"And Jacob...departed into *Charrhan. And he came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down to sleep in that place. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descended on it. And the Lord stood (Septuagint foot note: was established) upon it..." Genesis 28:10-13.

Jacob’s sun had certainly gone down. He had to flee the wrath of, his brother, Esau after having taken the birthright and blessing from him. With his light having turned to darkness, he laid his head upon a Stone.

In the natural, a person would not think of using a stone for a pillow. That would not have been my choice, nor probably not for any of you for that matter. Have you ever slept on the ground without an air-mattress, padding of some sort, or a soft pillow? If you have, I am sure you remember how hard and uncomfortable it was.

For myself, if I had been in the place of Jacob, I would have at least pulled up a small, moss-laden log to lay my head upon, or better yet, I would have gathered some leaves or a tuft of grass to cushion my head. But not Jacob — although he could have folded one of his garments for a pillow — he laid his head upon a stone. Rather than any similitude of the comforts of home that he had left behind, he chose a hard rock; for you see, he had entered Charrhan.

Jacob’s hour of trial had been initiated. It was time for his subtlety to be dealt with. Charrhan was the place his supplanting character would be parched, melted down, dried to a crisp, and burned up. His old carnal heavens would be rolled up like a scroll. His ways of taking the kingdom would cease, and God’s way of giving it would begin. With his eyes opened, he saw the Kingdom of heaven tightly fixed and established in the earth and with God over it all.

The land of Charrhan would be the proving grounds to bring Jacob to the place where God would rule in the man and not himself. It would be there that his name would change from Supplanter (Jacob) to God Rules (Israel). He would know this, not by theory, but by experience after the hollow of his thigh had been touched by the man of God who had wrestled with him all night. Genesis 32:24.

Jacob lost the battle; but by losing, he actually won. For he became a proven man, a tried man, a trusted prince of God. Although it seemed as if he lost, he walked victoriously as God’s emissary, yet with a limp.

When God touches a man’s strength, it remains touched. From that day forth, a smitten man can no longer trust his own flesh, but must rely completely upon His Master.

I was once told to never trust anyone who does not walk with a limp. Sounds like strange advice; but we should be able to see the point. If a person’s self-willed, cunning schemes, and tenacious carnal strength have not been crippled, the man will walk strongly in his own might. He will be a subtle taker, a supplanter, a Jacob rather than a meek, unimposing, trustworthy lamb and lion of God.

All who walk without a limp, and especially by the light of their own candles, self-kindled fires, and momentary sparks will be as Jacob. It is not the same with those whose names have been changed. After the hollow of their thighs are smitten, their name becomes Israel, or "it is not I but Christ who liveth in me." They know their strength does not come from themselves, but from He who rules over the Ladder. It is in Him that they place their confidence. It is then that they are held trustworthy and can receive the Kingdom from God’s giving hand. With all humbleness of heart and thanksgiving, they receive that which is their Father’s desire to give.

Although there is a violent struggle inwardly against the old carnal man, in the end God gives the Kingdom to the new spiritual man. The subtle usurpers that had listened to the serpent and taken the temporal kingdom from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil loses all, as the real fruit and everlasting kingdom is given to the saints of the most High that bears fruit from the tree of Life.

We are now seeing the obvious, that those who build their own fires walk in their own light, which is contrary the tree of Life. They compass themselves about with their minions, sparks who follow hard after them (Isaiah 50:11). Even though the kindlers may be loved by many, they are still thieves and robbers; for their pseudo anointing comes from the traducing serpent, and their ill-gotten enlightenment is manifested by taking that forbidden fruit.

Anyone who attempts godhood any other way than by He who is the Way, is a thief and a robber. Anyone who attempts godhood by way of the eye-opening, self-serving tree of knowledge is a thief, simple and true. Jesus made it clear when he referred to the religious leaders when he said, "All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them." John 10:8. And so it continues to this day. And it is the same for those who take from their hands. Truly, "...If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness." Matthew 6:23. You see, the fruit from that tree will open eyes to new vistas, but such enlightenment comes not by true revelations but by what we call traduced devilations. Their eyes are opened to know themselves, rather than God, and they walk in great darkness.

Ah, but genuine illumination comes when their hearts turn from the darkness of themselves to the brightness of the Lord. The veil is then removed from their minds, and the true light floods their souls like refreshing sunshine on a newborn day. When their soft, feathery pillows of human reasoning and traduced enlightenment is exchanged the hard Stone of Christ’s reality, their eyes are opened to see things they never knew existed. They peer into a realm which resides in their very presence.

With heads bruised and hearts turned, their focus will no longer be upon themselves, but upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather than seeing the single deity of themselves, they will see the one who deflates their I am ego. They will see beyond human comprehension. Standing before them will be the one like unto the Son of man, and this man will not be subtly naked as the first man. This man will be clothed with a garment of God down to the foot. His head and His hair (His mind, His rule, His authority, His Glory) will be of unmixed purity — white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes will be as a flame of fire — penetrating, revealing, purifying, refining. His feet will shine like fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace — bringing judgment as he walks through their lives. His voice will be as the sound of many waters of the countless thousands upon thousands of the Sons of God. Moreover, with the seven stars, the seven spirits of God, in His/their right hand of power. Every word which proceeds from this many membered Man will be as a sharp two edged sword proceeding from His mouth. And this Son of man which comes into view after the heart’s turning, will be seen as the Son shining in his strength. There will be no individuals to remain standing after their hearts are turned and they see the voice of the many waters speaking to them. Where there was once a fragment of glory in their single fires, those flames become darkened in the shining glory of the Son of man. And they will fall as dead men at His feet. (ref. Revelation 1:13-17).

They will cease from taking from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. After the violent struggle within, they will receive the broken bread of life from their Lord’s nail-scarred hand. The covering of their minds will be rolled back, and rather than seeing themselves — they will see Jesus, the humble Way, the Christ of God, the Ladder which reaches from the earth to heaven. They the Son God will be that revealed in them. They will see and know the Mediator between God and man, the One who had always been there, but they knew it not. They knew it not; for the great "I am" of self had blinded them, obscuring their vision of the One worthy of worship and praise.

"And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord IS in this place; and I KNEW IT NOT." Genesis 28:16. It will be like the two men from Emmaus that walked and talked with Jesus; but until they received His broken bread, they knew it not. Luke 24:35.

Notwithstanding, let us keep our focus more on being changed from the glory of the flesh and of the law to the glory of the Spirit and of Life by having our hearts turned, 2 Corinthians 3:16. It is then that we will be like Him; for we will see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2. It is not by seeing ourselves, but by seeing Jesus that opens our eyes to see beyond the veil. This comes when our heads throughout the night are bruised upon the Stone and our hearts turn. As long as the serpent’s throne, the carnal mind, remains alert, our hearts will be toward ourselves. The bruising and turning, however, opens our eyes to see Jesus, the Gate of Heaven’s Kingdom. We will then know that there is only One worthy of honor and glory and praise, only One to be worshiped and exalted above every name.

Some, however, may question, "Brother Roach, what makes you think your writings will aid in gathering His own into His garner? It could be the other way around." Hmm... I guess we’ll just have to wait and see as the sifting and gathering continues. In the meantime, we will all be exercised in discernment and what rings true in the Spirit. Yet, if I am wrong, I would much rather be wrong in exalting Jesus rather than exalting thieves and robbers, or myself. Regardless, we will continue in that to which we have been called.