Many are the times I have stepped out my bedroom door onto the balcony looked up at the night sky and pondered upon my existence, my purpose, my God. I wonder if Abraham was doing the same thing on the night when Elohim informed him that his offspring would be “numbered as the stars in the heavens”. I wonder if the prophets of the Elohim gazed into the star filled sky at night and wondered why Elohim persisted in their effort to persuade these recalcitrant Israelites to listen to Their sound reasoning.
I wonder if the Son of Man viewed the night sky whenever He felt homesick, and alone. I wonder about the Creator who made the heavens, earth and sea and everything in and on it; how the Almighty had already formulated a wonderfully marvelous plan to restore paradise to this earth, and the conditions under which such a plan would become necessary. I think about how much difficulty Elohim has with those whom They created in their own image and after their own likeness, and what it would take to convince these stubborn people to choose holiness and truth, and accomplish the flawless plan for restoration of integrity that They have put in motion. I marvel at how intelligent, thinking people that are themselves critical of the hard-hearted behavior they see in those who have come before them, continue demonstrate this same hard-hearted arrogance when they are confronted with the exact same issues that caused their spiritual forebears to stumble.
Those who believe in the Elohim in the heavens have not taken the time to learn about Them, believing they already know all they need to know about who their ‘God’ is. They know their God never changes, that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. They believe that their God saves sinners in their sin, not from their sin. They believe that the Ten Commandments are an ideal worthy of consideration, but the Law has no power to save a sinner. They believe that their Savior died to free them from the requirements of the Ten Commandments, and subsequently the curse which Elohim placed upon anyone who failed to obey them (see Deuteronomy 27:26 and Galatians 3:10-14).
These people of faith are certain that the compilation of writings that became their Bible, was done under the strict supervision of their God and contains only His own holy words. These people of faith are in for a terrible shock, one that will shake the very foundation of their faith when the revelation of the truth is staring them squarely in the face.
‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’ Matthew 7:24-27 (JB)
We have been instructed by Jesus that we must learn and obey the teaching of the Son of God because our eternal life depends upon it. We must consider carefully the accounts of His eyewitnesses and learn every element of truth that they heard from the Master. Careful consideration must be given to the substantive representations of His instructions which will enable us to understand their spiritual meaning. To do this requires eyes to see and ears to hear. We must also be careful not to accept a teaching, supposedly from the Son of God, that is dissimilar or contradictory to His very own instructions.
Watch yourselves, or all our work will be lost and not get the reward it deserves. If anybody does not keep within the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he cannot have God with him: only those who keep to what He taught can have the Father and the Son with them. If anyone comes to you bringing a different doctrine, you must not receive him in your house or even give him a greeting. To greet him would make you a partner in his wicked work. 2 John 8-11 (JB)
In Part 5 of the Grand Plan I described the two kingdoms, the kingdom of the world, and the kingdom of Elohim. The two stages of the kingdom of Elohim were shown to be a transitional/sanctification phase, where people are called out of the kingdom of the world into the kingdom of Elohim in order to accomplish all the demands of righteousness. When they accomplish this they become holy; the result is a people made wholly prepared to meet their Elohim face to face. Elohim now welcomes them into the kingdom that has been prepared for them. Upon entering this kingdom these holy people begin their work on behalf of their King to help others complete the same process. This continues until the censer is cast down to the earth from the sanctuary in the heavens (Rev. 8:5). Thus prepared, the people of the kingdom of God receive a commission to proclaim the truth to every nation, race, language and tribe. Understandably the evil one is working diligently to intercept this process thus preventing the accomplishment of the kingdom of Elohim. It matters not to the evil one how long the transitional phase lasts. In fact he is quite satisfied with a stalemate, which is what he has successfully maintained up until the present-day.
The seven messages in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are directed to the kingdom of Elohim in the transitional/sanctification phase. The people of this kingdom have come out of the kingdom of the world. This “exodus” took place in the early 19th century, when William Miller began a study of the end time prophecies in the bible to expose errors of interpretation. While researching the prophecy in Daniel chapter 8 he discovered there a timeline that would end in his near future. Highly motivated by his discovery he worked diligently to proclaim the 2nd advent of the Messiah in 1844 CE. Those who received and accepted this message were ultimately forced to leave their own denominations, and gather with those who were expecting their Savior to return from heaven. Those who received this invitation to the marriage feast (Matthew 22:1-14) and were determined to attend, went out to meet the Bridegroom.
