Welcome to HEAVEN & EARTH - where we connect these two realms and make sense out of life.
MAKING SENSE
The first sentence of the Hebrew text of the Bible (Genesis 1) starts with, "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." The sixth letter is the Hebrew letter VAV, which is a straight vertical line, and which connects heaven with earth. Therefore, we are the interpreters of all things. In the same way one might say that without us there is no God and vice-versa, without God there is nothing. Without us there is no God, because there would be no one to know, introduce and proclaim Him; hence no intelligent existence. Hence, man is being represented by the number six.
Anything spiritual is one; and anything fragmented is physical.
A roll of parchment can be rolled out and rolled back again. God is the Letter YUD, the smallest letter in the entire Hebrew alphabet and its numerical value is 10. Therefore God is represented by number 10. The tenth belongs to the Lord.
Just as that roll of parchment can be rolled out and brought back so is time, which God created for the physical things in His Universe. From Him the letter YUD, which is merely a point, came all things. Time can be rolled back to the point from which it came.
LAST REFORMATION
The
truth, logic, sense, synchronicity, oneness
KEY POINTS
1. The most important point is the question of God’s omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence and sovereignty.
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
and His sovereignty rules over all (Psalms 103:19 NASB).
2. One belief invalidates another. If God is
sovereign over all of His creation, including all angels whom He created, and
us according to His own image and likeness; then do angels have the free will
like we do? Do they procreate in a fleshly and sexual way having angel
children? Aren’t they flames, winds and spiritual messengers?
3. The question of the existence of other people on
earth when God created Adam.
4. The question of Cain taking a foreign or one of
his sisters.
5. The question of Satan being a king; hence having
his own kingdom.
6. Is there a difference between Hebrew Satan and
Greek Diabolos?
7. When Jesus said in John 14:27 that it is He who
gives His kind of peace to us, not as this world gives, then from which realm
did He bring that peace; from the realm of Lucifer’s rebellion and a fallen
angels, or from the realm, which surpasses all comprehension?
BASIS FOR THE LAST REFORMATION
Isaiah 45:5-7 describes God as the one who is in complete control, the Creator of all things. As an additional note: it seems that the nations still struggle with polytheism. The Hellenized Jewish mind (Mark 3:23-26), introduced dualism to Christianity e.g., God versus Satan, and along with that belief also demonology (Beelzebul or Beelzebub (KJV) of Matthew 12:24-27). “God in the flesh” “Cohorts of demons” “The god of this world” have been deeply rooted in Christianity.
Seeds of the final reformation are being planted as we speak, which will deal with the reformation of our mind.
Questions like these do pose serious logical quandary: Is God only part mighty, or is He the All Mighty? If there’s no darkness in heaven then how could Lucifer plot? Why Isaiah 14 speaks of the king of Babylon, a flesh and blood man, who took himself for a god; and yet was eaten by maggots? If it were Satan, then in a silly way, there should be nothing left of him right now. If Heaven has no fixed territory then is there anything to fight over? If God knows our thoughts before we even think them, did He not know Lucifer’s thoughts? If there is no time in heaven then how could someone plan ahead of time, and then hide that plan in the obscurity of the nonexistent darkness?
DISCREPANCIES
The book of 2 Samuel 24:1, written before the exile to Babylon speaks of God’s wrath, which incited David. The Book of 1 Chronicles 21:1 (written in Babylon and copied in the post-Cyrus Jerusalem) brings Satan as if it were his work of incitement. In Babylon, the monotheistic Jewish thought was impaired. Reformation: the interpreted wrath of God is often vented through Satan—His subordinate angel who acts as a prosecutor in God’s court, and under God’s complete rule. However, it is rather God’s holiness coming in contact with the commonness that provokes wrath.
In the book of Job, Satan could not do more than allowed. God sent an angel, with sword in hand, who called himself Satan (original Hebrew text of Numbers 22) to oppose Balaam’s mission to curse Israel.
In the New Testament Satan receives permission to sift Peter like wheat; and when the sifting was complete Peter would have emerged stronger, and then would strengthen his brothers (Luke 22:31-32). Jesus prayed so that during Peter’s trial his faith would not fail; nonetheless, Satan received the permission from God, or rather it was God-ordained.
Apostle Paul delivers two men over to Satan to teach them not to blaspheme (1 Timothy 1:20). Also, Paul did not fight with Satan (opposition and withstanding), or his messenger, but rather implored the LORD, “that it might leave me.” The messenger called, “Thorn in the flesh” was to keep Paul from exalting himself.
