There is a start
and finish to everything. We seek peace because we are tired of warlike ways,
but we use warlike ways to satisfy our selfish ambitions. This duality is
destructive. Bringing things to the fore, and by articulating those still
hidden things helps us realize why death had to enter this world, although the
Living God did not create the inevitable finality. As we continue in the exploration
of peace, and its healing properties, we will also discover immortality.
[Ephesians 4:11–12] And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.
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| War in a bottle (Hardcover) |
As I look around, I see an
endless encouragement in faith, but hardly any life-changing knowledge. An amateur
and lame psychology is prevalent. As an example: If I see a duck and I am
hungry then I will do anything in my power to shoot the duck and eat? Or this: If
my cat has four legs and my dog has four legs, then my dog must be a cat? If
someone pins wings to my cow then my cow is a bird. I hear this sort of
unintelligent rationale. An audience sits there with open mouths agreeing with
that silly logic for after all it comes from a leader, pastor or even a
founder. We confuse authority with logic. Faith is not the only thing that
needs an endless pounding on. We have already beaten it to death. The dead
horse won’t get up. We encourage ourselves in faith because of the enemy’s
plans. And he is so sneaky. Someone said that he “wanted to be on the
devil’s hit list,” … as if he has one. I said similar things in the past when I
was still in this kind of a mindset.
God’s
glorious gift of faith should not be wasted on the defeat of the supposed foe.
The devil indeed does have a hit
list for he is a man and not an angel, but you do not want to be on his list.
It’s no joke. It is quite similar to the marketing tactics in which merchants
develop strategies for different types of clients. We respect the pulpit, but
what falls from it are just scraps of isolated information. Faith does not come
from hearing a few articulated words. The resident-in-heaven faith comes to us
at the appointed-by-God season, and under His conditions.
The gifts are there because of
the anointing. The Holy Spirit comes because of the anointing. He comes to
equip, to teach, to reveal, to comfort, to guide, and to remind. If we do not
sharpen our minds and educate ourselves, then altogether we should forget about
trying to achieve faith.
[Acts 10:38] You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
The Greek word chrio means to smear, to rub in, or to
saturate with a substance. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and clothed with
power of which He spoke in Luke 24:49. Jesus was humble and gentle and sharing
is the fruit thereof.
“Behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Just as He prayed
that we might have His glory, as He did; and be one with the Father, as He was
one (John 17:22); in the same way He wants us to be “clothed with the power
from on high.” He wanted us to be clothed with the same glorious garment as He
was, and do even greater works than He did (John 14:12). This is an example of
the ultimate self-nullification, no fleshly pride whatsoever. But did He mean it?
– Jesus does not lie.
[Acts 1:7-8] It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Instead of busying ourselves with
times and epochs and contend with other speculators in the process; our job is
to be clothed with the power from on high and do the work of the great
commission.
The source scripture for the anointing
is found in Isaiah 61:1-3. “The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me because He
has anointed me to...”—I am anointed to do something, to accomplish something,
or my job is to proclaim, to lift oppression, to heal, etc. Therefore, I must
have the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.
Anointing does not come and go,
but the Spirit of the living God does. As far as the different dimensions of
His presence are concerned we can experience more or less of Him. The Holy
Spirit is compared to the River of Life as mentioned in Ezekiel 47, and by
Jesus in John 7:38-39. Isaiah called it the river of peace (Isaiah 66:12). Hence
we can have more of water or less, bigger river or just a stream.
God’s anointing is not He, but IT;
therefore IT does not teach, but HE the person does. The misunderstanding
begins with the mistranslation of the First Letter of John 2:27. The original
manuscript came to us quite damaged. The sense was lost, leaving the
responsibility of correction to the compilers, and then later to the translators.
But when we read it, while being anchored in Isaiah 61:1, we then connect the
missing pieces.
[1 John 2:20] But you have an anointing (Greek, chrisma) from the Holy One, and you all know.
The discrepancy is found in the
gap between Hebrew and Greek. Chrisma
means an unguent, which is a balm like soothing preparation spread on wounds,
burns, rashes, abrasions or other topical injuries; hence something smeared. Special
endowment or charisma was an additional idea attached to a healing balm. The
Hebrew anointing shemen was not
necessarily used to heal, but rather to mark someone as a sign of an office into
which one was being installed.
