KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES

"Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings" (Mal. 4:2). "For as the lightning (bright shining; sun) cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Mat. 24:27).

In order that we may get a correct understanding of this verse and its momentous spiritual vision, we must give consideration to the word translated "lightning," since this translation has given rise to a most erroneous concept of the coming of Jesus. It has led Christian people, almost without exception, to look forward to that blessed event as an instantaneous affair, which shall flash suddenly across the heavens and startle the world with its vividness. But nothing could be farther from the truth and nothing could have befogged our vision more. The Greek word translated "lightning" in this passage is ASTRAPE. The meaning, as given in Strong's Concordance, is "lightning; by analogy, glare; bright shining." So we see at once that scholarship recognizes this word as meaning a "bright shining" of light which might arise from a source other than a flash of lightning. It is so used, in fact, in Lk. 11:36 where we read, "If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the BRIGHT SHINING (ASTRAPE) of a CANDLE doth give thee light." Therefore, any BRIGHT SHINING light could fulfill the meaning of ASTRAPE.

Let us now pose a question. Does "lightning," as we understand the English word, always "come out of the east and shine unto the west?" Does it not flash from north, south, east or west according to the location of the clouds which are charged with either positive or negative electricity? And yet, the "bright shining" here spoken about is expanded to shining "from the east even unto the west." Again, if the coming of the Lord is portrayed by "lightning," it would be only in limited areas and over only portions of the earth from time to time. Lightnings' brief flash penetrates the darkness only for a moment. Such a coming of the Lord could portray merely a very limited appearing or manifestation of His presence. Let us no longer be children in understanding!

But, I ask, what light does ALWAYS come out of the east and shine even unto the west? Does not the light of coming day arise always in the east, gradually brightening the horizon until the sun becomes visible and its rays illumine the eastern sky and "spread as a carpet" over the countryside, city and hill, bathing all in its warmth and beauty as it shines even unto the west? Has not our Lord Jesus been likened unto the "Sun of righteousness" to "arise with healing in His wings?" And the Psalmist hath declared, "The Lord God is a SUN... the Lord will give grace and glory" (Ps. 84:11). Praise God, the Sun of righteousness has arisen in our heart and He giveth grace and glory for itwe beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (Jn. 1:14). The light of that Sun has shined brightly into our darkened soul and is bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel. Dear reader, you may have Him flashing for a brief moment across your cloudy, dark, stormy earthly sky if you so choose, but we are glad to see Him with SPIRITUAL EYES and behold His grace and glory as it spreads over the whole world of mankind from east to west until it shall embrace the whole human race, bringing warmth and beauty and life where all was, and still is largely, spiritual darkness and death. Yes, dear friends, His coming, His presence is not to be an instantaneous, brilliantly blinding light flashing across the natural heavens from any local quarter as the word "lightning" might and does incorrectly portray; but His coming, His presence, has been, is now and shall be like the DAWN OF A NEW DAY that constantly increases from the first faint rays of spiritual light until the soul and body of the individual are flooded with the noonday brightness of the blessed Sun of righteousness. And so it shall be universally until that light has brought every created being into subjection to our Lord and He shall reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet, for "the entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple" (Ps. 119:130). Shine on, 0 King eternal!

The first rays of dawn are seen in the eastern sky, and then the light steadily progresses toward the west. So also is the presence of the indwelling Christ, as He illumines us in a beautiful, progressive manner - so that "the path of the uncompromisingly just and righteous is like the light of the dawn, that shines more and more - brighter and clearer - until it reaches its full strength and glory in the perfect (to-be-prepared) day" (Prov. 4:18, Amplified).

In Gen. 3:24 God gives us the first symbolic portrayal of the "east." "So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." When Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden of Eden, God placed a flaming sword to guard the entrance of the garden and the way in to the tree of life, and it turned every way so that no one enter in from any direction without encountering that sword, and you will observe that He set it at the EASTERN GATE of the garden. Why is this so important? Because there is a vital message in this inspired record. If the gate to Eden was located at the east, obviously entrance into the garden carried one in a westernly direction. Man's banishment from the garden of Eden, his exile from the life and glory of God was a journey eastward. The message is clear - should Adam seek a re-entry into the garden, he could either return through the sword, as he moved with the processings of God in a westernly direction, or, he could continue in his state of selfhood, independence and rebellion and continue the eastward migration which would carry him farther and farther away from the tree of life. When God drove man from the portals of that heaven-blest Eden, eastward, He was moving him away from the glory of God in the tree of life. So it is our desire, therefore, to turn westward BACK TO THE TREE OF LIFE.

Although Adam was corrupted by sin, he was still living in the presence of God. Not only did man know God's presence in the garden, he also experienced God's presence outside the garden, for it was there that Abel and Cain both made their offerings, and God even spoke to Cain about his slaying his brother. So, although man was corrupted by sin, he had not left the presence of God to walk out the ultimate of his disobedience - total INDEPENDENCE from God, absolute SEPARATION from God. But with Cain's banishment we read, "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the EAST of Eden... and he builded a city" (Gen. 4:16-17). This is most interesting! Cain traveled eastward, thus departing from the presence of the Lord. Cain left the place where God had placed His presence, and went his own way into further selfhood, to dwell in the land of Nod. Nod is the Hebrew word for exile, vagrancy, wandering. Exiled from a consciousness of the presence of the Lord to walk independently of God, outside of God, separated from the life, righteousness, joy, peace, faith, wisdom and will of God. This is the symbolic position of the land to the east, in contrast to that which is in the west.

Let us UNDERSTAND! What transcendent spiritual realities lie hidden within a story bearing the musty odor of ancient mundane history! Cain, had it not been for sin, would have been living in the garden of Eden, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, the realm of the Spirit, the sphere of God's divine life, glory and power. In spite of sin, he was still able to know the presence of God, typifying the ANOINTING. Not the inner abiding anointing which is represented by the figure of the tree of life, but that anointing we see in the Old Testament in which the Spirit of God came upon men, working on and through them in special ways and times, but always working from above and without, working inwards. to Cain was given the opportunity to stand justified in the presence of God, under the anointing of God, justified by the blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But now he is found rejecting the provision of the Lord and moving in the opposite direction from the course of the anointing, turning backwards in his walk, in that reverse condition ever moving further and further from the anointing of God's presence.

Cain's final end was that of an exile, a vagrant, living on a territory never intended for him, not in his true inheritance or possession. There, separated from the anointing, the scripture says Cain "dwelt." He "settled" there. Any man who understands the progressive dealings of God knows one thing if he knows nothing else: the anointing of God is ever from glory to glory, and as long as we are short of the FULLNESS OF GOD we must NEVER SETTLE anywhere! Jesus Christ is pictured by the Psalmist as a bridegroom typified by the sun who comes out of his chamber to run a race through the skies (Ps. 19: 4-6). Malachi speaks of Christ as "the SUN of righteousness, arising." Everyone knows, of course, that the "race" of the sun is from east to west. In the scriptures this is the route of SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION - from east to west.

The Sun of righteousness has arisen in this world to run a race, but Cain went in the wrong direction and DWELT THERE! The very condition of settling indicates the loss of the anointing - lost from the on-going purposes of God - for the Son does not settle until He stands on the pinnacle of Mount Zion in the heavenly sphere of life and glory and dominion. But men always "settle" when, following some spontaneous moving and revelation of God, they begin to organize and systematize it, build walls of formulated creeds and dogmas about it, endeavoring to "preserve" it, as though the Spirit who produced the outpouring in the first place had never said, "Let us GO ON TO PERFECTION!" (Heb. 6:1).

After departing from the presence of the Lord Cain "built a city" - founded a rebellious civilization, of which Paul spake when he wrote of this fallen race that they walk "according to the course of THIS WORLD" (Eph. 2:2). The "course of this world" is that which is built by and upon the "wisdom of this world." Of this wisdom James says, "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:15). The Bible speaks of "the way of Cain." The way of Cain! With his back to the light, walking away from the tree of LIFE, Cain sought to find satisfaction and fulfillment in SELF. As one has written, "There is an obvious principle in this record - to leave the presence of God, one will build for self. But one cannot build for self as long as they remain in the presence of the Lord, for there they will be immersed in His glory, and fall low before Him to worship at His feet. One cannot worship God and build for self at the same time. Indeed, the Hebrew word for worship literally means: SELF ABASEMENT. 'O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God' (Ps. 95:6-7)" -end quote. Obviously, then, those preachers who build their fleshly religious empires have already "gone the way of Cain" before ever they commence to "build a city." The eastward journey is ever the figure of man's selfhood. How significant, then, the cry of EASTERN PHILOSOPHY: Know Thy SELF!

Reading on in Genesis, we come to the time following the Flood. It is interesting to note that during the time when "the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech," the people JOURNEYED EASTWARD (not "from the east" as the King James gives it). They settled in "the land of Shinar," which is Babylon and is to the EAST OF PALESTINE.

Having journeyed EASTWARD, the people then began to build a tower, which was named Babel, meaning confusion (Gen. 11:1-4). The error of Cain is repeated once more.

God further reveals His plan as it relates to east and west when He called Abraham and selected him to be the father of His purposes in the earth. Abraham lived in Ur of the Chaldees, in the area of old Babylon - the EAST. The religions which constituted what today we call Paganism originated in the east. Those religions were for the most part forms of sun-worship, and worship of the moon and the constellations of the heavens. The Chaldeans, like the Persians and most of the ancient nations, were worshippers of the heavens. Sun-worship was their religion, and astrology was, if one might so put it, their theology. The eastern pagan concepts of astrology, divination, psychic phenomena, transcendental meditation, reincarnation, astral projection, etc., etc. today ride upon a crest of popularity unequalled in history. Eastern philosophies are taking the world by storm. Mankind, in his fateful journey eastward, has launched himself into a mystical orbit, where hopefully some answers to life's enigmas can be found. But that which is born of the flesh will always travel eastward, away from the presence, or consciousness of the Lord, into an emphasis upon S-E-L-F REALIZATION, while that which is of the Spirit will guide us from east to west, into the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of JESUS CHRIST, progressing until we come into our final appointed resting place IN HIM.

God commanded Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 12:1) to go to a land that He would show him - the land of Canaan. Ur means light - the light of Babylon. But what is the light of Babylon? Is it the light of God? NO! It is the false light of the carnal mind, as the apostle says, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself IS TRANSFORMED INTO AN ANGEL OF LIGHT. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their work" (II Cor. 11:13-15). Abraham was directed to leave the light of Babylon in order to enter into the Kingdom of God. Leaving Babylon and coming to Canaan is a picture of leaving the darkness of man-made religious systems and coming into the Kingdom of Light where shines the spirit of wisdom and revelation from God. When Abraham and Sarah journeyed from Babylon to Canaan they left from the east and went to the west. Isn't that remarkable! When Adam and Eve were banished from the glory of the Lord they were driven eastward. When Cain went out from the presence of the Lord he traveled even farther eastward. But when God inaugurated a RESTORATION, Abraham was required to leave the east and go west. Herein is revealed God's great pattern for RESTORATION!

Abraham had to learn God's ways step by step. In Gen. 12:7-8 we find, "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he called upon the name of the Lord." Notice, beloved, the direction of the pitching of the camp. Abraham pitched his tent to the east, with Hai to the east and Bethel on the west. Bethel means."the house of God." Hai means "a heap of ruins." When Abraham pitched his tent he was facing Bethel, heading westward, revealing his desire to go towards God's house. The way of ruin, desolation, chaos, destruction and loss the way of the east - lay behind him!

There came a day when the herds of Abraham and his nephew, Lot, had grown to such an extent that there was not grass enough in one place for both of them to feed their flocks. It became evident that they would have to separate from each other as they reached out for new pasture. Abraham was most gracious and gave Lot first choice. And Lot looked over the land from the mountain where they were standing and saw down in the valley the river Jordan flowing between green fields, where the soil was rich. He saw the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah upon the plain, near the head of the Dead Sea, into which the Jordan flows. "Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed EAST: and they separated themselves one from the other" (Gen. 13:11). Going east is going your way. Going west is going God's way. Lot was enticed by all those things which appeal to the flesh - the well-watered plains, the life of ease for the flesh, the fleshly excitement, activity and entertainment of the cities - and so he JOURNEYED EASTWARD. It was a calamitous journey ending in fiasco. He departed from his uncle, the man of God, and pursued that which gratified the flesh, moving closer and closer to the city of Sodom, until after a time he was dwelling in the very heart of that cesspool of wickedness, until the day that God pronounced judgment on the whole realm and rained down fire and brimstone from heaven. A great cataclysm took place and when it was over the great cities of the plain lay deep beneath the waters of the Dead Sea!

It is significant, however, that after Lot had separated from Abraham, God said unto Abraham, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land that thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever" (Gen. 13:14-15). So tremendous is the promise of God to Abraham, because he would have an eye single to God, that in due time God would give him an inheritance in ALL DIRECTIONS, even to possess the gates of his enemies, and to restore all of that which was eastward, for "in thee and in thy seed shall ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED" (Gen. 28:14). Then "ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people... and ye shall be unto Me a KINGDOM OF PRIESTS" (Ex. 19:5-6). "And hast made us unto our God KINGS AND PRIESTS: and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10). "For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL" (I Cor. 15:25,26,28).

It is a beautiful truth - when the people of God have come into the fullness of all that which awaits them WESTWARD, they will be empowered to bless and restore all of the realm of the EASTWARD, into the light and life and glory of God. It is the healing, life-giving stream that we read about in Ezekiel: "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house EASTWARD... these waters issue out TOWARD THE EAST COUNTRY, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, THE WATERS SHALL BE HEALED. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, SHALL LIVE: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish" (Eze. 47:1, 8-9).

The beloved Seer of Patmos beheld in rapturous wonder the same blessed scene and described it thus: "And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb ... and the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:1,17). In the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden we are told of a remarkable river that had its source in Eden, but on flowing out of the garden divided itself into FOUR BRANCHES (north, south, east, west). This is a type or symbol of the life of God, flowing out from the Kingdom of God to the whole earth. The nature of God's wonderful river is that it flows OUTWARD.

Jesus identified this great river of God when in the last day, that great day of the Feast, He stood and cried, saying, "If any man thirst, let him come unto ME, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow RIVERS OF LIVING WATER. THIS HE SPAKE OF THE SPIRIT, which they that believe on Him should receive" (Jn. 7:37-39). Thank God that this river now flows! The life of Jesus Christ is flowing as a river out from the throne of God. There is coming an outflow of blessing and life and glory from the body of Jesus Christ, where God is enthroned, that shall utterly eclipse anything we have ever read about in the Bible or in Church history! From the glorious city of God the river shall flow, out of the innermost being of a people filled with all the fullness of God. The body of Christ IS THE TEMPLE of the living God; our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the door; and from under the threshold flow the living waters of the Spirit, ever increasing, both in the individual believer and in that corporate temple of living stones which is built up a spiritual house, an habitation of God through the Spirit. In the symbolism of Ezekial 47 the waters FLOW EASTWARD, i.e., towards the Kedron, and thence towards the Jordan, and so along the Ghor into the Dead Sea. The main point in the picture (see Eze. 47:3-5) is the rapid augmentation from a petty stream into a mighty river, not by the influx of side streams, but by its own self-supply from the sacred miraculous source IN THE TEMPLE.

Note the progress and increase of these waters: The WENT FORTH EASTWARD (vs. 3), towards the EAST COUNTRY (vs. 8). The prophet and his guide followed the stream as it ran down from the holy mountains, and when they had followed it about a thousand cubits they went across, to try the depth, and it was to the ankles (vs. 3). Then they walked along on the bank of the river on the other side, a thousand cubits more, and then, to try the depth, they waded through it the second time, and it was up to their knees (vs. 4). They walked along it by a thousand cubits more, and then forded it the third time, and then it was up to their middle - the waters were to the loins. They then walked a thousand cubits further, and attempted to cross it the fourth time, but found it impossible: the waters had risen, so that they were waters to swim in, A MIGHTY RIVER THAT COULD NOT BE PASSED OVER (vs. 5).Ah, these are increasing waters, this river runs constantly, AND THE FURTHER IT GOES THE FULLER IT GROWS! As it is written, "Of the INCREASE of His government and peace THERE SHALL BE NO END" (Isa. 9:7).

This river of life has been flowing ever since Pentecost; we realize that; but soon it shall empty into the mighty oceans of humanity, bringing life and blessing to a dry and parched wilderness. "Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (Isa. 43:19). We thank God for the taste we have had from the Fountain of living water. But Jesus has promised, "The water that I shall give him shall BE IN HIM A WELL OF WATER SPRINGING UP into everlasting life" (Jn. 4:14). Sad to say, we have been like the fountain in the Song of Solomon, "A spring shut up, a fountain sealed" (S. of S. 4:12). A fountain! But shut up, sealed, frozen over. Abraham digged many good wells in his day; but after his death we are told that the Philistines had filled them in. Isaac found that he had to dig them again before he could take advantage of the refreshing waters that lay buried under the rocks and dirt and filth which the enemy had tossed into the wells. So it is with the body of Christ, and the fountain which Christ has created in the hearts of His people. All the potentialities of this new life are right in our heart, locked up like the germ-life in the seed.

"RIVERS of living water" is Christ's promise to His people. If men are content with waters up to the ankles, this is not for them. If they are satisfied with waters up to the knees, this is not for them. If waters up to the waist are sufficient, this is not for them. If men are satisfied with a new birth experience, a baptism in the Holy Spirit experience, with gifts of the Spirit and blessings and a comfortable New Testament Church order - such contentment only proves that the Rivers of Living Water have ceased to flow from their souls; for this fountain that Christ places within, if not cluttered up with the mire of the Philistines, is an ever-increasing and inexhaustible supply of divine life and power and glory. Thank God for every measure of truth and life that we have experienced hitherto; but let it flow and grow, child of God - let it surge forward until it becomes a mighty Amazon in this desert-world of sin, sickness, sorrow and death. All who have ears to hear must hear what the Spirit is saying in these momentous days. The Spirit is saying that He is preparing a people, He is preparing sons who shall be a RIVER OF LIFE. God is preparing a body for that first Son, a RIVER-BED FOR THE FLOWING OF HIS LIFE, that His salvation may be manifested unto all the ends of the earth.

