The Third Day

Chapter One,

 

PENETRATING THE DARKNESS

 

As the light of God dispels the darkness of our ignorance we discover the reality of our nature is DIVINE, even as it was in the beginning. Now we no longer look up in the sky waiting for the man Jesus to return and become KING, because we know he is KING ALREADY. Our life now comes under his control and in our renewed consciousness we know that we LIVE and MOVE and have our being in him. The work the Spirit began in us is now being finished as we find the "I" of self, that we thought was a separate entity from God, being raised to the "I AM" which I am in Christ.

 

As we approached the millenium many Christians were prophesying doom and gloom with wars and strife of every kind. However I see the most exciting time ahead as the Sons of God become manifest having discovered their true identity in the I AM and are now fitted to become the Saviors of the world. Thus the groaning creation will find its salvation in a people, who like Paul are living as Christ. This is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, "In thee and THY SEED shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Beloved we are the "seed" of Abraham through CHRIST.

 

Thus we are lifted out of the selfish concepts of our religious beliefs, where all we were interested in was getting our sins forgiven and escaping the flames of hell. How infantile is such an attitude, when compared to the reality, that we are being conformed to the image of his SON Jesus Christ, and becoming the vessels in which the glory of the Lord will be displayed to the world. In this is the will and purpose of the CREATOR fulfilled, as the MAN created in his likeness and image manifests the glory of the FATHER our heavenly Father glorified.

 

The Day of the Lord.

 

Theologians have argued over the meaning of the word "DAY" in the account of creation. Peter explains, "Be not ignorant of this one thing, that ONE DAY is with the Lord as a THOUSAND YEARS, and a thousand years as ONE DAY." 2 Peter 3:8 The truth is that God does not function in TIME at all, such as we do. God functions in ETERNITY, where TIME as we know it does not exist. Most Christians live either in the PAST or in the FUTURE. They keep harking back to great times in the past, when God did something for them. Or they say, "Won’t it be wonderful when we all get to heaven, or when Christ returns from the sky at the end of the age! So their hope is either centered in a past experience or in the future. For them there is very little for the "now."

 

Even the Christian calendar emphasizes this same thing. At Christmas we remember the Birth of Christ in Bethlehem with great celebration. However, we know almost nothing of the next thirty years, until he appears at the river Jordan. Then we follow him to the Cross where he dies and is buried, and raised from the dead on the third day. Again this is a time of great contemplation and rejoicing that we call EASTER, when we celebrate his resurrection. We follow him then to the Mount of Olives where he ascends out of the midst of the disciples. At that point we loose sight of him, and we do not know where he is gone. All celebrations are over, so we must wait for Christmas when we bring him back as a baby again, and celebrate his birth all over again. This is the revolving cycle of the Church's calendar.

 

Beloved the PAST is gone and we cannot bring it back, and the future is not ours, for it has no reality for us at this moment. The only moment you can do business with God is N-O-W. The only moment you can trust him is N-O-W. The only point at which TIME and ETERNITY ever meet is in the N-O-W. If you do not trust God NOW nothing in the past or the future can make any difference. NOW is the time of acceptance behold NOW is the day of salvation. If Jesus Christ is not Lord in your life NOW then he is not Lord at all.

 

As we come to the end of this millenium we enter the THIRD DAY from Christ, and the SEVENTH day from Adam, in which God finished creating the MAN who would manifest his glory, and sanctified all of creation, setting it apart for himself. Thus we are in the DAY OF THE LORD mentioned in the book of Revelation, where it says, "John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." I was taught that the Lord's day is SUNDAY, but this is far from the truth. The day of the Lord is the day when man ceases to live out of a sense of separation from God, and discovers Christ not only dwells within, but that he is living his life out from the Most Holy Place of our being.

 

This is a time of spiritual awakening of epic proportions, when the Body of Christ is rising out of its mortality and death, through the process of Resurrection. These have heard the voice of the Son of God and have been raised from the dead in the perfection of the Christ, who is their life. Their whole purpose in living is to declare the image of God, in loving, blessing and redeeming all mankind through the ministry of reconciliation, until all creation has been released from its bondage.