Satan was often personified, but only for a Hellenized Jewish or the gentile mind. Polytheism was compromised; hence the emergence of dualism.
The final reformation shines a much brighter light on our dualistic concepts regarding God and His sovereignty. Finally. Satan remains rather an emotional issue than a logical one.
FAITH, BELIEF & BAPTISM
A belief is a personal conviction
that may be based on a complete or partial knowledge, which means that one must
not necessarily get all the details in order to believe. One might get only an
impression of something being true. A court jury does not necessarily deal with
all the facts, but rather with shadows and fragments, which may contain truth, but
also half-truths and lies. However, based on the jury’s belief it is decided whether
to convict or to exonerate.
So Jesus was saying to
those Jews who had believed Him, “If you
continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John
8:31-32).
Continuing in the word of Jesus,
leads to discipleship, then comes the knowledge of the complete truth; and then
comes also the complete freedom.
He said to them, “Did you
receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No,
we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2).
These people believed and were
baptized with the baptism of John the Baptist, which was for repentance,
but they did not receive the Holy Spirit, because John’s baptism was before the
(Acts 2) Pentecost experience. So there are dimensions of beliefs, which carry
different properties. A baptism in a Pentecostal church differs from that of the
Baptist church. And it still differs from the baby sprinkling (called baptism)
in a Catholic church.
Conclusion:
each baptism functions as a seal on a measure of personal belief.
When they heard this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his
hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking
with tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:5-6).
The first baptism was good and
necessary, witch sealed the people with the truth of repentance, but it
was not for the extra dimensional works of Christ, which He commissioned us to
do. The second preaching (of Paul) created an extra dimensional belief that led
to the second baptism; then laying on of hands and then receiving of the Holy
Spirit, which is called Baptism in the Holy Spirit. This time the people spoke
in tongues and prophesied. The order of events must be noted.
So faith comes from
hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
Faith comes in, or is born; it arrives,
appears, and becomes present when Christ the Savior is being proclaimed. In
whatever way He is being proclaimed, the word that points to Him creates a
milieu in which the gift of faith is given. In one case this gift of faith
thrives while in another does not. Why some are convicted of sin and
righteousness; and are persuaded; while others are not? We can say that what suits one may not
suit another, nonetheless one decides to believe or not; therefore, it is based
on the personal will and choice. It is like a hungry person who is being
offered a loaf of bread, but he or she does not stretch his or her hand to
receive it. The giver, with a loaf of bread, is about to feed the hungry, but
the hungry does not take it; the same is with our belief.
This is the only thing I
want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law,
or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:2).
Hearing with faith does not much
more than helps one to accept, embrace and believe. When a teacher in school
teaches, a pupil must believe in what he or she is saying as being true. Once a
pupil believed the teacher, then he or she has also learned something new.
So then, does He who
provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works
of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5).
Miracles must be expected and
accepted as coming from God today. If that acceptance is not there God will not
throw pearls before swine. Therefore, the milieu, or the habitation for
God’s gift of faith must be prepared. After the gift of faith finds a lodging
place then the miraculous is certainly going to happen. It is no longer a personal
conviction, presumption, bravado or enthusiasm, but cooperation between the
Giver and the receiver.
So we preach and so you
believed (1 Corinthians 15:11).
Conclusively, what suits
one, may not suit another; nonetheless one decides to believe or not. Based on
that decision one continues or stops. One chooses bondage when one stops the
progressive education in the truth for regression leads to bondage of one kind
or another. Or, one embraces the ever tighter as well as the teacher, becomes
the Truth’s disciple and eventually experiences the complete freedom.
DIFFICULT
TERMS USED IN THE BIBLE
The
son of perdition, son of Belial, devil, demon, unpardonable sin, eternal
damnation, the beast, false prophet, fall, arrest and release of Satan, cosmic
wars, dualism, etc.
SENSATIONALISM
The natural senses, when permitted to run wild, may drive every single human being to madness. The desire for spectacular, outlandish and incredible things resides in us all. When we use sensationalism in reference to God, faith and the miraculous we will always run into problems, because the God of peace works with peace.
The natural senses, when permitted to run wild, may drive every single human being to madness. The desire for spectacular, outlandish and incredible things resides in us all. When we use sensationalism in reference to God, faith and the miraculous we will always run into problems, because the God of peace works with peace.
