weapons of mass destruction now do not just kill a few people but whole cities are wiped out with one atomic bomb. However, the work of the dragon today consists of other things besides war that enslave mankind and rob them of Peace, Love and even Life itself, by filling their minds with lies that hide or destroy the Truth. How many people wrongly believe that money will bring health and happiness. Others seek after pleasure as the pathway to satisfaction in Life. These and many other popular suggestions are all dead ends that simply put people on a treadmill that absorbs their time and energy but returns very little. These have lost their way and cannot find the answers to life that they are seeking. But Jesus Christ did declare, "Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world (the COSMOS)." So we can have confidence that this "dragon" is not like a "loose Cannon" on the earth, but it has been overcome experientially by the Lord himself proving that it need not be feared.
God has not abandoned man on the earth but has provided an answer to the power of the dragon. One day, a man named Saul who worked for the religious authority of his day, carried in his pocket papers giving him the right to take any who followed the Nazarene, and kill them. Filled with such evil intent and authority he is traveling towards Damascus, with his team of blood-thirsty men when all of a sudden a LIGHT FROM HEAVEN brought him to the ground, and he heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Acts 9. Regardless of the papers he had, that gave him authority from the State Saul replies, "Who are you LORD (Master and Owner)?" He recognized he had made contact with a higher authority than the Roman Empire. And the voice replied, "I AM JESUS whom you are persecuting." Saul’s response indicated the change the voice made to him, for he said, "What do you desire me to do?" he was told to go into the city and wait for further orders.
Such is the ease with which God deals with the "Beast" that controls the mind of so many. The mighty Saul, who once was feared by every Christian, now becomes as meek as a lamb in submission to the authority of the King, Jesus Christ. For him the "Beast" has been stripped of its authority bringing about a radical change in his life and behavior. In the Garden of Eden the serpent that is more subtle than any other "Beast" of the field infiltrated the MIND of the Woman destroying its integrity. The Apostle Paul speaks of the CARNAL or Natural mind as the "Mind" that now functions in mankind, until a change is brought about through a renewing by the Spirit of God. The natural "Mind" has no input from God so it cannot know the things that are of God, because they can only be spiritually discerned.
This carnal mind is where the "Beast" sets up his head quarters in man, from which he controls those who do not establish a connection with God and tap into his wisdom. The Apostle John tells us in Rev.13:8, "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship the "Beast", whose names are not written in the "BOOK OF THE LIFE OF THE LAMB." Here we see the contrast between the BEAST and the LAMB for the Beast functions through raw power and brute strength, whereas the LAMB has no natural strength or defense mechanism at all and yet the LAMB WINS EVERY TIME. Why is that true, because the LAMB functions under the authority of the Shepherd that is CHRIST, the KING of the WHOLE EARTH?
I once heard a man say, "An army of 100 sheep under the control of a LION, will always be able to destroy an army of 100 lions under the control of a SHEEP, and that is so true. The Lamb upon the Throne of God is the King of all KINGS, and the LORD of all LORDS. Beloved it is the Lamb that is upon the throne in the Kingdom of our God. So in Rev 14 we find the LAMB who is the first MAN created in Gen 1:26-27, but now he is standing with 144000 whose minds are free from Satanic infiltration and so function as the MIND of the Father. This number is symbolic being twelve which is the number of divine Government multiplied by 12. They are singing a song that only the redeemed from the earth could sing.
These are not defiled by women or the LIVING SOULS, so they were not impregnated with the seed of the Serpent from the Garden, so their minds remained unaffected. These are the FIRST FRUITS of a harvest who are the product of the divine seed, which is CHRIST. This seed is growing day by day in number and will eventually fill the earth and the "Beast" will disappear.
Babylon is fallen
The third impediment to the fulfillment of our spiritual destiny is represented by Babylon which is the Name of a City that had its beginning in antiquity. If we go back to Gen. 10:8 we come to Cush who was the son of Ham, and he gives birth to a son called "NIMROD" which means, "Rebellion." Nimrod was Noah’s Great Grandson and the Bible records that he was a "Mighty Hunter." This man whose name means rebellion now is called a "Mighty Hunter or, "One who seizes and takes control." It is recorded that he established an empire in the area of Babylon and Assyria where he built a walled city, in which he offered protection to those who would come under his authority. In this brief history we can see that Babylon was established on the basis of Rebellion against God, and the enslavement of people to the same cause.
John was shown the destruction of Babylon that is referred to in Rev 17, under the title of the "GREAT WHORE." In keeping with the whole book we need to remember that the writer is using signs and symbols so it is not the literal city of Babylon that is in view here. This "WOMAN" is presented as a PROSTITUTE who has control over a large portion of humanity, who also is encouraged to function as prostitutes. This "Woman" is accused of having committed fornication with the "KINGS of the Earth" causing them to be intoxicated by her subtle advances. These "Kings" are not part of any human royalty, but these are the "Children of the KING of the whole EARTH." So this "Woman" is now facing the Wrath of God, for his children who are citizens of the Kingdom of God have become involved, and the King’s reputation is being brought into disrepute.
In Rev.16:16, God steps in and brings together the opposing forces at ARMAGEDDON the hill or city of Megiddo is in the valley of Esdraelon, and by the waters of the Kishon River. We are told in Jud 5:19 that it was at this place where Israel gained a decisive victory over Sisera, the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor. Celebrated in Deborah's song. See also Re 20:8ff. and Eze 39:2,4.
It says every ISLAND fled away, but the Greek word used here is "Naus" that relates to a very big ship which indicates that Babylon was the headquarters of a great commerce. Then the Mountains are mentioned, speaking of Babylon’s elevated authority in the world. Both of these aspects of Babylon, it seems were destroyed in the Judgment of God. But then John speaks about a great HAIL STORM with the hail weighing as much as 45kg that caused such devastation. However in keeping with John’s direction that this is not literal but symbolic let us consider what the hail could represent.
Let us look at Isa 28:17-18, "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place, or Affliction will discover their vain confidence, which they kept secret to themselves." Here we can see that the "HAIL" is designed to remove the hiding place for LIES. A LIE cannot live in the open under scrutiny, but it must conceal itself and so to bring Babylon down God sends the hail to deal with the LIES by which people have been deceived so that they will not believe the Truth. Babylon has presented God as a monster who judges everything we do and will destroy everyone who fails to do what the religious world says they must do. These are the lies that prevent people from loving God, for you cannot love someone who would destroy you.
So the "Hail" is today simply the TRUTH that is marching triumphantly through the world destroying the lies the Religious word has spread, telling the world the Judgment is over at Calvary and now there is no more condemnation. All that DIED IN ADAM are MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Man Is A Free Moral Agent - J Preston Eby

2009-05-16T19:44:00.003-05:00

Just What Do You Mean ... MAN IS A FREE MORAL AGENT!

ONCE I read a story about the so-called "free will of man," and it goes something like this. A certain infidel was reported to have raised his hand and dared God, if there be a God, to bring it down. Now the case was such, the story goes, that the infidel was bald, and there was a fly buzzing around which at that very moment landed on this bald pate and tickled it, and without hesitation down came the hand and swatted the fly. Thus God had answered the fool according to his folly, not by a mighty act of omnipotence, but by the seemingly insignificant weakness of a little fly. Now, this infidel's public verbal defiance of God was prompted by a desire for fame and notoriety; this he inherited from his human nature. Alone on an island in the middle of the ocean he would never have done such a thing. Next, his baldness was not an act of his own will, for man does not will to be bald, with the top of his head exposed to the elements. Then we see how God used this man's will against itself. He willed to hold up his hand, but the tickle of the fly was far more momentous in his life than the existence of God, and so while he willed to hold up his hand, he also willed to swat the fly, and God, setting man's own will against itself, defeated itself. How true is the word, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23). You have probably heard it said throughout all of your life, that MAN IS A FREE MORAL AGENT. Let me call attention to the fact that the phrase "free moral agent" is not a Scriptural one, any more than the term "rapture" is Scriptural. Free moral agency is simply a theological expression, man-manufactured for his own convenience, and like most human inventions, and extra-biblical terminology, is not the truth at all. But briefly let us examine these three words: free moral agent.
1. An AGENT is an actor, one who is able to act or perform.
2. A FREE agent is one who can act as he pleases without any restraint of any kind placed upon him.
3. A free MORAL agent is one who is free to act as he pleases and without any restraint on all moral issues, i.e. questions involving the qualities of right and wrong.
I do not believe that the Bible anywhere teaches that man is a free moral agent. That teaching is a figment of the imagination of the harlot church system. In fact, the Bible teaches the exact opposite. It tells us, "It is NOT of him that WILLS or of him that runs, but of GOD that shows mercy" (Rom. 9:16). The biggest lie that ever was told in human language is that all men are born free moral agents. They are not born free. Be honest! Ask, Is that child free who is born in the slums; the child of a harlot and a whoremonger; a child without a name, who grows up with the brand of shame upon his brow from the beginning; who grows up amidst vice, and never knows virtue until it is steeped in vice? Is such a child a FREE MORAL AGENT, free to act intelligently, as he chooses, upon all moral questions? Is that child free who grows up amidst falsehood, and never knows what truth is until it is steeped in lies; that never knows what honesty is until it is steeped in crime? Is that child born free? Is that child free who is born in a communist land and in a godless home; who is told by its government and taught by its teachers that there is no God in heaven, and never knows even a verse of Scripture until it is steeped in unbelief and infidelity? Is that child born free? Is he a free moral agent? It is a sham, a delusion, and a snare to say it. It is not true. All are not born into this world as free moral agents. The truth is much stronger than that, for the fact is, that NONE are free moral agents!
The preachers claim that when God made man in the first place, He endowed him with freedom of will, the ability to accept God's love or reject it, to keep God's laws or break them, and that the decision here and now is a final choice. But our Lord says, "No man can come unto Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him" (Jn. 6:44). Let us think a moment of just how free man is, how far his freedom reaches. A little observation and study will show that man's freedom has very narrow limits. One is able to wish or desire or purpose as he pleases, but when he comes to carry out his wish or desire or purpose, he finds that he faces a problem. One is not free in the physical realm. Just let him try to jump off the Earth and land on Mars, for example. One is not free in the social realm. Not every man can marry the woman he wishes. One is not free in the economic realm. Not every person who dreams of being a millionaire can become one, no matter how hard he tries. One is not free in the moral and spiritual realm. He may desire with all his being to rid the world of drunkenness and vice, of greed and hate and war, but who has yet accomplished that? Many are not able to free even themselves from a little weed called tobacco!
Life neither begins or ends by choice and free will. Consider the matter of your own physical birth. What did you have to do with it, my friend? May I remind you that you were not consulted in the matter; you were absolutely passive in it; you had nothing whatsoever to do with it. You did not have a choice as to where or when you would be born. You had no choice as to what kind of a home or family you would be born into. Did someone say to you, "Tell me, sir - or would you rather be madam? Would you like to have black hair, or blond hair, or perhaps no hair at all? Would you like to have brown eyes or blue? Would you like to have white skin, or black, or would green, or red, or yellow suit you better? And where would you like to live? In Miami, or Hong Kong, or Siberia, or maybe in the Congo?" Nothing of the sort! You were not even consulted. The sovereign Lord God of heaven and earth brought you into existence and ordained your path without so much as a how-do-you-feel-about-it. And you had no choice as to how you would be born, in what condition or state of being. The Psalmist declared, "Behold, I was brought forth in a state of iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me and I, too, am sinful" (Ps. 51:5, Amplified). Well did the apostle Paul write....... by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned ... for by one man's disobedience many were made sinners" (Rom. 5:12,19). If any man had brought himself into being, then we can conceive of the possibility of his having something to say about his condition and destiny. But mankind had absolutely nothing whatever to do with his coming into this world. It was the choice of God. God chose to bring this creature into existence because He had a definite plan for him in His creative purposes in the whole universe. It was God who formed man of the dust of the ground. It was God who breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. It was God who placed man in the Garden of Eden. It was God who planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the Garden. It was God who gave the law that man should neither touch this tree nor eat of it. And it was God who made the serpent and put him in the Garden and sent him along one beautiful day to tempt the man. It was GOD!
Even if Adam was a free moral agent, God is responsible for what happened in the Garden, for whatever a free moral agent may do, He is responsible for it who made him a free moral agent. If God made man a free moral agent, then God created within man the propensities for either good or evil which determined his choices. If God made man a free moral agent, He knew beforehand what the result would be, and hence is just as responsible for the consequences of the acts of that free moral agent as He would be for the act of an irresponsible machine that He had made. Man's free moral agency, even if it were true, would by no means clear God from the responsibility of his acts since God is his Creator and has made him in the first place just what he is, well knowing what the result would be. If God's will is ever thwarted, then He is not almighty. If His will is thwarted, then His plans must be changed, and hence He is not all-wise and immutable. If His will is never thwarted, then all things are in accordance with His will and He is the architect of all things as they exist. If He is all-wise and all-good, then all things, existing according to His will, must be working toward some wise and wonderful end!
"What shall we conclude then? Is there injustice on God's part? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then God's gift is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God's mercy. It depends not one ones own willingness ... but on God's having mercy on him. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have raised you up for this very purpose of displaying My power in dealing with you, so that My name may be proclaimed the whole world over. So then He has mercy on whomever He wills (chooses) and He hardens - makes stubborn and unyielding of heart - whomever He wills. You will say to me, Why then does He still find fault and blame us for sinning? For who can resist and withstand His will? But who are you, a mere man, to criticize and contradict and answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same mass one vessel for beauty and distinction and honorable use, and another for menial or ignoble and dishonorable use?" (Rom. 9:14-21, Amplified).
It is a wicked and cruel lie to say that the unregenerated man is a "free moral agent." He is no such thing! He is a slave. "We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am a creature of the flesh (carnal), having been SOLD INTO SLAVERY UNDER THE CONTROL OF SIN" (Rom. 7:14, Amplified). The unregenerate man is a slave to sin. He is a slave to Satan. He is a slave of his own carnal mind and deceitfully wicked heart. He is a slave of his own vile passions. How can a man who is a slave and a captive of the devil be a "free moral agent"? Impossible! Adam sold us out. Adam gave us no choice in bringing his progeny under the workings of iniquity. When Adam went into sin, he did not consult with any one of us as to our desire concerning anything he did. None of us had any power or any choice in the condition in which we entered this world. WE WERE NOT SINNERS BY CHOICE, as we have erroneously been told. We are "born in sin, and shapened in iniquity," with the carnal nature in us from the moment we leave the womb. Being "dead in trespasses and sins," dead to God, dead to truth, dead to purity, dead to reality, the Adamic race was no longer capable of making a choice or decision for salvation. How truly the apostle wrote in Eph. 2:2-3, "And you ... were dead in trespasses and sins: wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and WERE BY N-A-T-U-R-E THE CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as others."
The message is clear - we were not sinners by choice. We were sinners by NATURE! We were BORN INTO this condition, simply because the first man, Adam, put us all into slavery to sin. We had nothing to say about it. We did not in any way will it, consent to it, or choose it, for we were born into it. And we were not born free moral agents. We were born slaves!
There is no fact more self-evident than the fact of the total depravity of man, or his TOTAL INABILITY to deliver himself from bondage to sin, and this is rooted in the fact that his human spirit is dead from birth. Total depravity means that man in his natural state is incapable of doing anything or desiring anything pleasing to God. Until our spirit is quickened by HIS SPIRIT we are slaves of the flesh and the devil and are enemies to God. When man insists that he still has a "spark" of divine good resident in his heart the Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). When man contends that he is a free moral agent and can accept or reject the Lord by his own volition, the Word of God contradicts him, declaring, "There is none righteous, no not one! There is none that understands, there is N-O-N-E THAT SEEKS after God" (Rom. 3:10-11).
Man is totally depraved in the sense that everything about his nature is in rebellion against God. Man is loyal to the god of darkness and loves darkness rather than The Light. His will is, therefore, not at all "free". It is a slave to the flesh. Total depravity means that man, of his own "free will," will NEVER MAKE A DECISION FOR CHRIST. Our blessed Lord bluntly says, "You will not come to Me, that you might have life" (Jn. 5:40). Why does our Lord say this? Because the will of the unregenerate man is bound by the bands of sin and death to the god of the spiritually dead.
Total depravity means that the natural man is completely incapable of discerning Truth. In fact, unregenerate man thinks of the things of God as being ridiculous! "The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14). Man cannot see or know the things which relate to the Kingdom of God, without being regenerated first by the Holy Spirit. A dead spirit perceives only the things of man and Satan. Hence the words of Jesus to Nicodemus: "Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (Jn. 3:3). Unborn children do not see the light. Dead men do not see the light.
Unregenerate men cannot comprehend even that they should come to the Light. They are the unborn dead who know only darkness. They are totally depraved, wholly incapable of thinking, perceiving, or doing anything pleasing to God, UNTIL GOD SEES FIT TO GIVE THEM LIFE and understanding. Faith follows the giving of Life. The giving of Life is by the will of God. Notice the order: "God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ (by grace are you saved)" (Eph. 2:4-5). Man is not saved by some mythical act of his own free will. He is saved by grace, the divine enablement of God who first gives him Life and then imparts faith in his heart as a free gift. Paul continues: "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the Gift of God. It is not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).
Observe! Saving faith is the GIFT OF GOD, NOT AN EXERCISE OF MAN'S "FREE WILL"! Man must believe, certainly, but it is not the old deceitful and desperately wicked heart, nor the old carnal mind which believes, but the faith graciously imparted by God as a gift is the agency of man's believing. God has decreed that the works of the flesh shall have no part in the "so great salvation" which He Himself provides. It is His work through the Gift of Life. He regenerated us when we were dead in sins. Life is His Gift. Faith is His Gift. We are saved by a faith which "is not of ourselves." We believed by the faith which GOD GIVES, not by our own FREE WILL! Until a man has been quickened by the Holy Spirit the word is: "Why do you not understand My speech? Even because you cannot hear My word! You are of your father the devil" (Jn. 8:43-44). But once God quickens us by the Gift of Life and the Gift of Faith the word is:" It is GOD who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
Wise men standing by the grave of Lazarus might pronounce it an evidence of insanity when the Lord addressed a dead man with the words, "Lazarus, Come forth." Ah! but He who thus spoke was and is Himself the Resurrection, and the Life, and at HIS word even the dead live! Just as Lazarus would never have heard the voice of Jesus, nor would he have ever "come to Jesus," without first being given Life by our Lord, so all men "dead in trespasses and sins," must-first be given Life by God before they can "come to Christ." Since dead men cannot will to receive Life, but can be raised from the dead only by the power of God, so the natural man cannot of his own mythical "free will," will to have eternal life (Jn. 10:26-28). He must be given God's gift of saving faith. If Jesus had had no more than an "invitation" for Lazarus to receive Life, He could have knocked at that tombstone door for a long time. But Christ spoke the Life-giving Word and that Word brought Lazarus to life and caused his heart to begin to beat and his lungs to work, and Lazarus heard the voice of his Master and received the faith to arise and walk out of the darkness of that tomb of death.
The natural man is a third rate power. He is not able to resist Satan because his will is inferior to the will of the devil. Paul says that those who oppose the ministers of God's truth are in the snare of the devil and "are taken captive by him at his will" (II Tim. 2:26). How can the devil ensnare the lost "at his will"? For the simple reason that man, without the Holy Spirit, is an inferior power who cannot resist the devil but walks "according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). And consequently, Jesus says, "NO MAN CAN COME TO ME, except the Father which has sent Me draw him" (Jn. 6:44). A plain example of this is the business woman named Lydia who heard the apostles teaching the Word of God, and "whose heart the Lord opened.." (Acts 16:14). Who opened her heart to Jesus? Does the Bible teach that the sinner opened her heart to the Lord, or does the Scripture teach that it is THE LORD WHO OPENS HEARTS?
As someone has said, "Here is a man that is dead, lying in a casket in the ground. What will you do to raise him? Will you bring your flute and play a sweet melody to woo him out of the grave? Perhaps a great thunderstorm could come and the lightning could strike around him and the thunder could shake the earth and boom and crash with its mighty voice. But neither the sweet music of the flute nor the mighty thundering above would have any effect whatsoever on the dead in their graves. They hear not; neither do they know. Nor, can the thundering of the Law or the sweet music of the Gospel have any effect on the mind and soul that is dead in sin. It needs one thing. It needs to be made alive! By a POWER BEYOND ITSELF! 'You has He made alive that were dead.' " Therefore, until God first of all comes with His grace and MAKES MEN ALIVE, there is nothing that man can do. Only GOD can raise the dead! True, God requires repentance and faith that we might be saved. But, praise His name, that which He requires, He also freely gives, that the whole thing may be of grace. Yet Christendom insists on a doctrine of man being a "free moral agent," even though the Word of God exposes this as being utterly false in every degree. Most emphatically do I declare: We are NOT free moral agents! "The creature was made subject to vanity, NOT WILLINGLY, but by reason of HIM WHO HAS SUBJECTED the same in hope" (Rom. 8:20).

