The Great Controversy, Part 2

Rev. Raymond M Jackson
Rev. Raymond M Jackson

WHEN I STARTED THIS MESSAGE, I HAD NO IDEA THAT IT WOULD BE SO LENGTHY; BUT AS YOU DEAL WITH ONE SCRIPTURE IN A MESSAGE LIKE THIS, ANOTHER THOUGHT WILL COME TO YOUR MIND THAT SEEMS TO ADD TO IT; AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE WHOLE THING IS LENGTHY. I JUST PRAY THAT WE CAN SAY SOMETHING, THAT WILL HELP SOME OF YOU FIND OUT FOR SURE, JUST EXACTLY WHERE YOU STAND; WHEN IT COMES TO A REVELATION OF THE GODHEAD, AND HOW YOU ARE GOING TO HANDLE TRUTH. IT IS ONE THING TO KNOW THE TRUTH; BUT IT IS AN ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT THING, TO TAKE A STAND FOR THAT TRUTH IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION AND PERSECUTION. IT TAKES A TRUE REVELATION, AND DEDICATION TO THE PLAN AND PURPOSE OF GOD; TO BE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE THE GENERAL SOCIETY MAY REQUIRE OF YOU. NEVERTHELESS I BELIEVE GOD HAS SOME PEOPLE SCATTERED OVER THE FACE OF THIS EARTH, THAT ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR WALKING TRUE TO GOD; AND I WANT TO DO WHATEVER I CAN, TO BE OF HELP TO THEM, AS GENTILE TIME RUNS OUT. THEREFORE AS WE CONTINUE DEALING WITH THIS GREAT CONTROVERSY CONCERNING THE GODHEAD, LET US LOOK A LITTLE FURTHER AT THE WORD IMAGE; AND EXAMINE THE APOSTLE PAUL’S APPLICATION OF THE WORD IN RELATION TO JESUS AND THE FATHER.

IMAGE EXAMINED

When we speak of the image of something, we are usually thinking in terms of a tangible form; but when the apostle Paul spoke of Jesus being the image of the invisible God, the very word invisible, lets us know he was not speaking of the eternal God and Creator of all things, as being in a form that we could see with our natural eyes. Therefore when this same apostle (in Hebrews 1:3) spoke of Him (Jesus) as being the express image of His (the Father’s) person, we do not suddenly forget that God is invisible; and start thinking of Him as a physical man. First, we ought to realize that Paul was writing to Christian people that already knew the Creator is a sovereign Spirit. Then we need to realize that the dictionary gives a long list of words; when you look up the word BEING; therefore those Trinitarian translators did not hesitate to select the word person, when it should have been translated being. You can check other translations of the same verse; and you will find the word being, used there, instead of the word person. A person is a being; and so is a spirit. Saints we are not trying to pick the Bible apart; but in order to maintain a true revelation, we have to realize these things, and not allow for them. I will now read the two verses together; and read them as they are to be understood. (Col. 1:15) “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” (Heb. 1:3) “Who being the brightness of HIS (the Father’s) glory, and the express image of His being, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He (Jesus) had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Most of us have heard someone say, That child is the very image of his father. Well what do they mean? In this sense, it means that the child carries the same physical features and characteristics (in the flesh) as his father. That is one way to look at image. However when we do back to Genesis, where it says that man was created in the image and likeness of God, you had better know that God is not three persons; or you get yourself into something you cannot explain. If God truly is manifested in three persons, then we ought to be in the same triune likeness. Would you not say so? We are a triune being in the sense that we are spirit, soul, and flesh; but that is a lot different from being three persons. Here is what man really is. What makes him what he is, is the fact he is a spirit; created in the likeness of the Creator, which is Spirit also. How did man become a spirit? Because God took of Himself; and made man. The spirit that man is, came out of God. The Creator was not standing up there with some chemicals, stirring up a substance, and beginning to take out little measurements saying, This will be So and So; and this will be So and So. No. That is not the way He made man. We were not made from some chemical process. Our origin is from the great Creator Himself. We are a spirit being, but that spirit being that we are, came from God. Therefore, because He is a Spirit and we are spirit, that is one likeness; but there is still more. Man in his triune makeup, also has a soul. The soul is something the Creator Himself, incorporated into this spirit being. Something else He separated from Himself. This is what gives that spirit being its individuality, and distinguishes him from others. Characteristics, or the attributes, are in the realm of the soul. We know also, that in the souls, everyone has the five senses; See, hear, taste, smell, and feel; which work through the physical. Naturally the spirit man himself seeks to express his soul through these senses. Once God had created and brought forth man, in His own image and likeness, the soul is an inseparable part of the spirit. When death occurs, the body of flesh is left without soul and spirit; and will soon decompose, if it is not preserved somehow; but the part the Creator created in His own image must wait in its place (which ever that place is) until the resurrection. The bride Church will be resurrected and taken to the marriage supper; before the Great Tribulation starts; but the wicked dead will not be raised until after the Millennial Reign of Christ is completed. The point is, The body of flesh is merely an earthly tabernacle for the spirit man to dwell in. It bears no likeness of the Creator whatsoever. It is in the likeness of the overall animal kingdom that man was put at the head of. We can say this. Once the Spirit man is put into this vessel of clay it is complete; ready to fulfill its earthly purpose, that which he is put here for. In his spirit and his soul, he carries the image and likeness of his Creator. That is what Gen. 1:26-27, relates to “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” At that point, there was no flesh in the picture; only a spirit man with an intellect. In his soulish intellect makeup, he is far superior to the animal kingdom he was put here to rule over. They smell. So does man. They hear. So does man. They taste. So does man. They see. So does man. Yet there is something in the soul of man that goes beyond all of that. He knows he is not in the image and likeness of animal life; because animal life stops right there, in that realm; while within the soul of man there is something that reaches out. To what? Toward his Creator, his heavenly Father. This is why, when we study the Bible, we must see God as the object that wants to be worshiped. He is Father because He created us; but He is not a man. Therefore knowing this, there is no way we can say this sovereign Spirit was manifested in three persons. You can talk about man being a triune being, all you want to; but that in no way makes him three persons. Naturally you will readily admit that man is not three persons, in his makeup; yet the world is full of people today, that are spiritually blind; when it comes to applying that terminology to the Creator in whose image we are created. If we can see ourselves as triune beings, without being three persons, then we ought to be able to see God likewise; in His three offices. He is Father, because He created something with life. He incarnated His only begotten Son; to walk among His creation displaying His attributes; and He is working among mankind in His third office-work; (back in Spirit form as before) but known as the Holy Spirit. In any one of the three offices He is still the same God that said, “Let us make man in our image;” as He communed with His angelic helpers, recorded in Gen. 1:26. Saints, you believe me, when He said, “Let us make man:” He was speaking in plural terminology because He was speaking to the angels; which also are spirit beings. As I said already, If He had been speaking to two other persons in the Godhead, then something went wrong. He did not create us in their image; if He was speaking to the Son and the Holy Ghost; as the Trinitarians believe He was. If you can once see that He was speaking in relationship to His angelic beings which were already present, then the rest of what took place will all make more sense to you.

A PREHISTORIC CREATION

Somewhere back in the prehistoric world, (The time that your great scholars of today, know so little about) God had already created angelic beings and related them to an animal kingdom. This is where HE tested them; to prove their loyalty to Him. He tested them; and many of them fell. I do not have time to go into it; but you can go to 2nd Peter 2:4, where it says, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment,” and then go to Jude, verse 6, where it says, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day,” you will see that both of those writers knew what had taken place in an era before Adam was even created. This tells me, that in the regions of hell, there is a realm of the ancient, angelic family, that did something back in that prehistoric hour of time, along with Lucifer, that caused God to have to judge them. That was long before Adam was brought on the scene. Remember this, Lucifer was already a fallen angel; (commonly referred to as the devil) when he inspired the old serpent to seduce Eve; there in the garden of Eden. You can read Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28, and see what the Bible says about Lucifer. I will read only one verse; Ezekiel 28:15, “Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Lucifer, and several of the other angels, did things that so displeased God; it caused Him to have to judge them; and some of them will never be allowed to come up out of their spiritual prison house. Others of them, (What we call demons) have been permitted to work with the devil down through the ages of time; actually to put man to the test. On the other hand, those angels which proved to be faithful to the Creator, and came forth victorious, we cannot picture them somewhere in the background; just to make up a beautiful background for something else. No. They are beings created by the Creator, and ordained to minister in His plan for the ages; in whatever He is doing; therefore in Gen. 1:26, the US, was the Creator and His angelic helpers. The creative days mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis, are not actually referring to the beginning of the planet. They are regenerating periods that show how God brought the planet Earth out of its judged, chaotic state from the prehistoric hour. I am approaching that in this manner, simply because, when we read in the scriptures, that through His word God created the worlds, we can look at it properly. The word worlds, has no meaning toward creating planets. God designed the ages to be perfected through Jesus, the Christ; and I realize there are certain verses of scripture, that left standing alone, make it look like Jesus was personally in on all of the creating of things; so we just have to put the whole picture together using all of the word of God; rather than just certain verses. Jesus was ordained (In the very beginning) to be the means of redemption and salvation for lost mankind on the planet earth. The earth was destined to go through cycles, or periods of time called dispensations; during which God the great Creator, the Father of all life, would project, and set in motion, many things. This would establish, even in the earth, a record of how He would unfold His plan of redemption to mankind; as mankind would be related to the earth and to his earthly purpose designed by his Creator. Also, as you read Genesis 1:26, remember this, Those (what we call) creative days could each one have been periods of many thousands of years. It was a period of time God used for warming up the earth; and bringing it back out of that darkened, chaotic, judged state. Actually, you could say, He was justifying the earth. That is to portray how a man in this dispensation, if it is typed in the earth, then it types man being born in sin, coming into this world already a creature of darkness. He is already judged to death; because of sin. He has no eternal life in him; and unless God does something for him, he is destined to die; and pass out of existence. However just as God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, and the planet began to be justified: we find in the Epistle of Peter, that he refers to that in its type, of how that light was made to shine to us. That is when the Holy Ghost starts to work on you. Brother, Sister, Oh how, many times, the Holy Spirit has to just keep tugging away at our lives: before we begin to take heed to that light. What does that light do? It lifts us out of that darkened state of unbelief we are born with; and actually translates us into the kingdom of God’s eternal life. We are creatures that are void and destitute of being anything for God; until He justifies us. That is why we have so little to boast about; it was God, that made the first move toward our individual redemption; but I am fully persuaded, that He always works through His angelic helpers; in whatever He does.

GOD’S COMMAND OBEYED BY WHOM?

