Come and See-Chapter 10 of the Gospel of John- Verily, verily-Part xv – In My Name –

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you. (John 16:23)

   This Verily, verily embraces the remainder of Chapter 16. It is here that we ask in His name in verse 23, and in verse 33 (the last verse in this Chapter, we have, be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Everything is overcome either by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ or in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, giving us a broad horizon of thought.

    I will begin with the greed of man, and what they have made this verse into. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you. Prayer is NOT God’s credit card for tangible resources. This name is the gateway to the unseen and the spiritual. The world, in the false professing church, uses this verse for their own greed making it their will and not God’s will; it is not God’s desire, but their desires that they ask for. They have truly trampled this verse into the dust by their ungodly requests in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   As the children of God, we are individuals before we become part of the collective. God saves us individually under the shroud of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He becomes to us the King of our being, the King of our thoughts, the King of the intents of our hearts, and the King of Life in the Spirit of His life; He becomes the Redeemer and Possessor of our souls. So, with all this, let’s look within. Let our hearts approach God with reverence and godly fear in the name that is above every name, the name of the Man at the right hand of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

   When we worship God, we must worship in Spirit and in truth. We open our hearts to receive and to acknowledge the will of God for us.As individuals, when we have a need according to God’s will He already knows that need. In a world of unbelief, we (as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ) see and feel a God who is continually with us. We are assured that His eyes are constantly upon us. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. . . . . (2^nd Chronicles 16:9) God knows our location. When Paul was in prison, God knew exactly where he was, when he was on a sinking ship, the Lord stood by him. The Lord also knew the state of Paul’s soul. He knew Paul’s spiritual condition. And as Paul, we are open and naked in His sight.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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. (John 14:12)

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13)

   So, our requests should be made for God’s purpose, and not for our own purposes. I give you a proverb, one man in rags preaching the gospel through the divine Spirit is worth more than a hundred men in suits and ties with no Spirit within them. I write in a proverb: yet the theme is true. It is not what I want, but what God wants. Does He want me to be godly? The answer is yes, so I pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus to be godly before Him. This is His will. Our requests go to the unseen and our answer comes from the unseen, and it works through us, who are in the seen, to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through the Spirit of God sent into our hearts to glorify the Son of God.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (John 14:16)

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:17)

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:18)

    The Lord Jesus is the great intercessor between God and man; therefore, He has a name that in itself intercedes for man. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:14) 

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.(Romans 8:26) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:27)  

   It is God’s desire that we should pray with the mind of Christ through His Spirit. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.( Philippians 2:5) I want us to consider not the outside world, not the rudiments of the world, or the traditions of men, or the world in general, I want us to go into the sphere of the Spirit of Christ. If this was impossible to do, then God would not have given the Spirit of Christ to us.

     In John Chapter 17, we have a prayer of the High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. He acknowledges His own glory with the Father’s glory BEFORE the world was. He acknowledged His divine Sonship, and in this Sonship, He delivers Himself to the Father’s will, and that He would be the Offering for sin. He submitted Himself to the will of the Father, and He (in His prayer) interceded for His own that they may be one in us. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21) The fullness of the Godhead bodily manifested before man draws His own into the bosom of the Father by His high priestly prayer. Looking at the whole of John Chapter 17, we do not find one selfish request in the Lord’s entire prayer. He is the perfect Son, the perfect Man, the perfect sacrifice, the perfect Priest, the perfect manifestation of Immanuel, God with us. And to amplify the glory of God the Father, the Lord Jesus was made PERFECT through the things that He suffered. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.(Hebrews 2:10) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.(Hebrews 5:9) Being made perfect through the sacrifice of Himself He is able to sanctify us before God the Father. Not only do we see the example of prayer in John Chapter 17, but we see the deep spiritual meaning and substance of prayer towards God. This prayer was prior to the cross, but we see the cross to come throughout this high priestly prayer. It is here we see the beginning of the travail of the Lord’s soul as in Luke Chapter 22:40-46.

Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.(Lamentations 1:12)

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He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.(Isaiah 53:3)

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

   Also read Psalm 22. Since everything is BY and IN and FOR the name of Jesus, let’s spend some time on the name and Person of God’s beloved Son.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5)

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:(Philippians 2:6)

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Philippians 2:7)

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)

    I can pass here and continue on, but we have such a feast here in the word of God, and our Verily, verily is specific to His name, and everything that is contained in that name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (Philippians 2:10) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(Philippians 2:11)

   Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, this verse is related to us by the Spirit of God, and finds its confirmation in 1^st Corinthians 2:16, For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. The gift of the divine Spirit brings with Him the mind of Christ. This is the mind and heart of John Chapter 17, and Luke Chapter 22. Now in the book of Philippians, this mind of Christ is open to us. The first thing that we see is the divine attributes of the mind that was in Christ Jesus. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5)The word also is to show us that this mind is the actual mind and that this mind is given to us by the Spirit of God in our new birth. Remember, this is the same mind that through the Spirit brought the tangible in the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ from the unseen and presented to the world the manifestation of God the Son in all power and glory. The form, or outward manifestation, had ALL the power and qualities of the unseen God. The Christ of God was GOD and EQUAL both in the unseen and in the manifestation of Himself. The first thing that we see is that He was IN THE FORM OF GOD, being in the form of God, giving Him complete equality WITH God as in John Chapter 1. He was the EXPRESS image of God, making Him unique among the children of men. He was the IMAGE of the invisible God. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (Colossians 1:15) The Lord Jesus was also the FULLNESS and BRIGHTNESS of God’s glory, and the express image of His Person in THAT glory. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3) God’s glory was veiled in the face of Jesus Christ which was the face of God. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2^nd Corinthians 4:6) In Philippians 2:6, the Lord Jesus is EQUAL in ALL things. He is the FULLNESS that filleth all in all. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. (Philippians 2:6) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. (Colossians 1:19) In His manifestation He DID NOT take on the vanities and guile of mankind. Although He was GOD, He made Himself of no reputation. Are you listening Adam? Man will go to no end to have a reputation before other men, and the children of Adam, and the devil loves to have it that way. The most despicable form of humanity has and acquires the highest reputations before man, but the manifestation of God DELIBERATELY made Himself a SERVANT. He had His ear bored through with divine love. He was made in the LIKENESS of man, not equal with man, but only in the IMAGE of man in the OUTWARD FORM of man. But this is where the likeness ended; as He was the Man from heaven, and as the Son of man, He still was IN the presence of heaven. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John 3:13) These are the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He spoke to Nicodemus, they are in the present tense – which is in heaven. He, as the manifested image of God, was omnipresent as both God and the Son of man, ONE and THE SAME. In Philippians Chapter 2, the Lord has already used two descriptions of Himself as to His manifestation. One is the LIKENESS of man, the other is FASHIONED AS a man, in no way do these words identify Him with the man Adam in his fall. For sin had no hold on the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the LORD FROM HEAVEN pure and undefiled AT birth, and ALWAYS in life, the sinless Lamb of God. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. (1^st Corinthians15:47)

   Man does not see the extreme in the word humble in Philippians 2:8, And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. This Adam could not do because man was bound and already humbled by sin, and sin had no power over the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore, He would humble Himself not only by bearing the sin of the world but enduring the humiliation that His own creatures put upon Him in the suffering and shame of the cross. Although the Lord Jesus despised the shame of the cross, nevertheless, He humbled Himself to the outward manifestation of the enmity of man and the spiritual weight of sin that was placed upon Him. 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. (Hebrews 12:21)

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: (1^st Peter 2:21)

Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: (1^st Peter 2:22)

Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: (1^st Peter 2:23)

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.(1^st Peter 2:24)

   The word humble is distasteful to the sons of man. This true humiliation before His own creatures could only come from a divine Person with unfathomable love for His creation. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Philippians 2:7) To substitute the word  made in Philippians Chapter 2 with the word empty is the demons of the devil trying to remove both the seen and the unseen of the cross of Christ. For God CANNOT EMPTY HIMSELF. Man would love to have it that way! But this is to glorify man, and to lessen God. The Spirit speaketh EXPRESSLY with the word made himself, for only ONE in ALL of creation could do this. And after the humiliation in verse 8, of Chapter 2 of Philippians, the Lord Jesus Christ does the impossible THROUGH the body that was prepared for Him.Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. (Hebrews 10:5) What God could not do as a Spirit (die) He could do in His manifested image in that DIVINE BODY, and even found in the FASHION of a man, the Lord Jesus MUST commit His Spirit to His Father before He bowed His Head and gave up the GHOST. He humbled Himself to the disgrace of the cross. He humbled Himself to bear the sin of the whole world. He humbled Himself to go through the valley of the shadow of death. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:46) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4) They might have taken the word made himself out of your Bible, but they can NEVER take the Spirit out of God, nor EMPTY the Spirit out of Christ. It was THROUGH His own power that He commended His Spirit into the Father’s hands. These hands are the hands of the Sovereign God. The same Sovereign God that holds us in His Sovereign hands.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:29

I and my Father are one.(John 10:30)

  Those hands that the Lord Jesus commended His Spirit into are the same Sovereign hands that holds our spirit. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:29) Becoming obedient unto death was a divine action in obedience unto death. This is also seen in Hebrews 2:9 and 10. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.(Hebrews 2:9) For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.(Hebrews 2:10)

   In the image of a man and fashioned as a man, He went into death bearing the sin of the whole world. That which Adam COULD NOT do, the Lord Jesus became obedient to, and was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God to the cross to be the sin Bearer, the Sacrifice for sin. As His birth was not a natural birth, His death also was in no way a natural death. It was a SUPERNATURAL DEATH or event. Many do not see the scene around the cross, they do not realize that the whole creation was in travail. There was darkness over the whole earth, every time zone (before there were zones) was suffering darkness at the exact same time of the Lord’s suffering. The very foundation of the earth shook. The moon was veiled in her own tears. The stars clothed themselves in cosmic darkness. The veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom as the Son of God hung between earth and heaven. Heaven was opened although wicked men wanted to close the heavens forever. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. (Acts 2:23) This was Adam’s sin and treachery brought to its FULLNESS in his enmity against God. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Acts 2:24) The same Spirit that He commended unto His Father, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus raised Him from the dead and took away the pains of death.