Now, being rooted in Isaiah 61 we
read 1 John 2:27 this way:
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but [because of] His anointing [He] teaches you about all things, and [He] is true and [does] not lie; and just as it [He] has taught you, [you therefore] abide in Him.
In the original Greek the last
sentence actually reads: “as HE taught you, abide in HIM,” which would complete
the logical flow of John’s expression. The word ‘abide’ is used in the
beginning of this verse and also at the end. Everyone would agree that the
anointing always abides in/on us, for the Bible says that the gifts and callings
of God are IRREVOCABLE (Romans 11:29), or without repentance.
Between Holy Spirit the person, we have the anointing as something mysterious, yet it is not so. Christos (Greek) is Mashiah (Hebrew), the anointed one. Jesus (Greek) Yeshua (Hebrew, salvation) was not only charismatic, but also, and above all, He was the Messiah—the anointed one to save; and precisely because He was thus anointed He received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. No one had the fullness of the Spirit but Jesus was not selfish; and His generosity is beyond our grasp.
Oil was God’s marking for His choice or appointment. Whatever the office required the anointed one had to be equipped. The demand was often too great. To rule God’s people with wisdom was not an easy task; therefore the power from on high was sent to enable the anointed.
Holy Spirit came immediately
after the ceremony of the anointing, which was not always visible. Examples:
Samson, Gideon, king Saul, king David, king Solomon, the prophets, the Messiah Yeshua
(Jesus Christ) and the five-fold ministries of the Prophet, Apostle, Evangelist,
Pastor, and Teacher. And, because of this marking comes the Person Holy Spirit.
Although portrayed as a delicate humble dove, Holy Spirit is the Power of God
by which all things in existence were created.
[1 Samuel 16:13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. (Thus David was clothed with the power from on high.)
When the physical
anointing-with-oil was finished the Holy Spirit came upon David and remained on
the king and prophet all of his life. Yes, David’s anointing signified two
offices—king and prophet. He had one anointing for two offices, not double
portion of the anointing, which would make no sense. The double portion of the
anointing idea comes from these words: Shnaim
BrucheHa Ali, “Please let two portions of the blessing (that was on Elijah)
come on me (on Elisha).” God is one. You are an individual just as I am. You
have one anointing, and I have one anointing; and because of the anointing the Holy
Spirit comes and does supernatural works. This anointing does not come and go
and cannot be washed off, ‘it stays on you even in the hot shower.’
King David was sensitive to the
grieving of the Spirit—on David’s account—and of His coming and going; hence
his words: “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy
Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). Repentance was David’s key to God’s heart.
When Elijah transferred His authority to Elisha oil was not used, but mantle, which Elijah was wearing. Elijah was taken to heaven and Elisha continued God's work. Elisha died and we find no place in the Bible that mentions a transfer of Elisha’s anointing.
One must understand that in God’s
eyes a person and his garments are viewed as one unit. Those that touched the
garment of Jesus, or those of the apostles, were healed as if the person himself
had touched them. (See Ezekiel 44:19) Elijah was told to appoint another man as
prophet in his stead. That means, that if you take off your garment (being
anointed), and place it on someone else you lose your anointing for you have
just passed it on to another. That’s what Elijah did. It is fine if that’s what
you’ve been told to do, and you are about to leave this earth, but if you plan
to continue serving God in the capacity of your anointing then you’d better be
carful. My people are destroyed for lack
of knowledge.
The Spirit who was upon Elijah was also on Elisha because of the anointing. This is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:11). He is always active and it was the Holy Spirit that was hovering over Elisha’s bones, although a corpse is deemed to be unclean. The power of life was there as if longing for the living body, or grieving over Elisha’s passing, because his mentor did not hit the dust, but was translated to heaven. The grace that was on Elijah was also on Elisha, but… (More later.) Elisha did not anoint someone else in his place as his master did. Elisha’s soul rested in peace in Sheol/Paradise while his bones rested in the physical ditch. Into this ditch another corpse was accidentally thrown and the deceased came to life (2 Kings 13:21). Here we have a very powerful example of God’s workings even beyond the grave. The IT did not raise the dead man, but it was HE the person because there was the body, vessel and former temple of an anointed man of God. Holy Spirit is eager to do the supernatural works through His anointed. He can’t wait to bring peace and joy into your life.
