|
|
||
|
|
|||
I would like to talk further today about something that I wrote in the manuscript of last week’s study, and it is found in this paragraph:
“Those who receive Yahweh’s gifts, unlocking the tools in their spiritual toolbox, will declare this with their thanksgiving and with their testimony. It is training for the world to come. It is learning how to use our speech, to control our tongues, as James says, only to bless the world. It is training for the powers of the world to come.”
There is a lot of light in these words. It speaks of judgment. It speaks of refining our beliefs, words and actions in preparation for Yahshua’s soon return. It speaks of the need to be united as a single Body, to make strenuous efforts to come into unity with all sincere believers, because this provides us with the environment – the only environment in the universe – in which we can learn and practice the right use of communication.
It is dangerous to know a spiritual truth and not declare it. We read, “When I say unto the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die,’ and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” (Ezek 3:18, 19)
People have asked, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why does He permit innocent children to die?” The answer is found in this passage, for those of us who know His divine character and nature. He has given humanity true responsibility. If parents are irresponsible, their children are in danger. When doctors and soldiers are negligent, people who depend on them die. In Adam was invested the fate, the life and death, of every human being that would ever be born. Because Adam had responsibility over his offspring, His transgression brought death to everyone. As a result of one man’s sin, as Paul explains in the Book of Romans, well… we can read it directly: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom 5:12) Our Father takes the concept of responsibility very seriously.
These are not disconnected ideas: preparation for the world to come, controlling the tongue, the importance of our testimony, and the very real responsibility that Yahweh has given mankind. We are being trained to cooperate with the angels in saving our fellow man from death, and death is their lot, because while Yahweh loves everyone, He has also given us control over our own fate. We may choose righteousness, because grace makes that choice possible, or we may choose destruction. Yah says, “When I say unto the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die…’” But He has already said that. In fact, He has said that to everyone: “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek 18:4, 20)
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Yahshua the Messiah, our Lord.” (Rom 6:23) Here is both the warning, and the promise of redemption. But it is written elsewhere, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:14) So I say again, it is dangerous to know a spiritual truth, and not declare it.
We believe and know that the world lies in sin, and that everyone born of Adam is under the condemnation of his legacy. We believe and know that we are in a solemn time of judgment, even the judgment of the living, for this is necessary before the soon return of Yahshua. We believe and know that we have been given salvation from this condemnation. We have been given victory over sin, of which the wages is death. We have been set free by the love of the Father and Son, and having been given this great gift, this great Good News, we are told to share it with others.
Some have said, “I don’t believe in victory over sin. I do not have it, and nobody can have it until Christ returns.” Those who say this are not the messengers of Yahweh, because they have not yet accepted His gift. They are in danger of the judgment, if they will not repent of their unbelief and take Yahweh at His word, accepting that He is greater than their sin. But in greater danger are those who believe in victory, who believe that they either can have it, or that they have it already, and yet are afraid or ashamed to testify of it openly, publicly. It is to these that Ezekiel’s message particularly applies. Yahweh is warning the entire world that it will die in its wickedness, but he who has the solution and will not share it with his dying brothers… let him not fool himself into thinking that he loves his neighbor as himself.
We are preparing for the world to come. This involves, primarily, learning to control our thoughts and our words. James says, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” (James 1:26) “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8) “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” (James 3:2)
Here we see the great secret to self-control. It is the power of temperate speech. When someone who believes in the promises of Yahweh says, “I have gained the victory,” just as inspiration has instructed us to do, the powers of the world to come are available to him. He hears himself speaking words of faith, and it is sanctifying to him. When we give that testimony, in that moment, we take divine power unto ourselves, and no enemy, no tribulation, no circumstances, can prevent us from doing the will of our Father in Heaven. We have not yet understood the power of a faithful testimony. James says “no man” can tame the tongue; but, he does not say it cannot be tamed. It is tamed only by supernatural means, and only perfectly among those who walk according to the Spirit, and not the flesh. The pure speech of the saint, free from words of doubt, free from unnecessary hostility, free to testify to the lost and dying that there is Good News… that is the sign of righteousness, and one coming into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
We read last week that the saints overcome the Beast and His Image because of “the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev 12:11) The sacrifice of Christ, their willingness to die before committing a sin, and the word of their testimony – that is how character is perfected. That is how they obtain the power of the divine nature.
Now, I have used a certain phrase a couple times before, so let me share with you the passage from which it is taken: “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” (Heb 6:1-6)
Now, let us not be afraid of the warning about falling away; perfect love casts out all fear. Those who have learned the blessing from the necessary gift of the Sabbath need never fear falling, because we rest in Christ, and let His perfect power hold us in righteousness. Let us focus on the promise, not the possibility of refusing that promise. Let us go “on unto perfection.” It is not a bad word. It is not an impossible word. It is not a heretical word, to believe in the Bible and do what it says. We read these words of inspiration, “For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in Heaven, that thou shouldest say, ‘Who shall go up for us to Heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?’ But the Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” (Deu 30:11-14)
Don’t let modern theology convince you that victory over sin is impossible, or even difficult. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” (Mat 16:6) Some of those modern Pharisees say, “Even if it is possible, we would never know it. We could certainly never declare it, because it would be prideful, arrogant, to confess it to others.” Beware their leaven. They are either liars, or terribly deceived themselves about what sanctification is, and what it is for. Yahweh says to His People, “The Word is close to you, even in your mouth and in your heart.”
One who trusts in Christ finds it impossible not to be righteous. That is our natural state. We watch and pray, so we are not careless, but because we do watch and pray, we cannot fall short of His requirements. We read that a single sin will keep a soul out of Heaven. What of it? Do not let our Father’s loving warnings to the world frighten you, His born-again child. We do not believe in a religion of works. When the faith we accept has killed sin – all sin, each sin, the tendency to do any single sin – in our hearts, we have found the face of our Father. If not, do not pray for better works. Pray for the ability, the gift, to trust our Father’s work. That is the necessary transformation. Believe that the Word of Yahweh is in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. Christ is in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)
We are talking about the powers of the world to come. It is not in Heaven, nor is it far from us. It came to us from Heaven, but it is here, now, among the saints of Yahweh. We have an old study somewhere, “Easier to be saved than lost.” It is worth reviewing, if any have difficulty understanding why the words that I am saying are a reason to rejoice.
There are two ideas I want to present to you in a new way this Sabbath. The first is this, “What does it mean to be made in the image of Yahweh?” The second is, “What does it mean to judge the angels?”
We read of the beginning, “So Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” (Gen 1:27)
There are only two more verses in the Bible that use the phrase “image of God.” “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of Elohim made He man.” (Gen 9:6) In other words, an attack on a man, violence against man, is an attack on Yahweh Himself, except in those narrow areas that the Scriptures themselves permit. Remember, He said of our treatment of one another, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” (Mat 25:40) That is the same idea. The second place the phrases is used is here, describing those who will be lost in the judgment, “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.” (2Cor 4:4)
It is in the image of God that we find our identification with Christ. Mankind, redeemed to the Father, is made in the image of Yahweh. Christ is, eternally, the image of Yahweh. It is no wonder, then, that we are seen, and judged, as identical to Christ, both in the Father’s image, when we are One with Him and our fellow Heirs of everlasting life. Now, this does not mean we become Christ. We are “made” in Yahweh’s image… it requires His power to do, for we cannot “make” ourselves; Yahshua, on the other hand, is simply described as “the image of God.” There is no making, there is no accepting, He is simply what is.
And yet, for all practical purposes, we have the mind of Christ, (1Cor 2:16) we have the stature of Christ, (Eph 4:13) we have the works of Christ, (John 14:12), we have the faith of Christ, (Rev 14:12) we have the life of Christ, (Col 3:4) and we have the power of Christ, which are those powers of the world to come. I urge you to read all those Bible verses, and believe every word that they say.
Here are two verses you have probably not put together before: “For unto which of the angels said He at any time, ‘Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee?’ And again, ‘I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son?’” (Heb 1:5) And now, “For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.” (Heb 2:5) The rest of that second chapter, which is speaking about Yahshua, explains that man, who was created lower than the angels, is nevertheless elevated by his identification with the Son of Yahweh, who took on our form, our flesh, and overcame the Enemy on our behalf.
The Father, the Son, and the Saints, share something that the angels do not. The world to come is placed under the subjection of Yahshua and His redeemed. The authority, the power to rule, all of this is a part of being, and being made in, the image of Yahweh.
But do we wait for that manifestation to claim the powers of the world to come? Absolutely not. As we were reading in the Book of Hebrews, those who abide in Christ know those powers. They wield those powers, having tasted them, and learned about them. What do those powers look like? Well, in the world to come, we will be flying around, visiting other planets, doing works of cosmic significance. Yes, those things and more that we cannot even imagine, but that is not the important part.
The important part involves who we are, the characters that we possess. Because we share the divine nature, the divine character, and the divine Spirit with the Father and Son, we are made One with Them. We will be like our Father in Heaven, who creates by His Word. Lucifer once said, “I will be like the Most High.” (Isa 14:14) He did not understand what that meant; he thought that likeness with Yahweh means arbitrary power and authority, something that can be won by force, or taken by rebellion. But no, likeness with Yahweh comes from sharing His agape, sharing His loving nature and Spirit. The redeemed will have, because of their nature, what Lucifer once sought with violence.
Here is one application of that: We read time and again that Yahweh declares something, and it is so. By His Word, because His Word is Love, He creates. Now understand why the Scriptures place such importance on our speech, what He is training us to do, by having us refine our tongues, perfect character by our speech, speak words of faith that cause Him to respond with miraculous deliverance and transformations. In the world to come, when we speak, it will be in the perfect image of our Father, on behalf of our Father, and what we say will be. We will do the work of our Father, in the way our Father does it. He is teaching us to speak, and our Words will be truth. We will work as He works, we will create as He creates. We will speak, and it will be so. We manifest something that no angel ever has, and this is what our Father is preparing us to do by the word of our testimony. That is what it means, at least a part of what it means, to be restored to His likeness and image.
If this seems too grand for you, I want you to realize that you can imagine it is so… which means that our Father has prepared for us still greater things than what I am describing. The things our Father has prepared for us are beyond what we can imagine. So, what I am talking about now are just the things we are permitted to understand while here on earth. Does it seem too hard, then, to say, “I have victory over sin?” Does it seem too hard, in light of this, to say, “I have received the gift. I do always those things that please my Father?” This is training to receive His glory, and like a faithful vessel, to hold it and carry it to the universe.
Again, if this makes you think that we are going too far, then understand the significance of this passage: “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.” (Rev 3:20) We often stop there, and miss the blessing of what the result of that will be: “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.” (Rev 3:21) Heaven has not yet revealed what that will look like, to sit on the throne of the Universe, but it is beginning to be revealed to the saints. When the character is perfected, and the tongue is pure, we will be just like our Father in Heaven, and will create, and build, and work, just as He does. When we receive that gift today, in faith, the word of our testimony will cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, and prepare us for everlasting life. Nothing can resist the authority of the Father in whose name we speak. Believe the promises, and these wondrous things I am describing will be just the first chapter of the book. We will speak with the voice of the Father and Son, with Their creative speech, and the world to come will be under subjection to us, as it never has been to even the angels. Then the work of glorifying the universe will truly begin. All the dead rocks and distant lights in space will become a canvas for the divine family, and we will see things that our eyes have never seen, nor yet have our brains imagined. We are restored to what Adam would have matured into, when we receive the powers of the world to come, these necessary gifts.
The Book of Hebrews speaks of the saints as those who have “tasted” the powers of the coming world. It is “tasted,” because we are not yet using them to their full potential, in their final context, but we are using them here as they are needed... to overcome temptation, to rebuke the demons that were created before and above us; to overcome the Beast and His Image by the word of our testimony. We are the ones who “go, and sin no more,” and therefore show that we are safe to be entrusted with this great power, and with the responsibility that Adam once had, but traded away for the wages of sin.
That brings me to the second statement that I would like to share with you in the context of new light. What does it mean to “judge the angels?” We read, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?” (1Cor 6:1-3)
I have asked Yahweh for more understanding of what these words mean. Paul says, “We shall judge the angels,” in the context of not bringing lawsuits to the world, because the saints are capable of judging even heavenly creatures. It is a true saying, and very relevant to these last days as a sign of a Beast-like character. But Paul did not invent that idea for this purpose. He begins the statement saying, “Know ye not…” He is referring to something that was discussed in the Church, known to the early saints, and it therefore has an older and larger meaning than just the idea that we are to avoid lawsuits for religious reasons.
Yahweh showed me that if I want to begin to understand the fullness of that idea, beyond just the immediate context of 1 Corinthians 6, I need to remember what the word “judge” means in the languages of the Bible. It is not just to decide, like to decide which angels are destroyed and which ones will survive. After all, we already know, clearly, which angels have fallen, and which have remained faithful to the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no mystery about which ones are righteous, and which ones have joined the Enemy. They have been separate for thousands of years.
We read, “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.” (Exo 18:13) That word translated as “judge” does not mean only to decide. It means to govern.
We read in other places, with the same meaning, “And when Yahweh raised them up judges, then Yahweh was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for it repented Yahweh because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.” (Judges 2:18) To judge means to champion, to defend, to lead. Another, “And [the elders of Israel] said unto him [Samuel], ‘Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways; now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’” (1Sam 8:5)
To “judge the angels” means far more than just deciding, or affirming, which ones have fallen. That will require no great wisdom, for in a moment we will know in great detail which ones abandoned their first estate. What will require divine wisdom is judging, or governing, those angels that remain, and that will be the messengers and servants of the saints for all eternity. We speak with a perfect tongue, and declare with perfect wisdom, the will of the Father and Son. This is the most important of the powers of the world to come, to speak on behalf of our Creator and Redeemer, and it is not something that we need to wait a single moment to accept, and begin to utilize. This is Good News indeed.
“O taste and see that Yahweh is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” (Psalm 34:8) Come, taste the powers of the world to come, and speak faith only, never doubts in His power and mercy. I do not mean to say that we should never express our concerns. I do not mean we are not to ask the Church for prayer. But we do not dwell on these things. We do not unnecessarily focus on them. When we are perplexed and seek advice or prayer, when we help to bear one another’s burdens, it is always with the understanding that all of our challenges are temporary, they are just a brief moment in time, and our success is assured. We look forward to the revelation of Yahweh’s blessings, even when trouble is before us.
When He was in danger, Yahshua said, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” (Mat 26:53, 54)
This is the authority that we share with Him when we are one with Him. To speak, and it shall be, to govern even the angels. And, like Him, it does not mean that we shall be immune to trials and difficult times. Remember that He was crucified shortly after this statement. He who was the very image of Yahweh, and the true Heir of the powers of the world to come, was subject to suffering and death. But these are the fulfillment also of our Father’s will; our understanding shall be as His, and we shall know when to command, when to request, and when to endure, all without losing a particle of that divine strength.
We might not always feel powerful. We might not always see our deliverance, but as it was revealed to Elisha’s servant, (2Kings 6:17) it is always there, waiting for our words, not of fear, not of doubt, but our word of faith, and the servants of our Father will overcome the Enemy for our sakes. They will push back the darkness, and it will be our word, our Father’s Word in us, that has done this. Yahweh is waiting to give His people all the power appropriate for those who are made in His Image; we need only pray for wisdom and power so that our speech will be suitable to bear that divine burden.
To conclude, we have victory, we reject error, and we unite as one people, because the glory of Yahweh does this, because that is the purpose of the powers He has entrusted to us. Of what you have received, testify. Let the words to the Prophet Ezekiel teach you about your duty to those whom Yahweh has declared to be worthy of death. Let your lips declare the gifts – the necessary gifts – that your Father has offered you, and you have received. Let perfect love cast our all fear, even fear of the great responsibility we have been given as witnesses to the Creator’s love, and let that love drive us on, as we gather the Harvest with the power that we have tasted, and in anticipation of the soon and glorious return of our Savior.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“It is your privilege to trust in the love of Jesus for salvation, in the fullest, surest, noblest manner; to say, He loves me, He receives me; I will trust Him, for He gave His life for me. Nothing so dispels doubt as coming in contact with the character of Christ. He declares, ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out;’ that is, there is no possibility of My casting him out, for I have pledged My word to receive him. Take Christ at His word, and let your lips declare that you have gained the victory.” [Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 517]
“At the sound of fervent prayer, Satan’s whole host trembles. He continues to call legions of evil angels to accomplish his object. And when angels, all-powerful, clothed with the armory of heaven, come to the help of the fainting, pursued soul, Satan and his host fall back, well knowing that their battle is lost.” [Counsels for the Church, p. 319]
“In the parable the petitioner was again and again repulsed, but he did not relinquish his purpose. So our prayers do not always seem to receive an immediate answer; but Christ teaches that we should not cease to pray. Prayer is not to work any change in God; it is to bring us into harmony with God.” [Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 143]