Mythology Buster

Did a study this AM, given the rise of unsubstantiated accusations all over the news these days. The Accuser is hard at work:

[2Ti 3:1-8 KJV] 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

“false accusers” is “diobolos”. (G1228 denotes that the preceding word was translated from “diobolos”). It is very clear that it boils down to the person of the accuser manifested. I call to mind the statement followed by a question: “It is God that justifies, who then is he that condemns?”. The book of Job also presents the justifier vs. the accuser. In entertaining the false assertions of his three “friends”, Job drew a conclusion. “([Job 9:24 KJV] 24) The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?” In the person of Elihu, the savior personified, Job is told:“Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak.If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee.If not, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom”. In the common vernacular, I paraphrase..”keep talking and dig a deeper hole, or be quiet and let me justify you “.

I believe the soul of a man is greatly polluted by all of this indignation and accusation being spoon fed the masses. It is wisdom to abstain from it.

Here is a list of verses that contain “diobolos” and what they were translated into:

[Mat 4:1, 5, 8, 11 KJV] 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.[G1228] …

5 Then the devil[G1228] taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, …

8 Again, the devil[G1228] taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; …

11 Then the devil[G1228] leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

[Mat 13:39 KJV] 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil;[G1228] the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

[Mat 25:41 KJV] 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil[G1228] and his angels:

[Luk 4:2-3, 5-6, 13 KJV] 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil.[G1228] And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

3 And the devil[G1228] said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. …

5 And the devil,[G1228] taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil[G1228] 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. …

13 And when the devil[G1228] had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

[Luk 8:12 KJV] 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil,[G1228] and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

[Jhn 6:70 KJV] 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?[G1228]

[Jhn 8:44 KJV] 44 Ye are of [your] father the devil,[G1228] 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.

[Jhn 13:2 KJV] 2 And supper being ended, the devil[G1228] having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s [son], to betray him;

[Act 10:38 KJV] 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;[G1228] for God was with him.

[Act 13:10 KJV] 10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, [thou] child of the devil,[G1228] [thou] enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

[Eph 4:27 KJV] 27 Neither give place to the devil.[G1228]

[Eph 6:11 KJV] 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.[G1228]

[1Ti 3:6-7, 11 KJV] 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.[G1228] 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.[G1228] …

11 Even so [must their] wives [be] grave, not slanderers,[G1228] sober, faithful in all things.

[2Ti 2:26 KJV] 26 And [that] they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil,[G1228] who are taken captive by him at his will.

[2Ti 3:3 KJV] 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,[G1228] incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

[Tit 2:3 KJV] 3 The aged women likewise, that [they be] in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers,[G1228] not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

[Heb 2:14 KJV] 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;[G1228]

[Jas 4:7 KJV] 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil,[G1228] and he will flee from you.
[1Pe 5:8 KJV] 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,[G1228] as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
[1Jo 3:8, 10 KJV] 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil;[G1228] for the devil[G1228] sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.[G1228] …

10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil:[G1228] whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
[Jde 1:9 KJV]

9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil[G1228] he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

[Rev 2:10 KJV] 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil[G1228] 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.

[Rev 12:9, 12 KJV] 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,[G1228] and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. …

12 Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil[G1228] is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

[Rev 20:2, 10 KJV] 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil,[G1228] and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, …

10 And the devil[G1228] 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.

GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD. HE DESIRES TO JUSTIFY US. 

[1Co 3:3 KJV] 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Adam’s fallen race is in decay. For anything dead, begins to break down into smaller and smaller components, which further degrade until all is dust again.