This great river flows into the desert and into the sea - the symbol used is the Dead Sea - the very sea, significantly, whose saline waters COVER THE GUILTY CITIES OF THE PLAIN, whither Lot went when he journey eastward - Sodom and Gomorrah! In its bituminous waters no vegetable or animal life is said to be found. But now death is to give place to life in this great sea of humanity - and the healing properties of these waters are such that the sulphurous, death-pervading lake of Sodom SHALL BE HEALED! Praise God, from His WESTERN GARDEN, His RIVER OF LIFE COMPANY shall flow forth EASTWARD, into all the EAST COUNTRY, the life-giving streams! "And there shall be a very great multitude of fish." "Follow Me," said Jesus, "and I will make you fishers of men" (Mat. 4:19).

There is coming a time of unspeakable glory, plainly revealed in God's Word as the time when He shall MAKE ALL THINGS NEW (Rev. 21:5). This renewal of all things is as certain as the rising of the sun and the going down thereof. There is coming a blessed day when the River of Life shall overflow so abundantly unto the whole creation that the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. There is coming a day when there shall be no more sin and no more curse and no more death anywhere, for the former things have passed away, washed and quickened and renewed in the life-giving powers of the River of Life. These are the things which eye hath not seen nor ear heard, and certainly they have not even entered into the heart of those who fill the pews of the Churches Sunday after Sunday. These are the things God has revealed to them that love Him. These are the UNSPEAKABLE things, unlawful for man to utter, the things that pertain to the eternal purposes of God in the realm of the Spirit. These are the things that shall be brought to pass in the age and in the ages to come as the River of Life flows out through the ministry of the sons of God.

To further illustrate the distinction between the way of the flesh and the way of the Spirit, we read that when Abraham sent away the sons of his concubines, he sent them away from Isaac, "EASTWARD, UNTO THE EAST COUNTRY" (Gen. 25:5-6). And when Balak waited someone to curse Israel, he sent for Balaam who was dwelling "IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE EAST" (Num. 23:7). The children of Israel, God's covenant people, were continually oppressed by "THE CHILDREN OF THE EAST" (Jud. 6:3,33; 7:12; 8:8-10). Indeed, the scriptures abound with these illustrations of the truth that men of flesh face EASTWARD, or dwell in THE EAST COUNTRY, while the Lord's Spirit-led people are always facing WESTWARD, symbolically and spiritually, towards His fullness and glory. Indeed, "eastern religions" are well named, for they are religions devised by man as he stands at his farthest distance from God. Only as we face WEST spiritually can we properly describe God and His ways.

It is also interesting to note that Israel's Tabernacle in the wilderness was always pitched to face the east (Ex. 27:13-16). The great Temple in Jerusalem was likewise positioned so that the entrance was on the east. Thus, there was always an entrance prepared for those who came from the east seeking after the Lord. That "east to west" speaks of the route of spiritual progression is seen in this beautiful symbolic arrangement with the entrance on the east you automatically turned your back to the east and entered in a westward direction, first into the Outer Court with its brazen altar of sacrifice and brazen laver, and then westward into the Holy Place with its ministry, and finally into the mast westward location of all - the Most Holy Place. Even so in our spiritual experience do we walk WESTWARD, coming out of the land of the east, with all its selfhood, its building for the flesh, and its separation from God, beginning at the Outer Court of the Tabernacle to partake of HIS sacrifice, being justified freely by His grace; then into the Holy Place with its ministry, His anointing, His manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit, and dimensions of worship wherein HE is exalted; and finally through the veil, until at last we appear before God in the Holiest of all, and there at the mercy seat, with the dazzling light of glory radiating forth, we become like Him, partaking of that divine fullness and those sacred realities for which our heart has long sought after. Moving then from a beginning experience in God into HIS FULLNESS is, in symbolism, a progression FROM EAST TO WEST.

THE WESTWARD STAR The wise men at the time of the birth of the Christ-child were living in the east, for, said they, "We have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him" (Mat. 2:1-2). It is evident from a careful study of these words that the wise men were in the east, not the star, and having seen that star from their location in the east, they traveled westward to where the star led them. From Persia, Babylon, and all the countries of the east they came! Leaving the place of man's wisdom, they journeyed westward to behold HIM "Who of God is made unto us WISDOM, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30). Leaving all the realms of man's carnal reasoning, all the errors of astrology, all the deceptions of the psychic realm, all the delusions of Easter philosophy, all the mysteries of the occult, they went westward to seek out HIM is IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE (Jn. 14:6).

There is in this hour an insidious intrusion into the ranks of those who have received the call to sonship. I speak of the subtle injection into "sonship teaching" of facets of eastern philosophy which arise from the realm of the SOUL - the carnal, mental realm - and are not of the Holy Spirit. The doctrines of "eastern religion" stand in stark contrast, yes, and in opposition to the truth of the gospel of Christ from the west. These have absolutely nothing to offer the man who has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, transformed in mind and heart by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, quickened and made alive in Him and raised up to share His glory and sit with Him in the heavenly places, far above every principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named in this age and in the ages to come.

None can dispute the fact that those nations of earth which for long centuries have been devoted to eastern religion are today, as ever they have been, lands of INCREDIBLE SPIRITUAL DARKNESS, blinded by ignorance, captives to silly superstitions, devastated by poverty, spread over with squalor, and ravaged by sin, sickness, sorrow and death. Only in those lands where the magnificent display of the grace of God in the saving power of the gospel of Jesus Christ has conquered the hearts of men have entire civilizations been blessed, lifted and transformed economically, physically, politically, educationally and spiritually. The Conquering Spirit of Jesus Christ has transformed the hearts of men and the face of nations.

The subtle force of this Conqueror is seen penetrating all the spheres of modern life. His aggressive warfare on the old heathen homes transformed the home, until the Christian home, where woman is queen, rather than the chattel and slave of the man, and where the children are cradled and cultured in love, rises in beauty and glory. He has transformed governments, until today, instead of people being the servants of the kings and presidents, they are the servants of the people. He has transformed the educational institutions, until today the poorest and obscurest child has the opportunity of the highest and most finished education. He has transformed commerce, until the principles of equity and honesty and fairness are those only which the leaders in the commercial world can adapt if they wish to hold their supremacy. The gospel of Jesus brought tenderness and love into the world until today the mentally ill, impoverished, unfortunates, the sick and the maimed, have grand institutions reared for their benefit, to which they can go, and there find warmth and care and protection. Such things as charitable institutions would have been laughed to scorn by the world before Christ came. All of these dramatic changes, and many others as well, have been wrought by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In stark contrast to the spiritual and material blessings and prosperity of those nations whose God is the Lord, we see the distressed state of those who have served the false gods of the east. The "ascended masters of the east," I am told, have resided in the Himalayas for more than 25,000 years, ostensibly to bless, lift, heal and guide the people into the ways of life and light and blessing. In my opinion, if the nations of India, Tibet, Burma and Afghanistan are the classic examples of the fruit of this long and illustrious ministry - I can get along quite well without them, thank you! Amazing, isn't it, that out of gross pagan darkness come the doctrines of the masters of the far east, transdental meditation, yoga, ESP, cosmic Christ consciousness, alpha waves, astral projection, telepathy, clairvoyance, reincarnation, karma, etc., and then some would seek to join these unfruitful works of darkness with the glorious LIGHT of the gospel of Christ! Ah, my friend, far too long we have allowed our soul, our mind, to play the harlot with these alluring spirits of the east, which defile our spirits with their sorceries. Harken! ye sons of God. Ere we stand on Zion's holy hill the soul needs to be brought back from the land of its wanderings in the east, to be cleansed by the precious blood of the Lamb. You who would be sons of God, you who would rule and reign with Christ, you who would lead the nations unto living fountains of water - I tell you this day that the voice of the Father calls you back from the polluted waters of the east, to "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:23-24). May the almighty Father cause you to hear His trumpet pealing in your ears, sounding down through all the chambers of your soul's castle. May you see the sabre of truth flashing its dazzling light and hear the clatter of the hoofs of the white horse of CHRIST'S TRIUMPH WITHIN as He bounds through your land, delivering from the realms of the world, the flesh and the devil, and bringing us to that place in God where no more do we lean upon anything which the flesh has to offer, no longer trusting in the psychic realms with all their divinations, but we follow on to know HIM who IS our Way, Truth, and LIFE. "O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy" (Ps. 43:3-4).

What a beautiful arrangement for spiritual progression. "We have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him." The star seen by the wise men of the east, with all their wisdom, led to the discovery of THE CHRIST, THE WISDOM OF GOD, in what was to them the farther west. Persia was a long way from Palestine; Palestine is a long way from us; but the star that shone from heaven in that far-off day is still guiding the pilgrim feet of the watching few to the lowly place where lies the new-born hope of the world, God's Christ, Head And body. The Christ-child, conceived in the physical womb of a physical woman and then separated from her by a perfectly normal birth, was God's immutable hope of reconciling the world, even as it is written that God was in Christ, RECONCILING THE WORLD unto Himself. Can you not see, precious friend of mine, the rising crescendo of God's almighty purpose? For it is NOW written that Christ IN YOU is the hope of glory, and if I understand God's Christ aright, and God's glory aright, within you, dear child of God, dwells something imperishable, something eternal, something transcendental, something conceived of the Holy Ghost, something God-like, a spark from the Divine Glory that no power shall ever quench. The Christ-child has been born anew in our hearts. The Sun of righteousness has arisen within His people. Hasten where HE leads. Kneel to the Christ who waits expression through your life; bestow your gifts rich and rare - all you have, keeping nothing back. All creation groans with unutterable longing for Christ to be formed in you, in me.

Throughout the ages past, God has revealed His purpose to bring His people from the realms of carnality and the ways of man unto the fullness of the presence and glory of the Lord. This was to be A PROGRESSIVE WESTERN MOVEMENT. The coming of the Son of man is likened to the rising sun which shines FROM THE EAST EVEN UNTO THE WEST. It is interesting to note in this connection that history corroborates this progressive WESTERN advance of God's dealings with humanity throughout the unfolding ages.

When God created Adam, He put the man in the garden which was located EASTWARD IN EDEN (Gen. 2:8) so that his progress must be WESTWARD. Then the place of God's blessing and glory moved west into Palestine when God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees in the east and planted his seed in the land of Canaan to the west. The first center from whence the glorious light of the gospel of Christ shone forth to the world was Jerusalem. Following the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the center of spiritual activity moved westward into Greece, entered Asia Minor, penetrated Rome. Into the royal palace, with more than royal grace, strode the Conquering Christ. The revelry which aforetime rang through those imperial chambers hushed itself into reverential silence; and the emperor in lowly manner bowed before the flashings of His authoritative demeanor, and solemnly swore to evermore support His throne, and decreed that the religion of Jesus Christ should thenceforth be the religion of this great realm. The centuries rolled by. Slowly descended the gloom of the dark ages. But by and by the glory of God broke forth afresh, unweakened by the deadly embrace of a hollow and lifeless ceremonialism. Luther's voice rang out its clarion notes, and the whole continent of Europe was convulsed by those tremendous and rapid movements which broke down the elaborate formalism and deadly corruption of those dark ages, and set men forth into the clear light of heaven, where they could breathe its own free airs. The Glory Cloud had again moved westward and Germany and Switzerland became the center from which the great power of God shook the world and changed the course of history. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the center continued its western movement to Britain, as the Spirit of God moved in mighty power across the length and breadth of that land in massive tidal waves of revival, converting and transforming untold millions of lives and birthing the Bible Societies and the modern foreign missionary movements. England sent forth missionaries to her colonies which circled the globe and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covered the earth. And here we have it still moving west, or coming from the way of the east to America.

America was no accident. As God called the children of Israel to leave their bondage in Egypt, led them across the Red Sea, and into the promised land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, so, three millenniums later, God called our Christian forefathers to leave the tyranny of Europe, led them across the great Atlantic Ocean, to live in free America, truly a land flowing with milk and honey, corn and oil, fruit and grain, and gold, coal and iron and wealth untold.

When Columbus first landed in America, he, with his men, kneeled down on the beach, and consecrated the new country to Jesus Christ. When the French Huguenots, driven from France on account of their devotion to Jesus Christ, landed in the Carolinas, they there on the ocean's beach kneeled, and consecrated the new land to Jesus Christ. When the Dutch Holland refugees landed on Manhattan Island, they were animated by the same spirit, and bowed down on the sand, and consecrated the land to Jesus Christ. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, they there knelt, and consecrated the land to Jesus Christ. This continent belongs to no other person than Jesus Christ! His Spirit, working in the minds of His followers, discovered it. And He, through them, took possession of it, from the stern and rock-bound coasts of New England, to the sun-kissed slopes of California. Here to these shores flocked legions who acknowledged no submission except to the rule of Jesus Christ.

Here in this new land, born in prayer and faith in God, our heavenly Father has surrounded His chosen people with friendly neighbors to the north and south, and protected them from invasion by wide oceans on the east and west. And from here, God has sent missionaries and raised up preachers, that His Word might be proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of the earth, until almost every creature has had the opportunity of hearing the blessed good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God. "Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord: and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance" (Ps. 33:12).

What was God's purpose in leading our forefathers across the ocean to found here the world's greatest nation? Was it that we alone might enjoy the richest land, the highest standard of living, the choicest freedoms, the greatest wealth, the most marvelous inventions that the world has ever seen? NO! When God called His people, the children of Israel, from their cruel bondage in Egypt and settled them in the rich land of Canaan, He had a very definite purpose in mind for them. There, they were to worship and serve Him, only. They were to exalt His great name before the heathen nations that surrounded them. They were to eventually become a blessing to all mankind. "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:2-3). God has called the United States of America into existence and given us the riches of this great continent, for the very same and definite purpose. Here, we were to build a nation whose very coin and currency would proclaim to a scoffing, heathen, and humanistic world that "In God We Trust." Here, the Bible was to be read and revered and obeyed. Here, God's ministers and God's people were to be free and unhampered in their allegiance to the Almighty. Here, were to be raised up Churches from which missionaries would go to the uttermost parts of the earth with the message that Jesus Christ came to set men free. Yes, America was appointed to be "God's Country," and we were meant to be God's people. How long until the Glory Cloud moves westward again? I don't know. But today the western progression of God's glorious purposes has brought us to the beautiful land of America.

