THE LEPERS OF SAMARIA

Publication #54

(Part 2)

REDNESS IN THE FACE
WHY FOUR LEPERS?
THE END OF THE WORLD
(Matthew 24)
RISING OF THE LEPERS

There was a time when ancient Samaria (a perfect type of the church today) was under siege for so long that they were reduced to eating asses' heads (man's knowledge and dominion), doves' dung (yesteryear's lifeless revelations without the Spirit), and babies (proselyting those of Christ and making them twofold more the children of hell than themselves). Like that city of old, many today, tiring of the same starvation diet, are looking for a way of escape. There has been a great hope of a spectacular deliverance of some sort, but anything short of the manifestation of the Sons of God should be termed a "great hoax" rather than a great hope. When Samaria's deliverance finally arrived, she was no doubt taken by surprise by whom her salvation came, the same FOUR LEPERS they had previously cast out of their city.

Discounting the masqueraders of righteousness, many of you know what it is to be viewed as a leper. You know you are walking in the light Christ gave you, that everything you think, say, or do is generated from a heart that abides in Him; yet religious people act as if you have a horrible, contagious disease. After a while you realize they are repulsed at your presence, that they believe you are a real threat to them, and they want you to just go away; or better yet, they wish you were dead, and they would do the honors if murder wasn't against the law. If you don't leave, they see to it that you do. Have you ever been told not to come back to their church, that you are disruptive to their system? Were you then cast outside the gates of their city? Do you know why they can't stand the sight of you? And have you come to realize why they fear your very presence? It's LEPROSY, my friend. Very simply put, IT IS L-E-P-R-O-S-Y! Now you know what it is to be a leper, at least from Samaria's point of view.

It is no wonder those with little or no understanding see you as a leper, for the symptoms of that disease are very much like those who are in Christ and shining with the radiance of His WHITE LIGHT: "And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when THE HAIR in the plague IS TURNED WHITE, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of LEPROSY: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean" (Lev. 13:3). "...And, behold, Miriam became leprous, WHITE AS SNOW"...(Num. 12:10). "HIS HEAD and HIS HAIRS were WHITE LIKE WOOL, AS WHITE AS SNOW; and his eyes were as a flame of fire" (Rev 1:14). "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, CLEAN AND WHITE: for the fine linen is THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS" (Rev. 19:8). "And as He prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and HIS RAIMENT WAS WHITE and GLISTERING" (Lk. 9:29). Brethren, this is the true WHITE MAN — anyone whose life glistens with the purity of Christ regardless of his or her race, creed, or earthly color.

REDNESS IN THE FACE

There is yet another set of people (see pub. #53) who are identified by their spiritual color tones — ADAM. Adam is the name given to the human race, and it is interesting that his name means, TO SHOW R-E-D-N-E-S-S IN THE FACE. You see, the light that once flowed through his veins and covered his nakedness was extinguished. The breath of life that God had breathed into his nostrils abated. Upon eating the fruit of the tree of death, the light faded and the red clay from which he was formed began to filter through his thin skin. He was no longer clothed with the light of God; the color of the ground from which he was formed, REDNESS, was uncovered — hence, ADAM, THE RED MAN. With that nature being so predominant, down through the ages he has gravitated back to his roots, back to the origin of his forming — right on down to this day. The alluring pull of the earth has had its effect upon the Church as well. Even though her birth was from above, there has been enough lingering dust in her soul to be swayed downward.

Like ancient Samaria, the Church at large gave into the temptation of grandeur and built a hill of clay where she presently lives in queenly self-exaltation. The citizens of this city, from every denomination and carnal fellowship, have largely forsaken the worshiping of God in spirit and in truth. They have given themselves over to every seducing spirit imaginable and have become akin to those David wrote about: "The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. THEY THAT MAKE THEM ARE LIKE UNTO THEM: so is every one that trusteth in them" (Ps. 135:15-18).

Everything they think, say, or do has its origin in the red earth of Adam. Rather than the foundation of their city being the twelve precious stones, it is the mound of soft earth their own earthy hands built; and upon that pile of dirt they worship the imaginary idols that were birthed from the carnal minds of the flushed-faced Adam. Truly they, along with the rest of the carnal world, are the real "RED MEN" OF THE EARTH.

