THOSE IN WAITING

(Part 5)

#51

AFTER THE IMAGES -- HEAVEN'S RAIN

"Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence" (Isa 30:22).

In our previous studies of this series we saw some things concerning the mystery of WAITING. We saw it as being much more than sitting in our easy chairs and biding our time until the Lord acts in some manner or another. In a measure, we saw what it really is "to be in waiting"; namely, that it speaks of being united with God as a result of the hard bread of adverse TWISTING and the bitter water of AFFLICTION (PIERCING). It was in this union where we find the ability to be taught the difference between the holy and the profane and to discern between the unclean and the clean (Ezk 44:23). Once the twistings and piercings of God's ordained waiting have worked their intended purpose, we can rest assured that we no longer fit into the category of worshiping the unholy, profane images of silver and gold. As painful as this holy waiting upon God is, the price paid is not comparable to the rewards that follow.

No longer will we look to anything other than Jesus Christ as our Saviour. We will come to know that believing in and trusting the silver images of our creeds and doctrines, religious laws, churches, pastors, spine tingling sermons, or anything else cannot save us. By waiting upon the Lord, His transcendent glory begins to be seen in our lives -- replacing the false concepts of our own traduced minds. In many cases, what we thought was God turned out to be nothing more than flashy ornaments of gold (anklets) that appear to enhance our "godly walk," yet we find them to be of our own crafty manufacturing. The more we wait upon the Lord the more we will know there is no gold of God in the power of our own minds. Those who wait will never believe that going to the grave will be their ticket to being made holy. In waiting, we come to realize that making a positive confession is not what produces His nature within. And those who wait will not claim to be something they are not by parading before people with shiny trinkets of silver and gold. If they truly are something in Christ, such as the very expression of the substance of God, they won't be bragging about it -- they will just BE. In essence, upon waiting, we will cast away all these sidestepping distractions as a useless menstruous cloth for the glory of the prize of the high calling. We will exchange our strength of falsehoods for the strength of God's reality (Isa 40:31).

YE SHALL RAIN

Tremendous are the rewards of our Lord and their worth is far more than what we lose by waiting upon Him. Not only will we hear His voice behind us, which will change our direction of walk, and not only will we be blessed personally by seeing our Teacher face to face, but from this union we shall become the blessing to creation they have been anxiously expecting, as related in Romans 8:19-21. The next several verses of Isaiah give some additional insight into what that might be: Firstly, "And He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous..." (Isa 30:23, RSV).

Concerning spiritual things, it is understood that rain refers to the life giving word of God as it descends from the heavenly realm and touches people in some measure. We understand that the Word which goes forth from God shall not return void, and that, Jesus is The Word. We also understand He is the Head of a many membered body of like fashion. Therefore, we can hopefully see there is much to be said about this rain, about this Word which God is giving. With this basic knowledge, we can look at Isaiah 55:10-13 and see some things that pertain to the overcomes in this late hour:

"For as THE RAIN cometh down, and THE SNOW from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall MY WORD be that goeth forth out of My mouth: IT shall not return unto Me, void, but IT shall accomplish that which I please, and IT shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent IT.

For YE (YOU are the rain, and YOU) shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before YOU into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

Not only was Jesus called the Word (Jn 1:1), but in this passage of scripture His people, YE, are also called the WORD; and this heavenly body descending to the earth, as RAIN, is seen going forth from Him to accomplish something. Let us read these verses again but with the veil removed and notice some things and see what it is:

For YOU shall come down as the RAIN and the SNOW from the heavens and water the parched earth, not returning empty-handed, for YOU will cause it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: YOU, MY ESSENCE, MY WORD, shall go forth out of My mouth. YOU shall not return unto Me void, but YOU shall accomplish that which I please, and YOU shall prosper in the thing whereto I have sent YOU.

YOU shall proceed from Me with righteousness and joy, for YOU KNOW FROM WHENCE YOU CAME AND WHERE YOU ARE GOING. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SENT TO DO, and you shall be led forth with peace: the mountains (the great kingdoms of the world) and the hills (the lesser kingdoms) shall break forth before YOU into singing, and ALL the trees of the field that Jesus bought with His blood (everyone in the earth) shall clap their hands.

Instead of the piercing thorns of adversity which afflict and prompt Adam to curse God shall come up the fir tree of everlasting worship to Him; and instead of the vexing brier of the desolate wilderness shall come up the myrtle tree -- the dwelling of God; and it, the myrtle tree, shall be to the Lord for a name, for He shall be living therein. This tree shall be an everlasting sign that I live in them and shall not be cut off.

