Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

 

IN THE BEGINNING

Part 3

Publication #162.03

And The Earth Became...

¹In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep... Gen. 1:1-2.

In the beginning God created all things in Christ Jesus. He created them in the one who is the Beginning, which is, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we understand a simple truth. He was filled with the entirety of creation. All things were created in Him and for Him; but all things did not remain in Him; for it was all lowered with Adam, the light bearer, when he said, "I will." The son of the morning fell from the heavens. He was cut down to the ground, and in the cutting he brought everything down to hell with him. This was when he said in his heart -- I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isa. 14:12 -16.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? And it should. The spirit of the first Adam is a master at echoing truths which can only be owned by the Spirit of the Last Adam. Which voice have we heard and embraced? If it has been the voice of the Last Adam, we are filled with light and we live. If it has been the voice of the first Adam, we are emptied and we die.

When Adam said I will, his earth became formless and empty. It became an undistinguishable ruin, and we are not referring to the natural terra firma. There is little doubt that the physical earth suffered great cataclysmic disturbances at some era of time in the distant past; but we are not looking into geological disruptions of tectonic plates. We see beyond the natural, beyond those basic elements of the earth which point to the spiritual. We see the earth of Adam and his ruin. We see him losing his form in which he was created, and in doing so he became empty and void of life. This is what we see in Genesis 1:2. Adam and creation, which was brought into him to be named, was made a little lower than the angels Heb. 2:7. He who had dominion over creation left his first estate, which was the Beginning.

Moreover, we see another man, Jesus Christ, who did the same, yet willingly, and knowing full-well what lay in store for Him. This man, however, never said, "I will," but rather, "Not My will, but Thine be done Matt. 26:39, and "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine, be done." Luke 22:42.

You see, both men descended from the glory they once had, one by taking and the other by giving. One lost his life when he attempted to save it. The other gave His life to save the one who was lost. In order for a shepherd to find his lost sheep, he must go to where the sheep are lost, and that is what Jesus did. He even went into hell to find them, and He led captivity captive. He did not descend with the spirit of pride furled about His brow, declaring that He was God, but just the opposite. He went as one of them.

⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery (Grk. harpagmos, to seize, plunder) to be equal with God: ⁷But made himself of no reputation (Grk. ekenosen, empty), and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil. 2:6-8 (KJV).

⁶Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. ⁸Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil. 2:6-8 (NASB).

The late Oswald Chambers wrote of this in his daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, for April 24:

"The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success

"'Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you …' (Luke 10:20).

"Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. Never seek after anything other than the approval of God, and always be willing to go 'outside the camp, bearing His reproach' (Hebrews 13:13). In Luke 10:20, Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice. We have a commercialized view--we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. Yet our work only begins where God's grace has laid the foundation. Our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them. Salvation and sanctification are the work of God's sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others' lives until they are totally yielded to God. One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit. As workers for God, we must reproduce our own kind spiritually, and those lives will be God's testimony to us as His workers. God brings us up to a standard of life through His grace, and we are responsible for reproducing that same standard in others.

"Unless the worker lives a life that 'is hidden with Christ in God' (Colossians 3:3), he is apt to become an irritating dictator to others, instead of an active, living disciple. Many of us are dictators, dictating our desires to individuals and to groups. But Jesus never dictates to us in that way. Whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He always prefaced His words with an 'if,' never with the forceful or dogmatic statement--'You must.'"

Can you see Christ's nature in the above devotional? As with Jesus, we are in the form of God; but we should not regard equality with God a thing to be sought after, grasped, seized, plundered. Let us take care and not fall into the trap of desiring spiritual success or claiming we are exalted sons of God, or as some are saying -- God. Rather than striving to be godlike, and shouting such claims from our soap-boxes, we should seek nothing other than God and His approval, and be willing to abide outside the camp where glory is seldom found. Let it be far from us to have our desires set on building a successful ministry. It is not how many souls have been drawn to us and convinced that we have more of the truth than anyone else.