Yesterday I played a few tunes at a memorial service. Several years ago I had done renovation work on an old log cabin for a lady. We became friends and had many good conversations. She one day asked me to play the pipes at her memorial service when the time came, and I agreed. About a month ago, her family contacted me, told me of her passing, and that she had written in her last instructions, that I was to do this, which of course I did happily. Before the ceremony began, the “priest” was asking the family something about her ashes. I was not engaged in the conversation, but I remember thinking, “those are not her ashes…they are part of the creation, and belong to the Lord”. I was not being disrespectful. I always govern my tongue and respect people’s convictions, as they have the God given latitude to hold them. But the thinking was based upon a question that Jesus asked in a parable, “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” I have always taken this to primarily point to the nature of this body of flesh that we are provided to sojourn in, while we make choices as to where we may or may not find ourselves in departing. If not faithful in this loaner, who will give us a real body of our own? A body incorruptible, and eternal? For every molecule in the pot of ashes that the “priest” called “her” ashes, were not then, nor ever were hers alone. Every every atom and every water molecule in my body have been, without a doubt, part of countless organisms, objects animated and inanimate, over the many long years since they were created. There is no possible way to assign any body to any organism as it’s own, since natural bodies are all composed of shared material, and after one’s departure, the rudimentary elements will find their way, yet again, into people, plants, soil, rocks, whatever. Before his fall, the Lord spoke to the man and woman that in the day they ate of the restricted fruit, they would surely die. This word embraced the whole of the race, and it set to work immediately.

The human race has fracture , divided, sub divided, and so forth, from that time. The human race is demonstrating all the earmarks of death at work. Man divides into nations. Man divides into religions. Nations and religions sub divide into opposing factions. Those factions further break down into yet smaller and smaller groupings, and so forth. Hence the saying, “As in Adam all die, even so (in the same manner) in Christ shall all be made alive.

The Apostle Paul recognized these things and drew a line of demarcation between the living and the dead. He said to all believers everywhere, “whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” This same man also said, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more”.

Jesus said of himself, except a seed of wheat fall to the earth and dies, it abides alone. But if it falls to the earth and dies, it brings forth much fruit”. The fruiting body is a head of wheat, each seed of which contains the entire genetic inheritance of the progenitor of the solitary seed that went into the ground.

Of these things, the prophet Isaiah spoke many years before:

[Isa 53:8 KJV] 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

The question is, if he is put to death, where will his generation be found? How does a dead man produce offspring? The answer is RESURRECTION.

In the wilderness, as the children of Jacob were lead out of Egypt, a miraculous thing (among many) occurred. In a sign, a dead walking stick, long since cut off of an Almond tree, was raised to life, it flowered and fruited, bearing a generation of seed in it’s resurrection, and in that estate, was placed in the holiest place of the tabernacle, in the ark of testimonies. The message being that a tree was descended from a gift of almonds was given to Joseph by his father Jacob as part of a payment for food. (Jacob at that time thought he was dealing with Pharaoh, and that his son Joseph was dead.) About four hundred years later, a branch of that tree would be cut off to make a walking stick. That walking stick would lead the children out of bondage, be raised, and enter the holiest place, the only almond out of Jacob to do so. And in it’s resurrection it was not alone. A generation was born to it as a crop of almonds. The further message in this, is that we, in faith in Christ, are partaker in his resurrection. But more than this, that our journey begins in his resurrection, we are to grow into him in all things as partakers of his resurrection , and in his resurrection. His people are not Hansel and Gretel like children, following a trail of crumbs, trying to make their way home. The journey of faith, from conception, to birth, to a perfect (mature and complete) individual, begins and culminates in Him, having translated us out of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son.

The body of resurrection belongs to the resurrected. It is your own. It is incorruptible, inviolate, can not decay, and lives according to the power of the Eternal Spirit of the Living God. Humanity today is locked in a great dead work. Namely, that flesh will be put back together in some form of Utopian framework. But no work of flesh will endure, because of it’s temporal nature. It offers you no eternal habitation. Even in the churches of Revelation 2 &3, decay was at work, the Lord pointing out the things that were dead and dying. And these Utopian works of flesh may even offer a dream of human peace and coexistence, but so what? Can they give you anything on the other side of the grave? And why do these efforts always deny the voice of Him who offers it?

Unity is already established. It is unity in the Spirit of Christ. Division and sub division at work in humanity, in any arena, is always an indicator of death at work. So then, “If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God, set your affections on things above, not on things in the earth, for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory”.

