Come and See
Chapter 8 of the Gospel of John
Part iii
The Darkness
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. (John 8:13)
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. (Romans 13:12)
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. (1st John 2:8)
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. (Proverbs 4:19)
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Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. (Psalm 66:5)
For I [know] their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. (Isaiah 66:18)
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He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about tenth hour. (John 1:39)
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (John 1:46)
And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. (John 11:34)
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Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether IÂ come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27)
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And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. (Revelation 6:1)
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. (Revelation 6:3)
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. (Revelation 6:5)
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. (Revelation 6:7)
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The Battlefield in Verse 13
in the gospel of John Chapter 8
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The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. (John 8:13)
 In verse 13 of Chapter 8 in the gospel of John we return to the darkness of Adam and his father the devil. It is expedient that we see the truth of the remainder of Chapter 8 of the gospel of John. The true controversy is light against darkness in the unseen realm. It is truth against the lies of mankind. It is conflict between the Son of God and the children of the devil. This is REAL conflict for the Son of God and it is not different for any of His children. We are in a conflict against evil, against the lies of the devil for he was a liar from the beginning. Just as the Lord Jesus came from above, our new birth in Christ is from above, it is not of the earth, but of the Creator who is at the right hand of God, the Man Christ Jesus. He has made us a new people, a new creation, and a new creature. We are not OF Christ, but IN Christ. Once again, we see the Pharisees in total darkness in a battle against truth.
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The Battlefield in Chapter 13
in verses 8 and 18 the book of the Revelation
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  Verse 13, has the number of darkness (number thirteen), for these Pharisees believed not the truth, and refused the Son of God, and the truth of God. Number thirteen has always been a number of darkness. It is brought to its fulness in Revelation Chapter 13, and this is where the man of total darkness is revealed. He comes forth as being born of the devil, he is known for his lies, and blasphemies, and his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness and death. The kingdom of the beast is made up of the haters of God, and this covers the whole face of the earth. They will ALL worship the beast and will take his mark to prove that they belong to him. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8) This is truly a dark chapter for we see the heart of all mankind has cast off God. They embrace the devil, the beast, the false prophet, and the image of the beast. Adam (mankind) is sucked down by the infamous whirlpool of sin into the lowest point of human existence (a beast). Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six. (Revelation 13:18) Sin will become Adam’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He will know nothing else, and how does this correlate with John Chapter 8?
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The Key
to ALL Battles
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  Here is the key, verse 44 of John Chapter 8. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. The Pharisees of John Chapter 8 have the same father as the beast of Revelation Chapter 13. This should wake up a few of us to the phrase, How great is the darkness? But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:23) If I only have your attention for a little while, I pray that it will be enough time to awaken those who sleep, those who are in darkness, those who have stumbled to this site, and to those who need the light of God in Jesus Christ.
  The God haters of the Pharisees were very devious, for they claimed to be of God, and yet, the truth declared that they were of their father the devil. In their traditions of men, in their deviousness, in their guile, in their religiousness they were haters of God.　Grace and truth was in their midst, but they were blind, deaf, and dumb. We could say that Balaam’s ass was smarter then these Pharisees, for that animal listened to God and spoke for God. (Numbers 22) The Pharisees, however, being of the same character as animals, spoke for their master, the devil.　In the dialogue between the Pharisees and the Lord Jesus (from verse 13, to the end of this chapter verse 59), a discussion developed concerning truth. This so angered the Pharisees that it drove them to the point of picking up stones to stone the Son of God. The darkness of sin has this affect on the lost estate of Adam. In almost every conversation with an unrepentant individual whenever a particular sin of mankind is introduced into the conversation, the majority of mankind will try to defend that sin. These same individuals, however, will never defend truth.