We can certainly build on the foundation laid by our Lord; but let it be far from us to plunder His workmanship. We can teach people and point them always to Him; but we cannot transform them. Such is the work of God's sovereign grace, while ours is to direct them in such a way that their hearts are totally consumed by God, so much so that they walk earth's avenues as His living epistles. One person walking as God's word shines brighter than ten thousand usurping theologians who trumpet the right doctrines. One humble servant stands taller than ten thousand proud bishops.

There is only one God but many would-be kings, and if our lives are not in union with our Lord Jesus, we can very easily become lords of the people rather than servants to them. There is something in us that desires to rule over others, to make ourselves out to be something special in the eyes of man. Rather than emptying ourselves, we will stroke our egos with pride. In doing so, we see ourselves as we ought not, as someone who we believe should think for and lord over the people while they serve us.

Such are of the first Adam and not the Last. Such are of the fallen one from heaven and not the One risen. Such is the one who said, "I will," and filled himself, not the one who said, "Not my will, but Thine be done," and emptied Himself. The first one, indeed, became empty when he lifted himself above the stars of God; but the Last One, after emptying Himself, ascended far above all heavens to be filled with all things.

Let us note again our initial verse and see how the King James Version of the Bible would have the casual reader to believe the earth was originally created without form, completely void and totally dark: ²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep... Gen. 1:2. However, upon examination of that which is closer to the original text, we find that the earth was not created this way. According to E. W. Bullinger's ⁽¹⁾notes in The Companion Bible, was in this verse should be translated became. The NIV notes suggest the same, and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance concurs: without form: tôhû, to lie waste; a desolation (of surface), a desert. void: bôhû, to be empty, a vacuity...an undistinguishable ruin. Therefore, to be more accurate, the verse should read: "And the earth became formless and void, a waste place of ruin and emptiness."

If God had created the earth a formless waste place of ruin and emptiness, one of the first voices of Jesus Christ would have lied when he said: ³³For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints 1 Cor. 14:33. But we know Paul was not a liar. God did not create the world in confusion; but Adam lowered it to that place.

Can we not see the parallel with Adam after he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Upon eating, his understanding became dark as he was lowered from his heavenly estate. He lost his form and became desolate. Vacuity became his habitat. Vacuity is an English word that speaks of an empty region, a total lack of meaning, senselessness, insanity; mindlessness, pointlessness. This was Adam after he desired to be wise. He ate and became empty. Without light his life no longer had meaning. Everything in that realm was pointless, and being void of the mind of Christ, he was beset with insanity. And so it can be with us as well. When we walk according to the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, we are the same; namely, insane. There is no soundness to our thoughts. We are mindless of truth. Nothing makes real sense. Oh, we may think we are of sound mind, making good sense, and shining with light; but nothing of the flesh avails anything in the Kingdom of God. It has no meaning whatsoever when we elevate and esteem ourselves to be God. Our thoughts are not His thoughts, and knowledge based on darkness serves nothing but to puff us up. Such is the mind that's void of the inspiration of Christ Jesus. Such is the mind when darkness covers the deep. And such are the words born from the shadowy grave of the deep.

To the simple minded, they may seem to be words sounding from the highest heavens. They may appear to be rending the veil of darkness over their deep waters; but they are not. They are coming from the bottom of those depths and spreading more darkness over their understanding, nothing more. Rather than bringing light and liberty, they minister darkness, bondage, and destruction. They snare not only that man's soul, but the souls of those who eat from these tables as well Prov. 18:7. For you see, ¹⁵The simple believes every word: but the prudent man looks well to his going Prov. 14:15. Verses such as this would make us wonder why so many people fall headlong into obvious error, yet the answer itself is obvious -- simple mindedness.