THE SINNER MUST DECIDE!
Strange as it may seem there are many today who insist that they believe in salvation by grace, yet they insist that man has the power to "make a decision for Christ." They argue that "God loves everyone, equally and alike," yet they are sure that He is going to send some people to hell for ever. They affirm that the Bible teaches that the Creator of all things is surely omnipotent, but they are also quite confident that finite man is fully capable of obstructing the will of God. In nearly every case the problem lies in the fact that these dear people do not know Bible truth. They have heard nothing from their pulpits but "plan of salvation" sermons minus the wonderful truths which make up the plan! If they were asked to explain the meaning of such doctrines as redemption, propitiation, reconciliation, remission, and atonement, they would either mutter trivia or be absolutely speechless. Why? Because they have never been taught, nor have they had the spiritual vigor necessary to discover for themselves, what Scripture actually teaches about the work of Christ. There is one thing they hold in common: the confidence that man can use his own "positive volition" or "free will" to accept Christ and get himself "saved."
More than a century ago a great man of God, A. P. Adams, penned the following: "I wish to add a word further in regard to the salvation of all men, suggested by the following extract which I clip from one of my exchanges. The extract is as follows: The Rev. B. W. Ward, the popular Boston evangelist, and efficient superintendent of the Bleeker Street Mission, thus beautifully illustrates the gift of salvation: A friend of mine invited me into a jewelry store, and asked the clerk for samples of their pocket knives. Placing the price of the best one alongside of it, on the counter, he said, 'Ward, I want to make you a little present. There's a knife and there is the price of it. Make your choice. Take which one you will as a momento from me.' Now, said the evangelist, whose knife was that while it lay there on the counter? It wasn't mine. It would become mine by my deciding to accept it; but without such an act on my part is was not for me. So of salvation. Jesus has paid the price, but the sinner must decide whether or not he will reach forth and take it before it becomes his.
"In this extract it will be seen that the salvation of the individual is made to depend upon his own decision. THE SINNER MUST DECIDE, and as he decides so will his future destiny be to all eternity. Thus one's salvation is practically made to depend on one's self. God and Christ have done, or are doing their part, and now they simply wait for the sinner's decision. By the way, how long did God wait for the 'decision' of Saul of Tarsus when 'it pleased God to call him?' Most people, however, would accept the above extract as a correct presentation of the case, and would assent thereto without any hesitation. But there is a fatal defect in the illustration. The case of the one choosing the knife is NOT PARALLEL TO THAT OF THE SINNER CHOOSING SALVATION, because the former has his EYES WIDE OPEN and knows full well the value of what is presented to him for his choice, while the LATTER IS BLINDED, and knows not what he does. 'But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ ... should shine unto them' (11 II Cor. 4:3-4).
"The Bible plainly teaches that fallen man is blinded to the truth; the soulish man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned, and the soulish man has not the Spirit. Thus the sinner does not realize and appreciate the value of the salvation that is offered to him. In the first place, he does not know that he is lost, and hence feels no need of salvation. Secondly, this sinner does not know that the salvation offered him in Christ is worth anything. All he has to go by in determining its worth is the lives of those who profess to possess it, and they for the most part, are very deficient illustrations of its merit. Furthermore the sinner is surrounded by circumstances entirely adverse to his acceptance of Christ. And finally, worse than all, 'the mind of the flesh,' a corrupt nature, an 'evil heart of unbelief,' a 'body of death,' that leans toward the bad and opposes the good continually; and mark you, all these things are circumstances over which the individual has no control and for which he is not to blame.
"Again, mark you, that if he overcomes these unfavorable circumstances and in spite of them does accept Christ, it must be by some power OUTSIDE OF HIMSELF, for in himself he would never have any power for his own deliverance. This is the teaching of the seventh chapter of Romans. God must deliver him if he is delivered at all! He must bring him to a knowledge of his lost condition, so that he will feel his need of a Saviour, and He must give him repentance and faith. God must open his eyes so that he shall not only see the need, but also the priceless value of salvation, that like the apostle Paul, he will be willing to count all thing but dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord.
"And he must be endowed with power to overcome the evil around and within him. All this help must come from God, and must be imparted to the sinner before he can make the slightest movement toward salvation. Are there any such elements as these in the case of the man choosing the knife? Is it not plain that that illustration and the case of the sinner are NOT PARALLEL at all? And yet just such illustrations are constantly presented as setting forth exactly the case of the sinner in 'his' choice or rejection of salvation in Christ! The fact is there are many factors to be taken into account in the regeneration and new creation of a human being. It is no such small matter as picking up a little present that a friend passes over to you. Hence these illustrations are very faulty and misleading" -end quote.
When addressing the unsaved, an evangelist often drew an analogy between God's sending of the Gospel to the sinner, and a sick man in bed, with some healing medicine on a table by his side: all he needs to do is reach forth his hand and take it. But in order for this illustration to be in any wise true to the picture which Scripture gives us of the fallen and depraved sinner, the sick man in bed must be described as one who is blind (Eph. 4:18) so that he cannot see the medicine, his hand paralyzed (Rom. 5:6) so that he is unable to reach forth for it, and his heart not only devoid of all confidence in the medicine but filled with hatred against the physician himself (Jn. 15:18). Oh, what superficial views of man's desperate plight are not entertained! Christ came here not to help those who were willing to help themselves, or even those willing to be helped, but to do for people what they were incapable of doing for themselves: "To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house" (Isa. 42:7).
Someone will ask, "Will God save men eventually against their will?" The answer is no! He will have to need to do that, for all men will be one hundred percent willing when God reveals Himself to them. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, and the doors of the prisonhouse shall be opened. We have only to consider the case of Saul of Tarsus to understand the miraculous power of the Lord to change the leopard's spots and melt the heart of stone. There are those who suppose that God could not convert a soul unless that depraved and lost soul gives to almighty God that permission. I only wish they would ask the apostle Paul, that great despiser of Christ and hater of His Church, that persecutor of Christians, who while on his way to Damascus was suddenly cast to the ground and converted. No man was ever more hateful toward Christ than was Saul of Tarsus, yet, when his turn came to see the light, he changed in an instant, crying out in fear and trembling and with bitter repentance, "Who art You, Lord?" and "What will You have me to do?" Did God ask Saul of Tarsus whether or not he wanted to be saved? Or did He say to Ananias, "He is a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15)? It is only God who can change the human heart, and when God wills to change every single human heart in earth and in hell, each will be changed in an instant. Some suppose that God is desperately trying to convert every human being in the world ... ah, but He cannot do it, because mighty man, sovereign man, will not allow it! Jehovah does all of His pleasure. As I have purposed so shall it come to pass," says the Lord. Where do these man-made preachers get the notion that man is a FREE MORAL AGENT? Indeed, he may be free in some minor things that concern his personal conduct, but concerning God's eternal purpose for him HE IS NOT FREE to do his own will, for "it is NOT OF HIM THAT WILLS or HIM THAT RUNS, BUT GOD THAT SHOWS MERCY" (Rom. 9:16). God in His great mercy has condescended to extend mercy to all men, He sent His Son to die for all men, to redeem all men, to reconcile all back to God, and in due time He sent also His Holy Spirit to invincibly draw them unto Himself. In the day of the power of God, men are made willing and, having been quickened by that Spirit, renewed in mind, having been given a heart of flesh, they do come most willingly, having been made willing BY HIS POWER. What an exalted view is this of our OMNIPOTENT GOD AND SAVIOR!
There is an overwhelming desire in my heart that God's precious people might know that GOD IS GOD, glorious in power, fearful in praises, DOING WONDERS. I long with a great longing that His people will repent of ever having believed the insipid and useless traditions that make the almighty God seem to be a victim of the will of His own creation. It is my opinion that most of the theology of the church system is stupid prattle that seeks to render the almighty God impotent by robbing Him of His omnipotence. It teaches that God gave His Son that all the world through Him might be saved and then renders His sacrifice hopeless by leaving ninety-nine percent of all His creatures in the hands of the devil for all eternity. Such a doctrine as that belittles the power and wisdom of God and does despite to the Spirit of grace, the atoning work of Christ, and the precious blood that He shed so that the world through Him might be saved. Such a doctrine as that is, undoubtedly, one of the "doctrines of devils" of which Paul warned. I say that because I cannot think of anyone outside of the devil himself who would be happy with the prospect that Calvary was such a colossal failure! But the preachers, including some who profess to be in the "Kingdom Message," would lay down their lives for such an abominable heresy!

THE SHEPHERD SEEKS THE SHEEP
In Luke 15:4 we read, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost UNTIL HE FIND IT?" In this passage we find that at the end of the day, the shepherd finds that he is just one little sheep short of completeness. There is only one outside - so why bother to go after that one, for perhaps that one is one of the rebellious ones anyway and will not choose to come back!
But the Shepherd we are dealing with in this story is not an ordinary shepherd. This is the Great and Good Shepherd of the sheep and nothing will stop Him or prevent Him from finding that last sheep. This Shepherd will not be content with even an extraordinary effort to find the sheep and then give up, feeling that He has done His duty. Neither does He "call" the sheep, and then wait to see if the sheep decides to come, and if not, just leave him there in his lost condition to die. This Shepherd searches UNTIL HE FINDS. And the FINDING of this Shepherd is not only the locating of the sheep, but it also includes the bringing back into the fold of that sheep.
If you know anything at all about sheep, you know that a sheep is helpless to find its way back to the rest of the flock. Not only that, but it becomes subject to every danger that is near to it, yet it never recognizes that danger. This is exactly the condition of mankind today. Mankind, being dead in trespasses and sins and in rebellion against God, does not know how to get to God. In fact much of humanity does not even think of getting to God. They have come to the point where they are quite satisfied with their condition just as the sheep is satisfied with its condition as it feeds, knowing now that it is lost. Mankind does not know the way back to God. Mankind must wait until IT IS FOUND. He does not even know he is lost. How will the lost ever come to God of himself, of his own "free will"? If he were able to come HE WOULD NOT BE LOST. Men do not even know they are lost, or where they are going. Ah, the Shepherd must find the sheep, and not the sheep find the Shepherd! And Jesus said the Shepherd would seek until. Jesus said He came to seek and to save those lost ones. Not the lost ones seek God but GOD SEEK THE LOST!
Most of the religious teaching today would have us believe that Christ has done all He can for the sinner, so He has now gone back to His heaven and is seated upon His golden throne waiting for all who will to be saved. According to this thinking, God through Jesus has done all He can possibly do and has now left the work of saving souls to the Church, hoping that some, at least, will be persuaded to accept the Saviour. The Church must go out and contact all the sinners they can and see if they cannot get them to "accept Christ." But, of course, if the sinner does not want to be saved, then even God in all His power cannot intervene and nothing is left but eternal hell fire and damnation for that sinner. But just what does this line of reasoning reveal? The tragedy of it is that it shows us nothing but a POWERFUL MANKIND and a WEAK GOD!
Another thing this line of teaching suggests is that God, having finished the work of redemption, then turns it all over to a rather carnal Church that does not truly know God, does not even understand God's great plan of the ages, and cares far more about making proselytes to a denomination than in bringing people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. The average Church today cares more about its programs, its missionary efforts, its buildings, its committee meetings and its budget than it does about making known to the world the glad news that God has reconciled the whole world to Himself and He shall not rest until every heart has surrendered and the very last sheep has been carried back to the fold. Nothing stops or hinders this Shepherd, for if He did fail in this effort, He could never rest knowing that one of His sheep was lost and eternally destroyed. He does not send anyone else or leave it to the sheep to find its way back. HE HIMSELF GOES UNTIL HE FINDS.
Let us have these things right and straight in our minds. Let us see these things correctly. Nothing is left in any way to chance. The Shepherd sends no one out to look for the sheep, but goes Himself. Granted, HE GOES THROUGH HIS BODY, but He is not sitting idly by to see what will happen. His mission goes on until it is one hundred percent successful and the LAST ONE is found. Nothing will stop the work of the Shepherd until that last sheep is made to correctly know the Shepherd, who He is, and His great love for him. The Shepherd DOES SEEK until He finds the last one, no matter how long it takes or to what depths He must search!
Someone will ask, "But doesn't God command sinners to CHOOSE this day whom they will serve and to SEEK the Lord while He may be found?" ABSOLUTELY NOT! Oh, yes, the Scripture does say, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the god of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Jos. 24:15). But those words were never spoken to the unsaved man, without God and without hope in the world; these were the words of God's prophet to Israel, GOD'S PEOPLE, as they possessed the promised land! God has nowhere, in all the pages of His blessed Book, commanded unconverted sinners to "choose" between Him and anything else.

