Part 2 of 3ADAM TO CHRIST Part 2 - Des Walter
For most Christians the Bible has become simply a history book particularly in the reading of the Old Testament. The result is that very little that is recorded for us there has any relevance to our lives today. God is speaking to us today illuminating our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit to discover truth that brings understanding of God’s workings in our lives today. The lives of the two boys Cain and Abel birthed by Adam remain distinct even to this day in all of us, and are manifested as the expression of our lives.
Cain has evolved into a “religion” that expresses a desire to improve the natural man, as he goes out from the presence of the Lord. The focus of these people is to make mankind happy without God, by building cities, and inventing harps and music, and producing artificers in brass and iron. Thus for them, the world becomes a better place through the arts and the development of culture which results in a natural human refinement, that has no effect upon the spirit of man. But some would argue that such an improvement in the creature is surely to be commended. If all we seek is an improvement in the natural, then we may indeed be satisfied with the results. There is quite a percentage of Christendom that preaches a social Gospel today that encourages external changes in man’s conduct, thus Christianising him but leaves the heart unchanged. However, man is more than flesh and blood, and more than intellect, for he is SPIRIT.
Abel represents a people that seek after God to touch reality in terms of true life, that can lift a man above the aspirations of that which is natural, in order to know God and become his companion. These people are happy to “die out to this world” so that they may embrace the Kingdom of God. The “Cain” people judge their brother and slay him, but the Seth people judge no man while they live as strangers and pilgrims in this world. Their quest is to search for a city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God. The religion of Cain names their cities after their sons, claiming possession of the earth for themselves. The Sethites, “Call themselves by the Name of the Lord,” indicating their origin and identity in him.
It is prophesied of the Cainites that the day is coming when, “The voice of harpers and musicians, and of pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more in thee at all. No craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee nor the sound of the mill stone. And the light of the candle shall shine no more, and neither shall the voice of the bridegroom or the bride be heard in thee at all.” But as the Cain and Seth lines advance to their respective conclusions, we find that the differences between the two slowly diminish until they can hardly be discerned. The carnal and the spiritual seed although quite distinct in the beginning have suffered changes due to the slaying of the saints over the years, whose blood is found in those that are of the line of Cain.
As we contemplate the diverse genealogy of Cain and Seth, we arrive at a point where God intervenes in the affairs of men and we are introduced to a man called NOAH. He is a man who seeks after the righteousness of God and walks in his ways, but is living in a world that is set in opposition to him. In Noah we are confronted with regeneration, which is the way by which a man already quickened and possessing spiritual life, finds release by being borne through the waters of judgement to a new world. For many in Christendom today, their focus is directed toward the reform of the “Adam Man” seeking to make him righteous before God. In doing so they are feeding the very enemy that is determined to oppose their spiritual development at every turn.
The gambler suddenly realises the folly of his ways and stops gambling and starts going to Church, convinced he is a Christian. Or a drug user “sees the light” and stops using drugs because he says he now loves Jesus, and he also believes this is regeneration. We have all heard many similar testimonies, which on the surface sound great, and everybody gets excited, but unfortunately in many cases the “Change” has not gone far enough nor deep enough to bring them into the Promised Land. God never intended to reform Adam, but instead he was destined to die. Because of this Paul says, “In ADAM all die.” There is only one way to “get out” of Adam and that is to D-I-E. In Gen 5:5 we read the solemn words, “ And all the days that Adam lived were 969 years, AND HE DIED!!”
The death of Adam marks a turning point in the history of mankind, and a new experience of freedom and release from corruption is introduced. The word “Regeneration” so accurately describes this account of God’s dealings with Noah, but is only used twice in the New Testament. The Greek writers used this word to describe the effect Spring has upon nature, in the bursting forth of NEW LIFE after the cold of winter. It also means the same as the phrase, “The restitution of all things.” Acts 3:21, and expresses the same thought in Titus 3:5. “Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
Salvation only becomes effective in our lives when connected with regeneration. Salvation that does not include regeneration can only be a good theory that lacks reality. In the Old Testament the word “Salvation” is the translation of the Hebrew word YESHUWAH or JOSHUA or JESUS. The first time this word is used in the Bible is when Israel was delivered from Pharaoh and the land of Egypt at the Red Sea. Not only did the Lord bring Israel out of Egypt but also he cut off their enemies so that the Egyptians could never enslave them again. Noah represents the spiritual mind that comes to the point where he is convinced that there is nothing in the “Old Creation” that can benefit him. Noah sees the old Creation as a constant threat and an enemy to his walk in righteousness. Therefore he is convinced that it must be brought into death or it will continue to oppose every righteous step he will take.
The idea of “reformation” has crept into Christianity with people giving testimony to certain changes in their behaviour that they attributed to “Regeneration.” They say, I used to drink and smoke but Jesus Christ saved me and now I do not drink or smoke anymore. OR I was a drug addict but I have now found Christ and I do not take drugs anymore. Now on the surface these testimonies sound great, but let us be honest, because such a testimony does not necessarily indicate that the person concerned is FREE. Yes he may at that moment be free from taking drugs, but is he free from impure thoughts, or alcohol or wrong desires. Can such a person claim to really be FREE? I don’t think so! So while we rejoice that he no longer is a drug addict, this does not constitute him a NEW CREATION IN CHRIST?
In John 5:24 Jesus expresses the very basis of regeneration, “He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, HAS EVERLASTING LIFE (a new quality of life) and shall not come into condemnation, BUT IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE.”
THE ROAD AHEAD
Noah had his eyes opened to see the wickedness that was flooding the world. The state of humanity was such, that there was no possibility of salvaging anything from the “Old Creation.” Every man who seeks to experience true regeneration today must come to this conclusion, “IN ME dwells no good thing.” God said to Noah, “My spirit shall not always strive with man (Adam) for that he also is FLESH, yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” Gen 6:3 Man had descended to the point that God now speaks of M-A-N as being “flesh,” even though he began as “spirit” that was breathed into his nostrils by the Lord God. Flesh now dominated his being dictating his actions and the direction his life would take.
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that the whole imagination, purposes and desires of his heart was only evil continually, and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man from the face of the earth, both man and beast, the creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them.” Gen 6:5-7.
This would indicate that God the creator had made a mistake when he made man, but this is not the case. The word “GOD” in verse 5 is actually JEHOVAH or the Lord God who gave form to the man in the Garden of Eden and who breathed the breath of lives (plural) into him. The word “man” used in this verse actually refers to ADAM and his offspring, and indicates a consciousness that was transmitted down the line of Cain. This resulted in a behaviour that was grieving to the Lord. However, for man to be able of reflect the glory of God he had to be given the capacity to think and reason and make decisions. But of course the possibility was always present that if those decisions were driven by a source apart from God, i.e. the carnal or natural mind, they would lead to a proliferation of evil.
THE WOMAN IS JUDGED
The natural mind sees the word Judgement in a courtroom setting, with the Judge declaring the nature of an act and then issuing just punishment. However in the Bible, judgement is an activity of God, correcting that which is a deviation from the divine will, until he can declare that now it is GOOD. Our God comes to us as a loving FATHER and not in terms of a legal judge. Listen to the word God spoke to the “woman” who has functioned independently of her divine head by asserting her own authority, revealing to those who discern spiritual things, the state of affairs that exists in every life right up to this very day. Gen 3:16-17. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.” This has been interpreted to mean simply that women would have pain in natural childbirth, thus relating it only to the physical. But what God is saying here refers to a mental anguish out of the fact, that she no longer has power over the fruit of her own womb, to produce offspring according to her expectations. I do not think Eve experienced “sorrow” just in childbirth when Cain was born, but a pain that persisted throughout her life because of the kind of child she had produced. She had birthed a murderer! Just think about it!!