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (Romans 1:4)

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)

   This is the same eternal Spirit that He commended unto His Father. It is the same Spirit of life IN Christ Jesus that has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death because the pains of death could not hold Him for it was impossible that he should be holden of death. GOD CANNOT DIE! God is Spirit and that eternal Spirit CANNOT DIE! I have some grave news for those who think that death is final. There is a spirit within every man, and this spirit of man without Christ will be judged of God and sent to a place of torment in the eternal lake of fire, and today, your only hope which is a sure hope, and an anchor for the soul is belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, the name that is above every name. He HUMBLED HIMSELF through the veil of death. And as He promised, the promise of His resurrection in John Chapter 2, destroy this temple and he would raise it in three days.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.(John 2:19)

Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?(John 2:20)

But he spake of the temple of his body.(John 2:21)

    In Colossians 1:15 we have two distinct divine truths. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. First, the Lord Jesus was the EXPRESS image of the divine Person of God. He was the image of the invisible God. The second part of the verse, the Lord Jesus is the firstborn of every creature. And to understand the connection between these two divine truths we must enter into the mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God. And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 3:9) The preexistence of Jesus Christ is documented many times in the Scripture in both the Old and in the New Testaments. But the deeper mystery was that God IS SPIRIT when the light of the Spirit of God pierced through the darkness. Out of the darkness came His light, the eternal light of the Spirit of God from His Spirit of truth He took upon Himself an image of grace and truth. Within this SPIRIT was ALL holiness, ALL righteousness, ALL faith, ALL grace, and ALL truth. And from this SPIRIT the image of the firstborn came, and this was the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. The words of grace and truth were committed unto Him, and through these words He created the heavens and the earth. He spoke them into existence and pierced the darkness with His creation of light. The SPIRIT of God through Jesus Christ created ALL things. In John Chapter 4, the Lord Jesus removes Himself while He spoke to the woman who had come to Jacob’s well to draw water, He veiled Himself in the words, GOD IS SPIRIT. And they who worship God must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Between heaven and earth there is a veil. Man cannot cross over from heaven to the earth, and man cannot pass from the earth to the heaven. It is ONLY through the One who has rent the veil, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we can see the mystery of God from the beginning. We are bound by the earth while we have life, yet, through the divine Spirit of Christ we are in the divine presence of His Spirit. Between us is only a cloud of life in which God has given to us here on earth. When we pass through this cloud into the very presence of God, the unseen becomes the seen, the intangible becomes the tangible, the very hope of our faith becomes the reality of our salvation before the throne of God. There is no way that our minds can be brought into unison with the mind of God, but through His Spirit He reveals to our shallowness the very depths of His love for us. The word of God is a tapestry of God’s determinate counsels, of God’s foreknowledge, of God’s will and purpose, both in the mysteries of the unseen and the mysteries of the seen. It is God who has revealed Himself by the manifestation of Jesus Christ that is the first born. This is not in relationship of any type of birth. He is the first born in relationship of inheritance, and the relationship of His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary. The Lord Jesus, throughout the Old Testament, stepped through the veil of the unseen to be seen of men and to walk with men, but in that image there was a separation from all of mankind. Many times, through Moses and the prophets, the Lord Jesus witnessed to man verbally through His Spirit. Moses sat face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, it was not the time of His manifestation before ALL men. God according to His foreknowledge would have a time, His time, to unveil to the world His Christ. He would come forth as the Son of God, who was both made of a woman, and MADE under the law. And the key word is and was MADE. And in the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ, He would bring the very heart of God to man. In His image of the invisible God, He would draw men unto Him as the harbinger of grace and truth, and His name would become the very gateway to God’s presence.

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In My Name

A Door into God’s Grace

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you.(John 16:23)

   Through His name the door of God’s grace opened for the sons of men to become the sons of God. In all these things from the beginning have been hid in God. But now, the mystery is known. Yet, few diligently seek Him so that the mystery can be opened to them. It was God the SPIRIT who appointed the Lamb of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was God the SPIRIT who appointed Melchisedec a Priest forever in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was God the SPIRIT who appointed the brazen altar, the cross, which would open the door to heaven in the fullness of time. All through the Scriptures we have shadows and types, but man has the veil of blindness, sin has covered his spirit, and this sin destroys his outward image when it brings forth death. The Old Testament writings reveal the mind of the Spirit of God, which was in Christ Jesus, the heart of a loving God, both the travail and the sacrifice of His own soul. ALL of this is found in the Old Testament, and yet, man remains blind to the will and purpose of God in Jesus Christ. It is God’s will that ALL should come to repentance and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. But man not only refuses to come through Jesus Christ but refuses the very word of God. Man rejects God because of the enmity that is within him. The same enmity that was in Lucifer (when he gathered the angels together under his command and tried to overthrow the very throne of God and dispatch his Creator into darkness) is the same enmity within mankind. But God through His divine SPIRIT cast Lucifer out of heaven. And cast him out upon the dust of the ground and bound those confederate angels with chains and cast them into hell. They are THERE with NO escape; they wait till they will be drawn out by the hand of God and cast into the lake of fire with Lucifer and all those with unbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

   God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, this also takes in verbal expression in types and shadows, namely, the tabernacle, the priesthood of Aaron, and the articles of the tabernacle are ALL had the shadows of the invisible manifestation of Christ, the Son of God. All these articles and types were windows of what is above in the presence of God’s glory. We live in the realm of earth, we SEE our surroundings, we SEE the tangible in our sphere, and although heaven and its glory cannot be visibly seen by us, the SPIRIT of God unveils the unseen to our heart, our soul and our spirit. Just as our world is a reality to us, the sphere of heaven is a reality. It is tangible to those who are there. All those created beings are tangible in God’s presence, and what they see brings forth worship of the Almighty in their full being as it does with us in the word of God in heart, soul and spirit.