All it takes for one to fit in with those of this auspicious city is to don the mask of Adam. Or better yet, if that is their desire, they will surely be accepted if they eat from the same carnal tree they are eating, i.e. the head of the dominating, self-willed, rebellious ass. This will enable them to also show redness in the face, and it will be from the inside out. They will then look just like them, and without even trying. But those truly called to "Lepership" will not compromise their inheritance. Their hunger will be satisfied with the fruit from the Tree of Life alone — that life which is already swallowing up the red plague of death that once gripped them in its lethal embrace, and undiminished in the world, it continues to flow freely through the veins of all humanity.

Can you now see why you have been like a plague to those of Samaria? The red death of Adam is gone! Praise God, brethren, that you are not showing redness in the face! But rather, that you are shining with the white light of Christ! Your skin is white! And it goes down deep, right to the bone, down to the core of your being. Your hair is white with the wisdom of the Ancient of Days. Your countenance, your words, your ways are not understood, for they are from above. Those from below will never comprehend that which comes down from heaven's throne. Their carnal minds are enmity against God, and to hear your sincere words of the Kingdom is damnable heresy to them. Your voice, the voice of the Son of God, is a strange, unknown sound to them. The people held captive behind the denominational walls of Samaria tremble when you are near, fearing they might miss "the rapture" or won't be "going to heaven" if they listen. They forget that those who hear the voice of the Son of God will not be subjected to death, but they shall in fact LIVE! (Jn. 5:25).

Everything about the Sons of God, as perceived by the traduced city of Samaria, looks like leprosy, but it is the exact opposite. You may not even believe it yourself, but the truth is, your hair is in the beginning stages of turning, or is perhaps already white with the wisdom of God. Your face shines with His light, your hands work the works of the Father, and your feet walk the avenues of righteousness. Everything is white! You are so contrary to the redness of Adam that they cannot begin to grasp it, and sometimes you don't either. The Sons do not have black hair (spiritually speaking), that which manifests what is in the blood (life or death). They do not show redness in the face, the shining of the adamic nature. Their hands do not work the works of evil. Their motivation is always that of the Spirit of life and not of the carnal mind. And the Sons do not walk the streets of the scorner, of the gainsayer, of the busybody, of the sluggard, of the malcontented, or of the adulterer. Their doctrine may not always be right on target, but their walk is as straight as an arrow. It is one of purity. It is white, and the Adamites of Samaria don't know what to do with the likes of them. That is why we hear their priest's alarming cry — "Lepers! Beware of the lepers! Do not touch them, don't get near them, cast them out before they infect the whole city/church!"

When this happens, as some know by experience, it matters not how you reason with them or what you do to let them know that you mean only good and no harm; their fear is so overwhelmingly ingrained that you will leave, one way or the other.

Can you now see why you are sitting at the gate, outside the city, with the four lepers of Samaria? It is not that you have rotting flesh upon your bones. You really don't have the stench of the walking dead. You are simply unperceived by the red man. He doesn't know who you are, and in order to maintain his present order — you "white people" have to go. And go, you will, out of their midst and eventually right into the face of the enemy who has besieged the Samaria of this day.

These dejected lepers sitting outside the city finally came to the end of their rope/waiting (see our series, "Those in Waiting"). They said to each other, "Why sit we here until we die?" They went on to conclude, even if they went into the city they would still die. Such an alternative didn't look any better than what they had. Besides, they had their fill of man's theology of asses' heads, yesteryear's revelations of doves' dung, and converting every newborn saint into the image of Samaria's denominations. "And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there" (II Kings 7:5).

In type, the four lepers of Samaria represent the Sons of God in their role of bringing deliverance to creation, first to the Church and then the end. The end, of course, is not the end of time or the end of the world. The end is simply the end order, or the last rank, the rest of the world, the remainder of the groaning creation who will be made alive in Christ (rf. I Cor. 15:22-24).

WHY FOUR LEPERS?

It is more than coincidence that there are FOUR lepers in this Biblical account. The number FOUR in scripture has to do with CREATION, and very often it is related to affecting that creation in a direct way. Such as: there are FOUR ELEMENTS — earth, air, fire, and water; FOUR REGIONS — north, south, east, and west; FOUR SEASONS — spring, summer, autumn, and winter; FOUR KINGDOMS — mineral, vegetable, animal, and spiritual; FOUR PHASES OF THE MOON — 1st quarter, new moon, last quarter, and full moon; FOUR WINDS — from four directions of the earth; and FOUR DIVISIONS OF OUR DAY — morning, noon, evening, and night. All these categories of FOUR affect creation in one way or another.