The scene is just as frightening in the spiritual concept, for like Paul we discover, we have lost control over the character we desire to express, because what I really desire to do I seem to be unable to do, and what I do not desire is what I find myself doing.” The natural man today considers this is simply, “how it is,” and there is nothing we can do about it. However we are beginning to realise that this is the result of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The woman represents the WOMB in man with the power to bring into manifestation whatever is birthed in his heart. Jesus painted a most enlightening picture of the heart of man when he said, “Out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness and blasphemies.” Matt 15:19. Why then are we surprised when we discover our words and actions do not conform to what we inwardly know to be right, and actually desire to do?
Why should Eve be surprised that she had birthed a murderer when she planted the seed of rebellion in her own heart, that "killed" the Truth God had planted in her from the beginning. Why should it seem a strange thing to us that Israel “killed” the Messiah, when through idolatry they constantly murdered the “Truth” God revealed to them through Moses and the prophets. The divine ability incorporated into man in creation, allowing him to bring the invisible into manifestation, would continue to function, revealing whatever is being birthed in the heart of the man. Is it not true that, “By their FRUIT shall they be known,” and not just by what a man may say with his lips. This beloved is the judgement God passed upon the “woman” (soul) in every one of us. A man’s true heart will always expose the thoughts he has birthed within.
But we have not yet mentioned the second part of the word God spoke to the woman after the “fall” of man. God said, “Your desire shall be to you “husband” and he shall rule over thee.” Gen 3:16. Again the natural man has interpreted this statement to enhance the MALE SUPREMACY that is so often considered to be a divine principle. But let us look a little more closely at this statement and hear what the SPIRIT is saying to us today. Who was Eve’s “husband” (covering or authority) when she took the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?? Don’t tell me that ADAM was her husband at that time, because Paul tells us very plainly that it was not ADAM that sinned. So we cannot make him a party to this violation of the divine will. There were only two figures involved in this ungodly activity concerning the forbidden tree, the woman and the snake. The whole issue was conceived in collaboration between the woman and the snake without any other assistance. So at that moment her “Husband, Head or Covering,” was the S-N-A-K-E and not Adam.
Now we must identify these two figures to understand the truth being revealed in this situation. Eve is called “the mother of all living,” and represents the Mother or Female aspect of God, for God is both male and female, just as Adam was in creation!” If mankind is the offspring of God as Scripture declares, then the law of biogenetics must apply, so that they must also bear the characteristics of the parent, and carry the same attributes. In this sense Eve represents the WOMB in man which is the soul having the ability to bring into manifestation that which is invisible. No one has ever seen “anger,” to be able to identify what shape it is, or what colour it is, for it is invisible. But every one knows the effect of anger when it is birthed in the soul of man. Have you ever seen LOVE? I think not, for it is invisible and has no physical shape or colour, but its warmth can be felt and known by everyone when it is birthed in the soul of man and brought into manifestation. Eve represents the soul or womb of man in which the invisible becomes visible through manifestation.
But what does this snake represent to us? According to the imagination of the natural man it is the personification of a fallen angel that they call Satan or the devil. This “creature” is viewed as God’s opposition. It is said to be created by God and opposes every move God makes, thus frustrating his plans for mankind! Of course those who believe such things, obviously do not know God. Many would argue that the “fall” of man was orchestrated by this “Satan,” who assumed the guise of a snake considered to be a symbol of evil. But in ancient literature the snake is the symbol of wisdom and not evil. The medical profession uses the snake on the pole as a symbol of the wisdom and knowledge of their craft. The snake in the Garden of Eden represents for us the Carnal Mind from which natural man derives his knowledge and wisdom. However, the wisdom of the carnal or natural mind does not have its origin in God but in itself.
The Scriptures declare that there are two types of wisdom, each with its own source. In the epistle of James we are told, “But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and do not lie against the TRUTH. Because this WISDOM does not come down from heaven, but is EARTHLY, SOULISH and DEVILISH…… BUT the WISDOM THAT IS FROM ABOVE IS PURE, PEACEABLE, GENTLE, EASY TO BE ENTREATED, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUIT, WITHOUT PARTIALITY AND WITHOUT HYPOCRISY.” James 3:14-17.
The picture is drawn for us in the Garden of Eden, of a reality that exists in every man. The soul of man includes the Mind the Emotions and the Will, that now function independently from the MAN who represents the SPIRIT. This creates a situation in which the Soul is cut off from the input of the spirit, (heavenly wisdom) and therefore the only knowledge it has must be resident in itself. (Earthly wisdom) But the soul acting alone is totally dependant upon the FIVE Senses, as the source of its (sensual) knowledge. They are, sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. However it is impossible to know or experience God through any of these five senses, so the soul is limited to only that which can be known on a natural or human level. The soul is now is separated from its true husband (spirit), and proceeds to prostitute itself by taking the flesh as its partner for procreation.
The Womb of man that was given divine direction to be fruitful and replenish the earth has now birthed a seed that is quite apart from God, and has begun an alien race of people. The sad commentary of this is recorded in the words of Gen 6:1, “ Men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them.” The word Men used here is Aw-dawm or Adam and refers to the natural man as distinct from the “children of God.” So we can see that Eve’s “husband “ in this escapade was not Adam but rather the “flesh.” In using the term an “alien race” the idea is not that there is another source of life in this universe apart from God, but that these differ in character because they have been birthed through another “seed” which is not the seed of God. The whole human race is now tainted because it is no longer pure; it has become a MIXED MULTIDUDE. These are the tares that are found growing among the wheat.
Now look again at what God said to the woman in the light of this understanding. He said, “You will bring forth “children” in sorrow, and your desire now will be diverted from your true husband (spirit) to the “husband” with whom you have now prostituted yourself (flesh). AND HE (FLESH) SHALL RULE OVER YOU. It this not a true picture of life for every one of us? It appears we have lost our sense of control over our thoughts and actions, as if we have become like some “puppet” with a “Frankenstein” manipulating the strings. However, the Apostle Paul warned us not to let “SIN” reign in our mortal bodies as king, otherwise we will be forced to obey him as a sovereign ruler who will use our lusts to destroy both body and soul.
In this context the soul or womb will now be subject to the carnal man instead of being governed by the spirit of God. In practical terms what does this really mean? Let me quote Paul again, “For I know that the law is spiritual, but I AM CARNAL, sold out to (controlled by) sin, for that which I do I know not, for what I desire to do I do not do it, but what I hate that is what I find myself doing. For I know that in ME, that is IN MY FLESH dwelleth no good thing, for to do God’s will is present with me, but how to manifest Christ I CANNOT DISCOVER.” (Des Walter version). Beloved if this is your problem, let me tell you, “You have the wrong Husband!” He has the wrong seed, and the manifestation of that seed will continue to bring you sorrow all the days of your life. Of course I am speaking spiritually and not literally. When the Spirit that is God within you, impregnates your soul with the Divine Seed, you will bring into manifestation a SON OF GOD and that is CHRIST.
JUDGEMENT OF THE MAN
Now let us turn our attention to what God had to say to the MAN. Gen 3:17. “And to Adam he said, because you have harkened unto the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee saying, thou shalt not eat of it; CURSED IS THE GROUND (Adamah) for THY SAKE, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of your life.” The first issue that is judged is the fact that Adam took his direction from the female aspect of his being. In the beginning God had declared, “The heavens do rule in the affairs of men.” Adam represents spirit and as such contained all the wisdom and knowledge of God. In turning to the soul for direction Adam had robbed God of his place of authority in his life, investing it in the soul. (himself.)