   The Bible unlocks the darkness and gives us light and sight into the invisible world. It is the eyes of our understanding that the SPIRIT of God illuminates and builds the love of Christ in our heart. All this is in the right and in the inheritance of the first born of the SPIRIT of God in Jesus Christ. When we are born again, where do we get the SPIRIT? It is the SPIRIT of Jesus Christ who comes within us. The outward man is not changed, it is all that is within man: the heart, soul, and spirit that are changed. And this SPIRIT will reflect through the outward man. This SPIRIT, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, is greater than the outward man. It is the SPIRIT of Jesus Christ who gives birth to the new man. Aaron in his priesthood was only a type of the true Priest, the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ as Melchisedec. Melchisedec has a throne of grace and truth, and as King, Melchisedec has a throne of righteousness. The character of Melchisedec is to bring peace to man.

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In My Name

The Glory of God Revealed

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   Aaron in his earthly priesthood could not enter in to the holy of holies without blood. The blood was a symbol of death for the life of the flesh is in the blood. For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11) The blood that Aaron carried into the holy of holies was from the victim that had given its life for that blood. So, we see that when Aaron entered into the holy of holies, he had the blood of both death and life. He sprinkled the altar with the blood seven times, And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. (Leviticus 8:11)

And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle [it] with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. (Leviticus 16:14) Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that [is] for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: (Leviticus 16:15)

   Then he placed the blood on the mercy seat, and the day of atonement was complete, all of the sins of the nation Israel were covered by that blood. So, in the fullness of time, Christ would be the true day and article of the fullness of the Day of Atonement when He would satisfy all the demands of God against man in His atonement by reconciling the world unto Himself.

   Another picture in the Old Testament is found in the days of Moses when God judged Egypt with His signs and wonders and diverse plagues. Before the angel of death was set loose, God gave the ordinance of blood to the children of Israel that the blood of the Lamb should be applied to the two posts of the door, and on the lintel over the door, to prevent the angel of death from taking the life of the first born. But NOW, in our time frame, the blood of God has been shed. This is a better blood then Abel. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:24) The blood of sprinkling was sprinkled on ALL the article in the holy of holies. What did the Holy Spirit mean by the words better things, As the Seed of Christ was not of the human race, He was not of Adam, so in turn, the blood of Christ was NOT the same blood as the children of mankind. It was Divine Blood, God’s blood. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)

    To justify man’s position as a sinner, man likes to overthrow the Supreme Being of God. Christ DID NOT come to compete with Adam. He was NOT of Adam in any way. He WAS the image of the invisible God, and He was MADE in the likeness of flesh to take away the sin of the world, and to overcome death. If you read the account of the cross you will see a sequel of events that are joined together through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These events brought forth the words Truly this was the Son of God by the centurion. This is the same centurion who plunged his spear into the side of the Lord Jesus and blood and water flowed out. These events surrounding the cross were recorded by the Spirit of God to bear witness to us that Truly this was the Son of God. This verse from the gospel of John in 19:35 (And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe) clarifies the witness of the Spirit of God which is brought to our attention again in the 1^st epistle of John Chapter 5.

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.(1^st John 5:6)

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.(1^st John 5:7)

And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1^st John 5:8)

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.(1^st John 5:9)

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. (1^st John 5:10)

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (1^st John 5:11)

   In this 1^st epistle of John, we have this statement, And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. This phrase is very important because the Spirit of truth takes us back to the sequence of events at the cross. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. (John 19:35) This connects the sequence at the cross in John 19 with the 1^st epistle of John Chapter 5. For it is the Spirit of truth that bears witness of these things so that the water and blood from the side of the Lord Jesus brought to conclusion the words of the centurion, Truly this was the Son of God. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. (Matthew 27:54) But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. (John 19:34) We should understand the purpose of this particular centurion: crucifixion was known to be a slow death. Some would linger on the cross for days, however, when the Roman government had enough, they would break the legs of the criminal and after this, if they still lingered, or even at their death, in order to complete the judgment of Roman a certain centurion would then thrust his spear into the heart.

   When this centurion finished his work with the Lord Jesus Christ there must have been something different, for this water and blood flowed from the heart of God. I am only surmising that this blood was different, and the reason for this is in Acts 20:28, it is the blood of God, and how could the blood of God be placed in the same category as the blood of Adam. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. The whole process of death upon the cross was for the complete purpose of God. First, the sacrifice, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. The passing from life into death by the Lord Jesus Christ and then at the thrust of the spear, the blood of atonement on the DAY of Atonement flowed from His side. In His divine SPIRIT, Christ committed that SPIRIT unto the Father. On the day of resurrection, He told Mary that He had to ascend to the Father, and that neither she, nor anyone else could  touch Him before He ascended on high. It is here that He fulfilled His divine Priesthood, and we see in Hebrews 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. In His ascension He not only placed His blood within the veil of heaven, within the holy of holies, on the eternal mercy seat, but it was there that He was exalted higher than the heavens. He had come as a Man from heaven, and He ascended as the Man who was the heavenly Redeemer and fulfilling His divine priesthood as Melchisedec He entered within the veil, within the holy of holies, and sprinkled His blood seven times, and then placed His blood on the eternal mercy seat. This is why He spoke these words to Mary.Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. (John 20:16) Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. (John 20:17) Remember, when He returned to the earth, and revealed Himself to His disciples He put no restraints upon them from touching Him. In fact, He requested of Thomas (because of the unbelief of Thomas) to thrust his finger into the holes in His hands, and to thrust his hand into His side.