It says, that if in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Now, it does not say that we have no hope in this life, for that same Spirit that raised Christ dwells in us, and He will quicken even our mortal bodies. But ours is a far higher hope. That of a body born in His resurrection.

May no word or work of man kind deter you from this hope, which is in Christ Jesus. It is not necessary to walk in the ever forking path of the offended body of Adam’s rotting race. Christ is not divided. Think of it. A body of your own. Not a chemical loaner that has a shelf life. It is yours by faith.

THE WORLD THAT THEN WAS

[2Pe 3:1-10 KJV]
1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in [both] which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 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.

“The world that then was”

In the world that then was, part stood in the water. Part stood out of the water. But the parts that stood out of the water, stood out no more. The land was immersed. In the world (age; order of things) that now is, some stand in the Word of God, some out. In due time, no part of this age will stand out of the word of God. All will be immersed. All will be put to the test. All that broils in the inner man of every man and woman, not wrought of the Spirit of Christ, will perish. The Lord said no man comes to the Father but by Him. This immutable truth is owing to the fact that the fullness of the godhead dwells in him, and without the Spirit of Christ, we have no part in him.

The world of old that perished contains many encrypted messages. One is the two Enoch’s. One Enoch was of the line of Cain, who was “of that evil one”, as said the Apostle. This Cain was “driven from the presence of the Lord” into the land of Nod. All of this took place without physical locomotion. Cain was not removed from one geographic location to another. The experience took place entirely within his being…his inner man. There is no place that the Lord is excluded from or not present in, with one exception. For omnipotence defines omnipotence. Not human perception of it. The Lord is, or is not, where He choses to walk…or walk not. “Nod” means “aimless wandering”. Again, Nod was not (and is not) a geographic location. It is (or is not) a condition of the inner man. Cain, with no fellowship in God, void of divine direction, produced a son, named him Enoch, and built a city, also calling it Enoch. Enoch means, “The place of teaching;the place of inauguration”. Cain’s fallen line spawned the movers and shakers of the course of humanity, manifest in those who (without any fellowship of Christ) both concoct and enforce their will of domination, upon the world about them. The mark of Cain, visible to this day, is seen in this.

Of the line of Seth, the figurative man of resurrection, was another Enoch born. This Enoch, the seventh from Adam, came into the world. It is written that he was 65 years old, and he walked with God after. For three hundred years he walked with God. And he was not, “for God took him”. What transpired between Enoch and God, in fellowship with each other those three hundred years, is known to Enoch and to God. But in those three hundred years, a number signifying complete separation, Enoch fulfilled his name. For the place where he was taught was within himself. And his teacher was the Spirit of the Lord. This condition and situation is available and attainable to all, by faith. We know a glimpse of what Enoch was shown and believed, for in the book of Jude, we read some of it:

[Jde 1:14-15 KJV]
“14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him”.

Enoch walked in the revelation of Jesus Christ, and spoke of Christ’s coming and the manner of His appearing. Enoch the seventh was born into a world that had a city bearing his name and identity. But he was not deceived by anything which did not come to him by the Teacher with whom he walked for three hundred years.

This prophetic picture is there for us to receive admonition by, to this day. The survivors of the age that now is, will have chosen wisely, preferring the hearing of faith, and the fellowship of Christ, to the cities, systems, religions, governments, societies, & et cetera, of this age. All of the device of man, conceived and implemented in aimless wandering, in the vanity of no fellowship with Christ, will be burned up, regardless of what name is hung upon it. Much is being done in Christ’s name, in which he claims no involvement at all. Here, we have no continuing city. There is nothing to join which will, by reason of membership, satisfy the incumbency upon each individual, to walk with the Lord.

This I say with love for all, and malice for none.

