Mythology Buster

If it’s not Wheat, it does not go to the garner.

[2Ti 2:15-19 KJV]
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane [and] vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Departure from the word of truth, and correctly dividing it is perilous. Jesus said of the scriptures; “You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me”. In another place, as the written word concludes, it is written; “ For I testify unto every man that hears 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”.

2Titus 2:15-19 is a comparison of the word of truth and “their” word. “Them” being they who have departed from the correct application of the scripture, namely, a testimony of Christ. The scriptures are become a ready tool in the hand of “them” who having departed from the testimony of Christ, and have undertaken to shape humanity in some image of scriptural godliness, but void of God:

[2Ti 3:1-5 KJV]
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

A canker , as described in 2Titus, is the word γάγγραινα: “gä’n-grī-nä”, GANGRENE.

From Strong’s concordance:

Outline of Biblical Usage [?]
1. a gangrene, a disease by which any part of the body suffering from inflammation becomes so corrupted that, unless a remedy be seasonably applied, the evil continually spreads, attacks other parts, and at last eats away the bones
Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
γάγγραινα gángraina, gang’-grahee-nah; from γραίνω graínō (to gnaw); an ulcer (“gangrene”):—canker.

The scriptures, as a testimony of Christ, can be thought of in a similar fashion as DNA. They contain all the data, all the message of God, the complete thinking of the Spirit, and the whole and entire testimony of the Father, concerning the Son. He, Christ Jesus, is the prophesy, or “message” of the book. The book is authored by the Holy Spirit. ([2Pe 1:21 KJV] 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). And further, the scriptures, and the interpretation of them, is not authorized by any, but the author. ([2Pe 1:19-21 KJV] 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: 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). You will not find in any place, that Jesus authorized any to interpret scripture. You will read that He opens the understanding, to understand the scriptures. There is a difference.

If I attend a university and sit in a class with the foremost authority on any subject, say for example, Einstein is the teacher, and his writings and papers on special, and general relativity are the subject, it is his purpose, as the teacher, to bring me into his thinking. If Einstein is alive and heading the class, to get his thinking, I ask him. If he is dead and gone, then his writings are open for interpretation, which will lead the class down the road of vain babblings and doubtful disputations. Various trains of thought will emerge and diverge, and no one will ever have the thinking that is closest to Einstein for certain, they will only claim to. The Lord would not have said to trust Him, and not lean to our own understanding, if He knew He would not be with us. For Hymaenaus and Philetus to say that the resurrection is past already, is error. It is not past, it is on going and present, because it is not a solitary event. Many have been, are being, and will be made partakers. It is what Peter wrote of to say that the day will dawn, and the day star arise in your heart. The rejection, death and burial of the Lord was solitary. He went through it completely alone. But not so, His resurrection:

[Jhn 12:23-26 KJV]
And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will [my] Father honour.

You will notice that Peter said these things in speaking of the power and coming of the kingdom. The scriptures are they that testify of Him who was raised, and now is come in you, ready to be revealed. In studying DNA, division and multiplication are good. Addition and subtraction are bad. The opening within you, of the scriptures, by the author, will always have to do with revelation…the revealing within you, of Him who abides in you by faith. Those who depart from faith will have a message that adds to, or takes away from, the prophesy; the message of the scriptures. In studying genetics and DNA, the altering of any part of the strand is called a mutation. The mutated cell will continue to replicate, but now according to the added or subtracted message. Rather than the creation of a new man, according to Him who is the express image of God, there will be deviations and changes from the new man, created in Christ Jesus, for the express purpose of building up a people, a body, a “city” which is the habitation of God by the Spirit. The book of Revelation uses the word “beast” in a number of places. In only one place is the word “zoon” used. It is that which is inseparably part of the throne of Rev. 4. It is a living being. Every other use of “beast” in Revelation is in description of that which is formed in the earth, and is of the earth, it is the word “therion” :

The KJV translates Strong’s G2342 in the following manner: beast (42x), wild beast (3x), venomous beast (1x).