Praise God! What an awesome thing we are called to do! Can you hear it? Can you see it? Furthermore, can you believe it? If so -- REJOICE! If not, wait then, wait for the season and be watered of the rain, and you too will break forth into singing and will clap your hands along with the other trees of the field!

SEVEN TREES

At this present time, we can look into the heavens and see many clouds, but very often they are no more than "...clouds without water, carried about of winds." They are as "...trees whose fruit wither, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots." And they are "Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars..." (Jude 12-13). Should these wispy men of high imaginations remain in their exalted realm, there would never be a source of life to the wilderness of the earth; and without water there would never be a tree of any kind. Thorns and briars only would be its portion.

Fortunately there has been some refreshing rain, and it has brought forth some wonderful fruit. In one place (Isa 61:3) this fruit is called "TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, the PLANTING OF THE LORD, that HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED." We can also read Isaiah 41:17-20 concerning the Lord supplying water to the desolate places and bringing up trees to His glory:

"When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

I will open RIVERS in high places, and FOUNTAINS in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a POOL OF WATER.

I will plant in the wilderness the CEDAR, the SHITTAH TREE, and the MYRTLE, and the OIL TREE; I will set in the desert the FIR TREE, and the PINE, and the BOX TREE together:

That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it."

To the casual observer the above verses may not stand out as containing any hidden mysteries which are noteworthy enough to discuss, but there are indeed some treasures therein. We would like to delve into the spirit of each word and see what lies beneath the surface; however, for the sake of space and time we will notice only a couple of thoughts: Due to the birthing of the springs, rivers and pools, everything thirsty is watered; and the source of these life-giving bodies of water, in the natural as well as the spiritual, find their origin in rain. We cannot help from noticing that this water brings forth trees of particular qualities of God's glory (each tree representing a unique character of God in humanity). Another interesting point is also brought to our attention -- that there are SEVEN TREES. This is very significant in the economy of God. It so happens that SEVEN is the most frequently used number in the Bible. The Hebrew word for seven is sheval (Grk. hepta). It is from the root savah, to be full or satisfied, have enough of. Seven speaks of fulness, completion, perfection. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it without marring it. The word Shavath is derived from it, and means, to cease, desist, REST, and from this word comes Shabbath, Sabbath, or DAY OF REST.

It is Seven, therefore, that stamps perfection and completion to the things it is connected with: Of time, it tells of the Sabbath, and marks off the week of seven days. Seven completes the colors of the spectrum and the rainbow. Seven also satisfies in music the notes of the scale, with the eighth merely being a repetition of the first, etc.

Another derivative of savah is shavagh which means, to swear, or make an oath. It is clear from its first occurrence in Gen. 21:31, "They sware both of them," that this oath was based upon the "seven ewe lambs" (vv. 28-30) which point to the idea of satisfaction and fulness in the oath. It was the security, satisfaction, and fulness of the obligation, or completeness of the bond, which caused the same word to be used for both the number seven and an oath; and hence it is written, "...an oath for confirmation is an end of all strife" (Heb. 6:16).

Seven, as pertaining to fulness, can also be seen in the scriptures in conjunction with sin: An unclean spirit, upon finding the backslider empty, swept and garnished, brought back seven spirits worse than himself and they entered into him (Mt. 12:45); and Mary Magdalene had seven spirits cast out of her (Lk. 8:2). Knowing the significance of this number, and that it was commonly used in the ancient Greek and Hebrew to express fulness, it is easily seen that it was not speaking specifically of seven spirits in these two cases. With the backslider, Jesus was merely using an analogy to indicate the fulness of sin that would come upon Israel. The seven spirits cast out of Mary, the harlot, indicated the ultimate depth she had fallen to. Using her as a type of the Church, it would be speaking of the fulness of sin she would come to but eventually be delivered of. Whether referring to good or evil, holy or unholy, pure or profane, the number seven in scripture most often carries the thought of fulness, completion, totality, satisfaction, etc.

The "seven" churches of Revelation speak of the birth, growth, death, and resurrection of the Church as a whole. It deals with its total decadence as well as its complete victory and fulness in Christ. After the seven judgments of seals, trumpets, angels, etc., and the seven Spirits minister Life, will finally come the NEW JERUSALEM -- in full manifested glory from the heavenlies. Likewise with the world -- after its experience of the barren wilderness, and then as a result of the rain forming the three (indicating perfection) bodies of water (rivers, fountains & pools), the SEVEN TREES of FULNESS, completion, totality, and absolute satisfaction, spring forth.