Above and far beyond these physical realities lies the spiritual truth that we presently see ourselves SPIRITUALLY MOVING WESTWARD toward the Most Holy Place, the place of the fullness and glory of God. May these unspeakably solemn truths find a place of lodging, growth and ever-expanding expression in the lives of all who read these pages. Before concluding this message I would share a quotation from the writings of Paul and Emily Mueller. "In 1851 John Soule coined the phrase: 'GO WEST YOUNG MAN, and grow up with the country.' Horace Greely picked up that statement and used it extensively in giving advice to young men, and thus the phrase, 'GO WEST YOUNG MAN' became popular. Today a manchild has been born, and from the time of his birth he has heard a still, small voice behind him saying, 'GO WEST YOUNG MAN.' The pleadings of his heavenly Father have been persistent and determined as the young man was urged to press his way WESTWARD into the Holy of holies. The young man, the manchild company, is indeed pressing his way WESTWARD and will continue to do so until he has been perfected and matured and until his Father tells him to turn around and go EASTWARD to the nations. The deliverance of all creation depends on the sons of God and the direction they take (Rom. 8:21-22). As we continue to go WESTWARD, we will ultimately partake of all God's glory and fullness and become a part of the flowing of God's torrential river of Life" -end quote.

As we have noted, Jesus explained that His coming would be like a BRIGHT SHINING which shines FROM THE EAST EVEN UNTO THE WEST. Here, unmistakably, is the idea of enlightenment. Never has the presence of an earthly king or potentate been so glorious and all-powerful as properly to be likened to a brightness sufficient to enlighten the whole world - from the east unto the west. This, however, is true of earth's great and eternal King, our Lord Jesus Christ. The meaning of these words is evident: Jesus' presence will enlighten the world. And as light is used in the scriptures to symbolize knowledge - the knowledge of God - what the Master really told the disciples in symbolic language was that HE WOULD ARISE AS ENLIGHTENMENT unto all the ends of the earth until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9).

The sweet singer of Israel penned these significant words: "The entrance of Thy words GIVETH LIGHT; it giveth UNDERSTANDING to the simple" (Ps. 119:130). The prophet Hosea, speaking of God, said, "Thy judgments are as the LIGHT that goeth forth" (Hos. 6:5). "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a LIGHT unto my path" (Ps. 119:105). Also in II Cor. 4:6, Paul declares "For God, who commanded the LIGHT to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the LIGHT of the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Can we not understand by this that TRUTH is LIGHT, UNDERSTANDING is LIGHT, KNOWLEDGE is LIGHT and LIFE is LIGHT. We often hear someone say, "I got some light on that." They are declaring the reception of understanding. In like manner, DARKNESS is IGNORANCE. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath BLINDED THE MINDS of them which believe not, lest the LIGHT of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them" (II Cor. 4:3-4).

From the above scripture we know there are TWO KINGDOMS: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness, or the Kingdom of LIGHT and the kingdom of darkness. Praise God, He "hath delivered us from the POWER OF DARKNESS, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:13). In this world darkness and light, day and night co-exist. Here in Crystal River it is a bright, sunlit day. Onthe other side of the world people slumber upon their beds in the darkness of night. Therefore I learn in the natural a principle that teaches me a spiritual truth: it is day and night at the same time! These lines are being read by many thousands of people around the world. Some of you walk in light and some of you walk in darkness. Some of you walk in spiritual light indifferent dimensions, while some of you walk in spiritual darkness in different dimensions. it's a matter of your UNDERSTANDING. It's not a matter of whether you speak in tongues, how you were baptized, or rules and regulations of any kind. It is a thing of the SPIRIT, a condition, a state of being, a spiritual mentality, a KNOWING OF THE LORD IN TRUTH AND UNDERSTANDING.

Darkness is but the absence of light, or the lack of understanding. Christ Himself IS THE LIGHT OF LIFE. Life comes from light, therefore, if we want to know the condition of life in a man, we must see the state of enlightenment within him. We often think that if a man becomes a little more zealous, his life has grown; or if he is a little more pious, his life has increased. Such concepts are totally incorrect. Life is not in the zeal of man; neither is it in the piety of man. There is only one realm and one source of life, and that is LIGHT. Life rests with light; life comes from light. To determine whether a person has grown in life, we must observe the condition of his INNER ENLIGHTENMENT. Thus, if we want to help others grow in life, we must help them to be enlightened. If they can receive enlightenment from us they can obtain life and grow in life. May God help you to experientially become this day part of His SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS COMPANY. Arise, and shine!

 Next to Part 20

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