March 2019 Newsletter

Transition from one World To Another

Perfect Mcsnup. 

A lot has changed, since the beginning of Christianity, indeed, one may say that everything has changed! Therefore, those presently reading the Bible and enquiring into these things, asking questions, regarding their very beginning, must realize that there's so much, even at the very fundamentals, that is to be recovered! And, even as touching such basics, no one generation in their life time may be able to recover all, since not only is the time very short, but, the human nature is all too weak and therefore unwilling to truly go all the way with the Lord! By confession of the lips, we may profess to be willing to go all the way, to the ends of the earth, like Peter, we could say, Lord we will lay down our lives for you, like the second son in the parable of the two sons, we could say, I go Sir! But like both Simon Peter and the second son, in the very day it matters to the Lord, our hearts would but fail! Except, the Lord shortens the time, no flesh indeed can be saved, may be applied to our spiritual condition. For confessions, quite certainly are proven in the day of testing! 

This situation is not new, we read in the Psalms:

(NLT)Psalm 78:9-10

The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. [10] They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by his instructions.

Also in Judges we read:

(NLT)Judges 5:15-17, 23

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah and Barak. They followed Barak, rushing into the valley. But in the tribe of Reuben there was great indecision. [16] Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds- to hear the shepherds whistle for their flocks? Yes, in the tribe of Reuben there was great indecision. [17] Gilead remained east of the Jordan. And why did Dan stay home? Asher sat unmoved at the seashore, remaining in his harbors. [23] 'Let the people of Meroz be cursed,' said the angel of the Lord. 'Let them be utterly cursed, because they did not come to help the Lord- to help the Lord against the mighty warriors.'

Oh yes! It has been so even from one generation to the next! "All men forsook me..." and "...Demas has forsaken me..." should at least sound familiar to those who read the New Testament, and many such references and examples may be found throughout the history of God's dealing with his people, from Israel of old to the church from the first age until now! Today's title: Transition from one World to another, is a continuation of our questioning, enquiries and probing, into Biblical Christianity! What is at the beginning, that was known as Christian Life! And as opposed to what passes for the same today, and the purpose for this (enquiry) being even one, that is to share in every fullness of that Divine Life which is in Christ, howbeit totally absent from Christianity as an organized religion! 

From these enquiries, we realize that TRANSITION FROM THIS WORLD INTO ANOTHER AND BY FAITH, WAS EMBEDDED INTO THE FABRICS OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THESE FOLLOWERS OF THE YESHUA AL-MASCHIYA! They all, with no exceptions, had inherited (and this never were a sheer cliché) a heavenly citizenship! They had come into a new world by faith, and the life they lived here (on account of their new life in Christ) was but one of judgement upon the inhabitants and citizens of this present world! For did their Lord and Christ who now lives in them, not say: "for judgement came I into the world"? (Jn. 9:39) thus, they were a constant judgement not only upon the world, its trades, its systems and yes, its religions, indeed everything in the world! Thus the Apostle writes: "Everything in the world...is not of the Father..." (1Jn. 2:16) and "...the whole world lies in wickedness..." (1 Jn. 5:19) thus, they were a judgement unto the world, little wonder, Hebrews speaking concerning such says: "the World was not worthy of them..." (Hebrews 11:38) Oh that this were the case today! The verdict was clear, there were no doubts concerning this! No double standards! It was the Lord only or the world only! There was no room to possess both! No one who ever did see the Lord, by any means or conversation, portrayed citizenship on the earth! This world was lost to them, and they were lost to this world! There were no claiming it, no matter how much of it they were given. From Old Testament to the New Testament, from the least Saint to the greatest Saint, from Prophet to Prophet, Proverbs to Psalms to Songs, even in the Testimony of their little children, there were no doubt in any mind soever! When Isaiah the prophet said:

Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

This is exactly what he meant, they were a judgement upon Israel and the nations! He was not speaking about the so-called performing of "miraculous signs and wonders" which the Pentecostals, Word faith movement, Charistmatics and perhaps even others teach it to mean. The new international version renders it thus:

"Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion." — Isa 8:18

Signs and symbols? Indeed even from the names of the prophets children we see the "sign and wonder" which the Prophet and his household served even unto Israel:

Isaiah 8:1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.8:2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.8:3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.8:4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

"Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, [Shear-Jashub] means [a remnant will return.] to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer's Field." — Isa 7:3

Isaiah 20:1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;20:2 At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.20:3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;20:4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.20:5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

A sign and a wonder indeed! This is also what God means when He declares concerning Israel:

Isaiah 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.43:9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.43:12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

Deuteronomy 28:37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.28:45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:28:46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.28:47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things...

Zechariah 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Witnesses, signs, symbols, wonders, byword, proverb, object of ridicule or even the last days sign about Jerusalem being a "burdensome stone and a cup of trembling..." the Lord's people were always meant to be a sign and a testimony of the Lord's judgement upon this present world which indeed is passing away... Wherever they found themselves, in any age they were found, in any generation in any place soever, their transition into citizens of another world, meant that they lived according to their new citizenship. And the mentality (mindset) of this new (spiritual) world, which they have come into by faith, by a default, brought judgement upon the total system of things (the good, the bad, the moral, the immoral, the beautiful and ugly in fact everyone, everything, the entire systems) of and in this present world!