The lack of understanding is darkness, which builds its wares upon the simple mind, affording it with folly. Those whose words come from under the covering of darkness deceive the simple. They are easily persuaded to look to the teachers for life; but life is not found in empty places. ¹⁷Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. ¹⁸But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell. Prov. 9:16-18.

My dear friends, please know that stolen words bear the stroke of death. Eating from the tree of I will be as God, I will be God, I have never sinned, I was not born in sin, I need no atoning blood, it's all an illusion, it's only a mistaken identity is very deceptive. It can be very pleasant to the soul; but therein is the habitation of the dead. The bed of hell is found in her deep chamber. Let us, therefore, be cautious and not allow the hollow words of our deep to be exalted, and never permit charlatans to spill their seed upon us; for in doing so, we will be under their authority. They will have dominion over us, and we will be led headlong into darkness. Let us examine ourselves and be not gullible, but rather, be like-minded as Job: ³⁰Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things? Job 6:30. And ²⁴Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. Job 6:24. Moreover, let each of us see that ¹⁹If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead? ²⁰If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. ²¹Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. Job 9:19-21. Where is the godlike pride, brethren, in the light God's glory? There is none. Therefore, let us cease from opening our minds as receptacles of deception.

Moreover, ¹⁷...Brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences (skandalon, a trap stick...a snare...) contrary ( (para, near, beside, at (or in) the vicinity of, to the proximity with...) to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. ¹⁸For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple Rom. 16:17-18.

Can we hear what Paul was saying? Surely, we can, and it applies to us as well. He was giving fare warning about people whose words and manner of speech were snares to the simple. One thing that made the snares so effective was that they were laid alongside doctrines of truth. They were so interwoven with sound doctrine that they could not be distinguished from the truth by many. And so it is today. Much is being taught which is from the tree of man's knowledge, yet it is so near to what we've been taught that the error is often missed. The teachings are in the vicinity of truth. They are rooted in the proximity of pure doctrines, they are usually close to what the scriptures say, but they are still the words of death. For they proceed from the covered waters of darkness. Although they appear differently and can be very alluring, their faces are not illuminated by the light of Christ; for the face of their waters are covered with darkness.

Ah, but there is life which springs from the deep as well. Man's understanding; however, is capable of more than darkness. After the Spirit of God moves over the face of the deep, and He says, "Let there be Light," words began to spring forth in a new and living way. After the Deep of the heavens calls to the deep of our dark seas, there is light, and the man's speech changes, as we read in the Proverbs of Solomon: ⁴The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook Prov. 18:4. The word may at times be very much the same as those men and women of fair speeches; but the Spirit is not the same. When the words are truly deep waters, the wellspring of wisdom, their spirit is that of Christ Jesus. They are men and women whose deep waters are covered by light and not darkness.

After the Spirit of God moves upon the face of our waters and He says "Let there be light," there is light. When He speaks, people hear. Light replaces the covering of darkness and quick understanding dawns. Man's thoughts flee in the presence of God's thoughts. The Psalmist wrote about His words of enlightenment: ¹³⁰The entrance of Thy words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple (pethîy, silly...seducible) Psa. 119:130.

The simple minded may be prone to embrace perverse words which will add to their folly; but unless they are willingly ignorant, they will not remain in the deep seas of dark understanding when God speaks. For the word of the Lord is an Entrance to light. It is the Door to understanding. Moreover, Jesus is that Word and Door of Entrance. From what is evident across the country, however, there are quite a few who refuse to pass through that Door. I seems that they must have others to tell them what to believe and do. Or perhaps they are having so much fun in their error that they reject the truth flat out. If this is the case, they are willingly ignorant. The latter reminds me of a brother who once told me not to share anymore truths with him. His reason for not wanting to hear what God was saying may be typical for others. He said, "The less I know the less I am responsible for. The more I know the more I am responsible for, and I don't want to be held responsible for what I believe, don't believe, or what I do or don't do." And guess what, since he would not hear the warning of impending danger, he walked straight into the darkness of his mind and plunged headlong off the edge of a cliff, and he is still falling. In his dilemma, he has halfheartedly called upon the Lord. But Jesus is not in the habit of delivering halfhearted people who love the world more then Him.

There are not many who will be so truthful; but their actions are the same. They flee the light of truth as they delve into adulterous affairs (spiritually) with those who seduce them. The Proverbs speaks very clearly of this.

⁶For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, ⁷And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, ⁸Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, ⁹In the twilight, in the evening , in the black and dark night: ¹⁰And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart. ¹¹(...her feet abide not in her house: ¹²Now is she without, now in the streets, and lies in wait at every corner.) ¹³So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, ¹⁴I have peace offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows. ¹⁵Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. Prov. 7:6 -15.

Do you think this is not happening? Sorry, folks, it is, and the harlot's snare has been very effective, and most destructive. Let me share a letter from a dear sister who was maliciously beaten (spiritually) by her friends who were snared.

"Dear Elwin Roach,

"This letter is way overdue. I should have written it long ago, but I didn't. I can't put it off any longer.

"Since August of 2001 I have had one trial after another. I have been alone since my husband died and have had the fellowship with only three people. We saw each other occasionally, but talked once in a while on the phone. Two of these three (husband and wife) invited a traveling minister to stay at their home for the weekend. My other friend and I went there for what we expected to be wonderful fellowship.

"It didn't turn out that way. Some of the things the man was teaching seemed very wrong to me. I questioned him about them, and they all turned on me, except for the friend who went with me. My friends have the Lord, and they turned against me. I have known this couple for 25 years. I was devastated. 'How could it be?' I kept asking. 'What is wrong with me.' I was crushed.

"Because they disagreed with me, I felt that I must be wrong. I came home and cried before the Lord. The answer I got from Him was, 'Just because everyone is marching on their left foot and you are marching on your right one doesn't necessarily mean that you are wrong.'

"That minister even questioned whether I had received the right sprit when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. That scared me so much. No one could possibly know how much that scared me. This minister (you have mentioned his name in at least one of your booklets, so I know that you know him) is supposedly a true follower of Jesus Christ. I kept saying to myself, 'If he is right, what can I do? I have had the baptism of the Spirit since 1970. I hear His voice and He leads me. If what I am hearing isn't the Lord, what in the world do I do? I am of all men most miserable!'

"I thought of calling you or Preston Eby -- someone that I know walks with God -- and ask for help, but I didn't. Since the beginning of my walk with the Lord, whenever I have a serious question, I ask Him and He always sends the answer -- sometimes through a man; but the man wouldn't have known that I had asked the question. This way, I know He hears me and I don't get just a man's opinion.

"So I prayed, I cried, and I asked the Lord.

"He answered me -- THROUGH YOU, ELWIN ROACH!! You didn't know my dilemma; but as I Began to read your booklet (Heaven's Descenders, Part 7, #142) -- you brought up all the questions that were discussed at those meetings, and the answers you gave were the same as I had been given by our Lord. You disagreed with the teachings of that man too. Our Father confirmed to me that I was hearing from Him. Hallelujah!!

"I am very puzzled by that minister. So many people follow him.

"After one day, my friend of 30 years also saw the error of what this man was saying. (She reads your articles also.) The other two have not seen it nor have they returned. I miss them very much.

"Then -- I tore a disc in my lower back. I live alone and for several weeks I was almost totally disabled. No one was there to help me. I have never felt so alone. I didn't sense the Lord's presence and I got very depressed. I am sorry to admit it, but I wasn't praising the Lord. I tried to, but I felt it wasn't real. I wondered if He was real.

"Then I found your three booklets on the 'Mysteries From Darkness.' I had not read them before. There are no words to tell you how much I was helped by them. God used you to explain to me what was happening in my life.

"To go through awful trials all alone and to not know why is so horrible. I kept asking, 'What did I do? Lord, show me so that I can repent.' The words of that minister kept coming back, and I wondered if I was being punished because I had a bad spirit.