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.(Luke 24:39)

And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. (John 20:20)

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. (John 20:24) 

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. (John 20:25)

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. (John 20:26)

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. (John 20:27)

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (John 20:28)

   Notice in verse 26, And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you, that itis after eight days. During this time period He had ascended to the Father, placed His blood on the mercy seat and had returned to His disciples to show them the glorified Man of redemption. Remember, it is also recorded that on the first day of the week, He arose. This would make the first day of the week, and the eighth day since He was last seen. While He was in the presence of His Father in heaven, when His work of redemption had been completed, He received from the Father the glory of His atonement. These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee (John 17:1) This glory was fulfilled in the atonement, these are the mysteries that have been hidden since the foundation of the earth.

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His Name

Fulfilled God’s Righteousness on Earth

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you.(John 16:23)

    The whole of the tabernacle was given to show us the unseen through the eyes of faith. Everything that was given to Moses and produced by Bezaleel and his work mates was to reveal the glory of God. Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. (Exodus 36:1) Even in the metals that were used in the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness: brass, silver and gold, all were symbols of the divine. The brass was a symbol of God’s righteous dealings with earth, both in judgment and in grace. Silver was the metal of separation and purchase. And gold was the symbol of the complete righteousness of God.

Side Note: Types and symbolism in the Old Testament of God’s Righteousness in His Messiah. The brazen altar and the laver were made of brass. They were situated on the outside of the tent of the congregation and symbolized the earth. All the posts of the tabernacle and the surrounding posts that held the curtains were separated from the earth with its silver sockets. And all within the tabernacle was made of gold. The table of shewbread was of gold, the lampstand was gold, the altar of incense was gold, the Ark of the Covenant was made of gold, the Cherubims were of gold, the Mercy Seat was gold, ALL was of DIVINE RIGHTEOUSNESS which Christ fulfilled on earth. He brought the righteousness of God to the world. And took away the sin of the world.And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. (Matthew 3:15) We also have articles that speak of the earth: the gold was an overlay on the acacia wood. The acacia (shittim) wood was known as the incorruptible wood, therefore, showing us the incorruptibility of the manifested image of God in Jesus Christ. Everything was overlaid with gold EXCEPT the mercy seat. The mercy seat was of PURE SOLID GOLD of ONE PIECE showing the completeness of God’s righteousness in the atonement of Jesus Christ. The lampstand/candlestick was also made of PURE SOLID GOLD of ONE-PIECE showing God’s righteousness through His witnesses on earth. And thou shalt make a candlestick [of] pure gold: [of] beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. (Exodus 25:31) Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. (Exodus 25:36) The Cherubim were also made of PURE SOLID GOLD of ONE-PIECE showing God’s righteousness through His heavenly witnesses. And he made two cherubims [of] gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;(Exodus 37:7) And the dishes and utensil on the table of shewbread were also of solid gold.

   The oil and the wick of the lampstand/candlestick was of the earth and heaven. The oil is a symbol of the SPIRIT of God, and it is through this oil that the Lord Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. (Hebrews 1:8) Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Hebrews 1:9) The wick becomes the vehicle of faith that joins us (as the children of God) to the oil and the perfect Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are born not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible seed. The wick was soaked with the oil. It had oil without and within, this is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ working through us in the world. Although we are not of the world, our work and sojourn are in the world and directed by the Spirit of Christ from within. The incense that was burned upon the altar of incense, and the censor that dispersed the incense was carried by the high priest, was called holy as it ascended up to God.

And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure [and] holy:(Exodus 30:35)

And thou shalt beat [some] of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.(Exodus 30:36)

And [as for] the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. (Exodus 30:37) ♦ End of Side Note: Types and symbolism in the Old Testament of God’s Righteousness in His Messiah.

   This sweet-smelling incense is seen in the life of Christ that He was a sweet incense to God the Father, and we also see this in the prayers of His children to God their Father. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (Ephesians 5:1) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. (Ephesians 5:2) We are partakers of Christ in the sacrifice of Himself as a sweet incense to God, and we are partakers of His death by the heavenly calling. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.(Hebrews 3:1) We have responded to the heavenly calling, and we have put on the new man in Jesus Christ. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. (Ephesians 4:23) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24) We are now holy brethren before the Almighty God. And our prayers ascend as incense to the Almighty God. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.(Revelation 8:3) And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. (Revelation 8:4)

   We are called by a heavenly calling by God from heaven, and we ascend to heaven in the heavenly Man, Christ Jesus. We are born of His Spirit, which makes us not of the earth. We are here to be consumed (as wicks) by the will of God to testify of the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. We are the wicks within the oil of gladness, for we have been raised from the death of sin to sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6) 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)

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Overcoming the World

Through His Name

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you. (John 16:23)

   In all seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, we have the overcomers, and how they overcome. Collectively the overcomer separates himself from the evil, bands together with like spirits, if possible, and will not accept the evil that has come into the professing church. The overcomer remains the same through all seven churches, although the evil increases, the spirit of the overcomer remains the same. He is united to Christ and Christ alone and goes outside the camp with Christ and stands with Christ alone; consequently, the overcomer will sit down WITH Christ in His throne. This is our joy that we have been delivered from this world, and we have overcome the world by Jesus Christ. We are overcomers because we are separated unto the Son of God who is the Son of the Father’s love.