  The same arguments of the Pharisees exist today, the Lord was even in doubt of their mental stability and cognizance in verse 43, Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. They could not hear his words, doesn’t this sound familiar? How many times has someone spoken to me about their faith in Jesus Christ, and when I quote a verse from Scripture and begin to talk about what that verse contains, then they want to talk about religion, their church or temple, but definitely not about the word of God. For they cannot hear His word. Years of preaching teaches one about mankind, Adam will barely sit for only one hour at the max, and cannot wait to leave and be about his sinful ways. They close their eyes to the word of God. They sit in blindness, and stop their ears with their fingers of unbelief. They cannot hear the word of God. Sin has affected their hearing, it has affected their mental state, sin can be so demanding that it will demand insanity. Sin is the numbness and dumbness of the reality of the very sin that possesses its victim. This is why many sit week after week, year after year without knowing the Word of God. For the Word of God does not dwell in them. I am not trying to make friends here. I am not looking for patrons, what I am trying to do through the Spirit of God is to wake YOU up to the truth. If I wanted to be popular, I would commit myself to the Laodicean church as others have done. After all it is all around us, we have Laodicean churches on every corner, and just to remind you . . . this is their character.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (Revelation 3:14)
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (Revelation 3:15)
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)
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: (Revelation 3:17)
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (Revelation 3:18)
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Revelation 3:19)
  I realize that in John Chapter 8 that we are dealing with the Pharisees and their blindness to the word of God and to the truth; therefore, let me highlight a few things from the church at Laodicea, in verse 17, 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:. It begins with self interests: patting each other on the back, telling each other how wonderfully spiritual they are, and then the Lord drops the hammer: knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. They are wretched, they are poor in spiritual life, they are blind to the word of truth, and they are naked. The Lord sure gives us a damning picture of the age that we live in. He ends this verse with the word ‘naked.’ This is the nakedness of Adam and Eve.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Genesis 3:7)
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3:10)
And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? (Genesis 3:11)
  This church of Laodicea has no covering for sin. Is it any wonder that the men in the pulpit shun the truth, and the preaching of the blood of Christ? They are naked in their sin as the Pharisees of old. The gravest sin of all that one can commit is trampling under foot the Son of God and His precious blood, and doing despite to the Spirit of grace. 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) This verse gives us a point of no return. There is no return from this heresy, only a one way ticket to hell fire. The Pharisees openly rejected grace and truth in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God demands inward light in Jesus Christ without this there is no salvation, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (Romans 8:9) If ye have not the Spirit of Christ, ye are none of his. This is why the Lord Jesus could look the Pharisees in the eyes with direct divine eye contact, and say to them, ye are of your father the devil. They were playing a game with fire, with the devil, and the with the depravity of Adam. They (the Pharisees) were standing face to face with the Son of God, and at one point called the Son of God a devil. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (John 8:48)Â
Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. (John 8:52)
  I would like to elaborate on Divine eye contact. Those who herald the Word of God with the Spirit of God in their hearts and souls, know exactly what I am talking about. In the preaching of the gospel, it is not only the words that are spoken, but the movement of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of men. God makes eye contact between the preacher and a particular soul. Only the true preacher of the gospel would understand this. It is not ecclesiastical harmony that we desire, but the fire of the Spirit of God to penetrate the hearts of sinful men. The Lord Jesus was face to face with the possessors of darkness, and they loved darkness rather than the light of the truth. Today, it is common for the world to curse the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is so common to use the Lord’s name in vain that men in their darkness do not even understand their own blasphemy. The Jews called the Lord Jesus ‘a devil,’ and this was not the first time. They used this expression in John 7:20 also, and in John 10:20. We see a deeper darkness over all the Jews, for they also related their feelings from the most religious to the weakest pawn of Satan. I was once approached by a disturbed man, he was trying to tell me that the Lord Jesus was really Lucifer, and he had a story of fiction to go along with his claim. He was very sincere in his darkness, however, I replied, Have you ever heard of the term ‘your father the devil?’ Then I referred to John Chapter 8, and told him that the tools of the devil were face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and He called them ‘children of the devil,’ who is the father of all lies, for he was a liar from the beginning. So I asked this man, Is this your father? He walked away with a disgusted look on his face. He regretted that I did not become another one of his victims. A child of the devil has no hope. And there comes a day when his soul is seared with the fires of hell because of sin.
  The professing church today is in doctrinal insanity instead of doctrinal truth. Almost every message from the professing church has a perversion of mankind and not the truth of the Word of God. In the first century of church history the apostle Paul came to the cold reality that the Church was leaving its first love, the Lord Jesus Christ. One by one, the churches of Asia forsook Paul. One by one, they turned against him. When anyone devotes their life to the truth and gives all their strength to the truth, then one comes to the reality (as Paul) that many consider them enemies because they preach and teach the truth.
Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? (Galatians 4:16)
Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? (Galatians 5:7)
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (Galatians 3:1)
  The common thread through each one of these verses is . . . the truth, the same truth that the Lord Jesus was giving to the Pharisees in John Chapter 8:32, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. The truth of God has been repudiated by the devil since Adam partook of the tree of good and evil. Man is a willing tool in the hand of the deceiver. Through the Old Testament mankind also rejected the truth and this rejection became the ruin of Israel. So they turned away from the prophets who God sent to them. They refused the truth of God, and received the lie of Satan. This is all brought to its conclusion in 2nd Chronicles 36:15 and 16.