John

2Th 2:1-3 KJV – 1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

“FALLING AWAY” is the word “apostasia”, from which springs the phrase “apostate church”. The root of the word is “apostasion”. It means “bill of divorce”:

The “apostate church” does not fall away…it is SENT away. In the opening chapters of the book of Revelation…a book of significations…John sees seven golden candlesticks with one walking in the midst. In addressing the first of them, the Spirit of the Lord warns of removing their candlestick from his place. What is a candlestick?:

Rev 1:19-20 KJV – 19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The candlesticks are the churches. The assemblies themselves, with all that goes on within them. It is of note that in each of these assemblies, there are particular things at work, some good and commendable, but most bad and unacceptable. Indeed, why does the Spirit speak to bring to light, things that do not belong? Because the organization has begun to replace the organism; a system has begun to rear it’s head and contends for the faith once delivered to the saints. Christ in the individual is the hope of glory in that individual. Christ in an elitist cultus of clergy is not Christ. It is , exactly as Paul warned, “another Jesus , another Spirit, another gospel”, (which are not another…there IS no other).

The book of revelation itself, as a signification, draws directly from the meanings encrypted in the tabernacle that Moses built. The outer courts housed the tabernacle itself, which consisted of the holy place, and the most holy place:

Heb 9:1-10 KJV – 1 Then verily the first [covenant] had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein [was] the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service [of God]. 7 But into the second [went] the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and [for] the errors of the people: 8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation.

A part of the “language” of the tabernacle is found in the word “sanctify” and the word “profane”. To sanctify means to “set apart”. Sanctuary is a place for the set apart. The holy of holies, or the holiest of all, means the “set apart from the set apart”. The profane is, in effect, to go in the wrong direction. If I attempt to take the things of the holiest place and move them into the holy, or the things of the holy place to the outer courts, I “PROFANE” these things, or make them common.

So, what is the “place” of the candlestick? Where does it belong? It belongs in the holy place. This is it’s highest appointment. If you search the scriptures, you will find no appointed place in the holy of holies for the candlestick. It has no place there. So, if removed from his place, it has only one place to go…the unmeasured outer courts. Why unmeasured? :

Rev 11:1-2 KJV – 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. 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.

In these unmeasured outer courts, what goes on, goes on in the “name of the Lord”. But unlike the case with the candlesticks…the assemblies…in their rightful place, the Spirit of the Lord does not “measure” them. If one reads Revelation 2 and 3, one can see the Spirit measuring the assemblies by what He speaks to them.

Mat 7:15-23 KJV – 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 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? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

There is, in the book of Isaiah, a prophetic picture of assemblies put away from the Lord’s message, living in the world, yet still boasting His identity…still doing what they do, in “His name”:

Isa 4:1 KJV – 1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Generally, a married woman takes the name of the husband. If served a bill of divorce for infidelity, generally that name is changed to her original name. In the prophetic example of Isaiah 4, she is willingly put out, has no problem being her own provider, but wants to keep the name of her former husband in order to maintain a certain appearance. She wants to be free of her former husband, but continue to operate in his name. Such is the warning of Matthew 7…things done In the Lord’s name, but not with His participation. Such is an apostate…a sent away church or assembly.

The great “falling away” is taking place now. It is a SENDING away. As in nearly everything else in scripture, the daydreaming leadership of the churches still look for things to happen, which have been going on for a long, long time. They look with eyes of flesh. They put everything just over the horizon. But as the Spirit testified to John on the Isle of Patmos…the time of these things is here…it is at hand.

Mat 7:13 KJV – 13

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Rom 8:28-31 KJV – 28

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. 29 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. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?

Yogi Berra said “If you come to a fork in the road; take it”. Yogi was full of these sort of sayings, which are very funny, in part, because there is an element of truth to them, and because they are open ended.

Romans 8 is a fork in the road. It has been used to support the notion that the final end of every individual has be determined beforehand. Some to the left hand, some to the right. But Romans 8 is not to do with predetermination. It is 100% about choice. It is about walking in the flesh, or in the Spirit. That is the fork in the road. Romans 8 begins like this:

Rom 8:1 KJV – 1

[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The ONLY thing that is predetermined is that you will come to the fork, and there will be two ways to walk from that point. But which of the two any individual chooses is not by any means predetermined. It is 100% a matter of choice. The end of either choice is set. It is already determined. But let no man, woman or child believe that they have no choice in the matter, as to which way they choose…the way of faith, or the way that seems right to humanity.

