m) Very many Christians including those walking on the narrow way – the Overcomers – are found discouraged over many things. For the believers who are in the early stages of their Salvation, it may be many unanswered prayers, struggling with the same problems over and over again, lack of spiritual help or counsel for their various needs, never ending problems in their families, churches, etc.
The older “soldiers” on the front, the labourers in the Lord’s vineyard, may also be often discouraged for lack of progress, for accomplishing very little compared to what is yet necessary to be accomplished. It may often seem that no matter how hard they work, pray or intercede, it does not bring the expected results. There is always something wrong somewhere with plenty of disappointments. Their brethren disappoint them or leave them on the battlefield without one word of explanation or a valid reason, or their brethren are like mules and do not move no matter what is said or done. Perhaps, you also have such experiences.
Our ideals are always far away and seem to be totally unreachable. The progress, if any, is terribly slow, everything seems like climbing Mt. Everest. It may even seem that the Lord does not always go along with our efforts, rather, He allows us to suffer, struggle, crawl along the narrow way, and when we row in a boat it is always against the wind. (Mt. 14:24// Mk. 6:48) I am noting these things for those who are on “active duty” in this war, since they do understand what I am saying, others cannot understand or experience such things.
So, what should we, who are battling this seemingly “losing war”, do? Complain? Despair? Quit? Such thoughts may have crossed many minds, including my own. I had complained to the Lord myself, and not once or twice. I had expressed to the Lord quite clearly that I was just a human being and can bear only so much and that He should thus “understand me”. Two or three times, I also expressed to Him my “unequivocal decision to quit” as I saw no way out of those hellish situations and no valid reason under the blue Heaven to continue. The Lord had never accepted my tended resignations. [Today, I praise Your Name for that, Lord.]
I had to learn several very important facts in my spiritual life and ministry, which has been a “ministry of war”… a “ministry of war between Life and Death”.
One fact, which the Lord made quite clear to me was: “My grace is sufficient for you”. (2Cor. 12:9) For me, this ceased to be an interesting verse in the Scripture given to a man I never met. It also ceased to be a Word just for our Apostle and brother Paul because it is the Word for every Christian who is engaged in the war for Life. I began to experience the truth of this Word in my own life and ministry exactly whenever “all hell broke loose”.
Another fact I learned was, that the narrow way does not bypass hell – IT GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH IT! WE HAVE TO PASS THROUGH DEATH (HELL IS A PLACE OF DARKNESS AND DEATH) AND EMERGE ON THE OTHER SIDE LIVING! If you cannot possibly believe the above fact, then let us confirm the truth in the Word of God.
While we live on this earth, we are supposed to pass through and overcome the hell in our own soul by walking on the narrow way – through the “valley of death to our old life”. (Ps. 23:4) That is the only way where we start in death and emerge on the other side living! This way leads from our death to our Life. (Mt. 7:14) Overcoming the “hell” in this world is also true in our earthly, physical life. Is it not?
Believers, who walk on the broad way and refuse to pass through and overcome hell inside and outside of their souls will end in “destruction” and not in Life. (Mt. 7:13) Destruction is hell, which is the place of death and fire, and death and fire destroy. Yet, hell with its death is only the “FIRST DEATH”, a temporary separation from God, while the lake of fire is the “SECOND DEATH”, which is the everlasting separation from God. (Rev. 20:14) Hence, these believers will have another chance to reject their “old man”. When? After their physical death, they will pass through hell – the first death. If they are raptured before they die physically, they will be thrown into that hell – place of darkness, death, weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mt. 8:12; 22:11-13) True?
I know that there is the Word, which says that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment;” (Heb. 9:27) For a very long time, I had a real difficulty reconciling this fact with the future of all the believers, who walk on the broad way to “destruction” (Mt. 7:13), who will be cast into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 22:13; 25:30), who will be shut out of the Marriage Supper (Mt. 25:10-12) and of the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt. 8:12), who will have to depart from the Lord (Mt. 7:23), etc. But then the Lord shed His Light on the word “JUDGMENT” and I saw and understood that in Heb. 9:27 He does not specify A SINGLE ONE-TIME JUDGMENT FOR ALL PEOPLE!
In my belief and understanding of this Light of the Lord, this “JUDGMENT” means the LAST JUDGMENT FOR ALL PAGANS sealing their eternal condemnation. After physical death, there is no other chance to be “born-again”! But this “JUDGMENT” also means the JUDGMENT OF CHRIST FOR ALL BELIEVERS, who shall stand and give account of themselves to God (Rom. 14:10-12), and that, before the Last Judgment. This Judgment Seat of Christ FOR BORN-AGAIN BELIEVERS ONLY will take place at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom of Heaven on earth. The Last Judgment will be at the end of this Millennial Kingdom of Heaven on earth. (Rev. 20:11-15)
The believers mentioned in the preceding paragraph, in the above examples from the Word of God, will be judged by Christ at the beginning of the Kingdom of Heaven AS UNWORTHY OF HIM!… UNWORTHY OF GOD, of Eternal Life, of being in His Presence, at His Marriage Supper and in the Kingdom of Heaven! (Mt. 10:37-39// Acts 13:46// 1Thess. 2:11,12// 2Thess. 1:5) These will then be thrown into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30) and there they will get their last chance to deny themselves and overcome. All these will be also subjected to the Last Judgment and if they overcome and remain in the Book of Life, the same shall be saved. (Rev. 20:15; 21:7)
It is similar with Israel, which was overthrown and perished in the wilderness displeasing God, tempting Christ where the people were “destroyed” by serpents – devils. (1Cor. 10:5-15// Jude 5) Yet, the Word also says that “all Israel shall be saved;” (Rom. 11:26) I leave the understanding of the above Word of God to your heart and faith.