Sensationalism
contains fear. The Perfect Love (God the Father) casts out all fear. Because of
the play with fear and speculations—regarding the unknown—the speculative human
too quickly allows the seducing arm of a lie, but also on the same path doubt
returns as quickly as it was planted. A lie is not able to grow a deep root,
that’s exclusively the truth’s nature. However, when the real faith comes in;
it does not drag behind itself, as if on a long leash, that rabid dog called
doubt.
INTELLIGENT
QUESTIONS
Is
the past better than the present? Why would God do miracles only in the past,
but not today? Why do we glorify the past; are we afraid of today? How would we
treat the real prophet Elijah if he appeared today? Why we tend to exalt only
the established things in religion but seek for innovations that would improve
the quality of life? Why do we like a new house, new car, new shoes and new
appliances, but at the same time, and quite satisfactorily so, settle for the
old in religion? Why we prefer a sermon preached by someone well known, but
already dead for hundreds of years, whereas we doubt, and even completely
discard a present day preacher of God’s wisdom? Why do we tend to not recognize
God’s supernatural works in and amongst us today? Is elapsed time more precious
than the time today? Is the glorious or perilous future worth of our
anticipation? Can we change the future with the concentration on the now? Do we
venerate only the past and anything dead and show contempt for anything new and
fresh?
These
questions help us unravel mysteries of our brain functions, which over time
have become much more complex. Abraham’s mind, of almost 5000 years ago, was
not the same as that of Moses. The mind of Daniel in Babylon was not the same
as that of Jesus and His disciples who became the apostles. The mind of the
apostles was different from the mind of the church founders, popes, and
crusaders. Today’s mind is different from those who went through the WW II, and
our mind today is different from those conducting the American great
evangelistic crusades in the 50‘s.
The
extraordinary mind Jesus displayed flabbergasted most people; as a result some
turned against Him while others were drawn to Him. In time, others seized the
opportunity to make Him the founder of their new religion. And, under the Roman
Emperor Constantine, around 300 AD, Jesus was eulogized the Christian deity,
which deepened the rift between Judaism and Christianity. Some 300 years later
Muhammad spread his monotheistic religion. Ever since then wars ravaged Europe
and the Middle East for centuries. These differently formed minds still seek to
dominate other minds and yet there is no common ground or a platform upon which
wisdom and logic can take preeminence.
We
have wired our brains to go for the old and stale. Now is the time to get
rewired again, if you are willing to go that far.
No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him… (…) no one can come to Me unless it
has been granted him from the Father (John 6:44, 65).
But you do not believe
because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and
they follow Me” (John 10:26-27).
If the world hates you,
you know that it has hated Me before it hated you (John 15:18).
If I had not done among
them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they
have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well (John 15:24).
Now they have come to
know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You
gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly
understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me (John
17:7-8).
Of those whom You have
given Me I lost not one (John 18:9).
From
the above verses we see that some belong in the inner circle of God’s family
upon this earth, while others don’t; nonetheless they pretend to, while their
fruits show something else. By
their fruits we will know them (Matthew 7:16-22). Those fruits are often
hatred, oppositions and persecutions. No matter how we go about it we will
always come to these tenets of our faith and understanding.
“But he said, ‘No; for
while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest
I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles
to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn”’” (Matthew 13:29-30).
He
goes on to explain it all.
“The one who sows the
good seed is the Son of Man, and the field
is the world; and as for the
good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy
who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the
reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire,
so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His
angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those
who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that
place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:37-42).
·
The field is the world, the masses.
·
The good seed are the sons of the kingdom.
·
The tares are the evil sons.
The
Greek text does not use hyphenations, as in “Jesus’ word” or “for God’s sake,”
but “word of Jesus” and “for the sake of God.” In the case “sons of the evil” would
make no sense unless the “one” was added to the sentence. The “one” (in italics)
is added in NASB just to make sense. But, that also implies the devil or Satan,
and him being the evil one who had sown the tares.
When
we logically synchronize the biblical text, starting with Genesis and ending in
Revelations, we come upon a lot of misconceptions. For example, in the Old
Testament God’s wrath was poured out through an angel called Satan, adversary,
prosecutor and the accuser; nonetheless it was still God who poured His holy
indignation, and not the angel as if from himself. However, the later books of the Bible,
especially the New Testament, imply that it is Satan who comes with great wrath
and it is he who is evil and only does evil. Hence, he is hesitantly called
Satan in the Old Testament, but rather the devil, which is derived from the
Greek word Diabolos, which has more pagan connotations than the biblical.
