The Rapture: Who Will be Taken?
Without a doubt, Christian men and women have been absolutely inundated with many conflicting, and even confusing interpretations of what the Word of God is trying to say, especially where the subject of “end times” is concerned. Good men have butchered one another over these so-called doctrines when the answers to such fallacies as a “rapture”, or “seven-year tribulation” can be easily found in God’s word. In fact, the entirety of these two doctrines can be easily dismantled with just four verses of OLD Testament Scripture! Unless otherwise noted, the following verses are quoted in the KJV.
21 For the upright shall DWELL IN the land, and the perfect shall REMAIN in it.
22 But the wicked shall be CUT OFF from the earth, and the transgressors shall be ROOTED OUT of it.
The righteous shall NEVER be REMOVED: [but] the wicked SHALL NOT inhabit the earth.
They that trust in the LORD shall be as Mount Zion, which CANNOT be REMOVED, but abideth forever.
And what does the New Testament have to say about this? Looking at Hebrews 12:18 & 22 we see this. . .
18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest. . .
22 But ye are come unto MOUNT SION, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.
A city, which according to David, CANNOT be removed yet this false rapture doctrine says it WILL be removed for seven years while the wicked suffer immense judgment. The problem is, there are no such things described in the scriptures! In Israel there was the city of Jerusalem - the capital city, the seat of government comprising all the ruling class. Yet in Jerusalem there was only one who, along with his entire household, dwelt on mount Zion. He was the king! Mount Zion is the highest mount in Jerusalem, and David the king established his throne there. His was the highest pinnacle of glory attainable. But that Zion was only a shadow of the true mount Zion to which we are come in the Spirit. David was king over natural Israel. Christ is king over spiritual Israel. David dwelt on the natural mount Zion. Therefore Christ dwells on the spiritual mount Zion. And this spiritual Zion is composed of those who in union with Christ the Head, have reached the very highest pinnacle attainable in the heavenly Jerusalem - those who have followed the Lord all the way to His throne. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne” (Revelation 3:21).
How wonderful is the realization that God has but ONE throne, and those who share that throne, share it in the heights of the spiritual mount Zion! All who are dwelling in the high and holy realm of Zion, are hearing the voice of the Son of God as He speaks glad tidings of perfection of holiness and power. The reign of Christ and the peace of the Kingdom of God are being declared in Zion! “For the Lord hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation. This is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. There will I make the horn (kingship) of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon Himself shall His crown flourish” (Psalm 132:13-14, 17-18).
You see, when the Word becomes LIFE to us by the Spirit, the Lord fills us with joy, peace, holiness by the power of His Holy Hill - mount Zion! Then, and only then, can all of those qualities flow out of us to fill, first - the city of God (that's US!), then the whole land of God’s own people. . .then finally the whole earth and all nations. Haggai prophesied saying of the glory of the latter house (the spiritual temple of living stones - each stone a quickened, living son of God), “And in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:9). When the peace of God has filled the house of the Lord, His peace shall then flow out of the house, bringing true and lasting peace to all the peoples and nations of the world!
This brings us to the argument over 1 Thessalonians 4:17 - whether to translate from the Latin Vulgate or the Greek Textus Receptus [Received Text].
15 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.
16 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:
17 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.
Getting our Strong’s Concordance out, we see that the Greek word used for the phrase “caught up” is Strong’s number [G726] ἁρπάζω (harpazo) meaning: TO SEIZE, CATCH {away} {up}, PLUCK, PULL, TAKE (by force), which is used in modern Hebrew to describe the pulling of another person close to oneself. . .as in a strong embrace. . . or HUG! The Latin word “rapere”, or “rapitur” (where the idea of a “rapture” comes from) means the exact same thing as “harpazo” (verify here).
The word “air” here is NOT [G3772] οὐρανός (ouranos) meaning: THE SKY (through the idea of elevation), by extension HEAVEN (as in the abode of God), by implication POWER, ETERNITY, HEAVENLY. In other words, the place where the birds or planes fly. . .No! The word here is [G109] ἀήρ (aer) meaning: TO BREATHE, that is RESPIRE: by analogy TO BLOW, AIR (as naturally circumambient, i.e., surrounded on all sides). That is, THE AIR which is right in front of our faces!
This is the same word used in Acts 22:23 where dust is thrown “into the air”, and again in 1 Corinthians 14:9 where Paul says he is not as one that “beats the air”. I pause here to ask a quesion, if your pastor has been to Bible college, I am willing to bet there is a Strong’s Concordance (dictionary of every word used in the Bible in both Hebrew and Greek) sitting on a shelf in his office: so why in the world are these pastors not teaching these truths to the “sheep” they so proudly claim to be “shepherds” over? It’s gut wrenching, isn’t it. . .learning that you’ve been deceived all these years?
37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark;
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took THEM all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the ONE [tare] shall be TAKEN, and THE OTHER [wheat] LEFT.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the ONE [belonging to the Harlot Church] shall be TAKEN, and the other [belonging to the True Church] LEFT.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
As we know, it was the wicked who were taken from the earth during the flood of Noah, not the righteous. You see brethren, the moment a man repents of his sin and believes on Christ for the salvation of his soul, he becomes a member of the True Church and Tabernacle which God pitched and not man - the house not made with hands, which is His Body. But the moment a child of God allies himself with one of earth's harlot systems, he begins to lose sight of the true and heavenly Tabernacle which God pitched, his eyes beholding the false church pitched by man. No longer does he remain a chaste virgin for Christ, walking in the purity and light of his heavenly citizenship - like Noah - but, having hearkened to the charming voice of one of Babylon's harlot daughters, he embraces another bosom that will rob him of his first love, wither his experience, close his spiritual eyes, and make him a citizen of Babylon instead of a citizen of heaven.
