PART I – BASIC MYSTERIES

Today is Friday January 13, 1989. I would like to say at this point that the messages “Seek Ye First the Kingdom” Parts 1–7 were concluded, were finished. We came to the end of the Book of Deuteronomy and we are not going further, even though I planned it to go further, but somehow I was stopped in my track and I am redirected to a different track. Eventually I believe we will again pick up the Kingdom, but from a different angle. So we are not going to the Book of Joshua, we are not crossing the River Jordan because that is crossing to the Kingdom and we are not yet there.

What I have been led to I am giving the title “The Mystery of Reality”. This is Part I, and it is to be like an introduction, or like a general part ... again, to build a certain foundation. So we are not jumping right into the middle of the river, but we are first building a certain foundation.

So I would like to say this. There are fifteen (15) mysteries that will be mentioned, and they will form the basis or the introduction. We are going to each of them very briefly, but they all typify “mysteries of reality”; or we can say, all these mysteries can be covered by one expression: “The Mystery of Reality”.

Now, I don't know whether my order is exactly a divine order but I was led to put them in a certain order. I am going through them starting with mystery number one and it is the Mystery of the Kingdom of God. Go to Mark 4:11, the Lord says to the twelve and to them that were about Him: “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God”. We not only have there the mystery of the Kingdom but, the Lord says: “Unto you it is given to know [it]”. So to some it ceases to be a mystery, whereas for the rest it shall remain a mystery.

Now He speaks to the twelve and to those that were about Him (in v.10) because they asked Him about the parable of the sower, of course; and that is why He speaks to them and He tells them: “Unto you it is given to know the mystery”. So this mystery of the Kingdom is revealed only to His close disciples. This is a remark that should accompany this mystery number one.

Mystery number two is the Mystery of the Blindness of Israel. Go to Romans 11:25. Paul writes: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in”. Now, he calls it a mystery and it is a mystery and we are not going into any one in particular; we are just naming them, we are laying down a foundation.

Why are there fifteen? Why are they mysteries?... well, we can't say. We are just saying this is a fact of the Scripture, this is a reality. Now this mystery of the blindness of Israel is revealed to the Church through Paul... or better said, to that part of the Church that has ears to hear.

The third mystery is the Mystery of the Gospel, and this mystery of the Gospel is two fold: (a) concerning salvation and faith, and (b) concerning Christ in you.

(a) The first fold, the first facet of this mystery of the Gospel...you are back in Romans 16:25: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” So the mystery of the Gospel concerning salvation as such and faith, is revealed to all nations, to everyone. You can also go to Ephesians 6:19. Paul is asking Christians at Ephesus that supplications and prayers would be offered for him, “that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel”, which, of course, is the same mystery we are talking about.

Now go also to Titus 2:11 (this is that well known verse that we quoted a number of times concerning the salvation of some “savages somewhere in Tasmania, Fiji Islands, or wherever...”): “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men”, which is to say that the mystery of the Gospel was shown unto all the nations! That goes in harmony with all these previous verses concerning the mystery of the Gospel. Colossians 1:23, in that verse you can underline the words: “the gospel was preached to every creature which is under heaven”,...even in the times when there was no television and no radio. So this is the mystery of the Gospel concerning salvation and faith.

(b) The second facet of that mystery is “Christ in you.” You can stay in Colossians 1:26,27: “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is the second part of that mystery and it was revealed and made manifest to the saints only, and not to the world and not to all the nations. Why? Why was this second mystery of “Christ in you” not revealed to all nations? Well, this mystery of “Christ in you” is only revealed to His saints because you must be saved first. Only then can you begin to see that Christ is in you. It is impossible for the nations to even comprehend such a thing when they are first unwilling to see, to experience the mystery of salvation and faith. You must be saved in order to experience this mystery, and the next one, and for that matter many other mysteries. You can't experience or you can't have access to these mysteries before you are saved. This is the basic difference.

The fourth mystery is the Mystery of the Change and the Rapture of the Saints. We know that it was revealed to all the Church through Paul in 1Cor.15:51, we even know it by heart and we can go there: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed”, which means, we shall not all be dead at that moment, but we shall all be changed. So there is a change. That change is still a mystery: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” There is the change and the rapture, the raising of the dead and the living. This is a mystery revealed to the Church.

We also have 1Thess.4:15-17, we can go there briefly: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” This is the same passage that covers the same rapture, and that covers the change also, even though that change is not expressed in (the book of) Thessalonians.

The fifth mystery is the Mystery of the Grace of God concerning Gentiles. It was revealed to His Apostles and Prophets. Ephesians chapter 3, we can read from verse 1 until maybe 9, at least: “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles”,...for you Gentiles... underline for you Gentiles. He is normally writing to the Church, he is writing to the saints, he is writing to the brethren. Now he is saying — for you Gentiles, “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward.” He is, in effect, revealing a secret there — a mystery. God has given him this mystery concerning His grace towards Gentiles. And thank God for that grace, because we would not be sitting here tonight. “How that by revelation he made known unto me the [or this] mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” This mystery was revealed to His holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit, and it is a mystery of the Grace of God towards Gentiles. In fact, the whole dispensation period is a “Dispensation of Grace” towards Gentiles.

Mystery number six is the Mystery of the Will of God. You may stay in Ephesians 1:9: “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.” Now, that mystery, and not only that but a number of them, may be described, revealed up to a point already in the Scriptures. Like verse 10 (which is the key verse in Ephesians, or one of the key verses) which is a mystery of His Will: “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” This in brief is a mystery of His Will.

Now I believe that even after reading verse 10, we are still in mystery, because we can't picture it no matter what we do. The Mystery of the Will of God — this is revealed to all saints willing to do His will! I am going to repeat this: this mystery is revealed to all saints willing to do His Will! And if you read John 7:17, for example, you will find out that the Lord is saying exactly these things: “If any man” meaning any Christian “will do his will” if any Christian would be willing to do His will, “he shall know”! You can even put a period after that. This is a sentence. “If any man will do his will, he shall know.” Nobody else will. The mystery of His Will is not revealed to just anybody, but to him who desires to do it. In other words, God is not going to supply us with revelations that we are merely curious about.

The seventh mystery is the Mystery of the Wisdom of God. And let us realize that all these things are mysteries. The mystery of the Wisdom of God, 1Cor.2:6,7: “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect:” (so he is not throwing pearls before swine—Mat.7:6) “yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” We ought to realize that the Wisdom of God is a mystery and is hidden and, just as His Will, it is not revealed to curious minds. This wisdom was revealed or is revealed to His close disciples.

We also sometimes ought to note what wisdom is revealed to whom, and read also James 1:5. Now we know this verse (it was a subject of our prayers last year or even two years ago): “If any of you lack wisdom,” (it's even superfluous to ask “if any” because every Christian lacks wisdom from the beginning) “let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” This is concerning the Wisdom of God.

So God gives or reveals a part of His Wisdom to those who ask in faith, and who are not doing it just to be smart for a while, in order to defend themselves against other brethren, but that they are not going to misuse that Wisdom or misuse His Will, or any of the mysteries of God. That is why they are mysteries, and God is not going to reveal any of His mysteries to anyone who is prone to misuse them.

Mystery number eight is the Mystery of Christ and the Church. This mystery is revealed only to them who live chapter 5 of Ephesians; not only who read it (we are going to read it), but who live it. We are not going to read the whole chapter, but we can read verse 32, which is the core of the matter: “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” We know that this is a mystery, indeed, and it is described in some of the preceding verses how that Christ is the Head of the Body, the Head of the Church, and how He is portrayed as the husband and the Church as His wife. Now this mystery (I am sure you all agree and believe with me) is revealed only to them who discern His Body, which means those who live chapter 5, especially verse 21, which I received from the Lord to deliver to my (former) pastor and who rejected it.

Mystery number nine is the Mystery of Christ Himself. Christ Personally Himself — and this mystery was or is revealed to His Apostles, His Prophets, and to His true evangelists and preachers. Col.4:3: “Withal praying also for us,” again, Paul requests prayers, “that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ [Himself], for which I am also in bonds.”

Mystery number ten is the Mystery of God and the Father and Christ... which to me is yet something different, or someone different, I should say. This mystery is revealed to His faithful brethren. Back to Col.2:2: “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Now, what it means to me in my spirit, I can say this: I can know the mystery of Christ, and Christ and Church, and I can know the mystery of the Will of God, and I can know the mystery of the Wisdom of God, and yet I may not know this mystery. Because I may have no idea inside me, in spirit, in truth — God and the Father and Christ — what is the relationship, what actually is their mystery, their common mystery?

Now, it looks at the moment that we may never know this, because these things are so high, and so deep, and so far away from us, that to dream to know the mystery of God and the Father and Christ may be reserved for us only in Heaven — in New Jerusalem, and not here. But it is a mystery nevertheless; and if we don't get it, we may still get a foretaste of that mystery; we may get a certain depth of that mystery. Before we conclude this message, I would like to just say a few more words about these things.

The mystery of God and the Father and Christ — in addition to being mentioned in Col.2:2, it is also mentioned in a certain way in Revelation chapter 10, and perhaps we should go there also. Rev.10:7, it gives us an indication, we talked about the time when we might hope to know this mystery: “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,” which is the seventh trumpet — the last trumpet which is described in the next chapter and v.15, “when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God [as the Father and as Christ] should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”

So we do have hope to see, to understand, to know, to ex-perience this mystery of God, because it should be finished in a certain way at the last trump, which means the rapture, the main harvest of the Church. Again, I doubt that here we are talking about the mystery of God as such (which we will probably never know and which we will probably know more deeply only in New Jerusalem), but the mystery of God and Christ pertaining to His Kingdom, to His reigning, to His Righteousness, to His Holiness, to certain attributes of God. I doubt that we will penetrate the mysteries of God the Father ever, in fact. But this will be only a certain revelation of God in a certain respect, which even now is a mystery to us.

Now we go to mystery number eleven, which is the Mystery of Iniquity, and we know where it is. Where is it? The mystery of iniquity revealed to the brethren — the second letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, starting in verse 1: “Now we beseech you, brethren” (with brethren not only in this Church, but obviously in the whole Church of Christ), but he writes to the brethren and says in verse 7: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [hindereth] will let [hinder], until he be taken out of the way.” And we know that there were people who were asking me about this second mystery which is: “who is he who letteth?” But we are not going into this now. The mystery of iniquity does already work, and it is a mystery, and we will say a few more words about this later.

Mystery number twelve is the Mystery of Faith. The mystery of faith was revealed to the true leadership: 1Timothy, chapter 3. If we should read from verse 1, you would notice that Paul talks about bishops, about deacons; what they ought to be — he is talking about leadership basically. That, to me, refers to pastors just as much as to deacons or bishops, and in verse 9 he says that they should be “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” Faith, pure faith, is a mystery, and must be kept in a pure conscience. Then they are able not only to hold their offices and discharge them (or their duties) through that pure faith, but also teach that faith to those whom they minister to.

Faith is a mystery; we don't know how we got the first portion, we just know we did. We used it for our salvation, then we may have promptly forgotten about it. We may have received another faith as a gift; we may have produced the fruit of faith. I hope we did; and if I should ask you to tell me something about your faith, there might be a great quietness. The mystery of faith.

Let us go on to mystery number thirteen. It is the Mystery of Babylon, and it was revealed to John the Apostle, and through him to the Church. Anyone who desires to know it, can know it. Reve-lation chapter 17, in verse 4: “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” That is a mystery, even to us; even though we may know now who this woman is or what she typifies, etc. But in many aspects it is still a mystery.

Mystery number fourteen is the Mystery of Godliness. Go to 1Tim.3:16: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” It is a mystery. Again, this mystery of godliness was revealed to the true leadership, because it is in the same chapter 3, where Paul describes or talks to Timothy about bishops and deacons: the mystery of faith in verse 9, the mystery of godliness in verse 16. They first ought to know; the leadership first ought to know the mystery of faith and the mystery of godliness, for if they don't, they have nothing to do there. They could be ushers in the Church, but not bishops. Do you agree?

The last mystery is mystery number fifteen and it is the Mystery of the Seven Stars. Revelation 1:20: “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand,” says the Lord Jesus, “and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” Now, this was revealed to Apostle John directly, and through him to the Church; to anyone who has ears to hear, eyes to see, heart to understand.

The Lord Himself describes the very mystery in the words following. So we know what or who the seven stars are and what the seven candlesticks are. And it is still a mystery because these are the angels of the seven churches, so I can ask: Well, who are the angels? It appears that the angels are simply messengers to the seven churches.

So we have basically fifteen mysteries and I would cover them by this one name: The Mystery of Reality. Because if you take every mystery — the Kingdom of God — it is reality. You take the blindness of Israel — it is reality, Israel is blind, God has a Kingdom. The mystery of the Gospel, salvation; well, it is reality. Everything is reality — the Will of God is reality, Christ Himself is reality, iniquity is reality, faith is reality, Babylon (the woman) is reality; she lives today, she is just not revealed as she is described in the Book of Revelation. The seven stars are reality, godliness is reality, everything is reality. The mystery of reality — God is reality, so the mystery of God and all His attributes, His will, His wisdom — everything, His ways, even His ways are mystery. Everything mentioned above is both mystery and reality. Is that not so? And the door to all the mysteries is number three: we must be saved! Unless we experience the mystery of the Gospel concerning salvation and faith, we can forget all the fifteen mysteries, which also means we can forget reality.

Do you agree? Unless we are saved we cannot enter any of these mysteries, which means we cannot enter into the reality. And the consequence is that we live in dreams, we are dreamers, we are lunatics, we don't know reality — which means we are deceived.

Some mysteries were very much revealed or described. They are already described in the Scripture, if not in any great depths, then at least in principle. For example, I have a note here; number fifteen. We just read the mystery of the seven stars, but the Lord described it in principle already.

Number thirteen, which is a woman, Babylon, that mystery is described. If you go back to Rev.17:7, it says: “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns”, and then all the rest of the chapter describes the mystery of that woman. It describes the mystery of the heads, of the crowns; it describes the mystery of the woman herself, in verse 18 for example: “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city”. So the woman is not a woman, but she typifies a great city, “which reigneth over the kings of the earth”. Now, we also know that that great city is Rome, because Rome sits on seven mountains — it is even called that in verse 9: “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” You see, we know certain things. This mystery is described here to a certain detail, in certain principle.

The same, for example, with number four. The change and the rapture of the saints is described in a certain way, in certain principle. But no matter how they are described in the Scripture, they still remain mysteries. It is only a question as to what depth they are described, and as to what depth we are able even to comprehend or see it. And even then I doubt that we can see the real depth of every mystery. Also, on the other hand, we have ourselves not only peeked into certain mysteries (the Lord has brought us to certain mysteries), but we have experienced certain mysteries; and once we experience a mystery, it is no more a mystery; it is something living, something wonderful.

We all experienced mystery number three and we all experienced mystery number five (the grace of God) to a degree. To whatever degree we have experienced it, to that degree for us it is a beauty and not a mystery any more. However, we can only hope to go further and further, and the Lord is able to keep revealing to us greater depths, greater widths, greater heights of any mystery that there is. It is not the Lord's Will to keep it hidden further from us. In fact, it is His Will to finally reveal it — He desires to reveal Himself to us!

What hinders the Lord is our capacity and our condition, because if we are too filthy inside, then that hinders a revelation of certain mysteries to us: not all, but certain ones. For example, the mystery of grace can work irrespective of how filthy we are. In fact, the more filthy we are, the more we can see His Grace and experience it. So this mystery does not work that way. But if we are filthy, God cannot show us the mystery of holiness, for example, or pure faith... when we don't have any or if we have faith so much as half a mustard seed, you know.

Furthermore, I would like to say that all these mysteries pertain to the New Testament. None of them is from the Old Testament. Have you noticed? Why? Because in the Old Testament there were no mysteries; except when God revealed the future to His prophets, or anything that was to take place in this Dispensation, including the mystery of the Book of Revelation as revealed to Daniel, for example.

These things were mysteries even for the prophets them-selves. They did not have any idea what they were talking about, yet, they spoke and we know that they many times asked the Lord: “What am I speaking?... what does this all mean?... my eyes see things, but I have no clue.” And God could not reveal to them these mysteries to any depth because they were for this era. In fact, they were destined for us and for the people living in the last days. We are the privileged ones. Even Daniel could not possibly understand what he was talking about, even though God described to him what the leopard meant and what these four beasts meant. He told him certain things in principle, but Daniel could not see the depths of this at all; just as Isaiah or Ezekiel could not possibly comprehend certain of their prophesies which pertained to these days.

So, when it comes to the Old Testament, there were no mysteries. Why? Because God worked openly with His hands. He came down on earth as a man. He sent them literal manna. He brought them through the literal Red Sea. When there was a pillar of fire to guide them — that was a real fire; that was not an hallucination of the Israelites. Everything was real. Joshua crossed the literal river Jordan. The literal walls of Jericho fell down. They carried around the physical ark.

There were no mysteries — there were only mysteries in the spiritual sense, which means: we must go into the New Testament, because the New Testament starts with spiritual things. The Spirit of God comes, anoints a man, and starts working, and that is a mystery. That which the Spirit of God did even through Jesus, and that which He was doing through His Apostles and through His Prophets and through His men; that which He is doing even now through His servants — these are mysteries.

So all the mysteries pertain to the New Testament, starting with salvation. The Lord spoke in parables; in other words, everything was a mystery, even the parable of the sower. All the parables about the Kingdom were all mysteries. They remain mysteries to the Church and especially to those, of course, who do not even want to know. For such they will remain mysteries even after the Rapture. The mysteries of the Kingdom will remain mysteries for such because they will not be there. They will not be in the Kingdom.

Thus I believe that these Mysteries should be laid down as a foundation. The Mystery of Reality is really something we can talk about for eternity. There are so many things and the Lord began to give me grains, grains of these mysteries, little mysteries. So I filled my “memo cards” and now I am going to fill up probably many more. He is showing me plainly that there are so many so–called “little mysteries”, and before I close this, I would like to mention two of them.

In Part II we will go into the first mystery — the Mystery of the Kingdom. And I am not saying that we will go into all fifteen, because I doubt that we will, but we will surely go into the Mystery of the Kingdom; not only as the Kingdom itself, but also our walk to the Kingdom and how to get there; the mysteries of the way to the Kingdom.

One such grand mystery which I remember reading in some of brother Watchman Nee's books (he mentions it himself), was a mystery which was contained in one verse in Romans (6:11): “reckon yourself to be dead”. He himself tried to reckon for a long time, but he was still alive. And I am sure he was not the only one. Many, many people tried to reckon themselves dead and they could not, and that, in fact, can be tied together with the mystery of the “old man”. Now, Paul tells us again in Romans 6:6 that we are crucified; that our “old man” is crucified with Christ. Right? This is a Word of God and, lo and behold, our “old man” is alive and kicking. Not only is he well, but is having a good time! So either he is dead, or he is not. Are you telling me that this is not a great mystery? This will be one of them. We are not going into it now, but I am just mentioning it.

Another type of mystery, which I can mention to you right now, I can compare to a grain of wheat that a farmer throws in front of a blind chicken. This is how I compare that which the Lord is giving me because basically, I am a “blind chicken”. Maybe not as blind as before, but still the Lord must literally put that grain in front of me so I can pick it up. The one property, if I may call it that, of any revelation, is that we cannot find it, we cannot search it out; it must be given to us like a grain of wheat to a blind chicken. There is no way to obtain it, there is no other way.

An example of one such little grain would be this: on last Friday you were binding certain spirits of hell, and you were casting certain spirits of hell out. I believe that we even rejoiced and could even see the fruit of it. And yet you came to Sunday School dead. Why? The mystery of reality is that when you poke your finger into hell, the hell will jump back at you — at the first occasion! And it shall always reveal your true state, your true strength. You should write this down; this is a grain of Wisdom from the Lord. This is the mystery of reality, or the grain of the mystery of reality. So the next time you will not wonder “why am I today here like a piece of stone?”. Well, whenever you interfere in the affairs of hell, it comes back at you, and the Lord allows it, and it reveals your true strength and authority.

So, we laid this down as a foundation. This is Part I as an introduction, and we ought to believe that the Lord is now going to reveal to us the true realities pertaining to the Kingdom, and our way to the Kingdom, so that we would not be puzzled at many things. It can all be very helpful and practical for us to know what is happening. I am looking forward to seeing how our “old man” can be destroyed and how he can be made to stop kicking.

Once a mystery is revealed it is no longer a mystery, and it becomes a reality. That “manna” which was hidden... when I receive a piece of manna, it is not hidden to me any more. I chew on it, and I know what I am eating. I know what I am drinking, and this is where we ought to see that the Lord is revealing to us that which has already been revealed to some of His Apostles and Prophets — perhaps even to a different degree — because they lived two thousand years ago.

So, we thank God for this and we praise God! Amen.

PART II — KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

“Thank You Lord Jesus for this time and this opportunity after more than one year. We pray and we thank You for all You have done; for all the life and light that You have granted us. We have made quite a progress in You. It may seem unusual that we went for over a year without any message, which is not really true, we just were not led to record anything.

You have given us so much Lord, but none of it was recorded and I believe that there is a reason for that also, and we may come back to it later on. I pray also Lord that You would grant us today another part of Your Life and Truth and Light which is so indispensable for our lives and walk and for our seeking You and the Kingdom. In Your Name. Amen.”

Today is February 23, 1990 and this is Part II of The Mystery of Reality which we started in January of last year. Again, it may seem unusual that we went for over one year, but I believe the main reason (there may be more reasons)... the main reason is that the Lord first brought us into certain realities so that we would get a foretaste of what it is when something is a mystery; which is a fact veiled, as it were, behind a curtain. And when the Lord takes that curtain away and shows us plainly, there is a world of difference. This is how it should be from now on: that the mysteries would cease to be mysteries.

Now in Part I, we, as it were, laid down a foundation naming mysteries — fifteen of them. The first one was the Mystery of the Kingdom, if I recollect rightly. This Part II, in fact, is about the Mystery of the Kingdom and I divided it into two parts: “A” and “B”.

Part “A” is the Mystery of the Kingdom itself. Right away we will go to the Scriptures and read some references... Mark 4:11, “And he” [meaning Jesus] “said unto them,” [meaning His disciples] “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God”. This is the mystery itself and unto us it is given to know this mystery.

Part “B” is the Mystery of the Kingdom in terms of getting there, going there. I have a reference here, Matthew 21:31, the last part of the verse: “Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” Now it may be interesting to also know how they are going in, but we will also talk about how we are going in. The Mystery of the Kingdom in terms of getting there, going there... and why harlots are going there before those mentioned in verse 31 where, of course, the Lord meant the Pharisees, the religious leaders.

Let me start the Mystery of the Kingdom itself. Let us read another Scripture, 1Corinthians 13:9-12, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” We ought to put together these two Scriptures which we read — Mark 4:11 and this — and realize one basic thing before we even go on, and before we try to penetrate these mysteries.

In Mark 4:11 the Lord tells us: “it is given unto you to know the mystery”. Here we are told that we know in part, we prophesy in part, we see through a glass, darkly. This fact applies to all the mysteries. This fact from 1Cor.13:9 applies to all mysteries, which means that when the Lord tells us “it is given unto you to know the mystery of the Kingdom” it means it is given unto you to know that part of the mystery which you will be able to know. In other words, while we live in this world we will never know all the mysteries of the Kingdom, all the mysteries of getting there.

Just as we know, for example, that Christ lives in us; Christ in us — is a mystery. It is another mystery which we listed already, and is in Colossians 1:27: “...this mystery..., which is Christ in you...”, and also Galatians 2:20 plainly says (Paul speaks): “...but Christ liveth in me;...”. So here we have another mystery: Christ lives in us! We know that. We not only believe that, but we know that. We experience that; yet, should we ask ourselves: where does He live in us? how does He live in us? — this is a mystery. And the same applies to this mystery: we shall never know fully, we shall only know in part, we shall know Christ in part, we can see Him darkly, as through a glass.

While we are living in this world, we cannot know any mystery in full, and we cannot see anything absolutely clearly. This came to me as a revelation, in fact, because this is a great principle. The consequence of this is simply that we shall never know while in this world, we shall never know fully. Now that does not mean that we will now sit back and say, “what I know is enough... I cannot know anything more, so that's it”. Should we say such a thing, we would act contrary to the Word of God.

God's dwelling place in us... I have a note here: God's dwelling place in us is a mystery. Do you know where He dwells? (response: In our heart..). So where is your heart, or what is it? In fact, yes, I believe that He lives in our heart, at the very bottom of our heart, because He knows our heart from bottom to top. We know our own heart only from the top, and a little bit down, and we don't want to go too deeply for certain reasons that we all know or learned in time. The Lord lives there, but this is a mystery, and we will never know for sure while we live here in our physical bodies and in this physical world.

Thus because of this, we cannot clearly see the Kingdom in us, nor can we fully know the Kingdom in us. This does not mean we should stop seeking it. There are reasons why these things are so, and it is impossible, in fact, to know all things clearly or see them clearly in this life. One example would be that no matter how many bottles of the most precious and best fragrance you may buy, and have in your pocket, and no matter how much you would use them — while you are sitting on a dunghill, that dung will smell! You can never have a clear fragrance, you can never smell it, you can never know the true quality of that fragrance while you are sitting on a dunghill. This is impossible. This is maybe not an appropriate example, but it shows the truth in a different way.

So while we are in this world we cannot know the spiritual world clearly, or understand it clearly, or know everything, or see everything clearly. In other words, as you would have to leave that dunghill, you have to leave this world to see the spiritual world. This means: you have to die or you have to be raptured. Then we will see face to face, then we will be able to know as we are known also. (1Cor.13:12)

So the chief reason is that all these mysteries are spiritual facts which we can only see in spirit, understand in spirit, discern in spirit, know in spirit. We know that it is the Spirit of God Who searches the depths of God (1Cor.2:10), and therefore brings forth the deep thoughts and movements of the heart of God. So equally our spirit searches, or should search, the depths of our heart ... he is the only one who can do that.

Nevertheless, we must so walk as to increase in our spiritual sight, in our spiritual understanding, in our spiritual knowledge of Christ Who is God and, therefore, in the knowledge of the Kingdom.

I would like you to go to Colossians again ... there are many, many things in Colossians ... Col.1:10: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Never mind to what degree I am able to know God while I live on Earth or in this world, that is not the question. And we may never know our limits. In fact, I can proclaim: we will never know our limits, because no matter how the Lord will work in us, no matter what part of the Kingdom we will see and understand and live, we will always have a kind of dissatisfaction with ourselves.

We will never be fully satisfied with ourselves, with our state of affairs, with our soul, with our spirit, with our life, with our performance, with our actions. Because we live in an imperfect world, and in an imperfect body, and in an imperfect soul, and, we might add, an imperfect spirit. This I shared now because I feel that it is important. So that we don't really seek self-satisfaction, but rather be guided by the Spirit and walk and do as the Lord desires and sees fit for us. For He also knows our limits or the parts which we can know about Him, and about the Kingdom, and about the other mysteries.

So when the Lord says it is given to you to know this or that, or even to know Me, or your Father or anyone or anything else from the spiritual world, He knows also to what degree it is possible for us. And I just want to repeat the fact of 1Cor.13:9 and the other verses: that it is impossible for us to know all things as they truly are, which means all the realities, and understand them and see everything clearly.

What we also know about the Kingdom is that we shall rule there with Christ. Do we know that? One reference is in the Book of Revelation, 20:4. It describes various Saints and at the end it says: “and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years”, reigned or ruled with Christ a thousand years. And Christ will rule the nations with a rod of iron — if you just go to Revelation, chapter 19:15: “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron”. That means — if we rule with Him, we shall rule with a rod of iron also. You cannot rule with a palm branch in your hand while your King rules with a rod of iron. We both must rule with the same thing, in the same manner.

Now, I have here two questions. Number one: who is the new king in the Kingdom? Let's read Rev.1:6, the Revelation of Christ to John: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” (meaning Christ Jesus, from verse 5). Christ Jesus has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. He has not made us kings and priests unto Himself. We are not kings for Christ, we are not priests for Christ. Why is that? Why are we not kings for Christ? We are His brethren, but as He is the King to His Father, the Father has given Him the Kingdom, He made us also kings unto the Father.

So we shall be kings and priests unto the Father and not unto Christ. The Spirit is turning us into the image of Christ, so when I am turned into the image of Christ, I am turning into the image of His Kingship and His Priesthood! So I am becoming king and priest to the Father as He already is King and Priest — the High Priest and the King of kings.

So Christ made us kings and priests and this king shall rule in the Kingdom. Who is this new king? The answer to that, I believe, is that every Overcomer from both the Old Testament and the New Testament is a new king and priest unto the Father. And this new king, in fact, equals a new trinity.

New trinity — firstly, there is a new spirit. Go also to Ephesians 4:24 (which we should know by heart now) ... we see the new man, the new spiritual man, “created after God in righteousness and true holiness”. And this new spiritual man has three parts or senses: new consciousness, new intuition, and new communion. He is a brand new spiritual man.

Secondly, there is a new soul. By new soul I mean the original soul which is cleansed and not another soul. There is only one soul which we received, and it cannot disappear and a new one be granted to us! Rather, it is cleansed, it is repaired, it is renewed — but this is our original soul; whereas our spirit is given to us anew. Our body also is given to us anew. These two parts of our trinity are given to us anew. Only the soul is cleansed. This newly cleansed soul is governed by a new volition, which means: you have a new will, new emotions, and a new intellect... again, three new senses.

And thirdly, this new king, this Overcomer in the Kingdom has a new spiritual body which is created by God in incorruption and immortality. 1Cor.15:35-38: “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.” Then it describes certain bodies, in verse 44: “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”

When the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead He came with a spiritual body, He came with a glorified body, and we shall also have a glorified body. Verse 53, the same chapter (we know verses 51, 52 describe the Rapture): “For this corruptible [meaning our body] must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality”; which means: this body, this mortal body, must be changed to immortal, otherwise you cannot be raptured, you can't be raised up even one inch. Otherwise you would fall back down, you would still be under the law of gravity. Verses 54,55: “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

We are talking about death and the grave, so we are talking about the body only. There is no grave for our soul or spirit, there is only a grave for the body. So this new king in the Kingdom, this Overcomer will be a new trinity: a new spiritual man (spirit), with a renewed soul, and a new spiritual body. And why am I saying that ... there will be another reason for that later on, when we discover that there will be two kinds of people living in the Kingdom.

The other question which I have here is: why must we rule with a rod of iron? It is an interesting question because normally, when somebody mentions the Kingdom of Heaven, it is all love and compassion and grace and beauty and everything else ... peace ... and, suddenly, there is a rod of iron. Why? And why will Christ rule with a rod of iron? Well, I have a remark here that the Kingdom is not only the Kingdom of peace, love, joy, compassion, and grace, but also the Kingdom of righteousness and justice!

In our rapture, and in the translation of the Overcomers to the Kingdom, our spirit and soul will undergo no change. In the Rapture of Saints the spirit and soul undergo no change; it is only our body which is changed from mortal to immortal, from corruptible to incorruptible! Therefore, the non-overcomers and people unsaved who will enter the Kingdom will bring in their old man! And this is an interesting part of the Kingdom why the Lord said, “... harlots and publicans go into the Kingdom of God before you.” (Matt.21:31). Isn't it a controversy right there, against all our preconceived ideas and imaginations about the Kingdom of Heaven? I believe all such ideas and imaginations and beliefs must be destroyed ...absolutely... and the reality must come out.

When we know what will go on in the Kingdom, it will be a very practical thing for us today, because if we are to prepare ourselves for that Kingdom, now is the time to do it. In fact, in the Kingdom of Heaven there will be more pagans and harlots and publicans and beggars than religious people. Are you surprised? Most of the religious people will not be there. Now that is a shock, but this is exactly what the Word of God says. There will be heathen in the Kingdom of Heaven and many “great” apostles, evangelists, prophets, preachers, teachers, elders and pastors will not be there!

Now, let us go to Mark 6:52. Do you remember that the disciples of Christ Jesus came into the Kingdom with their hearts hardened? I do not believe that a righteous and holy and meek heart can be at the same time hardened. Do you? So, I believe that even Overcomers, the new kings, will bring in some evil and some shadows into His Kingdom, because they will not be perfect in spirit and soul.

In fact, I believe nobody will be perfect in the Kingdom of Heaven, except Christ Himself. Because I now view the Kingdom of Heaven as a transition from an utterly corrupt and dark world, to the perfection, and holiness, and light, and eternal life of New Jerusalem. And I cannot imagine how God would otherwise do this without this Millennial Kingdom. Today, when I meditate on this or when I try to picture it — it would be very difficult, or the Lord could not grant further grace to anybody. Otherwise one day, there would be a big cut and say, “all you there would go to hell” and “those few here would enter in.”

So to me this is a big transitional period also from the rule of the powers of darkness to the rule of the powers of light — a transition. What comes to mind now, in fact, is the parable of which the Lord said the Kingdom is like unto a net which was lowered, and all kinds of fish were caught (Matt.13:47).

Or another, when He spoke about how a great feast was prepared, and those that were bidden did not come and had all kinds of excuses. And the king was wroth, and he sent his servants to go and gather just about anybody they could get, both good and bad, and the feast was furnished with guests (Matt.22:2-10).

So I believe that complete perfection starts only in New Jerusalem. I believe also, therefore, that 2Cor.7:1 would, in fact, continue right through the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let us also go to Luke 16, from verses 19 to 31. At the end of the chapter is the story of Lazarus and the rich man, and we know that after dying, even after the rich man died, his soul and his spirit did not change. Nor did Lazarus' soul change. Isn't it so? In fact, their bodies did not change either. They did not get new bodies. They died. They left their natural bodies in the graves. So the rich man's soul did not change in Hades, nor did Lazarus' soul change in Abraham's bosom. The soul and spirit remained as they were in the hour of physical death.

As for the unsaved people in the Kingdom, they are all those who did not follow the antichrist who is about to come. Not all the world will follow the antichrist. Those who will not follow him, who will not worship him, who will not take his mark, will end up in the Kingdom; provided they will survive physically... they will end up in the Kingdom. Not those that bore his mark!

Let us go to Revelation 14:9: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” So this is clear for all those who follow the antichrist, who worship him, who bear his mark, and who generally go with him.

Then there will be those left from the nations who fought Jerusalem, who would go up to Jerusalem to worship the new King Christ. Among those who would initially go against Jerusalem, which are the armies of the antichrist, even from them will some be saved and brought into the Kingdom.

I have here, for example, Zechariah 14:16: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” So here we talk about the King Christ seated in Jerusalem on the throne of David, and some of those nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up to worship Him. So we have even such in the Kingdom.

Of course, talking about heathen, realize that in Zechariah chapter 14, from about verse 8 — the Millennium starts, the Kingdom starts. This is the first day of the Kingdom. I do not know if it will be the same day when Christ comes to the Mount of Olives; you can start reading from verse 3: “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” This is the second coming of Christ, “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives”, etc. And then from verse 8: “And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem”. This is the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. In verse 9: “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth”.

So from there the Millennium starts. Let us also read verses 17 and 18: “And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Here you have it: Heathen in the Kingdom of God! The Lord will smite the heathen in His own Kingdom. So no wonder there must be ruling with a rod of iron.

Perhaps, many times we may wish that we could now govern, and bring some justice into this mess, and we cannot. Why? Not because we don't know how (maybe), or we would not have the power; but that authority is not given unto us now, because it shall be given in the Kingdom. Even the Lord Christ does not have that authority to do that now, because the Father has established the hour of His coming and when the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of His dear Son (Rev.11:15). This is established for the future.

That is why we see this world rotting and perishing away. And how many times we do know what to do, we would know and we even could do it, but we are not permitted. But in the Kingdom you will be asked to do that. In fact, this will be our duty.

So I also believe that these heathen and unsaved people in the Kingdom will have another chance to get saved. Salvation does not end by this... we call it the “Dispensation of Grace” — a period since the Cross, or since the beginning of the Church until now, and until the Great Tribulation. And I remember, I was taught in Trinity Pentecostal Church, that this is the last chance for anybody to be saved. I do not believe that. In fact, let us go to Revelation 13:8: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, [meaning the antichrist] whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

That even suggests to me that all that dwell upon the earth shall worship the antichrist, except those who are written in the Book of Life. So even at that time there will be those pre-destinated for salvation. Even in the midst of this terrible tribulation, the Lord knows those who are written in His Book. They might not know about it, they might not know anything about anything, but this verse declares that the Lord knows everything. They may be surprised that they are not worshipping the beast. Well, because they are chosen to be (the next) Believers and Christians, maybe, in the Kingdom.

Now, I also believe that in the Kingdom there will be two kinds of people, one with a natural body, and one with a glorified body. Those with glorified bodies will be those who will be raptured and come with Christ as rulers; basically, the Overcomers, the kings and priests. The rest of the inhabitants of the Kingdom will be natural people who will have the same body as we have now. The new children born to them will have the same body, the same Adamic earthly nature, except there will be no temptation, because Satan will be locked up for one thousand years (Rev.20:2,3).

There will be no temptation, there will be no death, so people will live for a thousand years. Just as the Adamic race was living long ...five, six, seven, eight hundred years was normal. Then it will be a similar story. Except, you see, the old Adamic nature will have still the inclination to sin. So, unless they become Believers and converted, and the same process starts in them as with us here, they will be tempted again after the thousand years and they will fall. After living with Christ for a thousand years, they will fall and they will be condemned! (Rev.20:7-9)

The wild beasts will become meek and harmless. Let us go to Isaiah 11, for example, from verse 4: “But with righteousness shall he [the Lord Jesus] judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: [we know the meek shall inherit the earth—Mat.5:5] and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, [which is very similar to the Book of Revelation where it is written: He shall smite the nations with the sword which comes out of His mouth] and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked [which means the antichrist]. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”

These days this is only possible in a circus. “And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

We were even singing a song about this. This is all Millennium; so you will not be afraid to go to Africa because lions will eat straw and not people any more. All the wild creatures will be very harmless, like doves. Isaiah prophesied about the Millennial Kingdom.

Zechariah 8 (there will be very old people living there) from verse 3, for example: “Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.” There will be eight hundred year old men walking right there. “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.”, etc.

I believe there are many passages in the Old Testament prophesying about the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the Millennial Kingdom, and which describe this Kingdom and the conditions there. And I believe we have not gotten out of the Scriptures even a fraction of what it says about it and what is its reality.

We must be prepared for reality. One basic fact of reality will be that when we now deal with the corrupt human nature, this is exactly what we will do there, too. Except there we will have authority and power and a different body, and there will be different conditions. But we will basically deal with the same stuff — the “old man”. So, if we know how to deal with him here and now, it will be child's play for us there. This is what it boils down to.

Let us also read 1Cor.13. Presently, there are three things that abide until we get to the Kingdom. These three things are: faith, hope, and love (1Cor.13:13). In fact, we read verse 9, 10, 11, even verse 12. I purposely did not go on because it was not the right time, but now is the right time to read verse 13: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, [which means love] these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” So that is what abides or what is left “until that which is perfect is come”, and then we will see things clearly (verse 10). And in verse 10, here I have a little note that “that which is perfect is come” meant Jesus is coming. That was also the teaching that I was taught, and it is wrong. I believe it is wrong, and if you were taught the same thing you should correct this. Because Christ Jesus was never called “that” in the Scripture. Otherwise it would be written `but when He which is perfect is come'.

So what abides now are three things: faith, hope, and love. Now we know that faith and love are the two breasts of the maiden in the Song of Solomon, and we are going there. Chapter 1, verse 13: “A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; [the maiden is speaking about the King Christ] he shall lie all night betwixt [or between] my breasts”, which typify faith and love. And these two — faith and love, in fact, are the only two which are able to keep the Lord all night, where all night means the time of the ruling of the (powers of) darkness, which is now! So, if you desire to have the Lord all the night with you, you must have faith and love. Otherwise you will not keep Him.

Now, in addition to faith and love in 1Cor.13 is hope. Why? What is it doing there? What is hope doing there? Is there a difference between faith and hope? We were in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, just last week, and we said that faith is not hope. Faith and hope are different, right? 1Cor.13:13 clearly testifies of that. If they were the same thing they could not be separated by a comma. So faith is not hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and we also said what substance is ... because there are many people who just have hope, but no substance.

I can hope for a Rolls-Royce car for next week. Now, my hope maybe is not bad — it is not reasonable; but do I have any substance for it? Somebody may say, “you are crazy”. He would be quite right.

So there is a difference between faith and hope. And hope is added there for those who do not have faith or love. Because in the Song of Solomon, if you remember also in chapter 8, verse 8, there can be sisters who have no “breasts”. “We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts”. So there is a new beginning for sisters who “have no breasts”, which means they at least may have hope. “What shall we do” “we” means the King and the maiden, who has the breasts like towers, in v.10, “what shall we do for our [poor] sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?”

So there is a hope introduced or added to 1Cor.13:13. What abides is hope, faith, love. I believe there is no human being without hope. Because, you see, the hope dies last. This is a certain quality of human nature, which is there to preserve us even in the natural sense. Whereas faith is of a spiritual nature ... completely. It has nothing to do with our nature. Hope is, I believe, completely natural, and it has no spiritual substance in it. So these three abide until we get to the Kingdom.