Beware how, and to what, you apply scriptures. That is the last warning of the scriptures. The letter slays, but the Spirit makes alive. Many struggle with the notion of which version, or interpretation of scriptures to use. The Lord has graciously said not to deviate from the message of the book. Therefore, do not fear the power of man to change wording, but rejoice in confidence, in Him who has sealed His thinking, ready to be opened to, and in you, by the Author. Men can not change what they don’t know anything about. GMO…”genetically modified organisms” are a hot topic today. It is a sign of the times. But those who are with, and will appear with Christ, are 1.called 2.chosen and 3.faithful.

[Mat 3:11-12 KJV]
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire: 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.

I see already, the smoke and the burning.

REPARATIONS

Watching the “news” is something that gives a peek into the corporate mind of man, and all of his divisions and distinctions. It can be a fine line, walking the fence between being aware of the goings-on of the world, and being sucked into it.

One of the things heard frequently these days, is “REPARATIONS”. Someone, somewhere in times past was wronged, and someone here and now, must pay for those wrongs. I don’t care about the issue as it pertains to politics. But it is a spiritually addressed in the scriptures. I do know that someone payed for all of my wrongs, and therefore, I have no place to turn about and demand my pound of flesh for the offences of others:

[Mat 18:21-35 KJV] 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But for as much as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

The first five chapters of the book of genesis contain a picture that clearly describes this course, as opposed to the truth, which is that all have sinned, all have come up short of the measure and standard set fort by God, in Christ Jesus, and all may be summarily forgiven and set at rights with the Father, by faith in this truth. This picture reveals the way out of the fallen human condition, as well as the critically dangerous path of ignoring the truth, and falling into the self destruction of humanity.

From the beginning, when mankind fell, the Lord spoke by promise, that a singular savior would come, one seed of the woman who would destroy the works of the Devil, and release the fallen race from the pains of death. Also, the Lord plainly revealed that man’s efforts at self redemption, and the redemption of the world around him, would fail. It was revealed that “cursed is the ground for your sake”:

[Gen 3:17-19 KJV] 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; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.

In Cain and Able, we see two human beings who are as close genetically as it is possible for any two humans beings to be. But in character and nature, they were as far apart as it is possible to be. The apostle John wrote of Cain, how that Cain was “of that wicked one” and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because “his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous”. Cain did not regard the promise of a savior, nor did he regard the curse, because Cain took a portion of the result of his own toil and sweat as a tiller of the ground, and presumed to offer it as a burnt offering to the Lord. Abel, on the other hand, believed the things the Lord said. He took of the firstlings (first born) of his flock and also made sacrifice. The Lord had no regard for Cain’s offering, while Abel’s was accepted. Cain was angry. The Lord did not condemn him, but rather said to him, “if you do well, will you not be accepted?”. Cain chose to disregard this, and decided rather than to clean up his own act, he would kill his brother, when his brother had nothing whatsoever to do with what had transpired between Cain and the Lord. Why? Because Cain was of that wicked one. It was impossible therefore, that the seed of promise should be named in Cain. The promise was in faithful Abel. But can the promise of God be nullified? Even by the death of the one in whom the promise is named? No. It is written that the Lord gave the woman “another seed” to take the place of Abel, whom Cain slew. The seed of promise died in Abel, but was raised again in Seth. This is the first indication of the fact that the savior would die, and that God would raise Him again from the dead. And the scriptures now make a very clear distinction and separation in the course of humanity, as having sprung from Adam. This distinction would later be written with these words: “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”. And so, Genesis 5 begins by declaring the generations of Adam going forward:

[Gen 5:1-5 KJV] 1 This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: 4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

