CHAPTER 6
WHERE ART THOU?
“…and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the Presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, WHERE ART THOU?” (Gen. 3:8b,9)
Ever since that time, the Lord God has been seeking man and calling upon him… and ever since that time sinful man has been hiding from God being ashamed of himself. Though Apostle Paul encourages us saying “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16)…
…yet, the natural soul has never been coming to the Lord for help. He prefers to “hide among the trees of his garden” (people of his likeness) not to appear “naked” to the Lord. The natural soul is naked as it can never have the robe of righteousness, “the white raiment” or the “wedding garment”. (Rev. 3:17,18; 19:7,8// Mt. 22:11-13)
Now, Adam had barely committed his disobedience toward God and had no chance to commit any other sins, yet he right away started to show Satan’s nature. When God asked Adam whether he had eaten of the tree whereof God commanded him not to eat of it, he did not say “Yes, Lord” (Mt. 5:37), but heimmediately started to defend himself and blame his wife saying:
“THE WOMAN that Thou gave to be with me, SHE GAVE ME of the tree, and I did eat”. (Gen. 3:11,12) Poor innocent soul! Do you recognize the different spirit?
Why is it important for the Lord to “know” where we are? He knows very well where we are, but we ourselves may not be aware of WHERE WE ARE IN SPIRIT and the significance of it. The Lord tells us “Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord does come.” (Mt. 24:42)
If all true believers were “wise virgins” and ready to be taken (Mt. 25:6-13) then what should we watch for? And since we don’t know the exact time of His Coming, then why are we to watch? Well, we are to watch WHERE WE ARE! So, why is it important where we are? IT WILL DETERMINE OUR DESTINY AND THE WAY TO IT.
We are, of course, speaking about a spiritual position, not about a physical place. We are now speaking about the state and preparedness and sufficiency of THE WORK AND FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OUR SOUL. This also means the sufficiency of THE OIL IN OUR VESSEL. The Bridegroom is coming for those from among the true born-again believers that ARE READY in His assessment. (Mt. 25:10) The rest of believers will have to wait for the judgment and rapture of the Church at the last 7th trump. (1Cor. 15:51,52) We repeat that the OIL IS NOT the Spirit of God in our spirit, but it is HIS WORK & FRUIT in our SOUL, which is our VESSEL.
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At this point the Lord desires us to see the Truth in His Word in Rev. 3:10 as it is a source of misinterpretation and confusion among believers. Two points need light from Our Lord:
(1) His Bride has kept the Word of His patience. What is the Word of His patience? There are passages in the Scripture admonishing us to be patient, deal patiently, show patience; they also include our “patient waiting for Christ”. (2Thes. 3:5) But the greatest patience that the Lord has been showing and living and which we on earth are not aware of is the following.
When the Lord ascended to Heaven, would you guess who he found there? SATAN and his angels! Satan has been in Heaven and has had access to the Throne of God ever since Job 1:6-12 and before. Not until the war in Heaven, which shall take place shortly before the Great Tribulation, he shall be cast out and all his angels with him. (Rev. 12:7-9) So, after he lost his war with Jesus Christ (at Calvary), he has been continuing his war with His believers! How? He has been “accusing them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:10) and he has had plenty of ammunition for each of us to do that job! Are we aware of this fact? I doubt. A much more important fact is that for 2,000 YEARS Jesus Christ has had to face this “Fool of the Ages”, patiently reply to his accusations, be our Advocate with Our Father and keep patiently interceding for us! (Is. 53:12b// Rom. 8:34 // Heb. 7:25// 1Jn. 2:1) Is it possible for us to imagine this kind of PATIENCE? For 2,000 years? NO!
Whose advocates are we on the earth? Do we resist the Devil or do we resist our brethren? Are we also interceding before the Throne of God for the souls that Satan is accusing day and night for the sins that he caused them to commit? If we do, we also keep the Word of His patience.
(2) He will keep His Bride from the hour of temptation, which is the Great Tribulation. This cannot be compared with Jn. 17:15, as some do, since there it is clearly said that “they should not be taken out of the world”, whereas in Rev. 3:10 no such thing is indicated. The Word which is applicable and confirms this rapture of the Bride is in Lk. 21:34-36. Here we are admonished not to live as the peoples in Noah’s days lived, but watch and pray so that we would be accounted worthy to ESCAPE (the Tribulation) and STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN. Also, Philadelphia is the only church that already has the crown – access to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (during Tribulation) and to the Kingdom of Heaven (after Tribulation; Rev. 3:11).
I am now constrained by the Spirit of the Lord to write about those comparatively few that are chosen to be taken from among those many that are called and will not be taken. (Mt. 22:14) Those few are known in the Scripture as: the (current) Bride of Christ, the (current) Overcomers, the wise virgins, the Dove–Maiden of Shulamite (S.Sol. 6:9,13; 8:5) and the Man-child (Rev. 12:5, see much more on pages 289-291[8]) These are the chosen ones for whom the Lord is coming NOW before the Tribulation, before the “hour of temptation” that is coming upon the whole world. (Mt. 25:1-12; 24: 40-42// Rev. 3:10, more later on)
My first question is twofold: Do you belong to the few or do you not? Are you chosen to go now or are you not? Can you truly answer these 2 questions with any assurance in your conscience? This selection was not made by Our Lord. He did not divide believers into a “first class” and an “economy class”. This selection is being made by believers themselves, by their own decisions! IT IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU WHERE YOU WILL BE FOUND AND WHEN YOU WILL BE TAKEN! IT IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU WHETHER YOU WILL BE IN THE PORT BEFORE THE BOAT LEAVES SO AS NOT TO LITERALLY “MISS THE BOAT”! Fortunately, there will be another “boat” leaving at the 7th trump of the Tribulation.