It is on the sixth day, (The sixth creative day) that God has got to be speaking in respects to how His angelic beings will set His command in motion. I do not care what kind of doctor of divinity wants to challenge this; if he hears my voice, or reads my words: he must bring me scripture to prove otherwise. Angels in their own selves, are not creators. It is the sovereign mind of the eternal God that is the architect of the whole creation. He, and He alone, is the source of life, and of how life is to be expressed. As that first man and woman were brought into existence by a divine act of God: when He has said, “Let us made man in our image,” those angels that were assisting Him in all that He does, were set in charge of the genetic laws; to watch over how they are fulfilled in this earth. Why do I say that? Simply because, when we come to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Paul made certain references that have caused me to pay attention to the various things the scriptures attribute to the ministry of angels throughout the Bible. I will read just two of them. In Hebrews 1:14, Paul said this concerning angels. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Then, in chapter 2, verse 2, he said, “For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; (2:3) How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him?” Over and over, the scriptures constantly show the role angels have had; in this great plan God designed before the foundation of the world. If angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation, why does God not just do it Himself? He could, you know; but the fact He does it this way, lets me know He wants to work through other beings. He does not have to; but He wants to. That is the way I like to say it. He does not need to; but He does it anyhow. He could have saved us all some other way; but somewhere in this world, that part which you and I do not see now, because we are cut off from it, due to the way we came into this world; yet inside of us is a part that is reaching out to that unseen part. That is where the angelic contact exists between the Creator and man that is created in His image. In creation God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;”and then, when man sinned He said, (Gen. 3:22) “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” You will notice that God again spoke in plural terminology saying, “Seeing that man has become as one of us;” but is there any reason for anyone to think He had to be speaking to two other persons of the Godhead? Absolutely not. Again I say, man is a reflection of the very image and likeness of that eternal SPIRIT which God is; and because His angelic helpers are spirits also, He can say, We, us, and our; which all point to the fact that he man He created was a spirit being also. When He drove them from His divine presence , (paradise) He did not call the Son to guard the way to the tree of life. No. He placed Cherubim there; according to Gen. 3:24, “So He (God) drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep (or guard) the way (Not the gate into a geographic spot, but the WAY) of the tree of life.” Saints that tells me two things. First, that angels do the work of God in the spirit world; and secondly, that if angels were give the responsibility of guarding that law of eternal life: Adam and Eve were not driven from a geographical spot of land; like so many people believe they were. God just simply lifted His anointing presence from their midst; and the result was, mankind lost his spiritual contact with God’s divine plan. He became a vagabond. Angels stood at the threshold of entrance into that anointing with flaming swords; making sure that Adam would never again be able to press himself into that anointing, which is eternal life. There is no way man can force himself back in. The Creator is still one God; and angels are there between the Creator and the recipients of His grace and mercy. Angels work for the Creator; and demons (fallen angels) work for the devil. Spirit beings, move spiritual forces. Some on behalf of God, and others on behalf of Satan. It is just that simple.

ANGELS CONFUSE LANGUAGES

When the earth became filled with sin and violence, and God had to judge it once again: He sent a great flood to destroy wicked mankind; but He did not this time, make the earth void. He preserved a man and his family alive; to repopulate the earth, giving them the same commission He had given Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” To Noah and his family God even said, “Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.” However even though the flood destroyed all wicked mankind, the attributes of sin still remained in those that were spared alive; therefore as they multiplied upon the earth, the time came that God once again had to intervene. He had given them a commission. They were supposed to replenish the earth; but man’s nature is to go contrary to what God wants. Therefore as they became increased in number, instead of enlarging their scope and moving on out to new territory, they all wanted to huddle together in one place. Here is what the Bible says about them. (Gen. 11:1, 2, 4) “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. God meant for them to be scattered throughout the earth; but they wanted to huddle together; so God just let it go so far; then He said, (6) “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. (7) Go to, (God used some of their words. Go to, means Get ready.) Let us go down, and there confound their language, (Who was God speaking to, the Son and the Holy Ghost or His angels? To me, the answer is obvious. It was the angels; so notice) that they may not understand one another’s speech. (8) So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth.” Naturally it says the Lord did it; but I assure you, He had other created beings there to carry out His plan.

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY

I can see those angels coming forth; and going throughout the population of mankind there in ancient Babylon; doing exactly what God had commissioned them to do. Just image, God has told each one, how they will influence this certain family to speak a certain dialect. Another angel is sent to another family; and they will speak a certain dialect. Remember this, those angels did not bring division into any household, causing the man to speak one language and his wife another. No. That would have defeated God’s purpose. Their job was to confuse one family structure from another family structure. That was God’s way of stopping that nonsense; getting them out of there, and sending them on their way; to do what they were supposed to do; but I assure you, He did it through the ministry of angels.

THEOPHANY MANIFESTATIONS

Only when you come to the call of Abraham, do you begin to see where God manifested Himself in the form of a man, to commune with mankind and begin to reveal His plan for future centuries of time. From the loins of Abraham, God was going to have a specific race of people in the earth; in the Middle East, right where the original Eden area was. Paradise was no longer there; but the geographical area was still there. Keep in mind, Paradise was in the Middle East; right in the same area that history refers to as the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of civilization. Adam and Eve were not driven out of that area; they were just driven out of God’s divine presence. The very presence of God, is what made the paradise environment they dwelt in before they sinned. However as we have said before, If God had meant for man to see Him as a triune person, He would have set those types in His dealings with Abraham; and there is no such type set anywhere in the Old Testament. Let us look though, at the type He did set; when He appeared to Abraham as Melchizedek, there real close to the old Jebusite city called Salem; which is now called Jerusalem. When God brought Abraham into this land, you know the story, how Lot fell victim to those ancient Assyrians; and how Abraham went to rescue him and his people from them. Abraham only had a few more than three hundred men; but they rescued Lot and the spoil they had taken; and as they were coming back, somewhere in the vicinity of the old ancient city, which at that time was called, The city of the Jebusites, a Canaanite tribe, he was met by one the Bible refers to as the king of Salem. Let us read a few verses from Gen. 14: beginning with verse 16. “And He (Abraham) brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother (His nephew) Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. (17) And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with Him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. (18) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram (Abraham) of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: (20) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And He (Abraham) gave him tithes of all.” At that time, the people of Salem were pagans; devil worshipers; but God was projecting a TYPE; pointing to Jesus. When Melchizedek, King Priest of the Most High God, (That is what his name meant. In other words, The ELOHIM of the Old Testament) met Abraham in the way, (or on the road, for he literally stopped Abraham in the roadway) it was the eternal God; getting ready to set a type of something that would not be fulfilled until centuries later. Abraham had no occasion to be going to that pagan city; He was just passing by it, going on down into the areas of Beer-sheba; but God had a reason for stopping him in that particular spot. I am sure all of you Bible scholars will agree, that this Melchizedek was a manifestation of the one eternal God, the Creator of all things; but I want to say right here, This was not a man that came from heaven, and went back to heaven; that you could see if you went there today. I have a reason for saying that. I will not go into a long description of what a theophany is; but that manifestation in that likeness to a man, and the name Melchizedek, which meant, King Priest of the Most High God, was God’s way of telling Abraham, (an individual man) in advance, The time will come, when I will come down in the person of my Son, who will truly be the Savior of lost mankind; and in this very city, He will give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins that caused the separation between man and his Creator; and from this very city, He will ascend into heaven to be the Priest of the Most High God. Then He will return from heaven back to this city, to be the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. This manifested being literally talked to Abraham; and Abraham talked back to Him. This being had the elements of a future sacrifice that had not yet been offered. Therefore as Abraham gave Him the tithe of the spoils of those kings he had defeated, this Melchizedek gave him bread, and wine to drink. Why? Because 1900 years later, right in that same city, Jerusalem, Jesus who was the Christ, the Son of God in whom the eternal God Himself was manifested, took bread and wine from the Passover supper; and gave it to His disciples; just like Melchizedek did to Abraham. In other words, about two thousand years ago, Jesus took His disciples into an upper room in Jerusalem; and fulfilled exactly, the first part of the type that was projected by Melchizedek, when He met Abraham in the road that day. Paul, in Hebrews 7:1-5, speaks of Melchizedek, having no beginning of years nor ending of days, neither father or mother, and leaving no descent, meaning no offspring. Who was that? That is God Himself. Because God never was born. God never did die. And God never bore children like man does. How many understand that? That is why Melchizedek was prefigured like this. Therefore Christ was the literal fulfillment of what that was in type. The man, Jesus, had a beginning; but the Father that dwelt in Him, had no beginning; and they are inseparable; therefore Paul could speak of Jesus in this way. We will read a few verses. Heb. 6:20 “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. (7:1) For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed Him; (2) To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; (3) Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. (5) And verily they that are the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham.” Nowhere in any of this, can you find a trinity picture projected.

ANOTHER APPEARANCE OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD

In the 18th chapter of Genesis, we find another manifestation of God. WE have spoken of it already; but I want to get it in right here. Abraham looked up one day; just about noon time. The sun was shining hot; and Abraham was sitting under an oak tree; when he saw three figures coming down the road. He ran to meet them; but notice how he greeted them. Even though there were three of them, he bowed and said, (Gen. 18:3) “My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.” You see! He addressed only one of them as “MY LORD.” To me, that proves he did not see a trinity. What he saw, was a manifestation of God; and two of His angels. The angels were permanent beings; but that particular manifestation of God Himself, was not for Abraham to ever expect to see again. This time, instead of coming to Abraham as a king and priest, He came to him as a prophet. He brought nothing to eat; He let Abraham feed Him. In coming as a man, and sitting down to eat what Abraham set before Him, He portrayed what it would be like when He came down and incarnated His only begotten Son. Jesus was a prophet; and He sat at the table of many people during the three and a half years of His ministry. Everything Jesus was to be and do, God had somewhere in the Old Testament, set a type of it. One thing you definitely will not find though, is a type of a trinity of persons pointing to the ONE God that created all things. This ONE God is absolutely manifested in three offices though; and you can find the type of that laid out as plain as the nose on your face.