"It has now been 107 days since I hurt my back. I am much better but it still is hard to do some things. I miss my friends; but I know in whom I have believed, and I know that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. I KNOW that I AM HIS SON and He LOVES ME!

"You had asked in your article: 'WHY DO I WRITE?' Because of what you said:

"'I have come to know that what I say will have little impact on some people's beliefs. Once they have smelled the tantalizing aroma of something different, and have embraced it with open arms, it is doubtful that there will be any changes in the near future. Neither will ten thousand scriptures make a difference in what they believe to be true. So in God's name -- why do I write? Ah, I know! It is for those whose eyes well with tears of joy when truth is heard. I write to those with whom I am equally yoked, to those whose stride is never broken by the words I write or by what anyone else writes. Even if what I write misses the mark at times, they continue in the Spirit with me in loving kindness. I write to those who are friends that stick closer than a brother' (#142).'

"How can I thank you enough, my brother? THANK YOU FOR WRITING!!

"With all sincerity, Betty Jo Tocco, (Sterling Heights, MI, January 27, 2002)."

I wish I could say that this is an isolated case, but I can't. Many who were created in the Beginning, created in Christ Jesus have left their first estate. They once had their abode in Him, and all was well, until the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was taken and eaten. It was then that their earth became formless and empty. Darkness covered the face of their deep waters. Their revelations became devilations. This is what happens when the spirit of "I will" dominates their hearts.

The simple no longer receive with thanksgiving from the tree in the midst of the garden; but rather, they take from it to their own glory, and they become shamefully naked. They take from it to live forever, and they die. Their earth becomes dark and empty -- void of Christ's Spirit in which they had their Beginning -- awaiting the day when revelry is replaced with regret, then godly sorrow that works repentance unto deliverance.

It is not pleasant for me to speak about these things. Darkness is not an encouraging subject no matter how we approach it; but there are times when it must be addressed. Moreover, when we notice the transition of the earth, when it was first created in Christ, the Beginning, and then we see it becoming formless, void, and dark, especially if it is our earth or that of our friends, we cannot help from being concerned. Moreover, its rancor is becoming unbearable and extremely troublesome to the Spirit, and it is clear that the two can no longer meet. Try as we may, there is no fellowship between light and darkness. A great divide is being made as we hear the word of God resounding -- "Let there be light." And as that light blazes gloriously in our midst, it is divided from the darkness.

Please know that we do not wish to discourage anyone; but rather, to encourage everyone. If any who read these few words are steered from the deep ditch of destruction, then we will rejoice with you, and if not, so shall it be until Christ Jesus dawns upon every soul. They will then come to their End and say "Lord Jesus, my life, my light, my all!"

To be continued...

Elwin R. Roach

1. APPENDIX 7:

The Revisers ill-advisedly decided that "all such words, not printed in italics, as are plainly implied in the Hebrew, and necessary in English, be printed in common type."

One of the consequences of this decision is that the verb "to be" is not distinguished from the verb "to become", so that the lessons conveyed by the A.V. "was" and "was" in Gen. 1:2; and 3 and 4; 9 and 10; 11 and 12, are lost.

Gen. 1:2 Notes:

was = became. See Gen. 2:7, 4:3, 9:15, 19:26, Ex. 32:1, Deut. 27:9, 2 Sam. 7:24. Also rendered came to pass, Gen. 4:14; 22:1; 24:15; 27:1; Josh. 4:1; 5:1.

without form = waste. Heb. tôhû v bôhû. (Gen 1:2;. 2 Pet. 3:5,6). "An enemy hath done this" (Mat. 23:25, 28, 39. Cp. 1 Cor. 14:33). See Ap. 8 was. In like manner man became a ruin (Gen. 3. Ps. 14:1-3; 51:5; 53:1-3. Eccl. 7:20. Rom 7:18).

(E. W. Bullinger's notes in The Companion Bible)