 
# BOOK OF REVELATION

Volume 3

### by

# Cecil J. duCille

### ©1998 Cecil J. duCille

## Smashwords Edition

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A softcover edition of this book is available, distributed to the body of Christ on a free will offering basis. Your love offering to help offset printing and distribution costs would be greatly appreciated. Order online at: www.sonlightdevotional.org.

**Smashwords Edition License Notes:** Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

Cover art is: "Four Horsemen of Apocolypse" by Viktor Vasnetsov 1887

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## Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Summary of Volume 1

Summary of Volume 2

Preface

Revelation Chapter Nineteen

Revelation Chapter Twenty

Revelation Chapter Twenty-One

Revelation Chapter Twenty-Two

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Foreword

As we have worked on this book about Revelation, we have rejoiced in the word that the Lord has brought to His church at this time. John 8:32 says, _"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."_ Our desire is that this book and the other two volumes will bring confirmation to your heart and strength for the hour that we live in.

We are so thankful for the dedication that Brother and Sister duCille have shown. They have labored in love to bring this word to us. May the Lord bless them as they continue to serve Him.

May your Kingdom come, Lord God, and may Your will be done! Amen!

God bless you,

Tom and Carol Trotter

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Acknowledgements

We wish to take this opportunity to thank the Lord Jesus Christ in the first place and the body of Christ here and all over the world for their faithfulness and the help and the strength they give us in accomplishing this gargantuan task in writing this book.

The Lord Jesus Christ has been most gracious to us to give us workers in editing, and going through every detail, dotting the i's and crossing the t's with a fine tooth comb, dedicated and faithful brethren. Among those who gave their whole heart to this work for more than two years are Thomas and Carol Trotter, Catherine Trotter, Sidney and Sharon Kamprath, Steve and Fran Goodmon, and David Walter.

We therefore send forth these volumes as a tool into the hands of the body of Christ trusting they might accomplish, in the name of Jesus, the perfect will of God for which they were ordained.

Write the vision, and make it plain upon

tables, that he may run that readeth it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time

but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:

though it tarry, wait for it; because it will

_come, it will not tarry._ **Habakkuk 2:2**

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Summary of "The Book of Revelation Volume One"

In volume one of this series of books, the author shares his personal testimony before giving the reader the revelations that he received from Jesus Christ Himself.

The introduction covers the seven mysteries of Christ also called the seven works of grace in every believer's life.

Volume one includes the first ten chapters of the Revelation of John. The author's desire is to explain these chapters scripturally so that the reader can fully understand the prophecy that God gave to Jesus Christ who gave it to brother John. Each chapter is carefully covered, verse by verse, giving the reader the full revelation for himself.

Specifically, chapter one deals with Christ in the midst of the church. Chapters two and three reveal who the seven messengers to the church are and their message. Chapters four and five explain the four beasts and the twenty-four elders. Chapter six deals with the opening of six of the seals and explains the four horses and the four horsemen. Have you ever desired to understand who the 144,000 are? The answer, the revelation, is given in chapter seven. Chapter eight begins with the opening of the seventh seal, the seven angels and the seven trumpets. You will learn what will happen when this seal is opened and you will understand the work of the seven angels in the earth. Chapter nine connects the message of the fifth angel and World War III. Chapter ten ends volume one. This chapter tells of "the eating of the little book and the effect that it has in the human realm."

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Summary of "The Book of Revelation Volume Two"

Volume two of the Revelation series covers chapters eleven through eighteen of the Book of Revelation as given to our brother John.

In these chapters the author diligently, scripturally details the true worshippers of God, the woman clothed with the sun, the red dragon, the two witnesses, the seven-headed, ten-horned beast, the false church, the judgment and wrath of God, the roots of modern Babylon and much much more.

In this age of deception, it is a blessing to have the truth revealed to our hearts.

God has made the doctrine clear.

The Holy Spirit was sent to lead believers into all truth. You will not be disappointed when the whole truth, as much as has been made known to the author, is unveiled to you. You will be made free!

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Preface

We dedicate this book to our three sons Donovan, Lewin and Carl who spent all of their youth, from childhood to their teenage years work¬ing with us, being very involved in the gospel. Many times they would get the service started having everyone in prayer and worship before we arrived and acquired a very broad knowledge of the word. They had their share of suffering and learnt how to abase and abound. This created in them a fortitude and tenacity which has been invaluable in their endeav¬ors.

We commend them into the hand of the Lord and trust that this book will bless them as it blesses others.

The enlightenment of this word first came to my husband approxi¬mately fifty years ago. When we found this treasure, this pearl of great price, we diligently sought the Lord together and sacrificed our careers: mine as an elementary school teacher, and his as an accountant with the Agricultural Department of Jamaica, dedicating our lives to labor in the Kingdom for the glory of God and have proven and are proving that God makes us stronger and more effective in the gospel in which we continue with exceeding delight. Matt. 13:45,46, _"Again the Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had, and bought it."_

The word came piece by piece, line upon line, through days of prayer and meditation and sacrifice over these many years. We believe, according to the word, that God will reveal to the church all His mystery at this time. It is clearly stated in the Word that the Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached until Jesus comes in His fullness to His temple.

We have come to understand that the full revelation of Christ in His body comes in three levels. The book "The Pattern" was a revelation on the first level. These three books of the Apocalypse are on the second level, with Seven seals (Mysteries), Seven trumpets (Messages), Seven angels (Messengers), Seven vials of the wrath of God. The third level of this revelation will come within the souls of men. If at the sounding of the seventh and final trumpet "all the mystery of God shall be finished, " then I feel this to be very close since the sixth seal which brings wars and rumors of war is already broken and the sixth trumpet is calling us into a place of safety. God is lifting the church, the Bride to a place of making herself ready for the Groom, thus the importance of these volumes.

We commend this book to those who will be like the Berean brethren who diligently searched the Scriptures and made sure of truth, with no other intention but to bless the body of Christ. Pray for us and our family.

Colossians 3:16, _"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace your hearts to the Lord, and whatever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."_

Mavis M. duCille

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Revelation Chapter Nineteen

Revelation 19 begins with _, "And after these things..."_ After what things? After the destruction of Babylon, we have a chronological reference that things come in order. _"...I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God."_

The words _"in heaven"_ do not necessarily mean that people are taken out of their bodies into another realm, but that people had ascended or had been lifted up into a higher dimension. Human life, here in verse 1, is in a higher plane than it had been before. It is no longer in the earth plane. Just as when Jesus was walking here on earth, He was also in heaven. The voices in heaven were saying _, "Alleluia; Salvation."_ Why are they saying _"Salvation"_? At last, salvation has come!

Often we hear a person give a testimony and say, "Thank God! Jesus saved me on the third day of August in such and such a year." However, the person who gives that testimony and says, "I am saved" is still in danger and in a place where he could be destroyed. The salvation in this verse means that the full salvation is come.

In the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:10, Jesus says to pray _"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth_ (in my earth, in this earth, in the earth realm) _, as it is in heaven."_ The will of God being done in heaven is that all angels obey God with great joy. It is not like the child who, when he is told to do something, pouts and goes his way and does it. In heaven there is no such thing. We are writing about _"IN HEAVEN"_ the will of God being done. Beings, men, are happy to be given the privilege of doing what God wants them to do.

### THE GLORY OF GOD

Salvation has come _, "and GLORY."_ It is peculiar that it should say _"glory."_ In the prayer in John 17:5, the Lord Jesus thanked the Father for giving Him the glory. Then in verse 22 He said _,"And the GLORY which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."_ In the Old Testament, Moses came down from the mountain and his face shone with the glory of God. Alleluia! This glory had come in the physical so that when men saw Moses they had to cover their faces so that the shining from his face did not hurt them. What physically happened? I can tell you at least a part of it. As Moses stood in the presence of God (though God had to hide Himself so that Moses could even stand there), the energy, life, power, and radiation from God came upon Moses. Something more than radiation came from God. It was the LIFE and the ENERGY and the POWER of God which came into Moses and shone from him. Notice, it wore off; it shone for a while and then it wore off.

When Jesus rose from the grave, there were two angels in white apparel and their faces were shining. A kind of glow came from them. The sisters saw the angels and the angels gave them the message about Jesus. In Revelation 1:16c John described Jesus _Christ "and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."_ Matthew 13:43 _,"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."_

Luke 9:28-31 _,"And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he (Jesus) took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."_ Here heaven and earth met together and there was a great shining, a glory that came out of Jesus Christ, and His countenance was altered. He became glowing and glorious, like an angel of God.

This glory is not just for Moses and those special people mentioned in the Bible, because in Romans 8:17 Paul speaks of this glory. _"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also GLORIFIED together."_ This glory, this power of God, this indwelling of the Almighty in His fullness is that which lifts the human being from the earthly realm into the heavenly realm. We could be on the moon or on the sun and it would not make any difference. Humanity would then be lifted to this heavenly realm. The voices in heaven were saying that the glory has come; that glory which they were seeking, which they were waiting for, HAS COME.

### DELIVERED FROM THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION

In Romans 8:19, Paul says _that "the creature_ (we, the creature man) _waiteth for the manifestation of THE SONS OF GOD."_ Verses 19 through 21, _"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered."_ It is not just that we are going to be saved in our spirits and in our souls, but that the creature, the physical man _, "...shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."_ This _"bondage of corruption"_ binds us to eat breakfast in the morning; binds us to eat lunch; binds us to eat dinner; binds us to sleep all night and to be refreshed. We are always charging our batteries. We are bound to all these earthly things and God is saying that we _"shall be delivered."_

Verses 22 and 23 _,"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY."_ When we write about salvation and glory, we are not writing about just the soul being saved, but we are writing about the body itself being rescued from the carnality, fleshiness, and earthiness, and blasted off into the heavens (as I wrote before, it does not matter where you are). That means that you can be in heaven and be right here on earth. You can be right in this room and be in heaven. Therefore, this is where God is taking us and this is where we shall be in a very short time.

Revelation 19:1, these _"people...(were) saying,...honour, and power, unto the Lord our God."_ I am somewhat distressed at times about how we dishonor God. Sometimes we pray and our mind is on something else. Sometimes we go to pray and we fall asleep, and it is a dishonor to God. John said, at last _, "HONOUR"_ has come. At last, these people are in a place and in a position where they can honour God in their bodies, and not just honour Him in their minds and in their spirit. John said _"honour"_ has come and then _"power, unto the Lord our God."_ Praise be to God!

Revelation 19:2 _,"FOR TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS ARE HIS JUDGMENTS: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and HATH AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS AT HER HAND."_

A judgment has come upon _"the great whore."_ Judgment was pronounced on Babylon _("Babylon...is fallen, is fallen")._ Babylon _"did corrupt the earth"_ and _"the...whore...did corrupt the earth."_ The word _"whore"_ here refers to Babylon, and the word _"Babylon"_ refers to whore, meaning it is one and the same thing. Verse 2b _, "which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and HATH AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS AT HER HAND."_

The slaying of man by man and the destruction of the earth by man is caused by man's own greed (a very, very stupid greed because nobody can take with him from this life anything at all). Cars, houses, property, and a bank account are like a mockery because you cannot take them with you when you die. These things are only for this life, and a man will kill, hurt, destroy, take you to court, and distress you to get a couple thousand dollars out of you. He will do all that, and he will die and leave all that money. He is not going to be able to use all that money before he dies. It is like going to rent a car and the owner says, "All right, now, you bring back the car with an empty gas tank." I do not know anybody who is so adept that he could drive a car with an empty gas tank into a car lot. They are depending upon you to bring the car back with some gas in it. They can afford to sell you the gas inexpensively because they make a good profit off it. Nobody brings back a car with an empty tank.

This _"great whore...did corrupt the earth with her fornication."_ Organizations are committing fornication. It is not natural fornication between man and woman (sexual impropriety), but mixing - sorcery - trying to mix the things of the devil with the things of God. One time I was asked to explain adultery. Of course, adultery is fornication; mixture; unlawful mixture. The picture that came before me was a picture of a man wanting a cup of coffee. He took soup and mixed it into his coffee and said, "They are all going into the same place. Drink up!" He took soup with onion and garlic, and added orange juice, tea, some butter, lime, and sugar. He put everything into the coffee and created a mess. He had neither coffee, nor soup, nor orange juice, nor anything. All he had was an unholy mixture that would be tasteless and would probably upset the stomach. This is what the Word of God speaks of in regards to whoredom and fornication.

Another picture of fornication is a church mixing with politics. I heard a description of a great church leader who was said to be one of the greatest politicians of all times. A church leader who is supposed to be led of God and under God cannot at the same time be a politician. A man who is a great politician deceives us that he is a leader of the church because he is only a politician.

Verse 2c, _"and (He) HATH AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS AT HER HAND."_ All this mixture has caused man to hate the church. Governments will give way to churches because, in this time, governments are afraid of churches because churches have religion. A religious man, if he is not really walking with God, will be the worst man to meet in a fight because he has no human sense. He is being driven by spirits and he will do anything. So the religions that are out of the way are eventually going to end up in the camp of the Antichrist.

Revelation 19:3 _,"And again they said, ALLELUIA. AND HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOR EVER AND EVER."_

While the saints are praising God for the defeat of Babylon _,"HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOR EVER AND EVER."_ No natural thing can burn for ever and ever. The Bible explains itself; therefore, let us see if we can find where this phrase and this thought comes from. Isaiah 34:1 and 2 _,"Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter."_ Babylon is no longer just a place or a particular location. Isaiah said _"all nations"_ and the word _"NATIONS"_ here refers to the nations and the people who are against God. The heathen are also referred to as the nations.

God says that _"her smoke rose up for ever and ever."_ Isaiah 34:10, _"It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever."_ God is using a natural thought of a destruction of a specific place as a type of the spiritual destruction. HELL IS A PERMANENT CONDITION. It cannot change. People cannot go to hell and, like prisoners, serve their time and come out. There is no outlet from hell, and the reason is very, very pertinent. Those who are in hell could not have been in heaven. The reason they cannot come out of hell is because they do not want, nor never will want heaven. They prefer to be in hell rather than to be in the presence of God.

Revelation 19:4 _,"And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia."_

Twenty-four is a type of the priesthood, and God promised that He would bring His church to be kings and priests. _"The four beasts"_ represents the soul of man that has come into His fullness and has become the priest of God. They were saying, _"Amen_ (so let it be); _Alleluia"_ because their work was finished. They had been brought into a place of perfection which God had promised the church. Again we must emphasize that they do not represent the whole church. They represent a part of the church, the wise virgins. The church had split at midnight, and there were foolish virgins and there were wise virgins. These people represent the wise virgins who have come into the fullness of Christ.

### WHERE IS THE THRONE OF HIS KINGDOM?

Let us look into the word _"THRONE."_ We have had many pictures of the throne. Psalm 45:6 and 7 _,"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."_ God had promised David that his throne would be for ever. This throne must be in Christ Jesus. IN CHRIST JESUS is not a natural dimension. It is a SPIRITUAL DIMENSION. Therefore, the throne that God is speaking of here is a spiritual throne, yet He said that He would sit on the throne of His kingdom in the earth, and He would reign.

Let us make sure of God's promise to David. 1 Kings 9:5 _,"Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel."_ The same promise is repeated in 2 Chronicles 7:18. God is saying that He would have an everlasting throne on the earth over Israel. The word _"ISRAEL"_ means PRINCE OF GOD or SON OF GOD, not just the Israel (the little country in the Middle East), or the natural seed of Abraham, but the seed of Abraham BY FAITH. All the children of faith have become the children of Abraham. Thus, Jesus Christ must reign over these, and _"THE THRONE OF (HIS) KINGDOM"_ must be in the spiritual realm reigning over these people. Yet, there is something peculiar here, because Jesus Christ promised to come down on the earth and to reign and rule. Let us see where His kingdom is going to be.

Luke 17:20 and 21 _,"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU."_ If _"the kingdom of God is within"_ us, then the King will reign in us. It cannot stop there. We must go further and dig deeper, because King Jesus as a person, as an individual, will be in the earth.

Revelation 5:9 and 10 tell us of the four beasts and the elders singing a new song. _"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast REDEEMED US to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast MADE US unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."_ What we thought were four beasts were actually human beings. It is the human soul that is speaking to God, because _"thou...hast redeemed US"_ from among men, _"and WE shall reign (with you) on the earth."_

In 2 Timothy 2:12, Paul writes in the Holy Ghost _,"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us."_ In Revelation 20:4, the same thought of reigning with God a thousand years is mentioned, but we see a certain trend. Jesus Christ is coming down to reign and to rule, and we will also reign and rule with Him. Where is His throne going to be? Zechariah 8:3 _,"Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain."_

### THE "NEW JERUSALEM (IS) THE THRONE" OF GOD!

Jeremiah 3:16 and 17 _,"And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart."_ Here is a new thought that "JERUSALEM (is) the THRONE" OF GOD. All that we have to do is identify what Jesus means by His throne, and then we will see what He means by Jerusalem, and then we will understand the Word written in Revelation 19.

In Ezekiel 1:5, God speaks of the throne of God. _"Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man."_ This extensive teaching of the four beasts (the mind being the eagle, the emotions being the lion, the will being the ox, and the desires being the man) was covered in chapters 4 and 5 of The Revelation. All this we can see through Scripture, that the soul of man suffered a transformation until we came to Revelation 4 and 5.

Revelation 5 showed the throne of God; the 24 elders and the 4 beasts were before the throne of God. In Ezekiel 1 and Isaiah 6 we saw this _"living creature;"_ the _"wheel in the middle of a wheel,"_ with eyes all over the wheels which represented the Holy Ghost. In this picture we saw the throne of God ABOVE THEM. Now, between chapters 4 and 5 of The Revelation, we saw where this throne HAD DESCENDED IN _"THE MIDST"_ of the four living creatures. _"The midst"_ of the four living creatures is the HEART of the saints. The heart of the saint is going to be the throne of God from which He will rule the earth. We need to back up this thought with more scriptures.

At this point we need to jump ahead to Revelation 21:1 and 2 _. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."_ Here we see _the "new Jerusalem"_ will be the throne of God. The _"new Jerusalem"_ is the _"bride"_ _"coming down from...heaven."_ WE ARE THE BRIDE. Therefore, we know WHO the new Jerusalem is, and we know WHERE Jesus' throne will be set up for ruling.

We will write more about these details when we study Revelation chapter 21, but let us look at verses 9 and 10. _"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will SHEW thee THE BRIDE, THE LAMB'S WIFE. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and SHEWED me THAT GREAT CITY, the HOLY JERUSALEM, descending out of heaven from God."_ _"The holy Jerusalem"_ is _"the bride"_ of Christ! If Jesus Christ is going to reign and rule from a throne on earth, it must be a SPIRITUAL THRONE. If it is going to be in Jerusalem, then it must be in the SPIRITUAL JERUSALEM, and not in the natural Jerusalem.

Revelation 12:5 _,"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to HIS THRONE."_ Revelation 5:10 _,"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."_ If the _"man child"_ is going to _"rule all nations,"_ and _"the four beasts"_ mentioned in Revelation 5:10 are going to _"reign on the earth,"_ it simply means that they are one and the same thing. The _"man child"_ is the same picture as _"the four beasts."_

Now, if the picture we have seen has been stated to be the _"new Jerusalem,"_ then you can understand why Jesus said that He will be reigning in Jerusalem, because He will be reigning in the hearts of His people; and from the hearts of His people, He will rule the rest of the world. If _"the kingdom of God is within you,"_ as we have already seen in Luke 17:20 and 21, then it means that the King will be sitting on His throne _"WITHIN YOU,"_ reigning and ruling all the nations of the world.

### DANIEL REVEALS EVEN GREATER REVELATION

We cannot help but believe that the chronological order of this reigning and ruling is that THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON WILL COME FIRST (just as Revelation 19 began). Notice the same order is stated in Daniel 7:26 and 27. _"But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."_ Again, we see _"the saints"_ reigning in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God in them.

To further clarify this matter, let us read a little more in Daniel 7:13 and 14. " _I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought HIM near before HIM. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." "They brought HIM near before HIM." "The HIM"_ that " _they brought,"_ was brought _"to the Ancient of days."_ Let us read another verse which tells us who _"the Ancient of days"_ is.

Verse 21 _,"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them."_ Verse 22 _,"UNTIL the ANCIENT OF DAYS came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom."_ In other words, it is when Jesus comes; it is when the Messiah comes, that we will have the victory. We see that _"the Ancient of days"_ referred to in verse 22, is the same _"Ancient of days"_ referred to in verse 13. _"The HIM"_ that was brought to _"the Ancient of days"_ must be the man child (or the church), and dominion was given to him, because in verse 27 it says the _"dominion...shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High."_ We see that the one that is going to reign and rule is _"the saints of the most High"_ God with the fullness of Christ.

The Scriptural proof is abundant that the kingdom of God, from which Jesus Christ is going to reign, is _"within"_ the heart of His saints, and that the throne is in His saints. Matthew 16:28 _,"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."_ Some of those people (the twelve disciples) who were _"standing here"_ (in Matthew 16) with Jesus Christ while He spoke these words, were also at Pentecost. AT PENTECOST, they saw the kingdom of God come for real. In other words, they saw the King _"coming in His kingdom,"_ into His saints, and they began to speak with tongues, and they began to manifest in the Spirit of God!

### GOD'S FIRE APPROVES THE TEMPLE

When God told Moses to build the Tabernacle he had to build it according to the pattern (exactly as God had shown him in the mountain). When the Tabernacle was finished, and God was pleased, God's approval was shown in that He brought fire down from heaven and lighted the altar. That fire remained in Israel, and the priests would stoke the fire and keep the fire going all night. There was always someone on duty to keep the fire going, and this happened for approximately 490 years, until the time of Solomon.

When Solomon built the temple, God again lighted the fire. Alleluia! God lighted the fire for the SECOND TIME on the SECOND TEMPLE. The fire was lighted by God Himself. God never lighted the fire of any other man-made temple. Even the fire in the temple, that the brethren showed Jesus and that was built by Herod, was not God-lit fire. The true fire from God was reserved for Pentecost. When the TRUE TEMPLE, the third temple, the Body of Christ, the people of God, became filled with the Holy Ghost (with God Himself), God showed _"TONGUES LIKE AS OF FIRE...upon each of them,"_ a mysterious fire in Acts 2:3. It was a spiritual Holy Ghost manifestation; God Himself was manifesting there. The sign of _"fire...upon...them"_ was the sign that they were the THIRD TEMPLE, and that this was GOD'S APPROVED TEMPLE.

Jesus Christ spoke in Matthew 16:28. _"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they SEE the Son of man coming in his kingdom." "The Son of man coming in his kingdom"_ indeed began at Pentecost. The end of the coming, Christ in His fullness within the Body of Christ, will be accomplished here in Revelation 19:4. Jesus will sit on His throne. The words _"SAT ON THE THRONE"_ definitely mean that He will be the only motivator, the only mover, and the only one that will move His people from place to place and will speak through them.

### THE POWER OF RESURRECTION LIFE

Now you say, _"Ah, so then where will the man Jesus be? Won't He have to have a house to sleep in? Won't He have to have a place to stay, and a place..."_ No! This Jesus is the Jesus who does not sleep. This Jesus, coming back in power and in glory, will be throughout the whole earth at the same time. He will possess His saints, and He will appear wherever and whenever He wants, in a million places at the same time. This is the POWER OF THE RESURRECTION that we do not really understand. This Jesus will be everywhere at the same time.

This is the reason Jesus said, in John 16:7 _,"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."_ Jesus said _, "it is expedient."_ It is good, it is wise, for Him to _"go away."_ The reason is because He was caged in a physical body, and He could not be everywhere at the same time. He had to get into His spiritual body, wherein He would be able to be everywhere at the same time. As God, He would reclaim His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. These things which He had to lay aside in taking up a human form, He was now about to pick them up again, to arise out of this human form into a higher dimension. Although He had flesh and bone, He was able to be everywhere at the same time, and this is THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION which Paul speaks about.

We must emphasize at this point, however, that although Jesus will be ruling and reigning through His saints, He will personally, physically be here ruling and reigning. Someone says, "Oh, He will have a home in Jerusalem." Let us look at the Scripture again. When Jesus Christ came back after His resurrection, notice, He never went to the brethren's homes. He never went there to sleep anymore. He did not travel around in the same fashion as He had before. He said to Mary that she should go on to Jerusalem, and then He appeared in the midst. On the road to Emmaus, He walked with them for probably half a day, talked with them, and then He disappeared. He does not need a physical throne to sit on, because He will be a new creation man in His appearance here, and this is what WE ALSO will eventually be.

Before we leave verse 4 of Revelation 19, let us look keenly at another thought that this verse brings to us. _"And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia."_ All of them _"fell down_ (together) _and worshipped God_ (together). _.. saying_ (in unison), _Amen; Alleluia!"_ The four beasts are not four separate creatures because they are joined at the wings. This is the soul of man that GOD NOW OCCUPIES. God, in us, will cry, _"Amen;Alleluia."_ I do not know if you have ever involuntarily shouted, Praise God, or Alleluia! This is the power of God within them.

In other words, He is sitting NOW on the throne. He is in total charge of that mind, of that emotion, of that will, and of that desire. The heart of man is completely overcharged with God, and he cries out from the heart, Alleluia! Praise God! This is the picture of God being enthroned in man. Alleluia! We are BEING TAUGHT to make Jesus King, but now we are looking at the OTHER STEP for making Him King - when He takes over and begins to exercise His divine authority from the depths of our beings. He will cry, _"Amen; Alleluia."_ Glory to God!

Revelation 19:5 _,"And a voice came out of the throne, saying, PRAISE OUR GOD, ALL YE HIS SERVANTS, AND YE THAT FEAR HIM, BOTH SMALL AND GREAT."_ The voice came out of the soul, out from the throne of God. It was not God crying and saying, _"PRAISE OUR GOD,"_ but it was the voice of the man, the voice of the redeemed creature, crying _, "PRAISE OUR GOD."_ God could not say, _"PRAISE OUR GOD."_ It has to be the creature of God crying, _"PRAISE OUR GOD, ALL YE HIS SERVANTS, AND YE THAT FEAR HIM, BOTH SMALL AND GREAT."_

Revelation 19:6 _,"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."_

We were taught by Jesus to pray _,"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."_ This is where the voice is coming from. The many billions and billions of redeemed people will be saved. _"...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved..."_ What is really happening in the heavenlies is that millions and millions of souls are crying from their hearts, from their throne room, _"Alleluia! Glory to God! Praise be to God!"_

### A COVENANT IN HIS BLOOD

When we think of salvation, we generally think of salvation as being a specific possession of the Christians; that is, people are being saved who never discovered Jesus in their lifetime, but only discovered Him in the evening, in the night, when darkness came down upon them; when death and hell seemed to have encompassed them, and there was nowhere to go, no place to turn to. The lonely man, or lonely woman, or lonely child looks around and sees eternity on one side and the gulf on the other side and sees Jesus in the midst, and he or she says, "Jesus, help me! Have mercy upon me, a sinner!"

Like the thief on the cross, Jesus reaches out His hand, alleluia, to the sinner, a wretched sinner, who never knew God, who maybe only heard someone mention Him before. It might be a Muslim, it might be a Hindu. He might have been in some unnamed demonic cult - way down there - never knew God, and Jesus reaches out His hand to him. Heaven will be filled with these. Believe you me, He said that His disciples should go out on the highways and the hedges, and bring in the halt and the maimed people (spiritually halt and spiritually maimed) whom we would classify as hell-bound. God reaches out to them in the darkness of their existence and brings them to light. Alleluia!

I remember the case of people like my mother who used to read her Bible. She was a religious person. She went to church and brought us up with the Bible, but knew nothing of salvation. Then, the promise of the Lord God came to me that He would save my mother, and I exalted in great thankfulness, for I knew how He had saved me, and it was not according to my goodness. When He promised me my mother, I surrendered my whole heart to Him, knowing that He would never fail me! Alleluia! The hour came. I was sitting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and my mother was in Jamaica. The Spirit of the Lord came to me, and said, "Release your mother." I said, "Yes, Lord, I release her." There was nothing but joy in my heart for the release, for I knew she had lived her life, and God was now ready to take her. He said to me, "Release your mother." I said, "Thank you, Jesus! I release her." I did not ask Him if He was going to save her.

We have a covenant. I am a covenant child of God. I am bound to God by a relationship that is covenanted in His blood, and it cannot be broken. Alleluia! It cannot be broken! It cannot be released! I AM WHAT I AM, and I shall be forever. Alleluia! A child of God bound in a covenant relationship, a covenant of blood, and there can be no breaking. Because I knew this, I REJOICED. I never asked any questions. Then one day my sister said, "I forgot to tell you how your mother died." She said they were all there sitting with her, and she seemed to have been going in and out, and then my mother said to them, "Have you seen Him?" They said, "No, who is that?" She said, "Don't you see Jesus standing right here holding my hand? Can you imagine Jesus holding my hand, and I never served Him in my life. He is so wonderful and so gracious to save me at the last minute. Thank you, Jesus!" She praised God and died. Thank you, Jesus!

It taught me a lesson; a lesson that I had known before. I know that God will not allow one human being to go to hell, if that human being could EVER make it to heaven. He would extend his life for a thousand years if a person would make it to heaven, for He will not allow him to go to hell. He will cancel the thousand years in a day and give him salvation. That is why some people get salvation, and some people do not, because there is a line to cross, and a human being can cross a line with God, wherein you have made an eternal choice. Now, do not ask me how that is done, but I know that my God, your God, is a JUST GOD, and He will never, never ever allow injustice to be done in any way.

If a man goes to hell, that man would never make heaven. He does not want heaven. He does not want God. Through time and eternity, God would not be able to convince him to submit to God Almighty, and that is the kind of man that is in hell. The others, I do not care what they believe. Look at the trash that some of our Christian brothers and sisters believe. Do you think that God is going to send them into hell because they believe so much trash? If that was the case, you and I would not have a chance, because sometime in our lives, we must have believed some things that were pretty weird and outside of God's order and truth.

God is in the act of saving men, and He does not discriminate. He saves men anywhere! Everywhere! Any class! Once they call upon His name, and even as I speak, there are thousands calling upon His name in the last hour. He will not let them die! Let the atom bomb drop on top of their heads. He will take two seconds and turn it into eternity. Time does not figure with God. He can run something through you, like the Pentium computer. Zap! It goes! God can run a whole lifetime through you in the fraction of a second. This is the God we serve, and this is why we serve Him, and anyone who does not serve this God is in trouble.

We need to know that God is a God who is in the business of saving His creation from eternal damnation and the degradation of eternal hell, because this is what makes HELL ETERNAL. Somebody does not like that, but this is what makes hell eternal. Hell would not be eternal, if man could change after he has made his eternal choice. If you meet a devil who has been in hell for 1,000 years, 2,000, or 3 to 4,000 years, he will tell you the same thing. He would rather stay in hell, than be in heaven where God is, for he hates God. The POWER OF HATE - we know just a little bit of it down here, and if it is only a little we know, and it is so terrible, you can imagine what the fullness of hate really is like.

Thousands, ten thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, and billions were calling unto God, and shouting, shouting from the throne room, shouting from the heart. No longer are we singing a song because everybody is singing the song, and we know the words, and we love the tune. That does not matter now. We are in a realm where there is a breakthrough, and only hearts are speaking.

### OMNIPOTENT REIGNING

Revelation 19:6a _,"And I heard as it were THE VOICE of a great multitude, and as THE VOICE of many waters."_ Like when the sea begins to roar - that was the voice of the billions of people who were in unison, praising God. Verse 6b _,"and as THE VOICE of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."_ Thank God! How beautiful! How magnificent! How marvelous it will be when God really reigns in me! When I do not have to worry anymore about my own thoughts; fight with my own thoughts, my emotions, feelings; someone playing on my emotions, trying to get me to do something. I will not have to bother about that anymore. God will be in total charge. He will take over completely - ABSOLUTE REIGN.

We are writing about when God reigns IN ZION. The Scripture says that He _"shall roar out of Zion."_ Joel 3:16,"The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."

I love the word "OMNIPOTENT." Jesus Christ, who had laid aside His omnipotence, had again taken up His omnipotence, and He was now reigning in me and through me, over me and by me. This is what the church is rejoicing over. Omnipotent God, thou must reign within me! Omnipotent reigning!

### "THUNDERS AND LIGHTNINGS" FROM THE THRONE

The Lord is pointing me to the words _,"the voice of mighty thunderings."_ Let us go into the Scriptures to show what the thunder and lightning that comes from the throne really means. The first scripture we will read is from Exodus 19:16. _"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled."_ We are reading about the presence of God, and the moment the presence of God appears, there is _"thunders and lightnings."_

Let us read a little more and we will learn something more from these scriptures. Exodus 20:18 _,"And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off."_ In 2 Samuel 22:13-15, there is a song of Moses being sung by David, and it speaks of what happened. _"Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them."_ David was singing the song of what happened when Moses and the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt.

Ezekiel 1:13 _,"As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning."_ This is the first picture that we have of the throne of God. Every time there is a picture of the throne of God, there is a picture of this _"lightning."_ Let us read a little more and find out what this _"lightning"_ really is.

Daniel 10:5 and 6 _,"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude."_ Notice, His voice was not the voice of one man, but it was _"THE VOICE OF A MULTITUDE."_

Revelation 1:12-15," _And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters."_ This vision that brother John received is the same picture we just read in Daniel.

Notice, verse 12 says it was the _"candlesticks,"_ and He was standing in the middle candlestick. This candlestick represents the church. Christ _"in the midst of the seven candlesticks"_ means that He is enthroned. When Christ is enthroned, out of this candlestick comes forth fire, lightning, and thunderings. We are looking at the throne of God in the church, in the heart of the believer. In Revelation 4:5 we see the same picture of the _"lightnings and thunderings"_ coming out of the throne room.

Revelation 8:5 _,"And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake."_ Again we see the throne of God, the censer with fire, being cast from the throne of God. It is from the church, the Body of Christ, that Jesus Christ will be ruling and sending forth His orders.

Revelation 11:19," _And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."_ Remember, we are the temple of the living God. This _"temple...was opened in heaven."_ When God indwells us in His fullness, then we have become a heaven of God, a place of dwelling for Almighty God. From this heaven there is the _"ark of his testament,"_ the final Ark, the third Ark, the covenant completed within the throne, the heart of the children of God.

### "THE LORD ALSO SHALL ROAR OUT OF ZION"

Revelation 14:2 _,"And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps."_ The voice of God will be speaking from the many-membered Body and there will be a thundering, a roar, coming out of the church, the Body of Christ, the heart of the believer completely given to God. God will be sitting and reigning and speaking from His throne room. Joel 3:16 _,"The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."_ We are seeing the whole Bible coming together - Jerusalem, the Body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the seat of God, the throne room of Jesus Christ - and Joel says that He _"shall roar out of"_ His throne room. God's power and orders will come from the hearts of His saints. When Jesus Christ walked the earth in the fullness of God, so likewise shall the sons of God walk the earth in the fullness of God. God shall reign and rule through them. They will be the administrators of the new earth.

Matthew 24:27 _,"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."_ God is equating two things together - _"the coming of the Son of man"_ and _"the lightning."_ He is talking about the coming of Jesus Christ in His people. It will be like lightning that will shine from one end of the heavens to the other, and all the sons of God will know that Jesus has come in His fullness within them. _"The lightning"_ is going to come out of them. The orders, the power, the glory, the energy, and the life of God will pour out from them and it will be like lightning in the world. Men will see and know definitely that this is it!

This is confirmed by Revelation 4:5 _. "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."_ We are reading about _"the throne"_ of God again and the _"lightnings and thunderings"_ coming out. We cannot emphasize enough, but it is the power and the glory of God at last coming into the heart of the believer which is the throne of God, and the power of God coming out from the believer into the world.

There are some very strong TYPES of this power from the throne room (or from the heart of man), both in the Old Testament and in the New. Exodus 9:23 _,"And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt."_ Moses' rod was a type of this throne room power.

In 1 Samuel 7:10, there is a story which we need to read. _"And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel."_

1 Chronicles 13:7, 9 and 10 _,"And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart. And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God."_ It was like a lightning bolt coming out of the ark and striking Uzza, because he had breached the sanctity of God's ark. Actually the Word said that they were not to touch it, nor put their hands upon it. Uzza should have known better for he had been trained as a carrier of the ark, one of the sons of Kohath.

The story about Elijah in 2 Kings 1:9-12 is a case in point. _"Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty."_

Acts 5:3 _,"But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?"_ Verse 5 _,"And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things."_ There are numerous cases of the Spirit of God moving through the human being to bring judgment. This is what is described in Revelation as the lightning and the thunder from the throne room. This judgment is going to be on the increase, not on the decrease, because as soon as God begins to fill the human heart and soul, and take full possession of His throne, then it will be that the words that are spoken (the power of the spoken Word) will bring forth the judgment of God.

Let us take the last scripture, in Revelation 11:5. _"And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed."_

### "THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB"

Revelation l9:7 _,"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."_

The concept of God marrying is part of the built-in Scriptural doctrine given to us by God Himself, for He made two people and caused them to marry. This was not just a physical arrangement for the procreation of the species, but it was a divine plan that shows God's desire to marry His creation. Therefore man has to learn the basic concepts of marriage to see the great detail of the spiritual meaning. Let us turn to Genesis and see what marriage really is from its inception and why God uses this method of joining two people together as a type of the joining of God and His church.

### "AND GOD SAID, LET US MAKE MAN"

Genesis 1:26 and 27 _,"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."_

Let us look at the basic thought of man being made to look like God. This could not necessarily be in the physical because God does not have a physical body. In other words, GOD SEES, but you could not say that God has eyes. GOD HEARS, but you could not say God has some big ears that He listens through. God just hears. HE IS GOD. He is a spirit. See John 4:24. We cannot think of Him in the way we think of a human being, although He sent His son, and His son looked like us. The _"image of God"_ must mean the spiritual attributes which are manifested through the physical being. In other words, SEEING is a spiritual attribute, and it is manifested through two little eyes. HEARING is another spiritual attribute which manifests through physical form. God made a form to manifest some attribute of God.

Man then was made _"male and female."_ This fact is clear in Scripture, but if someone would like to argue it, this could be refuted easily just by seeing that God took the woman out of the man. If she was not there in the first place, He could not have taken her out. God put Adam in _"a deep sleep"_ and then He took from the side of the man, Eve, his wife.

Genesis 2:7 _,"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." "Man became."_ In other words, man was not, and then _"man became."_ _"God...breathed."_ God does not breathe air, so it must be that "God... breathed" spirit and the spirit that was breathed into Adam made him MAN.

Within the mind of God were the nerves and sinews, the beautiful form of man, the magnificent stature of what we call man. I imagine that this being the first man, the perfect man, he was absolutely perfect in every detail of his symmetry. His muscles must have been like bands of steel twirling around his body \- ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I do not believe that God took every little nerve and every little piece, and put it together and put them together and it took Him all this time to put him together like an artist would do. I believe God put the thing together in His own mind, and He breathed it out and issued it into the piece of clay, and the clay shivered and came to life, and _"man became a living soul."_

What is _"a living soul"?_ _"A living soul"_ is a soul that can relate to God; a soul that is alive in its own being that can perceive God and the things of God and can appreciate the higher things of this life. That in itself tells us that Adam had within him something of God, that God had taken something out of Himself (breathed something out of Himself) and made Adam. Adam was rightly and correctly called _"son of God."_ See Luke 3:38.

Genesis 2:18-25 _,"And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."_

### HOLY MATRIMONY

Here we see THE FIRST MARRIAGE. It must have been a great marriage ceremony that God performed when He called heaven and earth to watch Him make the first man, and to watch Him bring forth the first union. First of all, this man and this woman were the same flesh, they were the same blood type, they were the same blood. Actually what happened is that God had made Adam with Eve inside of him. In other words, THE MAN was a complete being with both masculine and feminine nature. God separated the feminine out of the masculine and called her _"WOMAN."_ It was Adam that said, _"This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh...Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife..."_ The peculiar thing about what Adam said was that he had no concept of _"father and...mother"_ at that time. Adam was the first creation of God, therefore, it must have been the wisdom of God, the prophetic Spirit of God in him that pronounced it.

Let us look at Jesus Christ Himself quoting Adam. Matthew 19:3-5, _"The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?"_ Jesus said that GOD SAID IT. The scripture in Genesis said that ADAM SAID IT, thus meaning that Adam was speaking prophetically with the voice of God.

Jesus now adds in verses 6-8 _,"Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They said unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so."_ God was saying that because God joined Adam and Eve together as _"one flesh,"_ it was impossible for any man, or any human being, to give her a writing of divorcement or for them to be separated. (We are not going to deal with the subject of divorce because we are writing about the subject of marriage.) God is saying that marriage is a permanent thing; that a man cannot put away his wife.

Let us note verse 8 again. _"He (Jesus) saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of YOUR HEARTS..."_ Jesus was saying that because sin came in, because there was wickedness, Moses had to give them _"a writing of divorcement."_ Jesus continues speaking, verse 9 _,"And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."_

Two _"flesh"_ have been _"joined together"_ and have become _"one flesh"_ \- divinely joined. They were joined according to God's ordinance, according to God's law. The Scripture says that there could be no putting away for those two people, because they were joined correctly of God. Then He added an exception. The exception is _"for fornication."_ We know that _"fornication"_ comes from the Greek word pornea and it simply means every form of uncleanness, physical and spiritual. In this scripture, it referred basically to physical uncleanness.

There are exceptions to this rule. For instance, a man rapes a girl and then turns around and marries her because she was ashamed. Would you say that joining was according to God's ordinance? I would say, _"No."_ I would say that they were joined according to Satanic activity. Satan is in the business of putting people together. Now if people know God, accept Jesus as their Saviour, and are joined properly according to the Bible, the Word of God, then they are joined according to God's holy ordinance. That is called HOLY MATRIMONY.

People who are joined in holy matrimony cannot be put asunder except for the following reason: if one of the parties breaks the marriage vow (of being one flesh) by joining themselves sexually with another person. The moment that is done the marriage is broken, but it does not necessarily mean the marriage has to end in a divorce. Paul says (regarding this situation) that we are called unto peace. IF people can repent and turn away from the sin, then forgiveness can come in and the marriage can be preserved.

Let us turn to Ephesians 5 to see a great truth revealed. Verses 22-27 _,"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."_

God is speaking to us through our personal lives. Marriage is ordained of God for the one purpose of teaching us and revealing to us what the marriage of the Lamb is like. Paul, in his first letter to Timothy in chapter 3:1 and 2, speaks of the _"OVERSEER."_ _"This is a true saying, If a man desire to be an overseer, he desireth a good work. An overseer then must be blameless..."_ This _"overseer"_ would be a SHEPHERD - one who has the ministry of the shepherd and oversees the flock of God. He _"must be blameless, the husband of one wife."_ A man would not be qualified as an overseer in the work of God if he were not married. He had to be married because that is part of his teaching. He must be _"vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach."_

Verses 8-11 speak of the _"SERVANTS"_ of God. _"Likewise must the servants be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them take the work of a servant, being found blameless. Even so must their wives (the assumption here is that they have wives) be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things."_ Marriage becomes a key qualification in the church and in the ministry of the church. You could not have a church with all unmarried people. You could not have a church with elders who are not married, who do not know how to bring up children. They would not be able to bring up, nurture, and be shepherds over the flock of God because they were not married. Marriage becomes a key quality in the ministry of the gospel.