THREE OFFICES OF ONE GOD

When God called the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, they were a nation of twelve tribes; instead of just a large family as before. The time had come for Him to begin to work through these descendants of Abraham, to reveal His plan of redemption for mankind. He had promised Abraham, that through his seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed; but HE had never explained to him how it would come about. Well He never did explain it; but He began to set various types, and give long range prophecies, that really did project a beautiful picture; and part of that picture was how He, the eternal Spirit, would be manifested in three offices, (Not in three persons) in His dealings with mankind. First He gave them a prophet. This would set the beginning of a beautiful type. For out of that nation of people, in time, there were to be three divine offices through which this ONE God of heaven would relate Himself through and to the people, who were to be the beneficiaries of His great plan. The prophets were the messengers with God’s word for the people. Then there was the priest, anointed of the same Spirit; but not endowed with the same characteristics. The priests were chosen from among them; and they were sinners just like all the rest because of inherited attributes; but those who were chosen for the priesthood, had to wash themselves, and sanctify themselves through certain rituals, to present themselves before God, as intercessors between Him and the people. The anointing of God rested upon them for that purpose. Then later on, when they wanted a king, God raised up a king right from among them; and anointed him for the task he would be faced with. This king was not necessarily a prophet; yet some of those kings did prophesy. Their kings were anointed with this attribute of God, to know how to govern and lead the people in their moral and social affairs; and cause them to exist as a people that were pleasing to their God. Their kings had that responsibility laid upon them; but sad to say, they did not all function with God’s purpose as their first concern. Mortal mankind is prone to be like that. If for some reason those people were attacked by their enemies, it was not necessarily the prophet that led them into battle. Nor was it the priest that would lead them, it was their king. Their king was to look like a soldier, be courageous, fearless, and lead the people into battle. Yes this One God which is Spirit, would work through those three offices in His dealings with this chosen race of people. It remained so throughout the rest of the Old Testament period of time. However when it came time to make preparations for bringing the Law dispensation to a climax, God did not use any one of these three offices to make the announcement; He made it Himself, through one of His angelic beings that always assist Him. To you who insist on believing in a triune God let me say this, What you call, “THE SECOND PERSON,” was not even in existence prior to Mary’s conception; except in the mind of the Great Creator Himself; so how can you place Him in Gen. 1:26, assisting the Father in creation? Only spiritual blindness, could cause anyone to believe anything as ridiculous as that. It may sound good to a carnal mind, to talk about Jesus leaving His glory above and coming to earth to die on an old rugged cross; but a spiritual mind knows the man Jesus, did not leave anything above, to do that; for He was not even in the picture, except in the mind of the Father. Let us just read a few verses; that tell us where the Son of God, Jesus, had His beginning. We will begin in Matthew 1:18. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. (19) Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. (20) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto Him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (21) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Yes He came into this world with a mission; and we have just read what that mission was; but He did not help create anything. Through Him, all families of the earth have been blessed; just like God promised Abraham; but do not try to make Him the second person of a trinity. That is a manmade doctrine; it did not come from the Bible. When the time came, for that promise to Abraham to be fulfilled, God sent an angel to Mary, to tell her she was going to conceive in her womb, and bring forth a son, and that she should call his name Jesus. Mary’s reply was, How can this be, seeing I know not a man? The angel was Gabriel; and he answered her like this, (Luke 1:35) “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Why was He to be called the Son of God? Because that sovereign Spirit which is God, spoke that little cell of life into Mary; without her having to have a sexual relationship with a mortal man. Yes saints, the Holy Ghost is the same Spirit that said, “Let there be light;” in Genesis 1:3; He is not the third person of a trinity. Now you may ask, Why do you keep stressing that? Well the title of this message should answer that question for you. This great controversy over whether God is ONE SPIRIT, or three persons, has been going on for centuries of time; and religion in general has accepted the trinity version of the Godhead. Therefore we just simply want to present the truth; and give enough scripture and commentary to vindicate that it is the truth. I intend to say, The Holy Ghost is not a person, He is a Spirit; as many times as I feel it takes; to cause people to take note of that fact. He is a Spirit, He is sovereign, and He is everywhere. He is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He knows all things. He is the very Spirit that keeps the universe in harmony with itself. Regardless of what these modern day scientists and evolutionists say, this universe is not just a huge accident; that somehow came into being by itself. It was put together by an architect. No they cannot see Him; He never has been seen. That is why they cannot accept the fact of creation; they only believe what they see and experiment with. No man has seen God; and no mortal man ever will; for you cannot see a spirit. In John 1:18, you can read these words, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” When Jesus said, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father,” He was speaking spiritually; because only those who had a revelation of who He was, could see Him, in the way He meant. The very Son of God, the Messiah the Jews had looked for, stood right in the midst of those great scholars; and very few of them ever SAW HIM. Oh they saw a man they judged to be just a trouble maker; but they did not SEE HIM; like He meant. The truth is, That one man called Jesus, fulfilled all the types set through the offices of PROPHET, PRIEST, and KING; in the Old Testament. He was a prophet when He walked among men in His first advent. Presently, He is our intercessor, fulfilling His priestly office; and when He comes to earth again, He will be King of kings, and Lord of lords, fulfilling the type set by those kings of the Old Testament Law period. Isn’t it a beautiful picture, that one lone Son of God would literally function between God and man as prophet, priest and king? He was the prophet that was typed in Genesis 18. He is now the Melchizedek that was typed in Genesis 14:18; and brothers and sisters, we are looking for Him to come again, to receive us unto Himself; and to take us to a feast that we have never seen anything to compare it to. Then we are destined to come back to Him, to this earth; when He is going to be God’s anointed King. What a wonderful picture! What a precious promise we have!

A LOOK AT GOD’S TABERNACLE

Let us now look at another picture in the Old Testament. God spoke to Moses in Exodus, in Numbers, in Leviticus, and in Deuteronomy through those years of journeying through the wilderness; in a tent they referred to as The Tabernacle. It was a tent constructed so it was easy to move from place to place; with a court of badger skins and so forth. God told Moses to build it; and in Exo. 25:22, this is what God said to him concerning it. “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two Cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.” In one end there was a small room of the tent, totally dark, because the skins that made up the entire structure were heavy. There was no way light could break through. That room was called the Holy of Holies. We know how God commanded a certain box to be built, 47 inches long, I believe it was 27 inches wide, and so deep, made of a certain kind of wood. (You can go to Exodus, and read chapters 25-28, and get the whole description) That wood was to type, in its representation, the flesh of the man who was born of virgin birth; the man called Jesus, born of woman. That is what the wooden box represented; but the box was not complete, until it was overlaid with beaten gold, fine gold, polished. In that box, was placed the two tables of stone, on which God etched the Ten Commandments; the Bible says, with His finger; which we understand could not be literal; because God is a Spirit. Nevertheless God engraved the stones, and gave them to Moses. He carried them down from the top of Sinai; and those two tables of stone were later laid in that box. There was a lid made, to go on that box. This box had certain rings fixed in the corners, and through those rings were placed poles. The box was to be carried between the poles, as the priests would walk with these poles on their shoulders. All of this sets a type. This box overlaid with gold, speaks of the twofold nature of Christ. He is both God and man. The gold speaks of His deity. The wood speaks of His humanity, His physical, fleshly, earthly relationship. The two tables of stone, which were engraved by the finger of God, represented the fact that, within Jesus who was begotten of God, is the very word, thought, mind of God, manifested to mankind. Jesus was fully man; and for the first 30 years of His life there was no deity associated with Him whatsoever. The Father had to incarnate Him; before anyone had any right to attribute deity to Him. Then when the Father did incarnate Him, He only spoke what the Father had Him speak. He not only spoke the mind of the Father, He also lived and exercised in His life, precisely what the Father wanted related to mankind. All of that was typed in that little box. Whenever the children of Israel were camped for a period of time, the poles were all set in their sockets, anchored, and the skins were hung. In other words, the tent was erected. There was a veil, described specifically, that separated the Holy of Holies from the other part of the tabernacle. The only thing behind that veil, was the ark of the covenant, and the Shekinah glory which was a manifestation of the Spirit of God. The sacrifices were slain, and placed upon the altar in the court outside the covered tent. Then, in the larger area of the tabernacle, there was the table of shewbread, the candlesticks and so forth; where the ministering priests ministered. Those lay priests burned incense; and performed certain other services to the Lord in there; but they never went into the Holy of Holies. The high priest alone, went once each year, behind the veil, to make an offering for the sins of the congregation. This prefigured, that when the time came, whatever that box represented would be fulfilled in the structure of a man. That man would die, as the sacrifice that was represented here, did. However this sacrifice would raise from the dead; and as He raises from the dead, just as that High Priest would take this blood and go into the Holy of Holies once each year, (behind the veil, where no other person could go without being struck dead) Jesus then, would be crucified outside the city, raised from the dead, and He would ascend into heaven. In other words, as Paul taught it in Hebrews, He went beyond the veil, which no human flesh could go beyond; because He is now immortal. He is the only man who could ascend into the very divine presence of the eternal Spirit, which is beyond the veil of human flesh. He has conquered death, hell, and the grave. Read how Paul describes it in Hebrews. We would have to read about three chapters, to get it all; so I will just pull out a few verses for now. Through the mouth of Jeremiah, these words were spoken to the children of Israel; (Jer. 31:31) “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah;” and Paul picked up on that, in Heb. 8:8, saying, “For finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”  Then he went into a long discourse covering the things we have been talking about. Notice (9:11) how he referred to Christ as high priest. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; (12) Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (9:23) It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these (animal blood sacrifices) but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. (9:24) For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: (10:14) For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (10:20) By a new a living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.” I think that is enough to make our point. What a beautiful story it is. All of those things were types; and every one of them were pointing to the man called Jesus the Christ. Now I ask you, Where could anyone get a trinity picture out of all of that? In 1450 years of Israel living under the Law that held all those types; I challenge anyone to find a trinity picture in any of them. There were times when God let things be recorded by men in a way that He could hide Himself in them. That is what confounds the scholars who love to deal with theology. Well the point is, God made a new covenant wherein mankind would be able to approach unto Him without another earthly mediator standing in between; and the mediator of that new covenant was the earthly tabernacle He dwelt in, after He incarnated Him at the river of Jordan; following His (Jesus’) baptism by John the Baptist.

