The Revelations in the Words Verily, verily
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)Â
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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 I 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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# 1 Verily, Verily
 Revelations of an Open Heaven and the Son of man
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And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. (John 1:51)
  In our last study of John 10:1, I mentioned, Verily, verily, or truly, truly, or Amen and Amen, and I am moved to return to this important point. In the racing world, it would be known as a pit stop to prepare our car for what is ahead, to open up our chances to see the invisible. So I am moved to return to this point of importance not only for the value of Verily, verily, but how the Spirit of Christ uses this combination throughout the gospel of John, and ONLY IN the gospel of John. It is evident that the three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are predominately of the earth. However, John by the Spirit of God takes us into the unseen world, into the mind of Christ, and into the revelation of God. We pass from the temporal world to the spiritual world in the first three gospels in that we can see the horizon of the earth: Matthew being the gospel of the king, Mark reveals God’s faithful servant in every way, and Luke unfolds the Son of man in a divine form as the Man from heaven. However, in John, we have heavenly things such as the eternal Word being made flesh, and being God. We have angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man as the Spirit of God looks down from above wherein, the three preceding gospels, it is the world looking up. In the gospel according to John, it is the Spirit of Christ opening to us spiritual truths found no where else in the Scriptures. This reveals the very importance of Verily, verily in the gospel of John. Before we begin, I will list all the verses that have the words Verily, verily.
1. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. (John 1:51)
2. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)Â
3. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
4. 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)
5. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19)
6. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
7. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25)
8. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. (John 6:26)
9. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. (John 6:32)
10. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)
11. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (John 6:53)
12. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. (John 8:34)
13. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. (John 8:51)
14. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:58)
15. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)
16. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. (John 10:7)
17. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)
18. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (John 13:16)
19. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (John 13:20)
20. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (John 13:21)
21. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. (John 13:38)
22. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (John 14:12)
23. Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (John 16:20)
24. 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. (John 16:23)
25. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry [thee] whither thou wouldest not. (John 21:18)
  The different revelation in the subject matter found with each Verily, verily is extremely important. The Spirit of God emphasizes these verses so that we might know and understand the mind of the Spirit of Christ. Let’s take each Verily, verily together and open to the mind of the Spirit so that we might understand and receive of the glories of Christ. This will take some time, but I believe that this will be our only opportunity to see these truths within the veil. John 1:51, in this first Verily, verily there is no doubt that this is a supernatural revelation to Nathaniel and to us. However, how many truths do you see in this first Verily, verily?
And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. (John 1:51)
  The first truth is evident. God the Holy Spirit is giving us this combination to get our attention, and to seal certain truths within our hearts, souls, and spirit. This Verily, verily comes AFTER a divine revelation that God gave to Nathaniel. What was this revelation? The Spirit of God opened Nathaniel’s heart and revealed the Master, the Rabbi, the Son of God, the true King of Israel, and this revelation could only come from heaven from God the Father . . . HEAVEN OPENED. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. (John 1:49)
  The Lord Jesus continued this revelation in verse 51 with the future of eternal life. For Nathaniel will see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man. We also get the first connection with heaven and the Son of man in the gospel of John. He IS in relationship with heaven itself for the angels are His steadfast army. They are His ministers of the truth, and of the covenants of God, and they worship God. God was IN Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. They worship Christ upon His throne, and this seal of the Son of man in relationship to heaven clarifies His mission on earth. The titles that Nathaniel used in addressing the Lord Jesus Christ are both present, and prophetic. As the Son of God He brought God down to man, God was IN Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. As the King of Israel, He came as a deliverer of His chosen people, which was/is Israel. This also was a prophetic picture in the looking glass of the Spirit into the future millennial kingdom where the Christ of God will sit on His throne as both Priest and King. Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. (Zechariah 6:13) How do we see this in verse 49 of John Chapter 1? Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. (John 1:49) The first address of Nathanael concerning the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is Rabbi. This is the second time that we see this title. It was first used by the disciples of John the Baptist in Chapter 1 verse 38. There we have the interpretation that it was not only Rabbi, but in regard to Rabbi, it was the highest estate that any could achieve as a Master of the Jewish Law and Scriptures. The title was reserved for the most eminent priests, however, He who came from above was truly the Great Rabbi, the Great Master, and the Great High Priest of our profession. Then the Spirit of God declared that thou art the Son of God, so we see: firstly, the title of priesthood; secondly, that He is, in His very Person the Son of God, thou art the Son of God, and as the Son of God He was/is given . . . . For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.Â
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
  Do you see how this flows through this verse? We have a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 7) We have the Son of God who has been given of the Father to redeem man from sin and death. Then we have the fulfillment of prophetic Scriptures, Nathanael was not only looking into the future, but he was professing the present reality within his heart, his soul, and his spirit, thou art the King of Israel. However, this is only the introduction to Verily, verily. For now the Lord opened not only the present, but the future to Nathanael in verse 51. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. (John 1:51)
  We now see, therefore, the presence of heaven with the Son of man. The title of Son of man will be completely revealed in the future millennial kingdom. His throne will be opened continually to heaven above. He will be not only Priest and King, but He will be revealed in ALL His glory as the Son of man. During His reign in the millennial kingdom, there will be a path from His throne to heaven open in a continuous flow of angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Remember as the Son of God, he brought God down to man, and as the Son of man He brought man to God on the cross of Calvary. It is finished was not only a cry of completeness, but it was also a bonding with those who would be called by His name, a unification of the knowledge that everything that needed to be accomplished in the determinate counsels of God had been completed. His foreknowledge of what is to come would be sealed and revealed as it is written in the prophetic Scriptures. All was completed in the phrase, It is finished. Although ALL was completed NOT ALL was revealed. We, today, are part of that revelation as the sons of God. In Matthew 1:1, The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. We have the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. Let’s stop here. IS this connected to Adam? No. It is connected to a NEW generation that will be revealed in the death of the Savior on the cross of Calvary in those same three words, It is finished. So where do we find this supernatural generation? We must search the Scriptures.
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. (Isaiah 53:8)
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. (Psalm 22:30) They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. (Psalm 22:31)
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? (Psalm 24:3) He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. (Psalm 24:4) He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:5) This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. (Psalm 24:6)
This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. (Psalm 102:18)
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:Â (1st Peter 2:9)
  We, as the children of God, are eternally connected with the Son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is finished not only brought our end, but opened the door for a new life, a supernatural life in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Man from heaven came to free man of sin and death. Man had been in bondage to this terrible pest of sin and death. It was a cancer upon his soul, and he as bound by the chains of darkness until God sent the eternal life and light in Jesus Christ. The genealogy of Adam had to be replaced by a NEW MAN: Jesus Christ. That which was of the earth MUST be removed for that which is heavenly.
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. (1st Corinthians 15:47)
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:9) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
One that would have no earthly father, nor mother, Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (Hebrews 7:3)
He would be that holy thing sent from heaven itself by God the Father through the divine Spirit of God. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. (Luke 1:30) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (Luke 1:31) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (Luke 1:32) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke 1:33) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (Luke 1:34) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.(Luke 1:35)
   Tell me what is NOT supernatural in these verses in the gospel of Luke 1:30 -35? Mary became a vehicle for God’s purpose. Just as the man who was born blind in John 9 was for God’s purpose to reveal the glories of the Son of God. So also Mary’s womb became a supernatural enclosure to house the divine Seed, that holy thing, sent by God to be above man, although He was manifest in the flesh. He was separated from all of Adam’s DNA. Righteousness was within the womb as it was with every step that He took through His life to the cross. Was the Lord Jesus above sin? YES HE WAS. He did no sin, there was no sin within Him, and He was completely separated from Adam concerning the nature of sin. This purity of righteousness allowed Him to be the divine Lamb of God: the divine sacrifice. As the Son of God, He brought purity down to man, as the Son of man, on the cross, He provided that purity for those who believed on Him. Sin was NOT within Him. He DID NO SIN. Sin had to be PLACED upon Him as THAT divine sacrifice. When God the Father placed that sin upon the Son of God, we have the cry, My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me? At that moment God the Father could not look upon His Son until sin was finished, until death was defeated, and THEN a new life came upon the earth. And the Lord Jesus cried out, It is finished.
  In Luke 1:30-35, man has been shut out. It is totally a supernatural act of the Almighty God. By the divine conception, the Lord Jesus had no earthly father, and His address throughout the gospels would be to His heavenly Father. He would not have a mother, as a natural man would have, she was a vessel chosen of God to be just that, a vessel. And yes, in Mary’s character and moral standing before God, He saw in her a worthy vehicle to bring forth His Son. However, the Seed was not hers, it was divine, it was separated from Adam’s seed, and it was separated from Mary’s seed. It was THAT HOLY THING that would only come once in the history of mankind in the purity of holiness to redeem man unto Himself. Just as on the cross, God was IN Christ so in THAT HOLY THING God was within. It was GOD manifested in the flesh, apart from mankind, apart from humanity, apart from human flesh. He was the divine sacrifice, and the angels could cry, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
  The Lord Jesus Christ was to be THAT supernatural Man from heaven, not the son of Adam, but the Son of God, and the rightful King of Israel, and the rightful King of the kingdom of God. He is the Creator of all things, and BY His creation He has a rightful position as the Son of man to bring man to God. It was needful for God to be manifested in the likeness of sinful flesh. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (Romans 8:3) Remember the word likeness, this does not mean that He was manifested exactly as sinful flesh, it means His image resembled man; therefore, He is the Son of man, the Supernatural Son of man. It would be impossible for Adam (the natural man) to atone for sin. How do we know this? Because in the garden God did not sacrifice Adam, or Eve, but He sacrificed an innocent victim in the Lamb as a prefigure of His glorious Lamb of God, His beloved Son. In fact when Moses was speaking to the children of Israel, God forbid human sacrifice in their children. For NO sacrifice of the seed of Adam could take away sin. It was futile because there was no righteousness within. A true sacrifice MUST be offered in purity and from God Himself in His beloved Son. Mary’s womb was changed into a supernatural habitation for THAT HOLY THING, to preserve it from ALL the propensities of human sin. She conceived BY the power of the highest for THAT is what it took to bring the purity of heaven to earth. This HOLY seed was ONE particular Seed from heaven itself. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16) This Seed from above was Christ, THAT HOLY THING would never be anything else. As He walked on this earth, every foot step was done in righteousness and He maintained His stature as THAT HOLY THING.
  Yes, Nathanael WILL see angels ascending and descending on the Son of man, and the world WILL see all of the glories of the Son of man. As God revealed Himself in the Temple to Isaiah, as His angels cried, Holy, Holy, Holy, so on His throne His scepter will be a scepter of righteousness, and His crown will be a crown of glory. Ezekiel also, in his vision, saw the glory of the most high. The Lord Jesus gives us a hint of resurrection when He told Nathanael that with his eyes he will behold the Son of man with angels ascending and descending upon the glorious throne of the King of Israel, the Son of man. Also, in this little bit of prophetic Scripture there is the revelation that a door will be open from earth to heaven, and from heaven to earth. It will truly be a door opened in heaven, opened and maintained by the Door Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s move on to the 2nd Verily, verily.