You will notice that no mention is made of Cain. The account of those who would live in God, having sprung from Adam, would be reckoned in Seth, the figurative man of resurrection. Both righteousness and life eternal come by Jesus Christ, and by faith in Him. That is the message. And what of Cain? He is driven from the presence of God, to a land called Nod, which means “to wander without purpose”. Cain makes the observation that he is now a fugitive and a vagabond, and that “everyone who finds me will kill me”. This is a curious statement. How many times can one be killed? Cain is not speaking only of himself, but in terms of his generations. So, lest vengeance be taken upon Cain and his generations, a mark was set upon him. Not so much to preserve Cain, but rather, for the sake of those who can see the mark, that they do not take matters of retribution into their own hands. For without exception, vengeance, retribution, pay-back, reparation, what ever you want to call it, these belong to God. They are His sole territory, and He says so. No one who has tasted of redemption, has any notion in him or her, of singling out others for pay back. The Apostle John, in his epistles, writes of this exhaustively. If you hate your brother, you are a murderer and God is not in you. The mark is there to see. It, like many marks in nature, say “move on, don’t touch me”. The mark was immediately set. It is revealed in Cain’s offspring, who became the movers and shakers of society. The burning desire in someone to rule and reign over the affairs of humanity, and to direct it’s course, has much to do with the mark. All of these things are written there in the opening chapters of Genesis. But it boils down to this; Cain’s line, in a vicious death spiral of vengeance multiplied, self destructs, and finds no place of mention in any of them who spring from Adam, and live. All of the living are reckoned in Seth, the man of resurrection.

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

– Jesus

“The almost general mediocrity of fortune that prevails in America, obliging its people to follow some business for subsistence, those vices that arise usually from idleness are in a great measure prevented. Industry and constant employment are great preservatives of the morals and virtue of a nation. Hence bad examples to youth are more rare in America, which must be a comfortable consideration to parents. To this may be truly added, that serious religion, under its various denominations, is not only tolerated, but respected and practiced. Atheism is unknown there; infidelity rare and secret; so that persons may live to a great age in that country without having their piety shocked by meeting with either an atheist or an infidel. And the Divine Being seems to have manifested His approbation of the mutual forbearance and kindness with which the different sects treat each other, by the remarkable prosperity with which He has been pleased to favor the whole country.”

Benjamin Franklin
AMERICAN CHARACTERISTICS
published 1784

This quote was taken from a letter Benjamin Franklin wrote while in Europe in an effort to describe to the European populous, particularly any contemplating emigrating, the prevailing conditions. The entire letter is well worth reading if one wants to compare the general conditions and mindset of the United States during it’s birth, to the general conditions and mindset, indeed the many, many mindsets of the United States citizenry today.

The main points I wish to bring to the front are the necessary condition of hard work, and the all but non existent condition of atheism. Both conditions have been marginalized in the United States today, where working and sacrificing toward a goal, is not a necessary path to security, but an optional path. Much of the population has seized upon “entitlements” and “rights” to be defined, not as one’s guarantee of reaping the fruits of his or her labors, but of someone else’s. Today, individual faith in God is often as hen’s teeth, having been replaced with institutional religion, or no religion at all. In saying this, I have no motive of seeking to blame, I simply make the observation.

What things do the scriptures teach concerning the individual abandonment of faith toward Christ , of walking in faith and taking responsibility for one’s walk, and the responsibility of using the mind that God gave the individual, particularly when there is great temptation and pressure to find some organization that seems tailor made for you, and joining it? I will draw from the following:

1.The two Enochs
2. God’s “way” in the earth, and it’s abandonment
3. The Angel that led the children of Jacob
4. The error in building a temple, when one already exists
5. The error of choosing a king, when you already have one
6. The importance of being in your right mind
________________________________________________________________

1.The scriptures refer to the antediluvian age as the “world that then was”. From the fall of man until the flood that ended that age, there were two men named Enoch. One was conceived and born outside the presence of God, in the land of Nod, born to Cain the murderer. One was born to Seth, who was a figure of resurrection. Cain murdered Abel his brother, in whom the seed of promised redemption was called. We know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Thereby we know that the seed of promise was in Abel. So God raised that seed, in a figure of resurrection, In Seth. Chapter 5 of the book of Genesis proclaims that Adam’s race, any that would live, would be reckoned in Seth, signifying that salvation, as promised, would come not only by a seed of the woman, but of a resurrected seed of the woman. Genesis 5 declares itself the “book of the generations of Adam…”. In like manner, the first chapter of the gospel of Matthew calls itself the “book of the generation of Jesus Christ”.