   We should realize that His name is multiplied as the stars of heaven in every redeemed soul. We are transporting His light and glory into this world. All creation sorrowed at His death for His sorrow was not like any sorrow known to man. However, in His resurrection we see the joy of God and the joy of the sons of God, and the joy of the creation in the things to come when all will humble themselves in the glory and majesty of the Son of God. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. (Philippians 2:10) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:11) In Philippians Chapter 2, verse 11, we not only have the name that is above every name, but we see the glory that is attached to that name, however, although we have glory IN the Lord Jesus Christ, the unbeliever is going to have sorrow upon sorrow through that same name. As the redeemed, we share the wine of gladness and joy, but those who are unbelieving, they too will bow the knee to that name at the great white throne, and will have to confess the name of Jesus, but this will be their confession of their rejection of the Son of God and trampling underfoot the blood of Christ.

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29)

For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. (Hebrews 10:30)

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)

    Now put on your mad glasses and your angry hats, Peter, by the Spirit of God, left this verse FOR US, not only for them in his day. 

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: (1^st Peter 1:17) For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1^st Peter 4:17)

    In Peter’s day the time had come already for judgment to begin at the house of God. They were polluting the things of Christ. They were defiling the holy things of God as Belshazzar in the book of Daniel. And God could say of Belshazzar, that he was weighted in the balances and found wanting. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. (Daniel 5:27) EVERY man will be judged according to his work, and this work is done with the sincerity of the heart under the eyes of God in godly fear. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. (1^st Peter 1:17) So, since the Holy Spirit wrote these words through Peter in Peter’s day, what is the level of corruption IN OUR DAY? Knowing man’s heart, let’s open our eyes to the corruption and defilement of sin in the professing world church. This includes all so-called denominations which are no more than the division of the Body of Christ, and this alone is a most deplorable sin, for they, as Ephesus, have departed from the Lord of glory. The lists of sin is an outright crime against God and His Christ. This is why there is neither SPIRITUAL LIFE nor SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE in the professing church. Sin has blinded their eyes and they worship many gods of their own making.

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? (Matthew 19:16)

And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matthew 19:17)

He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, (Matthew 19:18)

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 19:19)

The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? (Matthew 19:20)

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (Matthew 19:21)

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:22)

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:23)

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)

When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? (Matthew 19:25)

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

The Lord, speaking to a young man in Matthew Chapter 19, presents to us a position that one must take in His faith in Jesus Christ. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:29) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

  The masses today are NOT following Christ, but they are following ungodly men holding up their hands and swooning in  mass psychosis at the beckoning of ungodly men filling their pockets and buckets with the treasures of the world, and for all their labor and work there is NOT ONE soul for the kingdom of God. GREAT will be their punishment before the Almighty God for they truly have done despite to the Spirit of grace, and have trampled underfoot the blood of the covenant, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given some of these ungodly men a LONG ROPE, but one day that long trail will be the very words that the Lord Jesus will read out to them at the great white throne of judgment. Depart from me, I NEVER KNEW you. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:23)

   We need to understand that in all the epistles, the epistles of Paul, James, Peter, John and Jude that they ALL expressed the sin and waywardness of the church in THEIR DAY. These were letters given by the Spirit of Christ to CORRECT fallen churches. The seven epistles of the Lord were given by Himself to the Church of time, (the seven churches in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ) to bring us to this very day to show us not only the incompetence, but the corruption of man, and how easily man states false professions showing, the enmity that is within man against God and against His Christ. This evil church will come to an end as we see in Revelation Chapter 3, and in this end, she will be disgraced, and her sin will be uncovered before the whole world. Her merchandise and the things of treasure will go up in flames. Peter instructs us to be very diligent in our faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. He instructs us that if the righteous barely be saved, what will be the end of unbelievers, and this includes the chants of the  j..e..Z..u..ss – j..e..Z..u..ss people with no life within, and no movement of faith without, their works are dead. And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (1^st Peter 4:18)

    There is a misconception in the prosperity church today, God says to you, You don’t pay for someone else to do your work. This is not faith. Also, to give money to receive more money in return is not of God. This is not faith. It is merely another world organization void of faith and void of Christ. After all the warnings from the Spirit of God in the epistles of Paul, James, Peter, John and Jude, the Lord spoke to Ephesus, in Revelation Chapter 2, that they, as a group, had no love of God in their hearts for the heart is the seat of love, and they had LEFT their first love. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

   In Ephesus there was only an outward appearance of love because the blood of Christ was not enough to hold them, for the collective HAD NO COLLECTIVE FAITH. What Jude had written prior, we could call it the prelude to the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, was in full swing in the church at Ephesus. Read the entire epistle of Jude, it won’t take long, and realize that it was because of corruption that Jude was contending for the faith once delivered to the saints.Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3) This faith was the Spirit of Christ, the Author of faith, within the heart leading to all truth. Jude deals with the immediate problems, both then and now.