 

Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and in THREE DAYS I will raise it up." This he spoke of the Temple which is his body." Jn 2:19. We are now living in the THIRD DAY from Christ. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of this day when he said," Arise, shine for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but the LORD SHALL ARISE UPON THEE AND HIS GLORY SHALL BE SEEN UPON THEE." Isa 60:1-2.

 

So this day for some will be a day of darkness, but for others it will be a day of light and revelation, which will turn the night into the brightness of day. We are reminded that in the days of creation in Genesis, that the DAY always began in the evening. "And the evening and the morning were the First Day." For Israel the Sabbath began at sundown on the previous day. So it is obvious that at this time some will enter the dawn of a NEW DAY of divine realization, while others will enter a time of darkness bringing with it a sense of impending doom.

 

To look today about us with NATURAL EYES, one could only consider this to be a time of great conflict when fear is filling the hearts of many people. There are wars and rumors of wars, with political and economic collapse in many parts of the world. There are floods and famine and other disasters in many countries. In view of these things many Christians consider this is a time of great darkness and unrest. On the other hand for those upon whom the SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS has risen, and their consciousness of the "I" has been raised to the "I AM," this is the glorious THIRD DAY or the DAY OF THE LORD.

 

The people who claim to be Christians today, are in fact a mixture, and this is the day when the Lord is going to purify HIS Church. Among those who belong to a Church today, are many whose righteousness does not even equal that of the Pharisees, or those who are in the world. I believe this to be the result of the "Gospel" that has been presented to the people. The people have been told, that as a result of Adam’s sin in the garden, God has placed all men under the curse of death, and this will result finally in being cast into an eternal burning hell. The only escape from such a judgement is to receive Christ as Savior and have our sins forgiven, then we can go to heaven. The alternatives in this spurious Gospel is HEAVEN or a BURNING HELL.

 

Today we have a large number of people who have responded to the preacher's appeal and "asked Christ into their heart" but their motivation is to escape HELL FIRE. In this response there is absolutely nothing for God. When Israel left Egypt under the mighty hand of God, there were many Egyptians who joined their ranks, who were called "A MIXED MULTITUDE." These were convinced Israel's God was greater than the Gods of Egypt, so decided to join what appeared to them to be the winning side, and leave Egypt. But they did not come out through the Passover Lamb. These people became a snare and a problem for the children of Israel. The Church today is also a MIXED MULTITUDE and this is the day when God is dealing with this mixture.

 

Do not misunderstand the purpose of this purging, for it is not an arbitrary culling of the flock of those who did not do everything right, or were not baptised using the right words. Nor is it that God does not love those who have just joined the group for questionable reasons. But God is calling OUT a people UNTO HIS NAME. "You who were sometimes alienated end enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now has he reconciled in the Body of his flesh through death, to present you HOLY AND UNBLAMEABLE AND UNREPROVABLE IN HIS SIGHT." Col:21-22. "Therefore if any man be IN CHRIST, he is a NEW CREATION."

 

God is not just looking for those who want "to go to heaven," but those in whom the mind of Christ has been activated, and their consciousness has been raised to behold the CHRIST dwelling within, expressing himself as "I AM." There will be no revelation of the true Sons of God until there is a purging of his people, and a falling away of those who at this point in time have not been touched by the Spirit of revelation. These will not be cast away nor will they be lost, but will find their place when God has prepared his "Called out ones." There are so many Christians today who are bound by carnal doctrines and false concepts of God, which will not allow them to see GOD DWELLING IN EVERY MAN. Their "God" is up in the sky and though they pray, he is powerless to do anything for them, because that "god" is just a figment of their imagination. The true God says, "Ye are the temple of the LIVING God, as he has said, I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK IN THEM, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." 2 Cor 6:16.

 

The greatest problem Christians face in the earth today is not the devil, but ignorance. The prophet Hosea said, "My people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge." In this day the Lord is rooting out every plant (thought) that my heavenly Father has not planted. All the false doctrines and concepts that are the product of the carnal mind of man must be taken away. Only then will the confusion and false images we have developed in our imagination be rooted out and then we can enter into REALITY.