The name “Enoch” means “place of inauguration”, or the place you are taught and enjoined to something new, the beginning of something.

verb (used with object), in·au·gu·rat·ed, in·au·gu·rat·ing.
to make a formal beginning of; initiate; commence; begin: The end of World War II inaugurated the era of nuclear power.
to induct into office with formal ceremonies; install.
to introduce into public use by some formal ceremony: Airmail service between Washington, D.C., and New York City was inaugurated in 1918.

Enoch, the son of Cain, was Cain’s first born. A city was built and called Enoch, named for Cain’s son. It says of the Enoch born to Seth, that he walked with God, and God took him. Jesus said that the days of the Son of man would be like the days of Noah. (Luke 17:26). One of the grievances the Lord voiced to Noah was that man had forsaken His way in the earth. The Lord destroyed the city Enoch, and translated the man Enoch, thus signifying that His way in the earth, is for the individual to seek, to know, and to walk with the Lord. This can not be fulfilled in a system of man’s device, no matter how cleverly named.
2. Post flood, a new age began. The Lord had said to them who emerged from the ark, “Be fruitful and multiply. Spread abroad, replenish the earth and subdue it”. As time passed, and the memories of the lessons of the age past, a group of humanity had come to a place called Shinar. At this time, they made a determination to build a city and a tower, and take a name for themselves. This is evidence that they had again forsaken the Lord’s way in the earth. For to Seth, the figurative man of resurrection, was born a son, Enos. It says that then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. This too, is teaching us, that them born to the man of resurrection not only call upon the name of the Lord, but the name of the Lord is called in them. Jesus said, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name”. Psalm 139 is about this. Also, Matthew 1 and the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, which counts 42 generations from Abraham until Christ. If you count them, you will find yourself on 41 from Abraham when you count to the man Jesus. This is not a mistake. The 42nd and final generation are not reckoned until the resurrection, and includes not only Jesus in resurrection, but all begotten to God in Him, and quickened together with Him by faith of the operation of God, by the Spirit of God, and raised together with Him. This is not a generation like any other. It is a spiritual house and generation. It is all who are born to God in Christ. It spans all human generations. Enoch, the seventh from Adam speaks of these in the book of Jude, as do many places in scripture. The Lord’s coming and unveiling can not be properly understood without including this generation of Jesus Christ, as declared by Matthew 1, and the whole of the scriptures. At Shinar, they again forsook the Lord’s way, and sought in their ignorance, once again, to make their own. In building a tower on which to portray the heavens, they again demonstrated that the kingdom of God was no more in the by faith, and so they set about (again) to find it. I can tell you this…to be driven from the presence of God does not involve geography or physical locomotion. In short, it means the presence of God is no longer in you. Outer darkness, described in the closing pages of the book of Revelation, means that the individual has not the light of God and of the Lamb in them, and so, must walk in the light of something or someone else. Again, the Lord’s way is in the individual. The Body of Christ is a body of individuals. He came in order to lead many sons unto glory. (Sons being generic…neither male nor female).

3. At some time, the Lord, per His word, visited the children of Israel, and lead them out of Egypt and bondage. First Corinthians tells you , “for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ”. Again , Exodus 23 says,“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name [is] in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries”.

In Samuel’s day, things changed, and the nation lost it’s way. For though the Lord had been king over them, invisible, yet ever present, The people began to chide Samuel and desire a king like all the rest of the nations. The Lord said to Samuel, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them”. Even though they had been told how a king of flesh would oppress them, tax them, seize their best property, their children, and put them to all manner of tasks and works, the people persisted, and God gave them their king(s). This system of concession degraded and decayed, resulting eventually in the collapse of the nation from within. The people became like any other people, lost all individual moral compass, following their kings instead of each fearing and following the Lord, until the nation was conquered and lead again into captivity, coming full circle from Pharaoh to Babylon. The condition of the nation in it’s last days before it’s captivity, “[2Ki 17:32-33] So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence”. This is a pitiful state, telling you that if you don’t know the Lord within, yet retain a religious mind, you will serve just about anything presented to you as God. This condition blossomed and destroyed the nation, from the time they ceased from each following the Lord (or not if so choosing), until the nation fell. You can not legislate morality. A nation of people are either lead individually of The Anointing, or stumble and bumble along behind their (perceived) anointed leaders. I will say this. As many as are lead by the Spirit of God, THEY are the sons of God. Christ in you is the hope of glory. Christ in president, pope, priest or preacher, is not hope at all. (Colossains 1)