As an example, consider the man Cain. In his first letter, John writes about the two paths, and writes about someone who chose the wrong path:

1Jo 3:10-13 KJV –

10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, [who] was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. 13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

To say that Cain was “of that wicked one”, could be construed as a predetermined condition…as if he was born to it, and had no choice in the matter. But what are the facts? When Cain saw that his offering of works was not accepted with God, and his brother’s offering of faith was, God saw Cain’s anger about this, and said , “If you do well, will you not be accepted?”  The answer, of course, is yes. John, writing many years after Cain has ended his course, writes that he was “of that wicked one”. It is a postmortem. It is an observation made, long after the opportunity of choice has passed, of the choice that was made. But clearly, Cain had every opportunity, so long as he drew breath, to change his direction.

Romans 8 is about just that. While you and I draw breath, we have the right to choose the path we take.

Another saying of Jesus’ that is misconstrued is:
Mat 22:14 KJV – 14

“For many are called, but few [are] chosen.”

This too may seem arbitrary and discriminatory. But again, the facts are,  being chosen is completely a consequence of answering the call. Not everyone invited to a feast decides to go. But everyone invited can, if he of she wants to.

The body without the Spirit is dead.

Jas 2:26 KJV – 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Whether in a nation, or in an individual,  without the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, all you really have is a dead body. One of the first things to manifest itself in a dead body, is rigor mortis…stiffness in the muscles.

A dead body, upon first inspection, seems to be without activity. Indeed, the original occupant is gone. There is no connection anymore, to the spirit. But close inspection reveals that a dead body attracts a host. Some of the things that manifest themselves were there all along, only held in check by the body’s defenses. Other things are attracted to a dead body and immediately take up residence, feasting upon the symphony of decay. Herod, who gave an oration, and failed to glorify God for the contents of the oration, fell down dead, eaten of worms. These worms were in him to start with. Jesus spoke that where the carcass is, there will the vultures gather. These are attracted by death.

Two places in scripture come to mind. In the book of Revelation, the Spirit speaks by way of warning to the assemblies, that their lamp stand can, and may be removed from “his place”.  In an assembly, the Spirit of the Lord speaks to any individual with an ear to hear. His testimony of the Christ sheds light upon the many individuals and entities resident in them, ready to seize dominion, held at bay by nothing but the Spirit of the Lord in the midst. Should the candlestick be separated from the flame…the “worms” will rule the lifeless body. The many task masters will impose endless mandates and dictates upon the congregation, but to absolutely no avail. A lifeless body can not accomplish anything. It is nothing but food. Dust for the serpent’s meat. Also known as “dead works”. (Gen. 3, dead man is dust…serpent fodder…)

Gen 3:14, 19 KJV – 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: ….

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.

If the candle of the Lord is removed from an assembly…it is dead. I have been in many an assembly and heard the songs calling for the Lord to “revive us again”…or begging the Spirit of the Lord to come and go from their gatherings. The Lord does not come and go. Either he lives and abides in me, or he doesn’t. As for “reviving”, this He did once, for all.
He is not going to taste of death again.

Isa 26:19 KJV – 19 Thy dead [men] shall live, [together with] my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew [is as] the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

He, Christ, is the resurrection. There is, and will be, no other. If I comprehend the above saying of Isaiah, I comprehend that to ask Christ to revive me again, would require him to die again. It will never happen. Rather, to any who sleep in the dust of man, I say, awake to righteousness and enter by faith, into what Christ has once for all done, and will not do again. Forsake the lifeless assembly and walk in the Spirit, in the newness of life. Whether an individual, or a nation…none will escape the imposition of death, without Christ. Concerning His people, the prophet cried:

Jer 2:11-13 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. 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. 13 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.

In other words…a people, without the Lord, are dead. If the Living Waters is not in a people…regardless of how they attempt to claim association with the Lord…they have none. A broken cistern, void of Christ, falls under hard and cruel bondage, which brings me to the second place of scripture that come to mind on the subject. I encourage you to read Isaiah 34. It depicts the dead body, and the things that reign in it. The fig falls and the vine drops it’s leaf. This is a signification of the loss of the fellowship of the Father and Son. Without this, things quickly become fodder for every carrion seeking thing. And the iron fisted, flesh tearing rule of man over man.