By allowing the soul to usurp the authority of God, the whole animal kingdom within man was let loose, unleashing a catastrophe of epic proportions. After 6000 years of human history those animals have developed a cunning that is beyond description, and in most cases they are free to roam the world (of man) pillaging, destroying, raping, molesting, cheating and killing, using M-A-N as the vehicle of destruction. The Church has tried to build a fence around itself to keep the destructive hordes out by legislating “anti- animal” behaviour in their Kingdom. But the animals continue to cross the line with impunity, even to the point in some cases, of reversing their collar and taking their place right in the Pulpit!
What is the ground that is cursed for OUR SAKE? God is not speaking of the earth itself upon which we stand, but he is speaking of ADAMAH the “DUST MAN.” God has not cursed all MANKIND as we so often hear from our theologians, but he has cursed the EARTHLY ASPECT of man whose soul has polluted itself by forming a union with the FLESH instead of the spirit. This is called Adamah. It was the product of Adamah that Cain brought unto the Lord as an offering, and found that God rejected it, because it was cursed. Ishmael was also the product of Adamah so when Abraham presented him before the Lord he was told, “Cast out the bond woman and her son, for the son of this bond woman shall not be heir with Isaac.” God’s word is final, ADAMAH is cursed.
Because of the curse that is upon ADAMAH everything that is produced through the flesh will be a continual source of sorrow to us. How often do the thoughts of the carnal mind produce actions that bring much sorrow upon us? God said the Adamah could only produce thorns and thistles. The thorns cause pain through them piercing our flesh bringing great pain and irritation. The “thistles” in the Hebrew speaks of “madness expressing itself in rage” because of frustration. Remember all this is for our sake!! Because if living life apart from God had no “down side,” we would continue in it without constraint. BUT the way of sinners is hard, designed by the almighty to bring us back to him. God said to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face you will have to carry what you create through the flesh. To live out of the “FORM” is to live out of the DUST, but to live out of the spirit is to live out of GOD.
AN OVERVIEW OF REGENERATION
In order to get the divine perspective on the regeneration of man, we must return to Genesis 1. Although the natural man can only see this chapter from the natural and literal viewpoint, the spirit would lead us on holy ground through the many spiritual factors that a loving heavenly Father has provided to bring us through an even higher birthing process than that which Adam knew in the Garden of Eden. God’s purpose is not to restore us to the Edenic paradise enjoyed by Adam, with the possibility of the degeneration process again being repeated, but to lift us into the reality of our original state in him. We will then represent the very IMPRINT OF GOD, and not just his Image and Likeness, for we will be the brightness of his glory and the “express image” (identical replica, indistinguishable from the original) of his person. Jesus expressed this idea when he said, “I AND MY FATHER ARE O-N-E.”
We pick up the picture of man whose life and breath was imparted to him from God, allowing him to walk with him and sharing in the creative process. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginnings (plural) God created the heaven and the earth.” The complexity of man is expressed in this verse as a heaven complete with its galaxies, sun moon and stars and an earth. The heavenly and the earthly intricately woven into one, with the two interconnected producing a divine universe. Today most people only relate to the earth, seeing themselves as an earthbound human being. Our consciousness rarely reaches beyond the clouds in the sky, as if the “Heaven” aspect of life does not even exist. We stand upon the natural earth and look up at the stars and the sun and the moon with all its wonders, yet feel cut off from it, as if it has very little to do with us who live on planet earth.
In recent years man developed the ability to actually stand on the moon and to photograph some of the heavenly bodies, and we gasped in awe and amazement as we looked at the pictures of space on television. Since then man has basked in the glory of having “conquered space.” They thought they had now developed a connection between earth and the heavens, while MAN remained chained to the earth. The natural world of appearance is but a parable of a reality that has yet to dawn upon the darkened mind of man.
David said, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his workmanship.” What do we know of the glory of God as our finite minds seek to comprehend the distant galaxies of God’s spiritual habitation? No beloved, we are not looking up into the night sky above us trying to get a picture of God’s glory, but we might as well be, for we have been cut off from those celestial heights of divine glory just as surely as we are cut off from the infinite realm of space beyond this sphere we call earth. But although there is a reflection of God’s glory in the natural heavens above us, we are approaching the day when we shall break free from the gravitational prison of our humanity, and soar into the heavens of our own unexplored celestial realms.
We can never fully understand our “Earth” until we see God in his glory, enthroned in the heavens of our being. A true perspective of ourselves can only be seen from the vantage point of God’s dwelling place in the heavens. This revelation must precede the descending of the Christ from those high heavens, to become the WORD MADE FLESH and raise the earth of our being to the same glory of the heavens. For Jesus told us, “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. So we understand that the only man who can ascend up into the “heavens” is the SON OF MAN who is already resident IN HEAVEN. Natural man will remain earthbound and not know the glory of his HEAVEN until the moment of revelation when the CHRIST of God descends into the lower parts of the (our) earth transforming it to conform to his image and reflecting the righteousness of God, then leading us back into the heights of glory from whence we have come. This is why it is said that, “When he ascended up on high, he led a multitudes of captives into Father’s house and made available to them ALL THAT HE HAS. But remember, he that ASCENDED is also the one who DESCENDED FIRST INTO THE LOWER REALMS OF OUR EARTH.” Our responsibility is to prepare for him a place in our heart so that he can bring forth in us that NEW CREATION MAN and lift us back into the HEAVENLIES from which we have come.
For many, the glories of our heavens seem so far removed from us, that the earth has become the extent of our habitation. All our pleasures are here, and the earth’s gravity has impressed its effect upon us so strongly that most of God’s people rarely dream of an existence exploring the infinite space that is filled with God’s glory. WE can hardly conceive that we are SPIRIT and as such are as free as the wind itself. Beloved it is time to “Set your affections and desires on things ABOVE,” and defy the gravitational hold the earth has exercised over us for so long. We have been the “caterpillar” for so long we can hardly believe there is a metamorphosis working within to transform us into a “butterfly” and release us from the gravitation of our earthliness.
We had better learn to fly beloved, if we are going to join the great CLOUD OF WITNESSES gathered around the Christ declaring the glory of God to the whole earth! We gather together in fellowship and at times we feel some excitement as a sweet zephyr of divine breath blows gently over us, and we rave about it for weeks. But we read in Hebrews 12:22,
“BUT we are come to MOUNT ZION, and unto the CITY OF THE LIVING GOD, the HEAVENLY JERUSALEM, AND TO AN INNUMERABLE COMPANY OF ANGELS, to the General assembly and Church of the First Born which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the Spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”
Beloved my heart has cried out for that kind of Church meeting! There will be many who read this, who will consider such aspirations are totally beyond even their imagination, and so for them these ideas will remain outside the realm of possibility. We might as well be speaking of a holiday on mars. But beloved it is in this heavenly realm where all the glories of God are to be found and not on this earth level where we know IN PART and we prophesy IN PART, but when that which is perfect is come (CHRIST), then it will replace that which is IN PART. For so many precious saints, prophecy still dominates their ministry, which indicates that CHRIST HAS NOT COME TO THEM as a reality. They are still believing they have a divine ministry to tell people what God is saying, but their words carry little weight or power and do not have the ability to change lives.
Jesus said, “My words they are SPIRIT and they are LIFE.” So they will always have the power to transform lives. Most prophecies today lack that spiritual ability to generate LIFE. This is because CHRIST HAS COME just as he promised, on the day of Pentecost to dwell within a people. So Jesus said, “My sheep hear MY VOICE and they follow me.” That is the voice speaking out of his Holy Temple within us, and that voice will generate LIFE IN US.
The “gravity” of earth has affected our praying, our worship, and our spiritual growth and has limited our spiritual vision without which the people perish. Beloved we are the HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, a divine universe in which God dwells. Up until now we have tried to cram God into the context of our EARTH for that has been as far as many have yet explored in their universe. Just as it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual, for natural man keeps dreaming bigger and bigger dreams and then seeks to fulfil them. So man dreamed of walking on the moon and it came to pass.