* * *

There is a question from the congregation: Is love spiritual or natural? What love is Paul talking about there, spiritual or natural? [All present believed the spiritual love.] Well, I believe you are wrong. That is not very nice to say, but according to my faith, according to my belief, that love is not purely spiritual, but that love has already taken hold of your soul and your heart so that you cannot really distinguish it; you cannot say it is just pure spirit.

Your very own heart must produce love. You either love or you do not. And nobody can force you. You will love this person and you will hate that one. Your heart will tell you. In fact, you cannot dictate to your heart; whereas faith is something purely spiritual, and you either use it or you do not.

With love you cannot say: “well, I have a choice to love her, or to hate her, or to be indifferent.” You cannot say that! You either love or you do not. But your natural love is purified in that it is not just “get, get, get” (self-satisfaction), but it is also “give”. Mostly it is “give” when it is purified, because purely natural love is also prone to be corrupted.

Usually the first love is pure, but when that disappears it is either replaced by a corrupted love or hatred, or it is not replaced by anything. But the spiritual love purifies your own soul and your own love. But we cannot say, “Lord, love that person through me” — as this is impossible, this is absolutely impossible! Either the Lord loves that person directly or He hates that person (e.g. Rom.9:13), and either I love that person or I hate that person. But I cannot ask God for such things, nobody can.

God can grant me faith to heal somebody, but He cannot give me love, you see, for somebody. That is where the difference is between hope and love; hope is purely natural, faith is purely spiritual and love is natural but renewed by spirit. Well, that is my faith and I am entitled to it, and you are entitled to disagree or have your own faith, but you asked me so I replied.

* * *

Praise God! We are going to say at least a few things about Part “B”, which is the Mystery of the Kingdom in terms of getting there, going there. Now, we shared what it is and what will be in it, at least very briefly. Maybe the Lord will later grant us more insight into this — to whatever degree we will need it then — and practical things. Now another very practical thing is how to get there, how we are going there.

Again, I have here three points; I will mention them, at least presently, very briefly. We, the Overcomers, are supposed to get into the Kingdom by faith, love, and works. Do you agree with that? We should underline the words supposed to or expected to get there by faith, love, and works. We already spoke about faith and love, which means you keep the Lord all the night. But then you work, you do not just sleep all the night.

We are supposed to work with Him as co-workers. The maiden was going out with Him and working with Him, right? You reread the Song of Solomon (7:11,12) and you will find out things. She was not sleeping all the time on her bed. So I believe this is what we are supposed to do, or the Overcomers are supposed to do. Not just big faith and nothing else, not just big love and nothing else, and not just a lot of works and nothing else. But all three in right proportions.

But then, there are three other ways, I believe. One is by faith alone. By the Word of God, which I received on October 2, 1988 at 10:30 a.m., faith equals reality! Which means: reality equals faith. All mathematicians will tell you that it works both ways. That also means that whenever we have true faith — we have reality. Except that faith must produce works. And unless it does, that reality will also remain dead. Just as faith without works is dead, according to James (2:26), which is just as equal the Word of God as any other part of the Word of God. So also reality not done, not performed, is dead. But if we have no faith (reality), we just have false faith or hope, or something which is not true faith. It proves itself later on when the reality is shown as different.

As soon as the spiritual reality differs from our faith, then our faith is wrong! Do you follow? Hebrews 11, which we know is the chapter of faith, mentions all the great men and women of the Old Testament, even harlots like Rahab, verse 31: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not ...”. And so this harlot goes into the Kingdom before the Pharisees. You see?

The other men of God in verse 33: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Through faith. Not through wishful thinking and not through desires, not through dreaming about it, and not through hope. Through faith!

I said some time ago and, in fact, I wrote in the “Open Letter...” that I am in the Kingdom already. Now, I do not know who takes it how ...I am there. Period. I am there by faith, first of all ... but for me the Kingdom is becoming more real than this world, which is perishing in front of my eyes. And I do not even try to hold on to this world. By faith and in spirit and heart I am there, in the Kingdom. I was seeking it — and I found it! (Mat.6:33 and 7:7,8)

Now, that does not mean that that is sufficient and everything is all right. Because I would be like a maiden with one breast (the faith) and I would hardly find a husband (again, the two breasts of the maiden are love and faith—S. of S.8:8,10). The Lord desires proportions. That is why there are commandments about love in the Scriptures. In fact, the commandments about love are the greatest, greater than about faith and greater than about works. And we all know that we ought to work, and that we ought to sow the seed, and to cooperate with the Lord working in the vineyard.

But the commandment about love is greater than that about works. The Lord never said, “thou shalt work day and night, with all thy might and with all thy strength until you drop dead”. Yet, He said: “And thou shalt love ... with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:”, which means: with everything and anything which is in you. This is a commandment of God (Mk.12:30). So, if I would be in the Kingdom by faith alone and have no love, I would not like to meet the Lord and hear His comment. Are you following me? Equally, if I loved and had no faith, I would not like to hear His comment.

2Cor. chpt.4 ... there is something about faith here in verse 13: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.” If you believe, you must speak. If there is a faith there ought to be action. It cannot be otherwise. And if you find the Kingdom, you cannot remain quiet. If you find the Lord, you cannot remain quiet, you must testify! Your faith, your love will prompt you to do that, otherwise you are as dead as a piece of stone. And if you are as a piece of stone you cannot meet the Lord, of course. 2Cor.5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight”. There are many verses about faith and about right judgment, and about these things. But there is a way to get to the Kingdom by faith alone! I believe that.

The second way is by works alone! Just by works alone. Let us go to James 2; now we know that verses 17-22 say: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” A little confusing a verse, isn't it? “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” Verse 24: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”

That may seem a contradiction, but not when it comes to going into the Kingdom, because, as we know, all the “sheep nations” will get there by nothing but works. And what they did was, perhaps, they handed a cup of cold water to the least of the Lord's brethren; perhaps having no faith, no love, no knowledge, no nothing (Mat.10:42, 25:35-40). Right? So you can get there by works alone.

The third way to get into the Kingdom is just by surviving the Tribulation! Because there is no other way but to end up there. You must be killed, or you must commit suicide to avoid the Kingdom, right? This is the third way — by surviving the Tribulation. Matthew 24:22 (I am sure some of you know this verse about the great Tribulation): “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”

Which means — there will be flesh saved, which means — not everybody will be dead; which means — there will be people surviving the Tribulation, and for them there will be no other way but to get into the Kingdom. So they will be there. Whether they will be good or bad does not matter, they survived the Tribulation. How they will behave in the Kingdom, how they will respond to Christ Who comes to rule in Person, that is another story, but they will get in and they will be in. Do you believe that? Well, it is so according to the Word of God.

Acts 2 (it is a very unlikely book, the Book of Acts, to talk about the Tribulation), chapter 2, verses 20,21: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

It does not say anything about missionaries going out, about preaching of the Gospel, about great works of faith, about love, about anything. Men, out of sheer fear, may call upon the Name of the Lord and they shall be saved! We may say, “That's not fair, Lord, I was saved and I had to do all kinds of things for the past twenty or forty years and these guys will come into the same Kingdom.”

But then there is another story in the Bible... just dealing with this same matter. “Why do you people talk like that? I have made a deal with everyone, a righteous deal; those that started in the morning and bore the heat of the day and those that just came in five minutes before five; they all got the same penny.” (Matt.20:1-16). Of course, this is unrighteousness with men, but this is also the grace of God.

You may call on the Lord's Name in the middle of the Tribulation, God will hear even at that time, and He has the power to save at any time before the Last Judgment. Let us return again to Zechariah 14:16. We read this verse before, so we are returning to it and I am getting back simply because I believe this is the most vivid portion of the Scripture, which tells us that there will be people going into the Kingdom who just survived the Tribulation: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” And I believe this is very clear and we thank the Lord for this verse.

In conclusion, I would like to say only this: the Lord granted us certain light, although limited; we do not know everything. In Part “A” we shared about the Kingdom — who is there, why the rule of a rod of iron, who will be ruling. In Part “B” we shared how to get there, who will be getting there. Although we have covered this mystery in a certain limited way, we have not exhausted this. The Lord may grant us further light later on, but I believe this already is sufficient for us to praise the Lord for giving us something which has been a total mystery for centuries.

“Thank you Lord for all this. We praise You. Amen.”

Part III — DEAD OR ALIVE?

Today is November 23, 1990. This is Part III of the message “The Mystery of Reality” which the Lord has been giving to us from time to time, as you know. This time we have been waiting more than half a year, and the Lord had a reason for that. We even mentioned the reason; the chief reason was, I believe, that from the beginning it was more of a curiosity of our flesh to know, which is normal and natural.

But the Lord is not out to really satisfy our curiosity or feed our brains, but rather to satisfy our needs, our true needs of our heart and our spirit. It did not take Him such a long time — rather it took us such a long time to be prepared in heart to receive from Him this reality, which is light, which is truth, that it may fill our deep needs and bring forth the fruit.

This is really always the reason that the Lord gives a revelation — never to make theologians out of us who study and try to solve the mysteries, but rather to bring forth the fruit out of this light, which is truth, which is reality. Truth equals reality, faith equals reality. I also believe that we cannot make further progress, we cannot grow, we cannot mature, we cannot climb higher, or to grow up into Him further, without this kind of truth, further truth, further light, further revelation, further reality. So it is vital for us.

In Part I we, as it were, laid down a foundation in which we enumerated fifteen mysteries; various mysteries which are mentioned either directly or indirectly in the New Testament. In Part II, which also came quite late after Part I, we were led to mystery number one which is the Mystery of the Kingdom, and learned or saw who is in the Kingdom or who will be there; even why, and how to get there. And who should get there how, what road to take.

Now we have not exhausted this. I would say that, in fact, in Part II when we spoke about these things, this was again something like laying another foundation just concerning the Kingdom in terms of who is there, who shall be there, why and how to get there, and how we are getting there, in fact. I believe that in this Part III also, the Lord will continue giving us more on this Kingdom and other facts of His Word which pertain to this mystery, and also which may touch other mysteries in the Word of God. So, the mystery of getting into the Kingdom may be also equated with seeking it.

“Seek ye first the Kingdom” (Mt.6:33) — now this is also a mystery. When we are first told to seek the Kingdom, we do not know how to do it, when to do it, what to do. We know nothing and when we do not know it, it means it is a mystery as well. And we tried to do things and found out that we failed, and we did not know why. That is a mystery too. In fact, the whole of Christianity is shrouded in mysteries, and unless this veil is taken away, at least part by part by the Lord Himself, we can't progress. Period.

Romans 6:6 ... now there were certain portions of the Word of God which I felt we should read and meditate on, of course, this is one of them: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God says: ...“knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him”. In verse 11: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Whereas Paul says in Romans: “our old man is crucified”, he means also his old man is crucified; in Galatians 2:20, he says: “I am crucified”. It is not only his old man that is crucified, but he is crucified. So I may say in Romans: “my old man is crucified with Christ”, but going to Galatians I should say: “I am crucified altogether”!

Colossians 3:3 ... and, of course, we are picking up just a few chief verses concerning this topic: “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”. So I am told very clearly, “I am dead”. 1Peter 2:24, the last part of the verse: “by whose stripes ye were healed”. I am dead and I am also healed! Well, so far it means our mystery is getting more complicated rather than solved.

Ephesians 2:5,6: “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. Who has done it? God, in verse 4: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us”.

Finally, I give you Ephesians 1:17-23, perhaps that is enough. This is a prayer of Paul: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ [or, we may say, which He worked in Christ], when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Back to Romans 6:6; I believe thousands or millions of Christians ask themselves this question and I am asking this question again now: “Are you dead or are you not dead?”

I have three other questions to ask, one is pretty easy, two are probably not, but they are important. Before we even go to the Father, let us ask these questions:

Question one is: “can a saved man lose his salvation, yes or no?” Does anybody know? (Answer given: yes). Who agrees with that? Well, most of you agree with “yes”, and the answer is: yes! In fact, the answer is in the Book of Revelation 3:5, where the Lord Himself says He will blot or not blot out (his) name out of the Book of Life, which is the loss of salvation. And in Hebrews 6:4-6, Paul speaks very clearly also. He who falls out of salvation can not be renewed again to salvation.

Question number two: “can God save him again? Can God save such a man again?” The answer is “yes” or “no”. Who believes in “no”, He cannot save him? Well, we will answer this later.

And the third question is: “can God save Satan? Yes or no?” He cannot? These are important questions and the answers are even more important, and we will come to them shortly.

So Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:17–20 is for us. I believe your prayer and my prayer at this point should be that which is found in Psalms 119:125. (Now I agree that there are more verses which might fit in, and we may include this in, and certainly verse 34 would not be outside, but the Lord led me to this one). You see, the point is this: the Lord is not giving His light out to just anybody, because there is a purpose in His light and in His truth and in His reality. He gives it to them... just as the Will of God is not given or made known to everyone, but to he who desires to do it, as it is recorded in the Gospel of John (7:17). He who desires to do it shall know and nobody else.

This Psalm says this: “I am thy servant”, and unless we are in the heart His servants or desire to be, we shall not obtain the reality. That is why the Lord is not out to satisfy curious minds; He is out to grant His light to those who are desiring and willing to live it, therefore, to do it. “I am thy servant,” ... `therefore' is not written there, but you can safely put it there and the Lord would agree with that ... “therefore give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies”.

To know the testimony of God means to know God. It is not information about God, which anybody can tell you, or almost anybody. It is a knowledge of God Himself, because the testimony of God means God testifies about Himself, which means He reveals the reality of Himself to you. And for that you have to be His true servant.

So I pray, Father, this prayer: “I am Your servant by Your Will first, and afterwards also by my own will. Therefore, I ask You to give me the understanding that I may know Your testimonies.”

And this is a testimony which will bring the defeat of the powers of darkness (Rev.12:11). Not the testimony that I am saved by Grace, but the testimony that I know God. And this is a different story.

In order to have any kind of answer to these seeming puzzles or mysteries, how far back (into the Bible) would you go to find an answer? Have you ever pondered that?

How far back would you go? Now we know that Paul wrote the Book of Romans about two thousand years ago; the Book of Romans is that old.

Would you say that it is sufficient to go back to the time of Paul, when he wrote it, or would you go further back? Would you feel you would have to go further back, like to Moses, perhaps? To Abraham? Would you go as far back as to Abraham? Would you sense you should go that far? How about Noah? How would you feel about Noah? Do you feel fine? How about Adam and Eve? The Garden of Eden, is that enough? Praise God.

Would you go as far back as Genesis 1:1? Who would go as far back? The Lord says: “that is not enough”! Yes, you hear right, that is not enough. Genesis 1:1 is not enough, we have to go before that! Now we have nothing before that, how can we go there? Well, in time, in our time we have to go before Genesis 1:1, because Genesis 1:1 is the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth. This is the foundation. But then the Lord in His wisdom and in His Word clearly leads us outside of this time frame. We have to go before the beginning to begin to understand what is going on in our time!

Hallelujah! I praise God! Did I mention to you about Watchman Nee and his book “From Faith to Faith”, and how he many times wrote and encouraged people to believe that they are dead, because it is written that they are crucified? Because it is written to “reckon yourself dead”, and what is written is true. And how many Christians or Believers (not thousands, but probably millions) tried to reckon themselves dead, and they failed? Today I believe that even brother Watchman (who was my blessed teacher) tried that, but he himself has not come further than this one truth, one side of a two-fold truth.

This particular truth and this particular reality is two-fold, and unless you see the other side, you can do nothing and you can not even believe it — because your faith is not complete. And just as nobody can give you a part of, say, a Canadian one dollar coin — just the part with the “loony” — because it is impossible, you cannot have it.

Either he can give you the whole thing or nothing. And you either have it all or you have nothing. Do you agree with that? So it is with this truth. Either God gives us the whole truth or we have nothing.

Now, we see that part of the truth which is written and which we were taught and which we are encouraged to believe; and we believe it because it is the Word of God, but that faith produces no fruit. And that faith was dead and incomplete. Whatever faith has no fruit is dead. James 2:26 says: “Faith without works is dead”. Now works means also fruit, you can equate works with fruit.

So the Lord is desiring to take us all before Genesis 1:1. Now go to Ephesians 1:3,4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world (before Genesis 1:1), that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will”. Verse 9: “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will (before Genesis 1:1), according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.”

There was nobody around the Lord to tell Him that He should one day save somebody. And nobody counselled Him and nobody brought Him to such purposes, He purposed within Himself alone. Why? Because there was nobody around. There was no man created, there was no sin, there was no Eden, there was no Bible, there was no world. There was no heaven. We don't have to go too far and try to figure out where God was when there was no heaven. This is not our task.

Our task now is to open our hearts and receive from the Father the simple facts which He is out to serve us, and without which we can not go one iota further from where we are now. So Ephesians 1:4 says: “He has chosen us in Him [which is to say, in Christ] before Genesis 1:1”. We are not asking at this moment how He did it, this is not the point.

In verse 3, Paul is not blessing Christ, but he is blessing God the Father. Alone! Well, not because Christ did not deserve blessings, but there is a reason for everything. Paul was inspired by the Spirit of the Living God to say “Blessed be the God and Father...”. It was the Father alone Who blessed us before Genesis 1:1 and, again, do not ask how or why, just get and believe what you hear. The Father alone blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, and chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.

You ask: “why did Christ come to the scene in the year zero, practically?” Well, we will come to that, too. Go to the Gospel according to John, chapter 17, which is a grand prayer of our Lord, a grand prayer, which was answered in every possible way. In verse 20, in fact, He, the Lord - at that time, two thousand years ago — prayed for those of us who are sitting here tonight: “Neither pray I for these alone, [which means for His apostles and disciples], but for them also which shall believe on me through their word”. And after that verse, I have my initials put there, because I belong exactly to the same verse, and I am saved also because of this prayer of the Lord!

Now, in verse 24: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before ... Genesis 1:1”. Now, this is Jesus the Man Who speaks, this is not a spirit, this is flesh and bones Who speaks: “You loved me before Genesis 1:1”.

You all should know John 3:16. Well, let us read it. We even sang it a number of times in the churches and this Word of God is somewhat misused in the matter of salvation as very few verses are so misused. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But He loved this world also before Genesis 1:1. Today He hates it! And there are plenty of verses to confirm that. (Mat.18:7, Jn.17:9, Rom.12:2, 1Cor.11:32, Gal.1:4, Jam.4:4, etc.) I am not going into that.

Revelation 13:8: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the beast = antichrist], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb [which is Christ Jesus] slain from the foundation of the world”, which is to say, from Genesis 1:1. The Lord was not slain at Calvary (let him who reads understand), the Lord was slain at Genesis 1:1. That is still a mystery and we desire to solve that one, too, through the Spirit.

Revelation 17:8, we are talking about the Mystery of Babylon: “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from ... Genesis 1:1.” The name of every saved one was written in the Book of Life before Genesis 1:1. The Lord was slain before Genesis 1:1. The Book of Revelation was done before Genesis 1:1!

Matthew chpt.13... you see we are going from Genesis 1:1 to the Book of Revelation and everywhere in between, because this is One Word of God that is in harmony. And I praise God. I praise the Father, and I praise the Son and I praise the Spirit for His Words. And no man can make any sense of this unless the Lord plainly shows him the simplicity, which is mysterious.

Matthew 13:34,35: “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from ... Genesis 1:1.” The Lord was telling us things which He knew with the Father before Genesis 1:1.

I have one more reference here. In fact, you know the famous parable of the Kingdom also in Matthew, chapter 25; not about the virgins, but about the King and the Judgment of the Nations. Matthew 25:34: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before ... Genesis 1:1”! Are you getting a sense of something? Or not yet? Well, I do hope you will get it.

Now every normal man would ask: “How is this? How can these things be? How could the Father do it? What is going on?” And these questions would be very legitimate, “How could the Father do it? How could the Father do something about me when I was born just over fifty years ago? How could He do that? How could He love me? How could the Lord Jesus be slain even before there were Israel and Calvary and Roman soldiers and crosses? There was not even wood for the cross. How could the Father do that?”

The first mystery, I believe, is this: the Father lives in timeless existence! For Him the future does not exist; nor the past. That may be quite mind boggling, but our hearts must come to see that for the Father there is no time. Time begins in Genesis 1:1. Because it says: “In the beginning.” Now before that, how can there be time unless there be a beginning? Can you tell me?

Which is to say, we can read the Word of God a little differently also, because the Lord may lead us to put in the proper words which are missing here. And they are missing purposely.

So you can read Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning of time God created”. And not only that, you can enlarge this verse and say: “In the beginning of time God by Christ created.” Christ did not begin in Bethlehem.

If you do not believe you can do that, read Colossians 1:15,16... maybe it is a good time to go there: “Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were ALL things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible”. Now that says it all ... and that before Genesis 1:1, or after Genesis 1:1, I should say.

So we can say: “In the beginning God by Christ created the heavens and the earth”, because these are things and, therefore, He can create things or call things into being. The Father lives in timeless existence, which is beyond our imagination and understanding — yet we are able to grasp it by faith. Therefore, the Father can ask questions which are outright illogical to us and which He, in fact, does ask just to prove the point.

Let us go to Ecclesiastes 3:14: “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever:”, in other words, the Lord is not doing any temporary job, “nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: [praise God] and God doeth it, that men should fear before him”. Verse 15: “That which hath been is now;”— that which has been before Genesis 1:1 is now, in 1990 —“and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past”! He requires you to be saved, because you were saved before Genesis 1:1! And He requires you to be dead, because you were dead before Genesis 1:1. He requires that which was in the past — for us, not for Him. He IS. Period.

Time is just for us; even today time is just for us, not for the Father. The Father does not have a `grandpa clock' in heaven to look at and say, “what time is it”, or, “is it time to go to bed?” The Father does not know time for Himself. He knows what time is, because He created that. And He created that by Christ — by creating the Sun and the Moon and the Earth and the stars, so that they be for time and times, and years and days, because without them we would not even know what time is (Gen.1:14).

Romans chapter 4, let me read from verse 16: “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Which means: before I was, God called me! Hallelujah! Before you were born He called you, because that's what He is doing here. Because for God there is no time.

Mystery number two, therefore, is: all Scripture that is written happened before our time, and all Scripture that we read is true. Now, nobody argues about that, no true Believer, that is. So when we read Romans 6:6, I ask: “Are you dead or are you not dead?” This is a mystery of God. Do you know what the truth is? BOTH! I praise God. Both are truth. You are dead as dead you can be! Hallelujah! You are dead before this world was created. And at the same time you are not dead! And God is showing that to us also in a simple way. Let us therefore see and understand.

All these verses, (like Romans 6:6) “our old man is crucified with Christ”, are true, and “our old man is not crucified with Christ”, is also true. Now go to Matthew 16:24: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, [who were dead before Genesis 1:1], If any man [if anyone of you] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” No dead man can ever deny himself! And no dead man ever needs any cross, because he is dead. Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ:”, yet, this same Christ tells me: “Pick up your cross”! So God shows me I am dead and I am not dead. I am crucified with Christ and I am not crucified with Christ.

Romans 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him”, which means with Christ. Notice two things: it is written “our old man is crucified”, and not “was” or “had been” or “shall be”. It says “is”, and it does not say “in Him”, but “with Him”. And do you know why? That is mystery number three, because God, in His wisdom, (to veil the truth), had it written in such a way as to be applicable to both sides of this reality.

So that when you read, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him”, satisfies the standpoint of the Father before Genesis 1:1. And when you read it, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him daily”, satisfies our standpoint and the Lord's, which is in time, whereas the standpoint of the Father is timeless. That (former) was a fact that stood from eternity to eternity, it does not recognize time.

But when you add there “daily” — that applies to November 23, 1990 at 9:15 p.m. And you may ask: “How can brother Hanola add words to the Word of God so freely?” Brother Hanola is not doing anything. God is doing it, Himself.

See Matthew 16:24 and Luke 9:23 ... and the difference between Matthew 16:24 and this verse is only one word ... “And he [the Lord Jesus Christ] said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” It is the Lord Himself Who added this word. And this is the only difference, the word “daily” between Mat.16:24 and Lk.9:23. And so the same Spirit takes this word and puts it into Romans 6:6. You are crucified with Him daily.

Colossians 3:3 says: “ye are dead”, do you remember that verse? “Ye are dead”, that is truth, and “ye are not dead” is equally truth. It is God Who shows us, not I; I did not dream up these things!

1Corinthians 15, the same Paul who is telling you to reckon yourself dead, who tells you that your old man is crucified, who tells you in another letter that you are crucified, and who tells you in the Book of Colossians that you are dead, suddenly being inspired by the same Spirit, writes in 1Corinthians 15:31: “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily” !

Now, I could ask: “Paul, how is it you are dying daily when you are dead from Genesis 1:1? How is it you have to reckon yourself dead, when tomorrow you have to die a little more?” Now he would have answered me in the same way: “I am dead in Christ and yet I am not dead, nevertheless I live. And this fleshly life I live through the faith of the Son of God.” And that verse is also in the Scripture ... Galatians 2:20 — we were there, in fact, we just did not read the whole verse where Paul says: “I am crucified with Christ: [not just my old man, but, I AM crucified], nevertheless I live”; so I am not dead at the same time, “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Now I remember what brother Watchman Nee wrote, “you feel you are not dead, but you must overcome your feelings and believe you are dead, because your feelings and your thoughts are unreliable.” Well, I agree, up to a point that is true. Compared to the Word of God, my feelings are very unreliable, and my imaginations, and my thoughts as well. But when God shows me I am also living, then I must believe I am also living, and on the basis of this the Lord showed me a very simple fact.

You remember Ephesians 2:4–6, we were made to sit in heavenly places already, we “were made” not “shall be” — we “were made”; it is written in past tense. Now, is it just your fleeting feeling that you are not there (in those heavenly places), that you are more on earth? Or, is it a reality that you are on earth more than in heaven?

I would like to ask you all: Do you just feel you are on earth, or do you feel you are really in heaven? And ... is this (being here) just a figment of your imagination?

This is a proof when God shows us, in fact, God tells us through the same Paul: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth” (Col.3:5). God tells you, you are on earth and He also tells you He made you to sit in heaven! “So God, how is it truly?” Again, BOTH are true! This is the mystery, the word “both” is the mystery. We are seated in heaven ... I am already in the Kingdom, and I am not. Now both are true.

How can that be? Well, I am in the Kingdom only in faith and in spirit and heart, because the Kingdom was not yet established on earth in the physical sense, therefore, I cannot be in it. But I am there in faith and in spirit and heart. In fact, the Kingdom is set up in me (“behold, the kingdom of God is within you”, Lk 17:21). It is there, it governs my spirit and soul, but I do not live in the Kingdom physically. And I have to wait.

So I am seated in heaven and I do not dare to disbelieve that. Yet I know very well, and I think you agree with me, that I am also on earth. You see, if I started to believe things which are outrightly ridiculous, my faith would stand on nothing. Therefore, try to reckon yourself dead and you fail. Why? Because your faith is not pure and straight and complete, that is why. Both are truth: I die daily, I am crucified with Christ daily, yet, I was dead and crucified with Him, and He was crucified Himself before Genesis 1:1. So when I say, “I am” — it is true because the Word of God says so, and when I say, “I am not” — it is equally true. The same Word of God says so.

Colossians 3:1 (and these are such verses which start with “if” - if ye be dead, if ye be crucified): “If ye then be risen with Christ ...”. Now, why does Paul ask “If”, when this is a fact that I am ... I have been ... I was? And he says: “(if you are really there then) seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Verse 5: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth”, yet, you are seated in heaven! Do you see? Do you see this mystery, which should not be a mystery any more?

“By whose stripes ye were healed”, (1Pet.2:24, Is. 53:5) — are we? We are sick, is that not true? You remember James 5:16: “pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” The same Spirit of God tells us we are sick and we ought to pray for one another, and the same Spirit tells us, “ye were healed”. Is it not a Book of contradictions? Absolutely. Everything is contradiction to the human mind who never saw the Light of God.

There is a third part to this, and we now go to 1Peter 1:18–20: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world (Genesis 1:1), but was manifest in these last times for you”.

And I say: so were we foreordained, but are manifested now! Romans 8:29: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, [or preordain] them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” ... by bringing them up and sitting them in heavenly places, which is why Ephesians 2:4,5 follows and confirms this, for this is the outcome of Romans 8:30.

We were foreordained by the same God in the same way as the Lord Jesus was foreordained before Genesis 1:1. And as He was manifested in His time, which was the year zero or 30, or thereabouts, we are manifested in 1990. And every human being foreordained is manifested in his due time. Furthermore, as the Son of God, being foreordained, had to learn through things He suffered and was being made perfect, so are we foreordained to learn through things we must suffer and are being made perfect.

We should know some of these verses, Heb.5:8: “Though he were a Son, [with capital S, Son of God and despite this, but because He was foreordained], yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”

Equally so, though we are sons and daughters (of God), yet learn we the obedience by the things which we suffer and are being made perfect, so that we become the authors of our own eternal salvation; (“work out your own salvation ...” Phil.2:12). What is wrong with this logic? It is not logic, it is the Word of God! But it is so simple that it is even logical.

Answers to questions number two and three: Can God save he who was blotted out of the Book of Life? The answer is “yes”. The third question: Can God save Satan? The answer is “yes”. (Genesis 18:14). Also Luke 1:37: “For with God nothing shall be impossible” — that is the Word of God. We know that God is Almighty, we can not say He cannot do something. In Matthew 19:26, Jesus says: “With men this is impossible; but with God ALL things are possible.”

The truth is: God CAN, but He WILL NOT! Why? Before Genesis 1:1, the Father knew everything, saw everything, saw everybody who would be created, who would be born. He knew everybody by name, had everyone... counted the number of hairs of everybody who was ever born to this world (Lk.12:7) — these are staggering things to imagine.

God already knew before He created Lucifer that he would turn himself into Satan, the father of lies and pride, and what would follow (Is.14:12–15). Therefore, God preordained things and established the free choice for men, and He preordained them on the basis of THEIR choice! He set the conditions for damnation and salvation! And He knows that Satan, or any fallen angel or demon, can NEVER fulfil those conditions for salvation. So, it is not a matter of the ability of God to forgive Satan and save him; it is that He will not.

If we had not obeyed the Gospel of Christ, God the Father could not save us! The same way He `would not have saved us', as He did not save Satan. And we would go to the same place where Satan is going (Rev.20:10+15).

And so we have a simple choice: we either go and do that which the Father preordained and reach that which was already done for us, or we don't. And this is a question of obedience, learning obedience, and running the race that God the Father set before us, and that the Lord Christ had to run as the first runner (Heb.12:1).

The Father had established everything. He chose us in Christ Who was before Genesis 1:1, He chose us in Him, we were crucified with Him, we rose up again with Him, we are seated in Heavenly places with Him, and this is all so — but we are manifested in this time now, and the Word of God commands us to complete that which was already done. So that the time came in the history of mankind when this Lord Jesus, the Man Jesus, had to be born and accomplish that which was already done. He did not do anything new. He was slain before He was born, and so were we! And now the Lord is only proving to us that this was so, and that, in fact, we are going where we were already six thousand years ago! Because He demands that which is past ... and He calls that which is not ... as if it were. That is a mystery which is not supposed to be a mystery anymore for us.

Therefore, I pray the Father Who actually conceived all this in His Heart and in His Mind, and it pleased Him to conceive that and to purpose that. It is written that it was His pleasure, otherwise we would be in big trouble. And that should also put us into the right perspective. That we are basically nothing, we know nothing and we can do nothing — except that which the Father called us to do in Christ. And, therefore, in Christ and through Christ I can do all these things which were pre-ordained (Phil.4:13). It does not mean all things that my heart lusts after, but all things which God pre-ordained for me. That is exactly what the Lord is doing with us and in us.

The conclusion to tonight is: “never mind solving mysteries”, the first thing the servant of God should get out of this, is that he is getting somewhere he already is. So Philippians 4:6 should become a far greater reality.

Now, this mystery should make us neither to sit in our rocker and do nothing, nor should it make us run around like headless chickens. This faith ought to keep us running our race according to the Word of God and according to His desire.

Being anxious for nothing — this is impossible to do for anybody (to be anxious for nothing), except for the man who has seen the reality. He can relax, he alone can relax and say: Praise the Father, blessed be your Name, Father. He alone can say: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings before the foundation of the world. And it would be pretty difficult to un-bless ourselves and undo what God Almighty had already done, despite the fact that we many times try hard to live miserable lives.

“I praise God. I praise God the Father for this magnificent Salvation that You willed in Your Own Will and You executed before You founded this world. You are Alpha and Omega, which means the Beginning and the End, which also means all time is in You and You are above time, and there is no beginning for You and no end.

For us there is a beginning and an end, and we believe that before the end comes we will arrive where we were before the foundation of the world. We will arrive and we will be what You made us before we were born, and this is how we shall prove the Excellency of Your Will (Rom.12:2) and of Your Pleasure, and we will praise You forever. Amen and Amen.”

Part IV — MOSES AND US

(Written note from brother Hanola at the beginning of Part IV:

“I desire to direct a note for those who might listen to this taped message. Approximately the first half of this Part IV was given under a spiritual pressure which appeared much more evident after re-listening to the message. Even though the words remain true, the Spirit had been suppressed for reasons unknown to me. That oppression evidently left in the second half of the message. Of course, the readers will not notice this while reading. We ought to understand that the spiritual opposition of the powers of darkness to any light or truth being recorded and/or disseminated is strong, continuous, vicious, and at times even furious. Not everything goes `smoothly' or according to our expectations. But we praise God, for no power will stop His Light and Truth and Will. Amen.”)

Today is August 16, 1991. This is the message “The Mystery of Reality”, Part IV, and we thank the Lord for granting us these precious words, precious light, and precious sharing through which we can be fed and grow strong, and grow into Him in all things.

It is good to remind ourselves, in fact, that this is not being recorded just to satisfy our curiosity, or the curiosity of those who might listen to it, apart from us. This is really done and received from God for one principal purpose, (as are all these messages) and that is to build up the Church, namely, the Overcomers, who are supposed to be the life of the Church. They have to be fed and they have to grow, and they have to represent the Church and do that which the Church is failing to do.

This is why the Lord is giving us things and revelations and light and life, and we are grateful for it. Without it we could do very little. There is also comfort in it for us and blessings and everything else that we need. So this is also a reality which should not be a mystery to us anymore.

We go now to Exodus, chapter 3, and then to chapter 4, and then to other portions of the Word of God. We will talk about Moses first and then, if there is time, we will talk also about other things in the Book of Hebrews. But first, in Exodus, chapter 3, we will read a few verses here and there. I am sure most Christians know the story of Moses; his life, how it began, what he did in Egypt, what he was used for by God, how he led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness of Sinai, until his very death.

His story is very well known, and yet I believe there are very, very few who see further than that: the real depth, certain reality, certain things in Moses, in his life, in his deeds and what they really mean to us today, or what they mean in the spiritual sense, and how that which was done in the Old Testament can be traced in the New Testament.

Moses is the only man who was tested by three consecutive periods of forty years. As we know, his first forty years were in Egypt, where he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, and basically he lived in the palace of the Pharaoh. In the splendour of the palace he learned the things of the most powerful man on earth, because Pharaoh was at that time the most powerful ruler of the then known world. And “forty”, as we know, is always related to testing; whether it be forty hours, or forty days, or forty months or forty years. Irrespective of the time unit it is “testing”... it is always testing. In fact, Moses was tested by four periods of forty: three times forty years and one time forty days.

The first forty years were in Egypt, then afterwards he forsook Egypt. He left Egypt and was led by God into the wilderness of Midian, where he married the daughter of Jethro the priest, of Midian, and where he also spent forty years. The Bible says only that he was a shepherd there, tending sheep.

Now, I do not believe that a man needs forty years just to learn how to shepherd some flocks of sheep, but I believe those forty years were spent there with the Lord working in Moses, in his heart, in his mind, in his soul. In fact, this was to prepare him for the third period of forty years where he was to be called His servant, and to undertake a mission which probably nobody else undertook apart from the Lord Jesus Himself.

That Moses needed those forty years in the wilderness of Midian is also apparent to those who know how long it takes for any Believer to be changed in his heart and soul in any little thing. And so, that which Moses gained in Egypt in the previous forty years, and that which he learned there in the palace of Pharaoh, (who typifies Satan), all these things Moses had to un-learn and get rid of! His former knowledge, his pride, his arrogance, and any lust for power, or even the desire for the power to rule ... even that had to be taken away.

Anything he gained from the first forty years, Moses had to be delivered from, so that he could actually become the meekest man on earth, as it is also written in the Scripture (Num.12:3), and be moulded into a vessel fit for God to be used for this great mission that followed.

We know that after those forty years God did appear to him in a burning bush and did give him a ministry. From that point on, Moses became a servant of God fulfilling his task under the hand of God.

Now, we are not going to go into many details of his stay in Egypt, or in the wilderness of Midian, or in the wilderness of Sinai. We are going into a few portions of the Scripture which the Lord is giving us now, and He desires that we would see what was happening in those days to Moses, and through Moses, and what it means to us today.

Exodus 3:1 says: “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, [he was curious a little] and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” So this is the story which everybody knows so well. We thank the Lord that He did appear unto Moses, and that He called him out and gave him this great mission.

What we will be going into more deeply is found in Exodus, chapter 4. When the Lord was giving him this call, this ministry, Moses did not see himself fit, or anything like that, and it is so with every true servant of God. When the Lord calls and gives us any ministry and we are true servants of His, true in heart, we all seem to feel that we are really unable to do anything for God, especially for God. We seem to be so feeble, so unable; and so whenever we say, “Lord, I can't do that”, we mean it! And the Lord knows (it), and Moses was no exception. It also shows a little of his new heart, his new meekness.

In Exodus, 4:1, Moses also complained to God that the people of Israel will not believe him when he comes to them and tells them all that happened. So in verses 2-5 our mystery of reality begins: “And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he [Moses] said, A rod. And he [God] said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.”

Again, we all know what a rod is, or a shepherd's crook, as it is sometimes called. It is nothing but a piece of wood, a piece of dead wood, dry dead wood. Yet, there are few shepherds, or perhaps none, who ever went without a rod. It seems that it was a part of their life and livelihood, and part of their mission even separating sheep, and whatever other things, and using it also, maybe, as a support when walking long distances.

So here was Moses with a rod, and God asked him to throw it on the ground. Now that ground was holy, as we know from Exodus 3:5. That was ground where God had His feet, He stood on it too. In effect, God is telling Moses: “throw that rod at My feet, cast it at My feet”. And that rod typifies our old man, our old nature, our old unregenerated natural life! What God was, in fact, telling Moses was: “lay down your life at My feet ... lay down your life at My feet!” That is what it means in reality, that is what it means in Spirit, in spiritual life.

Later on, in another part of the message, we will learn what the old nature is, the old life, and how it is laid down.

So God told Moses: “cast that rod down on the ground, lay down your life at My feet”, and Moses did that. And as he did that, it became a serpent. In other words, God was immediately showing him that that life is evil! There is evil in it, it contains it. As soon as it is revealed before God it is revealed in truth. In truth it is a serpent, where, of course, “serpent” typifies evil and the devil and Satan himself! (Rev.12:9)

That old life of Moses proved to be evil, containing this snake, and then the Lord asked Moses to pick it up by it's tail. As we know, all the so-called experts in reptiles would tell you this is a no-no! You never ever pick up any snake by the tail, because it will recoil and bite you. You always pick it up by the head, and if you can't reach his head, stay away or run away, but do not dare touch his tail. In fact, no animal with a long tail should be caught by its tail, especially snakes, and especially venomous snakes.

Yet, God here speaks contrary to all the wisdom of this world: “pick it up by its tail”. And Moses did that which God said and caught it by its tail and it became a rod in his hands, again.

One lesson here is — never mind the wisdom of the world, and never mind the counsel of all the wise men and experts of the world — you do what God says! You always do what God says and you are not to care about the counsel of the wise men of this world. Even though it may be “illogical” that which God asks, yet you do it — you obey.

The second lesson is — if you obey, then even the snake turns back into a rod! Had Moses caught it by its head, it may not have turned into a rod. It becomes dead again because you do that which God says; because God has a different logic and different reasons for whatever He says.

Of course, God did what He did so that the children of Israel may believe that “the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob has appeared unto thee (Moses)”, because the children of Israel always needed signs! They did not know what faith was at that time. Israel never walked by faith. They walked by signs and they needed a lot of them, and God was giving them by the dozens, and this was one such sign.

In verse 6, and further on in chapter 4, we also have other things, where leprosy was shown on the hand of Moses and how it again disappeared, which was another sign that God gave to Moses. These are all signs, and Moses was even called to do signs in Egypt after his return, sign upon sign upon sign.

Now, I would like to return to this verse 4 and ask also why Moses was supposed to take that snake by its tail, and not by its head? What was the reason that God commanded Moses to pick up the snake by its tail and not by its head? Now, we know the Book of Genesis, and the reason is there in chapter 3, verse 15. Let me also say one thing: what we are reading is the Word of God. The Word of God is printed here in ink on sheets of paper and it formed this Book (the Bible), but this Word has its living counterpart. Its living counterpart, or part, is Christ Himself. He Is the Word of God, as we also know from the Gospel of John 1:1 and 1:14. So what we are reading IS Christ, and is about Christ. And Christ is writing about Himself !