DEAD MEN DON'T MAKE CHOICES.
And yes, the Scripture does say, "SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, call upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:6-7). But again, these words were never addressed to the sinner who never had a relationship with the Lord. They were thundered by the prophet Isaiah to GOD'S BACKSLIDING PEOPLE in a time of spiritual declension and apostasy. It is God's own people who must "seek" the Lord, not the man who is lost and cannot find his way. Thus it is that Jesus said, "For the Son of man is come to SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST" (Lk. 19:10). It is the Lord's people who are called upon to "choose" between Him and the ways of the flesh, the world, and the devil, not the man who is dead, for "the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5), and are totally incapable of choosing anything but sin.
The popular Churches ridiculously assert that spiritually dead men must somehow "choose" the Lord, but God's testimony about it is just the opposite. The bluntest affirmation that man does not do the choosing of God is that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself testified, "You have not chosen Me, but I HAVE CHOSEN YOU" (Jn. 15:16). In fact, according to Paul, that choice was made by God before He ever made so much as one single thing! "According as HE HAS CHOSEN US in Christ before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). It is tantamount to blasphemy for anyone to argue that man is capable, of his own "free will," to make a decision for Christ. Note the testimony of Luke: "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the Word of the Lord; and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed" (Acts 13:48). The Lord Jesus insists that Life and Faith are the work of God, not the work of man. He said....... the Son gives life to whom He will" and "this is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom God has sent" (Jn. 6:29; 5:21). In all fairness, the evangelist who says to the crowd, "Whosoever comes to Jesus will in no wise be cast out," should add the preceding words of Christ: "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me" (Jn. 6:37). Who is it that will not be cast out? All who come to Him! Who, then, will come to the Saviour? He says, "All whom the Father gives Me." The choice as to who will come to Christ at any given moment is God's, not man's. God does not call all men at the same time. Some are ordained to eternal life, right now, while others will be called later. "For as in Adam ALL DIE, even so in Christ shall ALL BE MADE ALIVE. BUT EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER..." (I Cor. 15:22-23).
If it were left up to man he would NEVER BELIEVE, for man is totally depraved, totally incapable of that which is good. Left on his own to make a decision for Christ, without first being given life and faith by an act of God, man would never of his own "free will" come to Jesus. "You will not come to Me, that you might have life" (Jn. 5:40).
'Tis not I that did choose You. For, Lord, that could not be:
This heart would still refuse You, Had You not chosen me!
In the true and eloquent words of another, "Let me interject a foundational truth here. It is a truth seldom, if ever, heard among the people of God. The preachers and evangelists studiously avoid it, but it is fundamental to all our understanding of the work of God in this present age. It is a truth given by no less an authority than God's only begotten Son. The following three Scriptures vividly point out God's method of choosing those who are elected to be saved in this age and in the ages to come: First, 'No man can come to Me except the Father which has sent Me draw him' (Jn. 6:44). The second is this: 'All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and him that comes unto Me I will in no wise cast out' (Jn. 6:37). And the third is: 'Father, the hour is come; glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You: as You have given Him power (authority) over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many (all flesh) as You have given Him' (Jn. 17:1-2). Christians blindly strive under the mistaken idea that, if they will only meet certain conditions, God will reply by bringing every man into the fold of Christ in this present age. My friend, this is a very great error. It is about as far from the truth as anything could possibly be. God does not intend to bring all men into the fold now. If that were His intention, He could do it with but one word of His omnipotence. When God's eternal voice speaks, saying, 'Let there be fight,' then light immediately floods the universe as it did in the beginning. There is no need for a candle nor the light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. That light could not be matched by ten thousand suns, for the light that shone out of darkness in the beginning is the same light that lightens every man that comes into the world. It is the light that shines into the benighted souls, bringing the life of the ages to men who are sleeping in death. 'Lazarus, come forth!' called the Lord, and a dead man sprang from his tomb to reply. 'Saul! Saul!' Jesus called to a disconsolate and determined persecutor, and he quickly replied, 'Lord, what wilt You have me to do?' And so will it be when He calls you, your child, your husband, or your wife with His still small voice, speaking to the inner ear. Whether it be John, George, Henry, Joan, Phyllis, or Louise, all will fall at His feet in penitence and brokenness the moment He speaks, crying, 'Here am I, Lord! What wilt You have me to do?'
"It is useless to try to gather all the world into the Kingdom in this dispensation, for that is not God's purpose in this age. No man comes except the Father draw him. Those who insist on bringing all the world in now are trying to do in this age the work that God Himself has said should be done in the dispensation of the fullness of times. In the dispensation of the fullness of times, His immutable Word has declared, He will gather all things into Christ, both which are in heaven and in earth, even in Him (Eph. 1:10). 'ALL that the Father has given Me SHALL COME to Me,' said Jesus, and you may be sure that this is the truth. At the end of this age there will not be one soul missing of all that number of the 'firstfruits' who were predestined to come to Him, and, when the age to come has run its course, there will not be one missing of all who are appointed to come to Him in that blessed age. So also may we declare for that wonderful AGE OF THE AGES, the dispensation of the fullness of the times, for God's Word has faithfully declared that in that glorious age of all ages every missing sheep will be accounted for as God gathers together in one the all things into Christ " -end quote.
Some have tried to say that in Eph. 1:10 the things gathered into one in the Christ are limited to those things already in Christ, that is, that it is all things that are "in Christ" that are gathered "into one." That is a mistake that those who oppose the ultimate salvation of all men are only too eager to make, and the error comes from a faulty understanding of what is actually said due to the wording in the King James version. ALL OTHER VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY SHOW THAT SUCH IS NOT THE CASE. It is not "all things in Christ" that are gathered "into one." It is ALL THINGS IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH GATHERED INTO ONENESS IN AND UNDER THE CHRIST. The Amplified Bible says, "He planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to UNIFY ALL THINGS and head them up and CONSUMMATE THEM IN CHRIST, both things in heaven and things on earth." The Moffatt translation reads, "It was the purpose of His design to so order it in the fullness of the ages that ALL THINGS IN HEAVEN AND EARTH alike should be gathered up in Christ." J. B. Phillips renders, "He purposed long ago in His sovereign will that all human history should be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in heaven or earth should find its perfection and fulfillment in Him." We could go on from version to version and they all with one voice show that in the dispensation of the fullness of times God shall gather together into one, into the Christ, ALL THINGS AND ALL BEINGS IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. From age to age, those that the Father has given the Christ in each age, will come to Him, praise His name. When the last and crowning age is ended ALL shall have been gathered together into the Christ. What anticipation this stirs in our hearts!

THE WILL OF MAN
At this point I wish to share some searching and enlightening words penned by a servant of the Lord more than sixty-five years ago. "Concerning the nature and the power of man's will, the greatest confusion prevails today, and the most erroneous views are held, even by many of God's children. The popular idea now prevailing, which is taught from the great majority of pulpits, is that man has a 'free will,' and that salvation comes to the sinner through his will co-operating with the Holy Spirit. To deny the 'free will' of man, i.e. his power to choose that which is good, his native ability to accept Christ, is to bring one into disfavor at once, even before most of those who profess to be orthodox. And yet Scripture emphatically says, 'It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy' (Rom. 9:16). Which shall we believe: God, or the preachers?
"But does not Scripture say, 'Whosoever will may come'? It does, but does this mean that everybody has the will to come? What of those who won't come? 'Whosoever will may come' no more implies that fallen man has the power in himself to come, than 'Stretch forth Your hand' implies that the man with the withered arm had the inherent ability in himself to comply. It should be obvious that the ability came from the One who spoke the word: 'Stretch forth your hand.' In and Of himself the natural man has power to reject Christ; but in and of himself he has not the power to receive Christ. And why? Because he has a mind that is 'enmity against' Him (Rom. 8:7); because he has a heart that hates Him (Jn. 15:18). Man chooses that which is according to his nature, and therefore before he will ever choose or prefer that which is divine and spiritual, a new nature must be imparted to him; in other words, he must be born again.
"Let me appeal to the actual experience of the reader of these lines. Was there not a time when you were unwilling to come to Christ? There was. Since then you have come to Him. Are you now prepared to give Him all the glory for that (Ps. 115:1)? Do you not acknowledge that you came to Christ because the Holy Spirit brought you from unwillingness to willingness? You do. Then is it not also a patent fact that the Holy Spirit has not done in many others what He has done in you! Granting that many others have heard the Gospel, been shown their need of Christ, yet, they are still unwilling to come to Him. Thus He has wrought more in you, than in them. Do you answer, Yet I remember well the time when the word of salvation was presented to me, and my conscience testifies that my will acted and that I yielded to the claims of Christ upon me. Quite true. But before you 'Yielded,' the Holy Spirit overcame the native enmity of your mind against God, and this enmity He does not overcome in all at this time. Should it be said, That is because they are unwilling for their enmity to be overcome? Ah, none are thus 'willing' till He has put forth His all-mighty power and wrought a miracle of grace in the heart.
"But let us now inquire, What is the human Will? Is it a self-determining agent, or is it, in turn, determined by something else? Is it sovereign or servant? Is the will superior to every other faculty of our being so that it governs them, or is it moved by their impulses and subject to their pleasure? Does the will rule the mind, or does the mind control the will? Is the will free to do as it pleases, or is it under the necessity of rendering obedience to something outside of itself?
"What is the Will? We answer, the will is the faculty of choice, the immediate cause of all action. Choice necessarily implies the refusal of one thing and the acceptance of another. The positive and the negative must both be present to the mind before there can be any choice. In every act of the will there is a preference - the desiring of one thing rather than another. Where there is no preference, but complete indifference, there is no volition. To will is to choose, and to choose is to decide between two or more alternatives. But there is something which influences the choice; something which determines the decision. Hence the will cannot be sovereign because it is the servant of that something. The will cannot be both sovereign and servant. It cannot be both cause and effect. The will is not causative, because, as we have said, something causes it TO CHOOSE, therefore that something must be the causative agent. Choice itself is affected by certain considerations, is determined by various influences brought to bear upon the individual himself, hence, volition is the effect of these considerations and influences, and if the effect, it must be their servant; and if the will is their servant then it is not sovereign, and if the will is not sovereign, we certainly cannot predicate absolute 'freedom' of it.
"That which determines the will is that which causes it to choose. If the will is determined, then there must be a determiner. What is it that determines the will? We reply, THE STRONGEST MOTIVE POWER WHICH IS BROUGHT TO BEAR UPON IT. What this motive power is, varies in different cases. With one it may be the logic of reason, with another the voice of conscience. with another the impulse of the emotions, with another the whisper of the Tempter, with another the power of the Holy Spirit; whichever of these presents the strongest motive power and exerts the greatest influence upon the individual himself, is that which impels the will to act. In other words, the action of the will is determined by that condition of mind which has the greatest degree of tendency to excite volition.
"Human philosophy insists that it is the will which governs the man, but the Word of God teaches that it is the heart which is the dominating center of our being. Many Scriptures might be quoted in substantiation of this. 'Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life' (Prov. 4:23). 'For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,' etc. (Mk. 7:21). Here our Lord traces these sinful acts back to their source, and declares that their fountain is the 'heart,' and not the will! Again, 'This people draws nigh unto Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me' (Mat. 15:8). If further proof were required we might call attention to the fact that the word 'heart' is found in the Bible more than three times oftener than is the word 'will,' and nearly half of the references to the latter refer to God's will!
"When we affirm that it is the heart and not the will which governs man, we are not merely striving about words, but insisting on a distinction that is of vital importance. Here is an individual before whom two alternatives are placed; which will he choose? We answer, The one which is most agreeable to himself, i.e., his 'heart' - the innermost core of his being. Before the sinner is set a life of virtue and piety, and a life of sinful indulgence; which will he follow? The latter. Why? Because this is his choice. But does that prove the will is sovereign? Not at all. Go back from effect to cause. WHY does the sinner choose a life of sinful indulgence? Because he prefers it - and he does prefer it, all arguments to the contrary notwithstanding. And why does he prefer it? Because his heart is sinful. The same alternatives, in like manner, confront the Christian, and he chooses and strives after a life of piety and virtue. Why? Because God has given him a new heart or nature. Hence we say that it is not the will which makes the sinner impervious to all appeals to 'forsake his way,' but his corrupt and evil heart. He will not come to Christ, because he does not want to, and he does not want to because his heart hates Him and loves sin (Jer. 17:9).
"In what does the sinner's 'free will' consist? The sinner is 'free' in the sense of being unforced from without. God never forces the sinner to sin. But the sinner is not free to choose or do either good or evil, because an evil heart within is ever inclining him toward sin. Let us illustrate what we have in mind. I hold in my hand a book. I release it; what happens? It falls. In what direction? Downwards; always downwards. Why? Because, answering the law of gravity, its own weight sinks it. Suppose I desire that book to occupy a position three feet higher; then what? I must lift it; a power outside of that book must raise it. Such is the relationship which fallen man sustains toward God. Whilst Divine power upholds him, he is preserved from plunging still deeper into sin; let that power be withdrawn, and he falls - his own weight (of sin) drags him down. God does not push him down, anymore than I did that book. Let all Divine restraint be removed, and every man is capable of becoming, would become, a Cain, a Pharaoh, a Judas. How then is the sinner to move heavenwards? By an act of his own will? Not so! A power outside of himself must grasp hold of him and lift him every inch of the way. The sinner is free, but free in one direction only - free to fall, free to sin. As the Word expresses it: 'For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness' (Rom. 6:20). The sinner is free to do as he pleases, always as he pleases (except as he is restrained by God), but his pleasure is to sin.
"We repeat our question: Does it lie within the power of the sinner's will to yield himself up to God? Let us attempt an answer by asking several others: Can water (of itself) rise above its own level? Can a clean thing come out of an unclean? Can the will reverse the whole tendency and strain of human nature? Can that which is under the dominion of sin originate that which is pure and holy? Manifestly not. If ever the will of a fallen and depraved creature is to move Godwards, a Divine power must be brought to bear upon it which will overcome the influences of sin that pull in a counter direction. This is only another way of saying, 'No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me, draw him' (Jn. 6:44). And how effective is that drawing? 'ALL that the Father gives Me SHALL COME TO ME' (Jn. 6:37). In other words, people must be MADE WILLING! " -end quote.
Ah, God did not MAKE Jonah go to Ninevah - but He did MAKE HIM WILLING to go! The notion that God cannot, or will not, influence the wills of all men to bring them unto Himself is a wicked insult to both His redeeming love and His omnipotence!