What the scriptures above are saying is that the wicked denominational system who is happy to call itself “The Church” - which is not the True Church at all, but a man-made religious system the Bible refers to as Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots - will eventually be removed from the earth. Those who overcome the trappings of the Harlot Church in this life will be “caught up” together with all of those who have done so throughout every dispensation - NOT up into “heaven”, or “outer space”, but right where they stand! Our Lord Jesus said that His Kingdom is not of this (physical) world. . .but is a spiritual Kingdom here on Earth that is very much alive and thriving all around us! It is the wicked thoughts and institutions of men created out from the carnal mind that will be removed from the Earth - not the other way around!
51 Behold, I SHOW YOU a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at THE LAST trump [ONE trump, or “voice”]: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed [right where we stand].
For the Lord himself will descend from HEAVEN with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the TRUMPET of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
The word “heaven” here is ouranos (οὐρανός) which we saw previously, meaning: by extension HEAVEN (as in the abode of God), by implication POWER, ETERNITY, HEAVENLY.
Know you not that YOU are the temple of God [His abode], and that the Spirit of God dwelleth IN YOU?
It is my belief that what is being described here is the Power of Jesus bursting forth upon the deadness of our own minds and illuminating our awareness of Him as He enters into His Holy Temple. Oh, what a scene too! How precious is the moment when we realize that Jesus doesn’t enter a sanctuary somewhere in outer space, but in the very chamber of OUR MIND where He sits and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords! And not only that, but there is a procession of heavenly hosts rejoicing over Him upon His triumphal entry through the gate of YOUR Heavenly Jerusalem - singers singing, players and damsels playing as the kings of the earth bring their gifts to Him in His Heavenly Sanctuary! This, my friend, is what it’s like when Jesus triumphantly enters the gate of YOUR Jerusalem! Aren’t you glad?!!
24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. . .
29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
Dear pilgrim, has He not already entered through the gate of your Jerusalem? Have you not already taken Him whom your soul loveth and brought Him into the chamber of your mother’s house? Has He not visited you there many times there, providing comfort and joy? Or, do you yet thirst after Him as did the woman of Samaria to whom Christ said, "If thou knewest the Gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee Living Water.” She understood not what He spoke concerning Himself, but oh how gently He made her know Him by speaking into her parched and weary heart - she, who had had five husbands and was now living in shameless adultery, there came the Water, a Well of Water, a Spring of Water - so much so, that it made her a Messenger of God! She fled into the city and brought out all the men of Sychar to the feet of Jesus and He received them.
Let us consider this important question: Where does Jesus say He will receive us to? "I will come again and receive you unto MYSELF." To understand the deep meaning of this significant statement we must see by the spirit of wisdom and revelation just WHERE CHRIST IS. The Lord has never anywhere promised to carry us off to a beautiful land or distant galaxy, but in the tenderest tones He assures us that He is Himself the WAY TO THE FATHER. "I am the WAY. . .no man COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, but by Me." That’s it! That is where we are going! We are on a journey back to the Father, and JESUS IS THE WAY! The WAY is not a route through the earth’s oceans, nor the Milky Way, the WAY is a PERSON! And the DESTINATION is likewise a PERSON. "No man cometh unto the FATHER, but by ME." It is IN CHRIST alone that we are able to enter into intimate relationship and vital union with the Father.
And just like the woman at the well, there resides in the heart of every man a secret thirst for the Fountain of Living Water. Yet vainly, men imagine that this thirst can be quenched by partaking of the stagnant waters of earth’s cisterns. Like lost sheep they wander through the wilderness of life seeking satisfaction and finding none. Place after place they roam in their pitiful search for the Fountain that satisfies, but find it they never can until at last they come to Christ. "If any man thirst," says Christ, "let him come unto ME and drink!" He becomes all in all to every searching heart. When Jesus comes, the thirsty soul finds the Fountain of Living Waters. Only here is man’s thirst forever quenched! Henceforth the River is in him, a literal Niagara of Living Water springing up unto eternal life! Amen!
The Six Ways Jesus “Comes Again”
Here are the six words used in the Scriptures to describe the comings of the Lord:
PAROUSIA. This word occurs twenty-four times in the New Testament. It comes from the verb PAREMI which means "at hand”, or "to be present." The noun signifies "presence". This verb emphasizes the actual personal presence of the one who comes. "Be patient unto the COMING (presence) of the Lord" (James 5:7). PAROUSIA never indicates the act of coming or the arrival of a person but denotes the presence of one who has already arrived.
APOKALUPSIS. This word comes from the verb APOKALUPTO meaning "to uncover”, or "unveil," and stresses the appearing or revelation of one by means of an uncovering or unveiling. It is the disclosure of one who has been hidden under cover. "Be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the REVELATION (unveiling) of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1:13).
EPIPHANEIA. This word is to be found six times in the New Testament. It comes from a verb which signifies "to shine upon”, "bring to light," "to appear," or "to manifest". The noun is "manifestation”, or "brightness." It is the appearance out of darkness of a star that has been there all day, unseen and unperceived, and suddenly manifesting at night. This word is used in the sense of the glory or majesty that is revealed by the coming of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
PHANEROO. This word means to render apparent or make manifest, not necessarily a visible presence, but a perception. "When He shall appear (become apparent), we shall be like Him" (I John 3:2).
ERCHOMAI. This word is used to indicate the actual act of coming, not, as with PAROUSIA, the presence of one who has arrived, but the event of coming. "Behold, HE COMETH (is in the act of coming) with clouds" (Revelation 1:7).
HEKO. This word stresses the point of arrival at a certain place, as in: “I am come” and “I am here”. "Hold fast till I COME (to you)" (Revelation 2:25).
Of course, these six words do not mean there are six (total) comings of the Lord, but the distinction between them enables one to see what the texts mean with reference to the coming of His PRESENCE. For instance, both the word EPIPHANEIA and PAROUSIA occur in a notable verse: "Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the BRIGHTNESS (epiphaneia) of His COMING (parousia)”, (2 Thessalonians 2:8). The literal translation of this verse reads, "the MANIFESTATION of His PRESENCE."