So, let us continue on this basis and conclude this matter as follows.
IF passing through hell, these carnal, fleshly, soulish, intellectual believers will finally reject their “old man”, they may only be HURT (not consumed) BY THE SECOND DEATH (Rev. 2:11) before they finally overcome! I believe that these will remain written in the Book of Life. This Word of God also testifies that all those that keep refusing to overcome need to be hurt by the second death, to get a “foretaste” of the eternal separation from God! This shows the utmost depravity of the old human nature, if we truly need such a horrible experience to become Overcomers!
IF these will still keep their “old nature”, they will be blotted out of the Book of Life (Rev. 3:5; 22:19) and thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death! (Rev. 20:14, 15) You read the Word of God and you judge in your own heart whether the Lord means what He says… or whether He will consider your doctrines when you will stand before Him.
IF we emerge from hell, that place of death, living, that will be the only proof that we truly live the Resurrection Life of Christ and not just talk about it or preach it. It is the only proof that we are a “New Creation in Christ Jesus” (2Cor. 5:17) and are, therefore, not subjected to death! All our intellectual beliefs, activities, persuasions, opinions or any other efforts on this earth will not matter one bit. So…
…EVERY MAN HAS TO GO THROUGH HELL!
This may be a shocking revelation to many believers. The question is, who will emerge on the other side and who will not, which is to say, who is IN Christ by his own will and decision and who is not. Outside of Christ is hell and death! In Christ is Heaven and Life!
Our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ also went to hell after His death. He preached to the spirits disobedient to God during the time of Noah, when he was preparing the ark. (1Pet. 3:19,20) The Lord was there three days and three nights (Mt. 12:40) and having gone right through hell, He emerged victoriously from this place of death – LIVING! (Lk. 24:6,7// Acts 2:31,32) True? (consider also Mk. 8:34-38)
Our old heart is also a “place of darkness, wickedness, deceitfulness, death (hell)” (Jer. 17:9) and this death must be swallowed up by Life, just as it will be done with our mortal bodies. (1Cor. 15:54) And if we go through the literal hell (as Christ went through the literal hell) or through the hell in our soul, we are not there alone and not on our own. The Spirit of the Almighty God is there also with us, for He is present even in hell! (Ps. 139:7,8) True?
Are you getting a picture, which might be totally different from the one your religion is presenting to you? Can you imagine yourself going through hell and have any hope of emerging from that place of death living? Again, “living” means having and “living the Life of Christ in your SOUL” – not just in your spirit. Would you see any of the things you presently possess or know or understand as helping you in that battle with death? Would your past or present preachers, pastors, teachers, elders or friends in high ecclesiastical positions help you in any way to pass through death and emerge living? Is it not written that vain is the help of man? (Ps. 60:11)
So, in whom will you put your trust? Whom will you follow through that place of death, darkness and evil? Will you follow a man because he can preach or pray nicely or he is nice to you? Or he has right answers to some of your questions? Or will you trust and follow Him, Who already passed that way and knows how to get through? Who has the Power, Wisdom, Grace and Assurance to bring you through, if you would only be willing? What will you say? It is a matter of YOUR LIFE and not the reading of a book.
If you, therefore, see and believe that APART FROM OUR SAVIOUR AND LORD, THERE IS NO ONE who could help you pass through death and emerge living, then why do you not seek HIM? Why do you trust men and not the Lord? Why do you follow men and not the Lord and His Word IN His true servants who also follow Him and not themselves? (1Cor. 4:15,16; 11:1// Phil. 3:17) Why do you trust even your own heart? (Pr. 28:26)
We have no clue how many of those millions that are already dead have actually made it. We may guess or hope or even believe especially for our loved ones. But we have no assurance where they are except if we had experienced their fruit of the Spirit of God, which would point to them being Overcomers.
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I am constrained by the Spirit of the Lord to draw at this point an important fact from the Old Testament, which has a very clear spiritual meaning for us all in the Church.
Many believers may be acquainted with the story of Elijah and Elisha. Many may not distinguish the two, at all. The Lord desires us to see and understand the true spiritual meaning of these two men of God and to judge ourselves whether we live the Life of Christ, or not.
Elijah represents Christ and Elisha SHOULD HAVE represented the Church but did not. The Church is, de facto, represented by the wretched and miserable and poor widow who had but a little oil in one vessel! (2Ki. 4:1,2// Rev. 3:17) Elisha represents the few within the Church who were called by Christ to live by and minister the Life of His Spirit, that is – the Remnant within the Church. The Spirit of Christ is here represented by the “mantle” of Elijah.