I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME
It is a strange theory that obsesses men that the human will is greater in power than God, and that, no matter what the will of God is for His creatures, man is able finally to wreck it. It is a curious hypothesis that states that although the Holy Spirit seeks to woo all men to Christ, since God loves all mankind and wills to save all men, still, the omniscient God has boxed Himself into a corner, since the will of God is bound by the will of man, and the Omnipotent Spirit can be resisted by finite man if man so chooses. Such faulty reasoning actually brings into prominence ANOTHER OMNIPOTENCE which, because it baffles the omnipotence and love of God, is by far the greater. Man will not so God cannot! What makes this notion so tragic is that it DEIFIES MAN, elevating him to god-hood, and aligns all who embrace it with the very sin that caused the fall in the beginning! The first sin committed by man had its roots in the desire to be a FREE MORAL AGENT! Free moral agency is not the doctrine of the Bible. It is the doctrine of Romanism; and it is the doctrine of humanism. It was Erasmus, the humanist, who wrote on the freedom of man's will. It has always been the humanists that have sought to deify man and have boasted of the freedom of their sovereign will.
The serpent entered upon the stage with the bold question as to the authority of God: "Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the Garden?" (Gen. 3:1). This was Satan's crafty inquiry; and had the Word of God been dwelling richly in Eve's heart, her answer might have been direct, simple, and conclusive. To raise a question, when God has spoken, is blasphemy. Thus, the question, "Has God said?" was followed by the lie: "You shall not surely die." But the enticement to induce Eve to disobey the command of God was couched in this argument: "God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be AS GODS, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5). YOU SHALL BE AS GODS! Can we not see by this that man was grasping after GODHOOD, which godhood gave him the right to CHOOSE FOR HIMSELF whether to obey God or not obey Him! This godhood, furthermore, was to bring to man the knowledge of good and evil, the innate ability to discern and choose between the good and the evil. Thus, the doctrine of "free moral agency" was spawned by the devil in Eden's fair Garden, and the fruit thereof was the fall! And the lie is still preached from the pulpit of the apostate churches all over the world - the lie that man has the power and the right to CHOOSE FOR HIMSELF between God and the devil, between sin and righteousness, between redemption and man's own way, and that this "choice" of man is final and irrevocable.
Man's effort at free moral agency was his attempt at godhood. Man became a "god" alright, in the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - but he became a god in the wrong realm - the demigod of a lower realm - for at the same time that God acknowledged man's "deity" (Gen. 3:22) He also CAST HIM FROM THE GARDEN - cast him from the heavenly realm - and set him in the earth "to till the ground from which he was taken." And from that day to this man has discovered to his sorrow that he definitely is not a free moral agent, for man's boasted freedom is in truth "the bondage of corruption"; he "serves divers lusts and pleasures"; he is "sold under (slavery to) sin"; his will is biased toward evil, and therefore he is free in one direction only, namely, in the direction of evil. He is unable to fulfill the role of godhood he assumed. He cannot weigh good over evil and come out on top, because his desires are filled with the mystery of iniquity. "There is none righteous, NO NOT ONE!"
In supporting the omnipotence of man's godhood, the radio preacher declared, "Man makes his choice, and once it is made God cannot do one thing about it." What brash stupidity! It is true that man has a will, but so also has God. It is true that man is endowed with power, but God is all-powerful. It is true that, speaking generally, the material world is regulated by law, but behind that law is the law-Giver and law Administrator. Man is but the creature. God is the Creator, and untold ages before man first saw light "the mighty God" (Isa. 9:6) existed, and ere the world was founded, made His plans; and being infinite in power and man only finite, His purpose and plan cannot be withstood or thwarted by the creatures of His own hands.
To say that Christ is unable to win to Himself those who are unwilling is to deny that all power in heaven and earth is His. To say that Christ cannot put forth His power without destroying man's responsibility is a begging of the question here raised, for HE HAS put forth His power and MADE WILLING those who HAVE come to Him, and if He did this without destroying their responsibility, just why "CANNOT" He do so with others? If He is able to win the heart of just one sinner to Himself, why not that of another? To say, as is usually said, the others will not let Him is to impeach His sufficiency and the depths of His love. It is a question of HIS will, not man's! If the Lord Jesus has decreed, desired, purposed the salvation of all mankind, then the entire human race will be saved, or, otherwise, He lacks the power to make good His intentions; and in such a case it could never be said, "He shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied." The issue raised involves THE DEITY of the Saviour, for a DEFEATED Saviour cannot be God.
His promise is sure, His purpose unfailing: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw A-L-L M-E-N unto Me" (Jn. 12:32). This speaks not of Jesus being lifted up in praise, or lifted up by preaching, or lifted up in our spiritual lives, for the record states: "This He said, signifying what death He should die" (Jn. 12:33). It was the cross of Calvary upon which He was to be "lifted up," and our Lord says emphatically, "And I, if I be lifted up (dying upon the cross) from the earth, WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME." And yet people have the brazen audacity to accuse us of being "heretics" because we believe and teach this plain statement of our Lord! May God have mercy upon them!
The truth of the supernatural and all-powerful DRAWING of God is one of the most neglected of all the great truths of God's Word, and yet it is one of the most important. Undoubtedly the reason for its neglect is that it is repugnant to the world of unregenerate man, and professing Christians whose theology denies the sovereign and infinite grace of God. One of the chief characteristics of apostate Christendom is that it vigorously opposes any teaching of Scripture that refuses to give man the glory. Therefore any doctrine of the Bible that declares man's helplessness apart from the activating power of God is bound to arouse the ire of the adversary and his followers.
The words translated "draw" and "drew" in the Greek New Testament are HELKUO and HELKO. Each of these words has the basic meaning of "compel...... draw...... pull," and "tug." In most instances the force which does the drawing or compelling is sufficient to cause the object of the drawing to respond fully. For example, in Jn. 18:10, it is said that "Peter having a sword DREW it..." The impetuous disciple most assuredly did not draw the weapon out of its sheath in a gingerly or wooing fashion. Nor did the sword seek to draw itself out by its own will and good pleasure! Peter didn't merely "invite" the sword to come out, in spite of any resistance the blade may have had as it dragged the leather scabbard, the muscular arm of Peter yanked it forcefully out in obedience to his will.
One of the forms of HELKO is used in the Song of Solomon (in the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament) to speak of the love of the Bridegroom which causes the Bride to cry out to her maidens: "DRAW me after thee!" (S. of S. 1:4). The irresistible power of the heavenly Bridegroom's love for His betrothed creates a corresponding love in her heart. It is the heavenly One who initiates the love, creating faith and devotion in His beloved as He reveals Himself to be desirable and trustworthy. Already she has been drawn unto Him in deeper hunger; already she has longed for the kisses of His mouth, those tender moments of communion and prayer, wherein is revealed His love. Already she has smelled the sweet odors of His oils; already she has beheld Him upon the cross for her, she has beheld HIS LIFE poured out for her. This but increases her desire to be drawn with greater power, with stronger cords of love, with greater call to separation, and even with greater suffering, that she may arise and run AFTER HIM. She is more and more realizing the truth of her helplessness to run unless He draws.
We little realize that mighty unseen power that is drawing, drawing, drawing us like an irresistible, supernatural magnet. We speak of our hunger for the Lord, we tell of the longing we feel for Him, we pour out our hunger and longing at His feet as though He did not know they were in our hearts. We comprehend but little that all this is the drawing of God; that if He did not graciously put the hunger in our hearts, we should be cold and barren; we should be satisfied with but little of that into which He is constraining us to enter. Let this sink down into our hearts and ever abide there, that every heavenward impulse in our souls, every upward desire, IS THE DRAWING OF GOD. No sinner could be saved if God did not convict, quicken, deal with, and draw him. So many times we lose sight of this. We could not desire His will nor His best, we could not love and hunger for our dear Lord if God did not graciously put within us a hunger for Him and His will. Dear child of God, if you feel the drawing of God in your soul, cherish it as you would cherish a great treasure. If you feel a deeper hunger, if you are entering into a closer walk with Him, do not look upon it carelessly, nor treat it lightly.
The words HELKO and HELKUO may be found eight times in the Greek New Testament. I have already mentioned the passage in which Peter forcibly drew his sword from its sheath to cut off the ear of Malchus. Other passages contain the idea of force connected with this word, such as in Jn. 21:6, where we find that the load of fish was so huge that the disciples could not haul it aboard the boat. Their seasoned muscles were not able to pull such a great weight out of the water, for John says, "Now they were not able to DRAW it for the multitude of fish." Yet, a moment later, Simon Peter hauls the net through the water and up to the shore. This again is referred to as "drawing" the netload of fish with a force that is not resisted.
When the apostle James wishes to describe the manner in which rich men forcibly drag those who are indebted to them to prison, he uses the word HELKO. In James 2:6 he writes, "Do not rich men oppress you and DRAW you before the judgment seats?" This "drawing," of course, was not with wooing or pleading! It was an act of force that absolutely took no care of the willingness of the person drawn! The poor man might resist ever so much, and he might cry and plead, but he was drawn irresistibly to the place of judgment! It is with precisely this kind of forceful drawing that the Lord Jesus is talking when He says, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will DRAW all men unto me!" And, thank God, they are not just drawn "toward" Him, but UNTO HIM all the way! Because the Christ was "lifted up" on the cross of Calvary, dying on behalf of every man of Adam's race, the promise is sure, He will inexorably DRAW all men unto Himself! The divine plan calls for the Church, the body of Christ, to be drawn to Him in this age, all the living nations of the world to be drawn to Him in the next age, and the remainder of men, all who have ever lived and died upon this planet in the ages to come.
Another example of the use of the Greek work HELKO which shows that the drawing is by force and in spite of the resistance of the one drawn, is in Acts 16:19. When Paul and Silas were vexed by the demonic slave girl, Paul cast the evil spirit out of her. Her masters saw that all hope of profit was gone, so they grabbed the two servants of Jesus and forcibly dragged them to the judges in the market place. We read: "And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and DREW them into the market place unto the rulers." This was not an act in which the persons drawn delighted to cooperate. No, it was an act of force which "compelled" them to go where they would not have preferred to go! So it is with man who is spiritually dead and happy to follow the devil to hell because he prefers darkness to light. He does not "come to Jesus" of his own "free will." If he has eyes to see and ears to hear the Lord it is because God has quickened his spirit and opened his spiritual sight and unplugged his spiritual ears, as it is written, "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD has made even both of them! " (Prov. 20:12).
Still another instance in which the Greek word HELKO is translated "draw," when it refers to taking by force and overcoming all resistance, is Acts 21:30. Paul is seen in the temple at Jerusalem, and the Jews are so aroused by the presence of this apostle of Jesus that they incite the mob to lynch him if at all possible. They did not gently invite him to "please leave," nor did they "lovingly" draw him out of the place. No, they grabbed him forcibly, determined to haul him out of their holy house. The Scripture declares that "All the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they took Paul, and DREW him out of the temple, and at once the doors were shut." Of course he was rescued at this point by the Roman soldiers before the Jews could kill him for desecrating the temple by his presence. The point is that "draw" speaks of violence and force, not gentle persuasion.
No one ever comes to Jesus without God having planned the time and the manner. No one ever "decides" to accept Jesus of his own "free will." It is the volition of the Lord that moves powerfully and irresistibly upon the sinner to trust the Saviour, and not the will of the spiritually dead creature who loves darkness rather than light! "No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me DRAW him... " (Jn. 6:44). Do you think that you came to the Christ of your own free will, as a free moral agent? Do you dare assume that your old corrupt mind and heart somehow became persuaded to violate its very nature and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Then read Jn. 6:44 and Jn. 12:32 again and accept it for what it plainly says! Treat these verses with honesty. Jesus says that NO ONE can come unto Him apart from the irresistible force of God's drawing, and He also says that because He died HE WILL FORCIBLY AND IRRESISTIBLY DRAW A-L-L M-E-N unto Himself.
I sought the Lord, and afterwards I knew He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me!
It was not I that found, O Saviour true; No, I was found of Thee!
Are you a born again believer? Then kneel humbly before your God and Saviour and confess that it was because HE DREW you, and not because you exercised some inherent prerogative of "free moral agency." Acknowledge His Word to be truth, and that just as surely as HE SUCCESSFULLY DREW YOU, He shall likewise draw and DRAW and D-R-A-W until He has drawn ALL MEN unto Himself! We ourselves are the living proof that He both can and will do it! "GOD has saved us ... not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (11 Tim. 1: 9). "The Son gives fife to whom He will... (Jn. 5:2 1). "I will draw all men unto Me." (Jn. 12:32).
BY ONE MAN
"For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead" (II Cor. 5:14). How can one who is dead find God? Impossible! Why should Paul connect the love of Christ with the fact that ALL WERE DEAD? Simply because it is the love of God in the Christ which is accomplishing this work, in His sovereign way, of bringing the whole world back to life and to God. Again we read in Eph. 2:12 "That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Ah, this is really a desperate situation! And all man kind was in a place like that. All of us were absolutely dead to God and without God in the world.
One of the most enlightening passages along this line is found in Jn. 1:10. "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and THE WORLD KNEW HIM NOT." How can anyone seek after the Lord if they don't know Him? How clear that mankind was in a dilemma. We could not direct our own steps or order our way before the Lord. We were without God and we were dead. And now John declares that Jesus came and walked in the midst of the people He had created, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW HIM! What chance did men have to return to God EXCEPT GOD HELP THEM?
The prophet Jeremiah declared, "O Lord, I know that the WAY OF MAN IS NOT IN HIMSELF; IT IS NOT IN MAN THAT WALKS TO DIRECT HIS STEPS" (Jer. 10:23). God had been saying through the prophet that His people were scattered, His pastors had become brutish and His tabernacle was destroyed, so it was obvious that the way of man is not in himself. This being true, man cannot direct his steps or set his pathway. This is the condition in which God began His redemptive work with man. If it was not in us to direct our steps, then we could not direct our steps back to God. This ability was not a part of the makeup of man. In the beginning the first man deliberately, and according to the plan of God, directed his steps away from God and, hopelessly lost, man has walked that way ever since. Mankind was made blind and couldn't see his way back to God, even though, as Paul said to the Athenians, surely God is not far from any one of us.
How we thank God that He sent one Man into this world who did know the way hack to the Father! This Man knew how to order His own steps, and also how to order our steps, when we could not direct them ourselves. We can see it so plainly in a little child. Even after the child learns to walk, it does not know where or how to walk to keep out of danger and harm. Its way must be directed by an adult. Without any fear it would run onto a highway filled with speeding cars. It does not know how to order its way. Just so, mankind does not know how to direct its way!
"For God has concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all" (Rom. 11:32). "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience (the) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall (the) many be made righteous" (Rom. 5:18-19). "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order" (I Cor. 15:21-23). It would be a most beautiful thing if all the saints of God could have an open vision that would enable them to understand the simple and obvious truth that if the first Adam could do something which the last Adam could not undo, then the first Adam had more power than the last Adam. In other words, if Adam could put ten people into sin and death, and the Christ could take only nine out, then Adam would have greater influence and power than the Christ. But whether we believe it or not, ALL POWER HAS BEEN GIVEN UNTO THE CHRIST.
With the foregoing truth in mind let us read a most remarkable and significant statement in Jn. 12:31. "NOW is the judgment of this world." What a volume of truth is contained in those few short words! The word "judgment" literally means A DECISION. We know that any judgment is a decision. Jesus was saying that now is THE DECISION of this world, or now is the time the world is going to decide what it is going to do. At the time He uttered these words Jesus was preparing to be sacrificed on behalf of the people of the world. He came to taste death for every man. He was speaking just prior to His crucifixion and the world was soon to make a momentous decision. The world would decide just what it would do with the Christ. It should be clear to every honest heart that the world at that or any other time, WAS NOT CAPABLE OF TURNING TO GOD, or of MAKING A DECISION FOR ITSELF THAT WOULD CAUSE IT TO RETURN TO GOD. There was absolutely no desire, no will, nor any purpose on the part of mankind to return to God. The people of Israel, with the Gentiles, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and His Anointed. They wouldn't have "this man" to rule over them. They were finished with Jesus, the Son of the living God. So Jesus declared that the world must decide what it would do, yet it was in no condition to decide!
This condition is again mirrored in the lives of our children. In the life of a child, there are times when decisions must be made, and the child is not capable of deciding, SO SOMEONE ELSE MUST DO IT FOR HIM. The parent, or other responsible person, must make the decision. Here in chapter twelve of John we see a whole world that is estranged from God and dead in trespasses and sins, without God and without hope. Here was a world whose ears were stopped, whose eyes were blinded, and understanding had been taken from their hearts. Yet this world was going to be required to make a decision!
Another profound statement, freighted with meaning, accompanies the statement by Jesus that we have previously quoted. He said, "NOW shall the prince of this world be cast out" (Jn. 12:31). Christ proclaims two great truths which cannot be separated. "NOW is the judgment (decision) of this world: NOW shall the prince of this world be cast out." The world had come to the crossroads and must make a decision, but was not capable of doing it. So Jesus said that the prince of this world would be cast out and that He, Jesus, the last Adam, the representative of the whole human race, would decide for the whole human race, just as the first Adam, the first representative man, decided for us all. If the first Adam, as a representative man was able to decide for all the world and put us all into sin and death, then the last Adam, the Christ of God, as the representative man could decide to take all of us out of sin!
How meaningful, then, the inspired words of the apostle Paul, "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son..." (Rom. 5:10). According to all human reasoning this is an impossibility - that my enemy could be reconciled to me by the death of my own son. But Paul argues that the death of Jesus reconciled us, the enemies of God, unto God. By the death of the Son of God was this wrought. Naturally, an enemy would refuse to be reconciled. He would have nothing to do with it. Nevertheless, God sent His Son, and by the dying of that Son, reconciled T-H-E W-O-R-L-D unto Himself (II Cor. 5:19). God did not consult with the world, did not ask the world whether it wanted to be reconciled. He just went ahead and did it! God knew from the beginning that we would not be capable of deciding for ourselves. We would be so bound by the fetters of sin, so bound by our pride and ignorance, our minds so twisted by the illusions of this world, our reasoning so warped by the god of this world, that we could not decide. So God decreed that He would seal up all humanity in unbelief, conclude all under sin, stop up their ears that they could not hear, blind their eyes that they could not see, and take understanding from their hearts that they could not understand. He would send His own Son as a representative man to make the decision for us, to lead us all back to Himself, since we were not able to direct our path or order our way. He concluded us all in unbelief and then let JESUS DECIDE FOR US. This, God did!
BY ONE MAN! Dare we believe it? Dare we embrace the simple but glorious truth that "...as by the offense of one judgment came upon ALL MEN to comdemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon ALL MEN unto justification of life" (Rom. 5:18)? Are the blessed words of the apostle Paul too good to be true, wherein he states, "God was in Christ RECONCILING T-H-E W-O-R-L-D unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (11 Cor. 5:19)? Ah - the destiny of the whole race was settled in one man, even Jesus. He was both the sacrifice and the new federal head of the race who would gather us all up into His loving arms and bring us back to God. He would lead all into salvation. Oh! how I rejoice that God did not permit the world to decide the eternal question, but that He sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, to do it for us. What matchless love! And in God's own good time, as the orderly procession of the ages run their course, all will be worked out for His glory.
In view of the marvelous, glorious, majestic and all-inclusive work of the last Adam - what good would it do for man to be a FREE MORAL AGENT? God has overruled the will of man, anyway. Oh, no, beloved, man is not a free moral agent. JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY MAN WHO IS A FREE MORAL AGENT. And He made the right choice, the one and only right decision. And HE MADE IT FOR US ALL! Praise His name! And we, the FIRSTFRUITS of His redemption, are the proof, the guarantee, that God is both willing and able to save ALL. Thank God! Man is NOT a free moral agent!

Changing Into Each Other - r jackson

2009-04-18T19:55:00.011-05:00

I created you with my actions, actions that I was not aware of until I saw me in you. As I slowly became you and you slowly became me, neither one of us were the same as the beginning.