The wording of this invitation is the testimony of The Son of God, that He gave to His own eyewitness disciples while He was here on earth. Those eyewitnesses to this testimony heard every word, and two of these witnesses wrote these words down; Matthew and John. This testimony contains explicit instructions regarding all the requirements each guest must follow to be properly attired in the banquet hall. The invitation clearly describes the demands of righteousness which must be completed before entering the banquet hall. No one will enter the kingdom of the Elohim any other way.
The key to success for the evil one has been (and continues to be) the wide acceptance of his doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. The evil one has successfully convinced Christians that God rewards people of faith with salvation through His gift of grace. This faith is in the name of Jesus, faith in the Christian church, faith that He will save sinners in their sins and from their sins, is the cornerstone of his teaching. Faith (according to the apostle Paul) has replaced the demands of righteousness as the only requirement for salvation. Obedience is now only a guideline and not a requirement. The requirement of grace is based upon an unsupported assertion that the flesh (the substance of the human body) has been, and will always be sinful. For this to be true it would be necessary that ‘the flesh’ had been sinful when God created it during Creation week, ‘in the beginning’. Paul’s teaching asserts that the spirit is totally separate from the substance of the physical body, and is (itself) righteous. This teaching asserts that both flesh and spirit are antagonistic to one another, and each have their own distinct consciousness awareness. Faith teaches that when you die your righteous spirit (consciousness awareness) goes to be with the Lord, and your flesh returns (decays) to dust. In actual fact, Elohim does not want believers that base their belief on faith. They (God) desires people who know the truth, and whose actions and behavior are founded on THAT truth (singular and absolute).
To the Jews who believed in Him Jesus said: ‘If you make My word your Home you will indeed be My disciples, you will learn the truth and the truth will make you free”. John 8:31-32 (JB)
A few years ago I coined the following definition: “Faith allows a person to believe a lie as though it were the truth, without accountability”. Most Christians believe that faith is the key to salvation, and that God will reward them based upon the strength of their faith. This is exactly what the Evil One wants them to think. The Evil One is gifted in believable deceptions. He is not called the Great Deceiver because he is NOT good at it. He knows that if you give people what they want the vast majority will choose it over what they need. He has accomplished this in a very simple way; by compiling a book which contains the Law and Prophets, the teachings of the Son of God, and the teachings of various others, primarily Saul/Paul. He then convinced all Christians that this compilation of his is the holy word of God from cover to cover, and to say otherwise is blasphemy. By faith all Christians believe this to be true; but in truth it is a lie. God knew Satan would do this long before the compilation was canonized at the Council of Leodicea in 325 CE.
The parable of the wheat and darnel (tares) in Matthew 13:24-30 describes this very situation. The field is the world, the sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The good seed is the subjects of the kingdom, the darnel the subjects of the evil one. By comparing this parable in the context of other parables that address the same subject it becomes easier to understand. In the parable of the invitation to the wedding feast (Matt. 22) the good seed is the invitation. The guest wearing the proper wedding attire are the good seed. The guest without the proper attire is a product of the darnel. In the dragnet parable (Matt. 13:47-) the good fish are as a result of the good seed, the bad fish as the darnel. The darnel resembles wheat until it ripens, then you see the difference.
Faith would allow one to believe that darnel is wheat, if they didn’t know the truth about the difference. Knowing the truth precludes faith, because truth is based upon facts, faith is based on preference. If the basis of your preference is not true then what you believe must be a lie. Go back to page one and read that text again, and take it to heart. The foolish person acted ‘by faith’, the wise person acted based upon the truth, The Truth that is based solely on the words of the Son of God. The greatest deception is to believe that you are acting upon the teachings of the Son of God without knowing what He taught.
Willful ignorance is a common condition among Christians. ‘By faith’ they believe that what you don’t know won’t hurt you; ignorance is bliss. A common Christian attitude is to continue the status quo (don’t rock the boat), because they believe that there is safety in numbers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The Son of God came to this earth to testify on behalf of the truth. The those who do not know the truth believe He came to die for sinners.
Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, My men would have fought to prevent My being surrendered to the Jews. But My kingdom is not of this realm.’ ‘So you are a King then?’ said Pilate. ‘It is you who say it’ answered Jesus. ‘Yes I am a King; I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to My voice.’ ‘Truth?’ said Pilate ‘what is that?’ John 18:16-18 (JB) (Italics NASB)
So according to John the eyewitness disciple, the Son of God declares that He entered this world through the womb, in order to testify on behalf of the truth, so that all who wanted to know the truth would have access to it. Pilates response is echoed by most Christians. What is evident is this; Elohim put a tremendous amount of time and effort into securing the Truth, so as to ensure that human beings would have access to the truth. The requirements for entrance into the kingdom of Elohim are found only in the Law, Prophets, and the testimony of the Son of the Elohim (Matt. 5:17, Rev. 12:17). A logical fallacy is used by many skeptics to disprove this testimony is that a great length of time has passed since the documenting of this testimony (about three thousand years for the Law and Prophets, and two thousand years for the testimony of the Son of Man) would make it impossible to trust the veracity of that information, so it therefore is no longer reliable. This belief calls into question the power and ability of the Almighty, a.k.a. Elohim, who created the universe, with stars and galaxies, the earth with plants, animals, and humanity, was unable or unwilling to preserve the truth until the time of the judgment? This is well within the capacity of the Creator God to accomplish.
Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from My mouth does not return to Me empty, without carrying out My will and succeeding in what it was sent to do. Isaiah 55:10-11(JB)
The Lampstand, Symbol of the Kingdom of Elohim
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. Matt.5:14-16. (JB).
In the wilderness God gave Moses the blueprint for the tabernacle, which included specific instructions on the manufacture of every article of furniture therein. Each article of furniture had a specific “spiritual realm” representation and meaning. The reason for this was that this tabernacle and its furnishings were copies of the one in the heavens, which is the realm of spiritual beings. There are two realms in which created beings dwell. Spiritual beings were created in the heavens, and the heavens are their home. Those who are made of earth, are of the physical realm, and live because of the gift of the breath of life which activates the physiological processes supported by the flesh (body). When theses physiological processes stop the consciousness awareness enters into a state of ‘sleep’, and conscious thought ends. Elohim will awaken all those who “sleep in the dust”, either at the first resurrection or the second resurrection.
For all of the past ages of time those of this earth exist in a reality/realm that includes both spiritual and physical phenomena. The spiritual beings who were given the responsibility of teaching and shepherding humankind took for themselves what was not theirs to take, rulership of the peoples of earth. They were able to do this because they presented themselves as the gods of this world to the peoples of the earth.
Elohim purposed to build a kingdom in the world but not of the world. It was necessary for them to use physical articles to represent spiritual realities. An example would be the representation of the kingdoms of the world as beasts, and rulers of those kingdoms as horns. Other examples are the kingdom of the Devil represented as a red dragon, and the Son of God represented as a Lamb. Similarly, in the Sanctuary, where the process of sanctification took place, each article of furniture represented elements of this process. The articles of furniture in the sanctuary represented the processes conducted in the heavens, and those in the outer court the processes on the earth.
For now we will focus on the Lampstand.
‘You are to make a lamp-stand of pure gold; the lamp-stand must be of beaten gold, base and stem. Its cups -calyx and petals- must be of one piece with it.
Then you are to make lamps for it, seven of them, and set them so that they throw their light towards the front of it. Exodus 25:31, 37 (JB)
The children of Israel were to be the light of truth in a world of darkness, because of the lies of the evil one. The lamp-stand was made of one solid piece of hammered gold, and was to be placed on the south wall of the tabernacle directly in front of the table of the presence. The lamp-stand represents the kingdom of Elohim, and the table of the presence represents the throne of Elohim. The lamp-stand was to light the area directly in front of it. The kingdom was to shine its light and reveal the only true God to the world in darkness.
Between the time when the Father withdrew His kingdom from the Jews (see Matthew 21:43) and the appearance of His kingdom at the end of days, the Father did not have a kingdom on earth. This dark period is represented in prophecy as the Woman in the wilderness (Revelation 12). It was also foretold in the prophecy in Daniel 8:13-14. The twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings would end with the restoration of the processes in Sanctuary; but not the Sanctuary on earth. The tabernacle on earth was a copy of the one in the heavens. The sanctuary in the heavens began the processes of sanctification at the end of 2,300 years. An evening and morning are one day, and one day on the restoration calendar is one year in time. The ultimate purpose of the functions of the sanctuary is to accomplish restoration.