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#2, 3, 4 Verily, Verily
The Revelation of the Supernatural New Birth
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Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
  In Chapter 3, verse 3, of the gospel of John, we have a divine address and number repeated in the number three (3). For in this Chapter we will discover the omnipresence of the Son of man, and the fullness of the Godhead within Him. 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) We will also, for the first time in Scripture, receive a revelation of the new birth, and the supernatural transformation, or creation, of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. This would be a birth completely controlled by God. The new creation would be born from above. Therefore, God, for the second time in the gospel of John, uses Verily, verily, Truly, truly, Amen and amen as a supernatural truth that we must behold. The Lord Jesus pressed the fact that unless we are born again, we will not be able to see the kingdom of God. We will not be able to see the reality of the Son of God, the Son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
 In John Chapter 3, Verily, verily is repeated in THREE different verses, and there is proof and revelation to see in each of these verses.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)　
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
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)
  The truth of John 3:3 that unless a man is born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God just as a blind man cannot see except God opens his eyes. Adam could not behold the kingdom of God, for he blinded himself in sin, and by doing this he blinded every person who would be born of the human race; consequently, the first thing that we see when one is born again, their spiritual eyes are opened to the kingdom of God, which only has ONE King, and this King is the Lord Jesus Christ. There can be no kingdom without a King. In John 3:5, we have a greater revelation, one of transport, one of entering INTO the kingdom of God and being part of the kingdom of God, and this has NO natural connection with the race of Adam. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are born of water and of the Spirit. Divine birth MUST be accomplished BEFORE we can enter into the kingdom of God.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:Â (Colossians 1:12)Â Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:Â (Colossians 1:13)Â In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:Â (Colossians 1:14)Â Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:Â (Colossians 1:15)
  In connection with John 3:5, Colossians informs us that God the Father has translated us, a present reality for the children of God, into the kingdom of His dear Son. Don’t get caught up with all the different kingdoms. There is only ONE kingdom of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the ONLY Throne Sitter in the kingdom of God.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)
  In verse 12 the words received him is past tense, it is also an intrinsic action, in that we have passed from death to life from God’s power to be the sons of God. We are not born of blood, neither by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of Adam, or by man, but we are born by the WILL and CHOICE of God Almighty. That which the Father possessed, as His lambs, His sheep were committed to His Son, and they were called by the Shepherd Himself, the Son of God. The sheep of His pasture know His voice, and are known of Him. Verses 12 and 13 are companion verses to John 3:3 and 5, and when Colossians is added to John Chapter 3, you see that in our transformation we have been delivered from the power of darkness by the power of God. Our redemption is in the Son of God through His blood, even the forgiveness of sin.
  The third Verily, verily in John 3:11, (Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.) introduces us to the Godhead bodily in Jesus Christ. He says, including Himself, WE speak that WE do know, and testify that WE have seen. Three times the Lord Jesus used the word WE, signifying God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now, the first one is . . . . WE speak. They speak in unison, and each One is the harbinger of the Word of God, which is manifested in the Son of God. Now, to the eternal foreknowledge of God, the Lord Jesus declared that WE do know, the Author of the determinate counsels and foreknowledge of God is omniscient in every thought and deed. He knows the end from the beginning, and the beginning from the end. There are NO surprises in the wickedness of mankind. God has seen this through the history of mankind, and in His foreknowledge He knows the end of the race of Adam, and the severe judgment that those without Christ, without faith, will face in the lake of fire. Then we have the testimony that WE have seen. This means that the Lord Jesus, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit IN their fullness has been witnessing the history of man, and part of this history was the manifestation of Jesus Christ upon this earth. He includes Himself, and we know from Colossians that He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Colossians 2:10)
  According to Colossians verses 8, 9, and 10, Christ should be the center of all our thoughts in His manifestation as the FULLNESS of the GODHEAD BODILY. However, the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that the natural man, in Adam, would deprive us of this knowledge. In fact, man will, and has, spoiled many through philosophy, and man’s evil and vain deceit. He will put his own traditions above Christ, and his traditions will be formatted by the rudiments of the world, and NOT after Christ. What a warning the Holy Spirit gives to us in Colossians Chapter 2, verse 8. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Man’s religion is built and based upon this verse because it is deceitful above all things. So why not give the Son of God preeminence in ALL things? Adam hates this verse. 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) The One who has the preeminence in all things is the same ONE that within Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ONLY the Lord Jesus could proclaim, that WE speak, WE do know, and WE have seen, and then He gave the answer to His proclamation, and they received not OUR witness. The word OUR unveils the unification of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
  The witness of the Son is also the witness of the Father and the Spirit. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. (John 14:8) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:9) Collectively we also have the witness of God the Son, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit in John 16:13, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. Notice that in this verse that the Spirit of truth will GUIDE us, as born again believers, into ALL truth. This is why the Spirit of God (upon our new birth) puts a DESIRE into our heart, soul and spirit to consume the Word of God, and make it part of our being. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. (1st Peter 2:2)
  Notice in John 16:13, that the Spirit of truth will not speak of Himself. He will relate to us the things that He hears, or is instructed to speak, from God the Father, and God the Son to maintain the unity of the Godhead. That whatsoever He shall hear that shall He speak. As we see the oneness of the Godhead in John 3:11, we also see the fullness of the Godhead in Colossians 2, and we see the unity of the Spirit with the Father and the Son in John 16:13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
  In John Chapter 3, we also have the unbelief of mankind in verse 4, Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? This is a strong statement from man. It is a statement of unbelief as well as a statement of defiance. Nicodemus had already acknowledged that he believed that the Lord Jesus is a teacher come from God, and also that the miracles that the Lord Jesus displayed was evidence that God was with Him. 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) In verse 4, Nicodemus throws all this knowledge away, and will not believe the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that a man must be born again. You see, that which is of the flesh cannot believe that which is of the Spirit; the flesh denies God. It is the Spirit that is transformed or born into a completely different realm. One moment we are of Adam, the next moment, by the Spirit of God, we are of Christ. Our birth is instantaneous to the Spirit’s work within us. The Spirit may travail over our soul for a long period of time to show us our failure in Adam, and the weight of our sin to bring us to the point of repentance toward God and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. A good example of this is the Ethiopian eunuch.
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. (Acts 8:26)
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, (Acts 8:27)
Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. (Acts 8:28)
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. (Acts 8:29)
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? (Acts 8:30)
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:31)
The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:Â (Acts 8:32)
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. (Acts 8:33)
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? (Acts 8:34)
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. (Acts 8:35)
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? (Acts 8:36)
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Acts 8:37)
And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (Acts 8:38)
And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39)
But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:40)
  Since we are dealing with the new birth, I want you to pay attention to the work of the Spirit of God THROUGH Philip and IN the Ethiopian eunuch as recorded in verse 37, And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This is the pivotal verse of the Ethiopian eunuch’s salvation. Belief is sanctioned and imparted into his heart. He received not only the Spirit’s invitation, but the Spirit’s new birth. These words confirm the Spirit’s work in the Ethiopian eunuch, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. At the conclusion of the work of Philip the Spirit of the Lord caught him away to continue to preach the gospel in many other cities.
  Nicodemus could not understand the work of the Spirit of God. As so many today trust more in the traditions of man in the deceitful workers of iniquity, and in the philosophical religions of today which are not of God. The Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that the work of the Spirit of God in the natural man, in Adam, is a mystery. It’s like the wind that blows, it comes upon you in a moment of time, and in that moment of time, you are changed, you are created into a new creature. The hardest thing for mankind to accept is that the work of redemption is ALL of God, and NOT of man.
  We must remember that the answer in John 3:11 is the answer to man’s unbelief for Nicodemus as stated in verse 9, How can these things be? And of course, that is in regard to being born again. The change that takes place in the being when anyone is born from above is all supernatural. Truly, if one was to delve into the mystery of the new birth, one could write many books on the changes that takes place. First, the new birth is a divine work of God . . . . all things become new. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2nd Corinthians 5:17)Secondly, in the new birth we receive the Spirit of Christ, we are joined to God in ONE Spirit, the Spirit of His beloved Son. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (1st Corinthians 6:17) Thirdly, in the new birth there is the moving and indwelling of God’s Spirit within the child of God. 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) This relationship of the Spirit of Christ cannot be broken. It cannot be diminished. It cannot be shut off. It is a supernatural part of the new birth in Jesus Christ, and because of the supernatural origin, these verses are too often ignored today.
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1st Corinthians 2:10)
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (1st Corinthians 2:11)
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. (1st Corinthians 2:12)
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1st Corinthians 2:13)
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1st Corinthians 2:14)
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (1st Corinthians 2:15)
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1st Corinthians 2:16)
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:Â (Philippians 2:5)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2nd Corinthians 5:17) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (2nd Corinthians 5:18) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2nd Corinthians 5:19)
  We have the newness of life which is eternal life. We have both the Spirit and mind of Christ. Our voices are heard by our heavenly Father. He listens with affection; and therefore, we can address Him as Abba Father. We have a fullness of life that we did not have prior to the new birth, and this fullness is for NOW and FOREVER. We have the very presence of Christ through His Spirit, and this Spirit both ministers and reveals the truth of the Word of God with all assurance. When anyone has the Spirit of Christ no one has to prove the truth, for the Spirit within is the Author of all truth.
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#5 Verily, Verily
The Revelation of the Oneness of God
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Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19)
  In the fifth Verily, verily, we see the divine oneness of God, the oneness of the Godhead bodily, for the actions of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, are in unison with the Father. The Father moves and acts WITHIN the Son. And the Son moves and acts WITHIN the Father. This is the uniqueness of the Godhead: a supernatural God, a supernatural Savior, and a supernatural Spirit. This plays havoc with the thoughts of the natural man. As Nicodemus, in our previous portion, mankind continually asks this question, How can these things be? As we have God the Father and God the Son, now, God the Holy Spirit is the bonding agent flowing through both Father and Son to make the fullness of the Godhead bodily in the manifest image of God in Jesus Christ. This was God standing on earth among men. He had manifested Himself to be the agent of salvation for Adam’s race.Â
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1st Timothy 3:16)
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)Â (1st John 1:2)
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (1st John 3:5)
And the last part of 1st John 3:8, . . . . For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, (Romans 16:25) But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: (Romans 16:26) To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. (Romans 16:27)
  We are enjoying the mystery that has been hid since the beginning of the world. The word of God has opened unto us the determinate counsels and foreknowledge of God. The mystery from the beginning has been all about a divine Redeemer to fulfill the will and purpose of God. This has been revealed to us in the fullness of the Son of God, the Son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is His name above every name? Remember that His name was the mystery in the determinate counsels of God before the foundation of the world.
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? (Judges 13:17) And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? (Judges 13:18)
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
  His name was set in the fulness of time when the Lord Jesus would be born as the manifest image of God in the flesh. In the Old Testament, His image took on many names, all describing the fullness of God so that it was only fitting for God to reveal the mystery of Himself in His beloved Son. The images of old were only shadows of the One who would come forth in the fullness of time. This was the same image that walked in the cool of the day in the garden of Eden. Not only do we have the same image in the Old Testament, but we have the same spirit of Christ that was IN the Old Testament prophets.
Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: (1st Peter 1:10) Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. (1st Peter 1:11) Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. (1st Peter 1:12)
  The Spirit of Christ not only revealed the word of God to the prophets, but also stirred them to serve the Almighty God in prior Scriptures. You should remember that through the history of mankind God slowly revealed His Word in many men through different times, and places. The Word of God is a progressive theme to give mankind an understanding of God and to give man an understanding of himself. The natural man cannot understand his fallen condition, for sin has blinded his spiritual knowledge of the Almighty God. Sin is a huge wall that is impregnable by mankind. He is on one side of this wall, and God is on the other side of this wall. Man cannot penetrate that wall because man is NOT supernatural. God must open the door in that wall and pull man through to the other side. The mysteries of God were hid from the prophets, however, buried within the Word of God throughout the Old Testament was the hand of the Son of God moving by His Spirit, in the prophets of Old, giving them an understanding of the salvation that would come by the manifestation of God to man. So much so that they understood the salvation that would come upon us, and would be fulfilled by the fullness of time dragging themselves out of past history to the very moment that Christ declared, It is finished.
  What David beheld in Psalm 22, and what Isaiah experienced, as documented in Isaiah 53, describes a suffering Savior. In the fullness of time Christ would endure the cross, despising the shame, He would remove that which was against us in the words, It is finished. He would be righteousness unto man for the joy that was set before Him, It was the same Spirit of Christ in the prophets of old that dwells in us today. And all this because Christ was foreordained before the foundations of the world. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1st Peter 1:20) The Spirit of Christ worked and dwelt within the Old Testament prophets. There were many prophets that were NOT of God, however, the true prophets were marked by His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ that dwelt in them. This same Spirit today dwells and works with every believer of Jesus.
  Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. (John 5:19) This reveals the complete dependence of the Son of God with His Father in heaven. It also shows a working unity in the witness of the Son of His Father, and the Father’s unity with the Son . . . but what he seeth the Father do. This shows us not only unity, but the obedience of the manifest image of God to the will of the Father. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. (Hebrews 10:7) Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:9) In Hebrews 10:7 we see the result of the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets, as they penned the word of God literally word by word, from the Spirit of Christ, He, Himself, according to Hebrews 10:7 is the fulfillment of their writings.Â
  The volume of the book is one, not many parts, for God in His foreknowledge has always seen His word as ONE book, and not many divided parts. This has plagued mankind for just as it was revealed throughout the history of man to this very day, man without the Spirit of Christ has little understanding of God’s ONE book written by God’s ONE mind to reveal Himself to mankind, and for mankind to understand the depth of Adam’s transgression against God.
  In the gospel of John in Chapter 17, we have a greater witness of the unity of the Son with the Father. It was Christ, on earth, who looked up into heaven for in His earthly walk heaven was never closed to the Son of God. Only in those darkened hours on the cross was the Father’s face hid from the Son. The darkness hid the Son from the Father, and the darkness concealed the sacrifice for sin in the Son from the Father. However, in unity at the words, It is finished, day break came forth, the fullness of time had been completely revealed in the birth, in the walk, and in the sacrifice of God’s dear Son. All that was written afore time was written for our learning and our understanding of this great God and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.
 In Chapter 17 of the gospel of John we have the witness of the unity of God the Father, and God the Son. It is a testimony to the obedience of the Son of God. Here heaven is open, and the Lord Jesus is speaking directly to God His Father. There is no Verily, verily in John 17 because ALL truth is speaking to ALL truth. There is no grey area with words pronounced and spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ to His Father for in the Lord Jesus Christ was truth, and this truth was the light of men, however, this glorious light shined in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.
  There was no darkness in John Chapter 17, for God the Son looked upon His Father’s face and the Father looked upon the face of His Son both knowing what was before the Son, and what He must endure for the salvation of mankind. These are the most holy words from the most holy word by the most holy priest spoken by the Son to the Father within the holy sanctuary. The words of Chapter 17 bring heaven to earth, and earth to heaven. The voice of the Son both submitting and enduring what was to come upon Him. Both the Father and the Son in His future suffering on the cross already knew the glory that the Son would behold in the day of his resurrection. This would be to the glory of the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This glory would also encompass His sheep, the sheep of His pasture. They would be united supernaturally into the future glory that the Son of God would possess, the glory which was before the foundations of the world. This is an important line in the word of God, you see the glory that Christ had before the foundation of the world was before sin. It was the brightness of God’s glory in Him, and He is the express image of God Almighty. He has not changed from that moment to this moment, however, He was sent to reveal the heart and love of God for His creation. He took upon Himself the seed of Abraham so that He might embrace His brethren. He took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh so that He might identify with the need of man, and might fulfill this need on the cross of Calvary. In John Chapter 5, verse 19, we have the truth, the Verily, verily of the unity of God the Son and God the Father.
  In John Chapter 17, we not only have the unity of God the Son with God the Father, but we have the unity of God the Son with His sheep. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26) Here we have the unity of the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8:9 with every believer. In John Chapter 17, we have the prayer of the Son of God to His Father. In the gospel of Luke, Chapter 22, verses 40 thru 46, we have the depth of His suffering as the Son of man before the cross. Here again, we see the testimony of God the Spirit in the difference between the gospel of Luke and the gospel of John. In the gospel of John it is a prayer to heaven. In the gospel of Luke it is as man with His face to the ground and sweating, as it were, great drops of blood. In the gospel of Luke, it is the depth of His sufferings before the cross knowing in His foreknowledge what was set before Him. In the gospel of Luke, Chapter 22, we hear the voice of Psalm 22, and what was written afore time by Him, the Son of God, through the prophets, and now to be fulfilled by the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ who was/is the Author of the Holy Word of God.
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)
 The very words that He had given to Isaiah in Isaiah Chapter 53, and ALL the words that He spoke through the prophets would be fulfilled on the cross. In John’s gospel in Chapter 17, it is the Son of God looking up into heaven, and seeing His Father’s face. In Luke Chapter 22, it is the Son kneeling down upon the cursed earth, and saying to the Father, If thou be willing remove this cup from me, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42) As the Son of man in Luke Chapter 22, He needed the strength of heaven, and the strength of heaven was provided by an angel sent down by Him, showing us that the work before Him was not only for the world, but for heaven itself. We will never understand the complexity of His atonement until we are home in glory with Him. This agony that He was in was so great that the sweat that fell from His brow was as great drops of blood falling to the ground. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44) What lay before Him? Was it His nail pierced hands and feet? Was it the hours hanging upon the cross? I give you this: in the sin of the whole world, what was the scope? It was the past sin from Adam through the kings, through the nation of Israel through all its turmoil and sin, it was the very presence of sin of all the worlds’ ungodliness, it was the future of the history of man when the cup would be filled . . . . ALL SIN would be placed on Him. He was to partake of this cup on the cross of Calvary for the SINS of the whole world so that man would be without excuse. The Good Shepherd had come for His sheep, and they knew His voice. This appointment on the cross of Calvary was decided BEFORE the foundation of the world by the determinate counsels of God. 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 the joy that was set before 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 12:2) For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:3)
  When all was finished, He returned to His Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. 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) Although the body of flesh hung lifelessly on the cross, the eternal Spirit of Christ returned to the Father’s bosom, where He would rest until the day of resurrection. The battle over sin and death had ended, but God was not finished in the display of the glory of the Son of God. For now God would reveal His triumph over sin and death, and the works of the devil in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He would be raised by the Spirit.
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:Â (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)
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:Â (1st Peter 3:18)
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)
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)
  We see His resurrection in the Spirit of holiness, and this reminds us of the words spoken by the angel to Mary in Luke 1:35, And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. When the angel declared that the power of the Highest would come upon Mary, He also stated that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. The word holy transcends the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word holy is embraced by His death, and His resurrection for ONLY that holy thing could bear upon Himself the sins of the world, and only that holy thing could walk through death’s door to come again in newness of life raised by the same Spirit that came upon Mary; the same Spirit that He commended to His Father, while on the cross, was the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead. In this we also see the unity of the Godhead. We see the power of the highest, the Father of all mercies. We see that holy thing from heaven above in the Son of God. We see the Son raised by the Spirit of holiness, and there we see the unity of the Godhead in the redemption of men, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. The occult, and mankind in general, wants to divide something that cannot be divided, and this is the Godhead. And who is the master of the occult, and master of sinful man, Satan himself. When man attempts to use the word of God to deceive, he is doing this under the power of Satan. Those who want to justify their deception have no justification because they are deceitful workers under the power of Satan. Satan is so deceptive that he even influenced Peter, thus, the Lord rebuked Peter and Satan. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:23) Earlier the Lord Jesus had discussed His death on the cross at Jerusalem, and we see the spiritual influence of Satan with Peter in denying the words of the Lord. For a moment in time, Satan used Peter in an attempt to deny and to hinder the fulfillment of the plan of God. Satan found a pawn in Peter more then once, yet in all Peter’s failures the Lord saved Him because Peter was one of His own, and he was kept by the power of God. Peter being related to Adam, showed the deception that is within all the descendants of Adam.
  To apply the nature of Adam to the Son of God is blasphemy. As Paul tells us, it is the clay in the potter’s hand complaining, Why hast thou made me thus? demanding that the potter should be the same as the clay that was formed. This cannot be. This is why faith comes from above because Adam has NO FAITH. Faith is not something that is within man. It has to be given of God. It is a process that man goes through when God chooses a person to be saved. He imparts faith as well as grace. The finished product is a new creature in Christ. The Lord Jesus was sent by the Father, He came as a Man from heaven, a supernatural Man, beyond temptation, beyond sin, He was HOLY in EVERY WAY; from the womb to the cross holiness was all around Him and IN Him. He was harmless, and there was no guile within Him. He could not think as Adam, for He was/is divine, He was/is God with us. He was undefiled, and this included His birth, there was no defilement as in the children of Adam. He was separate from sinners. This is very important, He was separate, this means that among the world He was unique having NO sin within Him, He was FREE to do His Father’s will. He was separated from man in this world, He was separated from sinners in this world. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)
  This One who has redeemed us unto God by His blood, and has loved us unto death has been made higher than the heavens, and has been exalted above all others. He has been placed on the throne of righteousness with the scepter of that power, the power of righteousness to overcome the world. Let’s compare this with Adam, Adam (the natural man) is not holy, history proves that Adam is not harmless, the nature of Adam proves that he is defiled, and the root of Adam (sin) makes him companions with sinners and not separate from them. So that all humanity, all the way back to the knowledge of the tree of good and evil, have been sinners. No child born of Adam can be called holy. The ONLY Seed that could be called holy came from above from God the Father as a gift to redeem man unto Himself.
  Why should we believe that Christ was not a man in Adam, or even of the human race? Twice in Acts Chapter 4, the Lord of glory is called that holy child. No one else in Scripture is called a holy child because there was none. NO child of Adam could meet the criteria of holiness because of sin within. This is what is so wonderful in our new birth. We have said goodbye to Adam. Adam died, and we have a NEW LIFE in Jesus Christ. WE are called holy by God Himself that we are holy brethren. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. (Hebrews 3:1) We are also partakers of the heavenly calling. You see our calling is not of the earth. The voice of our call came from above by the Holy Spirit of God, and since the voice came from above God’s choice was involved. God calls specifically the sheep of His pasture. The Lord Jesus and God the Father had known the sheep of their pasture BEFORE the foundation of the earth. How can these things be? A master in Israel (a Pharisee of the highest order, and a Rabbi of the rabbinical society of that day) said How can these things be? And yet, Nicodemus was not allowed to see the mysteries of God in Jesus Christ. The new birth could never be of man, just as man could not be sacrificed for his own sin. There had to be a vessel that pleased God in every way that met ALL the demands of a holy and righteous God. This One had to be a supernatural Man, and therefore, He could not come from earth, but had to be sent to earth from heaven. God in His divine plan was going to give us a holy man from a holy seed, from a holy child so that THIS Man (who was approved by God) could voluntarily lay down His life for the sin of the whole world to show forth God’s divine love for His creation. The atonement of Christ was not only for man, not only for the earth, but it was also for the things above. It was Lucifer who not only soiled the earth with sin, but prior had rebelled against God and soiled the heavens.