Did we like the change, yes and no. If you love someone you do tend to take on their attributes and they yours. The difficult part is that you take on their bad along with the good. No one likes the bad that they see in themselves. Consequently we don’t like it when see the parts of us that we dislike in others.

Perhaps the answer is that we consciously build up the good we see in one another and downplay the bad. After a few months of this conscience behavior we will see a change taking place. Everyone likes to be around someone that makes then happy about themselves. As we see the other person treating us differently and we then, a change for the better will take place in each of us. As this becomes a habit we will find so much more joy and love being with each other.

Each of us have acquired bad habits that we put on each other, the above reasoning will bring us to that point that we both want to reach. The point where we have the utmost love and respect for one another. We will then begin to appreciate the differences of our personalities and not even give thought to our imperfections.
1 Corinthians 7: 3-4

Ephesians 5:28 and 33

Eternity - J. Preston Eby

2009-04-05T19:28:00.005-05:00

The Savior of the World series by J. Preston Eby

GOD HAS A PLAN!

AMONG all the questions that men have asked, there is one that is of supreme interest and importance. Why are we here? What is our destiny? What lies beyond the grave for the Christian, for the unbeliever? For old, for young? For our fellow citizens, and for the teeming masses in far-away lands serving strange gods? These questions were raised by one of the great poets of all times. I am speaking now of that American genius of letters, Edgar Allen Poe - an incomparable genius, and yet a man whose life was destroyed by unbelief. Millions of people have read his masterpiece, "The Raven," but few, I am afraid, have ever grasped the real spiritual significance of the struggle that was going on in the soul of this man. He asked four very significant questions - questions which every living soul, at one,' time or another, must raise to God. First, Is there a God who comforts? Is there a God who can assuage the pain of life? (In this case it is the poignant pain of the loss of a loved one, his beloved Lenore.) Is there "some water from the river of paradise, the water of Nephenthe," which can take away the heartache that is driving him insane? Secondly, he asks, Is there really a Christ? Does He live? Is there a balm in Gilead? Is there One who can smoothie the wrinkled brow and soften the hard heart? Thirdly, he asks, Is there some place, some heaven, some distant Eden or future world where we shall be joined again with our loved ones? And, finally, Is there any hope that the darkness and hopelessness and despair of this life will be lifted? But always he directs his questions to his own unbelief which is personified in that grim and ghastly raven, a picture of doubt and unbelief. A few years after writing those chilling words, Poe became insane. Regaining his sanity, he drank himself to death, and this genius was found dead in the gutter.
Untold billions of human beings have lived and died without hearing the gospel of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. What has become of them? Is there no hope? For more than six thousand years generations of men, like the grass, have appeared and in a few fleeting years withered and vanished. Whence came those countless billions of human beings, and where do they go? This is the problem, which has preoccupied the world's thought since the dawn of history. This is the question about which philosophers have theorized and theologians have dogmatized. Unquestionably the problem of the eternal destiny of mankind is the question of questions! It concerns every individual and touches everything of enduring interest. Life is a vapor that appears for a while and vanishes away. But there is a beyond! What is that beyond to be?
God has a plan I Indeed; God has a wonderful plan for this world! It is a plan of which the architectural drawings were made in eternity. It encompasses the minutest detail of all of creation. I assure you that when time has run its course, and the veil is dropped upon the final scene, we shall discover that that plan has been worked out to its very tiniest detail, just as God had planned it in eternity - that His will has been done!
That is an amazing thought because it often seems as if the world is flying off unattended, like a chariot where the driver has fallen off, the horses are running wild, the reins are flapping in the breeze, and it is threatening to go over the precipice at any moment. Yet the Scriptures would have us know that God, the sovereign Lord of history, has His hands firmly upon those reins and that His plan is coming to pass. Think about it! Our God is perfect in all His attributes. He is perfect in His power. He is perfect in His holiness and justice. He is perfect in His love and mercy. He is perfect in His wisdom and in His omniscience. Therefore, His plan must be perfect. Indeed it is a perfect plan!
This is not to deny that the world is filled with many evils; that all about us we see that sin and evil and disease and death cling to man. It is not to shut our eyes to those realities, but it is to open our eyes to the realization that God sovereignly overwhelms all these things to bring about His own will. God has created this world. Even though Satan let chaos loose into the midst of the creation, God created Satan and God knew precisely what this angel of destruction would contribute. He knew of the chaos and the sin that would be introduced into the peaceful calm of those Elysium fields. Yet God created him anyway. God knew that with sin would come the perfect judgment of God upon that sin, which means sickness, death, judgment, disillusionment and decay. Yet, God ordained all these things so that He might overcome them for good.
Central to the whole plan of God is Jesus Christ and His greater glory, but even more amazing is the realization that God has planned for us to share His glory and to work out for us our good as well. God has a perfect plan. My friends, I want you to understand one thing. This plan needs no human support! In Madrid, Spain, there exists the Escorial, one of the greatest cathedrals ever built by man. For centuries the kings of Spain have been buried there. When that magnificent structure was under construction, the architect designed a vast arch, perhaps bigger than anything that had been built before. However, that arch was so flat at the top that the reigning king was frightened by the prospect of the tremendous weight of the roof collapsing on his head. He commanded the architect to build a column from the floor all the way to the center of that arch to hold it up. The architect protested vehemently that it was not needed, but the king insisted and, over the laments of the architect, the column was built. The king worshipped contentedly in the vast structure, having seen to it himself that the ceiling would not fall. The years went by, the church stood, and the king finally died. Only then did the architect reveal that between the top of the column and the bottom of the arch there was a quarter of an inch of space. In all these hundreds of years that have passed the arch has not sunk so much as a quarter of an inch. Today a board is still passed over the column and under the arch for all to see. So it is with the plan of God - that over-arching plan that encompasses all of reality and all of life. It needs no human support to hold it up. God is the LORD OF ALL and He is working out His purposes in our lives, in all of the world, and through the whole universe.
Read the words of that magnificent hymn: "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants the footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm." What a beautiful hymn! Many people may not know how William Cowper was brought to write that hymn. His life was in shambles. He was not a Christian. He was filled with despair and discouragement. In fact, so overcome with despair was he that he determined to take his life by taking poison. Instead of dying, he became deathly ill. He bought a gun and tried to shoot himself, but the gun would not go off. In great anger, he threw the gun away, got a rope and tried to hang himself. The rope broke. So then, in utter desperation, he hired a carriage in London and instructed the driver to take him to the Thames River. The driver could not find the Thames River! The fog had settled in so thickly on the town that even a London cabdriver got lost! After several hours he brought Cowper back to his apartment. He went up to his room, totally dismayed, and his eyes fell upon a Bible. He opened that Bible and began to read. He read of the love of a heavenly Father who loved even William Cowper. Astonished by the events that had just taken place, he read of the sovereign providence of God working all things after the counsel of His own will. He embraced Him as his Saviour and wrote the wonderful words of that great hymn.
Perhaps I ought to state here for the benefit of some of my readers, that the idea that God HAS a plan may be to them a new one. According to the view of most Christians, God has no definite, prearranged plan, but is simply endeavoring to do the best He can through human instrumentality to repair the ruin that sin has made, and, though thus far the majority of the race have been overwhelmed in that ruin, yet in the end truth will triumph and sin will be confined in an eternal prison house.
As some ignorantly misjudge the skill and wisdom of a great architect and builder by his unfinished work, so also many in their ignorance now misjudge God by His unfinished work; but by and by, when the rough scaffolding of sin, death, and redemption has been removed, and the rubbish cleared away, God's FINISHED WORK will universally declare His infinite wisdom and power; and His plans will be seen to be in harmony with His glorious character.
Since God tells us that He has a definitely fixed purpose, and that all His purposes shall be accomplished, it behooves us, as His children, to inquire diligently what those plans are, that we may be found in harmony with them. Notice how emphatically the Lord affirms the fixedness of His purpose: "The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand." "The Lord of hosts has purposed, and who shall disannul it?" "I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me... My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure ... Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it" (Isa. 14:24-27; 46:9-11). Therefore, however haphazard or mysterious God's dealings with men may appear, those who believe this testimony of His Word must acknowledge that His original and unalterable plan has been, and still is, progressing systematically to completion.
When we think of a plan, we think of something involving more than just a single element. An architect's plan for a building consists of drawings and specifications descriptive of its several floors, including styles of plumbing, decoration, arrangement of rooms, etc. Unless each floor of the building is to be identical to every other floor, necessarily the drawings and specifications for any given floor do not harmonize with the details of the other floors. No one, however, would construe this to mean that the architect is incompetent, nor that his plans and specifications are contradictory. God's plan, like the plan of a building, is also made up of many parts. Instead of different floors, however, it embraces EPOCHS AND AGES. Through each of these ages the divine plan has steadily progressed toward completion. Only when it is complete, and mankind sees the result, will they all be able to appreciate the wisdom, justice, love and power of the Divine Architect. -Ps. 72:1-20

THE PLAN OF THE AGES
Upon your table today there is or should be a book we call the Bible. This book alone reveals God's secret plan of the ages. It unfolds with unerring accuracy the mysteries of ages in the dim and misty past and points with unerring finger to the purpose of countless eons yet to come. The Christian Church as we know it has been living in a fool's paradise, propounding pet doctrines, ranting and raving about an endless eternity with golden streets and harps and white nightgowns for some and crackling, searing, tormenting flames for others, but almost completely overlooking God's wonderful PLAN OF THE AGES.
Paul writes of this plan of the ages in Eph. 3:8-11. "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and make all to see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 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." The word translated "eternal" in the phrase "eternal purpose" is the Greek word AIONON that means "ages." Young's Literal Translation reads, "And to cause all to see what is the fellowship of the secret that has been hid FROM THE AGES in God, who the all things did create by Jesus Christ, that there might be made known now to the principalities and authorities in the heavenly places, through the assembly, the manifold wisdom of God, according to A PURPOSE OF THE AGES, which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord." The Diaglott renders verse 11 thus, "According to A PLAN OF THE AGES, which He formed for the Anointed Jesus our Lord," and Rotherham says, "According to A PLAN OF THE AGES which He made in the anointed Jesus our Lord. "
It will be a wonderful day for you, dear one, when first your soul becomes enthralled with the revelation that God, before ever the world began or ever the ages were formed, looked forth from His temple of wisdom and omnipotence to chart with resolute care the course and purpose of every age. Your heart will throb as you read the opening proclamation of Scripture, "In the beginning - GOD! " In the beginning of what? Not in the beginning of God, certainly, but in the beginning of His creation of all things, in the beginning of time, in the beginning of the orderly procession of the divinely destined ages. In the beginning stands God, omnipotent and omniscient, creating, sustaining and guiding all things and all people and all the ages of time according to the purpose of His own will. No purpose ordained by God from the beginning can possibly go astray or be hindered by the efforts of devil or man. Oh, for the hour when all creation will grasp the beautiful message, "From Him everything comes, by Him everything exists, and in Him everything ends!" (Rom. 11:36).
As men with the aid of God's Word have gazed into the vista of the future, it seems to have missed their understanding that God says very little in His Word about eternity, while devoting many hundreds of passages to His will and works wrought through THE AGES. "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds" (Heb. 1:1-2). What tremendous statements we have here! God has spoken to us through His Son - literally, "spoke to us in Son," or, God spoke to us in One who has the character that He is a SON, revealing the realm and relationship of sonship to God. This Son is heir of all things and, blessed be God! We are joint heirs with Him. "By whom also He made the worlds. Many people believe this refers to the creative act - "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Actually, it does not refer to that at all. The word here for "worlds" is AIONAS. It means ages- "... by whom He made the ages." This goes beyond His being the Creator of matter and its arrangement into multiplied billions of stars, suns, and planets with their atmospheres and inhabitants. This lends purpose to everything. He is the heir who GIVES THE PROGRAM FOR THE FUTURE! He framed the ages, He ordained the end from the beginning; not only did He create everything, He did it for a purpose, and "known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18). Notice - the Amplified Bible says, "But in the last of these days He has spoken to us in the person of a Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the AGES OF TIME - that is, He made, produced, built, operated and arranged them in order! " "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." (Heb. 11:3), but it should read, "The ages were planned by the word of God."
God made, planned, and determined the destiny of all the ages by Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of this universe, and time and space, and there is purpose to it all. Abroad today is the idiotic notion that the universe is running at breakneck speed through time and space like a car that has lost the driver. The interesting thing is that when a car loses the driver there is a wreck, but this universe, even according to the scientists, has been running millions of years, and it has been doing pretty well, by the way. The sun comes up at a certain time every morning; it is very precise. The moon stays in a predictable orbit. As one of the men who work on the moon modules says, all they have to do is aim, and the moon will be there when the module gets there. This is not a mad universe in which you and I live. It has purpose, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the One who gives it purpose. HE is the architect and sovereign Lord of the ages. He FORMED THE AGES and appointed what should be done in each of them. I must, therefore, with utmost force impress upon all who read these lines that, if we are to comprehend God's great plan for the ages, we must raise our eyes far above the engulfing muck and sucking quicksand of Babylonish Church tradition handed down to us by the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth to keep God's people in bondage to eternal hopelessness. God has a plan of the ages! It was conceived by the omnipotent and omniscient Christ of God, the Creator and Redeemer of the world. Its successful conclusion is as sure and unfailing as God Himself is sure and unfailing. God never "flits" from one thing to another. He does not begin one work and then tiring of it, drop it and start another. He does not create what He cannot control. He is not the proverbial mad scientist who creates an UNCONTROLLABLE monster. The prophet Isaiah gives us the words of God wherein God declares, "I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isa. 46:9-10). God's purpose is so unalterable, so fixed, so certain that He could declare from the very beginning just what the end would be, and that end will come to pass in just exactly that way.
For many years now multitudes of preachers and people in the Churches would have us believe that God has been in this great work of the ages for the short period of about 6,000 years. They tell us that in this day God is about to become so disgusted with the whole mess that He is going to close it down, take a few saints away to some far off heaven somewhere, and give up on the rest of the creation, the work of His love. What a WEAK God some folk have and worship! They worship a God who CHANGES, one who in the beginning did start out to bring about a glorious end, but somewhere along the line lost control of the situation and has now thrown up His hands in despair and decided to destroy the whole thing and be satisfied with a little handful for Himself for all eternity. What great pity I feel for such people and for the god they serve! For this is going to put their god in the unenviable position of being filled with regret throughout all eternity because He was not able to carry out His purpose, and He will have to always remember that over in the hell He created is the vast majority of His creation suffering the tortures of the damned for ever and ever. What a prospect for God and His creation! If God knew in the beginning that it would turn out like this and included eternal damnation in His creative plans, then why did He create the world in the first place? Better to have forgotten the whole creation in the beginning! And if God DID NOT know this from the beginning, THEN HE IS NOT GOD.