Isaiah the Prophet of Israel testified to the people, “Arise shine, for thy LIGHT (Heb. OWR = the light of God’s substance Gen 1:3) has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee and the glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Is it not interesting that the divine manifestation of God will be evidenced not so much in the “earth sphere” of our being but in the HEAVENS of our universe?
In the beginning of the last century some saints reached out to see a manifestation of God beyond what they had previously known and so a Pentecostal movement based upon miracle phenomena was born. However the vision of those men who would reach out into the infinite realm of God so often fades, and fails to expect more than they have received. But Paul encourages us, “As we have borne the image of the earthly so we shall bear the image of the heavenly.” Beloved do you know what the image of the heavenly is? IT IS CHRIST! My hearts desire is to live and to function not like Christ, BUT AS CHRIST. Paul touched this reality when he said, “ FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST.”
We have become anaesthetised by the carnal atmosphere of earth to the point that we are no longer conscious of the fact that all our conflicts begin and are developed in the lower heavens of our being. If our conflicts were to develop first in the conscious “earth” realm of our being, then we would immediately sense some physical change in our body and be awakened to our changing condition. But this is not the case. The seeds of our unseen war develop in our lower heavens, in the realm of thought. But the unique connection and interaction between our “heavens” and “earth” is only realised AFTER the unlawful union is consummated between the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men.” The “Sons of God” are obviously thoughts that are BIRTHED IN GOD, that join in unholy matrimony with the “Daughters of men,” that are the thoughts birthed in the lower regions of the earth.
We read of the Apostle Paul who was caught up to the THIRD HEAVEN. This has caused much speculation about the “Number” of heavens that are there. I will not pursue this debate but simply say that there is a “Lower” heaven in which the spiritual part of us functions, but it is still bounded by the veil until the New Creation man is formed and we are able to break through all human limitation and stand in the pure light of the Glory of God. Of course, our own experience indicates that we do pass through various levels of glory, and each one beckons us on to higher ground. The tragedy for us is when we mistake emotional stimulation for the glory of God and so pursue a carnal experience instead of a true revelation of the divine Glory of God.
We need to be reminded that Israel’s problems during their wilderness journey came mainly from the MIXED MULTITUDE that left Egypt with them. Ex 12:38. Israel became a “mixed seed” and was no longer pure. This becomes a parable of our own lives today, when we allow an ungodly seed, i.e. thoughts that do not originate from God, to adulterate the manifestation of who we are in God. Very few people seem to understand that every thought you harbour in your mind will have a definite affect upon your body and produce its own manifestation. Thoughts of anger produce a destructive effect upon the body. Statistics have shown that if a person driving a vehicle has had an argument with someone and anger is aroused, the possibility of them having an accident is multiplied greatly. Why is this? Because their ability to make intelligent decisions has been thrown into confusion!
Negative thoughts and thoughts that are contrary to the mind of Christ cause destructive elements to be released into our physical bodies. Many people in the medical profession now agree that most if not all-physical problems are psychosomatic. This means that the origin of the problem is not to be found in the body itself, but in the “spiritual” part of their being. Now let me quote from the history of Israel to clarify the issue. Israel had recently been delivered from the house of Pharaoh and witnessed the destruction of their enemies in the Red Sea. God had brought tremendous changes into their lives and they are just three days out in this new walk, when they come to MARAH. The issue here is not simply water to drink, as our natural mind would suggest, but they are now just beginning to grasp the significance of their new “God directed” walk.
Now they have reached the place in this new journey called MARAH. It has just dawned on them that being free from Egypt and following the cloud of God’s presence was not to be the “fun life” they anticipated. God had now brought them into a situation where every “prop” that could be used to make them self-sufficient was torn away. Their personal choices no longer seemed to be considered. Even as slaves in Egypt they mostly controlled their private life, but here in this terrible wilderness they now had no say in where they went or what they did.
So there was established a fertile ground in the “heavens” of the people of Israel, for the “daughters of men” (carnal thoughts) to establish themselves and so possess the land of their own being. The divinely inspired thoughts of joy in their new freedom and release are now joined in an illicit union with carnal thoughts that are manifested as bitterness and anger. The echo of Israel’s praise to the Lord for their mighty deliverance and victory over their enemies had scarcely passed when these alien thoughts burst upon their mind clamouring for self recognition, and self preservation. This conflict is “The bitterness of Marah,” and every one of us has drunk of that “water.” In a mystical way Israel was introduced to the CROSS-, in the tree was cut down and cast into their bitterness, providing salvation from their inner conflict, if they were able to accept it.
Now the voice of God sets out the whole matter very clearly. “If you will diligently listen and respond to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and take notice of his commandments, and keep his statutes, I WILL PUT NONE OF THESE DISEASES upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians. For I am THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE!” Ex 15:26. We also read, “And God said thou shalt be blessed above all people, and there shall not be a male or female barren among you or your cattle. And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt upon you, but will lay them upon those that hate thee. Deut 7:14-15.
What a sad commentary on man is expressed in that Scripture that says, “And the earth was without form and empty and darkness was on the face of the deep.” Even the earth part of our universe that we can inhabit is still said to be empty and shrouded in darkness. Having been created out of the radiance of his light, and being in himself the effulgence of glory, we have come forth to live in the darkness of our benighted mind. Instead of the sun shining in its fullness warming the earth of our being and lighting it to reveal the glory of our God, we travel on through the heavens in a mantle of darkness. Beloved, as people look up into our heavens are we manifesting a light and a warmth that can encourage the weary traveller? Or perhaps our earth is even preventing the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS from being seen, as it blocks the healing rays.
Darkness is on the face of the deep! God is LIGHT and in him is no darkness at all, and yet the manifestation of that light is unable to shine through. Such is the helpless state into which man has come, although his origin in creation is out of the LIGHT. There is no power in man to lift the darkness, so we find God acting on our behalf, “And the spirit of God moved over the face of the waters.” The water is fluid and becomes the material out of which the body of our regeneration will be formed. The instrument of divine activity in all of God’s creating is always, “AND GOD SAID!” It matters not if it is the original creation or the New Creation there is only one instrument and that is THE WORD. “And God said, let there be light and there was light.”
Not only did God create the light but also he defined both the darkness and the light giving them a name. The light he called “Day” and the darkness he called “Night.” Both were bounded so that each night would be followed by a day. This will remain the sequence until we enter into God’s perfect day. That DAY is revealed to us in the book of Revelation concerning the time when we become the expression of the City of God, for it says, “And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of the Lord did lighten it and the lamb is the light thereof.” Rev 21:23.
You will notice that there is nothing that man can do in the regeneration process. Man cannot begin anything or continue anything and nor can he perfect anything. Everything is achieved by Gods instrument, THE WORD! To understand this is to grasp the A B C of Christian experience. All the work of God has been hid in Christ who is the eternal WORD. Therefore all that is in Christ is ultimately to be reproduced and manifested in the creature. If we would understand the work of regeneration we must follow the various stages set for us here in the book of Genesis or beginnings.
To sum up this over view of regeneration here are the main points for us to consider:-
1. We notice first of all that the work is progressive and does not take place all at once. It is a six-day program covering every aspect of our being. We see in nature, first the blade, then the ear, and then the full corn, so it is in the work of God. We are not speaking about literal days not of any set period governed by time. The work continues from Evening to morning, from darkness to increasing light, always from night to day and never from day to night. It is the evening and the morning that form every successive day. Darkness is not totally removed but is left to challenge us to seek after more light is order to keep the darkness within bounds. But always working towards the day, when there is no longer any night to follow for we will have entered into that eternal day.