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:Â (Job 4:18)
Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. (Job 15:15)
Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. (Job 25:5)
  The holiness of Christ is the epitome, the pinnacle, the optimum of holiness that man can never achieve. Holiness as well as righteousness had to come DOWN from heaven because there was no holiness and righteousness amongst mankind. Even today, to address one man on earth as holy father, or holy man in reverence is blasphemy. It is denying God’s own holiness which He possesses by Himself. In Isaiah it is God whom the angels address as Holy, Holy, Holy. No man on earth, or in heaven has ever been addressed in this manner . . . . NOT even the angels of God. The thrice Holy God is the sole possessor of holiness. Man can only achieve holiness by having a gift of holiness GIVEN by the Lord Jesus Christ in the new birth. Holiness is received as well as righteousness. Even the angels of God have received the gift of holiness; thus, these ministers of God have been sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation as a GIFT from above. Why are believers in Hebrews Chapter 3, verse 1, called holy brethren? Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. It is because we are partakers of the heavenly calling. We did not call ourselves. God called us, and in His calling He MADE us, as the sons of God, partakers of the divine nature. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2nd Peter 1:4)
  The voice that called us is the Spirit of Christ. (Romans 8:9) This voice called us to be holy, and to be holy had to come from the power of God. Man in himself could not be partakers of the divine nature. Sin had to be removed which the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross in the words, It is finished. By this same finality, this same voice, Christ has decreed that in the new birth He has called us holy brethren by the heavenly calling, and we have received within ourselves the Spirit of Christ which has created a new being that is acceptable before a holy and righteous God. This same voice from the cross is the same voice that we proclaim today, Christ liveth in me. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Therefore, as that holy child walked into manhood being holy, we should walk in newness of life and follow His holiness for God has declared to each and every child of God, Be ye holy for I am holy.
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;Â (1st Peter 1:15) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1st Peter 1:16)
  Another verse that is often ignored is 1st Peter 1:16. The Spirit of holiness is not in those who mentally cut out these verses from their Bibles. Does this mean there will never be a battle between the flesh and the Spirit? There will always be a battle. The flesh is still the corrupt element. We have not been sanctified in the flesh. We have been sanctified in the Spirit. It is the Spirit that needs to maintain His holiness before God. The Bible declares, of the new creature in Christ, that the same power that raised Christ from the dead will quicken our mortal bodies. We need to live up to God’s word by believing that God has anointed His word, sanctified His word, and has upheld His word throughout the total history of mankind. The Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Christ, has the same authority today as He had with the Old Testament prophets in that the word before us is God breathed. We have positive proof that God has anointed His word by its internal consistency and its eternal unity through the entire book. God is not going to give a gospel that cannot be proved. Therefore, as His Son was impeccable, and He is the Living Word of God, then we should accept the word before us as the impeccable word of God. Throw out ALL doubts, and lean on the breast of God and listen to the voice of the Spirit, and live that life that the Lord Jesus declared, a more abundant life in Him. It is challenging in our day to see all the wickedness of the world in all the false doctrines within the professing church. We must continually remind those who do not display Christ within that they must examine themselves whether they are in Christ or not, lest they be reprobates. 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? (2nd Corinthians 13:5)
  The simplest way to examine oneself is by the word of God. There is a voice in the word of God, it is a divine voice of the Spirit of Christ, and this is where mankind fails because they do not have the Spirit of Christ. They have another spirit: the spirit of man in Adam, and this spirit is receptive to another spirit which is the prince of the power of the air. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2) He moves swiftly through the whole earth to blind whole nations and peoples with his deceptions and by his guile using God’s word to deceive. A good example is the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew Chapter 4. This prince of devils desires to deceive even the very elect.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1st Peter 1:2)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1st Peter 1:3)
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1st Peter 1:4)
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1st Peter 1:5)
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:Â (1st Peter 1:6)
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:Â (1st Peter 1:7)
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:Â (1st Peter 1:8)
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1st Peter 1:9) When we depend on the Spirit of Christ to unite us one with another, then man, in all his deceptions, will not be able to divide us.
  These verses from 1st Peter have to be looked at, and held in the heart on their own merit by the Spirit of Christ. It is only the Spirit of Christ who can bring the sincerity and the reality of this section of Scripture to the very inner sanctum of the heart. There are too many treasures to behold. I will leave you to search these verses and secure in your heart the treasures found within. Enough said. When we depend on the Spirit of Christ to unite us one with another, then man, in all his deceptions, will not be able to divide us.  We need to thank the Lord Jesus for giving us such a wonderful hope throughout the Scriptures and in His very presence.  We need to let the glory of the Lord shine through these wonderful truths. We are at the very end of Church history, any moment the dead in Christ will rise, and we who are alive will be caught up together to be with the Lord in the air. The Spirit of Christ unites us in the hope before us. It is Christ who presents us to the Father, and it is His Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, who calls us unto salvation. As Christ is united to His Father, so we also are united to Christ, and to God the Father. This is all by the divine Spirit of God, for God is Spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
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#6 Verily, Verily
The Revelation of Everlasting Life
#7 Verily, Verily
The Revelation of the Word of Power
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Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25)
  In John 5:24 the Lord addresses each and every one of us with, I say unto you. Not only should we listen, but we should listen to Him. It is He that heareth my word. Now the Lord didn’t say words (plural) He embraced that He Himself is the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John1:1) The same was in the beginning with God. (John1:2) And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. (Revelation 19:13) Embracing the Word of God, the totality of the Spirit’s voice, and to believeth on him who sent the Son to be the Savior of man, this in turn leads to everlasting life. The combination of Christ being the Word of God and God the Father, who sent Him from heaven’s glory is the working of the Godhead bodily. The Lord Jesus presents to us everlasting life. The Lord Jesus was not limited in His thoughts, He was not limited in His power, and therefore, He had the power to give to man everlasting life. Christ, being the Living Word, could see the full spectrum of all of God’s Word that was settled in heaven. Although the books of the apostles had not yet been give at this time, or the revelation of Jesus Christ, the full content of Scripture was always within Him. It is the Living Word that has given the written word. I realize that man stumbles at this, but he stumbles because of sin. Man can deny the word of God out rightly, or as the birds of the air, he can pick at the word of God and only believe what sin allows him to believe because man loves sin and darkness. Has there every been a governmental man who has waged war against sin and darkness? Although the wages of sin is death, man allows sin to encompass and possess him, and to lead deeper into darkness. The general population of man loves sin and darkness more than he loves God. It is quite evident when the Lord Jesus said, He that heareth my word, that those around Him did not believe His word, and did not believe that God the Father had sent Him.
  Today man is without excuse because the whole canon of Scripture is available. It is not, Will you believe the word of God; it is, You must believe the word of God. This includes the words of Christ, Moses and the prophets, and the Psalms, and all of the New Testament including the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. If someone opens their Bible in order to have a conflict with God they will never change their conflict unless and until they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father who sent Him. The problem with the modern gospel is that they deny portions of the Bible because they have a conflict with the Bible. When man, in Adam, believes that he has the authority over the word of God, it is really a rebellious conflict against God and His word. There is no person that has a conflict with the word of God that will have everlasting life. These individuals, who have a conflict with the word of God, want all of humanity to have a conflict with the word of God. Therefore, they dissect the word of God to fit their philosophies, and the traditions of men. In their deviousness they create erroneous doctrines to deceive; consequently, entire religious organizations are completely corrupt, and know not the Lord whom they profess. Multitudes upon multitudes will exclaim, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And He will state to them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
  The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and the rulers of the Jews were all deceivers. This was their life work to control and take away the vineyard from God.
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts [is] the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (Isaiah 5:7)
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. (Jeremiah 12:10)
  This was the religious body of the day, and this was the political regime of the day to deny the truth of God, to deceive the Jewish people, and to remove their rightful inheritance from them and from God. This religious/political body was totally corrupt then, as the religious/political body under the banner of Christendom is corrupt today. So what was at the seat and root of this corruptness? It was sin and unbelief which they embraced wholeheartedly even before the Lord Jesus was born. Christ came to reveal the truth. In these references dealing with Verily, verily, He reveals profound truths. At the time of His birth, truth had been buried in unbelief by the Jews, and the Gentile world. Once again, the Lord Jesus speaks of His preexistence for He was sent from another realm to earth. Previously He has shown us that He was ONE with the Father, and once more, He refers to His Father who had sent Him. Christ was giving them an opportunity to believe unto everlasting life, and at this point, we don’t see any takers. We only see anger and resentment from the Pharisees. Even today, the Pharisees still exists in other bodies and organizations to detract and to deny the word of God, even to deny everlasting life.
  Mankind seeks every way possible to prolong his life through medicine, through fitness, even through a magic fountain, yet, he will not come to everlasting life in Jesus Christ our Lord. The theologians, and Bible scholars even try to cancel everlasting life. Thank God they have no power to do so. Yet, they will try over and over to deny everlasting life. The word everlasting has a definite meaning. I don’t know how they can pervert ‘everlasting‘ into ‘sometime,’ or ‘maybe,’ or for ‘a week,’ or for ‘a month,’ or ‘until one sins.’ Their savior is so weak that he cannot keep them saved; salvation is temporary, a fleeting moment of feeling good. Their god is a god of convenience, of variableness, always changing his mind about his very own children. What father would bring up a child and be able to say, Today, you may not my child. This would be impossible. And so it is with the child of God, it is impossible to lose or diminish everlasting life. We do not have a God and Savior in Jesus Christ who shuffles the deck and picks some cards today, and shuffles the deck tomorrow and picks different cards. This would always be the work of the devil to deny those who are of Christ. If Christ did these things, His body would always be changing. One arm would be amputated, and then another one grafted in, all one in Christ would not exist. For everything would be changing with the ebb and tide of man’s sin. No wonder that they don’t believe the Bible, they are in conflict with God just as the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and the Herodians, and the rulers of the Jews. In our modern age in order to minister and preach in the edifices of man, one has to be called of man and not of God. He has to meet the twelve commandments of ordination which God has no part of, and here comes the conflict . . . what does a man called of God do? He is definitely in the minority, does he join the heathen idol worshipers, or does he separate himself to God? In our age of man’s wisdom and knowledge and technical frenzy, can a person serve God with only God on their side? You see, religious man comes in conflict with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The church denies gift and allows blind men with the spirit of Adam to minister to poor lost souls that will never see the light or life in Jesus Christ; therefore how can a blind man and a deaf man hear the words of God? All of this denial and blindness is because sin lieth at the door. (Genesis 4:7) Sin at the door blocks all righteousness because the door of hope has never been opened to them.