When Elijah first passed by Elisha, he cast his mantle upon him. (1Ki. 19:19) This represents all the future calls of the Lord whereby He called His twelve disciples by the power of His Spirit. When Elijah was taken to Heaven, his mantle again fell on Elisha. (2Ki. 2:11-13) This represents the ascension of Our Lord and the falling of His Spirit upon the early Church. As Elisha did, so did the first believers also when they “rent their old clothing in two pieces, and put on the mantle of the Spirit, and departed to Jordan”. This represents their willingness to “put off their old man and put on their New Man” (Eph. 4:22,24) by going to the “narrow way”, which leads to the death of our flesh (Jordan) and to our Life in the Spirit. (Mt. 7:14)
Wherever Elisha went he confronted and changed physical misery, wretchedness and death into life, and leprosy into cleanliness. The most famous examples showing clearly his ministry of defeating death by Life are the following:
a) The bad waters and barren ground at Jericho were healed by the salt, which Elisha ordered to be brought in a new cruse. (2Ki. 2:19-22) The waters are people, the barren ground is their heart, the new cruse is a believer’s New Man who has salt in himself. Salt is fire and the power that heals anything bad and then preserves it in health. (Mk. 9:49,50)
b) Elisha provided a new supply of oil for the poor widow mentioned above. (2Ki. 4:1-7) Oil represents the work of the Holy Spirit in a human soul (vessel) and its presence and quantity determine our poverty or richness, our foolishness or wisdom and our entry into the Marriage Supper (Mt. 25:1-12) or our rejection at the closed door.
c) A dead child was raised to life by Elisha. (2Ki. 4:32-35) This points to the resurrection of a damsel by Our Lord (Mk. 5:41,42) and to the fact that the spiritually young may also die.
d) Elisha destroyed death in a pot of pottage by casting in the meal. (2Ki. 4:38-41) The meal represents the Word of God, which is a wholesome food. (Job 23:12// Mt. 4:4// Deut. 8:3// Is. 55:10,11) There is a lot of death in the “pot of the Church” today with good and bad, true and false mixed together and this mixture has potency to poison multitudes of believers. Only the pure Word of God has the power to destroy this death and poison in our spiritual “food”.
e) Elisha commanded Naaman, the Syrian leper, to dip himself seven times in the Jordan river and he became clean. (2Ki. 5:1,10,14) This points to the healing of a leper done by the Lord. (Mk. 1:40-42)
f) Finally, even after his death, the bones of Elisha retained his life-giving ministry. When a dead man was hastily lowered into the sepulchre of Elisha and touched his bones, he revived and stood up on his feet! (2Ki. 13:21)
Elisha ministered Life in this physical world and the Church is supposed to minister Life in the spiritual world. The physical healings, casting out devils, doing of miracles done by gifted believers in today’s Church DO NOT correspond to the ministry of Elisha! It is but exercising the gifts of the Spirit, while such ministers may not live in the New Man, may not have salt in themselves and thus may not know the Lord, and the Lord may not know them. (Mt. 7:21-23)
The ministry of Elisha in today’s Church is to bring carnal, fleshly and spiritually dead believers to the personal knowledge of Christ and to living His Life. This ministry may leave believers spiritually revived, yet, physically sick, as did Apostle Paul with Trophimus. (2Tim. 4:20) Hence, this ministry does not minister the gifts of the Spirit, rather, it is the overcoming of spiritual death by spiritual Life.
The Lord concludes the above described biblical fact by declaring that His Church today is not only like unto that poor widow of Elisha’s time, but she is worse! That widow believed and obeyed Elisha by faith whereas today’s “widow” does not hear or obey or believe any “Elishas” sent by the Lord. Today’s “widow” thinks and believes that she is rich, increased with goods, has need of nothing and DOES NOT KNOW that she is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked! (Rev. 3:17) This is especially true about many rich churches and ministries in the affluent countries of North America and Europe. The physically rich churches and ministries may be spiritually very poor; and the physically poor churches and ministries may be spiritually very rich.
As a consequence, spiritual death within the Church is not being destroyed and replaced by Life, and leprosy is not being cleansed with the washing of water by the Word. (Eph. 5:26)
THE LIFE OF CHRIST IS THUS THE MOST PRECIOUS BUT ALSO THE MOST RARE TREASURE IN THE CHURCH TODAY.
He who ministers IN SPIRIT at least some of the above described deeds under a) to e) is like unto Elisha, knows the Lord, loves Him in spirit and in truth, lives His Life in truth and belongs to His Bride. He who believes and receives his ministry is also on the narrow way and is counted worthy of God and of His Kingdom. (Col. 1:10// 1Thess. 2:12// 2Thess. 1:5 // Rev. 3:4, etc.) Apostle Paul was like unto Elisha, he brought Life where there was (spiritual) death. Even today, Paul lives through his epistles, which are like unto his “bones” so that when a (spiritually) dead believer touches them, he may be revived in his spirit.
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To be continued next week in part 5
brother Hanola
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