That
angel in Balaam’s story only fulfills what God commands. In this sense Satan,
with a drawn out sword, stood in the seer’s way whose heart was set on cursing
Israel although God warned him not to.
FINDING
ANSWERS TO DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
[An excerpt from
http://www.christadelphianbooks.org/croconnor/tokan/tokan17.html]
The Devil1. The Devil is a title, which means: “The Transgressor”, which God has chosen to describe the source of all transgression against Him, that is, mankind’s own innate propensity to sin, “the passions of sins”, Romans 7:5. This same title is then used to describe people and human governments, which are dominated by that propensity to sin, John 6:70; 1 Peter 5:8.2. God charges all the World with being His enemy, 1 John 2:16. He identifies the “passions”, Romans 7: 5-25, and “lusts”, James 1:13-17, which are in men, as the force that generates all the sins men commit, Mark 7:20-23.3. It is this “thinking of the flesh” which He condemns as the source of the World’s enmity to Him, Romans 8:7.4. It is these innate propensities to sin which God identifies as “The Devil”, Hebrews 2:14, which it was Christ’s work to destroy. This he did in his own case two thousand years ago, and will do for us who believe in his Truth when, very soon now, he returns from heaven, Hebrews 9:24-28; Matthew 25:31.5. “The Devil invented by Catholic and Protestant theology is a perversion of this doctrine, which misuses unrelated Bible passages, regardless of their general or particular context.6. To speak of a Devil who is a rebel angel is to deny the supremacy of God and invalidate the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”, Matthew 6:10.7. To speak of a Devil who is immortal is to deny the justice and truthfulness of God, who says; “The wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4, 20.8. To speak of a Devil who is a rebel, sinful angel; who is spirit, and yet can die; is to deny both the worth of our own hope of salvation and the express teaching of Scripture that angels cannot die, Luke 20:36.
[End of Excerpt]
The
only thing I might add to the above statement #1 is that it was not God’s
choice to describe the devil as the source of all evils, but rather it was man’s
choice. To the statement #2 I would say that the World is not God’s enemy for
after all He created it with love. And, to the statement #5, neither the Catholic
or Protestant theology has invented the devil. Apostle John (John 8:44)
specifically says that the devil sinned from the beginning; being the first
murderer, liar and the father of lies; and he concluded it in 1 John 3:8-12
that indeed the first devil was Cain; hence a man and not a cosmic being.
The
Greek word “daimonion” is equated with devil, or a devil; a supernatural being
with powers to torment humans. The KJV of the Bible translates daimonion as
“devil,” but almost all other translations choose the English word demon.
“Diabolos”
is an entirely different word and it is translated into English as “the Devil”
and interchangeably equated with the Hebrew Satan. However, Diabolos comes from
mythology (slanderer) a supernatural being believed to be the ultimate enemy of
God, and of people. Since the ancients believed the devil to be supernatural
being it does not fall short of being a candidate for a god.
BABYLON,
PERSIA & GREECE
God
sent a terrorizing spirit to Soul, which the scripture terms as an evil spirit
from the Lord. Later this did not fit well in our mindset because of the
dualistic theology of good versus evil, light versus darkness and God versus
Satan. But originally it was not so.
The
impairment took place during the Babylonian and Persian exile of the Jews and
ever since then Jewish literature drastically expanded with mythological ideas.
Kabala and the Book of Enoch, writings about Azazel, etc., carried on with
the fantastic, mysterious and unexplained, which was produced for purely
commercial reasons. The Hellenistic period further impaired the monotheistic
Jewish thought. The New Testament was then heavily spiked with references to
Satan as one and the same “Diabolos” the devil. However, hardly anyone notices
the fact that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He was going
to meet Satan and the devil and be tried by them. I did separate Satan from the
devil on purpose, because Satan is an angel and the devil is a man (earlier
note). No one else, but the Almighty God sent the faultfinder Satan. Hence, it
was the Father who was doing the test. Satan tempted Jesus in the spiritual
things, and the devil tempted Him in the physical things, like wealth and
earthly power. Jesus repelled both. He was physically brought to a high
mountain and up to the pinnacle of the temple, and that was done by no one else
but a man who was quite familiar with the secret passages leading up to the
pinnacle in the temple.