All of these planted trees in the wilderness (the cedar, the shittah tree, the myrtle, the oil tree, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree) speak of a peculiar characteristic of God's nature in humanity, even as Isaiah 11:2 refers to the seven spirits of God. In every age we have seen one or more of these glorious attributes of God in the world; but never have all seven, or the complete, full restoration of mankind been witnessed. Notwithstanding, this will be evidenced once the Sons of God have waited upon the Lord and they descend upon the earth as the long awaited rain from heaven. There are many things that could be opened concerning trees, especially the myrtle tree, but suffice it to say, when THE RAINING WORD (THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD) come down from the heavens and touch the dry earth, ALL THE TREES OF HUMANITY WILL COME ALIVE AND CLAP THEIR HANDS WITH GREAT JOY! There will be no more thorns or briars; and there will be no more tears or sorrow. Pain and death will also be destroyed, for all the former things will have passed away and ALL THINGS MADE NEW (Rev 21:4-6)! SO BE IT, ACCORDING TO HIS WORD THAT CANNOT RETURN VOID! (Is 55:11).

This, dear brethren, is what the world begins to experience once we have waited upon the Lord, and our false images and ornaments of silver and gold are forever cast into the pit of oblivion, but this is not all. Those who have labored hard in the Kingdom of God will receive a worthy blessing: "...The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan." (Isa 30:24). Provender is translated from the Hebrew word beleel, and means, mixed, i.e., feed (for cattle) from bawlal, to overflow (spec. with oils; by impl. to mix; also to fodder). (Strong's Exhau. Conc). And the word for clean comes from khawmeets and means salted, i.e., sprinkled with salt, of which, flocks and herds are so fond, that the Arabs say proverbially, sweet fodder is the camels' bread, when salted it is their sweetmeats. (GESENIUS Heb-Chal Lex to the Old Testament).

Either of these words alone would speak of a tremendous feasting upon the word of God; but coupled together their weight is increased greatly. Once we have heard the clear voice of the Lord (behind us), and have turned from our own ways -- to stand face to face with our Teacher, and are no longer worshiping idols of our own imaginations -- we shall be able to spread a table fit for a King. We will not only eat of that delicious word ourselves, but we will provide a word to the weary laborers that has been anointed with the holy oil of gladness. And being the Lord's savory salt of the earth, we will bring out its full flavor, even as natural salt does to the food it is applied to. Without the illusions of the creative mind of man, we will bring forth the evidence of God's very substance. This will be the "sweetmeats" the ground tillers, the corn grinders, the heavy laden ones so justly deserve, and have for so long desired. Isn't it good to know -- "...The desire of the righteous shall be granted?" (Prov 10:24).

"And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall" (Isa 30:25). It is hard to imagine such a tremendous thing, that every major kingdom, as well as all the lesser ones, will have the living waters of God flowing upon them. Nevertheless, we believe the words of the prophet, and can be assured that John saw clearly when he wrote: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev 11:15). All towers shall fall, those within and those of the world, as Isaiah 30:25 concludes. The great Kingdom of our Lord will be established as every imagination and high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge and reality of God is cast down, when every thought is brought into the absolute obedience of Christ (II Cor 10:5). It is then that the dead shall awake. They shall arise from the dust and live and sing when the Sons become their dew of life, saviours upon Mount Zion to judge them, descending down from Mount Hermon. (Isa 26:19, Oba 21, Ps 133:3).

FALLING STARS

Following this momentous hour of waiting we can expect God's blessing upon those who look for Him, but we can also count on the breath of His chastisement to come upon many others: "Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with His anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire" (Is 30:27). On one hand those who have been joined to the Lord due to being twisted and pierced (Those In Waiting) are seen as a great benefit to some; while on the other hand, they come as fierce judgment to others.

From the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, He is gathering His elect (Mt 24:31). Isaiah wrote, "I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth" (Isa 43:5-6). He also said, and Jesus quoted him in Matthew 24:29, when referring to His appearing in the saints whose habitation is the heavens, saying, "...The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."