    The major problem was men of self-acclaimed authority with NO FAITH crept in masked by false professions. These were the deceivers of Satan, men of renown, they were and ARE TODAY ungodly men. Their goal has always been to take hearts away from Christ, and to turn hearts to earthly treasures, and then in turn direct hearts to themselves, and what they can build with other ungodly men joined together. The prosperity doctrine has eaten up Christianity. It has polluted every aspect of the professing church, and from every level of prosperity they lie so that they can make merchandise out of their followers. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (2^nd Peter 2:3) And you, as followers, pay a greater price. You are paying the price with your soul, spirit and heart.

    These are men with reprobate minds. They are destroying faith and replacing faith with feelings and lasciviousness. Emotional impurity and wantonness go hand in hand. The apostle John told us to love not the world for a reason. It is the world that denies the truth and denies the Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord wrote His letter to the church at Ephesus it was because ungodly men had already crept in and wooed the church of Ephesus AWAY from Christ. The words of Jude 4 had come to pass, For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

   These ungodly men had brought in paganism. Remember that Ephesus was the center of the worship of Diana. This church at Ephesus was swallowed up by a false priesthood, thus, denying the Lord His rightful position as the great High Priest of His church. This led to sin within the church, and the worship of idols. The ungodly deeds of the Nicolaitans had subverted the people and ruled OVER them with the traditions of Diana and not the faith of Christ. The Nicolaitans of Revelation Chapter 2 are the SAME ungodly men of Jude 4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. It wouldn’t surprise me if the idols of Diana, which was prolific in Ephesus, were actually brought into the church at the time of the Lord’s letter to them, and this could have been the very cause of lasciviousness brought into the church since the idols of Diana were objects of sensual acts and thoughts. Remember this was at the BEGINNING of the church age, do you remember the beginning of Israel when they came out of Egypt?

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. (Exodus 32:1)

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And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. (Exodus 32:6)

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They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 32:8)

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And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? (Exodus 32:21)

And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. (Exodus 32:22)

For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. (Exodus 32:23)

And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. (Exodus 32:24)

And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) (Exodus 32:25)

   This was not a FEW of the Israelites, but the MAJORITY of the Israelites, that were caught up in idolatry of the golden calf reflecting the idolatry of Egypt. They were also NAKED, and actively and outwardly lascivious; they were abusing each other in vile ways. And they had turned aside QUICKLY from the God who had led them out of Egypt. The church at Ephesus fared no better than Israel camped at the base of mount Sinai, for they did the same, and as the Lord told them that if they did not repent, He would remove their lampstand, and THIS HE DID. They were no longer witnesses of His glory.

    The church of Christ became the church of Diana, and the seeds were sown for the priesthood and the female deity within the church that has grown into modern Romanism with their unsound and delusive priesthood along with the worship of Mary; claiming erroneously and boldly that she is the mother of God. (What a twist of a word or phrase will accomplish in forming a sinister doctrine, Jesus (being God manifested) was not under the subjection of the earthly woman who bore Him in her womb as a vessel being used in the service of her God Jehovah. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. (John 2:3) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. (John 2:4.) The Lord Jesus Christ was above acting on her requests because she was His creature not His creator, nor was she equal to Him, or equal with Him in any way. That Christ rebuked Mary in John Chapter 2, verse 4 shows this separation of understanding and in knowledge of the purposes of God because Mary did not know, nor did she understand the purposes of God in Christ.

    These seeds of idolatry were sown in the very first century of church history. It might interest you that God not only took the lampstand away, but the city of Ephesus itself was slowly destroyed. Its wealth ceased and its commerce failed. The worship of Diana diminished since her idols were no longer able to be easily exported since the city of Ephesus no longer had an accessible water trade route to the Mediterranean Sea. Secular history records a seacoast slowly fading away from the city caused by silt build up from the Cayster River that flowed from the mountains through the city and into the ocean destroying a once vibrant and active seaport.

    The root of the problem in Ephesus was UNBELIEF in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were experiencing the same hardness of heart as the Israelites wandering in the wilderness.

While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. (Hebrews 3:15)

For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. (Hebrews 3:16)

But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? (Hebrews 3:17)

And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? (Hebrews 3:18)

So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:19)

   As God told Ezekiel to make His message CLEAR to the Israelites so that Ezekiel would have no blood on his hands. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (Ezekiel 33:8) Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. (Ezekiel 33:8)

And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. (Ezekiel 2:5)

And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. (Ezekiel 2:7)

    I want you to understand that it is because of UNBELIEF that the Israelites perished in the wilderness, and it is because of UNBELIEF that many in the church perish.  The Corinthian church was an idolatrous church. They were a sensual church, a carnal church. They had also allowed the ministers of Satan to come in amongst them, and greater than this, the Corinthians accepted these false ministers of righteousness as authorities in spiritual matters. The Corinthian church trusted these men of pride and self-assumed rank and renown more than they believed the authority of the apostles. There were so many false doctrines among the Corinthians that at the closing of 2^nd Corinthians, the Spirit of God, through Paul, said, Let a man examine himself. 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? (2^nd Corinthians 13:5) All of us must examine ourselves first, and we must examine ourselves by the word of God. The reason for this verse in 2^nd Corinthians 13:5 is to target the tragedy of unbelief. Just as Israel heaped sorrow upon sorrow upon themselves in unbelief, the church has done the same. The church has become so polluted that there is NO SPIRIT of Christ left within the four walls of the dominion of unbelief. Satanic doctrines are openly taught in the greed and lucre of the world, and not in the humility of the Spirit of Christ.