And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: (2nd Chronicles 36:15)
But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. (2nd Chronicles 36:16)
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The Foundational Message
of the Gospel
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  Let us fast forward to the days of Paul, the epistles of Paul they were given by the Holy Spirit to correct error already in the church. They had left the straight path, each one of Paul’s epistles has a certain message of a particular doctrine to correct the error in that church, and because it was given by the Spirit of God they are universal epistles for ALL churches and for ALL the redeemed. Each one had a specific message for that specific church; nevertheless, all the epistles were built around the foundational message in the Roman epistle.
  The Holy Spirit began with the Roman epistle, and this set the condition of all mankind both Jew and Gentile, and the criminality of Adam’s sin, and the depravity of man because of the will of sin. For all men are condemned before God, in every way. They are without excuse, only grace THROUGH faith can save anyone. Mankind must come to grace through faith by the Lord Jesus Christ, for grace and truth came through the Lord Jesus Christ. The divine court under the law of sin and death has condemned all of mankind. For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It was by one man that sin entered into the world, and death by sin; therefore, death is the penalty of divine judgment against ALL sin passed to ALL of mankind through Adam. This puts every one of us AT birth under the law of sin and death. We are without hope and without God in this world. The judge sits upon his seat, and every mouth is shut, for mankind cannot find a reason to adequately defend himself for his conscience bears witness that he is condemned already. Then out of heaven’s glory stepped out a new Man, one that is not of Adam, and He steps in front of the judge, and declares, Here am I, send me. I will reconcile both the law of sin and death, and the law that was given to Moses, I will bear the judgment of the sin of the whole world so that the prisoners of sin can be set free, and they who believe that God has sent me to die for them, and believe on my name (Jesus Christ) will draw a full pardon from the divine court. I will blot out their sin, and will remember it no more.
  Adam is let out of the court room, and a new man enters and stands before the Judge, by the miracle of grace, Adam has been changed, and therefore, there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. For we walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit of God. The Spirit of life given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ has made us free from the law of sin and death. And the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has snapped the chains of sin and death. The Spirit of grace has abounded. 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)
  This Spirit of grace recorded in Hebrews 10:29 is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus found in Romans, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2) This is the Spirit of grace, and we, as the children of God, have put on the life of that Spirit in our redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace (which is all of God) is BY God, THROUGH God, and IN God, and in new life in the Spirit of grace we walk in the Spirit with a freedom from sin and death. Jesus Christ has made us free from the law of sin and death.
  Remember, at the tree of good and evil, from the moment that Adam partook of that fruit, all of mankind plummeted into the darkness of sin and death. The only deliverance came from the Eternal Man of righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ. It took a man from heaven to free us from the darkness of sin so that we could become people in heaven in Jesus Christ. Sin is the chain that binds us to the darkness of this world, and mankind has an affinity with both darkness and sin. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19) I would like to address what is declared as ‘the free will of man.’ There is no such thing as ‘the free will of man.’ Adam brought sin into the world, and mankind (from THAT point) was and is under the ‘will of sin.’ If you can find anyone who can say, I have never sinned, you will find a person who is very sinful, for he is lying about the will of sin, and the chain of sin.
  I met a man, as I was leaving a church, and he could not wait to tell me that he was without sin, and he had never sinned. I replied to his comment with these words, ‘You have sinned . . . for you just lied to me.’ There was no more said, as the Pharisees, he walked away convicted of his own sin. Mankind in Adam is a child of darkness. He has an affinity with darkness, and his evil deeds are done in darkness. Even when the Light of the world came by Jesus Christ (the Son of God) men loved darkness rather than the light. They could not abide by the first commandment. They all loved darkness and did not love God. When the Light came by Jesus Christ, there was a voice with that Light, the very voice of God on earth, and Christ spoke with the very words that He heard of His Father, and even in our age, this Light is still moving through the entire world by the voice of the Holy Spirit of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Romans 10:18) The voice of the Spirit of God is a continual voice that glorifies the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Spirit of God at the direction and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ that will lead you into all truth. In the spread of the gospel, I have seen the hand of God working through His Spirit to declare His Word to all people, to all races, to all languages, and to all nations.