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. (John 10:7) All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. (John 10:8) I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
  In this Verily, verily of John 5:24 we also see the preeminence of the Son of God in the fact that we must hear and believe His word. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
  In this Verily, verily we also have the new birth, for we have passed from death unto life, and this life is everlasting life in Christ Jesus. Remember that this is Verily, verily, Truly, truly and Amen and amen which magnifies His own words; thus, giving authority to the very words spoken by the Son of God. All who believes God has everlasting life, and will not come into condemnation. This is reflected in the book of Romans Chapter 8, in who shall separate us from the Son of God.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (Romans 8:38) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39)
  These verses from Romans Chapter 8 give us a 3D definition to everlasting life, and condemnation. The Spirit of God weaves assurance into our faith at the moment of belief that we will never be separated from the love of God which is IN Christ Jesus our Lord. This is a wonderful thing. The world will deny this, religion will deny this, and even false brethren will deny this, but God will never deny these words. The words of the Lord Jesus is that belief leads to everlasting life, and that those who have everlasting life will NEVER come into condemnation. We have been set FREE from this world. We no longer belong to this world, so therefore, how can this world try to separate us from the love of God which is IN Christ Jesus our Lord. To those who believe that everlasting life is outside of God’s power and control . . . . I say . . . .Go home to your idols and watch them cry, for there is NO salvation in them. Salvation only comes through belief in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. What a combination: to have everlasting life with complete forgiveness with absolutely NO condemnation. We have been set free in the Spirit of Christ.
  The Lord speaks with authority, Verily, verily, I say unto you. Remember who He was speaking to. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and the Jews, and some did NOT believe in everlasting life, nor in the resurrection of the dead. This brings us to another point. Only twice in all the words of Verily, verily do we have consecutive verses with this profound introduction of Verily, verily, John 5:24, and 25; and John 13:20 and 21. What is the difference? In 5:24 and 25 we are dealing with the truth of eternal life and resurrection. In John 13:20 He was speaking about the Oneness of Him and His disciples, and in John 13:21, He was talking about His own betrayal, that one of you shall betray me. We will deal with this when we get to Chapter 13. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (John 13:20) When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (John 13:21) But for now, let us concentrate on John 5:24, and 25. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25) What a combination we have here: we have eternal life in 24, and we have the resurrection of the dead in verse 25. Now there is another point that many do not see in these two verses. Both verses are tied to the VOICE of the Son of God. In verse 24, it is He that heareth my word. In verse 25 it is the voice of the Son of God that they will hear concerning resurrection. We have the VOICE BEFORE salvation, and then we hear the VOICE of power AFTER salvation, even in the resurrection of the dead they will hear His voice.
  The Son of God is telling all of mankind, by His Spirit in verse 24, that those who believe on the Son of God, and on the One who has sent Him, HAVE everlasting life, and will NEVER, EVER come into condemnation.　This means past sins, present sins, and future sins. How can these things be? It is because the Lord Jesus destroyed ALL sin on the cross of Calvary. Mankind does not understand this. If ALL sin has been destroyed should not ALL be saved? NO. The New Testament, or new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ, is also like the old covenant, it is a conditional covenant. This is the parameter of the new covenant that one MUST believe IN the Son of God, within the heart, and THIS is the condition of the new covenant. Those who do not believe will not have everlasting life, will not have salvation, and they will come into condemnation because they have not believed in the Son of God. Very simple, yet mankind is blind to the love of God. Mankind, in enmity, would rather face the fires of eternal damnation then to believe in the Son of God. How do I know this? In all the years of preaching, and witnessing, I have heard statements like this: If I go to hell I’ll be with all my friends. There is no hell. God would never send me to hell, for I have not killed anyone. I’m really a good person. You see this thin thread that they hang on to is based on sinful logic, not on the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. God in His righteousness MUST judge those who refuse His Son. He WILL HAVE to cast them into the lake of fire to uphold His own righteousness. It will not be a vendetta, but it will be the only true judgment that has ever been, for it will be done in the purity of God’s own righteousness. God sent the Door of salvation in His beloved Son. The Lord Jesus voluntarily went to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearer, He opened not His mouth. They led Him to the cross, and the first words that He spoke while He hung between earth and heaven was Father forgive them for they know not what they do. However, the Christian not only has everlasting life in Christ, but he has passed from death unto life. In Adam we are all dead when we are born into the world. We are the true walking dead. We are dead in trespasses and sin, so that when we believe on the Son of God we pass from death to life in Jesus Christ. This is also compatible with the voice of the Spirit of Christ in Galatians 2:20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Whenever you read Galatians 2:20 relate the words of the Lord Jesus to John 5:24 in that those who believe pass from death to life. In Galatians 2:20 there is a transition, I am identified with the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. In this transition I am bounded with the Lord’s death on the cross as if I had been there with Him. This is a supernatural transition that God sees in my redemption that I have passed from death to life, and my life comes from the death of His Son, for He had the power to lay down His life, and He had the power to take it again. And by taking His life again, He also pulls me out of the darkness of death into His endless life. Nevertheless I live, but I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me, and now I have a supernatural life for the Spirit of Christ has infused His Spirit within me, and my new life (in the new birth) is in the life of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25) In John 5:25 we have the duplicate Verily, verily for it is the truth of the resurrection of the dead. He is very specific, however, that they will come forth AT His VOICE. In His own Person, He will call them from the grave. This will be ALL of God, just as our salvation, we have the same in resurrection, it is ALL of God. They who love the Lord Jesus will hear, and because they hear His voice they shall live.
  You know that His words had to upset the Sadducees, for they did not believe in resurrection. In fact, they tried to tempt Him concerning resurrection, and He repudiated them with a comparison that there is NO marriage in heaven for they are like the angels, they neither marry, nor are they given in marriage. There is a completely different moral dominion in heaven that functions without sin because of the presence of God’s righteousness.
 We also can relate the Lord Jesus calling His own from the grave. Hebrews Chapter 11 is a good example of those who sleep. They sleep in faith, and faithful Abraham believed in resurrection, and whether you understand this or not, we (in this age) are tied to them in the Old Testament, and they are tied to us through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The proof of this is in Hebrews 11:40, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
  Faith is a tangible object that flows from Abel all the way to the end of the millennial kingdom, and those of faith are all joined to the eternal life of Jesus Christ. Those who walk by faith are made perfect in the cross, and in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as we are in Christ Jesus, so also, Abel walked by faith. He believed God, and therefore, received the righteousness of God. Through the centuries and millenniums to the present age, all who walked by faith are justified by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. In the future, after the Church is home with God, and during the tribulation, those who walk by faith in Jesus Christ will be joined to us as we are joined to the Old Testament saints. The suffering on the cross will even be remembered when Christ (bearing the time of suffering through the evidence of the wounds and scars in His hands) sits upon the throne as both Priest and King in the millennial kingdom.Â
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. (Zechariah 13:6)
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. (Zechariah 13:7)
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. Zechariah 13:8)
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. (Zechariah 13:9)
  The work of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His sacrificial death, is so monumental that it encompasses the whole of the determinate counsels of God. It is finished was the finality, the end-game in the fullness of time. Darkness was upon the face of the whole world, and out of the darkness came the words, It is finished. The darkness fled away, and the veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom, and there was a great earthquake, for God shook the entire world. Then the Lord Jesus commended His Spirit to the bosom of the Father. The Son of God had brought God to man, and in His resurrection He ascended to God to bring man to God. He returned as the heavenly Man from whence He came. He returned to His Father in heaven for He was raised from the dead by the Spirit of holiness; upon His resurrection, the dead heard His voice, and the graves around Jerusalem opened and many of the past saints came forth into the city and showed themselves as a testimony of Christ’s finished work.
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.(Matthew 27:50)Â And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; (Matthew 27:51)Â And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, (Matthew 27:52)Â And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Matthew 27:53)
  We have the truth and the proof of John 5:25, the dead shall hear the VOICE of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. It’s amazing that here was the testimony of those who had passed from life to death, and NOW before the Jews, they passed from death to life as a testimony to the power of God IN His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who has the power of an endless life, and IS the power of eternal life.
  As the spirit of John the Baptist leapt within Elizabeth’s womb when Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, entered into the room bearing that holy thing, could not have Abraham leapt within the grave at the words, It is finished. Abraham saw the Lord’s day and was glad in it. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. (John 8:56)
  Abraham was called a friend of God, and he believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. He believed in a God of resurrection that God was able to raise him from the dead. We should not lose sight of this for when the Lord comes for His Church, or Body, the dead in Christ shall be raised first, then we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the air, and we shall ever be with the Lord. We, as Abraham, look forward to that day, but that day has its root in the fulness of time when Christ declared It is finished. We see the power of God’s dear Son, and we see in His power of an endless life our own eternal life. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16) We are held in the bosom of the Father through the very word of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the power of His endless life, the power of His fulness for He fills ALL in ALL for He is the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Even in His own resurrection, He had the power to lay down His life, and He had the power to take it again.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. (John 10:17) No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:18)
  This power is embraced by the absolute deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The word of God’s power is centered in Christ. 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) In Hebrews 1:3 the Holy Spirit phrases the power of God’s word in this way for a purpose: the word of His power, to show that the word is centered IN Christ and this word receives its power from THAT center, and reveals that ALL the power of God is in the Person of Jesus Christ. It is the Lord Jesus who spoke the worlds into existence.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3)
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:Â (Ephesians 3:9)
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:Â (Colossians 1:16)
  This was much greater than the mere mythical big bang theory for the mechanisms of the entire creation, the heavens above, the great constellations, the galaxies, and the very blade of grass ALL bow to the word of His power beyond their comprehension. It is too vast for Adam and his mind to see the immense power and capabilities, the impossibilities of the Creator of all things in Jesus Christ.
  He is the very power of resurrection, it is His voice we listen to receive endless life. It is His voice that we will hear on that day of resurrection by the power of His word. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, (Matthew 27:52) And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Matthew 27:53) When you read this section in Matthew 27 notice that the Holy Spirit refers to those who were raised from the dead as saints. Those of faith came forth as a testimony to the power of the Son of God in their own resurrection. Their graves were opened, they had been enclosed in darkness, but then they came forth in newness of life. We can see these saints as a proof of the Lord’s own resurrection, and the power within His resurrection, and as one of the miracles that the Lord performed. Notice that at the end of the gospel of John that the Holy Spirit informs us that were MANY other miracles as well as MANY other words that the Lord spoke by the word of His power that had not been documented nor recorded.