The sun is the ruler of the day, and the moon's dominion is in the night, whether we are speaking of the day of man or the day of the Lord. If it is the day of the first Adam, we see the spirit of man in his shining, his life source (the sun), as the ruling factor of his day. During the dark hours of the night his wife, his soul, takes her turn upon the throne of authority. During man's day, his shining radiates as the supreme head; but during the night his body, his wife, the dead church and all the carnal manifestations of the soul, reflect his light throughout the long hours of darkness. Her mysterious, yet appealing, influence is forever pulling humanity, the tides of the sea, toward her influencing arms of death.

The heavens house not only the sun and the moon but the stars as well, and against the black backdrop of space they shine brightly -- some with outstanding brilliance. These luminaries, men and women of renown, seem to be so magnificent as they radiate their passing life to a desperate world -- a world looking to wandering stars for guidance -- spiritual astrology.

These stargazers seem to do well, that is, until their pseudo powers are shaken and their guiding stars fall from heaven by God's mighty shaking. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the spirit of man (the sun) be darkened, and the worldly church (the moon) shall no longer give her superficial light, and the religious leaders (the stars) shall fall from heaven (from their place of glory and authority). All the powers of the heavens shall be shaken" (Mt 24:29 paraphrased). And we would be remiss if we did not notice the inspired words of the writer of Hebrews: "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:25-29).

Peter also wrote of this significant day: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Pt 3:10). Great noise comes from one Greek word, rhoizedon, and means whizzingly, i.e. with a crash. It is not in the sense of a load blast of an atomic bomb, as the preachers of today are so quick to declare, but it is more like the whizzing crash of the stock market in 1929. The Greek word for elements is stoicheion which means orderly in arrangement. It comes from the root word, stoicheo, and means to march in military fashion, keep step, i.e. to conform to virtue and piety (Strong's Exhau. Conc). Hence, in like manner of the 1929 stock market crash that plunged the world into the great depression, we will not only see it again, but much more -- a whizzing crash of Adam's "orderly" arrangement.

As a matter of fact, we are already seeing three realms of the heavens being shaken: the realm of finances (the economy), of politics, and of religion. And, the stars are falling -- one by one at first, but just wait, we venture to say that before long the shining prophets of the night will come falling down from the heavens of their glory in mad profusion. The orderly, high-marching elements of that system in the heavens of man shall continue to come crashing down until there is nothing left. The shakings are already swift, emphatic, and very decisive, but I believe we can count on the speed to quickly increase in the days ahead.

Once the heavens of humanity are shaken, where Satan is the prince of its power (Eph 2:1-3), and everything that has the scent of man comes tumbling down, Revelation 11:15 will be fulfilled: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." The same things can be seen in the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation where John wrote in reference to the fall of mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.

SEVENFOLD SUN

This is a small view of the heavens in the realm of the first Adam; but we praise God, for there is a kingdom greater than his dark dominion over the earth. This greater kingdom is of the last Adam. It, however, is not established except by war; and we see this in Revelation 12 as the man child, the sons of God, are caught up to God and His throne, and they cast down Satan and his angels. It is then that the heavens explode with the last Sun's glory (Isa 30:26): "Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." With understanding let us read it again: Moreover, the light of the Moon, the light of Christ shining from within His Bride, shall be as the light of the Son; and the light of the unveiled Son shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days -- bringing full satisfaction, complete dominion, and absolute perfection. This will be in the day of the glorious manifestation of His rest, when He binds up the breach of his people, and heals the stroke of their wound! (Individual "STARS" -- those luminaries that shine so brightly in the ministries of the present church order, are not mentioned here. In this kingdom of the last Sun, the last Adam, there is no longer any night or darkness against which they might shine. They are swallowed up of the light of the Sun.)

Great God Almighty! What a display! Just knowing this, how can we whine when our own heavens are shaken? For of a truth, when the end comes to the beggarly elements of our world and of the heavens that rule over it, we shall be established in the resplendent glory of the new heaven and new earth. In this place where the our Lord said, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things will pass away. And He that sits upon the throne says, Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And He has said, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" (Rev 21:1-6).

This, dear friend, we can count on coming to pass, especially to THOSE IN WAITING. For of a truth, all good things will come to those who WAIT -- to THOSE WHO ARE JOINED TO THE LORD by being TWISTED together with Him, to THOSE WHO ARE JOINED TO THE LORD by being dragged upon the cross with Him and PIERCED to the core of their inmost fiber. THOSE IN WAITING are they who ascend into Him and are not related in any fashion to the clouds without rain, but shall be full of the glory of God's life to the groaning creation. Let us therefore pray that we will have enduring patience as we W-A-I-T  UPON  THE LORD!

Elwin R. Roach
 

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