4. King David, once brought into peace and prosperity, one day in his house of stone and cedar, had a pleasant and noble thought. He observed his own comfortable estate while the Lord (seemingly) still dwelt in a worn out old tent. David determined to build for the Lord, a magnificent house. The Lord commended him for his sentiment, but told David that it was not possible for David to build Him a house. If the heaven and the heaven of heavens are not sufficient to contain Him, where is the house any man proposes to build Him? In other places the scriptures are very clear. The Most High does not dwell in any house built with hands. If you want to search for the Lord using the process of elimination, you may eliminate man made edifices, systems and structures named wrongly for Him (like they did at Shinar). The Lord went on to tell David that He, the Lord, would build a house for David, in one born to his house. That one would sit upon the everlasting throne. When Solomon replaced his father David as king, they blew the trumpet and declared the word of God fulfilled. They were in error. That is not the son the Lord was talking about. Solomon went on to build a temple, which the Lord never said to build, and had said could not be any house for the Lord. It was a concession, just as giving them a king of flesh had been.

Jesus plainly declared Himself to be the Father’s house ( the house in fact that God promised David). Jesus said, “The Father dwells in me”, and “I and my Father are one”. Jesus said of Himself, that He would go and prepare a place for you, come again and receive you to Himself. This is accomplished in the Spirit of God and of Christ dwelling in you. Paul wrote and said , “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”. It is a sad state of affairs when a people profess Christ and yet have to be told this. This is Shinar all over again. If you know that you are the temple of God , you, like Enoch the seventh, will not be deceived into looking for another, no matter how cleverly named . Benjamin Franklin , knowingly or unknowingly (I don’t know which) described these things in describing a nation of people in whom the Lord dwells by His Spirit, rather than a nation that through ignorance of God, builds monuments and edifices to Him, as the builders of Shinar did with their tower. Ezekiel wrote of the Lord speaking how that the people had turned their back to the temple. If I understand that I am the temple (if so be the Spirit of God dwells in me), turning my back to the temple takes on new meaning. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you. If I look for it elsewhere, I have turned my back.

5. As we have spoken before, the Lord is King. He always is, was and will be King. Hear what Paul wrote to Timothy, “[1Ti 1:17 KJV] Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen”. The Lord and His way has been beautifully described in Judges 9. It is a parable of the fullness of the Godhead depicted as the The Olive, The Fig and The Vine. The Olive id the Spirit. The Fig is the Father. The Vine is Christ. In the parable, the trees of the forest desire the Olive, the Fig and the Vine to rule over them. The three refuse to do this, because in so doing, their nature and character would be violated. The Lord does not reign by imposing Himself on flesh. He reigns from within, by revelation of Himself, by reasoning with the individual, and allowing the individual to follow. Finally the trees make the same offer to the bramble, who agrees to lead them. The bramble is full of thorns. It’s way of rule is the way of punishing and tearing flesh. Carnal authorities, particularly religious carnal authorities, are a blight and a terror. The Lord calls it a terrible thing, “[Jer 2:11-12 KJV] 11 Hath a nation changed [their] gods, which [are] yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for [that which] doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, [and] hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water”. For individuals to forsake the individual walk in the holy Spirit, in lieu of man made systems which the Lord does not, and can not dwell in (as He told us) is something the Lord calls astonishing and cause for great fear. The fountain of Living Waters is the Spirit of Christ. The broken cisterns are man made religious systems. Jesus is the King eternal, immortal, invisible. He is the one Moses warned the people about, saying if you do not hear Him, you will be cut off from the people. The people of God have the Fountain of Living Waters. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd, and will hear no other. The nation that looks for anointed leaders is blind. The kingdom of God does not come with observation. It is within you, or not. But there is presently no other place to look for it.