WHAT SPIRITUAL VISION SEES

In the Epistle to the Colossians, the apostle Paul wrote, regarding this particular subject we are on. I do not want any of you to think there is nothing else in the Bible; there is. However I would still like to point out a few more things to go with what we have said already. Most of the epistles deal with the deeper things Paul was concerned about in his day, as he wrote to those specific churches. One of the first things he dealt with was the true identity of the great Creator and His only begotten Son; and rightly so, for there is nothing in this world that has any more controversy in it, than the question of whether God is three persons or not. Therefore you may ask, Why do you deal with it like this? In the hope that I can say something simple enough that each one may grasp a little point of interest, we approach it like this; that they may be able to know the right and the wrong, the truth and the false of it. As I said earlier, We are living in a day when revealed truth is not popular; because the greater percentage of what is called Christianity is sold out to the traditions of their fathers. They want nothing to do with anything that sounds different than what Grandpa and Grandma believed. When you try to talk to them they will say something like, There has never been a better Christian on earth than my Grandmother; so what was good enough for her, is good enough for me. Well that sounds very respectful; but it reveals spiritual ignorance; for time has not stood still. God has restored more truth to His little bride Church, than what your Grandmother had in her day; and if you are a true child of His, He requires you to walk in that truth also. I will never forget, when we first started going to hear Bro. William Branham preach. I heard things I had never heard in the Methodist Church; but I want you to know, I did not get my feathers ruffled and say, The Methodist Church does not believe that! No. It was quite the contrary. It so thrilled me, to hear election, predestination, eternal security of the believer, divine healing and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ taught with that anointed authority, I could hardly contain myself. It thrilled me, to find out that these were all doctrines taught by the Church in the book of Acts. Up until I heard Bro. William Branham, I did not eve know there was such a thing called divine healing in the twentieth century. Not in the sense that there was a ministry in divine healing. Brothers and sisters, after I met that little man, and began to see the truth, it gave me something to talk about. I wanted to talk constantly, about the good things of God. I believe with all my heart, that the truth God has given us is something we can talk about; if we have time to talk about anything. I realize that there are times when people get so wrapped up in their activities of the day, it just crowds out every other thing about the Lord; but saints, We need to hear what the Spirit is saying to the true Church in these last days. Time is short. We do not have time to play around. Therefore I ask that you would look with me, in Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 15 & 16, where the apostle Paul is speaking of his concern for those Ephesian believers. He says, “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.” My desire is to deal with this subject in the light of each one of these epistles, as the apostle Paul, who is the author, relates things of interest. Right here, he came to a particular point of thought he wanted to emphasize; but in doing so, the 15th and 16th verses are his personal remarks of concern to that particular group of Christians. After being absent from this Church for a good while, he had heard; about how they rejoice and stay steadfast in the faith. This is the letter to the Ephesians in 64 A.D., 32 years ahead of 96 A.D., when John wrote to the Church at Ephesus, recorded in Revelation, chapter 2. Here he says, Your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints; so we would have to assume that this Church was growing and progressing in the grace and virtue of the Lord. Notice how he phrased that, saying, After hearing this report, I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. After assuring them that he is praying for them, he goes ahead to tell them what he is praying for; on their behalf, (Eph. 1:17) “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,” (Or of Himself) Naturally we all know Paul was not speaking of two persons, when he used the terminology, “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ;” but a trinity minded person will see two persons in that verse every time. They will think they do; but of course they really do not. When he said, “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,” there was a reason for him distinguishing each object of thought in this manner. I will say this, If that Ephesian Church were sitting here with us today, you believe me, they would have no problem with the terminology he used. Aside from that though, I want to stress the content of his prayer. He did not pray like these people pleasing evangelists of our day; that God would give them a larger farm, or a Cadillac to drive. His prayer was, That God would give unto them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Himself. This lets me know, that Paul considered a good understanding of the Godhead, and the wisdom to use it properly, to be the focal point; around which the whole gospel of Jesus Christ revolves. That is exactly why, even in that first century, the devil tried so hard to destroy that revelation. He knew he could never bring all that other foolishness into the Church, as long as the Church carried a true revelation of the Godhead. Those apostles recognized the spirit that was knocking at the church door; and warned the saints to be on the lookout for them. That is why you find John, in 1st John 4:1, admonishing the saints in this fashion, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” He referred to them as being of the spirit of antichrist; that even that far back, were already at work against the true revelation the Church held. Saints, whether you realize it or not, anything that is contrary to a true revelation of God’s word, is antichrist teaching. These minor Antichrist have ran parallel to true Christendom, down through this dispensation of time; right from that very first century. When we look back through time, that is what the great controversy is all about; two spiritual forces pulling against each other. Brothers and sisters, I am so thankful, that God did not shut this truth up in a seminary; and make it so hungry souls would have to pay a vast sum to obtain it. In fact, it is something He has given freely, to as many as would receive it. Hallelujah! It is carnal mankind, that has done that; built those institutions and butchered the word of God. They think the fact that they have their degrees in theology; gives them the right to tell the Church what is right, and what is wrong; but I want you to know, They are the ones that are wrong. The Spirit of God is not limited to what those people have to say; He reveals His word to whomsoever He chooses; whether that person has an education or not. These religious spirits in the world remind me of an instance in the gospel of John; where Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath day, and got into trouble with the Judaistic religious leaders. They were legalistic; and knew the Law and the prophets word for word; but they were completely out of touch with what God was doing in their day and hour. They said a man that would break the Sabbath day limitation, could not be of God. Well when they approached Jesus, He gave them a strange answer saying, (John 9:39) “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” In what way did he mean that statement? The man He had healed, had not seen what they had seen with their natural eyes; but because he was healed: inwardly he saw something that opened up his soul; and he understood who it was that came and made those little packs and put them on his eyes telling him, God wash in a certain pool. That is the way it is today; in this religious world. Man will go to school, get a good education, get a theological degree, and end up in worse shape than those spiritually blind Scribes and pharisees. In Ephesians 1:18, Paul went ahead to say, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (19) And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.” I am sure we would all agree, that the eyes of our understanding pertains to our spiritual perception. I am also reasonably sure we would agree, that when we were still out there in those denominational systems of religion, the main thought was, God to church and get saved; so you can go to heaven. Then, outside of emphasis on Jesus dying on the cross to save us from going to hell, and God’s grace allowing us to go to heaven, there was very little of anything else in the program of God that we understood. What is the hope of the Church of Jesus Christ? What do we have to look forward to? There are things in the word of God, that He wants us to understand; other than get saved, so you can go to heaven. God wants His true children to know and understand why mankind is in such a miserable mess spiritually. He also wants us to know how His redemption program works; and what the final outcome of it will be. Furthermore He desires fellowship with His redeemed children. He did not just save us to keep us from going to hell; we are to bear spiritual fruit for His glory, honor and pleasure; as we journey through this life; and be ever sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Bible prophecy tells us that iniquity and lawlessness will get worse and worse, as we get close to the end of this age; and also that the wise will understand. Not just what spirit is behind all of the turmoil in the world; but also what it is all leading up to. The wise have road signs to keep them informed; as they journey toward their final reward.

A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT IS AHEAD

For many, there is a time of great trouble ahead; simply because they are too careless with what God had revealed to them. He has given us a way to stay out of trouble; but the sad part is, many times it costs this old flesh too much, to stay out of trouble. It likes to enjoy the pleasures of the world now; and live for God at a later time. Well it will not be God’s fault; if you dabble around too long in worldly interests, and have to pay the price in your flesh, for your spiritual neglect. If you are a true child of His, He will keep you out of hell; but He is not obligated to keep you from getting into a bad automobile accident; and ending up looking like you have been through a sausage grinder. There are many ways you can get yourself into trouble in this life; when you fail to give God first place in your life. Some even end up sitting in prison with hardened criminals; simply because they went a little too far following the trend of the world; and Satan led them into a trap. Nevertheless there is a glorious hope for those who find pleasure in following the Lord in this life; but it could never compare with what the true saints have to look forward to in the Millennium; when Satan is bound, and the bride of Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning with Him in a glorious age of peace and splendor. There will be no sickness, no disease, no robbing and killing; for all of Satan’s helpers will be chained up with him, for a period of one thousand years. I was talking with some folks about the Millennium; and said to them, There are things in the Bible that tells us of the next dispensation coming up; but we really do not know exactly, what it will be like. We have been given just enough insight to know it is going to be good. There would have to be something wrong with anyone that would study what is written about the Millennium; and not want to be a part of it. People will go down to Florida, and out to California, to Marine World, and watch the whales go through all their antics, and those dolphins go through all their antics; and stand there amazed, because those creatures are so intelligent; but did you know, It is going to be better than that in the Millennium? It sure will be. Speaking of the time of the Millennium the Bible says, (in Isaiah 11:6-9) “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. (7) And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (8) And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. (9) They shall not hurt not destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” If a farmer should wake up some morning, and see a grizzly bear come walking across his field toward a herd of his cattle, he would no doubt panic. Why? Because today, in this present age, there is no way you can expect a grizzly bear and a cow to eat side by side. However in the Millennium, the wolf and the lamb will lie down together; and the old lion that likes meat now, will turn, and he will just eat straw like the ox. Saints, the Bible is going to be right; not one prophecy of it will fail. These are just some of the riches of our inheritance; but we could never even imagine how wonderful it will be. Our rewards are not going to be tangible things, that we are coming back here with. They will definitely be spiritual, authoritative things invested in us, to enable us to rule and reign, according to God’s plan of righteousness. Who would not want to be a part of helping restore this old earth back to its original state, the way it was before Adam and Eve sinned? I stand ready to fulfill my part in it. I simply mean, I am looking forward to that time. In every city today, there are human beings suffering great anguish; all because of the wickedness of some demon possessed creature that crossed their path. Innocent people are being vandalized, killed, or unmercifully tortured; in every area of the world today; but there will be none of that in the Millennium. There are a lot of denominational churches today, that will speak of the Millennium; but if they continue on to the end believing in a trinity, (God in three persons) they will not be enjoying the privileges the little bride is destined to have in that time. I am not the judge, as to who will be there, and who will not; the word of God is what judges every soul. We are living in an age of enlightenment, an age of technology. Technology has opened up man’s mind; and allowed him to explore the universe; but at the same time, the Holy Ghost has opened up the way for the true children of God to explore His word; and they have seen more than all of your space explorers put together. We can see things that are planned for the children of God, in the world to come. That is what gives us our hope and assurance; and a joy that the world cannot give. It is because they are willing to believe truth; without running it through a test tube. That makes us able to see what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints is. Paul is telling the Ephesian assembly, God wants to give His children an insight; that they may be able to taste and understand the glorious things he has prepared for them. No, He is not handing them a McDonald’s hamburger, nor a chicken filet sandwich. He is giving the children of God something spiritual to eat, out of His word. Hallelujah! It does taste good. There is nothing in the world like it. However I do realize, there are a lot of Charismatic preachers in the world today; that would get a bad taste in their spiritual mouth if they tried to eat these truths we love so much. Spiritual appetites in the world at large, are just like our natural appetite; we do not all like the same things. All of God’s true children love revealed truth; but when you put them up against all of those who profess to be Christians, they are a minority group. Remember this though; God has never been glorified through large numbers. Gideon’s army reveals that; if we did not see it anywhere else.

BEING SURE RATHER THAN FAST

We get impatient at times, and say, It seems like there ought to be more things taking place; if we are really living in the last days. It is easy to say that; but I assure you, God knows exactly what He is doing. He is not in a hurry. He feels no desperation. It is only man, that gets in a hurry. Too many times, if man cannot hurry God up, he will do just like the rabbit that was racing the tortoise. The rabbit ran so fast; but the old tortoise just steadfastly waddled along ever so slowly. Finally the rabbit got so bored with the whole thing, he just went to sleep; and while he slept, the tortoise slowly finished the course. Brothers and Sisters, do you see a spiritual truth in this little illustration? It is better to be slow and sure; than to be fast and lose out. WE just simply need to exercise patience; and have confidence in the accuracy of God’s word. Surely we ought to know by now, that man cannot rush God; nor can he prevent Him from fulfilling His word, when the time is right. Whatever is written in the Bible, concerning the Church in these last days, God is fulfilling in, and through these human vessels. No longer will His word be written only on sheets of paper; it will be written in the heart’s of those whom He is permitted to work through. Let us just go ahead and read verses 18-23, here in Ephesians1; so we can get this whole picture together. We read in verse 17, what Paul was praying that the Ephesian assembly would receive of God; the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Himself; and we noticed what he said about the eyes of their understanding; but notice how he continued with the thought. (18) “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (19) And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, (20) Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, (21) Far above all principality, and power, and might, an dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: (22) And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, (23) Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.” Recognizing, as Paul said, “The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward,” and knowing that God is not playing favorites in His perfecting process, we should realize that He would not completely perfect some, now; and have them standing around idle, while He works on the last ones in. No, as long as we are still here, we will need to remain just as steadfast as anyone else; and allow Him to complete in us, that which He determines we still have need of. It is all according to the working of His mighty power, “Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand.” Brothers and sisters, that statement lets us know, the apostle Paul is saying that God the Father, wrought something. He accomplished something in Jesus, who was the Christ, the Anointed One of God, when He raised Him from the dead, He went further with it. Paul states right here that He set Him at His own right hand. We can see that Paul is distinguishing two particular objects of thought. God the Father, and Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the one who took your place, and my place at Calvary. We were represented to God in an through the fleshly body of Jesus the Christ. Yes, God wrought something in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. He paid for our redemption. He paid for our enlightenment; and spiritual growth. He is not content for us to just be church members; having special attendance awards. He saved us; to begin a perfecting work in us. That work is remolding, reconstructing, and renewing the inner man; that in the end of His purpose in us, this inner man is molded and fashioned in the likeness of His only begotten Son Jesus. The rest of verse 20, says, “And set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places;” so let us explore this point for a moment. As a little boy going to Sunday School, I thought heaven was in some realm, a sphere way, way out there in space, so far, far away; (That is the way people grew up; thinking just like that.) But when we really get to looking at the scriptures very carefully, we ask ourselves, Why would it have to be so far away? When scientists begin to tell you how many hundreds of thousands of miles certain planets are, and beyond that there are still more stars, they seem to think they see another galaxy. Well that would be like another sphere, another realm; like what our earth, the sun, moon and stars, all rotate in. My point in saying that is this, Is Paul saying God took Jesus Christ up, and seated Him above and beyond all the stars we are able to see with our powerful optical instruments designed for viewing such things? Brothers and Sisters, I think we would be letting fantasy rule our thinking; if we give it over to something like that. First of all, it plainly tells us in Revelation 6:14, that when Jesus comes again, heaven will depart as a scroll. It is in connection with the opening of the sixth seal; this great panoramic view is given. We will read it. (Revelation 6: 13-17) “And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks. Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” What really happens when heaven departs as a scroll? Does the planets move back? I hardly think that is what we see here. Heaven will roll back like the curtain on a stage. Will we need binoculars, to see Jesus coming from, let us just say, ten million light years of distance? I hardly think that is the picture. I really believe the heavenly places are just somewhere out there beyond the reach of this earth’s atmosphere. I hope you understand my point. However when I make such a statement, we need to keep in mind, that all of this outer sphere of this earth, that which is associated to the earth, the devil is in it. That is why he is called the prince and power of the air. He is not the prince and power of space though. If the devil were permitted to mess up things in space, like he does here on earth, this planet would have a lot of rough things to go through, above and beyond what the Bible speaks of it going through, when God’s judgement hits it. My point is this, When God removed the paradise from Eden so man could no longer see it, Do not think He took it a million light years into space. No brothers and sisters, it is just in another dimension. I am not telling you it is just on the other side of the door; or anything like that, but it certainly is not forty million light years out in space either. Therefore when Paul said God took Jesus, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, it pertains only to that heavenly domain, or dimension, where God’s realm is. God separated Himself from the earth; and there is no way man can break from this natural dimension into that dimension where He is, unless He (God) has a particular reason for Him to do so. When I read verse 21, where Paul said, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come,” I noticed the difference in the wording of the Peshitta. It says, “Far above all angels;” instead of “Far above all principality,” so that gave me a better picture of what Paul was talking about in Hebrews, chapters 1, 2 and 3. We will go back to that a little later; as we try to finish this message.

GOD – ANGELS – AND MAN

When we think of the Old Testament period, from the beginning of Eden until the advent of Christ, we realize it was a long period of time; roughly four thousand years. In that period of time, God projected His plan and dealt with mortal creatures on earth within His plan, in various ways. In so doing, He used angels to minister at various times, to various earthly men called prophets; which we have already touched on. Certain things were conveyed to man, to observe and abide by. When we study the Old Testament, we cannot help but see that it was a time of types and shadows. All of those things pointed to a better period of time coming; and yet they were all administered through angelic beings. That tells me, that those Old Testament prophets seemed to be men who knew how to respect those ministering spirits. Of course we also realize this, Two thousand years ago, God did something that brought about a change in the cycle and order of His dealings with mankind. That is why Paul could say, in Heb. 1:2, “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things.” Then if you notice, Paul also said in chapter 2, verse 2, “For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him?” What does that tell you? In Hebrews 1:1, he said God spoke to the fathers by the prophets. Then in chapter two, he is telling you that God did it through the ministry of angelic beings. You can only come to one conclusion; The angels conveyed God’s word to the prophets that spoke to the fathers. Some people try to find a contradiction between verses like that; but always keep in mind, The same apostle (Paul) who wrote Hebrews, also wrote the epistle to the Ephesians. What I see here, is something so simple that even a child could understand it; yet the theologians try to tell you that you have to know Greek and Hebrew, in order to get the right thought from these scriptures. If that is the case, we would all have to study Greek and Hebrew. If that is where God hides truth, then we all have to have a good education; but I happen to know, that some of those Ephesians probably did not have the education that most of you have. Nevertheless they sure understood what Paul was talking about. I do not like to keep speaking of how the translators of the King James version of the Bible, could have made a better choice of a lot of words and phrases; but it is a fact, that they could have. When I read “Far above all principality,” it does not clarify to me, what Paul was saying to those Ephesians; but when I went to the Peshitta trying to understand it, and saw that it was translated “Far above all angels, and power” it became clear to me; what he was saying to them. Take for instance, when Jesus ministered for 3 and a half years, He ministered in the Spirit; which is the anointing of God. He did only those things the Father showed Him to do. He spoke those things the Father commanded Him to speak. He was completely subject to the will of the Father. In other words, He ministered in a power that was delegated to be expressed through His ministry. Then when He came to the close of His ministry, in His prayer, in the 17th chapter of John, He said, (17:4) “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. (17:6) I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. (17:8) For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. (17:14) I have given them thy word. (17:26) I have declared unto them thy name.” Three things stand out; WORKS, WORD, and NAME; and they all pertain to the Father. In the three and half years, He fulfilled exactly; in that power realm, those things that were applicable, leading up to the cross; but once He hung on the cross, that phase was past. After He was raised from the dead, we hear Him speaking to the disciples like this, (Matthew 28:18) “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” What did he mean? We must associate that with the power Paul writes of, here in Ephesians, Far above all principality and power. In other words, There is no earthly power, nor demon power, that is above the power that has been invested in Him; in His mediatorial ministry. Yes, God raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church.” No matter what the names of angels may be, His name is still above; and preferred above all of them. That is the reason Paul said, “And every name that is named, not only in this world, (That means this age) but also in that which is to come.” The Millennium, is that which is to come. Because of His name and the position that He has been exalted to, try to think of this, God did not take Him up and make Him the head of the universe. No. He took Him up, and invested in Him, every power that is relative to what He (God) wants to accomplish in this dispensation of time, while He (Jesus) is mediating for us in that heavenly High Priest’s office. All the necessary powers have been given unto Him, and all things made subject unto Him, that are related to our redemption and the perfection of the Church. That is where we have to keep it. Therefore His name is above the angels. His name is above the name of every potentate on earth, and His name and position is above every government and kingdom that has ever been set up, on this earth. He is preferred above every other creature God created. Why? All because of who, and what He is. He is coming back one day; and the book of Revelation tells us this, (Rev. 11:15) “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” God has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church. That is why I keep emphasizing, His headship is toward the Church, the family of God. It does not make Jesus the head of this universe. You will not find the man called Paul writing contradictory statements in His letters. This is why, if Christians could only be made to realize, whatever Paul said in one letter, it has got to be consistent in the next. He will not say one thing in Corinthians, and in Galatians say something opposite. You could never put any confidence in anyone who would write and talk like that. Therefore, when we catch the thought Paul is portraying, then we can better follow his thought through each epistle. His headship over the Church, and all things pertaining thereto, is pertaining to God’s plan of redemption for mankind here on this earth. It has nothing to do with Jesus being the head of this whole universal system. He is the head over all things concerning the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. We can see by studying the epistles, that in Jesus Christ was the fullness of the Godhead characteristics; the divine attributes, expressed through human means, so man could at least understand what the invisible God is like, in the expression of His qualities. That is why the fullness of God was in Christ; but think of this, The Church is to be the fullness of Jesus. How is this to be? It simply means this, As you and I learn how Jesus lived and walked, and how He consistently presented Himself always subject to the great mind, which was the mind and will of the heavenly father; we will do likewise, by the time God gets finished with us. When the eyes of our understanding are sufficiently enlightened; it will make a tremendous difference in the way we present ourselves. No it will not change your nose; nor your physical appearance in any other way; but you will reflect Him, in a way you have never been able to before. The Lord is not working on us to change our physical appearance. If we have freckles now, they will no doubt still be there after our inner man has been made new. Only immortality will change those things of our natural makeup. He wants our inner man to yield to Him, and to follow him, from glory to glory, and from revelation to revelation. Yes. God, by His Spirit, will change this inner creature. We will think differently. We will see things differently. We will love to be different. Why? Because we can recognize what God is doing. Sure it may seem slow; but God is not in a hurry. That is what has caused a lot of people to miss the boat; they got in a hurry. They have set dates for His coming; and all sorts of things; and God has let every one of their dates pass, while we are still here. I have wondered lately; what that fellow is thinking by now, that published the date in 1988, that the rapture was supposed to take place. I tell you saints, it pays to follow the Lord; and not try to calculate exactly, when He is going to do what the Bible says no man knows. When God says something, He never makes a mistake; but when men say things, especially things they have no scriptural authority to say, oh what a blunder they sometimes make.

WITHOUT GOD – MAN’S EFFORT’S ARE VAIN

I do not hesitate to say, I believe this is the generation that shall see the coming of the Lord; but I am one fellow that will never set a date for it to take place. Have you ever stopped to realize what is involved in setting dates concerning the universal body of Christ? When it is Sunday, here in the United States, it is already Monday, in a lot of places where there are members of the bride of Christ; so which one’s do your dates apply to? I hope all of you here at Faith Assembly, realize how vain it is to try to forerun God; with something that only He Himself knows all the details of. In the hour when the little bride needs to know something that is not written in the Bible, I am fully persuaded that God will have some true servants on hand that He can speak through; but I am just as sure, that they will not speak anything contrary to what is already written. That is how you have to judge anything you hear; that is supposed to be coming from the Lord. Check through the Bible; and see if you can find any place where God ever anointed anyone to speak anything contrary to truth He had already spoken. As far as saying, I believe this generation will live to see the coming of the Lord; that is based upon what Jesus said would come to pass, before the end comes; along with the fact that man, in his quest for knowledge and modernization, has just about reached the limit of what he can do; before he completely annihilates himself. Scientists are showing their evidence now, how man has just about reached the end of his road. I take a little magazine called The Discovery. It is a simple little magazine that deals with the scientific developments of medicine, archaeology, and such like. They put an article in it about the Greenhouse effect. It said this year was man’s warning; about what he has been doing in the past decades, that has brought about this condition. What has happened, and how it has affected the earth, and how man has reacted to it, shows that he has reached a place in time that he cannot expect to exist here very much longer, in his present trend, without bringing about his own destruction. If man is allowed to do it, you can rest assured it will be annihilation. However we know by the scriptures, that God will not allow it to go that far, before He intervenes, and cuts it short; right where it is meant to be. I will say this, I have never experienced a summer in my lifetime: like the summer of 1988. It went down in record as having the most hot, above 100 degree readings, of any other time in the history of the United States; here in this area. Besides that, it followed a dry summer. It just gives us a chance to count our blessings; when everything does come around in proper balance. Saints, I am so glad we serve a God that cannot be persuaded with man’s money; nor with man’s worldly importance. God is not moved by anything but our faith in His word; no matter what our station in life may be. Hallelujah! Let us continue on with Paul’s revelation, expressed to the Hebrew Christians.

PAUL’S DESCRIPTION OF OUR SAVIOR

We have a few more points to deal with before we conclude this message; and I believe we can get most of the rest of the scripture references we need, from what the apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Hebrews. We have touched on the first and second chapters; showing how the apostle Paul definitely was portraying what was set in the various types in the period of the Law, how God spoke by His prophets, and so forth. Chapter two tells us that those prophets spoke the word of the Lord; but it was actually conveyed to them through the ministry of angelic beings. Therefore it is referred to as the word of angels. That is all in the Law. He says God has spoke to us in these last days by His Son. That is pointing to the advent of Christ. From that period on, God has spoken to us by, or through those who heard Him. That of course, would be the writers of the New Testament, Paul being one of them. Let us read the first four verses. (2:1) “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?” Those whom He spoke to us through, are those referred to in chapter 1, the last half of verse 7, “And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.” The men themselves, are not the flames of fire; it is that anointing in them, or upon them, that causes the word of God to have that effect, when they speak it. They are just ordinary men; like us, with an extraordinary Spirit speaking through them. It is never the eloquence of the preacher, that God takes delight in; it is the man who will humble himself, to be completely submissive to Him. God has never called a preacher to charm anyone; He expects His true ministry to speak truth, by the anointing of the Holy Ghost; just like Jesus did. He never held back the truth, just to spare feelings; He spoke exactly what the Father gave Him to speak. It may sound strange; but the apostle Paul says He, (Jesus) was, or is our brother. Notice verse 11, in chapter 2. “For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified (That is us) are all of one: for which cause He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the Church will I sing praise unto thee.” Yes, according to 1st Corinthians, chapter 15, when redemption and restoration are completed, Jesus Himself will return all rule and authority back to the Father. That is when time goes into the eternal age; with God (The eternal Spirit) back in the same relationship with mankind, that He had before Adam sinned. Notice four more verses, here in chapter 2; before we go to chapter 3. In verse 14, Paul says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself (Jesus) likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; (15) And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (16) For verily He took not on him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. (17) Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” Brothers and sisters, it would take you a long time to read the entire contents of the Bible from beginning to end; from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of Revelation, therefore if we can just look at the picture as it unfolds through time, by looking at just the scriptures that are necessary, to portray the true picture of the subject we are dealing with, it can be very beneficial; without becoming too boring. That is why we are moving around back and forth through the Bible. We are trying to pull out the scriptures that vindicate our point; without boring you with all the details in between. We all realize, that some of the language in the Bible sounds like God could be a triune being in the way the Trinitarians present Him; but when you look honestly at all of the types and shadows God set forth in the Law, you cannot find a trinity in any of them; so what are you going to base your revelation on, someone’s language structure, or the entire picture God put together throughout the scriptures? We looked at three verses of scripture in Genesis; that trinity minded people like to use, to prove their version of the Godhead; but when you know the truth, those verses do not prove what they say they prove, at all. Naturally I am talking about Genesis 1:26, 3:22, and 11:7. In 1:26, God said “Let US make man.” In 3:22, God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of US.” Then in 11:7, He said, “Go to, let US go down, and there confound their language.” If the US in 3:22, was referring to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, like they believe, then I ask you sincerely, Which one drove man out of the Garden of Paradise? Furthermore, if that is a true revelation, and God was referring to two other persons of the Godhead, why did THEY set angels with flaming swords, to keep man from coming back into the paradise he was driven from? Why did not one of the THREE take that position? Brothers and sisters, I believe we have sufficiently answered that. The US pertains to angelic beings, that God the eternal Spirit has always used to carry out His works; and the paradise man was driven from, was not a geographical spot of ground, but rather, the anointing presence of His Creator. When you go to the last two chapters of the book of Revelation, you again see the paradise Adam and Eve were driven from. It is in heaven. What else could it be, but the very presence of God? In other words, for almost six thousand years, heaven and earth has been in disfellowship with each other. It was not like that when God first created man. Before Adam sinned, I believe he had just as much access to the spirit world, as he did to earth itself. The only thing was, he had a command from his Creator; Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth; therefore he knew where his place in the purpose of God was. It was here on earth. Therefore before he sinned, there was no need for angels with flaming swords, to keep him from the presence of God; he was free to exercise his own will. If he had not been, he could not have disobeyed God’s command to him. As for the geographical spot of ground there in the Middle East, where Adam and Eve were placed, no one has ever been kept out of that area by angels with flaming swords. That area is known to mankind as The Fertile Crescent; which history declares to be the cradle of civilization. From there, all nations of people on the earth today had their beginning. If God had placed angels there, to keep man out of a geographical spot, they would still be there; and the tree of life would be in there; and man could have no access to it; so where would that leave us, as far as having eternal life? Do you see what you can come up against, if you try to understand the scriptures, without having the right revelation of these controversial issues? In other words, if the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden had been a plant life tree, then so was the tree of life. Therefore if man lost out with God, because he ate some fruit from a plant life tree, there in the Garden of Eden, he would have to be reconciled to God by eating fruit from the tree of life that was right there with it. The Bible says both trees were in the MIDST of the garden; (Gen. 2:9) we can read it. “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” It does not say, In the middle; it says, In the MIDST. Those two trees were two laws God set before them. They could obey God and live forever; or they could disobey Him and come under the death penalty that disobedience invoked. The choice was theirs; and we all know the choice they made. That death sentence they subscribed to, has passed down through the hereditary genes of every human being born of woman through the natural law of reproduction, since then. That is why our Redeemer, our Savior Jesus the Christ, had to be born by a supernatural conception. Since His very purpose in life, was to be a willing sacrifice to God for the sins of lost mankind, He could have none of those fallen attributes in Him; for God required a perfect sacrifice. That was also typed, in the kind of sacrifices He required those priests to offer, under the Law dispensation that was effective until this New Covenant was inaugurated at Calvary. Saints, it is a beautiful picture, when you get the scales off of your eyes, so you can see it clearly.

APOSTLE AND HIGH PRIEST

Let us go back to the book of Hebrews now; and look at chapter 3, where Paul spoke of the Apostle and High Priest of our profession. We will go right to verse 1. “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, (or our profession) Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to Him, (Who is Paul talking about? Jesus was faithful unto God. Notice how he relates this.) That appointed Him, (God has appointed Him that position of priesthood) as also Moses was faithful in all his house. (Going back to what the Law in all of its types portrayed) For this man (Jesus) was counted worthy of more glory (honor, or respect) than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.” There is so much that could be said, as we deal with a message such as this; but we want to condense it as much as possible; and deal with several points. I cannot go into each one in great detail; but as you know, we are seeking to relate to the readers of this message, as well as the ones that will get it on tape, whether it will be video, or audio, the divine order of God. God is that Eternal Spirit that created this earth, as well as the whole universe. He is the very source of life, and the source of all intelligence. The whole universe is held together by the power and presence of this omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent Spirit which has always been ONE Spirit; and never three persons. Without Him, everything would go into oblivion. This great Spirit created angels before He created man. Therefore angels are the secondary order; and man is the third order. Man was created to live on this planet; to rule it, and carry out God’s divine plan for it; while the angels minister within the spiritual areas that you and I cannot see. These of course, are the angels that remained faithful to God; when God tested His angelic creation on the prehistoric earth; before it was rendered “Without form and void,” as we find the description of it in Gen. 1:2. Why was it without form, and void; and engrossed in darkness? Because God had to judge those prehistoric inhabitants; when Lucifer exalted himself, and began to work against God and His plan and purpose. That is when many of those angels sinned against God; and were cast down from their previous estate, some to be known as demons doing Satan’s work, while others of them did things so awful, God chained them up in darkness where they remain even unto this day. Of course some will say, Oh you have to read between the lines; to come up with an idea like that. That is exactly what I am doing. Isaiah 14, St. John 8, and Ezekiel 23 as well as other scriptures, (I say) are God’s fossils, for us to examine in the scriptural sense; just like these bones that are being found in the earth today, are examined in the natural. They let us know the angelic family was perfect at one time; until they were subjected to a period of time in which they also were tested. In the Epistles of Peter and Jude, we find mention concerning certain angels being chained down in everlasting darkness. That means there are angels today that are not free to come out and tempt mankind. They did things that so displeased God, they are chained down below, reserved unto the day of perdition and destruction of ungodly men. What does all that add up to? It means this, God has not yet eternally judged the fallen angels. They are only under a preliminary judgment. There are however, those angels like Lucifer and others; that are free to go about tempting, testing, and tearing up, making mortal men act like devils. We would all think like devils; if it were not for the grace of God. When this dispensation is over, and God has all of His redeemed family of men and women from all ages, then the great white throne judgment comes. That is when He will judge the world by Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Corinthians, written by the apostle Paul, that the saints shall judge the world, and saints shall judge angels. If saints shall judge angels, then that means it will take place at the end of the Millennium, when there is the resurrection of the wicked dead. It says death and hell and so forth, will deliver up the dead that are in them, all wicked mankind from Eden until then, will stand before God in judgment. That is when every devil out of hell will finally receive God’s final judgment; to determine their degree and place of destruction. The angels that have fallen, and man that has fallen, will be judged and cast into the lake of fire. That lets me believe there was a prehistoric world that had a purpose; just like this present world order system has its purpose. The Millennium will not yet be the perfect age. It is a step coming back to the perfect. The eternal age is the third world period; we can only refer to as eternity. God has His angelic family, and all of His redeemed people there; to live with Him in what we can only refer to as time without end.