In the following verses relating to our Lord's coming the word PAROUSIA appears in the Greek text and should be translated PRESENCE. . .
"What shall be the sign of Thy PRESENCE?" (Matthew 24:3).
"So shall also the PRESENCE of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:27, 37, 39).
"They that are Christ's, at His PRESENCE" (I Corinthians 15:23).
"What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye, before our Lord Jesus Christ at His PRESENCE?" (I Thessalonians 2:19).
"He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thessalonians 3:13).
"We which are alive, and remain unto the PRESENCE of the Lord shall not prevent (hinder) them which are asleep" (I Thessalonians 4:15).
"Be preserved blameless unto the PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thessalonians 5:23).
"Now we beseech you brethren, by the PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto Him" (II Thessalonians 2:1).
"Be patient therefore brethren, unto the PRESENCE of the Lord" (James 5:7).
"Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the PRESENCE of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8).
"There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His PRESENCE?" (II Peter 3:3-4).
"Come now and let us reason together," saith the Lord through the lips of Isaiah; and again, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:18-19). Let us therefore reason together with Him by giving thoughtful, prayerful, and reverent consideration to the scriptures He has provided, using this key word PAROUSIA in connection with the so-called "second-coming" of Jesus. Let us do this with hearts hungering and thirsting after righteousness and willing minds open to conviction by the blessed Spirit of Truth through the inspired Word, and willing to abandon false opinions and conceptions born of faulty translation and traditional teaching; remembering that He has shined forth with ever-increasing light since the beginning of creation; is shining forth now, and will continue to shine forth until the darkened hearts of all humanity have been warmed, melted, and returned to God; remembering that He has been, is now, and will continue to be entering, accompanying, bringing in, filling out His Kingdom, that wonderful realm in Christ in which all humanity shall eventually find their life when His Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh; and remembering that we of this age are merely a few specially chosen for His name to be used as instruments for future ages in the expansion of His Kingdom; it is not at all strange that He should now desire to tell us of His PRESENCE and the glorious work planned for and to be accomplished IN AND BY HIS PRESENCE in this age and in vast ages yet unborn. With these thoughts in mind let us now prayerfully examine the following scripture passage.
I Thessalonians 5:23-24 - "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."
This incorrect translation of the Greek text suggests that the apostle Paul believed that those believers at Thessalonica would be preserved physically, enjoying health and longevity for 2,000 years, until the so-called "rapture." Those of you who are qualified to read the Greek text may be surprised to learn that the Greek words meaning "until" (MECHRI, HEOS, ACHRI) are not to be found in this passage. These verses say nothing whatsoever about being preserved "until" or "unto" the coming of the Lord. The word translated "unto" is the Greek preposition EN which is the equivalent of our English word IN. The Greek preposition EN clearly defines LOCATION or POSITION. Dr. Robert Young, author of Young's Analytical Concordance, in his Literal Translation correctly translates the verse, "And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved unblameable IN THE PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Concordant New Testament renders, "Now may the God of peace Himself be hollowing you wholly; and may your unimpaired spirit and soul and body be kept blameless IN THE PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Diaglott reads, "And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your whole person - the spirit and the soul and the body - be preserved blameless IN THE PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ."
You see, precious friend, there is a whole world of difference between being preserved blameless UNTIL THE COMING of the Lord and being preserved blameless IN THE PRESENCE of the Lord! Is it not by HIS ABIDING PRESENCE that we are able to be kept and preserved blameless, faultless, without blemish or spot? It should be apparent that the primary thrust of this scripture is a sanctification and preservation of the whole man in a state of holiness and perfection by the power of the presence of the Lord. "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME before Him in love" (Ephesians 1:4). This is utterly amazing! Vile sinners such as we - assured that it is the purpose of God in election and predestination that we should be WITHOUT BLEMISH before the Father! Such a condition is first stated to be true in our forerunner, Christ, ". . .the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb WITHOUT BLEMISH" (I Peter 1:19). Wonder of wonders! that there should be a people, a firstfruit company, a royal priesthood, a seed of blessing which is AS FREE OF BLEMISH as is the precious lamb of God Himself! Dear chosen one of God, dare you believe it? Ah, if this were not the case, why would God be dealing so severely in your life? "Now He that hath wrought us for this self same thing is GOD" (II Corinthians 5:5). Thank God - HE shall perform it!
It should be apparent by now that our God never speaks in the terms “first coming” or “second coming” but only of the progressive revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world”. . .
In Mark 13:26 He comes with CLOUDS.
In Matthew 24:27 He comes as LIGHTNING.
In Revelation 16:15 He comes as a THIEF.
In Matthew 25:6 He comes as the BRIDEGROOM.
In Revelation 22:16 and 2:28 He comes as the MORNING STAR.
In Malachi 4:2 He comes as the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARISING.
In Philippians 3:20-21 He comes in RESURRECTION POWER.
In II Thessalonians 1:7-8 He comes in FLAMING FIRE.
In Malachi 3:1-3 He comes to His priesthood company as REFINER'S FIRE and FULLER'S SOAP.
In I Thessalonians 4:16-17 He comes IN THE AIR.
In Hosea 6:3 and James 5:7-8 He comes as the RAIN.
In Revelation 19:11 & 14 He comes on a WHITE HORSE.
In Matthew 25:31-34 He comes as KING.
In I Peter 5:4 He comes as the CHIEF SHEPHERD.
In Matthew 16:27 He comes WITH HIS ANGELS.
In Jude 14 He comes WITH HIS SAINTS.
In John 14:18 He comes TO HIS SAINTS.
In II Thessalonians 1:10 He comes IN HIS SAINTS.
In Jude 14 & 15 He comes in JUDGMENT.