Isa 34:12-13 KJV – 12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none [shall be] there, and all her princes shall be nothing. 13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, [and] a court for owls.

Anything, religion, nation, or man …without Christ…is dead. Judges 9 will also cast light on Isaiah’s sayings. For judges 9 depicts the Godhead in allegory…as the Olive (Spirit), the Fig (Father) and the Vine (Son). The Lord rules willingly from within. Reject this, and you have the thorns and brambles of man ruling man, mercilessly and cruelly. Judges 9 juxtaposes this for you.

Choose the Lord, Christ in you the hope of glory…or chose what comes without this.

The body, without the Spirit…is dead.

Psa 2:9 KJV – Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Rev 2:27 KJV – 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.

Rev 12:5 KJV – 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.

Rev 19:15 KJV – 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.

Job 10:9 KJV – Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?

Job 33:6 KJV – Behold, I [am] according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay.

Dan 2:34 KJV – Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

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Several promises are made, by the Spirit of Christ speaking, to the individual with an ear to hear. These promises are made to the overcomer, regardless of the individual’s social, political,  national, or religious surroundings or origins. In  Rev 2&3, these promises are spoken in various systems, as if to them confined within the boundaries of a shell of containment. Boundaries of man’s device. Like a chick in an egg, outgrowing it’s environment, exhausting the limited resources that were in the egg, and hearing a voice that speaks from the “other side”, yet hearing it from within the shell. “COME UP HERE”.

Among these promises:

Rev 2:26 KJV – And he that overcomes, and keeps 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.

This power, spoken of in Psalm 2 as to be given to Christ, we find Christ now can and will extend to he/she who has an ear to hear, and a desire to overcome. Studying the term “rod of iron” reveals it to be akin to a shepherd’s rod. It also entails the idea of feeding. The chick in the egg will exhaust it’s limited resources quickly, and be brought to a moment of crisis. Break out or die.

Jesus says, in the course of the promise, that the recipient is to utilize this rod of iron, as Jesus did. He/she is to overcome in the same manner Jesus overcame, and as we read in the second psalm, sat down in the Father’s throne. Jesus, about to be murdered, said these words: “The prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me”. This seemingly simple phrase reveals the ultimate victory he enjoyed after a life time of temptation by the world and everything in it. The victory is comprehended when one realizes Jesus left the world and took none of it with him. He was often tempted to utilize the world’s means and methods in order to accomplish what had been set before him. He never took the bait. He understood perfectly, the situation of being in the world, but not of it. Therefore he is able to help those who follow after him. If you are in Christ by faith, that is not of the world. It is not by flesh, nor blood, nor the will of man. It is of God.

The rod of iron is used to pulverize and drive out of one’s being, everything that is man’s device. The rod is the truth. It may be more than that. I am sure it is. But it is the truth.

When one is conceived of God in faith, in Christ, one must learn to be true to one’s origins. For when once this happens, out of the weeds will pop up everything under the sun that will desire to lay a claim in you, just as Elisha had to endure the gauntlet of the “schools of the prophets” as he journeyed in faith after Elijah. But none of these things are in Christ. None of them will go any farther than flesh.

The simple message of this writing is to convey that the rod of iron employed successfully by Jesus, had little or no outward measure of effect upon the world around him. Sure, things were stirred up. But they quickly settled back to their former estate when he was “gone”. So, where were they dealt with? where was the victory? They were dealt with IN him. They were beaten down to nothingness every time they attempted to rise up in council, from the 40 days and nights of temptation in the wilderness, to Nicodemus’ offering Jesus a place with the Pharisees, to the council from his own disciples, not to do what he was sent to to do. At every presentation of this world and it’s prince’s council, Jesus beat it to shivers and went on. The rod given to the over comer is to be employed as it was with Him.