Depending on what part of creation is being dealt with, FOUR can be the source of life, or it can be the means of calamity: "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into FOUR heads. (Gen. 2:10). In Revelation 4:6-8 John saw FOUR living CREATURES full of eyes around the throne of God. And the city of God, new Jerusalem, is FOUR-SQUARE (Rev. 21:16). On the other hand, when men take the scepter of authority and exercise their power over creation — strife, division, pain, and death is the end result. "Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the FOUR winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. In a vision Daniel saw and FOUR great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another" (Dan. 7:2-3) FOUR beasts came (representing the four major kingdoms), and they had dominion of the whole earth. Their reign was terrible, especially the last one; "...the FOURTH beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet" (Dan. 7:19).

When carnal men deal the number FOUR to humanity, when they have anything to do with creation, the end result is strife and death. When we are dealt the hand of the Lord, life is either immediately or eventually the fruit, depending on where we stand in Him. There are times when death comes first, and like the second death, it is not the demise of good but is sent to devour the evil. Once this judgment has worked its purpose, the life of His love can be planted and begin its season of growing.

When He executes His might to the FOURTH POWER, liberty comes to His chosen, but upon the covenant breakers or the oppressors of the innocent, it will bring calamity in immeasurable proportions. For instance: "Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east (1), and gather thee from the west (2); I will say to the north (3), Give up; and to the south (4), Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him" I have declared, and have saved...Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters (Isa. 43:4-7, 12, 14-16).

While the Sons and Daughters of God were being called and delivered from the north, south, east and west, Babylon and the Chaldeans were losing their seats of power. Their nobles were falling like stars from the heavens. Something similar happened in A.D. 70 at Jerusalem when the FOUR WINDS gave up God's elect: "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Mt. 24:31). At this event, Titus and the Roman armies were those gathered, while the people of Israel were the ones that the calamities of God's judgment fell upon.

It is often overlooked that the ELECT of God was not always Israel, even to this day. At various times the elect were idol-worshiping Gentiles, elected to carry out His mandated judgments upon Israel. Most authorities agree that Titus and his armies were the elect who God gathered from the four quarters of Rome's world to lay to rest the rebellious insurgents. While those not looking for His glorious appearing were being carried away by God's exacting judgment, the faithful were not only spared but found salvation in the protective arms of their Redeemer. To one person He was a terror, while to another He was their sanctuary. To Israel, who was spiritually dead, God came as a terror in the form of Titus and his armies, and with sword in hand they feasted upon their flesh: "For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." (Incidentally, the ensign of the Roman armies was the eagle.) From the four winds God called the eaters of carrion to gather (vultures according to most translators, and usually synonymous with eagles). His judgment was them ministered upon that nation by them. The powers of Israel's heaven (the spiritual authorities of their kingdom) were shaken, and the remnant was scattered. There had never been such a great tribulation, nor would there ever be another like it again (Mt. 24:21). Albeit, those of Christ were forewarned by Him (Mt. 24:15-22) and drawn under the wing of His protection. While one was taken in judgment (not "raptured"), as it was in the days of Noah, the righteous were left untouched. They were not left behind but were sparred the devouring of Titus.

THE END OF THE WORLD
(Matthew 24)

I will not spend time debating whether this prophesy speaks of yet future events or not, but I will point out that our Lord's words were a result of being asked WHEN THE TEMPLE WOULD BE DESTROYED and WHEN THE TIME OF THE END OF THE AGE WOULD COME (Both took place jointly in A.D. 70). He left no doubt to people who understand straight-forward statements. He said: "IMMEDIATELY after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken," and "Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away" (Mt. 24:29, 34-35). Let us ask — Did THAT GENERATION PASS? Or do we have a mass of people walking around today who are almost 2,000 years old? Of course not! That generation is gone! They are history! And that generation saw the tribulation of those days (the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple at the hands of Titus). Immediately afterwards the sun was darkened (the light of their law and God's shining glory over Israel diminished). The moon ceased to give her light (the Sanhedrin's rule in the night faded away). And the stars of their heaven fell (the Pharisaical prelates toppled from their lofty positions to be no more). HEAVEN AND EARTH PASSED AWAY! The heavenly kingdom and dominion of Israel, as well as their powers in the earth, ceased to be. They vanished — FULFILLING THE WORDS OF JESUS! Those were the things which that particular generation lived to see when the angels were sent with a great sound of a trumpet, and they gathered together His ELECT from the FOUR WINDS, from one end of heaven to the other. They lost their place in the heavens as well as in the earth. The WORLD came to an end. That AGE was gone forever, and immediately afterwards God openly replaced it with a new world — a New World Order, commonly called Christianity. The first day of this New Age was the day Jesus was born in Bethlehem, while the last day of the Old Age, as Jesus foretold, was the day every stone of the temple was left unstanding. Both AGES/WORLDS were intermingled, or dove-tailed, for a season. Jesus introduced the new age of life, while self-serving men, with resilient fortitude, insisted upon keeping their deadly grip on the law. Adam was adamantly set in death and refused the gift of life. In respect to Israel's determined hardness God sent His elect to deal accordingly — ending the old age of death at the hands of Titus.