God, Who spoke to Moses, was none other than Christ. He Who appeared to him was none other than Christ. Here in Genesis 3:15, He says: “And I will put enmity between thee [the snake] and the woman, and between thy seed [the snake] and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

In other words: “I Christ, the Anointed of God, the future Jesus of Bethlehem; I am putting enmity between you (snake) and the woman, and between your seed, which is all those who will ever serve you, and between Me, because I am the seed of a woman.”

Now there was only one man Who was born without a father (not regarding Melchizedek, who is forepicture of Jesus—Heb.7:1-3), and that was Jesus, as we know from Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”. We know that in all the history of mankind, no virgin ever conceived and bore a son without a husband. So all people from Adam and Eve right to the end of the era of mankind were, or will be born from the seed of man, except Jesus, Who was born of the seed of a woman. So He said, “I will crush your head (snake)”.

And so, the same Christ speaks to Moses and He says, “pick up that snake by its tail, because I have his head in My hand.” You cannot crush, overpower, bruise, or destroy any snake by its tail, you must crush its head. And in order to do that you must have its head in your hand. And this is the main reason why the same Christ, Who is holding the head of this snake, tells Moses, “don't try to do that, don't try to hold it by its head. No man can crush the head of this snake. No man can overcome or bruise its head. No man ever will. It is not your job, it is My job. I will do that. You will pick it up by its tail, which means you will cooperate with Me. Your task will be to cooperate with Me, but I have to do that which no man can do. And you will do that which is your task, and that which God will not do.”

When Moses obeyed the Lord, and the snake became a rod again, that rod became the rod of God, and we can see this in the same chapter (Exod.4:20), where it is written: “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.”

Now that rod is also called the rod of Moses in many places, because it was still his rod. Moses was the only man on earth who owned that rod, and it was still his old life, but governed by God ... governed by God! The mystery within that rod was in the hand of God. That reality of evil within Moses was held by God, and not by Moses.

In fact, all the miracles that Moses later did in Egypt were not done by Moses, but through Moses by the rod of God, including the parting of the sea which was done not really by Moses or by some magical powers of his rod, but by Christ, by the arm of strength of Christ. I would like to go to Isaiah, chapter 51, just for a moment.

Chapter 51 of Isaiah talks about Christ, in verses 9 and 10: “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;”, now Christ is the arm of the Lord on earth, “awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?”

In fact, this is Jesus Christ. Let us not forget that the Father basically did nothing; it is Christ Who did all things, it is Christ Who even created all things (Col.1:16). The Father was there to conceive the plans and to confer with His Son, and with the Holy Spirit, which form the Trinity. But all that was done and all that is described in this Book, called the Bible, was created and executed and done by Christ Himself and by His Holy Spirit, whether in His pre-Bethlehem existence, which is eternal, or His post-Bethlehem existence, which is also eternal, but He had His 33 odd years of earthly ministry. But everything is done by Christ, whether Old Testament or New Testament.

It is well to remember that, because if we read the Word of God, which is Christ, from this viewpoint, with this understanding, there are many, many things which we may read differently and with far better clarity; because we may read “God”, we may read “Lord”, we may read “Son”, we may read this or that, and we may be confused and, finally, we do not know Who is doing what.

Here is the rod of God in the hand of Moses. Let us continue and show other things concerning this rod — how that it typifies our old man, our old nature, our sinful flesh; and how that snake is hidden in there and nobody can see it, detect it, or even believe in it, unless it is revealed by God. And it is usually revealed when we lay down our life (before God), when we place that rod on the ground. We came out from the ground, we return to the ground; and when that life is on the ground, it shows its reality.

We also know, for example, how Aaron became the chief priest, how that God told Moses one day to choose or collect rods from all twelve tribes (Num.17:1–8). And they gave their rods with the names of their fathers of these twelve tribes written on the rods, and Moses collected these twelve rods and placed them into the Tabernacle according to the Word of God, and there they were all the night. Nobody saw them, nobody touched them. There were twelve rods, just as Moses had his rod; pieces of dead, dry wood with no life in any of them. In fact, I believe that if you put such a rod into water, still nothing would happen. It would get wet and maybe rot, but none of them would blossom.

These twelve rods represented the twelve tribes of Israel, sinful, fleshly old nature, and they were placed before God. So God had no life to choose from, rather He had twelve deaths to choose from. And God chose Aaron's old life to put new life into him, and thereby call him to become His chief priest, which is to say, chief servant, who will serve Him ... not so much to serve Israel, but Him, the Lord Himself.

Moses was serving Israel more than was Aaron, so let us go to Numbers, chapter 17, where we can read the first eight verses, and not just the verse about the rod: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom:”, which means a miracle will happen and a new life will be introduced into that dead rod, “and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you”. And in verse 8: “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.”

Of course, this is a real miracle, and this typifies that which is happening to us at our conversion, where we are laid as a dead rod before our God and our Saviour during the night.

When we are laid before God, a new life is put within us, and that life even shows its fruit in due time. Without it we are dead rods and there is nothing in us. And that is a sovereign act of God which He does for all human flesh which is laid before Him.

It is not done for any dead wood which is not laid before God, which is not placed in the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The Lord is not pouring His Life into the rods which are scattered throughout the forest. You must be placed before Him, which is an act of faith and of a certain obedience to the Word of God.

Moses obeyed that which God told him. Do not forget also that Moses did nothing of himself, he did as God spoke. In this he is also comparable to the Lord Jesus, Who also did nothing of Himself (John 5:19,30), but as the Father spoke, so He did.

So here is Aaron's rod which budded, a new life being in it, and it not only blossomed but it brought forth ripe almonds, which means fruit. Fruit, which is pleasant and tasty and nutritious ... something which our own life is also supposed to bring forth after the Life of Christ enters into us.

There is one other thing. You are in the Book of Numbers; go to chapter 21, and let us read verses 5 to about 9: “And the people spake against God, and against Moses,” ... what else is new ...? “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.” Again showing himself to be a man of meek heart. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

Blessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be the Name of the Lord! Remember this short story from Numbers, chapter 21, and let us go back to Exodus, chapter 17, where, of course, again the people chided Moses and murmured against him, which they apparently did at every corner of that journey. And in verse 4: “And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.”

Now, we all know that that Rock was Christ. And for those who do not know it or do not know where to look for it, it is in 1Corinthians chapter 10. We are going to read this verse there also because the Word of God is beautiful, and it fits perfectly, and is absolutely marvellous. In verse 1, Paul says: “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant”, which means knowing nothing, seeing nothing, understanding nothing. And in verse 4, he says: “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” ... that Rock was Christ!

Let us go also for a moment to Deuteronomy, chapter 32, the Song of Moses ... praise God. The Song of Moses, where Moses is singing, in chapter 32, verse 4: “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” Now, he is talking about Christ ... Moses is singing about Christ. This should be told to Israel today, that their forefather Moses was singing about Christ Jesus, and one day they will see it.

Back to Exodus 17:6. What God, Who stood on the rock in Horeb, asked Moses to do was to smite Christ with his rod! And when Christ was smitten by this rod, which typifies the sinful nature, the old nature, the old man hiding the snake, Christ gave water so that the people could drink! This is what this means, and if you ever read Exodus 17:6, please, I would like you to read together with it the reality of the New Testament ... and of the Old Testament.

Let us go to Isaiah chpt.53, the chapter about Christ Jesus Himself, from the beginning to the end. We even sang a certain song there from verse 5 ... in Isaiah 53:4: “Surely he [Christ Jesus] hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Underline the words stricken, smitten of God. He was smitten by the rod of Moses, which typifies how God smote Christ with our sinful flesh. He was smitten in His Holiness by our filthy old man and afflicted by him, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:” ... we sang about this verse ... surely He bore our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed. Do you remember that song? This comes from Isaiah 53. What happened in Exodus 17, Isaiah also describes.

Now, go to John, the Beloved of Christ — John, chapter 7, verse 37: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” ... “because I was smitten by God and I am giving out living waters that you can drink ...” Hallelujah Lord! Verse 38: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said [as My Word hath said], out of his belly [navel area — where we also feel spiritual pressures] shall flow rivers of living water” ... “and he shall be similar to Me because out of Me shall flow rivers of living water, because I was smitten by your iniquities, by your old nature, your old man, your snakes! And because I was smitten by that (evil), which is typified by a snake — I was made like unto a snake! And I was lifted up on a pole [... thank you Lord ...] so that whosoever looks upon Me, even though he would be bitten by the devil and by death, when he looks upon Me he shall live!”

This is the mystery of what was happening in the Old Testament with Moses and snakes and his rod, and smiting the rocks and feeding Israel. And this is happening in Spirit in the New Testament! This Rock was smitten by God — not by man, but by God. God commanded Moses to smite that Rock. Moses did not do it one day because he had nothing better to do. He was commanded by God to do that, because it was God Who afflicted Christ, Who smote Him using our rods, our old sinful natures, turning Him like unto a snake, hoisting Him up on a pole, just as that brass snake of Moses was hoisted up on a pole; and whosoever looked upon it and was bitten could live. And this is that mystery.

We also should go to 2Corinthians. I know that you believe what I am saying, but I would still like to go to the Word of the Living God and show these things in the Word so that they are established. 2Cor.5:21: “For he [God] hath made him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin”. He made Him to be sin — He made Him to be like unto a snake for us, for our sakes — He Who knew no sin — that we may look upon Him and live, and that He may give us living waters, and that we may drink in the midst of the wilderness.

Hebrews 4:15,16: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.

Perhaps here I will take just a little detour, so to speak, and say that in verse 16 ... this is exactly what we do not do! We do not come unto the Throne of His Grace. We certainly do not come boldly, and we never seem to go there in our time of real need. Now, it may sound strange, because when we are in the pit we seem to be drawn to the Throne of Grace. But you see, this is a time of our external need, this is a time of need more of our poor body and soul, rather than spirit.

Our real need is in spirit, and whenever we feel filthy, or secretly or outwardly sinning, we prefer to hide from God ... and to wallow in our shame, rather than to come boldly before the Throne of Grace, even though we ought to do that, especially after we were tempted and we fell.

Therefore, let us come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, because Our Lord was tempted and He did not fall, and not because we feel ashamed, but because this is the time of our need! And not to start hiding and to force the hand of God to bring us through circumstances which may last a year or two, and to bring such a pressure upon us that we cannot stand it anymore, and we go to God because we cannot take it. This is not the time of need, the time of need was when we fell, because — He was tempted and He stood.

Because we do not do this verse 16 of Hebrews 4, the Lord must take us through long journeys and put external pressures on us, and bring us there through other means.

If we return to Moses just for a moment, we see a man who was born to parents, and who was no different from any other child, and we are no different from Moses in our nature — especially the old nature. We are different in the calling. And we may be called also for a testing. It may not last forty years; it may last forty weeks or forty months, depending upon the nature of the calling of God.

Now, Moses was called to typify Christ Himself as a Deliverer, and there are some similarities, of course, which we already mentioned. He was the meekest man on earth (Num. 12:3), from amongst the men born to women from the seed of man. And here is Jesus Christ, the Deliverer, Who is also meek (Mat.11:29), and certainly not less meek than Moses. As we know, the Lord also, before His real ministry, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a forty day fast, where He ate nothing, where He drank nothing. This is found in Matthew, chapter 4. It is described how He ate nothing and drank nothing, and how the devil came and tempted Him.

Equally, Moses was tested for forty days; he ate nothing nor drank anything before his actual true ministry of the Law. And this is found in Exodus 34, and we shall go there for a brief period.

Exodus 34:27: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: [which He spoke to him] for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.” This is the beginning of the Covenant. This is the beginning of the ministry of Moses, the ministry of the Law.

The Lord Jesus started the ministry of Grace. Here Moses is starting the ministry of the Law. Verse 28: “And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” This is also a common feature with the Lord Jesus. And Moses was, again, the only man who did that, who was caused by God to go through this “impossible” fast, impossible for natural man, just as the Lord Himself was similarly led by God.

Finally, in Deuteronomy, chapter 34 and verse 5; after the third testing of forty years: “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he [the Lord] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.” It was again Christ Who buried Moses, Moses typifying Christ as Deliverer.

Moses had to die before he went into his Promised Land, because Christ — the True Deliverer — had to die also before He entered His Promised Land, which is the Kingdom of Heaven. And Christ had to be resurrected to enter Heaven and to come back and conquer these kingdoms and turn them into the Kingdom of Heaven.

So here comes Joshua, who, as it were, is a “resurrected Moses”, and enters the Promised Land, and conquers it and rules it with a rod of iron. And so shall Christ, except that here there were only a few days between Moses and Joshua, whereas between Jesus the Man and Christ, the Resurrected Christ, the King, there are about two thousand years. This is the period of Grace, or the so–called “Dispensation of Grace”, for the sake of the Church — so that Christ can build His Church.

Again, I want to return for a moment to Exodus 4:4, and I want to mention one more thing, and it is this: When we truly realize that our old life, our old man, our sinful nature, wherein there is this snake, is in the hand of Christ, and that it cannot be repaired or made better; when we realize that, and also when we realize that we should not even attempt to take that head, that nature, that old man into our own hands, then that should comfort us greatly! Because we should not even attempt to do that and we should rest, in fact, in this knowledge and in this faith, that that head is in the hands of Christ and He keeps “squeezing it”.

.......... It is not in a matter of twenty-four hours that Christ kills this snake. He keeps squeezing it according to our cooperation with Him; and so we ought to keep his tail in our hands, and perhaps squeeze the tail a little bit. And when we squeeze the tail, Christ squeezes the head, and this idiot (old man), has no place to go. And as we hold his tail in our hands, as it were, we feel in our life this “old man”, we feel his trembling, we feel his shocks. At times he may appear to be dead and we may start dreaming. Then after a few weeks he starts shaking, showing that there is still life in it, or in him, but he cannot get his head (free) from the hand of Christ. One day that head will be crushed for ever. This will not be by us, this will be by Christ, but with our cooperation and with our full consent.

This is that marvellous mystery, again, that Christ is not setting us somewhere into an asylum to wait until He finishes all work. He calls us out and He says: “You will work with Me; with your own free will you will work with Me, you will cooperate with Me. I am not only your God, I am your Friend and I am your Brother. You cooperate with your brother and with your friend even in your natural life. You do not let your friend or brother do everything while you sit in the corner twitching your toes; you go and work with him. If I am your Brother and Friend, you will work with Me.”

So there is a further, deeper reality in realizing why we are to hold the tail and why the Lord is holding the head, and draw further faith and strength and comfort from it.

And to those who tried to beat their heads against the wall or to overcome their “old man” with their own hands, I say, “stop it, just stop it”. You will fail every time. Pick it up by its tail and it shall become a rod like dead wood, and then it shall become a rod of God and God will handle it.

Now, I do not think there is time to go into this other part, but at least I might mention that you should read the so-called “faith chapter” of the Book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verses 23 to about verse 29, which of course is about Moses. When we read these verses it will not be just reading about faith, but again, I believe, the Lord will grant us deeper insight of what it is all about, and, in fact, what faith is; because we also have the Mystery of Faith in Part I of these messages. There is one point which says: “The Mystery of Faith”. I do not know whether we are going to solve this mystery, but certainly we are going to go into greater depths of its meaning: what it is, how it relates to ourselves, to our “new man”, to our “old man”, to God, and how it all works.

Perhaps we may ponder the question of free will, the question of our soul and the question of our “new man” and our “old man”, and what these entities are and what the differences are between them; and where the will is and where the faith is, and other things. Because, I believe, if the Lord can succeed in showing us this, it will make a quantitative and qualitative change. Light means deliverance from darkness, therefore, whatever light we have so far received has made all the difference of what we have, of what we do not have, and of who we are.

So there are many practical benefits and blessings in these things, and in the Light that the Lord has been so generously granting us in His Grace, and we are really thankful to the Lord.

This same Jesus Who was smitten by our iniquities and filthiness and sinfulness, and became like unto a snake for our sakes, is now this Rock of our Salvation, and the Well of Living Waters. So we can drink freely and be satisfied forever and never be thirsty again. Because we live, we drink of a water which does not make us thirstier, (like some soft drinks) ... “but if you drink of the water that I shall give you, you shall never thirst again” (Jn.4:14).

So we are being satisfied more and more, and this Son of God, even Christ, is truly a Miracle. He is Beautiful and He should be praised forever.

“Thank you Lord. Amen.”

Part V - FAITH AND WILL

Today is November 15, 1991. This is Part V of the message “The Mystery of Reality”, which the Lord has been giving us graciously and faithfully for some time now. It is a rich food, it is a blessed food, it is deep, even though I believe that what the Lord is giving us is still comparatively shallow to what He could give us or will give us in the future. I'm personally looking forward to far greater depths of His Word, because when we talk about depth we talk about beauty; you are discovering the beauty of His Word, and the beauty of the Lord Himself because HE IS the Word (Jn.1:1). We should thank the Lord for everything He is giving us.

“I thank You, Lord, for this time again, and for all that You have given to us by Your Grace and by Your Love toward us. And you are giving it to us not just for our personal enjoyment, but that we may receive this Light and that it may be turned into Life within us, and that that Life should bring forth fruit unto You, and that that fruit should remain forever, and that that fruit should be pleasant to You. And, of course, that we should bring this Light and Life into Your Church, that other Believers may become Overcomers and fulfil the purpose for which we were called. We thank You, Lord, for it and we do praise You Lord. This is a true privilege to receive from You this beautiful Word. Amen.”

This Part V we might call “The Mystery of Faith”, which we mentioned as point twelve in our first sharing. I'm sure you all believe and can imagine that we can talk about this for a long time, especially about faith. I believe the Lord desires us to penetrate this mystery to whatever depth we are prepared to go, or able to go, and that we would see the beauty of faith, that we would see the root of faith, the basis of faith — what it is, where it is, what it does, how it is used, how it is misused, how it is abused, and all these things.

The Lord reminded me of two things. Firstly, you all remember when we were young Christians, when everything was a mystery to us, and faith was probably the first one in the row. We talked about faith, we prayed about faith, we sang about faith, and after all those years of doing that we still didn't know what it was, where it was, whether we had it or whether we didn't, whether we used it or whether we didn't. In fact, we still could not observe it on other brethren, right? Well, at least, I speak from my own experience. I believe every new Christian has the same experience. And yet faith is perhaps the most important and basic thing in our life; especially in our new life, because without it we would not have the new Life which we have today. We would not be gathered here. We would not even be talking about these things. Faith alone brought us to this new Life.

Secondly, the Lord reminded me that the hallmark of a true revelation is that it always contains or brings with it simplicity. It always does. His light changes complexity into simplicity. And that is amazing because I believe that even this substance of faith and all the matters pertaining to faith are basically simple; in fact, so simple that it is unbelievable.

Now, as we did also in Part IV, I feel that Part V should also be divided into two parts, A and B. In Part A we will share that which God did, what God created for man; for human beings who seemingly have no faith. In Part B we will share that which God did or what God is doing for men who seemingly have faith, some faith; small faith, medium faith, great faith ... any faith. What is important in this is also the word “seemingly”, and we are not going to explain it now but I believe that the Lord will bring us to it later on.

(A) Let us realize that God created all things in such a manner and fashion and way that they all first speak about Himself, His power, His wisdom; and also, secondly, they typify His purposes in the world which are not seen. And we know that, I believe, for a long time now, and we mentioned that many times during our previous fellowships, that God created all physical things so that we would have guidance as to how the spiritual things work and behave and are ...that which we cannot see. Because otherwise, we would be lost; we would have no idea, we would have no guidance, no clue.

I gave you to read two chapters from the Bible, Genesis chpt.1 and Hebrews chpt.11. Now I would like to say just a few words about that. These two chapters have nothing in common. This may be surprising, but these two chapters have nothing in common. In fact, they are the two opposite ends of something which is like a long rod, a long rod of history. Genesis chpt.1 is about the creation of the physical for those who have no faith. Hebrews chpt.11 is the chapter of faith describing great men and women of God, living, acting by faith. So when you take Genesis 1 and Hebrews 11 they are two opposite chapters, and they have, in fact, nothing in common. It even seems contradictory, but this is a fact that I came to.

Genesis chpt.1, let us go there now. We know that this is the Creation of God and in some previous parts of the Mystery of Reality we said that even verse 1 we can enlarge by saying: “In the beginning of time God by Christ created the heaven and the earth.” So the Son of God is in action, not the Father; the Son of God is in action. The first thing He creates is what? The first thing He creates is light, and God said in verse 3: “Let there be light: and there was light.” Now this is a physical light, and this is just the first light that He created, because then He created other light, in verse 16: “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day [which is the sun], and the lesser light to rule the night [which is the moon].” And then He made a third light, because He created stars also. These are three different types of light.

Now the first light is the light that I believe is mentioned in principle only here in Genesis 1:3, and there is only one other mention of this light in the whole Scripture (as far as I know now or as far as I see). The second mention is right at the end of the Bible, and we can go there. As we know, chapter 22 of the Book of Revelation speaks about New Jerusalem and the life in it. In verse 5: “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Now what is the light that the Lord God giveth them? This is the Light of His own Glory! And this is the same Light which is mentioned in Genesis 1:3. However, this light (Gen.1:3) is physical and this light typifies the Light of God Almighty as His Glory! (Rev.22:5).

So the Lord creates first something physical, which typifies Himself as God Almighty, and His Glory, which is spiritual. We cannot see the Glory of God here in this physical creation, but wherever there is light it typifies it and that light was divided from the darkness in verse 4: “God saw the light, that it was good.” Which means it did typify His Glory very well. And God divided this light from the darkness, which means from everything which opposes the Glory of God.

Then Christ, knowing Who He was and His mission, created the sun. And the sun and the moon and the stars were lights which were created for signs. In verse 14: “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” And so the sun typifies Christ as Jesus the Man, the Saviour. He created that sun so that it would typify Himself as the Saviour, as Jesus the Man. And then He created the moon to typify all the redeemed from mankind, which in themselves would be as dead as the moon is, but would reflect His Light, and so they would rule the night. And then He created stars which, I believe, typify individuals, angels, saints.

Now when you read Genesis 1:16: “And God made two great lights;”, one of them the sun to typify Himself, then you can go to John 8:12: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of this world:”...I am the sun, as it were, in the sky, “he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Maybe we should just backtrack a little bit. When we talked about Christ creating everything from Genesis 1:1, I don't know if I gave you the reference Scripture for that, it is in Colossians 1:16,17. You can write Colossians 1:16 right in the beginning of Genesis. If you do that you will have a different picture of things. Colossians 1:16 says: “For by him [by Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” And the light is a thing, the sun is a thing, the moon is a thing, the stars are things.

We know that this sun typifies Christ perfectly because it gives light, it gives life to this earth, and without the sun there would be no life here on earth. Any scientist will tell you that, even pagans will tell you that; so without Christ there would be no spiritual life on earth and no spiritual light, because remember, what He created in the physical typifies that which is the spiritual reality.

So, in fact, even pagans, if they would just look up and see the sun, should get a sense that there is someone Who created it for some purpose. Even Christians, when they start saying in unpleasant circumstances, “Where is God? Where is Jesus?” Well, all they have to do is look up. If they seemingly have lost all faith, they should look up. And the sun would tell them, “I'm here, what are you talking about, I'm here every day. I have not failed since the beginning of creation.” And if the dumb sun can tell you that, then the Lord can tell you equally, “I am here from the beginning of creation and I never left.”

So you don't have to have terrific faith to turn your head a few degrees and look up, and that sun would tell you. And we know that it is there whether there be clouds or whether it be a sunny day; in fact, whether there be night because the sun is there too, only on the other side of the earth.

Now the moon, just a word about the moon, it reflects the light of the sun and this is how the redeemed are, because we contain no light of our own (nor any life of our own). We only reflect what the Lord gives us. So are we like the moon, and we may go, for example, to Matthew 5:14: “Ye are the light of the world.”, especially during the night, and the night here, of course, typifies the spiritual night. The spiritual night starts from the time Adam and Eve fell into sin and Satan got hold of this Creation. That's where the spiritual darkness came into the Creation of God and that's where the night started, in fact. And the night will continue until the end of the Tribulation, again until Christ comes, and this filthy idiot, called Satan, is put into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. This shall be the first ruling of light that comes to this world, since Adam and Eve.

We know the Lord was the light of the earth, but that was a very localized light, that light was only where He was, but now we are talking about the light of the world, as such. Another feature of the moon is that this is not earth, the moon is not of the earth and neither are we. John 15:19, “If ye [My Believers] were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” So we are not of this world/earth but we reflect the light of the Lord and His life; we bring His life, and like the moon, reflecting the light of the sun which typifies the Lord. So the moon and the sun are signs in heaven for those who are without faith.

(B) Now let us talk about the things and acts of God and the Creation of God for those who have faith, some faith. Back to Genesis 1:11, “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

So Christ Jesus (God the Son) created plants, and herbs and trees, which later produced its own seed. So, again, the same question: which was first, the chicken or the egg? It can apply to anything. Which was first, the apple tree or the apple? Or a seed, which was first? Which was first, the bee or the flower? Which was first, the wheat or the grain of wheat? A cob of corn or a corn grain? Which was first? Now we all know that the first which was created were the plants, the chickens. The egg was not the first. The chickens were first and the apple trees which produced apples. Those apples produced seeds of the same kind. There is no place for evolution, transmutation, or any “-ations” as conceived by Darwin. This is the Creation. That's the only “-ation” that there is.

The next generation that came from these plants were seeds, and not other plants, right? Now we are not farmers, but we all know what a grain of wheat looks like. Let's take a grain of wheat. Every farmer knows that if you want to have a harvest you have to take that grain and put it into the ground, not just throw it on top and leave it there, but you have to put it under, and not twenty feet but about two inches. You have to put it right into the ground, into the dirt, into the darkness, cover it with one or two inches and leave it there, right? Now what happens if you do that? The answer is: nothing! Why nothing? Because what it needs is: you have to water it!

The same thing with any flower that you can put into a pot, you know, into your room. You buy seeds from a flower shop, you put those seeds into the flower pot and should you forget to water it, there goes your flower, you'll never see a thing. Do you agree? Have you ever tried that?

But the wise ones water it, because everything that we plant must be watered. And so we water it. The water gets down and what happens? This time, what happens is a sheer miracle. I want to repeat it, it is a sheer miracle! Why? Because that seed, or grain of wheat ... I mean you can even take it in your hand, look at it ... it's dry, it's dead, it's hard. You can't maybe even chew on it, it's absolutely lifeless and useless. And no matter where you put it, it remains like that forever and forever. But put it together with water, sometimes you don't even need ground, and this water causes a miracle. A new life breaks up this hard shell and begins to grow and push forth from this dead grain, which we call germinating. It germinates.

Furthermore, this new life, when it breaks through, does not start growing downward, have you noticed? There is not one plant on the face of this earth that would start growing downward into the darkness — it immediately starts growing up. It knows where the light is! It has to reach it, in fact, because without light it would die. Now, how can this dumb grain know even how to grow? It seemingly has more intelligence than many people, but where is it? I was pondering this, and do you know what is the answer? All the true answers are from the Lord: that grain may look dumb, but the life within is not. And that life within that grain or seed, any grain or seed that you find on this earth, starts growing up, because it always grows against the power of gravity!

Lo and behold, after some time, which may be different for different seeds, a green blade appears from the ground, and all farmers know approximately when it will grow, and they can even tell whether this is the wheat they've sown or if this is a weed. And we can tell even by those green blades what kind of plant is growing there. It all starts to grow up and incline itself towards the sun. So if it happens to break the ground somewhere under a board, a wooden board or under a roof or under something, it starts to grow horizontally until it reaches the light. It has to reach the light. It all grows towards the sun.

Again, there is no plant or living thing on this earth that would grow away from the sun. Have you noticed that? Does it surprise you? Do you know that Christ created it that way for a purpose, so that even the dumbest pagan who may say, “I never had the faith”, could see and understand?

Now let me say at this point one other thing. We talk about dumb pagans. Well, we also were dumb pagans, and we should not dare to say before God that we had no faith, because I can tell you in His Name, right here, that there is not one human being that was ever born to this planet that would have been without faith! So when I say let's talk in Part A about those who seemingly have no faith, the most important word there is “seemingly”, because every human being has faith. Every human being has been endowed with the definite measure of faith. Faith ... the definite measure of something spiritual, originating from God, which has nothing to do with this world, with this earth, or with our soul, which means our mind, our understanding. Every human being has it, because without it, that poor soul would have no chance to be saved.

Romans 12:3: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Knowing the Lord by now far better than ever before, years ago, knowing His Grace, knowing His Mind, knowing His intentions, I would even dare to say: God has dealt to every man the same measure of faith. So nobody can say, “I have five times more”; but the same measure of faith, so that this would even typify His sense of justice and righteousness. At the point of birth, He is giving to “every man” what he needs to be saved. This is right here (in Rom.12:3), it doesn't say to “every believer”. A believer doesn't need this faith because he already believes. The fact of believing presupposes that there is faith already, but He gives the definite measure of faith to every man.

Now we know from Hebrews 11:1 what faith is. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, [and it is also] the evidence of things not seen.” Evidence of things not seen. A few years ago I received from the Lord a very clear Word: faith equals reality. Which means: reality equals faith. It works both ways, as all mathematicians would agree. But if faith equals reality, it means very simply that God gives to every human being the basic reality about Himself (and we still talk about Christ) — Christ gives to every human being the basic reality about Himself, so no man has any excuse.

So the question is not “Do I have faith?” or “Do I not have faith?” The question is “Who has found it? Who was searching for it? Who cared about it? Who used it?” That is the question. That is why there are verses that “the light [grace] of salvation appeared to all men” (Tit.2:11). Well, how else could it be possible? The light of salvation is part of the reality of Christ, which He gave to every man. But faith, being spiritual substance and evidence, is spiritual evidence of things not seen. Nobody could see salvation; could we when we were saved? No. We saw nothing, yet we had evidence of that which we could not see, so we used that reality of Christ's death and resurrection and salvation and we just proclaimed it. So we were saved by that evidence which was in us, by that reality which was in us. So by faith we are saved.

There is written another thing; the Lord speaks Himself that: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:” (John 6:44). Now how is the Father drawing? How can the Father draw me when I am a pagan, drunken in a ditch? Or having a party in a palace, knowing nothing? How can the Father draw me? Well, the Father, in fact, has only one way to draw any human being. And when you go back to your beginnings you might be able to see the hand of the Father. He draws us to that faith, to that reality, which Christ put within us!

It is not the Lord Who draws us, it is the Father, and Christ put it there as a testimony about Himself. The reality about His Salvation is put within every human being, but it is the Father Who originated this plan. It is the Father Who sent the Son. It is the Father Who preconceived the plan. It is the Father who told the Son, “You know, Son, it would be wise if you put this reality into everyone who is born.” This did not originate in the Son. It originated in the Father, but the Son executed that. He performed that just as He created the sun and the moon; so He created this reality within us.

It is also in Hebrews, where it says that the Lord is the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;”. This verse suggests also, and it just comes to me now, in fact, that there is not one part of faith, one “smithereen” of our faith, which we could have authored or tried to build up ourselves. He authors all of it, and He finishes it, too. And rightly so, because we cannot produce faith. It is being produced in us through His Spirit.

Now just as there are three lights, there are three faiths. The faith from the Book of Romans which we just read, is the initial grace of God by the granting to every human being this reality, this precious spiritual reality, within the spirit of every man and woman. Then when you use that, there is another gift of faith which comes from 1Corinthians 12:8–10; and when you use that, then you produce the fruit of faith from Galatians 5:22. And this is the highest type of faith, because then, this is your cooperation with God.

Every fruit is the highest type because it is produced by the cooperation of us with God Himself. Everything before was a gift, grace, gift, grace, gift. But, despite the cooperation, it is still authored by Christ; the origin is still spiritual, heavenly. We are not producing it through our soul, and it has no earthly connection whatsoever.

So we are in Part B, and we talked about the Creation of God of the plants and seeds. This is also part of His Creation that speaks about faith, about how it is produced, how it multiplies, what means what in the spiritual sense ... but He is still creating physical creation. However, for those who have faith now, and who use it, which means Believers, God created nothing else. Why? Because we don't need a sign. As you know, faith, once used, doesn't need any sign. Well, let us go to a few verses of the Scripture.

2Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” And again I feel free before the Lord to augment this Word by saying, “We walk by faith and not by touch, and not by hearing, and not by smelling, and not by tasting.” We don't walk by anything which pertains to our senses or to this physical creation! So we don't have to look up to the sun, we don't have to taste something, because we walk by faith, which means we walk by the reality of the spiritual world.

So when we want to talk to the Son, we can talk to the Son, and not to the sun. And when we want to see the Son, we have a spiritual eye to see Him, and a spiritual ear to hear that which our physical ear cannot. So we either walk by what we hear with this piece sticking out of our heads, or we walk by that ear which is inside, and we might not be able to walk by both at the same time. And I would like to say that the reality of the spiritual world is greater than of this physical one. We cannot live in both worlds at the same time, but in our spirit and through our faith, we can taste, see, hear, smell, and touch the reality of the other world, while we are still in this body.

Matthew 12:38, “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.” They just testified about themselves that they had absolutely no faith, period. Even though they had faith, which the Lord gave them at their birth, they were never after it, they were never seeking it, searching for it. “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;”. That was not a very polite answer by the Lord, but it was full of truth. “And there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

1Corinthians 1:22: This divides the world into two: the Jews (they require signs, and that's why the Lord created all the signs that they could ask for, and yet they still did not believe); and the Greeks who seek after wisdom. Now Greeks typify Gentiles. Gentiles seek after wisdom, meaning that Gentiles must always first understand before they dare to believe. “And unless I understand what is going on, I will not believe.” ... that's a Greek, which means that's a Gentile. That's not only Greek, but Italian, and French and British and Czech and Slovak and Russian and American and everybody else — except Jew! It is the rest of the world. But the Jews, a peculiar nation, require a sign. They didn't care much for wisdom, but they required a sign.

Gospel of John 4:48, let us go there too. The Lord, being in Galilee, spoke to one man there: “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” In other words: “You decided not to believe. Which means, except you see things which I do, you are not going to even search for that same reality which I put within you. Which, in fact, speaks far better than what I'm doing here on earth”.

Now, reading this part in the Book of Romans about God giving faith to every human being, let's go also to Romans chpt.1, and let us see another thing. You see, people will not be able to accuse God, or even to complain to Him, that they did not have faith or that they could not do anything, or they this or they that, because God will point to them this part of His Word also, and they shall be speechless. Romans 1:17: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:”, which means from one reality to another reality, “as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who [these men] hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

Eternal power and Godhead, meaning also the Son and the Spirit. The Son created all things to typify, to represent the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world in Genesis 1:1, and He did it by His Spirit. So all Three are there: God the Father, Who conceived it, the Son, Who did it, and the Spirit, by Whom it was done! ... done in such a way that no human being will have any excuse. Isn't that beautiful?

So, we pray and we receive nothing and we say, “Lord I have no faith.” And so we try something else, and if that fails we say, “well I surely have no faith.” And then we try something else again. And we may be wondering what is going on, and we can't tell faith from wishful thinking, from personal desires; we just can't tell. So let us see how this thing works.

First of all the Lord gave us this faith to be saved and, behold, we got saved. How did that happen? We saw the reality of Christ in our spirit. We understood nothing, and we may have felt bad or good, but our salvation did not depend on the state of our soul. In fact, for years we understood nothing, and for years we went from cold to hot and from hot to cold. One day we felt terrific and we praised God. Next day we felt terrible and we crawled under our bed, and during all those times and years, we were saved, right? Do you all agree with that? Now why? Isn't that a clear sign that our faith has nothing to do with our soul, absolutely nothing, and we cannot affect it by our soul, nor can we create it by our soul, nor can we manipulate it by our soul? You heard about Kenneth Hagin and his (and many other) ministries in the U.S.A. They try to manipulate faith by their souls, and they must fail every time they try it, because to do this is impossible!

So the Father drew us into this reality and we saw this. I'm sure all of us must have seen it. I don't know your experience, but I know mine, and I can see it as if it were yesterday what happened to me. In a moment, I just saw the Reality of Christ. Which means that the Father brought my poor soul into my spirit and showed me that faith, and I grabbed it, and by that I was saved; because I bought it, I took it: “yes this is it.”

And since that time I have cherished it. Once you take it, you buy it, you use it, you are part of that reality, so that you are saved. You accept the reality of salvation in your own spirit. And from there on you “experimented” with faith and with Christianity and with the Word, and you experimented always in such a way that you would satisfy your own self, and it never worked. Lo and behold, you tried everything under the blue heaven, and it never worked! But what worked, usually, was that which you did not want, and the Lord brought you right through it. And that faith somehow worked.

Now, faith ... how does faith come to us, do you know? Faith comes by hearing and the hearing by the Word of God. Where is it? Book of Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Let us remember this, because that faith which the Lord gave us in the beginning, while we were yet pagans, is not sufficient to go on unto perfection! This is a basic faith that represents the basic reality of Christ as Saviour, and the basic light of salvation, and things pertaining to that basic light: sin, forgiveness of sins, baptism in water, basic doctrines, etc.

But then we are told in the Book of Hebrews 6:1 to forget that after a time and to go on unto perfection! For that you need a different faith, you need different reality. That can come by an additional gift of faith which the Lord apparently gives to everyone who used the first faith, who embraced the first reality that He gave. And then to him who has — more shall be given, so He gives more (Mark 4:24,25). And when you use that, then He leads you the way to produce more reality, so that He would not just keep giving you, giving you, giving you. He cannot give you love but he can give you some faith, reality; and then we should go on to produce more as a fruit.

So, you hear something or you read something in the Word of God... the Word of God alone has the ability to bring faith. Let me repeat that: the Word of God alone in this Creation has the ability to produce faith — because It is Reality Itself! Now, if you remember this grain of wheat, then you can read any Word you want, that Word is like that grain of wheat. And if you don't believe it go back a few years or before your salvation. You read this Word and It was a hard, tough, dead, boring stuff, right? For how many years? You read any Word of God and It was hard, tough, dead, boring stuff that you could not possibly understand or enjoy! You could not chew on It, you could not drink It, you could not draw from It a thing. Now why?

How can brother Hanola talk about the Word of God like this? Hard, tough, dead stuff! Now brother Hanola is not talking like that, God talks Himself. God Himself says: “This letter is dead, in fact, it is a murderer, it kills.” (2Cor.3:6) You can kill with this. You can kill yourself and you can kill others. You can kill with an apple, if you throw it at somebody and if he has a very soft skull, you can kill him. You can kill people with hard fruits, you can kill people with this Word. This is basically like that grain which was brought into this physical creation, into this world as a “dead grain.” And without water it shall not produce any life! So what is happening?

I say a Word of God and that Word falls into the darkness of your heart, two inches, or three ... it doesn't penetrate too deeply. And what happens? Nothing, absolutely nothing ... just like with that grain of wheat. Why? It was not watered. The moment that Word of God is watered, it breaks up and Life begins to grow. Now that water is what? That water is faith! That water is faith. Unless faith reaches down to that Word of God it shall remain there dead! But when faith comes, like that water, behold, this Word of God, which seemed so dry and dead and hard to understand, breaks, and a new life begins to grow out of It. And that new life never grows down but up.

As the new life of that grain always grew up against the power of gravity, so this new life starts growing against the power of your earthly old nature! This new life that springs from that Word of God begins to grow immediately against all the power of our old earthly creation, until it reaches the Light. It always searches for Light, and it has to get more water and more Light so that it can grow and become a plant, and that plant in turn can produce other grains and fruits.

Hebrews 4:2, underline this verse: “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word (of God) preached did not profit them, [it did not break up into new life, did not begin to grow] not being mixed with faith [watered] in them that heard it.” The Word of God, not being watered by faith, remains dead and means nothing to anybody. However, when the faith is there, meaning that you are “buying” this Word by your faith (Proverbs 23:23), then that Word breaks up and new life begins to grow out of it, against all your nature, which typifies gravity, and begins to grow into a plant.

Let us go into a few parts of the Word of God. John 3:5, Jesus speaks: “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” Now what is that water there? That water is simply and purely our faith. A man must be born of his own faith which he received from God on his birthday, or before, whenever he was created. 1John 5:4-6: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”... or our own water, or our own “spiritual money”... “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” but he that bought the reality and embraced it and cherished it?

“This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” Now we know that the Lord came by blood... but He also came by water, which means His faith, and the salvation was executed by the faith of the Lord and His blood. Not only by His faith but by His faith and His blood, which means His sacrifice.

Now let us go to John 7:38, the Lord says: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said” (he who has embraced this faith and this reality about Me as it was given to him by God — because this was corresponding to the Scriptures. In fact, the Scriptures were written reflecting this reality), “out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Out of his innermost being... out of the darkness of his own heart, shall grow plants of faith producing new grains and the cycle of multiplication will come into being. Just as there is a cycle of life of plants on the earth, the cycle of water, the cycle of seed, the cycle of growth, so it is in our hearts. Rivers of living water means the abundance of faith which was not only embraced but then lived, and so it produced a fruit. The reality which is discovered and neglected does not produce living water!

We also know from James that there is such a thing as a dead faith. Dead faith means that the Lord shows you, reveals something to you, some reality, which means He gives you faith, and you neglect it. You forget it, you reject it — this is dead faith. But when you act on it, which means you buy it and you act on it, this produces new life, and this new life, in fact, is living water because this is water which is in action, which is living, which is usually moving — moving water is called living water. Dead water is a stagnant, stale little puddle somewhere. It is water too, but it is not living.

So “he that believeth on Me, he who has seen the reality of Me, accepted it, bought it, and acted on it, lived it — living faith will flow from him.” That is the meaning of this verse. So that such a man who embraced this reality before and produces living water, in other words he knows what he is saying, because he lived that... he not only has seen it, read it, heard about it, but he has lived it. That's what it means.

2Corinthians 4:13, and this verse we have already quoted once or twice, but I would like to repeat it again because there is a great principle involved. It says: “We having the same spirit of faith [which means the same spirit which produces reality], according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken;”. We also believed and therefore speak. “I believed” simply means “I have seen the reality, I have found the faith, I have bought it and I am acting on it.” When you act on it there is no other way but to speak. You cannot find faith and accept it and cherish it and live it or act on it and be quiet for the rest of your life. This would be a contradiction, and is impossible!

And so, you speak, you produce new grains which fall, and this cycle then continues. That produces fruit in your heart; when you buy it (that reality, that faith) you water the Word of God in you. In fact, you can read the Word yourself at home and that faith in you, combined with this Word, will bring forth life out of it. That life in you will produce living water so you can share it. You speak Words which fall into other hearts and this is a chain reaction. This is how it should go. So that this faith produces its own fruit, its own grains, which are capable again of producing the same in others.

There is so much in the Word of God that it is astonishing, and impossible not to mention a lot of it. We would go to the parables, for example. You remember the parable about the two men who both had five talents and they traded with one another and made them another five talents (Mt.25:16). So it was not one man a loser and another a winner. They traded and they made themselves another five. This is the kind of economy this world never knew, and never will. This is a process by which, if I have faith and you have faith, I have five talents and you have five, we speak to one another, we trade our faith and we both increase in faith. So we increase these talents. Not just me but you, too. It is impossible for two who have faith and who fellowship or speak and one would lose something. It is impossible. Both gain, and this explains this parable.

The parable of the sower is maybe the best example (Mt.13:18, Mk.4:3). Of course, the Lord spoke in parables whenever it was a question of speaking about spiritual realities. He had to speak in parables, He had no other way to explain things (Mt.13:34). “But to you it is given because you have the ear to hear.” (see Mt.13:11, Mk.4:11, etc.) In other words the Lord put within their spirit the ability to understand this and compare it with the faith which He put within them, so they could grasp it.

The parable of the sower, how he had sown the grain and some fell onto good ground and some fell onto the wayside, some fell on stony ground, etc... this is the same as what we just spoke about concerning the Word of God. The Word of God falls onto good ground, onto stony ground, on the wayside, etc. This is exactly the same thing.

So we may say also that the true life is always a hidden thing. Looking at any dead seed, you should realize that there is life inside, hidden, and nobody can see it except if you water it, then life comes forth. You take any egg, it's dead. In fact, if you break it you won't find any sign of life. You eat it. But all it needs is just to apply warmth to it, right? What the chickens do is sit on it, and lo and behold, a miracle happens. A life, new life starts to emerge. It breaks the hard shell and a new life emerges. Now isn't this the same miracle as with the grain? It's exactly the same.

So if chickens can do it, then surely we can. The Lord can do it with us by bringing new life into us, “dead eggs”, dead grains, which are hard, or with a hard shell, which are dead, with no sign of life whatsoever. But what it needs is a touch of God, warmth, faith... water. And something is born within us which is a new life and it starts to grow immediately against all the powers of our old nature.

Let us go to Galatians 5:17, Paul writes: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would”, or that you “otherwise” would. But this verse also testifies to the fact that this new life in us always grows against the flesh, which is the power of our earthly creation, of our Adamic nature. Just as this new life of the grain grows against the power of gravity which is the power of this physical creation, this earthly nature. This fits perfectly, this Word of God. This is beautiful. This is how it always goes.

You also remember that the Lord mentioned a number of times after speaking or during His speech, “He who has an ear let him hear.” (Mt.13:9, Rev.2:7,11,17,etc.) Now we know that we all have ears, and the Lord saw that everyone there had two ears. But He knew that nobody could hear. Of course, the ear that He had in mind was a spiritual ear, it was the ear of our spirit. So that, if we listen by our spirit, by our conscience, by our intuition, (by our spirit we are able to hear) we are able to buy the Truth which is being said, which is being served us by the Lord.

I have a note here that, in fact, there are two reasons for not bringing up any good fruit unto the Lord... two reasons as I believe:

Firstly, what was heard or read or shared was not the Word of God, which alone has the Life in Itself, as we mentioned in the beginning. Maybe it would be good to just read one verse in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, [which means living, the Word of God alone is quick, living] and powerful, [which means able to produce life], and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” So this is the reference in the Word of God where the Word testifies about Itself, and Its own Life.

So, again, what was heard was not really the Word of God but the philosophy of man, talking, talking, discussing... in other words, throwing around plenty of little stones which may look like grains, but they are not grains. And no stone ever produced any life, no matter what topsoil you used and no matter how much water you put on it.

The second reason is: what was heard or read or shared was the Word of God, but there was no water applied, no faith, as we also shared above.

Now, I have another verse here. For a change we go to the Old Testament. Isaiah 55:11, the Lord speaks: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” This is the intention of God and this is the principle of God. He does not speak and He has not written anything that would bring nothing back, or that would not really fulfil His purposes. So why does God speak and we don't believe? This means that His Word is put into our hearts and is not mixed with faith, and there It lies, and as we said, what happens is nothing. Now isn't that void? Will that Word of God, that grain, return to God void? It cannot, but what will happen then?

What we are sharing here is important, you see, because people think, including many Christians, that they can come to Bible meetings for 10-20 years and listen to something and then go home and do nothing without any consequences! Isn't that so? There are probably millions of such groups, prayer and worship groups, Bible study groups, meditation groups, intercession groups, you name it. And the Word of God is read, or It is shared, or It is preached. Of course, this includes all the churches where the Word of God is preached and men sit in the pews for 10 years, 20 years, 40 years, 50 years. They listen and they haven't believed a thing. They may have believed mentally but their (lack of) fruit proves that there was no living faith.

Now what happens with all those millions of grains that were sown into the hearts and are sitting there ... do you know what happens to them? I was meditating on that: “Lord there must be billions of these Words or tens of billions. The Bible is now preached all over this world. Evangelists preaching day and night on TV, on radio, books published ... what happens to all these grains that fall all over the place?” And as we know now, it is only a tiny minority that brought forth fruit. Now do those grains (Words) return void? No! So what happens? Well, the person dies or is raptured before death. In other words he appears before God somehow (we know that everybody will — Rom.14:10), and then the Lord will look into his heart and He will say: “Look at that, there are tons of My Word, what did you do?”

Let us read the Gospel of John chapter 12. You know, the Lord is too wise to omit any important matter. It is only a question of finding it. It is a question of the Lord leading you to it and showing you clearly. This is reality and this reality has become my faith, so I know this is so. Hence, I can share it and the tremendous practical value of this may be that people who will ever listen and buy this word would avoid their own judgment.

John 12:47, the Lord speaks: “And if any man hear my words, and believe not [there is no watering], I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” However, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words [which means, he does not water them], hath one that judgeth him: the word (Itself) that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” That man will look into his own heart, he will be told to look there, and all those Words which are there will condemn him. So the man will condemn himself. This is the beauty of the Lord.

So there are two kinds of people, including Christians: (a) those that have an ear to hear, and (b) those that don't. Those that have an ear to hear are divided into two:

(a1) Those that hear and mix it with faith, which means they believe, and that Word produces new life: It begins to grow and it produces fruit and they are blessed. And this cycle of blessing and fruitfulness begins or continues, as the case may be.

(a2) And the other part have ears to hear and they either don't mix that Word with faith, or they disbelieve and that Word remains dead in their hearts, waiting for the day when It shall judge them. Or else, if these men are really bad, when they hear, and they really don't like it, they plug their ears. And the Lord brought me to another beautiful part of His Word.

Zechariah chpt.7 and this is just an example, Zechariah 7:9: “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: [He is talking also to the Church] And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. [Now this should be preached in churches, too!] But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law [or the Word of God], and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Now this does not apply only to Israel, this applies to every man and woman on the face of the earth, especially the Church. Because that is where the Lord speaks, and the people plug their ears. And so when the Tribulation comes and they start crying, the Lord will tell them exactly this, “I'm sorry, I don't hear anything, I don't hear a thing, I stopped my ears.”

What is faith? Faith is the substance of things hoped for. We hope for the coming of the Lord, we hope for the Kingdom, we hope for the Millennial rule, we hope for justice, we hope for holiness, we hope for eternal life, we hope for love, for peace, for joy, we hope for many things. All these things that we hope for we have the substance of them in us, and furthermore we have evidence enough of all these things which we cannot see. And this faith pertaining to the Salvation was given to every man. The Creation was made such that no man has an excuse, for he can clearly see the Power of God, the Grace of God, the Wisdom of God and the things which these physical signs typify in spirit.

Faith is reality because the substance of those things we hope for is reality, those things are reality. I know they are because I have already had a foretaste of them. I have evidence of them. So faith is reality and faith equals water. The Lord came by water and blood. He came by faith, which was obedience to the Reality of the Father, and His plan of redemption, and He came by His Own Life which was in His blood (Lev.17:11), which He shed. So He came by water and by blood. And we must be born by water and by spirit. Which means by faith, which we received anyway; we didn't work for it, we didn't produce it, we didn't deserve it. It was given to us, which is a Grace of God, and this was the water by which we were saved and born again. And by the spirit according to John 3:5, where the Spirit, of course, is also the One Who makes the Word of God alive.

The new life which is supposed to grow from the Word of God, which seemingly is dead, that new life is grown by the Spirit. The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life (2Cor.3:6). So we are born by this Life of the Word of God and by water, which is our faith. This is the reality about faith which was a mystery to us for years. This is the simplicity of faith and I believe as we walk with the Lord and continue with Him unto perfection according to His Word and His desire, He is able to bring us into faith and show us things that are past, where we erred, how we tried to substitute things for faith, how we tried to misuse faith, abuse faith, bypass faith, neglect faith ... we tried everything possible. Thanks to His Grace, He prevented us. Of course, we cannot change reality, so we cannot change faith; but we can neglect it, we can forget it, we can reject it, and then it becomes or remains dead. And this is just as bad, in fact, worse than hearing about it, because once I hear some Word and I keep it dead, that Word will judge me!

So this is the practical outcome of this sharing and of the beauty of the Word of God. And I personally praise God very much and I thank Him very much. There is more to come, I believe, because I have other notes here. We barely have touched Hebrews chapter 11, but maybe next time we will go there and we will continue. We can speak for a long, long time about this, but it is again up to the Lord when to continue and how to continue and for how long to continue.

We praise the Lord. Amen.

* * *

(Part V cont'd as “The Mystery of Faith and Will”)

Today is November 22, 1991. We continue with Part V of the message “The Mystery of Reality”, which we subtitled additionally as “The Mystery of Faith.” Now I would like to keep that subtitle almost intact and add only one word: “The Mystery of Faith and Will.” The chief topic will be “Faith versus Works”, which we might also say “Light versus Life.”

Now I have given you the faith chapter of the Bible to read, chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews. I trust that you read it, especially verses 24 to 27, which talk about Moses. Since we talked about Moses in Part IV, we will continue with him also as to his faith and as to his part in this chapter 11 of Hebrews. So let us go there and let us read these verses.

Hebrews 11:24: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” We could read on, we could read about other great men of God, but maybe it will suffice for now, and we will see whether we can penetrate greater depths even of this chapter, of these verses, and the mystery of faith.

“I desire to pray Lord to You at this moment and ask You as always that You would take hold of us, and of me, and that You would direct everything by Your Spirit. I have to admit that You have been granting us so much of this wonderful food, that at times I have even a problem how to sort it, how to put it in the right order on the table, and serve it. And so, without Your Spirit Lord I not only know nothing, but even when I receive from You, I wouldn't know how to serve it.

And so Lord, I'm asking You even for this, that You would enable me to put everything in the right order that we may even eat right, or eat properly, in the proper order that which You are serving us. And, Lord, we are so grateful to You for this rich food, which comes from You directly, which we not only enjoy but is indispensable to us. We praise You Lord, You are beautiful, and You are worthy of all our praises, and we thank You for all things, and even for this food and this time, and the opportunity to share Your gold, and silver, and precious stones ... in Your Name. Amen.”

You all know the famous verse from Ephesians that we are saved by faith, and not by works. Maybe we should read it just to have the clear picture, the clear understanding. Ephesians 2:8, Paul, the Apostle of faith, I might add, says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” He repeats in several places that we walk by faith, how we should live by faith, how we are saved by faith, and he mentions faith constantly.

And along comes James, the Apostle of works, and to the people who don't understand anything, he seems to be an enemy to Paul, because he says, “Not by faith only but by works”. And so he brings a real “controversy” to them who do not see and who do not understand.

Now, what Paul says is: “By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.” And James would say: “This is truth, there is nothing misleading in it.” But James would add: “For by grace are ye saved through living faith, and living faith means works of faith!” In other words, we may say this, and I believe that myself: “If you have faith that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God and you never proclaimed it, you never acted on it, you are not saved! And if you believe that it is a commandment to be baptized and that this is good and is necessary and you are never baptized, you shall not be saved! (Rom.10:9,10 + Mk.16:16) In fact the devils believe that there is one God! (Jam.2:19) Does this belief make them saved? NO!

Let us go to this Apostle James, and let us read a few verses from his Book. James chpt.2, let us start from verse 20: “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

We should make a great division between works of faith and works of flesh, because this is exactly the difference between what Paul is saying and what James is saying. But we should underline the words: by works a man is justified and not by faith only, (Jam.2:24).

We will return to James a little later, but I would like to say another thing which I believe is a cause of deception to too many Believers and a kind of mystery also, and that is the difference between our true beliefs and our false beliefs. In other words, we can divide the beliefs of a man into two categories. We say “I believe”, but when we say “I believe”, we must believe on the basis of something, and that something we must divide into two categories. One category is the true faith, faith authored by the Lord, coming from heaven, something spiritual with true spiritual substance that is in our spirit alone. And the second category includes “everything else”.

Now, in that “everything else” we may include or should include our five senses, and emotions, imaginations, mind, intellect... they probably would cover “everything else.” In other words, you can say: “Well, I have seen that — so I believe.” Well, you have seen that — so you believe, and that's fine, but that's not faith! “I have heard the preacher, so I believe,” that's not faith either. What you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you touch, what you taste is not faith! This is a belief based on your soul and it has nothing to do with faith.

How many people have said: “I heard the preacher speak, and because I heard him I believe”? But this is not faith. If you should say: “I believe what he said”, then that's where the faith begins to come in, because what he said triggers something in your conscience, in your heart, and not in your brain. As soon as you end up in your brain, this is false belief. It must trigger something in your spirit, in your conscience, in your discernment, in your intuition, deep in your spirit! In other words, what somebody says, whether it be a preacher behind a pulpit or anybody else, and if it touches your existing faith, then you buy it, and it builds up your faith or enlarges it.

“Everything else” is false belief, or we should say, to be more exact, a non–spiritual belief. If I see something and I believe it is, well, I'm right and I have seen it and it exists and that's fine, but we are not talking about faith. And if you start acting upon that belief which is not based on your faith, you are not working the works of faith. You are working the works of your own soul. Therefore, if I have seen something beautiful in the store, I go and buy it because I like it. That is not the work of faith. Do you agree?

True faith is a revelation from God and it has nothing to do with our senses. It has nothing to do with our imaginations, with our thoughts or our understanding. It has nothing to do with our emotions, and whether it produces good emotions or bad, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what reaction that faith produces in us, and it does not depend on it. As we said the last time: faith equals reality, God shows us reality! When we embrace this reality, and buy it and cherish it, that reality may be sweet to us and we may feel fine, and we may start singing and praising God. But that reality may be bitter, and we may start crying and weeping and mourning.

That reality might be something very little about something very personal, or it may be something great showing the destiny of the whole nation. That reality we may comprehend as soon as we see it, or we may not comprehend it. That reality may match part of our imaginations or it may be completely something else that we never dreamt about. And so this is the relationship between true faith and our soul.

We can never see faith, or hear it, or touch it, or smell it, or taste it, because if we do then it is not faith. Faith is substance hoped for, evidence of things not seen. We cannot see it, we cannot sense it with our five senses. So one task of a true Believer, I believe, (and as I know from my own experience) is to begin to learn and to discern his own beliefs from his true faith. And that takes quite a bit of time and we keep learning it until we are able to say: “This is my faith,” or “this is not my faith, but I believe something here... but this there, well, I'm not sure.”

We will still have grey areas, we will not know everything perfectly or one hundred percent, but we will be able to distinguish between that which comes from our soul, and which many times we may call `wishful thinking' or our own desires, movements of our own soul, as opposed to the faith which does not always satisfy our own self.

Now, it is important to say that, because I believe millions and millions of Christians are misplacing their own beliefs, the product of their own souls, with true faith. And I would say that from our (spiritual) beginning, there is no other way, because nobody has that discernment. The gift of discernment that the Lord gives us is a discernment of spirits. So that as a young (spiritual) child, a young Christian, I am able to say: “This priest, pastor, elder or this man is proud as a cock, he is arrogant”, or “This priest, pastor, elder or this man is a liar because he has the spirit of lying.” I am able to discern spirits, something in the spiritual world.

But I don't have the discernment whether that baptist pastor or that evangelist or that pentecostal pastor, who is preaching from behind the pulpit and reading the Scripture, whether he is giving me gold, or dirt or a mixture, or what is gold and what is not, or what is true and what is false, because maybe even he himself may not know.

So we come now to another question, a very practical one. Every Believer who stops here and ponders things, may ask: “Well, what am I supposed to do?” Well, I can only say from my own experience, again, that I know one thing: everything depends on the intention of your heart! If your heart desires to know the Truth, if your heart desires to know the Lord and to love Him, the Lord will enable that heart. The Lord will lead you there. We don't even know that while we are young Believers, young Christians.

What I remember is that when the Lord brought me to the church the first time, I was buying everything that came from behind the pulpit. And I know now that there was no other way. So you start buying and the Lord says: “Keep buying.” You buy 20 tons of dirt, and there may be only two ounces of gold. But buy 20 tons, buy 200 tons, there will be 20 ounces, 40 ounces of gold. You know how gold is mined. They don't just send there a big machine and it digs out pure gold. It digs out tons of almost pure dirt and they are “lucky” if they find something in it. And if they do, it is measured in ounces.

So you keep buying anything that comes in, and the Lord says: “If your heart is right, I don't mind if you buy a lot of dirt. But with it you are buying precious stones and diamonds and gold and silver. I don't care in what quantities, but it is there. And later on I will sift it in you, I will sift it in your heart. I will sort things out, I will refine that gold in you and I will dispose of that dirt.” And, in fact, that is what was happening with me.

Now, gold, I might add, can be equated with faith, too, because pure faith is like pure gold. You may also say that you are buying “tons of darkness with grains of Light in it”, but that Light is very important. Because if I buy nothing I will receive nothing. I believe that this is how every new Christian goes, and this is how I remember going, and I believe generally that this is applicable to everyone.

We have to buy, we have to buy, we have to buy, (Pr.23:23) and then the Lord will sort things out. Because if we are thirsty and hungry, the Lord said in Matthew very clearly that He will feed us, that He will give us food to eat and drink. (Mt.5:6)

Now let us go back to Hebrews 11 and let us pick up verse 27 as an example. It is written: “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king [the Pharaoh]: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” It is almost clear that there can be three scenarios here in this verse and in every similar verse which is written in chapter 11. The three scenarios are these:

(1) There could have been written this: “Moses had faith but he didn't forsake Egypt, but became Pharaoh.” Could it have been written that way? Would God have taken Moses as His servant? Saying, “Oh, now you are Pharaoh. My task is easy now. I can deal directly with you, now let My people go, Moses.” Would God have done that? I don't believe that at all.

(2) The second scenario: “Moses forsook Egypt because he was fed up with the food, being pampered with the same style of life and he just wanted to get out into the world and experience other things.” Would God have taken him? “Now you are out, you are Mine.” You see, things don't work that way.

(3) The third scenario is: “By faith Moses forsook.”

In other words, in anything we do, there are always three scenarios:

(1) We did something because we felt, because we understood, because we desired, because this or because that. And so we did it, and we do millions of things like that, because it satisfies our own selves.

(2) We do receive light from God, we do receive faith but we do not act on it. Is it possible to receive faith from the Lord and not act on it? Is that possible? Unfortunately, too many times it is possible.

(3) We do receive faith from God and we not only have it, and we know we have it, but we act on it. We do it, we use it, and if we do (and that IF is capitalized)... IF we do — then that faith becomes living! Please remember that, IF we do — then that faith becomes living, otherwise it will become or remain dead!

Can a man lose his faith? Or can his faith fail? Let us go and read Luke 22. I'm sure you know these two verses, Luke 22:31,32: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

What was the faith of Peter that was about to fail? Do you know that? In Matthew, do you remember? Matthew 16:16, who was that but Peter who stood up and said: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Was that pure faith? Well, the Lord testified that it was faith, and not his colour dream, not a product of his soul.

And his faith was about to fail and the Lord prayed that his faith fail not. And the reason we can find right there as we go further in Luke 22:33, in what Peter says: “And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” Now, THAT I call a colour dream, that I call the dung of the soul! “And he [Jesus] said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou (even) knowest me.” THAT is reality that Peter had no idea about. Thank God for Peter, because we can learn a treasure of information and truth and faith through Peter.

You also know that in the New Testament there are three times that the Spirit inspired the writers to write this statement: “The just shall live by faith.” The references are Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. And when I reread them I could not get any more meaning out of them, except that the Lord said this: It is not written: “The just shall have faith”, but “The just shall live by faith”! And THIS is the difference, for many, many Believers; for they have faith, but live not accordingly. Many believe in the Scriptures, many believe in the Lord, but not “as the Scripture says”... not as the Scripture says! Because if they would believe “as the Scripture says”, they would do what the Scripture says and what the Lord says — and rivers of living water would flow from within their innermost being! (Jn.7:38) So I believe we can witness mountains and mountains of dead faith.

Let us go to Isaiah chpt.1, which seemingly has nothing to do with faith. Now, we are not going there for faith, at the moment, but for something else. You see, I call this continuation “The Mystery of Faith and Will.” Isaiah 1:18, the Lord speaks to Isaiah: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Now that is something.

It is difficult to reason, right? How can we reason with God about such things when we have no idea about these things. We not only have no idea about our sins or how bad they are, but we also have no idea about the holiness being as white as snow, and so our imagination begins to work.

The Lord says this in verse 19 and 20: “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” And the Lord says the same to us, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the bread of heaven, but if ye refuse, ye shall be devoured with darkness and deception, for the mouth of the Lord had spoken it.”

Now, something comes into play here which is not spiritual, is that not so? And what is that something? Our will! Our will is also a mystery, whether we admit it or not. But we make decisions every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day of our lives. And if we think for a second that we can avoid making decisions, then we are dead wrong. Because even deciding that we are not going to make decisions is a decision in itself, and a very grave one. And if we try to avoid responsibilities and accountability, this is the gravest decision that a man can take before God. So whatever we do, we make decisions and we are accountable for them.

And so I say, it is far better and acceptable to God if I make a decision: “I am going to do it and, please, God, don't judge me for my performance but I am going to do it”, than to say to God: “I'm not going to do anything”, for whatever reason is behind that latter decision.

In 2Corinthians chpt.8, Paul speaks about giving also. In verse 11 he says: “Now therefore perform the doing of it [meaning giving]; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” First a willing mind... and if there is not first a willing mind, we can have faith as high as the Himalayas, it is good for nothing. And that's because the Lord is not hastily building faith in us, because that faith ought to be used and done and performed and executed and turned into fruit. The living faith equals life which then brings forth fruit.

Abraham was called the Friend of God and the man of faith and a righteous man not only because he believed in God (because James 2:19 tells us that the devils also believe in God), but because he went out from his folks and came into Canaan (Gen.12:5), and because he took Isaac and brought him up onto Mount Moriah (Gen.22:1-12). That was a living faith, for if God had told him all the history of the New Testament, which was not yet history, as it is for us, Abraham would have never taken Isaac up the mount, and what would have happened? You see, everything that Abraham did was by faith. Therefore they, these deeds, became the fruits unto God, and his faith became living faith.

Now, maybe we can reread Philippians 2:13, we may reread it a number of times to get the real meaning. Philippians 2:13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do (that you would be willing and that you would be doing) of His good pleasure.” His good pleasure is also reality which means faith. So if you would be doing the faith, the reality which He gives you, you would be having living faith, bringing forth fruit unto Him. And for that purpose He is working in you, that there be first a willing mind. For if there is a willing mind, then the light which He gives you will be turned into a living faith, which means that light will be turned into life. Light versus Life, Faith versus Works of Faith. Worked out faith means Life. Do you believe that?

John 5:32-35: “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John [meaning John the Baptist], and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: [which means faith, which means reality] and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.” What season? A couple of weeks, a couple of months, four months, six months? You were willing to rejoice in that light, in that reality, in that faith, and after that, what? What after that? After that you rejected that light and you didn't care!

2Peter chpt.3, we start reading at verse 3: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts [and that does not mean just pagans], And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, ...”. They are willingly ignorant of things of God. They willingly don't want to know! This is what it means. They will that they will not know. They are willingly ignorant, and they decided not to know, and that's it.

There is another verse concerning this topic, and you know this verse, too, I'm sure. John 20:24, after the Lord left the disciples, it says: “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.” And I don't know why he was not with them, maybe he lost his hope but he was not there. Now, when he came (v.25), “The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” I will not believe! I refuse to believe. That, as we know, is not a terrific faith, because you have to see with your own eyes and touch with your own hand, which means your faith is zero. But he decided not to even search for that faith. He walked by his eyesight, and hearing, and touch.

If I look at this world and at the Church, I would be justified to say that I don't believe half of this Scripture, this Bible, and I don't believe the Lord is coming, and I could justify it. I could justify many things. But I don't walk by sight. And if I should justify things by what I see, I should say: “The whole Church will go to hell!” Is that reality? No! So I cannot walk by what I see, or what I hear and then stand up and say: “I will not believe.” With this attitude the Lord would not even begin to give me faith, because I must be willing first to receive faith, and then be willing to walk by it and live by it.

All the other verses, “Walk worthy of the vocation ... of the Lord ... of God ...” etc. (Eph.4:1, Col.1:10, 1Thess.2:12), “Press toward the mark” (Phil.3:14), “Put off the old man ... put on the new man.” (Eph.4:22-24), “Be ye doers of the word.” (Jam.1:22) ... all these verses signify there must be action on our part. So we learn both what is true faith and we learn that if we don't act on it, it becomes dead, and brings forth no fruit whatsoever.

Now, the Lord grants us faith which is a reality, as we have said, which is a light and we have that light, we have that faith. And as I said before, we have the freedom not only to accept it, to buy it, or reject it; but once we buy it, we have yet another freedom to use it or not to use it. But if we choose not to use it, not to act on it, then of necessity we are acting on something else, which is not reality! Do you agree? Are you following me?

I will repeat that. The Lord grants us faith which is a light, which is a reality. We have the freedom to accept it, or reject it. Suppose we accept it, we have it; we still have another freedom to act on it or not, reject it, not use it, neglect it, bypass it, put it on the “back burner”... somewhere. But if we do reject it, neglect it, bypass it..., then we of necessity are acting on something else which is not reality! Do you realize this fact? If you don't act on the reality of God, then you act on everything else which is not real. Do you agree with that? Do you believe that?

Let us go to James 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” And “good” here means everything that comes from God, for that which is not of God is not good. So when it says “to do good”, it means “to do that which comes from God”, which means the reality of God, which means true faith. Therefore, to him who knows the reality of God, who knows the good from God, who has the faith and does it not, to him it is sin. And why is it sin? Because he does not do the reality that the Lord has shown him. He opposes God and His Reality and His desires.

Therefore I say that it is better for Christians not to know! For once they have received light from God and they neglect it, it is greater sin to them than if they did not receive it at all, for then they are not accountable to God for that light. But if He gives us light and we neglect it, or reject it, or do not act on it even though we know that light — it is a sin unto us. (see also 2Pet.2:21, Lk.12:47-48)

Let us go to another scripture in Romans chpt.14. These are not pleasant verses for our “old man”, but this is the truth of God, you see. This is the reality of God which may not exactly produce praises on our lips and yet it is the reality of God. Romans 14:23, at the end: “For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”! That exactly fits this revelation from the Lord. Whatsoever does not agree with the reality which the Lord shows is unreal and is sinful. We are not talking here only about the “faith”, for example, of not eating meat on Good Friday (Catholics), or not eating ham for a Jew, or not drinking wine for a Pentecostal, seventh day Adventist or other Christian. (I put “faith” in quotes because this is not a reality from God but rather a human belief based on reasoning, feeling or commandments of men).

We are not only talking about this faith, and this verse follows a certain topic where Paul talks about eating and drinking. But the Lord brought me to this verse that this verse applies generally, where faith is the reality that He gives to His children through revelation. It is a light from God, and so whatsoever is outside of the reality of God, outside of the Truth of God, is unrighteousness, is darkness, is unreal, is sin. All unrighteousness is sin.

I would like to say that the Lord is bringing us into new depths of this “Mystery of Faith and Will”, because one day we have to get there and we have to recognize the depth of the Scripture, because the Lord has granted us already plentifully. We thanked Him for it, didn't we? We praised Him. Now the Lord asks: “How much of that light that I have granted to you have you turned into living faith?” And furthermore, the Lord says: “Whatever light I have granted you and you have neglected, you have sinned.” Now, that's not very pleasing to our poor souls, but this is the Truth of the Lord and the Truth, as we know, is able to set us free. (Jn.8:32) And I don't believe that we should start now frantically searching where we have sinned. I don't think the Lord is asking that tonight, but the truth is that whatever light He has granted to us and we have neglected, we have sinned.

Now, we should not be surprised or shocked that we are sinning. We are sinning daily. But the Lord is just uncovering now certain types of sin that we should not be sinning anymore. And, of course, as it is also written, “to him that hears, (which means buys My gold) more shall be given.” (see Mk.4:24) We should recognize this in our heart, and soul, and mind, that when more is given to us it will also mean more doing on our part.

True faith also comforts and purifies the heart. Let us go back to Romans 1:11-12: “For I [Paul] long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” And that is also trading of the talents, if that faith is a gift. But if that faith is a fruit also, then when we share that faith we are mutually comforted, and there is probably no greater comfort than that.

In Acts chpt.15 Apostles and Elders were discussing how to treat Gentiles turned Believers. In verse 8: “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us [this is Peter speaking]; And put no difference between us [the Jews] and them [the Gentiles], purifying their hearts by faith.” Now since faith is also light, it purifies the darkness of our hearts — that should be acceptable even to our brains.

* * *

In conclusion, I would like to come back and say again to those who are young and don't know what to do. I say: “Go and buy all that you can get and the Lord will take care of the gold, silver, the precious stones and dispose of the dirt later on.” And if the heart is truly willing, it means also that the mind is willing. The heart may be willing. The mind and the heart are not exactly the same thing, but when the heart is willing and thirsty and desiring, then the mind follows and is willing too, usually.

Then if we decide and if we go, the Lord will take care of us in every aspect, and in every respect. And considering this willingness and this will, I would like to say this. Our will is the only thing that God gave us that is free from the beginning to the end. Our will may be under pressures, under temptations, under all kinds of temptations to make decisions. In fact, it can be influenced and is influenced by God, by the devil, by the world, by our own selves, and it has to make decisions all the time.

By God's decree, our mind, even though it may be influenced and pressed and tempted, it also always has its freedom to make the last judgment. It is a “Supreme Court” for us. God cannot overrule it (by His choice), Satan cannot overrule it. Nothing and no one can overrule it. That is why we are responsible for our actions. This is a tremendous feature of our will, in that our will makes the last judgment! It is not God, it is not Satan, it is not the world, it is not our fathers, or mothers, or relatives, or friends, or anybody else, it is us.

We ARE our own will! And if that will were corrupted or feeble or whatever, the Lord can strengthen it. Unless we lost it through mental sickness or hypnotism, or by some other means, that will still has it's own power of the last decision or judgment. Now whether or not we are able to perform that which we decide is another thing, but our will decides, and this is the last instance; there is no higher court than our will. And I want to underline this and clarify this, otherwise the Lord could not exact from us any responsibility or any accountability.

I thank the Lord for all this and I praise the Lord for all this, even though some things are not pleasant to our “old man”, but they are truth nevertheless. I don't know how much gold is in that which I am serving, but even if there is only half, I say, buy it. Because if I serve one ton of dirt containing a half ton of gold, you would be foolish not to buy it. Do you believe that? And the Lord will sift out the dirt from the gold. But I believe I am serving gold also, and I thank the Lord for it.

I thank the Lord also personally for myself, because whatever I share is from the Lord and is beneficial to everybody.

“Thank You, Lord, very much for this, and I believe that this Light and Truth will produce fruit according to Your Will. Amen.”

PART VI — OLD MAN AND OVERCOMING

Today is December 19, 1991. This is Part VI of the message “The Mystery of Reality”. And again, if I would give it a certain other subtitle, I would subtitle it “The Mystery of the Old Man and Overcoming”. Well, this is probably something very, very practical for every Believer, for every Christian to consider. This time, that which we are going to record is something more unusual, in that the Lord had placed within my heart certain things I did not consider before. And I'm going to share them, certain very important facts about the truth, about the reality, as the Lord has it in Himself and with Himself, and as He desires to reveal it to us and to give it to us, even to work it out within us.

Fact number one, which is also a mystery of reality, is that: light from the Lord disperses darkness. It delivers us from darkness, it destroys darkness. I believe we all have learned that and we all believe it, we all could even see it, and in a certain way this was not a great mystery.

Fact number two is, however, that the light from the Lord does NOT deliver from death and does NOT destroy death!

So fact number one is that the light destroys darkness and delivers us from darkness, which also means from deception.

Fact number two is that life destroys death and life delivers us from death! There is a great difference, and this message, this sharing, this Word from the Lord, is to grant us further light, but chiefly life.

Now we know that in three or four days we celebrate the birthday of Our Saviour and of Our Lord which the world calls Christmas. We are glad to celebrate when the Lord was born in Bethlehem even though we may not know the exact date. At the same time we should celebrate the fact that He was born in our own hearts, which is just as important as the fact that He was born in Bethlehem. And this was a time when the powers of darkness worked overtime. And we should not be surprised if they work overtime now, and here all around us and outside of us and in us and everywhere. However, Praise God, He works no less! Amen!

“Thank You Lord Jesus for this brief time when we again come to You and worship You in Spirit and in truth, and are very, very thankful for everything that comes from You or through You to us ...all the gifts, all the blessings, all the light and the life which destroys death, as it is written: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”(1Cor.15:26) Even he who has the power of the death, which is the devil (Heb.2:14).

And I desire Lord that Your Spirit would truly be holding all of us and opening our eyes and our ears and our hearts that we may see, that we may hear, and that we may understand; that we may buy, that we may act, and that we may be delivered from death, and receive life. Thank You Lord Jesus. We thank You for that from our hearts, and we will always thank You forever and ever. Amen.”

I was also led to the statement of the Lord in John 7, which we mentioned already in the previous parts where the Lord says: “He who believes in Him as the scripture has said out of his inner most being shall flow rivers of living water.” Let us go there because we are going to underline one word in John 7:38: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (inner being in navel area) shall flow rivers of living water.”

Two things we should realize here:

(1) “Rivers” is in plural. Now, I always wondered whether one river should not be sufficient, and I would praise God if one river flowed out of every Believer, yet, the Lord says “rivers”.

(2) No river really starts somewhere suddenly, but it starts from a little spring, perhaps oozing just few drops of water, or as a little rivulet which continues as a brook, maybe joined by others, and this is how it grows. Then it becomes a small river, and eventually a big river. But it starts from a little spring, and that little spring is an opening in the earth from which that water comes. It is underground water. The source is under the ground, and this comparison may serve well to give us further light into that which the Lord means in the spiritual sense.

Wherever in our soul and spirit we are delivered from death to life, that part of our soul or spirit becomes a spring, which starts to ooze out drops of water. Since there are many, many areas in us where death must be conquered, many springs are there to start and to form little rivulets. And from these, later on, if the water keeps coming and the spring is not shut up again, rivers are formed.

Now if we are not delivered from death unto life there are no springs, therefore, there are no rivers! That also explains why there may be many, many Believers, true Believers, sincere Believers, who studied the Scriptures, who received light from someone else or through reading or from the Lord directly, and yet there is no living water. Because light alone does not conquer death, therefore, it does not create any spring!

John 6, in the latter part of that chapter, the Lord was saying things that the disciples didn't like, and they murmured. Of course, they didn't understand why the Lord was saying things like: “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life”, in verse 54. These were hard things to hear by fleshly ears. What we should read here is verse 63: “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

I was further shown another fact which I believe I mentioned before. This is not the first time but I feel we should repeat it again ... that true Christianity is not in the ability of Believers, rather, it is in the willingness of Believers! That also means that we must depart from all evil by our own will! Now darkness is that which typifies evil, just as light typifies good and typifies God. Darkness also typifies the powers of darkness, as we also call them, and it typifies evil, and death is the fruit of evil. So darkness and death must also be overcome and destroyed by our own will. And I know it doesn't sound pleasant to our “old man”, but this is the truth.

Now further to this fact is that we overcome darkness and death and evil by our own will after we learn that we are sanctified for that purpose by: (1) God the Father, and (2) God the Son. Let us go to Hebrews chapter 10. In the first verses of chapter 10, it is written how God the Father was really not pleased and satisfied with the sacrifices of bulls and goats and other things. And so, the Lord Jesus comes and He says in verse 7: “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” In verse 9: “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” And in verse 10: “By the which will (of God the Father) we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Now, by our own will we could not sanctify ourselves, which means, to set ourselves apart to do the pleasure of God and to overcome evil, darkness, death. We can do it only after we know that we are sanctified for that purpose by God the Father. And if we go to Acts chapter 26 and reread the portion where Paul is testifying about his encounter with the Lord, which we all know about and read probably several times, we will discover the truth in the last verse of this encounter. Now the Lord is giving a commission to Paul and is sending him to the Gentiles.

In verse 18, He says: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan (which means death) unto God (which means life), that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Faith which is in Me, not in them! We are sanctified by the will of God the Father and by the faith which is in Christ, and on the basis of that we are supposed to overcome all things through Christ (Phil.4:13) but BY OUR OWN WILL AND DECISION.

There would be many more things, I'm sure, and we could probably talk for hours on this subject. I shared this basically as a skeleton composed of certain basic facts, and now the Lord would, I believe, add some “meat” to it which would bring life into these facts, and into our own hearts.

For that purpose, I would like to go back two weeks, when we had a meeting in the house of brother H and sister C. Before that meeting I was sitting in my office, the Bible on the table, and I was really wondering quietly and also aloud saying, “Now, Lord, what am I supposed to do?” It was not the first time I did that, and probably won't be the last. But apparently my heart was sincere, so the Lord led me to read something which I would have never chosen. As we know, this is one sign by which we can judge that the ways of the Lord are not really our ways. Out of all books, I read portions of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. So I read and a few things came into my heart and memory and then I closed the Bible; and later I apparently promptly forgot what I read, and I went to the meeting.

I commenced the meeting with a prayer which we don't pray very often, as we all know, but this time I just felt that I should pray it again. The prayer was that the Lord would “meet our deepest needs”. And so we prayed that and, I believe, there were some that not only agreed silently, but also confirmed by words or further prayers. And then we also exercised a part of the Word of God which is in Matthew 18:19, which also was on my heart. There were other prayers which were joined along the same lines, and we prayed these kinds of prayers or intercessions, that where two or three agree (in spirit, in faith) as touching anything, it shall be done for them of their Father which is in heaven. And that was significant too, and I do hope we had faith when we prayed these things.

After concluding our prayers I had a brief sharing where I expressed my faith that, in fact, we don't know how the Lord is answering our prayers. And I don't know if you know how He is answering, but I don't. But one thing we should know or should believe, and this is my faith, too, was that the Lord answered them immediately ... NOW! He answered them immediately, but we must wait for our due time for those answers. I don't know why I said it, but I said it because I believed that this was so, or I sensed at that time that the Lord had answered our prayers while we were yet speaking.

As soon as a true heart gives out its contents in the right spirit and faith, the Lord hears and answers. But that answer may come later on in our life and we certainly don't know in which form it will come, but it will come. The Lord answers every prayer! This is not only my faith, but this is my testimony, and this should be your testimony, too.

After that I remember also sharing my experience or, rather, my testimony touching the same Word of God in Matthew 18:19, where I experienced certain problems for over half a year, and I didn't know what to do anymore. Then, one day, my wife and I went to our knees and exercised this same Word of God. And as I have told you, the Lord answered that prayer immediately, and the affair was resolved within twenty four hours. And I was amazed myself. So I declared this as a testimony at that same time to perhaps strengthen your own faith concerning prayers that we prayed along the same lines at the beginning of our meeting.

At this point brother H had a sharing, which was perhaps half teaching, half sharing, directed towards our young sister J, and all the young people, in fact, in order that they may learn to do things properly. Right? This is always good to learn, because I think we all have to learn this lesson probably all our life ... how to do things properly. Most of the meeting was carried out along this line. There were other sisters and brothers who contributed their sharing and statements, and this was how the meeting was in fact concluded, and after some refreshments we went home.

At this time it was rather late, very close to midnight, I believe. I went straight to bed trying to fall asleep, as we all do, but as usual I think first and I review certain things. Since the next day was Saturday and I didn't have to get up early, I allowed myself the luxury of 10 to 15 minutes of meditation, especially if during the meeting interesting things happened. It is good to meditate. However, this luxury which I allowed myself lasted for three hours. And I praise God, for all things work together for good to them that love God (Rom.8:28).

After thinking and re-thinking and meditating and re-meditating, it was about 2:30 or so. It was before 3:00 a.m., I know, because at 3:00 a.m. starts the “fourth watch”; this is the time that the Lord was coming to the boat of the disciples (Mat.14:25). It was about that time when I suddenly realized that it would be good to leave my brain and go to the Lord.

So I went to the Lord ...Who was not sleeping... and He impressed upon me a few very simple things. “Number one”, He said, “do you remember what you read in My Word before the meeting?” I said, “No, I don’t”. But I remembered after He brought it to my remembrance ... two portions from the Book of Lamentations, and He showed me a few things.

You know, everything seems so simple when the Lord comes and when you turn to Him and abandon your own thoughts. He is then able to give you that which He otherwise could not. If I had done this before midnight, I would have been asleep by midnight, but it took me two and a half hours to realize that I consulted every nook and crevice of my brain, but not the Lord.

After “consulting the Lord”, things began to make sense and the light came, and when I realized what I read I wanted to jump out of bed at 3:30 a.m. to start rereading the Bible. But then I realized it was not a very wise idea, so I promised the Lord I would do it the first thing in the morning. I did, and Saturday morning I faithfully reread both portions and I realized things. And since that time, in fact, several times I have had this “rehearsal”, I might say, with the Lord concerning these matters. It was during these times that I was made acutely aware of the fact that we have been gathering light — and every revelation is light and every solution to every mystery is light — but that none of these conquer death, none of these bring life!!

We need life, so the Lord showed me another fact which is of great significance. Our deepest needs, first of all, are the needs of our spirit, and they are needs of spiritual life. This is not to say that we don't need light. But even today, if we would meditate about our own selves, we would probably all come to the same realization and truth that we know many things and we have quite an amount of light; but as for life, we need much “drilling” and “exploration” to find the living water.

The fact that the Lord led me to the Book of Lamentations, the fact that He caused me to say this prayer, meant that He answered it immediately. And, in fact, not only did He answer it for us in His timeless existence, but He started to answer it immediately within us and for us right there.

How did the Lord answer our prayer? Very simply. As we all know, in order that the darkness in us may be destroyed or conquered or overcome, it must be exposed. We must know about it and consciously buy the light which displaces the darkness, and consciously and with our own will depart from that darkness, so that it flees.

Well, it is the same with life and death. The Lord must expose the death that is in us so that it may be conquered and we may overcome it. These are the times which are the most precious, in fact, even more precious than when we just receive light!

There is also a verse which says that knowledge puffs up, charity edifies (1Cor.8:1). Now I don't know how it fits into this, but if and when we really receive light from the Lord, we are in danger of being puffed up ten fold, unless the death that is in us is also destroyed and replaced by life. Amen? Amen! Feel free to say “Amen” if your heart so desires ... at least I know that I'm not here alone.

After all these “rehearsals” and walks and talks with the Lord, I realized that I am supposed to record this ... which I never recorded before. And the following is something which was never before recorded. The Lord brought me back to that meeting, and we are also going back to that meeting.

There were statements made which were amazing. They were amazing to me, and I am speaking now about myself. I am not trying to view the meeting from your view point ...from your side or your heart or your mind. I am doing it from mine, which was enlightened by the Lord Who saw to it, and Who brought it to being. There were statements made which were amazing, and the Lord exposed the death in us in a very amazing way. And I praise Him for that. I praise Him for that because, to me, this simply means that if we are willing, then that death will be destroyed and replaced by life! Not by doctrine, not by a resolved mystery, not by more knowledge, but by life of the Spirit, which is eternal, which can never disappear or be conquered by death. It is impossible.

In some previous parts of the “Mystery of Reality”, I expressed my faith that we will not be perfect upon entering the Kingdom and that, in fact, 2Corinthians 7:1 would be applicable also in the Kingdom. This is the verse where Paul says: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit ...” Now, if this is really so, then obviously this verse is very much applicable today for every Believer, as for us, too. The Lord desires to show us how not only darkness is destroyed by light, but also how death is destroyed by life.

Let us go back to that meeting in the Name of the Lord, starting with the sharing of brother H, sister C, and our younger sister J, and with others following later on. The sharing concerned the invitation that was given to us by our sister J a few weeks ago. She extended to all of us an invitation to a home concert, which she and her friend prepared, and she cordially invited us, in her usual jovial and joking spirit, to come to her parent's house and to enjoy the concert.

Had she finished right there, there would have been no problem. Right? She didn't. She continued, and she continued in the same spirit, jovial and joking “... and brother D will bring wine and sister C will bring the cheese and sister R will bring the grapes ...” etc., and then she finished.

Nobody would have thought what would transpire here. In fact, none of us could have thought that this might give birth to something. Now, since I was not involved nothing bothered me, and everything was fine. I don't know at what time what happened to what soul, but either immediately or shortly after this, a day or two later maybe, the adults realized what it was that was said. It was taken seriously that there was some duty involved in it. And so brother H and sister C discovered that they were supposed to bring cheese, which was expensive, and this “order” was given by a young sister, which was not right. Hence, she should be told to think the next time and not to do that. For that reason, a sharing was born inside their minds to let her know, and all the young people for that matter, that this is not the way to make invitations, and this is not the way to do certain things, because they breed confusion. And I must admit that the sharing of brother H was done in a very proper and polite manner, even though our young sister J ended up in confusion.

Now this may seem to be such a trivial thing not worth mentioning, but it was mentioned by brother H, and later by sister C. Therefore, there had to be a reason why it was mentioned, and the Lord showed very clearly all that happened. I praise the Lord forever. The Lord takes that which seems to be nothing and makes out of it an immense blessing. Now I know why sister J continued on and added these things to her invitation.

This is what the Lord says to brother H: “The sharing was polite, and correct, but the source was wrong. The source was the “old man” who began to complain. The “new man” would have handled it completely differently. And this “old man” betrayed himself by several very clear signs, and certain death was exposed.”

The first sign is that I felt bad in spirit; not from the very beginning, but after it was mentioned that sister J spoke in the wrong spirit, and I knew that that was not true. I started to feel bad in spirit ...not knowing and not seeing clearly many things, because I would have spoken, but I didn't.

The second sign was that it was announced or stated that during her invitation she spoke in the wrong spirit, which was false.

The third sign was when the Queen of England was brought into play. The “old man” is clever and he brought the Queen of England into play by stating two facts: that (a) we are “greater” than the Queen of England (which is not up to us to judge whether we are greater or smaller), and (b) it was implied that, therefore, sister J should realize that before she invites people! ... while the Lord says that “none of us has ever considered that same matter in our own hearts, and that our own invitations are no better.”

Whenever we invited the members of our Body we never pictured the persons as (we would) the Queen of England! It never entered our own hearts or minds, yet, we demand our young people to do that. These are typical features of the “old man”. And the Lord says furthermore that “our young sister J also has things to learn but not concerning the invitations; vice versa, WE have to learn how to handle them.”

Sister J has other lessons to learn, for her “old man” was also exposed. Her “good old human soul” immediately responded and said, “Yes, I realize that, and I apologize.” But she realized nothing and she was not supposed to apologize to anybody. WE have mishandled this, and WE are supposed to apologize to her, because she had done nothing wrong.

Then there was our young brother A who contributed to this confusion even more. He stated that he was surprised and even confused that she was planning a thing for which she invited his parents and other family members which thing was not supposed to be “serious enough”. Another death was exposed. The Lord says to brother A: “That was an attack from your old man upon your sister J”.

What is the Lord showing us? Firstly, in his cleverness our “old man” first interprets everything wrongly. Secondly, he is touched, he is always touched, either in his pride or in his self-righteousness or in his fears, or whatever other dislikes, and he immediately starts complaining. And whenever he complains he never solves anything, but the fruit of it is a deeper confusion. Our sister J ended up in genuine confusion. That was the fruit of the complaining of the “old man”, and the Lord is asking us in Lamentations 3:39, “Wherefore doth a living man complain?” You can put a question mark right there and shorten this verse.

The Lord is asking us, “Wherefore doth a living man complain?” Because a living man, living in his “old man” will always complain! I myself tried to answer this in my own soul, and because this didn't come out of my “new man”, I myself didn't bring light into this. I increased the darkness even more, and I realized that I added more death myself, just by trying to say what I thought was true and right. You see, I am not taking myself out of this, because I am not perfect, and I was supposed to be quiet, and be with the Lord, and discern, and know the truth right there and then, to be able to give a word of life. That is probably why it took me almost three hours in my own bed to realize that I was not with the Lord and that I didn't seek His light in this matter.

And somewhere in the middle of all this, our brother D also made a statement: “We are not great friends!” If I would make such a statement, I would have to clarify it and I would have to say: “Well, in our `old man' we are not great friends, but in our `new man' we are more than great friends”. But brother D continued and clarified it in the way that clearly showed, again, the source of his statement ... “We are not great friends”. It was his personal dissatisfaction — because we do not meet enough and do things which satisfy his soul; because with some other members of his family he could freely say anything and he could do things, whereas when we are together he could not. But this is not true! We are free, we are free to do anything, we are free to say anything, we even exercise this freedom. It is our “old man” which is not free, and the Lord says, “This is a complaint of the old man.” This is a complaint of the “old man”. We receive from the Lord all that we need and He brings us together as often as is needed, and He gives us sufficient freedom to be free in all things. Whether we use it or not is not up to Him, but up to us and our own will.

Now we all shared our hearts. That does NOT mean that out of those hearts comes forth life. Whatever we share from our hearts is acceptable to the Lord, because there is nothing else to share and no other place to share from, and we ought to accept this ourselves. We are not here to start blaming one another because somebody shared his heart. We all shared our hearts and we were all sincere, and the Lord knows that. But He says that not everything that comes out is life. And so, since we prayed, “Lord, meet our deepest needs”, He said, “This is your deepest need ... one of them. Behold, I will show you the death that is in your hearts ... and you did show that death. Now, do you want Me to destroy it and replace it with life?”

Christianity is not in your ability but in your willingness! And I don't know whether your own heart testifies that what we need is life; or whether your own heart and conscience testifies to you that what the Lord is giving us tonight is truth and light and potential for life. For if we do believe and we buy this light, this light which we can equate with faith, takes hold in our hearts. But then, this light has demands on us and if we meet those demands then the death is destroyed, and the life comes in.

As for me and my heart, I am only sharing what I received from the Lord and, as you know for years, I don't care what people think. And as you also know, I am impartial. I always was, I am not defending any person here. I am speaking truth as I received it. The Lord is quite able to establish the truth, to confirm it.

I am repenting to the Lord myself that although starting in the right spirit, praying in the right spirit, interceding in the right spirit, (with brother A and maybe others), I myself ended up to contributing to the death. The truth is that the Lord has exposed death.

And I have not mentioned everything, because everyone shared in some way or another. Sister L also shared for some time and also made some amazing statements about bringing up our children. The point is that we don't have to go into every detail unless our heart needs it; unless our heart needs first the light, and then this life. Then the Lord may bring to our memory also more details. What was shared here are the basic things which happened, which transpired, which I believe the Lord prearranged, starting from our sister J.

Everything was prearranged. I cannot see it more clearly than I do now. The moment when I learned that this matter is also to be recorded, I knew that the Lord is not only out to destroy death in us and replace it with life, but that He is out to find similar hearts and do the same job in them. Because, again, we may send out much light, but there are hearts in Nigeria, in Canada, in the United States, in Europe, and everywhere, and they also need life desperately, just as we need it. And without this life, the death in us will not be destroyed. So we would enter the Kingdom knowing all the mysteries, but being as dead as my shoes are dead. And I don't want that.

“Lord Jesus, I personally thank You for this work of Your hands and for these prearranged circumstances by which You have not only led us to pray that You would meet our deepest needs, but that You had already answered that prayer and had begun immediately to show us our deepest needs. And our deepest needs are in our spirit and heart, wherever the death reigns, that it be destroyed and replaced by life. And this is the deepest need of us and of every Believer, and every son, and every daughter that You have received from the Father.

And You are doing this marvellous work, Lord. And as for me, I am happy that You are doing it and that I might even be used by You to extend this to other brethren. I am happy about that. And, again, as for me, Lord, destroy that death in me and replace it with life. And I repent to You with gladness. And I repent to this Body for bringing death into it two weeks ago when I was supposed to bring life; but I praise You for that Lord. I praise You for that last meeting and all that You have done.

And now I pray Lord that Your Spirit would do this great work of destroying death wherever it is exposed. I pray it in Your Name and with great faith that You will do that. And if there is any brother or sister who desires to pray to You or to do whatever, and record it, here is the microphone. In Your Name Lord. Amen!”

* * *

NOTE: In the subsequent recording of some spontaneous prayers, some words were not recorded clearly; such are substituted by periods in parentheses (...).

(Sister C's prayer, wailing)

“I'm confused Lord. We did not discuss it with H, about the cheese, we didn't discuss it. We didn't discuss that it was expensive, it didn't come from me. And yet You are telling me that this started the whole thing. I'm confused Lord because in my heart I didn't mind to bring the cheese, it was not coming from me, so why Lord? We didn't even discuss it. I thank You for Your message Lord, it was marvellous because there is a truth in the life and ... this death and the life ... but, I don't understand the other thing because I said it didn't matter to me (...) how is it possible then ...?”

(Sister J's prayer)

“I thank You Lord for Your Word (...) and I thank You for Your life. And Lord, I thank You for exposing my “old man”. I hate it Lord and I desire that You destroy it, and I desire Your life to replace it. Thank You Jesus for Your Word. Thank You for showing me the truth, thank You for working in me Lord and thank You Lord for setting me as an example for the young ones Lord.

And I pray for [young brother] J, Lord. I thank You for the work You are doing in him and I pray that you would show him the reality about himself that You have shown to me, Lord. And I pray that You would show him that I'm not just a friend with an opinion, but that I'm his sister who You are working through. I thank You Jesus. Blessed be Your Name, Lord.”

(Brother D's prayer, yelling)

“Blessed be Your Name, Lord. And, yes, Lord, I desire that this be recorded also. And I testify, Lord, You have delivered me from that childish spirit and I am free from him. And I am a man, Lord, and I walk like a man and You are showing me things, Lord, and for the first time in my walk, Lord, tonight, I can say that not all of what was said bore witness to me. Much of what was said, Lord, made me deeply heavy in my spirit, and not in my soul, and not in my mind, but in my very spirit, Lord. Much of what was said I cannot say 'amen' to and I cannot because it is not my faith. I have chosen and I have declared to You Lord that I will walk according to my faith and that is Your desire for me, that I walk according to my faith. That which You have deposited in me, that which You have granted to me, that discernment and that sensitivity in my spirit. Because all these years I have drawn from the spirit and the discernment and the faith of others, and You have said no more, no more, and to that I say `amen', Lord.

I walk according to my faith and my faith, Lord, and it is recorded. My faith declares that much of what was said tonight does not bear witness to my spirit and, Lord, Your Word declares: let the truth be established in the mouths of two or three. It shall be established in the mouths of two or three. This is my faith, and that's what I speak. You Lord and You alone shall purify my faith as was said in the past by my brother. You shall purify my faith, You shall correct my faith and You shall strengthen my faith. And I look to You Lord and tonight for the first time in my walk. Hallelujah. For the first time in my walk I stand Lord on what You have deposited in me and I will stand and You shall strengthen and You shall purify and You shall correct Lord.

And I speak this truth because it is as I sense it and discern it in my spirit and in my heart. And, Lord, in the past I have always rejected what was in my spirit and in my heart, no more Lord, no more. You have deposited Your light in my spirit and that is what I desire and that is what I will draw from. Thank You Lord, thank You Lord, blessed be Your Name.”

* * *

Note that the above prayer is contrary to the Word of God in Heb.13:7 and 17. Note also that it is this man (and his family) who would later sin grievously against this Body of Christ, polluting the Ministry, writing false prophecies and refusing to repent. Also, when it was offered him that the truth be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses (according to his own prayer), he refused as well. This is further described in the second half of this Part VI.

* * *

(Sister R's prayer)

“Thank You, Jesus, I want to tell You and thank You. I was not at the meeting and I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know today this message would be recorded because I wanted to ask You and stay on this Matthew 18:19. I want to ask and pray and tell You, dear Lord, to destroy the death in me and that's what I'm asking You, dear Lord. And I believe that You will do that and that You are already doing it. Thank You for all things Lord, in Your Name. Amen. Thank You Jesus, this is important to me.”

(Sister C's second prayer, wailing)

“I pray that You will destroy that death in me and, Lord, I'm the same as D. I felt and I said that it doesn't witness to me what O is sharing when he said something. And You know, Lord, that what was in the heart was not that. How it was started to say so how can you share something when the opening is not correct? And I was afraid to say this, I was afraid because we don't even know that this was not so, Lord. You know this was not so. Hallelujah Lord.”

(At this point, brother Hanola states: “Feel free to express your hearts, please. You have freedom to say anything.”)

(Sister L's prayer)

“Thank You Jesus. I thank You Lord for these last two weeks, they have been a blessing, a freedom. A freedom from accepting things, Lord, even from childhood to maturity. Bless Your Holy Name Lord, because You want mature (...). But some of the things that were said tonight do not bear witness. I bless You and I thank You for two weeks ago, Lord, when this happened ... something small. It does expose, it exposes in everyone and it exposed things in me and You shocked me and I thank You and I praise You because without these shocks we go nowhere.

We need the pressure, we need the hard times, we don't (...) spin around and after that, Lord, we are never in that same place again. And I thank You, Lord, for this evening and I, too, Lord, am willing to have them changed (...) exposed, learning and knowing what You have; and that, Lord, is the freedom. I would question my own discernment and I come back with the same thing that I had previously and I have to declare that (...) not my desires, it's not my will (...). Amen.”

(Brother A's prayer)

“I declare that (...), and it was brought to (...). I repent (...), because once they are exposed (...). Amen, Lord, and I praise You Lord with all I have.”

(Sister D's prayer)

“I'd like to (...) and thank You for that, Lord, but the ones who (...) for You are dead. I thank You for the message and it bears witness to me in my spirit. And though I didn't speak at that meeting two weeks ago, I also pray that You expose and destroy the death in me and replace it with Your life. I thank You, Lord, for sister J as my example (...). I want to please You, Lord, and thank You, Lord (...). In Your Name, Lord. Amen.”

(Sister C's third prayer)

“Lord, I desire to say `thank You' to You, Lord, because You have made such a tremendous work in her (sister D), Lord. It is so beautiful to see. And I just want to thank You for that, she's so different. Blessed be Your Name, Lord, for the marvellous work You are doing ... and setting an example. Thank You Jesus, Hallelujah, Lord.”

(Sister D continues her prayer)

“And, Lord, I pray for my brother J (...) that he would not see sister J as just a friend with an opinion, but that (...) and she is an example for the younger ones and that he should listen to what she has to say — not with his mind. Praise Your Holy Name. Amen.”

(Brother H's prayer)

“Lord, I want to thank You. I want to thank You from the bottom of my heart and thank You for Your work, Lord. And I desire that I would be cleansed, Lord, of the death which is in me, and it would be destroyed and replaced by Your life. I desire that very much, Lord. I desire to serve You, I desire to serve You with my heart and with my spirit and not according to my understanding. And You know my heart, You know my weaknesses, You know where I stand, Lord. And You have been caring for me. You brought me to Yourself, Lord, and everything I have is because I've received it from You. And whatever is not from You, I don't want that, Lord.

And I thank You for this meeting, and I thank You for Your precious Word. And I ask You, Lord, that the truth be established. Now, I viewed this matter as quite simple, Lord, and I believed that I ought to tell my sister what I believed was in my heart. And that was all. And I didn't think much of other things, Lord, but if it is Your desire that I be careful and that whatever was not bringing Your life that it should be exposed, then be it so. And I don't care how I feel or who said what, Lord, but I desire Your truth. I desire bringing into this Body Your life. I desire to have it myself. Lord, I started to seek You, I started to seek You as I've never sought You before. I desire that Your life and that Your Spirit would come forth in myself and in all my brethren whom You chose for Yourself. And You have been blessing us, dear Lord, through our brother Hanola, and I thank You very much for it. And he worked diligently, Lord, and at the times when I had no idea. I love my brother as I never loved him before. I want to encourage him, I want to join in faith with him, and I want to help, Lord, to stand in guard against every attack. Now I believe, Lord, that You are going to show us indeed that You are going to expose the death and that You are going to replace it with Your life regardless of our understanding. And I say that for myself that I refuse to go by my understanding. I refuse to go by how things appear, but I would like to take Your Truth and Your Word with all my heart. I'm standing before You, Lord. I'm standing on this faith which You have built in me that I can boldly come unto the Throne of Grace to receive Mercy and Grace, Lord, in time of need. This is what I do, Lord. Blessed be Your Holy Name, Lord. I thank You for everyone. You have done marvellous work, Lord.”

(End of tape).

Note: Sister C is the wife of brother H and this house repented and was later restored from the evil that it fell in. Sister L is the wife of brother D and this house was not willing to repent and refused to be restored. This is further described in the following continuation of Part VI.

* * *

(Part VI continued)

Today is Friday, May 15, 1992. This is the conclusion to Part VI of the “Mystery of Reality”, and again it is recorded in a way that I didn't plan, just as I didn't plan the first part of this Part VI, which was properly subtitled “Mystery of the Old Man and Overcoming”. So basically, we are here to conclude the “Mystery of the Old Man and Overcoming”. I don't believe we could ever conclude this topic, but at least this sharing, because the Lord has brought us through certain “mysteries of the `old man' and overcoming”, what the “old man” is and what the “old man” is able to do, what he's not able to do, and what “overcoming” really means.

“I would like to thank You Lord at this point again for all You have arranged. I would also like to praise You, Lord, for what You have arranged and we all thank You also for Your ways and Your judgments, which were shown to us rather clearly and they are beautiful and they are vital for us. And thank You for shaking this Body, which You have put together, and thank You for shaking Your Church. In fact, we pray for that, that Your Church would be shaken and judged before You come, because Your Church needs it desperately. Amen.”

I would just like to mention that on December 19, 1991 we had the last meeting of last year where we were all together, or almost all, and when the first half of this Part VI was recorded. At that time I didn't know, in fact none of us knew, what it would lead to, what would transpire, and what would be the outcome, the consequence of it; and in fact that it would lead into the shaking and the judgment of this very Body and congregation by the Lord. Now I have to, at least briefly, describe what has happened since December 19, 1991 up to today, May 15, 1992, which is about five months.

After the message on December 19, 1991, the microphone was given to the congregation and anyone who desired could share or pray or speak or whatever. And there were prayers and some sharing recorded by some members, and by others it was not recorded, simply because the tape came to the end... there was no more recording. The message contained also my personal repentance to the Lord and to the Body for bringing death to the meeting. And the Lord basically desired that everyone else involved in that death repent also.

At that time some people repented, and some did not. Brother D, former brother D, refused to repent and prayed a prayer which was, in fact, contrary to the Word of God and which separated him from the Body already at that time. It was the fruit of whatever was in his heart before and it was not good.

Basically, there were five persons who either did not repent or refused to repent for some reason, and who were taken into a snare of evil and deception, and we may say the Lord departed from those five. And that departure of the Lord led to deeper deception and deeper evil, until one day former brother D brought to my house a “prophesy” in which he accused me of ministering to this Body through a spirit of fear, and through an imperious spirit, and that, because of this fear, the “new man” in him and in others could not develop. Well, it proved that this “prophesy” was not of the Lord and in fact contained elements which were blasphemous in the eyes of the Lord.

After these events a meeting was called to clear these matters for December 31, the last day of 1991. Initially there was no willingness on the part of the five to meet or to clear matters, but eventually on the basis of my commandment and the Word of God in Hebrews 13:17 given to them we did meet. At the meeting, instead of clearing matters, we ended up in evil, in sin, in wickedness, in darkness, in rebellion. It lasted probably no more than ten minutes, and it brought a deep wound and division and separation into the Body! That was the end of 1991, which none of us really planned or could imagine before that time.

When January 1, 1992 came, I was before the Lord asking simple question, “What am I supposed to do?” The Body was divided, the ministry was polluted, and it could not go on under those circumstances. And I truly didn't know whether this Body, the Montreal Remnant Ministries, would continue as before.

Everything seemed to be at a standstill and in great darkness and uncertainty. We all were wounded, and I was wounded too, as I was asking the Lord for help. He never fails us ... He never fails us! Of course, He knew what He prearranged, but we did not at that time.

I didn't know either and I didn't see more than anybody else, but He came down again. The Lord came down again, faithfully, and He gave me a Word which is found in 2Timothy 2:24-26. In fact, the Lord asked me a simple question: “Are you willing, in this state as you are (bruised in spirit and soul), to go into their houses, the two houses of the two families of these five persons? Are you willing to go in the spirit of meekness and present the truth and lead them out of this snare? If you are, then there is a way out of this evil and a way to restoration.”

When I first received this Word of God, I really rejoiced because it gave me faith; because there was a way out, whereas before there was really no way. I shared this Word with my wife, after she came home. She was surprised and asked me, “Well, are you going ?” and I said, “No, I am not going, but you and I, we are going !” And so she was surprised even more, and then she said, “Well, if you are going, then I am going too.” So I promised the Lord that I'm going.

All I had to do was ask, to pick up the telephone and ask those five: “Do you desire in your hearts to know the full truth?” Now one house, brother H and sister C, did desire in their hearts to know, and we arranged a meeting, after which they accepted the Way of the Lord, and His Truth and His Grace. That house was restored, and we praise God and are very happy about that, and they also are happy about that and are back with us, and we praise God together.

Now the other house of former brother Don, his wife Linda, and their son Johnny did not choose the Way of the Lord and His Grace. They refused, and that house was not restored.

When these things happened, it was January 1, 1992. The Lord gave His Word and I feel that It also should be given, because after fifteen weeks, which the Lord determined also, He gave His judgment.

In order to understand His judgment, you also ought to understand His first Word. Also, so that the brethren who will eventually listen to this tape or read the transcript may understand the Ways of the Lord and His Word, at least to some degree, I will record also the Word of the Lord. We all realize that for those people who did not go through this and who did not have these contacts and experiences, it is pretty difficult to understand. This is logical; but however logical, we do not go by logic.

We ought to go by faith that when the Lord has brought us through such experiences and judgments, and has given us His Word at the beginning and at the end, and made us to see all that He did, that He will show us why He did it, and the fruit of it. Then He is well able to do the same for others, who in fact did not go through the same experiences with us. He is able though to give them something basic, concerning certain facts and realities, so that they would not dwell in the same deception that even we were before these happenings.

On January 1, 1992 the Lord had given a Word to the five saying: “I am your Creator, your Saviour and your Lord. Who has bewitched you, that you have committed this great evil and grievous sin against Me and against My servant and against his family? Who has possessed you that you should commit this great wickedness? Have I not fed you and cared for you those fifteen years through My servant, about whom you yourselves have testified that he is faithful and your example? And he is faithful and he is your example and I have given him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever he shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever he shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in Heaven.

How is it then, that you come to his house and disregard his voice and call him a devil? And how is it that in his own house, which I have made the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, you shake off the dust of your feet and thus abuse My Own Word (Matthew 10:1-15) and pollute My Own Kingdom on earth? And why have you called the members of his family devils? And the second example which I had given to the young ones (sister J) and about which you yourselves had testified, unless all your testimonies were false, why have you all despised her, rejected her, unrighteously judged her, and called her a devil also? Do I give you servants and examples for that purpose? Or rather to honour them and follow them? Is this the way you are fulfilling My Word in Romans 12:21, Galatians 6:6, 1Timothy 5:1, 5:17, Hebrews 13:7, and many others? Are you not afraid of Me? Have you no fear of Me in your wicked hearts?

But who has bewitched you that you should commit this great evil and such a grievous sin against Me and against My servant and against his family? Behold, the son of him who calls himself a prophet, and who prophesies in My Name. Behold, your only begotten son whom you failed to hate, (Luke 14:26) and to abandon unto Me. Rather you and your wife have worshipped him with inordinate affections, and have defended and cuddled the evil within him. You have detected devils in the son of one of your brothers, how is it that you have not detected the same in your own son? And whenever you bought his darkness and his evil it troubled your heart and mind greatly. And then you formed your unrighteous judgments and spoke them out or wrote them down and attached My Name to them and gave them to your brethren. How many times have you done this evil deed and thus shown yourself as a false prophet? Even now has your son deceived you and your wife and the other two, and through the wickedness of your own hearts and the insanity of your own minds has he brought you all into this great evil and grievous sin.

Because you five have done this great evil and have committed this grievous sin against Me and against My servant and against his family, behold, I will cause My servant to declare and to send unto you their true testimonies in due time. In your arrogance you demanded that the truth be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses after you inquired of the one with evil spirits, yet you never inquired of My servant, of My example, which I had given to the young ones, nor of any member of his family whom you called devils in the insanity of your minds. Are you not afraid of My Word in 1Chronicles 10:13-14?

Because you five have committed this great wickedness and polluted My ministry, I am taking away from you your ministry and I am separating you from My servant and from the other members of the Body.

As for the Montreal Remnant Ministries, for fifteen weeks it shall be dormant. All incoming mail shall be duly recorded and handed over to My servant. There shall be no outgoing mail except that concerning administrative matters. No ministry shall be conducted except that of My servant and any other person that he might appoint in the meantime.

And after these fifteen weeks I shall see whether you hear My voice and learned obedience to Me and to My servant and to My examples which I had given to you; and then I shall render My judgment. Therefore this I say unto you all who ganged up against My servant and against his family, unless you all repent in tears and ashes to Me, to My servant and to the rest of the Body, none of you five shall enter into My Kingdom which is at hand.”

This was the first Word of the Lord from January 1, 1992. On the basis of that alone and on the basis of His Word in 2Timothy 2:24–26 which He gave me, we started to go through that period of fifteen weeks. As I have mentioned, these five persons belong to two houses, and one house repented and was restored, and the other house refused and remained in the evil.

We have shared these things already and we know many things which are now being recorded, but as I have said, they are being recorded for the sake of those who the Lord will bring to read or listen to it, that they may be blessed and helped in very practical ways. We even shared at our meetings, during that time and even after April 15, 1992 which was after those fifteen weeks. We even shared that which we believed and knew and understood about why the other house refused.

Before we share anything else, let me read also the Judgment of the Lord, which was rendered after those fifteen weeks. It was given on April 19, 1992, which was the time of the Passover. I think it was Sunday, right after the Passover. The Lord declared this:

“I am your Creator, your Saviour and your Judge. Fifteen weeks have I given you to consider your comings and your goings, your evil and the great sin you have committed against Me, against My servant and his family. In My Grace have I given you fifteen weeks to repent and be restored again. One house has accepted My Grace and Truth and Way and that house has been restored. The other house has rejected My Grace and Truth and Way therefore that house shall remain in their evil, darkness, sin and wickedness. In the day they stand before Me their judgments shall come forth from their own mouths.

They have cut off themselves from the living ones and have become dead. I have set good and evil before them and they have chosen evil. A root of bitterness sprang up in their hard hearts and defiled many (Hebrews 12:15). They judged unrighteously, they judged everyone except themselves and forgot My Word (Romans 2:1-9, Ezekiel 13:1-9, 14:9). They have neither obeyed nor submitted themselves to him that I set up over them, nor have they yet considered the examples I have given to them to follow. They have rather trusted their own hearts and followed their own beliefs not considering My Word (Proverbs 28:26, Hebrews 13:7,17).

Therefore My Word has happened unto them as it is written: `He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.' (Proverbs 29:1).”

This is the Judgment of the Lord and this is actually what happened. And we praise God also for that, because His Word is also being done not only in us, but also in those who chose to disobey It; who chose and were not willing to learn obedience and to follow It and to love It.

We also shared many times before that normally these things don't come suddenly in one day or in one hour without some previous development or without some previous evil being churned out of us or bringing forth its own fruit from time to time.

Hence, we also came to see and understand that these things didn't happen suddenly and that they had previous development and background. The events did come suddenly upon us, but these fruits were being slowly grown within their hearts for years. And if we have not truly learned the love of the Lord's Judgments or obedience of these things, then the fruits thereof would show it one day or another.

There are several lessons that the Lord showed us also in His Judgments and His shaking. Again, we are very thankful to Him for bringing us through this, because this is yet another sign of His soon coming. There are many Christians who say that, “the Lord is coming ... He's coming soon ... the Rapture is around the corner ... His Kingdom is at hand”, and all these things, but they fail to realize that all this must yet be preceded by the judgment, by the shaking of the very Church and of every Christian. And so when He does judge and shake His own, this is a true sign of His coming.(1Pet.4:17, Heb. 12:26-29)

Now there are probably many lessons that come out of this judgment and out of this shaking which was prearranged by the Lord. Speaking for myself, I can say that I was shaken too, and I praise God for that. I am learning my lessons and believe me, they are precious, they are precious and what lessons I'm learning surely you are learning with me. I would like to mention at least two, again, for the sake of those who might ever listen to or read the transcript of this message.

The first lesson that I learned was that you may have the closest brother, whom you love and care for and feed for fifteen years (fifteen years is quite a time in the life of a human being). And after fifteen years this brother is able to turn against you and reject you and call you a devil and separate himself from you, and be willing to never see you again! Now if somebody told me that this is normal in Christianity I would have told him that he's dreaming, that such things are impossible in true Christianity.

Today I know that not only are they possible, they are there, because they happened to me. Initially, they may be inexplicable, but even that is not true. The Lord can grant light and understanding and reality, and He is granting it to us. Even things that we would never have imagined, He is plainly showing us. And not only showing us, but bringing us through, with our own skin and flesh and bones and soul and spirit.

So we might ask how is this possible? Well, I don't think we can answer this so briefly, or with just a couple of words. I would like to mention the second major lesson that I am learning, and surely you also are all learning from this. It is that the only true sign by which we can and are expected to judge wisely and righteously, is the sign in Matthew 7:15 and 20. We are going to read it now.

Matthew 7, starting at verse 15: “Beware of false prophets, [there goes our former brother, the false prophet] which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

“We thank You Lord that You brought us again to Your Word, not just to reread It, but to realize that You brought us through. You have shown us the truth of this Word and the importance of this Word and I personally thank You Lord for it also because I needed that too”.

In fact, I might have needed that more than anyone here. Why? Well, in my probable “human goodness” I judged and assessed men on the basis of their sincerity and their good intentions and their well meaning prayers and their zeal to work for the Lord or even to be changed, but I failed to judge them by their fruits!

I thank the Lord that He showed me what can happen. And that should mean to all of us and to all Believers who are truly called by the Lord, and who are heading towards the Kingdom and who are true Overcomers, and have not yet learned this basic lesson, that they would start to learn it and to exercise it. NO MORE judgment based on human goodness, sincerity, intentions, usually good intentions, or on flowery prayers or far-reaching plans in the minds of well-meaning men! No more.

The true judgment shall be one: you have the fruit of the Spirit of God, or you do not! And everything else will end right there, for the Lord says: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”

Personally I believe that the Lord is not only talking about false prophets. Now the Lord chose to put in His Word: “Beware of false prophets” (Mat.7:15)... because prophets have the greatest power to deceive. A man who brings a big prophesy, sprinkled with the Word of God and rightly worded, can deceive a multitude, and the only thing that can show him right or wrong is his fruit.

What is your fruit? It is no wonder that the Lord continues in verse 21: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” And of course to do the Will of the Father which is in Heaven is to produce fruits. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? [again, false prophets] and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? [that many people were deceived by] And then will I [the Lord Christ Jesus] profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

This verse 23 is or should be terrifying. All servants of the Lord or all those who believe they are servants, or who believe they are going to be servants, or who desire to be servants or who enrolled in Bible Colleges and Seminaries and think that they will serve the Lord, should reread these verses and tremble before the Lord! Because if they don't produce any fruit of the Spirit, they will be told verse 23. So they themselves can prophesy the Lord's answer to them already.

Of course, the fruits of the Spirit are in Galatians 5:22. Let us read that too because this is important: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law;”... which also means no weapon, no power.

I believe we also shared at the last meeting why it is that the fruit is the only sign the Lord used. The simple answer is, that the evil and the devils and our “old man” are able to fake everything, including all the gifts of the Spirit and they can produce anything ... great sermons, great works, build great ministries. They can do anything. They can even appear as angels of light. Satan, himself, can do that. They can deceive left and right and can fake everything — except the fruits! No evil, no devil, no “old man”, no flesh, can ever fake or produce any one fruit of the Spirit!

Let us read 2Corinthians 11:13,14,15, again. We are talking about false prophets: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”

I don't know how many Believers know about this passage of Paul's letter to the Corinthians. But they should reread it, and they should realize that this was not written for nothing. The Lord's Spirit did not inspire Paul to put it there just to make the Bible thicker. This has such practical impact, and should have for every Believer ... just to realize that there are ministers and apostles and prophets and workers and evangelists who are false or evil, and they preach from the Bible! They preach from the Bible and they are false, and the Lord would tell them: “I never knew you”, because they are ruled by different spirits, and their fruit is the fruit of evil.

Let us all also read 1Corinthians 12, about the gifts, verses 8,9,10: “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophesy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.”

So these are the nine gifts, and all nine gifts can be faked — and they are faked! Furthermore, all nine gifts, even though they may be genuine in us, may be misused — and they are being misused! And all nine gifts can be abused — and they are being abused! And if they are, then the Lord will again say to those gifted: “I never knew you”.

So even by the gifts we cannot tell the true ministers from the false ones. Do you hear me? Even by the gifts we cannot judge and we cannot tell that that man, that Believer, that minister is true or false... we cannot, three exclamation marks !!! He must show the fruit, because even if he has, say, a gift of wisdom or healing or tongues, he should use that gift and should labour through the fruits of the Spirit, and never without them or outside of them.

For if he has no true love, no true peace, no true joy; then he has hate and fear and worry and impatience and intolerance and arrogance, and then it is through these that he is using his gifts!

And what is he labouring out? He is labouring out to bring forth a “big bear”, which will eventually eat him up. He is not bringing any fruit to the Lord, or any labours, because these must be done through the fruit of the Spirit.

Suppose we have no patience or meekness. How many “servants” of the Lord are there who work through impatience and through fears and through worries and through hatred and through arrogance? You can count them by the thousands, and they may speak in tongues, they may prophesy, they may teach at Bible Colleges. They may have titles before their names and after their names, they may be “Right Reverends” or “Left Reverends”. They may be anything, and to the Lord they are nothing.

This is a simple lesson, and this is the lesson that the Lord started to teach us and to show us, and we have to continue along this line, along this guide. And we should pray that we ourselves, believing in this, would not go without the fruits, but that we would be the first to bring forth fruits, and then labour through those fruits. And our labours will be fully accepted by the Lord. Fully. Without the fruits the Lord will accept nothing. Do you believe that? Well, I believe that very much.

Now, I don't know what we should add to this. The Lord properly subtitled this “The Mystery of the Old Man and Overcoming” because it is a mystery. It was a mystery, and it will still be a mystery to many, but it should not be such a mystery to us as was before.

We should know the reality, see the reality, and understand our “old man” and his ways and his tactics and his deceptions and his powers. And we should understand the other side, the “new man”, and see the “new man” and live the “new man”, and understand his power and his oneness with Christ.

It is our willingness to be identified with the “new man” or with the “old”, which eventually decides where we are heading and whether or not we are learning obedience, just as He, being the Son, learned obedience, and was made perfect (Heb.5:8,9). So that when we learn obedience to His ways and His judgments, we shall be made perfect likewise. Do you believe that also?

Again I want to repeat perhaps only one thing. I remember on December 19, 1991, again the Lord caused me to say, and even to underline the principle that true Christianity does not lie in the ability of Believers, or in the ability of Christians. Rather it is in the willingness of the Believers; that is where our will is.

We don't overcome anything by our power, but we overcome everything by being willing to overcome it by the way of the Lord. And that is the only way we eventually overcome, and how our will participates and cooperates with the Lord. This is the overcoming and not to decide by your own will: “Now I'm going to do it for the Lord.”

But if you are going to do it your way and by your power, you are going to fall flat on your nose each time, until you are fed up with yourself. And if you do it too many times, you will stiffen your neck and will be worse than when you started, because you would not be willing to follow the way of the Lord. You would only be willing to stop your own foolishness, and do nothing.

How easy it is then to achieve things through the fruits when there is meekness (meekness also means pliability). The Lord doesn't have to struggle with you, to drag you, to keep persuading you. He doesn't have to literally fight you. If He declares and you agree, and you are willing to do what He says, then you have achieved one hundred percent success. That is the only way of overcoming. Do you agree with that? You may agree with that, but do you believe that?

“Lord, I don't know what I should add here. As You caused me to record the first sharing of Part VI, almost against all my scheduling and desires, You caused me to record it and I knew only one thing at that time: I knew that I didn't know what the response would be or what would happen. But You knew, Lord, and You caused me to do that and I praise You for that. Because all I did was: “Yes, Lord, I'm willing to speak.” And so I spoke, and the success came because Your Way was cleared and we could go along that Way and experience Your Judgments, Your Grace, and Your Love to the degree that we never had before. Lord, it was worth it.

We are heading along the same Way. Now You have concluded this “Mystery of the Old Man and Overcoming.” I don't know how much we have exhausted this topic. It seems we have been sharing only the very basic things. There is far more to learn, to know, to experience. But if we just know the basics and go by them, then we will overcome all things through You, and with You, and in You.

We thank You again, Lord, for shaking us and for judging us; for we cannot even judge ourselves, because our own judgment would be unrighteous, for we don't even know ourselves. But when You judge us, that is righteous Judgment, and we accept it, Lord, and we thank You so much. And we express great faith, great faith, now that we know that what You have started in us, You will finish (Phil.1:5).

But we pray, Lord, that the fruits of Your Spirit would grow and show themselves, that we would be known by our fruits, and not only by our talking and sitting together and sharing and reading the Bible and sipping coffee and believing that everything is alright. We pray, Lord, that our fruits of Your Spirit would grow and we would labour through them and we would offer to You these fruits, because You deserve them, Lord, and You are looking forward to them.

Thank You, Lord Jesus. You are our Creator ... Mighty Creator. You are our Saviour ... Great and Mighty Saviour. You are our Lord ... Great Lord. You are our King ... soon coming King, Mighty and Righteous King. But You are also our Friend. You are the best Friend we can ever have and You desire that we would be the best friends You have from Your Creation.

And finally, You are our Beloved and You desire that we would be Your beloved. Let Your Will be done in us Lord, fully, completely to Your pleasure, so that when we meet we would know one another, we would not need any introduction. We would know one another because we would find ourselves in one another. It is not only that You would be in us — but we would be in You. Amen.”

PART VII — THE PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS

Today is Saturday, December 19, 1992. This is Part VII of the message from the Lord, “The Mystery of Reality”. As before, we gave some of these messages certain subtitles, so I would like to give this message the subtitle “The Perfecting of the Saints”.

Before we go into this message, I feel I should say a few words as a testimony to the Lord. A testimony to the Lord is always good, because it brings certain glory to Him, it shows His Goodness, His Faithfulness, His Wisdom, His Power and everything about Him. Secondly, it usually brings or should bring certain encouragement to other brethren, and strengthen their faith.

After what was happening about three weeks ago, I had a sense that this Part VII should be said before the end of the year. Since we don't have any meetings between Christmas and the New Year I knew it should be made before Christmas. Then I realized that the last weekend is December 18,19,20, and the Lord reminded me that on December 19, 1991 we had our last meeting of last year. We recorded message number VI on this date, and the Lord started His work concerning the “old man and overcoming”.

So, I said within my heart, “wouldn't it be nice to have this message exactly on December 19th?”

Apparently, the Lord didn't mind, and so I prayed. I also realized that I knew certain things which I should say and share, maybe for about five minutes, and then I had nothing else. So I said, “Lord, I need something”. I asked Him to give me not just further information, but to give me of Himself. That we may share Him, that I might minister Him, and not just further information about the Scriptures.

And I desire to testify that two or three days later the Lord poured on me. He literally poured on me so much that there was no place to receive it, and I was literally covered by this new light and substance from Him. Actually, I didn't know what to do with it, and I had to come back to Him and ask Him, “Lord, that same Spirit must now sort out this light and guide me through it, so that I would know what to say and what not to say, and how and when and in what order, because I just don't know”. So the Spirit sorted out this substance, this truth, this reality about Christ. And I was happy and made a few neat remarks on a piece of paper, and said, “that is nice and that is good.”

That was about a week ago, and, during some recent walks, whenever I had a chance to walk and “rehearse” this Part VII with the Lord, He kept giving me new things. Even today, when I went to the Scriptures, the Lord showed me things, to the point that I had to rewrite my paper. I realized that in my first set of remarks I had big holes, and the Lord filled them up beautifully, but I had to change at least thirty percent of what I had done. Now I don't mind doing that, but at one point I had a thought, “why do I have to rush? I need time to `chew' on this and to give the Lord even the chance to perfect it in me first. December 19th or not, it doesn't matter, because I felt there is still so much more.” But that was just a thought, and I don't walk by only thoughts, usually. I walk by faith, and my faith said, “no, it is today.”

Praise God! We'll give today that which we received from the Lord. And I would like to thank the Lord for His Goodness, for His great, great Grace towards us all, and for His Love for us and for His Ways with us, which are so beautiful. And I believe we all thank Him for that from the bottom of our hearts.

“I desire Lord, that Your Spirit would carry the Words that I received from You for the purpose that they would do the work intended by You, in such hearts as You have chosen for Yourself. Amen.”

I don't know how long this is going to be, at this stage, and basically it does not matter. We're going back to that subtitle, “The Perfecting of the Saints”, and I would like to go to one Scripture which is basic to that, and you may recall this Matthew 5:48. The Lord speaks, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

If we should try to understand this by our brains alone, we would have to ask the Lord, “Are You really serious, saying this to us?” Now, the Lord was serious, but we don't understand what He meant and certainly our understanding and imagination cannot match the reality and the truth of these Words of our Lord.

Matthew chapter 5, (five means grace first of all), verse 48 is forty plus eight, and forty as we know is the number of testing, the number of trials. Forty years of Israel in the wilderness, forty years of Moses in the wilderness, forty days of the Lord in the wilderness, etc., and eight is a new beginning. So forty plus eight is 48, and I'm just saying this for the sake of interest. It may have no impact on our understanding but it shows the beauty of the Word of God also.

I would like to ask you a simple question, “Do you know to whom the Lord is speaking here?” Is it to Israel, is it to the Church, or is it to both? To whom is the Lord speaking? If we don't know maybe we should find out right now, because this is very important. I was shocked to realize, and I praise God for that, that the Lord is not speaking to the whole Church here. The Lord is not speaking to the whole Church!

If you reread verses 1 and 2 you will find out a truth, a reality, which we probably have not seen before. The Lord went up into a mountain (we are “climbing” a mountain — Mt.Zion), and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him and He opened His mouth and taught them. This so–called Sermon on the Mount was given to His disciples, and not to the multitudes! That is fact number one.

The Lord has also revealed to me a truth, which rightfully can be called a mystery because it has been a mystery. Well, it has been a mystery to me also, but not anymore. This is the mystery.

The saved ones are divided into four groups: (1) Multitudes, (2) Disciples, (3) Apostles, and (4) John the Beloved. The division goes from multitudes that no man can number, to one man. Number four pertains to the creation of God, namely to the earthly creation, and probably there are many signs that can point to this number four. We have four regions: north, south, east and west. We have four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. We have four parts of the day: morning, noon, evening and midnight. And we have even four gospels. So this number four is a number which pertains to the creation of God of that which is earthly, and which is supposed to become heavenly. That is fact number two.

So we should not be surprised that the Lord is dividing the Church into four groups. The multitudes, and out of the multitudes come disciples, and out of disciples come the apostles, which were twelve, and out of the apostles comes John, who was the beloved. Now to be sure the apostles typify here the ministers of God, those given to the Church by the Lord according to Ephesians chapter 4, (again `four') verses 11,12: “And he (the Lord) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

The twelve apostles of Christ typify all those later ministers and servants of God of Ephesians 4:11. John the Beloved typifies all those servants who love the Lord with all their heart.

Out of the multitudes, which is Israel at large, and the Church at large, the Lord is calling out disciples; and the disciples, we know, are those who continue in His Word. Do you remember that, from the Gospel of John? Disciples are those who continue in His Word. Let us go there, John 8:31,32. All those believers who decide in their hearts to continue in His Word, are called disciples, and the Lord says: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The multitudes will not know the truth and they shall not be set free, but the disciples will.

Out of these disciples, the Lord is calling out such who desire to minister to Him and to the Church. And out of the disciples He gave some apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, pastors. But not every disciple was given to the Church to minister Christ. I'm only talking about the true ministers, those who were really called by God, and not necessarily those who may have passed seminaries and gotten theological degrees. I'm talking about the true apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, pastors, etc., and they all are taken out from the disciples. They are not taken from the multitudes. Then out of these ministers the Lord is calling out such who love Him with all their heart, and they are typified by John the Beloved.

This is further shown quite clearly and proven in another part of the Word of God, which is the Song of Solomon. The Song of Solomon 6:8: “There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number”. Verse 9: “My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bear her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.”

Virgins without number are the multitudes. The concubines are the disciples. The queens are the servants of God and the dove is John the Beloved. This is the beauty of the Word of God, and this is the Mystery of Reality concerning the perfecting of the Saints. And we are just starting, because this pertains to and has impact on the reality of the perfection of the Saints.

As there are four groups within the Believers, and as there are four Gospels, there are also four different depths of love and four different depths of perfection. And I can say before the Lord very clearly and openly that His Love, with which He loves a sinner, or a Believer who just believed, a sinner turned Believer, that love is vastly different from the love with which He loves His disciples; and that love is different from the love with which He loves His true servants; and that love is different from the love with which He loves John the Beloved! Do you believe that? Does your spirit bear witness to that? That is fact number three.

There are different depths of love. And because of these depths of love, there are different depths and requirements for perfection. What the Lord demands from John the Beloved He does not demand from His apostles, prophets, teachers, or pastors. And what He demands from them He does not demand from His disciples, and what He demands from His disciples He does not demand from the multitudes.

Let us read several portions from the Book of Psalms. I'm sure that many Christians know that Psalms came from the heart of David. The heart of David was after the Lord, and his heart was judged perfect by the Lord. Psalm 9:1 and 2, they may not all pertain to perfection or how the Lord is perfecting His Saints, but I was not given these verses to reason with, but to drink them in, and they all have something to give us, even at this moment.

“I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.” No man can praise the Lord like this unless his heart was already remoulded, and unless his heart was already perfected to a certain degree.

Psalm 12:6, “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

Psalm 18:32, “It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.”

Psalm 19, and we commence from verse 7: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” This is a beautiful passage.

Psalm 25:9, “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” In verse 14 we may also learn to whom the Lord reveals His secrets or mysteries: “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant” (His reality).

Psalm 145, we go almost to the end of Psalms, verse 3: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”

Verses 8 to 12: “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.”

Verses 16 to 21: “Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”

We go back to Psalm 138 for a moment. Psalm 138:8, “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” And we may ask a question, “how is He doing it?” And while we are here in Psalms, let us go to one more. Psalm 139, let us read verses 23 and 24. David cries: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” And God answers this cry immediately.

Let us talk also about perfection and the perfect man, for a moment. Again, I would like to ask a question regarding Matthew 5:48, “was that truly the only command of God to man, to be perfect?” Well, I say no!

The first man declared perfect by the Lord's judgment is Noah. We should believe this and understand why. Genesis 6:9, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” Even though we may be wondering why he is called perfect, he is first of all called perfect “in his generations”, and his perfection may be found in verse 22: “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” That was the perfection of Noah. Whether Noah loved the Lord or how much, is another question, but Noah did everything that God commanded Him. Therefore, to that depth and to that degree he was judged perfect by the Lord.

The next man who was judged perfect was Job. Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright”, and in verse 8: “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” And the same is repeated in chapter 2, verse 3.

No one else is called perfect in the Scripture except these two, and yet there were more perfect men. But if the Lord commands us to be perfect, who are part of the Church, then certainly He must have done something similar to Abraham, who was the beginning of Israel and the Church. For we are also called the seed of Abraham, because everyone who walks by faith is the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:29). Surely enough we'll go to Genesis 17. The same Christ in His pre-incarnation appears to Abram, Genesis 17:1, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” This is the first time that God ever introduced Himself as the Almighty God to any human being. The Lord then commanded Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect, and so Abraham learned perfection.

Then the Lord commands Israel to be perfect in Deuteronomy chapter 18. This is the Song of Moses, and the Spirit of God through Moses talks to Israel. In verse 13 the Spirit says: “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.” And in verse 15: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me (meaning Moses); unto him ye shall hearken.” The Prophet, of course, is Christ. The Lord is prophesying there about Himself, and Israel is commanded to be perfect. In fact, the Lord says: “Thou shalt be perfect.”

The Church also is commanded to be perfect, and in addition to this Matthew 5:48, we are also going to 2Corinthians chapter 13. Apostle Paul writes to Corinth. We know that the Church of Corinth was rather carnal at that time, and the Spirit of God through Paul says in verse 11: “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.”

To be perfect is not an option! The Lord is not giving us options to choose how you feel, whether you want to be perfect or “lousy”. This is not an option, this is a command. The Lord commanded Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect; Abraham had no choices. The Lord said to Israel: “Thou shalt be perfect.” There is no choice here either, or less of one, and He commands the Church, “Be perfect.” Now, you may have noticed that in 2Corinthians 13:11, when Paul says: “Be perfect”, he speaks to the multitudes, he speaks to the virgins without number, and he tells them to be perfect — but NOT as the Father which is in Heaven! There is also a difference in the degree of perfection which the Lord demands from the Church at Corinth, and that which He demands from His disciples. Do you see that?

We have read Ephesians chapter 4 about the apostles, prophets, etc., who the Lord gave to the Church for the perfecting of the Saints. We will read a couple of verses where Paul testifies of this, that he is actually doing it. Colossians chpt.1, starting from verse 27: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”

That which was given in Ephesians 4 is now being confirmed in Colossians 1:28. Galatians 4:19, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” If Christ is being formed in anyone, then that man is being perfected. 2Timothy 3:16,17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

Now notice that this perfection talks about works. This is another proof or sign where we can see the difference, and a man can be instructed with profitable doctrine, can be corrected, can be made perfect and thoroughly furnished unto all `good works'... and meanwhile not necessarily loving the Lord! Let us also read a couple of verses which show the ways of the perfecting of the Saints.

For example, Colossians 4:12, I never had this verse underlined or coloured in any way, and whenever I read this I skipped it, until the Lord stopped me right there and said, “Read it”. “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, [a servant of Christ given to the Church according to Ephesians 4] saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” He is labouring in prayers, probably in intercessions also, that ye may stand perfect, that ye may be perfected and then stand perfect, remain perfect and complete in all the Will of God.

1Thessalonians, which is the next book, 3:10, “Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?” Here Paul talks about perfecting their faith, the Believers in Thessalonica.

This is a spiritual work ... praying exceedingly in Spirit means labouring in Spirit on behalf of somebody else. This is how the perfecting of the Saints is being done. We know that the faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom.10:17). So preaching, teaching, talking, discussing, sharing is important, because faith usually comes from such forms of ministry. But it is through prayer, it is through the labour in spirit that the individual is then brought into perfection, and that that faith which he received through that preaching, teaching, discussing, sharing may not only stand, but be strengthened and perfected so that he may use it. By using that faith the Believer obtains life, and that life is equated to perfection, because the life of Christ brings perfection.

Another question, very unconventional, that I desire you to ponder and reply is this: “When the Lord Jesus was born, was He perfect? Yes or No?” (Responses: No... No... As an infant? Yes). “As an infant or as a five year old boy, twelve years old or twenty eight ...was He born perfect? That is the question, yes or no?” Since there is a great quietness, let me say that I never pondered this question myself, you see. But when we talk about the perfecting of the Saints, the Lord brings these mysterious things out of the dark and He plainly shows them.

That is why we are recording “The Mystery of Reality”. The Reality is that the Lord Jesus was born NOT perfect. He was made imperfect! Let me repeat this to all the Church: the Lord Jesus Christ was made imperfect for our sakes. Just as He was made to be sin for our sakes. He was made to be sin for our sakes so that He can save us.

In 2Corinthians 5:19, the Word of God testifies to one important fact, that “God was in Christ”, right? In verse 21: “For he hath made him TO BE SIN for us [or for our sakes], who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

And I say equally that Jesus Christ was made imperfect for our sakes, so that He could learn obedience, and be made perfect through suffering. Hebrews 2:10, “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things [meaning Christ], in bringing many sons unto glory, to MAKE the captain of their salvation [meaning Jesus Christ] PERFECT through sufferings.” Chapter 5, we should know this part by now, verse 8: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And BEING MADE PERFECT, [through that suffering] he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”

Luke 13:31, “The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.”, meaning His resurrection. For after the resurrection even His body was made perfect and glorified. That is fact number four.

If, therefore, the Son of God was made to be sin for our sakes that He may save us, and we are saved and enjoy our salvation, then it is one of the greatest doctrines and truths of Christianity. Hence, we may say He was also made imperfect for our sakes. Then the question of perfection and the perfecting of the Saints is no less important to the Believers than the question of their salvation! Yet, I believe that Matthew 5:48 was never preached. The question of perfection was never preached because it just simply passed over all our imaginations and all our reasoning, and if it brought anything to our hearts it was fear and confusion; but not anymore.

Let us go back to Hebrews 5:9 (again, five is grace and nine is judgment), verse 9 says: “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that” ...like Him?, or that read about Him?, or that believe in Him ... but otherwise disobey Him? ... what word is used there? ... “that obey him.” Even our first repentance to get saved was an act of our obedience to the Christ of God. And when we were saved, (no wonder Paul continues in chapter 6, where six pertains to the sinfulness of human beings), in verse 1, he says: “Let us go on unto perfection.” This is another command of the Spirit to all those Believers who were already saved by obeying the call to their repentance. The same Spirit commands all of them: “Go on unto perfection.” Because some kind of perfection is required from everybody, and that perfection, that degree of perfection which is required, depends on our hearts.

In other words, Paul also says, “You multitudes, you virgins without number, go on, go on, become disciples; and you disciples, go on to become the true servants of God; and you true servants, go on to love the Lord with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength.” That is what this means. And those who don't go on, remain the multitudes. Every believer stops somewhere, and where he stops is dictated by his heart.

Of course, we are not making ourselves perfect. We cannot. We have to cooperate with God. He who makes us perfect is God and we should not be surprised at that. Hebrew 13:20,21, combined in this way: “Now the God of peace ...(now verse 21)... make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Again, Paul is praying to the God of peace to make the Hebrews perfect in every good work, so that we are again talking about perfection concerning “serving” the Lord, doing His Will. He is not talking about higher perfection.

Another revelation which the Lord is granting us tonight is the following. When we talk about perfecting the Saints, what are we really talking about ? When I asked myself that same question I was not quite sure, and so the Lord says: “The perfecting of a Saint means the perfecting of his fruit, the perfecting of his fruit.” You know the fruit of the Spirit, in Galations 5:22: love, joy, peace, faith, longsuffering, goodness, temperance, etc. That is fact number five.

The greatest of them is love, so let us go to love first and, of course, who would be talking about love but John the Beloved. In 1John 4, we know some of these parts in verse 6 for example, when he says: “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Verse 12: “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”

In verse 16: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect.”

We start with a love which may be pure and acceptable to the Lord, as is the love of our children acceptable to us. But as I said before, there are different kinds of love and different depths of love. Even that love with which we start to love the Lord must be perfected, for usually every fruit of every tree, when it is the first fruit, or when it first starts growing, is not very acceptable. That fruit must ripen, that fruit must be perfected in order that it may become absolutely satisfying, pleasant, sweet, juicy, etc.

So our love must be perfected. When our love is perfected then are we like unto David, who wrote the Book of Psalms, and who was the Beloved of the Lord in the Old Testament, and the counterpart of John the Beloved. And when we love the Lord then we are where He is, which means we abide in Him.

The Gospel of John 12:26, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be.” In chapter 19 of the same Gospel of John, these are some of the little shocks that the Lord is giving us tonight to see the reality. John 19:25, “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved ...” That disciple whom He loved, John the Beloved, was standing by the cross of Jesus. Where the Lord was, there was John! And where were the others? Nowhere in sight.

Do you see why John is the Beloved? Where the Lord is, there is John.

We also know very well that during the last supper when the Lord said: “..., that one of you shall betray me.” (Jn.13:21), everybody was stunned and everybody said to ask John, because he was right there leaning against His bosom. There was John leaning against the bosom of the Lord (vs.23), and where were the others? Do you see the picture?

Where are we now? Are we where the Lord is? Or are we everywhere else? I just derailed for a moment to show you these things. The love of the Lord for John could not be compared to His love for anybody else, because that love was deep, just as the love of John was deep for Him, and it showed in his life and in his deeds. He was devoted to Him in every way. No wonder that the Lord had appeared to him again at the end of the history of writing the Bible and had given him the Book of Revelation! In fact, to John the Lord has shown Himself and the Father and the things in Heaven. And John was the only one who was not really killed or murdered.

Deep love calls for deep love! Psalm 42:7, I am sidetracking again because this is important. Psalm 42:7 says: “Deep calleth unto deep.” Shallow love doesn't need deep love, shallow patience doesn't need deep patience, shallow joy doesn't need deep joy, and shallow faith does not ever call for deep faith. And these are Mysteries of Reality, also.

Love made perfect ... 1Kings ... I would never go there from 1John, but apparently the Lord has different ways. 1Kings 11:4, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.” Verse 6: “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.” Apparently this tells us that not only was David perfect in his heart towards the Lord, and that he went fully after the Lord, but this also tells us that love towards the Lord, obedience towards the Lord, is not inherited! Put an exclamation mark after that.

Isaiah 26, and this is not a sidetracking. Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” To keep in perfect peace means to perfect our fruit of peace. That fruit must be perfected too, because if our mind is not renewed by the Spirit it cannot stay on the Lord. So certain perfection of the mind must come.

The renewal of the spirit of the mind according to the Book of Ephesians (4:23) again: “Be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind,” produces the fruit of peace. And that fruit of peace must also be perfected, for some people have peace for five minutes, and others for five hours. What we should have is peace for 50 years, at least. That is a perfected peace.

From Isaiah to James chapter 2. Faith must be perfected also. James 2:22, “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” Faith which is not being perfected through works or by works can never produce pleasure in the Lord, and can never produce the fruit of that faith, which is works — because works are the fruit of that faith. Again, I believe that our faith can be very, very small, bitter, unpleasant fruit, before it is perfected. This was certainly the fruit which was perfected in Abraham, who was called the man of faith.

Patience must be perfected. We are in James, chapter 1:4, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” And the patience is being worked out through the trying of our faith. This is also the way the Lord is perfecting the Saints. In verse 2: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” We NEVER count this as joy, we count it as a misery, a terrible thing. We should count it as joy, knowing that the trying of our faith works patience!

As we said some time ago, temptation is not sin! Even the Lord was tempted at all points, as we are, yet without sin (Heb.4:15). Therefore, temptation is not sin. Yielding to it begins sin. Resisting it tries our faith and works out patience, and patience, therefore, can have her perfect work. This is how we are perfected.

Holiness must be perfected in us. 2Corinthians 7:1, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Meekness, temperance, and goodness must also be perfected. James 3:2, “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man.” To my faith that means meekness, temperance, and goodness, and if these are in us and are perfected, they make us unable to offend anybody. Therefore they make us perfect according to James 3:2.

Finally, talking about bringing fruit to perfection, let us go to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8. There again is the parable of the sower, and in verse 14, the Lord says: “And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Bringing the fruit to perfection.

Let us now read a few more verses concerning a perfect man. The first is in the Gospel of Luke, we are still there, chapter 6, the Lord speaks in verse 40: “The disciple is not above his master [which means above Christ Himself]: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” In other words, every one of the disciples; and again, the Lord is not even talking about the multitudes. He starts from the disciples, because only starting from the disciples, those who are willing to continue in His Word (which means in Himself, because His Word is He, Himself — Jn.1:1), only those have a chance to end up in the perfection of Himself. And every one who is perfect or made perfect shall be as his master, shall be as Christ.

Romans 8:29, where we can read from verse 28, which we all know very well, and it tries us every day: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God [the word love is there], to them who are the called according to his purpose.” It is not them who love to work for God, but to them who love God. Verse 29: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.” There we have it again: the disciple made perfect shall be as Christ. This is the same thing.

In 2Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed [or are being changed] into the same image from glory to glory, [from smaller glory to greater glory] even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Colossians 3:10, “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him”, which is Christ.

Before concluding I would like to ask you another question. This time I would like to have some answers, and the question is this: “Are we perfect or are we not perfect?” (We have plenty of tape, brother H says, so we can wait.) “Are we perfect or are we not perfect, yes or no?” Well, I will help you. If you have listened to or read some previous portions of the Mystery of Reality, I asked you a similar question: “Are you dead or are you not dead?” And what did you say? (“Some were dead and some were not”). And what was the answer? We are BOTH (dead and living) — and so are we here. We are perfect — and we are not perfect! And this is the truth of God.

Let us go to 1Corinthians. You see, once the principle of God applies to one aspect, then it applies to all. This cannot be different here. I can also say, “I am blind and I am not blind - at the same time; I am deaf and yet I hear; I am stupid and also I am wise ...” It depends on how you interpret this, how you see the Reality. Because in ourselves we are all stupid and every Christian is stupid, and yet we are also wise — IF we are in Christ! There is no wisdom outside of Christ.

It is true, then, when we say that a Christian is as blind as a bat, or that he can see. The Lord spoke to people who had two ears, and He told them: “he among you, who has an ear to hear, let him hear” (see Rev.2:7,11,17,etc.). That was strange, everybody had two ears, but they were all deaf.

Let us go to 1Corinthians 2:6. Paul says: “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect.” So I may ask: “where are they?” I haven't met any to this day, including myself, so Paul must have been “a lucky man”, since he found the perfect.

Again, if we don't understand the reality, we don't see the reality. How are we going to interpret this, how are we going to understand this? Suddenly Paul writes to Corinth that he speaks wisdom among them that are perfect. So what kind of perfection is that, would you say? Well, I would say they are perfect to hear, they are perfect to apply that wisdom. That kind of perfection may even be in the Believers of the Church of Corinth, among the babes.

In other words, the Lord is judging our heart, and the ability of our heart to follow Him as fully as the perfection of that heart. Now, we may have just started walking with the Lord, but if we set our heart to fully follow Him, that heart being far, far from clean and wise and perfect, yet, in the eyes of the Lord at that time, that heart is “perfect“. Do we understand that?

Well, let us see another one in Philippians 3:15, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.”

As many as be perfect ... well, what Paul means by that, and he says: “Let us ... as many as be perfect...” is that, again, he talks about partial perfection. Perfection of the heart and mind that is set to keep walking by the same rule, to keep following the same thing, to keep doing the same ministry; that means that perfection, because in verse 12 he says: “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” So when Paul claims that he is not yet perfect, then nobody else can, and we truly cannot be perfect before we meet Christ in person. It seems to my heart that this is impossible.

So are we perfect or are we not? We are already perfect in the same sense as we are already alive, and as we are already saved, and as we are already glorified, and as we are already ascended and seated in heaven. That is the Word of God in Ephesians 2:6, and in that same sense we are already perfect. So where we are now following, heading — is where we already are! I am going towards my own perfection, I know where my perfection is.

Let me say this as for myself now. Do you remember that at one of our meetings I shared with you verse 14 of Philippians chapter 3? Well, I'd like to conclude by this. Verse 14 says: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” We all shared about the Word, “I press”, and I asked you to underline that Word, “I press”. What we do, in fact, by meeting together, is part of that pressing, that going on.

But I would like to say something further to this verse of the Scripture: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”, where the high calling of God in Christ Jesus is my perfection. I press towards my perfection, because only through that can I truly satisfy God. And I am not only pressing toward the perfection which is for the multitudes, but I am pressing toward the perfection that the Lord revealed to me, and I will not be satisfied with anything less than with the high calling of God in Christ Jesus which was shown to me.

I am not really sure if many, many Christians know their calling, which means their perfection in Christ, or if they are even interested in knowing that, but I can tell you one thing. I press toward that perfection because of my heart and not because somebody told me to press. Because if somebody has to tell you to press, and then even hire a bulldozer to help you, then you'll never get there. Do you hear me?

If somebody has to tell you to press, and if somebody has to tell you what your calling is, then you have to keep going to the Lord and asking Him for it; because your calling, therefore your perfection, depends on your heart. Your heart will tell you whether you are or you are not in the multitudes, whether we were all taken out from the multitudes. Thank God ... “thank You Lord”.

I believe we are all disciples because we continue in the Lord's Word... how well is another story. The Lord may judge how we continue in His Word, but at least we decided in our heart, and our heart would be inclined to continue in His Word. That is between your heart and the Lord, and whether your heart and your perfection is called to be higher than that, this you have to receive from the Lord if you don't know it yourselves.

Now this also shows the Beauty of the Lord and the Grace of the Lord, that you are not really pushing everybody from the multitudes to become apostles, or prophets, or John the Beloved.

The Lord is not pushing anyone. The Lord has given a commandment and the greatest commandment of all is: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” (Mk.12:30) But the Lord knows who will do it and who will not. I might add that the Lord works also according to that calling which He has upon everyone, so that, because He knows the heart, He knows the future, He foreknows, He predestinates, so He can work according to that Reality.

But many times we may not be aware of where we stand, and therefore, if this Mystery of the Perfecting of the Saints should not be a mystery to us or any Believer anymore, then that Believer should keep going to the Lord and asking Him for this revelation: “where do I stand with my heart, because where my heart stands, there stands my perfection and my high calling?”

* * *

“I Thank You Lord, for this revelation and for this light and for Your Grace and for this Part of Yourself, because Your living Words can be equated with Yourself. And this is the Truth that You are giving us concerning the perfecting of the Saints. How it is done, why it is done, with whom it is done, to what degree it is done, and all the other things, Lord, and it is all in Your Word, Lord, and it is perfect and it is beautiful.

And I pray, Lord, that we all would know our high calling, so that it would not be a question of pressing because it is written, but because it is pressed by our own hearts and that Your Word would only confirm that which our hearts already know.

This is my prayer for every Believer, Lord, because this Truth applies to everyone who was ever saved by You and who is going to be perfected by You, because You are Perfect, Lord, and greatly to be praised. And we praise You, Lord, according to Your Greatness and according to Your Beauty and Your Perfection. AMEN.”

PART VIII — NEW BEGINNINGS

Today is Friday, March 5th, 1993. This is Part VIII of the message from the Lord, “The Mystery of Reality”, and I would like to subtitle this part: “New Beginnings”.

“Thank You Lord Jesus for Your marvellous Grace and for all that You are giving to us through that Grace. All that comes from You is vital for us, for our own life and progress and service towards You, towards the Church, towards ourselves, and vital for our future. Thank You Lord Jesus. I ask You to sort out these riches that You have granted to us again, so that they may be shared in the right order, in the right words and through Your Spirit. Amen.”

All things, dead and living, were created by God, as it were, in cycles or new beginnings. And these words “cycle, new beginning” I'm going to use quite often throughout the message. Cycle would mean a new beginning. By the way, the number eight typifies “new beginning”.

Well, everything cycles. Everything goes through new beginnings. The Lord has been showing this so clearly and this concerns all His Creation. Our own life cycles within us, in fact even right now, and you may be asking: “we are sitting here so quietly and listening, what is cycling here, what is going on through new beginnings?” Let me give a couple of examples. The air cycles in and out of our lungs, whether we are aware of it or not, and if this cycle should stop you would stop listening to this message. Your life would stop in a very short time.

The words that are being spoken are, in fact, cycles. Sound, as you know, travels in waves. Waving is cycling that hits your eardrums and excites them, and they cycle in the same way. This cycling is transmitted by nerves to the brain, which also cycles in the same way. The mind then interprets that cycle (what it means) and tells you whether or not you understand what is being said. Now, if these eardrums would stop cycling, or the brain would stop cycling, you would hear nothing.

The very blood cycles in us right now. The good “old pump” called the heart works day and night, new beginning, new cycle, and the life is in the blood and that is Scriptural (Gen.9:4, Lev.17: 11). Should this pump stop and this cycling stop, our life would stop. These are very living examples of cycles, or new beginnings, as the Lord is showing them to us concerning our very own life, and we are not aware of these things. This cycling goes on day and night, whether we are asleep or awake.

In fact, our whole body cycles. We don't see it, we don't feel it. Every cell of our body is composed of atoms. And as we know, every atom is like a miniature solar system, with the sun being the nucleus and the electrons being the planets, and they cycle. But they cycle at neck-breaking speeds, and I wonder what would happen if this cycling would stop in the very atoms that the Lord created. Our bodies would probably fall apart into thin air. Even the furniture on which we are sitting would fall apart, because it is composed of these same atoms that cycle.

Whatever we do is cycling; even if we just walk, walking is cycling, it's a new beginning. We put one foot in front of the other; one, two, one, two... repetition — cycling, without it we would get nowhere. Swimming is cycling.

We compared our walk with the Lord to rowing in a boat, and rowing is cycling. You take your oar and put it into the water, pull, take it out, put it back into the water, pull it — new beginning.

Even working in shifts is cycling; working, resting, working, resting, eating. We have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tomorrow we will have the same `old' breakfast, the same `old' lunch and the same `old' dinner, day after day after day. I do not mean the same food for dinner, but the same type, the same cycling, new beginnings. Is that not so? We may not realize that!

Time itself is created by cycles. One year is made by the earth circling around the sun and returning back. That defines one year, and when the earth cycles around its axis it defines one day. Should the Lord stop the earth we can throw our calendars to the garbage, and our watches as well, because we could not tell what hour, of what day, of what month, of what year we are in. We would lose the time, we would lose the sense of time. In fact, these things were created to define years and months and weeks, etc. (Gen.1:14)

The cycling of crystals makes quartz watches, and without the cycling of crystals there would be no quartz watches. The cycling of atoms makes atomic clocks, and without it there would be no atomic clocks. Everything is cycling.

Wherever you look into the Creation of God there is cycling, there is movement, there are new beginnings. And by new beginnings in certain areas of our life we may also say that new beginnings are new opportunities. So this is how God created all His Creation that we can observe, that we can see, touch, hear, understand. Therefore, I can repeat that all things dead and living were created by God in cycles, in new beginnings.

Now, since we also know that God created the physical creation in the way that we may have guidance or certain understanding of the spiritual world, then we can say that similar cycling exists in the spiritual world. Cycling is not only in the physical world, and so we are going to share these two areas of physical cycling or physical new beginnings, and spiritual cycling or spiritual new beginnings.

Part A: Physical New Beginnings.

I'm saying these things again to lay down a certain foundation and to give a kind of skeleton to this whole fact and reality of God's Creation. This is so that we would not just jump headlong into some aspects of the work of God without knowing the reality on which it is based.

In the area of physical new beginnings, physical cycles, I have divided them into nine.

(1) Millennial Cycles — These are the largest cycles and each is composed of one thousand years. As we know, seven millennia were apportioned for mankind by God in or within this physical creation. Six are almost gone, and one more is waiting for us. I call these millennial cycles a “Song of Mankind”. And I will explain myself more when I return to this part a little later.

(2) Annual Cycles — Well, we all know that each December 31st at midnight, the earth comes to the same point to complete one cycle and begin a new one. We call it New Year — January 1st, 00:00 hours. We drink, we eat, we make merry, but nothing unusual is happening. The earth completes one cycle and starts a new one. An annual cycle.

There is one aspect of this that will be very important to realize later on, and that aspect is that I believe that the earth never ends up in the same spot in Space. Because I believe that the solar system is moving in Space, therefore, this cycling is a spiralling! The cycles form spirals, the same way that we row in a boat. We put our oars into the water and we row. And when we put our oars back into the water, we don't put them into the same spot because our boat is moving, so the next cycle starts further away. Otherwise we would be standing still and not moving away. So it is with the earth cycling around the sun.

(3) Seasonal Cycles — There are four seasons each year, in which I believe spring typifies birth, summer typifies full life or mature life, fall typifies growing old, and winter typifies death. It's a cycle of life and death which the Lord is showing us every year. It also shows a fact of resurrection, because after each winter a new spring comes; a new resurrection and a new life starts from something which seemed so dead.

(4) Monthly Cycles — There are twelve months to a year. Twelve, as we know, is “governmental perfection” (there were 12 apostles). Furthermore, each cycle is governed by a new moon, and the moon, as we know, typifies the Church. So each month we can see all the phases of the Church because it goes from new moon to full moon and to new moon again. It cycles like this every month and it shows us the phase of the Church several times each year.

(5) Weekly Cycles — The first day of the week, Sunday, is also the eighth day of the week: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday being the seventh day. The eighth day, Sunday, is the same as the first. So Sunday, the eighth day, is a new beginning, a new week, and I call these weekly cycles: “Song of Our Life ... Song of Our Personal Life”. Why? The only other thing that cycles in the same way is music. Each octave has eight notes: C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C, so the eighth note is exactly the same as the first, being `C' — except it's not the same in tone, as every musician knows; but it's the same in letter, so `C' can be equated to Sunday, etc. It's a musical week basically, and this cycling, which was created by the Lord, is the same as the weekly cycles. Because of that I'm calling weekly cycles the “Song of our Life”.

In fact, our meetings are also weekly cycles. We sing our spiritual life weekly by meeting once a week.

I can return now to the millennial cycles. I called them the “Song of Mankind” because the seven millennia form a week. One week, each day meaning one thousand years, as this is the perception of the Lord. Let us go to the Scriptures. We will go to the Scriptures from place to place to see the Word of God. 2Peter 3:8: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” This mankind goes through one week of seven days, so Bethlehem and the Calvary and the Pentecost happened just two days ago in the perception of the Lord, so He is not very slow. It is our perception of time that is different.

Therefore, this week of seven days, each being one thousand years long, is a week of the whole of mankind, and that's why I called it a “Song of Mankind”. How it is “sung” though, I don't know; probably very badly and out of tune, so far, but it is a song nevertheless.

(6) Daily Cycles — Daily cycles typify the cycling of light and darkness. Light typifies good or goodness and darkness typifies evil. Hence, every day the Lord reminds us of the existence and the war between good and evil, for He created both good and evil (Is.45:7); and our whole life is cycled through these two.

(7) Hourly Cycles — There are twelve hours in a day and twelve hours in a night. Again, twelve is “governmental perfection” which means both the day (which is the light) and the night (which is the darkness); and they perfectly govern our life. We cannot disregard them, we cannot neglect them, we cannot change them. We are subjected to them and they shall perfectly govern our life until night is removed. This means the darkness is removed, which means the evil is removed, and that will be in the New Creation. Revelation 21:25: “And the gates of it [the New Jerusalem] shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.” The cycling of light and darkness will cease. The night shall be removed and with it the darkness, which also typifies deception and evil.

(8) Minute Cycles — We all know there are sixty minutes in one hour. Sixty is five times twelve, which is “Grace” times “governmental perfection”.

(9) Second Cycles — There are sixty seconds to one minute. I know there are smaller cycles than that, but I'm not mentioning any others.

The Lord in His Word is using all of them, from number two to seven. He is using years, seasons, months, weeks, days, and hours.

Every man who ever lived was subjected to all these cycles. Because we have a body which is of this earth and because we live on this earth, which defines time by its rotation, therefore we all go through this cycling. At times I believe we are aware of this, especially when we have to get up early in the morning every day, whether it's summer or winter.

This I am sharing to show the beauty of the Lord's Creation, the order, the Wisdom of the Lord, and that this is a reality of His Creation which goes far, far deeper than what I just mentioned now.

Part B: Spiritual New Beginnings.

As was already mentioned in Part VII, the number which pertains to the physical Creation of God is four. Hence, I am dividing this spiritual cycling to four groups.

(1) — The largest cycle, which of course is from eternity to eternity, is the cycle from Genesis 1:1 to Revelations 22:21. This is the largest physical cycle and this one is divided into two spiritual cycles: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament was four thousand years long, and the New Testament is three thousand years long. Strictly speaking, the Old Testament starts with God giving the Law which is described in Exodus chpt.20, and ends when this Old Testament is fulfilled. This is when God comes as the Son of Man, in the person of Christ, and fulfils His Own Law and dies. This is also part of that Testament, and by the death of the Testator the Testament was enforced and also ends by the death of Christ.

The New Testament begins immediately thereafter. In fact, I believe there is a three day gap between the two. The New Testament begins when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, passes through death and is resurrected, and instead of giving Law, He gives Grace. This is the beginning of the New Testament. The end of the New Testament is when the Grace is accomplished, when the Church is built, when the Kingdom of Heaven is established, and when all things dead and living will have been judged. This Last Judgment is in Revelation chpt.20, and is described there quite vividly.

These are the two main spiritual cycles that divide the largest physical cycle. We live in and under the New Testament, which means under Grace. We will mention later on that, in fact, being alive in 1993 does not mean that we all are living in the New Testament.

(2) — Our own earthly life also comes from eternity and returns to eternity, but instead of lasting seven thousand years, it lasts seventy, or it should (Ps.90:10). And this earthly life, this cycle, which also, as it were, “pops out” of eternity and returns, is also divided into two spiritual cycles: Old Testament and New Testament, pre-salvation and post-salvation, old life and new life; you can choose any of these three labels.

Now we know that the old life is based on flesh, the new life is based on the spirit. The flesh, which means the outward man, is perishing and will perish the same way as the Old Testament perishes. Let's go to Hebrews 8:10: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; [meaning the New Covenant, the New Testament], I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Verse 13: “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old [so the Old Covenant is old]. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

The Old Covenant is vanishing away the same way our outward man is vanishing away and perishing. But the soul and spirit, which is our inner man, is the new beginning which returns to eternity and will never perish. In fact, it is being renewed day by day. 2Corinthians 4:16: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

We said that our life also starts from eternity and returns to eternity after appearing for a little time. James 4:14 describes it: “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

As we know, parents only give us our flesh. The Gospel of John 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Therefore our parents only gave us our flesh, which had no life, but God gives us the spirit which makes us into a living soul. It takes His Spirit to make us into a living soul, to make dead flesh into a living soul. Genesis 2:7 tells us the same thing, because this is what the Lord did with Adam: ”And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Equally, the Lord God formed us, every one of us, from the dust of the ground, because in our flesh there is nothing different in terms of material than is in the dust of the earth. And after thus forming us in the womb of the mother, He then breathed His breath of life, otherwise we would be born dead. Do you believe that? Then we complete our life cycle and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns unto God Who gave it. Are you still in Genesis? Genesis 3:19: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” ... we all know that. Ecclesiastes 12:7, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” That completes the cycle of our life. From eternity to eternity.

And so we said that this earthly life is divided into pre-salvation and post-salvation cycles. Let us forget the pre-salvation cycle, because there is not much that is interesting to be mentioned, except the fact that there was cycling also, spiritual cycling whereby the Father cycled us towards our salvation, through new beginnings. He was drawing us towards salvation (Jn.6:44), we were spiralling towards salvation. The heart was in preparation for salvation (Pr.16:1). But apart from that there was nothing much happening or interesting there, and we should rather forget that period of our life and share our post-salvation cycle.

There is one note that I should attach right here, and it is this: Those who are never saved, which means pagans, remain in the pre-salvation cycle even though the post-salvation cycle exists for them too. Yet they never enter in, so that we may also say that they live in 1993, yet they live under the Old Testament! They never entered the cycle of the New Testament because they refused the Grace; and because they refused the Grace they must live under the Law. There is no other choice for any living thing. Therefore, in the Last Judgment books shall be opened, and they will be judged according to the Law and not according to Grace. So, it is “too bad” that they never entered into the New Testament cycle and therefore never entered the post-salvation cycle.

(3) — The post-salvation cycle in our life depends on when we were saved, being very young, middle-aged, or very old; so its length depends on that. Irrespective of its length, this cycle has many, many other cycles, smaller cycles. Big new beginnings, or milestones, all depend on our calling. So I repeat that our post-salvation cycle has many, many other cycles, smaller or bigger, new beginnings, milestones — and they all depend on our calling (1Cor.7:17). And our calling depends on our heart!

Now this post-salvation cycle can again be divided into two basic cycles, or new beginnings: one is the overcomer's cycle, and the other is the non-overcomer's cycle. Let us go to the Book of Revelation. Chapters 2 and 3 contain, and we should know by now, the “last correspondence” of the Lord towards the Church, where He is sending His last seven letters to the Churches of Asia Minor. This typifies the different phases of the Church, the different types of the Church, the different periods of the Church as well.

You will notice very clearly, if you have not noticed already, that in every letter the Lord divides each Church into two: the overcomers and the non-overcomers. And if there is any promise it is given only to the overcomers; and the non-overcomers are either warned or are given some direction of what to do. And the Lord speaks of the works of that Church, and the Lord mentions that which He may like or dislike about that Church, but He always finishes by speaking to them who overcome. That clearly divides the Church into the overcomers and the rest.

I say and believe that the so-called cycling or new beginnings for overcomers are totally different than those for the non-overcomers. The basic difference or feature of the overcomer's cycling or new beginnings is that the “net” cycling is upward. It is spiralling upward. Every new beginning brings an overcomer in its net effect upward, which means towards heaven. On the other hand, for the non-overcomers, the net effect of the cycling is downward, or it is a “yo-yo” system, or it is a stagnation, or it is a “merry-go-round”.

Let us go to Revelation chpt.22, which is the last chapter of the last Book, and I will read verses 11 to 13: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still [we may also say: let him be unjust `still more']: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still [more]: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still [more]: and he that is holy, let him be holy still [more]. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” These are the Words of the Lord Himself.

We have shared verse 11 before, at least once. Verse 11 is not an option; it is a command of the Lord! Therefore you either go up or you go down. He who is filthy and desires to remain filthy shall become more filthy; and he that is righteous and desires to remain righteous will become more righteous, and he will be presented new beginnings to become more righteous. And he that is holy and desires to be holy shall be made more holy.

Now we all know that when we are saved we are filthy through-out, we are sinful, we are sinners. We are unrighteous and we are filthy both in flesh and in spirit. After we are saved=redeemed (by expressing our faith in Christ — Rom.10:9-10) we remain the same, except that our past sins are forgiven (washed away), that is the only difference! Therefore, every new believer starts from this horrible state of affairs, and if there are Christians who believe that after salvation they are clean and holy, they are very, very wrong.

Let us go to 2Corinthians 7:1, where Paul writes: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Paul, the Apostle of Christ, says, “Let us...”. He doesn't even take himself out. He acknowledges writing to the Church at Corinth that we Christians are filthy; not only in the flesh but also in the spirit! Therefore he who is filthy according to 2Corinthians 7:1 and desires to remain filthy, “let him be filthy still more”, says the Lord in Revelation 22:11. His cycling is downward, it is a spiral that is downward. Eventually such a Christian may fall right out of the New Testament, which means out of Grace (Heb.6:4-6).

That's what a downward spiral means; you spiral out of the main cycle, which is the cycle of Grace, the Dispensation of Grace, the new beginning for Mankind who were not able to keep the Law, or fulfil the Law. Of course, the Law could not make anybody perfect anyway (Heb.7:19).

Overcomers' cycles are cycling upward. The same verse 11 in Revelations 22 attests to that, because overcomers desire to get out of this position of filthiness and sinfulness and darkness and evil and deception. 2Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” This is the upward cycling. These are the new beginnings that lead to a spiral upwards. We are being changed from lesser glory to higher glory, from lower holiness to higher holiness, from smaller righteousness to greater righteousness. This is the upward spiral for the overcomers. We already read, I believe, chapter 4:16: “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” It is a daily cycle of renewal, a new beginning for the inward man, spirit and soul.

For the non-overcomers this downward spiral, as we said, can lead to the falling out of the main cycle of the New Testament, or of Grace, and we know that portion of Hebrews 6:4-6. I'm mentioning it only for completeness and for those who may not yet know it. Hebrews 6:4-6 speaks about the falling out of the New Testament cycle, the falling out of Grace. Those who once were made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away (if they spiral downward until they fall away), it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance (bring them back under Grace). There is no chance to cycle back.

So, for the non-overcomers the cycles are usually circles; a merry-go-round where they turn around in circles, and after a while they know all the familiar faces and all the familiar circumstances, and everything turns around but nothing changes. That's a religious merry-go-round and most of the Churches are right there.

Revelation 2:24,25: “But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already, hold fast till I come.” In a very loose translation it means: `Hang in there !' To put no other burden, the Lord means: “I will not set any new beginnings for you, I'm not putting you through any higher cycles, hang in there, hang on to that merry-go-round.” This is stagnation. Thank God there is such an option, otherwise all those who would not be overcomers would be (eventually) blotted out of the Book of Life (Rev.3:5). That would not be a very pleasant option.

Revelation 3:15,16: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” This is not a very pleasant option either, but this is also stagnation.

When you are hot you are climbing, when you are cold you are descending, and when you are lukewarm you are `hanging there.' From experience I myself know, and I'm sure many, many other Christians would know, that there is a “yo-yo” type of cycling for non-overcomers, where one month or one week they are up and in the next week they are down. If a “Revival” comes, the Church seems to be up, but when the Revivalist leaves, the Church is right back down; and so this “yo-yo” system goes on and on.

(4) — Detail Cycling — We have also detail cycling within the post-salvation cycle ... detail new beginnings. Now this ought to be more practical for us also, because whether the earth turns upside down or turns in circles or ellipses doesn't mean much to us, or may not have any practical effect on our life, but all these detail cycles which the Lord has prearranged do have a practical effect on our life. Do you believe we all go through such cycles?

Can an overcomer cycle downward also at times, or not? I believe he can, not only because of my own experiences, but also because the Word of God says so. Stay in the Book of Revelation for a while, and let us read one particular verse in chapter 2, where the Lord speaks to the Church of Ephesus. I don't really know in what year the Lord gave this message to John the Beloved, and I don't really know when the Church of Ephesus was established by Paul. Maybe there were forty or fifty years between these two events, I'm not sure, but that is immaterial. The Lord said to the Church of Ephesus, in verse 4: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else ...”

This is a spontaneous sharing, so let me say this. The Lord gave me this same Word also some time ago. Why? Because I believe no Believer is an exception, and whoever fell in love with the Lord as the Ephesians did, at one point or another departed from their first love! Why? Because it is natural, and we all do walk in natural ways before our love is sufficiently perfected.

So the Lord brings us back to this same cycle. We must return to our first love. This is our cycle, and we return to our first love, and we accomplish this cycle by repenting to the Lord. And after we do, we will return, but not to the same point, because the second love will be better than the first, because it will be more matured!

Did we not mention in one of the previous messages that the perfection of the Saints dwells in the perfecting of their fruits? Do we remember that? It is right here. How the fruit is perfected is through cycling, you see. We plant an apple tree and it brings forth the first fruits; apples about one inch in diameter, green and bitter. We don't eat those, I'm sure. What must happen is that the tree must shed its first fruits and die as it goes through the winter. And if it passes through the winter it will be resurrected in the spring to bring forth the second set of fruits, and they are better. And after a few cycles, a few years, that tree will start bringing the fruits that every gardener would love to eat and have in his garden: nice, big, red, juicy, sweet apples. So our fruit, I believe, is perfected through cycling.

If we have left our first love and then repent and return, we don't return to the same point. We will return higher than that. We will spiral upward. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen.”

Now, an overcomer can fall down, but the Lord reminds him of that and arranges a cycle to bring him back, and also higher. So, in detail cycling like this, we have cycles of love and works of love, which are right there in Revelation 2:4,5. We have cycles of faith and works of faith, Revelations 3:3: “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.” What we have received and what we have heard is first faith, because faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom.10:17).

Therefore, we ought to remember how we have received in the first place. We must get back, we must return to that basic faith, which must be matured. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine what the Lord is doing? He will return us to the original faith, and yet we will not end up only there, but we will end up higher. But we will have completed a cycle, a spiral, and the same goes for every fruit.

This may apparently not have anything to do with it, but let us read 1Timothy 5:11,12: “But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.” ... They have cast off their first faith. They have nothing to return to, they have cut the cycle, they are spiralling downward. There is damnation waiting. When we cast off our first faith, first love, first fruits, we face damnation, because we face a spiral downward.

Is there a new opportunity, a new beginning? There always is, IF WE REPENT! Repentance simply means “the turning away from our ways”, which means from our cycling. We will not be following the same old cycle, which is downward. By repentance we turn away and we start an upward cycle. It is a new beginning!

Titus 3:10,11: “A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.” A heretic in the true Church of Christ is allowed “two downward cycles”, and after that we are not supposed to go (continue) with him. We shall let him cycle downward. Do you see that? You are supposed to turn around and say: “Good-bye, brother ... this is not the direction I am taking.”

We experience cycles in our own life, in this body, and each of us, I am sure, experiences certain milestones, certain new beginnings. We (in this home church) don't have to go too far into the past, just a year or two ago we had a new beginning also (shaking — see Part VI). Every one of us is going through a different cycle. The reason for this is that the Lord wanted to bring us to a higher ground, to a higher level. Upward cycling means spiralling and of necessity must bring you higher.

As we rise higher we leave the darkness, we leave the deception, we leave foolishness, we leave presumptions. We are rising higher, we are coming more and more into the Reality of God (S.of S.4:8). Right? And as we are getting into the Reality of God, we are enabled to do things we never did before; to love and serve Him in ways we never knew before.

We may not even know today how to serve the Lord, but if we don't, then that cycle will be prepared for us. But we all went through cycling. We also know that three of our former members did not continue with us (since 1991), because they were hardly ever cycling upwards. They were cycling downwards, spiralling downward or stagnating. Therefore, we cannot go on with someone who is running in a circle, or spiralling downward while we are spiralling upward. That is an impossibility. The time comes when these two spirals must be divided and separated.

Now, in the past we even shared certain larger cycles, or new beginnings or milestones, and we may see them more clearly than others. But there are hundreds and hundreds of smaller cycles that we may not notice. There may be daily cycles and weekly cycles. Many times with many Believers, and that should include us too, we must be aware that somehow for days or weeks or months, or even years, the same circumstances seem to be around! We are going through the same problems, through the same circumstances, we are feeling the same pain, the same suffering, we meet the same walls; everything seems to be the same. And after a while they may disappear, and after two or three months they are back, and we may ask ourselves, “Well, what's going on?” Well, it is cycling ... it is cycling.

In fact, some Christians may experience the same problems, the same difficulties, the same circumstances for years. They never seem to get out, and yet, the Lord keeps cycling. Have you experienced such things? I'm sure.

There is still much to say, but I would like to mention just one more fact, one more reality that touches the cycling and new beginnings that the Lord keeps arranging for us. Why is there a need for such cycling anyway in the first place? I asked the Lord this simple question: “Why is that? Why do we have to go through seemingly the same problems, the same circumstances many times over?” I believe the Lord has given me an answer which I would like to share with you.

First of all, I would like to read from Job 14:19, the first part of it only: “The waters wear the stones.” The waters wear the stones, and I believe we also have some examples of that. Some of these canyons or caves were formed by water, running water, cycling water. Water dripping on the hardest stone will make a hole in it. Right? The water cycling around a boulder will shape it, no matter the hardness of that stone. Waters wear the stones.

Daniel speaks about the antichrist, when he was given this vision, in chapter 7:25: “And he [the antichrist] shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High.” The antichrist will employ the same tactics. He will utilize the cycling for his own benefit, he shall wear out the Saints. He shall cycle the evil, the deception, the darkness, the sins, and the temptations to such pressures and to such a degree that he will wear out Saints.

Now let me give you one example from my own engineering practice, and this is what the Lord also reminded me of. Very few people have any idea how a “truck” (undercarriage, chassis with wheels) under a railway car is designed, or how it is analyzed and tested before it is put into service. That structure goes through a horrible beating. Unless it is properly designed and analyzed and tested, no man would dare put it under any railway car or locomotive. If this thing would start falling apart when the train is running, say, at one hundred miles per hour, or two hundred miles per hour (like TGV trains in France), then a horrible catastrophe would happen.

So I was reminded of one thing. Whenever we test such a structure, we first subject it to all the static loading (weight of the car plus passengers) that it can be exposed to, times two usually. There are tons and tons slowly put onto it by hydraulic jacks vertically, horizontally, transversely, and that truck-chassis usually withstands it without problem.

But then, it is tested dynamically as well, and the dynamic (oscillating, pulsating, cycling) forces are usually less than a quarter of the static forces, and sometimes only one-fifth. By this we mean the cycling load equal to about `plus-minus 20%' of the static one, and that truck-chassis is put under such cyclic loads. And this test may last for weeks, because the structure may be tested for one million cycles, or two million cycles, or four million cycles, up to six million cycles, which represents the beating that this unit will undergo during its lifetime.

What often happens is that after one million cycles or so, cracks may appear in the welds, especially in the welds, in the connections of steel plates. If this happens, it is a serious problem and that truck-chassis fails! Even though it withstood double the static load, it could not withstand more than one million cycles of far lesser forces. We are talking about the fatigue of the structure.

Now the Lord knows this phenomenon far better than we do, and He says that we all need cycling to crack our old man, who otherwise can withstand an incredible pressure in a static (motionless) mode; but once you start it cycling, the “poor old idiot” starts to crack up in his seams. The Lord is “wearing him out.” Now granted, it is accompanied by some unpleasant feelings, like suffering and pain.

But one day he will crack up and fall apart; he will become overstressed, he will lose all his strength and power to govern our life. For unless our “old man”, the hard “shell” around our heart, cracks and falls apart and dies — our “new man”, the “life within us”, cannot grow out of our heart and bring forth much fruit (Jn.12:24). That is the aim and the reason for the cycling, for the new beginnings the Lord employs during our earthly lives.

Let us, therefore, give true thanks to our Great Saviour and Lord Christ Jesus for our cycling, for our new beginnings, for our new opportunities; for through them He is accomplishing all His Will and pleasure in us.

“Thank you, Lord Jesus, for arranging for us countless new beginnings — new opportunities — in our earthly lives; for even through them You are achieving in us Your Will and good pleasure. Grant us Grace that we may view them in this light, see Your hand in them, accept them and thus be subject to them believing that through them You are accomplishing Your Will in us. Thank You. Amen.”

PART IX — THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD

Today is Friday, August 13, 1993. This is “The Mystery of Reality”, Part IX. I would like to subtitle this message: “The Judgments of God”.

Before I say anything else, I would again like to come to the Lord and give Him thanks for all things, including His Grace; mostly His Grace, His love for us, and His desire to reveal Himself to all the hearts that desire Him. I believe that He is more desirous to reveal Himself than the Believers are to know Him.

“Therefore Lord, we thank You, all who are present here and those who might be listening or reading this later on. We thank You for the privilege of having from You all that You are desiring to give, freely, and You are desiring to give freely Your Own Self.

Thank You Lord, grant us Your Spirit that we may even perceive and understand and see and hear and touch what You are giving us, what You are saying, because the purpose even of this message is not to increase our mental knowledge about You, but to touch You and the reality which is behind the words which are printed in Your Book (Bible). We know many of those words, and we know some facts, yet, we do not know the Reality. We have never touched it, we have never seen it, never understood it, never lived it.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for all things again, and again and we praise You Lord in Your Own Name. Amen.”

From the Book of Genesis, for example, we know that God created the earth and heaven and stars and everything physical. We also know that He created man. I think we all have known it for years. We may not know why He created man. Why has He created man? And we might never know unless the Lord plainly tells us.

If I subtitle this: “The Judgments of God”, and if I am to share the Judgments of God, it means that I must share God Himself, because we cannot separate God from His Judgments. This is not a small thing to talk about, these Judgments of God.

So, before we even start to share or talk or desire to understand the basic Judgments of God, we ought to realize that we are to touch God Himself. Unless you know why I judge how I judge, my reasons for it, or why I walk as I walk, or why I do what I do, you really do not know me. You may see what I do or you may hear what I say; you may observe, but you may never understand and you may never know why. Therefore, even two good friends can know one another because they know the reasons and the desires and the intentions of each other.

And so the Judgments of God involve the knowledge of His reasons, of His intentions, of His desires, of His needs. God has needs because we have needs, and because we were created in His Image.

Also, to even start understanding the basic Judgments of God it is absolutely necessary to ask God questions that people might consider embarrassing. Now I can assure you that there is no question that might embarrass God, but what might happen is that His answer might embarrass us.

The first question which we should ask God, come before Him and ask Him, is this: “Why had You created evil (Is.45:7) ... knowing full well that it will turn Lucifer, the son of the morning, into Satan?” (Is.14:12-15). Do we know this story? I believe we do.

The second one is this: “Why had You created the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen.2:9) ... and then You commanded Adam not to eat of its fruit (Gen.2:17) ... knowing full well that he would eat, and that sin and corruption and death shall enter Your Creation, and the need for a Saviour shall arise as well? Why had You done this, God?”

Do you think that these are embarrassing questions to ask God? From a human viewpoint they might be, because man might think or imagine that God would not like to answer these, and unless we even understand His reasoning here, we will never understand His Judgments.

Now in my spirit I have divided God's Judgments into the “Basic” Ones, which I put into eight parts, and the “Secondary” Ones or all the other Ones.

The eight Basic Judgments according to my spirit are the following:

Basic Judgment 1 — God judged it NECESSARY to create evil. Why? So that He might obtain or receive from His creation of free–will beings that which He needed and desired!

Angels are also free–willed beings created by God, except that they do not have physical bodies as we have. I might note here that God never created anything He did not need! If God had not needed angels He would not have created them. If God had not needed the four living creatures which are before His Throne, who, according to the Book of Revelation 4:8, almost seemingly do nothing but cry day and night, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” ... He would not have created them.

Basic Judgment 2 — God judged it NECESSARY to create evil of such characteristics and power that once touched by any being, human or heavenly, would cause his irreversible corruption, misery and death; which also means his eternal separation from God! This is the kind of evil God judged necessary to create.

Basic Judgment 3 — God judged it NECESSARY to create evil of such a power that no being, human or heavenly, having had touched evil, would be able to retrieve or extricate or save himself out of it by his own power!

One of the tentacles of evil which accomplishes or assures just this fact is, for example, deception. A deceived man has no way to retrieve himself from it.

(Note: whatever Basic Judgment we are mentioning, God had reasons for them. When I say, “God judged it necessary ...”, I am not yet giving reasons why, but just facts.)

Basic Judgment 4 — God judged it NECESSARY to first give to His earthly creation His Law! There are four reasons for this:

a) to separate evil from good and then to curb evil; examples are in Deut.19:18-20, then chapter 21:18-21, chapter 22:20-24, etc.

b) to show that no man can keep the Law (Jn.7:19, Gal.6:13). c) to show that the Law itself can make nothing perfect (Heb.7:19) despite the fact that it separated good from evil.

d) to show that the Law can solve nothing, because it has no power to stop sin or to defeat evil (Rom.8:3); it cannot give life (Gal.3:21); it cannot even justify us (Acts 13:39, Rom.3:20, Gal.2:16 and 3:11, etc.).

There are more portions in the Scriptures concerning these facts. So far it may look like whatever God judged necessary does not seem logical or necessary to the human mind.

Basic Judgment 5 — God judged it NECESSARY to then give to His earthly creation His Grace!

This He did by sending His Own Son to defeat evil without resisting it (Mat.5:39-44), to overcome evil with good (Rom.12:21), and to stop sin by judging it in Himself and by taking it away in His Own flesh (Jn.1:29, Rom.6:6 and 8:3, Heb.9:26, 1Jn.1:7, etc.). God Himself thus provided the only way out of sin and evil; we know that.

Basic Judgment 6 — God judged it NECESSARY to prejudge evil in the world, in Israel, and in the Church at the end of the “sixth day” from Adam (one day = 1000 years), who was created on the sixth day himself!

This now is the end of the sixth millennium from Adam. This prejudgment is executed by Christ Himself and it is not related to Salvation at all, rather it is based solely on the work of each individual (Rev.22:12). A world with its wicked and satanic system shall be destroyed by fire as it was demonstrated by God on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Luke 17:28-30.

Israel and the Church shall also be prejudged according to their works, and their entry into the Kingdom of Heaven shall depend on this prejudgment of Christ (Mat.7:21-23, 8:11-12, 22:1-14, 25:1-46, Rev.3:5, etc.).

Furthermore, concerning Israel and the Church, anyone who had or will yet transgress directly against the Spirit of God by Whom all these worlds were framed together (Heb.11:3), and through Whom we have life and every creature has its life, if therefore anyone had or will transgress directly against Him or His character, Holiness, Righteousness, or directly against His established government, was or shall be judged immediately (Mat.12:31-32, Num.16:1-35, 2Sam.6:6-7, Acts 5:1-10, etc.).

Basic Judgment 7 — God judged it NECESSARY to render the final Judgment of evil at the end of the “seventh day” from Adam, which is the end of the seventh millennium from Adam!

And on the seventh day God also rested from His works. This final Judgment will stop evil and stop sin, condemn evil and separate evil and sin from good, forever and ever. This will be executed by Christ Himself just before the old heaven and earth are judged, being also polluted and affected by evil and sin (Rev.20:11-15).

Basic Judgment 8 — God judged it NECESSARY after all this to create a New Heaven and a New Earth with New Jerusalem which are holy and pure and where no evil, no sin, and nothing that defiles or makes abomination shall ever enter in!

New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem for New Man (Rev.21:1, 10, 27). This Judgment number eight shall complete the cycle of evil and shall bring satisfaction to God; for God shall obtain that which He needed and desired from His creation — even through evil and God's Own sacrifice.

I might even say that these eight Judgments are like eight pillars upon which all the actions of God rest. And all further Judgments of God, which we might call “Secondary” Judgments, and which are touching our lives even directly and daily, are all based on His Basic Judgments 4 and 5, which mean Law and Grace; because these Judgments form, as it were, a centre core of His eightfold Basic Judgments ... three + two + three (1,2,3 + 4,5 + 6,7,8).

This also means that all the further Judgments of God are based on the Law and Grace. All those who reject Grace will be judged by the Law, as we already mentioned in the past.

Now before we go into at least some of the further or Secondary Judgments of God, which flow from His basic Judgments 4 and 5, let us first see more deeply what it was that God needed or desired from His creation; the reasons why He created everything, as also mentioned in His Basic Judgments 1 and 8. What God needed or what He desired, and what the Reality is that flows from these Judgments.

Here are five points of my faith concerning this Reality, which means also reasons for this physical creation that God created and is recorded in the Book of Genesis. I remember that some of my former pastors taught that the reason God made man was to fill up the void that Lucifer left when he deceived and took with him one third of all angelic multitudes and hosts. Well, it looked reasonable at the time and since nobody else had anything better, we believed it. It looked even logical. There was nothing controversial about that, except that it just looked logical. But this is NOT the reason, because anyone who knows God and His desires and His intentions, and His reasons for what He is doing, would tell us that, although logical, it is not true!

For God it would have been much easier just to create a multitude of angels and say then that the void is filled. It was not a “big deal” for God to create an angel. He created all of them, every one individually. Angels were not born as we are! Do you realize that? So God had to create everyone, and for Him to create another “host of missing angels” was not a problem. The problem is always with us, that we do not know the heart and mind of God. We do not even know His power, in fact, so let us share and discover things that are for us to know, and to enter more into the Reality of God and of His Creation and of all the facts.

Now the five points that I would like to share are the following:

Point (1) — I believe that Lucifer was the very first of all God's creatures who touched evil, who embraced it, and who began sinking deeper and deeper into it by his own will and desire!!! Now let us underline “by his own will and desire”, and put at least three exclamation marks behind it, because the Lord desires us to see and realize that nobody tempted him! Nobody deceived Lucifer, nobody asked him to go and try evil. Evil was there, but there was no one who could be called “the evil one”, as he exists now. Thus, because he did that by his own will and desire he became Satan, the arch enemy of God.

Evil then produced in him its first fruit. The first fruit of evil was and had been pride and jealousy. Let us read at this point Isaiah 14:12-14: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” That was the first fruit of evil — Pride. “I will, by my own will...” — pride and jealousy. Why would he do that if he did not envy God?

Later on evil produced further fruits in Lucifer: a need to lie, so he began to lie and became the father of lies. Let us read Jn.8:44. The Lord says (He speaks to the Pharisees): “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth”, which means he was in the truth originally but he got away from it himself by his own will and by his own desire, “because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” There were no lies before Lucifer. There were no murderers before Lucifer. Here are the first fruits of evil.

Now God did not create lies just as God did not create truth. Do you realize that? God had not created them. God could not create truth because HE IS the Truth. God did not create love because HE IS Love. He did not create Himself, but He created evil, and the fruit of evil is a lie. A lie is all that which opposes God, because God is Truth (Jn.14:6). Through his lies Satan obtained the power of deception, which had not existed before him. Deception had not existed before Satan. Satan has been using this power quite successfully ever since, and we know how he started in the Garden of Eden. That was not his first start, but only his start with the earthly creation. He started a long time before with the angels in heaven.

After lies there arose another need, to commit murders, and so he began to murder (Gen.4:8). I am sure we all know who killed Abel and became the murderer from the beginning, (again Jn.8:44, the same verse) and he has been committing murders ever since. This is point one of my faith concerning certain realities.

Point (2) — Because Satan and his angels, fallen angels (which means devils) and demons are unable to repent or to express sorrow over all the evil they had done and to return to God, therefore, God condemned this part of His creation with an everlasting condemnation and an everlasting fire prepared for them.

Let us read Jude 6, just before the Book of Revelation: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation [which means they left the truth and left their own habitation in heaven], he [God] reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” In Matthew 25:41, which is in the parable of the Kingdom: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

We may say that this part of God's creation could not satisfy the need or the desire of God, which leads to point 3 of my faith.

Point (3) — THEREFORE God created a new creation, a physical creation, and He created man in His Own Image: spirit, soul and body (1Thess.5:23). Holy and innocent man, Adam. God created man with the same free will and the same ability to sin that His angels possessed. This also means that man, as were the angels, was created a mortal being. Adam and Eve were innocent (underline three times!), innocent, ignorant and naive concerning evil! This is how they were created.

Eve fell because she was tempted and deceived by Satan, and not because she decided or desired to embrace evil or to stand against God or to envy God!

Adam fell because he loved Eve and not because he was deceived, or because he desired to embrace evil and stand against God! In other words, neither of them of their own will or desire desired to stand against God, to envy Him, to embrace evil, to disobey Him, or to do anything evil. They fell because Eve was deceived and because Adam loved her. (1Tim.2:14)

Point (4) — In His new, physical creation, God created something truly opposite (underline “opposite” three times) as to the conditions He originally made applicable to His angelic creation, namely thus:

a) Lucifer was never tempted, never deceived, never threatened by anyone or anything, yet he embraced evil by his own will and desire!

b) On the other hand (thank You Lord), man SHALL be tempted, SHALL be deceived, SHALL be threatened, and he SHALL be plunged into evil purposely! God shall allow it. And man SHALL be required by God to experience evil, and after that TO FORSAKE EVIL BY HIS OWN WILL AND DESIRE AND TO RETURN TO GOD!!

That is to say, man will be required to do that which Satan and the devils cannot do!

Point (5) — THEREFORE, those and those alone who will accept God's Grace (Basic Judgment 5), and forsake evil by their own will and desire, having experienced it, will satisfy God! Are you with me? They and they alone shall be the fruit of His second physical creation in which God will obtain and receive that which He needs and desires. Peoples, eternal companions, who would live forever; and evil would not be able to corrupt them anymore.

At this stage I would like to read something which is from the Old Testament, and therefore it may not suggest that it expresses the spiritual reality of God, yet I believe it is right there in Deuteronomy 29. Of all Books we are going to the Song of Moses. Now we know that the Church is the spiritual Israel, so Israel is the forepicture of the Church. We even shared the Book of Deuteronomy in one of the messages. We said it was the Song of Moses, and we went into a number of passages there and shared the Word of God, and how it applies to us and the Church today, and how everything has a spiritual meaning and reality. What was done there in the physical is being done in spirit today in us.

In verses 2 and 3 of Deut.29: “And Moses called unto all Israel, [Moses, who typifies Christ as the Deliverer, calls unto Israel which typifies the Church], and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:”. And the Lord says even today to us: “Ye have seen things and signs and My hand on this world, because Egypt typifies now the whole world, and Pharaoh typifies Satan, who is now about to rule the whole world. Ye have seen all these things with your own eyes. Just look at the news, look at television, listen to the radio. Don't you see My hand, what My hand is doing?”

In verse 4: “Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” This simply means that the Church (in general) until this day does not understand anything, does not see anything, does not hear anything ... until August 13th, 1993 (today). That is what this means.

Verse 10: “Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God;”, and we might say we all stand today also before the Lord Jesus Christ our God.

Verses 12 to 15: “That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath [HIS oath], which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day: That he may establish thee today for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; but with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day.”

God is making a covenant that we may be His people and He may be our God so that we may know Him and that we may also know why He did what He did and why He judges as He judges; so that we may be granted a heart to perceive and understand, and eyes to see and ears to hear today! That is the reason why the Lord is granting us Reality which is always a mystery, and has been and will be for those who do not make a covenant with Him. And covenant simply means: this is a covenant with God, God suggests this covenant to His people, but the people must accept that covenant. They must lay their lives before God, because God will not accept from His second creation anything that did not die! What did not die is evil, and God had not created evil so that He might enjoy it in the future, but that He might judge it and render it inoperative in His next people.

Therefore I believe the above five points also show why God created earth and man upon it, and why He created evil, and why He allows Satan to tempt and deceive and plunge His creation into evil and to destroy both man and the physical creation. In other words, after God created evil of these characteristics and power, He took away from any of His future creations and beings any possibility to get out of it, except through Grace, (this Basic Judgment 5) which means through Christ Who alone had the power to stop evil and stop sin in His Own body, to judge it in His Own body and condemn it in His Own body, and then take it away from His Own body.

Therefore, through Christ alone is the only way! Therefore a man must accept Christ. Therefore he must accept the Grace of God to even have any chance to get out of evil and out of this everlasting condemnation that rests upon Satan as the first creature who embraced evil. Upon all God's angels who also embraced evil by their own will and left their first habitation. And upon all the other creatures, including man, who also keep embracing evil and refusing to get out of it through the way that God provided: by His Own sacrifice.

Let us now consider some of these “Secondary Judgments” which God renders toward us, and which flow from His Basic Judgments 4 and 5, His Judgments based on the Law and on Grace. I have pondered three of them which the Lord has given me in certain depth but I am sure there are many more.

I am not sure whether this topic of judgments will be concluded today; I feel that there are many other things that we should talk about which are not basic doctrine, basic teaching on fundamental principles, but rather very practical things.

Daily judgments, how God views our daily actions, how He views and judges our intentions, our desires, our decisions; these are very practical things. I believe that this would be very beneficial, and maybe the Lord will grant us things to conclude this particular topic with another message. So let us share these three.

Secondary Judgment (1) — The misrepresentation of good and evil. For this Judgment we will go to Isaiah 5:20-21: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! [in other words, they put things upside down] Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”

Notice that both these verses are finished with exclamation marks. This is rather a rarity. In the Word of God you do not find many exclamation marks. What does this say to us? I believe that this is one of the basic Secondary Judgments which flows from God's Basic Judgment concerning evil, where God warns His free–willed creatures that though He created good and evil, light and darkness, sweetness and bitterness, none of us is allowed to mix them up, to juggle them for their own reasons or advantage or to misjudge them or misrepresent them. God says “WOE”, and ends both His verses with exclamation marks.

Furthermore, this Word of God applies to every creature without exception, including His saved ones and His servants. In fact it applies to His servants, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, preachers, teachers etc., doubly. Underline “doubly”, for it is in their power to lead multitudes into error and into their own destruction by not heeding Isaiah 5:20-21.

How vividly the Lord illustrates this is found for example in Isaiah 3:12: “As for my people, children are their oppressors, [meaning spiritual children are their oppressors], and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Isaiah 9:16: “For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.” If this is not clear I don't know what is.

Jeremiah 23 ... you could read half of Jeremiah and get answers ... in Jer.23:13: “And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.”. Jer.23:26: “How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.”

Micah, one of the minor prophets, in 3:5: “Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.”

I will read to you Amos 2:4: “Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

Misrepresentation of good and evil is taking place, I believe, daily, especially in the Churches. I am not even talking about the pagan world. The pagan world never knew the truth. For them to mix things up and misrepresent is natural, but I am talking about the Church.

Secondary Judgment (2) — The price of ignorance. I believe that everyone who transgresses Isaiah 5:20-21 which we talked about before, transgresses all the Basic Judgments of God from 1 to 5, because he transgresses against the very purposes of God for His new creation of heaven, earth and man! This is a basic Secondary Judgment of God, therefore, every such person shall be judged by God but shall be judged righteously.

He who knew good, truth, light, sweetness, etc., which means the Will of God, yet prepared not himself and misrepresented them shall be beaten with many stripes, and he who knew not and misrepresented them, which means committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. Do you remember Luke chpt.12? Luke 12:47: “And that servant, [underline also the word “servant”, you see we talked about servants being doubly responsible], which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” These words of the Lord do not seem to be Christian–like. How can God talk like that? Well, God can talk like that.

God must talk like that because His servants are dealing with His Basic Judgments, and no one is allowed to make a merry-go-round out of God's Judgments, because he is making a merry–go–round out of God Himself and His purposes and His goals and His intentions and His desires!

It is better to be a pagan than to be a servant of God, mishandling God, because if that pagan will cry on the Name of the Lord in the last days (Acts 2:21) he shall be saved and may never be beaten, but the servants of God will be. It is therefore evident from the Word of God that ignorance of the Will of God, that is, the Laws and Judgments of God, shall not be tolerated or overlooked by God towards anyone; yet His Grace shall always be present amidst His righteousness.

This Secondary Judgment typically flows from His Basic Judgments 4 and 5, Law and Grace. God must balance these two now. He balances Law and Grace. He cannot forget one or the other. He also must consider His Own Laws, therefore His Own legal approach. He cannot annul it, because He is the God of Grace, as if now we can do anything that we want and forget His Judgments and Laws and principles. That cannot be. In the midst of His righteousness, in dispensing what the Law calls for, He brings in His Grace, but He will not annul His Law. Christ has not annulled the Law. He fulfilled It. (Mt.5:17) That is a different story.

Secondary Judgment (3) — Righteous Judgment. We shared about this already some time ago, but we will return and mention something again, and will start by reading the Word of God in Isaiah 11. This chapter speaks about Christ. Let us read from the beginning: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch [which is Christ] shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” This, in verse 2, is the sevenfold Holy Spirit. That is also why the Menorah has seven branches and typifies the Holy Spirit.

Verse 3,4: “And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he [Christ] shall NOT judge after the sight of his eyes [what he will see], neither reprove after the hearing of his ears [what he will hear]: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” And in the next few verses follows the description of the millennial Kingdom.

The key verse is verse 3 and the first words of verse 4 — God is telling us that righteousness cannot be equated with our physical senses! I repeat: Righteousness cannot be equated with our physical senses! Righteousness is equated with spiritual Reality which is, or may be, totally different from what we sense. Don't we have many examples of this already, when the Lord showed us the Reality which was totally different from what we saw or heard or understood, etc.?

This particular Word of God, and this Secondary Judgment, indicates and shows us how the above two Judgments — the misrepresentation of good and evil and the price of ignorance — can be avoided. How the woes in Isaiah 5:20-21 can be avoided. How the never ending erring of God's people can be avoided. How the severe punishment of His servants can be avoided. This is the only way these things can be avoided because this Word of God declares that He, the Lord, shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of His ears, but with righteousness shall He judge.

What does this mean further? This also means that the Son of God, our Saviour and Lord, shall not use His mental ability, His understanding, to interpret the input of His physical senses, or interpret the outer appearances in order to render any judgment. In other words, He shall not use the “fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, which tree corrupted the human soul and human mental senses and human physical senses. But He shall use God's Spirit ALONE. This Spirit, this sevenfold Spirit which is in Isaiah 11:2 is the “tree of life”, which also was in the midst of the Garden of Eden!

Genesis 2:9 says: “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden.” Man was supposed to eat from it in the first place, but he never did. Of course, the Lord Jesus could have used His mental senses since they were not corrupted. He never ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as Adam and Eve did, so the Lord could have used it. Do you all agree? Yet He refrained from using any of His faculties, which in man were corrupted, to give us an example of not using them in our own judgments!

That is why the Lord Himself testified a number of times saying that “the Son can do nothing of Himself”. Of Himself means of His own eyesight and hearing and understanding, etc. John 5:19 is one example, meaning the Son can do nothing of Himself, of His mental powers alone. Hence Jesus tells us also to judge not according to the appearance, which means ears and eyes, but to judge a righteous judgment (Jn.7:24).

So that for us the above also means that we can do nothing of ourselves, but as the Spirit speaks, so we speak, and so we do. This way we can never go wrong and this way we can never transgress Isaiah 5:20-21 either consciously or unconsciously. The problem rather is not to learn to try to avoid Isaiah 5:20-21, but to learn to discern the Spirit and walk by Him.

No wonder the Lord is further warning us in Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” He is telling us that we better not judge because our judgments are altogether unrighteous. Christ also knows that until we are “spiritual” we are unable to judge righteously because we don't know the inner reality of the matter.

The Lord also knows that our natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. On the other hand His Spirit continues in 1Corinthians 2:15: “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” And again He says, “For we walk [therefore judge] by faith, not by sight [which means appearance]” (2Cor.5:7).

I pray right now that the Lord would grant us something which would be very practical for everyday living whereby we could learn the Reality on the basis of which the Lord Himself judges. For once we can know and see this, then our own judgments would become righteous.

Secondly, we would avoid things which would cause the Lord to judge us severely, and we would avoid all the woes and all the erring which the Church is so filled up with. It is just the Grace of God that keeps us going. But alas, there are so few who desire to know the Lord and His Reality and His Judgments and then be guided by these to do likewise.

And if the Lord grants us this it would also mean that He has prepared our hearts to consider even the finer points of walking with Him, so that we are not excelling in some grand theology or great principles, while neglecting the small things which form the basis of our everyday life. We err in small things, not in grand transgressions, and this is just as bad.

“So we pray, Lord, that You would grant us further Grace and bring us into the Reality of Your Judgments. Not only the Basic Ones which show clearly to every heart, understanding heart, and to every seeing eye and hearing ear what Your purposes had been, Your desires, Your needs and the means to achieve Your Own desires and goals and needs; not only that, Lord, but that we might be brought into the Reality of Your Judgments concerning our everyday life, even small things, that we may be further transformed into Your Image.

For if we are so transformed, then we walk Your ways, then we judge Your Judgments, then our desires are Your desires and our purposes are Your purposes. How can we then mix things up if we are transformed into Your Image and if we walk Your ways? It shall be impossible for us. It shall be impossible for us to be deceived in many, many things. Not necessarily great things, but small things. But a lot of small things may make up a great result.

