The Bible tells us in 1 John, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” The Bible is a genuinely extraordinary book. It’s breathtaking. It completely changes you from within. Years ago, when I first began my quest to grasp God’s Word, I felt like I was continually falling short. I visited a number of different churches, as well as teachers and ministers. One thing, though, kept resonating throughout my soul, to the core of my being. “This is not the way.” As a result, I was continuously falling short. I was constantly let down. I never had the inner peace that the Bible speaks about. Was there something I was overlooking? What exactly could it be that I wasn’t getting right? What blunders did I make? I ended up putting my confidence and belief in people rather than the Lord and His truths.
I had a brother, whom I still love, explain a lot of realities about the Bible to me. Even so, the Spirit continued to prompt me and left things to question. So here I was, with more Biblical insight and spiritual understanding than I could have ever imagined. Yet, I never stopped listening to that still small voice within. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” – Psalm 23:1-5
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” – Psalm 119:105. Here is the continuation of my testimony from August 2021, with more internal links for better understanding. Read more here, Lie Down In Green Pasture. Ye need not any man teach you, my friends.
“The Kingdom of GOD is within you…” Your body is the temple of GOD. Visualize that while reading the following from 2 Chronicles 7. Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king’s house: and all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. “The Kingdom of GOD is within you.”
Remember, my friends, “Your body is the temple of GOD.” And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and unto this house? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them. – 2 Chronicles 7.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. – John 3. What are your deeds, my friends?
In the Gospel Of Matthew, we learn of the 40 day fast and temptations of Jesus Christ. Were you aware of the spiritual significance behind these verses and how they apply to us? Let’s begin with Chapter 4:1. “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
We will begin with the foundation, the only One, the Chief Cornerstone. The Messiah came preaching, “He is the way, the truth and the life. And no man comes to the Father but by Him.” The first word that we can gain an understanding of is “life.” While Jesus was being tempted by the devil, He was told to turn the stones into bread. We learn in 1 Peter 2, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” Here, we have gained the understanding that our bodies represent living stones. Let us now apply it, with simplicity, to the first temptation of Christ during His 40 day fast.
We, as a believer in Jesus Christ, aren’t able to gain eternal life without knowing and understanding the Word. It’s not possible to base all of our faith in a single verse. We need every word of the LORD God to live. Otherwise, we fall short in our understanding. One verse can be misinterpreted and, without reading our Bibles and comparing what we see with other teachings, we cannot understand what is being said. We cannot understand the Epistles without knowing what Jesus was telling us. As living stones, being built up, Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. Everything needs to be built off of His Words.
Jesus Tempted In The Wilderness
During His 40 day fast, Christ is once again tempted by Satan. “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” We are told in Deuteronomy 6, “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.”
What if we have all already done this? Why did Jesus tell us our father here is the devil? Why did he call Peter Satan in Matthew 16:22-24? What if, just by being here, we are worshipping Satan? Have you looked around you or looked at the world today? Nearly everyone is focused on self, other than the LORD God. Also, during the time of His temptation, the Bible says, “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
We will now look at the original in Deuteronomy, “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.”
Jesus tells us He is the way, the truth, and the life. What we just looked at were these biblical principles in reverse. The life comes by knowing and understanding the Word. The truth is who we are, what we are guilty of, repentance, and conversion. To understand the way is to keep the commandments of the LORD God, and to walk in all His ways. What is the way? This is the way, walk in it.
Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire. – Psalms 104:1-4.
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 1, “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. – 1 Corinthians 15:51.
Who are the angels that are made Spirits, and the ministers that are made a flaming fire? “Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.” – Isaiah 33:13-17.