<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (Psalm 19:1)Â Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. (Psalm 19:2)
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. (Psalm 19:3)Â Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, (Psalm 19:4)
  I emphasize that there is no speech nor language where the voice of the Holy Spirit is not heard. Years ago, I sat across our kitchen table from my wife, Mary, with one little phone wire in my hand, using this wire as an example, I told her, See this little wire, with a bewildered look, she said Yes; then I replied, Through this wire we will (just the two of us) spread the gospel ALL over the world, and we were going to do this without any human support. We were going to trust the Lord to give us the knowledge, and understanding to begin this work for Him. This one wire developed into seven web sites of His ministry, and yes, after all these years, it is still just the Lord Jesus Christ and the two of us for the glory of the Lord. The Lord has been showing us the way, and day by day, we have seen the miracle of His grace. When I was preaching and traveling all over, upon leaving any church, and getting in the car, my wife would look at me and say, ‘Who was that masked man?’ Which was a take from the Lone Ranger TV series many years ago, and I always replied, ‘I left a silver bullet of grace behind.’ I still feel this way today, It is the Lord’s ministry, and I am just an undeserving vessel, and my whole life MUST be used that my Savior, and His glory should increase, and I must decrease, for it is ALL for the glory of God. I remain that masked man sending that silver bullet of grace throughout the world. And within, I have the joy of serving the Lord as the Spirit of God draws precious souls to His seven sites. Truly, a miracle of grace, as the Light was in their midst, the darkness of the Pharisees fought against that Light because they loved darkness. He had come into the world, and the world knew Him not, He had come unto His own Israel, the nation that He had called out of Egypt thousands of years prior, and they now received Him not. The Lord Jesus was and is the LAST voice of God to mankind.
God , who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (Hebrews 1:1) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)
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The Last Voice
The Last Witness
The Last Message
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 These last days are surrounded by the fullness of time, not the beginning of time, nor the end of time, but the FULLNESS of time surrounds ALL mankind under Adam with the deliverance of God for Adam through His Son Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God speaks expressly in Hebrews Chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, that it is the LAST DAYS, and the LAST VOICE of God, and this voice was IN His Son when He was manifested upon earth, and He spoke the words of God directly to man AS God.
And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. (John 12:50)
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)
  Through the power of the Holy Spirit of God He has related the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ to us, so that we might have the assurance that He spoke the very words of God, for He was God Himself. For two thousands years plus, the Lord Jesus has been speaking in these last days from His throne in heaven by His Spirit which is the Holy Spirit of God. And yet, the darkness is still loved by man because the work of men is evil. It is the Spirit of God in this gospel of John who is speaking to all our hearts with the very voice and witness of Jesus Christ. He is the LAST VOICE, and He is the LAST WITNESS, and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the LAST MESSAGE to Adam. I want you to consider the last verse in your Bible, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:21) Our Bible ends with the message of GRACE. It is the Spirit of grace of Hebrews 10:29, and it is the Spirit of Life of Romans 8:2, this IS the LAST MESSAGE. It is the ETERNAL MESSAGE, and even in the last verse of the Bible it bears the name that is above every name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a way to end the darkness with Grace, Life, and the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. We could say, Amen, but we are not finished yet.
  Let us examine the darkness in verse 13 of John Chapter 8, The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. These are the same Pharisees who left the presence of the Lord convicted by their own sins. They had gone out, but now they had regrouped, and they went into the treasury (where the Lord was, and where their hearts were for money rules all evil with the sin that money brings). The Lord was teaching in the treasury, and there was still a large group of people listening to Him. The Pharisees returned after they brooded about their defeat to discredit the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of these Pharisees standing before an open door, and looking into a hall of darkness. In the beginning of the book of the gospel of John, the Pharisees had sent priests and Levites to harass John and to discredit John, and to trick John by their guile. This is when they entered into their long hall of darkness which kept getting darker and darker as they progressed into the darkness. If we consider the first Chapter as we approach the 8th Chapter, we will see their spirit, and their souls getting darker and darker, as the children of the devil. If we go to the end of the gospel of John to Chapter 19, we see their final plummet into the deepest darkness when they screamed for all eternity to hear, Crucify him, crucify him. When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. (John 19:6) We would like you to read Luke Chapter 23:21, they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. The Holy Spirit of God wants us to see how great this darkness was. What we miss in this section in the gospel of Luke, is the LAST message to the daughters of Jerusalem (from the Lord Jesus Christ) after their shrilling cry.