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Ask the Father

In the Name of Holiness, Righteousness and Humbleness

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you. (John 16:23)

   With all this said, we must remember the very words of God that we began with, that it was the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples. These were the men who walked with Him that saw the miracles, and that saw the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ. They embraced Him as the Son of God because of His footprints of life. They could feel the supernatural when they were in His presence by the power of the Spirit that was within Him. He was not like any other man, and He came to the realm of mankind to bring the gift in Himself of God’s love. So that in this same Spirit, we as believers, should with all humility bring our petitions to God with meekness and godly fear. It is not our position in this world to be a lord over the world. Our position is the position of a servant while we are here on earth. Although we are sons, we are here to serve our Father in heaven, and to shed the light of Christ throughout the world. When the Lord gave the commission to the disciples, there was no end to their labor in territory, it was to the whole world, and the message was to the whole world. We today have this same message: that Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the Savior, and only through belief in Him is eternal life.

   As Peter said, through the Spirit of God, if the righteous scarcely be saved, what will be the end of the unbeliever And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (1^st Peter 4:18) They will perish in the desert of sin because of their unbelief. The Lord prayed for His disciples, and He left the message for the whole world that He was the very door of salvation, that He was the way, the truth and the life, and no one can come to the Father but by Him. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

   The world is at the beginning stage of the time of sorrows. The populace is restless and confused. Governments have been manipulated and taken over by ungodly men, but the word of God opens the eyes to where we are today. Man has had a long history of enmity against God, and enmity against man: bodies upon bodies, wars upon wars, the killing by Cain in the streets of nations, the horrible sin of killing infants and depriving them of life so that the ungodly can continue in their ungodly ways and in their ungodly life. As this evil grows minute by minute, day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year, God is patient and merciful, but the cup of man’s wickedness is full. Nations are disintegrating right before our eyes. Man is spinning out of control, and God is about to speak in His wrath. God’s wrath is not only to the outright haters of God, but to those who every Sunday fool themselves, but they are not fooling God. Greed and self-wealth have been a rotten influence, or I may write, an influence that has overtaken the professing world church. They do not want to be like the Man in heaven, but they want to be like the wealthy men of the earth. The world is their establishment, the world is their playground, they have no idea what heaven’s glory is about because the earthly glory that they love has blinded them in their sin. The Lord Jesus suffered to bring righteousness into the world even to the death of the cross. Man must consider that if he is in Christ that he is no longer of the world.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:14) I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (John 17:15) They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:16) 

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1^st John 2:15) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1^st John 2:16) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1^st John 2:17) Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (1^st John 2:18)

Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. (1^st John 3:13)

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. (John 15:18) If ye 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. (John 15:19)

   The Spirit of God puts a love of the Father and the Son within us to separate us from the evil world. The Spirit of God gives us a spirit of meekness, not weakness. The spirit of meekness is to keep us in a humble relationship with our God. And as Moses, although he was meek, he had the strength of the Almighty within. We are in the world to reflect the Spirit of Christ to the world, and not to overshadow the Spirit of Christ. We are separated unto the most high God, and we belong to Him and for His purpose. And no matter what we go through, it is the Lord Jesus who went before us. He suffered for righteousness, even to the death of the cross.

    All His apostles laid aside their earthly goods for heavenly riches above. Although Paul was blinded on the Damascus Road when the scales of blindness fell from his eyes, he could only see Christ, and Christ crucified. So much so that he gave us that great truth that each and every child of God enters in and comes through the death of Christ on the cross. Paul could say while he was still breathing that he was crucified with Christ, and yet, he lived, but he only now lived in the faith of the Son of God who loved him and gave Himself for him. Paul would go on sometimes abounding, and sometimes in trials, sometimes in weakness and weariness, but never turning from the path that was set before him. He had entered a race that would consume his life for Christ, and he saw the full worth of the death of the Son of God upon the cross. Paul knew the power of Christ in the death of the cross that before life is given in the new birth ALL must die at that cross. The cross is not a trinket, nor a piece of jewelry to wear. The cross is not something to drag through city streets. There is one purpose in the cross, and this is for man to DIE on that cross. The death of the Lord Jesus upon the cross of Calvary is the power of salvation. His resurrection is the result of that salvation, and it completes the cycle of life, and the cycle of death. In Jesus Christ we die to live, and our life is anew throughout all eternity. So, when we use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should use this name and our requests before God with meekness and humility that God will look on our hearts and see the desires of our heart to serve Him, and to love the day of His appearing, and to fulfill our desire in our prayers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray with all hearts of like mind, Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:21)

Amen and Amen.

© Copyright 2022, Michael Haigh

This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.

All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJB)