KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES
studies in end-time revelation
THE HEAVENS DECLARE
Part 2
During those star-studded nights above the plains of Judea, David looked into the heavens and there beheld the vast glittering band of stars making up our Milky Way. He was awed and knew there had to be boundless power, intelligence, and purpose behind it all. He was transfixed. He so identified with that purpose that it became his passion. Everywhere he looked he could see the stamp of the divine Creator. He exclaimed in words of inspiration that sprang up from within his spirit: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Ps. 19:1-4).
What did David know of the heavens and how they express the glory of God? What does David mean when he says that every day speaks to him and to us? What does he mean when he declares that every night is a showing forth of knowledge? To whom does he refer when he says that there is no place on earth where the language or speech of man is spoken that "their voice is not heard"? Surely there is something more indicated here than a mere wonder on David' s part evoked by the immensity and grandeur of the star-lit sky! They speak in every language to every people. And they speak and reveal the majesty of God's great plan and purposes to His creation. Upon the blue sapphire of the firmament is spread a sheet of royal paper written all over with the wisdom and power of God. This book of creation is not sold in bookstores, but it is to be read by everyone who lifts his eyes up to heaven.
The names of the constellations with their stars reveal the divine truth that was later written in the Bible. The written scriptures began with Job some forty-one centuries ago, but the truth of God was recorded in the starry heavens from the distant dawn of creation, untold ages before Abram journeyed from Ur of the Chaldees or Moses trod the burning sands of the Sinai. This is the great truth of Psalm 19. The first six verses speak of the truth recorded in the heavens, while the next five concern the truth written in the scriptures. The star-studded heavens at night and the blazing sun shining by day are in fact GOD'S BIBLE IN THE SKY visible from every land and nation over the world. Over the whole earth and from ships on the far-flung seas people can peer at this marvelous book and seek to discover the lost meanings now almost forgotten by mankind. Day by day and night by night they beam down upon us from the Father of lights --our heavenly Father' s Lesson Book- describing His character and the unspeakably glorious plan of creation and redemption which from the dawn of history He has ordained for the world.
Paul illustrated this wonderful truth of God revealed in the heavens when he wrote, "The invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Rom. 1:20). Here we are told that the invisible truths of God have been before us and visible for us since the foundation of the world, because they are seen, or illustrated, in the things that are made. Invisible truths are pictured in visible things. Or invisible, spiritual truths or laws of God are set before us in the image of the natural and visible laws. When God created the heavens and the earth, He made everything that is visible a symbol of spiritual truth. Everything that is natural, a type of that which is spiritual. This is why the Bible uses seed, for instance, as a symbol of the Word of God, water as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, serpent as a symbol of the devil, sowing as a symbol of the preaching of the Word of the Kingdom, and the stars as symbols of the rule of the heavens accomplishing God's great plan of creation and redemption. Not just because the Holy Spirit decided at some point in time that these would make good symbols, but because the omniscient mind of God created them from the beginning as the object lesson about the truths of God and His Kingdom.
Tell me! did you ever get quiet enough to sit alone for an hour with God on a clear starlight night, and look up into the stars? Did the silence of those mighty orbs that are rolling in space at an inconceivable rate of speed, a rapidity that is breathless, ever get into your soul? Did you ever look at them and see how your earth was rolling around, and star after star, and constellation after constellation, was appearing and disappearing? Tell me, have you ever been alone with God and the stars? Have you any knowledge of the wonderful planets that revolve around this central sun? Do you know that these other stars are suns and have planets which are invisible revolving around them? Did you ever get the calm silence of God into your heart? The great majority of men cannot bear to sit down for an hour of Divine inspection, and be still, and let the light of God shine into their hearts, and listen to what God says.
The prophet Amos pointed to the constellations and beyond to the God who ordained them and designed their revelation when he said, "Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion" (Amos 5:8). The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible, older even than Abraham or Moses. It is in this book of Job that we first have reference to this Stellar Revelation. In chapter 38 God finally breaks in and speaks to Job and his false comforters. He says to them, "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?" (Job 38:31-33).
The power and rule of the Pleiades, Orion, and all the stars and planets of the heavens extend far beyond a mere announcement of the seasons. The awesome influence of these heavenly constellations is set forth in scripture in connection with the rushing serpent, the fugitive snake, or Leviathan the sea monster (Isa. 27:1; Job 41:1; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:25-26); Venus (Isa. 14:12); Saturn (Amos 5:26); the Pleiades (Job 9:9; 38:31; Axnos 5:8); Orion (Job 38:31; Amos 5:8); Arcturus (Job 9:9; 38:32); and the twelve signs of the Zodiac (Job 38:32-33; Isa. 13:10; Judges 5:20).
There was a day in the times of the Judges when Deborah the judge, filled with the spirit of wisdom and courage from the Lord, and Barak the general took the army of Israel to war against the leader of the Canaanite armies, Sisera, and his mighty forces. The inspired record of that extraordinary battle states, "And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left" (Judges 4:12-16).
God fought on the side of Israel, and gave them the victory. Josephus relates that, just as the battle began, a violent tempest came on with a great downfall of rain, and a hailstorm, which, driving full in the faces of the Canaanites, so blinded and benumbed
them with cold, that they could neither use their bows with effect nor even hold their swords. As soon as the battle was concluded victoriously, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Deborah and Barak and they began to sing the song of the Lord, that majestic Ode recorded in chapter five of the book of Judges. A portion of it describes the triumph of Barak's army over Sisera and his forces in these words:
"Because the elders took the lead in Israel,
Because the people offered themselves willingly,
Bless ye the Lord.
Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes;
I, even I, will sing unto the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
The kings came and fought.
Then fought the kings of Canaan,
In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. Gain of booty they did not take.
FROM THE HEAVENS THE STARS FOUGHT,
FROM THEIR COURSES THEY FOUGHT AGAINST SISERA.
The river Kishon swept them away,
That ancient river, the river Kishon.
0 my soul, march on with strength.
So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord;
But let them that love Him be as the sun,
When he goeth forth in his might."
It is time to stop, look, and listen. Hear it! ye sons of the Most high. "They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera" (Judges 4:20). Can any read these significant words uttered in the spirit of prophecy and wisdom of the Holy Ghost, and still doubt that the constellations of the heavens RULE in the affairs of men and nations? Would it not seem to be divine sense, human sense, and common sense that Sisera's fate that day in the long ago was "written in the stars" and there was no hope for him when the natural forces allied themselves with Israel under the guiding hand of the Almighty to assure his defeat? Someone may respond that the stars in this case are symbolic, and I doubt not that they are on some plane, however I am constrained to point out that not one other thing in Deborah's song is used figuratively- the battle was a very real battle, the horses were actual horses, the chariots were real chariots of iron, the plain is to this day an existing geographical location, Mount Tabor is a literal mountain just east of Nazareth, and the river Kishon was an actual river winding its way through the plain. Deborah and Barak and Sisera were real people. With all emphasis I must conclude that it was the LITERAL STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS OF THE HEAVENS IN THEIR COURSES which were arrayed against Sisera and significantly contributed by their cosmic influence and decree to his overwhelming defeat. The triumph of Israel was by the design of the Lord God of Israel of whom are all things, by whom are all things. and unto whom are all things, blessed be His wonderful name.
ASTROLOGY AND HOROSCOPES
Are you "Capricorn" or "Scorpio"? Should you make a trip today? Should you marry Richard, or Joe, or Sam? Is this a bad day to start a new job? Should you hold an important meeting in the morning or afternoon? What do the stars and planets indicate? Millions of people daily check their horoscopes to find out. Contracts are signed, employees hired, business ventures started, life-styles changed, occupations chosen, friendships altered, diets formulated, bets made, trips planned, babies named--yes, as we now know, sometimes, even government policies and political decisions arrived at--all based
on various astrological readings. Even if you yourself do not believe in astrology, you may still be directly or indirectly affected because of the decisions others in all walks of life make under the influence of Zodiac charts. What is astrology? Briefly put, adherents claim astrology is a method of anticipating or foretelling events by calculating the effect the sun, moon, stars and planets have on human activities. Supposedly, the relative positions of the heavenly bodies at the moment of a child's birth influence the child's character and personality. Plotting the movements of those heavenly bodies, it is thought, reveals an individual's destiny.
Astrology is the study of the relative positions of the planets and stars in order to predict the future. The Greek word HOROSKOPOS literally means observer of the hour of one's birth. Thus a horoscope is a chart correlating the time of a person's birth with the position of the planets. This practice supposedly reveals the future and is used as a way to make decisions. Many people who do not seriously believe in astrology, nevertheless, read their daily horoscope and think it is harmless fun. "It is the stars, the stars above us, govern our conditions," are the words Shakespeare puts in the mouth of Kent in KING LEAR. In ancient times no king in his right mind would think of venturing out into battle without first consulting his court astrologer. No maiden would set the date of her marriage until she had discovered which date would be the most auspicious for that happy event. Mortals dared not make decisions without the help of these guardian gods of the heavens.
Joseph Goodavage wrote, "Science has now begun to demonstrate direct linkages between celestial movements and the behavior of animals and men. Biologist I)r. Frank Brown of Northwestern University showed that oysters sense the position of the moon and regulate their activities by it. Ordinarily, oysters open and close their shells in phase with ocean tides. Dr. Brown wanted to see what oysters would do if there were NO tides. He hauled some out of the sea off New Haven, Connecticut, shipped them to Evanston, Illinois, and put them indoors in a tank of sea water at even temperature under a steady, dim light. For two weeks they continued to open and close their shells in phase with the tides at their old ocean home. Then abruptly they changed their rhythm. Their shell-opening cycle slipped into phase with the tides that would have existed if there had been an ocean covering Illinois! Dr. Brown's oysters were obviously responding to the location of the moon which triggered some mysterious reaction inside their 'biological clocks' Here was an entirely new mystery for scientists. No one knows what the connecting link is between stars and planets and the earthly events with which they so often correlate. Men and women aren't oysters, but celestial forces have definitely been shown to affect human behavior. The American Institute of Medical Climatology in Philadelphia, working with the police and fire departments, major hospitals and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, conducted a three-year study of human reactions to the phases of the moon. Conclusions: cases of murder, rape, aggravated assault and arson are, most common during Full Moon periods. Much of human life, if not most of it, seems to be governed...influenced by these forces science is now beginning to detect, the forces on which astrologers base their predictions" --end quote. In addition to these remarks it is also interesting to note that modern physiologists now realize that man is a completely responsive element in the cosmos, that he interacts with his environment, both terrestrial and celestial. Astrology is the study and application of the effect on man of the forces reaching earth from surrounding space--his celestial environment.
Many years ago a friend who was deep into astrology made a "professional" horoscope for me based on the exact hour of my birth. It was incredible (uncanny! to be exact) how accurately descriptive it was of my nature, personality traits, abilities, ambitions, life-style, etc. Some characteristics revealed existed only in the form o~ inward thoughts, desires, propensities, intents, motives, purposes, etc. not fully discerned even by those closest to me. In all honesty I must admit that even the prophets of God in most cases have not prophesied my character more precisely than did this horoscope! In understanding the influence of the stars and celestial bodies upon our physical being, influencing our moods, emotions, actions, etc. --which also are being dealt with by the Lord for our OVERCOMING--it is clear that the children of the world are in this area wiser than the children of light, for they see, while the children of light grope about without understanding of these things, often ignorantly hostile to the very idea that the heavenly constellations have any influence over the earth and earthly things at all. But the sure word of prophecy asked the penetrating question: "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth (the twelve signs of the Zodiac) in his season? KNOWEST THOU THE ORDINANCES OF THE HEAVEN...?" (Job 38:31-33). DO we know? Can we see the truth in these things? Can we acknowledge that GOD is the almighty Ordainer of all cosmic powers and laws, and that His own Word authenticates their reality? Or do we naively relegate it all to ancient superstitions and pagan mythology, summarily dismissing such things from our enlightened consideration?
The highest truth of God is gloriously recorded in the blazing constellations of the heavens; yet on a lower plane, these same constellations exert a mundane influence over every created thing on earth. In the same way that the scriptures marvelously reveal the glory of God, the majesty of His Christ, the wisdom of His purposes and His wondrous gift of life, while on a lower level the very same scriptures, in the form of the letter of the law, minister condemnation and death; just as the scriptures on one level are anointed to "make us wise unto salvation" (II Tim. 3:15), while on the lower plane they judge, condemn, and minister death; SO the signs of the Zodiac proclaim on a higher dimension the wisdom of God's creative and redemptive plan of the ages, while on the lower level of natural cosmic energy they influence the carnal man in his earthly and temporal sphere of life.
BEYOND THE STARS
If there be indeed a truth in the rule of the natural heavens (and there must be, else the physical heavens could not in scripture serve as the TYPE of the rule of the spiritual heavens), the question follows: What is really wrong, then, with casting horoscopes or consulting astrologers? Let us now acquaint ourselves with the truth as it is in Jesus, for when we learn the truth I now affirm, many things which heretofore have been an inscrutable mystery will begin to come clear to our understanding. Let us then stand assured of this marvelous fact: THERE IS A POWER B-E-Y-O-N-D THE STARS! I must here emphasize the great truth that above everything that exists and behind it all standeth GOD, omniscient, omnipotent, immutable. The great God made and controls everything on earth and throughout the unbounded heavens and His omnipotent hand stretches forth high above and far beyond the vaunted powers of the heavens, for He is the great Cause, while they are the effect; He is the almighty Creator, whereas they are but the creation, the work of His hands.
I do not hesitate to tell you that the vast majority of astrologers and those who adhere to astrology have changed the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the CREATION more than the CREATOR, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Rom. 1:25). The carnal mind is the great deceiver who has deceived people into trusting in the SIGN rather than the thing God has signified by the sign--the revelation of Jesus Christ. In the same way God created the Church to proclaim the gospel. However, millions of people trust in the Church for their salvation! They want to find the "right" Church, one which will save them. But the simple truth is that NO Church will save anyone! The Church points to Jesus Christ who is the only Saviour of man. Likewise, God from the beginning of the creation displayed the gospel in the stars. Instead of trusting in the Christ to which they point so gloriously, these people trust in the stars themselves.
Furthermore, there is no doubt whatever that astrology can inform you of the cosmic influences and instruct you concerning the earthly conditions marked out by the stars. But it can never in a million years EMPOWER you to OVERCOME those influences, or teach you how to be TRANSFORMED. Astrology is a rigidly fatalistic science, pointing you to the problem, revealing the circumstances, but possessing absolutely no power to CHANGE the situation nor one iota of authority to ENABLE you to rise above it. That, my beloved, is just the difference between astrology and Christ--Christ delivers, changes, empowers, quickens, transforms and perfects! Truly the glorious Christ of God has ALL POWER in heaven and in earth, whereas astrology has SOME POWER, and only on earth, and not redeeming power at that.
Astrology can analyze your case, but is impotent to save or deliver you. The world today is filled with confusion and trouble. Any system which claims to look into the future gathers adherents by the millions. Astrology numbers its followers by multitudes and its financial income in the billions of dollars and more. People are investing heavily in tomorrow. They are eager to pierce the veil of the future and gaze into the strange land where mysterious science reigns. Someone may say: "But they told me many things which came true." This is doubtless true. But listen to some startling words from God's prophet, Jeremiah. "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the SIGNS OF THE HEAVEN; for the heathen are dismayed at them" (Jer. 10:2). For "the signs of heaven," the margin read, "signs of the Zodiac." In other words, do not be dismayed, disturbed, concerned about the omens portended by your horoscope! The prophet Isaiah proclaimed the sure word of the Lord to the ancient kingdom of Babylon which was ruled by astrology: "Persist then with your enchantments and the multitude of your sorceries in which you have labored from your youth, and see if perhaps you will be able to profit, if you may prevail and strike terror! You are wearied with your many counsels and plans. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and make known to you and save you from the things that shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble, the fire consumes them; they cannot even deliver themselves from the power of the flame. This is no coal for warming, or fire before which to sit!" (Isa. 47:12-14, Amplified). Take heed astrologers and monthly prognosticators! Take heed Jeanne Dixon, and all the rest! The word of the Lord makes it very clear that these shall not be able to deliver even themselves in the day of calamity, much less those who harken to their words.
It may come as a shock to some who read these lines, but the Holy Spirit declares with divine certainty that YOUR fortune and future are NOT astrologically determined. I mean by this that even though most people's fortunes can be traced to astrological influences, YOURS CANNOT. You belong to a special category of people to whom NONE of the known laws of the universe apply. The laws that govern other people do not apply to you. You are in a class all by yourself. One of the greatest truths ever kept hidden from the eyes of the natural man is this: "If any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION" (I Cor. 5:17). It should be plain to anyone having eyes to see that the physical and psychical influences exerted by the constellations of the Zodiac are part and parcel of the OLD CREATION. The destiny of most people, of all natural and fallen men, is linked to the stars; try as they will they cannot escape it. If the star under which they were born says they should be poor, they will be poor. If it says they should be rich, they will be rich. If it says they are high-strung and naive, they will be nervous and unsuspecting. If it says they are charming, confident, and successful, they will be just that.
This is the case for most human beings, all human beings, in fact, who live and have their being in the OLD CREATION MAN. But, blessed be God! AN EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE EXISTS. The Master Architect of the universe saw fit to create a special category of people who are of an entirely NEW CREATION. New creation people are blessed with the ability to live their lives without having to pass through the stars or planets. Bypassing all physical barriers they receive directly from the Source. There exists a higher power than the stars- and it is that higher power that has touched the life of every re-generated man and woman on the face of the earth. Indeed, dear elect saints of God, it is this higher power that has been guiding your footsteps all along. No longer do you need to look to the stars for an answer. You have found the answer that will unlock all the mysteries of Being--or the answer has found you--right here--right now!
So many people are taken up with astrology today and the question is often asked, "What sign were you born under?" One person, when asked what sign he was born under said, "I was born under the sign of the cross." Now, that is a good sign to be born under. But an answer that would be much closer to the truth and which might elicit a more interesting conversation is this, "I have a slight problem when you ask me what sign I was born under --because I was born twice!" Ah, my beloved, all who have been BORN OF GOD have been born again under the star-sign of the MORNING STAR! Those born of the Spirit are, one and all, born under the star-sign of the DAY STAR which now arises in their hearts! You will never understand the power and glory of the new birth until you thoroughly understand that it is indeed a birth from ABOVE.
Let all who read these lines clearly understand that God's heaven is not the inexhaustible universe of stars and suns and planets- swirling nebulae. Heaven has nothing whatever to do with the time-space continuum or matter in any form. The true heaven is beyond it all, above it all, before it all. Heaven is that high and holy and invisible realm of SPIRIT, the pure and divine and eternal and incorruptible realm of GOD HIMSELF, which existed before ever a star or a planet appeared. Heaven, therefore, can only be entered BY THAT WHICH IS SPIRIT. Let every man know for a certainty that heaven is not a geographical or astral location with their limitations, but a dimension, a sphere of existence, a state of being- that spiritual existence, being and habitation in which God eternally lives. Natural eyes cannot pierce the invisible realm of spirit. Natural minds know nothing of that realm, for we perceive only those physical things recognizable by the senses. Natural ears are unable to hear that which is spoken in the realm of spirit, for spirit vibrates on a frequency higher than and superior to the low vibrations of earth. Heaven is all around us but we must be raised out of our natural consciousness in order to touch it. But the dimension of heaven is ten thousand times MORE REAL than this gross material realm to which our mortal form has been subjected.
The highest realm known to man is called HEAVEN, and all who have been born again from above by the Spirit of God have had opened to them a realm higher far than the heavens perceived by astronomers and astrologers. These know nothing of heaven at all! Paul tells us that we are to "seek those things which are ABOVE, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things ABOVE, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3: 1-2). The man or woman who is born from that bright glory world above becomes an entirely new creation in Christ Jesus. And from that time forward, He lives for God. His chief delight is in spiritual things. His affections are set above and not on things below. His citizenship is in heaven. Before his eyes there is opened up a kingdom which is beyond his full articulation or expression. He has only glimpsed some of the ineffable glories that God has, is, and will reveal to him. He is now part of a kingdom so vast in scope and so enduring in quality that the things of this world seem tawdry, mean, narrow, and insignificant by comparison.
Have you ever thought of the meaning of the name ascribed to God, the MOST HIGH?
Why the Most High? Does this not indicate that there are other high authorities in existence, and that He is the Most High: the highest of them all? We often talk about Jesus, his death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension. We say that after He was raised from the dead He ascended up to heaven. What do we think of when we make such a statement? Do we visualize Him going somewhere away beyond the stars, millions of miles out into space, to a place we call Heaven? The scriptures say that when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. He ascended up ON HIGH. What does this mean? High above what?
I want to draw your attention to a few scriptures that will make the truth crystal clear. In Heb. 7:26 we read these words concerning Jesus: "For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made HIGHER THAN THE HEAVENS." This doesn't say that He merely ascended up to heaven, but that He was made HIGHER than the HEAVENS. Here we have the word heavens in the plural. What does it mean, "made higher than the heavens"? Let us look at some other passages along this line. "He that descended is the same also that ascended up FAR ABOVE ALL HEAVENS" (Eph. 4:10). Now this language is somewhat different than saying that He ascended up to heaven. He is made higher than the heavens, and ascended up far above all heavens. We can be certain that such terminology indicates that there is not just one heaven as many think, but there are many heavens, and Jesus was raised and made higher than them all. Wonderful statements like this are also found in the Psalms. "Be thou exalted 0 God, ABOVE THE HEAVENS; let Thy glory be above all the earth" (Ps. 57:5,11). "Let God be exalted ABOVE THE HEAVENS" (Ps. 108:5). Not just in heaven, but exalted ABOVE ALL HEAVENS.
Paul tells us something about this high and exalted realm. "I...cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the HEAVENLY PLACES, F-A-R A-B-O-V-E ALL PRINCIPALITY, AND POWER, AND MIGHT, AND DOMINION, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" (Eph. 1:16-21).
In verse 20 of this beautiful passage we have the Greek phrase "en eois epouran-iois," translated into English as "in heavenly places." "...He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES." The word for heaven in the Creek New Testament is OURANOUS, only in this passage we have something added to it. And the compound word thus formed is of such great import to us that we must consider it very, very carefully. We have the Greek word EPI, which means SUPERIMPOSITION, or in plain speech, ABOVE, HIGHER THAN, OVER. And when joined to OURANOUS, it becomes EPOURANIOIS. These two words joined together mean ABOVE HEAVEN or THE HIGHEST HEAVEN or HIGHER THAN ALL HEAVENS--SUPERIMPOSITION! This word is found twenty times in the New Testament.
Our Lord and Saviour when on earth, even though He had humbled Himself and had descended to the depths of the realm of death and had borne our sins, was still the exalted One. He was still in heaven (Jn. 3:13). But then He arose the conquering Christ! And not only that, but He ASCENDED victor over all the powers of darkness, having brought in eternal redemption for a lost world and redeemed all things unto God. "Wherefore God hath HIGHLY EXALTED HIM, and given Him a name which is ABOVE EVERY NAME." Or as Paul tells us in Eph. 4:10, "He...ascended up FAR ABOVE ALL HEAVENS." Or, let us note carefully, God has set Him "at His own right hand IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES." And the word which is mistranslated here as "heavenly places" is EPOURANIOIS, meaning HIGHER THAN HEAVENLY. It is ABOVE HEAVEN, HIGHER THAN HEAVEN, FAR ABOVE A-L-L HEAVENS! Thus we read, "He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand IN EPOURANIOIS--FAR ABOVE ALL PRINCIPALITY~ AND POWER, AND MIGHT, AND DOMINION, AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED...and has put ALL THINGS under His feet" (Eph. 1:20-22).
So the heavens He has been raised far above are the Principalities and Powers, and Might and Dominion, that inhabit and dwell in all the heavens. God has given Jesus an exalted position, far above all other Principality and Power, good and bad, and given Him a name (nature) that is above every name that is named throughout the vastnesses of infinity. He has put all other Power and Authority everywhere under His feet, and made them all His footstool, that before His glorious name, that wonderful name of Jesus, every knee should bow, yes, every knee, of the inhabitants of the heavens as well as those on the earth and things under the earth; and every tongue shall confess, the tongues of those in the heavens, of those on the earth, and those in the underworld; every one of them shall proclaim Him Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It should be plain to even the simplest mind that this authority and power over all the powers of the heavens certainly includes the "sweet influences" of Pleiades, the "bands" of Orion, the "ordinances" of the heavens and their "dominion" in the earth (Job 38:31-33). It is a realm far above and beyond the beggarly influences of the stars and planets- of Capricorn and Scorpio and Jupiter and Mars! And let demons rage. Let fools and unbelievers hang their heads in shame. We quote once more from the incomparable Word of God. "BUT GOD...HATH raised US up together, AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS" (Eph. 2:4-677. And this "heavenly places" where WE NOW SIT with the firstborn Son is this same super-heaven, or epour-aniois, the same position which He holds "far above all heavens"! Ah, we who have come the way of the cross, we whose spirits have been quickened by His Spirit, we in whom the mighty power is working which God wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand far above all heavens- are enthroned with Him in this su-per-eminence N-O-W. Christ is enthroned in the higher-than-all-heavens and WE HAVE BEEN QUICKENED AND RAISED UP AND GIVEN JOINT-SEATING WITH HIM IN THE UNION OF HIS DIVINE LIFE! And yet Christians in ignorance sing, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!" Heaven for those who
have been born from above is not a future hope. It is a PRESENT REALITY. It is the realm far above all other forms of natural and spiritual life that inhabit God's vast universe and far above all power and might and dominion of any order; not above them geographically, but above them in HANK, in QUALITY OF LIFE, in EMINENCE and POWER and AUTHORITY and NATURE and GLORY! All the elect sons of God must find their existence and experience enthroned with Christ in the higher than all heavens. They must find all their source and reality of being IN SPIRIT. Oh! sons of God--let us arise and live the heavenly life! Let our ministry be one that will lift people out of an earthly consciousness into a heavenly (spiritual) consciousness. Truly all creation has been lowered into the bondage of corruption, the consciousness of the earthly and temporal, but not without a hope of restoration into a full God-consciousness and state of being again. This is what salvation is about. This is why God's purpose in this hour is to perfect, to raise us and bring us into the consciousness of God which is the full awareness of the realm of the SPIRIT--the power and substance of life within OUR SPIRIT!
The new creation people are those who fulfill the injunction of the prophet Amos, "Seek HIM that maketh the seven stars and Orion" (Amos 5:8). Because you are seated in Christ in the higher-than-all-heavens, you draw energy from a realm much farther up than the natural man. While others are meted out the tiniest morsels from the stars, you supersede that level and receive directly from HIM that MADE the constellations! If you have touched the wisdom that is higher than the heavens, you don't need to be wasting precious time making star charts. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ, and your life is hid with Christ in God far above all heavens. Astrology might be interesting, there may be truth in cold, hard facts about the influence of the stars upon the earth realm and the men who dwell therein, but there is nothing so refreshing as to step into the breathless stillness of the night and lift up our spirit in rapturous communion with the One who formed it all. There the heavenly architect in accents rare begins to reveal to the inner heart that it was from those realms of glory that we came, and our coming to this world was by reason of God's great intention, that we should be prepared to reign in Christ's image over all the marvelous works of His hands from galaxy to galaxy unto the uttermost reaches of the vastnesses of infinity. Why settle for less than the best? Astrology, even in the time of Babylon, couldn't hold a candle to the wisdom of God by the Spirit. It still can't. As sons of the Most High you have direct access to knowledge and power which transcends the stars. There is nothing in the starry skies that holds anything for us anymore. The following words of truth are taken from a prophecy which came to my desk some time ago, and which I believe to be inspired by the Spirit of God. "Know thou, that regardless of what comes upon the earth, THOU ART NOT OF THE EARTH, nor of the night. For thou art of the Spirit, and of the day. Fear thou not what comes upon the earth, and upon the earth man, but look thou unto the Lord thy God. For in Him is thy safety, and in Him is thy joy. And thy joy, even the joy of the Lord, shall be thy strength."
Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. He who dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Son-ship comes about by dwelling and abiding in the overshadowing presence of the Holy Spirit, walking, living, and breathing IN HIM. Astrology, on the other hand, is concerned only with EARTHLY THINGS. One astrologer said, "I discovered that all the 'in-depth' psychological studies, all the psychiatric know-how and all the aptitude testing ever devised can't compare with the answers a good astrologer can obtain from an exact horoscope. I learned about people with wasted talents (some of them potential millionaires) who lead a humdrum 9-to-5 life because they have never investigated their true 'birthright' I saw people who considered themselves failures at lower echelon jobs but who could have been magnificently successful at the head of an important enterprise. I've written articles about people who have used the advice of astrologers in timing their key moves--people who became rich by working in harmony with cosmic tides!" (Joseph A. Goodavage in ASTROLOGY: THE SPACE AGE SCIENCE).
Is it not incredible that there is no spiritual life --but everything is viewed, like the preacher in Ecclesiastes, as man sees it "under the sun," and not as God sees it from ABOVE THE HEAVENS. The influences of the stars are upon the earthly things, but those who have been raised up and made to sit with Christ in the higher-than-all-heavens do not set their affection on things on the earth, nor do they gaze up into the stars.
THEY LOOK DOWN UPON THE STARS. Practically we have to learn what the frigate bird does. When a storm comes on it gets above the region of storms, above the clouds, where there is none, and there it stays even for days until the storm is over. I am placed beyond the reach of storms; I am a frigate bird, for I am with Christ in a scene where there is no storm and no clouds. I am united to an ascended Christ. The Lord says, "The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given them." A person might say, I cannot attain this now. I answer, I belong to the glory now; I possess His life now in glory, and I am changed into the same image by the Spirit. I belong to the glory.
Sundar Singh, the Indian prophet, told of an occasion when he was traveling in the Himalayas, and there was a storm, with violent thunder and lightning. He got frightened that the lightning might fall upon him and he would be killed. So he moved higher and higher upon the peaks of the mountain until the lightning was down below where it could not jump up to reach him. Thank God! there is a realm HIGH ABOVE THE STARS where none of their influences reach, where all is peace, joy, and righteousness in the Holy Ghost and power and victory and stability.
Hannah Hurnard relates the transformation that came to her life at the discovery of this higher reality. "Little by little everything in my circumstances altered. It was as though I had really moved into another country--a heavenly one, where I was surrounded by things that I found more delightful than anything that I had experienced in the past. Even more wonderful than that, I actually began to feel as though there were angels and heavenly beings coming and going all the time, and, for a very matter-of-fact and practical person like myself, this was a most wonderful and awesome experience. All sorts of spiritual influences and inspirations were given to me which seemed to 'open the eyes of my understanding', so that I seemed to have been born into a new world and universe altogether, or to have escaped from the prison-house world of what my physical senses alone could perceive, into a vast and glorious world perceivable only through newly developing spiritual senses. Not through psychic senses, which enable people to see what is going on elsewhere in the world, or what is going to happen in the future, but through spiritual understanding of truths which had been hidden from me up till then--and which now began to reveal a world of REALITIES and experiences and contact with higher powers, such as I had never before envisaged" --end quote.
I am constrained to share a couple more quotations with you from precious saints to whom God has granted wisdom and understanding. Norene Nicholls wrote, "The moon plays such a significant part in our lives. We know it regulates the tides of the oceans by its gravitational pull, but science is now finding out that its gravitational pull affects the liquids of our bodies even as it affects the oceans. This means that the fluids, such as, blood, lymph, bile, urine, etc., are pulled upon by the phases of the moon. This is particularly so at full moon and new moon, and more so when these particular phases coincide with the equinoxes and the solstices, which are the turning points of the year and the beginning of the seasons. Full moon and new moon exert such a gravitational pull upon the fluids of the body, that irritableness. nervousness, physical disabilities and even mental problems show up at this time. The term LUNACY even comes from the word LUNA meaning MOON, so those in olden days recognized such possibilities of the moon's power. Ten years ago when I was going through some very strange experiences, the scripture kept coming to me, "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the MOON by night." ] pondered it often, wondering what was involved in this, and then began to realize that the phases of the moon were affecting me drastically. Then it was that I began to withstand its power by the truth of the Word that it could not SMITE me, and the word SMITE even means to KILL. Every force is trying to kill us, but we believe that it cannot, for we are called to an everlasting priesthood" --end quote.
And finally, from the ready pen of Dora Van Assen, "'Who gave Himself for our sins, ~ that He might extricate (rescue) us out of this present wicked (evil) eon (world order) according to the will of God' (Gal. 1:4). Notice this word EVIL spells LIVE backwards. Th<~ whole course of this evil world is running in reverse, thus bringing death and decay instead of life. Peter calls it an 'untoward generation' (Acts 2:40). that is, a generation turned away from (untoward) God. And Paul declares we are to shine as lights in this 'crooked and perverse (turned around) nation' (Phil. 2:15). We cannot resist these negative influences (of the heavens) in our own strength. Even if we could keep the whole law of God, it would not give IMMORTAL LIFE. We would still grow old and die We need the LIFE OF CHRIST WITHIN to overcome the law of sin and death operating in our body which brings age, decay and final' dissolution to this natural man. Only thc{~ Christ within can destroy and reverse this natural. That is why we must be born again! in our complete man, spirit, soul and body! O wonderful plan of God! Jesus Christ has come to deliver us out of this evil world order, both within and without, our total being set free. He told His disciples, 'Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (cosmos' (,In. 16:33). Since He has overcome, we shall also overcome. Because He lives free from all the negative influences of this universe, we now can live in this glorious realm :also. All we do is believe and apply His deliverance in our lives!" --end quote.
Dearly beloved saints of God. the future of God's elect will not be decided by prognostications of our horoscope. It will be determined by the faith of God in our heart imparted by the sovereign and infinite purpose of OUR FATHER. Never mind about Aires or Taurus or Gemini. Fret not about Cancer or Leo or Virgo. Forget about Libra ,-and Scorpio and Saggitarius. For neither these nor Capricorn nor Aquarius nor Pisces nor any other principality or power or dominion influence one whet the destiny of the man or woman or child whose life is hid with Christ in God. Look upward...yes...but not to the stars. Look BEYOND THE STARS. By the light that the Spirit brings look into the .glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and you will find yourself being wondrously changed into the same image from glory to glory. And there the stars have no control. And what about the future? Must I listen to Jeanne Dixon or some dark psychic interpret the{TM pale flicker of distant stars? Is this the light I want? Who needs horoscopes? THOSE WHO HAVE NOT BEEN QUICKENED BY THE POWER OF THE LIVING CHRIST OF GOD, for He, and }~' alone is the true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world (Jn. 1:9).
The regenerated spirit becomes a component factor in the sweet harmony of God's spiritual Kingdom. And what a Kingdom! And what a harmony! In duration it is from everlasting to everlasting. The granite hills shall melt away; the earth shall leave its orbit and fall into the chaos of crashing worlds; Orion, Arcturus, and Pleiades shall ,cease to travel the holy aisles of heaven; the sun shall be turned into darkness; the heavens hall be rolled back as a scroll, and as a vesture they shall be folded up; but beneath the scepter of the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, our Father, the Kingdom of Heaven shall still remain and move on in sweetest harmony with His holy will. For in this high and holy Kingdom no forces ever clash, no laws ever fail, no truth ever goes astray, no beauty ever fades, no light ever loses its luster, no good ever grows less, no life ever gets old. no love ever becomes cold, no joy ever ceases, no harmony ever has a discord. From the time when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God first shouted for joy rhythm and rapture have rolled upward and onward through all the boundless and eternal spiritual universe as the sweet expression of the mind and will of almighty God. This universe, this higher-than-the-heavens universe, this Kingdom of Heaven, is the home and heritage of every son of God. He belongs to it, and it belongs to him. He is in it, and it is in him. He holds himself in harmony with it, and it fills his soul with its songs. He apprehends its truth, enjoys its beauties, and partakes of its holiness. There is no place in it where he may not feel at home--no place where he has not a right to be; for it has been the Father' s good pleasure to give him the Kingdom. His life is not measured by years, but by its possibilities and expansiveness. Divinity and eternity are born within him. Now he is a child of God, but it doth not yet appear what he shall be.
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