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"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 157
THE
(continued)
And he
causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads (Rev. 13:16).
A comparison of
various scripture passages shows that the words token, sign,
seal, name, and mark are used in the Bible as
synonymous terms. Thus, the SEAL of God
in the forehead (Rev. 7:3), the Fathers
When God gave
Moses instructions for the keeping of the Passover feast, He said, And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying,
This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of
The deep and
hidden mysteries of God are
Who among us
would not willingly have our hand cut off or our forehead stripped of skin if anything so
obvious and simple as that separated us from the glory of God? Thus, in the book of Revelation two ways are
revealed: the way of the SEAL OF GOD and the way of the MARK OF THE BEAST! And each finds its reality in two areas on
the one hand, the seal of God in the forehead
signifies the mind of Christ, and the seal of
God upon the hand signifies the godly
and spiritual way of doing things, in all outward actions.
On the other hand, the mark of the beast in the forehead
signifies the carnal mind, the beastly way of
thinking, and the mark of the beast upon the right hand signifies the fleshly way of doing things, in all outward actions,
especially religious actions.
Except in the
case of left-handed persons, the right hand is the one generally used. Certainly if one pays homage to the bestial
religious system of man, he will lend a hand of assistance to that organization. He will promote its programs, cooperate in its
activities, be faithful in attendance to its
How well I
remember sitting on the platform of a large
Therefore,
we desire the seal of God upon our lives rather than the mark of the carnal, beastly
nature of religion! When one insists on living
after the carnal guidance of the bestial system, he takes upon himself the mark of the
beastly mind, which is spiritual death. If one
then lives in his outward actions out of that carnal religious mind-set and not after the
revelation and leadership of the Spirit, he takes upon himself the mark of the beast in
his right hand. No man by carnal
Oh,
how beautiful is the mark of the Fathers name upon the forehead! And let me tell you something. Everyone who has that mark has overcome the other
mark! John the beloved makes this plain when
he says, And I saw as it were a sea of glass
mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the
victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his
name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps
of God (Rev. 15:2). Beyond
any doubt this group standing upon the sea of glass is the same 144,000 that John
previously saw standing with the Lamb upon
Oh,
how grotesque is the mark of the beast upon the lives of men! It has a thousand different expressions, but I was
greatly impressed by reading a little article by Bob Robin
in which he shared this observation and experience: Most religions are
eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in every
service. A young girl was brought to the nurse
in the compound where I was staying. After a
night of suffering as the fetus was
Many
are raised in a religion where it is a terrible sin to go to a movie. I was raised with that kind of thinking. I asked my parents to go with me to see The
Ten Commandments. My father replied,
Why son, we havent attended a movie since we have been saved. I told them that it was time they did. My folks reluctantly went with me. My father entered the theatre looking like he had
just robbed the First National Bank. But, when
we got inside the lights were still on, and dad saw many people from their church there. The picture changed his whole attitude.
Many
times I have seen sincere people crawling on their hands and knees to the
BUYING
AND SELLING
And that no man might buy
or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his
name (Rev. 13:17).
Our good friends
of the futurist interpretation of Bible prophecy, with their fascinating and
best-selling books, persist in their horror stories of days now supposed to be impending when for a very brief period of time (say three and
a half years at most) the saints, who refuse to bear in
their foreheads the number 666, will be prohibited from engaging in commercial
transactions! Sensationalism is always
preferred to true spiritual understanding. The
fact that many godly men are already in prison, or are prohibited from preaching the
gospel in many parts of the world, means nothing at all to writers who either cannot or
will not be persuaded that the book of Revelation is a symbolical and SPIRITUAL BOOK,
intended to be SPIRITUALLY UNDERSTOOD; and that buying and selling, in the prophetical and
spiritual sense, has a much more significant meaning than that of supermarket shopping!