And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. (Luke 23:27)
But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. (Luke 23:28)
For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. (Luke 23:29)
Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. (Luke 23:30)
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (Luke 23:31)
 This was the Lord’s LAST message to the daughters of Jerusalem. This was also an answer to, Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. (Matthew 27:25) Now these events were not done in a corner, even though the children of darkness thought they were free from the wickedness. In 70 A.D. Titus came into Jerusalem and destroy both Jerusalem and the temple, fulfilling the Lord’s words to the daughters of Jerusalem, and magnifying their words, His blood [be] on us, and on our children. While the temple was burning in flames, there were those who remembered what the previous Pharisees had declared, and there were those watching the flames, and asking God, Why these things were taking place? Such is man. He remembers NOT his sins, nor the sins of his fathers, he is a self justifier of his sins, and even today, this three letter word is forbidden on the lips of man. How many times man has sinned, and then as Adam, mankind looks into the face of God, and falsely justifies his sin and himself. This is the depth of Adam’s depravity. That after sin, there was nothing left that favored or resembled his previous life with the Almighty. He was cast off with sin and death, and would never return to life and light. Titus was the hammer of God. God was longsuffering, years had past since by wicked hands they had crucified the Prince of Life. Titus was not a believer in any way, but he was a tool of God’s judgment. He was in the Potter’s hands, and therefore, fulfilling God’s will and purpose, and reminding the world of the words of the Lord Jesus.
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The Godhead Speaks
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  Let us return to John 8:13, The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Grace and truth have come by Jesus Christ, however, the Pharisees were telling the Son of God that He was not true, and His record was not true. The One who had every sin of every man in His eternal book, and was the divine truth of God, the Pharisees called the Son of God, a liar. Now let’s reflect back to these verses. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (John 3:1) The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (John 3:2)
  The evidence before us is that Nicodemus came with a prior knowledge of the Son of God. Nicodemus used the word ‘we,’ thus, showing a previous discussion about the Lord Jesus Christ in the counsel of the Pharisees. First, they acknowledged that the Lord Jesus was a teacher come from God. Secondly, the miracles that He performed were a proof that God was with Him, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Now with this evidence Nicodemus was still in darkness, the pharisaical heart, soul, and spirit were encompassed by the darkness of their own will and the sin that had dominion over them. They had no divine sense. Their total existence was alienated from the truth. I would also remind you that this is the first time that the word ‘night’ is mentioned in the gospel of John. Three times the word ‘night’ is reference directly to Nicodemus, and the word ‘night’ is used seven times in the gospel of John. This should give you a wonderful study on the word ‘night,’ in the gospel of John, for each mention of this word has a particular message to the heart, soul, and spirit. Now it is your turn: study this word ‘night’ and also the word ‘darkness’ in the gospel of John.
  Nicodemus appeared out of darkness, many treat this man as being ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and being ignorant of the word of God, and yet, Nicodemus was a revered teacher in the Jewish community. This shows that the teaching by man is the teaching of darkness. Nicodemus was quite aware of the ministry of John the Baptist, and the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ because Nicodemus had to be part of the counsel of the Pharisees that sent priests and Levites to question John to find a provocation to discredit John the Baptist. Nicodemus was well aware of the ministry and the miracles of Christ. Nicodemus (being a teacher of the Jews) was there at their bequest, for a high-ranking Pharisee would not act independently of the counsel in a matter so great as this. He would not take the chance of being barred or dismissed if the others in the counsel discovered that he had taken an independent meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ. In the previous Chapter of Chapter 2, the Lord had cleansed the temple, and I am sure that all Jerusalem knew what Christ had done, and that all the Pharisees were upset at this action. After Nicodemus declared what he did know about Christ, the Lord Jesus proclaimed to Nicodemus what he did not know, as Nicodemus related the temporal evidence of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus took the mind of Nicodemus into an unknown world of truth, that a man must be born again, and that a man must be a possessor of the Spirit of God. Nicodemus could only reply, How can these things be? Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? (John 3:9) Now remember that this Chapter 3 begins with the night and darkness. So the Lord Jesus responded to the question of Nicodemus. First, the Lord questioned the knowledge and understanding of Nicodemus in verse 10, of Chapter 3 in the gospel of John, Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Then the Lord Jesus took Nicodemus from the things of earth to the things of heaven, far beyond the knowledge of man. In verse 11, Christ began with the words, Verily, verily, or Truly, truly, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.(John 3:11) As Nicodemus used the word ‘we’ with his knowledge of the Lord Jesus, now, the Lord Jesus uses the word ‘we’ in relationship of the Godhead. In fact, He becomes the spokesperson of the Godhead to Nicodemus, and to us as well. The words ‘We speak’ also encompass Hebrews 1:2, now the Lord Jesus used the word ‘we’ in ‘we do know,’ this shows the omniscience of the Son, the Father, and of the Holy Ghost. Then the Lord Jesus testified of the all seeing eye of God, that the Godhead has seen all in relationship to sinful man and all the creation, and testify that we have seen; and lastly, we have the condemnation of man that they have refused the word of God, the witness of God (and ye receive not our witness), and the truth of God, three times in this one verse, the Lord Jesus witnesses for the Godhead in using the word ‘we’ three times, and the word ‘our’ once, all referring to the Godhead bodily. In the word ‘our’ we have the fullness of the Godhead bodily manifested in Jesus Christ.