"AION" - AN AGE
This brings us to the thought I want to share in this chapter. Let us consider the wonderful Kingdom parable Jesus told of the sheep and the goats. "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and you took Me in: naked, and you clothed Me: I was sick, and you visited Me: I was in prison, and you came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? or thirsty, and gave You drink? When did we see You a stranger, and take You in? or naked, and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come unto You? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of one of these MY BROTHERS, you have done it unto Me. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and you gave Me no meat ... then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto You? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you did it not unto one of the least of these, you did it not unto Me. And these shall go away into EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT: but the righteous into LIFE ETERNAL" (Mat. 25:31-46).
There are many precious and important truths contained in this parable, but we must restrain ourselves from pursuing them at this time in order to deal briefly with two points. First, it is important to note that this separation of the sheep from the goats was brought about, not on the basis of whether one had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal saviour, but solely on the basis of WORKS. Everything depended entirely upon what the sheep or goats had DONE or had NOT DONE. There was nothing of faith or a spiritual experience connected with this separation. The sheep were set on God's right hand because of the fact that they had done something - given meat and drink to the LORD'S BRETHREN, clothed them, visited them, and comforted them. All these things the Lord said they had DONE TO HIM. But the sheep confessed that they had never seen Him, so how could they have done these things to the Lord? He answered, "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of THESE MY BRETHREN, you have done it unto Me." All of this is a kind of ministry unto the Lord Himself and it brought all these people into a separation unto blessings of the right hand of God! This had nothing whatever to do with how the sheep treated the Jews, or the orphans in foreign lands, or the destitute masses or the poor drunk in the gutter. None of those are the Lord's brethren! Paul identifies the Lord's brethren in Rom. 8:29, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." The Lord's brethren are the sons of God, the members of His body, of His flesh, of His bone, of His spirit and nature. The sheep had responded in a positive way to these brethren in their time of testing and preparation during their sojourn in the flesh, and now there is rich reward!
This meant an entrance into a kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. This kingdom was not to be some far-off land of ivory palaces, golden streets, beautiful mansions, white nightgowns, wings and harps, where there is nothing to do and all eternity to do it in. THIS IS A KINGDOM. And because it is a kingdom it denotes rulership and advancement of all kinds. It indicates the bringing of a great many people into a higher realm in the Spirit than they have ever known before. It means WORK and RESPONSIBILITY and a place of ministry and authority to bless.
But the people who had never done all these things mentioned by the Lord were separated unto the left hand of God! They received no kingdom. There were no rewards for work done or attainments reached. Rather, they were set on the dark side of God, they were put under a kingdom and under authority and they were placed in a process of fiery judgment to receive correction. There is much subtle truth in these words of Jesus: "These shall go away into everlasting punishment." The word punishment is from the Greek KOLASIS, which means simply that - punishment. But it comes from the root KOLAZO that sheds precious light upon the nature of the punishment. KOLAZO, according to Strong's Concordance, bears only two shades of meaning, namely, "to curtail" or "to chastise." To "curtail" means to restrain as a person is restrained in ail or a child is restrained when he is "grounded" for a week because of some disobedience. "Chastise" has one simple meaning according to Webster's New World Dictionary: to punish in order to correct, usually by beating. It should be clear to any thoughtful mind that the subject here is not meaningless, sadistic, unending torture, but PURPOSEFUL CORRECTION.
While the King James Version states that these goats go into everlasting fire and everlasting punishment and the sheep enter into life eternal, that is not quite the meaning of the Greek. The Greek word here translated everlasting and eternal is AIONIOS and AIONIOS is the adjective form of the Greek noun AION. Some have arrogantly contended that the punishment must be everlasting because the same word is used of the life of God - eternal life - and if the punishment is not eternal then the life cannot be eternal. But that is an argument put forth by the ignorant, the result of the shallow reasoning of men who reach hasty conclusions not founded on the facts. "If the punishment ends then God's life must end, if the life is eternal then the punishment must be eternal," we are told!
In late years there has been much controversy over the meaning of the little Greek word AION. Certain deceivers, to further their unscrupulous ends and uphold their blasphemous and Romanish doctrine of eternal damnation, have maintained, contrary to and in spite of all revealed facts, that it means eternal. And our King James version renders it, together with the adjective AIONIOS as "age, course, eternal, for ever, evermore, for ever and ever, everlasting, world, beginning of the world, world began, world without end." What a horrible mixture!
But we need not remain in darkness, for fortunately the Word of God tells us precisely what this Greek word means. Too few have taken the time or energy to consider the real meaning of AION. It is the word from which we get our English word eon. Eon, according to Webster, means "a long period of TIME." Many attempts have been made to prove that eons are eternal. But this is more than a grave error; it is the height of stupidity, for the divine Author of the blessed Bible has not Himself used them in that way. AION nowhere means eternal! Its simple meaning is an age. In its plural form it means ages. This fact can be unquestionably and incontrovertibly demonstrated from numerous New Testament passages. A glance at any Greek concordance proves that the noun AION, or AGE, is not the synonym of eternity. A study of each case would make a library; so, leaving this task to the reader, we must content ourselves with adducing a few specimens to demonstrate the fact. It is usage that determines meanings - THEIR usage, not ours; the meanings that the holy prophets and apostles gave to their words rather than those that our English translators may try to give. Let me illustrate.
The term forever (and its equivalents, eternal and everlasting) often occurs when it cannot possibly mean unending. In the story of Jonah one is surprised to hear him say while in the belly of the fish, "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever" (Jon. 2:6). But he was in the fish only three days and three nights! When a Hebrew slave loved his master and did not wish to go free at the end of the seventh year, we read, "... His master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever" (Ex. 21:6). Of course, that couldn't be longer than his life span. Again, when Solomon built the temple unto the Lord, he began his prayer of dedication with the statement, "I have surely built You a house to dwell in, a settled place for You to abide in forever" (I Kgs. 8:13). And the Lord answered Solomon, "I have heard your prayer and supplication that you have made before Me: I have hallowed this house, which you have built, to put My name there for ever" (I Kgs. 9:3). But Solomon's temple lasted for only about 400 years! And it was never in God's mind to dwell there forever!
Here is something that ought to be clear to any intelligent, honest man. A word that is used to mean in one case three days and nights, in another case to mean a man's lifetime, and in still another case to mean a period of about four centuries, surely does not mean unending or eternal, no matter what English word is used to translate it. USAGE DETERMINES MEANING. Another illustration is the Aaronic priesthood. According to the King James Version, Aaron and his sons were anointed as priests forever. It says, "Their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" (Ex. 40:15). Yet we read in Heb. 7:11-18 that the Aaronic priesthood is CHANGED to that of Melchizedek. "Now if perfection had been attainable by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people were given the Law, why was it further necessary that there should arise another and different kind of Priest, one after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one appointed after the order of Aaron? For when there is a CHANGE IN THE PRIESTHOOD, there is of necessity an alteration of the law concerning the priesthood as well. For it is obvious that our Lord sprang from the tribe of Judah, and Moses mentioned nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. So, a previous physical regulation and command is CANCELLED because of its weakness and ineffectiveness and uselessness" (Amplified Bible). Amazing, isn't it, that the priesthood which was ordained forever has been CANCELLED! There would be no contradiction if the statement in Exodus were translated as it should be, "to the age throughout their generations." That is, throughout their generations AS LONG AS THAT AGE LASTED. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which Jesus and His disciples used, the Greek word AION was the word used for the Hebrew OLAM. According to Hebrew and Greek usage, therefore, these words mean a period of time, a period of unknown length, the duration of which is determined by the fact or condition or person to which the term is applied.
Furthermore, Lev. 24:8 states that the covenant given to Israel was an "everlasting covenant." Yet, it was conditional and based on Israel's obedience (Ex. 19:5-6). And the inspired writer of the book of Hebrews declares, "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah... in that He says, A new covenant, He has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to VANISH AWAY" (Heb. 8:7 8, 13). Ah, did you notice? The everlasting covenant has been DONE AWAY! What a wonder, that! We are told that the "earth abides forever" (Eccl. 1:4), but Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away.. (Mat. 24:35).
The Lord announced through the prophet Isaiah, "Upon the land of My people shall come up thorns and briers; yea upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: for the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall be dens for ever; a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks; UNTIL the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the WILDERNESS BECOME a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest" (Isa. 32:13-15). Verse 15 limits the use of the word in verse 14, for the desolations of the land are "for ever" only UNTIL the Spirit is poured out from on high bringing glorious RESTORATION!
As regards animal sacrifices, dietary laws, ceremonial observances and sabbaths, each was to be "observed as a statute for ever" (Ex. 31:16-17; II Chron. 2:4; Lev. 16:31). But the New Testament clearly shows that these were, one and all, but "carnal ordinances imposed UNTIL the time of reformation" (Heb. 9:10). It is clear - if "for ever" really meant ETERNAL - we would still be offering sheep, bullocks, and goats as sacrifices to God! But - more startling still - the idea of endlessness does not adhere even to the reign of Christ. Heb. 1:8 says, "But unto the Son He says, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever..." Now turning to another Scripture bearing on the same subject, we obtain additional light on this subject. "Then comes the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign TILL He has put all enemies under His feet. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, THEN SHALL THE SON ALSO HIMSELF BE SUBJECT UNTO HIM that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (I Cor. 15:24-25,28). The Kingdom of the Son will have a conclusion. In some remote time the Son delivers up the Kingdom to the Father, the Kingdom continues no longer in the rule of Sonship, but in the rule of Fatherhood, that God may be known no longer in and through the Son and the Sons, but transcendentally as ALL IN ALL!
Dear reader, it is high time to stop acting the fool. It is high time to cease from exalting ourselves and our ignorant imaginings above the knowledge of God. It is high time to bow in humble submission to His Word and cease our own blasphemous and ignorant pratings. It is high time for a lot of people to curb their wagging tongues and do some listening for a change, if perchance they might at length learn something worth talking about. The Hebrew words OLAM and its Greek equivalent, AION, mean a limited time, an age, and their plural means ages. No one who is sane and reasonable can maintain otherwise. To do so is to contradict all known facts and to contradict God's own Word. That is precisely what all the "eternal damnation" people are guilty of. God be merciful to them!
Let us look at how the word AION is used in a number of passages. About 37 times in the New Testament it is rendered "world," twice as "worlds," twice as "ages," and once as "course." Every place where the word "eternal" appears, with but one exception, it is a translation of this word AION or its adjective form AIONIOS. Twice it is rendered "evermore." Ever place where the word "everlasting" appears, but one; it is this same word or its adjective form. With but thirteen exceptions, every place where the word "ever" appears it is the same word or its adjective form. And aside from all this confusion, the word also appears in the plural, and in a number of confusing combinations, such as "the aion of the aion," "the aion of the aions," and "the aions of the aions," etc.
Some of the passages where AION is found will give us added information concerning it. In Eph. 2:7 we find, "in the ages (aions) to come." In Col. 1:26 we find, "the mystery which has been hid from ages (aions). " In Eph. 2:2 we find "you walked, according to the course aion of this world." In Heb. 1:2 we find, "by whom also He made the worlds (aions)." In Heb. 11:3 we find, "the worlds (aions) were formed by the Word of God." In about fifteen instances, such as Mat. 12:32, 1 Cor. 1:20, etc., we find it rendered "this world (aion). " Twice we find "this present world (aion). " In Gal. 1:4 we find, "deliver us from this present evil world (aion)." In Eph. 6:12 we find, "the rulers of the darkness of this world (aion)." In 11 Cor. 4:4 we find, "the god of this world (aion)." In I Cor. 2:6 we find, "the wisdom of this world (aion)." In Lk. 16:8 we find, "the children of this world (aion)." In Mk. 4:19 we find, "the cares of this world (aion)." How much more understandable it would be if the translators had used the word age instead of world!
In Mk. 10:30 we find that there is not only this present aion, which is evil, but also "the world (aion) to come." In Lk. 20:35 we find, "but they that shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world (aion), and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage." In Heb. 6:5 we find, "and have tasted the powers of the world (aion) to come." And in Lk. 1:70, Jn. 9:32, etc., we find that the aion had a beginning: "since the world (aion) began."
And now in reviewing the Scriptures we have just quoted we note that this aion is something which has a king; it has princes; it is in darkness; it had a beginning; it has an ending; it is evil; it has wisdom; it has children who marry; it has cares. The aions we find were made by Christ, simply through His spoken Word, and we also find in Col. 1:26 that the mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory, has been hidden from these aions.
Now, if AION means ETERNAL, consider how ridiculous the Word of God would be! The Holy Spirit would be found saying, "the mystery which has been hid from eternities;" "the mystery of Christ which in other eternities was not made known;" "in the eternities to come;" "You walked according to the eternity of this world;" "by whom also He made the eternities;" "the rulers of the darkness of this eternity;" "now once in the end of the eternities has He appeared;" "the harvest is the end of the eternity;" "since eternity began;" "in the eternities to come," etc. etc. Let the scholars whose business it is delve into the many intricacies of expression, and worry over the many grammatical combinations. Suffice it to say here that there have been "aions" in the past, there is this present "aion," and there are "aions" to come. And these all combined make up TIME, encompassing the whole of the progressive plan and program of God for the development of His creation.
Any thinking person should clearly see that if you translate the word AION that means an age by the word eternal, which has nothing to do with time, you immediately get the wrong idea. The same thing applies when the word AION is translated by the word world. It is incorrect and brings nothing but confusion. That is why so many Christians have been worrying about "the end of the world" when they should have been understanding God's special dealing here at "the end of the age." There is a great deal of difference between the expression, "He shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever," and the expression, "He shall be tormented day and night unto the ages of the ages." Forever and ever has no end. The ages of the ages do have an end, and their end will see every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:10; Rom. 14:10-11). The first expression forebodes complete hopelessness for billions and makes the faith of God of none effect. The second expression, which is completely correct, not only offers hope but also expresses the ultimate fulfillment of the purpose, which was purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began or before the ages were framed.

THE AGES OF THE AGES
The best way to arrive at the true meaning of a word is to study carefully the way it has been used. If we are to study a Greek word, we must go to the Greek text and not to a translation, nor to a definition, which has been derived from an interpretative translation. If, in the original text, the word appears in different forms, surely these forms must have some special significance. A singular form cannot have the same meaning as the plural. Since both forms are used they should be distinguished when they are translated. Yet in certain places the singular form is translated by exactly the same words as the plural form and thereby the true import of the words is hidden. For example, compare the following passages: Heb. 1:8 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (Gr: for the aion of the aion); Rev. 1:6 To Him be glory ... for ever and ever (Gr: for the aions of the aions); Eph. 3:21 Unto all generations forever and ever (Gr: for the aion of the aions). In I Cor. 10:11 we have the expression, "The ends of the aions." In Heb. 9:26 we have "The end of the aions." How can a period that is definitely said to come to an end be endless? How can a group of such periods, each said to come to an end, be forever?
I am aware that some people will oppose us on the grounds that the Greeks of today use the phrase "the aions of the aions" meaning eternal, everlasting. A Greek gentleman told me several years ago that "the ages of the ages" is how they express eternity in Greek, and that when the book of Revelation says "and the smoke of their torment ascends up to the ages of the ages" (Rev. 14:11) it means FOREVER. Ah, that sounds convincing, conclusive, final and unanswerable, does it not? But precious friend of mine, in studying Bible language we are studying ANCIENT GREEK, not MODERN. The Greek language in two thousand years has changed to such an extent that the ancient tongue is altogether unintelligible to a Modern Greek. The fact is, for over a thousand years, up till the year A.D. 1453, Greek was almost unknown or forgotten in most of Europe. Even in Italy, which formerly had been dominated by Greek, it became almost unknown. Ancient Greek has been a dead language for 1500 years! Anyone who knows anything at all will at once see the utter ridiculousness of this form of argument. Ancient and modern Greek are as different as day and night. As well might we teach our children the English of 2,000 years ago, and then expect them to be proficient in modern English, as to try to apply modern meanings to ancient Greek. The older the English, the more unintelligible it becomes. The spelling changes, word meanings change, sentence structure changes, until finally one is hopelessly lost in a morass of indecipherable hieroglyphics. Even in the four centuries since the translation of the King James Bible, what changes have taken placer "Thee" and "thou" have been replaced by the more familiar "you" and are no longer used except in classical literature and religion. "Let" meant to "restrain or prevent" in King James' day; now the word means exactly the opposite, to "permit or allow"! So with Greek. Ancient Greek is a dead language, while modern Greek is a living language, with about as much similarity as there is between German and English.
It was the false doctrines of the apostate Greek Orthodox Church that caused the meaning eternal to be placed upon the Modern Greek phrase "the ages of the ages." And don't think for one moment, dear friend, that religion doesn't influence language! The English word "hell" once meant "a dark hidden place" but Church dogma has through the years caused the word to take on an altogether different connotation. Word meanings do change! And religious dogma has effected many such changes!
So usage is the fundamental key to unlocking the meanings of ancient Greek words. That the expression "the ages of the ages" cannot mean an endless succession of ages, or eternity, is clearly revealed by comparing Rev. 11:15 with I Cor. 15:24-28. In Rev. 11:15 our Lord is said, in the Greek text, to reign "for the ages of the ages" but in I Cor. 15 His reign is said to end. He does not reign "for ever and ever" though He does reign "for the ages of the ages." As the Son, God reigns unto the ages of the ages through a process of subjecting, subduing all things unto Himself. When that work is completed and there is nothing more in all God's vast universe to subdue and reconcile unto Himself, God reigns no longer as the Son, but as Father He shall finally and eternally be ALL IN ALL.
Endlessness is expressed in the Scriptures by the simple phrase "no end" (Lk. 1:33; Dan. 7:14; Isa. 9:7). The thought of permanence is also expressed in Heb. 7:16, "the power of an endless (or indissoluble) life," and in I Pet. 1:4, "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away." Now had the Holy Spirit wished to indicate true unendingness or true eternity as the time issue in the punishment and suffering of the lost, He could have used the word that He used in Rom. 1:20 to describe God's "eternal power and Godhead, " literally God's "perpetual" or "imperceptible" power and Godhead, one being unable to see to the end of it! You see, had the Holy Spirit wanted to convey unendingness in reference to the punishment of the enemies of God, He could have used words that plainly denoted that, rather than the words "to the age...... to the ages," "to the age of the ages "to the ages of the ages, " etc., all which plainly denote SPANS OF TIME.
"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever (to the ages of the ages): and they have no rest DAY NOR NIGHT, who worship the beast..." (Rev. 14:10-11). Notice, dear reader, that these are tormented DAY AND NIGHT unto the ages of the ages and have no rest DAY NOR NIGHT. The very terms day and night and forever and ever prove beyond question that we are still dealing with the realm of time. The expression forever and ever is misleading and throws us into confusion, for, while on one hand eternity is indicated, on the other hand time is indicated by the use of the words day and night. There is no day nor night in eternity! Both are creatures of time. There is no way of knowing how long a time this will be, but since it unquestionably deals with day and night and ages, it does therefore belong to time and no endeavor must be made to equate it with eternity. These words are solemn and awful, and we have no desire but to acknowledge both the wicked deeds and the dreadful and fearful doom of those who are so justly condemned. I have no desire to spend even one day under the terrible hand of God's severity! But to refer to these words as bespeaking eternal, endless, hopeless, and merciless torture is to invite the fearful curse of those who "add to the words of this book" (Rev. 22:18).
Once we understand that AION and all the compounds of that word denote TIME, how clear everything becomes! And how ridiculous the ignorant pratings of men! In an effort to harmonize the Scriptures with the false doctrines of the apostate Church, the translators rendered "the ages of the ages" as "for ever and ever." This one little mistake once and for all exposes their folly. Even in English we can see that "for ever" cannot be endless if "and ever" may be added to it. Eternity cannot be added to! Only time may be compounded. Eternity is absolute timelessness. Eternity is without either beginning or end. There cannot be more than one eternity. You cannot add a second eternity on to a first eternity. Forever in English means "for eternity; always; perpetually; endlessly." Now if "for ever" is "eternity" how can you add "and ever," attaching ANOTHER ETERNITY to an already existing eternity? That isn't even correct English grammar! Ah - but ages are time and time, beloved, can be added to! When the Greek speaks of "the ages of the ages" it is speaking of AGGREGATED PERIODS OF TIME - not eternity! And you cannot get eternity by compounding all the time periods of the past and the future, for time began and time ends. The ages and all the time and times combined do not equal eternity. There simply is no such thing as "the endless ages of eternity" as the preachers love to say, for the phrase is a complete contradiction of itself. No one who is sane and reasonable can maintain otherwise. To do so is to contradict all known facts and to contradict God's own Word.
No other book that was ever written can be compared to the Bible, which is the Word of God. I am a believer in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, and I am not a believer in the folly of uninformed and unenlightened men who by ignorance of the facts and misinformation try with puny human reasoning to tear it apart. There are a great many people who forget their scholarship, however, if ever they had any, and contend for the King James Version even when it is manifestly wrong. One thing I should like to say in passing is, that while the Bible is inspired in its origin, you have to be exceedingly careful of two things: FIRST, THAT YOU HAVE THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT; AND THE SECOND, THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD TRANSLATION. Original manuscripts are inspired, but translations are not. To hear some people talk you would think that the good old King James Bible was the one Paul preached from!
It is interesting to note that the word "Easter" appears one time in the King James version in Acts 12:4. "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternion’s of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people." Here Easter is translated from the Greek PASCHA which appears twenty-eight other places in the New Testament, and in all of those instances is translated "Passover." The Greek PASCHA comes from the Hebrew PASACH, which means to pass, to leap, or skip over. We see from this that the English word "Passover" is the correct meaning of the original. How then did the translators of the King James Version come up with Easter? Easter, according to Webster's New World Dictionary, is from "Eastre," the ancient Anglo Saxon GODDESS OF THE DAWN - her festival being in the spring of the year. And "Eastre" is the Anglo Saxon form of the Babylonian goddess "Ishtar" the pagan Queen of Heaven! Hundreds of years after Christ the Romish Church, as a compromise with the pagan converts, adopted the pagan rites and customs associated with the worship of Ishtar into the Church as a celebration of the resurrection of Christ - and called that celebration EASTER! Naturally, Easter is celebrated at approximately the same time as ancient Israel celebrated their Passover. But the point is - because of deeply entrenched apostate religious practice, the translators of the King James Bible mis-translated the Scripture according to CHURCH TRADITION instead of TRUTH! We must never forget that the King James version was translated under the auspices of a STATE CHURCH, which Church was even at that time persecuting, torturing and martyring humble followers of Jesus who dared to resist and denounce its apostasy and shame.
It lets in light on the attitude of the translators of King James' Bible to know, as stated in the Bible helps of Bagster's edition, that King James instructed the men who gave us our Authorized Version, "To sanction no innovation that would disturb the orthodoxy or peace of the Church." It is said that, "The translators were careful in the main to respect the rules laid down by the king." What a vast difference it would have made in our thinking today had these translators followed consistently and accurately the Hebrew and Greek texts, instead of conforming to the heresies of the mother of harlots! Especially where "eternity" THE AGE OF THE AGES and the "ages" are concerned!
Thus, the translators were at the disadvantage of never being able to say or write anything that conflicted with the accepted belief of the While the Scriptures speak of an age, and the ages, and the ages of nominal Church, its leaders or the ruling element of the nation. In support of this I would give you a quotation from page seven of the Emphatic Diaglott as follows, concerning the King James version: according to Dr. Gell, it was wrested and partial, and only adapted to one sect; but he imputes this, not to the translators, but to those who employed them, for even some of the translators complained that they could not follow their own judgment in the matter, but were restrained by reasons of State." Little wonder, then, that we have eternal damnation taught in the King James Bible! (For more on the King James Version and 'aion', see link below)