In Revelation 22:12 He comes WITH REWARDS.
Time and space fail us to tell of how He comes with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God; He comes to the Mount of Olives; He comes to His temple; He comes in glory; He comes as Lord; He comes in His Kingdom; He comes as seasons of refreshing, etc., etc., etc. To bring Christ back in the flesh, to know Him once more after the flesh, would be one gigantic step BACKWARD, a mistake of immense proportions! Do we not ALREADY know Him? Are not we among those who have NOT seen His earthly form, but are more blessed than those who saw and believed? Are we not twice born men who through faith have been born of His life-giving Spirit; having fullness of fellowship with Him NOW? Does He not speak to us and continually manifest Himself to us in the tenderest of tones? Why yes! For even now we delight in the blessed wonder of His glorious presence - walking with Him in the Spirit, and unburdening our hearts to Him at any hour of the day or night as He communes with us in the garden of our hearts! And HOW do we know Him? Why, we know Him BY HIS SPIRIT! And it is through the FULLNESS OF THIS SAME SPIRIT that we shall ultimately SEE Him and KNOW Him "AS HE IS". There is simply no other way! And so, I ask, what could His fleshly body ADD to our relationship in Him? NOTHING! If our confidence is in HIS FLESHLY BODY, then we shall of all men be most miserable!
For this very reason, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. Only when we are born of the Spirit, can Jesus appear to us as A SPIRIT. We simply cannot have Him in the flesh and expect Him to appear in the Spirit too for surely His bodily presence would hinder the spiritual indwelling! Christ Himself had to give up the life He had before He could be glorified in us. Even so, in our union with Him in the Spirit, we too must give up the Christ we have known in the past if we are to become partakers of all He is by the Spirit - a Glorified Son of God!
To settle for a "form” - ANY FORM, is to possess the alabaster box without the higher experience of knowing the fragrant ointment within. It is not the box we want, it’s the ointment! Thus, we refuse to cling to the "form" for our hearts are crying out for the "essence". God has often accommodated His people in their childishness and for a time provided a "form", but later He SHATTERED THE FORM that they might become aware of the essence. The hour has arrived when every man and woman of God who would follow on to KNOW THE LORD must experience a total breaking forth from every structured form and encrusted tradition, that we might KNOW HIM who is The Essence. Yes, it is a shattering process, most severe as the forms of rituals, ceremonies, religious systems, creeds, ordinances, ministries, and religious exercises of many kinds are literally swept away that we might now come to KNOW CHRIST ALONE as the inner Reality and Life. It staggers the mind to think about the incredible limitations we have placed upon ourselves!
16 Wherefore henceforth know WE KNOW NO MAN AFTER THE FLESH: yea, though we have known CHRISTafter the flesh, yet now HENCEFORTH KNOW WE HIM NO MORE.
His Appearing a “Second Time”
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world has [past tense] He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear THE SECOND TIME without sin unto salvation. . .
In the types of the Old Testament the atonement for sin was not accomplished with the killing of the animal, nor the sprinkling of the blood on the altar, the people, and the tabernacle; but when the High Priest presented himself in the Most Holy Place in the presence of God along with the blood of the sacrifice. This was a type of the sacrifice of Christ for our sins. It is important for us to understand that the efficacy was not accomplished nor completed with the shedding of His blood and His death on the cross. Before there could be any efficacy to His sacrifice He had to PRESENT HIMSELF IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD by His own blood to make atonement for our sins.
THIS is what this verse is speaking about; Christ entered the Holiest, not of the earthly tabernacle, but into heaven itself, presenting Himself, appearing before the presence of God, IN THE ETERNAL REALM OF THE SPIRIT, as the bearer of our redemption. This verse says that He APPEARED in the presence of God FOR US - the FIRST of the two appearing’s, but certainly NOT His first appearing unto men! As we follow on in this scripture, we are told that Christ needed not to offer Himself often as did the High Priest of the Old Covenant, once a year with the blood of others. Only once did He need to offer Himself, as we read, "But now ONCE in the end of the age has He APPEARED (in heaven - vs. 24) to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Once He has appeared, the first time, IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD FOR US!
Verse twenty-eight speaks of another APPEARING, even a second appearing in connection with our SALVATION. It begins with these words, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many (referring to verses 24 and 26 where it says He entered the Most Holy Place in heaven and appeared in the presence of God for us)”. NOW He appears again THE SECOND TIME: “And unto them THAT LOOK FOR HIM shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Most Christians believe this verse is referring to what is called the “second coming” of the Lord, a visible appearing at the end of this age. This is not alluding to such a coming at all - the words employed being wholly different in their meaning.
And that, knowing the time, that NOW it is high time to awake out of sleep: for NOW is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.
It must be understood here that the statement, "So Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, SHALL APPEAR A SECOND TIME, apart from sin to them that wait for Him, unto salvation” is not meant to be prophetic, but doctrinal; and the doctrine in question is NOT the so-called "second coming," but the PRIESTHOOD! It is not the prediction of an event to be realized by those who shall be alive on earth at the time of the end of this age, but the declaration of a truth and a fact to be realized by every elect member of the body of Christ, no matter in what dispensation his sojourn upon earth may fall.
The correct teaching on this subject is that Our Lord Jesus Christ appears a second time to those who LOOK FOR HIM, who diligently seek for Him and follow after Him; not any more as a sin offering appearing in heaven for us, but in the mighty manifestation of His power usward, UNTO SALVATION. And this salvation is the work of our great and wonderful High Priest. This same wonderful truth is set forth in Hebrews 7:25 in these words, "Wherefore He is able also to SAVE THEM TO THE UTTERMOST that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them." The Amplified Bible translates this, "He is able to save to the uttermost - completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity."