  After this revelation to Nicodemus, the Lord shows us in verse 12 of Chapter 3 in the gospel of John the lack of understanding within Nicodemus, and in all men in Adam. If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things? The realm of earthly things that mankind refuses to understand and acknowledge is that mankind (as a whole) is in a condition of sin; this condition rules their lives, all their motivation and the understanding of many outside of godly understanding only reveals man’s lost estate.
  In the Old Testament, in the days of Elijah and of Elisha, there was a school of the prophets. Search the Scriptures. God NEVER called a prophet out of one of these schools. Man cannot teach man about God, only God can teach man about Himself. Only God can reveal the Spirit of God to a person of His choosing. Only the prophets who had the Spirit of Christ were His, and none of them came from the school of the prophets. This has not changed in our day. When the Lord was speaking to Nicodemus, He used the wind as a symbol of God’s Spirit; mankind cannot understand the movement of the Spirit of God upon men. The apostle Paul (through the Spirit) gives us a great revelation in 1st Corinthians, Chapter 1.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (1st Corinthians 1:19)
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (1st Corinthians 1:20)
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (1st Corinthians 1:21)
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: (1st Corinthians 1:22)
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; (1st Corinthians 1:23)
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (1st Corinthians 1:24)
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1st Corinthians 1:25)
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (1st Corinthians 1:26)
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (1st Corinthians 1:27)
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: (1st Corinthians 1:28)
That no flesh should glory in his presence. (1st Corinthians 1:29)
  When you add this revelation of Paul to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, you see that only through the movement of the Spirit of God can anyone be born again, and in THIS condition of new birth, God INSTILLS in the heart of a new born babe to DESIRE the very milk of the word of God for their spiritual growth, and service for the Almighty God. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. (1st Peter 2:2) The teaching of the Pharisees had annulled the teaching of God. They were teaching amongst themselves about themselves without the Spirit of God within. Every prophet of God, called of God, in the Old Testament had the Spirit of Christ within, not UPON, but within him. This is how God works, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. So, if Nicodemus could not understand earthly things, how was he going to understand heavenly things? Therefore, in verse 13 of John 3, the Lord Jesus took Nicodemus from the earthly to the heavenly. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. The fact that no man, in Adam could ascend up to heaven, only the Son of man which came down from heaven, and at that time in His omnipresence He was still with the Father in heaven. Even today, Nicodemus doesn’t believe this, you try to tell that Christ was omnipresent when He was manifested on earth, and man will shake his head, he will not acknowledge because of his own condition that very Deity of the Man Christ Jesus, that Deity is never bound by place, or circumstances. Christ was informing Nicodemus that He was the Son of man, and He was going to tell Nicodemus heavenly things. And then, the Lord Jesus shows Nicodemus the reason for His manifestation in verses 14 and 15 of Chapter 3. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (John 3:14) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.(John 3:15) The Lord Jesus gives the reason for His manifestation, and we hear no more of Nicodemus in Chapter 3 of the gospel of John.
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The Darkness Then and Now
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  Now you might say, How can these things be? However, in the 8th Chapter we see the guile and perversion of the darkness. They refused the testimony of Christ in 8:13, as not being true.
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. (John 8:13) Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. (John 8:14)
  Remember there is still a crowd around the Lord Jesus listening to His teaching, when the Pharisees interrupted Him, and denied that He was speaking the truth. The debate of the Pharisees began, and they verbally ganged up on the Son of God. His one voice of truth against many voices of darkness, and unless you live in a cave on a deserted island, you would be ignorant of what is going on today.