6. Jesus once crossed over the sea of Galilee to a place called the land of the Gadarenes. He was not welcomed there, and they eventually asked Him to leave, which He did. While there Jesus delivered a man called Legion, from a head full of many and conflicting voices. This picture fits perfectly, the condition of society around us today. Society and culture are morally bankrupt, as a whole. While individuals struggle to maintain peace of mind, and individuals who are mindful of God, also arguing, debating and striving with every manifestation of perverse human depravity, and it’s demand to be recognized, are in a constant state of torment. This depraved collection of destroyed humanity hates God, and does not want the Lord in their “territory”. It will flatly refuse to debate and dispute with you, anything to do with the Lord. It will debate and dispute with you, it’s demands of acceptance, it’s “rights”, it’s demands and loud mouth shouting of self aggrandizement, insisting that you must “embrace it”. . The man called Legion is a picture of the mental torment possible when you leave a place of peace in the Lord, and lock horns with fallen flesh. “Gadarene” means “reward after”. It is helpful to know that the man dwelt in the tombs…the closest place to the kingdom of God he could think of, because he was probably taught that the Lord and His kingdom were on the other side of the grave…over yonder, in the “sweet bye and bye”. Thankfully, the Lord delivered him, and he was found clothed, in his right mind, and at Jesus’ feet. These things I say, to comfort them tormented by what they see and hear happening in the nation and world around them, and they feel compelled to fight it tooth and nail. The Lord said, “Come, let us reason together….”. That is what a “right mind” occupies itself with. I do not have any obligation whatsoever to dispute and debate with fallen flesh and it’s legions of conflicting voices. Even Jesus knew what was in man, and so did not need any to testify to Him of it. And neither did He commit Himself to an y man. There is one message, and one message only, for the world and them in it. Repent and believe the Gospel.

[Rom 2:7-11 KJV]
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that does evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.
‘

[2Co 12:14 KJV]
Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

[Mat 6:19-20 KJV]
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

[Mar 4:19 KJV]
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Thinking yesterday and this AM about the deceitfulness of riches. The world’s riches vs. treasure in heaven. I can strive to lay up both. One is fleeting, hard to get and hold on to, and demands a lot of attention. The other is only as hard to get as I am willing to give time to, it is incorruptible, undefiled and does not fade away. Things reserved for us in the heavens do not require our constant guarding and concern for. One consists of a medium who can do little more than help me procure stuff and junk. The other is no less than the stuff of our being.

I know the Lord knows what things we need, and that before we know. There is nothing wrong with having things…nothing at all. But it is well to know the value of temporary estate compared to eternal. Esau comes to mind. Only “The Word” can produce eternal fruit. After that bit of bread and bowl of bean soup, it says Esau rose up and went his way. How far down the road can you go on a bit of bread and a bowl of bean soup. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats. God will destroy it and them (1Cor 6).

There is a truth that contains a very hopeful knowledge:

[Luk 12:4 KJV]
And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

With the end of this body, comes the end of anything that can threaten. It is a bit of knowledge that is useful all the time…not only in the face of bodily peril. The house eternal in the heavens is not threatened by anything. There is real rest in knowing that.

I am convinced that in all things, the words the Lord speaks are spirit and life. He was not saying one can purchase eternal things with this world’s good, by giving them away. Rather, to divorce from the thinking, any notion that this world’s good gas any power at all to purchase or affect eternal inheritance. I know people who are believers, and are entirely caught up into believing in the stewardship of this world’s good as if it were a divine mandate. We are stewards of the mystery.

The woman at the well. An encounter that begins many generations earlier. It is the account of a woman who had had many husbands. The one she currently was with, was not her husband. This account, no doubt, is real. And as all things scripture, it is not superficial. It is also spiritual. Spiritual truth is timeless.

Through five husbands, and a current non husband, one thing in the woman’s life was consistent. She came periodically with a vessel, to an ancient well with an history. She returned to where she dwelt, the water was spent, and the cycle continued. Five husbands had not bettered her existence, nor her current situation.

One day she went again to draw. There she met a man who promised her living waters. Waters that spring up in your inner being that are always ready to quench the thirst of the inner man. It was the expectation of the people she was from, that Messiah, when he came, would know all things. Knowing this before, Jesus told her of her personal history. Knowing that she regarded the well as an ancient gift from their father Jacob, Jesus met her at that place and spoke with her of superior water. The water that he offered was living. It was fresh and new. It was not the stagnant, non vital water of the history of one’s natural origin and tradition. It was not the laborious water of preserved religious custom.