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:Â (John 20:30) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:31)
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. (John 21:25)
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#8 Verily, Verily
The Revelation of False Followers
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Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. (John 6:26)
  It is only God who can examine the heart of man. It is difficult for an individual to be truthful when they examine their own heart, and their own moral character. Sin has blinded the heart to the very truth of God. The depth of the darkness of sin blinds man to God, and the darkness of sin blinds man to the truth of the condition of his own being. Those who came to the Lord Jesus as documented in John 6:26,witnessed many of the miracles that the Lord Jesus performed, and still they were blind to His deity as the Son of God. They didn’t seek Him for who He was, or because of His miracles, they were only looking for gain because they had been fed by Him. The natural man wanted the natural part of the world. After all that they beheld they still wandered in darkness, and all I can say is, How great is that darkness, and how sad is the trail of Adam. He stumbles at sin, and gropes in the darkness even when the Light is in his presence, even today, at this very moment that I am writing these words, Light is being ministered all over the world in many different ways, in many different tongues, and in many different words. Yet, this world of darkness does not respond to the Lord Jesus Christ.　The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is bombarding Adam twenty-four hours a day, in all sorts of ways, yet, darkness still rebels against God. Those who gathered to the Lord Jesus Christ, in this verse, were men, women, and children were numbered as more than five thousand of those who were fed in John 6:10. Pay close attention to the words of the Spirit of God, He only numbers the men, and not the women and children. The miracle was never performed before or since. Even today, with all the technology, what soup kitchen can put out 5000 meals plus in a moment of time, without all the tools of the modern facility, and without being notified prior, and then add the difficulty of only five barley loafs and two small, yes, small fishes as the entire food source. This would be impossible, and to add to this, ALL was filled, and there were twelve baskets full left over. Mortal men cannot comprehend such a miracle. This is why it was not performed by mortal men. It was performed by the immortal Himself. He moved over the darkness of the deep and He fed five thousand plus. My . . . . my . . . ye of little faith. They sought Him not because of the divine miracles (plural) for they had witnessed many miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ on both sides of the sea of Galilee. Yet, darkness prevailed. They could not see past Adam’s sin. Their own nature, and the sin that had beset them had closed their eyes to the very Creator who had created them. When the Lord told Cain, sin lieth at the door, it was SIN that was between Cain and God. As long as this sin was there, Cain could not cross over to God, and God could not cross over to Cain. And yet, Cain refused to obey God, and his sin blocked the door. But this is not unusual, for we see it here in John Chapter 6, and even today, it is not unusual for Adam to have heard the gospel, the bread from heaven, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and even go away sad. They were filled for a moment in time with the truth, then the ravens, the birds of the air, the ministers of Satan came and plucked the very words out of their hearts. In John Chapter 6, there was no root within them. They had nothing in them to bear fruit for God. They wanted what God could give, but they did not want to surrender themselves to God. They did not hear the voice of the Shepherd, for they were not His sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. (John 10:14)
  There is an eternal bond, from before the foundations of the world, between the Shepherd and His sheep. This bond can NEVER be broken. The identity (is to agree) on both parties: the Lord knows His sheep, and the sheep know their Lord. This takes in the foreknowledge of God concerning the individual who is called by His name recorded in Psalm 139. In Acts 2:23 we have the determinate counsels AND the foreknowledge of God. There is nothing done in secret, all things are open to Him with whom we have to do.
 The voice of Peter, by the Spirit of God, resonates this thought of the Father and the mutual omniscience of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in revealing the thoughts of God to man. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:16) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17) It was God the Father who revealed the Son of God to Peter. Being with the Lord Jesus, and seeing all the miracles, Peter, as a child of Adam, could not behold the Son of God in Jesus Christ. His heart was still veiled by sin that would not be lifted until AFTER the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the same with this multitude in 6:25, in all this gathering, who knows how many, for God does not supply a number, but there is an absence of a number, NOT ONE of these who saw the miracles, and who were fed by the bread of heaven bowed down and worshiped Him as the Son of God. Yea, God Himself.
 Week after week, you enter into your church, you drink of the word of God, and before you get to the door, you have forgotten all that you have heard because sin lieth at the door. You only go for the bread and the two small fishes, and when you go beyond the door, you go out empty into a world of darkness that wants to engulf your soul. In John Chapter 6, they could only remember the food that delighted them at that time. It was their stomach and not their heart that directed their feelings. They wanted the material world of Adam, and not the miraculous world of God. Each one who was on this side of Galilee KNEW of the miracles, they were fed, they were full, and yet, it was the material aspect of the miracle that they desired. They murmured in their hearts against God for there was no love of God in them because they had a material God. They only came for the bread, and not for the divine Person Himself.
  In the sixth Chapter of the gospel of John, the Spirit of God not only uses words, but He also employs numbers. Let us look at the words Verily, verily, and the numbers.
1. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. (John 6:26)
2. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. (John 6:32)
3. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)
4. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (John 6:53)
 We begin in Chapter 6 with the number of man (6). Man (6) is exposed in this Chapter. One of the things that is exposed is the love of man for the things of the world, and not for the things of God. In this sixth (6) Chapter Verily, verily, is mentioned four (4) times, which is the number of the world, both man and the world, at this point, needs to be delivered. There is a comparison with the 6th Chapter of the gospel of John with the 13th Chapter of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. In John Chapter 6 man rejects the Son of God as the Son of God, only looking to Him as a provider. In Revelation 13, mankind accepts the man of sin (whose number is 6 – 6 – 6) because he indulges mankind, and encourages them to sin in his kingdom of darkness.
  There are two Chapters in the gospel of John where Verily, verily is mentioned four times, besides John 6, the other Chapter is in the book of John in Chapter 13.
1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (John 13:16)
2. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (John 13:20)
3. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (John 13:21)
4. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. (John 13:38)
 John 13 is a chapter of betrayal and denial, both with Judas as the betrayer, and Peter as the denier, showing that the worst and best of man (in Adam) cannot be trusted.
  In John 6:25, we have the selfish heart with the attitude of, What can God do for me? They only want God for the food that filled them. How many times have you seen the greed of Adam in the church itself only wanting God for what God can give them? These followers of material gain seek not the mysteries of salvation IN Jesus Christ, but in the material goods of the world. As Judas, they want to hold the bag because the worlds’ goods are all that matters to them. Let’s move on with the same thoughts to Chapter 6 verse 32.
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#9 Verily, Verily
The Revelation of the Divine Provider
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Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. (John 6:32)
  We need to be reminded, as we go through this study, of the significance of Verily, verily, Truly, truly, and Amen and Amen. What was written afore times in the Scriptures were written for our learning that we may understand the ways of God, and also understand the ways of Adam, or all of humanity. Adam is always in opposition to God and to God’s ways. We see this in this wonderful verse concerning the manna that God gave to the children of Israel, and the True Bread from heaven which is the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the divine authority of the Father in heaven who sent angels’ food down to the children of Israel. Just as it was the Father’s will to send the Son into the realm of man to redeem man. It was not Moses who gave the nation of Israel the bread from heaven. Moses was the mediator between the children of Israel and God. Now Christ is also a Mediator, however, He is the Mediator between ALL of mankind and God in that He is the True Bread from heaven. Moses, being a man, could not act as God. He was only a recipient of the commands of God. Whereas the Lord Jesus, within Himself, was the divine authority and will of God in complete union with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit; always thinking and acting in unison of the divine will, never faltering nor vacillating from the mind of God and His righteousness. Christ had come to dwell among men with the authority of heaven, therefore, He could feed the five thousand plus, for He was/is THAT Bread from heaven. As Moses was a servant, Christ also, as the Son, put Himself in servitude to the Father for He delighted in the Father’s will.
Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.(Hebrews 10:7)
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:9)
 As the Perfect Servant He took the place of a humble servant, He exclaimed to them (the followers looking for gain) that Moses did not give them bread from heaven but it was My Father . . . . Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? (Psalm 78:19)
Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people? (Psalm 78:20)
Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;Â (Psalm 78:21)
Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:Â (Psalm 78:22)
Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, (Psalm 78:23)
And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. (Psalm 78:24)
Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full. (Psalm 78:25)
  Going into the past of the nation of Israel in their wanderings in the wilderness, the first question that they asked in Psalm 78 was Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? When we fast forward to Chapter 6 in the gospel of John, we have the table in the wilderness, we have the miracle of feeding the five thousand, we have God providing a table in the wilderness, although centuries have past we have the same murmurers, but this is not all, because even today we have the same murmurers. All murmurers question God’s authority to act, Why is God doing this? God is not answering our prayers. Why doesn’t God give me the wants and intents of my heart? No matter the time frame, murmurers are always the same murmurers, the same Adam.
  There is one thing that I have learned through many years that if you watch Adam he will reveal the intents of his heart. Remember, even in Adam’s creation, before the fall, Adam was set over God’s material creation as the Federal Head. Now, after the fall, Adam still thinks that he is in charge. This is why his heart wants the things of the world. This is why his heart is a heart of greed, for he believes that it is due him because he is the master of the world. However, Adam conveniently forgets the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Very few today know that there was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Mankind has blinded themselves to the fall of Adam. Therefore, they strut around claiming that they are guiltless, and God is their debtor, and they owe God nothing. This is our world society today. They do not want the bread from heaven, they murmur against God, and yet, they want God to feed them.
  Those who gathered to the Lord Jesus were probably Jews and Samaritans, however, they sought Him only because they wanted to be filled, and they wanted more. This sounds like the modern gospel of man. Ringing their bells, shaking their baskets, rhythmically prancing across the stage while chanting, If you give 10% to God (this means the bell ringers), then (in return) God will bless you 100% or 10 fold. (This is quite an investment opportunity, don’t you think?) Satan loves to preach this gospel of lies, and to fan the flames of financial fortune. Show me one disciple that was lavished in riches. Many of them became absolutely destitute over time. Show me ONE disciple who was granted a weekly, or a monthly pay check . . . $ $ $ $ $ $. Yes, we exist in a six-figure world (especially in the church). . . . shame! Shame ! Shame! What price do you put on your soul or on the souls of others? ‘Will Only Serve When Offered a Good Payment Program‘ was also one of the Old Testament ministry banners. Read Malachi Chapter 1. In Malachi 1:10, the Holy Spirit of God unveils the greed behind service. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. (Malachi 1:10)
  The servant of servants (the Lord Jesus Christ) stated that the foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, but the Son of man had no where to rest His head. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his] head. (Matthew 8:20) Only the true servant of heaven, the faithful witness of God, His Father IN Him could utter these words. So it is decision time, I don’t care who you are, you will not add one hair to my head, or one breath to my life, but you need to make a decision, it is either the bread of the earth or the Bread from heaven . . . . which one?
  One is for your body, and one is for your soul. The bread of earth will give you no relief from sin, in fact, the things of the earth, including the bread of the earth detract from the true Bread of heaven. The things of the earth cause man to embrace the earth and not its Creator. If your body is satisfied in mind, heart and spirit with the things of the world, the being in Adam is blinded from the things above and the manna heaven in the Lord Jesus Christ.
  This great multitude followed the Lord Jesus Christ into the wilderness, and it was there in the wilderness that the Lord Jesus had them sit in a green pasture. It was there, after they had seen many of the miracles, that He fed them with just five barley loafs and two small fishes. We should remember that although the Lord Jesus was a man of sorrows, and although He was rejected of man, mankind could not resist following this man of miracles. After they had sat down, and He had given thanks unto God His Father, once again, by the miracle of His grace, manna poured upon the multitude. However, they did not see this as manna from above. They only saw it because they were satisfied with it, for they were filled. The miracles that the Lord Jesus performed had an hypnotic effect on the multitude . . . . They desired more . . . they desired to see more . . . they desired to have more, but not more of the spiritual supernatural power of a righteous and holy God. Even Nicodemus in the gospel of John, in Chapter 3, acknowledged that the Lord Jesus was a teacher sent from God, and the miracles that He performed showed truly that He was from God, and yet, in spite of the witness of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, man could not see the Lord Jesus as the Son of God.
  They followed Him across the sea of Galilee, they were so infatuated with His miracles that they wanted to see more. However, the last miracle that they saw was to their own satisfaction. They were filled. It was their belly, not their soul that they were concerned about. In the comparison of Moses, the Lord was pointing out that they were holding Moses too high in their esteem. Although Moses was truly led of God, he was still a child of Adam, however, he was a child sealed in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews Chapter 3 puts the life of Moses in a proper prospective, revealing Christ over His own house, whose house are we. This is the redeemed, who have been filled with the manna from above, the bread from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.