2. The work of regeneration is a correcting of those things that are not according to “the pattern” which is Christ, until God can pronounce them as very good. We must refrain from judging ourselves too harshly during the process simply because imperfection still remains. For we know that “ He that has begun a good work in you will perform it until Christ has been formed in you.” That is the glorious day, for which all creation is waiting, when these regenerated ones will bring release from the bondage of corruption. Then this corporate man “Christ” will take the Gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth opening every prison door and binding up the broken hearted, until all creation is FREE..
3. Each stage in the work of regeneration will always result in the divine declaration that “It is good.” Even though perfection is not yet in view, there is always something that God can declare good. God never majors on the negative, neither does he bring in condemnation concerning some lack in us, but he works in us until there is something of Christ that he can declare good. Of course the carnal man will always be able to see our imperfections, but the spiritual man will only see Christ. Paul admonishes us not to know anyone after the flesh anymore but to see Christ in every man. As the Christ is formed us he will illuminate the Christ in others. In the epistles to the seven Churches in Asia in Revelation we always find that which is good and commendable mentioned first before there is any mention of that which needs adjustment.
Now let us look at an incident in the life of Christ that has been a problem for many. Mark 11:12-14. It says Jesus was coming from Bethany and that he was hungry, as he came to a fig tree that had leaves. I do not believe it was hunger that drew him to the fig tree but something else. In the case of the fig tree, the fruit always precedes the leaves. So here was a tree that was indicating that it had produced fruit, because it was covered with leaves. However on inspection the tree proved to have no fruit on it at all, so it was presenting a lie to everyone who saw it.
In its first application the fig tree represented Israel who presented themselves as the people of God, but they failed to produce the fruit of Godliness. So the tree, like Israel was denying its God given purpose, which was to produce fruit. In fact Israel was plotting to kill Jesus, although he was their Messiah. So Jesus cursed the fig tree denying it the right to exist and the next day the disciples were amazed to see it dried up so quickly, and was dead. What a solemn reminder this is to man not to ignore the will and purpose of God in our lives, to be a manifestation of God’s glory. Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees of his day saying, “Woe unto you hypocrites, for you are like whited sepulchres which indeed look beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones, and all uncleanness.”
NOAH AND REGENERATION
We follow the line of Seth until we witness the death of ADAM, for man’s true liberation or regeneration cannot become reality until the Old Creation has passed away. It is a total state of confusion even in the natural, for two personalities to exist in the same person. It is doubly so in the spiritual realm. God’s purpose in regeneration is to restore to us the glory that covered us in the beginning; therefore our old identity in Adam must be removed before we can express our true identity in Christ. But we are speaking of spiritual realities that cannot be accessed by any natural means. We must first be delivered from this present evil world through the travail and pain of death, before the LIFE of the NEW CREATION can be planted within us.
The principles behind regeneration were set in motion in creation and function effectively in all nature. When we plant a seed the first part of the process is that the SEED that contains LIFE must die. If it does not die but seeks to preserve its own life, then the life that is resident within that seed which holds the power to produce a whole harvest will have no purpose. So the divine principle of regeneration is that the seed must die, BUT OUT OF THAT DEATH will come not just life but ABUNDANT LIFE. The next truth revealed to us here is that the LIFE that develops out of the death of that seed is NOT THE OLD LIFE THAT WAS PLANTED, but a N-E-W LIFE.
One day the disciples came and told Jesus that some Greeks wanted to see him. Now listen to his strange reply to their request. “The hour is coming when the Son of man shall be glorified. I am telling you that except a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies it will abide alone or as ONE. BUT if it dies it will bring forth MUCH FRUIT. If any man loves his own life, (the seed planted by God) HE WILL LOSE IT. And he that understands the principle of LIFE OUT OF DEATH and is willing to die, shall keep it and experience the transformation of the OLD SEED into the NEW CREATION.” (D.W. free translation)
What was Jesus telling us here in answer to the question, “Sir, we would see Jesus!” He was saying that if you come and see me now as I am, you will simply see A MAN, and the true seed that I am will be hidden from you. However, if you wait until I am planted in the EARTH OF MEN, (through death burial and resurrection) typified by the Cross of Christ, you will see a multitude that no man can number who will be the NEW CREATION OF GOD. That is the HARVEST that is in the SEED, which will include you in the expression of that reality. So gentlemen have patience and you will see the corporate SON OF GOD, for that is really the thing you want to see and not just Jesus of Nazareth. Can you grasp this beloved?
Paul reveals this divine principle of regeneration to us in 1 Cor 15. He poses a hypothetical question that many would ask. “How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come?” Then he answers the question, “Thou fool, that which is sown does not reproduce life UNTIL IT DIES.” The divine principle is not LIFE OUT OF LIFE, but LIFE OUT OF DEATH. Many would question the wisdom of God that is being expressed in the “Fall of man.” But we will discover in all of God’s dealings with man that the failure of one thing through Grace brings in a better thing, for where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. Each advancing form of life, which God takes up, springs out of the failure of that which preceded it. The seed becomes rotten and dies yet the result is new life on a higher plain. Thus the “Life out of Death” principle will continue until that life that is produced has been purified to the point of incorruptibility and that manifestation is CHRIST.
The Apostle Paul breaths hope into us in the changes that must come ere we become the reality expressed in the beginning of Creation. He breathes confidence into us saying, “As we have borne the image of the earthly so shall we bear the image of the heavenly.” So Flesh and Blood must pass away as we move from corruption to incorruption until we stand in the perfection of Christ.
Noah is the man divinely appointed by God to present to us the entire course of regeneration. The secret of this mystery unfolds to us in a human setting, but within the natural picture is hidden the treasures of a life that is truly divine. In this divine process it is not necessary for us to know and understand every small detail, for the purposes of God accomplish themselves in us as we simply yield to the dealings of God. I really have little knowledge of the medical mysteries of childbirth but I had no problem being conceived and finally being born. So it is in God, we have been apprehended by God that we should be holy and without blame before him is love. Must I have conscious knowledge of all the spiritual mysteries involved in order to bring it to pass? No, for it is GOD that is working in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
We find this man NOAH already a righteous man, fearing God and perfect in his generations. So you may ask what more does God want to achieve through this man? He comes from the line of Seth so is a part of the divine seed, and has been divinely preserved until this point in time when God makes his next great move to restore us to our original glory. Noah was close enough to the ancient men like Adam and Methuselah who would have communicate to him the conditions that existed during their lifetime of nearly 1000 years. But now the new millennium is actually being ushered in through this man Noah. The millennium is referred to in Scripture as the Most Holy Place the dwelling place of God, for it was 10cubits by 10 x 10, which is 1000. So through Noah God is going to restore the manifestation of his Glory.
Notice with me the conditions that existed at this crucial time in God’s program. Both the line of Cain and also the godly line of Seth had become overcome by the flood of evil that had filled the earth. But in the midst of all the ungodliness that existed there was a man who was found righteous, and his name was Noah. “And God saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that the whole imagination, purpose and desires of man’s heart was only evil continually.” What a picture of degradation for God put a man whose heart was to walk in righteousness before God. I am sure he would not be invited to the social club. In fact he must have lived through hell in that environment. Our world is not any better today with all our scientific advancement, as every form of evil flourishes in the fertile soil of modern society. In the midst of all this God issues and edict saying, “My spirit shall not always strive with Man (Adam) for that he also is FLESH, yet his days shall be 120 years.” Man has become F-L-E-S-H even though he was created SPIRIT. So God is saying, I am not going to always “strive” with man, but I will allow him to become imprisoned by his own wickedness, and allow the evil he has chosen to bring upon himself, to bring correction into his life.