She questioned Jesus concerning his offer of living water and the claim that she would not need to return repeatedly to draw from the old handed down well. She asked him, “are you greater that our father Jacob, who himself drank from this well, and his cattle?”. She pointed out that the well was deep, and he had nothing, no vessel with which to draw. (She did have a vessel, and hadn’t he, after all, just asked her for water?).

She further said to Jesus, “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, but “ye” say Jerusalem is the place where men aught to worship. She had already been astonished that he had spoken to her at all, because, a Jew would not ask someone of Samaria, never mind a woman, for anything, nor have any dealings with them. Jesus said to her, the hour comes and now is, when true worshipers would neither worship according to the customs of the scattered tribes, nor of Judah and the system at Jerusalem, but rather, in spirit and in truth. Because, said Christ, God is a spirit. And they that worship Him, must worship in spirit and in truth.

Reading the account, knowing the situation and the history between the scattered tribes and Judah, Jerusalem and the temple, helps you see the astonishing aspects of her experience. It was as ground breaking to her, as Nathaniel’s experience under the Fig tree had been. So great was the experience that she had asked Jesus, “give me this water so that I don’t thirst anymore, nor need to come here again and draw water”. In any event, a beautiful and telling aspect of the experience was, that she took off to tell her people about Messiah, and completely forgot about the vessel she used to draw with, leaving it at the well.

Jacob’s well. Was that hole in the ground indeed Jacob’s well?

Jacob experienced the loss of a son. He spent many years of his life convinced that his son, Joseph, had been torn to pieces by some wild animal. This lie was perpetrated by his remaining sons to cover the fact that they, short of killing Joseph themselves, had sold Joseph into slavery. The thing that had driven these sons to do this, was a failure to comprehend the dreams which Joseph had received from God, and told his household. For in his dreams, Joseph saw the 11 sheaves of his natural brothers, bow down to his sheaf, which arose and stood up. His brothers took this to mean that Joseph believed he would prevail over his brothers and rule over them. So they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Again Joseph told a dream, where the eleven stars, the sun and the moon bowed to him. Jacob rebuked Joseph. It wasn’t enough that he, in his dreams, prevailed over his brothers, but now over his father and mother? Preposterous. His brothers envied him all the more, but Jacob hid the things in his heart.

The meaning of Joseph’s dreams is comprehensible when you understand that when Joseph was cast into a pit to die by his jealous brothers, he was raised up out of the pit, tried and tested by his dreams, until they were naturally fulfilled in him. (see Psalm 105). This was an allegory of what would follow. One would rise from the dead and His Word would be the words of His Father. His word would be superior to the house he rose out of, eclipsed by the house he was raised into:

[Rom 1:3-4 KJV]
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead…

[Psa 2:7 KJV]
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Joseph in his dreams was not declaring his own supremacy, but that of one who would come after, whom God would raise from the dead, and promote to be Lord of all things. Not merely the natural people he sprang out of…but ALL things. Joseph declared Christ.

Jacob, having hidden these things in his heart, came to excellent understanding. In his last days a natural man, Jacob spoke prophetically concerning Joseph, and who Joseph had come to symbolize:

[Gen 49:22-26 KJV]
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.

Christ is the well that Jacob speaks of here. The living well, the vine, whose branches could not be contained, no not even within his natural house. Jacob said of him, that the blessings of HIS father exceeded those of Jacob’s.

What happened generations later at that hole in the ground, was the revelation that Christ, the man who spoke with the woman, was indeed Jacob’s well. He stands ready to give to whosoever will receive it, to drink of the waters of life freely, without any regard for that individuals natural origins, all the way back to Eve.