Buying and
selling in the spiritual sense has naught to do with the business of commercial trade. The prophet Isaiah faithfully exhorted the Lords
people, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye
to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price
(Isa. 55:1). The prophet made it plain
that he was not talking about worldly commerce or physical food, but about paying the
price spiritually for the milk of Gods Word and the wine
of His unspeakable joy and abounding Life. The
Buy of me
gold means to pay the price for the
divine nature of our Father to be brought forth in our lives! Tried in the fire means that His nature
has become an experiential reality within us through the processings of God. It speaks of an intimate, direct encounter with God
that causes all that is contrary to His nature to be consumed by the all-consuming fire of
His Spirit, resulting in our transformation into the likeness of Christ. Our Lord has called upon His elect, the overcoming
sons of God, to buy of Him this gold tried in
the fire, that we may be rich! Now theres a prosperity message
worth preaching! Now we know what the true riches are! The
riches of which He speaks are not the riches of the world, either of money, material
things, or of stature, position, fame, or self-glory.
All those things are mere tinsel that the baby Christians seek after, the
earth dwellers, who mind earthly things, and who worship the beast and his image! The riches of this world corrupt the
spiritual man and prevent a manifestation of the true Life of God. The gold that we are to buy of Him represents a
life that has been tried and tested, even as gold is refined, to bring forth the qualities
of the Christ-life within all who are His called and chosen ones. The gold of which our Lord speaks is symbolic of
the divine nature and the divine life of those who put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The gold of the realm of the spirit represents the
spiritual riches of the saints, for Christ said that we should buy this gold tried in the
fire, that thou mayest be rich. Therefore
gold represents our true wealth! Jesus pointed
out to the multitude
There is a
pattern in the book of Revelation that shows that the first use of
a word establishes the use and meaning of that word throughout the book. In this case, the first use of the word buy
is with a spiritual application. To buy and sell means, naturally,
to engage in the ordinary pursuits of life, and to exchange one item of value for another. If the purpose of the whole vision in the
thirteenth chapter of the Revelation is spiritual, then applying this as a symbol on the
spiritual plane reveals that those without the distinctive mark of the bestial system have
no more recognized standing in the carnal
church systems than men who are not allowed to buy or sell have in a community. If one in a particular business has his license
revoked, he then has no authority to buy or sell in that
And is it not
true that a man of God walking in the Spirit of the Lord and in the blazing light of
heavens revelation,
Elaine Cook
related in one of her writings how John Bunyon, author of Pilgrims Progress, was jailed for many years
for refusing to obtain a license to preach.
He refused to take the mark or
pay homage to the image of the beastly systems
of man, so he was forbidden to deal out the truth and people were kept from obtaining it
from him!
How many of my
readers would be permitted to take communion in most of the churches in your
city on Sunday morning? How many could teach a
Sunday School class in one of those churches? Ah,
matters not whether you are a saint of God, filled with His Spirit, and bearing His Word
you cannot buy or sell with
them unless you take the mark and pay homage to the image!
You see, dear ones, there is not the slightest possibility that I will be
invited to say mass at Saint Benedicts Catholic Church next Sunday. There is absolutely no chance that I will be called
to be the
The
facts just stated are well illustrated by the following circumstances which I borrow from
another brother. A number of years ago a
precious brother in the ministry went into a certain town to
find a place to conduct a series of meetings.