So we praise You Lord, we thank You for all that You have done. We thank You for showing us Your mind and heart concerning Your very Creation and Your needs and Your desires. It is true Lord that You have compassion on us, but has any one of us had compassion on You, as if You never needed that?

It is true Lord that You are so good to us. Are we good to You? You love us. Do we love You? You are patient with us. Are we patient with You? These things always work both ways. Thank You Lord, we bless You Lord, and we praise You in Truth, not because we have to or because it is fashionable to end a message like this, but because our heart says we must praise You because You are Great ... whether we have a message or whether we don't.

You are Great always and greatly to be praised and loved and adored and admired and obeyed. And Lord, we wait for You because we desire to be prepared in every possible way that You desire that we would be prepared; for that day is coming, Lord.

Thank You Jesus and thank You Father for Your Son and for all Your Judgments and for all Your Grace. In the midst of all Your Laws and severity You are a Consuming Fire, and yet in the midst of it You are graceful and soft–hearted. Thank You in the Name of our Saviour Christ Jesus, Amen.”

PART X — BE YE PERFECT

Today is June 18, 1994 and this is Part X of the series “The Mystery of Reality”. This is the last part, as far as I know, and I would like to subtitle it: “Be ye therefore perfect”, which is Mt.5:48.

We know this Scripture by now and I chose it for this last part even though I know, and the Lord reminded me, that we already spoke in Part VII about perfection, or the perfecting of the Saints. There we already quoted a number of Scriptures and discussed them in depth. In fact, we started with Mt.5:48, and we established five facts concerning the perfecting of the Saints, and I was wondering if I was being repetitious. But no. This message will be completely different. Even though we may touch certain topics or even re-read some of the Scriptures that we read in Part VII, it will be something completely different.

In Part VII we also mentioned that in Mt.5:48, the verse 48 was 40+8; 40 being the time of testing, and 8 a new beginning, as we know by now. This time, 48 equals 4 x 12, which is the number of the physical creation times the number of eternal perfection. There is also a great wisdom of God in this.

This message is different in that I am turning to all those who are now, or will soon be, the true Disciples of Christ, and I am going to share this message with them and all of us.

First I would like to pray. “I would like to ask You Lord that this Grand Reality that You are granting to us today, tonight, would be given in Your Spirit, and received in the hearts which are open to You through the same Spirit of God, that it may therefore bring forth fruit, that it may be living, that it may be a blessing and beneficial to our spirit, and soul, and body; and encouragement to go on and to be willing to continue and press on, because what You are granting us right now is something a human heart cannot really imagine, or absorb or understand. Thank You Lord Jesus for Your Grace, for Your Love for us.

We thank the Father for His Grand Plan of Salvation and for the Grand Finale of Salvation, which we will touch in this message. Thank You Lord, and in Your Own beautiful Name we pray, Amen.”

For the sake of those who do not really know me I must say that I am not an evangelist, nor do I preach the Gospel. My ministry is neither toward pagans nor toward the vast multitudes of Believers. The multitudes NEVER cared for the Word of God or for God Himself. They never had an “ear to hear”. They never understood anything, and it was not given to them to understand. Why? Because of their heart! The Lord never spoke to them except in parables, as in Mt.13:1–3, 13:10–15, and 13:34, for example.

On the other hand, the Disciples, as we know, are all those who “continue in His Word” (Jn.8:31). They continue reading the Word, they continue hearing the Word, they continue studying the Word, they continue meditating on the Word. If they are teachers or preachers, etc., they continue teaching, preaching, and disseminating the Word. In other words, Disciples continue labouring in the Word, and to such the Lord spoke directly ... and to such I am now speaking myself.

If I am to mention something else about my ministry, my calling really is towards the true Disciples, which means a rather small segment of the Church. And if the scope of my ministry could be compressed into a few sentences then I might say that it is to show, to declare and to convince the Disciples that:

a) Basic Salvation (Redemption) does not change the evil which has been within the newly saved man. It does translate the man from eternal death to eternal life, but does not change the evil within him.

b) Basic Salvation is not the end but the beginning of the trans formation process, and it includes suffering, learning obedi ence, seeking the Lord, destruction of the evil within us, and the changing into His Image... the change from absolute misery to absolute glory. In other words, God must work in us.

c) The fruit of His work in us is a matured Christian man, the Bride of Christ. While we pray and desire that the Lord fulfil our needs to satisfy ourselves, we are yet children. Once we see His needs and desires and are able to satisfy His needs, we are matured, we are His Bride.

So in view of this calling I am now turning to all true Disciples and I am sharing these following things and facts.

Although most of you are strangers to me — just as Peter, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, wrote to us in 1Pet.1:1,2 so also I, a servant of Jesus Christ, write to you: “To the strangers scattered throughout the world. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience ... be multiplied.” This is a slightly modified word that Peter wrote.

Every true Disciple is called unto the highest perfection that there is, which is the perfection of our Father Who is in heaven. But not every one will attain to it. Why?

I will now share with you the Reality of this matter which the Lord Jesus Christ has graciously granted to us tonight as we are gathered here. This Reality and this Truth is as follows:

1) Perfection is a matter of our choice — and our choice is a matter of seeing, understanding and obeying the Reality of the Word of God! Unfortunately, many Disciples do not really have much choice here because they either do not see the Word of God; or if they see It, they may not obey It.

2) Perfection is not a matter of faith — but of love! Our choice is thus not made by our faith — but by our love! Even in our earthly life, I am sure you will agree, we may only be perfected in those things which we love (to do). Again, many Disciples fail right here simply because they do NOT love the Lord; and of course the multitudes all fail in this matter because they do not even know the Lord.

Let us now turn again to Peter. All Disciples should in fact re-read 2Pet.1:1–11. I will now quote 2Peter 1:4: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”. From this Word of God it is clear that we all have been promised CHANCES to become partakers of the Divine nature; which means God's Own Nature, and not just to remain “saved men escaping hell”. Notice also that it is not written “...that by these ye SHALL be partakers...”, but it is written “...that by these ye MIGHT be partakers ...”. Then in verses 5–10, specific deeds are quoted through which this “partaking” is achieved. And in verse 11, finally a “glory gate” awaits all such “partakers of the Divine nature”, and this verse says: “For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Let us all who desire perfection turn to 1Pet.1:2 and let us again note and understand two things:

a) we all have been ELECTED according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. God the Father foreknew our love.

b) on the basis of His election, we all have been SANCTIFIED by the Spirit unto OBEDIENCE — first to learn obedience as the Lord Jesus Christ learned it (Heb.5:8), and then to exercise obedience to the Spirit and to the Word of God as the Lord Jesus Christ exercised it (Phil. 2:8).

Now that we realized on what basis we were sanctified and what we were sanctified for, we can also turn to Heb.10:14. Really an obscure verse which I had not covered before in any way, I had not even noticed it much before. It says: “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified”. Here the Lord HAS PERFECTED FOR EVER all those who had been SANCTIFIED. And the level of the perfection corresponded to the level of our obedience; and that level corresponded to the level of our love for the Lord. We will demonstrate later that our true love for the Lord also determines our true desire for our own perfection.

The desire of the heart is given by the love in that heart, because the heart desires only what it loves! The love in the heart for the Lord is given or obtained by the knowledge of the Lord. First you must see something to love it. The knowledge of the Lord is given or obtained by the Reality of His Word. He is the Word (John 1:1), and the Reality of the Word is given or obtained by the obedience to the Word!

I am not talking just about reading. There were times when we were happy when we just read a chapter, and that was good, and that was a beginning. But now we are concluding the message, the “Mystery of Reality”. We are not beginning, we are concluding. This is the Finale. So the last, the Reality of the Word, is obtained by the obedience to the Word. That is why the above Word of God ends with “obedience”. And that is also why there are those four groups, the four-fold spectrum, within the Church. These groups differ in obedience, therefore, they differ in the Reality of the Word, therefore they differ in the knowledge of the Lord, therefore they differ in their love for the Lord and thus in their desire for perfection. That is a chain that we cannot break.

Now, I can quote many Scriptures and many arguments which would not be profitable at this time. I am rather led to show a few practical examples which should speak loudly to any “ear which can hear”.

Since the beginning of the Montreal Remnant Ministries (MRM), the Lord allowed us to touch a part of His Body, which means part of His Church, in many countries of the world starting with Canada, the USA, some countries in South America, Africa, Europe, even in the Middle East, India and as far away as Australia. Thousands and thousands of books entitled “Open Letter to His Majesty and Excellency Christ Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords, the only true God” have been sent out.

The results that the Spirit has shown us are for weeping. The part of the Church in Canada, the USA and most countries in Europe as well as Africa which we touched was found DEAD! Canada and the USA are probably the largest spiritual cemeteries of the western world. There has been no response to the Spirit at all, just a deep silence. At least, we received one “thank you” note from Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. And if an occasional response did arrive, it was full of poison, arrogance and incredible darkness. A true “valley of bones” (Ez.37:1–14). Wherever you have bones, you have a cemetery.

Yet, there were three countries where the Bride of Christ was found in different stages of development, but apparently willing to grow up: Nigeria, Malawi (both in Africa), and Slovakia (in Central Europe). (* see note on page 236, Appendix A)

I am not saying here that there are no individuals or home fellowships in the Church which might be living in the fellowship and Spirit of God and behaving as the Bride of Christ. I am saying that the part of the Church and the thousands of individual Believers we touched proved to be totally dead. Now I also believe that for many sincere Believers this might be a little striking, even astonishing, because they might in fact believe that North America must be the most blessed country, and the Church in North America must be the most living one with all the evangelistic effort and all the tongue-speaking and prophesying congregations and everything else. But here we are not talking about religious activities, we are talking about spiritual Life in Christ and a spiritual cemetery.

Let us consider two other examples. The Lord led us to distribute the “Open Letter” book in person to two congregations, namely, the Apostolic Church in Verdun, and Trinity Pentecostal Church in Lasalle, both in Quebec, Canada. In both Churches the Word of God had been preached, the Lord was worshipped with songs and music, a lot of prophesies were uttered each Sunday in the Apostolic Church and a lot of tongue-speaking was evident in the Pentecostal Church. They both seemed so living, so exemplary, so nice — until the Lord showed their true nature in spirit; in their disobedience to His Own Word, and in their hatred toward their own brethren; until He revealed their death and darkness (1Jn.2:9, 3:14, etc.). How did the Lord do this?

After the book was distributed to some people coming out of the Apostolic Church, the opposition of the enemy was clearly evident in their attitudes, in the incredible fear on the part of the leadership, and in the behaviour of some “worshippers”. Some weeks later one member of that congregation later testified that a call was made by the leadership toward the congregation to bring all the books “Open Letter” to the church that they might be burned or otherwise disposed of! So much for the “brotherly love, kindness, meekness, understanding or the learning of obedience”. We, who have worshipped in the same Church for some time, had suddenly become hated enemies because we dared to speak and to prophesy to them also the bitter truth.

Later on after the distribution, one elder was ready to sue me in court (no doubt according to 1Cor.6:4–6). Why? I described a certain proud and arrogant elder in that Church, and this elder assumed it was himself.

As for the Pentecostal Church, where I had also worshipped for a number of years and was on the Board of Deacons, the Lord arranged that we be there to distribute the books “Open Letter” on the Sunday when they celebrated their 60th Anniversary. Furthermore, the Lord arranged that all exits were under repair(!) except the one where we were standing. When the congregation and their leaders inside the Church saw us, confusion began. Some people came out and received the book and even greeted us, for we had known each other for years. Others passed by.

One devil-possessed woman took the book and tore it in half before our eyes. One young and arrogant pastor came out of the Church furious, demanding to know who we were and how we could dare to give books to the people of “his” Church. The leadership inside the Church was disoriented and in fear. Inside the Church there were also the two former pastors of that Church and their wives who came from other cities to celebrate the anniversary.

Finally, it was most probably the present senior pastor of the Church who apparently could not handle his fear and wrath any longer and called the Police on us! When the Police arrived, they treated us far better than our “Pentecostal brethren”.

I wonder whether those Pharisees realized then, or even now, that the Lord had made a “full scale video/film” of that scene, recording not only their shameful acts but also their thoughts, and that He will show that film to them and to the whole world when they stand before Him!

Let us pause for a moment and take in these incredible events and realize the following two facts:

a) even had we been truly “evil”, we were not supposed to be resisted by any true Christian! (Mt.5:39)

b) even had we become their “enemies” (for speaking the truth — Gal.4:16), we were supposed to be loved and blessed by every true Christian. (Mt.5:44)

That the OPPOSITE of the Word of God was done unto us attests to the simple fact that none of those who so shamefully mistreated us (chiefly the leadership) obeys the Word of God! And if they do not obey the very Word they dare to preach, they have no idea about the Reality of the Word. Therefore, they have no true knowledge of the Lord Himself and thus no true love for Him, consequently, having no true desire for their perfection at all!

Are not these two examples loud and clear to all simple but faithful brethren?

The Lord also desires to give us tonight another example of what He had arranged. When the Police and most of the people left, my wife and I were led by the Spirit of Christ INSIDE the Pentecostal Church. We came to our two former pastors and their wives and we embraced them and greeted them with true love and joy! When the senior pastor of the Church, who apparently called the Police, saw this, he was utterly stupefied and speechless. Later on at home the Lord showed me on page 95 of the “Open Letter” how, on that Sunday in Trinity Pentecostal Church, I unwittingly fulfilled the word written on that page by embracing my former pastor, displaying my true love for him even though in his spirit and mind he became “my enemy”!

This is the true Spirit of Christ and also the true fruit of His Spirit (Mt.7:16–20), because here I fulfilled His Word in Mt.5:44. Is not this above example also loud and clear to all those simple but faithful brethren?

At this point I would like to underline another particular fact and truth. We who are gathered here tonight have already shared this truth in some depth. In Mt.5:21–47, the Lord, as it were, changes the Old Testament to the New Testament by repeating: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time ...” and then saying: “But I say unto you ...”. He changes the “old man” to the “new man”, He changes the old nature to the new (divine) nature! No wonder the Lord concludes this change by His commandment in verse 48 by saying: “Be ye THEREFORE perfect...”!

Furthermore, IF I DO any of those commandments of the Lord in the verses preceding verse 48 — THEREIN AM I PERFECT! If I go two miles for someone who compels me to go one mile (true friends do not compel) — therein I show my love for that unfriendly person and also for the Lord. But do not fancy that you can do any of these commandments without your old man being shattered, your old nature being destroyed. The “old man”, the old nature, cannot DO any part of the Word of God, let alone these incredible commandments of Mt.5:21–48.

Therefore, if a Pentecostal pastor calls the Police on his brother who only stands on the sidewalk offering free Christian literature, then there is at least one basic question to be asked: Is this the Spirit of Christ or is this a spirit from hell in that pastor? Let your own heart answer this.

What else should I say? Are we, as Disciples of Jesus Christ, able to draw any conclusions from these above examples? Are we able to establish our own spiritual state, our own spiritual walk, our own love for the Lord, our own true desire for perfection? Or have we never even thought about it until this day? I should not blame anyone — this statement of the Lord in Mt.5:48 is the most shocking statement in the entire Bible and, as far as I know, nobody ever preached on it, nobody ever elaborated on it; yet this is the Word of God as well.

I would give at this point simple advice to any heart: see and discern your own heart, whether it truly desires more Word, more Light. And if so, tell the Lord. I am sure He will grant it, because even more so this is His desire. Go as far as your heart desires — and then stop! And don't ask for more, for the Lord says: “I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come” (Rev.2:24–25). For should the Lord reveal to you more of His Will and grant you much more Light and your heart would not be in it, you would then neglect to DO His Will and to DO His Light, even to turn His Light into Life. You would then become a recipient of His Word in Lk.12:47,48.

I am going to read it because this is a Word of God which also was not preached, nor explained, nor elaborated upon. Luke 12:47,48: “And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” This is another part of the Word of God which was never preached or explained.

And if by any chance we thought or even believed we were pretty good Christians, we should think again. For if we do not know the Reality of the Word of God, then most assuredly we do not know the Reality about our own selves as Christ sees us in the Light of His Word!

And if you for a long time have not repented to the Lord for your own self, it cannot harm you to do so right now, even though you may see nothing wrong with yourself. Do so by faith. Do so because the Lord is causing you right now to read living testimonies about the horrible spiritual state of a great many of His Disciples and servants.

And if you are not able to see and believe the simple facts and examples written above, then you might not even be His Disciple, rather, you might be one from the multitudes. But if you do see and believe, then your heart must also understand. Through this understanding it shall be possible and easier for you to repent to the Lord of all Glory, and to ask Him to show you your true spiritual state. It shall also be possible and easier for you to see that you were not created to please your own self, while at the same time causing pain to the Lord Jesus Christ through your disobedience to His Word. You were created so that the Lord Jesus might have pleasure in you, in your obedience, in your seeking Him, and in your doing and living His Word! What is your heart and conscience saying to you thus far?

Somewhere in the beginning we discussed Heb.10:14, mentioning also the different levels of perfection. Let me give further examples.

To the same Hebrews Paul says in Heb.13:20,21, and I will only quote part of verse 20: “Now the God of peace... make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; Amen.” Notice that here the level of perfection pertains to “every good work” and not to the perfection of the heavenly Father. Perhaps, the Spirit of God, Who inspired Paul, foreknew that these Hebrews would at least desire in their hearts to do good works for God.

I am sure there are many servants and Disciples of the Lord, and maybe even some from the multitudes, who, like these Hebrews, do desire to do good works for the Lord. And there is nothing wrong with that. But therein is the level of their possible perfection — IF they allow the Spirit of God to work in them “that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ”. As we can see here, desire alone, even for this lower level of perfection, is not sufficient. The work of the Spirit of God must always take place; always and for all levels of perfection!

Another example is drawn from the Church at Corinth, which was a rather carnal one, as we know (1Cor.5:1, for example). Their carnality was found in their minds, their lack of understanding, and their fleshly lusts, thus causing constant strife and sin among them. No wonder that Paul, towards the end of his second letter to them, advises them in 2Corinthians 13:5. Let us go there. Paul says: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

Then in verse 9 he wishes them a perfection and closes his letter in verse 11, saying: “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you”. That is more of a prayer than just a wish. In other words, the Spirit of God through Paul wishes or advises them to desire at least the level of perfection pertaining to the unity of mind, which perfection produces also a good comfort and peace. Paul does not tell them to be perfect as their heavenly Father is.

Now this “unity of mind” presupposes a work of the Spirit in renewing their minds, which means the renewing of the spirit of their minds (Eph.4:23). Such a renewed mind is then able to focus on God and trust God in everything, rather than be preoccupied with the strife due to misunderstandings and lusts, which was their problem. And we know that it is then that God grants His perfect peace to such minds which are focused on Him and trust in Him (Is.26:3).

Well, I believe it is rather easy to see that which the Lord desires to show us. He is granting to us tonight the Reality of the full spectrum of Perfection from the lowest levels and limited forms of perfection to the highest Perfection of our heavenly Father. Just as it is with the Magnificent Salvation provided by Christ, Who is offering this Salvation to all mankind, so it is also with this Magnificent Perfection He is offering to every Believer.

But we know that not every pagan heart finds his faith for Christ and desires His Salvation. Many, many, many will perish, even though the Lord saved the whole world and has provided His Salvation to all mankind. Equally, not every heart from the Believers finds the love for Christ and desires His Perfection!

*******

Just one word on the side: We know that in every big house, estate or palace, there are all kinds of servants: gateguards, gardeners, chambermaids, cooks, helpers, ushers, secretaries, accountants, and you name them. There are also sons and daughters and there is also one wife of the landlord, husbandman, nobleman or prince. So it is in the Kingdom of God. He who has a heart to understand, let him understand.

*******

At this point, let me share with you another reality. Firstly, it is a testimony to Christ Himself, His power, His wisdom, love, grace, and patience. It is also a testimony to His ways and judgments. Secondly, it is another simple, but I would say clear, picture concerning His true Disciples and servants and His ways with them. Hence, I believe this sharing is a very practical one and should shatter the darkness and deceptions in these areas and bring light, truth, joy, blessings and encouragement to every simple heart opened to the truth of Christ.

The ministry called “Montreal Remnant Ministries” (MRM) has been granted to us by the Lord Himself in 1986. Do you remember? Eight years ago. It was, as it were, “born” out of our home fellowship which the Lord started with us in May of 1974. We have been thus meeting for 20 years, week after week, month after month, year after year without fail, going from house to house breaking bread and worshipping the Lord, learning obedience to His Word and thus being transformed. The Lord added some and took away some during those years. We know that.

However, since its beginning, the MRM has been carried by THREE men, helped and supported by their three families. One of those families has been my own (thank You, Lord). We three men have been working in our secular jobs 8 hours a day, and in our spare time we have been carrying this ministry in all its facets — recording messages from the Lord, like this one, writing them, editing, typesetting and printing them, packaging and mailing them to all the countries mentioned before, as the Lord opened the doors.

And personal letters ... thousands of letters were received and replied to — PERSONALLY — by the three of us in our spare time! By the way, in April 1992 the Lord took away one man and his family (see Parts VI and VII) and replaced him by another, and added a fourth to help carry the ministry.

We received no subsidies, no support and no gifts from anyone. (* see note on page 236, Appendix A) Fund raising is prohibited by our Constitution, which means by the Lord, and we have nothing to sell. All our literature and ministry is free and postpaid. Rather, we give from our own labours unto the Lord Who takes it and multiplies it, and supplies all our needs as well as the needs of all those who receive Him through us! Amen.

Is this a miracle? Well, Disciples and servants of Christ — you judge in your own hearts.

His ways are perfect, and by learning them, perfection is being imparted to us also who walk in His ways — and the Lord is pleased.

Do we believe that these are the ways of the Lord?

I tell you another reality. We have received and personally replied to about 1500 letters from Nigeria alone. From these letters it seems that “every second person in this African country is an evangelist who desperately tries to convert the other half of the population to Christianity”. Unfortunately, they all lack the means to achieve this goal, so they asked our ministry for help: buses, bicycles, loudspeakers, microphones, tape recorders, videocassettes, guitars, cymbals, organs, truckloads of Christian literature, evangelistic pamphlets, fliers and as generous a financial help as possible. Do you remember?

Our reply was very brief. We asked them whether they ever read the New Testament, especially Lk.22:35, and other similar passages of the Scripture. None of them replied ... poor victims of the “American style evangelism”. But many claimed that they were indeed called by God because God used them.

So I am turning here to all those who believe that they are true servants of God because God is USING them. The revelation which the Lord graciously granted me just a short time ago, in fact on April 11,1994 as I remember, is this:

(1) If you are used by God — it does NOT necessarily mean you are His servant or Disciple or that God works in you that which is wellpleasing to Him, or that God is perfecting you!

(2) If you are knowledgeable of the Bible with its doctrines, or if you preach them, teach them, share them, print them, disseminate them — it does NOT necessarily mean that you are God's servant or Disciple or that He is perfecting you!

(3) If you are involved in religious activities, attending Church services or even home meetings, fellowships, Biblical discussions, seminaries, theological faculties; if you give gifts, offerings or even tithes; if you spend time in prayers, and even if the Lord answers some of them — it does NOT necessarily mean that you are God's servant or Disciple or that God is perfecting you!

(4) If you are doing visitations in hospitals, prisons, homes, orphanages, or you are involved in social activities doing a lot of good — it does NOT necessarily mean that you are God's servant or Disciple or that He is perfecting you!

These are amazing points. Is this really a revelation from Christ? Why is this so?

There are two kinds of answers to the above:

Concerning point (1) — God is using any part of His Creation for His purposes, whether it be living or dead. He uses “nature”, animals, people and spiritual beings. He uses His angels. He may be using the devil and his angels. The most typical example of this is the ass of Balaam in Num.22:23–31, who was USED by God to speak to God's foolish prophet. Now the obvious question is: Was the ass a “servant of God”? No, he was a tool of God.

Another typical example is in 1Sam.16:14–23 and also 18:10 where the Lord sent an evil spirit to trouble Saul. Was the evil spirit a “servant of the Lord”? Of course not! He was a tool of God. If, therefore, God sends us somewhere, it does not yet mean we are His apostles; and if He uses us for something, it does not yet mean we are His servants. We may only be His tools!

We can conclude from the above that all true servants of God are His tools, His vessels, but not all of His tools are His true servants or Disciples!

Concerning points (2),(3) and (4) — If we are not His true servants, we are yet able to do all these activities described in these three points BUT with a fundamental difference: We are not helping or perfecting anyone in spirit!

Let us at this point realize the Word of God in 1Cor.12:28–31 and Eph.4:11–13. We may remember that it is written that God gave some servants (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) and also gifts of the Spirit “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” This is a famous verse in Ephesians 4:12,13.

Now what have many “servants” of God done to the Church? They could not perfect any saints because they themselves were never being perfected. Rather, they have perfected the deception in the saints and plunged them into deeper darkness. They have divided their faith and thus effectively separated them one from another into their various organizations, denominations and sects! Often they have filled them with damnable doctrines, so instead of coming to the knowledge of the Son of God, they were led to the knowledge of the commandments of men.

Now many of these “servants” may have been originally called by God and given to His Church as per Eph.4:11. What happened was that they simply failed, and instead of bringing the Church “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”, they brought the Church into misery!

There have also been many “servants” of God who “gave themselves to the Church without God ever knowing about it”. The large majority of these recent “servants” are, in particular, the new lady-ministers. I always thought that witches wore high pointed hats and stirred horribly smelling greenish-grey brew, adding therein all kinds of strange and abominable ingredients. But no. These days many witches sit high on platforms and in the chief seats in religious auditoria, sometimes wearing clerical collars, reading the Scriptures or preaching and blessing their congregations! They rebel against the very Word of God which they attempt to preach (1Cor.14:34,35), and rebellion is as a sin of witchcraft (1Sam.15:23). This is a most serious Word!

* * *

Let me rather turn to the true servants now and let us together consider the fact that the fruit of a true servant of Christ always must harmonize with Eph.4:12–16: the perfecting of the saints, bringing them into the knowledge of the Son of God. But in order to perfect the saints, to edify them in truth, to bring them to one faith and One Lord (Eph.4:5 — there is One Lord and one faith), and labour till Christ is formed in them (Gal.4:19) so as to be then able to present them perfect in Christ Jesus (Col.1:28) — the servant himself must first be perfected, and keep himself being perfected.

The servants who never found and hence never walked the ways of the Lord, Whose ways are perfect (2Sam.22:31) and Whose ways lead unto perfection, such servants cannot lead any other man to these ways and hence to his own perfection!

The Church of Jesus Christ may not have failed in evangelistic efforts, in growing in quantity, or in the efforts to alleviate poverty or social injustices, etc. The Church of Jesus Christ failed, and totally failed, in quality, in obeying the Lord, in loving the Lord, and in desiring His Perfection! And the result of this colossal failure is the colossal spiritual misery of the Church.

What I also should add here is that the masses of Believers will not be really responsible for all this failure and for all this misery, rather, their leadership, the servants whom God gave to the Church will be responsible and will be judged accordingly! The shepherds are the chief reason for this failure and this spiritual misery of the Church, and not the sheep.

I might ask all servants of God: “Do you truly desire to come to the knowledge of the Son of God? Do you truly desire to be perfected, even as perfect as your Heavenly Father? Do you really desire that? Do you really desire to fulfil even this part of the Word of God?” If yes, the Lord will change not only your current doctrines and beliefs and deeds, but your very own self, your very own soul, and your spirit.

Doctrines, even correct doctrines, do not make us perfect! Our beliefs and deeds do not make us perfect. The Judgments of God do not make us perfect, just as His Law does not make us perfect (Heb.7:19). If God should use us even here as His tool, that does not make us perfect. All our religious or social activities as mentioned before do not make us perfect! When we pray for help and the Lord answers, or, for example, read the Psalms in times of grief or trouble, we may be helped. The Lord may answer and we may be helped, comforted, strengthened — but by that we are not transformed, and therefore not perfected. Do you see this?

The fact that the Lord keeps us in His Grace, even uses us as tools, grants us blessings and helps us in numberless occasions throughout our lives, whether we pray or not, that does not mean that His Spirit is transforming us, or that He is perfecting us at the same time!

The only thing that can transform us and perfect us is the Life of Christ! As our old life is being destroyed within us, in that as we keep denying ourselves daily and taking up our cross and following Christ (Mt.16:24), as we thus keep dying to ourselves daily (1Cor.15:31), so the Life of Christ is being imparted to us by His Spirit! That alone is the transformation. That alone is the perfecting of His servants and His saints. That alone is partaking of the divine nature, and nothing else.

Do you see it? Do you understand it? Do you truly desire it? There are only a few of whom I know who do. But the beauty of the Life of Christ, even in such hearts, is normally hidden; and no man can see it save those who live by the same Life, those who are being filled with all the fullness of God! Can man be filled with all the fullness of God? Read Ephesians 3:19, and you will know.

What is the fullness of God? It certainly includes His Light and Glory, His Holiness, His Righteousness, His Truth, His Love, His Grace, etc., which means His Perfection. Praise the Lord!

* * *

Let me now show you the Bride, the Wife of Christ, the One perfected according to the Will and Pleasure of the Father and of the Son. I am giving you now something living which I received from the Lord Christ directly. I will give you a lot of Scriptures and references because it is necessary, but I am also giving you something living from Christ Himself because the Bride and the Wife of Christ is someone very, very special and living the Life of Christ.

She is the Dove (S. of Sol.6:9). She is the Overcomer of Philadelphia (Rev.3:12). And She is the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. (Rev.21:9,10).

I was made to realize that at the time of the New Creation, which is described in the Book of Revelation chpt.21, there is no more number seven. We know that the number seven represents a “temporary” spiritual perfection; in other words, God is “added” to His Creation. God as Supreme is number one, but God as Creator is number three; Father, Son, and Spirit (in Genesis 1:26 God said: “Let us make man.”). Now God (3) plus the number of creation (4) equals 7. God is, as it were, “added” to His Creation. This is a temporary spiritual perfection.

From Rev. chpt. 21 and onward, there is no more “seven”. It is all “twelve”, which is “eternal” spiritual perfection. In other words, God is “multiplied” or merged with His Creation: i.e. 3 x 4 = 12. This is demonstrated quite clearly in the Book of Revelation how God “merges” with the Bride and Wife of Christ, and I have five points to show:

(1) She is now perfected possessing the Glory of God (Rev.21:11), possessing the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, which is Christ, Who are the Temple within Her (Rev.21:22) and possessing Their Thrones which are now within Her as well (Rev.22:3);

(2) She is now perfectly separated, that is, sanctified from all evil and darkness by a perfect wall (144 cubits = 12 x 12 — Rev.21:17–27);

(3) She is now perfectly governed by the perfect choice of God (12 gates with the names of the 12 Tribes of Israel, the chosen ones — Rev.21:12);

(4) She is now perfectly founded on and governed by the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Word (12 foundations with the names of 12 Apostles — Rev.21:14).

I would like to note here that these foundations were also garnished with twelve kinds of precious stones (Rev.21:19-20 and 1Cor.3:12);

(5) She is now perfectly holy, perfectly righteous, and perfectly true; and 1000 times governed by eternal perfection in every way (12000 furlongs of Rev.21:16 = 1000 x 12 furlongs in width, in breadth and in height [Eph.3:18 and 5:27]).

And it will take us a long time to re-read these verses and to get this picture that the Lord is giving to us tonight.

The work of God and our own co-working with Him in fear and trembling has ended (Phil.2:12,13). The fruits have all been perfected. There is nothing more to be accomplished. It is done (Rev.21:6).

The last truth and revelation which I desire to share with you all is this. I remember well my early Christian years, what was preached to us, what we were taught and what we believed. For us “Pentecostals” most of it was beautiful. We believed that we were the “pinnacle of Christianity” with all that tongue-speaking and prophesying. We were also asked to picture ourselves “walking on those golden streets of the New Jerusalem” dressed in white, happy, singing and praising the Lord. We tried to picture it, and it made at least some of us joyous and singing unto the Lord.

Of course, at that time none of us knew the spiritual Reality, so none of us realized that it would be only the Overcomers who will be “walking on those golden streets”. Also, we could not possibly imagine that not all Pentecostals were Overcomers. Perhaps not so with Catholics, but with Pentecostals it was rather impossible to imagine.

The truth is simple, again, and I ask all true servants and Disciples of the Lord Christ Jesus to consider this truth in their hearts and spirits.

(1) Please, re-read chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Reve-lation and realize that the Lord is promising something only to “him that overcometh”! We all here may have known it already for some time, but not everybody knows this truth. Do not forget that we are recording this for the sake of those outside this ministry.

All churches are commanded to “repent”, except Smyrna, which is the suffering Church with the crown of Life promised to her (Rev.2:10); and Philadelphia, which is the loving Church with the crown of Life already in her possession (Rev.3:11). Nevertheless, even here the Believers must overcome in order to attain the promise of the Lord.

Finally, Rev.21:7 clearly reiterates that it is only he who overcomes who will inherit all things (promised by the Lord). He who does not overcome (the fearful, unbelieving, abominable, etc.) shall inherit nothing! These shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Rev.21:8, also Rev.20:14,15).

(2) I reiterate not only to the Disciples and servants of the Lord but to the whole Church concerning the Rapture and the destiny of those who believed but have not overcome. The truth, I believe, is this:

a) the Church at large will be raptured at the end of the Tribulation period, which means at the last (seventh) trump (1Cor.15:51-52 and Rev.11:15+18), just before the wrath of God symbolized by the seven vials is poured out. This is also called “the first resurrection”, and “blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power...” (Rev.20:6).

b) not all the Church will be raptured or resurrected (to enter the Kingdom of heaven and to reign with Christ) at this time despite 1Cor.15:51, which says: “but we shall all be changed”. But here “all” means all those who are transformed and do bear His heavenly Image, if we care to read also verses 48 and 49.

And there will be such, for example, as the non-overcomers of the Church in Smyrna who will be hurt by the second death (Rev.2:11), and generally those will not be present who are not ready (Matt.25:10, which is the parable of the virgins). This also includes all those Disciples and servants of Christ who are non-overcomers, who had not opened their hearts to the Lord (Rev.3:20), and knew not the Lord and the Lord never knew them (Mat.7:21–23). All such “children of the kingdom” who were supposed to enter in “shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat.8:12).

And, in fact, all unprofitable servants shall follow them (Mat.25:30). None of them will take part in the first resurrection, but they “lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” (Rev.20:5). That does not mean that they will be consumed by the second death; but they might be hurt by it, and yet escape it, if their names are still found in the Book of Life (Rev.20:11–15).

(3) I now turn to the Overcomers only, to their calling and destiny. The four groups within the Church, the four-fold spectrum of the Church, was already shared in Part VII. It is again applied in the Book of Revelation in that the Overcomers from the seven Churches form the same four-fold spectrum.

Let us see again the Song of Songs 6:8–9: “There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother (which means the Church), she is the choice one of her that bear her (the Church). The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.”

In my faith, these Overcomers typify or represent the four groups and come mostly from the following churches:

(1) Virgins — Ephesus (from Jews)

........ — Smyrna (from Jews and

........ Gentiles)

........ — Sardis (from Gentiles)

(2) Concubines — Pergamos (from Jews)

— Thyatira (from Gentiles)

(3) Queens — Laodicea (mostly from Gentiles)

(4) Dove — Philadelphia (mostly from Gentiles)

Perhaps this reality may be shocking, I do not really know, but if we would be as little children with the right faith, and little children also have very good imaginations, we would be able to imagine it and take it by faith.

And what the Lord had granted to me just recently is truly shocking and hard to imagine. I know, because it shocked me and shook me. It shook my spirit and my heart ... and to this day I cannot really imagine this New and Grand Reality.

Yes, in the past I also imagined how I would be dressed in white, walking the golden street of New Jerusalem, drinking the water of life from the stream proceeding from the Throne of God, eating from the tree of life, and serving God for ever and ever. It is all in Rev.22:1–3. And I said to myself, “finally, brother Hanola will have a lot of true friends and he will not be avoided or feared or hated and consigned to the depths of hell by most of the religious leaders”. Is this not beautiful? It is. It is beyond my imagination, but I would be fully satisfied.

But today I praise God immensely! His Word in 1Cor.2:9 is true and is being unveiled in its unfathomable breadth and depth and height. I am also going to record 1Cor.2:9, as it is written: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” And that is true.

Today I know for the first time in my life that I will NOT walk the golden street of New Jerusalem! I will not drink from the water of life! I will not eat from the tree of life! I will not even enter the gates of that City! And if you are shocked, praise the Lord; because so was I and so should you be.

All of you, the true servants of Christ, who love the Lord with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your soul and all your strength, who love the Lord Jesus Christ more than anyone else, anything else, and even more than your own self — you will NOT walk the golden street of New Jerusalem either! You and I, we will not walk that golden street in the light and glory of that City of New Jerusalem! Why? Because — WE ARE THAT CITY !!!

We are the golden street. We are the wall (S.of S.8:10). We are the gates (Ps.87:2,3, S. of S.7:13, Is.60:18,19). We are the tree of life (Pr.11:30, 15:4, Jer.17:8). It is difficult to imagine, but I cannot eat of myself. I cannot walk within myself. We are that City, and all that City is described in the Book of Revelation chpt. 20 and 21. That is what WE ARE. And if you re-read those two chapters twelve times you might begin to receive from the Lord grains of Reality which are absolutely beyond imagination.

And we are going to continue, as I am not finished.

So the next question is: Who are the nations which are saved and will walk in the light of that City? (Rev.21:24). I believe no theologian could ever decipher these mysteries. Only a babe in Christ can, and he who loves the Lord. Who are those nations? I always thought it was me, that I belonged there, but not so.

This is the mystery:

a) virgins without number are the nations that shall “walk” on the golden street and in the light of the Bride and Wife of Christ (Rev.21:24);

b) concubines are the kings of the earth who do bring their glory and honour into the Bride & Wife of Christ (Rev.21:24);

c) queens shall sit on the Throne of Christ and shall govern those nations (Rev.3:21);

d) the dove, the Bride and Wife of Christ, has become ONE with Christ and with God! She is the ONLY ONE of her mother (the Church). She is the choice One, (do you remember S.of S.6:9?). She is also the only One who bears three names: the Name of God, the Name of Christ (Her Bridegroom) and the Name of the City of New Jerusalem.(Rev.3:12)! Hallelujah.

Furthermore, She has been made a pillar in the Temple of God and shall go out (of God) no more! (Rev.3:12). But at the same time, God and Christ ARE the Temple within Her! (Rev.21:22). If, therefore, God and Christ are the Temple within Her, and She is the pillar of that Temple and shall go no more out of that Temple — that simply declares that — God and Christ and the Bride and Wife MERGED into ONE!

I do praise God immensely ... immensely ... that I caught a glimpse of this Mystery not in my brain, but that I caught a glimpse of this in my heart.

The Lord Jesus Christ said: “I and my Father are one” (Jn.10:30), and was considered a blasphemer to be stoned, because in the eyes of those Jews around Him He was just a man who was making Himself God (Jn.10:33).

I never said such a thing myself, yet, I was already accused by many for “playing God”, for “making myself a Judge over the Church”, for being “proud and arrogant”, for “flying too high”, and I do not know what else. These were mostly highly emotional Believers or zealous ones with sharp minds — Christian “lawyers, scribes and Pharisees”. If I should care about what people think and say about me, I would never write anything.

But I do care about those few who read with their hearts and simple faith; those who have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to understand. I am not writing just about myself, but about all of you, who are (or will be) the New Jerusalem, the True Bride and Wife of Christ.

For your sakes I say: “We and Christ are One; we and the Father are One; we and God Almighty are One!” Who will understand this? I do not know. But this is the Finale. For if the Lord is turning me into His Image (Rom.8:29), then I will be able to say the same thing: “I and my Father are One; I and Christ are One”. And so it shall be, because the Book of Revelation confirms it.

Is this Truth not Glorious? Is It not worth all our present petty sufferings with all our darkness, foolishness, and stubbornness? Is It not worth falling to our knees and repenting to our Great God? Is It not worth truly giving to Him all that we have and all that we are? And while He is giving to us all that He has and all that He is? Is It not worth praising Him for ever?

And for the sake of all those who might yet ask: “So what is the Church? Is not the Church one?” Yes. The Church is the Body of Christ, and His Fulness (Eph.1:23). That is the Word of God and nobody will change it.

But I conclude saying this: The Church is the New Jerusalem, which is the Bride and Wife of Christ — PLUS the Queens, PLUS the Concubines, PLUS the Virgins without number, which are the nations walking in the light of this New Jerusalem! This is the Mystery of the Church, and this is the Mystery of our Destiny.

“I praise You, O Lord and God Almighty. I praise You immensely and with all my heart, and with all my mind, and with all my soul, and with all my strength. I praise You and I thank You for the Glorious Truth which had been a Mystery to all of us — but now has become a Magnificent Reality. Amen!”

* * *

APPENDIX A

* Note to the text of Part X:

There has been a certain development of events since Part X was recorded until today, May 30, 1995. Consequently, it is desirable to add the following:

page 214 - The Bride of Christ has since appeared also in Bohemia and Moravia of the Czech Republic (great thanks to the Lord).

page 222 - Several gifts have been received at our MRM address both in Montreal and Bratislava. Generous gifts have come even from as far as Australia (great thanks to the Lord).