It is often said. “You can’t take anything with you”.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon. In his life time he possessed everything known in his day. He had wealth beyond measure. Built many houses and things. Indulged himself in every possible indulgence. He diligently sought after something…anything truly new. For all his effort, he was unfulfilled. Unsatisfied in his inner man. He authored the book of Ecclesiastes to, among other things, spare us from the same vain path. There is nothing wrong with having things. But at what point are they worth pursuing at all cost, especially when once attained, they are added to the collection, and the mind moves on to the next desired thing. Vanity of vanities said Solomon, all is vanity. His logic is correct and inescapable. His conclusions based upon the fact that none of all his efforts and labor in this life will be transportable. You can’t take it with you.

Yet in another place, the book of proverbs, Solomon found things he said were beyond the price of silver, gold and rubies. He encouraged the reader to seek them with all of your seeking. Do these things in the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning and foundation of wisdom. It says naked we came into the world and naked we will leave it. Who said this? Job said this. Later the Lord would admonish Job and say, “Who is this who darkens council by words without understanding?. For it is true that nothing of the stuff of this age and world has any place outside of it, and so, can not “go with you”. But who and what you are inside, when you leave this place behind, is what “goes” with you. Wisdom. Knowledge. Understanding. Virtue…any good quality that can be named. These, if not mere ideas, but rather that which has become the substance of your being, will certainly go with you. They are eternal. They are God. And the price of them is beyond comprehension. Jesus did not say we must leave naked:

[Rev 3:17-18 KJV] 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 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.(Jesus said these things to a church.)

[Mat 16:25 KJV] 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

[Mar 8:35 KJV] 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

[Luk 9:24 KJV] 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

[Jhn 12:25 KJV] 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Deuteronomy 32:1 (KJV) 1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Job 36:22 (ESV) 22 Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’? “Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung. All mankind has looked on it; man beholds it from afar.

Psalms 69:2 (KJV)
I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

Psalms 69:14 (KJV)
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Isaiah 57:20 (KJV)
But the wicked [are] like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

2 Peter 2:22 (KJV)
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.

___________________________________________________________________________

Clean water is a real necessity. The need for it has lead to a massive industry that sells purified water. Some of the water is purified by filtration. Some by distillation. Distillation is heating the water to the point of vaporization. Nothing rises from the heated water, but water vapor. The things that do not belong, can not rise in the process. The vapor is condensed and is now purified.

Mire is mud. It is dirt that is damp, wet clay, mud. From the beginning, it was said of man, “dust you are and to dust you will return”. To the serpent it was said, “On your belly you will go and dust will be your food”. Put two and two together, and fallen man is the fodder of the fallen worm.

The scriptures describe the word of the Lord as “falling like the dew…distilling like the rain”. A pure word that comes from the Teacher within. It is not delivered to us by flesh and blood. Flesh and blood and the written word are often a recipe for mud, mire, muck.

There are many places of scripture that teach you of the imperative of hearing the Lord for yourself. All of John 3 is about this. Also Matthew 11 and the heavy yoke v. the light. But one in particular comes to mind:

[Eph 2:1-3 KJV] 1 And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; 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 works in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

This is a very picture of distillation…to raise one up above the arena of fallen flesh and it’s predatory prince. A study of the word “air”, used in verse 1 above, is telling.

STRONGS NT 109: ἀήρ
ἀήρ, ἀέρος, ὁ (ἄημι, ἄω (cf. ἄνεμος, at the beginning)), the air (particularly the lower and denser, as distinguished from the higher and rarer ὁ αἰθήρ,

The prince of this world and his voice are confined to this word. It can not resonate in a higher place. The phrase “higher and rarer” is not talking so much about rare by reason of scarcity. It is rare, as in rarefaction.

rarefied (ˈrɛərɪˌfaɪd)
adj
1. exalted in nature or character; lofty: a rarefied spiritual existence.
2. current within only a small group; esoteric or exclusive
3. (General Physics) (of a gas, esp the atmosphere at high altitudes) having a low density; thin
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

It can not be said better than this:

[Col 3:1-6 KJV] 1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience…

You will note that the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2) are them who swill in the low voice of the prince of the lower air.

If you are tired of laboring to glean truth out of humanity and it’s leaders, movers and shaper, perhaps consider letting the Lord be your teacher. The former have no voice in Him:

[Jhn 14:30 KJV] 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.