And if you are chosen and taken, that will not mean that you were “preferred to others”, rather, you were “ready” for the time, you were the “firstfruits” of the harvest. The firstfruits are always taken before the harvest, which harvest will take place at the last trump and is described in Rev. 14:14-16. This harvest is done by the Son of Man, which is the Lord and it is done just before the wrath of God is poured on the earth. (Rev. Chpt. 15 and 16)
To be “ready” also means that you have a word of your own true testimony of what the Lord had done not only FOR you, but more importantly IN YOU, IN YOUR SOUL, IN YOUR CHARACTER, IN YOUR VESSEL, AND THEN THROUGH YOU TO OTHERS. You will need this word of testimony and the Blood of Christ to overcome Satan himself when you are taken up (within the Man-child) just in time for the war in Heaven! (Rev. 12:7,11) True believers are not supposed to see their rapture as an escape from Satan and from all their problems, rather, to see it as an opportunity to meet Satan and overcome him himself! This is the true testimony and witness of the Life and Power of Christ dwelling in you.
My second question is like this: Even if we belong to the chosen ones, how do we know that we are ready? Can we answer this question also? There are many pastors and preachers, who put that same question to their congregations while they themselves might not know what that “readiness” truly means. When we say that it is important to know where we are spiritually, then let us see this picture closer and better.
There are occasions in the Scripture that show us a spiritual principle when we speak about readiness for our rapture (see the excellent article “The Cross and the Higher Ground[7]” by Austin T. Sparks). Its importance is so great for us especially now when the Lord’s Coming is so extremely close, that I asked the Lord to grant us again its true spiritual meaning in the form that He desires at this time.
When Our Lord was taken up to Heaven in the sight of His Disciples, He was taken from the top of Mount Olives. (Acts 1:9-12) When He was transfigured before Peter, James and John, it was on top of a high mountain. (Mt. 17:1,2) Isaac was to be offered on top of one of the mountains in the land of Moriah. (Gen. 22:2) We may similarly view Mount Zion which is the “chosen part of Jerusalem” and it is also on “top of Jerusalem”. When you enter Jerusalem from which ever side, you have to climb up to Mount Zion. High mountains always require from us certain effort, striving, climbing, something that never happens to us while we are sitting, relaxing, reading or amusing ourselves in valleys. The Lord is also reminding us that Our Father has quickened us together with Christ and has RAISED US (HIGH) UP together and made us sit together IN HEAVENLY PLACES in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:4-6) That is the highest spiritual place where we can get during our earthly life. These high heavenly places are in our spirit and should be also in our soul.
What do these above facts indicate to us? We must be found on a SPIRITUALLY HIGH MOUNTAIN and prepared for our translation in order to be “transfigured” and taken up. It means that we must have the SPIRIT OF THAT TRANSLATION AND LIVE IN IT – THIS IS THE READINESS which is necessary and to which the Lord has been leading those that have been chosen from among the multitudes of the called ones. The day for the rapture of the Church will correspond with the spiritual state to which She will have arrived. It is the time of Her being “ripe” (Rev. 14:15), not for Her translation only, but also for Her Judgment where it will be decided by the Lord, who is worthy of what and who is going where (see also Addendum, item 10).
When we speak of a spiritual high mountain or high ground, we speak of the high mountain of faith, the high mountain of fellowship, the high mountain of obedience to every Word of God, the high mountain of spiritual vision, seeing and revelation. We have to climb a high mountain to start seeing what we could not possibly see when we were down in our valleys. We also speak of the high mountain of spiritual responsibility, authority and morality. Most importantly, we speak about the high mountain of LOVE.
Unfortunately, up till now the Church has been on a rather low level of these spiritual virtues and characteristics mentioned above. For example, how important it is for the Church (and every believer) to be on a “high mountain of love”? Well, first, the Lord has “somewhat against thee”. (Rev. 2:4a) And, second, the Lord says to His Church:
“Remember therefore from whence you are fallen, and REPENT, and do the first works (in love); OR ELSE I will come unto you quickly and will REMOVE YOUR CANDLESTICK OUT OF HIS PLACE, EXCEPT YOU REPENT.” (Rev. 2:5)
The Church had fallen down from the “high ground of love” and seemingly has never repented of it and never climbed back up again to that “mountain of love”… except for the church of Philadelphia and the Overcomers from the seven churches. Let us also realize that WITHOUT LOVE THERE IS NO BRIDE! (Mt. 25:6)
To remove your “candlestick” out of his place means to REMOVE YOUR CHURCH FROM HIS PRESENCE... since He was present in the midst of the seven candlesticks! (Rev. 1:13,20) It also means to remove YOU since you are a part of your church. Is this not serious? And it is all because of the loss of LOVE! Nothing more. So, do you truly believe that the Lord “walks in the midst of your congregation, your church, your fellowship, your group, your organization” or in the midst of your family when there is no true love? HE IS LOVE and He is attracted by the atmosphere of love and repulsed by any atmosphere void of love. He is not interested in our knowledge of the Bible or in our intellectual wisdom or in our biblical doctrines, how many we have right and how many we have wrong. He is repulsed when we are performing an intellectual autopsy of HIS HOLY WORD with our mental scalpel and write reports about its results and then teach others about it. He is primarily and most importantly interested in whether our heart has a true love or it has none!
He is also attracted by the atmosphere of faith, obedience to His Word, spiritual seeing and revelation, spiritual responsibility, authority, intelligence and morality provided that the all important love is never missing there. A believer may be highly talented and endowed with plenty of natural virtues including knowledge and wisdom and diligence and faithfulness and responsibility and various other useful abilities… and have no love in his heart!
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To be continued next week in chapter 6 – part 2
brother Hanola
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