THE SPIRIT REALM

We were talking to the young couple from the Philippines; concerning angels, their duties, and where the spirit world actually is. Down through time, we have read about angels in the Bible; and we have had a tendency to think they are just supernatural beings existing in a realm you and I cannot see, just floating about with very little to do. Well that is not true; they have just as much to do as you and I have to do; and they are faithful in doing what they have to do. We do not say that every angel, (every good angel) is necessarily a ministering spirit, just to minister to the heirs of salvation. We have to believe that there are other angels; performing other duties, such as what we read, over in the book of Revelation. There are definitely angels that administer the laws that hold the universe together, and that keep everything in its proper relationship to everything else. When we think of the great magnetic field, we know something controls that. I cannot go into a scientific explanation of it; I do not know how, for that is not my field; but I do know it is all controlled by a supernatural intelligence. There is a magnetic field in the universe that keeps everything in its proper relationship. It is so perfect, scientists can determine exactly, where a planet will be at any given time, right to the very second, even one hundred years from now. Something has to hold all of that together. Only ignorance, would attribute that kind of perfection to something other than a supernatural intelligence. There is a magnetic field in the earth’s sphere; that controls it. That is why a compass will always point north. Maybe that is not what it really should be called; but whatever controls the universe, is something God designed. It did not just accidentally come into being, in such perfection. You cannot help but wonder, how supposedly smart people could even think such a thing as that. Somewhere, if you and I could see into the spirit world, we would see other angels doing things that would really surprise us. Under the Law dispensation, everything that functioned around that tabernacle, spoke of something else that would be fulfilled at a later time. Think of the ark of the covenant, existing in that little room called the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could go in there; and that was only once each year. If anyone ignored that decree, woe be unto such a person. Just think about what guarded that ark of the covenant; two Cherubim with their wings spread over it. But Bro. Jackson: All of that was made out of wood. Yes, but it all symbolized something that extended beyond what man could see with his natural eyes. Do you know what those Cherubim hovering over that little box symbolized? It tells me, that Cherubim still guarded the presence of the great Creator, just like it says in Genesis 3:24. That is what God set between the man that had sinned and Himself; when He drove that man out of His presence. When the children of Israel were still on their journey through the wilderness, that Tabernacle God showed Moses how to build, was set up, and the twelve tribes camped around it. That little box was in the Tabernacle tent. Here was the court. Then there was the tent with a little room curtained off from the rest. IN that little room, is where the ark of the covenant rested. Well there were twelve tribes of Israel, that camped around it; three tribes on each side. Those tribes were so named, that there were certain tribes within each group that set a type as a guard to this whole thing, around which the whole life structure of Israel turned. Therefore all the statutes, sacrifices, festivities, the days of unleavened bread, the Passover, everything, was built around the future one to come; which we know was Jesus the Christ. It was all typed and shadowed; and nowhere could there be found a trinity type. Nevertheless whatever any one did, in any period of time, angels always had their part to play. Furthermore if angels were in the Old Testament, even before the Law period, when we come down to the consummation of what all the shadows and types were pointing to, then I believe we can safely say, Angels have an even greater ministry in the New Testament period, the period of time which must bring to fulfillment, all that was typed back there. When we look at what the apostle John recorded in the 4th chapter of Revelation, concerning the vision where he was taken up into heaven, and viewed that great throne scene, we cannot help but notice that there were winged creatures situated round about the throne. This picture was portrayed in the Old Testament, under the Law period, by two different prophets; Isaiah and Ezekiel. The winged creatures were definitely angelic beings of a higher order than just the average angelic beings, that are ministering spirits on behalf of God’s human family. Both of those prophets saw angelic beings that were fashioned like unto certain beasts; and in each case they had wings. Isaiah referred to them as seraphim, each with six wings. What Ezekiel saw was four living creatures, each having four wings; which he referred to as giving the appearance as a wheel in a wheel, when they went forth. As each of these men saw what they saw, in the way they saw it, neither one saw the elders the apostle John saw. This proves that those visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel were merely prophetic previews of an event that would take place in heaven, when the consummation of all the types and shadows would be fulfilled. They were fulfilled in the man called Christ Jesus, who now sits in immortality in the presence of the Eternal Spirit Himself; and those elders, (men) are there with Him, representing humanity from which they came. They are representing them unto the great eternal God, through the High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. The four beasts John saw, have eyes before and behind. All of that has to symbolize something. That scene, as John saw it in chapter 4, did not take place until Jesus ascended on high. When He ascended on high, and took that position in the Father’s throne, around Him, are those four Cherubim, or seraphim, the winged creatures, which ever they are. These are the guards that have been set in types. They are the guards to the throne of God, as we would see it int the heavenly setting. In Revelation 5:2, a strong angel proclaimed with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” Then in verse 11, John said, “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.” Brothers and sisters, that must have been some scene for that aged apostle to look upon. What a host of angels. Let us turn our mind back to the time when the fulfillment of all those Old Testament types began to come into view. That of course, would be more than 1900 years ago. Israel has been living under the Law; and remember, the Shekinah glory was nowhere around. It left them some 600 years before, when Ezekiel and those others were carried off into Babylonian captivity. When they came back 70 years later to rebuild, there is no record anywhere, that the Shekinah glory ever came back. No, it was getting close to the time, when what all of those types pointed to was about to become a reality. Israel, living under the Law, had all of the traditional ideas of the feast days, the commandments and so forth; but they had very little understanding of them. They were divided up into sects, as Pharisees, Saducees, Zealots, Herodians, and many others; but all they had were traditional ideas. However the time had come that God was going to fulfill His word; that which He had been setting among them in types for centuries upon centuries. A little woman, a virgin, living in Nazareth, a city that had a bad reputation, was to be an instrument the eternal Spirit would use, to fulfill prophecy, (Isa. 7:14) which says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” That same verse quoted in Matt. 1:23, sheds light on the name Immanuel, or Emmanuel. It is a name that means, GOD WITH US. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” That child was not deity the day He was born: but thirty years later deity was recognized in Him; and almost two thousand years later, through spiritual revelation, that deity can still be recognized. The point I started to make was, It was an angel that foretold the birth of Jesus and John the Baptist; and it was an angel that appeared to the shepherds, to announce the birth of Jesus; and a great host of angels appeared with that angel, praising God. Anywhere you look, you can see angels working with God among His creation; but nowhere in any of it, can you find the eternal God portrayed as three persons. When Jesus was born, (according to the scriptures) Judaism was too blind to recognize who He was. They were so engrossed in their traditions, they could not possibly see how there could be any thing good, about that fellow they considered to have been born an illegitimate child. He came to His own; and His own received Him not. Is that not a picture of religious Gentiles in our day and hour? What is considered by the world, to be Christianity, does not even know the God they claim to be children of.

WORLD CONDITIONS VINDICATE PROPHECY

If we did not know what the Bible says this world situation must come to, before the coming of the Lord for His Bride Church, it would be very disturbing to listen to the news and learn what is going on; especially in the realm of what is supposed to be Christianity. However because we do know, we have reason to rejoice; because the signs of His coming are all around us. We have mentioned it already; but let us read 4 verses in the 17th chapter of Luke, that we cannot help but think of, as we consider world conditions today. Just listen, (Luke 17:27-30) “And as it was in the days of Noe, (Noah) so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (This is a picture of humanity being given over to carnal pleasures, without regard for what their Creator thinks about their careless way of life.) Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” I take no pleasure in anyone’s destruction; but when I realize how perfectly the conditions existing in the world today, match what Jesus spoke of in this particular setting, I cannot help but rejoice over the fact of His soon return; and over how perfectly His every word is being fulfilled. As much as we would like to, we cannot change what the word of the Lord has already foretold; concerning the corruption and disregard for God and human dignity among unregenerate mankind, just before God draws the curtain on their last act. You hear things discussed openly today; that sixty years ago, people would not even talk about at all. Brother, Sister, We are living in those perilous times the apostle Paul wrote about in 2nd Timothy 3:1-5. Notice, “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, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, (Now here is the part that really stands out) lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Yes it is all around us; but we do not have to be a part of it; for Jesus prayed, (in the 17th chapter of John) that those whom the Father had given Him be kept from evil; saying to the Father, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” We cannot avoid all of the presence of evil; but we can avoid being a part of it. A brother handed me a clipping out of the Newspaper; that lets us know where the image of the old beast of Revelation 13:1, has progressed to. It was an article about the World Council of Churches. They are now 400 million strong. It told how it is composed of ever so many denominations about the world; and spoke of how the church has achieved unity through those combined efforts, in just a little over 40 years of time. They call it unity; but I say, Unity of what? When you look at the structure of the whole thing, it is nothing but a mass of confusion. They claim to know Christ, but in reality they are just like the Pharisees and Saducees were almost two thousand years ago; when the One they claimed to be waiting for, stared them right in the face, and they cursed Him rather than believe Him. Away with this blasphemer, was their cry. That is just about what you hear today. Oh yes, people are very religious; but they have very little reality of what true Christianity is. They try to use God like a vending machine. In other words, Just give me what I want, and leave me alone; I want to enjoy life. Well much of what they call enjoyment, is abominable in the sight of God. Our heavenly Father wants us to enjoy life; but we certainly do not have to be filthy and corrupt in order to enjoy living. I have always liked the way the apostle Peter expressed this hope true Christians have, “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Let us go to 1st Peter 1:2, and read a few verses that show what his outlook and revelation was; concerning the man called Jesus the Christ. First notice who he was writing to, (Elect) and then notice the process he described, of how one comes into this blessed estate. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (or trials and tests) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; (We have not seen Him with out natural eyes, but we have seen Him with spiritual eyes, through a revelation of His word) in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Living for God because of the reality of His word in you is a beautiful thing; and you have that great unexplainable joy bubbling up inside of you; but just trying to keep a set of manmade rules brings nothing more than a great burden; under which many have failed to find it worthwhile to continue on; and eventually they end up back out in the world, in much worse shape than before, because they feel even more condemnation; and find no way to ease the pain of it.”