NOTE:
After the Hasmoneans scored some victories over the Greeks they established
themselves on the temple mount in Jerusalem. The Romans honored the autonomous
status by granting the Jews a full access to the then Herod-built temple.
As
already mentioned, the devil (if one has to use this term at all, diabolos) is a
human being. Cain was the first devil (John 8:44) the first murderer and liar;
hence his genetic pool was sealed when God placed a seal on him and his
thinking. Cain’s love for just the physical things testifies of his lack in grasping
the timeless and mater-less spiritual realm. Cain lacked faith in eternal life
and those impaired genes reside in the tares, called Kenites.
As
we will reveal, only the tares and the seed have life, but not the field;
hence, Cain was also God’s son because his father was God’s son (Luke 3:23-38);
but Cain chose wrong and so he became the first tare. Having divine life yet
going astray. This mystery will also be explained in greater detail. Those like
Cain are the tares and can be singularly called as the devil, son of Belial or
the son of perdition. Jesus said this:
“Did I Myself not choose
you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” (John 6:70).
(The
Original Greek text reads, “one of you devil is”), obviously a person can be
called devil and that was Judas.
Portrayal
of the Kenite: Cain’s descendants, Genesis 15:19; Numbers 24:21-22; Judges
1:16. Money was involved, betrayal and lying, which ended up in torture and
killing; these are typical characteristics of the first devil.
TIME &
THE DEPARTED
This
brings us to the point of understanding what unclean spirits and demons really
are. Simply put, these are past lives, images and energies, which sponge off of
the living. But how do they do that? Anyone living now has that power of life,
but when misused and abused one attracts many undesirable things. But why would
one do that? The answer lies in sensationalism, which we have touched on in the
beginning. Fascination with the unknown, especially something wicked or evil,
reaches beyond the boundaries assigned to the presently living. This
fascination with the outlandish and mystical helped producing volumes upon
volumes of books ever since copying and printing was invented. This fascination
continues beyond the written form; it continues to overflow into motion
pictures and popular media.
It takes only understanding of the passed down to us truth to stop all
nonsense.
However,
not too many want to part with the sensational, for they might feel that they
deprive themselves of something deliciously pleasant. Anything sensational,
works on senses ranging from sexual gratifications, brain electricity to visual
stimulations … Take your pick. Any detachment from senses might be viewed as deprivation.
WHY DOES
GOD ALLOW SATAN TO FUNCTION
This
question has never been properly answered to me or to anyone else as if people
are not interested in really getting to know God.
Questions
like where from did Cain get his wife have also gone unanswered. For example,
daughters were not recorded and hardly mentioned in the days of the formation
of the biblical record. Yet, Genesis 5:4 clearly states that after Cain left
Eden (region) and went to the land of Nod, and after the birth of Seth, Adam
had other sons and also daughters.
Many
have insinuated that brothers married sisters and that’s how the earth was
populated. Would the same God who forbids incest (Leviticus 20) have only
allowed it in Adam’s family?
Our
religion is spiked with unanswered questions. It is God’s call on my life to
not only answer these questions intelligently, but also bring about the final
reformation before Jesus comes again. His bride must be without spot and
wrinkle and like the five (full of grace) virgins.
Many
still ponder upon God’s absolute sovereignty and omnipotence and yet we still
deal with dualistic notions of God versus Satan. Why would the Almighty God
allow Satan to do all that we attribute to the devil, fallen angels or demons?
Again,
there are no clear answers, as if no one knows the truth; yet, we blabber about
things that stand in doubt as if they are true. So is our faith directed toward
unanswered questions and fantasies, or our faith should rest on things we know
to be true?
Why
would God allow Satan to do bad things is not even a well-structured question
because we have assumed that Satan fell and with him one third of his supposedly
subordinate angels as if we can precisely say what’s one third of all angels that
God created. If we do not know the complete number of all angels then how can
we determine the one third? This is a classical example of how readily we have
accepted the ancient’s speculative assumptions as being the truth, but why? – Perhaps
we worship the past or the future, but not the most glorious now. Not only we
don’t use sense and logic, but also through our preaching and teaching we
propagate it even further to the newborns; those who come in contact with this
nonsense for the very first time. Should I confuse my children just because I
am confused? Is our mind so steeped in fairytales that there is but little room
left for the truth?