This "uttermost" salvation cannot be understood apart from our High Priest who has secured it and who now ministers it to us from that higher realm of incorruptibility. Jesus pointed to this day when, on the night of His judgment, before His crucifixion, He announced to the startled High Priest, Caiaphas, this amazing proclamation, "You have said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:64). To paraphrase, Jesus says, "Though now you see me in this low and abject state, nevertheless the day is coming when I shall appear otherwise. Though you watch me die upon a Roman cross as a sin-offering, you will SHORTLY see me sitting upon the throne of my Father and coming in the clouds of heaven."
How prone we are to view these as two events, separated by a vast span of time! Our conception is of Jesus sitting upon the right hand of God for a couple thousand years, at the end of which time He leaves His throne to "come in the clouds of heaven." BUT NOT SO! "HEREAFTER you will see”, "from now on", or HENCEFORTH. Yet it is safe to say that the average reader of the Bible generally understands it to mean something very different - not "HENCEFORTH shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven”, but "in the hereafter” as if at some point in the indefinite future we should see the Son of man "sitting" and then "coming." BUT NAY! FROM NOW ON you will see the Son of man sitting. . .and coming." These two events transpire at the same time, and they both happen "from now on”. He sits AND He comes. He sits upon the throne of heavenly power and He comes in the clouds of heaven! He sits as our great High Priest and He comes as our transforming Saviour. He doesn't sit and then come, He comes while He sits.
I can’t stress this one thing enough - Christ is not coming to evacuate His poor, discouraged, bedraggled, defeated Church to some distant galaxy to escape the ravages of the antichrist. He, the Head of the Church, is coming in power and victory TO His body, to assume the Headship and Lordship over His Church. When He was on earth He said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have their nests; but the Son of man hath no place to lay His head." I can assure you, beloved, that Jesus was not the least bit concerned about a place to sleep at night! He was the Head, and He was perfect. But there was not a perfect body imbued with all the fullness of divine life, ready for His Lordship. There was no place prepared for His Lordship to rest, no body to put His Headship upon so that creation would see the completed Christ, Head and body, in the glory and dominion of perfection. So, the Holy Spirit has been perfecting that body. He has been producing sonship. He has been making a place for the Son of man TO PUT HIS HEAD.
A Door Opened in Heaven
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened IN HEAVEN and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
“Know you not that YOU are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth IN YOU?”
Do you see it? The door spoken of here is opened in YOU, my friend - the door in YOUR heaven! Praise the Lord! This call was not only given to John, but to EVERY Son of God to come hither!
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if ANY MAN hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Has He not already come to you, precious brother, sister, in mighty saving power even as He sits upon the throne on High? Is it not true that He has power to save completely BECAUSE HE IS seated upon the throne of your mind? Ah - it is not Jesus crashing down through the skies who is able to save to the uttermost, is it? Nay! Rather it is Christ our High Priest on the throne of the Majesty on High who is able to save us to the uttermost, seeing HE EVER LIVES TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR US. Oh, we read so much into the Word of God that is not there! With our limited and faulty carnal reasoning, we distort it all out of shape, making it say what it does not say, and not say what it does say. It is time for all men to believe the Word of God and cease from following their own shameful delusions!
While men speak of the "first coming" and the "second coming" of Christ, God has promised to meet with man in THREE DIMENSIONS, not two. "THREE TIMES in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which HE shall choose; in the feast of UNLEAVENED BREAD (Passover), and in the feast of WEEKS (Pentecost), and in the feast of TABERNACLES: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty" (Deuteronomy 16:16). To "appear before the Lord" designates not only an action on your part, but a reciprocal action on God's part. Not only must you appear, but HE MUST APPEAR! It is a joint-meeting in which YOU APPEAR BEFORE HIM, or as the apostle has so eloquently explained, "When Christ, who is our life, SHALL APPEAR, then shall YE ALSO APPEAR WITH HIM in glory" (Colossians 3:4).
The Feasts of Yehovah were but types and shadows of those things which were yet to come. These Feasts portrayed in their typology God's plan for man even to the very end of the ages. They bring to us the unfolding purpose of God for us from the foundation of the world. An Old Testament type is literally a word picture or living example that prefigures that which is to come. In another sense, it is an exact shadow of that which does not yet exist. The apostle Paul in speaking of those things which happened to Israel in their wilderness journey stated, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (examples, object lessons), and they are written for OUR ADMONITION, UPON WHOM THE ENDS OF THE WORLD (AGE) ARE COME" (I Corinthians 10:11). The apostle Paul again explains to us, "For the law HAVING A SHADOW OF GOOD THINGS TO COME, and not the very image of the things. . ." (Hebrews 10:1). The shadows of the law were but school-masters to bring us to Christ. The greater work of a SPIRITUAL NATURE was still to be accomplished to fulfill these Old Testament types and shadows of which the three Feasts of Jehovah are a major part.
The three primary Feasts given to Israel were the Feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Two of these Feasts have now been fulfilled and are still being fulfilled in the body of Christ today. The last Feast still waits a future fulfillment that will begin at the completion and maturity of the Christ-body at the end of this age. Because of their typical nature, the Feasts have many times been overlooked as to their great significance in the proper interpretation of Bible prophecy. The Bible is full of such great truths that have been given for our enrichment and instruction, it is up to those who "FOLLOW ON to know the Lord" to diligently dig out those truths that will lead us into greater depths in the Lord. Let us consider these Feasts in the light of our forward walk in God.
When God meets man in the first dimension, He meets us in the Feast of Passover. Jesus appears to us, He comes to us as SAVIOUR in that realm. "When I see the blood, I will pass-over you!" (Exodus 12:13). I dare say every reader of these lines has passed through that Feast, has met and seen and experienced the Lord in that realm. "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (I Corinthians 5:7). Jesus is the Lamb of God. The Old Paschal Feast is gone forever. We no longer need a Paschal Feast of the old type, we no longer need to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem in the Old Feast, for HE HAS APPEARED unto us as the Lamb of God and has cleansed us with His precious blood. Has God met with you for the first time? Has Christ come to you in the first dimension? Has He appeared to you as the Lamb of God? Have you eaten the Lamb? If so, the Lamb is WITHIN you!