### A BRIDE FOR ISAAC

Let us turn to the stories of the Old Testament. As we know from previous studies, the Old Testament is telling us all the things of God. All the examples of doctrine are written in the Old Testament and are put in types and shadows. Therefore, when we read of a marriage in the Old Testament, that marriage would never be in the Bible unless it referred to the marriage of Jesus Christ to the church. Let us look at Genesis 24. We will read little parts of the story of Abraham wanting to find a bride for his son, Isaac. Abraham, in the story, is a type of God the Father. Isaac is a type of Jesus Christ and the bride, Rebekah, is a type of the church. Abraham also had a servant, and he represented the Holy Ghost. As we read the story, we will keep in mind what God is saying in the heavenlies concerning the marriage of Christ and the church.

Beginning in verse 4, Abraham speaks to his servant. _"But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence."_

This injunction of Abraham further strengthens the thought that we believe that God prepares a woman, a wife, for every man. Just as in Genesis, God made one woman for one man (Adam). We know that there is a woman for every man, and there is a man for every woman. As to the details of arguments that can be put forward to disprove this, I do not feel it is godly to go into it, for God has a balance in everything He does. We know that there is a special woman for every young man, and there is a special man for every young woman. Sometimes they miss it. Sometimes through disobedience, people stray. The fact is that God has made, is making, and will make His provision for His people.

The next scene we look at begins in verse 14 where the servant is by the well and He asks God for a certain sign. This is the type of thing that we look for in the spiritual realm where God will give a sign to the Body, or to the bride of Christ. Verse 14 _,"And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master."_ This verse reminds me of the time when Jesus sent me to the United States with a message. I said, _"Lord, how will I know the people to whom you have sent me? What mark will they have?" He said, "When you go to them, tell them the words that I have told you, the doctrine I have taught you, and the things I have shown you. Those who accept it, are the people to whom I have sent you."_ (That was pretty easy for me.)

Verses 15-19 _,"And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking."_

It is peculiar and amazing that the whole sign of whether she was the right person or not revolved around WATER. Water in Scripture symbolizes the Word of God. The Word of God is the chief means by which the Holy Ghost made contact with the bride. (Genesis 24 is being played out in a living pantomime.) The girl, Rebekah, who is a type of the bride of Christ, responded to him exactly as he had asked God that she should. There is a right response to the Word of God. Some people cannot stand the drinking of the Word of God because somehow it is too strong for them. It disturbs them; it upsets them. (I should write, they are not yet the bride of Christ.) This woman proved herself to be the bride of Christ. When Eleazar discovered that this was the woman he had come to meet, he rushed to his camels and took out his gifts.

Verses 21-23a tell us what the gifts were. _"And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; And said, Whose daughter art thou?"_ The _"earring"_ is a type of the anointing of the ears. _"So then faith (salvation) cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."_ The first thing Eleazar did was to take _"a golden earring"_ and put it on her ear. This means that the people of God, the called of the Lord, those who are specially anointed and appointed to be children of the kingdom, ARE HEARERS. You cannot be a good hearer unless you are a good listener. Gold is a type of the nature of God. The NATURE OF GOD was placed on her ear. She was then and there proclaimed to be the true bride of Isaac, as also the church who will hear is being proclaimed to be the true bride of Christ.

In John 10:26-28, Jesus Christ laid down a Divine principle _. "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."_ _"MY SHEEP HEAR"_ Genesis 24:53a, _"jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment."_ We see the servant bringing an _"earring of gold"_ and putting it on her ear. Then he put _"bracelets for HER HANDS."_ This is a type of her works. First he put the nature of God in her hearing, then he put the nature of God in her works. Even as the hands are the servants of the body, so he made her the servant of God by putting those bracelets on her. When her brother saw the earring and bracelets on his sister's hand, he believed. Christians must have spiritual marks on them that will convince the world of their being with Christ.

The story goes on to the point where the servant (the man who represents the Holy Ghost) takes out other gifts (verse 53). He gave her _"silver"_ which means redemption, and more _"gold"_ which is the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4-11 bears out this thought.

_"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. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness ( phileo love); and to brotherly kindness charity (agape, God's love). For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."_ The type in Genesis is pointing us exactly to the very things that were repeated by the apostles in the New Testament.

Genesis 24:58 _,"And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go."_ Magnificent. The first thing that the bride must do as a response to the love and the entreaty of her husband is to be willing. She said, _"I will go."_ God wants willing people. The child of God who is to be married to Christ must be a willing participant in the marriage, not just the ceremony but in marriage and all it entails. The giving up of all things of the world and all things that one loves is to gain the great prize, the pearl of greatest price - to be the bride of Christ.

In Jeremiah 3:14, God says that He was married to Israel. God chose a people out of all the nations of the world, took them out of bondage in Egypt, and married them (became one with them). God is showing us His intention for the whole human race by using one people as an example. Verse 14 _,"Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion."_

There are other scriptures which show that because of adultery (Israel was having adulterous relationships with the sinful nations around them), God had to give her a writing of divorcement. Isaiah 50:1 _,"Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away."_ In God's order there can be divorce for adultery and for fornication. Since we are not teaching on divorce at this time, let us look more keenly at the marriage between God and His church, His people.

From Genesis to Malachi (all of the Old Testament), God is showing this marriage between Himself and His people. The New Testament, therefore, is bringing to a fulfillment this great marriage story and this coming together of God and His people.

### MATTHEW 22: THE MARRIAGE FEAST

We will compare Matthew 22 to Luke 14. Matthew 22:1 and 2 _,"And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son."_ Here we bring the whole idea of marriage down to the final point of reference; THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN. _"The king"_ represents God the Father and _"his son"_ represents Jesus Christ. _"Them that were bidden to the wedding"_ are representative of the bride.

Verses 3-14 _,"And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen."_

In this story, we see the plan of God. There were some who were _"bidden to the wedding."_ They could have been the chief persons there, but they refused because they had earthly things that were more precious to them than obeying their king. In this parable Jesus gives a direct Word of God saying that there are some people who have been called to the wedding to be the bride of Christ, but they will not be part of this bride class at all.

There was a man there who did not have his garment on. At these weddings, the guests were fitted out. After they went through the door, they were taken into a chamber and washed, and a wedding garment or a wedding gown was put on. All the guests would look alike. This man _"had not on a wedding garment."_ That simply means he never came in through the door. He must have come in through a window or some other opening. There are those who have been bidden, who are part of the whole wedding company (the church), who are not in the proper garment. The _"garment"_ (clothes, covering) represents righteousness.

In order to fully understand this parable which Jesus gave about the kingdom of heaven, there are certain things that we need to understand ourselves. For instance, there are many heavens. The heavens are all divided into threes. In each three, there are three, and so on. For the purpose of this word (this message), we only need to study a little bit on the basic concept of heaven. First of all, we categorize the kingdom of heaven into three basic categories.

Deuteronomy 10:14 _,"Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is."_ Here we see _"the heaven and the heaven of heavens;"_ meaning three heavens. In l Kings 8:27, Solomon praying to God says _,"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?"_ Here is another reference to _"heaven and the heaven of heavens."_ There are many more scriptures that could be quoted but these give the basic idea.

Let us identify these three basic realms of heaven (within these realms there are other realms). We have the invisible realms of heaven where the Spirit of God is, where the archangels are, and where men who are brought from the earth, who have been saved, are. We call this heaven, the kingdom of heaven. Then there is another kingdom of heaven in the earth here. Matthew 6:10 _,"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done IN EARTH, as it is in heaven."_ Just like the kingdom in heaven, there is a kingdom in the earth. We preach the message of the kingdom as Jesus Christ told us to do. There is a kingdom in heaven and a kingdom on earth. Wherever Jesus Christ is King, that is a kingdom.

Even as there is the kingdom without, and the kingdom in the invisible realms, there is a KINGDOM WITHIN. In Luke 17:21 Jesus said, _"Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is WITHIN YOU."_

Without much detail we can identify three realms of heaven. Jesus said in Matthew 22;2a, _"THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like unto."_ In Matthew 22:5 He said, _"But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise."_ We are reading about natural things as against spiritual things. This means that the earthiness, the worldliness, the natural things of this life are preventing some people from being married to God. They have other things.

We get a little more detail from the same story in Luke. Remember now, Matthew heard the story from Jesus, and Luke heard the story from eyewitnesses. It is possible that when eyewitnesses were there, Jesus made some further references, or just told the story a little different. Luke 14:18, _"And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused."_ Matthew just said that he went _"to his farm."_ Luke said he _"bought a piece of ground, and (he) must needs go and see it."_ In other words, the natural things of life were number one with him, and not the spiritual things of going to the wedding feast. He asked to be excused.

Verse 19 _,"And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused."_ I do not know if you realize that your Bible would never say _"five"_ unless _"five"_ had a specific meaning. The Bible is written as a book that has deep dimensional meaning. It has depth, it has height, it has width, and it has length. When you read the words _"five yoke of oxen"_ it simply means it has something to do with five **. Five is a type of the ministry, and to some people their ministry is much, much greater than their obedience to God**. I am glad the Scripture did not say sheep - HE DID NOT BUY SHEEP - HE BOUGHT OXEN. Oxen are driven, and the word PASTOR means one who keeps cows. The word SHEPHERD means one who keeps sheep. Here is this pastor (a cow keeper) who had to go to look after his herd.

Verse 20 _,"And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come."_ It is such a shame that many, many ministries and many, many people are married to their churches, and to them their religion and their church are more important than hearing the voice of Christ and going to the wedding feast. We will be very, very surprised to find that more church people will go to hell than any other group, because of believing more in their religious belief and traditions than believing in Christ and following the Word of God. God is calling people to a marriage, and people say, "Well, I am already married. I cannot come. Please excuse me."

### GOD WILL ALLOW THE OUTER COURT TO BE DESTROYED

Matthew 22:6 _,"And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, AND SLEW THEM."_ The Scripture says that they MURDERED THEM. The way that the world looks at Christianity and Christians, I do not think that it is long before the world begins AGAIN to murder Christians as they used to do in times past. We know that the murder right now is in secret, but the time is coming and is very soon, when all this hate of Christians, Christianity, and God is going to boil over, and they will again begin to murder Christians. Except, God says, it is only one type of Christian that will be murdered. I will show you this again, for fear you did not get it before.

Revelation 11:2 _,"But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."_ There is a period of time yet to come (a three-and-a-half-year period) wherein they will destroy the Outer Court Christianity. The people who know Jesus as Saviour and do not accept Him as Lord, but have many lords over them; they have their fields to look after, their cattle to look after, and have no time to become just obedient servants under the King Jesus - MAKING JESUS KING. Making Jesus King means that you are under the leadership and the headship of Jesus in every facet of your life. Those who cannot make Him king and governor over them are called Outer Court Christians. The Outer Court will be trampled under foot, because it is indefensible. God cannot defend disobedient people. When He tells you to turn to the right and you turn to the left, He cannot defend you.

Matthew 22:7 shows us a very peculiar thing. _"But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city."_ We have seen this destruction in history before. In God's dealings with the Jews, He allowed Nebuchadnezzar and other heathen armies to come, overrun them, and destroy them. The peculiar thing (I might add) is that the reason I am in the United States is because God gave me a message of the destruction of the United States, and it has not yet happened. I have a certain feeling that we are on the very verge of it, in spite of what anybody else might say. In spite of all the doctrines and preachings about us escaping in a rapture, and how God would not allow certain things to happen, I am telling you, brethren, the United States is ripe for destruction. When the United States goes down, the world is going down with it, and only God's intervention will save humanity from total annihilation.

I want to remind you of what Corrie Ten Boom said. She went to China and the Chinese Christians were begging her, "Please tell the brethren of the West that we expected the rapture, and when all the persecution started under the Communist government, we expected to be raptured any moment by God." IT NEVER HAPPENED and the church was bloodied and destroyed in the most horrible way. Some men were crucified with their heads down and many, many perished. Many were put in prison until they died, as was Watchman Nee.

I want you to know and to understand that GOD WILL ALLOW an Outer Court church to be destroyed. The people who were not destroyed were those who were in the inner courts of God, where God hid them. He said He will give the woman _"THE two wings of the great eagle"_ (the mighty mind of Christ) wherewith she might escape. See Revelation 12:14. We have come to the time when there is an army of the people of God who will neither hide nor escape, but will OVERTHROW and OVERCOME the forces of evil. The time is ripe, and God calls that army THE OVERCOMERS.

God is saying in the wedding feast of Matthew 22 that He is going to burn up their cities. The cities of this nation and the cities of the world are ripe for fire. Just like Sodom and Gomorrah were ripe and ready for fire, so these cities are ready for destruction. We will see it in our day. God will save His people.

The commandment in Luke 14:21b was to _"Go...into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind"_ which are those maimed by Satan and sin and destroyed by the world. God is sending us out after them. We should be very soul conscious at this time, for men and women are dying around us. We should not leave any stone unturned. We should not be afraid to witness before them and bring them to God, for the power of God is with us. The commandment in Matthew 22:9 to _"Go...and...bid"_ them IS FOR THIS TIME. God is bringing in the _"maimed, and the halt."_ I personally believe that He has already rejected those who have rejected Him. Those who prefer their traditions and everything else before God and before Christ as King have already been rejected.

I pray that God might stir your heart as you read this Word to turn your heart to God and to give Him the very center of your being, that He might deliver you from every other bondage in your life. When the heart is God's, the kingdom will be taken. You will know Him as King once your heart is His. You have nothing to do except to turn your heart to God. You say, "O Lord, but my heart is on this thing. How can I get my heart off?" You cannot get your heart off. You must turn your heart to God, and He will remove all the devils off of you as soon as you make the commitment to Him.

Matthew 22:11 _,"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment." "A wedding garment"_ means righteousness. A man without righteousness is a man who could not be, should not have been, in the wedding feast. Because the wedding feast is here on earth, and the food that is being fed to the people of God to strengthen them for the midnight hour is being given out, there are some who are taking it, who are NOT absorbing it. It is not doing them any good. It does not make them righteous. We need to begin to make sure that our calling and election is secure under Christ, lest we be among those who are _"cast...into outer darkness,"_ verse 13.

_"Outer darkness"_ is described as a place where _"there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."_ I do believe that this _"outer darkness"_ is the darkness of the tribulation. The tribulation is getting darker, and darker, and darker. The tribulation started many years ago, and every year it gets worse, and worse, and worse. There is no such thing in the Bible as a seven-year tribulation. It was never in the Bible and never put there by God. Man has misinterpreted scriptures and said that there are seven years of tribulation. There are no seven years of tribulation.

Tribulation has been going on from 1970 until now (based on the interpretation of a vision given me by God), and that is almost 30 years. It is still getting worse every year, and I do not think we have many years left. Do not let anyone deceive you. The people who say that they are going to have a pre-trib rapture - their game is already over, because we are in the tribulation. There could never be a pre-trib rapture any more. The blind will continue to lead the blind, but everyone who is ANOINTED OF THE LORD will hear the Word of God and will turn to the truth and be delivered.

### "MANY ARE EKKLESIA, BUT FEW ARE EKLEKTOS"

In Matthew 22:14 we read _, "For many are called, but few are chosen."_ _"For many are ekklesia, but few are eklektos"_ \- selected, chosen ones. Let me touch on that Word again. In Matthew 24, Jesus Christ is speaking about the _"tribulation."_ In verses 21 and 22 He said, _"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's (eklektos) sake those days shall be shortened." Here again, God is saying that for some of the selected ones (those selected to deliver the others)"but for (their) sake (the) days (of the tribulation) shall be shortened."_

In order to have a little better understanding of the word elect, I am going to share a few scriptures with you which will be self-explanatory. Isaiah 42:1 _,"Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine ELECT, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: He (speaking of Jesus Christ Himself) shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."_ Isaiah 45:4, _"For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine ELECT, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me."_ Jesus was called God's _"ELECT."_ Israel was called God's _"ELECT."_ In 2 John 1, the church is called _"the ELECT." "The elder unto the ELECT lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth."_ I would deduce that the Body of Christ, the bride of Christ, is this _"ELECT lady."_ If we go through the whole of the Scriptures, we can know for sure that this is true. _"The ELECT LADY"_ is the BRIDE OF CHRIST.

### MATTHEW 25: THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB

We will continue to consider the MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB by going into Matthew 25 where Jesus again uses the parable regarding a marriage to describe certain key features of the marriage of Christ and His church. The first verse begins _,"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom."_ Look at the word _"ten."_ The Scripture has specific meaning for all things. Ten is one of the perfect numbers. The ten commandments signify that it is a number of law and order. Ten, therefore, speaks of rulership and government. The Lord's prayer is completed in ten clauses.

The tithe is a TENTH of one's earnings. It signifies that part of the human person that God owns (a claim). It is as if you are paying Him rent for being what you are. God's tithe is His, not yours. YOU OWE HIM. Ten was the number of the redemption money. It was ten gerahs. A gerah was half a shekel. We find this in Exodus 30:12-16. The law in Israel was that every male that was numbered over twenty years of age had to pay this sum of money to God. It was a claim that God had on him. The firstborn had to pay ten times that amount of money. The number ten shows rulership, government.

The antichrist government has seven heads and ten horns. In Daniel 2 where the image (the world power) was seen, the last part of it had ten toes and that is the section where God will strike with _"the stone...cut out of the mountain without hands."_ Ten there shows that evil rulership, evil government will be put down by God's government. In Exodus and Numbers, the Tabernacle is mentioned ten times as the TABERNACLE OF WITNESS (the dwelling place of God). The final temple or tabernacle is the human being. We become the dwelling place of God.

Why did Jesus say _,"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins..."_? We are looking at the kingdom on earth, the kingdom here of heaven. It is like _"ten virgins."_ These ten virgins, therefore, must represent the very cream of the church. They were _"VIRGINS."_ They were well prepared, well ready for the wedding, but there was something wrong with five of them. What was wrong with the five was not in their outward preparation. It was something inward. He said they _"were foolish."_ Verse 2 _,"And five of them were wise, and five were foolish."_ We are going to see the separating line in the church, in this what we call the Body of Christ. There is a separating line _. "Five..wise, and five...foolish"_ would appear to the casual viewer that we are writing about half of the church being wise, and half of the church being foolish. This is not so. The wise in the church are only a remnant, and it is much less than half.

### THE NUMBER FIVE HAS A MEANING

Why then _"five"_? The reason _"five"_ is because of the NUMBER FIVE and what it means. Five has two basic meanings in Scripture. The first meaning is GRACE, and the second meaning is SERVICE, SERVANTSHIP, MINISTRY. The body is the type of the temple of the living God, therefore, the five fingers of the hand represent those that serve the rest of the body. You wash yourself with your hand. Your hand does everything for you. Let us make sure that we see it, understand it, and believe it in the Word of God before we go on building upon these pillars without knowledge. Let us get the knowledge first.

We have previously touched on the numbers of the letters, words, phrases, and sentences in Scripture. THEY DO HAVE MEANING. GEMATRIA is the use of the numerical value of the letters of the alphabet, instead of the figures. See "Numbers in Scripture," by E.W. Bullinger, page 48. It is the science of adding the numerical value of the letters of a word or word phrases together. For instance, the word for earth is `erets in the Hebrew. We find the letters that comprise this word add up to 296 which is divisible by the number 4 which stands for tribulation, or earthy. The word for heaven, in the Hebrew, is shamayim, and this word carries the letters sh (in English), shin (in Hebrew), m, y, and m. If we took all these letters, and added them together, they would come up to 395, a multiple of 5, which means grace.

We can find truth in the Word of God by going into the gematria of the words. For instance, a multiple of 5 is the word GRACE. In the Greek, grace is charis, and the number adds up to 725, 5 x 5 x 29. It is another word in which five is divisible into the numerical value of the word. We are building up this understanding to show you certain things in the Scripture where Jesus speaks about _"five of them were wise, and five were foolish."_ These were people who had received the maximum grace of God, and it had brought them into a place where they were well dressed; there was no flaw in their righteousness. Yet, one set was foolish and one was wise.

DIVINE GRACE is something given to the unworthy. Romans 3:24, _"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."_ That word _"FREELY"_ is a word that means gratis; for nothing; nothing given in return; God's divine favor. In Genesis 15:9 we see a marvelous truth. _"And he said unto him (God speaking to Abraham), Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."_ There were FIVE sacrifices that Abraham had to take to God - the heifer, the goat, the ram, the turtledove, and the pigeon. This was because God was telling Abraham that he was going to walk in His grace. It was not because Abraham was from a good family. It was not because he was better than anybody else. It was just because God chose him, and this was all grace, unmerited favor.

God changed Abraham's name in Genesis 17:5. _"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee."_ A-B-R-A-H-A-M. There was an H inserted in his name which represents the fifth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and the value is 5. God added grace into the very name of AbraHam.

Let me mention a classic case where God showed grace to His servant David in battle against Goliath, the Philistine. It was a total mismatch. Therefore, the grace of God came into His servant David. 1 Samuel 17:40, _"And he (David) took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine."_ David _"chose five...stones."_ We can see the _"five"_ is significant here. God knew that David would only use one stone, because it was a one-shot deal. If he had missed, then the Philistine would get him. David could not miss, because the stone was directed of God and this has a specific meaning.

As a servant of God, it was through the grace and mercy of God that David would kill the Philistine, Goliath, and not through his own power. This is proven, because the stone sank into the frontal lobe of the giant. He had on armor over his head, his shoulders, and his body, and there was only one vulnerable place - right between the armor in the center of his forehead. There the stone went through. Now you know that a stone had to have the force of a bullet in order to pierce the frontal lobe of an individual. His forehead was breached by the stone, sent directly from God, and not from David. Any one of the five-fold ministry, any one of the five servants of God could have done the job upon the giant. This definitely shows us that the giants in our lives can be felled by any child of God working in faith with God, because it is God's will and God's grace that is with us.

Let us touch briefly upon Ephesians 4:11 and 12. " _And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."_ Five ministries are given to the church; five sacrifices were given by Abraham. The children of Abraham by faith receive a ministry, a servantship of five different brackets of operation: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers.

God has ordained that the saints will do the ministry for it is written in Daniel that _"the saints"_ will _"take the kingdom."_ It is not the apostles who will take the kingdom, nor the prophets, nor the evangelists, nor the shepherds, nor the teachers; but it is _"the saints, for the work of the ministry."_ Because of this, God ordained five who minister through His grace; not through man's efforts, not through man's power. He said _"the stone...cut out of the mountain without hands"_ would smite the image and bring down the power of the world (Babylon) and then would grind it to pieces. It is not the stone, but it is the grace of God; it is not the five-fold ministry, but the grace of God in the five-fold ministry that will do it. Grace and ministry work together to produce the perfecting of the saints, bringing the church to its full stature.

Ephesians 4:13 _,"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."_ The _"perfect man"_ is Christ as head, and humanity as the body. The _"perfect man"_ is not a divided church brought together under a human head. The _"perfect man"_ is the full _"measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."_ We have Christ. We have a little of Him. We want all of Him. We want to be filled full with Christ so that when we speak it will be Christ, when we think it will be Christ, when we feel (emotions) it will be Christ, when we desire it will be Christ, and our will will be the will of the Father which is Christ also.

Verses 14 and 15 _,"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ."_ The perfect church has a headquarters in heaven, and _"the head"_ of the perfect church is _"Christ."_ No more bishops, cardinals, popes, or overseers; only Christ being the head of this church. Revelation l9:7a _,"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB is come."_

Matthew 25:3-13 _,"They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."_

This whole parable is a type of the coming of Jesus, and it tells us about the virgins who should meet Him, who are the type of the church. They will meet the Lord and be with Him forever. When the bridegroom goes in, the bridegroom and the bride become one. When they come out it will be the Man child that comes out. The head will be Christ, and the body will be the church. This is symbolism used to describe something that could not be described otherwise. God saw that this was the best way to describe it to humanity.

### THE WISE VIRGINS: WHAT DO THEY REPRESENT?

Let us look at the basic points here to see if we can glean some truth which will be relevant to the marriage of the Lamb. First, we read that there were _"VIRGINS."_ If they were virgins, they were Christians. Every place in the Bible wherein the word "VIRGIN" is used it refers to those that are clean, and those that are godly, and those that are well-dressed with the righteousness of God.

Isaiah 62:5 _,"For as a young man marrieth a VIRGIN, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee."_ Here we see a metaphorical reference to the word _"VIRGIN."_ It is parabolic in that it speaks of _"VIRGIN"_ in the prophetic sense to mean a people that are not spoiled. It is a spiritual reference to the word _"VIRGIN."_ Jeremiah 14:17 _,"Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the VIRGIN daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow_." God is referring to a people as a _"VIRGIN daughter."_

Two other words we need to look into are LAMPS and VESSELS. What does the word LAMP mean spiritually in Scripture? Proverbs 20:27 _,"The spirit of man is the candle (or the LAMP) of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly."_ Paraphrasing this verse means that the spirit of man is God's LAMP searching through the soul. Jeremiah 22:28 _,"Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a VESSEL wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?"_ In this verse, in the prophetic sense, a man is referred to as _"a VESSEL."_

In the New Testament there are references to us as VESSELS. In Acts 9:15 God says to Ananias about Paul, _"But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen VESSEL unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."_ In l Thessalonians 4:4 _,"That every one of you should know how to possess his VESSEL in sanctification and honour."_ l Peter 3:7 _,"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker VESSEL, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."_ We are sure now that the _"LAMP"_ means the spirit of man, and the _"VESSEL"_ means the soul of the man or the man himself.

Matthew 25:2 _,"And five of them were wise, and five were foolish."_ Verse 3 _,"They that were foolish took their LAMPS, and took no oil with them."_ In other words, the lamps were full, but the vessels were empty. The _"oil"_ is referred to as the Holy Spirit or the anointing oil. The anointing oil is a type of Christ Himself. Oil always refers to the Holy Spirit or to Christ. The word ANOINTING is the word CHRIST. In the Hebrew, the Messiah (Jesus Christ) is the Anointed One.

The foolish virgins had the Christ in their spirit, but they did not have Him in their soul. The spirit of man is that place that is filled with the Spirit of God when a man is baptized in the Holy Ghost. God meets man Spirit to spirit. Romans 8:16 _,"The Spirit itself (Himself) beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."_ GOD MEETS US SPIRIT TO SPIRIT! Psalm 42:7 _,"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me."_ Spirit to spirit, deep to deep is another way of saying that God, who is deep, will meet us in the deep.

It cannot be overemphasized that the bride of Christ must have that union with Christ, which a bride ought to have with her husband. The WISE VIRGINS had the Spirit of God in their spirit and the Spirit of God in their soul. The mind was taken with the Spirit of God, the emotions were taken and changed by the Spirit of God; a metamorphosis of the soul was accomplished through the Spirit of God being in the different areas and sections of the soul of man and it was changed. The desires were changed to the desires of God. You begin to desire the things God desires. You begin to want the things that God wants. You have a will that is attached, firmly rooted and grounded in the will of the Father, and you do not want to do anything else but to please God, to do His will.

This change in the soul must occur before the Christ can come into the soul. THE CHRIST WANTS TO BE IN THE SOUL. The Christ is that oil in the lamp; He wants to be in the soul. This is His destination. His throne lies in the soul of man. He cannot come in, if the mind is not bent and trained and disciplined to be the mind of Christ. If the emotions are wild - if there is anger and wickedness in the emotions, God cannot come in. Psalm 45:6a and 7a _,"Thy throne, O God, is for ever...Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness."_ God cannot come and bring His throne into a place of wickedness. Man's soul must be changed by the Spirit of God. The blood of Jesus came in first. Then the person of Christ will come in to dwell in the soul, and the soul will become the house of God, or the throne of the living God. This is what the wise virgin would look like. The foolish virgin will have none of this in the soul.

Let us explain this a little further. Two people are saved. You know them. They are saved; both of them had an experience with Jesus Christ. Both of them had a baptism wherein they said, "Lord God, I will die with you, and I will resurrect with you." They both had a baptism. Yet, one of them will be able to manifest in the Spirit. He will be able to use the gifts, bring great blessing to others, do many things in the Spirit, but his personal life is not changed. He can get angry. I know some preachers who can do great miracles, but they will get angry. I have known preachers who perform great miracles, but they still commit fornication and adultery. You have seen it, and many people wonder over it. It is because that which is in the spirit has not been allowed to possess the soul. Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 9:27," _But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."_

Let us not forget that it is possible that a person can manifest in the Spirit (have the Spirit in his spirit) and his soul is jejune and bare as a desert, and he needs to get the Spirit in his soul. In Matthew 6:10, when the brethren asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He said, _"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."_ This means that whatever is in the heaven realms, we want it to come in the earth realms. Heaven came down into my spirit when I was baptized in the Holy Ghost. That means that the Holy Ghost came down and took charge of my spirit. The spirit of man became a part of the heavenlies. Now this heaven that is in my spirit with the glory of God, with the goodness of God - I am praying that this heaven comes into my soul realm. When it comes into my soul and the soul is completely taken, then the next step will be that heaven will appear in the earth and make the earth like heaven. THIS IS THE PLAN OF GOD.

The LIGHT of the lamp would be the GLORY OF GOD which comes from the burning of the oil and the wick. The wick would be the individual. We are the wick. (Remember the Lampstand in the Tabernacle.) When this burning continues it brings forth a glory to God. We deny ourselves, we take up our cross and we follow Jesus. Therefore, there is a burning from which comes a light, the glory of God. In Matthew 5:16, the Lord Jesus said _,"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."_ The five wise and five foolish virgins HAD LIGHT. It shows that light is coming out of the lives of the brethren. However, the time when the light is going to be tested and the time when we would need it the most would be _"at midnight."_ The word _"MIDNIGHT"_ has a special connotation, a special understanding.

### THE SPECIAL MEANING OF MIDNIGHT

Let us look in Scripture to see what midnight really means. Exodus 12:29 _,"And it came to pass, that at MIDNIGHT the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle."_ _"At midnight"_ there was destruction and judgment upon sin. Something else happened. While some were dying, some were being made alive. Some were out in the darkness, some were being slain by evil spirits, and others were ready to go to be delivered. The slave was set free. Bondage was loosed at last. _"Out of Egypt have I called my son,"_ Matthew 2:15b. The children of Israel were ready to be delivered. We can see the TWO-FOLD meaning of midnight. _"Midnight"_ means destruction, testing, and trial, but it also means DELIVERANCE.

Judges 16:3 _,"And Samson lay till MIDNIGHT, and arose at MIDNIGHT, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron."_ We see here again at midnight there was destruction and judgment. Samson rose up and the power of God mightily moved. This is not human to lift off a gate probably weighing 100 tons. It is not human. It is God! Here again we see the grace of God moving to bring down the power of the enemy. If you will notice, there was destruction but there was deliverance. Samson was delivered for they were waiting to kill him.

Ruth 3:8 and 9 has another reference to midnight. _"And it came to pass at MIDNIGHT, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman."_ Boaz is a type of the Christ in this story, and Ruth is a type of the church. The spreading of his garment over her (covering her) at midnight delivered her from the destruction that could await her if she was caught in the threshing floor where men were supposed to be. This little story (the love story between Ruth and Boaz) is a type of the story of Jesus Christ and His church. At midnight, He will put a mantle of deliverance over His people so that _"the destruction that wasteth"_ at midnight will not destroy them.

We can conclude therefore that spiritually speaking the word _"midnight"_ refers to the darkest part of time on earth. There is a midnight hour, a time when the earth will come near to extinction or annihilation by wicked men and Satan, the devil. At that very moment, God must intervene to save His people and to save the earth.

In this parable concerning the coming of Jesus Christ and the bride going into the bride chamber, we notice God telling us exactly when He will come. He says He will come when it is so dark on the earth that it could not be worse. It will be the darkest hour. AND THEN _"Behold, the bridegroom cometh."_ Midnight - destruction - darkness - in the midst of terror, in the midst of death, Jesus Christ will come. That is the time when man will need oil in his vessel to keep his lamp burning because it will be a very trying time. It will be a very, very difficult time when Jesus comes. When people are under pressure, in great distress, in great torment - this is the time Jesus says that He will come.

Jesus spoke a word in Mark 13:35 when He told them to watch. _"WATCH ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning."_ If we took the word in the natural, it would mean that when Jesus comes it will be every one of these times for someone in some part of the earth. This particular phrase in Matthew 25 is speaking about the bridegroom coming in the midst of destruction, terror, and darkness.

We believe that this coming of Jesus Christ is the coming within, because the Scripture tells us that _"the kingdom of God is within,"_ Luke 17:21. When Jesus Christ comes in His fullness within, the fullness that we have been praying for _("Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth")_ will take place. This earth will become God's heaven and His dwelling place.

Someone says, "Oh Brother Ces, I have Christ in me already, and I have the Holy Ghost in me already!" The question I would ask is, "Are you satisfied that you are already perfected?" If that person answers "yes," then that person does not have any understanding of what God is all about. If that person can say, "No, I am not satisfied" then I will say to him, "Then that is the satisfaction that will come to him." God has ordained a special time in which He will bring that satisfaction, that deliverance, that indwelling, that coming into His temple in His fullness that we are praying for.

What about the rest of the story? What about those who are outside? The Bible said that _"they went to buy."_ They went out in the tribulation, they received the tribulation and the destruction, and they got oil. They came back unto the bridegroom and said _,"Lord, Lord, open to us."_ _"He...said...I know you not."_ This utterance of Christ to those who were patiently waiting for His return is indeed an indictment upon one section of the church. It should be taken very, very seriously. _"I know you not"_ simply means, "I am not acquainted with you. You are not one of my acquaintances in the bridal chamber, with the bride. This is a very private and special place to be, and the door is shut. No more persons will be allowed into this bride class. This is it. I do not know who could be outside knocking at this time. I do not know you."

These people who had been waiting for the Lord were well dressed and were well attired, for their righteousness on the OUTWARD was the same as those who were in the bridal chamber. Nevertheless, they lacked one thing. That which they contained in their spirit was not transferred to their soul. Jesus came and died to save man's soul. He did not come to die to save man's spirit. If the soul is not saved, if the soul is not changed, if the soul does not undergo this metamorphosis then the individual has lost out with God. This was the aim of Jesus Christ coming and dying. It was to save the soul. We have to be very careful that our souls are responding to God and that our souls are growing in the things of God as Jesus Christ intends it to.

We can study a lot in the Scriptures and we can learn a lot of things about God, but TO BECOME WHAT WE LEARN IS WHAT GOD WANTS. 2 Corinthians 3:18 _,"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."_ As we behold the glory of God, we ourselves become the glory of God. WHATEVER WE BEHOLD, WE BECOME. We should receive of God that which we perceive.

God is saying that the foolish virgins did not allow the thing that they perceived to enter into their soul to become what they perceived, but they received into their spirits and they believed that what they received into their spirit was what they were. They had not yet become what they had received, because they locked the doors. There are so many doors in the soul and they closed the doors. Christ said, in Revelation 3:20 _,"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."_

On the other hand, the wise virgins not only received the glory of God and the blessings in their spirits, but they became what they received. They allowed it to enter into their souls. In plainer language, if you are performing miracles, having great gifts of vision, speaking in tongues, prophesying, and all the gifts that God could give you, and you are not changed by these, you are a loser. If the seed of Christ has not been planted in the womb of your soul, then, though men count you as great, you will lose out with God. God's will (His intention) for us is that we become what we behold.

### THE LAMB COMPANY

Revelation 19:7 _,"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."_

Genesis 22:7 and 8 tell us the beautiful story of Isaac and his father Abraham. _"And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My Father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide HIMSELF a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together."_ You know the rest of the story. Abraham took Isaac to slay him as the Lord had told him to do. The angel stopped him. There was a lamb in the thicket and that lamb was Christ. He slew that lamb. The word "lamb" is referring to a sacrificial Christ. Every time _"lamb"_ is referred to in the Bible for Christ, it is referring to Christ in His role as a sacrifice. A specific meaning of this phrase is found in Revelation 14.

Verse 1 _,"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads."_ Why is _"a Lamb"_ connected now with the _"hundred and forty and four thousand"_? Remember, we have already explained the _"hundred forty and four thousand."_ It is twelve multiplied by twelve; the completed man multiplied by the completed Body. That is 144. Zero, zero, zero would be the fullness of Christ. Christ is the zero, or the zora, or the seed. These were standing with Christ, which means they had come through the same thing that the Lamb, Christ, had come through, and were now part of a Lamb company.

Jesus taught very clearly that there should be such a company. He taught it daily in many places. Matthew 16:24 _,"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and FOLLOW me."_ Luke recorded these words with even greater emphasis. Luke 9:23 _,"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and FOLLOW me."_

In Revelation 14, we are told who these 144,000, who _"follow the Lamb,"_ are. Verse 4, _"These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which FOLLOW the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb."_ Now we see who these are. Notice it said, _"THEY...were not defiled with women."_ Of course "They" (A COMPANY OF PEOPLE) will include men and women, so we have to look at it spiritually. _"They...were not defiled"_ with harlot CHURCHES. "They...were not defiled" by the woman church, the harlot, the one who had turned against God.

Back to Revelation 11, we see there are _"Two Witnesses."_ These _"Two Witnesses"_ represent the same 144,000 company, the same Elect company, the same Man child company. God is showing us the thing from every angle. They are God's witnesses. Verse 7 _,"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."_ Part of the church is going to walk through the same Lamb sacrifice that Jesus walked through. Part of the church is going to also be sacrificed and killed. They will FOLLOW Jesus Christ not only in His death, but also in His resurrection. Verse 11 _,"And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them."_

We see this picture again in John 15:20 and 21. _"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me."_ 2 Corinthians 1:7 _,"And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation."_ We see here again that the Christian suffers with Christ.

In Colossians 1:24, Paul speaks out even more plainly that the Christian suffers with Christ, with the Lamb. _"Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church."_ To _"fill up"_ the sufferings of Christ does not mean that Christ's suffering was not enough, or sufficient, for our salvation. What it does mean is that it is necessary for the church, for the ministry, for the brethren to suffer a certain amount to bring the church into perfection, between the time of Christ's suffering and the end of the church when the church comes into the fullness of Christ. The suffering then does not necessarily mean that we have to do anything more to make salvation perfect, but that we have to suffer in order to overcome the flesh (the things that have been planted in us as human beings) so that we might come forth and be like Christ.

Romans 12:1 _,"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."_ It would seem that the Word of God is saying that we must present this body as a sacrifice to God or else this body will rise up against us and overthrow us. This body has to be given up in order to appropriate that which God has given. In other words, you cannot appropriate the fullness of Christ unless you get rid of the fullness of man.

The position of the Lamb and the church being married and becoming one needs to be qualified. The Lord is not going to have an unequally-yoked marriage. He is not going to be unequally yoked with a bride that is not equal to Him. Therefore, He must bring the bride to be equal to Him. This bride will only come to this place through the suffering of the cross - not just His cross, but our cross. He says that we must take up our cross and FOLLOW after Him, if we would be His disciples. When Christ suffered on Calvary, He said, "It is finished." That means that the work was finished. What He had to do to bring man into the kingdom of God was finished. Therefore, He is not coming back here to finish up anything. When Jesus Christ appears in the earth it will be a finished work. The job will be finished in us. We need to suffer in order to be delivered from that which is hindering us at this present moment from being like Christ.

Some look at it and say, "We have Christ already. What else do we want?" We want what Jesus said we should pray for, _"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."_ What is being done in heaven we want to be done in our earth, IN US. Even as the angels move in heaven, even as they obey the Lord in heaven, we want God to dwell in us, and walk in us, and talk in us (according to the promise), and be in us, AS HE IS IN HEAVEN.

The Spirit of Christ came in Jesus, and Jesus became the Lamb and offered Himself for the whole world. The Spirit of Christ next came in the Holy Ghost and came into us. The Holy Ghost is God and the Holy Ghost, being God, is Holy Ghost, Son, and Father. When Jesus was here, He was and is Son, Father, and Holy Ghost. God the Father is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. You cannot separate God. Therefore God in Christ, the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ, made Jesus Christ into the Lamb of Calvary. God in us, the Holy Spirit in us, the Christ in us will also give us the nature of the Lamb. Christ is being offered up in Jesus, and Christ is here being offered up in us, and Christ will be offered up in the Man child.

### THE "EWE LAMB"

Let me show you in the Word of God where the words "EWE LAMB" appear and what they mean. In 2 Samuel 12:3 and 4, Nathan tells David, _"But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe (female) lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him."_

David got angry when Nathan the prophet told him this, and he began to give out the law as to what should happen to this man - how he should restore the lamb fourfold unto this other man. Then Nathan the prophet told David, _"Thou art the man."_ The truth is that the _"ewe lamb"_ was Uriah's wife with whom David had committed adultery. The point that I am writing here is that a woman was called a _"ewe lamb"_ in the Word of God. I am going to show you another _"ewe lamb"_ in the Word of God.

We know the Levitical law points to Jesus Christ. Leviticus 14:10, _"And on the eighth day he shall take TWO HE LAMBS without blemish, and ONE EWE LAMB of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil."_ This offering was to be made for leprosy. In the types and shadows of the Word of God, leprosy is a type of sin. To cleanse this fearful disease there had to be THREE LAMBS. Notice the order in which these lambs were slain.

Verses 12-14 _,"And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot."_

In one other place in Scripture there are THREE LAMBS OFFERED. The first one was the _"HE lamb,"_ the second one was the _"EWE lamb,"_ and the third one was the _"HE lamb."_ (The first offering we mentioned was for the cleansing of leprosy.) The following offering was when a Nazarite vow was completed. Numbers 6:14 _,"And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one HE lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one EWE (she) lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one RAM without blemish for peace offerings."_

### WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE "EWE LAMB"?

In 2 Samuel 12 the _"ewe lamb"_ was the man's wife. This _"ewe lamb"_ is the wife of Christ. The first lamb is Christ, offered as the "He lamb" (Jesus Christ). In other words, Christ was in Jesus. The second person of the Godhead, Christ, was in Jesus. So Jesus Christ was the first lamb. Christ in the church is again being offered because of the sin that is in us. Sin has to be purged. We see that it is a burnt offering; burning out the sin. Christ is in us again suffering with us as the _"ewe lamb."_

In the evening, the last offering, the evening sacrifice will be the _"he lamb"_ again which will be that company of people filled with the fullness of Christ - the Man child company - the 144,000 - the Samson company. In the case of Samson he was offered. He had to die because he had to be purged and made holy. God used him as a type of the church to show that he had to go through death. Jesus Christ went through death. Revelation 14:4 says that this company of people _,"virgins...redeemed...the firstfruits,"_ will _"FOLLOW"_ Him _"whithersoever He goeth."_

Revelation 14:1 says that _"on...mount Sion"_ was the Christ with the 144,000 of the company of the Lamb, and this brings us back to the thought of Jesus Christ; _"THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB IS COME."_ He did not say the marriage of Christ and the church is come. He did not say the marriage of the Saviour is come. _"The marriage of the Lamb"_ means in His capacity as a Lamb. This is the capacity in which He will marry a church which is a LAMB CHURCH.