So although Noah was righteous yet his life was constantly being affected by the evil that filled the earth. We may live righteously but some drunk driver could rob you of your family, or some thief could take your possessions and cause you much grief. I have had to do with so many Christians who have suffered tragedy not because of their own actions, but because the evil of this world had touched them. However we are seeking here to know the process of regeneration through which God wants us to pass, and in the process to lift us ABOVE this present evil world to live on a higher plain where evil has no power to intrude.
From my experience over many years I know that the vast majority of God’s people know little or nothing of the truth of Regeneration, and so I feel a deep sense of responsibility towards the Body of Christ as I share the glimpse I have of what Noah represents to us today. Look with me at 2 Peter 1:3-4. “According as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to LIFE and GODLINESS, through the knowledge of him that has called us to GLORY AND VIRTUE. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE, having ESCAPED the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Please read that Scripture again and again and ponder every word until you see that we have been living in the paupers house instead of Father’s house, and have suffered from every evil in this present wicked world even though we are not a part of that world. BUT now, Father is saying I have made provision for you to live apart from this present evil world and untouched by it. Noah represents for us the spiritual man that has come to know the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the utter corruption of the old creation. He is not involved in trying to convert the sinners of his day. As far as he is concerned there is absolutely nothing of that old creation that is worth saving. Noah agrees with God totally and follows his instructions without any vain thoughts of reforming the old creation.
Would to God that preachers today had the same viewpoint as Noah. Just think about it, Noah was a preacher of righteousness yet he only saved his own family. Regeneration is never known until we have discovered the deep fountain of evil that is in the heart of the man who belongs to the old creation of Adam. When Noah comes on the scene, there seems to be little or no difference between the Godly line of Seth and those who issue out of Cain. Noah stands in his day alone clothed in the righteousness of God. He looks in vain to see if perchance there is something of that old creation with which he can enjoy fellowship. But the corruption is total and there is nothing there that can be salvaged for God.
God began to issue instructions to Noah that would lift him up beyond the reach of the flood of evil that had covered the earth. “The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of Gopher wood. Rooms shall you make in the ark and shall pitch it within and without with pitch.” Noah by his righteous life and now by his construction of the vessel of deliverance is witnessing to the coming judgement, and is testifying that there is nothing of the old creation that can be salvaged. Jesus declared that the axe is laid to the root of the trees. For the ark by which he goes through the judgement, is formed by cutting down and stripping the pride and strength of that soil in which the curse works. This speaks to us of the Cross-by, which the world is crucified unto us and we unto the world.
Its dimensions are divinely appointed and cannot be shortened or changed. Three hundred cubits long speaks to us of complete deliverance, just as the 300 men in Gideon’s army was all that was needed to gain complete victory over the enemy. In it there is a “Light” or Window facing Godward and a Door giving access to its safety. It is complete with all the food necessary to complete the journey to safety as nothing from the old creation can now sustain us. Within the Ark there are heights and there are depths having a lower, second and third level, to cover the totality of man that must be delivered from corruption.
Into this ark there is brought a selection of the animals both clean and unclean which present to us a great mystery within the work of regeneration. Many have assumed that after we are transported by the Ark on to the ground of resurrection, evil has been totally eradicated. But we find that even in regenerate souls, evil has filtered through. It would seem that a remnant of the unclean animals, which speak to us of lusts and desires that originate in the lower parts (lower level of the Ark) of man are brought through, although by grace their activity is greatly curtailed so that they are restrained. So in regeneration man is given back authority over the animals, but they are not destroyed. The reason being that in there creation there were no “unclean animals,” for all that was created was GOOD. It is because of the baser instincts in man that there came a change in the animals that are represented by the emotions, desires and will in us. However, the total subjection of all that would oppose Christ in us is clearly in view, for we are told that ALL THINGS have been put under our feet.
In the Ark the process of regeneration allows the development of the mind of Christ, through the limitation provided by the Ark. The light is received only from above bringing spiritual knowledge and revelation, while the “door” to the turbulent waters and flood of evil all around, is divinely closed. We have now become a prisoner of Christ. We are conscious of the convulsions of the earth within us that is under judgement, yet we are separated from it, for the Ark is “Pitched” within and without. The word Pitch is the same used for a “ransom” or a covering that is applied both within, providing a separation inwardly UNTO GOD, and also without, separating us “FROM THE WORLD.” This is the dual aspect of the cross, for the world is crucified unto me, and I am crucified unto the world. This work of the cross must continue in our lives until it has totally separated me from the world or “KOSMOS.”
The Greek word used her for “cross,” indicates a single wooden pole or stake upon which the basest of criminals were fixed to die a most excruciating death. The use of this word at that time involved the concept of fixing a person in a certain position, not just physically but in relation to acceptable standards or ideas of society. At that time the religious people of Israel sided with the “world” in fostering the notion that Christianity was anti social, anti God and associated with the lowest form of life. BUT in the picture the Spirit is painting before us of Noah and the Ark, it is GOD and not MAN that is drawing the line of demarcation between those who are regenerated and the rest of the world. By a divine security both within and without, the world will convulse with the judgement of its own evil planting without one drop from that flood ever touching the redeemed of the Lord.
We need to understand it was M-A-N who orchestrated the cross and not God. Christianity has glorified the “Cross” turning it into a symbol of divine love, when it really expresses the degradation and wickedness of the human heart, declaring, “We will not have this man to rule over us.” It has become a Christian symbol to be put on books and buildings and worn by people, thinking it gives them some sort of divine status. However in ignorance, Christianity has glorified the carnal mind and exalted the flesh. Beloved, GOD DID NOT KILL HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON! Listen to Peter in Acts 2:22, “You men of Israel, Jesus a man approved of God among you by miracles wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you as you know very well; he being delivered (handed over or made available) by the determinate counsel (Gk. “Horizo,” a predetermined knowledge) of God, YOU have taken and by wicked hands YOU have crucified and slain.”
The prophet Isaiah prophesied, “He is despised and rejected OF MEN and not OF GOD, a man of sorrows and aquainted with grief, and WE (not GOD) hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and WE esteemed him not. Surely be has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows, (Mental pain and anguish) and WE (MANKIND) did esteem (considered and imagined in our darkened hearts, that he was struck and smitten BY GOD, INSTEAD OF BY MAN, and beaten and scourged, and also depressed by his heavenly Father who humiliated him.” Beloved, listen to the Spirit within you and quieten the voice of religion that speaks out of Babylon, completely destroying the true character of our heavenly Father who is our God. If our God had to do all that and a whole lot more to his beloved son, before he would forgive mankind of their sin and redeem us, then I see no semblance of LOVE in that God at all. BUT I am happy to expose such a lie for what it is, and set the record straight.
Paul tells us, “By M-A-N came death, and by M-A-N came also the resurrection of the dead!” 1 Cor 15: 21. Now the Strong’s Concordance will show us that the Greek word for MAN in both cases is exactly the same. It is “anthropos” a human being. We have no problem identifying the MAN or “anthropos” that brought DEATH into the world, as ADAM. Then why do people want to argue over the identity of the one who DIED on the Cross and was buried in the tomb and rose again on the third day in glorious resurrection? How can we say that the one who brought resurrection was anything but anthropos, who also brought death into this world?
We are told that God made him (Jesus) TO BE SIN for us. Religion has made Jesus to be the SIN OFFERING but this is not true. He was made to be the MAN OF SIN and that is ADAM or “anthropos,” who is the natural identity of every man. It is Adam that is the power behind sin and produces death in all of us. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus sweat as it were great drops of blood, as he contemplated his final act to release all mankind from the law of sin and death. He was made to be the LAST ADAM taking with him all mankind into death as ANTHROPOS.