Gathered
from many scraps of information we have also developed a theology of two gods,
the good versus the bed, one is only limited to light and the other is the
prince of darkness; one is God while the other is the god of this world. Which
one is the true God? Have we blindly accepted something passed down to us by
people who mulled over these things for 600 years? But was their logic
better than ours today? Were they closer to God than we are today? If that is
your assumption than you have blindly accept something by believing or rather assuming.
From
the time of prophet Jeremiah, Babylon and Persia, to the second temple
period under Ezra and Nehemiah, the Hellenistic and Roman periods and the start
of Jesus’ ministry elapsed 616 years.
During that period of time the monotheistic mind was severely impaired.
TIMELINE
586
BC Nebuchadnezzar
536
BC Cyrus
Sixteen
years later (516 BC) the temple is restored. That gives us about 66 years.
On
December 25, 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanes plundered and desecrated this temple by
introducing pagan worship by sacrificing a pig upon the altar of God.
December
25, 165 BC, Judas Maccabeus completed the repairs on this temple and
rededicated it to the Lord.
37
BC Pompey
19
BC Herod the Great rebuilds the temple
30
AD Jesus begins His ministry
33
AD the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
42
AD in Antioch the name “Christian” appears for the very first time.
Christianity
is born and the Christian church is growing. Meanwhile in Jerusalem the Zealots
and Sicarii take matters into their own hands.
64 AD
Herod completes the restoration
66
AD Jewish Revolt the Sicarii, with Zealot helpers
70
AD Romans destroy the temple and Jews are exiled
DISCIPLES
OF JESUS
Zealots
and
Sicarii were part of Jesus’ entourage. Simon the Zealot and their
sympathizer, Peter who carried a sword just as all Zealots did. It is
also
suggested that the epithet “Iscariot” is a Hellenized form of Sicarius.
The
suffix “I-scari-ote” denotes membership in the Sicarii sect. Just as
it’s repeatedly
emphasized in the gospels, in order to differentiate between Simon the
Zealot and Simon Peter; in the same way Judas of the Sicarii was
identified.
Upon
realizing what he had done Judas returned the 30 pieces of silver and was
killed by his peers. Hence, the story of Judas is shrouded in mystery. Yet,
Jesus also died for Judas and since Judas repented, God will deal with him in
His own way.
Those
two characters, Balaam the son of Beor, and Judas Iscariot are the two
archetypes of sons of perdition. Although God used them as His agents for the
greater good—Balaam blessed Israel and Judas brought about the ultimate
atonement—He will have to deal with these characters differently and separately.
Our humanistic approach does not play any role in this whatsoever; and this
brings us to the understanding of God’s omnipotence and absolute sovereignty
over all of His creation.
GOD’S
SOVEREIGNTY
We
have
been encouraged in faith, to build faith and to trust God, but it
remains
difficult, if not totally impossible to remain in confusion about God
and His
kingdom and then try to trust Him. So, is God completely in control, or
only
partially? Do I trust Him completely, or also partially; for after all,
if Satan
found a way to sneak into the Garden of Eden and make the first people
fall,
like he fell, then where is God in all this? Am I a god who needs to
determine how to deal with fallen angels, demons, seduction and
temptation? And how to successfully defend myself against the devil. One
fragment contradicts another, and these jungle voices do not help my
faith or trust.
Is
God completely sovereign over all of creation, or is His domain limited to only
light, while Satan’s sovereignty is only over matter and darkness? How do I
know which one is which?
We
have heard so many teachings on the subject of hearing God and being led of His
Spirit, together with the confusing fall of Lucifer and the devil on the prowl like
a roaring lion. On one hand we must resist the devil and then submit to God,
but how often do I have to do it, every day, once a weak, once a month, or for
the rest of my life? If that is the case then my faith in God will always be
challenged; and when I’m not watchful enough I might be robbed of my faith. I
know that I must stay in the Word, go to church and pray regularly. I must lead
the good Christian life; otherwise the many pitfalls the devil digs for me will
eventually make me stumble and wobble in my faith. How do I deal with despair
and heartache a result of failures and lost battles?
These
needless questions have been addressed already and are still being addressed,
but are only answered fragmentarily; hence inadequately. It is like that
hamster in the wheel that thinks that he is going somewhere, but goes only in
circles. We often have the illusion that we got it; only to lose it later on;
back and forth. Endlessly.