Indeed, the world at various generations knew these of them, from Old Testament to New! Daniel for instance, though at the healm of affairs in the Babylonian empire, etc, constantly was a judgement upon those empires one by one! He had all the positions and previledges, yet who prayed more earnestly than he? And what did that Prophet even from his younger age, there at Babylon, the very heart of heathen politicking, what did he pray for? Political promotions? Or for the fulfillment of the promise: the heavenly home? Don't say both! For such would a crocked and perverse generation such as ours say! But nay! Daniel prayed earnestly seeking that eternal vision, that is in the mind of his God, and we know that this is so, when we look at the answers he received from the Lord, even as our New Testament writer explains (what not only Daniel, but all the Prophets and even the Angels earnestly sought after):

(NLT)1 Peter 1:10-12

This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. [11] They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward. [12] They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

Thus, when Daniel wrote about the suffering of the Messiah, for he wrote:

Daniel 9:22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.9:23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

"...Messiah (shall) be cut off, but not for himself..." when the Prophet wrote concerning this, following the answers to his petitions unto God, of which we read he received skill and understanding regarding the matter he petitoned God, what was he seeking? A temporal glory? A temple made with human hands? A better position in the heathen nation he was at the time? No! Our New Testament tells us differently: 

1Peter 1:10

"...This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied..."

Infact the Angel's message to Daniel includes this wonderful clause:

"...to bring in everlasting righteousness..."

Who could bring everlasting righteousness but Christ? Little wonder, the vision as all visions and all prophecies from God, always were concerning THE CHRIST! It is to the Christ that all scriptures points.

Furthermore, Were it not The Prophet Daniel who interpreted the king, Nebuchadnezzar's dream? And what were those interpretations? From the coming kingdom of God, which would crush all the kingdoms of this world to utter nothingness! (Dan. 2:24-45) to the passing of judgement upon even such great king as Nebuchadnezzar, hear the words of the Prophet himself:

Daniel 4:24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:4:25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

Indeed, it may be rightly said of such men as this who passes the Lord's judgement upon even this world, it's glories and it's lords, it may be said of them in the words of the scriptures:

Hebrews 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Joseph, who may be said to have become like even a "god" unto Pharaoh would issue a decree to his brethren not to leave even a bone of his behind in Egypt! Abraham, whose the promised land was given by a solemn promise of Yahweh, would not but, live in tent in the same promised land, why? For he sought a heavenly city, whose builder and maker was God! Never in the history of God's people did any one of his people, live without this blessed hope entwined within the fabric of their pilgrimage! They had an inheritance, an imperishable one! And this inheritance was Christ himself! 

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

1 Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Such transition as this, that any man, would so much as seek not himself, not this present world, but live here as a pilgrim, as one who seeks and lives for and by the rule of another world, another kingdom, such a thing do not come from believing or belonging to a religion, regardless how highly esteemed in morals that religion might appear! Such life cannot be received by observations of rituals, dogmas, customs, traditions, and what have you. These Christians were receiving that which even the Angels desired to see, they were receiving the end of their faith: the Salvation of their souls! They had believed Christ even though they did not see him, and they have come to Love him, how could a man truly love a myth? And yes in such way these men, women, children had come to Love the Christ? And even more, they were filled with unspeakable joy and indeed they were full of glory! Full of glory? Unspeakable Joy? These things would sound very strange in their meanings to Christianity today. But to look at it further, just what people are these, having unspeakable joy and full of glory? 

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Strangers scattered throughout...? Filled with unspeakable joy? And full of glory? 

Now, these strangers (pilgrims) were not just on vacations to the respective places they were "scattered" to, they were facing times of great persecutions! 

(NLT)1 Peter 1: 6-7

 [6] So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. [7] These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Yet inspite of these fiery testings, on account of the Christ whom they Love despite not having seen, they believe in, despite not seeing him, inspite of these fiery trials, they remain "joy-full" and full of glory, why? Indeed, they have become partakers of the heavenly calling (life), such life, "counts it all joy, when faced with fiery testings!" remember how the Apostles rejoiced to be found worthy to suffer persecution for the name of Christ, right after they were beaten, now why would they? Actually, from their point of view, it is why wouldn't they? The Fruit of the Spirit is Joy! Amongst others, and only by the Spirit could such joy unspeakable be borne! And the Spirit indeed has produced this spiritual fruit in these people, so, they do not need some false motivation from a psychological preacher, Christ is sufficient unto them! They only needed to keep sight upon Christ, not upon so-called "victory" which is only one after the flesh, a material, earthly, desire. 

Such people as these, though they lived in this world, lived their lives only for another world, one that can only be seen and received by the eyes of faith, and yes, for them, that world is the only reality for it is the Eternal Kingdom of God's dear Son! So why trade the Eternal for the temporal? Why trade Everlasting (eternal) life for biological life? Would they not be fools to have tasted of this great salvation only to turn back to this dump? Who lays hold on eternal things and let's it go for the momentary pleasures of this already judged world? Is it not clear unto any man who logically examines the fact that this present world is through and through judged, weighed and found wanting? There's no saving it, no healing it, UN could make a thousand resolutions, indeed, it'll only be like Shakespeare says: "false faces hiding that which false hearts (doth) knows..." a shaking of hands as Allies, yet, knowing full well that it is but folly to trust an ally, how terrible the fate of the world! How can they be allies, when they're suspicious one of another? May we indeed, not become such fools who are laying treasures in this moth-infested, drunken, thief and corruption consumed world! May we indeed, come into the true Ark, which is Christ wherein we may find salvation and truly lay up our treasures thereat, for verily the words of Christ are full of divine wisdom, where you treasure is, there your Heart will be! (Matthew 6:21)