  These same Pharisees disguised as politicians are doing the same today to a duly elected President. They refused to accept his presidency; from day one they have been actively and perversely trying to illegally and seditiously overthrow his presidency, and like the Pharisees they lie without restraint, they have no conscience for it is seared with a hot iron. These same Pharisees who heard the writing on the ground came back for another go at the Lord of glory. They huddled outside the temple and discussed the ways that they might overthrow his teaching. These are the devil’s people, and this is the work of the devil with his children. They are willing to lie, to cheat, to steal; therefore, do not think that they are not meeting in back rooms to overthrow the United States of America. The one party without God hates God, and they have joined with the devil, and declared that they are universally the children of the devil. They have joined themselves together with communist China to overthrow the United States of America and the world. They want to make ALL to be in subjection to their evil ways. They want ALL to live in poverty with no escape. Our prayer concerning earthly things should be that God helps us to stop this evil and pathetic party which hates you in the United States Congress. The only light that is left in this world is burning dimly in this country. We have allowed the darkness to dim the message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have done this by being more important than the Lord of glory. The Church is no longer a humble bride, she has become an Athaliah, and wants to rule the kingdom, and has forgotten that in all things the Lord Jesus should have the preeminence. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)
  In Chapter 8 of the gospel of John, we see the religious party of the Pharisees. This was also the party of the rulers of the Jews. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (John 8:48) Notice that it was the Jews who were speaking, the Holy Spirit shows us that not only the religious party, and the ruling party, but it was also the unbelieving Jews that the Lord was teaching who also spoke against Him. They refused to acknowledge that He was a Jew, therefore, they called Him, a Samaritan, and not only a Samaritan, but a Samaritan with a devil.
  We are also faced with the same thing today. The devil is inexhaustible. He has the energy of a thousand sinful men, and he uses sinful men in this energy. It is a spiritual energy of evil, and the modern day Pharisee (both religiously and the ruling class, the political Pharisee) embrace this evil and energy from the devil.
  It was the Lord Jesus who destroyed the works of the devil, the Lord Jesus bruised the head of the serpent, yet, the serpent is still alive to go to and fro throughout the whole earth. He is a lion of evil, and death, and he will devour the mind, the heart, and the soul of a willing child of Adam, which we have many of today. These Jews had no understanding of the truth. I have spoken to many of these Pharisees, and I always remember who their father is: he is a father of lies, a father of deceit, and a father of evil, and his children mimic their father. They delight themselves to be the ministers of darkness and death. Every time that they jump up and down joyfully in support of abortion, they are declaring their father, and waving his flag of evil. Since the devil has been a murderer from the beginning, those of faith and truth have been his victims. If you want a conflict preach the word of God, by the Spirit of God, and by the truth of God, this will never change. Even in the very end (in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ) we see God’s two witnesses slain before men because men cannot abide by the truth, they love a lie, and they love the father of that lie.
 We are living in an age when the devil has completely revealed himself, he has taken over governments all over the world, and driving mankind into the darkness that one day will be the kingdom of the beast. In Romans Chapter 1, verse 24, God also gave them up. In verse 26, God gave them up, and in verse 28, God gave them over.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (Romans 1:24)
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: (Romans 1:26)
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (Romans 1:28)
  At this point they are without hope, they have passed the point of no return. They have become a demonic force, and they will fight against all good to accomplish their goals of evil. Even their own bodies are so corrupted that they will dishonor themselves among themselves, thinking that they can dishonor the image of God, when, in fact, they lost that image at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I will guarantee everyone that all the children of the devil will be walking in the lake of fire with their father the devil. They will be tormented by their many sins of darkness, and they will forever be consumed with their own evil as the children of the devil.
Side Note: No Longer in the Shadows – the Darkness Now: The democrat party (also known as the Uniparty) has lost ALL understanding of truth and goodness, they have revealed themselves as children of the devil. It seems also that the ‘China virus’ was in the hands of the devil, and he is attempting to overthrow the world to bring about a one world government; and yes, that will be the kingdom of the beast. When we think of this evil, we know that it was from China, we know that it was deliberately sent out into the world as a weapon to destroy governments, and the economy of the world. Remember, that China was watching their own economy plummet; therefore, the virus attacked all the economies of the world. I do believe in my heart that those leaders of the democrat party are also greatly responsible for this virus as willing allies of China, but this will not be the last aggressive action by China. They have loosed a weapon of mass destruction upon the world, and because they are a communist regime I don’t see them stopping with one virus; this virus was tailor made to remove certain groups of society.
During this time we also saw shortages of food. Again man interfered although some shortages were authentic, many shortages were deliberately calculated to hurt the public. What we haven’t realized in all of this is the arm of God’s judgment upon the whole world using Adam in his sinful condition, and at the rule and bequest of Satan. Satan wants a free hand to enslave all the societies of the world. The sinful condition of this world has made it ripe for God’s judgment. For the last fifty years our own government has created a political class, they have lied, they have cheated, and have stolen, they have broken almost every law in every field to achieve power. This organized rebellion could only come from their father the devil. And if Adam is left to judge there is no judgment, there is no justice, for the devil’s children have their own set of laws. The shadow government of years ago is no longer in the shadows. It is an evil force working through both houses of the legislative branch, through the justice department, through intelligence agencies, and through their support agencies such as the falsely called ‘news agencies.’
  It is amazing how this deep shadow government can freely function in the open with absolutely no action of justice or judgment against them. Years ago I described the Constitution as a tree without leaves, now it is a document of withered branches because evil men have perverted it to their own liking and to their own sin. But this is not unusual because look what the Church (the professing church) has done to the Word of God. They preach it, but do not believe it. They have a shadow spirit. It is the dark spirit of Satan.
In all this I give the warning to all the children of God, buckle up, for the storm is coming, you will have your opportunity to prove your faith. The devil will cast many of you into prison, strip you of your wealth, take away all governments of freedom, and you will be living in a world of evil and hatred. But this hope we have in Jesus Christ, we are looking for His call to go home, yes, this world is NOT our home. We have a home in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ. Even now all Christians who are born of the Spirit of God, have been translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13) God gave us a witness of the translation of the saints in Enoch in the book of Genesis. This was the character of Enoch. He had faith in God. He walked with God, and he pleased God. How do I know this?  . . . God told me.
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5)
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:24)
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Enoch was controlled by the desire of his faith; therefore, he diligently sought after God. He desired to walk with God. He desired to please God. This separated him from those who hated God, and were the children of the devil. And as Enoch was translated out of this world into heaven’s glory, so also the remnant of the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (born of the Spirit of God) will ascend on that wonderful day when they receive their call to come home, and to take their place in the city of God above. Until then, we are still in God’s grace (as His children) and God will remove His children in time of dire evil. We see this in Isaiah 57:1, The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. In the eyes of faith this is a wonderful verse, for we KNOW that the Lord Jesus has defeated death. That in our new birth, Adam has passed away, and we now live in Christ, and we have eternal life. So therefore, when the Lord calls us, we are just changing our address. We are leaving the world for heaven without the burden of death for we pass from death to life in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The Omniscient Christ Jesus
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  Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.(John 8:14) The Lord began to defend Himself and the truth. The truth began with His own testimony of Himself because He IS the seed and the finality of ALL truth. He proclaimed to those around Him (the Pharisees and the Jews) for I know whence I came. Once again He takes us back to Nicodemus, it is highly unlikely that Nicodemus did not share what he had learned in the meeting with the Lord Jesus with the rest of the Pharisees. It was quite evident that the pharisaical community knew that the Lord Jesus was a teacher sent from God, and that He also performed miracles because God was with Him. He stated truth to them that He knew from whence He came. This shows His omniscience. He knew their hearts and the thoughts of all those who denied His Person and His truth. For He who is from above is above all, and as He came out from the Father, He would return to the Father.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)
For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. (John 17:8)
And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. (John 17:13)
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:16)
  The Lord Jesus was sent by the Father to glorify the Father, to be the Lamb without blemish, and to give Himself as a sacrifice to take away the sin of the world. In Chapter 17, the Lord Jesus is going back to the Father by the cross and the tomb. He declared that He was not part of this world, He had set apart a people who were not of the world and in the future would not be part of the world.
  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3) In this verse, we have the work of redemption, He restoreth my soul. For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. Now, as Enoch, it is our walk, for it is the Lord who leadeth me in the path of righteousness. As Enoch, my footprints should be in the Lord’s footprints. And as I follow Him, I glorify Him for His name’s sake. This is the name of Jesus Christ. This name gathers ALL the names of God both Old and New Testaments in one Being, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the Lord Jesus Christ. The testimony of the Father is greater than the testimony of men. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. God the Father found all his delight in the Son of His love. At the testimony of the Spirit of God (who is also a greater witness to mankind), the Spirit gives us this testimony of the name that is above every 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)
  We have the witness of the psalmist, for his name’s sake. We have the witness of the Son of God that He came from heaven. We have the witness of the Father, and we have the witness of the Holy Spirit of God. The fullness of the Godhead witnessing to the fullness of the Son of God manifested before men with a name from heaven, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
Amen.
© Copyright 2020, Michael Haigh
This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)