Now, the Feast of Pentecost was a separate Feast and the Pentecostal experience is a separate experience. Has God met with you a second time? Has Christ come to you in a second dimension of His presence and life and glory? Has He come from heaven as a rushing mighty wind and filled your house with power and glory? Has He appeared to you as Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and tongues of fire? Have you appeared before Him in the spiritual Feast of Pentecost and spoken with Him in a heavenly tongue? Then you are blessed indeed! But God does not stop at Pentecost and the second Feast is but the "earnest" and the "firstfruits" of the FINAL Feast! In Israel the Feast of Pentecost was "the feast of harvest, the FIRSTFRUITS of thy labors" (Deuteronomy 16:9-12). Under New Testament economy this is the FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. "And not only they, but ourselves also which have the FIRSTFRUITS of the Spirit..." (Romans 8:23).
The last great Feast of the Israelite year was Tabernacles - and startling as it might seem, this is the Feast that remains to be fulfilled! Tabernacles is called "the Feast of Ingathering, which is in the END OF THE (agricultural) YEAR." Pentecost is only the firstfruits of the Spirit, but Tabernacles is the full harvest - FULLNESS! And this fullness comes in the END of the agricultural cycle, at the completion of our walk with God, and I believe that we have not witnessed such fullness in any save in our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and neither shall we until the very close of this present age, The Feast of Tabernacles could not be celebrated until Israel had left the wilderness behind, and was dwelling in Canaan. Even so, Christ is bringing a great company of apprehended ones, in the END of this age, out of their wilderness wanderings of immaturity, carnality and struggle on into their promised land - the measure of the stature of the FULLNESS OF CHRIST. Oh, yes, God shall surely give unto the elect sons of God the FULLNESS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD of which we, up until this time, have only received the "earnest" or "firstfruits.”
Even though we are still partaking of the Feast of Pentecost, I have good news for you - JESUS IS COMING AGAIN - even a third time! He is coming in the Feast of Tabernacles, AND BLESSED ARE THEY who are called to this great Feast, that which supersedes Pentecost, that which is the balance of the meal of which Passover and Pentecost were merely the first courses. As we leave this Feast in great strength, those who shall represent the Kingdom of God on this planet from that time forth will be abiding in the fullness of HIS RESURRECTION LIFE. It shall mean a new day of hope and deliverance and glory for the whole earth as the Lord COMES AGAIN to meet man in this great and glorious Feast of HIS FULLNESS. This is the coming of the Lord that the churches and television and radio evangelists know nothing about. In fact, the "rapture" crowd doesn't actually believe in the "COMING of the Lord" anyway - they believe in the “GOING of the saints"! While we teach the "APPEARING of Jesus" they teach the "DISAPPEARING of the Church". How much more wonderful and beautiful is the truth! Jesus is COMING! Glory to God!
Behold, He Cometh With Clouds!
7 Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
1 Wherefore seeing we also are COMPASSED ABOUT with so great a CLOUD of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a CLOUD received Him out of their sight.
"And a CLOUD received Him out of their sight”. . ."received Him out of" is one word in the Greek meaning "to take under". It signifies to take up by placing one's self underneath, in the style of a hiker carrying a backpack, or as a waiter holds a tray. Weymouth's translation puts it like this: the cloud "closing beneath Him, hid Him from sight." This wasn’t the sort of cloud which spills the rain and from which the lightning flashes. No! The Cloud described here is the Cloud of the Glory of God, the Shekinah, described in Ezekiel 1:4 as "a great cloud. . .and brightness."
A cloud is perhaps the best known Eastern symbol for the swirling, lustrous radiance which hides "the face of His throne" (Job 26:9). The Hebrew term translated "cloud" in Ezekiel is AWNAUN, a word which is occasionally used of a nimbus or thundercloud, but which is repeatedly used for THE GLORY CLOUD OF YEHOVAH. The first appearance of AWNAUN, "cloud," as a technical term for the Shekinah is found in Exodus 13:21 wherein we read, "And the Lord went before (the Israelites) by day in a pillar of a CLOUD, to lead them the way." It was this "cloud" which Ezekiel saw while he was with the exiles in Babylon by the Chebar River. The Glory Cloud is the "chariot" of Yehovah, composed of myriads of celestial beings, the spirits of just men made perfect, the armies which are in heaven, the heavenly hosts of the spiritual world. "Behold," declares the prophet, "the Lord rideth upon THE CLOUD, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it (the cloud)" (Isaiah 19:1).
Just as the CLOUD "covered the mount" at the giving of the Law (Exodus 24:15-18), so, also, it "covered the tabernacle" when it was completed. "And the Glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, and Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the Cloud abode thereon, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34-35). Many years later, when Solomon had finished the work of the temple, "The Cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the Cloud; for the Glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord" (I Kings 8:10-11). It will be observed that "The Cloud" and "The Glory" are equated as synonymous, for The Cloud "filled the house" and The Glory "filled the house" are stated in parallel fashion.
This is the Cloud of HIS GLORY into which the triumphant saints of God are to be caught up. "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" (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). There is no definite article in the Greek text before the word "clouds," to make it THE CLOUDS, which would thus identify them as the clouds of the lower atmosphere surrounding our earth. Where the identifying article is missing, it speaks of quality, or is used as a descriptive term. The Greek word "cloud" is often used of a large body of individuals in the Greek Classics, and it is also so used in Hebrews 12:1 speaking of that great "cloud of witnesses" which surround us. Thus our "catching up" is being brought into that higher spiritual sphere, where we shall become one with that whole great cloud of witnesses, that "general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23). What a glorious UNION of forces when those of our generation upon the earth, and all those overcoming saints of all former ages who have gone on before us, are joined together, becoming an indestructible force in the full, total and complete manifestation of His majesty, power and glory at the manifestation of the sons of God!