THE AGE OF THE AGES
While the Scriptures speak of an age, and the ages, and the ages of the ages, - one age proceeding from, or out of, a previous age until all the ages have run their courses - it also points to that glorious climatic age of all ages. We read the phrase, "Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Heb. 1:8). These words "for ever and ever" come from the Greek, which literally reads TO THE AGE OF THE AGES. This is very familiar terminology in the Scripture.
Few men have been caught away by the spirit of inspiration as was the wise king Solomon when he penned the beautiful Song of Solomon. God dropped one thousand and five songs down into the heart of Solomon, but of these, only five comprising the Song of Solomon, have been preserved and have found a place in Holy Scripture. Inspiration named it "The Song of Songs," that is, the one song that was above and beyond all the songs that have ever come from human heart and human lips. Just as the "Song of Songs" was chief above them all, just as the "Holy of holies" was the Holiest place of all, just as the "heaven of the heavens" is the highest heaven of all, just as the "King of kings" is the greatest King of all, so all through the Scriptures, though obscured by many translators, we have this remarkable phrase TO THE AGE OF THE AGES. It points to that age which shall be the most glorious of all, and which finds its type in the year of Jubilee. This is the Holy Spirit's way of expressing the superlative, and so far as God's plan of the ages is concerned this AGE OF THE AGES is THE AGE PAR EXCELLENCE of them all. A simple illustration of this is our expression, "a day of days," meaning a day that comes out of previous days, which crowns them, and embodies not only what they contained, but the full fruition of all that was elementary in them. Eternity does not emerge full grown in man's consciousness until this wonderful age is ended. This AGE OF THE AGES is that glorious climax to His purpose and process of the ages, wherein He states, "Behold, I make ALL things new" (Rev. 21:5). And when He says, "ALL," it is self-evident that there is nothing remaining in the universe, which shall not be made new, else all is not all. "For He must reign until He has put ALL enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Cor. 15:25-26). When the last enemy is under His feet, destroyed, and there is no more death in any creature anywhere in all God's great universe, then shall God be all in all! The Amplified gives, "Be everything to everyone." Time comes to an end when the ages end and eternity, with God "all in all," becomes a conscious reality.

"AIONIOS" - THE LIFE OF THE AGES
I have pointed out previously that the word for "everlasting" as used of punishment and "everlasting" as used with life is often the same word in the Greek - AIONIOS. Some sincere and well meaning people assert that if AIONIOS does not mean eternal, that is, if the punishment is not eternal, then the life is not eternal. If the "aionios punishment" ends, then the "aionios life" of God must end, say they! That sounds like a reasonable argument, but when one searches beneath the surface he discovers that it merely reveals the ignorance of those who labor the point. Let us see!
The noun AION nowhere means eternal. Its simple meaning is an age. In its plural form it means ages. We have unquestionably and incontrovertibly demonstrated this fact from numerous New Testament passages. Now once we understand that AIONIOS is the adjective form of the noun AION, a simple little sixth-grade grammar lesson should once and for all establish the exact meaning of AIONIOS.
A noun is a word that tells what you are talking about. A noun is a word that names something, a person, place, thing, quality, etc. Boy, water, tree, age and truth are all nouns. An adjective is a word that is used with a noun to describe it. It is a word that tells you what kind, what color, which one, etc. If you wanted to tell me about the hat a woman was wearing you would describe the hat in some way. You might say that it was a large hat, an atrocious hat, or a red hat. These are adjectives, words that describe what kind, what color of hat. When you add one or more of these "describing words" or "adjectives" to hat, you give a clearer picture of what the hat is like. Some words are both nouns and adjectives, that is, the same word can be used both ways. Sometimes the adjective form of the word is identical to the noun form, while at other times the spelling is slightly different. Look at these sentences: "I would like to visit France." "I am learning the French language." France is a proper noun, but the adjective form of the same word is spelled differently - French. But in both cases they indicate the same setting. Anyone with even an elementary knowledge of grammar (English or Greek) knows that the meaning of a noun and the meaning of the same word in its adjective form MUST CORRESPOND! It cannot have one meaning as a noun and exactly opposite meaning as an adjective!
Let me illustrate. If we say "John is in college," the word college is a noun. But if we say, "John has sixteen college credits," college is an adjective, modifying the word credits - telling what kind of credits. Now we all know what a college is - an institution of higher education that grants degrees - so we understand what kind of institution John is attending in the first sentence. Since we know the meaning of college, when we come to the second sentence we have no difficulty understanding what kind of credits John has - college credits - credits gained through study in an institution of higher education granting degrees! No one in his right mind is going to read the second statement and conclude that John has just finished kindergarten, or that he has a diploma showing that he finished sixteen lessons in leather craft at the YMCA, or that he has $16.00 worth of credit at a department store! College as a noun and college as an adjective cannot have altogether different meanings. They mean the same in both cases!
Ah, brethren, let's be fair with the basic rules of English grammar and interpretation, and Greek, too, for they both follow the same basic rules. No one can say that AIONIOS means eternal without breaking the basic rules of English or Greek. The adjective AIONIOS which is directly derived from the noun AION occurs seventy times in the New Testament. It is an axiom of grammar that derivatives cannot have a greater force than the parent word. When we have an adjective derived from a noun, the meaning of the adjective is dependent upon the meaning of the noun. A daily paper is one that comes every day. A monthly bill is due for payment every month, not once a year. A yearly automobile license is good for one year, not forever.
Thus the adjective AIONIOS, a derivative of AION, carries within itself its own solution; for AIONIOS is simply what belongs or relates to the AIONS - the ages - hence it cannot carry a force or express a duration greater than that of the ages of which it speaks. If therefore these ages are limited periods, some of which are already past, while others are yet to come, the word AIONIOS cannot mean infinity!
And yet men who should know better tell us that the Greek noun AION means an age, or ages, which is TIME, and then proceed to ridiculously explain that the adjective form of the same word means exactly the opposite - unending, everlasting, ETERNAL! A child of ten should be able to understand that that is not so. The adjective AIONIOS modifies two nouns in Matt. 25:46 and numerous other passages: punishment and life. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." It tells what kind of punishment and what kind of life Jesus is talking about. It is ages-lasting punishment and ages-lasting life, or better stated THE LIFE OF THE AGES. Now I can hear someone protesting, "But isn't the life we have received from God ETERNAL LIFE?" Certainly God's life is eternal life. But we have received that life injected into TIME, so that the in working of that life through the processing’s of God is experienced in relation to TIME rather that ETERNITY. Let me explain. Anything that is absolutely eternal is not only unending, but is also UNCHANGEABLE. Anything that changes in any way is not eternal, for in the change some characteristic is left behind and a new one acquired. In every change something ends and something else begins, at least in form. That which dwells in an eternal state knows NO CHANGE. Change is possible only in that which is limited, imperfect, or not fully developed. The Lord declares of Himself, "I am the Lord, I CHANGE NOT" (Mal. 3:6), and the inspired apostle says of Him, with Whom there is no VARIABLENESS, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). God is never surprised. God has not learned anything this week, nor last year, nor in the last several trillion years. If God learned one thing today, it would destroy Him. He would no longer be the omniscient One who knows the end from the beginning, for known unto Him are all His works from the creation of the world. God does not experiment. God does not become stronger, mightier, or increase Himself in any way. God is the omnipotent and omniscient one. He CHANGES NOT. He eternally is all that He is without a decrease or increase or fluctuation whatsoever. Therefore He is the ETERNAL GOD! It means more than unending, it means unchangeable, and therefore unending! But we, in our spiritual life, are STILL BEING CHANGED! "And all of us... are constantly BEING TRANSFIGURED (changed) into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another" (II Cor. 3:18, Amplified). Therefore the life we have received is not truly eternal yet, it is the LIFE OF THE AGES, God's life injected into time to be processed and matured into that unchangeableness which He Himself is!

TIME VS. ETERNITY
It is a great and blessed fact that God is the eternal God. Transition, adjustments, change - these words seem to be constantly with us, until we fain would grasp for something that seems to be stable, solid, enduring. Much of the inner drive for change is simple evidence that man is not satisfied, has not found his completeness in Christ, for "beloved NOW are we the children of God, and it does not yet appear WHAT WE SHALL BE: but we know that when HE shall appear, we SHALL (then) BE LIKE HIM for we shall see HIM AS HE IS" (I Jn. 3:2). Here is stability - immutability - the quality of His nature remains the same, HE IS THE ETERNAL! And this is the nature of which we would be a partaker, the fullness of which we find in Christ, and through union with Him with which we shall be changed until we become changeless in the absoluteness of that which He is. He who is eternal cannot be influenced, affected, moved, changed, altered, damaged or destroyed in any way. He cannot grow tired or old. The character of God is eternal, changeless, unaffected. The love, joy, peace, righteousness and power of God do not rise and fall, rise and fall, rise and fall. Matters not what happens or what men or devils say or do, the love of God, the purpose of God, and the power of God are steadfast, unmoved, unquenched, unaffected, without fluctuation. The eternal existence of God is certain for He is the source of all life. Death cannot touch Him for He is not dependent upon the sustaining power of another; He is Jehovah, the SELF-EXISTENT ONE.
A concept we must immediately grasp in order to understand God's plan of the ages is that time is a created phenomena consisting of past, present, and future just as man is created phenomena having youth, middle age, and old age. No, you cannot smell, touch, or feel time, but it is there, ever-present, always marching into the future. Time was created; it had a beginning, it shall have an end. It is only one thing among countless other things that are part of the entire created universe. It is as much a "species" of creation as, for example, rocks, elephants, trees, and water are species of creation. Before the creation of the universe, there was no time; at the end of the ages when the present material universe is dissolved and replaced by a new, spiritual universe, time shall cease to be. It will be swallowed up into eternity just as all death will be swallowed up into victory, and there shall be no more death. Time - composed of milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, milleniums, ages was created in the beginning, and will be dissolved at the end of the ages.
A proper understanding of time as a created phenomena having beginning and ending is an absolute prerequisite to a proper understanding of eternity. Time is relative only to the physical universe and the purposes of God therein. Let me ask - If there were no such thing as the planet earth, would there be days? No! If earth didn't have a satellite called the moon, would there be months? No! If both earth and moon didn't have a thing called the sun around which to orbit, would there be years? No! If there were no stars, no suns, no planets, would there be time? No! Time is "duration set forth by measures;" the ticking of a clock, the beating of a pulse, the burning of a candle, the falling of sand through a certain aperture, - these, and a thousand similar regular movements, may serve as measures, more or less exact, of time. Time, then, because it is a created phenomenon, can be studied to some extent just as any other part of the creation of God can be studied. We know how it functions by its effects in passing: decay, corrosion, erosion, deterioration, or progression, growth, development, and maturity.
The late Dr. Einstein discovered, at least theoretically, that time and space are interdependent, inseparably related, and form a four-dimensional continuum (length, height, depth, and duration). That is to say, there is no space without time, and no time without space. Space cannot be traversed without the passage of time; without the passage of time, there is no traversing of space. That is why in His post-resurrection, spiritual body, Jesus was able immediately to transcend and traverse the space-time continuum with the speed of thought. By Christ's power, space and time cohere and consist. Without His binding power, space and time would become nonexistent. Also, since we know from the Scriptures that space is created, we can then know that time is created, too. We can also understand that both time and space (as we presently know them) will end together at the conclusion of the ages.
I am compelled to state that the Bible says very little by way of a definition of eternity because the Bible is essentially a book of time and for time. It was written for man who lives in a temporal state and who is not yet a totally eternal being. Only as we enter that state of being called eternity... only as HE who IS ETERNITY becomes "All in All" in us... only as we are spiritually metamorphosis into our eternal condition... only as eternity becomes an absolute reality to us... only then will formerly temporal beings such as we now are truly comprehend and understand eternity and things of an eternal nature. This marvelous work has now begun within our spirit as our spirit has been quickened by His Spirit. I stated that the Bible is relatively silent about what eternity is; that is not to say that human teachings and theology haven't taught us a great deal about eternity, but, alas! much of it over the past centuries has come from the carnal minds of Babylonish theologians and not from the mind of the Eternal One via the Holy Spirit.
ETERNITY IS A STATE OF ABSOLUTE TIMELESSNESS, not of unending time. Eternity is a STATE OF BEING, resident in the very nature and person of God in which such concepts as past, present, future, before, after, change, transition, growth, decay, etc. do not exist. It is wrong to assert that, when time ends, eternity will begin, because eternity has no beginning. Neither did it end when time began, as so many charts indicate. Therefore it is very important that we make a clear distinction between ages, which belong to time, and eternity, which is timeless. It is more important still that we, in our study of the Bible, search out diligently those passages, which refer to time, and those, which refer to eternity. Do you have it yet? Do you see? Time is not part of eternity; eternity is not composed of segments of time. Eternity is not time standing still; it is simply not time at all. Eternity doesn't go on and on and on, ad infinitum. Eternity doesn't go anywhere, nor does it do anything. Eternity simply IS. Eternity is part of the very nature and person of God. Eternity transcends beyond our knowing anything having to do with time. It is not time at all. It is just a glorious experience of BEING! Eternity simply IS, just as God simply IS. Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (Jn. 8:58) - not "Before Abraham was, I WAS." There are not past or future tenses in eternity. There is only one eternal NOW.