To any in an environment like those depicted in the assemblies of Revelation 2 and 3, gazing into the future, waiting for Jesus to beat the nations into submission with a rod of iron, I encourage you to consider that, according to Him, he already has.  Now it is your turn.  “We” may not yet see all things under His feet. But “I” can. If seated together in him, in heavenly places, the view is not what it is from elsewhere.

THE TWO TOWERS

The account of Noah’s ark contains many important significations. In his decision to overthrow the age with water, the Lord gave reason for his decision to Noah. Among these, the thoughts of man’s heart were only evil continuously before the Lord. Also, they had forsaken His way in the earth. The Lord was remorseful of having made man. But only Noah, and his family, were found righteous before the Lord. This righteousness was in their faith. In order to facilitate the end of the age, yet preserve Noah, it was necessary that a means of conveyance be devised to get from the age to be destroyed, to the age to follow. That “way” was the ark.

In the age to be destroyed, there are two Enoch’s. In these are depicted the Lord’s way, and the false way. First came the false way. Cain the murderer brings forth a son and names him Enoch. Then a city is built and named for his son. The city is called Enoch. Enoch means “to train, to dedicate, to inaugurate”. Loosely translated, this city, conceived outside of the presence of God, and built in the land of wandering (Nod), was a man made entity identified as the place of learning, dedication, and inauguration.

After these things, in the line of Seth, the figurative man of resurrection, was born a man also named Enoch. He himself walked with God, and God took him. The one Enoch, God destroyed. The other, he took. In this, the Lord signified that His way in the earth is the way of the individual walking in faith, with God. It is not the way of the individual finding a city and system of man’s device, which by name, promises to some how accomplish these things in you. The Lord’s way, which they had forsaken, is that the individual walk in the Spirit, in faith.

After the flood, the ark rested on Ararat, a mountain who’s name means “curse reversed”. This is significant also. The ark had been built of “Gopher wood”. It is not known what that kind of wood is. But trees gave their lives for it, and the life’s blood of a tree is sap. The sap was rendered into pitch, in order to make the ark water tight. Noah was told, “You will pitch it within and without with pitch”. The words “pitch” used in the sentence are actually two different Hebrew words. The first means “ransom”. The second means “cost , or price of the ransom”. So: “You will ransom it within and without with the cost of that ransom”. The cost was the life of the trees.

Upon finding rest from the curse (Ararat) , man was told to be fruitful, spread abroad, fill the earth and subdue it. In the course of time, probably after several generations, as they multiplied and spread across the earth, some of them came to the decision that this was not good. They chose once again to forsake the Lord’s way, to take a name, a common identifier to themselves, build a city, and a tower “who’s top may reach unto heaven, lest we be spread abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (which was what they had been told to do). They had once again, forsaken the Lord’s way, and sought by their own means, to find it communally. This became the tower of Babel, which means confusion. Babylon would later come to be identified as a signification of religion in the scripture. Babylon means “confusion by mixture”. In other words, to find what is “true” you must sift through a lot of what is not true. This is always the ear mark of man’s religions. The danger is in being content to abide in Babylon, and trust that the truth is in it. There is always a spec of truth here and there, enough for people to see and point to, and willingly blind themselves to what is not. The problem is, the Lord abhors a mixture, which is what adulteration means. It is mixing things together that do not belong together.Hence, Abram was called out of the place all together.

In  the course of time, Abram is called out of the land of the Chaldeans. He departs in faith, begets Isaac, the son of promise, who begets Jacob, who wrests inheritance and birthright from Esau. As he flees from Esau toward Haran, he rests in a place called Luz. There he has stones for pillows. His head resting upon these stones, just as the ark rested upon the curse reversed, Jacob had a dream and vision. He sees, resting upon these stones, a ladder reaching unto heaven. Upon this ladder, ascend and descend the messengers of God (in that order). The stones are the crux of the dream. All the message is wrapped up in the stone. In the morning, Jacob declares the place “non other but the gate of heaven” and “the house of God”. He pours oil (anoints) on the stones and calls the place “Bethel”… “house of God”.