A REVIEW OF MAIN POINTS

We have been looking at terminology Trinitarians use, trying to prove their theory (That is all it is, a theory) that the eternal God and Creator of all things, is manifested as three distinct persons, each one being properly called God, and all being equal in authority and importance. I realize we are not going to change Trinitarian theologians with a message like this; but I do believe we can help prepare those who do love a true revelation of God’s word, to see more clearly that which the Spirit of God has already caused them to accept without having a full revelation of it. When you can clearly see what the US, in Genesis 1:26, pertains to, it will sure clear up a lot of other scriptures you have wrestled with. When you know for sure that God is not three persons, then you can see angels working with Him all down through time, even today. Therefore when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, fulfilling Psalms 2, and Psalms 110, Angels were heard from heaven, announcing His birth. Angels were heard singing and rejoicing over His birth. These are a few words they were singing, Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will toward men. When we think of this child, this Emmanuel man to be, this incarnate God that is going to fulfill all these types and shadows the Eternal Spirit has projected from Genesis to that very hour, it is no wonder, that there have been so many different opinions about Him. Without a proper revelation of the Creator Himself, how could anyone have a good understanding of all that Jesus was prophesied to be? It is hard for the mind to comprehend how all of that could be consummated in, and through one born into this world as a little baby, looking in most ways just like all the other little babies born to Jewish women. In every era of time though, God has always had someone He could talk to and work through; to reveal what He wanted made known to mankind in any particular hour. That little baby was given a name that meant GOD WITH US; but the reality of that name EMMANUEL, was not realized, until after He was baptized by John the Baptist at about 30 years of age, and the Spirit which is God descended from heaven and incarnated (or took up residence within Him). From that hour on He was God with us; but not before. He had been the Son of God all along; but there was no deity in Him until that moment of incarnation. He was perfect from birth, without sin. There was no attribute of sin in Him; because His genetic beginning did not originate by the process of God’s law of reproduction; where man and woman through sexual intercourse actually give life to, or a beginning to another human being. Naturally it is always the Spirit of God that imparts the breath of life to every living creature; but in this instance The Spirit which is God created within the womb of that young Jewish virgin, a cell of life containing all the genetic attributes this person would ever have. From that point on, Mary’s body substance contributed all the necessary elements for Him to be completely human. His natural body was made up of the same substance as anyone else. There was no way anyone could tell by looking at His physical stature, that He was the Son of God. Mary knew she had never been with a man; and beside that, the angel of the Lord told her straight out, that she would conceive in her womb by that supernatural Spirit; so she knew perfectly well, that His father was not Joseph; but except for Joseph, Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, and whoever they may have told it to, Mary was the only one that knew the truth about his conception. Most people no doubt thought she had not been conducting herself properly. That is why those Pharisees said to him, when they were disputing His authority to talk to them like He was, “We be not born of fornication.” That meant they thought He was. In Matthew 1:16, it gives the genealogy of Joseph; showing that from the human standpoint He is in the genealogy of king David. “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” They trace it all the way from king David; whose throne Israel’s deliverer was to sit upon; but that is only clear to those who can look back through time and prophecy with spiritual eyes. Those Pharisees only saw Him as an illegitimate born fellow, that was trying to make Himself something they saw no way He could be that. Notice what they said, in John 8:13, “The Pharisees therefore said unto Him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.” Brothers and sisters, let me remind you of the fact that Jesus, at this time in His life, was well into the three and a half years He ministered on earth; and those scribes and Pharisees had tried every way possible, to trap Him somehow, that they might lawfully get Him out of the way. He was disrupting their religious services; by drawing too much attention to Himself. At least that is what they thought. Nevertheless this was the very Son of God; the only person of the Godhead. The Father is not a person. He is a being; but not a person. He fills all things, being omnipresent; which is something a person cannot do. That is why it seems so ridiculous, for anyone to refer to the Holy Ghost as a person; and at the same time, believe He could be in every believer of the universal body of Christ. Speaking of the ministry of angels though, how was Joseph warned to take Mary and her young child and flee into Egypt? Mat. 2:13 “And when they (the three wise men) were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him.” The point is, If there was to be a trinity of persons involved, that trinity would have had to enter the picture. Well we know it is not a trinity of persons; it is a trinity of offices, God determined by His own counsel to work with mankind through. Paul tells us that in Ephesians 1:11; saying, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him (singular) who worketh all things after the counsel of His (singular) own will.” Yes, the ONE eternal being (GOD) is seeking to reconcile His lost earthly family of children back to Himself; so He and His children can again have the kind of fellowship He had with Adam and Eve before they sinned. Down in Egypt, the angel of the Lord again spoke to Joseph saying, “Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” That warning caused Joseph to go back to Nazareth in Galilee: where they formerly lived before the birth of Jesus. Therefore there in Nazareth, is where they lived the rest of Jesus’ earthly life until after His baptism by John the Baptist. From the event of His baptism and His incarnation by the Father, (Spirit) He was led by that Spirit into the wilderness; where He was tested by the Devil for forty days and nights. Yes, even though He was fully empowered to enter into His ministry on earth, He still had to be tested; before He could do so. How was He tested? In every way we are tested. How did He overcome the devil’s temptation? The only way anyone can; by using that two edged sword, which is the word of God. He was tempted by the devil; to use that supernatural power that was within Him, to satisfy the cravings of His flesh, after He was weak and hungry from fasting; but He refused to do so, knowing that was not what His anointing was for. He was also challenged to test the prophetic scriptures concerning Himself; and again He overcame by throwing another scripture at His tempter. You can read it in the 4th chapter of Matthew; He answered, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” His last temptation was in the area of fame and fortune; the very thing a lot of preachers have been overcome by, especially in this century. In Matthew 4:8, we find these words recorded. “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (He knew, by the word of God, that was not the way He was to gain the ruler ship over the kingdoms of the world; so His reply was as follows; as He again used that two edged sword.) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him, (After He stood against him with a positive confession of His complete confidence in what the Father had spoken.) And, behold, (here it is again) angels came and ministered unto Him.” From that point in life, His ministry started; and He ministered for three and a half years; doing and saying only what the Father in Him, led Him to do and say. Did the devil ever bother Him again? Yes he did. Everywhere He went He found the devil’s crowd waiting for Him. One good example of it is John 8:44; so listen to Jesus; as He replies to them. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” When was he in truth? Before Gen. 1:2. The earth was in that void state as a result of God’s judgment upon a former creation that Lucifer (Now called Satan) was allowed to rule over. I will not go into that at this time; we have dealt with the prehistoric creation, and God’s judgment upon it, in other messages; giving the necessary scriptures to establish the reality of it.

TRUTH HIDDEN IN SIMPLE WORDS

I want to reemphasize a certain order at this time. Angels, under the Old Testament period, were always seen ministering wherever the presence of God was manifested. God just ordained it to be that way. Therefore these Trinitarians who want to rule out what I contend is an established fact, that angels are the “US” in the plural usages, where it looks to them like God is manifested as three separate persons; had better go back to the book, and study some more. IF they can get a trinity of persons out of those Old Testament types and shadows, they have found something I have not been able to find. I certainly have found plenty to disprove such a theory as that though; even if they do consider me to be a heretic. I have no desire just to be disagreeable; unless I feel that there is a need to disagree; and I certainly feel the need for it, concerning this controversy over the Godhead. I have read quite a few articles in recent years; tracts on baptism, the importance of the name of Jesus, and so forth. I have read tracts on the oneness of God as the traditional oneness people present it; but I have not yet seen a thing in print that takes the subject and deals with it in the scope we have endeavored to, in this message. I just felt compelled to approach it; because of the two tracts I spoke of, in the beginning. When they were sent to me, I realized as I read them, that this fellow is well educated; as far as that kind of education goes. There is absolutely no way I can attack such a man’s educational capabilities. Therefore I said, Lord, there is no way I can by my own intellect, compete with his Greek explanations of the meaning of words found in these various statements in the Bible; to prove a point of truth. Feeling like that, I began to pray and read the scriptures; and then I realized, I was not to look for what I needed in that realm. I was to look for it in the way God portrayed it throughout all of the Old Testament. It is not necessarily in the language used; that we find truth; it is in the types and shadows that were set forth by the one that designed it all. Therefore I just have to say, If God hid it from their understanding, by just mere language structure, then He had a reason for doing it that way; and I will accept that as a fact. That is why Jesus could say, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: (Mat. 7:14) 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.” God set in motion the dispensation in which He, in the Old Testament manifested Himself and spake in various ways of; that those whom He reveals it to, may see through eyes of the spirit, what the very yearning and longing of His heart has been, down through the centuries of time. All that He created, was created with this very Son Jesus as the focal point; because by His foreknowledge He was able to see the end, from before the beginning; and therefore designed it all to culminate in Him. He meditated, and counseled with Himself; and chose all things in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of this world. He was the very thought of God lying there; awaiting the hour designated, for His arrival. In other words, when that thought was expressed, and become manifested in the earth, God’s salvation plan for the human race was activated; and nowhere in the Bible, has anyone found a type of a trinity, in anything leading up to that hour; except in their own imagination. In the New Testament, you find very little written about Jesus in the first thirty years of His life on earth. If He was the Emmanuel child, the Christ to be, the incarnate God, and all that we believe He is, then why, for 30 years, was there so little mention of Him? Except for the event at the temple, when He was 12 years of age, discussing the scriptures with those scholars of that day, He seemed virtually unnoticed. Why was that? We must believe, that for the first thirty years of His life, it had to be infallibly established by those that had occasion to observe Him, that there was no human fault or failure in Him; yet without fanfare. Those who knew what the angel of the Lord had said to Joseph and Mary, no doubt did what the Bible says Mary did; hid those things in their hearts. They had to wait longer to see that promise of God come to pass; than Abraham did for this promised son. He was the very begotten Son of God; but how could anyone prove it. He never did one miracle in the first thirty years of His life; yet He was born to be the miracle worker. He never preached a sermon in all of that time; but He was born to present the word of God to lost mankind. He did not claim to be anything Himself; yet He did things that no other man had ever done, prior to His hour. He did not need any man to tell Him what to do; when it came time for Him to be revealed to those who had waited for His hour. He knew, at the exact moment, what to do. He knew the scriptures; and He knew where he fitted into them. Amen.