The conclusion of this thought is that we see Christ in Jesus being crucified, dying, and shedding the blood to give us the following mandate: CHRIST IN US. We will use that mandate to destroy the power of sin and the power of the flesh, not only in us, but in the whole earth. In other words, Christ in the man child will be the final production of Christ being brought forth in the earth to bring total deliverance to humanity. As the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11, Christ will lead this church into a final sacrifice where they love not their lives unto death, and they will be the Firstfruits of the resurrection. It will be Jesus Christ, first, then the Firstfruits coming IN CHRIST. See 1 Corinthians 15:23.

It will be Christ again. The resurrection is IN CHRIST and these people will be the first of the Christ company who are IN CHRIST. Not in themselves, not in churches, not in organizations, not in anything, but IN CHRIST. We see this phrase "IN CHRIST" repeated over and over again in Ephesians. Ephesians 1:10 _,"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things IN CHRIST, both which are IN HEAVEN_ (Peter, Paul, James, John - all those who went before), _and which are on earth; even in him."_

### "HIS WIFE HATH MADE HERSELF READY"

This marriage of the Lamb is something that God is doing even right now. God is strengthening the bride. Let us look at the last phrase of Revelation 19:7. _"And his wife hath made herself READY."_ The bride is going to MAKE HERSELF ready. In the natural, a bride has many attendants who help her to dress and to be prepared. The Scriptures say that this bride _"hath made HERSELF ready."_ In 2 Corinthians 11:2 the apostle Paul says _,"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."_

Luke 12:40 _,"Be ye therefore READY also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not."_ God is telling us to _"be...READY."_ God expects us to use the tools which He has provided in the Word of God to prepare ourselves, to get ourselves ready for His coming. 1 Corinthians 16:13 _,"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."_

Peter states very clearly and even outlines eight steps for us to climb up into _"the DIVINE NATURE."_ 2 Peter 1:4," _Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."_ We cannot have _"the divine nature"_ unless we escape the corruption and the lust. We must first get out of the corruption, out of the lust, and then the divine nature will come to us. How can we do that? We can do that by SUBMITTING to the Spirit of God and submitting to the things that God will do for us to bring us into this nature.

We have to suffer in order to attain this nature. 2 Peter 1:5-11 _,"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your FAITH virtue; and to VIRTUE knowledge; And to KNOWLEDGE temperance; and to TEMPERANCE patience; and to PATIENCE godliness; And to GODLINESS brotherly kindness; and to BROTHERLY KINDNESS charity (the Greek is agape, GOD'S LOVE). For if these things be IN YOU, and abound, they MAKE YOU that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, GIVE DILIGENCE to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye SHALL NEVER FALL: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."_

The bride then must use the precious promises of God to make herself ready; must use the Word of God to make herself ready; must use the power of the Holy Ghost to make herself ready. Even the gifts of the Spirit, as God gives to the believer, are designed to help the bride get ready.

This is the second time that God has chosen a people in the earth to which He would marry. God married Israel, a chosen people. Isaiah 54:5 and 6 _,"For thy Maker is thine HUSBAND; the LORD of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God."_ We see the same thought brought forth again in Jeremiah 3:14 _."Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am MARRIED unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion."_

Remember that marriage must be two-sided. People make vows one to another. The children of Israel did vow to God that they would obey Him and would follow His voice, and He said that He would make them a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a chosen generation. God actually made promises to Israel and Israel made promises to God and that constituted a marriage. Hosea 2:19 and 20 _,"And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD."_

There was also a divorce between God and Israel. Jeremiah 3:8, _"And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also."_ The playing of the harlot, the defiling of the temple of God can cause a divorce; and so there was a MARRIAGE and a DIVORCE.

We are writing about the marriage of the Lamb wherein Christ is going to marry a part of the church. Many people believe that it is the whole church that Jesus is marrying, but it can be proven from Matthew 25 (the ten virgins) that only a part of the church was ready to be married. The Lord says, _"The marriage of the Lamb is come."_ NOW He is talking about marrying the Israel of God, the Church, the Body of Christ, the Elect, the 144,000, the Firstfruits - those who have attained unto His righteousness THROUGH FAITH.

### THIS MARRIAGE IN CHRIST

One wonders then how is this marriage between God and man going to be? What is it going to be like? Of course when a man and a woman are married we know what it is like. The Scripture says they should become _"one flesh."_ In their imperfections, sometimes, they are really divided. Thinking of this marriage as God would have it in perfection, what will it be like? In John 14:17, Jesus explains the entrance of the Spirit into the human body, the human being, and the soul. _"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know Him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be IN YOU."_ It is like saying they become _"ONE FLESH"_ \- God in man, dwelling in man, being part of man's function. Therefore, man would have to be changed. His daily function, his mind operation, the operation of his soul, his very feelings have to be changed because there is an incorporation of God inside of the man. This man, who has received the baptism of the Holy Ghost in his spirit and whose soul the Holy Ghost is trying and striving to get into, cannot function like an ordinary man.

Judas, His brother, could not understand it. Verse 22 _,"Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world ?"_ Think of two people sitting together and God is manifesting to one and not to the other. Verse 23 _,"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."_ This _"with him"_ could be translated "within him." The human being cannot love God UNLESS he begins to hate some of the things of this world. Only then, the love of God begins to come into him. God is contrary to most of what is transpiring here in this life.

Jesus continues to explain to Judas. Verse 26 _,"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."_ Jesus meant that man would have an inward tutor, the Holy Ghost, that would begin to teach him. When he hears something that is not of God, something inside of him says, "No, No!" There is a little "No No" spirit inside of him. If he continues to listen to that small voice then the voice becomes bigger, and he becomes surer of what the voice is saying. That is how God begins to direct the man from the inside.

John 17 shows us something more of this marriage that is taking place. In verse 23a Jesus describes it and He says, _"I in them_ (that means Christ in us _), and thou in me_ (the Father is in Christ, therefore we have Christ and the Father _), that they may be made perfect in one."_ One sign that must come forth from BEING ONE is being IN CHRIST. Christ in us is so that we will get IN CHRIST. We become one IN CHRIST. Verse 23b, _"and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."_ The union then is no longer just a unity but a UNION. This union brings man into a oneness with God, because one person is in Christ, and the other person is in Christ.

The words _"IN CHRIST"_ are specific. The man _"in Christ"_ is not part of himself anymore, he is no longer part of his family BUT HE IS PART OF GOD. It is like you being inside a person - you do not make the decisions, the person makes the decisions. If I am _"in Christ,"_ wherever Christ goes I go. When I have Christ in me, wherever I go Christ has to go. If Christ says to you, "Do not go to such and such a place" and you go there He cannot leave you because you went there. He is still in you but you took Him where He did not want to go. When you are "IN CHRIST," He takes you where you do not want to go. He is the controlling factor in your life. He is the head, and you are only a part of the Body. The Body does not lead the head. It is the head that leads the Body.

The union of the marriage of Christ and the church is when Christ is head. If Christ is your head and Christ is my head, and we are all functioning under the same head, then we must be united. There is no way that we can be separated. My right hand cannot be separated from my left hand when they both are being motivated and ordered by the same brain. So it is with every part of my body. God gave the beautiful body as a type of His great kingdom so that we would understand more perfectly what God requires.

Ephesians 5:23 and 24 _,"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."_ The unity between a man and his wife should be like that of Christ and the church. Christ and the church is the pattern of what God is showing man to be to his wife.

_"The marriage of the Lamb IS COME, and his wife hath made herself ready,"_ Revelation 19:7b.

The words "is come" mean that the long awaited time has indeed come - the time when man waited to be one with God, thus fulfilling the promise that God made in 2 Corinthians 6:16b to _"dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."_ This promise has at last come.

This time definitely will be at the beginning of the last three and a half years of time - before Armageddon - before the end of the age. The age might end as far as the 2,000 years are concerned. Yet it is possible that the renewal of this next age will take some years. I think the renewal happens gradually. For instance, dawn follows midnight so gradually that it is imperceptible until we see the first light of the sun. Then we know that the day has dawned. God says that _"the marriage of the Lamb is come."_ The TIME has come. The strangest and most wonderful thing is that God knows the time. It is the 28th of July, l999 and that date marks time. God has a time set, and no man knows the time; not even the angels in heaven know the time. So we are all waiting to see this great time come when Jesus Christ will come into His saints.

Let me refresh your thoughts right here with the basic idea that the coming of Jesus Christ will first be inside of His saints. Every saint of God now can feel the coming to be nearer and nearer and nearer. Our lives are being cleansed and our thoughts are getting sharp concerning righteousness. We hate sin a little more than before, and the revulsion of the things we see in the world is a little greater than ever. We are actually pulling away, and the bride is indeed getting herself ready for the coming of the Lord. If Jesus Christ should come down suddenly into our souls, it would blow us apart. God cannot face any form of unrighteousness. Even in our righteousness, there might be some unrighteousness lingering there. If God comes suddenly upon us, He would destroy us. He has to give us tribulation, distress, and problems. In these problems, we begin to think more on the Lord, call more upon the Lord, and depend more on the Lord to deliver us. As we do, we find that it brings us closer to the Lord; it is the RIGHT READINESS of the bride. The bride is getting HERSELF ready.

Revelation 19:8 _,"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."_

### CLOTHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS

In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were righteous; they were sinless, therefore, they were clothed. We can safely assume that they were clothed in white linen. When they sinned, they _"knew that they were naked."_ Immediately their righteousness went. So, in a spiritual sense, righteousness is indeed a clothing. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, Mary Magdelene saw Him clothed even though His natural clothes were left in the tomb. Being clothed is a part of righteousness.

Matthew 17 tells us of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Verse 2, _"And (He) was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light."_ Matthew 13:42 and 43 speak of the righteous _. "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."_ God is saying that when we have attained righteousness there will be a brightness, a shining forth, that comes from us. We could further assume that what is stopping the shining at the present time is the unrighteousness, or our flesh.

The angel, in Matthew 28:3, had the same brightness in his countenance. _"His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow."_ Revelation 3:5 speaks of the designation of righteousness that is given to the overcomers. _"He that OVERCOMETH, the same shall be CLOTHED IN WHITE RAIMENT; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels."_ As we compare scripture with scripture, we understand that this same BRIDE are those who will be called the OVERCOMERS. They _"shall be clothed in white raiment."_

Continuing in Revelation 3, the Spirit of God speaks to the Laodicean church (the period of time in which we are in now). This Word, then, is speaking directly to us. Verse 18 _,"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and WHITE RAIMENT, that thou mayest be CLOTHED, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."_ _"The church of the Laodiceans"_ is the church of the last age. We are the people of the last age. Therefore, the last batch of people who will be selected for the class of the bride are those of our time and our generation.

### IMMORTALITY IS THE GIFT OF GOD

We should understand the Scriptures clearly. There are those in the heavenlies who are part of the bride, and there are those on earth who are part of the bride. The time will come when HEAVEN MUST COME DOWN TO EARTH, not earth going up to heaven. Heaven must come down to earth and be joined in one. We are told _"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he (God) might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him,"_ Ephesians 1:10. The first resurrection will be those who are in Christ and who are one in Christ. This resurrection will include those who are in the heavenlies as well as those who are on the earth.

Revelation 6:9-11 _,"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And WHITE ROBES were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."_ The _"white robes"_ in this passage are given to martyrs. In the previous passage (Revelation 3:18) it was given to overcomers. These martyrs who were killed in the earlier part of time were to join the endtime martyrs (the overcomers). When they are killed, they will rise again. Alleluia!

The enemy (the devil) loves blood and he loves to kill. He killed the martyrs. He has been killing Christians from the beginning of time until now. The evil (one) was always killing the good (one). Cain killed Abel and the trend continued UNTIL JESUS CAME. They killed all the prophets right down to Jesus. They killed John the Baptist and then they tried to kill Jesus. However, with Jesus they began to kill a different breed, a different type of Christian. This type of Christian is designed by God to resurrect after they are killed. Jesus was killed and on the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures.

They are going to kill another breed of Christian who will rise like Lazarus on the fourth day (after three and a half days). This is the plan of God that is set. The enemy is going to fall right into this plan. The _"white robes"_ that were given represent IMMORTALITY, or the IMMORTAL LIFE. The phraseology _"white robes were given unto every one of them"_ means that they were clothed with immortality.

The beauty of all this is explained in Revelation 11 where we read about the _"Two Witnesses."_ Actually, the people who were killed ARE, WERE, and HAD INDEED ALREADY RECEIVED IMMORTALITY, but those who killed them did not know this. If an immortal man is killed he is going to rise back to life. Immortality can only be proven one way - killing the immortal ones. If a man says he has an uncrushable tie, the only way to prove it is to crush the tie.

IMMORTALITY IS THE GIFT OF GOD. The great promise of the Father to humanity before time began was immortality. Man can only gain immortality in Jesus Christ. This is the time. The marriage of the Lamb is when Jesus Christ comes in and fills the soul of the Christian, the believer, the bride with Himself. The man will no longer have his mind. He will have the mind of Christ. When you speak to him (who is thus filled), you will be speaking to Christ. You will be speaking to the emotions that are no longer human, but are Christ. It will be Christ, all and in all. This will be the fullness. Immortality is the white robe and this is what we are looking forward to.

### GOD IS BECOMING ONE WITH MAN

Revelation 19:9 _,"And he saith unto me, Write, BLESSED are they which are called unto THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."_

Matthew 22 showed us that there were some people specifically _"called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."_ However, they were involved in other things, they did not pay much attention to the call and eventually lost out. They were in the cities that were burned. See Matthew 22:1-7. THIS parable in Matthew REFERS TO US, a present-day people, and it also refers to the people of the past. The call of God has been going throughout the earth from the time of Jesus Christ until now. Surely the BRIDE OF CHRIST is not just the people who are alive today or will be alive at the time when Jesus Christ comes, but these people ("the guests") WILL REPRESENT EVERY AGE AND EVERY TIME. These people are not only here ON EARTH, but they are also IN HEAVEN. It is necessary for a resurrection to occur before Jesus Christ comes because these people are to join the Firstfruits company or the Bride company from the heavenlies. Because this is so, then we are looking at a rejection of Christ by people who did not even know they were rejecting Christ.

Notice the phraseology in Matthew 22:4 and 5. _"Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise."_ Every form of rejection of the Word of God and the direction of the Lord is in itself a rejection of the Lord. This is a serious indictment upon the people who will hear the Word of God and will hear the true voice of the Lord. Their hearts will tell them, "Yes, yes, this is true" YET they will allow themselves to be persuaded by those who preach doctrines that are NOT DIRECTLY FROM GOD.

There are doctrines of men which sound very good. Most of the doctrines that the theologians play around with and the seminaries teach are turned a certain direction, by men, to please the people and fill the churches. God's plan even before the beginning of humanity was to have made man to be one with Him. God wants to be one with man, to be married to man, so that God and man can become one entity. Everything of man and of the devil moves us away from this concept. Any doctrine or any gospel that is not designed to bring you into a oneness with your God is, indeed, a sidetrack or something contrary to God's perfect will.

As we look at the whole idea of _"the marriage...of the Lamb"_ to mankind, it is saying something that God wanted from the very beginning. For God to come into man, God had to use means. He had to use the blood of Jesus Christ, and He had to use the Holy Ghost. Finally He has broken through into the soul of the human being, and now the soul is accepting it. God will not go where He is not wanted or invited. When we speak about _"the marriage...of the Lamb,"_ we are only stating a certain theological terminology - GOD IS BECOMING ONE WITH MAN.

On the other hand, the doctrine of the antichrist brings man into another relationship, another union, and no matter how good it looks it is another union besides the union with Christ. Everyone who ministers as a shepherd in the true Christ nature points the sheep to the CHIEF SHEPHERD and not to himself or herself.

### THE ANGEL MAN

Revelation 19:10 takes us into another profound dimension of the Word of God. It is going to take some understanding to comprehend what we are seeing in this verse.

"And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

I am reading from the King James Version and it is very accurate. As a matter of fact, it is the most accurate version with this verse because it says it exactly as the Greek version says it.

This angel was so bright and was so powerful that John thought he was talking to Jesus Himself. If we look at where this angel came in, we would understand what happened. Revelation 18:1 and 2a _,"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen."_ This same angel that cried, _"Babylon...is fallen"_ seems to have been standing there while _"a voice came out of the throne...the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings"_ spoke.

This same angel was still standing there while John was standing before him in Revelation 19. When we come down to verses 9 and 10, the angel said _,"Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb,"_ John _"fell at his feet to worship him,"_ thinking he was talking to Jesus Christ Himself. The amazing part is that this bright angel was no different from the other bright angels that John had seen, but surely he SEEMED to have been brighter, for John was sure this was Jesus Christ Himself. The angel said _,"I AM THY FELLOWSERVANT, AND OF THY BRETHREN THAT HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS: WORSHIP GOD."_

### "THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS"

What does he mean by _"the testimony of Jesus"_? This phrase appears four times in the Revelation. Revelation 1:2 _,"Who bear record of the word of God, and of the TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, and of all things that he saw."_ Revelation 1:9 _,"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST."_ _"The TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST"_ is one who is born again, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, as John himself said he was one who had _"the testimony of Jesus."_ Revelation 12:17 _,"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST."_ Not just _"keep_ (ing) _the commandments of God,"_ but _"hav_ (ing) _the testimony of Jesus Christ,"_ means that you were born again and saved by His blood.

In the Old Testament, the Ark was called _"the Ark of the Testimony."_ Exodus 25:22 _,"And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel."_ The Ark which represents this final, last-day church, this Man child church, this Body of Christ church is called _"the Ark of the Testimony."_ The testimony of God surely was in that Ark. The pot of manna was in that Ark. Remember, manna was not to be kept overnight or it would be completely unfit for use. Yet, this manna was in the pot for over 400 years and it was fresh and good. This was indeed a testimony. It was in _"the golden pot"_ (Hebrews 9:4) representing the nature of Christ. This manna was preserved in _"the golden pot"_ miraculously by the power of God. This in itself was a testimony of the power of God.

Aaron's rod was also in that Ark. Aaron's rod was a dry stick (for no one uses a green stick as a rod). Actually, it was the rod of his authority. This rod budded and brought forth fruit in one night, and for 490 years the fruit remained on the rod in the Ark. _"The Ark of the Testimony"_ was a testimony of God's power, of life, and of living authority. Aaron's rod budded while everybody else's rod remained a rod. The Ten Commandments were also placed in that Ark. These three things were a testimony to the life and the power of God.

Now we see a new thing, _"THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST."_ Jesus Christ in this new ark is the testimony. This brother in Revelation 19 says that he has _"the testimony of Jesus."_ John could not have been looking at an angel that was a created angelic being. He had to be looking at a human being who was in heaven and HAD BECOME AN ANGEL. Let us search the Scriptures so that we do not make any mistakes in judgment, but that we understand very clearly what God is saying here.

In Matthew 22:23-28, the Sadducees were questioning Jesus and asking, _"In the resurrection whose wife"_ will a woman be if she were married seven times? He answered them in verse 30. _"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are AS THE ANGELS OF GOD in heaven."_ Jesus Himself said that we will BECOME like the _"angels of God."_ In Revelation 1 and 2, mention is made of _"the angels of the seven churches."_ Revelation 1:20, _"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks_ (lampstands). _The seven STARS are the ANGELS of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."_

Revelation 2:1 _,"Unto the ANGEL of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand..."_ He is referring back to these _"seven STARS."_ NOW NOTICE THE FOLLOWING: _"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars."_ Verse 4 _,"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."_ God could not speak to an angelic being in the holy heaven in this manner. If he _"hast left_ (his) _first love,"_ he would be a fallen angel and this passage was NOT talking about fallen angels at all. God was speaking to a HUMAN BEING who was the MESSENGER to the church at Ephesus. He called him an _"ANGEL of the church of Ephesus."_

In Revelation 19 we are looking at a BEING coming down from heaven, and coming out of the throne, and having the glory of God around him, and saying to John, I AM ONE OF YOUR BROTHERS. I do not know if you could imagine an angel saying that he is your brother. Believers have the blood of the same Father, and this Father is Jesus Christ who gave them His blood. They are related through His blood. The angels do not have the blood of Jesus Christ as we do, because they were perfected. They were given a free-will choice, but they gave up their free-will choice to God, and they have become perfected. That heaven which they come from is a perfect heaven. This heaven where we live is one BEING PERFECTED. The angel that John saw was a human being who had passed on, and gone to be with the Lord, and was now working with Jesus Christ as an angel. This opens a whole new spectrum of thought and understanding in the Word of God.

Many people believe that we go to heaven and sit and drink milk and honey and, of course, all of this is figurative language that God uses in the Scriptures. The truth is, HEAVEN is a state, a realm, not a physical place like the earth, for the physical earth could not hold spiritual beings. This heaven is a spiritual realm in which God dwells. It is more reality than what we have on earth, for whatever we see around us in the natural can pass away at any moment. If you put fire to the chair I am sitting on, it would dissolve and change into ashes. Spiritual things are permanent and will not change.

### MAN: ALMOST COMPLETE

We are looking at an angel man who has almost come into fullness. He is not yet completed. This man cannot be completed until WE have overcome the devil and finished the work. He is still learning. Do you believe that? Let us make sure we are on the right track. 1 Peter 1:12, _"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."_ If angels knew everything then they would not have to learn anything more. They do not know everything; therefore, they are learning. There are angels of high knowledge and high power, and there are angels of low knowledge and low power.

Hebrews 11:40 further fosters this thought. _"God having provided some better thing for us, that they WITHOUT US should not be made perfect."_ Chapter 12:1 _,"Wherefore seeing WE also are compassed about with so great a CLOUD OF WITNESSES, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."_ We are like runners on a race track and the people in the heavenlies are looking at us. Do you think they are an idle, pleasure-seeking bunch of people who want to bet on who will win? I do not think so. What is happening is that they are obtaining their overcoming by proxy. They are obtaining knowledge from you, from us, the church. They are learning what they did not learn before.

People who die, like the thief on the cross, never lived one day right-eous; he knew nothing about holiness and righteousness in God. He cried to Jesus and he received life. Thousands and thousands, and millions and millions of people are going into heaven who never knew God, who never walked in righteousness, but at the end they called upon His name and they were saved. God, therefore, has put them in heaven. Now these people have to be taught. Heaven is a great big school where angels and men are learning. Yet they are here observing us, receiving their lessons through our errors and through our victories. The errors they made in the past, they never knew how to overcome some of those spirits that had overcome them. They are learning through the church.

This is in the Word of God in Ephesians 3:9 and 10. _"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: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known BY THE CHURCH the manifold wisdom of God."_ You would think that angels could come and teach us. Angels cannot come and teach us doctrine. God teaches the church the doctrine, and the church teaches the heavenly princes and those who they rule over. The principalities and the powers in all of heaven are learning from _"the church the manifold wisdom of God."_

Principalities and powers cannot get up and fight the devil, or there would be no devil left. They do not have this mandate. They can fight for US; they can deliver US; they are servants for US; but they cannot go forth and fight the devil. The reason is because they cannot sin; they cannot overcome because they cannot sin. They have to depend on our overcoming. When we overcome sin, the very sins that had beset them in their lives, that had beset families, that had beset nations and destroyed kingdoms; then, they will learn from us through the power of God.

There are more scriptures to strengthen this thought. Ephesians 1:10 tells us that at a certain time the brothers and sisters that are in heaven will join with us here IN CHRIST to make a mighty army. _"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he (God) might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are IN HEAVEN, and which are ON EARTH; even in him."_ There are those who are on earth who are in Christ, and those who are on earth who are not in Christ. There are those in heaven who are in Christ, and those who are in heaven who are not in Christ. As they develop into Christ, into understanding, into the knowledge of God, they come into that fellowship of that Elect company of saints which God is recruiting at this time.

A good example is that Jesus had twelve disciples, but there were three that were very close to Him: Peter, James and John. There was one that was closest to Him, and that was John. Even in the Scriptures, we are told that in the resurrection there are different degrees of brightness and power.

1 Corinthians 15:40-49 _,"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."_

What JOHN SAW here was a man having come into the image of the heavenly. He thought it was Jesus, but it was ONE OF HIS BROTHERS who was born again and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Mark 9 gives us a glimpse of Jesus Christ having fellowship with the heavenly host. Verses 1-7 _,"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him."_

This little story gives an insight into what is meant by _,"In the dispensation of the fulness of times he (God) might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him."_ This gives us a glimpse of the oneness that Jesus Christ had with the heavenly host while He was yet in flesh and blood.

God allowed John to record this thing three times while he was yet having this vision of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Of course, the revelation IS the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ in Jesus, and it is Christ in the church also. In chapter 1:12 he began to describe the Christ that he saw. What he saw was the candlestick or the menorah, the lampstand, and it had seven arms and standing in the middle arm there was the Son of God, Christ Jesus. It means that the church has gotten into Christ and Christ has gotten into the church, and this is the marriage of God and man. What JOHN SAW in this man who said he was born again and saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, was THE GLORY OF CHRIST SHINING THROUGH A HUMAN BEING. God said that He is not a God of the dead. The brethren who are with Christ are not dead people.

Let us look at the other two experiences that John recorded. Revelation 21:15 and 16 _,"And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal."_ Here we find the spiritual measurement of the city which is the new Jerusalem, which is the church, the body of Christ. It was totally perfect. The length, breadth, and height were EXACTLY THE SAME.

Verse 17 _,"And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel."_ Remember in our study on chapter 7 we wrote that the 144,000 meant 12 x 12 x 1000, which is the individual multiplied by the body (twelve is completion - completed man in a completed body), multiplied by the fullness of Christ (zero, zero, zero). In this verse the wall is being measured. It is clearly stated that it was _"the measure of a man, that is, of the angel."_ That means A MAN WHO HAS COME INTO PERFECTION, A MAN WHO HAS COME INTO HIS ANGELIC FULLNESS. There is no other way to translate this although many of the translations try to say something else. The Greek says that _"he measured the man that is of the angel"_ (an angel man). This was another example of a man appearing as an angel. It said, _"and he that talked with me,"_ meaning it was another angel that was talking with him.

The third instance is in Revelation 22:8 and 9 _. "And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of THE ANGEL which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I AM THY FELLOWSERVANT, AND OF THY BRETHREN THE PROPHETS, AND OF THEM WHICH KEEP THE SAYINGS OF THIS BOOK: WORSHIP GOD."_ The first man whom John was going to worship and who stopped him, was a brother who was born-again, saved and redeemed by Jesus Christ. This man here said he was one of the prophets. It could have been Moses, Ezekiel, Jeremiah - BUT he said he was "of thy brethren the prophets." So he made a classification here which enlightens us as to the DIFFERENT CLASSES OF ANGEL MEN that are in the heavenlies.

Some of the men in the heavenlies have their bodies and some do not. Some have just a spiritual body and some have their natural bodies. Elijah went up in a chariot of fire and never died. Because Elijah never died, the devil had no power over him (over his body), and he appeared in the mountain with Moses. Moses' body could not be found. Under the law there was only one way that a man could escape death, that is, his body being taken by the devil. The devil had power over the body of Samuel so that Samuel could have been called up from the grave.

### SAMUEL SPEAKS FROM THE GRAVE

We will read this story in the Word of God, and you judge the Word for yourself as to whether this was so or not. 1 Samuel 28:11 _,"Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel."_ (This is a seance - necromancy - people who deal with the dead.) Verses 12-15a _,"And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And SAMUEL SAID..."_

Now remember, Samuel was dead. Samuel had died and was buried, and the Scriptures record in verses 15-18, " _And SAMUEL SAID to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then SAID SAMUEL, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day."_ Verse 19 _,"Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines."_

Now here is a man speaking from the grave. What can we make of it? Jesus Christ had not yet died, and sin was not yet abolished from even the people of God. So the people of God went to hell, and the devil had their bodies for a season, UNTIL Jesus Christ died, and _"went and preached unto the spirits in prison,"_ and _"led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,"_ Ephesians 4:8. If we do not believe the Word of God we can make different stories and devious explanations around this, but the only true explanation is that SAMUEL WAS IN HELL. Samuel did not die a sinless man and _"the wages of sin is death,"_ Romans 6:23. Let us prove this from the Bible.

Psalm 16:10 _,"For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corrption."_ David was saying that Jesus Christ would not _"see corruption."_ Jesus Christ would come into hell and deliver him and preach deliverance and set him free.

Let us look at a New Testament scripture that bears out this same thought. 1 Peter 3:18-20 _,"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: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."_

This passage clearly says that the people in the time of Noah were a wicked and ungodly generation, and were drowned by God in the flood; however many were saved by drowning. They did hear the Word of God; they did hear the message. When they were dying, many cried out to God, and God said that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. They called upon God's name and God saved them. There was no other way to save that generation of people. God devised the only means by which they could be saved; there was a traumatic drowning. God creates and He destroys. He goes to any lengths to save humanity because He is in the business of saving people. If He can get you into a situation where you will call upon the name of the Lord, He will do it, in order to save your soul, for SAVING IS HIS BUSINESS.

### MOSES, ELIJAH, AND ENOCH

1 Peter 4:5 and 6 _,"Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."_ Men of God who died before the time of Jesus Christ went to hell. Jesus Christ came, went down to hell, _"preached unto the spirits in prison"_ and gave them the judgment as if they were alive. They were waiting for Him. All the prophets were waiting for Him in hell (except Moses, Elijah, and Enoch who had escaped the grave and hell), and God had them in His bosom, in a spiritual reference. Jesus stood at the crossroad between the Old Testament and the New Testament and those who lived before Him had a chance (a second chance, but really their only chance), because they all died in sin _("the wages of sin is death")_ and Satan had power over them.

Satan came and contended over the body of Moses, but he could not win such a contention. Moses had gone through the one door that was open in the law. There was only one door open in the law: when you offered a sacrifice to God, you were free from sin. Your sins have been forgiven by a proper sacrifice. Since Moses appeared with Elijah on the mount of transfiguration, we must assume (and correctly so) that the only door was taken by Moses. When God told him the time that he should die, Moses took his little lamb up with him, offered the sacrifice, died on the sacrifice, and then Satan came to contend for his body and the angel rebuked him.

Jude 9 _,"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."_ Jude is speaking about something that we never heard about before. _"Michael the archangel"_ had a battle with Satan, and he overthrew the devil by just rebuking him. Satan was contending over the body of Moses; he wanted Moses' body but could not get it.

As we know, Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire BY FAITH. Enoch (the seventh man from Adam) took the proper lessons from Adam and _"walked with God,"_ and _"God took him"_ into heaven BY FAITH. This type of faith is something that we have yet to learn.

Men dwell in the third heaven. Those who are with the Lord are in the third heaven. In this heaven, there are different classes of men. Even the beings that have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ are in different classes. The whole of the third heaven is a learning area. It is not a place (like we call a place) in the natural. It is a place in spirit. To consider what it really is is difficult for the natural mind to conceive. However, we can understand spiritual things even as we understand the different frequencies of electricity. One frequency might be passing through a room going to a television set, while another frequency passing through the same room is going to the radio. The frequencies are in different worlds altogether. They do not touch each other though they seem to cross in the middle of the room. They do not touch each other because they are in different worlds.

The heavenlies then are divided into different realms of light. There is greater light, greater LIGHT, GREATER LIGHT. In the FULLNESS OF LIGHT there is God. None can approach unto that realm. Therefore God has to put a barrier between Him and the archangels who cannot even stand before the presence of God. When God's presence comes to them, He comes to them through a shield, a cloud. Remember how God talked to Moses on the mountain for forty days? When he came down, his face was glowing with light. When Jesus transfigured, the glory came from within Him and out of Him, but when Moses came down from the mount, the light was outside of him because he was talking to God from the outside. In our own puny way of thinking, we can only understand it in the sense of saying that the radiation of God's presence was upon Moses. When Moses came down his face SHONE.

### SPIRIT BODIES

Therefore, some men in the heavenlies have their PHYSICAL BODIES. Anyone trying to say anything else is just not understanding the Scriptures. Jesus Christ went up into heaven physically. His body was not in the tomb; it was not buried anywhere, and it was not dissolved. The body of Jesus Christ is in the heavenlies and He proved it to us. He entered into a room with the eleven disciples and said unto them, _"Handle me."_ Thomas doubted and said that he would have to push his hand into that wound and feel it for himself. Jesus came into the room and said, _"handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have,"_ Luke 24:39b. All the manifestations of His entering into the room were spirit. There was no way, as a flesh man, He could have come in through the locked door and through the closed windows. He came in and said _, "Handle me."_ Praise God for those words.

Jesus said, _"a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."_ He did not say _"flesh and blood"_ because His blood was drained out at Calvary. Blood is definitely earthly and must be supported by earth. When Thomas felt Him, he fell to his knees and said _,"My Lord and my God,"_ John 20:28. Thomas had seen something and understood something that he had never understood before. Yet some of us fail to understand that in the resurrection we will have our bodies, and we will be SPIRIT BODIES - God's Spirit over my spirit, over my soul, and over my body. The body becomes the total, absolute servant of the spirit, and the body can move anywhere the spirit wants it to move.

After Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip was taken away in the spirit. See Acts 8:39. He did not fly out of the water and go up, up, up. He came out of the water and simply disappeared and reappeared in the city where he was to preach. This is divine transportation, but it is hardly transportation. It is something else. You can be here this moment and there the next moment, and I do not think your atoms passed in space and in time between one place and the next. I know that God can pick you up here and put you down there. It is only God who can describe the whole situation.

Matthew 27:50-53 shows that there are many more nameless brothers and sisters who are in the heavenlies with their bodies with Jesus, Moses, Elijah, and Enoch _."Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 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; And the graves were opened; and many BODIES of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."_ There is no way that we can get around these scriptures for they are directly the Word of God. Anyone who changes this or tries to change the thought is trying to change the Word of God. There is a curse upon those who change the Word of God, so we must not try to change the Word of God. The _"BODIES of the saints"_ rose up _"out of the graves"_ (broke up the rocks and rent whatever was holding them down) and _"appeared unto many,"_ which means they showed themselves unto many.

### HEAVEN OR HELL: NO MIDDLE GROUND

We can look at this on the opposite side. If men become angels, then men also become demons. Those who are in God and in Christ are moving towards being like Jesus. Those who are in the devil, in sin, in wickedness are moving towards being like the devil. There is no middle ground. You are either in Christ or in the devil. If God is able to use the angels, the brothers and sisters as angels in the heavenly realm (which I believe is well proven), then those who are wicked are moving towards being demons, and the devil will use them. We went to lengths to reveal from Scripture how the devil was able to use Samuel after he died, but the devil could not get him to say anything except that which was in his heart, for Samuel was one of those who was waiting for Jesus Christ. The devil, therefore, really did not have the power over him, but the devil contended over Moses because he wanted to use him, and the archangel rebuked him. If this is the case then, and David said that his soul would not be left in hell, we realize at that time the children of God, who believed God, did not have what was necessary (the blood of Christ) to remove their own sin. Therefore, they had to go into hell to wait for Jesus Christ to come.

Since Jesus has come, if anyone goes into hell, he will be PERMANENTLY in hell. Jesus is not going back to hell to take anybody out. He stands at the crossroads, and the Scriptures declare that He took away the keys of death and hell. Revelation 1:18 _,"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."_ This means that no one can enter into hell unless Jesus Christ allows it. He will not allow any of His children to enter into hell. There is NO second chance for those who go into hell in our time.

### WHAT IS HELL?

What about those who are sinners who die? Do they go to hell? What is hell? Hell is a state of being. Hell is not a place in our natural understanding. You cannot say "over here is hell" or "over there is hell." Hell is in a state and a frequency of the spirit, and the Scriptures describe it in many ways. Ephesians 2:2 _,"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."_ The word _"AIR,"_ which in the Greek is aer, means the realms of darkness of this world. The Scriptures describe Satan as being prince over this realm. We know that he is a wandering spirit that travels through the earth.

Luke 11:24 describes a situation where an unclean spirit (called a demon _) "is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out."_ The picture then of hell is that these tormented spirits go walking to and fro.

Jude 6 _,"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."_ If they are _"in everlasting chains under darkness"_ and this is what we call hell, and if they are moving up and down through the earth, _"seeking rest; and finding none"_ and tormenting others, and if Satan is in hell chained and bound, yet he is up and down through the whole earth, THEN THAT AREA IN WHICH HE IS UP AND DOWN MUST BE HELL.

Hell is not a place as we know places in the natural, therefore, this hell can be anywhere within these realms. Since God has chained him here, he can be within these realms and wherever man is. When they went up into space in the space shuttle, there was a devil there also, because they are still sinners. Hell is everywhere in the realm of darkness where Satan travels up and down with all his demons and fallen angels.

### ARE DEMONS FALLEN ANGELS?

Some say that demons are fallen angels that have come down, or fallen from heaven (God has cast them out of heaven), and are seeking to dwell in people's bodies. I say, "No. This is a wrong concept and it is not biblical. Demons are NOT fallen angels." 2 Corinthians 5:1-3 _,"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found NAKED."_ In this verse, the word that is translated _"NAKED"_ is the word _"DISEMBODIED SPIRIT; a spirit without a body."_ A disembodied spirit could only be a human being who lost his body.

The angels do not have a physical body. They have spiritual bodies. Fallen angels do not want human bodies to live in. The only spirit that wants a body to live in is a spirit that has lost its body and wants to reincarnate itself inside of another human being, to live again, to have again the pleasures of sin in a human body. This is what we call HELL. Spirits go to and fro, seeking rest, finding none, trying to get into other people's bodies.

We still have more proof of this understanding of hell. Remember now, we are writing about heaven, and also revealing the opposite to heaven, which is hell. God uses the spirits of just men made perfect in the heavenlies AS ANGELS. On the other side, THE DEVIL USES THE SINNERS WHO HAVE DIED AS ANGELS OF HIS OWN. The devil contended over the body of Moses, for he wanted Moses' body to use.

### DISEMBODIED SPIRITS

There is one more scripture and one more point to bring this proof to your understanding. In the New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, page 122, and the Strong's Concordance # 1131, the word gumnos in the Greek means NAKED. Under category d. (where the reference is to 2 Corinthians 5:3, which we just quoted from the KJV), it states "of the soul, whose garment is the body; stript of the body, without a body: 2 Co.v.3." That means that THE SPIRIT WITHOUT ITS BODY IS A DISEMBODIED SPIRIT. This spirit, having lost its body, will always seek to find another body to occupy.

All the words that Jesus and the apostles used in the New Testament have an Old Testament word that is used. In most cases the New Testament has been translated from Hebrew into Greek. Knowing that Jesus spoke in this Hebrew language and the disciples spoke in the Hebrew language means that whatever Jesus said was Hebrew translated into Greek. Because this is true, we must always look at the Hebrew words which coincide with the words that are used and in the sense they are used. Words are sometimes used in many different senses and have different meanings, according to how they are used.

### GUMNOS AND GAH-ROHM'

This word gumnos in the Greek, translated NAKED in 2 Corinthians 5:3, coincides with the Hebrew word gah-rohm' or `arowm (Strong's # 6174) which also has been translated NAKED in the Old Testament KJV. This word, therefore, in the Hebrew text has many, many references with different meanings. However, there is one meaning and one reference that I want to direct your attention to, and it is found in Job 26:5 and 6. I am quoting this directly from the Hebrew text, just as the Hebrew words are written. Sometimes it is difficult to get the right meaning when the Hebrew words are put one by one in English, but as the words come forth, I am sure that the Spirit of God will show us the truth.

_"The departed spirits are made to writhe from beneath the waters, and their inhabitants. Sheol (hell) is naked before Him, and the Pit has no covering."_ This would not make much sense, and I can well understand why those who translated the King James Version did not translate it in quite this detail. It would not make much sense to say that evil spirits are there writhing underneath the sea and the rivers underneath the waters. However, if we can see that _"the waters"_ referred to in this verse is humanity, then we can read it with the understanding that the spirits are writhing within humanity, up and down, restless like a snake, moving itself up and down in these waters. _"Sheol (Hell) is naked before Him, and the Pit has no covering."_ This is the exact thought that Paul was conveying in 2 Corinthians 5 regarding the people in hell, when he states that they are _"NAKED"_ and without a covering.

The Christian has to be given a covering by God. If he loses the tent of this tabernacle, God has to give him a covering. He has to cover him with a body (a temporary body) UNTIL THE RESURRECTION, when he can pick up his own body again.

### DEMON MEN

This is the truth that I have revealed to you from the Word of God. We need to pray over it and not reject it. The church has been teaching that demons are fallen angels and that they have fallen from heaven. If this were true, as the human race increases in population, the power of the fallen angels would decrease, because they would not have enough demons to plague and inhabit the increased number of people, resulting in the decrease of demon power. The truth is, THE DEMON FORCE IS INCREASING because more wicked men are going into the demonic realm and are doing their wicked activities as demons. They are no longer men; they are demons. This is the whole story. We just trust it into your hands and into the hand of God.

The Hebrew text that I quoted for you was from The Interlinear Bible by Jay P. Green. I have a lot of confidence in his translation. The text from the King James Version for Job 26:5 and 6 says _,"Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering."_ It is evident that there is much more in the Hebrew text that was not translated in the KJV.

Isaiah 5:14 _,"Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it."_ It means that hell is really getting larger.

Many places in the New Testament where the word devil or evil spirit is mentioned, it is the word DEMON. Let us look at a few places where the word demon itself is mentioned. This is continuing the further proof that DEMONS ARE INDEED HUMAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED AND LOST THEIR SOULS AND WANDER ABOUT IN HELL, SEEKING REST AND FINDING NONE.

Matthew 8:28 and 29 tells the story of two men who had 6,666 devils in them _. "And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils (demons), coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?"_ This statement is very revealing. This shows us that there is coming a time when all demons and all devils will be cast out of humanity, and humanity will be free. Revelation 12:7 and 8 tell us that Michael and his angels fought and cast them out of the kingdom of God, which is really out of the human soul.

Matthew 8:30-32 _,"And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters."_

Here is a case where thousands of demons occupied two human beings. The demons were comfortable inside the human beings because they were doing the things which made them happy. Their hell was somewhat softened. They did not have the great hell that they should have had if they were cast out. In Luke 8:31 the devils asked not to be cast _"out into the deep."_ The meaning of this verse is a whole different message. The word _"DEEP"_ is also translated _"ABYSS,"_ which is a prison house in the pit, where spirits can be cast and will not be able to come out until Jesus comes to judge the quick and the dead.

Let us look at the meaning of the word DEMON. It is actually the Greek word daimon, not made by the apostles or by Paul. It was a Greek word that existed before Paul. In the Greek language the word demon was used for a deity. Zeus and all the other gods were demons. Demons were the spirits of the departed great ones who people worshipped. In China, the worship of the spirits of their ancestors is called shintoism. In the Greek and the Hebrew, the sense, the understanding of the word, is a human being who has died and has gone on before. This is where the basis of the thought comes from. When the people in the Scriptures spoke of demons, they understood what they were saying. Of course, the modern mind does not understand, but we need to understand what the Scripture is saying. The exegesis is absolutely necessary.

### MINISTERING SPIRITS

Having gone into such details to explain this doctrinal position, let us go back and look at the man who is of the angels. What really happens in heaven is that this brother could come and bring a message from God to our brother John. Is it possible then that they could bring a message TO US? Let me prove to you that ANGELS ARE WORKING WITH US. Let us look again at Hebrews 12:1, but now in this context. " _Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."_ Why are they compassing us about?

Looking into the NATURE OF THE WORK OF ANGELS, we look at Hebrews 1:13 and 14. _"But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? ARE THEY NOT ALL MINISTERING SPIRITS, SENT FORTH TO MINISTER FOR THEM WHO SHALL BE HEIRS OF SALVATION?"_ They are ministering "for" us. In Ephesians 4, it says that apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers will continue to bless the church and teach the church UNTIL the church ministers. When the church ministers, then the church will have ministering spirits to minister with the church. As we go forth with the Word of God, we do have ministering spirits that minister alongside us. As a matter of fact, our ministering alone would be absolutely useless. There are things that we can do and should do. As partners with Christ, God expects us to do certain things. There are other things that God does not expect us to do, because we cannot do it. For instance, we cannot change the mind of a man. We can testify to him, we can witness to him, but it is the Holy Ghost and the Spirits of God that work upon the man to bring him to the Word of God and understanding.

Putting the scripture in perspective then, it behooves us to read Ephesians 1 again, especially the tenth verse. _"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things IN CHRIST, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him."_ All of us who are in the realm of the spirit named Christ, that Body named Christ, under that headship called Christ, will come _"together in_ (to) _one"_ with those in the heavenlies who are under the headship of Christ, who have attained unto that spiritual realm.

Thus we expect that Peter, Paul, James, John, and the eminent brethren from on high will be with us, even as they were with Jesus Christ when He was here on earth. When He was faint, God sent angels to minister to Him. We expect that part of this angelic host will also be our brothers, just as John saw it, prophets of old, as well as those born again by the blood of Jesus Christ. Men of all ages come _"together in_ (to) _one...IN CHRIST"_ at _"the dispensation of the fulness of times."_ We are indeed at the end of time. We expect this thing to happen now. Praise God!

### THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

The last phrase in verse 10 of Revelation 19 says _,"Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."_ We notice that in the Old Testament, there were men and women who were dubbed as prophets and prophetesses. Whenever the king wanted to hear from God, he would go to the prophet, and the Spirit of God would come upon the prophet, and the prophet would prophesy. The order has been changed IN CHRIST. This scripture says _,"the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."_

2 Peter 1:19- 21 _,"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star (which is Jesus Christ Himself) arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."_ This tells us the story of what is meant by _"the spirit of prophecy."_ _"The testimony of Jesus_ (Christ) _is the spirit of prophecy."_ _"The spirit of prophecy"_ fell on the ancient men, but now we have the spirit INSIDE OF US. We expect that this spirit will speak out this _"testimony of Jesus"_ within us, and every word that is spoken by THIS _"testimony"_ is a prophetic word; it is a Word of God.

Joel 2:28 and 29 _,"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit."_ The whole congregation of God, who has the spirit of Jesus Christ, will prophesy in these days. Praise God!

### THE OPEN HEAVEN

Revelation 19:11a _,"And I saw heaven opened."_ As we have read before, the Bible is an intense and compact book. Every phrase has height and depth and dimensions. As we look at it here we see the words _"heaven opened."_ The words suggest that something is either coming forth from heaven or something is to be revealed. Let us go into the Scriptures to prove these points.

Matthew 7:7 _,"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be OPENED unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be OPENED."_

Revelation 3:7 _,"And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that OPENETH, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man OPENETH."_

Matthew 3:16 _,"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the HEAVENS WERE OPENED unto him, and HE SAW the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him."_ Whenever heaven is opened something must come forth, or some revelation must be seen.

In John 1:51 Jesus spoke to Nathaniel _. "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."_

In Acts 10:11-15, Peter received the vision to go to the Gentiles. _"And SAW HEAVEN OPENED, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." God was teaching Peter a lesson. God had to open heaven. Peter "saw heaven opened" and "a certain vessel descending."_ It was time to teach him the lesson. God always opens heaven to bring forth something or to show us something.

Revelation 19:11a _,"And I saw HEAVEN OPENED, and behold a white horse."_ The appearance of _"a white horse"_ after _"the marriage supper of the Lamb"_ is saying something to us. First of all, _"HEAVEN OPENED;"_ something is going to happen. What is going to happen? The _"WHITE HORSE"_ comes forth. When we look in Scripture, we see that every time the _"white horse"_ comes forth it means victory, conquest.

Look at Revelation 6:1. _"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."_ The words _"the four beasts"_ are definitely referring to the four beasts that we read about in Ezekiel, in Isaiah, and in Revelation chapters 4 and 5. We have already seen that these four beasts were four living creatures. They are referred to as the soul of man. If this is what we are seeing, then let us put it together. We see the Lamb coming forth, and _"the Lamb opened one of the seals,"_ and out of the seals coming a voice like thunder, and _"one of the four beasts"_ (that is, one part of the soul of man) cries out, _"Come and see."_ Verse 2," _And I saw, and behold a WHITE HORSE: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth CONQUERING, AND TO CONQUER."_

In chapter 6 we see the opening of the seals. The opening of the seals are actually the different Spirits of God and the spirits of the world that will ride through time. First Jesus Christ, the _"white horse,"_ coming forth. The next one is the red horse, then the black horse, and so on. In chapter 6 we saw what the _"white horse"_ would do. _"He went forth...to conquer."_ Now in chapter 19 the _"white horse"_ comes forth AT LAST.

We cannot look at this as just a coming forth of Jesus because in Revelation 19:7 we had just seen Him become married to the church. He and the bride have become one. Therefore, what we are seeing in chapter 19:11 is that the Spirit of God (Christ) has now entered into the soul of man, and man and God are now one entity (according to the promise of God in John 17:23) and this is a conquering entity. It is going to conquer everything in the earth that has been left to be conquered. It is going to conquer the works of Satan. It is going to conquer all the evil. It is going to put down evil forever. This is the conquering Saviour.

In chapter 6 we read that he _"had a bow."_ A bow means that he is going to shoot arrows. A bow without arrows is no good. When we speak of a bow, we speak of a bow with arrows. When we speak of a gun, we speak of a gun with bullets. We do not say, "O, he had a gun, and he had bullets." We do not say it that way. We say, "He had a gun, and he was about to shoot." Now he has a bow, and because he has a bow, then He is armed and ready for war, and _"a crown was given unto Him."_ That means that He had taken upon Himself the kingship or the rulership of the earth, and _"he went forth conquering, and to conquer."_

Revelation 19:11 _,"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."_

John 14:6 _,"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."_ (We speak of _"the way"_ and by way of reference we should say that this is _"the street of the city_ (that _) was pure gold."_ See Revelation 21:21.) _"I am the way, the truth, and the life."_ Jesus Christ is _"Faithful and TRUE, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war."_

Revelation 19:12 and 13 _,"His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."_

If we want to understand the Word of God, we must take each phrase seriously. Sometimes you read a passage and you are looking for certain things, and certain phrases are passed over. Let us take seriously the phrase _"a flame of fire."_

### "A FLAME OF FIRE"

In Revelation 1:14 the person who John saw had _"eyes...as a flame of fire."_ Whenever we see this phrase we must look for judgment. There is some sort of judgment when the eyes are like _"a flame of fire."_ (We are going to check this phrase through the Bible and we are going to see that this is the case.) In this chapter and in this particular instance, Jesus appeared not only as Jesus Himself (as the Christ), but He appeared as the Christ in the Body. We see then that this judgment is coming from the Christ in the Body. In chapter 19, He married the church and they became one. Now we are saying that He is coming as _"a flame of fire"_ to judge the earth. We are writing about the Body of Christ reigning and ruling with Christ and being party to that judgment. What we are looking at is a Christ that fills the Body of Christ; it is not just Jesus Christ alone, but Jesus and His Body.

Another thing we noticed in chapter 6:1 _,"ONE OF THE FOUR BEASTS saying, Come and see."_ Right throughout this chapter, the beasts are mentioned.

When it comes to the vials of wrath being poured out in Revelation 15:5 we read, _"And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened."_ Here again something is _"opened,"_ and something is going to happen. Verses 6 and 7, _"And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And ONE OF THE FOUR BEASTS gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever."_ _"One of the four beasts"_ came into play, and we know that _"the four beasts"_ are the soul of man. Joel 2:5 _,"Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array."_ _"A flame of fire"_ is referred to _"as a strong people."_ In Revelation 1:15 we saw that it was a _"voice as the sound of many waters."_ We are looking at the Body of Christ with Christ in the midst.

Hebrews 1:7 _,"And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."_ Here again _"a flame of fire"_ refers to the people of God _("his ministers")_ in the sense of judgment. When God uses His people to judge, to bring judgment upon the earth, they become _"a flame of fire."_

Revelation 2:18 _,"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."_ The reference here to the feet of brass is that they are burned in the fire; a type of the Body of Christ walking through the fires of the tribulation.

Revelation 19:12 _,"...and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself."_ Let us look again for that reference and how He received _"many crowns."_ Revelation 4:10 and 11 _,"The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."_ The _"crowns"_ in this verse are given unto Him. After all, if He and this Body become one, then every crown that they would have would be on His head because He is the one that is _"worthy."_

### MANY NAMES MEAN MANY NATURES

The next thought in Revelation 19:12b is that _"he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself."_ If we look in Scripture, we will understand that when God speaks of _"NAME,"_ He really speaks of NATURE. You call a person by his nature. Let us look at the names that Jesus Christ has been given in the Scriptures.

Isaiah 9:6 _,"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."_ Many Jews refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Lord because they say that the Scriptures said His name would be Immanuel. That thought is very carnal because as human beings we do have names. Some of us have two names; some have three names. Some are called by a pet name; therefore, you could say that you have four names. It does not mean that those four names describe the whole of your nature. Therefore, we find that Jesus Christ is called by many names because His nature has many different natures. He is good, He is Lord, He is truth, He is righteousness, He is love, He is everything. There are many names that He can be called.

Isaiah 7:14 _,"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."_ The very prophet who prophesied that _"his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God...The Prince of Peace"_ was the same prophet who prophesied that His name would be called _"Immanuel."_ That does not really clash. He can be _"Immanuel"_ as well as _"mighty God,"_ which He is. Isaiah 8:8 speaks of the name _"Immanuel"_ again. _"And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel."_ Here we see the name being used in another sense, still calling Him _"Immanuel."_

In Matthew 1:20 and 21 we find that the angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph for Joseph had doubts in his heart. _"But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."_ Verse 21 speaks of the _"name JESUS."_ The angel did not speak in English or Latin, of course. "JESUS" would be Latin. We know that the angel said "YESHUA." _"Thou shalt call his name Yeshua."_ Verses 22 and 23, _"Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."_ The Word was _"God with us."_ Immanuel in English is spelled Emmanuel. In Hebrew it is spelled Immanuel, but nobody would dare say that there is a difference; it is the same name. The idea is _"God with us."_

Revelation 19:12b _,"And he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself."_ That means that he is getting a new name. He is getting another name which he did not have before, another nature which he did not have before. Why so? We can see very clearly from the Word of God the new nature, the new name. NOW HE IS MARRIED, He is joined to the bride. Jesus Christ and the bride are one. We have already passed through the lesson on the Man child. This is a new thing, a new beginning, something that never was on earth before. Therefore, there was A NEW NAME.

Revelation 19:13 _,"And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called THE WORD OF GOD."_

We just read that He had _"a name...that no man knew."_ Now we read that _"His name is called The Word of God."_ Let us look at a thought from 2 Corinthians 3:2-4 _."Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward."_ These verses are saying that Jesus Christ, "The Word of God," came to us to make us also be _"The Word of God"_ to others.

John 1:1-3 _,"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."_ Here God makes a declaration that Jesus Christ, His Son, was with Him from before the beginning, and He was _"The Word of God,"_ and He was indeed the Creator.

1 John 3:2 _,"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be LIKE him; for we shall see him as he is."_

Romans 8:14 _,"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."_

Romans 8:28 and 29 _,"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."_

The Word of God is saying that we are going to become like Jesus Christ. The Word of God is saying that Jesus Christ is _"The Word." "The Word"_ came to us that we might become _"The Word."_ We must fully manifest God to people even as Jesus Christ fully manifests God to us. This manifestation must not have any spot, or any blemish, or any wrinkle; it must be absolute. God is saying that this Jesus Christ is called _"The Word of God,"_ and we are looking at Jesus Christ and the church as one entity.

Revelation 19:14 _,"And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."_

Which _"armies"_ are we talking about? Michael and Gabriel and all the stones of fire are "in (the second) heaven." The saints, both the prophets and all those who were from Adam who are with Christ, are"in (the third) heaven."

### WHO IS GOING TO BE FOLLOWING CHRIST IN HIS ARMY?

Let us go back to Daniel's prophecy in Daniel 12:1and 2. _"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."_ This prophecy tells us that there is going to be a resurrection, and this resurrected army will be with Jesus.

Daniel tells us of the end of the matter when the antichrist will be defeated and who it is that is going to reign and rule. There will be no doubt after we read this. Daniel 7:25-27 _,"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."_

I want you to notice that he talks about _"the people of the saints of the most High,"_ and then he talks about _"him."_ This _"him"_ simply means that they will be one in Christ and Christ will be one in them. This will be a one-man company. It is as if you start a conversation with one saint and finish it up with another saint. They would be on the same wave length saying the same thing: one people, one mind.

At this time, _"Christ in us"_ (the church) will not just be _"the hope of glory,"_ but it will be _"the glory."_ The glory which Jesus Christ asked the Father for in the 17th chapter and the 5th verse of John's gospel He gave to the church in verse 22. _"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given THEM; that they may be one, even as we are one."_ Now this is the glory come home to the church. This is what we are seeing here in Revelation 19:14 - the church and Christ. Christ in the church functioning as God in the earth. The church in Christ - absolutely, permanently, completely absorbed, made one. Therefore, humanity will be put aside completely forever, and divinity (the gold alone) will show.

The earth will see "The Word of God" in human flesh walking to and fro. If this is not accomplished then Jesus' death on the cross would not have accomplished fully what God had intended - that we should become like Him and that God should have other sons on earth that _"should be like him."_ Romans 8:29, _"He (was) the firstborn among many brethren."_ John 17:22 _,"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."_ Verse 21 shows the oneness and verse 22 shows the glory that will be the oneness.

Revelation 6 was a summary chapter. Verses 10 and 11 _,"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."_ We see a special group of martyrs in the heavenlies (verse 10) and they are crying to the Lord asking when the judgment will be on the earth. _"And white robes were given unto every one of them."_

In Revelation 19:14 we read that _"the armies"_ were _"upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."_ A white-robed throng is coming. What are they coming for? They are coming to judge and to rule the earth. The _"white horses"_ and the _"white robes"_ are related to judgment. The moment one student in a class gets the lesson and passes the exam, it is a judgment against all the other students who heard the teacher teach the lesson. Here we are. The judgment of the world is the _"white robes"_ that the children of God receive who have attained excellence in God. Revelation 19:15, _"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword"_ which is absolutely pertinent and must be consecutive to the receiving of white robes.

Revelation 19:15 _,"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword (the Word of God), that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."_

### THE "SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD"

It says the _"sharp_ (two-edged _) sword"_ came _"out of His mouth."_ It would seem that we have seen this phrase somewhere else. Let us check the passages in which this phrase has been written, for this will give us an understanding of the context.

Whenever the words _"two-edged sword"_ are mentioned, it always speaks of judgment. Psalm 149:5-7 _,"Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people."_ Because we are not carnal, we will receive the spiritual picture that God is showing. He is showing the Word of God executing judgment upon the people; the Word of God becoming the Law in the earth.

We have different laws written in thousands and millions of law books all over the world; laws overlapping laws. God's Law will be the only law. I look forward to the millennium, in not many years to come, when Jesus Christ and His saints will rule the earth and all the politics will be thrown in the trash can. All that men are going on with will be put aside. I do not care whether it is Christian politics or whether it is worldly politics. God is going to cast them all aside. The Word of God will be the judgment, and the administrators will be the sons of God who reign and rule with Christ.

Hebrews 4:12 _,"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any TWOEDGED SWORD, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."_

Revelation 1:16, _"And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp TWO-EDGED SWORD: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."_

The phrase in Revelation 19:15 which says _,"he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron"_ really should read _"he should smite the nations: and he shall shepherd them with a shepherd's staff of iron."_ The _"rod of iron"_ means by spirit and not by flesh. A staff of wood would be flesh, and a staff of iron would be spirit. He is going to "rule them" by His Spirit and by the Word of God.

### "THE WINEPRESS...OF ALMIGHTY GOD"

Revelation 19:15c, " _And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."_ Let us see what _"the winepress...of Almighty God"_ really means. In Biblical times, the treading of the winepress was the way to make wine. They would have a place where all the grapes were thrown in and somebody would go in with their boots and trample the grapes. As the grapes were crushed, the juice would run down into a basin. One time I was traveling through California and I was behind a man with a truck. The man turned into his driveway, got out of the truck, jumped in the back and started treading grapes. This was quite unusual. Even today this is done in some places in France. Men trampling grapes was a tradition during the times of the Bible. When a man had finished trampling the grapes, he would be splattered with the red juice of the grape and it looked like blood.

Isaiah 63:3, _"I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment."_ This is the same picture as I have shown you. They trampled the grapes and it splattered all over them. God is speaking of the judgment as a man going through and trampling the grapes, and the grapes splattering him with the blood. He is speaking of blood flowing from the judgment of man and the judgment of sin.

Lamentations 1:15, _"The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress."_

Revelation 14:19, _"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God."_ In chapter 14 we read a summary of what will happen. Revelation 19 says that now is the time of _"the winepress."_ Now is the time of the judgment. Revelation 14:20, _"And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."_ Remember, we wrote that _"the horse bridle"_ is an idiomatic expression used by the Jews to say how great and how terrible a thing was. We call it hyperbole or exaggeration, used to express or emphasize a point.

### "THE FIERCENESS AND WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD"

Let us look at the _"fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."_ Psalm 78:31, _"The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel."_ The way to understand Scripture is to read many scriptures that say the same thing. Each one might add a little so that we might understand the subject.

John 3:36, _"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."_ This means to say that he had _"the wrath of God...on him"_ before, and it was not taken off because he _"believeth not."_

Let us add another thought from Romans 1:18. _"For the WRATH OF GOD is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness."_ He said it _"is revealed."_ That means that we see what happens to _"men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness."_ Although they will not say it is _"the wrath of God,"_ yet we know it IS _"the wrath of God."_ We know that the accidents and the various things that are happening to wicked men are _"the wrath of God."_

The next reference is Ephesians 5:6. _"Let no man deceive you with vain words: for BECAUSE OF THESE THINGS cometh the WRATH OF GOD upon the children of disobedience."_

Colossians 3:6, _"FOR WHICH THINGS' SAKE the WRATH OF GOD cometh on the children of disobedience."_

Revelation 14:10, _"The same shall drink of the wine of the WRATH OF GOD, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb."_

What is this? Does the Word say that God is ready to pour out His wrath upon those who will not obey Him and are disobedient? Let me give you a hint into the truth. The truth is that the presence of God is so glorious, so powerful, so much light. It is like the best light we have on earth - laser light. If you see a laser beam going across the room and you step in the path of it, it would probably punch a hole through you. Would you say the laser did that to you? The truth is that you did that to the laser. The laser is there, but you have no right to have gone in the path of it. Especially when you were forewarned not to do it. You will be hurt. You will be killed. The revelation of this wrath would be to step in the path of the laser beam. When you are punished or hurt or destroyed, you could not really say, "Well it was the laser that did it to me!" (Even though it was the laser that did it to you.) The fact is that you deliberately went into the path of the laser. This is _"the wrath of God."_

For instance, if you go out of the presence of God, you will go into torment; you will go into fire. The angels who left their first estate deliberately went into something that was there. They should have known, for they had been warned, but they deliberately did it.

We are writing about _"the fierceness and wrath of...God."_ When man enters into sin and darkness then the fierceness of the light is great. If the darkness is very dark, and the light is very bright, then it would be very traumatic to take you immediately out of this fierce darkness into the light. You would say that the light is very fierce. When we write about _"the fierceness"_ of God's wrath, we are writing about the wickedness of sin having built up in the earth, making the earth so totally contrary to God that, if you should bring the two things together, it would be an immediate judgment because the presence of God would destroy the power of sin. Here we find _"the fierceness and wrath of...God"_ being mentioned in the Scripture, especially in regards to the end of time.

To prove that _"the fierceness and wrath of...God"_ is an endtime message (an endtime thing to happen), let us look at Revelation 15:1. _"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is FILLED UP THE WRATH OF GOD."_ This is what we call the fierceness of the wrath; when wrath has come to its fullness. Verse 7 _,"And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever."_ We have been reading about _"four beasts"_ and _"seven angels"_ all along - _"seven stars in His right hand"_ \- seven messengers of truth, which have been given the power of the spoken Word. It is the power of the Word of God to bring judgment in the earth. When it is spoken (Jesus said, _"the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life,"_ John 6:63b), the Spirit goes forth and accomplishes that which God has ordained. Man will come to the point where he receives the fullness of the Word of God.

Back in Revelation 11 we see the _"Two Witnesses"_ having this "POWER" OF THE SPOKEN WORD. It is the same story that we are reading about now in The Revelation. We read a summary and then we come to the point where the thing actually happens in its chronological order. Revelation 11:3, _"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."_ These _"two witnesses"_ are still natural people; they still have flesh and blood, and God is saying, _"I will give power unto (them) and they shall prophesy."_ "Prophesy" means to speak the Word of God. Verse 5, _"And if any man will hurt them, FIRE PROCEEDETH OUT OF THEIR MOUTH, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed."_

We are reading about _"the fierceness and wrath of...God."_ When God and man become one, when the church is fully submitted to God, when part of the church has come into the place where it is absolutely under the headship of God AND GOD SPEAKS, then that speech will be uttered through the human mouth. As it is uttered through the human voice, the power of God will go forth because every angel in heaven will obey. They will hear the voice of their Master, and they will obey and do what is to be done in the earth, and this earth will be cleansed. Sin will be judged. Sinners will be brought to justice.There will be no more unsolved murders, no more killings in the dark, no more rapes and vicious murderings of the innocent; nothing like that will happen again when the sons of God come forth in that fullness of the Spirit of God. Revelation 16:1, _"And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out THE VIALS OF THE WRATH OF GOD upon the earth."_

### "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS"

Revelation 19:16 _,"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."_

The first reference in the Scripture of _"king of kings"_ is in Ezra 7:12. _"Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time."_ Artaxerxes was called _"king of kings"_ because he had in his kingdom many kings whom he had conquered and were under him. His kingdom stretched from Babylon right through India and all those places. It covered almost the whole known world at that time. So he was called _"king of kings"_ because many kings were under him and he was king of those kings.

Ezekiel 26:7 _,"For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people." "A king of kings"_ means that there were many kings of kingdoms whom they had conquered. Nebuchadnezzar was _"a king of kings, from the north,"_ and God was threatening to bring this _"king of kings" "upon Tyrus."_

Daniel testified to this in Daniel 2:37 when he addressed Nebuchadnezzar, _"Thou, O king, art a KING OF KINGS: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory."_ Verse 38 _,"And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold."_ God Himself called Nebuchadnezzar _"a king of kings: for...God...hath given"_ him this kingdom.

Paul received the revelation of the true _"King of kings, and Lord of lords,"_ as he spoke in the Spirit in 1 Timothy 6:13-16. _"I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen."_

Revelation 17:14 _,"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."_

The great promise of God to humanity, to make us kings, came to Moses. God, in a moment of great love and great outpouring to Israel, said in Exodus 19:3 _,"And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob ("to the carnal ones,"_ the spiritual meaning of Jacob _), and tell the children of Israel."_ I want you to notice that He said, _"JACOB,"_ and he said, _"ISRAEL."_ Remember, Jacob's name was changed to Israel - from the carnal supplanter to the son of God. God said, _"SAY TO...JACOB, TELL...ISRAEL,_ (verse 4) _Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself."_

Everyone of us can remember how we were brought through by miracles (through what we thought were coincidences), but God sought us and He brought us. While we were yet sinners, Christ still had angels guarding us, guiding us, and delivering us from death and destruction, and seeing us through situations where other men have been killed, and we miraculously escaped, being brought through unto Himself on these _"eagles' wings."_ These " _eagles' wings"_ are angels' wings, which we call THE MIND OF CHRIST, and the _"wings"_ represent the power of the angels of God.

Exodus 19:5 _,"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine."_ It is marvelous to think that God keeps you and looks at you, as men look at a treasure. A man gets a million dollars and he looks at it with great delight and anticipation. "Now I can buy the things that I always wanted. I can free myself from debt. I can do this; or I can do that." God looks at you as man looks at a treasure. _"Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people"_ of the earth. Verse 6, _"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." God is offering us kingship and "a kingdom of priests."_

Let us look at what brother Peter says by the Holy Ghost. The beauty of it all is that God spoke these words to Israel. People who believe that part of the Bible is for the Jews and part of the Bible is for the Gentiles might look at this. God spoke a word to Israel; and through the Holy Ghost, the word is brought by the Spirit through Peter to speak the same word to the church. 1 Peter 2:9 _,"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."_

Peter could not speak that unless it was in the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit had brought us to this great understanding. Now, when we turn to the back of the book and see the conclusion of this matter, what do we see? We see Jesus Christ coming with His army of kings, and He is the _"KING OF_ (all those) _KINGS."_ He makes us a king and makes us priests to represent Him, and we make Him our King. We take those crowns and cast them down before Him saying, "You are my King!" Now, because He has conquered our hearts, He is rightfully our King. He is rightfully _"KING OF KINGS"_ because we make Him King. He is not just Lord and Saviour, Healer and Baptizer, but _"KING OF KINGS."_

Revelation 19:17 _,"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God."_

We need to look at this verse keenly and see if there is some revelation for us. First of all, why _"an angel standing in the sun"_? In prophetic language, _"the sun"_ always depicts a type of Christ and the attributes of Christ. For instance, when we look at Revelation 12:1, we see _"a woman clothed with the sun."_ It was interpreted to mean that her garments were the righteousness of Christ; she was completely covered with the righteousness of Christ. Here we see an angel that was _"standing in the sun"_ meaning that he was definitely speaking forth on behalf of Christ. He was bringing forth something here about Christ; it was something that Christ wanted announced. Verses 17b and 18, _"And he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great."_

Let us look at these almost identical words in Ezekiel 39 which speak about the judgment of God upon _"Gog."_ It would seem to be saying that it is also the victory of Israel. If we should look at this in the spiritual sense, we are going to see here that this battle against Gog and Magog might well be the battle of Armageddon. Remember, when we think of the word _"Israel,"_ we are not just thinking of the Jewish people, the children of Abraham, but we are thinking about the Israel of God, the whole Body of Christ and the people of God who have been murdered and martyred by the people of the world, by devils, and by sinners.

### EZEKIEL CHAPTER 39

Let us look into the thought from Ezekiel 39 in its context. Verses 1 and 2 _,"Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel."_ If we look at it in the natural, it means that people would be coming from Moscow and Tablisk, two cities of Russia, and that the Russian armies would be coming down into Israel, and there the Lord God would _"smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand"_ (verse 3). That would seem to be saying that there is going to be a great defeat of this northern army in the natural _"mountains of Israel."_

However, if you look at it spiritually (although the Bible is written on the natural plane with a spiritual meaning and a fullness to it), you can see that there will be a great army coming against the people of God. God did say from a prophecy in Zechariah that the _"red horses"_ were riding through the north country and that the _"white horses"_ went after him. There was a phrase used in Zechariah which said that had there not been the _"white horses,"_ then they would have actually snuffed out the Spirit of God in that _"north_ (ern) _country."_

Zechariah 6:2-8 describes the vision that he saw. _"In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country."_

God is saying that the _"black horses"_ are the darkness that covered the land and gross darkness the people. Looking back at history, we know that the Bible had been taken away from Russia and from all the Communist countries. This darkness had come down upon the land so much so that the Word of God became very, very precious to those who had it, and men lost their lives trying to preserve even a leaf or a page of the Bible.

In Ezekiel 39:17, we see the same words as we find in Revelation l9:17. _"And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood."_ Actually what is happening here is that the prophets prophesied before Christ came. Zechariah was speaking approximately 589 years before Jesus Christ. He was seeing a situation that John (after the time of Christ) spoke by the Spirit of Christ and said that this was the chronological order in which it will come. The sons of God will be filled with the fullness of Christ first. They will be made kings and priests unto God according to the promise of God and then the destruction will be unleashed upon the earth. There will be a battle.

The battle of Armageddon is going to be fought between two spiritual forces. All the Satanic forces on the earth will gather themselves together to destroy not just Christians, but Jews and Christians alike. All the people who believe in the Bible are going to be attacked. This is why God says He came. He was the Word of God. The true Word of God will come forth in great power and will destroy the enemy that comes against the people of God. It is going to be a battle, not just on the spiritual plane alone, but also on the natural plane. They will actually go forth to martyr the people of God, and God will raise up a standard against the armies of Satan and utterly destroy them. The validity of this understanding is emphasized by Revelation l9:19.

Revelation 19:19 _,"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army."_

We had seen an army of kings; it is _"the King of kings"_ with His army of kings. Now this is the army which the beast and the false prophet would be going to fight against. Of course, it is a stupid thing. If they could not have conquered this people when they were in a much weaker state, then there is no way that they would have a chance now because they have the glory of God and the power of God with them. However, it is a battle of desperation.

Let me refresh your memory with what we have gone through before. Revelation 16:12 _,"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." Remember, the revelation pertaining to "the...Euphrates"_ was speaking about the people who live in that region. All the Islamic nations will be _"dried up,"_ not having any of God's life in them. They will be preparing a way for the destruction of _"the kings of the east"_ to come in.

Revelation 16:13 and 14 _,"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."_ This _"battle"_ we call the battle of Armageddon. Verse 16, _"And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."_ We went through what _"Armageddon"_ really is earlier in chapter 16 of Volume II. (You will have to go back and refresh your memory of what this word "Armageddon" means.) Actually, it is speaking of a valley in Israel.

Revelation 19:19a speaks of _"the beast, and the kings of the earth"_ coming _"together to make war against him (Jesus Christ) that sat on the (white) horse, and against his army."_ Of course we are talking about Jesus and the church together in one. I want you to remember that certain demonic spirits were assigned to deceive these _"kings,"_ to bring them into this position where they believed they had the power to overcome Christ Jesus and His army.

Remember, when we speak of _"the beast,"_ we are talking about three things in one. We are talking about Revelation 13:1 _,"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea (which is the nations), having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."_ This _"beast"_ will be the United Nations coming together with a man who will head it who will be possessed totally of Satan, and a prophet will be with him who will also be Satanic. These three will come _"together to make war against"_ God.

When a man is called a beast it means that he has lost his human qualities. Man is spirit, soul, and body. The Spirit of God over man's spirit, man's spirit over his soul, and man's soul over his body is divine order. When a man totally disrupts the Spirit of God from coming into his spirit and has totally prevented his spirit from ministering life to his soul, he has nothing to take him back to God. He is in a state of what we call ABSOLUTE BLASPHEMY. In that state he is a hell-bound creature. He is no longer a human being. He has all the attributes of humanity. He has the intellect and everything to go with him, but he is not human in his thinking. Revelation 19:20, _"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."_

### "THE FALSE PROPHET"

When we talk of _"the false prophet"_ it seems that the Word of God is speaking of one specific _"false prophet"_ that will come forth in the time of the end. Let us search the Scriptures. To understand what a false prophet is, let us look at Exodus 7:10-12. _"And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."_ In other words, Aaron's serpent swallowed up their serpents. The magicians were able to do these wonders too.

In Matthew 7:22 and 23, Jesus warned us that there would be false prophets in the church. _"Many will say to me in that day, 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 then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."_

In Matthew 24:23 and 24, He said that these would come forth in the church in the end of time. _"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."_

Paul, by the Spirit, spoke this also in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11. _"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."_ We see that this is an end time problem.

In Revelation 13:13 and 14, the same words are being used. _"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."_ That _"beast"_ is Satan himself, the dragon. We read about the dragon in this chapter, Revelation 19.

The references made about the _"lake of fire burning with brimstone"_ is the permanent hell. At present, hell is a state of being. There are spirits roving around in hell. These spirits which God has told us are in hell are still here disturbing us. People are still being possessed with devils. People are being hurt by devils. Satan is here tempting and hurting and destroying humanity, YET the Bible said that he was chained in hell. We must understand then what the nature of hell is. Hell is a state of being into which spirits are chained and they cannot do as they like but they have to obey certain laws and certain principles. Satan, for instance, cannot just jump on any man and bat his head off. He cannot do it; he is restricted.

In hell there is a lot of burning. Spirits want food, they want energy, they want life, and they can only get their energy from us human beings and from our realm here, and it never seems to be enough. They want more and more and more blood. The more blood they get, the more energy they get, and this is hell. God says here in this last verse that this hell is going to be _"cast...into a LAKE OF FIRE"_ which is really hell. There is no ease from that hell. In the hell that they are in now, they get an ease when they torment human beings. They suck life from human beings. God is saying that there is a hell to come that will be worse than the present hell.

Revelation 19:21 _,"And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."_

Let us look again and see what the _"sword...out of his mouth"_ is. In Revelation 1:16 the _"sharp two-edged sword"_ was coming out of the mouth of the Christ who was standing in the middle candlestick. That is Jesus and the church as one being, married, and standing in the candlestick. The Word of God was coming out of His mouth as _"a sharp two-edged sword."_

Hebrews 4:12 tells us what the sharp _"two-edged sword"_ is. _"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."_ Here is proof that this _"sword"_ refers to _"the Word of God"_ coming out of the mouth of the believer.

## ~~~

Revelation Chapter Twenty

### THE BOTTOMLESS PIT AND THE MILLENNIUM

Revelation 20:1 _,"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand."_

In our study we have already touched on the subject of the _"bottomless pit,"_ but I will quote for you the meaning from the New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, page 2 (and from Strong's # 12). The Greek word **abussos** means **"the pit, the immeasurable depth, the abyss. Hence of the deep"** (speaking of the deep sea). In some scriptures it is referred to as the very lowest parts of the earth like in Psalm 71:20. _"Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth."_ David was praying concerning his resurrection when he wrote this Psalm.

2 Peter 2:4 and 5 _,"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; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly."_ The Greek word used for _"hell"_ in this passage is "TARTAROS" (this is the only time this Greek word is used in the New Testament, but it is sometimes implied). Thayer's Lexicon, page 615, (Strong's # 5020) says **tartaros** is **"the name of a subterranean region, doleful and dark, regarded by the ancient Greeks as the abode of the wicked dead, where they suffer punishment for their evil deeds; it answers to the Gehenna of the Jews."**

Other references include Revelation 9:1. _"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit."_ We wrote that "a star (who fell) from heaven" was a son of God who fell from his rightful place and got the power to open up hell on earth with various war machines.

Revelation 9:11 _,"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."_ People in the church at one time thought that this "king" was Napoleon, because the word "Apollyon" is the word Napoleon. "Apollyon" is the name of the devil. All these are coincidences which might have some meaning, but they do not directly affect the Word of God.

In writing of the _"two witnesses"_ we understand from Revelation 11:7 that _"...when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."_ Remember, in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, we were told that there was one who should come. He had gone into his place and should come again. This is _"the beast"_ and the antichrist. Revelation 17:8, _"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."_ In chapter 20 where we are now, we see that the angel of God came _"down from heaven"_ to chain the angel of "the bottomless pit," or the devil.

Revelation 20:2 _,"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years."_

This great _"dragon"_ gave his power and his authority to another seven-headed beast in Revelation 13. _"The dragon"_ now is captured and put in _"the...pit"_ for "a thousand years." This is basic doctrine. We must understand and believe that there is a millennium ("a thousand years").

Revelation 20:3, _"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till THE THOUSAND YEARS should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."_

Remember, the Word of God has three basic dimensions. The first dimension is natural, the second is spiritual, and the third dimension is the fullness. Let us take the word SABBATH through the three dimensions.

### THE NATURAL SABBATH OF GOD

Genesis 2:2 _,"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on THE SEVENTH DAY from all his work which he had made."_ Exodus 16:23 _,"And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning."_ They were not to cook or bake on that day. Verse 25 _,"And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field."_ The second thought was that they should not go to the field to do any work, not even to gather food. Exodus 16:26 _,"Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none."_ Verse 29 _,"See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."_

The commandment in Exodus 20:8 says _,"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."_ Verse 10 _,"But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates."_ Verse 11 _,"For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."_

Exodus 35:3, " _Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day."_ Exodus 31:14 _,"Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people."_ All this has spiritual meaning. To _"kindle no fire"_ means that no man should do his own thing. There is a time of rest when man should do only God's work and not his own work.

Throughout the Old Testament, the sabbath rest (given to them of God) was kept by the Jews. They did not know what the true meaning of the sabbath rest was. They were taught to obey. Obedience to God was counted to them as righteousness, even though they did not know what they were doing.

### THE SPIRITUAL SABBATH OF GOD

Isaiah 28 has a prophetic reference to the spiritual rest. Verses 9-13, _"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: FOR WITH STAMMERING LIPS AND ANOTHER TONGUE will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is THE REST wherewith ye may cause the weary to REST; and this is THE REFRESHING: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken."_ Without a revelation of the Spirit of God, it would have been very difficult for these people to understand what God was talking about. However, when the writers of the New Testament began to get the revelation from God, it was opened to us and we began to understand the truth.

In John 14 Jesus speaks about _"the rest"_ and _"the refreshing."_ Verses 15-17," _If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."_ Here is spoken the very words of God from the mouth of Jesus Christ that the Holy Ghost that now dwells _"with you"_ and in the world is going to _"be IN YOU."_ It definitely shows two separate and distinct works: the work of salvation (accepting the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and receiving the cleansing blood) and then receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

John 14:22 _,"Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" He was asking, "If two people are sitting here, how are you going to manifest yourself to one and not to the other?"_ Verse 23 _,"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make our abode with him."_ Verse 26 _,"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."_

John 15:26 _,"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me."_ 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."_ Jesus was continuously telling the brethren that there is somebody else to come after Him. There is a Spirit that will come _"and shall be in you"_ and not just _"with you."_

Acts 2:1-3 _,"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them."_ This manifestation was absolutely necessary to identify THE THIRD TEMPLE. Every time a temple was dedicated, fire came down from heaven and lighted the altar. This is the fire that God wants to be in the believer. He does not want a fire of psychology, or a fire of knowledge, or a fire of any training that one might have; He wants the fire of the Holy Ghost. This happened at Pentecost. You would not expect it to happen again and again and again. When the fire fell, IT REMAINED.

The fire fell when Moses made the Tabernacle and dedicated it before God. That fire lasted for 490 years. When Solomon dedicated the temple, the fire fell again. Finally, at Pentecost the fire fell a third time. The fire was a symbol of God saying, _"This is my temple."_ This was the third temple instituted and dedicated before God on the day of Pentecost. The law said that all males must appear before God three times per year \- at Passover, at Pentecost, and at Tabernacles. (We will study this in more detail further on.)

Acts 2:4 _,"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."_ We just read this prophecy in Isaiah 28 _,"with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people"_ and yet they would not believe. Here we see the Holy Ghost coming in. The question is asked, _"But what does this have to do with the sabbath rest?"_

Let us turn to Hebrews 3:7-12. _"Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."_

Hebrews 4:1-3 _,"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed DO ENTER INTO REST, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world." What the Holy Spirit is saying is that God gave them the sabbath day; that is, God gave them the natural seventh-day sabbath. Although they kept the seventh-day sabbath, they did not enter into the rest. They did have the sabbath which should be the rest, but they did not enter into the rest because they were "not... mixed with faith."_

Verses 7-11 _,"Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."_ THE SPIRITUAL REST is nothing more than receiving THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST, it is the coming in of the Spirit within the human spirit. God's Spirit in your spirit brings rest to your soul.

Has every one who has the Holy Ghost entered _"into that rest"_? I would say, _"No."_ Everyone who receives the Holy Ghost receives the _"rest,"_ but to receive the _"rest"_ and _"to enter into that rest"_ is something else. That is why the scripture said in John 14:23 _,"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."_ God is teaching us a spiritual rest.

Unto what then is this spiritual rest? Where is it going to lead us? Is it just something that God wants to give us so that we might relax? Or is it something for a purpose? The _"rest,"_ or the Holy Ghost, is to lead the people of God into Christ. This is the thing that brings us to this thousand-years rest or the sabbath rest. The earth will be at rest for one thousand years. The earth will be free from Satan. God said that He sent _"an angel... down"_ with _"a great chain,"_ and he _"bound"_ _"the dragon, that old serpent,... the Devil, and Satan,"_ and He _"cast him into the bottomless pit"_ or the prison house of God. See Revelation 20:1-3. Satan is incarcerated. What does that mean to us?

The first sin that humanity committed was instigated, orchestrated, and actually forced upon Eve. Eve did not know what she was doing. The Bible said that Eve was _"beguiled."_ See 2 Corinthians 11:3. A person who is deceived does not know that he is being deceived. He thinks everything is all right. He thinks he is doing well. Eve thought that she was doing well. She thought that, after all, God wants us to be like Him, so now we are going to be like Him and surprise Him. Satan completely deceived her, according to the Scriptures. Because she was deceived, the sin which Eve committed was not of Eve but of the devil. It was a situation in which Eve was totally overcome, conquered, mesmerized, and deceived. 1 Timothy 2:14 _,"And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."_

When Satan therefore is _"bound,"_ we will be delivered from the _"serpent"_ (that is the deceiver), from _"Satan"_ (that is _"the Devil"_ ), and we will be delivered from _"the accuser."_ The names of Satan speak of the NATURES from which we will be delivered. _"The accuser"_ is found in Revelation 12:10. "The adversary" is found in 1 Peter 5:8. He is called _"the angel of the bottomless pit"_ in Revelation 9:11, _"Belial"_ in 2 Corinthians 6:15, _"Beelzebub"_ in Matthew 12:24, _"the devil"_ in Matthew 4:1, _"god of this world"_ in 2 Corinthians 4:4, _"murderer"_ in John 8:44, _"prince of the devils"_ in Matthew 12:24, _"prince of the power of the air"_ in Ephesians 2:2, and _"prince of this world"_ in John 14:30. All this will be taken out of the world and taken away from the human realm, and man will be left to himself.

With the gospel being preached to the people, and with the LACK of a tempter and an accuser and a coercer and one that plays tricks upon humanity to get him to sin; that is, in the absence of this thing, man will have a much better chance to know God and to see heaven and to live in Christ. This will happen for _"a thousand years."_ This thousand-year period is THE SABBATH.

### THE MILLENNIUM: THE FINAL SABBATH OF GOD

God took six days in which He did His work, and on the seventh day He rested. Everything that God made and began to make in each of those six days was completed (came to fruition) in the same day, in the thousand-year day. Remember _,"one day is with the LORD as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day,"_ 2 Peter 3:8. When the six thousand years are over, the completed man will come forth in God. This means in our time. THIS MEANS NOW! This is l999 according to an erroneous calendar. Therefore, we are way up there at the end of the sixth day, and we are about to come to the dawn of the seventh day. Remember, the day begins in the evening. _"And the evening and the morning were the sixth day,"_ Genesis 1:31b. The evening of the sixth day is actually the beginning of the seventh day. As the seventh day begins, it goes into darkness, and then it comes with light blazing forth. This darkness that we are about to go into, this final phase of darkness (for we are now in the darkness) is going to bring us to the brink where midnight passes over and the day begins to dawn.

The last phrase of Revelation 20:3 says that after this millennium, in the eighth day, the devil _"must be loosed a little season."_ We do not know how much time that _"little season"_ will be. Really at this point of time, it does not really concern us; it is not really a part of our gospel to even understand what is going to happen on the eighth day, although it might well be here in Scripture.

Revelation 20:4 _,"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."_

The Word is talking about a group of people who will live and reign _"with Christ_ (for) _a thousand years."_ This group is the Firstfruits company, or the Man child company.

### THE COMING OF THE "MAN CHILD" CHURCH

The church, the Tabernacle, the temple - all have three different sections. The Outer Court church does its own thing, the Holy Place church is in obedience to Christ, and the Holy of Holies church has entered into Christ and into God. The analogy that we have in Revelation 12 speaks of _"a woman_ (standing) _clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,"_ and pregnant with a _"man child."_ This word speaks of the church in its three different phases. Each phase had a time period where it was predominant. We are going now towards the predominance of the church of the _"man child"_ (in verse 2) which has not yet come forth. This is the church that _"the dragon,"_ the Satanic organization, Satan himself, this seven-headed, ten-horned beast, has sworn to destroy.

Revelation 12:5, _"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."_ When this church came forth, it came forth with such a power that immediately it was lifted above where Satan could not touch it. It was in the rulership area. It had so much strength that Satan could not touch it. _"Caught up"_ does not mean _"her child"_ was taken out of the world and put into outer space. It means that _"her child"_ (the church) was _"caught up,"_ like Paul was _"caught up,"_ into a realm of power where Satan could not reach.

There are four references in Scripture about the _"rod of iron."_ Psalm 2:9 _,"Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."_ Revelation 2:27, _"And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."_ Revelation 12:5 we just quoted. Revelation 19:15, _"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."_

The picture of this "man child" church was clearly drawn for us by John, the beloved, in Revelation 1:12-16. _"And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."_ All the references to the _"man child"_ have one or two of these attributes. If we can identify who this _"man child"_ is here in chapter 1, we will be able to put the whole thing together.

First of all, John saw the Candlestick, or the Lampstand, which is the symbol of the church. However, this symbol was different from the past symbols. In the middle Candlestick, which is the main one, the one standing on the floor, was _"the Son of man."_ (All the others are branches of this great middle Candlestick.) Jesus Christ and the Candlestick became one. In Revelation 19, we saw that He married. This is another analogy or symbolic thought to help us understand, from human terms, godly and heavenly things. He married this bride, this church, and they became one. The idea is that THEY WERE ONE.

### THE ONENESS OF THE LORD

John 17 shows us God's perfect will for the church. Verses 22 and 23, _"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we_ (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) _are one: I in them_ (Jesus in us _), and thou in me_ (God in Jesus), _that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou has sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."_ If you see this to be the perfect will of God, could you go into an ecumenical joining with people who are deviant and contrary to God and say that this is the will of God that we, the church, should be one? This is not the oneness that the Lord is talking about. The oneness that Jesus is talking about is a oneness wherein we are absolutely subject to the Head which is Christ.

Every man, everywhere, that is subject to the Head, which is Christ, does not have to go and make an agreement, or an ecumenical joining, with another man in order to be one. He is already one in Christ. If Christ speaks, he moves and becomes a part of Christ. Every part of my body is at this present time subject to my head. My hands and my feet must move according to the dictates of my head. This is what we call ONENESS. Anything else is a travesty; it is against the very thoughts of Almighty God. The thing that is about to come forth is called the one-world church, or the antichrist, with _"seven heads and ten horns;"_ power will be given to them by Satan himself.

In Matthew 24:21 and 22, Jesus refers to this group of people (the _"man child"_ ) and He called them _"the Elect." "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."_ These are not just the called-out, not just the church, but the eklektos, those who are selected out of the elected. The selected ones will be selected out of the ekklesia, or the church. The eklektos comes out of the ekklesia, or the chosen comes out of the church. God is saying that there is a _"man child"_ company.

Another description of this company is in Revelation 14. In this chapter they are called the 144,000. Verse 4, _"These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb."_

WHO SHALL REIGN "WITH CHRIST A THOUSAND YEARS"?

Let us go back to Revelation 20:4. _"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."_ Let us look again and see who these people are who _"lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."_

The first reference is found in Revelation 6:9-11. _"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."_ The people referred to here who _"should be killed as they were"_ _("beheaded")_ are the Overcomer company who must overcome death. Jesus was the first to overcome death, and these will be _"the firstfruits"_ unto Christ.

Let us look at this thought coming through the Scriptures. Hebrews 11:35 _,"Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain A BETTER RESURRECTION."_ The knowledge and the understanding of the brethren was that if they died as martyrs, they would receive a martyr's crown which was _"a better resurrection"_ than the ordinary resurrection.

Romans 8 shows us the same thought. Verses 22 and 23, _"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."_ Notice, _"the firstfruits."_ Verses 28 and 29 _,"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."_ Jesus first resurrected from the dead, and there are other men who will come back from the dead and also manifest on earth.

1 Corinthians 15:23 _,"But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."_ Those who are in Christ will be _"the firstfruits"_ (will come forth first), and they that are belonging to Christ will come forth _"afterward."_ We can clearly see that God is saying that there is a group of people who will come forth first, like the firstfruits of a harvest, and they will be the best. God will use these to reign and rule with Him.

### THE OVERCOMERS SHALL SIT UPON THE THRONES

When we read about THRONES, we can go back to Revelation 4 and look at those in the throne room. Verses 6 and 7 _,"And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."_ We have already explained that the _"beasts"_ were a symbol of the soul of man and we have proved it from Revelation 5. In Revelation 12:5 we see that the _"man child"_ was born, and he should _"rule"_ and reign _"with a rod of iron,"_ or a shepherd's staff of iron, to shepherd the nations. In Revelation 20, there is a reference about the _"thrones"_ being set up. These are the people, the Overcomers, who will be sitting on the thrones.

To further consolidate this thought, let us go back and remind ourselves of one scripture which we have quoted many times before. Daniel 7:27 _,"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."_ _"The saints of the most High"_ are the ones who will sit on the thrones, and it will be given to them.

Revelation 11:7 _,"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."_ This is exactly what we saw in Revelation 6 when we read that the others _"should be killed as they were."_ The idea is that Satan loves to kill. If he was smart, he would not have killed Jesus because he would have known that the shedding of Jesus' blood would have been too powerful for him. He loved blood so much and loved to kill so much that he could not restrain himself. So they killed Jesus, and they killed many other saints, but the saints that were killed did not resurrect again.

God, however, is setting a trap for them in the person of the Overcomers. For these Overcomers shall have received immortality like Jesus Christ. The Scripture said that they should come forth like Him before they are killed. What happens when you kill a man who has immortality? He is going to resurrect. As these people resurrect, they will overthrow the kingdom of Satan. Revelation 11:11 and 12 _,"And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."_ We are talking about being lifted up to the throne.

In chapter 12 where we read about the _"man child"_ being born, he was also _"caught up...to his throne."_ These are _"caught up_... _to_ (the _) throne."_ The truth is that it is the same people; it is the same event. In Daniel 7:22 we read that _"the saints of the most High"_ would take the kingdom. Here we read in Revelation 20:4 that _"judgment was given unto them."_ It is the same phrase put in two different ways.

### THE GREATEST PASSAGE ON RESURRECTION IN THE BIBLE

The next thought we look at is _"the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus"_ who _"lived and reigned with Christ_ (for) _a thousand years,"_ Revelation 20:4. Let us look at the basic doctrine of the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:49-54 _,"And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."_ _"As we have born the image of"_ Adam, _"we shall also bear the image of"_ Jesus Christ. _"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."_ From this we can clearly see the basic foundation doctrine that it is the will of God that we should overcome death. How can we overcome death if nobody dies? The Firstfruits company will give their lives and be resurrected again. The Two Witnesses shall be resurrected and stand again in flesh and bone before everyone, just like Jesus Christ. Then God will receive His firstfruits of His harvest.

We cannot speak about resurrection unless we touch the greatest passage on resurrection in our whole Bible, Job 19. Here is a man lying three years on the floor in ashes, trying to ease the pain of boils and blisters that are all over his body. He was suffering and he looked at the worms who were busily taking away his flesh. His flesh was just melting under the trial of this sickness and this suffering. He said in verses 25 - 27, _"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."_

This is just ABSOLUTE FAITH. Think of a man under such pressure and destruction of death! His flesh was melting away right before his eyes, and he said that HE WOULD _"SEE GOD"_ in that same flesh. Not other eyes, not new eyes, BUT THE SAME EYES would behold His God in the latter day. He believed in the eminent appearance of Jesus Christ so he could say that with great conviction. 1 John 3:2 _,"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."_

There is much contention in some quarters whether we will be here for the tribulation or not, or what the story will be. Revelation 20:4 simply says that THE SAINTS WILL BE HERE and that they will not take the mark of the beast nor worship his image. There are saints here who will be in the Firstfruits company who _"neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."_

Revelation 20:5 and 6 _,"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."_

The word _"PRIESTS"_ here means _"mediator_ (s) _between God and men."_ God said, _"For there is...one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,"_ 1 Timothy 2:5, yet He gives us very strong promises that we will be _"kings and priests"_ unto Him. The mystery can be easily cleared up because the marriage is already past; the individual will no longer be an individual in himself, but he will be filled with Christ, even as Christ was filled with God. When you see him, you will be looking at Christ and man together in one unit. It will no longer be I, but it will be all of Christ. The resurrection then must come, and man must walk on this earth in his resurrected body even as Jesus Christ did in His. He walked with all the power of God incorporated in that body. To be a priest, you have to be a priest between the people and God. There are going to be people on earth; normal, ordinary people will be taught godliness, and the priest will lead them into Christ.

Why _"a thousand years"_? How do I know that it is a natural thousand years? I know it is a natural thousand years, because the other six thousand years were six natural thousand years. It is very simple to prove this fact. Take your Bible and count the time from Adam to the death of Noah. You will find it was 2,006 years. Count again down to Christ, and you will find it was another 2,000 years. Count again down to us and it is another 2,000 years. Therefore it is six thousand years. Anybody who quarrels over this understanding of the Word of God has not really understood or heard from God. On the other hand, they have not been able to count the years for themselves. It has been 6,000 years and the next thing to happen is that Jesus Christ will descend into His saints in His fullness. You say, "Well, I have Christ already!" If you have Christ already, why do you sin? Why do you make mistakes? It means that Christ has not come to you in His fullness.

Christ will come in His fullness to the church at midnight. The fullness of redemption and power must come to the church at midnight. Revelation 11:3 _,"And I will give power unto my two witnesses..."_ They will receive this _"power"_ to go out and minister for three and a half years. During that time, the antichrist will be reigning on earth, and these people will be the only counteracting force to stop him from totally destroying the human race.

The next move is that these people will be ordered of God to give up their lives. They will be slain, their heads will be cut off, they will be resurrected in three and a half days, and they will bring down the kingdom of Satan and hand it over to Jesus Christ at His coming. He will come. When He comes, He will find those who are like Him in the earth. This is the story in a nut shell.

Revelation 20:6-9 _,"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."_

### THE MILLENNIUM AND THE RESURRECTION AFTER

Let us just look again at what we are reading. One thousand years have passed, and it is around the year 3,000. This 1,000 years would have been the seventh day of God. The earth was under perfect rest, perfect order, perfect peace. Mankind had the privilege of Jesus Christ's presence on earth, and Isaiah described it as a paradise. Isaiah 65:17 and 18 _,"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy."_ Longevity will be given back to the people. No more will man die after living a few short years, but we will be getting back our thousand years to live.

Isaiah 65:20 _,"There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed."_ It seems that there will still be some sinners around, but I do not think there will be many. Verses 21-23 _,"And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat of the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands."_ Verse 25 _,"The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like a bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD."_ There will be no venomous serpents or poisonous snakes or anything that will hurt anybody in the _"holy mountain"_ of God.

After all this beauty and grandeur and safety and love and joy, God will let Satan out again. It is like a process of analysis wherein you must have a final sifting. You might say that people born in the millennium have an unfair advantage over those born in our wretched times. God will let loose the devil again, and he will go _"to gather"_ the people from _"the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog... to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."_

There is something that we need to understand right here. At the end of this thousand-year period, there is going to be another resurrection. Remember, Revelation 20:5 _,"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."_ _"The thousand years"_ will be _"the first resurrection,"_ and people will be resurrecting every day. Newly-born children will be born in the natural. They will grow up until they learn God, submit to God, and love God, and then be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. A man will change from mortal to immortal. There will be no death for the Christian or for those who love the Lord. This will continue for 1,000 years.

However, when that 1,000 years is over, God will loose Satan again. When he is _"loosed,"_ his people also will be loosed. The wicked dead will be given their bodies, and they will turn again. The truth is that these people would say they were under an unfair advantage, because they did not have the opportunity to serve God; they were oppressed by sin, and the devil, and the wicked world, and they will have all kinds of excuses before God's throne. So, God in His great wisdom will let them loose again and give them their bodies again. At this time, when they get their bodies, they will say, "Well, we are immortals, they cannot kill us again, let us join the devil and kill them all." This is the ignorance of sin. The stupidity of the sinner is astounding.

We will now touch on the phrase _"Gog and Magog."_ He gathered Gog and Magog _"to battle."_ The references in Scripture to _"Gog and Magog"_ are really divided into two different battles, two different wars. The first battle is the battle of Armageddon, which we have studied before. Satan and his hosts (the forces of Satan) will come up against God and His people. The same reference again is to Satan having been _"loosed out of"_ the pit, gathering together all the people who are yet on his side after 1,000 years of the Christ reign on earth. There will be many resurrected; millions and billions of resurrected people will be ready to go with Satan again against the people of God. This time it will be the final battle, and this is after the millennium. What we are reading here in chapter 20 of the Revelation is the battle after the millennium.

Verse 9 _,"And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."_ It could not be the natural _"fire_ (that) _came down...and devoured"_ the wood and the stone in the time of Ezekiel. This fire can devour spirits. Many of these people who will have been resurrected had their spiritual bodies and the _"fire...devoured them."_

Revelation 20:10 _,"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night FOR EVER AND EVER."_

Many contend that this phrase _"for ever and ever"_ might mean in some scriptures for a time. Let us look at the Greek and see if it has any reference to a time that will be terminated. The phrase in the Greek is aionas ton aionon which is literally translated _"ages of the ages."_ We must find this same phrase somewhere else in the Bible. This phrase coincides with the Hebrew word goh-lahm' (Strong's # 5769) which means for ever and for ever, time unto a vanishing point, perpetual, of any time, world without end. This is the Old Testament meaning. Exodus 15:18, _"The Lord shall reign for ever and ever."_ There is no doubt in our minds that God is going to _"reign for ever."_ He is not going to reign for a time. The phrase _"for ever"_ in that sense means exactly ETERNITY.

The next reference is 1 Chronicles 29:10. " _Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever."_ The word goh-lahm' is used in the Old Testament for EVERLASTING God. We take the same word and translate it into the Greek, and it is AION (Strong's # 165). The meaning is perpetuity, for ever, age, course, eternal, evermore, beginning of the, while the world begins, without end. Galatians 1:5, _"To whom be glory FOR EVER AND EVER. Amen."_ Philippians 4:20, _"Now unto God and our Father be glory FOR EVER AND EVER. Amen."_ l Timothy 1:17 _,"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory FOR EVER AND EVER. Amen."_ Hebrews 1:8, _"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is FOR EVER AND EVER: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."_

We see definitely that the Old Testament and the New Testament agree that this word means _"for ever."_ However, words do not always have the same meaning in every sense. There are some cases in which it meant for a time. We have to look at the Word of God, and hear what God is saying, and know when He is saying it is _"FOR EVER."_

For instance, in Ephesians 3:21 _,"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, WORLD WITHOUT END. Amen."_ In this sense, the word is used to speak about all the ages of the existence of the church. In 1 Corinthians 2:7 the word is used thus, _"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."_ The word here is used as a time period past. In Matthew 12:32, it refers to two different times or ages. _"And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."_ We see the word aionios referring to two different periods of time. Whenever the word refers to anything pertaining to God, and it says "for ever and ever" in a peculiar repetition of the words ever and ever, it definitely means everlasting, eternity.

From this rendition and this understanding, we believe that THIS HELL is permanent. Remember, the hell, the Hades that we have been dealing with, was not permanent, because there are places in Scripture where we see that the devil was taken out of this abyss and put back into it. Therefore, we can see that if hell (Hades) is permanent, then the last phrase here in verse 10 would be out of order.

### DIFFERENT POWERS, DIFFERENT REWARD

Revelation 20:11 and 12 _,"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."_

It would seem that this _"white throne"_ judgment seat for the Christian would be a case of giving them a reward; for the sinner it would be a case of casting them into a permanent place of separation from God. Now, if someone thinks that this is somewhat too harsh, then we need to have a little discussion on this point.

Let us deal with _"the book of life."_ James 1:12 _,"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."_ Revelation 2:10 _,"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."_ It is clearly stated here that there are different rewards given to the people of God, and that the rewards will not all be the same. Someone says, "Well, I do not care, as long as I make it in." Well, Praise God, but there are in heaven different powers of angels, different rewards, different positions, different situations.

For instance, there is a Michael and a Gabriel, and there are many other angels of lesser degree which God calls mighty angels. We call them archangels. (I do not know how correct the word is, but for want of a better word, we call them archangels.) God calls them, in Ezekiel, _"STONES OF FIRE."_ These angels have the power to change everything, like fire. These angels have this magnificent power so that whatever they come upon, they can change it by just sheer power and the glory of God that is with them.

1 Corinthians 15:40-43 _,"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised IN POWER."_ We understand, therefore, there will be a difference, and this is why people should labor that they might receive all the goodness that God has for them. I do believe that in our endeavors and in our work as Christians, God has certain rewards to give, and I do believe that it is possible for one to miss their reward and fail to receive it.

No deed, no thought, no action dies. It is all being stored up in a record. We know that God can record our thoughts. Listen to this scripture. Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 14 _,"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."_ It is indeed awesome for us to even think that God hears everything we say and hears the things we do not say; that is, HE KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF OUR HEART. A man will be judged on a level which is so high, that he will be judged for the things he thinks and the things he plans to do, even if he did not accomplish them. We look at Scripture to carry this thought out. Matthew 12:36 _, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."_ God is speaking about idle words of sinners and also of Christians. We are going to be surprised to see how much loss we suffer at _"the judgment seat of Christ."_ _"The judgment seat of Christ"_ is designed of God to give rewards to the Christians. See 2 Corinthians 5:10.

### FINAL JUDGMENT

Revelation 20:12 _,"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out the those things which were written in the books, according to their works."_

We have dealt with _"the book of life"_ so we are going to deal with the other book now, THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.

Revelation 20:13 _,"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."_

Let us look into the Scriptures to see how final this final judgment is. Malachi 4:1 _, "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."_ In Hebrews 6:2, Paul speaks of the foundation doctrines that should be part of our personal foundation. He referred to _"eternal judgment"_ as one of the foundational doctrines. _"Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."_ Someone who does not believe or know the doctrine of _"eternal judgment"_ does not have the foundation that Paul speaks about here.

In Matthew 25:31-41, Jesus speaks about this judgment. He says _, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE, prepared for the devil and his angels."_

These are the words of Jesus Himself, and it simply means that Jesus is preaching an _"everlasting fire."_ We have looked at the different places where the word "aionion" was used. "Aionion life" is translated "everlasting, eternal life." This same word "aionion" is used in this verse 41.

Jude 6 and 7 _,"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. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE."_

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."_ These thoughts are consistent with Scripture - _"everlasting life"_ and _"everlasting contempt."_ Some people believe that hell will burn for a time and then burn itself out, but the fact that creatures of God (that God originally made) go to hell means that they could not have been in heaven. Anyone who can be in heaven, God will get into heaven. Any human being that can be saved will be saved, even if it is the last breath that he draws. God will save him, for God will find a way to save him. There are those that cannot be saved. Sometimes they come to church and abide with the saints for awhile, but they turn back, turn away, and go into everlasting hell. They want hell. Their whole nature could not stand the light of God. They are contrary creatures to light; they are people of darkness. One can so live, so operate, that he becomes a creature of darkness, and he cannot stand light. He hates light, he hates God, he hates God's people, and he hates everything pertaining to God.

Jesus preached eternal hell extensively. This following scripture is said by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:12. He was baptizing Jesus Christ, and he was describing the role that Jesus plays. Jesus is the judge _"whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."_ In Mark 9:44, Jesus used another phrase which meant eternal fire. _"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."_ He was referring to Gehenna, the place where people burned garbage. The worms crawled on the sides of the wall. There was fire and there was burning. The worms do not die, _"and the fire is not quenched."_ He used that reference to give them an idea of what hell will be like.

Psalm 92:7 _,"When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever."_ The apostles all preached an eternal hell. 2 Peter 2:17 _, "These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever."_ The thought of an eternal hell is something very, very difficult for us as children of God to conceive. There are things you can think about, but you can hardly comprehend eternity, much more think about a hell that continues on and on and on. Therefore, I went to God. The Bible says that the fire is everlasting and hell is everlasting. Because I was so perplexed by this thought, I went to God and asked Him, "Why God? Why is there hell forever?" His answer to me was most vivid, most enlightening, and it satisfied my soul. I believe that when I tell you what happened, you too will get that deliverance and satisfaction.

### WHY HELL IS PERMANENT

I did not know that I was in a vision. It did not come unto me like a vision. I was on my knees asking God to show me the reason why there is eternal hell. Suddenly, I noticed my door began to open. As the door began to open, I had the knowledge that a fallen angel, a prince of devils, was coming through the door. (Of course, you do not know how you get the knowledge; it is just a word of knowledge.) He was in the shape of a man. When he stepped through the door and came in, I got the feeling that I was in the presence of some notable person. He did not carry the bearing of a commoner. He carried the bearing of a prince, a man who has authority and is accustomed to exercising authority.

When he came in, the first thought that came into my little mind was to see if I could deceive him and just pick a chat with him. So I told him, "Howdy do," and he began to talk. He said, "Let us cut out all the preamble. You know why I am here, and I know why I am here. Just go right to it." I said, "OK. Now you have been in heaven, and you know what it is to be in hell. I have a word of authority from God that whatsoever I ask Him, He will do it for me. If I ask Him to put you into heaven, He will do it. His Word says so, even though it is contrary to the thought that you will never go back to heaven. I believe that I could put you back in heaven under one condition. The condition is that you must ask me to pray for you that God may put you back into heaven."

As I looked at his face, it was like a storm suddenly came over the horizon. His eyes glared, his face flushed, and he got into a mad temper. He stomped his foot on the floor and cursed God in a way I never heard any thing curse God before. Then he said, "If He will put me back into heaven, I will go back for one purpose!" He stomped his foot and said, "To destroy!" The demonstration was so frightening and horrible that I decided to rebuke him immediately to get him out of there. Before the thought could reach to my lips, or I could give voice to it, he was gone. He had seen it coming and it seems that he has such power that he acted like a Pentium computer and was gone. All I saw was the door closing and his hand closing the door. I decided to follow him through the door. When I went outside, he had put on a cloke of affability, and he was like a loving uncle playing with the children. I knew I could not go up to him and rebuke him before the children. So I said, "My God what shall I do?" The Lord said to me, "Play ball!"

To paraphrase what I think this means is that, first of all, hell is permanent. It is not because God would not have mercy, or that God would not have pity, but because the people who are in hell are creatures of darkness, they have no desire for light, and they prefer hell to heaven. It is hard to conceive. We all want to be comfortable. We all want air conditioning, if it is hot. We all want heat, if it is cold. These creatures have reconstructed themselves. They have changed their natures from creatures of God into creatures of darkness, and the light would hurt them. The darkness gives them some type of solace, although we say they will be in _"the lake of fire."_

### HELL WAS MADE FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS

When I think of _"the lake of fire,"_ I can only assume that because they are outside of the presence of God, they can no longer get life and energy. They can no longer feed upon Christians and the people of the world. They can no longer take their energy and life. Therefore they will be starved to death, and they will be in darkness. This is what they prefer. There is nothing in them to change them. The reason why men change is because God has put a spirit in them to bring them back to God, and the Holy Ghost gets into that man's spirit and pulls man back towards God. These creatures have destroyed what the Scripture calls _"thy sanctuaries."_ They have destroyed every thought, every feeling, every blessing of God within themselves, and they have become another creature which God never made. They will remain in hell forever, because they do not want heaven, and God has no other place for them to go. Hell was made for the devil and his angels.

It is indeed unfortunate that men will also go to hell because they reject Jesus Christ as Saviour. The Lord said that _"this is the condemnation."_ It is not that man has sinned, not that man has done wickedly, not that man has transgressed, not that man has disobeyed, but that man has rejected Jesus Christ the Lord, the only way out of sin. The basis upon which men will go to hell is just one thing and one thing only. Men refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord - the only way out of sin and death and hell.

### THE MYSTERY OF RESURRECTION

Let us look again at Revelation 20:13. _"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."_ This occurrence happens after the millennium. At the end of the 1,000 years, the Scripture speaks of the sea giving up her dead, _"and death and hell"_ giving up her dead. _"The dead"_ is referring to the people who are in hell at this time.

Let us look at _"the sea"_ in the natural. When a person is lost at sea his body is devoured by sharks and different sea animals, his bones are washed away and melted, and over the years he becomes part of _"the sea."_ Every atom that was in his body has become part of something else. Now we are writing about the power of resurrection. This power is of such magnitude that it recreates that which was. It does not recreate the substance from another substance or from any new substance, but it takes back the substance from wherever it is and brings it back to be the individual, to be the person. Notice this very carefully because this is in itself a great mystery. IT IS THE MYSTERY OF RESURRECTION.

In Job 19:25-27, we read what Job brought forth from the Holy Spirit. _"For I KNOW that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."_ This verse pinpoints the time of the resurrection - _"at the latter day."_ Job continues, _"And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in MY FLESH shall I see God: (there is a colon in the sentence because Job is going to explain how such a thing will happen) Whom I shall see for myself, and MINE EYES shall behold, and not another."_ Job was saying that he was not going to get new eyes; he was not going to get new flesh. Job will be in the same flesh with the same eyes _"though my reins be consumed within me."_

The most glorious preaching of resurrection can be found somewhere else in the Bible. Jesus preached the resurrection in John 6:39 and 40. _"And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I SHOULD LOSE NOTHING, but should raise it up again at the last day. 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."_ Verse 44 _,"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will RAISE HIM UP at the last day."_ Verse 54, _"Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will RAISE HIM UP at the last day."_ This Word of the Lord is very explicit. It is almost impossible to misunderstand, yet some people do.

Let us look at John 11. It is a marvelous thing that the apostle John himself should be the one to be writing this and impressing it so much. John tells us that Jesus Christ was in a certain place when the news came to Him that His dear friend, Lazarus, had died. Jesus _"abode two days still in the same place where he was."_ He stayed until it was the fourth day. In verses 25 and 26, He made a marvelous remark. _"Jesus said unto her, I AM THE RESURRECTION, AND THE LIFE: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"_ Jesus is saying here that if He is _"the resurrection, and the life,"_ then those who have Him have their resurrection within themselves. If you have Jesus in you, you have _"the resurrection"_ in you. (That is a whole long message in itself.)

Verses 38-44 _,"Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."_

We are reading about flesh that was rotten. A decomposed body became UN-decomposed. This is resurrection power! The people who were blown to smithereens by the atomic blasts at Nagasaki and Hiroshima will come forth whole - body to body, limb to limb, atom to atom. They will stand again before God to be judged at the end of time OR they will come forth in the resurrection of the living at the beginning of the millennium. There is going to be a resurrection at the beginning of the millennium, and there is going to be a resurrection at the end of the millennium. The people of God will come forth in the first resurrection. Those who come forth in the last resurrection are the dead. They will not live again, but they will be judged and sent to _"the lake of fire."_

Revelation 20:13b," _death and hell delivered up the dead." "Death and hell" will cough up "the dead which were in them."_

What is _"hell"_ and what is _"death"_? The words _"the dead"_ here are used in a spiritual sense. Those who lost their souls, those who are not with Christ or in Christ, are the sinful dead. They will be in a place called _"hell."_ Hell is not a natural place. It is a spiritual realm in which spirits of the dead, the sinners who have lost their souls, walk to and fro, back and forth. When we say _"SPIRITS,"_ we are talking about the soul/spirit. The other spirit, which God gave to man, goes back to God at death. If a person is a Christian, the soul will go back with the Holy Ghost and the spirit to God. God will have gained a soul. The spirit will have gained its own soul, and they will be alive. They will not be dead.

Hebrews 4:12 _,"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the DIVIDING ASUNDER OF SOUL AND SPIRIT, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."_ When a sinner dies, therefore, he is divided. His spirit goes back to God, and the soul wanders in a place of darkness and starvation away from God. It cannot get energy and life from God. It wanders to and fro in the earth, _"seeking rest; and finding none,"_ and the body rots in the grave.

Let me quote that scripture for you. Luke 11:24 _,"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out."_ Hell, then, is a place where spirits wander to and fro and have no rest.They are tormented by the sins that they usually committed when they were on earth and in this body. They can find no satisfaction; there is a burning and a suffering and that is the present hell.

Revelation 20:14 _,"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."_

There is a permanent hell called _"THE LAKE OF FIRE."_ The people who are in the present hell have some ease from their torment when they put their torment on other people (when demon spirits possess other people). They suck life from the people of the world and get some ease from their torment by tormenting others. However, this _"lake of fire"_ (this permanent prison house of God from which no one can escape) is being lit, and God is getting this ready to cast all that is _"hell"_ and all that is _"death"_ into it. The spirit of death will be there too, for there will be no more death left when God puts this thing away forever.

Revelation 20:15 _,"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."_

We cannot emphasize this enough. For a person's name to be _"in the book of life,"_ one must accept Jesus as their Saviour. It is not possible for any of us to make ourselves righteous or to make ourselves fit for the Kingdom of God. God has made it so easy that man does not have to try to clean himself up, or try to make himself beautiful before God, or try to make himself worthy. All he has to do is to take his sins and go to God and say, "Lord God, Jesus Christ, save me by your blood, for I am a sinner!" The reason it is so easy is the very reason why man will be judged; for if he hates God, he will not be able to submit to God and say, "I am a sinner, I am no good, save me Lord!" _"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil,"_ John 3:19. One thing we should understand is that there is no middle ground. A man's name that is not _"written in the book of life"_ IS in the book of the dead.

# ~~~

Revelation Chapter Twenty-One

### HEAVEN ON EARTH

Revelation 21:1 _,"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."_

Many people say that God is going to burn up this earth and destroy this world and make a new world. Let us see what the Word of God is saying. First of all, is this world going to be destroyed? Psalm 104:5 _, "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it SHOULD NOT BE REMOVED FOR EVER."_ Psalm 78:69 _,"And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the EARTH WHICH HE HATH ESTABLISHED FOR EVER."_ Isaiah 45:17 _,"But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an EVERLASTING SALVATION: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded WORLD WITHOUT END."_ The same phrase is in Ephesians 3:21. _"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, WORLD WITHOUT END. Amen."_ Ecclesiastes 1:4 _,"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but THE EARTH ABIDETH FOR EVER."_ With so many scriptures saying one thing we must believe it, if we have faith and belief in the Word of God. We must believe then that the earth is abiding forever. The earth will remain forever; it will not be destroyed.

_"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."_ What are we talking about? The word _"EARTH"_ has three basic meanings. The natural earth or terra firma is the ground on which we stand and is called _"earth"_ in the Bible. Worldliness is also called _"earth,"_ and Man is called _"highest"_ earth. Proverbs 8:26 _,"While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world."_ This verse means to say that the lowest earth would be the ground outside. Next would be the vegetable kingdom, and the next would be humanity which God called "the highest part of the dust."

In the face of all this Word that the earth will not pass away, we can only think of two other earths that will pass away: worldliness (earthiness) and the man. The man will be changed, and there will be a new creation man. In that light, look again at this verse. _"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."_

Let us look at another scripture. In 2 Peter 3, Peter is speaking about the fire that will dissolve the earth, and he says in verses 10-13 _,"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."_

This Word means that the earth, now as it exists, and the heaven, now as it exists, are not pleasing to God. What heaven? We have to consider the word _"HEAVEN"_ again, because there are also different realms of heaven. There is the invisible realm of heaven and the heaven within the human being wherein God dwells; for wherever God dwells, it is heaven. Now, this is the heaven that God does not like and God is not pleased with, because in this heaven does not dwell righteousness only, for both righteousness and sin seem to be dwelling in the same vessel. God said that this condition must _"pass away,"_ and there is going to be great fire on earth, and it _"shall melt with fervent heat,"_ and it _"shall pass away with a great noise."_ There will be _"new heavens...wherein dwelleth righteousness"_ only.

For further proof of this understanding, we look at the third verse in Revelation chapter 21. _"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."_

Where did I read this before? It seems to me that this is the great promise of God throughout the whole Bible. He says that at last it has come to pass - the Day of Atonement - _"the tabernacle"_ \- when God will tabernacle Himself within man. Verse 2 says that this is the great coming.

Let us go back to Revelation 21:2. _"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."_

Here is the answer. This _"new earth,"_ this _"new Jerusalem"_ is the _"bride"_ of Christ which He is talking about. This _"bride"_ of Christ is this _"new Jerusalem"_ and is _"a new heaven and a new earth."_

### THE PROMISE OF THE FATHERS

The promise of the fathers is the great promise that God has made. The most beautiful thing is that God made this promise to Israel, and when the church came, He made the same promise to the church. The church is Israel and Israel will be the church in time to come when God will show them His special favor.

Jeremiah 24:7 _,"And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."_

Jeremiah 31:33 _, "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."_

Jeremiah 32:38 _,"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God."_

Ezekiel 11:20 _,"That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God."_

Ezekiel 37:27 _,"My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people."_

Zechariah 8:8 _,"And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."_

2 Corinthians 6:16 _,"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."_

This indeed is the promise of the fathers, and it is abundant throughout all Scripture. God gave these promises to Israel at first, and then the Israel of God came to fulfill and inherit these promises. Many of the promises that were given to the people in the Old Testament were not understood. They did not understand how all these things would be brought to pass, and they desired and longed to understand it, but God told them it was not for them but for a people that should come.

We see the Lord giving this promise over and over and over again. Hebrews 8:10, _"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."_ The Spirit of God through Paul was quoting this to the Hebrew brethren. Now this was part of the church; this was not part of ancient Israel. We are talking about a promise being brought from the Old Testament to the church. If we could get this one thought in our hearts, then it would be a step forward to understanding the Word of God; because all that God promised, all that God did, all that God said in the Old Testament is pointing to the New Testament, to Jesus Christ Himself, and to Jesus Christ IN the church. We find then two manifestations here: Jesus Himself and Jesus in the church. This is the promise that God gave to His people.

### THE THREE GREAT FEASTS

What Revelation 21:3 is saying is that the time has now come wherein God is going to tabernacle Himself within His people. Just like in the ancient times in _"THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES,"_ they were gathered into booths. Leviticus 23:34," _Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD."_ At the time I am writing, October 13, the Jews are keeping their feast of Tabernacles. The time is pinpointed in Deuteronomy 16:13. _"Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine."_ _"The feast of tabernacles"_ is part of the feast of harvest.

Exodus 23:14 _,"Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year."_ This means that God is telling Moses to tell the children of Israel that they must _"keep a feast"_ to God _"three times...in the year."_ We know that the Jewish year, with all the feasts and all the things God told them to do, is a type of the span of time from Jesus Christ to the end of the age. It is very important that we look at the Jewish year and see the things that God says must be done. Verses 15-17 _,"Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest (the second feast), the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year (the third feast), when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD."_

When God repeats something, it means that it is of absolute importance. What then is the importance of these three feasts, and what is the spiritual meaning? What is the meaning in the fullness? The first feast was the FEAST OF PASSOVER when a lamb was killed and the blood was shed. That is the salvation experience, when man accepts Jesus as his Saviour and receives from the Lord a quickening of the spirit, and his life becomes changed. He then has kept the feast of the Passover. This is something that has been done in the natural. Jesus Christ came. He was the Lamb. He was naturally, deliberately offered up. His blood drained down on Calvary. The feast of Passover was kept. He said, _"I shall eat the passover,"_ and Jesus Christ died at passover.

The next feast was THE FEAST OF PENTECOST when there was joy and excitement and deliverance. This feast took place 50 days after the feast of Passover. This actually happened then, and it happened on time. This is a very important fact that I want to show you. The exact time, during _"the month Abib,"_ is the first day when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt. (I figure that the month Abib is somewhere between April and May. The months of the Jewish calendar do not fall exactly where our months fall; but Abib fell somewhere around the 15th of April.) What happened is that on the exact day of passover Jesus Christ was offered. Time was quite in order for God honored it at that very feast time.

Fifty days after Passover, the brethren gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, the exact day that the Jews celebrated. On that day, the baptism of the Holy Ghost was spiritually and physically and naturally instituted. The Holy Ghost came into the human being for the first time, with the exception of Jesus Christ who was filled with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost came into man at Pentecost. Pentecost did not finish there; other people continued to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost in the same manner in which they received it at Pentecost (except that they did not continue to have the tongues of fire on their heads). God is the one that lights the fire in every temple that is ordained of God.

When the Tabernacle was built, God lighted the fire. Moses prayed, and it pleased God. Moses had done everything according to the pattern, and the fire was lighted. When Solomon built the temple, he built it again according to the pattern that God had given him, and he did everything right. He prayed to God, and God lighted the fire again in Israel. Before Pentecost, Jesus said to them, _"Go...tarry."_ They tarried and fasted ten days in the upper room, and God lighted the fire again. This means that God put His approval upon the third temple which is the body of each individual person and collectively the church; God put His approval on the church by putting His fire there.

"Now," He said _,_ "Do not light any fire in the Tabernacle. Do not light any fire in the temple. Do not light any fire in this new temple." All the fires that men are lighting - the fires of homiletics, the fires of psychology, the fires of learning (man's mind and intellect being applied to God's word, mixing it to bring forth all kinds of results) are wild fires which are contrary to God. According to the Word of God, those who lighted fires were killed by the sparks of it. Nadab and Abihu, two sons of Aaron the priest, took their own fire and tried to contaminate the fire of God in the Tabernacle and were killed instantly by the fire of God striking them dead at the golden altar.

It is no less potent in our time. Those who light fires are burned by them and killed by them. We see them dying around us every day and we do not even notice it. The reason that the men of God and the mighty men who have this great privilege of radio and television cannot bring forth the deliverance in the earth that God ordained for the church is because most of what they are doing is lighting their own fires. It is not God-lit fire. It is not the Holy Ghost fire that came down and settled on the church at Pentecost. God wants us to continue to use that fire to light His lamp, to light the altar of incense, to light the outer court altar.

What this really means is that the two feasts have already been accomplished in the spiritual sense, and there is left now only one of these feasts to come forth and to be fulfilled. At the first feast, Passover, Jesus died. At the second feast, Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came. At the third feast of Tabernacles, God and man must come together in booths.

### THE THIRD AND FINAL FEAST

Leviticus 23:39-43, _"Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."_

Now we look back at Revelation chapter 21 and see what is happening in verse three. _"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, (at last) the tabernacle of God is with (within) men."_ The King James Version says _"with men,"_ but this word can be translated _"within men."_ The word "meta" can mean with, or within, or together with, or part of. So God is saying that He has become part of man, and "He will dwell WITHIN them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." The promise was not just to be with us. I quoted many of the promises from Jeremiah and Corinthians and in Hebrews where Paul repeated it. Paul said that God shall walk in them and talk in them, and He shall be in them. God is saying that He and man have at last become one. Revelation 21:2 speaks of the _"bride"_ _"coming down;"_ the bride and the groom have become one. He is saying that at last this has happened. God has tabernacled Himself within man and this is the tabernacle that we are looking for in our time.

You may say, "I have Christ in me. I have the Lord in me." Yes, you have the Lord in you, but there is yet a oneness that you have not yet achieved. The glory of God makes us one with Christ, so that we will be like Jesus Christ Himself. Our mind will be the mind of Christ. Our desires will be the desires of the Father, and we will be one with God. God teaches in the Word that Jesus Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. God will at last get some fruits from His labors and from His six thousand years of harvest. He is now getting these fruits in the millennium, the seventh thousand years, the beginning of the harvest of God.

Revelation 21:4 _,"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."_

Let us look in Scripture for some of these promises that have come to pass in this chapter. Isaiah 25:7 and 8,"And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it." It says here that not only He "will wipe away tears" from the eyes of His people, but _"He will swallow up death."_

In order that we might understand the timing of this, let us look at 1 Corinthians 15:55 and 56. _"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law."_ This is the time when sin is abolished, and then death will also be abolished.

Isaiah 35:8-10 _,"And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."_ This was the prophecy and here in Revelation we are being told of the fulfillment.

Jeremiah 31:12, _"Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all."_ If you notice, many of these passages refer to _"Zion." "Zion"_ definitely means the very elite, God's Elect, the very top of the mountain, those who have overcome, and those whom God classifies as the very cream of the crop, His army. He calls them _"Zion."_

Revelation 7:17, _"For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."_

Revelation 21:5, _"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."_

Let us look at some of the prophecies and what would be this _"new thing."_ Isaiah 42:9 _,"Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them."_

Isaiah 43:19 _,"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."_ Spiritual wildernesses and spiritual deserts, places that are barren, will begin to spring forth. Life will come where there was death.

Isaiah 65:17 _,"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."_ Now we are coming closer to understanding what the _"new thing"_ is: _"new heavens and a new earth."_ It is going to be revealed to us what _"the new heavens"_ are and what _"a new earth"_ is.

2 Corinthians 5:17, _"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."_ The King James Version says _"a new creature,"_ but the Greek says _"a new creation."_ This is the _"new creation"_ that we are seeing in Revelation.

In the beginning of Revelation 21, John said that he _"saw a new heaven and a new earth."_ In verse 2 he said it was _"the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."_ The _"new Jerusalem"_ is the _"bride,"_ and _"a new heaven and a new earth"_ is the _"bride."_

Revelation 19:7b and 8 _,"For the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."_ There is only one bride, only one Christ. If we are talking about the bride in chapter 19 and we are talking about the bride in chapter 21, it must be the same bride.

Let us skip down to verses 9 and 10 of Revelation 21. _"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee THE BRIDE, THE LAMB'S WIFE. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, THE HOLY JERUSALEM, descending out of heaven from God."_

Revelation 21:6 _,"And he said unto me, It is done. I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."_

In Revelation 1:8, Jesus Christ called Himself _"Alpha and Omega."_ It is mentioned again in chapter 22:13. Why is it so important to understand this? It is that _"the beginning"_ has no right to be _"the end."_ In other words, if we knew our beginning and our end at the same time (if we were at our beginning and our end at the same time), then our existence in the middle would be very much different. It would be somewhat pointless, because we would only be looking at the beginning and the end, and we would only be seeing the end of the matter. We would probably try to change the middle part of it to make the end desirable to what we would want it to be.

God is saying this: because He is _"the beginning and the end"_ at the same time, because He has the whole of the man's life in His hands, and because He can see his beginning and his end at the same time, He is the only one who can craft that middle to suit that end or craft that beginning to make an end suitable to His purposes. If we then obey Him and trust ourselves into His hands, then our end will be the end that is desirable for Him. Our end will be taken care of during our beginning and during our progress in the middle. It is like having someone high up in the sky telling you where to turn and what to do, because He can see every danger and everything that is in your way as you go along. This is the reason that nothing but absolute obedience to God is reasonable or sensible to any Christian.

We cannot see our tomorrow, much less can we see our end, and we never saw our beginning because we came here in an unconscious state, actually. As we continued to grow, we continued to get more conscious. God is saying that He was there when our beginning was crafted and made, and it was made in such a way to suit an end that would bring glory to Him. If we spoil it in the middle, God is able to bring it back together in order to get to that end where He wants us.

It is like God saying to a man, "I want you to go east," and the man turned and went north. When he is at a certain point north, he cannot turn around and say, "Well, I am going east." He would be out of the way. He has to take a compass from God to tell him what turn he should make (whether it would be south or southeast) to get to the point that God had desired him to be from the very beginning. It is very important to understand that the God we serve is both beginning and end in one and at this very moment.

Revelation 21:7 _,"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."_

The promise that He would be their God and they would be His people is a promise to the overcomers. He who does not overcome will not have the same privilege. This is the reason why it is necessary to say _"He that overcometh shall inherit all things."_ He that does not overcome shall inherit some things but not _"all things."_

Revelation 21:8 _,"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."_

We have already read about that lake of fire. It is called _"the second death."_ This death is eternal in that condition. Notice, God says that the _"unbelieving"_ and _"the fearful"_ are classified with _"murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers."_ Can you understand this? A person says, "Well, it is my body, and I can do what I want with my body." God says, "Your body is the temple of the living God, and if you defile it, I will destroy you, because your body is very important to Me." It is His house that He made in order to dwell in it. If you frustrate God in His divine purpose and intention to dwell in your temple as your living God, then you are a whoremonger. You are selling your body for money. In other words, you are worshipping another god. Something else is more important to you than God Almighty and keeping His temple clean.

_"MURDERERS."_ _"ABOMINABLE."_ _"FEARFUL."_ Fearfulness becomes a crime and tantamount to murder. _"UNBELIEVING."_ A person who does not believe God does not have any life in him. It is the life of God in him that believes God. Peter said to Jesus, in Matthew 16:16b, _"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."_ Although Jesus had shown him so much to convince him, it was not the natural mind of the man speaking, but it was the conviction from heaven. He said, in Matthew 16:17b _,"for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."_ We understand then that the revelation of Jesus Christ comes to us through the Spirit of God and not through our natural human understanding.

This is the gospel which we have been preaching from the beginning. It is not a new doctrine. Someone might say, "Oh well, this one might go to hell, or that one might go to hell." Nobody goes to hell by mistake. Nobody falls into hell by misadventure. People go to hell because they reject Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and they reject God. You cannot reject God consciously unless you know God. Therefore, God must reveal Himself to every human being on the earth, whether you are Mohammedan or Buddhist or whatever. God is going to reveal Himself to you in some way or other, and you will have the opportunity of accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ. Sometime in your life this must happen, and that is what makes you guilty of rejecting Jesus. All _"shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."_

Revelation 21:9 and 10 _,"And there came unto me ONE OF THE SEVEN ANGELS which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God."_

We touched on this already, but the point that we did not touch on was the seventh angel. It was _"one of the seven angels"_ with _"the seven vials."_ It is the righteous ministry of God that is going to bring the judgment upon the earth. It was one of these angels that brought this revelation and said, _"Come...I will shew thee the bride."_ This is the same _"city...Jerusalem."_ This is the same bride. This is the same Body of Christ that you have been learning about.

Revelation 21:11 _,"Having THE GLORY OF GOD: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."_

Every time you see the words _"JASPER STONE,"_ you should think of the throne. God says that He will walk in them and talk in them, and He will do His will through them. God will be ruling the earth through the saints, for the Scripture says that we will _"rule and reign with Him."_ Verse 11 speaks of _"the glory of God..._ (being) _like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."_ The _"jasper stone"_ is the last stone in the breastplate of the priest. Under Moses, the breastplate had twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The last stone was the jasper stone, yet in the foundation of the city, in verse 19 of this chapter, it is the first stone. This stone is like a diamond, very clear and bright. The scripture describes the whole of the throne of God as looking like _"a jasper stone."_

Exodus 28:20 _,"And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their enclosings."_ In Revelation 4:3, John the beloved describes the throne of God. " _And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald."_ It is beautiful how the Word of God brings things together. In Revelation 4, we read what the throne of God looks like. Revelation 21 speaks of the _"city...Jerusalem," "the bride."_ Revelation 12a, _"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun."_ Here we see someone describing what it looks like to be _"clothed with the sun"_ light.

We go back even further to John 17, where Jesus Christ prayed what He wanted the church to be. In verses 4 and 5, He says to the Father _,"I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."_ The word _"GLORY"_ (in the Greek, "doxa") does not fully contain what Jesus Christ was talking about. This glory that He was asking the Father to give Him _("the glory which I had with thee before the world was")_ is the very glory that God tells us that man cannot approach unto. The angels in the second heaven could not even approach unto God's glory in the first heaven, because God is so much light and so much power. This _"glory"_ is such a magnitude of glory and power that it would be impossible for us to even THINK of what it really is, and how magnificent it must be.

Jesus turned to the Father and said, _"Father give me the glory,"_ and quite likely, God must have given Him that glory. It means that at that moment, Jesus Christ received all the power, all the light, and all the authority that comes from heaven that belongs to God. Then He prays some very beautiful things for us. Verse 22, _"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."_ This _"glory"_ is going to make US manifest God. We are going to begin to love one another, we are going to love God, and we are going to love God's business, and we are going to love God's people.

### THE NEW JERUSALEM

Revelation 21:12 describes Jerusalem. _"And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel."_

This is a spiritual _"wall,"_ and these are spiritual _"gates"_ and _"angels"_ (messengers). _"A wall"_ is made to keep out intruders and to keep in those who are in; it is used as security. When the Lord speaks of _"a wall"_ in the spiritual sense, He is talking about something that prevents intruders. Those who are not belonging cannot come in without proper entrance through the gate.

In the Song of Solomon we see a reference to _"wall"_ in verse 9 of chapter 2. _"My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice." "Our wall"_ is the barrier that we construct in our lives between us and the Lord (the wrong things that make a barrier to prevent God from coming in). Our _"Beloved"_ is the Lord Jesus. We see Him coming and standing _"behind our wall,"_ and _"look_ (ing _) forth at the windows"_ and _"shewing himself through the lattice."_ In other words, He is trying to make communication with us even in spite of our barriers. Think of the barrier now between the world, the outsiders, and the people of the Lord. It is all spiritual. There is a spiritual fence, a spiritual wall (solid, unable to be breached by those from without) which God has put around the sons of God, around the spiritual city of Jerusalem, the bride, to protect her from the invasion of the outside world.

This _"wall"_ has _"twelve gates."_ This city has _"twelve gates."_ A gate is a way, an entrance in. Jesus Christ said, _"I am the way,"_ THE GREAT WAY; and because Jesus is _"the way,"_ all of us who follow Him and walk in His path become a way for someone to come to Jesus. Jesus is _"the way"_ into the Father. We are the different ways into Christ. Someone finds Christ because we led him/her to Christ. We become a way, a gate, a door. In the same way, God is speaking of the 12 tribes of Israel. We are talking about spiritual Israel finding _"the way"_ into the city through the 12 different gates. The 12 apostles, representatives of the 12 gates, and the work of the apostles become a foundation through which and upon which we have built our spiritual life. They have become a permanent way to the city of God, to the new Jerusalem. They are the 12 doors, the 12 gates.

THE "TWELVE GATES" OF THE CITY

Revelation 21:13, _"On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates."_

Whenever we see this kind of repetition in Scripture, it is emphasis; there is something here to understand. First of all, _"three"_ is the number of divine order: Father, Son, Holy Ghost and spirit, soul, body. _"Three"_ is telling us that the _"three gates" "on the east"_ are the perfect order of God to bring the sunrise, the glory of God, into the city. The _"three gates" "on the east,"_ therefore, are those whom God has used to bring in the glory of God into the church.

The _"three gates" "on the north"_ are representative of the ones who come in through tribulation. In the Song of Solomon 4:16, we find a verse which says _, "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits."_ The north wind blows through _"the north...gates"_ because the _"north wind"_ is going south. Actually, we are talking about those who enter the gate from the north side, those who are coming out of the cold, those who have come through tribulation and have entered through these gates. They are the people of _"the north...gates."_

_"Three gates" "on the south"_ are for those who have transgressed, have fallen away from God, have turned back and found their way into the city.

_"Three gates" "on the west"_ speaks of the setting of the sun, those who must come in at evening time, those who have come in late, but they yet have received their place in the _"city...Jerusalem."_ God has honored them with providing _"three gates"_ to _"the west."_

### "THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB"

Revelation 21:14 _,"And the wall of the city had TWELVE FOUNDATIONS, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."_

Ephesians 2:19-22 _,"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."_ This is the meaning of the _"twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."_

When we speak of _"the twelve apostles of the Lamb,"_ we know that Judas lost his apostleship and was excluded. The Scripture spoke of his _"bishopric"_ being taken away. He had lost his position and had gone to hell. Jesus said in John 17:12b speaking to the Father, _"none of them is lost, but the son of perdition."_ The word _"perdition"_ here could be translated _"Satan,"_ or _"the son of Apollyon."_

Where is the twelfth apostle since one had lost his position? Acts shows us where an apostle was appointed. Acts 1:15-26 _,"And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."_

First of all, an apostle cannot be appointed according to Ephesians 4:11. _"And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers."_ We cannot appoint an apostle because it is God who _"gave...apostles"_ to the church. 1 Corinthians 12:28, _"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."_ We find that God has set it so that there is no way that we could take a ballot and vote and cast a lot to make a person an apostle, especially an apostle _"of the Lamb."_ We believe that this has been recorded in Scripture to show us an error that was made by the brethren at the insistence of Peter, BEFORE they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost; the anointing did not come to them until afterwards. They appointed an apostle before, according to old order. I believe that God's divine order appointed His apostle in due time.

Galatians 1:1, _"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)."_ Galatians 2:7-9, _"But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision."_

Because of these and many other scriptures, we do sincerely believe that God appointed Paul to be the twelfth apostle. He was the apostle to "the Gentiles" in the place of Judas who lost "his bishopric" and was destroyed because he sold Jesus Christ for "thirty pieces of silver."

Ephesians 2:20 speaks of being _"built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone."_ Isaiah 28:16 _,"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."_ In Matthew 7, Jesus Christ Himself speaking in verse 24, _"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock."_ 1 Corinthians 3:11 _,"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."_ These scriptures tell us that _"the foundation"_ of the _"city, the holy Jerusalem,"_ was _"built upon" "the apostles and prophets" and upon "Jesus Christ himself."_

Revelation 21:15, _"And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof."_

_"To measure"_ with gold means that you are measuring THE GOLD CONTENT of the city. _"The city"_ must have gold to a certain content before God can do a certain work there. Revelation 11 has the same phrase. Verse 1, _"And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein."_ In this case, the measurement was to see if _"the temple...and the altar, and them that worship therein"_ had come to the point where God wanted that level of gold to be. Remember, gold is the type or symbol of the divine nature.

Revelation 21:16, _"And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal."_

If we change _"twelve thousand furlongs"_ into miles, it would be fifteen hundred miles, and it would destroy the symbolism of _"twelve."_ _"Twelve thousand furlongs"_ must remain _"twelve thousand."_ Those who try to make this a physical, carnal measurement say that _"the city"_ was sitting _"twelve thousand furlongs"_ along the ground, and that it protruded up in the air _"twelve thousand furlongs,"_ since it was a cube of _"twelve thousand furlongs"_ on each side. It is so impossible even to think of a thing fifteen hundred miles up in the air. It would be in outer space and not on the earth. This is not a physical measurement; this is a spiritual measurement. The spiritual measurement must be spiritually discerned and explained.

Why _"twelve thousand"_? Why not ten thousand? Let us go back to Revelation 7 where he talks about _"the tribes."_ Verses 4 and 5a _, "And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand,"_ etc. Of each _"tribe...were sealed twelve thousand."_ Here again we have the _"twelve thousand."_ There is a meaning to _"twelve thousand."_ Twelve is the number of completion. God started to make man in Genesis 1:26 and God made man _"in His own image."_ Man was, from that moment, beginning to be formed in the likeness of God. The Scripture never said that he was made in His _"likeness,"_ but he was made _"in His own image."_ Now, because man was in the _"image"_ of God and man should grow into the _"likeness"_ of God, we find that man would somewhere along the line at the end have to achieve that _"twelve,"_ that completion in the fullness of Christ (zero, zero, zero). The individual tribes were completed in the fullness of Christ and the completed Israel would be 144,000. Here we come back again to the 144,000 which was explained in chapter seven.

Revelation 21:17, _"And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel."_

_"The wall"_ was _"measured"_ by an ANGEL MAN. That part of the city _("the wall")_ , which is designed to keep out intruders and to keep in those who are in, was _"measured"_ to be _"an hundred and forty and four cubits;"_ that is the human being in his fullness, in his completion, in a completed Body, in Christ. There are three symbolisms: 12 (completed human being); multiplied by 12 (completed body); zero, zero, zero (in the full stature of Christ Jesus). I will quote a scripture which bears this out to be God's perfect will and intention.

Ephesians 4:13-16 _,"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."_ This is a perfect description of what is meant by _"the wall"_ being _"measured"_ and coming to its 144,000.

Revelation 21:18, _"And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass."_

_"Gold"_ in absolute purity can be beaten and made so thin that it becomes _"like unto clear glass"_ that you can see right through. We understand that the astronauts who go into outer space have found that the only substance that could withstand the radiation of outer space was gold. The _"gold,_ (was) _like unto clear glass."_

Revelation 21:19a _,"And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones."_

Notice the phrase _"all manner of precious stones."_ It occurred in Scripture before. Ezekiel 28:13a _,"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering."_ All the _"precious stones"_ were his _"covering,"_ and they were named here. Let us compare the names here and the names in Revelation, as we see a great truth being revealed to us.

In Ezekiel 28:12 a message came. _"Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty."_ We are reading about the angel called Heylel who is erroneously mentioned in Isaiah 14:12 as Lucifer. Lucifer is a Latin name, and the word Lucifer is a Latin word. It has no place in an ancient Hebrew text. There was no angel given a Latin name. There is a reason Satan allowed his people to put this name there, but we will not deal with that right now. The word in Hebrew is "Heylel." Ezekiel 28:12 says, _"king of Tyrus."_ Therefore, God chose to call Satan, _"king of Tyrus."_

Chapter 28 of Ezekiel began with the message to _"the PRINCE OF TYRUS,"_ and this was a man that God was talking to. Ezekiel 28:2, _"Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God."_ Here we see God sending a message to a man, and then He begins to tell a story in verse 11. _"Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man (speak against) the KING of Tyrus." "The prince of Tyrus"_ was really becoming a fool, and God decided to send a message to him and tell him a story about _"the king of Tyrus,"_ Heylel, or the one we call Satan. He began to name the stones. _"Every precious stone was thy covering."_ When we talk about THE _"COVERING,"_ we mean the glory of God (the light). God spoke of these stones as being the different orders of light and glory that come out of the throne of God upon His creatures. He said that He had given this _"king of Tyrus"_ a _"covering,"_ and the _"covering"_ was (1) _"sardius,"_ (2) _"topaz,"_ (3) _"diamond,"_ (4) _"beryl,"_ (5) _"onyx,"_ (6) _"jasper,"_ (7) _"sapphire,"_ (8) _"emerald,"_ (9) _"carbuncle, and gold." "Every...stone"_ that God had to give in the beginning with Adam was only nine stones. In Ezekiel 28:13, the _"covering"_ that Heylel had was nine stones. These stones are compared with the stones in Revelation 21 which are classified as _"ALL manner of precious stones."_

Revelation 21:19b and 20," _The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst."_

### THE THREE MISSING STONES

In the completed man there are three stones more than God could have given any of His creatures under the Old Testament. It was said that Heylel had _"every...stone." "The foundations...of the city"_ have _"ALL manner of ...stones." "Every"_ in Ezekiel is nine, and _"all"_ in Revelation 21 is twelve. We need to find the three stones that are missing. They are simple to find and it is very, very enlightening. The missing stones are _"the seventh, chrysolyte,"_ _"the tenth, a chrysoprasus,"_ and _"the twelfth, an amethyst."_ Seven is the number of perfection, ten is the number of government, and twelve is the number of completion.

What was lacking from Adam was _"the seventh, chrysolyte"_ (the Christ); _"the tenth, a chrysoprasus"_ (the Holy Ghost); and _"the twelfth, an amethyst"_ (the blood). These three stones would have brought him into perfection, and they will bring us into completion and perfection according to the plan of God. If we have the blood of Jesus Christ (the amethyst stone), and if we have the Holy Ghost (the chrysoprasus stone), both twelve and ten, then we come to completion, perfection, which is the seventh stone, Christ. We gain Christ, and once we have Christ, there is no more possibility of us falling away or being lost again. What Adam lacked was these three stones.

Adam was given the opportunity by God in Genesis 2:9 to eat of _"the tree of life,"_ and for some reason that we do not really understand, he did not eat of _"the tree of life."_ We do not know how long Adam was in the garden before this catastrophe struck Eve, but we understand that God told him to eat of _"the tree of life"_ and he did not. Genesis 1:29 and 30, _"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."_

Genesis 2:16 and 17 _,"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."_ This instruction was given to Adam before Eve was made. Genesis 3:4 and 5 _,"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."_ Verses 2 and 3 _,"And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."_ Adam must have communicated to Eve all that God said to him. She knew that they could eat of _"the tree of life,"_ and yet they did not. We do not have a right answer as to why they did not, but we can guess that there was something awesome about _"the tree of life."_ _"The tree of life...in the midst of the garden"_ was Jesus Christ Himself.

We know that God's order for us as children of Adam is that the blood should first bring the dead soul alive. Then God begins to do business with this _"living soul,"_ and He would next have to give man the Holy Ghost to make a way, a house, for the entrance in of Christ. This is God's order. Adam could not have gone in that way, because Adam was already _"a living soul."_ He had not died. Because he was _"a living soul,"_ he could have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost that had the Christ. The Holy Ghost contains Christ; they are one. If he had received that inward work of the receiving of the Holy Ghost, then he would be in a position to receive the fullness of Christ. As to why he did not stretch forth his hand and _"take...of the tree of life,"_ we do not know. God said one peculiar thing here.

After God made coats of skins to clothe them, to cover their nakedness, He said in Genesis 3:22-24, _"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: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 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."_ It would appear that by some divine principle which we do not clearly understand, it might have been possible for a man with sin to reach forth and _"take...of the tree of life...and live for ever."_ Yet in our understanding it was not only that Adam did not eat _"of the tree of life,"_ but we also see where he could not. If _"the tree of life"_ is Jesus Christ Himself, then to partake of Christ, one must first have the cleansing power of the Holy Ghost and the power of the blood.

As we have seen before in 1 Peter 1:20, the blood of Jesus Christ was shed from _"before the foundation of the world."_ By type, when the blood of the lamb was shed in a sacrificial way according to the laws of God, man could get relief from his sin just by faith. The other two stones, the chrysoprasus and the chrysolyte, one being the Holy Ghost and the other being the Christ (the 7th stone), would be perfection. When a man has the fullness of Christ, he has the fullness of perfection, but these were not given until the actual blood of Jesus Christ was shed. The brethren of the Old Testament did not have the privilege of receiving Christ, neither could they have received the Holy Ghost, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given until Jesus was crucified and resurrected.

John 7:38 and 39 puts the Word in its true perspective. _"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"_

John 20:19-22 _,"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."_

1 Peter 1:10 and 11, when read from the King James Version, gives the impression that some of the prophets had Christ before the Holy Ghost was given. Let us read it and let us look at the Greek and see what it means. _"Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 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."_ The translation could be written better. Instead of saying _"the Spirit of Christ which was in them,"_ it should say _"the testimony that was in them." "The Spirit of Christ...testified"_ in them as they spake with the anointed Word. "The Spirit of Christ" spoke in them. The Amplified Version says, verse 11 _,"They sought (to find out) to whom or when this was to come which the Spirit of Christ working within them indicated when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow (them)." "The Spirit of Christ"_ was not in any man before Christ was crucified, before the blood was shed, and before the Holy Ghost was given. We must understand that the _"in"_ in the Greek should be placed in the sentence where it refers to _"the TESTIMONY that was in"_ them, rather than _"the Spirit of Christ...(being) in them."_ 2 Peter 1:21 puts it in right perspective. _"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."_

### THE TWELVE STONES OF ISRAEL

The study of the stones is a delightful and intriguing one for those who really love and enjoy the study of the Word of God. The story of the stones begins in Ezekiel where God said He had given Heylel _"every precious stone."_ From that point we find out what is the meaning of the stones. 1 Peter 2:5 says WE are _"lively stones."_ In Ezekiel 28 he speaks of _"stones of fire,"_ his angelic host who were very bright ones. The word _"STONES"_ in Scripture means the glory of God, especially coming through an individual. Because we are individuals, the glory of God comes upon me and it brings forth something different from what He does when He comes upon you. Therefore, God is speaking of the _"stones"_ as this glory of God shining through the different tribes of Israel.

Ezekiel 28 speaks of spiritual endowments given to His creatures. It is beautiful to study the stones. God only gave nine stones to His creatures, to the angels as well as to Adam. Those who got these nine stones, both the angels and Adam, were able to fall. There were some angels that fell, and Adam, the man, also fell. The nine stones were not sufficient to prevent beings of heaven from falling.

The end of the matter is that in Revelation 21 we find that there were twelve stones. Therefore, there must be three missing stones between Ezekiel, which spoke about the beginning of man, and Revelation, which speaks of the end or the completion of man. Some of the stones changed their names over the four thousand years (from the beginning until the time of Jesus Christ, when the book of Revelation was written, and the Hebrew names for the stones were translated into the Greek). The intrigue and the beauty of it continues as we go into Exodus, and there we see where stones were in _"the breastplate"_ and each stone represented a tribe of Israel. Therefore, we are going to find out what tribe each stone represented, and then we will see a change occurring from the Old Testament to the New Testament in the completion of man. Exodus 28:15-21 _,"And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes."_

The order in which the names are given is clearly stated in verse 10. _"Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth."_ The order in which we will apply the stones to the names is _"according to_ (the order of the) _birth"_ and according to the order in which the stones are placed on the breastplate.

The first stone on _"the breastplate"_ would be the SARDIUS, and that would refer to the first son, Reuben. The word REUBEN refers to redness, and it is a ruby, a red stone. The sardius is a red stone and comes right down to the name Edom, meaning red. It comes from Idumea. It is the descendants of Esau.

Let me explain here a peculiar beauty that is in this scripture which is very confusing in the natural. We have the stones being mentioned in Ezekiel, and there are only nine. Then in "the breastplate" there were twelve. Now in Revelation 21, there were twelve stones which did not agree with the twelve stones either in the breastplate or in Ezekiel 28. Notice now, in the passage we just quoted in Exodus, that the _"tribes"_ of Israel each have a stone. As we begin to look at these _"tribes"_ and these _"stones,"_ we see them changing from Ezekiel right back to Revelation. In Revelation 7, where the spiritual man is described, the stones are changed, and are different, and would match differently with the tribes from Revelation 21.

WHY? Because here we have the Old Testament and we have man. We have man at his beginning and what God gave; then the development came. Under the law there was a change, and from the law to grace there is another change, but from grace to perfection there is another change which is really the completed man in the image of Christ. The change that is brought forth in Revelation 21 is a change which tells us NOT ONLY that there is a nature called Reuben, and there is a nature called Simeon, and there is a nature called Judah, but that ALL THESE NATURES are the fullness of Christ. The natures have been brought to their fullness so that it is Christ in Judah, Christ in Reuben, Christ in Simeon, Christ in Issachar, Christ in Gad, Christ in all twelve of the names of _"the tribes of...Israel."_

### REUBEN, THE SARDIS STONE

Remember now each name has a meaning. To understand the fullness of their meanings, let us go back to their birth when Leah conceived. Genesis 29:31-32 _,"And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me."_ The meaning of that name was God will look upon my affliction.

From here then, we go to Genesis 49, to the death of Jacob (Israel) and his blessing. Verse 2, _"Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father."_ His natural name was _"Jacob,"_ but his spiritual name was _"Israel."_ Verse 3 _,"Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power."_ Then he spoke of the negative. Verse 4 _,"Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch."_

In Deuteronomy 33:6, when Moses was dying, he spoke about Reuben. _"Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few."_ Red is a symbol of war and Reuben is red. _"Let_ (him) _live, and_ _not die."_ In Revelation 21, we see that he did _"live"_ because the nature that God is putting into us will _"live"_ in us in the fullness of Christ, in the completed man.

### SIMEON, THE TOPAZ STONE

Genesis 29:33, _"And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon."_ SIMEON means God hears me. The stone is the TOPAZ. The topaz is a green transparent stone, and it is like the chrysolyte. As we wrote before, Christ is in all of these. Jacob's blessing to Simeon in Genesis 49:5-7 is _"Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel."_ The marvelous mystery here is that Moses never blessed, never mentioned Simeon in chapter 33 of Deuteronomy, where Moses blessed all the children of Israel. However, in Revelation 7, where the spiritual tribes are named, Simeon finds a place. Actually he was the seventh name given there, and his stone was topaz.

### LEVI, THE CARBUNCLE STONE

LEVI is the next name mentioned in order of birth. Levi was the tribe from which all the priests came. Genesis 29:34, _"And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi."_ This was the son of joining. His name means joined one to another. The stone of Levi, according to _"the breastplate,"_ is the CARBUNCLE. This is a green stone, like the emerald, but not as green as the emerald. The meaning of green is life.

In the blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:8-11 _,"And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again."_

In the spiritual man in Revelation 7, Levi is the eighth tribe mentioned. In Revelation 21, which is the completed man, Levi would be the third stone. Notice, there is a change here. Levi is the third stone in the breastplate and it is the carbuncle. In Revelation 21 it is changed to chalcedony. A change must occur in the law, because we change from law to grace to perfection.

### JUDAH, THE EMERALD STONE

The next child in order of birth is JUDAH, which means praise. She said, _"Now will I praise the LORD."_ This is her fourth child. The blessing in Genesis 49:8-12 from Jacob to Judah says _,"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk."_ This means Jesus Christ. JUDAH is the tribe of the Lord Jesus.

Moses' blessing in Deuteronomy 33:7 says, _"And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies."_ This again is speaking of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 7, as the spiritual tribe, Judah is first. I want you to notice how the Scriptures handle things. Judah is number one in the spiritual man. The stone of Judah is the EMERALD, the green emerald. This speaks of life. Judah, the emerald, will bring life to the body, to the people of God. In the completed man the emerald is named number four. Four stands for tribulation. Jesus Christ died, giving His life to bring life to us.

### DAN, THE SAPPHIRE STONE

The fifth son is DAN. Stone number five in the breastplate is the SAPPHIRE. It is the fifth spot in the breastplate, and it is Dan which means judgment. Dan's word in Genesis 49:16-18 is _"Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD."_ Moses' blessing for Dan in Deuteronomy 33:22 says, _"And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan."_ Dan, fleshy, human judgment, is excluded from the spiritual man, and yet God puts the sapphire stone in the completed man as the second foundation in the temple in Revelation 21. (Of course, you know that Manasses took the place of Dan in the spiritual man in Revelation 7.)

### NAPHTALI, THE DIAMOND STONE

The sixth child is NAPHTALI, the child of Bilhah, Rachel's maid. Since Rachel herself could not have any children, she gave her maid to Jacob. This was part of the polygamy which prevailed at that time. Jacob went into Bilhah, and she brought forth a child, and his name was called Naphtali meaning wrestling. _"And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali,"_ Genesis 30:8. The sixth stone in _"the breastplate"_ would be the DIAMOND. This is peculiar. It is a very hard stone that comes out of great pressure from way under the earth and is a beautiful stone. Perhaps it is the jasper or the onyx stone. In other words, these stones are called by different names in different places. What I notice with the stones is that they do have something of each other. Every stone that is mentioned here has something of each other, and there is a beautiful truth that will come forth at the end of this word.

To Naphtali, Moses said in Deuteronomy. 33:23, _"And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south."_

### GAD, THE LIGURE STONE

The seventh child according to the order of birth is GAD. Leah said, _"A troop cometh,"_ so Gad means a troop or an army. He was the son of Zilpah, Leah's maid. The stone is a LIGURE. The Hebrew word is leh'-shem and probably is like a jacinth. This is a stone that we figure to be the chrysolyte, for there was no particular name attached to it. These are the ones left out so we call this ligure to be the chrysolyte. This is the seventh stone, and this is one of the stones that was left out from the stones given in Ezekiel, where God gave stones or natures of light to His creatures.

Jacob's blessing for Gad in Genesis 49:19 says, _"Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last."_ In Deuteronomy 33:20-21, Moses gave His blessing. The peculiar thing is that Moses did not bless them in any order that was set before, but he blessed them in a disorderly way, and that too has a meaning in Scripture. _"And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel."_

### ASHER, THE AGATE STONE

The eighth son is ASHER, the son of Zilpah, Leah's maid. Genesis 30:13, _"And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher."_ Asher means happiness and blessedness. The eighth stone on _"the breastplate"_ would be the AGATE meaning flame, because it flashes like a flame. It is a mixture of jasper and amethyst, quartz and opal. Therefore, we can see that this stone has a great mixture in it. There is a mighty truth there that we will get into later. Jacob said in Genesis 49:20 _,"Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties."_ Deuteronomy 33:24, _"And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil."_ Some years ago, brethren formed a company to prospect oil in the heel of Asher. In other words, Asher's portion had one section that came around like a heel, and they spent millions of dollars prospecting for oil, because they said he should _"dip his foot in oil."_ It so happens that these brethren had been taking the Word of God carnally, and it definitely meant the anointing and not the carnal part of it.

### ISSACHAR, THE AMETHYST STONE

ISSACHAR is the ninth son. Genesis 30:18a, _"And Leah said, God hath given me my hire."_ His name has to do with reward. The ninth stone is the AMETHYST. This stone is called a dream stone. It is purple, red, and brown. Again, it is a type of jasper, and this is what we call the blood stone. This was one of the stones that was missing from the original man, and then brought into the spiritual man in Revelation 7, and brought to us in the perfected man in Revelation 21. From the ninth son and the ninth stone, God changed it in the perfected man to the twelfth stone, which is completion. Issachar then came to the completed man and took the place of the son of the right hand in birth and in importance. It is the blood stone, and it typifies the blood of Jesus Christ.

### ZEBULUN, THE BERYL STONE

The tenth son is ZEBULUN. His blessing in Genesis 49:13 says, _"Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon."_ The tenth stone in the breastplate is the BERYL.

### JOSEPH, THE ONYX STONE

In order of birth JOSEPH is the next son. He is the son of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob. At last God opened her womb, and she rejoiced greatly and called his name Joseph, _"The LORD shall add to me another son."_ The word Joseph means the fruitful vine. Jacob's blessing to him in Genesis 49:22-26 was, _"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren."_

Joseph was sold by his brothers. He became a type of Jesus Christ Himself, because he was sold for _"twenty pieces of silver"_ and Jesus was sold for _"thirty pieces of silver"_ (you can see the parallel). Jacob was blessing him according to the vision that he was seeing. In the perfected man, Joseph is typed as the ONYX stone. There is something peculiar about this onyx stone. (It is called sardonic in the Greek.) The Hebrew word is shoh'ham, and it is the only stone that is three times in _"the breastplate."_ There is one onyx stone on the right shoulder of the priest with six names of the children of Israel on it; there is another one on the left shoulder (these are two pretty large stones) with the other six names engraved upon it; and there is another stone in the middle of the last row of _"the breastplate."_

Of Joseph, Moses said in Deuteronomy 33:13-17, _"Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh."_

He mentioned _"Ephraim, and Manasseh,"_ Joseph's sons. In the prophetic man _"Manasseh"_ took the place of Dan. Dan means fleshy judgment, and this was completely eradicated. In the spiritual man as outlined in Revelation 7, Joseph took two tribes, Manasseh and Joseph. _"Manasseh,"_ which means cause me to forget, took the place of Dan, as judgment has no place in the spiritual man. _"Joseph is a fruitful bough."_

### BENJAMIN, THE JASPER STONE

BENJAMIN, son of the right hand, was the last child Rachel had as she was about to die. The spiritual meaning of this is that the woman church will die or be changed into the Man child church. Jacob's blessing was, Genesis 49:27, _"Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil."_ A simple verse like this could easily pass us without notice, but the spiritual meaning is that in the beginning of his time, the son of the right hand would _"devour the prey,"_ and in the night, or in the end time, he would _"divide the spoil"_ ; reign and rule with Christ.

Moses' blessing to Benjamin in Deuteronomy 33:12 was, _"And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders."_ What is this? God is going to _"dwell between_ (the) _shoulders"_ of the son of the right hand? This means that God will be his head! It is said in such a way that unless your mind is really tuned to the Spirit, you would probably not even notice it, you would miss it. God is going to be the head of the body of Christ.

### THE CONCLUSION OF THE TWELVE STONES

Here is the conclusion of this matter. First, we have in Genesis where Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel, see Genesis 32:28) had twelve sons, and these twelve sons have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Each name depicted a special nature which seemed to be a cross section of all humanity. Next, we have the prophetic blessings being given to them by both Jacob and Moses at their deaths, which are actually prophetic toward the end of time and what will happen to the tribes. Next, we see Moses receive from God twelve stones for _"the breastplate"_ of the priest, and each stone had the name of a tribe of Israel. Thus the nature of light was ascribed to each tribe.

This brings us to Revelation 7 where we see the spiritual tribes. Immediately we see some change taking place from the tribes under the law to the tribes under grace. Spiritual Israel, then, would neither be Jew nor Gentile, but as Paul explained in Ephesians 2:15-16 _,"Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."_ Therefore, there is neither Jew nor Gentile but one Israel.

In this naming of the tribes in Revelation 7, the name Dan (which means judgment) is missing, and Manasseh is instituted; the son of the _"fruitful"_ vine (Joseph) is put in its place. When we reached the place where we matched the names to the stones, we found there is some agreement.

Now we come to Revelation 21:21, where there are no names of tribes but stones. This is not just a picture of the spiritual man, but it is the SPIRIT MAN. It is the perfect image of the risen Christ! What do we find? The scriptures begin to tell us that there were _"twelve gates"_ and upon the gates there were the names of _"the twelve apostles of the Lamb."_ We understand immediately that one of the men who was called as anapostle of the Lamb was rejected, because he became a betrayer. His name was Judas and he was taken out of the completed man. Just as Dan was taken out of the spiritual man. In other words, you could not be spiritual with human judgment in you nor completed with the spirit of Judas still living there.

Between Ezekiel 28 and Revelation 21, there are three missing stones. The three missing stones are _"the seventh, chrysolyte"_ (the Christ, the perfect one); _"the tenth, the chrysoprasus"_ (the Holy Ghost, which makes us part of God's government on earth); and _"the twelfth, an amethyst"_ (the Blood, which makes us complete). These are the three natures that were needed to complete man in the image and likeness of Christ. God said that He was going to make man in _"His own image"_ and in His _"likeness,"_ and then He said He only made man in _"His...image."_ Man needed this completion to make him in the _"likeness"_ of God which is the image of Christ.

Revelation 21:21 _,"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."_

A gate is a place for entry and exit. We understand that _"the twelve gates...of the city"_ were according to the names of _"the twelve apostles of the Lamb."_ _"The twelve apostles of the Lamb"_ were Jesus' twelve disciples minus Judas, but with Paul added. A gate is not only a place for entry and exit, but also a security, for one must come through the gate. When God speaks of a gate, He means that we, in our function as children of God, become places of entering in for those who are outside. Many were saved, or delivered, or blessed, or brought to Jesus, or brought into the city of God, or into the kingdom of God, because one of us was a way. One of us was an opening for others. One of us was there at the time to let others in and to give others a path into Christ. Therefore, we become _"gates."_ In a greater sense, _"the apostles"_ were _"the...gates"_ which were opened to the whole world to bring men into the kingdom of God and into the new Jerusalem.

He said that each gate was a pearl, and there were _"twelve gates"_ and _"twelve pearls."_ Why a pearl? A pearl is generally white and it is brought about and made through an injury or a suffering that the oyster suffered. The oyster lets out this secretion to cover up the suffering, and the bigger the pearl, the bigger the wound or the grain of sand that disrupted the normal function of the animal. The secretion hardens as crystal, beautiful and white, and becomes a pearl. It is like the "cunning work" of which the Lord speaks. The artificers, like Hiram, would take sharp instruments and carve the wood to make beautiful lines, lovely architecture, and lovely art. Let us read some scriptures on this subject.

Exodus 26:1 _,"Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them."_ The women had to take the needle and puncture the cloth just for one little thread. The cloth underwent hundreds and thousands of punctures in order to bring forth a beautiful cherubim, a work of art. We see that God is talking about suffering to bring forth the glory of God.

Exodus 35:33 _,"And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work."_ We are represented by the _"stones"_ and by the _"wood."_ Wood is flesh, and stone is also flesh, being built up a household of God, a temple of God. We are _"lively stones,"_ the scripture says. _"The cutting of stones"_ and the _"carving of wood"_ are the circumstances that God has ordained to make us beautiful. We should not resist the mighty hand of God in tribulation or in suffering, for it will bring forth the beautiful works of God and the peaceable works of righteousness.

Revelation 21:21b speaks of _"the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."_ This city only has one street, and let me tell you what _"the street"_ was. John 14:6, _"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."_ Jesus Christ established it among His disciples that He was _"the way,"_ and _"the way"_ means THE ONLY WAY into the Father. _"No man cometh unto the Father, but by me."_ The prophet also saw this. Isaiah 40:3, _"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."_ He was speaking of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 35:8-10 _,"And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."_ It is beautiful how one passage of scripture can identify itself with the other passage by quoting some of the things that the other passage has said and by expanding upon them. Many of the brethren speak or sing about streets of gold, but there are no such words in the Bible. There is just one _"street of...gold"_ and that street or highway is Jesus Christ Himself.

Revelation 21:22, _"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it."_ There was no gathering place, no place of meeting, because all who are in Christ and in the Father are meeting with the Father and with Christ. Jesus prayed, _"I in them, and thou in me,"_ (see John 17:23) so it will be a continuous meeting without a temple, without a building. We must consider the fact that we are talking about spiritual things. These are not natural things. Natural people will need natural places to meet. You need a natural house to live in, but spiritual people, the people who have been perfected in the glory of God, do not need to gather in a building to meet. They meet in the Spirit. They commune in the Spirit, and they are one in the Spirit, and there is no separation. In the natural sense, how big would a temple have to be to hold all the glorious people of God who are scattered over all the earth? A natural temple, therefore, would be useless.

We are not talking about Jerusalem, a piece of real estate in the Middle East. We are talking about a people who will be in Christ and will meet in Christ, and Christ will be in them. After Jesus Christ had been resurrected, He did not go home with any of the brethren any more. He did not stay with Mary and Martha for there was no need. He was a heavenly being now in the heavenlies, and the rain could not wet Him, and the sun could not burn Him, because He was entirely in a different realm. He was a heavenly creature. He spoke to the brethren in John 14, and many people really misunderstand His words. I even heard one man speak of a dream or a vision, which he had wherein he went to heaven, and he saw his mansion and how beautiful it was. All this must be symbolic. We are not against it, we are only saying that there is a lot of misunderstanding.

In John 14:1-3, Jesus said, _"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."_ Let us take the last phrase first. _"Where I am"_ means that He had already been in that mansion, in that place. He was standing right before them and saying that _"where I am, there ye may be also."_ He meant that He was preparing a place for you in the heavenlies so that you will be like Him. You will be in a place where there is neither rain, nor dew, nor sunshine, nor moonlight. When you are in the spirit, you are in a different dimension, in a different realm. You do not have to go up in the air to get into this place; it is being prepared for you. He was stepping out of this natural place, and you are stepping in _"that where I am"_ now on earth, _"ye may be"_ in the future, in the time to come.

The disciples probably began to realize that they did not know where He was going. Verse 4, _"And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know,"_ because He is _"the way."_ Verses 5-7, _"Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him."_ Those who see Jesus see the Father. Those who know Jesus know the way, for He is _"the way."_ Those who believe on Him believe in the Father, for He said, _"I and the Father are one."_

The Scripture says that in the midst of the city was _"the street,"_ the way, the highway. In Revelation 1, Jesus was standing in the middle candlestick. He was in the candlestick, and the candlestick was in Him. In fact, they had become one. The only word that God could use to explain it to us was to say that they were MARRIED. _"For the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."_ The Lord God is speaking to us in language that we can understand. He said that if He speaks to you in earthly language and you do not understand, then how will you understand heavenly things?

Revelation 21:23, _"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."_

Can you imagine an angel of God stumbling around in darkness and not finding his way because it is dark? Alleluia! If you cannot imagine that, then you can imagine what God means when He says that the city is full of light and there would be no darkness. No being of God who comes forth in Christ will have any more darkness. He will be able to see in light and in darkness all the same. He will not have to have the sun to light his way. He will not have to have the moon to light his way, because the Lord that is within him is the lamp and _"the light."_

The Psalmist, through the Spirit of God, said, _"The LORD IS MY LIGHT and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"_ Psalm 27:1. Psalm 84:11 _,"For the LORD God IS A SUN and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."_ _"The LORD...is a sun."_

Matthew 13:43 _,"Then shall the righteous shine forth AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."_ The Scriptures are very much one. A prophetic utterance is proven true because it occurs in many other places. Many years passed between Isaiah and Matthew, yet Matthew quoted the words of Isaiah and Jesus Christ spoke them. In John 6:63b Jesus said, _"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life,"_ thus He put His approval upon the Word that Isaiah spoke. Isaiah 60:20 _,"Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine EV ERLASTING LIGHT, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."_

1 John 1:5 _,"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."_

Revelation 21:24 _,"And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it."_

These _"kings"_ will be kings that are made of God upon whom is His approval. He is _"King of kings"_ and He promised that He would make us kings and priests of God. Therefore, we see these kings coming to pay homage to their Lord and Saviour in this city.

If this city is not a geographic location, where is it? It will be everywhere that the sons of God are. _"The city"_ will minister to the world and to all those who are in the natural and in need of this ministry. God, like a shepherd, will take them under His wings and will lead them into paths of righteousness and into paths of glory. The enemy of our souls, Satan, the devil, had this world for 6,000 years, and Jesus Christ is going to take it away from him for 1,000 years and repair all the damage that has been done.

The damage has been so extensive that when a human being sees the damage that is done to humanity and the grave destruction that has happened to the soul of man, then he will feel a certain amount of hopelessness. God is our hope. For in Him do we trust that He will bring back together Humpty Dumpty. Though he fell from the wall and it was said that nothing could bring him back together again, God will bring this world together again. He will bring back the beauty of holiness and the beauty of humanity. The crazy, destructive creature that we see now will give way to a more beautiful form; something that God will delight in. We will have come back to Eden. The garden of Eden will again blossom and bloom around us, and God will be King over all.

Revelation 21:25 _,"And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there."_

It is like being in the heavenlies where there is no sun going around, and no moon and stars, and no sun rising and setting, nothing of the kind. In the heavenlies, there will be just one eternal day. Now we get up in the morning, prepare ourselves, and go out to work. We watch the clock, come home at a certain hour, relax, go to bed, and sleep so that we might be able to get up and go out tomorrow morning again. However, there will be no sleeping for the sons of God who have become immortals. Anyone will get justice at any hour of the night or day; anyone will get life, counsel, deliverance, or blessing. This is what God means. It will be a `round-the-clock ministration. There will be no end to it, no rest, and there will be peace covering the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Revelation 21:26,"And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it."

We are going to see how glorious and how honorable humanity really is. For this thing that we have seen here, this savage beast, killing and being killed, destroying, lying, cheating, all that shall have been locked up in the abyss; God will bring forth the beauty that is in man. We shall see honorable men. We shall see men with the glory of God upon them, in them, and working through them.

Revelation 21:27 _,"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."_

Let us go back to Matthew 13:40 and 41 and the words of Jesus Christ Himself. _"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity."_ He will gather up that which offends - the chaff. He will make a bonfire and burn it!

This is very much contrary to the doctrine which many are preaching that we are going to go fly away, leave the earth to the sinners, and then God will burn up the earth. God said that the first thing He is going to do is burn _"the tares."_ Verses 42 and 43 _,"And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear let him hear."_ Thus said the Lord God Himself. _"Whatsoever worketh abomination_ (all the awful, horrible abominations that are occurring in the world today) _, or maketh a lie_ (shall have no part in this city, or with God's people), _but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."_ PRAISE GOD!

# ~~~

# Revelation Chapter Twenty-Two

Revelation 22:1,"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."

Zechariah 14:8 _,"And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be."_ We are talking about the _"new Jerusalem"_ (a people) and _"living waters"_ from God flowing out towards the world. Ezekiel 47:1 _,"AFTERWARD he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar."_ We see here living _"waters"_ coming out from _"the altar."_ All these words are symbolic in nature. It shows what will happen from the living temple of God, the third temple, the one in whom Jesus Christ will live and dwell and walk and talk.

The _"waters"_ will be coming _"out of the throne." "The throne"_ is, as we have shown before, the heart of the people of God. Jesus Christ said that His sons will reign and rule with Him. Therefore, He is going to reign over and rule the earth through the sons of God. Jeremiah 3:17, _"At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart."_

Let us go back to Revelation 21:22 where we saw _"no temple"_ in _"the city."_ El Shaddai had become the temple. He was the dwelling place of the overcomers, and the place that the overcomers would live forever. He was the temple of the city. He was the light of the city. He promised that all the children of God, the overcomers, would shine brighter than the sunlight. It was not only His light, but it was the sunlight. In the practical sense, they were shining like Moses' face shone when he came down from the mountain having been in the presence of God for forty days.

These words remind me of a vision that I had. Jesus Christ came to me and said, "Come with me and let me show you something." The power of God lifted me from my bed, and I went with Him out into the night. The night was bright. There was no darkness! There was a beautiful light and I could see everything, even a pebble on the ground, although I knew that it was night and it was dark. Revelation 21:24a _,"And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it."_ He made a difference between _"them which are saved"_ and the overcomers. The overcomers would be the city, and _"them which are saved shall walk in the light of_ (the city) _."_ The people who would be benefiting from this city would be those _"which are saved."_ We see two classes of people here. We see those who are saved and those who are the overcomers (which was stated in verse seven of the same chapter).

Revelation 22:2 _,"In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."_

As we come to chapter 22, quite likely the chapter division is not relevant because the Word flows right on about the _"new Jerusalem"_ from chapter 21. He said _"the tree"_ was _"in the midst of the street of it." "The river"_ was Christ because it said that it was flowing from _"the throne of God and of the Lamb."_ The river was Christ, the street was Christ, and the tree of life was on either side of the street. This is a spiritual vision of Christ being the street, Christ being the tree, Christ being the river of life, and everything in the city being Christ.

JESUS CHRIST, "THE TREE OF LIFE"

Let us look a little further at some Bible references pertaining to _"THE TREE OF LIFE."_ Genesis 2:9 _,"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."_ We look back at when these trees were planted in the garden. Genesis 1:11 _,"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."_ The marvelous part of these two verses is that the Lord said that _"the tree of life"_ grew _"out of the ground."_ If _"the tree of life"_ grew _"out of the ground,"_ then some of the preachers and Bible men who say that _"the tree of knowledge of good and evil"_ was some sort of a metaphorical thing other than a natural tree, would be confounded by this Word which says that it grew _"out of the ground."_

Genesis 1:11 says that God made all the trees on a certain day. Because this is so, then we see that Christ, _"the tree of life,"_ must have been growing _"out of the ground."_ In other words, Jesus Christ had put a tree there to represent Himself. It was a tree with life in it. Now someone would say, "Well, that is peculiar." I say that it is not peculiar to this scripture alone. In many other scriptures, we find that Jesus Christ put Himself in the form of a natural thing.

As to why Adam did not eat of _"the tree of life,"_ I can only conjecture. One thing we do know is that there must have been something wonderful, terrible, and awesome about approaching _"the tree of life."_ God did tell Adam, in Genesis 2:16, that he could eat of it. In Genesis 1:11, God said, _"Let the earth bring forth..."_ and in Genesis 2:9, He said that this _"tree of life"_ was growing _"out of the ground."_ This is very pertinent to other scriptures which speak of Jesus Christ as various other things.

Exodus 15:23-25 _,"And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them."_ In these verses, Jesus became _"a tree"_ in Marah so that they could drink the bitter waters _"made sweet."_ It is part of the Word of God that God is indeed in our lives to make the bitter waters sweet. That which was bitter and destructive to us, God is making sweet.

This is proven when we read Exodus 15:26 _. "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."_ It was Christ then who was _"the tree"_ that healed the waters.

### "AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST"

Exodus 17:6 and 7 _,"Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?"_ Here we see the scriptures saying that Jesus Christ Himself would _"stand... upon the rock"_ which was to be struck, and it would bring forth water. I will tell you something. Jesus Christ was _"THE ROCK."_ The translation here says that He stood _"upon the rock,"_ but He stood AS a _"rock."_ That is the true translation, and I will prove it to you from the Word of God.

Let us look at brother Paul writing to the Corinthians about this same matter. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 _,"MOREOVER, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."_ Can you imagine brethren? The Israelites came to Marah, and they wanted water, and the water was healed (" _made sweet_ ").

They came again to Rephidim, and there was no water anywhere to be seen, but there was a _"rock."_ God told Moses to take the rod and smite the rock, and the rock brought forth water. We see then that Christ was to be struck. Christ was to be smitten by the law in order to bring forth salvation, in order to bring forth _"water"_ to us. This is the reason why God told Moses to strike the rock. Paul, interpreting the Scriptures correctly, said that the _"Rock was Christ."_ Christ was the cloud that led them through the wilderness. Christ was the rock. Christ brought forth the water. The people drank of Christ that day, and they _"were all baptized...in the cloud"_ that covered them.

This is even further validated by the Word in Matthew 16:16-18. Peter is speaking to Jesus. _"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."_ Jesus Christ is saying that Simon Peter was a stone, a little pebble, but _"upon this rock"_ of his confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of the most High God _"I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."_ Jesus here describes Himself as THE ROCK.

There is an occasion where Moses struck the rock when God told him to speak to the rock. Numbers 20:8-11 _,"Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth HIS water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as HE commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also."_

Here Moses made a terrible mistake. In Exodus 17, Moses was to smite the rock (Christ) so that it would bring forth water. Later, God told Moses to SPEAK to the rock. God did not mean that Moses should strike the rock again. Christ was smitten once for us. For Christ to be smitten again is exactly what happens when Christians smite one another, hurt one another, and do evil against the Body of Christ. They are smiting Jesus Christ a second time and bringing disgrace to Him. This second smiting is the one God punishes people for.

Numbers 20:12 _,"And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."_ The punishment was that God would not allow Moses to take the children of Israel into the promised land. Spiritually speaking it could not be, because Moses represented the law. The promised land represented the grace of God, Jesus Christ, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the crossing of the Jordan. This further proves that under the law there could be no righteousness, for the standard of righteousness was not good enough for grace.

Although Moses was obedient, although God said that he was the greatest man on the face of the earth and God testified of him as the most humble man, although God did not allow Satan to have his body but took him away and gave him immortality (because through the law Moses offered a sacrifice, repented of all his sins, and was free from sin, and Satan had no power over him), although he appeared on the mount of transfiguration, and all that was very great, yet God had to punish him and he did not enter the land. Remember, we are talking about Jesus Christ being the tree, Jesus Christ being the rock, and Jesus Christ being the river.

In Numbers 20:8, as was quoted before, Moses was instructed to _"Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together...and it shall give forth HIS water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock."_ The _"HIS"_ personified makes it Christ Himself. I think we have abundant proof that it was Christ that followed them through the wilderness. Christ was the overshadowing cloud, Christ was the water, and Christ was the rock. As we mentioned before, God did not intend that Jesus Christ should be smitten a second time to bring forth water. The children of God to this day are smiting Jesus Christ by hurting one another, striking one another, chatting about one another, lying about one another, and destroying the work of God by attacking the brethren and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Long ago when some of the brethren were really persecuting me, I prayed to God and He gave me no relief. He just allowed me to continue to bear the persecution. One sister doing the persecuting had a dream in which she saw the crowd crucifying Jesus, and she ran to see Jesus herself. When she got to the place of the cross, she saw Him on the cross, bleeding and dying, and her heart was so pained. Then she looked again, and instead of Jesus, it was me that she saw on the cross. I suppose that helped her to stop persecuting me.

It is necessary for us to go into a Biblical history of _"THE TREE OF LIFE"_ so that we can understand much more about The Revelation. Genesis 3:22-24 _,"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: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 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."_

Without going into much detail, these verses tell us that God said it was possible for the man who was now in sin, to go and _"put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life."_ Had he done it (just as _"the tree of knowledge of good and evil"_ made him know good from evil), _"the tree of life"_ would have given him immortality, and he would have lived forever in sin. It would be a horrible thing for a man to _"live for ever"_ on earth in sin and not be able to die. Therefore God _"drove out the man,"_ but then what happened is that He put _"at the east of the garden...Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way."_

Let me just drop it into your heart and leave it there for your contemplation, that the sword of God, the fire of God, was placed upon man's mind so that he could not by his own mind enter into immortality. It was placed upon his own emotions so that by his emotions he could not enter in. By his will, he could not will it and enter in. By his desires, he could not enter in. The only way that he could enter in was by going through the fire of God, through the sword of God. Enoch, the seventh man from Adam, must have been coached by Adam. He found a way to walk so close to God that God took him and he did not die, but he gained immortality without dying.

God speaks of wisdom as _"a tree of life."_ Proverbs 3:18-20 _,"She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew."_ Proverbs 11:30a, _"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life."_ Proverbs 13:12 _,"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life."_ Proverbs 15:4 _,"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit."_

There are many attributes, many things like the fruit of the Spirit, that God refers to as _"a tree of life."_ Ezekiel 47:7, _"...behold, at the bank of the river were VERY MANY TREES on the one side and on the other."_ Revelation speaks of _"the tree of life"_ being _"on either side...which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month."_ The last phrase of Revelation 22:2 is _"and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."_ The devil took 6,000 years to destroy the nations of the world, and God is going to take 1,000 years in which His overcomers will bring _"healing"_ to the world.

Revelation 22:3a, "And there shall be NO MORE CURSE."

What is the meaning of this _"curse"_? Let us look at Genesis 3:17. _"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: CURSED is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."_ The first curse was put upon the ground. No longer would the earth produce abundantly, mightily, as it had done before, but it was now going to produce less, and it would bring forth thorns and thistles and all manner of evil weeds. Today we are affected by a lot of these evil weeds. There is marijuana. Heroin is made from the poppy. Many other things (poisons) which destroy humanity come from the ground. Before this curse, there was no such thing.

In Genesis 4:11 and 12 we see another curse, the curse that God put upon Cain after he had killed his brother Abel. Actually it was something that Cain himself had caused. _"And now art thou CURSED from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth."_ God was only telling Cain what was going to happen because of his action. The earth would not obey him, would not give him its strength, because he had shed innocent blood. Think of how much innocent blood has been shed since Cain! No wonder we are going into a time of great drought.

The Scriptures speak of great famines that will be in the earth, because the earth will produce less and less. As man sheds more blood, the earth will revolt against humanity. We have seen things happen across Africa. Great famines came wherein thousands and tens of thousands of people have died because of famine and drought. Lands that used to bring forth beautiful crops have ceased to produce. The war in Ethiopia caused a drought. The war in Eritrea caused a drought and terrible consequences. People were being killed by hunger and thirst because of mankind's wickedness. The earth refused to produce.

Deuteronomy 11:28 speaks of the curse for not obeying the commandments of the Lord. Deuteronomy 27:15 _,"Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen."_ When it comes to disobedience, the nations of the world are not in obedience to God. All the nations of the world are under the judgment of God, because the nations have wholesale gone into rebellion against everything that is God or that is godly. What is holding the world together from total judgment are the Christians in the different nations who are holding on to God and praying. For their sake, God is holding back the judgment, but it will not be held back too long.

Deuteronomy 28:16-19 _,"Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out."_ This curse is for those who disobey the commandments of God.

When Joshua entered the promised land, the first place he took was Jericho. Joshua 6:26, _"...Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in (the blood) his firstborn (son), and in (the blood) his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it."_ This Word actually came to pass in 1 Kings 16:34. Therefore, the curse had validity and power. When this curse was spoken by God, it had power. In our time we find that the Jews have given the city of Jericho to the Palestinians. We do not know what the significance of this might be, but it would seem that all the nations are now under the curse of God. As we read the different reasons for the curse, we find that every nation and every person came under the curse. Here is a curse put upon a spot of ground.

It is amazing concerning the history of Megiddo, after this act was done in Judges 5:23. _"CURSE ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, CURSE ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty."_ This word refers to the fight between Sisera and Israel led by Barak and Deborah. The marvel of it all is that this place is a place of death, and God used the name of the place to speak of the final battle between good and evil (Scripture said it will be Armageddon). The place is called Megiddo. The history of Megiddo is something amazing. It goes right through the Word of God. Ahab was shot in Megiddo and died. Josiah died in Megiddo by going up against Necho, when God Almighty said that he should not go. Many kings died at Megiddo, and this place has become a graveyard for disobedient men. In World War I, the British Army fought against the Turks to deliver the land of Israel from Turkish rule. A British general (Allenby) went into Megiddo, and the Turks thought his name was Annabi. Annabi in their language means _"servant of God"_ so they refused to fight, and those that fought were totally defeated in this battle of Megiddo.

We find that there is a long history behind this place, but the curse is there. God used the name BABYLON to speak of a world order that is rebellious against God. He used the name JERUSALEM to speak of those who will be the city of God. He used the word ARMAGEDDON to speak of the destruction of the place. Think of the time when the forces of God will fight against the forces of evil and defeat them!

Judges 5:19-22 _,"The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of MEGIDDO; they took no gain of money. They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones."_ Verse 23 spoke of the _"curse."_ God indeed has something yet to be fulfilled in Megiddo wherein the armies of the whole world will be destroyed. Not especially in that little spot, but as God would speak the Word, it will be like the battles of Megiddo.

Jeremiah 11:3 says that those who do not obey the covenant of God are "cursed."

In Malachi 3:8 and 9, God speaks of _"a curse"_ upon the people because they _"rob God."_ Many of us do not think of this very seriously, but the Word says, _"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are CURSED with a CURSE: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."_ God is talking about people in whom He has invested. Many people have received salvation free. Many people have received from the hand of God blessings upon blessings. He is saying that these same people never consider that a part of their daily effort, part of their lives, actually belongs to God. When you give a tenth of your life's earnings to God, you do not give God anything. You have not made a gift to God. You have given God His share of the bargain. God has an investment in you.

We as Christians should reconsider our position and begin to understand that the tithe is not a law. Tithes were paid by Abraham before the law came. Because it is not a law, do we disobey God's Word and take everything for ourselves and use it on ourselves? No! We are children of God. We will not give a tithe. We will give MORE than a tithe. In other words, you must be sure not to give less than a tithe. The man who gives God less than a tithe has robbed God's portion. God has a tenth interest in you. God has a tenth interest in me. In every effort of our lives, God has a tenth interest, and God is saying that we should give Him more. When we understand God, we begin to give God the whole thing. We begin to give God more than a tenth. Someone says, "I do not give tithes. I do not believe in tithes." However, when you check his life, he gives less. God says that you are "cursed with a curse" when you "rob God."

Paul wrote to the brethren in Galatia about the curse and about the law. There is a curse of the law and there is a curse of sin. Galatians 3:10-13 _, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."_ Because man disobeyed the law, because man cannot obey the law of God, and he is always either making mistakes or practicing willful sin, then he is _"under the curse" "of the law"_ and needs to be redeemed from this curse. Verse 11 _,"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith."_ Only faith in God can make us just. We cannot obey the law in order to be just. Verses 12 and 13 _,"And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."_

We have come to the conclusion that the whole human race is _"under the curse."_ Either for disobedience, or for the shedding of blood, or for whatever, WE ARE _"UNDER THE CURSE."_ The earth will not bring forth its increase, our basket and our store will be restricted, and some of us will be robbed of even that which we have, because of the _"curse."_ However, Galatians said that we are _"redeemed from"_ this _"curse"_ through Christ. It means that, once we believe in Christ, we begin to be separated _"from the curse of the law."_ As we live and walk in Christ, we will walk more and more into the light of God and walk out of the curses. Therefore, none of these curses will take us, and eventually we will be absolutely free from _"the curse of the law."_

Why could we not just name it and claim it? After all, if Jesus Christ is in us and we have received salvation, the Word of God, and the power of the Spirit, why do we not just name it and claim it? Brethren, we have only partial victory in this situation. If we should go outside, curse all the weeds that they should die, we would find that the weeds would not obey us. The weeds did not hear the voice of God. They heard us, and we have not come into that place yet. I remember the time when Jesus cursed the fig tree and the fig tree died. He is showing us that the time will come when we will have the fullness of the power for which He has given us a down payment (according to Ephesians chapter 1).

This brings us back to Revelation 22:3a, _"AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE."_ After the marriage of the Lamb, after Christ and the church become one, and after we begin to walk in the purity and the holiness of the city of God, the curse is removed. All these curses that we have named, and more, have been removed and will be removed at the particular time when we have come into the fullness of what Christ is giving us now.

Revelation 22:3b, _"but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:"_

Remember, God said that He shall walk in His people and talk in them, and they shall be His people, and He will be their God. (Leviticus 26:12 and 2 Corinthians 6:16) This is the very crux of the matter and the root of all that God has been promising His people. At last, man has come into the place where _"the throne of God"_ is in the new Jerusalem, in him, for he is a part of the new Jerusalem. _"And...the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him."_

Revelation 22:4, _"And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads."_

We must understand the glory of what God is saying here. _"And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads."_ Let us look at the phrase _"see his face"_ and see if we can understand what is meant by seeing the face of God, for surely it does not mean our natural eyes looking upon the face of Jesus as the disciples did. Let us find and understand what God is saying to us at this point.

### SEEING THE FACE OF GOD

2 Corinthians 3:18, _"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."_ This verse means that the more we see the glory of God, and the more the brightness, the light, the blessedness of God encompasses our beings, the more we see Jesus. This is _"His face." "His face"_ is the riches of His glory, the goodness of His nature, the blessedness of His presence. The more we see it, _"WE...ARE CHANGED...from glory to glory"_ to be like Him.

Matthew 5:8 _,"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."_ The purer the heart is, the clearer the vision will be. Matthew 6:23, _"But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"_ We are talking about spirit vision and not natural vision. Matthew 15:14, Jesus said, _"Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."_ We are talking about seeing the face of God (seeing the face of Jesus) and about those who are blind and cannot see the face of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 3:13-17 _,"And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."_ This " _veil shall be taken away"_ when men _"turn to the Lord"_ Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:4 _,"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."_ We are talking of the mind being blinded, for it is with this mind that one is going to see the face of Jesus.

John 16:14 and 15 _,"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."_ It is the Holy Spirit that gives us this vision, so that we can see the face of Jesus. The Bible tells us here that the Holy Spirit shows us Jesus. He is the revealer of Jesus, so that as we walk in the Spirit, we get more and more the vision of the face of Jesus Christ, and we become what we behold.

Revelation 22:4b, _"and his name shall be in their foreheads"_

We know that _"name"_ means nature. When we talk about the _"foreheads,"_ we are referring to the human mind. _"His name shall be in their foreheads"_ means His nature shall be in their minds.

Ezekiel 9:1 _,"He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand."_ It is time for destruction, and God is calling upon men to do the destruction. The second verse says, _"And, behold, SIX men..." "Six"_ is the number of man, therefore this destruction is coming by man. _"...Came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar."_ When we talk about _"the brasen altar,"_ we are talking about time for judgment. Six men to destroy; one man to restrain them or to save the people of God. This is the seventh man. Seven is the number of perfection. God, in the midst of the destruction, is going to save His people.

Ezekiel 9:3 tells us that the glory of God is gone up from the cherub where it was. The cherub is on the mercy seat, and the mercy seat is the sixth seal. This is the time of destruction. God is actually giving us a time when this thing will come to pass. The power of God was lifted from there and gone out into the Outer Court. The Lord said unto this man, _"with a writer's inkhorn by his side,"_ verses 4 and 5, _"Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity."_

We are talking about judgment time coming down upon the young and the old alike, upon the cities and the countries and everywhere. God is putting a mark upon His people, and He said in verse 6, _"Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house."_

We can see then that _"a mark upon the foreheads"_ is the seal of the living God, and this seal is designed to protect and deliver men from the destruction which must come upon the earth. 2 Corinthians 1:21 and 22, _"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."_ It is God that _"sealed us"_ and the seal is the Holy Ghost. In Ephesians, Paul writes to the brethren giving them the different steps from accepting the Word of God to the sealing of the Holy Ghost. Ephesians 1:13, _"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."_ It is the Holy Spirit that is sealing the brethren in their foreheads.

In Revelation 7 we see that God has a ministry to seal the brethren in their foreheads. We would have to conclude that the sealing in the forehead is done by the Holy Ghost through a ministry. We work with God. We are partners with God. The man does the natural work and God does the spiritual work. No man can seal another man, but if he is moving by the Spirit, then when he moves, the Spirit will seal him. We are talking about destruction and the time for the sealing in the forehead. Revelation 7:1 _,"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree."_ (We have been through this study before.) Verse 2, _"And I saw another angel ASCENDING"_ or coming up (this is a ministry, the FIFTH angel) _"from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea"_ (hurt the carnal man and the nations). Verse 3, _"Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."_ We can definitely believe the Word of God that He is going to seal us in our minds before the enemy is let loose upon the earth.

This point is born out by Revelation 9:4. _"And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."_ Those who have " _the seal of God in their foreheads"_ will overcome everything on earth including radiation. Revelation 14:1 _,"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written IN THEIR FOREHEADS."_ The Greek for _"his Father's name"_ is "tou patros atou" meaning the Father and Himself. The name of Jesus Christ and the name of the Father, the nature of God Almighty, were _"written in their foreheads."_ The Scriptures tell us in the 17th chapter of John that Jesus and the Father will come in and make their abode in us. We are talking about _"the seal of God"_ being the seal of God and Christ.

Let us dig into the depths of the understanding of these words. In Revelation 13:16 we see something that brings us closer to the understanding. _"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads."_ This _"mark"_ is the devil's mark. He can only mark those who are not already marked by God. If you are not marked by God, WOE BE UNTO YOU.

Revelation 22:5, _"And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."_

Jesus Christ is _"light."_ Before the sun was made, Christ was the light of the world. I am sure that Jesus Christ's presence will outshine the sun. Jesus said _,"Then shall the righteous (sons of God) shine forth as the sun in the kingdom..."_ in Matthew 13:43. I believe that the presence of Jesus Christ will be _"light."_ When we take it in the spiritual sense, we can also understand that there will be no more darkness, no more false doctrines, no more lies, no more errors of man to be taught in the schools. It will be just Christ who will be the light and the light will spread over the whole earth. He said, _"...God giveth them light..."_ I am sure that the glory of God will be upon the world. _"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea,"_ Habakkuk 2:14. The presence of God is the glory. When the children of Israel went through the wilderness they had _"light."_

### "AND THEY SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER"

We can see God bringing a people to reign and to rule, but we want to see the scriptures so that we can put them in our hearts as part of our faith and belief. In Exodus 19:4 God spoke a Word, _"Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself."_ The phrase _"eagles' wings"_ has to be referring to something other than natural wings. He was talking about the mind of Christ, the leadership of God. Remember, there was a pillar of cloud that was before them by day and a pillar of fire by night. Actually, God was the scout that chose their campsites, and they had the perfect campsite. There was a bright, lighted, fiery cloud that lighted the whole desert floor.

This must have been an awful sight for the heathen around them to see and for Israel to see, and yet Israel rebelled against God. It is amazing what a human being can do and how the human mind works. I can imagine how frightful it was at first for them, but after they got used to it, it was just normal like looking at the sun. God led them, like a woman carrying her children, through the dry places. He covered them with a cloud in the daytime so that the striking desert sun did not hurt them, and he gave them water to drink. He preserved their clothes so that nobody's shoes wore out; nobody's clothes wore out. See Deuteronomy 29:5. They were like brand new clothes and brand new shoes. These miracles are astounding, yet the people did not take them to heart. They still rebelled against Moses and against God.

Exodus 19:5 and 6 _,"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."_ God told Moses what to say to the children of Israel, but he did not mention kings here. The word really is _"kings and priests,"_ for this is what God promised that He would make them. Man was created to _"have dominion over"_ God's works, that from the very beginning God's intention, God's mandate to Adam, was that he should rule over all things in the earth. Genesis 1:28 _,"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."_ Man had been given _"dominion."_ It is God's intention that man should reign and rule through Christ in righteousness.

Daniel 7:26 and 27 _,"But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."_ _"The saints"_ will be given the _"dominions"_ and the _"kingdom."_ I say it is not all of the saints. As we go on, we will see where the difference is made.

Revelation 5:10 _,"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."_ This song was sung by the four beasts and the twenty-four elders. It is the overcomer company who was in the throne of God at that time; they were singing this new song. This shows us who will be _"kings and priests."_

Revelation 2:26-29, _"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."_ It is evident that this promise is being given to the overcomers which means that there are some who will not be overcomers. If there are some who will not be overcomers, then there are some who will not reign and rule with Christ.

_"He shall rule them with a rod of iron"_ sounds like a very savage thing. The translation could be a little better. The word _"rule"_ is really _"shepherd."_ He will shepherd them with a shepherd's staff of iron. Iron is a type of the Spirit and it cannot be easily broken. Shepherds generally have a wooden staff with a crook at the end. We are talking about an iron staff that cannot be broken by those who are being ruled.

_"I will give him the morning star."_ Jesus is the bright and _"morning star."_ They will have the fullness of Christ. In Revelation 12, the designation _"MAN CHILD"_ is used to speak of a company of people (overcomers) who will have Jesus Christ in His fullness. Christ will be their head and they will be the Body of Christ in perfection. Verse 5 of Revelation 12 says, _"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."_ This catching up means that God lifted the status into that of rulership. The _"man child"_ are those who have come forth in that perfect image of Christ. Christ had become their absolute head, and they were now reigning and ruling with Him.

Revelation 19:15 _,"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."_

Revelation 3:21, _"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."_ All these different references print into our mind the very thought of God so that there can be no doubt as to what God meant.

The writers of the New Testament believed these things also. In Hebrews 2:8 and 9, Paul said, _"Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."_ This verse speaks of Jesus, but it also speaks of us, for we will be in Christ when _"all things"_ are _"put under him."_

In Romans 5:17 we see what Paul believed, and what God gave Paul in this matter. _"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."_ 2 Timothy 2:12, _"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us."_ This verse definitely shows that some of us will _"reign with him"_ and some will not.

In Matthew 25:21, Jesus is telling a parable. _"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."_ In Luke 22:28-30, we read again the words of Jesus speaking to His disciples. _"Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."_

No one in the face of this massive evidence should doubt then that Jesus Christ has ordained for us a _"kingdom."_ The earth will be made glorious and the sons of God will be given the rule over the nations and the government will be theocratic, absolutely God government. This will be done for a thousand years according to what we have read. After that, it will be eternity. We cannot dream of what God has prepared and provided for us in the new kingdom, except that we know that according to the Word of God it will be _"for ever and ever."_ It will be everlasting. We cannot even think of what everlasting is, but at least we know that it is timeless. God will never allow us to revert to any other condition but to that which is heavenly and glorious. It is worthwhile then, brethren, for us to _"suffer,"_ for then _"we shall also reign with him"_ according to His Word.

Revelation 22:6 and 7 _,"And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book."_

_"Behold, I come quickly"_ does not mean that we can go and preach that Jesus is coming tomorrow or the next day. What we are preaching is that the coming will be so sudden, and so swift, and so quick that no one will have time to repent at that time. No one will have time to do anything, to go down back into their house to take anything of his own, for the coming of the Lord is something that will be very sudden.

Revelation 22:8 and 9 _,"And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."_

### THE THREE REALMS OF HEAVEN

We have gone into the subject of heaven extensively before in chapter 19. The thoughts that were brought forth were that men who die and have gone to be with the Lord Jesus are not just idle in heaven. They are used of God as angels to come back to us, to give us understanding or to bring us messages. The Greek word "aggelos" is the word "messenger." They are messengers of God. It is not all the angels that we read of in Revelation that are created spirit beings. Some of these are human beings, our brethren, whom God is using as angels.

We need to understand the Word of God and even the construction of heaven to get an idea of what is meant by angels and what is meant by verses 8 and 9. Three places in Revelation we have read of this sort of thing - one time in chapter 19:10, the second time in chapter 21:17, and now in chapter 22:9. This brother said that he was of our _"brethren the prophets."_ That means that he was one of the prophets. Moses and Elias had appeared in the mount of transfiguration, and they wanted to hear from Jesus Christ concerning His death, His burial, and His resurrection - the mysteries of the kingdom. We understand from the Word of God that the mysteries of the kingdom are given to the church, and that the princes, _"the principalities and the powers in heavenly places,"_ have to learn from _"the church the manifold wisdom of God,"_ Ephesians 3:10.

Let us look a little deeper into the matter of heaven. What are these people doing in heaven and where is heaven? We have touched on this before, but by way of emphasis, let us go into the matter just a little more. Heaven is basically in three parts. Everything God does is in three parts. In these three heavens there are three heavens. We have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in the highest heaven. When we write about the highest heaven we are really writing about a spiritual realm where there is so much light, power, energy, and life that no other creature could stand this enormous light and power. His whole being would be disintegrated by the power that he would behold. Therefore, we understand that there is an insulation in heaven between God (number one heaven, highest heaven) and the other heaven where the high angels are.

Isaiah 14 speaks of _"heaven"_ and Satan or "Heylel." Verses 12 and 13, _"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Heylel_ ("Lucifer" is in my Bible, but the proper name is "Heylel") _, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north." This creature is saying that he is going to "exalt (his) throne above" the throne of God, because he is going to take away "the congregation, in the sides of the north."_ This _"congregation"_ is the Zion company, or the Overcomers, or the Firstfruits company. He is saying that he is going to take that company of people and be king over them. You must remember that this devil is talking about US. He is telling God that he is going to be king over us before the game is all over.

Let us turn back to Psalm 48:1 and 2. _"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."_ The same Hebrew phrase that is used in Isaiah is used here in Psalm 48. Satan was saying to God that he was going to reign over these people _"on the sides of the north."_

Let me show you a connection. When Satan met Jesus face to face (recorded in Luke 4), this revealed that he had been talking to Jesus in the beginning, before man was made. Let us look at the second act of this great drama. In verses 5-7, we see Satan coming before Jesus Christ, _"And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine."_ Alleluia! Jesus was standing there listening to Satan making his play, and what the devil was actually saying was, "I told you before, I was going to rule over this Zion company. Look at your disciples. Look at the people of the world!"

The _"mountain"_ he took _"Him up into,"_ of course, was a mount of vision, a high mountain of vision, where He could see all humanity at one time. He could see all the world, and all that was in it, and all that Satan was doing. What Jesus saw was a devastation. Satan had incorporated every institution, every government, every human being. He had his dark tentacles into everybody, including His twelve disciples. Jesus Christ gave him the appropriate answer (Luke 4:8), which in our old English says, _"Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."_ Jesus was saying to him, "You are not in my league. You must get behind me. You have no place before me. Your place is behind me. I am the One you should be worshipping. How dare you come to tell me that I should worship you!"

Knowing Jesus Christ as I do, the glory of God would come upon Him, and His eyes would, as it were, flash fire - the anger of God. I do not think, nor can I see, how Satan could have stood before Him. For if Jesus said, _"Get thee behind me,"_ no creature could stand before Him. It was a case of light rising up to douse the darkness. I believe Satan must have fallen down or moved away from Him at that time. Then we see Jesus Christ letting Satan know that the battle was not yet over. "You said that you were going to reign over the Zion company, and if you think that this is reigning, you are making a sad mistake, because we have just begun to fight, and when the end of the matter is over, you will be in the lake of fire."

What Satan started when he spoke to God before man was made, and when he said that he would take the kingdom, had now come down to the point where Jesus Christ came to make His claim upon the kingdom. Isaiah 14:14a says that Satan had said, _"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds."_ He is talking about that insulation that was between him and God, when he was Heylel in the second realm of heaven.

God has given only three names of angels in the Bible and all the other names that you hear about are not Biblical. They are not of God and they are not God angels. In other books we hear about the angels called Raphael and Uriel. We need not believe any of those books. We hear of Maroni and that angel is not of God. Any other angel named in any kind of a Scriptural context is not from God.

We come to the third realm of heaven where men and angels are like this brother that spoke to John and said that he was one of _"the prophets."_ Among the prophets, there are those like Elijah who has his body with him. Elijah never died, his grave is not among us, and his body was gone into the heavenlies. This then is one class of people. Another class of people are those who have died and have received their bodies from the Lord which we read about in 2 Corinthians 5:1. _"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."_

God gives the saints in heaven a temporary body in which to live, until the resurrection when they get back their own bodies from the earth. We have written before about the doctrine of the resurrection; the body that we have now we will receive again with the exception that it will not be a carnal body any more. It will be a spiritual body for it will live from the Spirit, rather than from the things of the earth as we do now.

The third class of beings in this heaven are the created angel beings. In The Revelation, we find three types of angels - created angel beings, men who are like the angels, and those who have their bodies.

In answer to a question from the Pharisees in Matthew 22:29 and 30 _,"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."_ The people of God who are in God and the heavens are like _"the angels."_

Revelation 22:10 _,"And he (the angel) saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand."_

Why did the angel say _"Seal not...the prophecy"_? Of course he gave the reason _"...for the time is at hand."_ To be sure that we understand what this angel is saying, let us turn back to Daniel 8:26. _"And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days."_ _"The vision"_ that Daniel saw was for the end of time. Daniel lived about 550 years before Jesus Christ, therefore, _"the vision"_ was not for his time, but this angel said, _"Seal not the sayings...for the time is at hand."_ We are talking about the last 2,000 years of time. The context in which this is written means that soon after these things happen the vision would come to pass.

Revelation 22:11, _"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still."_

God is saying that in His coming, He is going to catch everything in the same position (the same place) that it is in. There will be no time for repentance, no time to move to the right, or move to the left, or to change one's designation. Humanity will be caught just like frozen time by the suddenness of the coming of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 22:12, _"And, behold, I come quickly." This is exactly what it is saying. Behold I come suddenly! "And my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."_

God has allowed man to do what he wants to do. We see many men of the church doing their own thing, going the way they feel like they want to go, and they are being satisfied with their own works. God is going to judge _"every work"_ when He comes. Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 14 gives us the conclusion. _"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."_

Revelation 22:13 _, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."_

We know that God did not speak in Greek, therefore, we must understand the idea He was saying. This thought came in chapter 1:8 and 11, in chapter 21:6 and here in chapter 22:13. What God is actually saying is that He is not just _"the beginning and the end,"_ but He is FROM the beginning TO the end. If you begin to talk with God, immediately as you stand before Him, He is seeing you from your beginning, and He is seeing your ending at the same time. This is an awesome thought that you do not know what tomorrow will bring, and yet the God that you are talking to, and the God that you serve, knows what your yesterday was, what your beginning was, and what your end will be even while you are talking to Him now.

It is because of ignorance that people do not jump to obey God. Whatever God is telling you to do, because of the results He wants for you tomorrow, quite likely are the results you are asking Him for. You ask, _"Lord, do so and so for me."_ Jesus says, _"All right you do so and so."_ It is as simple as ABC that we, not knowing our tomorrow, not knowing what the next hour will bring, should be happy and willing to obey a God who will tell us today what to do, because He has designed our tomorrow to produce a certain effect.

We all know that we must come to an end somewhere, somehow; whether it be Jesus coming, or whatever the situation might be, but we are in darkness as far as that end is concerned. We do not know WHEN. We do not know HOW. We do not know WHAT. The God we talk to every day knows the hows, and the whens, and the whats, and He understands exactly where we are in our journey and in our time. We need to just trust Him, because He knows the beginning and the ending. He not only KNOWS the beginning and the end, but He IS _"the beginning and the end."_ We cannot escape one way or another, because _"if we walk in the light, as He is in the light,"_ we will come forth as children of light, and there is no other way to go. We can readily see that our lives have been designed of God from the very beginning to come to a specific end that He also has designed. Our todays are part of our tomorrows and He can see the beginning and the end even at this time.

Revelation 22:14, _"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."_ According to this statement, some will NOT _"have (the) right to the tree of life"_ and some will NOT _"enter in through the gates into the city."_

Revelation 22:15 _,"For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."_

This seems to be still an earthly situation. In other words, we are in the millennium because there are still _"dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."_

WHAT DO "DOGS" REPRESENT IN THE SCRIPTURES?

Let us go into the Scriptures to see what is meant by _"dogs."_ Deuteronomy 23:17 and 18 _,"There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a DOG, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God."_ Here is the mention of _"whore"_ and _"sodomite"_ in one verse and in the next verse the _"hire of a whore"_ and _"the price of a dog."_ Apparently the word _"DOG"_ referred to in verse 18 is the same as the word _"SODOMITE"_ referred to in verse 17. Apparently it is the nature of the sin that is referred to in this particular chapter as _"a DOG."_

Exodus 11:6 and 7, _"And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a DOG move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."_ _"Not a dog_ (should) _move his tongue_ (against Israel) _"_ was really speaking about evil spirits not touching Israel but only destroying the Egyptians. The word _"dog"_ definitely refers to unclean spirits, unclean persons, or unclean behavior.

Our next thought comes from Psalm 22:16. _"For DOGS have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet."_ This Psalm was written by David when he was in some terrible trouble. It so happens that God made him as the Father of Christ. Jesus was called _"the son of David."_ David wrote a prophetic Psalm in his trouble about the trouble of Jesus Christ. He said, _"for dogs have compassed me."_ Who were the persons that crucified Jesus, actually? They were the Roman soldiers who were used by the Hebrew Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin used them like a man would use a dog to attack his enemy. He called them _"dogs"_ and they were unclean men.

Proverbs 26:11, _"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."_ This phrase is also used in 2 Peter 2:22 where Peter quoted from Proverbs. _"But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."_ This speaks of a backslidden person, a person who turns back upon his profession of faith. Ecclesiastes 9:4, _"For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion."_ To be among the living no matter how bad your condition is, you are _"better_ (off) _than a dead lion;"_ however, I do know some who prefer to die as a lion than to live as a dog. Matthew 7:6, _"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."_ This is good advice, because those who are unclean should not have any business with holy things.

From these scriptures then we would be right to come to the conclusion that the dog means an unclean person or an unclean thing or an unclean behavior pattern.

In spite of the rule of God in the earth (for the Scriptures said that the whole _"earth shall be filled with...the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea"_ ), in spite of Jesus Christ being here in person, and in spite of Christ showing through all His overcomers who would be administrating the business of the earth, in spite of all this, there would be filthy men, those called dogs (sodomites, gross uncleanness, and unnatural behavior) who would prefer their sins and darkness rather than light. This is a very important fact as to why hell will be eternal. There will be people who have no desire for God. They hate everything that is God and is of God and everything that is good. It is, therefore, necessary for there to be a hell and for the hell to be eternal, because there are those who will never, never, never submit to God or give up their ways of sin.

### SORCERERS

The next thought here is _"sorcerers."_ Outside the walls of the city would be _"sorcerers."_ Let me name some of the areas of sorcery which are mentioned in the Bible. Number one would be the soothsayers, those who tell fortunes. Number two would be the magicians, those who try to work wonders. Astrologers read your fortune according to astrology. There are wise men (found in Daniel), Chaldeans, witchcraft (including Pentecostal witchcraft worked in churches, where men and women want to take over and rule others, working with the devil to disrupt and hinder the work of the Lord), divination (those who tell fortunes), observers of times, enchanters (those who deal with serpents, etc.), witches (those who use magic potions), mediums and consulters of mediums (those who bring up spirits and speak to them), and necromancers (those who deal with the dead, bring up the dead, talk to the dead). In Revelation we have those who have the _"doctrine of the Nicolaitanes."_ All these are designed to hinder the progress of the work of the church. We put them in the class of sorcery. God also speaks about Jezebel and spiritual adultery.

We will begin in Isaiah 2:6 with the terminology _"soothsayers."_ _"Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers."_ Soothsaying is fortune telling, which includes crystal-ball gazing, using the ouija board, tarot cards, palm reading, tea-leaf reading, and all other manner of fortune telling.

Let us look at _"the magicians."_ In Exodus 7, Moses appeared before Pharaoh, and verses 11 and 12 say, _"Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."_ _"The magicians"_ do great miracles. There are many men and women today doing miracles which are not of God. They are of the devil, and we, the Christian church, have to be very careful that we understand this, so that we do not call every miracle that we see of God.

Revelation 16:13 and 14, _"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."_ Remember, Revelation said that these are things to come to pass. The _"spirits_ (will) _come out of the mouth of"_ these three world leaders and they will give miracles to their agents. We will see many great miracles done by many men who are not basically godly. Nobody is going to come and tell you, "I am not of God, but I am working miracles." We are going to see miracles being worked by people who say they are of God. They will say that Christ sent them, and yet it is not God.

In my experience, I have seen some terribly wonderful things done by people who are not of God. For instance, I saw something in a Full Gospel Business Men's meeting in Detroit. There was a coven of witches from some town in Ohio who went to this meeting. The brethren that I minister with were also in this meeting. They all heard the brother say from the platform that everybody should get up and lay hands on one another. These witches got up and laid hands on people and the people began to fall to the floor. A whole line of people lined up to get zapped by this power that was coming from what they thought were Christians, but were witches. They were proclaimed witches, not people whom we call witches, but who call themselves witches. Now I know that the people were getting a spirit that they did not bargain for, but they were opening themselves to this spirit. Not everyone who has this power to lay hands on people are of God.

There was at one time a school in Los Angeles, California where you could go and get certain spiritual powers. All you had to do was to promise to pay them a certain amount of money. This is being done to this day. People are receiving spirit guides and these guides are giving them power to lay on hands, and to speak the word, and to knock people down to the floor.

I knew a man who could tell you your name, where you came from, what you want, how much money you have in your pocket, and things of this nature. One time he spoke a word and turned a car over with some people in it. This man is not of God; he is an agent of the devil, and I knew him to be an agent of the devil.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:11, the Word of God describes it as _"strong delusion"_ that God said He would send the people _"because they received not the love of the truth"_ (verse 10). Those of you who are going after miracles, remember there are some evil workers who are getting miracles done. Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 7:22 and 23, _"Many will say to me in that day, 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 then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."_ Notice, He said that it would be done _"in that day."_ There is a special time when this thing would be done. On the other hand, they were saying _"in thy name."_ I have heard a lot of people calling, "In the name of Jesus," and they do not understand that this is not what "In the name of Jesus" means. "In the name of Jesus" means that in His nature you do things. It is not just by calling the words, "In the name of Jesus." Anybody can call a word, but it is not anybody who can command the power of God.

From these scriptures we can see that we are in the time of 2 Thessalonians 2:9. _"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders."_ There are true signs and wonders done by God's people through the Holy Ghost, but there are also _"signs and lying wonders"_ being done by the forces of Satan.

### ASTROLOGERS

Astrologers are those who read the stars and have monthly prognostications. Sometimes in our newspapers you will see the published astrological fortune telling under the different signs of the Zodiac. The Zodiac was brought forth in the time of Nimrod by either Nimrod himself or he and his wife, Semiramis. They put themselves into the Zodiac as part of the worship of Nimrod and his wife. For instance, Pisces (the fishes) were supposed to be Nimrod and his wife, who should be killed and their bodies thrown into the river. It was ordered that she should be thrown into the river when she died. To this day the people in India still believe that their god is going to come back from the river. Astrology is something that has taken a certain toll in the modern world. People do believe in astrology and go and get astrological readings. This is sorcery.

### WITCHCRAFT

Witchcraft is a part of sorcery that deals with demons and evil spirits and is very prevalent in the world. Americans do not generally recognize witchcraft, but they still participate in it without recognizing it. There are many different forms of witchcraft which the modern people involve themselves in. Card reading, tarot cards, tea leaves, ouija boards, and palm reading are things that people get into, but they do not call it witchcraft. There are some horrible and subtle forms of witchcraft, like the type that is involved in the churches. We call it PENTECOSTAL WITCHCRAFT. We have heard a tape by Derek Prince which speaks of this Pentecostal witchcraft in a most direct way. However, the children of God should never be participants in anything like this. Yet unfortunately, people who want to have their way in churches and want to rule and take over, always seem to get themselves involved in this kind of witchcraft.

Here is a common form of witchcraft in the church. Witchcraft includes having evil thoughts, evil desires, and evil intentions toward people. Demon spirits will take your evil thoughts and desires and bring them to pass. I have seen a person leave a church group for some reason or another, and the brethren begin to pray that that person comes back. Such a prayer could not be of God since we want the will of God for each person. The prayer for a person who has left the group is, "Bless them, Lord, wherever they may be, if it is your will that they should go some place else." However, because each group believes that it is THE group and THE place for each person to be (which is a Catholic belief; the Roman Catholic church believes that she is the only church and everything else is not a church), then when a person leaves a group, that group begins to pray for that person as if he or she has backslidden and turned away from God. Sometimes, most of the time, it is the leading of God that leads the person away from the group.

When this kind of witchcraft is employed, we find that the people find themselves in a lot of trouble. So many minds and so many people praying against them and so many demons coming against them that they are in terrible trouble. I witnessed a widespread witchcraft being done by almost all the Christians in the area of listening to certain television programs. When it was announced on the program that Warren Burger, a Supreme Court justice, had passed the idea of abortion into law, people got on him and began to pray for his death. They even flew an airplane with a message tape on the end saying, "Warren Burger must die." The man was smart enough to resign immediately and this probably saved his life.

This kind of Pentecostal witchcraft, when a million people are praying something contrary to the will of God, will cause Satan to turn terrible spiritual forces against the person who is being prayed for. This kind of sorcery is being done every day by the churches. They are praying for things that are not according to the will of God. If you do this, then the devil will answer your prayers and you will become a worker with the devil.

This condition is a very sad one in the Christian world. In Leviticus 19:16 the law speaks against talebearing. Proverbs 11:13, 18:8, 20:19, and 26:20 are references against talebearing. First of all, in John 6:70 Jesus speaking of Judas said, _"Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?"_ and He used the word "diabolos." However, Paul in writing to Timothy concerning the things of the church in 1 Timothy 3:11 said, _"Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things."_ The word "SLANDERERS" here is "diabolos," the same word that Jesus used in John 6:70 calling Judas _"a devil."_ We see that Judas was indeed _"a devil"_ because he was incorporated at the end by Satan who entered into him. We have never read this in any other Scripture where Satan entered into a man, but here he was _"a devil"_ indeed.

Paul is saying that those in the church that carry news from one place to another, disrupting a people and causing dissension and distress, are acting like demons, and more than that, they are working with the host of demons who are doing the same work. We find this thing in the church. This is part of the sorcery that goes on in our midst and the Spirit of God is completely against it.

A witch, therefore, is a person who uses magic potions. Although we speak of Pentecostal witchcraft, we have other kinds of witchcraft that goes on around us. Witches use magic potions and give people a lot of things to ward off spirits or to give them luck. All this is witchcraft. We cannot go into the details of it, but it is good for us to touch these things from a Scriptural point of view, so that people will understand that some of the things they do are really witchcraft. Snakecharming is a part of witchcraft. There are people who deal with snakes, speak to snakes,and keep snakes under control by some kind of power.

### MEDIUMS

Mediums are people who call up spirits and call up different people. I have actually seen this done. I saw a case where there was proof that it was the actual person (the personality of the person) sharing secrets that only that person could have known, which were revealed by the spirit. Not that Satan could not go into hell and dig up these things, but it was not an imitation at all. It was the actual spirit of the person. We see this thing done in the case of Samuel. Many people say that it was just Satan impersonating Samuel, but when we look at the actual thing, we cannot help but come to the conclusion that it was Samuel. In 1 Samuel 28:7-19, we look at the thing for ourselves.

"Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said SAMUEL, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by ME: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to- morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines."

In reading this story, I have no doubt in my own mind that it was Samuel himself. The personality of the man, the words of the man, everything was Samuel. There was no evil spirit that could get up and speak the Word of the Lord to Saul as Samuel. I know this was Samuel! How was a woman able to bring up a man of God from the grave? We can understand it well, because Jesus had not yet come, and all the people of God, everyone, died in sin, and once you had sin, you were in that place called hell. In Psalm 16:10 David said _,"For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."_ David went into hell and so Jesus Christ went to hell to save David and to save Adam. Adam's fallen race was saved from hell by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 4:6 _,"For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."_ We see a testimony here from Peter. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:53-55 says _,"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"_

### NECROMANCY

We will just touch on the subject of necromancy since this subject is part of the Scriptures. Necromancy is the dealing with evil spirits. We just read about this woman who called up Samuel from the grave and there is such a thing as necromancy. I was very much shocked and surprised one day while I was in Nigeria. As I looked at the list of subjects that were being taught at the Roman Catholic Bible school, I saw that one of the subjects was necromancy. I marveled at it. One friend of mine, a converted priest, told me that they were taught necromancy. He spent twelve years in Rome so he should know what he is talking about. Necromancy is dealing with the dead, speaking to the dead, and using the dead like sorcerers use demons.

### JEZEBEL

In Revelation 2:20 there is a reference to Jezebel. _"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."_ There are two ways we can look at this. We can look at this in the natural which does exist, and we can look at it in the spiritual which is pertinent. In the natural the churches do have this kind of a spirit in them. There are people in the midst of the church who are terrible examples to the brethren because they teach things that are contrary to the truth.

Jezebel was a woman who was a daughter of a witch; her mother was involved in witchcraft, a priestess of an idol god. Jezebel, a daughter of Belial, came to Israel and married Ahab. She was a very wicked person, yet she was the queen of Israel for Ahab was the king. She set a plot against Naboth to get his beautiful vineyard, for she wanted to give it to her husband as a present. Her husband wanted the vineyard and Naboth refused to sell it because it was his family's vineyard, therefore, she plotted to kill him. To be honest with you, I have seen things like this done in the churches. Sometimes plots are made, lies are told, and innocent people are ridiculed and cast out.

I remember a sister sitting in a certain church one Sunday morning. She had just received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. She was so excited and anxious for everyone to receive it and was teaching the young people about the Holy Spirit when the pastor got up one Sunday morning and pointed his finger at her in the midst of the full church and said, "Sister, you are a disease. I want you out of this church." The woman almost had a heart attack and they had to take her to the hospital. We are talking about the spirit of Jezebel, not just in women, but also in men in the church of today.

We see also a spiritual Jezebel, those who teach false doctrines and continue to teach these doctrines to the young as if they were from Almighty God. They teach doctrines that people will fly away. They teach doctrines that people will escape when they are in sin. I read this remark by a minister in a certain church publication, _"If anyone has accepted Jesus as their Saviour and are born again, even if they are in the bed of adultery when Jesus Christ appears in the air, they will leave the bed of adultery and go up to meet Him in the air."_

Another time I heard a preacher preaching the rapture and he said that only people who keep the seventh-day sabbath will go up in the rapture. When it was question time, I was permitted to ask him the question, "What about those people who really love God and do not keep the seventh-day sabbath?" He said that if you believe the sabbath, at least you will spend one sabbath in the air. I asked him, "If a man who keeps the sabbath should fall into sin during the week, like on a Wednesday, and Jesus should come on Thursday, what would happen to him?" He said that the man does not have to worry at all, because it takes seven days to go to heaven, and while he is on his seven-day flight, he will pass through a sabbath before he gets to God.

All this kind of nonsense is being taught to the people, and the people are filling the pews of these places and are really believing that they are hearing from God. These are two examples of being way out, but we have several other examples of people filling churches because someone is preaching something. Someone says, "Oh there is a great endtime preacher coming and he is going to preach a wonderful sermon and wonderful things about the endtime." This man began to preach from the books of Daniel and Revelation, and he went into the Word and preached all the things that are going to happen, and at the end of his sermon someone asked him a question about the endtime. He replied, "We do not have to worry about all that because we will not be here when it happens, for that is going to happen to the Jews. We will all fly away and be gone."

Why would God put these things in the Bible for our admonition and warn us and say, _"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh"_? (See Matthew 25:13.) Why would He do these things if we were not going to be here and it is all for the poor Jews? You had better take your Bible again and go to God and ask Him to tell you the truth.

### THE LIE AND THE LIAR

Revelation 22:15b, _"and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."_ We are looking at the lie and the liar, those who love lies and the one who makes the lie.

In Revelation 21:8 we read that all liars have their part in the lake of fire. Verse 27, _"And there shall in no wise enter into it_ (the city of God) _any thing that...maketh a lie."_ In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had no reason to doubt Satan because they never knew of a lie. There was no such thing as a lie. It was invented right there.

Let us look into John's gospel and see what Jesus Himself said concerning the lie and the liar. John 8:44 and 45," _Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not."_ Words like this are very deep and serious because it tells us a lot of things beside what it has just said on the surface. Satan is _"a liar" "from the beginning."_ We need to consider what _"beginning."_ In order to understand what is meant by _"from the beginning,"_ we need to understand that God is talking about the beginning of Satan and not the beginning as it is written in Genesis, _"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." That is "the beginning" of "the heaven and the earth."_

THE "COVERING CHERUB"

Where did Satan begin? We know that God had three mighty angels in the great second heaven realm. One was Michael, one was Gabriel, and one was Heylel. Heylel was the one that thought in his heart that he could take the throne of God and that he could become like the Almighty. Ezekiel 28:14-16 _,"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire."_ Here we read that Heylel who became Satan was a _"covering cherub."_ What is meant by _"covering cherub"_?

If we go back to the Tabernacle, we see that there are two cherubim and they cover the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant represents the final church, the Overcomer church, the Firstfruits Company church. The sixth church then would be the overshadowing, the place where men will run for protection as a hiding place when terror and judgment is upon the earth. God is saying that in the Tabernacle of heaven there was a _"covering cherub,"_ just as there was in the Tabernacle on earth, for we know the heavenly things have their pattern on earth.

Hebrews 9:24, _"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."_ There is a Tabernacle in the heavens, and in this Tabernacle in the heavens Christ is entered into, and because there is a Tabernacle in the heavens, so the earthly Tabernacle is only a figure of that heavenly Tabernacle. We understand from Ezekiel that there was a _"covering cherub"_ in that Tabernacle, and this _"covering cherub"_ being in the real Tabernacle really covered.

In Solomon's temple there were two massive cherubims and their wings stretched from one wall to the other wall, wing tip to wing tip. They covered the whole floor of the Tabernacle so that when the shekinah glory would come between the cherubs, it would shed a light, casting a shadow that would cover the whole congregation. The covering removed now from just the priest alone to the whole congregation.

Heylel was commander of praise, the _"covering cherub."_ He would command praise of God in heaven and everybody had to praise as he commanded.

Ezekiel 28:15 and 16 has described him. _"Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire."_ It is as plain as ever, the understanding of what happened. This cherub was entrusted with the business of God, with bringing forth praise. When the angels opened up themselves to give praise to God, they would receive their energy and their life flowing in from God and every angel would receive the capacity to which he could take.

This _"covering cherub"_ decided to use _"violence"_ in heaven. The order of violence we do not know, but spiritual violence must be something much, much more HORRIBLE than what we can think of in the natural. We see sinful men who are violent, creating bombs to destroy whole cities, women and children alike, incinerating them so that they suffer for years and years. This kind of wickedness and _"iniquity"_ is what God is talking about when he said that he brought forth _"violence"_ in heaven. He must have hurt God's creatures, hurt God's angels, for God to say, _"I WILL DESTROY THEE...from the midst of the stones of fire."_ He was cast down out of the heavenlies.

Isaiah 14:12-15 _,"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Heylel, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (the saints): I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."_

We find God using some very strong and terrible language here. By this strength of language we can understand the depth of iniquity that this spirit, this mighty trusted angel, had created. I think that Satan, or Heylel, began to lie in heaven. The first lie he told was not what he told Adam and Eve. He was a liar from the beginning of Satan. It is not necessary to understand how long he was Satan before God cut him down and how long he was on earth before he finally made his play against Adam and Eve.

What we do know so far of the history of Satan is that he began when he decided that he wanted to _"ascend above the heights of the clouds."_ He wanted to be Jesus Christ! He made a threat in verse 13 that he was going to set his _"throne above the stars of God" and that he was going to "sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north."_ Now, who was he threatening and where was he threatening to sit? He was threatening to sit in your heart! Satan was saying to God that those people you are preparing, I am going to take them over. I am going to be their Christ. I am going to rule over them. I will be their god. I will be in the place of God and he was actually saying to God that there is nothing YOU can do about it.

Psalm 48:1 _,"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness."_ _"The city of...God"_ is the city of temples. We are the temple of the living God, and each temple is in a city because we are in the Lord, and we become a city of temples. God called this city Jerusalem, the city of peace. Verse 2 _,"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."_ Satan mentioned _"the sides of the north."_ He said that he was going to take them.

In Luke chapter 4 we find Satan meeting Jesus, the God whom he had threatened. He had threatened the Lord Jesus in the beginning before man was made. Now they meet face to face. Satan is now going to want to prove to Jesus that he has won, but the game was not yet over. The game had just begun as far as Jesus was concerned. Verse 5 _,"And the devil, taking him_ (Jesus) _up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time."_ Now you know that there is no natural mountain where anyone can go and see _"all the kingdoms of the world"_ in a moment of time. This was a mountain of vision where Satan said, "Come with me."

Jesus went into this mountain of vision where He could see _"all the kingdoms of the world." "The kingdoms of the world"_ that he is talking about are the hearts of men, and mostly what Satan wanted to boast about was that he had the disciples of Jesus Christ because there was darkness in them. "There you are," he said. "I got them. I have everything in my grasp. They are all mine because they have been given unto me for that is delivered unto me."

### ADAM'S MAJOR DECISION

What is the devil talking about? Who delivered the kingdom of my soul to the devil? I will tell you who. Your father and my father, Adam, abdicated because he saw that he could not fight this mighty force of Satan. He surrendered, and when he surrendered, the scripture said that _"Adam was not deceived."_ Adam knew exactly what he was doing but Eve was deceived. The lie took her but the lie did not take Adam. Adam knew that if he did not give in, Eve would be dead and gone, and he decided to die with her. A part of the man's soul was in Eve. Every true man would give his life for his wife, for his loved one. There is no one who could come and destroy your loved one and you would stand there and say, "Let me preserve my own life." That was not in Adam.

Adam decided that the only way he could save Eve was to be in the same condition Eve was, since God had promised him immortality. As Adam walked through the garden day after day and talked with Jesus Christ, he received the vision from the Lord of immortality and eternal life and he knew that God would save him. Therefore, he deliberately stepped into the death that Eve was in, so that God would save both of them, and there was no way for half a man to die and the other half to live anyhow.

Satan was in the business of giving out kingdoms to his spirits, his fallen angels. I want you to remember the situation with Daniel. In Babylon, when Daniel prayed for the children of Israel, God sent Gabriel to give him a message. When Gabriel gave him the message, Gabriel told him that God had heard his prayer and that there was going to be salvation for his people. Daniel waited 21 days, but there came the prince of Persia, a devil prince, one of Satan's fallen angels over the kingdom of Persia. If you read the history of the kingdom of Persia, you will understand the exact nature of that devil. (Alexander the Great inherited everything from the Persians. He was a homosexual and he was one of the most terrible generals and fighters that the world has ever seen.) The Medes and the Persians received the nature of the devil that ruled over Persia.

Satan now is offering to give Jesus Christ all these devil kingdoms, if He would bow down and worship him. I cannot conceive that Satan could be so lacking in intelligence as to believe that Jesus Christ would bow down to him, knowing that anybody that bows down to him is under him no matter what kingdom. "If you give me a kingdom, then you are my boss." That is nonsense; I just cannot figure Satan trying that little lowdown trick. He could not play that trick on some of us, much less could he have any chance at all over Jesus Christ, and Jesus rebuked him in a most appropriate manner and drove him away.

### THE FIRST LIE RECORDED IN THE BIBLE

The question in Revelation was: How did this liar begin? We have written of his beginning, now let us look at the first lie in the Bible that he told. Genesis 3 is the chapter of the fall. Verse 1, _"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"_ The serpent was talking (through the serpent Satan was talking) and it was not strange to the woman. There was a line of communication between man and beast; not like it is now, but we look to the time when God shall bring the earth back to the form of Eden that it was before. We will realize that a lot of the things that the animals are doing and the songs that they are making are really a language, and they are talking to us.

I had a dog who could do everything except articulate. I could speak to him in English, and he would get up and do whatever I commanded. He would sit and wait and never move until I told him to move. This was something that always impressed me; that there is something more to the intelligence of these animals than we credit them for. Now the serpent talked to Eve. Verses 2 and 3, _"And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."_ She spoke these words, but for sure she had no idea of what dying meant.

Verse 4 _,"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die."_ THIS IS THE FIRST LIE, and he made the lie upon playing between the natural and the spiritual. I have heard so many false doctrines made upon this basis: playing upon the natural and the spiritual. They get a different doctrine because they take it naturally when it should be taken spiritually. Actually, the woman was going to die if she ate the fruit, but she was not going to die immediately, she would START dying the minute she ate the fruit. Verse 5 _,"For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."_ Oh, what a lie! He took the truth and he played the truth around and made it into a lie.

I want you to notice the basic lie that has a lot of power in it. You can take truth and play the truth around and make it into a lie. You can twist the truth just a little and make it into a lie. Some of the Bible translators translate the Bible and change the words a little and make just a slight change, making the Word of God into the word of man. Many things that they are calling Bibles nowadays are not really Bibles. The Good News Bible is not a Bible. There are many, many more that are disfigured and are not worthy to be called Bibles. Verse 6 _,"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food..."_ She saw it. That means that the serpent must have taken the thing and eaten it. _"...and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise..."_ What a lie. _"...she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."_ Verse 7a _,"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked."_ They lost their spiritual covering. I see many people drawing Adam and Eve as naked people. Adam and Eve were not naked until they ate the fruit. They had spiritual covering. When Jesus Christ came out of the tomb, His clothes were folded neatly in the corner, but He was clothed. The spirits of God are always clothed; the naked spirits are evil spirits. This man and this woman found themselves naturally naked because they had eaten the fruit.

Verse 8 _,"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden."_ Imagine that! Trees to hide you. Verses 9 and 10 _,"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."_ Praise be to God! So we see then the first lie. God said that it was Satan who invented the lie. Before Satan there was no lie. Adam and Eve did not know that there was anything called a lie until they fell into it.

1 Timothy 2:14, _"And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."_ This lie that Satan told was not just a lie of words, but it was a lie that carried power. It carried the power of deception with it in such a way that the woman was completely taken. She thought she was doing good and the right thing while she was actually disobeying God, casting the whole human race into sin, and she did not know. This is the type of lie that we are talking about. It is a lie that carries with it deception and a certain amount of power that overcomes the victim causing he or she to believe the lie. It is an anointed lie.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11,"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." Here is "a lie" with power, a strong delusive lie. When I think of the import and the weight of these words, I am somewhat distressed for brethren whom I know, who are so steeped in believing and loving what they hear in the church, which is "a lie," that they actually reject the truth, only because they have been so indoctrinated into the lie, something that is half-truth. They believe so much in their church and in their doctrines that it is impossible for them to see the real truth that God is trying to bring to them. They are stuck in the Outer Court which is the place where they have to do their own thing and do so much ministry, as if they are appeasing God for their own salvation and working for it. You have people who have come into the Pentecostal realm that are so stuck in that area that they will not come out of it and go on with God. You have people who God wants to go on, but they are so involved in studying the Word that they never seem to be able to come to the knowledge of the truth. These are people who love the lie so much that they refuse truth. May God help us all that we can walk on in truth and holiness with God.

### "THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR"

Revelation 22:16 _,"I Jesus (Yeshua) have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star._ "

The angel that spoke to John was the angel of Jesus Christ, the same angel that God sent to Moses to take the children of Israel through the wilderness. Exodus 33:2 _,"And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite."_ The testimony of the angel was to the churches, and the churches must have heard the voice of God. If the churches do not hear or do not believe the Words of the Lord, it is because they have not been listening to God. The Scripture says that the voice of the angel of God carried the message to the churches.

Let us look into the terminology of _"the root and the offspring of David."_ It is somewhat paradoxical, but nevertheless basic truth that Jesus Christ is both _"the root and the offspring of David."_ As we look into this Word we will understand the revelation of truth here. Matthew 1:1 _,"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."_ Isaiah 9:6 and 7 _,"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. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."_

The Word of God calls Him _"the son of David"_ because actually He was of the line of David from His mother, although He was the Son of God. He played two parts in one. God promised David that he would never lack a man to sit on his throne. We come from the natural to the spiritual and to the fullness, so Jesus Christ becomes _"the son of David"_ although He is God Almighty. As God, Jesus was called _"the root of David."_ Revelation 5:5,"And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, THE ROOT OF DAVID, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

Jesus Himself described the situation beautifully in Mark 12:35-37 _. "And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly."_ Jesus defended the issue very beautifully, explaining as God from the beginning said, _"Before Abraham was, I am,"_ John 8:58. As God, He was the God of David, the one who made David. Then He came down as man and became _"the son of David,"_ a wonderful paradox.

In Genesis 1, we discovered that the sun was not made until the fourth day. In verse 3, God said, _"Let there be light: and there was light."_ What light was there that acted as a natural light for the earth through the first three days? Remember verses 4 and 5 said _,"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."_ Verse 14 _,"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years."_ Verse 15,"And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so." We can see clearly here that on the fourth day _"LIGHTS"_ were made; the sun, the moon, and the stars were made. If the sun, moon, and stars were made on the fourth day, there were three days that were lighted by sunlight and we believe that we know that THE _"LIGHT"_ WAS CHRIST HIMSELF.

John 1:1 and 2 _,"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God."_ Verses 4 and 5 _,"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended (overcame) it not." "THE LIGHT"_ drove _"the darkness"_ away. Verse 9 _,"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."_ We are talking about something both natural and spiritual at the same time. For the earth to have sunlight, it is the very life of plant life and everything else. If the sun went away we would all die. Therefore, the sun is our life in the natural and in the spiritual.

In God's challenge to Job in chapter 38:12, He said _,"Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place?"_ We see then that there is a _"DAYSPRING,"_ a root of light, the God of the day, the God of light, Jesus Christ Himself. In Luke 1 we see the same reference. John the Baptist's father, the priest Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak and said in verses 77-79, _"To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the DAYSPRING from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."_ This is the word of Zacharias' prophecy, bringing forth the pure Word of God, identifying who _"the DAYSPRING"_ really is.

2 Peter 1:19 _,"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts."_ Notice, the Word now brings it right back to the perfect rising of _"the day star"_ in the "hearts" of men, in the third temple, the Body of Christ, coming to the point of fullness. We started on the natural day and came right up to the perfect day when Jesus Christ will _"arise in_ (the) _hearts"_ of the believers.

Continuing with the thought on _"the BRIGHT and MORNING STAR"_ in Revelation 22:16, we see that there is a reference in Isaiah 14:12 concerning Heylel, who had been erroneously called Lucifer. Let us look at this, for many people have been deceived by the word Lucifer. The KJV says _"son of the morning."_ The actual words _"son of the morning"_ are not in the original Scriptures, and the side reference in my Bible says _"day star, another translation of the word LUCIFER."_ The word is really HEYLEL which is the name of an angel meaning BRIGHT ONE. This reference to Satan could not be a reference to call him the day star, although it called him bright one. The Word there suggests that he was made bright by Jesus Christ Himself.

When we go back again to Ezekiel 28:14, we will realize Jesus Christ was the one who made Heylel bright. _"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; AND I HAVE SET THEE SO: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."_ We are talking about brightness and glory. This reference to Heylel does not mean that the same person that is referred to in Isaiah 14 is _"the bright and morning star"_ (Jesus Christ) of Revelation 22:16. I have known some brethren who have made this error and I want you to know that it is just an error. Ezekiel 28:14 says that Jesus Christ is the originator of the brightness of Heylel. _"I have set thee so."_

Revelation 22:17a, _"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come."_ There is the calling voice of God in the earth to every human being that is born. This voice comes from _"the Spirit"_ of God and from _"the bride"_ of Christ. The voice of the Spirit agrees with the voice of the bride. John 1:9, _"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."_

You wonder why some people go to hell. It is totally impossible for God to make a creature who never has the opportunity to hear God or see God, and then God sends him to hell because he never heard God. It is not possible! God says _,"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."_ The heathen nations and many people from Genesis, coming right down to Christ, never heard of Christ. There was a certain thing that God planted in humanity that tells humanity that there is a God, and from history you can find that all the nations had some concept of God. It was not a clear concept in some places. For instance, the Algonquin Indian tribe had a concept of a god that was almighty and they called him Manito.

Psalm 19:1-4 _,"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun."_ The Psalmist is saying here that God has sent His message _"through all the_ (whole) _earth"_ and that man has no excuse for not hearing God. The stars, the sun, and the moon are enough of a testimony of God.

Paul gave the same thought in Acts 14:17. _"Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."_ Romans 1:20 tells us about Paul making a statement. _"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."_

### THE BRIDE SAYS, COME

The beauty and glory of God shining through the bride of Christ is an invitation that calls all men towards God. If the people of God live and become a light in the world, they will attract all people to themselves and to Christ through them, of course. They become a gate, a way. Jesus Christ said _,"I am the way, the truth, and the life."_ The bride of Christ becomes also a way, a gate, a door for entering into Christ and into the Body of Christ. Jesus' last injunction to the church before He was taken away was in Matthew 28:19 and 20. _"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world_ (age). _Amen."_ The voice of the bride, therefore, was _"commanded"_ to go throughout the earth and to _"teach all"_ men and to bring all men into the Kingdom of God.

### "LET HIM THAT HEARETH SAY, COME."

Those who hear the voice of God are constrained to begin to call others to _"come."_ Isaiah 55:1, _"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."_ Verse 3, _"Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David."_ Verse 4 _,"Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people."_ This is the role of Jesus. This is what Jesus Christ wants to be in the life of the believer. Any person who receives the Lord and yet frustrates His desire towards that person, then that person is in disobedience to God. All the words of disobedience will come upon him.

Isaiah 55:6 and 7 _,"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."_ There is absolutely no excuse for anyone not coming to God. God has a day in which He will judge the heathen who says he never heard God, judge those in the modern world who hear God, and judge some who reject the voice of God. Every man that is born of woman must hear the voice of God sometime or another, and those who reject God will go to hell.

In Matthew 22 we see the situation where God is calling people to the wedding feast and men are making various excuses. Some say that they have just bought a piece of land; one bought cattle; one just married a wife. The whole idea is that God is calling people and you cannot make any excuse that your church did not teach you the right doctrine, because God is calling you in your heart. You cannot make the excuse that you were not in a place where you could hear the gospel like some other people, because God is calling you. There is a point of time in each human being's life when God will face him with reality. If that does not happen while you are alive, the moment you are about to die God is going to come to you in a very convincing way and in reality, when you are conscious, and you will have to either accept Him or reject Him. You can be spiritually conscious and yet naturally unconscious, but God has His way and His time to deal with people.

Matthew 11:28, _"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."_ There is no excuse for humanity not coming to God for the Word is gone out through all the earth, through the heavens, through the order of the world, the sun, the moon, the stars. Humanity is saying something else. Men are disorderly, men are wicked and destructive, but the order never ceases. The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. Scientists are aware of a living God and a mighty intelligence that has set all these things to function. No matter what man does, the earth is still functioning according to God's law and God's order.

In John 7:37-39, Jesus Christ, in the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, made a pronouncement. Let us read it. _"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"_

There is a specific meaning attached to this crying out of Jesus Christ on _"the last day...of the feast"_ of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is supposed to be the time when Jesus returns to dwell within man and bring that fullness which we are looking for; that is the coming of Jesus Christ. For Him to have gone to the Feast of Tabernacles and cried out _"If any man thirst, let him come...and drink"_ and He would give him living waters, that _"out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water"_ (speaking of the Spirit of God that would issue out from man), this is the tabernacling of Jesus Christ within man. As the scripture said in Revelation 21:3b _,"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with (within) men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."_ In other words, the promise of God to be with us and to be our God and for us to be His people is what Jesus was talking about.

We do believe that since Jesus Christ died on the Jewish Passover, offered up as the Lamb, that the Passover has been fulfilled IN US, in that we received the work of this Lamb, Jesus Christ. We do believe that on the day of Pentecost, He came within the church and fulfilled that promise of coming within, that it was done on the Jewish day of Pentecost. We do believe that Jesus Christ will again return in His fullness, in the church, to those who are ready and waiting for Him, and they will be filled with the fullness of God on the day of Tabernacles. Our only problem is that we will never be able to pinpoint that day. God did say that no man knows the day nor the hour. See Matthew 25:13 and Mark 13:32. I am sure that God has protected that Word, in that we will never be able to pinpoint the day nor the hour. What I am really interested in is the time in which we are and the time in which Jesus Christ will come for His bride. It seems to me that we are very, very close to this time and that we should be all ready and waiting for Him.

Revelation 22:17, _"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."_ This _"water of life,"_ this fullness that Jesus Christ offered, was at Tabernacles. We are waiting for Tabernacles when He will TABERNACLE WITHIN US in all His fullness and in all His glory, and His great promises will come to pass WITHIN US.

### THE CURSE UPON MANY BIBLE TRANSLATORS AND THEIR TRANSLATIONS

Revelation 22:18 and 19 _,"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."_

It is very unfortunate for those who have mistranslated Bibles and have made them non-Bibles. As far as I am concerned, any time a translation of the Bible deliberately destroys the thoughts of God and institutes the thoughts of men or of the translators, it means that they would come under this curse here. I do see this to be a curse. The angel testified to John that anyone who does this thing is going to lose his part in the heavens. In other words, he is going to hell.

I have seen some disreputable things. If anyone doubts what I have said about these Bibles as incorrect, maybe you should read 1 Samuel 20:30 in The Living Bible. You will see that this thing could never have been a Bible because the curse word there is nothing but blasphemy.

I believe that the curse in verses 18 and 19 of Revelation 22 is a curse upon a lot of these new-fangled Bibles and translations that are being put out these days and many men are going to hell because of these translations. _"Whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."_ Not only those people who have these translations written, but those who love them. In some of these translations four-letter words have been put in by men who were supposed to have been men who had eternal life, but many men are squandering their lives away by disturbing the Word of God.

There is a thought in Revelation 8:10-11. _"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."_ I do believe that this is referring to the Word of God that has been pounced upon by some of these men who are supposed to be preaching truth. A _"star"_ falling _"from heaven"_ is nothing more than a son of God falling from his position in God, destroying the living waters, making them _"bitter,"_ and making them instruments of death for the people of God.

Revelation 9:1a _,"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven..."_ Again I see this as a son of God falling from his position, falling into a position where he can open up the pit of hell and let loose Satanic forces upon the earth. All this I do believe is coming to pass in our time. Some of it has come to pass and is coming to pass and is yet to come to pass.

### THE PRESERVATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

Many people conjecture as to whether this Word in verses 18 and 19 means the book of Revelation or the whole Bible. I do not see how anyone could differentiate between the book of Revelation and the rest of the Bible. Actually, if there were no rest of the Bible, there would be no Revelation, because every word in The Revelation is referring back to some book of the Bible. As a rule of study, we always say that anything you find in the Bible must be there either two, three, or more times, not just in one place or in one thought. No! There are no new thoughts in The Revelation. The Revelation reveals to us the thoughts of all the rest of the Bible. Therefore, you cannot separate the rest of the Bible from The Revelation.

When it says, _"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city..."_ I believe that God is talking about the whole Bible. The Bible is not one book; it is 66 books put together making up the entire Bible. The part that makes it not one book, and even makes it more important, is that not one of these people got together to write the Bible. Over the ages, from Moses right down to John the beloved, Jesus Christ had been putting the Bible together.

The mystery and the marvel of the preservation of this book should make every man tremble, because the Bible has been fought against by many mighty governments, many mighty men, and no one has ever been able to destroy it. They have tried everything possible to destroy it. The church itself tried to destroy the Bible. They took it away from the people. The Bible was not taken away from the people by the secular government. The Bible was first taken away from the people by the church but they were never able to fully destroy it. God took men without any righteousness like King James, and God made him put the Bible in English and preserve such a beautiful copy for us that it was not even necessary to rewrite the thing as many authors have tried to do.

The King James Bible has some deliberate translation errors inserted in its version. For example, the error of showing that there is a hierarchial setup in the church when actually God spoke against hierarchy. There is not a hierarchy, for Paul was not a bishop. He was made an apostle of God, for there is no church that could make an apostle. We have never seen a church that could make any of the five-fold ministries, yet it was put there in Paul's letters to Timothy as if it were a hierarchial setup that he was setting up. There was no such word in the Bible as bishop, and every time you come to the word servant, it was either translated as minister, servant, or deacon. God never had a deacon. Bishops were overseers and overseers were put in by God.

In Acts, Paul called them elders of the church whom God made overseers of His flock. It is clear that the elders are the ones who should take the oversight. If anyone desires the oversight of the people of God, then he should be the husband of one wife, and Paul continued to list other qualifications in his letter to Timothy. He never said that he should be a bishop, but the church went along anyhow and made their bishops and gave them authority over so many churches and they carried on. To this day, the Protestant church says that it protests against Rome, but it is as bad as any Roman hierarchial church could be.

What we see taking place among the churches is most astounding. I am writing at this moment from Rovno in the Ukraine. I am looking at a newspaper published and written in Russian, and the heading of it says that Billy Graham is fostering the joining of the Protestant church together with the Catholic church. His picture is in the newspaper. He encourages the people of God to submit to the pope of Rome, John Paul II, as the head of the church on earth. I have personally seen and read articles written by Billy Graham stating that the only way that the church will ever become one according to the Word of God in John 17:21 (that we should be one, even as He and the Father are one) is if we come under the leadership of the pope.

This, brethren, is called the one-world church and it is the antichrist. At this moment, we cannot say who is the antichrist, but we know that the antichrist will come out of Rome. We know that the antichrist will be a pope, a Roman Catholic pope. We cannot say who the false prophet will be, but definitely it looks to me, as I have seen it in the Spirit and otherwise (you must take it to God or throw it out the window) that the Roman church will produce the antichrist. They have always produced antichrists, but we do not know if this is the final antichrist. We believe he is, but we are not sure. We have not had a word from God yet signifying. We have only seen the signs and God has shown us the signs, but we cannot say, "Thus saith the Lord, this man is the antichrist."

We will see the false prophet coming out of the Protestant church. We have seen some very, very big signs of many false prophets, and we do not know which one of them it will be or if it will be a multi-membered false prophet. We see men of God, whom we thought were men of God, submitting to the pope. The pope can only bless a man who has submitted to his authority, and the authority of the pope is saying that he is Vicarius Filei Dei, the vicar of the son of God. He is saying that he is God, he is Christ, when Jesus Christ is absent.

This kind of a claim and this great lie about Peter having given his authority down to these popes is one of the great lies that Satan has always been good at telling. There is no documented proof and no Biblical proof that Peter went to Rome. Many people conjecture that he might have gone to Rome, but there is no proof. It is believed that Peter was crucified in Jerusalem and not in Rome. Rome has a statue of Peter where they kiss the statue's toe. It is not Peter but a statue of a god that the Romans had captured from the Greeks. The statue that is there, that is supposed to be Mary, is none other but the statue of Venus. We can bring proof of all these wicked sinful things that have been done.

The Protestant church, as stupid as we seem to be, is ignorant of God. We see a man do great miracles. For example, Benny Hinn waves his hand and knocks down scores of people. This man went to the pope, joined with the pope, and agreed with the pope to bring the Protestants into Rome. The pope gave him a necktie which he wears in many of his services. These men are men who joined together a couple of years ago to give the pope a Prince of Peace Award. This wickedness and nonsense is instigated by none other than Satan, the one who really hates the church, the one who is really against us and is using all these men.

Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is the biggest television network, broadcasting throughout the world. They have just recently put up a station in Israel, in Jericho (where Joshua threw down the walls of the city by the power of God and which is now in the hands of the Palestinians under Arafat). TBN's stations broadcast Christian programming through the Middle East, but they are also in bed with Rome.

Here is a scripture that God has spoken against these churches. Revelation 2:20 _,"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."_ They cannot be guiltless who lead these thousands of people into believing a lie, fornicating with the world and with the antichrist.

Revelation 2:14 _,"But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication."_ Again, we are talking about spiritual fornication. When a man is in spiritual fornication, natural fornication is nothing to him. I will not even write about the fornications, the sins which are among the people which are not being addressed, which are not being touched. All they are doing is talking about miracles. People get a thrill when they get hit, fall down, get up, and fall down again. Every night they come hoping to get a touch and a knock down. This sort of thing is from hell.

Revelation 2:15 _,"So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."_ Nico, rulers, of the laos, people. People who use the Word of God to rule people, to get people under their control, to have power and big organizations, are about whom we are writing.

The Word here is that _"the plagues"_ will fall upon the system, whoever is changing the Book, whoever is trying to change the Word of God. _"The plagues"_ of God must fall upon this harlot system, because this harlot system has tried to change everything that the Bible says, to make it into their way of having fun. They bring rock music into the church. They rock and they dance and you do not know the difference between these people and the people from Hollywood. Hollywood is just as close to hell as anything else that we have in America. People want to see them all dolled up, painted, and with the long earrings just like Hollywood.

These are the people who say they are spreading the gospel, but you know something? You cannot upstage God. You go forming the food, reading the Scripture, someone gets saved, and you think you got the person saved. God is getting His glory, although Satan is leading the nations down into the pit, into the battle of Armageddon. I am writing to you, brethren. Turn from these leaders that are disturbing the Word of God. The Word of God is swift and sharper than any two-edged sword. If you do not want to come under the curse of this book (The Bible), then do not follow those who are under the curse. If you follow those who are under the curse, you are one that loves the lie. There are some who love the lie and, because of the love of the lie, are going to fall in the latter day. The time has come for God to judge the earth, to take vengeance upon them that have been destroying the earth and destroying His business. You will be part of it if you continue to follow leaders who are leading the people down to hell and telling them they are leading them up to heaven.

Revelation 22:20 and 21 _,"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."_

The End of Volume 3

Thank you for reading Volume 3 of this book. You may discover _The Pattern_ by Cecil J. duCille at your favorite ebook retailer.

Daily devotions by the same author may be found on the world wide web at

www.sonlightdevotional.org.