Aren’t you tired of this kind of faith in
God and the devil, His sovereignty and Satan’s sovereignty? Are you ready to
know the truth and be made totally free?
BALAAM,
BELIAL & THE SON OF PERDITION
Balaam
was killed not because he blessed Israel, or he served God in that regard, but
because he incited the Median (Kenites) to seduce Israel with sexual
promiscuity. God is sovereign and when He makes covenant with someone then no
one can touch this eternal bond. God choose one for the sake of another.
Balaam, in his own heart and of his own will did evil; even though he had
experienced God’s sovereignty when He changed the son of Beor’s cursings into
blessings in his own mouth. Typical example of gifts and fruits, we shall not
be exempt from judgment based on being used of God via gifts, which serve as
conduits between the supernatural and the natural. We shall be judged according to our fruit
bearing, which two of them are love and compassion, whilst the fleshly fruits
are hatred and ruthlessness.
Balaam
touched the eternal bond God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whose name God
changed into Israel. The apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8) has always been
Israel and the eternal covenant. No matter how much we might dislike, compete
with; or undermine the validity of this covenant; or the validity of the people
called the Jews; still only a fool would dare to touch the apple of God’s eye.
And, this brings us to the fear of God.
Regarding
Belial we must turn to Rabbinical and Apocryphal Literature.
Angelology
and demonology along with the apocalyptic speculations literature has been
preserved in the Hasidic circles. Belial held a very prominent
position, being identified altogether with Satan. In the Book of Jubilees (i.
20), Belial is, like Satan, the accuser and father of all idolatrous nations.
Writings like these, “The uncircumcised heathen are the sons of Belial” portray
only self-righteousness and self-love. In the Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs, Belial is the archfiend from whom emanate the seven spirits of
seduction that enter man at his birth, the source of impurity and lying, the
spirit of darkness etc. Belial has been equated with Azazel to be opposed and
bound by the Messiah, cast into the fire forever, from which we have the
emergence of the Book of Revelations of the New Testament.
Belial
is identified with Sammael, which is the earlier name of Satan, which went
through several transformations in the mind of those people. An evil angel,
called as the angel of lawlessness and the ruler of this world, whose name is
Matanbuchus (a corrupt form of the Zoroastrian teachings about “Angro-mainyush”
or “Ahriman.”)
In
Christian Literature Sibylline is being equated with Belial who was believed to
have descended from heaven as Antichrist, and appears as Nero, the slayer of
his mother. Belial is seen as the seducer, pseudo Messiah, who would appear
among the Samaritans, leading many into error by his miraculous powers, but who
will be burned up by the heavenly fire. Along by the sea to the land of
earthquakes Belial would be carried and there he would destroy his followers;
and that would happen when a woman (Cleopatra) would rule over the world. Later
it was attributed to Jesus as being the false Messiah and that He and His
followers would be destroyed with the heavenly fire. These prophesies, or
rather insinuations if not altogether hallucinations; had occupied the ancient
mind, Jewish or Greek.
It
is inevitable that these words would not land in the New Testament for that was
what people were busy with. It was most popular literature of those days.
Do not be bound together
with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or
what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with
Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians
6:14-15)
The
fascination with evil continues to this day. The same goes for the son of
perdition. Jesus used this analogy to a devil, as stated earlier, a
Kenite.
While I was with them, I
was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and
not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would
be fulfilled (John 17:12).
From
these expressions (allegorical and parable-like style of speaking; Jesus
frequently used words like these “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”) we
deduce what He meant. It means that either we must be quickened to get it or
just leave it be. Since not everyone has the spiritual ears to hear what He was
really saying, they left it alone and unexplained. It is nothing sensational,
it is for those who are spiritually endowed and whom the Father has endowed, or
illuminated by His Spirit. The Son—being solely dependent on the Father and not
being able to do anything from Himself (John 5:19, 30)—also relies on the
Father to open ears of those He chooses to. The opening of ears is the
spiritual quickening, endowment or illumination.
This
word “perdition” (ἀπώλεια apōleia) is applied in various
ways and it means: ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal), damnable,
destruction, die, to perish, pernicious ways and waste. This brings us to this
verse.
Nevertheless (Kain, NASB)
(Kenite, KJV) or singular Cain will be consumed (Hebrew, BA’AR, a complete
waste—to burn, consume, kindle, be kindled); how long will Asshur keep you captive?