“God made him Jesus TO BE SIN FOR US, who knew no sin, that WE might be made the righeousness of God in him.” 2 Cor 5:21. Remember when Peter looked into the eyes of Jesus and said, “Thou art the CHRIST the SON OF THE LIVING GOD.” This was a revelation from God of his true identity, but all that people saw with their natural eyes was a human being, “anthropos.” So that by death, burial and resurrection he could return all mankind to their original state, which is, SPIRIT. Sickness and sorrow and pain were all part of that ADAM that was finally and forever brought into death by anthropos, to be released into the New Creation Man who is CHRIST THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.
Now you will ask, but what about the problem of S-I-N? Does there not need to be a Sacrifice for sin? Jesus did not seem to think so, for he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you did not require.” Heb 10:5. Then he repeated it again saying, ”Father you did not want sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and offering for sin, neither did you have any pleasure therein which are offered by the law. Then he said, “I come to do thy will O God.” What was the will of God? That he might offer the BODY ( Gk. SOMA = the flesh and blood body of anthropos), ONCE FOR EVERYONE! God declared at the time of the Flood in Noah’s day, that MAN had also become F-L-E-S-H, (Anthropos) despite the fact that man’s origin IS S-P-I-R-I-T. So on the “Cross” he tore aside the VAIL of our humanity (our flesh) through death, to reveal our true reality through resurrection as “CHRIST THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”
To return to Noah and the process of regeneration, we are facing the total failure of the Old creation now manifesting itself as flesh, even though in the beginning mankind began as SPIRIT. Now God sees all flesh as having corrupted its way, filling the earth with violence. There can be no reform movement here for God now declares that the END OF ALL FLESH is come before me, so I will destroy them with the earth. This is the flood of annihilation, not just for all flesh, but for the earth also they have polluted. Beloved let us be clear on these issues for Babylon has never recognised regeneration as the pathway into resurrection life. Hence it has devised many reform programs, which the Church in the world today has adopted as the process of “man’s restoration to God.”
The “Gospel” that is presented to the world as the means of “Salvation,” says, “Repent and be sorry for your sins believing Christ died instead of you on the cross. Then ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart, and you will be saved, born again and have eternal life, and you will be a Son of God, and go to heaven in the sky when you die. I am sure Noah could have built a very big “Church” if he had preached that message to the people of his day. BUT Noah’s Gospel was, “If you want to LIVE then be prepared to DIE, for your only salvation is in a resurrection into a NEW LIFE. But like today, most people are having such a good time in this wicked world, who wants to think about dying? Anyway, Jesus Christ DIED INSTEAD OF ME on the cross, so God has forgiven my sins because he loves the whole world and I am a child of God!
“Church” in the New Testament is the CALLED OUT ones. Called out of life lived as Flesh (anthropos) through a mystical death, burial, and resurrection, that only becomes reality for us when we identify with the death burial and resurrection of “ANTHROPOS,” (MANKIND) on the cross at the “place of a skull,” where the D-E-A-D flesh of men crucified the Lord of life and glory. But in that death we will not see corruption, for we are destined to be raised far above principalities and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world but in the world to come.
The ARK that Noah built out of trees cut down was a symbol of Christ. Just the same as the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place was also a type of Christ manifest as the presence of God. We must be clear on this, and understand what is the reality of this “Christ.” In the New Testament, the Greek word is CHRISTOS and means, “ANOINTING.” The Anointing is the manifestation of the invisible God, made available to us to allow us to make that invisible God known to mankind. The anointing is the “WORD” that was created in the beginning that was with God and was God, and has the power to assume the form of flesh, and so manifest the image and likeness of God on the earth.
The simple statement of Scripture is, “And the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, which appeared to us as the glory of the “ONLY BEGOTTEN” of the Father, who totally expressed Grace and Truth.” Of course there was no need for the WORD to be “born” for he always existed in the Father and still exists today and will do so forever. But the manifestation of God revealed in Christ the anointing, had to be made visible to all mankind and so a BODY was formed for him in Mary. She represents the female part of man, and since the days of Adam in the Garden of Eden, all of mankind have waited for the “Seed of the woman” to be born, that would bruise the head of the serpent. But there is a mystery in the birth of that seed that we must understand.
Jesus said, “Father you did not desire sacrifice and offerings and offerings for sin, BUT you prepared me a BODY.” Now the body that Father prepared for Jesus, was born of a woman and was flesh and blood. Heb 2:14. However, beyond his birth as a son to Mary, he was said to be, “Great, and shall be called the Son of the HIGHEST (Most High God), and the Lord God shall give unto him the Throne of his Father David, and he shall rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there shall be no end. And he shall be called A SON OF GOD.” Paul also says, “HE IS THE FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION.” So here is a great mystery, that one just born to Mary should be at the same time the SON of EL ELYON, and successor to the Throne of David, that would never cease to increase.
This is a mystery birth far beyond that which is natural, for the angel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the Power (dunamis) of the Most High God shall envelop you in his light, and therefore that Most Holy Thing that shall be birthed in thee shall be designated, A SON OF GOD.” This is the same BIRTH that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about in Jn 3. He said, “The wind (spirit) blows wherever it chooses and you can hear its sound but you do not know where it came from and you do not know where it is going, SO IS EVERONE THAT IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT.”
We have been speaking here of the MYSTERY OF CHRIST that was revealed to the Apostle Paul, having been hid from the ages past, and is now made known to us by the Spirit, CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY. That which is natural becomes the vessel to express that which is spiritual, for in a mystery both are united in one body, GOD AND MAN. The prophet Isaiah said, “For the Lord himself shall give you a sign, BEHOLD A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON AND CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL…..GOD WITH US…..to function in glorious harmony. Christ is not the name of any person but signifies the mystic union of God and man that allows God to communicate himself to all mankind, becoming one with them without diminishing himself in any way. But through that union in the people of God, his whole will and purpose will be accomplished in all the earth.
Now it is necessary that we understand this mystery of “CHRIST in you” and also of “YOU in Christ.” Jn 14:20. For the ARK that Noah built represents this mystical union, and presents it to us as the only divine vehicle that can transport us out of the corruption of this wicked world into the paradise of God. All of the “short cut formulas” of Christendom will leave man exposed to the flood of evil that is rising fast on this earth. The day came when Noah and his wife and family went into the Ark, but there were still six days in which to adjust to the change. Six is the number of man and it was the 600th year of Noah’s life when they stepped into God’s rescue vessel with the animals, birds and other creatures associated with man. “And they went in unto Noah into the Ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life, male and female, AND GOD SHUT THEM IN.
The most important phrase in the Bible is IN CHRIST. If we are not “In Christ” we are, “Without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having NO HOPE and without God in the world.” To be in Christ is to be bonded in a mystical holy union with the Almighty God. In that union there is no “God and I,” or “Christ and I,” but “I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE.” Nothing can happen to me that does not involve Christ. HE is the very source of my life that flows in a constant stream out of him who is the fountain of all life. He is also Lord so the animals, like that wind and the waves obey his voice, and the lion lies down with the lamb. The Christ Life is an emanation of divine life expressed through an earthly vessel.
Now the fountains of the deep are released. These are the springs of mental and spiritual faculties deep within man that can rise like a flood bringing devastation and destruction from a man’s inner being. Then the windows of heaven are opened. The Hebrew word here refers to, “Liars in wait” as in an ambush. This brings the thoughts in a torrent into man’s mind overloading his ability to cope with the strain. We often speak of a flood of ideas but now it is a deluge rising from the deep, and at the same time the flood is coming from above.