[Ephesians 4:13] … Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature, which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
What is it that we attain to? Is it
the jaw-dropping sensationalism and empty entertainment? The apostles
encountered these attitudes among the mythology-reared Greeks. The fascination
with mythology continues to this day. In the old days, the apostolic teachings were
boring, and the people ignored them. To get people’s attention, they had to
incorporate local folklore. But, that does not mean that the allusions to
devils and fallen angels were the Bible truth. This trash really came from
Babylon then Persia and then from the two hundred years of Greek domination. Hellenization
was really a horrific period for the writers of the Bible, worse than the
Babylonian exile. Greece’s pagan and very much imposing “culture” severely impaired
the monotheistic mind. Only the one that held on to the one sovereign and fully
in control God; would endure and overcome all that nonsense.
It was sophisticated and smooth kind of a war that was waged upon the monotheistic mind. The classical Hellenistic philosophy was very appealing, and although in that pot of dirt gold and diamonds were also found—as far as the One God is concerned—it was too polytheistic. Mythology mixed with philosophy remains impotent when it comes to our relationship with the living God.
The Maccabees fiercely resisted this invasion, and intrusion, until the Roman period; and had it not been for the eventually victorious Hasmoneans we would have nothing to say in this book. But, to a certain extent, we are still in that kind of mentality, and though it’s not so much polytheism that impairs our view of the one God, but rather dualism. Some might say that I have a huge job ahead of me. Actually, it is complete. It is as tight as a submerged submarine. All that you may notice here are just pieces of this glorious ‘puzzle.’ Regarding this matter I have perfect clarity. Time will show it to be so, and quite soon.
I was also deeply into this (nowadays) 'mythological trash' for at least 20 years, but the diligent, almost crazy seeking of God, paid off. He revealed Himself to me in the beauty of His brightly shining truth. How can I betray Him and all that He revealed to me by going after the popular and this mind seducing trash?
If you have not yielded your mind yet to the last reformation, before the return of Christ, your psychological disposition would still crave sensationalism. ‘God’s love is boring. Peace is boring. Gentleness is boring. All the fruits of the Holy Spirit are boring. Give me the show, the power, the spectacle.’
You can paint over a rotten piece of wood and make it look attractive but it is still rotten. All you need to do is to take the knife of truth and cut through it. Would you find that more attractive? I have already; that’s why I keep on cutting, drilling and revealing.
[Ephesians 4:14] As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.
There will be a consequence, the fruit of feeding on the
truth. But, what’s the result? A wind of doctrine will not do anything for me,
for that wind comes and goes and nothing substantial remains. It makes a
splash, but then it is gone. It does not change the old into something new.
Remember that anything true must
be opposed and tested; otherwise, truth has nothing to offer. The best test of
truth is the accusation that it is a lie. The truth will emerge triumphant,
thus proving it to be the truth. Only the wise recognizes the truth and then
embraces it. The accusation of the truth, as being a lie, can give us a
headache; and the time lost on its defense cannot be easily recovered.
Every good car, or appliance, has
to pass through inspections and tests. The inspector looks for flaws and
anything that might be wrong with the product. He or she scrutinizes the
merchandise. That test may be unpleasant and viewed as something negative. When
it is done to us we don’t like it; we may even loathe it. After meticulous
inspection, a car or an appliance must undergo unpleasant tests before it can
be marketed and sold as something true and worthy of its brand name. But,
again, this is the reality in the material world. What about the spiritual
realm? Are we not also spiritual?
The Bible is very clear about the
mission of Satan, whom God made to act (a created being) as a prosecutor in the
court of law; hence, the frequent references to the faultfinder and accuser. In
modern terms, Satan can be compared to an aggressive criminal attorney,
district Attorney or prosecutor, one who is in God’s court and therefore under
His complete sovereignty. We do not like prosecuting attorneys; we may even
hate them when they stick their noses in our private business. The soul (nephesh) dislikes it. But, now, since I
have given you little education, and rationality (ratzon), which approach would you choose—the rational or the
emotional? We attain to a sober and intelligent mind for the same source of our
disliking also functions in other areas of our lives. A true peacemaker went
beyond those basic instincts of animosity or loathing. A steadfast mind God will keep in perfect peace.