(Numbers 24:22)
By
synchronizing scriptures in a logical manner we will finally arrive at a
conclusive and final point. In this physical world anything allotted to man has
to arrive at a last item on the list, and each of us has a list. Each one of us
can endure only so much; and each has different mission in life. But, that is
only given to someone who has been given the ears to hear, and who is endowed
with spiritual comprehension without which synchronization would not be
possible.
Watch
these words, last day.
[John 6:39-40] This is
the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing,
but raise it up on the last day. For
this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes
in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.
[V. 44] No one can come
to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
[V. 54] He who eats My
flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
What
does it mean? Many interpret it as the day when Christ returns and the dead
will be raised. Well, let’s include that too. But there is more. As already
mentioned, there is the allotted to every man amount of tests, which are
designed to prove to each of us as to of what stuff we are really made. God
already knows it, we need to produce the outward fruit and thus prove to be His
disciples (John 15:8). The apostles spoke of every man’s work (1 Cor. 3:13
& 1Peter 1:17), which must go through the fire test (also Malachi 3:2-3).
Hence, we conclude that the last day is the day of all the trials and tests we
must undergo on this earth. We must continue in His word, become truly His
disciples, then we learn the truth and then we are truly free (John 8:31). The aid
has been provided already and it is the Holy Spirit (John 14:16 & 16:13).
He guides us into all the truth. All that we need to do is to be like children,
yielded to His influence.
So,
the Spirit of the Lord must speak to you first and then lead you back to (DABAR
[Hebrew] & LOGOS [Greek]) the written record and then out of the compiled
books of the Bible the Holy Spirit makes sense. This sense is oneness, which is
solely God’s for He is Spirit and not flesh-and-blood being, which is
fragmented. Just as the sand of the sea is made out of individual pebbles also
trees contain parts of a root, trunk, limbs and leaves, everything else appears
in parts. Our thinking is also partial or fragmented because of the overbearing
preoccupation with just the fleshly things. Time itself is the fragmenter because
it divides days and nights into 24-hour intervals. There is no escaping from
time, but there is an escape from mundane and the so-called down-to-earth
thinking.
Now
let’s logically synchronize Numbers 24:22 with Matthew 13:30. What do we get?
Allow both to grow
together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the
reapers, first gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up;
but gather the wheat into my barn.
Here
we have the final burning of the tares, which are the Kenites and those who
manifest fruits of hatred, carelessness, hardness of heart and insensitivity
regarding God and His kingdom. They have served their purpose on this planet
and they have immensely helped God’s seed to fulfill its mission on earth. It
may sound exclusive, but being chosen and being God’s beloved speaks of
exclusivity.
FEAR OF GOD & THE CLEANSING PROCESS
If
God is only a god, or one of the two gods (God vs. Satan), then the real fear
of God has lost all respect and awe. However, if He is the all mighty and
sovereign-over-all God, the Creator of all things—including His district
attorney even lackey, legal prosecutor, accuser, and faultfinder in God’s court
of law—then our fear of Him is valid.
One
authority tries to tear down another authority for it seeks to replace it with
one’s own. This is very much an earthly mentality, which has reached even the
heavens, where a subordinate to the Almighty God angel allegedly tried to
impose his authority over God’s. As preposterous as it may sound, still it found
a foothold in our theology. We must examine our hearts and carefully inspect
our beliefs if they are legitimate and rooted in the truth.
All
that has been said is only a straw in a haystack. In order to complete the
reformation you must decide, and then stick to that decision. If you are really
serious; and you do love God; and want to know Him in truth; then like a
severely obese person; who must lose weight at any cost; you must also get on a
diet of the truth.
There
is the truth and there is its counterfeit illusion, only the skilled in
truthful perceptions can recognize which one is which.
The
last reformation, before Christ’s return,
deals with our mind. Truthful perceptions are straight, clear and
simple. They
are not complex in any way, just as our God is not a complicated being.
He made
us to reflect Him. He made us like Himself. He made us compatible with
Him. He
is Spirit, and we are also. The Spirit of Truth is the Holy Spirit, the
Teacher, Helper and Comforter. He is also the Seal. Once He seals you
with the
truth no one can break that seal, and no one can confuse you anymore. It
is a
permanently done deal. That’s what happened to many others and me after
we have
gone through the cleansing process of reformation being illuminated by
the
Spirit of Truth.
All
things in life must pass through the cleansing process of reformation, but this
is the last process after which we enter another realm.
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