 

God is LIGHT and in him is no darkness at all. Light represents understanding, and darkness represents ignorance for us today. We must therefore dwell in the LIGHT that is TRUTH, being taught by the Holy Spirit. We cannot know TRUTH apart from revelation by the Spirit of God. All Truth is a manifestation of God, because he is the GOD OF TRUTH. Truth will take us beyond the boundaries of the physical into the realm of the Spirit, where we touch the reality of all things.

 

Man did not originate from the physical world but came from God so therefore we are essentially creatures of SPIRIT, who live in a body. Our mortality is a consciousness that declares that the reality of our being is to be found in the BODY. Once we are aware we are Spirit having come from God, we no longer consider we are mortal creatures.

 

It follows, that if our origin is God we must be Spirit, for God is Spirit and so the divine nature must be inherent within us. This truth is revealed to us in Jesus Christ who although he was born of a woman yet he could say, "I and my Father are one." Jn 10:30. When he asked the disciples who they thought he was, Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God." Matt 16:16. Jesus told him, that knowledge came from the Father in heaven and could not be discovered through the mind of man.

 

So in this day we must discover this type of knowing which reveals to us the hidden things of God. The Apostle John tells us, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth IN HIM, and HE IN GOD." 1 Jn 4:15. This confession of the identity of Jesus Christ implies surrender and obedience, and not mere lip service. When it is genuine this confession is proof of our fellowship with God.

 

There are several words used in the GREEK language, that speak of different levels of knowing. "Ginosko" means to know by experience. Consider how long it takes for us to learn by experience the art of driving a car. This is only one issue, so gaining knowledge this way would limit us to knowing only those things that may appeal to us in the first place. This word is used in such scriptures as :- Jn 8:21, Jn 8:32 & Rom 10:19.

Another Greek word for knowledge is "EIDO" which refers to a higher knowledge that is FROM ABOVE. We do not have to experience this knowledge in order to know it, all that is needed is for the Spirit to BREATHE it into us. This is what Paul speaks about when he says, "That the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened that you may KNOW"........through the Spirit of revelation. Eph 1:18, also 1 Jn 2:20.

 

Then there is the Greek word SUNEIDO, meaning a knowledge that is absolute. This is when we know that we know. It is the knowledge gained by experience together with revelation knowledge whereby we become united with the TRUTH as revealed by the Spirit of God. "For it is GOD that works in you both to WILL and to DO of his good pleasure." Phil 2:13. "Suneido" is found in 1 Cor 4:4 and 2 Pet 3:17.

 

We have to accept the fact that the "natural man" cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and neither can he know them. The mind of man can search out many things but when it comes to spiritual issues, it has no capacity to know them, for they can only be spiritually discerned. Man’s persistence in trusting his own intelligence in order to know God has kept him in the dark, and so hidden from him the life giving power of the Spirit of God. Saul of Tarsus was convinced in his mind that Christianity was anti God, and so set his heart to destroy it. Here is the proof that the natural or soulish man has no capacity to know or understand God.

 

It was not until Saul had a spiritual experience over which he had no control, that he received information his natural mind could never have known. This knowledge came to him in the form of LIGHT, which illuminated TRUTH in him. He saw the one his natural mind considered to be an imposter, and put to death as a common criminal, now standing ALIVE in the Spiritual world of his own being, and he was speaking directly to him. The voice that transformed his life said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME?" Saul responded by asking, "WHO ART THOU LORD?" The answer to that question had not yet entered into his understanding, but the VOICE coming from within provided all the answers he needed

 

In the WORDS he heard within, Saul discovered the one he now called LORD was the one he was trying to destroy. Saul had yet to discover how the LORD he believed to be DEAD, was actually alive. His subjection to the Lordship of Christ having now been accomplished he replies, "LORD what do you want me to do?" No amount of human reasoning could have had this result in his life, because humanly speaking, he believed he knew the TRUTH about the lowly Nazarene. All true conversion involves these same elements of illumination that results in the over riding of the natural mind and therefore the will. No human source can ever discover what is TRUTH.