For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. (Hebrews 3:3) For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4) And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; (Hebrews 3:5) But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6)
  It is amazing how the Holy Spirit reveals so much in just a few words. Moses was faithful as well as his house; yet, the One who built all things, the One who is the Creator of all things, reaches out and informs us that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who built the house. Also remember, that Israel, in some instances, is called the house of Israel, however, in the book of Hebrews, the Spirit of God is not speaking of the earthly, He is speaking of the house that Christ (in His own body) is building, and is not related to the earth, but to heaven itself. It is not the material building, it is this supernatural structure of the souls of men that God is building in heaven to be gathered around Himself, to be changed into the image of their Savior, to be like Him in heavenly moral character, and to spend all eternity with Him. This is His house, and this is the house that He is building today. And when it is finished, all the spiritual structure will be transported into heaven, and it will be His glorious body, each and every soul who has been redeemed by His blood. It is the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth, and He is the true manna, the bread from heaven. We have here another witness of the Lord that He preexisted in heaven and was sent down by the Father, as the Bread of life.
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#10 Verily, Verily
The Revelation that Everlasting Life is Only IN Christ
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Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)
 Once again, we have a repeat of everlasting life, it is repeated from John 5:24, everlasting life is a concept that is beyond the mind of mankind. Man, in his being, has sought many ways to accomplish everlasting life, and has failed because mankind has been banned from the tree of life.
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: (Genesis 3:22) Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Genesis 3:23) So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24)
 Man cannot enter back into the garden and partake of the tree of life. The Lord proclaimed of Himself, that He is the manna from heaven, He is life everlasting, in Him, and by Him is everlasting life; yet, and in spite of this, mankind searches the earth, and projects himself into outer space searching to further his life, and to show man’s power over God’s universe. It is sad to watch man build his towers of Babel over and over through the process of time looking without, looking above, but never looking within. Sin, as a rip in the most holy things of God, is a greater deterrent to the souls of mankind then all of man’s accomplishments throughout his history. In every generation sin has driven mankind farther and farther away from God, and yet, mankind cannot accept that they are merely temporary objects on earth. There is nothing in Adam to give life everlasting, in fact, each and every cemetery reflects that in Adam ALL DIE. In Adam is the second death, but life comes from above, the manna from heaven, in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Seed, the Root, and the Branch of the tree of life, and this life is everlasting. In the second birth, if I may call it this, this second birth, this new creation overcomes the second death for those who believe in their hearts that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God who in His Person IS their everlasting life. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16)
  If we live a full life, let’s say eighty years, this is just a measure of time. This is just the measure of a temporary being who has passed into the darkness of eternity, however, those who know the Lord Jesus Christ has everlasting life. In Adam, ALL DIE. Those in Christ, ALL LIVE, and have everlasting life. From the moment they are born above and become a new creature in Christ they become a creature of everlasting life. Time is no longer a factor for they will live forever in Jesus Christ. They have been changed, and taken out of the world, and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. The horizontal line of life now has no end. How can these things be? It is in Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has the power of an endless life. This is the manna from above, never ending. It is life within Christ, and Christ within our life. In Him was life, and that life is still the light of man.
  In the beginning when all was in darkness, and what He created was traveling through space, He declared, Let there be light, and there was light. He proclaimed that the light was good, and He divided it from the darkness, and it was so.
Side Note: And it was so. This small phrase occurs 29 times in Scripture, all in the Old Testament. The interesting part is that it is documented in the book of Genesis six times; more than in any other book. All references are in the 1st Chapter of the book of Genesis. (1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30) Why is this interesting? Since the number six is the number of man, all references are directly connected to God’s provision for mankind, from the firmament, to the waters, to the sun and the moon, to the fruit bearing trees and plants, to the grasses, to the beasts and herbs of the field, God commanded And it was so. Man was totally provided for in a perfect environment. God was/is the Perfect Provider. Perfect atmosphere, perfect sun and moon, perfect nourishment, perfection waiting for mankind to enjoy, and to maintain. Utopia, paradise, a Garden of Eden created especially for man. And it was so. ♦ End of Side Note.
  When Adam transgressed against God, Adam changed life within man to darkness, and man has been stumbling in this darkness since the tree of good and evil. When Adam brought sin into the world, He brought blindness and darkness into the heart of mankind. God witnessed this darkness and blindness through many centuries and millenniums, and when the fullness of time had come, He sent forth His Son to proclaim to the souls of mankind, Let there be light. In this light was life everlasting. This was the life that the Lord Jesus brought to mankind to quicken those who were and are in darkness to reveal God’s marvelous light in Jesus Christ. In Adam (mankind) ALL was in darkness upon the face of the deep. Darkness (sin) in itself could not bring life. God had to once again proclaim, Let there be light, and this light was in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
The same was in the beginning with God. (John 1:2)
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3)
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4)　
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5)
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (John 1:6)
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7)
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (John 1:8)　
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)
  God’s testimony (of that Light both then and now) is that Light is good. Christ, by the word of His power, lights the darkened hearts of man with everlasting life when they believe on Him. This is a power that mankind does not understand. Man, in Adam, over the centuries has had many gods, many false deities, but none of them could give mankind life. Man will continually die at the foot of his idols, for they were/are wood, stone, and stubble Man does not understand the power of God because sin and his darkened heart has separated man in such a way that his thoughts are continually evil. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29)
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
 God gave His Word to give the knowledge of Himself. Mankind, through history, has fantasized about many gods, and has built many images to these gods, even today, throughout the world, they worship deities in their statues, on their front lawns, on their walls, and under their great steeples of religion. They have statues of weeping deities. They transport these crying deities upon the shoulders, and plant them before their houses, and in high places to look over their cities and bless them, and yet, mankind remains in chaos, the chaos of sin.
  God didn’t build a gigantic stature of Himself on earth, and call the multitudes to worship Him. For He knew that sin was a greater chasm then man could cross. Man would have to be quickened, man would have to be changed, and man could not do this himself. Just as darkness cannot become light, so man, in Adam, cannot redeem himself. The Light to shatter the darkness had to come from above as the power of God. The Scriptures are to lead mankind to God. Christ is to reveal God to man. If man has the knowledge of the Scriptures he will find everlasting life IN the Lord Jesus Christ, however, not all men walk upright in the light. Not all men hear, not read the word of God, neither will they come to the light because sin has darkened their hearts and souls. Their hearts refuse the Light; thus, they remain in darkness. Man remains blind without a cane, or seeing eye dog. He wanders in darkness in every avenue of life. Count the many societies that have come and passed . . . there are multitudes upon multitudes. What has been their destruction, what has been their fall? SIN has destroyed them all. Sin makes man, and society, decadent in every way throughout time. Man lives in darkness and enjoys it. He can even enjoy the feel-good gospel, for it has no element of repentance toward God. Without repentance sin still lieth at the door, which is a roadblock to salvation.
  In the New Testament, the first time that we read of everlasting life is in Matthew 19:29. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. In Matthew 19:29 we have just the opposite of the feel-good gospel. Promoters of the feel good gospel ignores this first mention of everlasting life for their gospel is founded totally on the concept that material wealth is the end goal of all blessings. The call of wealth gospelers is that God’s main purpose for His children is to live an abundant life of splendor, and to become exalted within their religious body. They exalt man to be vain and pompous, even giving the name of ‘holy father.’ This is all part of the feel-good gospel that exalts man and not the Lord Jesus Christ. The world of religion embraces mankind, and embraces the riches of mankind to exalt and to promote its own religious beliefs. God’s plan is just the opposite for His servants. The apostles shared the rejection of Christ in their lives, and many and in their deaths. If you can bear with me, together we must face the truth that the New Testament servant of God is to die to self in Christ; God’s servant is a servant of Christ and not a servant of man. The servant of Christ has not only been called to be rejected by the world, but they have also been called to be rejected by brethren. This is hard concept. Yet, Paul told us the more he loved, the less he was loved. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. (2nd Corinthians 12:15) Speaking to the Galatians, Paul said, Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth. (Galatians 4:16) The following references describe the servants of God versus the world and its religions.
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. (1st Corinthians 1:17)
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1st Corinthians 1:18)
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 1:121
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:Â (1st Corinthians 1:22)
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;Â (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:Â (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;Â (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:Â (1st Corinthians 1:28)
That no flesh should glory in his presence. (1st Corinthians 1:29)
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:Â (1st Corinthians 1:30)
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. (1st Corinthians 1:31)
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:Â (1st Corinthians 2:7)
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1st Corinthians 2:8)
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1st Corinthians 2:9)
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1st Corinthians 2:10)Â
[In] journeyings often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren;Â (2nd Corinthians 11:26)
  Being in the place of rejection is part of the divine call of the servant of Christ. If anyone accepts this rejection for what it is to accomplish WITHIN the servant, it becomes a blessing. One finds time in rejection to lean upon Christ, and Christ alone. This gives the servant time to contemplate all the treasures that are in Christ, and it also becomes a place of self-contemplation to value the image of your soul with the eyes and the Spirit of Christ. To know that you are accepted of God removes the rejection of the world for you have a greater acceptance in God then what you lose from the world.
  Life in Christ is everlasting. Say for an example that a man loves a woman, they marry, they spend sixty years together, and this love never wanes; these sixty years can never compare to spending eternity with the One who loved me, and gave himself for me. The Lord Jesus was willing to cast His life on the cross for He knew what HAD to be accomplished; that dreadful cup of sin had to be drained to the last drop of pain and suffering. What He could not do in Adam’s world of sin being a heavenly Man, because there was NO SIN within Him; thus, He became sin FOR US who knew no sin. And this is the divine record.
WITHOUT SIN: For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
WHO DID NO SIN:Â Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: (1st Peter 2:22)
HE KNEW NO SIN:Â For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2nd Corinthians 5:21)
IN HIM WAS NO SIN: And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (1st John 3:5)
SEPARATED FROM SINNERS: For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. (John 14:30)
  The Lord Jesus Christ created a new order, a new creation, completing His promises to all the Old Testament saints in bringing in this new order in the New Testament in the fullness of time. We, as new creatures in Christ, have a heavenly calling, as the Man of heaven was rejected by man, our heavenly calling INCLUDES this rejection. Those who have an earthly calling in Adam suffer not the rejection of man. If we are to be effective on earth, we have to receive our calling and our work from heaven above whether it is our calling unto salvation, or our calling to serve, it has to come from the Author of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. Any gift, which we may possess from above, MUST be given from God’s gift (the Lord Jesus) to us. We are called spiritually in infancy, and as a child, we are to grow in God’s grace, and by the power of His word; as we grow spiritually, we are to answer His call of service, and we are to recognize in ourselves any gift that He has given. In His service our one and only goal is to promote our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His divine authority over all creation. With the word of God, and the Spirit of Christ within, we are to listen to His voice, as we present our lives as a living sacrifice to Him alone, and not to the world.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)
  Divine guidance must be combined with attitude of our hearts, we should be seeking things which are above in order to understand the depth of the darkness here below.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1) Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)
  It is the affection of the heart in love that seeks the Savior where He is at this present time. Our love and affection are on the Throne Sitter, and we diligently seek the Master’s will for us. I find it fitting that in these four verses in Colossians, the last word in Colossians 3:4 is glory. All the other things came first, and the glory comes only with being settled in heaven with Him.　We shall appear with Him in glory. Oh. . . . by the way . . . did I mention that this phrase ‘everlasting life’ is mentioned in the gospel of John 7 times?