Just recently the medical profession stated depression was now the most common problem man has to deal with. Men are committing terrible and even unbelievable crimes against little defenceless children, and so are women. Children have now become murderers before they reach the age of 10. Women live in fear of being assaulted even in their own homes. We must lock up our homes like a fortress for fear of being robbed. Our ability to cope with these tremendous pressures is under threat. The flood is rising and the end of all flesh is come, but so few are heeding God’s message to Noah, to build an ARK. In many cases the Church is so busy with its programs that building an ark is not considered important, just like the people of Noah’s day. Beloved this is a wake up call, for this is the seventh day of preparation to enter into the Ark that is Christ.
The Ark is the only means of transcending the flood for there is no other. It is also figured as a type of Baptism, not as some ordinance to be kept literally, but in its expression of the DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION of Christ. To enter into the Ark is to bring the Old Creation (Adam) into death thus ending its ability to express itself through us. Now Adam IS DEAD. Then we bring him into burial so that he is put out of sight to become but a fading memory. Finally to discover in the process of death and burial a NEW LIFE has now sprung forth out of the Christ Seed that possesses our body as its expression. The New Life rises out of the ashes of the old.
Noah’s family who entered the Ark with him were not all spiritual, for their subsequent lives indicated the “animals” within them, returned to their former state releasing further evil and wickedness in their lives. So the Ark also stands as a beautiful symbol of God’s GRACE, extended to the whosoever will, may come. However this time in the Ark shut in with Christ is a time of deep dealings as the spirit allows a manifestation of every evil that is in the heart of man. Whether it is expressed or not is not the issue here, for we must discover that, “IN ME DWELLETH NO GOOD THING.” We must be under no illusions concerning the unregenerate heart of man and what it is capable of. Do not consider, Beloved, that those in the Ark were somehow exempt from such revelation of the evil within them. It rained for 40 days, but also for 40 nights when the darkness added to the insidious evil that manifested itself during that awesome time of self-revelation.
It would seem that the forty days was like an eternity, but there was to be no glossing over the ugly expressions of that Old Creation. The heights and also the depths must be plumbed, until cry like the Psalmist, “Deep calleth unto DEEP at the noise of thy waterspouts. All thy waves and billows are gone over me.” Yet probably the best testimony to this experience is that of Jonah speaking out of the belly of the whale. “Thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the waters, and the floods compassed me about, all thy waves and billows passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again unto thy holy Temple. The waters compassed me about even to the soul, the depths closed me round about, and the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the very base of the mountains, the earth with her bars were about me forever. YET HAST THOU BROUGHT UP MY LIFE FROM THE PIT O LORD MY GOD.” Jonah 2:3-6.
It is recorded that “The flood was upon the EARTH, and the waters increased, and BARE UP THE ARK, and it was lifted up above the EARTH.” The flood is released to crush and destroy the old Adamic nature. The judgement would be intolerable were it not for the fact that we see in that death of self the emergence of a New and glorious life free from the power of sin and death. Our salvation is in the ARK that lifts us up above the earthliness of the old creation, into resurrection life, over which death has no power.
However, do not think that this is the end of the divine process for more is yet to come. Peter tells us that many are ignorant of God’s plan. “By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the WORLD THAT THEN WAS (the old creation) being overflowed with water perished. BUT THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH WHICH ARE NOW, by the SAME WORD are kept in store, reserved unto FIRE against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men. 2Pet 3:4-7.
Water is a cleansing agent and so the washing of regeneration brings great changes into our lives. However if we desire the changes to be permanent we need to experience the “FIRE OF GOD.” Fire changes the structure of everything so that it cannot revert to its original state. So Peter goes on to say, “But the DAY OF THE LORD will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt (be loosed as it would be by heat releasing the atoms) the earth also and the works that are within shall be burned up. Seeing then that our heavens and earth shall be dissolved or loosed, we now become displaced persons from the earth of our habitation, so what identity must we now assume seeing as we have been released into the very atmosphere of God. Surely we must now walk in holiness and Godliness so as to fully express GOD.”
The Baptism of water is passed, bringing certain changes into our lives, which simply prepares us for a greater Baptism by FIRE that will complete the work. We are not saved, as is so often taught FROM Death and Judgment, BUT THROUGH Death and Judgment. It is therefore THROUGH DEATH that the power of death is broken. Regeneration must continue until we have NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH at all. Phil 3:3.
Then after the buffeting of the waters, God “Remembers” Noah and sends the SPIRIT again to brood over the waters, even as it was in the beginning, bringing the breath of God to the weary travellers. No, God never forgets us beloved, but in our affliction we often feel we are abandoned, only to repent for having entertained such a thought. As the Spirit breathes, the waters recede allowing the Ark to rest again upon the earth, even though nothing of that realm is at first sighted. The “waters” still conceal the land of Promise that we are to possess. “But the God of all Grace who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, establish, settle and strengthen you.”
As the Ark settles the window is opened, and we view the “Tops of the mountains.” Yes it is the new earth, but our vision has been elevated no longer looking at the valleys, but at the “Hills from whence cometh our help.” But we have no way of knowing if the New Heavens and Earth are yet a suitable habitation for us, so the Raven speaking of our natural thoughts (an unclean bird) is released. We are reminded that both the pure and the impure still remain with us and are able to affect the powers of our emotions and understanding. The ark has not changed the Raven, whose appetite remains centred in that which is DEAD, for the cross may restrain impure desires but does not alter them. So the Raven provides us with no understanding of this New Resurrection Ground, for it never returns having found that which satisfies its own desires.
But the DOVE which speaks of the spirit of gentleness and peace is released now appearing more bold than before the flood. It brings the bud of the Olive as a token of the new earth that is appearing. In resurrection the pain of the cross is forgotten as the joy of NEW LIFE bursts forth. However the whole process of regeneration is divinely controlled and the door is not opened bringing release, until we are fully prepared and the work of the Ark has accomplished its purpose in us.
Seven days are now completed then God opens the door and Noah and his family step out on to an earth that has been cleansed by the flood. What a depth of meaning in incorporated in those simple words, “AND THEY WENT FORTH.” Here is a liberty that many Christians have never yet experienced, for most people remain prisoners of “HOPE,” but still prisoners. What a transition this was for Noah and his offspring, so the first thing that he does in this new found freedom is to build an altar to the Lord, and to offer burnt offerings. These offerings speak not of sin but rather of obedience and acceptance, causing God to open his heart to them expressing thoughts of love Adam’s world could not know. The hour of darkness that descended on the earth when Adam sinned now was lifting.
It is GRACE that now is expressed from the heart of God as he says, ”I will not again curse the ground anymore for man’s sake, even though the imagination of his heart is evil from his youth, neither will I smite everything living as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter and day and night shall not cease.”
All these things are now revealed here at the Altar of burnt offering. We can relax in the Lord knowing that “Thy way O Lord is in the sanctuary, who is so great a God as our God.” A further blessing now follows as the Lord tells Noah exactly what MAN was told in the beginning, “BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY.” The truth that Jesus taught was that “Unless a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies it abides alone, but if it dies it will bring forth much fruit.’ Now having passed through DEATH, fruitfulness can now be expected.
But this is not the limit of Grace, for now God gives them power over the beasts. “The fear and dread of you shall be upon every beast, and upon every fowl, and upon all the fish in the sea, and into thy hand they are delivered.” What marvellous grace is made available to us, but it is still possible to live in self will and discover the animals will not submit unto us for it is Christ in us who remains L-O-R-D, and not the carnal self. If the animals in us are not subject to us it is because the mind of man is not subject to the Lord.
Here we stand on resurrection ground elevated to heavenly places in Christ, having been regenerated through death, burial and resurrection. Now we reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God. But in many cases, how short is our heavenly bliss before we begin to descend from such glorious heights and realms of glory. As in the natural, Life must develop in its expression, from that of the faltering child to maturity, until we fully express the Christ that dwells within. Such is the unfolding of this journey of life revealed to us in these pages of Holy Writ.
May the Lord give you understanding of these things.
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