[Numbers 22:22] But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.
[34] The angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an (Hebrew: Satan) adversary, because your way was contrary to me.” (Or “to Mine.”)
Watch the word ‘angry.’ God was
angry so He sent His angel. (It was rather His holy garments that got rattled.
God personally does not get angry. More on this later.) But who was that angel?
The NASB is consistent in the use of capital letters in words that refer to God
and Jesus, but in this case this sentence ends with ‘me’ as if Balaam’s way was
contrary to the angel’s way, and not to God’s. Angels never speak from
themselves, for they do not have self-identity, but rather the God-identity;
something we aspire to achieve through the use of our will. (This is pleasing
to God. Jesus submitted His earthly will and self-identity to God in Gethsemane;
and because of Him we can also.)
However, Balaam’s heart was set
on cursing Israel. Most likely he was greedy and was promised more than money. When
God’s garments are rattled, automatically an angel is sent. This angel was called
Satan and he told the seer that his way is contrary to God’s way. Now watch the
confusion. If Balaam’s way was contrary to the angel’s way then the angel would
have acted on his own will; hence, having an identity. Angels are not
sovereign, God is. If Satan were only evil and spooky then Balaam’s cursing of
Israel would suit him just well. If Balaam’s way was contrary to Satan’s then
that would make no sense since he was going to curse Israel anyway. Satan is
not sovereign, God is.
Let’s untie this knot and make us free from logical errors. Satan is the expression of God’s wrath—rather of His aggravated holy garments—and his (Satan’s) mission is often unpleasant, but only to the wrongdoer, never to the righteous. The angel that stood against Balaam with a drawn out sword was his adversary. In Balaam’s eyes that angel was bad and quite naturally so. If you were going to curse someone God loves, and God would send a swordsman angel against you would you like the swordsman? God in His displeasure uses angels whom He can turn into adversaries if the situation so requires.[i]
Now, the war on earth has nothing to do with any heavenly war. We have believed wrong for much too long; and still go about it the wrong way. God’s heart and His garments are like sons and hirelings, fruits and gift, etc. To Moses God revealed His heart, but to strangers only His garments.
Power has gone out of Me, Jesus said when the woman with the blood issue had touched only the hem of His garment (Hebrew, tzitzit, a fringe of righteousness), yet He said, who touched me? Although God and His holy garments are inseparable, before one would pierce His heart one would have to go through His garment, which the prophet Isaiah clearly described (59:17).
The seer’s real intention was to answer Balak’s call, and profit from cursing God’s chosen. God sent an angel—who in the original text is called Satan—in order to oppose the seer. God always sees the true intent of heart and never our lifted hands, dancing feet, or burning incense. Religious works do not impress Him. Balaam was warned to speak only that which God would put in his mouth. The fear of God was instilled in him and his wicked ministry turned into a blessing. The son of Beor was a hireling, and although he did his job well, he was later killed for his evil counsel, which was given privately to this effect: ‘the only way to overpower Israel is through sex and harlotry’ (Numbers 31:8; Deuteronomy 23:4-5; Joshua 13:22). Here we have a clear example as to how God sees us. We are not known by our gifts, but always by our fruits. It also shows us how hirelings behave and how sons do, or ought to behave. The Moabite leader Balak promised Balaam rewards, “for I will indeed honor you richly” (Numbers 22:17).
Only sons attain a level of maturity, even perfection, for they see great value in sonship. The hirelings see no profit in sonship, but rather in instant gratifications; hence, everything goes, truth or lie, pretense or honesty… as long as the show goes on and money rolls in.
[i]
Examples of this fact
are found in many places throughout the Bible long before the development of
the Satan theology, first in the post-exilic Palestine and in Christianity. “God
sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem” (Judges 9:23). “An
evil spirit from the LORD terrorized Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14). “The LORD has put
a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets” (1 Kings 22:23).
Difficulties reconciling these verses in today’s theology stem from dualism,
e.g., God versus Satan.
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