Some notable warnings took place shortly before the coming of Titus. Josephus said that several phenomenon appeared (seemingly only to amuse the people): "I suppose the account of it would seem to be fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner (court of the) temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, `Let us remove hence.'" (Works of Josephus, vol. 1, book. VI, Chap. V. pp. 453-454.)

The above accounts were only two of several historical signs of God's elect coming upon Jerusalem to end that age, preparing it for the ushering in of the new. While God's host of the heavens were disposing of the spiritual powers ruling Israel, Titus was ELECTED to carry it out upon the earth. Immediately after their reign ended, the Son of Man was seen coming in the clouds of His people (not thousands of years later but at that time in history), causing all the tribes of the earth to mourn; for this was the initial marking of their eventual end.

The siege and destruction of Jerusalem was the negative side of God's elect coming from the FOUR WINDS — taking one in the field, and one grinding at the mill. The positive aspect was the coming of the Son of man to THE OTHERS WHO WERE LEFT. Some were taken by the elect and severely judged. They were slaughtered, sacked, and had their appointed portion with the hypocrites, while those LEFT were excluded. The disciples of Christ were LEFT OUT of God's judgment. At the coming (presence) of the Son of man to that celestial body, to those seated with Christ Jesus in the heavens, they were made rulers over all His goods; and this has been the case since that fateful day of God's visitation and the beginning of the New Age of Christ.

RISING OF THE LEPERS

In one accord, the FOUR LEPERS rose at twilight, at the ending of the FOURTH PART OF THE DAY. It was as if the trumpets of the Lord were sounding reveille from the depth of their spirit and awakening them from a long night of restless sleep. They were evidently not alone in hearing that commanding call, for as the lepers were rising an army was gathering. It was an army of mighty proportions, and it was not unlike the heavenly host seen in the clouds over Jerusalem and around the cities. Syria's ears were opened and heard them massing for battle; no doubt, the same army Elisha and his servant saw in Dothan a short time before: "And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (II Kings 6:17). "For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life."

Brethren, it goes without saying, when God calls His FOUR ELECT together and sends them forth — nothing, absolutely nothing can stand in their might! They have round about them the entirety of the host of the heavens. God's army is at their right hand, and their left. It stands as their rear-guard, and pushes forth as their vanguard. This is what happens at twilight, at the end of the FOURTH PART OF THE DAY, when the FOUR LEPERS, the ELECT OF GOD, tire of hanging around the gates of Samaria and move out. In the twilight, they hear the trumpets and finally wake up and say, "It's enough! It's time to die or a time to live! We don't know which it might be, but there is one thing we know for sure — WE WILL NO LONGER BE EATING ASSES' HEADS!"

At the ending of the FOURTH PART OF THE DAY, after the WAITING, in the TWILIGHT, the lepers rose up. They had the fortitude to get and go; for the darkness of the fourth part of the day has judged them, given them a vision, stirred them to noncomplacency, and placed in their hearts a fearless spirit.

When fear was no longer a factor, the lepers went into the face of their enemies. It was then that they were not only delivered from the siege, but it was there that they found the lost riches of the Kingdom. The riches were there all along but undiscovered until the lepers LEFT SAMARIA. The prize of the high calling was just outside the camp — in the same regions Jesus abode and preached most of the time. He knew the wealth of God was not found in Jerusalem with man's mechanical routines, nor in Herod's man-made temple made of stone, but was awaiting Him in the wilderness. It was there that He overcame the enemy — outside the camp of man's system of religion. It was there that He took possession of life and lived. Do you want life, brethren? Then quit laying at religion's gate and move out!

When the lepers stood up and left Samaria and her "protection," disregarding whether they lived or died, they found the war had already been won, and the kingdom was theirs: "And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment..." (II Kings 7:5).

Elwin R. Roach