Elohim are the rulers of their kingdom, they are not the rulers of the kingdom of the world, that is, the kingdom of the evil one. The kingdom of Elohim is offered to all who will commit to keep the Covenant of the kingdom, this Covenant is contained in the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place in the sanctuary in the heavens.
Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Revelation 11:19 (JB)
The seven messages in Revelation chapter 2 and 3 are directed to the seven assemblies (churches). Each assembly is represented by one of the seven lamp-stands. Please understand that the lamp-stand represents the kingdom of Elohim, the representative of the light of truth in the darkness of lies. It then stands to reason that these seven messages would not have application until the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens on earth. The issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in 457 BCE began the 2,300 years. In the years leading up to1843-44 CE a group of people known as Adventists, went out to meet the “Bridegroom”, but the Bridegroom did not come as expected (see Matthew 25:1-13).
Just as with all the information given by the Son of Elohim, the true meaning is only discerned by those who have ears to hear. In other words, to those who do not have ears to hear these are only parables whose meaning is open to interpretation and application; they are life lessons with no specific purpose or interpretation. Those who have ears to hear capture the real meaning and understand the information.
Spiritual context is the key to understanding spiritual information. The spiritual context of the accomplishment of the plan of restoration is that of a marriage, although it is not a literal/physical marriage. The bridegroom is the Son of Elohim, the guest at the marriage are the family of the bridegroom, and the bride is not at all related to the bridegroom (not a member of His family). This means is that the wedding guests have been born from above, which is a spiritual birth. They are sons and daughters of Elohim. The bride is those who are from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, and these were not born from above, but are joined to the family through the marriage covenant.
There are three tiers in the judgment. The first tier comprises those who are defined as the first-fruits/priests; these are the 144,000 (see Revelation 14:1-5). The judgment of this tier begins with the work of the Faithful and Wise bond-servant (see Matthew 24:42-51). The second tier judgment involves the kingdom of the heavens/bridesmaids. These people are those with oil in their lamps, that will accept the dramatic change in their paradigms because they are prepared, having the oil of the Holy Spirit in order to receive the truth. They are in a comatose state when the Bridegroom arrives, sound asleep, and very near death. The cry at midnight awakens both the wise and the foolish, and those who have oil listen to and follow the 144,000 to the grand banquet hall where the marriage will take place. Those without the oil arrive at the hall later, and discover to their horror that they are too late to enter the Marriage Feast. The judgment of the third tier is that of the nations. The opening of this judgment is announced by the first angel (see Revelation 14:6-7) and begins at the sound of the first angel’s trumpet. All nations will hear the testimony of the two witnesses, the 144,000, and the people in the Kingdom of Elohim, those represented by the wise bridesmaids. Through the efforts of these three groups the judgment will be conducted to the end. The nations/bride will be prepared by the 144,000 and the Saints, to meet their Bridegroom (see Revelation 19:6-9).
There are two purposes of the kingdom of the Elohim. The first is that Elohim is truth, and to learn the truth is to come to know the Elohim. The kingdom of the Elohim testifies to the truth; therefore, they are witnesses for the truth/Elohim. They are representatives for the Elohim in the world. They are righteous, and act with integrity and justness. Second, they are a light to the world in darkness. They offer to every people, tribe, language and nation, the facts in evidence that they have been believing and practicing lies, and need to change their ways. They tell the world that the catastrophic events occurring all around them are directed by the Elohim, and are their wake-up call and a warning to the people of earth that the judgment process is now underway. They specify that these judgments are redemptive, in that they only destroy a specific percentage of the earths population (see Revelation 8 starting with verse two and chapter 9). This is th redemptive segment of the great judgment, great because it involves the whole world, and concludes at the sound of the seventh trumpet. Some in the world will ‘see’, and some will not. The light of truth will shine brightly, showing the way to righteousness and life, and those who choose to follow the light will find eternal life. Yet many will deny they are in the dark To them the light is the darkness and they refuse to believe in it. Those who deny the light will worship the beast and obey the beast receiving his mark, and willingly receive the seal of the ruler of this world. This seal is the mark/name of the beast (six-hundred, sixty, and six). (This concludes part 6)