• And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
• And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19:29)Â
 1. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
2. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)
3. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)
4. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
5. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.(John 6:27)
6. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:40)Â
7. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)
• Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46)
• But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6:22) 3:16)　
  In Matthew’s gospel we have everlasting life documented once in Matthew 19:29; once in the book of Acts 13:46; once in the book of Romans in 6:22; and only once in the Old Testament (to bring the past to the present, we have a man greatly beloved of the Lord) in Daniel 9:23, 10:11. One cannot doubt the faithfulness of Daniel, not only to God, but he prayed faithfully for Jerusalem and its people. God beheld in Daniel a servant in exile, as the apostle John in exile, and yet, seeking those things which are above; therefore, in Daniel we have the only mention of everlasting life in Daniel 12:2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.
Side Note: To comprehend this prophecy in Daniel 12:2, we should read Daniel Chapter 12, verses 1 – 4. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)
First, we are introduced to the ministry of angels to a man greatly beloved. This ministry of angels is throughout the entire canon of Scripture. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:13) (Revelation 1:20) (Revelation 2:1, 8, 12, 18) (Revelation 3:1, 7, 14) All these are ministering spirits, the angels of God. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. (Hebrews 1:7)
  From these Scriptures we see a partial ministry of angels. Even the Lord was ministered to by angels in Matthew 4, and in Luke 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. We see the ministry of angels throughout the Old Testament, and in the New Testament beginning with Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and then to Mary. All were witnesses to the ministry of angels fulfilling one of their services for God; His angels are also called to worship God. Now in the book of Hebrews, Chapter 1, verse 6, it is ALL the angels of God, not just a select few, but ALL the angels of God are to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. They are in servitude to the Almighty God whether in the book of Isaiah, or in the book of Revelation Chapter 4, the angels of God worship the One who is the manifest image of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. ♦ End of Side Note.
Side Note: Angels Are a Separate Creation from the Creation of the Race of Man. Angels make up a mighty army of righteousness, for as in Daniel, they do battle against the Prince of darkness. They are a complete separate creation from man. They are not in any way created as man was created. They are of another realm, environmentally totally removed and disparate in every way from the physical realm of mankind. However, man in his stupidity and blindness cannot differentiate between a natural physical realm and a spiritual realm. These two separate and different creations of beings and angels cannot IN ANY WAY become united as one entity.   There are NOT two separate groups of angels such as ‘fallen angels,’ and angels who ARE IN CHAINS destined for hell.
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast [them] down to hell, and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2nd Peter 2:4)
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 1:6) [Estate and habitation refer to an environment of a nonmaterial ethereal world. Their estate was their great position of service. Their habitation was what they possessed (in their occupation) in that position, much as our standing and state as Christians. Estate and habitation are not places nor locations. There are various degrees of service, and titles that angels are assigned in their service to God, as Gabriel the archangel (who stood in the presence of God), and Michael, the archangel (the Chief warrior angel, known as the prince for Israel). Many angels LOST or refused to maintain (kept not) their glorious, privileged estate of being holy worshipers of God. They willingly left their position as worshipers of God, and thereby, they no longer possessed the rights, titles, and responsibilities of functions that was ascribed to God’s holy angels.) ♦ End of Side Note: Angels Are a Separate Creation from the Creation of the Race of Man.
Chapter 6 of the book of Genesis (six is the number of MAN) is where spiritually blind mankind injects the phrase ‘fallen angels.’ The word ‘fallen’ is said to be the meaning of the word ‘giant,’ however, there are many meanings to the word ‘giant.’ There is one root meaning of ‘fugitive,’ and another meaning is ‘lost.’ Cain was to be a fugitive and a vagabond. He was lost away from God. The only time that the actual word ‘fallen‘ is used in the book of Genesis describes Cain’s anger and disappointment. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (Genesis 4:6) Nevertheless, in spite of man’s attempt to say that angels fell, it was not angels who fell. IT WAS CAIN WHO FELL. Cain plunged deeper into rebellion and sin; consequently, his descendants continued in Cain’s downward path away from the presence of God.
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
  The men of wickedness were from the line of Cain who mingled with the line of Seth. THERE ARE NO ANGELS in Genesis Chapter 6. The giants (the truly fallen ones) were of the line of Cain. God specifically describes MAN as the wickedness upon the earth. We see in them the heart that is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things. Man in his blinded theological knowledge wants to introduce angels into Genesis Chapter 6. This way, man doesn’t really look that bad, or that sinful, “Let’s blame the angels, then we can be the good guys.” This perversion goes against ALL of Scripture, it goes against the integrity, the power, and the glory of the Almighty God for He specifically said by His holy word, that in Genesis Chapter 6 judgment is upon mankind. Only the perverted imagination of the higher critics, and men of renown, could this blasphemy come forth.
  In Revelation Chapters 2 and 3 we have the ministry of angels, once again, man denies this truth by insisting that the angels documented are really men.
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; (Revelation 2:1)
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; (Revelation 2:8)
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass; (Revelation 2:18)
And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. (Revelation 3:1)
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)
Mankind wants to commit the truth of God and the ministry of heaven to man, and not to angels. Once again, man wants to feel better about himself. Man will not face that HE IS UNWORTHY of God’s truth, that sin lieth at the door, and as long as sin is there, then there is no voice of God, there is no revelation, and there is only silence; therefore, man invents. He takes the word of God and twists it in these two ways: first, to make Adam look better than he is; and secondly, to bring God lower than He is. This is man under sin. There is no wisdom of the spiritual realm in his heart and mind. In Genesis Chapter 6, the twisted mind of Adam makes men angels. In Revelation and 3, the twisted mind of Adam makes angels men. You see man doesn’t even know the difference. In our age, right now, they do not even know the difference between boys and girls, women and men, so how can we expect the messengers of Satan to know the difference between angels and men? Men are not angels, and angels are not men. Neither can angels marry, nor can they be given in marriage. Mankind dies. Angels cannot die. The degenerate state of mankind cannot be applied even to the fallen angels for the angels are incapable of following the immoral characteristics of mankind.
 Angels fell (overthrown) from their position of servants and worshipers because of rebellion against God, which was their immorality in heaven’s light and not the light of the earth. They were/are CHAINED and penalized awaiting their judgment because of their rebellion against God, and they STILL WAIT in their chains until the time of the final judgment. Notice also, that they are CHAINED in HELL, and there is no way out of hell. The place of hell has set parameters and borders, and there is no escape. The body of angels was created in an EXACT number; they CANNOT reproduce, nor multiply (to add to their numbers), and they CANNOT DIE (but they can be chained and imprisoned in a special place specifically designed for creatures with an ethereal spiritual nature).
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: (Luke 20:34)
But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: (Luke 20:35)
Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:36) Also, another link about Satan and the first war in God’s realm. ♦ End of Side Note.
  In 2nd Peter Chapter 2, the Chapter begins with false prophets among the people, speaking of the past, then Peter, through the Spirit of God, brings us to his present day: the day of the apostles, and in those days, there were FALSE teachers who suddenly will bring in damnable heresies, even DENYING the Lord who bought them, and this will lead to their swift destruction. Now fast forward to our time frame, MANY, a great throng will follow their pernicious ways, These men of renown have proven themselves through Scripture as wicked and evil beings hiding behind the cross. (The devil likes to disguise his religion AROUND the cross, in order to remove the focus being placed ON the cross.)
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (2nd Peter 2:1) And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (2nd Peter 2:2)
  The King James Bible is its own dictionary and thesaurus: notice the word pernicious is defined in the words damnable heresies and evil. This is the only time that this word pernicious is used in all of Scripture. The following words are synonyms for pernicious: adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, damaging, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, nocuous, noxious, prejudicial, and wicked . . . . in the words of the Holy Spirit of God . . . . evil and damnable heresies.
  When the Bible is attacked in any way, heaven and the Throne Sitter are also attacked. The word of God is settled in heaven and it cannot be altered, neither changed; nothing can be added, nor taken away from His word. Whenever God’s word is attacked, the attackers are speaking evil of truth. Covetousness is used as a trap to lure in followers by using feigned words: words with many meanings, from many languages to confuse and deceive listeners. This deception is built around the love of money to construct a whole system of error using a spiritual ATM mechanism disguised as a collection plate. This is NOW. Entire religions, and entire denominations are given over to the love of money and not to the love of God. How bad will be the punishment for these atrocities against God? God gives us this list of the wickedness of man in 2nd Peter; first, we have the first punishment that was metered out to Lucifer’s angels, the first rebellion that took place in heaven.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18)
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, (Revelation 12:7) And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. (Revelation 12:8)
  This rebellion cost Satan and his angels all that they desired: position, place, and standing. Lucifer was cast out, and his warrior angels were immediately PLACED IN CHAINS IN HELL and have never been released; as I mentioned previously there is no escape from the bars of hell as we see in Luke Chapter 16.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (Luke 16:19)
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, (Luke 16:20)
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. (Luke 16:21)
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (Luke 16:22)
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23)
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. (Luke 16:24)
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. (Luke 16:25)
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:26)
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: (Luke 16:27)
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. (Luke 16:28)
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (Luke 16:29)
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. (Luke 16:30)
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:31)
  There are three truths that we learn from this section. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for a being who is in hell to leave the confines of hell. Secondly, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for those in heaven to return to the earth. After having died and entered into heaven, no one can return. The only exception would be the apostle Paul (ascending into the third heaven, BUT he did not experience death) whereas both men in Luke 16 experienced death. When the rich man asked Abraham to send someone to his brethren from heaven, it could not be done; however, Abraham added even if one would go back from the dead his brethren would still not believe. Third point, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for angels or men to minister to those who are in hell.
Side Note: (There are exceptions recorded in the word of God by the Holy Spirit, and not by man. In the Old Testament we have the example of the widow of Zarephath, and the prophet of God (Elijah) prayed to the Almighty God for the life of the widow’s child, and breath was returned to the child, and the widow received her child from the prophet alive. In the New Testament the Lord Jesus raised the young maiden, and the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus, as well as those who were raised by the power of His resurrection, after His resurrection. (Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha is never mentioned again in Scripture after John 12:17.) These were all the evidences of the Spirit of God and not individual testimonies. These examples were for the glory of God, and not for the glory of man. All the evidences of life and death experiences in our day come from man in Adam. We also hear the stories of the angel at the window, or the voice of the dead, or of the imaginative vampires, the walking dead, the transformers, witches and goblins, the day of the occult (Halloween or the devil’s day). Yes, in the Bible, we have examples of resurrection, and these are for a testimony for the glory of God. (Once to die and then the judgment. ) ♦ End of Side Note
  This puts a wrench into the so-called life and death experiences that men boast about today. Their illusions, their mirages, and their dreams, may be real to them, but these experiences are impossible. You cannot be received into heaven through the death experience and then return back to earth. What is amazing is that these death experiences are from those who have never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Lazarus was in his eternal home. He has everlasting life. Now that I have made 99.9% of the world angry with me, I will just end with this, Verily, verily, Truly, truly, Amen and Amen.
© Copyright 2021, 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. (KJV)