He was directed by a Presbyterian lady to their
I have been
encouraged and emboldened through many years by the writings of brother Ray Prinzing. In connection with our present subject he wrote,
We would not in any way try to fit another into those dealings which God has with
us. But just by the way of example and
illustration: When God dealt with us concerning the leaving of religious organized
systems, He also made it clear to our own heart that we were
HERE IS
Here is
Here is
The key is this
beautiful expression: Here is wisdom. If
its wisdom were talking about, then its not philosophy, its not
intellect, its not seminary training, its not mathematics. Notice that our text does not say, Here is a
riddle; let him that is bright solve it, but plainly states: Here is wisdom. Therefore we must have something different! Though one might study and search forever, plying
endlessly through mountains of musty volumes, trying to figure out the enigma of this
number, he would
The more
intimate and vital your relationship with Him, my
beloved, the more the truth of the deep things of God will unfold within your heart. But like a choir of bewildered voices, ascending in
pitiful petition to God, so those who try to understand the mysteries of God with human
reasoning come to cry at last, Lord, how can we know the truth? Which among this confusion of voices can we
believe? Which among this conglomeration of
interpretations is right? There is,
thank God! one answer and one only. It is the
answer given by Jesus centuries ago. I AM
the
truth! Seek not the truth from
the learnings of men. Seek Christ, for He is
the truth! If the Christ Himself does not bear
witness within you of the things written even in this message, then lay it aside, put it
on the shelf, or file it in file thirteen. As
you live in blessed communion with HIM, there will come that inward sense of
knowing; the words of life and light that then cross your path from Gods
anointed prophets and teachers will strike a responsive chord in the deepest recesses of
your spirit, bursting forth with the harmonious melody of understanding! Here is
Understanding is an ability
and faculty of the mind. Without mind there
can be no understanding. A mans
understanding corresponds precisely to the condition, development, or quality of his mind. Every created life form possesses mind, and the
understanding of the creature is limited by the quality of its mind. Quality of mind is, basically, an inherited
characteristic. For instance, a cat thinks
like a cat, knows as a cat, understands as a cat, and acts like a cat because it was born a cat therefore possessing the brain
and mind of a cat. We have a cat in our home. I have noticed that this cat will come and sit in
the bedroom while I watch the evening news on the television. While I am very interested in the news, the cat has
positively no interest at all! She couldnt
care less! Oh, yes, she often sits on the
corner of the bed and stares straight into the television screen. It is not that she doesnt see the pictures
Likewise, God is
of a different and higher order of life and nature than are humans. The mind of man functions on the level of human
nature, whereas the mind of God functions on the level of divine nature. There is no common ground of knowledge or
understanding between the two. Therefore, the
natural man is totally incapable of comprehending that which pertains to the realm of God! For natural minds to comprehend things spiritual is
equally as impossible as for cats to comprehend things human. And so, until humans receive of Gods Spirit the Spirit that knows and
understands
the things that pertain to God it is impossible for them to have any
understanding, either of God, or of His word, or of His ways. With what truth did
All
understanding is in the mind, therefore, the understanding of God is in the mind of God,
which is also the mind of the Spirit, the mind of Christ, and the mind of the new creation Man!
We do not understand the spiritual realities of God with our natural
minds. It is not the same mind that
understands how to drive your car that also understands the mysteries of the
It has always,
from the very beginning, been the serpent-dragons policy to misrepresent the truth,
to distort and carnalize the word of God, in order to hinder mankind from beholding the
great beauty and majesty of the eternal purposes of God.
The more absurdities the dragon-spirit can get interwoven into mans
doctrines and concepts respecting God, the church, the divine plan and purpose, eternity,
the destiny of man, etc., the better he will succeed in alienating men from Truth and
Reality. Thus for centuries the great
adversary has been working most successfully and has covered and hidden some of the most
precious and wonderful truths under the most specious and repulsive errors, and the
progress of the Lords people has been correspondingly slow. But, thank God! we are now living in the time when
the veil of ignorance is being dissolved, and when the Lords people are being drawn
by the Spirit to look away from the creeds, traditions, superstitions, and systems formed
for their enslavement during ages past, and to look away to CHRIST HIMSELF WHO IS THE
TRUTH AND THE WISDOM OF GOD! Therefore lean no
longer upon thine own understanding! Judge
neither by the sight of the eyes, the hearing of the ears, or the reasoning of the mind,
but seek that living SPIRIT OF UNDERSTANDING that comes from God alone!
This Spirit of Understanding is one of the seven spirits
of sonship that shall rest like a cloud upon the manifest sons of God. And the
spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the
spirit of
May
that deep and fervent cry expressed from the heart of the Psalmist become even the cry of
Gods called and chosen elect in this great hour: Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding that I may learn Thy
commandments (Ps. 119:73). How
readily did the Lord incline His ear unto the Psalmists earnest petition, and with
what speed did He send forth the answer, for in verses 102-104 we read: I have not departed from Thy judgments: for Thou hast taught me.
How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my
mouth! Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every
false way.
Now we know the
deep meaning of the words: Here is
Even
so, let it be unto us, our Father!
To be continued
J. PRESTON EBY
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