I want to emphasize something. The word “ladder” used in the scriptures in Jacob’s vision, is the word “סֻלָּם“, “sül·läm’”. It means to cast up a way, to make a way, a highway. This is the one and only time this word appears in the scriptures. Jacob’s vision is of THE WAY. This way, Jacob names the house of God. It took place in a place called Luz, which means “Almond”. The almond is a figure in scripture, of resurrection. The account of Aaron’s rod teaches you that. This place came to be called “Luz which is Bethel”…the resurrection which is the house of God”.

The title of this writing, The Two Towers, is meant to juxtapose the man made tower of confusion (Babel) and the Ladder, God’s only way, which is the revelation of Christ in you, the hope of glory. The following are excerpts from scripture, for one to read and compare. The crux of Jacob’s WAY is the revelation of the Father, in the Son, in you. The seed of promise is Christ. In that seed is all the fullness of God. Christ in you, is that seed in you:

GENESIS 28

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put [them for] his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I [am] the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I [am] with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done [that] which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew [it] not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful [is] this place! this [is] none other but the house of God, and this [is] the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put [for] his pillows, and set it up [for] a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city [was called] Luz at the first.

JOHN 14

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. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 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. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Man’s way is a confusing mixture of fantasy and fairy tale peppered with a few kernels of truth. It can never deliver. Today, the topic of “fake news” is yet another sign to the generation. The sign is a repeat of the same signification at the end of the house of Moses, and the beginning of the household of faith. The living truth abides fully in one who was being judged by a man, Pontius Pilate, who asks, “What is truth?”. Also in that day, the Jewish priesthood disputed and debated about what to do with Jesus. The Holy Spirit caused one of them to speak in the midst of them all…a word of truth uttered in the midst of chaos, deceit self preservation and confusion. That God inspired word, “YE KNOW NOTHING AT ALL”. So, the one in whom abides all wisdom, knowledge and understanding, is allowed to be judged by those who thought this was true of them. But the Holy Spirit says they know nothing at all. This living truth in you, is now allowed to be subject to the world and it’s religious, political and social city and tower builders in order that they may judge it. All of this may be comprehended in Psalm 2. A key to Psalm 2 is knowing where you sit. Are you seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus?

Jesus is THE WAY. He is THE TRUTH. He is THE LIFE. The only possible way for you to have the truth and know it, is that Christ, the anointing, the Teacher, abide in you. The truth is no mere collection of facts. It is the way to the Father. Today we come full circle. The nations and denominations of Christiandom prove to be a confusing tower of traditions and stories, peppered with a modicum of truth, while THE TRUTH, THE WAY and THE LIFE, continue to be what they always were. Jacob’s experience can be comprehend in this exchange:

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. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].

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. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 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.

From NUMBERS 23 & 24

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.^{in the world, but not of the world} Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! ^{I am crucified with Christ} And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! ^{we are the habitation of God by the Spirit} As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; ^{see Matthew 2:12-15} he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, ^{see Galatians 6…the blessings are upon the Israel of God, who is Christ} and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

Balaam was looking at the children of Jacob, but his prophesies were of one to come out of Jacob. “I see him , but not now: I shall behold him , but not here”. The vision of Balaam was of no natural people or nation, but of one that would be born to God, in Christ,  in resurrection. Many nations and peoples are in a mental dilemma, not comprehending who the Israel of God is. It is a spiritual people and nation and not reckoned in any manner whatsoever, among the nations of men. The Father does not weight the nations according to how they deal with any natural nation, to include natural Israel. He weighs them according to how they deal with HIS Israel…the Israel of God. This weighing includes natural Israel. They will be dealt with according to their handling of the Gospel, the same as every other nation and people. If you then be risen with Christ, be advised, there is no dual citizenship in Him. To be in the world but not of it conveys ambassadorship, not citizenship. To be born to God in Christ conveys citizenship. Paul evoked blessings upon them who walk accordingly:

GALATIANS 6
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teaches in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing, nor un-circumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace [be] on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with your spirit. Amen.

The fault of which Paul writes, is to be caught up in the fallacy that God deals with the nations as Jew or Gentile…circumcision or un-circumcision. Neither avail anything in Christ. And Christ is the plumb line by which everything is measured.