THE GOD OF THE AGES
Now the eternal God has injected Himself into time. The Bible rarely speaks of God as eternal; both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures reveal Him as the GOD OF THE AGES - time. "In the beginning God created..." Since that wonderful dawn God has been the God of His creation, the God of heaven and earth, the God of the ages, the God of history, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, and the God of our salvation. God is said to be living "for the ages of the ages" not because God must die when the ages end, but in contrast to multitudes of His creatures whose days upon earth are limited to "threescore and ten years." Generation after generation, through the rise and fall of empires, and the shifting sands of history, God remains.
The great revelation of the Scriptures is that this universe is governed by a throne and that throne is not in Moscow, it's not in London, it's not in Rome, and it's not in Washington - it's in heaven, the eternal dimension. Time is being governed by eternity, creatures are being governed by the Creator. There is a whole order of cosmic government that those of us who have had our eyes opened, our spirits quickened by His Spirit, raised up and made to sit together with Him in heavenly places, have beheld. And the first thing we saw was that ultimate reality sits upon a throne and governs mountains, governs hills, governs streams, governs insects, governs animals, governs things, governs man, governs time, governs history, governs creation, and governs the whole vast, unbounded universe!
God in Christ became man as well as God. God as man has tenses to His being: the yesterday of the past, the today of the present, and the tomorrow of the future. This is not the eternal God, but the God who has dispensed of His eternity into time. "Jesus Christ the same - yesterday, today, and to the ages" (Heb. 13:8, literal). "And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" (Rev. 4:8). Day and night do not exist in eternity - they fill up the whole of time. HE is praised and extolled both DAY AND NIGHT, this God who WAS, and IS, and IS TO COME, the God of the ages, the Architect of history, the Lord of time, the King of the universe, the Most High who "...lives for the ages, whose dominion is an age during dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants - of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" (Dan. 4:34-35, literal & KJV).
Oh, take me not back through the long ages to a Christ that walked the shores of Galilee, to a Christ that was! He is! He lives! He is here! In my today! I can never again be alone, never grope in the dark for a hand, never be forsaken, never lack in the hour of need, never fail in His ongoing purposes, never need a Saviour, a Redeemer, a Sanctifier, a Guide, a Master, a Friend, a Husband, a Father. I have Him, He who was everything in the yesterday of the past, and who will be everything in the tomorrow of the future, is mine today; and at each conscious moment of my existence - here, and in all ages, praise His wonderful name! Not a far-off, untouchable God, "inhabiting eternity," as the King James version erroneously states, but a God made nigh, INHABITING THE AGES, involved in His creation, working tirelessly and unceasingly and unfailingly until His wonderful plan is brought to a successful conclusion and HE becomes gloriously ALL IN ALL!
"Crown Him the Lord of Years - The Potentate of Time,
Creator of the rolling spheres, Ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For You have died for me;
Your praise shall never, never fail As long as Time shall be!

FROM TIME TO ETERNITY
This phenomena called time was created by God for man. Why? Time is the womb from which God is birthing a people like unto Himself. We get the germ, the beginning and foretaste of eternity in time, but this is only the seed of eternal life. This womb of time is provided to aid man in his development, to assist him in preparation for a new, totally spiritual existence beyond time, beyond the last age, when the umbilical cord is cut, in a state of existence called eternity. Man, as he is dealt with by God, is passing from a gross, largely material consciousness, into a glorious spiritual existence. Time serves only as an instrument to help man, to give him time and experience to develop into that new state of being. In time there is change - in eternity there is no change. All change and development must take place in time.
Thank God! we are being changed! But that means that the life of God within is still in a limited, imperfect, underdeveloped state. That life as to our condition and state of being is limited, imperfect, and in some measure immature. God has dispensed that life into us in time, that through a process of time with its experiences the spiritual life may be perfected and matured, brought to the fullness of that which HE HIMSELF IS. When the process is completed and we are like Him fully and see Him as He is, there will BE NO MORE CHANGE. We will then truly know what ETERNAL LIFE is! But as long as the life within is passing through the process of change, growth, and development, it is not viewed as eternal, unchangeable life, but as the LIFE OF THE AGES, life undergoing the dealings of God in time.
The eternal security of the believer is known only by the overcomers who have fully and forever conquered every vestige of the world, the flesh, and the devil, being conformed into the image of the Son. Of these triumphant ones it is written, "To him that OVERCOMES will I give to eat of the TREE OF LIFE," and again, "He that OVERCOMES... I will NOT BLOT HIS NAME OUT of the Book of Life" (Rev. 2:7; 3:5). The inference is clear ... until this "overcomer" state is attained, it is possible to have one's name blotted out of the Book of Life! That does not mean that the name cannot be written there again, any more than it could be said that it was impossible for it to be written there in the first instance. But it does indicate that the life possessed by a Christian who is not fully an overcomer is not by God's definition ETERNAL LIFE, for if it were absolutely eternal it could not be lost! Little wonder, then, that our Lord says to the Church at Smyrna, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a CROWN OF LIFE" (Rev. 2:10). it is my deep conviction that He speaks not of the death that takes this old body to the cemetery, but the death that comes by the INWORKING OF HIS CROSS until all that pertains to the realm of carnality has been completely and forever dealt with. Then, and only then, are we CROWNED WITH LIFE, His life reigning within without interference or possibility of defeat.
The life we now have is a progressing, growing, conquering life - the LIFE OF THE AGES. It is life that has come by the quickening of our spirit by His Spirit, giving a new beginning, and the potential to become, in due time, all He is. But I am sure my readers, with myself, must confess that there is a great deal of progress still to be made, considerable growth to be experienced, much transformation to be wrought before we stand in Him in the fullness of that life that needs no change, no further development, no additional experience, no more growth, no fuller stature, no added triumph, no increase of wisdom and knowledge - that state of being as unchangeable as He is unchangeable, as ETERNAL AS HE IS ETERNAL! Only faintly now do our eyes behold the splendor of that eternal realm which ties before us, but if we approach softly with reverence and godly fear, not disrespectfully and thoughtlessly as nosey children prying into some sacred thing, then the Lord of glory will meet us and will be a Father unto us and we shall be the Sons of God in whom the Father shall unfold the fullness of His life, mind, will and glory. Thus shall we come into that same image and be sharers with the Christ in the glory He had with the Father BEFORE TIME WAS - ETERNAL GLORY! I think I know why some become so enraged when we tell them that we do not now possess the absolutely eternal life. Is it not because they would rather ignore this life of the ages, somehow projecting themselves into that life which is eternal, claiming "by faith" the finished product, while by-passing the tedious processing? Ah, dear ones, it doesn't work that way! God has graciously given unto us life aionios - the life of the ages - and how I thank God that my present state of being is NOT ETERNAL! There is MORE! I would follow on to know Him in all fullness. And it will take "the ages," my friend, to unfold it all. As long as there is need for growth, change, and advancement, there is need for time. But redemption as a completed plan has a unique relationship to time. Until redemption is complete its work will proceed in time, but the finished work of redemption stands at time's end. Thank God! There is an END - then eternity, God all in all!
As God's plan of the ages has progressed there has been a level of life, a spiritual vitality, for each age. Each age has been different. Men in antediluvian times knew God in a certain way and received life of a particular order. Israel, under the law, and the ministry of the prophets, entered into another degree of spiritual life. Perhaps I can give you a simple illustration in this way. There is a difference between "fetus" life and "baby" life and "child" life. There is a difference between "youthful" life and "middle-age" life and "old-age" life. Can we not see by this that there is a continuing development of God's life in us, until HIS FULLNESS is attained, and there shall be a continuing development of His life in the whole human family in the ages to come until God becomes all in all.
God is cultivating within His Sons an eternal nature. The thoughts of God's people are becoming boundless and eternal, no longer controlled and motivated purely by carnal memories of the past, by present events, or by dim hopes for an endless future in "mansions over the hilltop". The fledgling spirits of God's Sons are fast growing up into the limitless expanses of God's own eternal, spiritual nature. Yes, the whole man is becoming a new, eternal creation, no longer limited by the space-time continuum. God's maturing Sons see the reality of a state of being called eternity, and their hearts strain and leap upward toward that "place" in God!

AGES-LASTING CORRECTION
We miss so much vital truth by our careless scanning of the Bible, and by clinging tenaciously to the timeworn traditions of the religious systems, mistaking them for the holy truths of God. It should be clear that if the "eternal life" of Mat. 25:41 is really the "life of the ages", then the "eternal punishment" is likewise an age-lasting correction. The Diaglott says, "Depart from Me, you cursed ones, into that aionian fire... and these shall go away into a cutting-off age lasting." The Bible in Modern English by Farrar Fenton reads, "And these He will dismiss into a LONG CORRECTION." Rotherham's New Testament says, "These shall go away into age-abiding correction." Young's Literal translation renders, "And these shall go away to punishment age-during."
The word punishment is from the Greek KOLASIS, which means simply that - punishment. But it comes from the root KOLAZO that reveals the true nature of the punishment. KOLAZO according to Strong's Concordance, means "to curtail" or "to chastise". The word means "a pruning" according to Liddell and Scott's Greek English Lexicon. it is so used all through the Greek language. That punishment of which the Christ spoke was the very thing that helped me to see the glorious HOPE for all who are unbelievers or rebellious against God - because the word punishment there means chastisement or pruning. I saw in a moment that it was not the destruction of the man; it was the correcting of the man. it was not the destruction of the tree; it was the cutting back, and the pruning, that it might bring forth fruit. Some rightly reason that KOLASIS cannot mean corrective punishment or pruning if it is everlasting. But everlasting is itself wrong - who ever It is age-lasting punishment, heard of EVERLASTING CORRECTION! age-abiding correction, age-during pruning.
There are those who did not enter into His life in ages past, there are those who do not enter into His life in this present age, and there shall be those who will not enter into His life in the age to come. But in the world where God is the King you can count on it - every man will finally have to face up to his waywardness, and being thoroughly disciplined, broken, and purged of self-will, until he is prepared to respond to the love of Christ, to advance from the realm of punishment into the blessing of HIS LIFE and victory. If you do not punish a criminal for his improvement, for what do you punish him? There are just two right reasons - to protect society and to restore the criminal to society improved by the punishment. The "aionian" punishment which will come to every sinner who goes to hell will be a punishment that will break his stubborn, rebellious spirit and bring him back to God!
It is most regrettable that many Bible translators have been careless in their translation of words that concern the ages. The common thought seems to have been that any age following this present age must be identical with eternity, which, of course, is gross error, and we get ourselves into all manner of confusion by thinking that such is the case. For instance, according to the King James version Jesus, speaking of the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, is clearly quoted as saying, "He that blasphemes the Holy Ghost has never forgiveness" (Mk. 3:29). Because of this faulty rendering we have concocted the fallacious notion of an unpardonable sin. But the Emphatic Diaglott translates the passage correctly thus: "Whoever may blaspheme the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness to the age, but is exposed to aionian (age-lasting) judgment." Likewise also the passage in Mat. 12:32...... Whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." The word world here, as the margin of your Bible will probably indicate, is translated from the Greek word AION, which means age or a period of time. See also Young's Concordance. Hence the translation should be, "It shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming age" (Diaglott). Jesus was born in the age of law. Therefore, when He spoke of this age, He was speaking of the age of law, the age to come being the Church age in which we now live.
God's precious people, saturated and literally "oozing" with the false doctrines of the harlot Church systems have long viewed God's judgments as a vindictive action prompted by a motive for revenge and supported by a tumultuous wrath that must be pacified. NOT SO! Such is a gross caricature of our God! His mercy and grace are super-abundant, His mercy endures to all ages, and though He finds it necessary to chasten, His wisdom and righteousness produce a just and pure chastisement conditioned to correct the situation, and bring forth a creature prepared to respond to the delivering and redeeming power of God. ALL OF GOD'S JUDGMENTS ARE CORRECTIVE IN NATURE, conceived in His wisdom, motivated by His love, administered by His power, and used to work out the divine purpose, into our good, and unto His praise!
This does not deny that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Rom. 1:18). There is no doubt whatever as to the fact that the Bible clearly teaches wrath - not only in this age but also in that which is to come and in dim and distant ages beyond that. But it is a just wrath; the judgment is everywhere said to be ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS (Ps. 62:12; Rom. 2:6; Rev. 20:12-13). The punishment will fit the offense, and it is for a purpose. If we teach that it is endless we will have to tear the Bible all to pieces.
Those who are hard and impenitent of heart treasure up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will render to every man according to his works. If you don't believe it, ask the antediluvians, ask Korah and his followers, ask the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, ask the Jews who passed through the holocaust, and ask all the rest of men who have lived and died trampling under foot the righteousness and mercy of the Lord. To them that are rebellious and obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness shall be wrath, indignation, tribulation and anguish upon every soul. All that the Scriptures actually teach about the wrath of God will surely come to pass. The wrath of God is an awful thing and it is not my purpose to minimize it in the least. I do rejoice, however, in the knowledge that it will accomplish its work until all men are broken before God and call upon Him for mercy full and abundant.
Thank God - He has a plan! And it will work. You can count on it. Grace has intervened. Love will conquer. The wisdom of God will be vindicated. God will actually WIN! Hallelujah! Isn't THAT good news! The devil will have none left to possess. The grave will claim not one victim. Death will hold no more power over any creature anywhere in all God's vast universe, for death shall be DESTROYED. Sin and rebellion shall raise their ugly heads no more, for God will be all in all. YOU CAN COUNT ON IT! THAT IS GOD'S PLAN!
For any of the literature write to: J. Preston Eby - P. O. Box 371240 - El Paso, Tx. 79937-1240

Being A Christian - r jackson

2009-04-02T17:45:00.014-05:00

When I was 8 years old a missionary came to our Baptist Church for a revival, he was there for a week Sunday to Sunday. The first Sunday he was there he visited all the Sunday School Classes and talked to the young people. He talked to our group and asks us all if we believed in Jesus Christ, and that he died for our sins. Of coarse we all said yes. He then said all of us that weren’t baptized needed to come down to the pulpit and dedicate our lives to Christ during that morning’s service. He also said that we could be riding home with our parents after church and be hit by another car and be killed, and if that did happen our souls would be in hell forever.
The above speaks volumes about what is wrong with organized religion. Let’s study the paragraph thoroughly.
Why was this self confessed man of God trying to frighten us into the church? The man was an ordained minister. He was either ignorant of what he was doing or was intentionally trying to put more feathers in his cap to make his self look better, his ego was showing. He was trying to frighten us into becoming Christians, and to make his record look better. According to my bible only God can choose you, you cannot choose God. Ephesians 2: 8-9.How many Christians in the church are really saved by the only method that they can be saved and that is by God choosing them. How many are saved because of a fast talking, egotistical preacher? How many are saved because of fear tactics from a preacher. Any method except the first, being chosen by God means that they are not saved. If we took all of the Christians chosen by God into one group how many would there be? Matthew 22: 14This saddens my heart when I think of all the people who at one time were sincerely seeking God the Father and then because of egotistical preachers and men teaching falsehoods they have become disillusioned with there brand of church. Religion is all about control. You need not belong to a church in order to worshiped God. Matt.18:20Church members are earnestly seeking God; they try and do what they are told to do in order to have the Father in their life. The problem is that they cannot get to the point that they want to get to, because they are trying to listen to their minister that sometimes knows no more than they do.
We need to take our spiritual life in our own hands and turn it over to God, he is the only one that can teach us and guide us in the direction that we need to go. 1 John 2: 27
Steps we can follow to let the Father rule our lives and not man.

1. Understand that God chose us in the beginning.
2. Jesus took away our sins, sin is no more. Hebrews 9:24-263. You must know that you have been totally redeemed; God has taken away every sin, every habit, in the past, in the present and in the future.-You must know that as far as God is concerned we are guiltless, without spot or blemish. God does not see sin. It is no more.
4. When you fall short forgive yourselves, because God does not hold it against you.
5. Know that God is perfecting you day by day, not all at once. You cannot perfect yourself; all you can do is have the desire to please the Father.
6. Know that "the only way that we can bring the kingdom of God to earth is to recognize everything that should not be in His kingdom and make sure it isn’t in us." (Gary Sigler)
7. Seek the Kingdom of God (not heaven) and Love Your neighbors; Love you enemies, this is all that you must do.
8. God is Love, God will never punish you ( let you burn in Hell) but he will perfect you.
9. Remember Matt. 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”