The Residing King within the shimmering Cloud of Glory is the Lord Himself, the very source of the dazzling light, for it is HE who causes the celestial host to shine forth, thus forming the "cloud" and manifesting His glory thereby. Yes, He shall be revealed TO US, shall complete all of His work and purpose in us, lifting us up into higher realms of the Spirit, and completing that UNION WITH THE WHOLE BODY OF THE FIRSTBORN. Then shall He be revealed IN US in fullness as Paul explains, "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty messengers, in flaming fire. . .when He shall come to be GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, and to be ADMIRED IN ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE in that day" (II Thessalonians 1:7-10).
I would draw your reverent attention to the following two scripture passages. "Behold! He cometh WITH CLOUDS" (Revelation 1:7). "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, The Lord cometh WITH TEN THOUSANDS OF HIS SAINTS" (Jude 14). Or, "Lo, the Lord comes in holy myriads of Himself" (Literal translation). If you will take a few minutes to meditate upon these two verses you will begin to realize that the Lord coming WITH CLOUDS and the Lord coming WITH SAINTS is not two separate events, but just the same thing. The "cloud" that received our Lord Jesus out of their sight on the day of His ascension, was the same "cloud" which revealed the majestic Person of Yehovah on Mount Sinai and in the Tabernacle and Temple of old, and the very same "cloud" with which He comes again and into which His elect is gloriously caught up. It was the Cloud of celestial spirits swooping down from realms of glory to bear Him up in triumph to the sphere of authority, power and blessing which should thenceforth flow forth as a mighty river of life through the channel of His body upon earth. They came, say the Greek, and they wrapped Him round, some of them underneath Him, and into their presence He passed, and the eyes on earth beheld Him no longer. From the eternal and omnipresent realm of the spirit He occupies the omnipotence of the throne of the universe; from that throne He gives the Holy Spirit of HIS PRESENCE to all who believe.
May the blessed Holy Spirit open the eyes of our understanding that we may see that beyond the veil of the flesh is the realm of God, the realm of the Spirit, and it is there the Christ of God dwells, and it is there He must be touched, seen, known and experienced. He did not "leave us" for He promised He never would; His "disappearance" from the sight of men was not a lessening of His PRESENCE with us in any way. Rather it was an intensification of that PRESENCE. For the Christ was transferring that PRESENCE from one body to many bodies. He was expanding and enlarging His power and influence and character greatly among men. That expansion and enlargement has continued throughout the centuries, and the body of Christ has continued to grow and develop in preparation for the full and total and complete manifestation of His life when every elect son of God has come forth finally from Father's hand full grown in the mind, nature, will, power and dominion of Almighty God.
Our testimony joins in harmonious accord with those “Clouds of Heaven” who are bringing the latter rain to all who have ears to hear! Like a choir of many voices and as the sound of many waters, their testimony of the Word of God resounds with abundant and stunning and inescapable evidence that the coming of Christ is not a single event, but includes many different manifestations and many-sided experiences.
To multitudes He appears as Saviour. They find Him at the crossroads of their lives. He becomes their salvation, but they never venture any deeper to know Him intimately. They have only a superficial knowledge of Him.
To others He appears as Chief Shepherd and Bridegroom. These hear His voice and are moved by His love and follow on to know Him in deeper measures of intimacy and union.
To others He appears as a Thief. He comes into their world uninvited and unannounced; He overtakes them unexpectedly and breaks up their lifestyle and smashes their religious games.
And unto others He appears as Fire, consuming their hay, wood, and stubble, eliminating by the spirit of burning all that is of self and not of God.
Here, there is a principle to be learned in the scriptures concerning the coming of the Lord - that is, we must spiritually discern and respond to His comings in the midst of our individual lives. In the midst of all our activity we are to ever look for His comings. We must be spiritually perceptive and awake at all times. Then, recognizing His presence and turning aside from all that would distract, we can move with Him in His visitation. As we respond to His comings, be it in blessing, refreshing, quickening, enlightenment, transformation, Lordship, fellowship and communion, judgment, correction, stripping, purging or cleansing - we shall come to KNOW HIM in all His wonderful reality and be made like Him as His own in the earth. Oh, that we would listen for the sound of His comings!
For centuries, the Israelites had done just that - they looked for the coming of the Messiah until their eyes were dim with watching, but who among them had even the faintest idea of how that coming would be accomplished? They did not expect a virgin birth; they did not expect a lowly birth; they did not expect a teacher at variance with their organized religion and their established creeds; they did not expect the supernatural ministry of healing the sick, casting out devils, and raising the dead; they did not expect an ignominious death by crucifixion followed by a startling resurrection; they did not expect an ascension into heaven. All these things were contrary to their expectations and their established interpretations of the predictions of the prophets. Most Jews missed the glory of the coming of Christ because it was so different from their cherished beliefs and because it all seemed too fantastic to be true. They failed to accept the prophesied events, even when they transpired right before their very eyes!
I do not hesitate to tell you that nearly all Christians today are viewing the Bible in the same way as did the Jews of old! We will never discover anything that God chooses to hide from us, but our highest concern should be that when God does draw back the curtain and send us light that we receive the hidden treasure, for if we reject it, the light we have becomes darkness and we can understand nothing. When the Spirit of wisdom and revelation illuminates a truth to our heart, it is time to grasp it and pursue it with all spiritual vigor and determination, for if we tarry it will be covered again, and we will miss it. The moment the blessed Spirit of Truth begins to unveil a truth, it is time to earnestly seek Him and beseech Him to instruct us in it. I urge you, do not submit God's revelation to the criticism of some dead church member or indoctrinated preacher, for they like the crows that gather to the farmer's field will steal away the seed of the truth before it has a chance to sprout or take root within you.
Come Out Of Her My People!
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of HER [the Harlot Church System], my people [Sons & heirs of the promise], that ye be not partakers of HER sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of THE GREAT WHORE [the false church system created by man] that sitteth upon many waters [church denominations and their man-made traditions]:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication [the incorporation of the man-made church with the state = the feet of iron and clay (Daniel 2:34 & 35, 42-44), thus replacing Jesus as their One and Only Head], and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of HER [the church’s] fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a WOMAN [the Great Whore] sit upon a scarlet coloured BEAST [civil & social systems created out from the carnal mind of man], full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns [. . .having begun as a small serpent in the Garden who “deceived”, this beastly system now having grown into an enormous Dragon FULL of every kind of wickedness and filth!].
4 And THE WOMAN was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls ["Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked"], having a golden cup in HER hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon HER [the Harlot church’s] forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
Dear pilgrim, the “church” has been in existence since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were a type and foreshadow of the church, as was the “church” in the wilderness who continually chose to do things thier own way rather than to follow after the One True God. Do you see it?
“And ye shall know the TRUTH,
and the TRUTH shall make you free.”
In closing I would like to bring your attention to Revelation 1:4, which says, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come.” Here, I want to bring your attention to the physical world by which we live and are goverened by time. It seems to me that in the realm of the Spirit, past, present, and future co-exist. It is when we are "high and lifted up" in the throne realm that we are given the ability to see the past, the present, and the future all at once. Where our Lord is mentioned in the Book of Revelation, He is spoken of as He who is, He who was, and He who is to come — meaning that when we leave this earthly realm, we transcend time as we know it. Planet earth is but the tiniest of specks in the eye of God’s infinite greatness - a virtual reality stage upon which man lives out his natural life. The five senses manipulate us into believing that what we see, hear, feel, taste, and touch are real — but what if all that you see and touch and feel are not real - in fact, what if they are not realities at all? The way I see it, they are merely a passing phenomenon - a vapor. As seen in Psalm 62 . . .The low born are only a breath. The high born, a lie. When they are weighed, they are only a breath (vapor) and like vain hope, they die!
In my journey from the natural to the spiritual realm I've learned that were it not for a power beyond the things we see, none of them would exist. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:1-3). That which we perceive as reality is temporary and passing and has been established out of something eternal that your eye cannot see! "Wherefore henceforth we know no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more" (2 Corinthians 5:16). If we want to walk with God we must be willing to jump out of the boat of the five senses and learn how to let our spirit gravitate into WHAT God is, and then bring it back down into this earth until it takes on His LIFE. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). Isn't that awesome!!!!
You see, every time Jesus is mentioned in this Book He is never mentioned in just the past, nor just the present, nor just in the future. No! every time we meet Jesus in the Book of Revelation it is the Jesus who is, and who was, and who is to come. . .and, the reason for this is that Revelation is the ONLY book which gives us a view of the kingdom of God from the divine perspective — as God views it. The Lord which is, and which was, and which is to come is God expressed in the dimension of TIME. This is not talking about the eternal Lord who is without beginning or end (for He is the Eternal One), but the verb “to be” relates to TIME. Was, is, and is to come are all TIME expressions. You will not find this Lord who is, and was, and is to come, in eternity! This is the God of the ages revealed in a unique Lordship within those ages. A concept we must grasp in order to understand God’s plan of the ages is that time consists of past, present, and future just as man is created having youth, middle age, and old age. You cannot smell, touch, or feel time, but it is there, ever-present, always marching into the future. When time was created, it had a beginning - likewise, it shall have an end. This Lord who is, and who was, and who is to come, is the beginning and the end. Jesus is time. He is the Alpha and Omega of man as he travels through this realm of sin and death. "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in the 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” (Colossians 1:16-17). Before the creation of the universe, there was no time; at the end of the ages when the present material universe is dissolved and replaced by a new, spiritual universe, time as we know it shall cease to exist. It will be swallowed up into eternity, just as all death will be swallowed up into victory, and there shall be no more death! No more time and no more death! Time was created in the beginning, and will be dissolved at the end of the ages. This Lord who is, and who was, and who is to come, is the Lord we meet in this dimension of time and space.
As I stated previously, the Bible provides very little regarding the definition of the word "eternity" because it was written for man who lives in a temporal state and who is not yet a totally eternal being. Only as we enter that state of being called eternal - let me rephrase that - only as HE who IS ETERNITY becomes “All-in-all” within us thus allowing eternity to become an absolute reality to us. . . only then will formerly temporal beings such as we now are, truly comprehend and understand eternity and things of an eternal nature. This marvelous work has now begun within our spirit as our spirit has been quickened by His Spirit! Like I said, the Bible is relatively silent about what eternity is - not to say that human teachings and theology haven’t taught us a great deal about this subject, but the problem is that much of it over the past centuries has come from the carnal minds of Babylonish theologians and not from the mind of the Eternal One via the Holy Spirit.
For me, eternity is a state of absolute timelessness, not of unending time. Eternity is a state of being without change, fluctuation or progression, resident in the very nature and person of God in which such concepts as past, present, future, before, after, change, transition, growth, birth, death, beginning, end, etc., do not exist. Do you see? Time is not part of eternity. Eternity is not composed of segments of time. Eternity is not time standing still. It is simply not time at all! Eternity does not go on and on and on, ad infinitum. Eternity doesn’t go anywhere, nor does it do anything. Eternity simply IS. It is just a glorious experience of BEING! Eternity simply IS, just as God simply IS. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58) — not “Before Abraham was, I WAS.” There are no past or future tenses in eternity. There is only one eternal NOW! One All Encompassing and Eternal God! Our forever faithful Lord. . . J E S U S C H R I S T.
May Our Mighty God come speedily with His coal of fire from off the Holy Altar of Eternal Truth and forever sanctify our speech!
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