What if, we are those angels, wise spirits, His ministers made a flaming fire? He is the Beginning and the End after all. The simplicity…
When Jesus Christ came preaching to the world, He came with something other than what the world teaches us. He told a group of religious zealots, “Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do… And because I tell you to the truth, ye believe me not.” After Peter tried rebuking the LORD, He stated, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”
Man, that sounds pretty scary, being called Satan and that your father is the devil. Although, let’s take a moment and consider something. Why, in fact, did He say it to Peter? Why in the other verse that we looked at did He say, “Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not?” What was it that the Messiah was telling them. Or, specifically, what was He trying to tell us? Paul also teaches in 2 Corinthians, “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, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Wait just a minute. Hold on. What is it that Paul was teaching us? Who is the god of this world? Why did Jesus say what He did?
Jesus Heals The Blind Man
During Christ’s ministry, he was hated. He was mocked. He was beaten. He was crucified. What if today was no different? “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Are you a Christian? Do you claim to know the LORD? Why does the Bible say that when we shall see him, that we will not desire what and who He is? Why is He despised and rejected of men? There are over two billion people who profess to be Christians. What if The Bible is 100% true, and our father is the devil? What if, just as he told Peter, we are all quite similar to Satan? If He was our father and we are his offspring, it most certainly makes sense. What if he is the god of this world? What if we are all blind, deaf, dumb, and captives just as the Bible tells us? What if the world is wrong? Would you put all your faith and eternal life on those who are teaching you? Or, will you seek out the answers for yourselves? If Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, do you know what any of these mean? Jesus came to free the captives and restore sight to the blind. This applies to each and everyone of us, or it wouldn’t be in the Bible. Wake up my friends. You are sleeping.
The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 25 about the cup of wrath and GOD’s judgement. “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz.” – Jeremiah 25:15-20.
In Isaiah 51, we are also told, “Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.” Isaiah 51:21-23.
In Revelation 14, we learn of the 144,000 and the messages of the three angels. It is all tied together with one word, fornication. Although, what does this word mean? Is it the same as adultery, or is it something different? Why doesn’t it just say adultery? What is the Old Testament meaning of marriage? Is it the moment you agree to commit yourself to another for the rest of your life? What if you were “joined” to another before that person? Would you forever be committing adultery with your spouse if you slept with somebody else beforehand? Have you ever taken the time to even consider it? Let us now look at the first half of Revelation 14 and see how it ties into the cup of wrath and GOD’s chosen.
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
First Fruits Unto God
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. – Revelation 14:1-12.
The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. – Isaiah 13:1-17.
The Burden Of Babylon – The End Is Here – Behold The Day, It Is Come
And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. – Isaiah 12:1-6.
Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O LORD, with the favor that thou barest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation; that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance. We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. – Psalms 106:1-7.
Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. – Isaiah 106:8-15.
What is the Way? In Isaiah 30:21 it tells us, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” We all know what Jesus said. As a Christian, do you know what it means? “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” What would happen if we haven’t understood this? What would happen if we were not walking “in it?”
And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Ye shall defile (pronounce utterly unclean) also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. – Isaiah 30:18-22. What it the way?
What is it that we are covered with?
First, why does it say that we will cast away as a bloody rag, the covering of our graven images of silver, and molten images of Gold? What does that have to do with statues, what we see in the world, or anything that we have made with our hands? The only thing that can come to the mind of a sane person is something, or “someone,” that is filled with blood. The only answer is our bodies, our flesh. Come up with something else. There isn’t anything else. That is the only answer. “They that are in the flesh, cannot please GOD.” So, if the Bible says that our bodies are the graven and molten images, what would happen once we apply this understanding to the entire Bible?
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Are you a natural, or a spiritual man? And, therefore the LORD will wait. This is the way, walk in it… As we look at the world, and what’s common to man, what makes suffering as a Christian something more? “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” – 1 Peter 4:12-16.
Has something strange happened to you? Have you been thrust into a “fiery trial?” Are you being reproached for the name and authority of Christ? Are you a partaker of His sufferings? “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” In Daniel 10, when he understood the Abomination of Desolation, he was mourning, “three full weeks.” He said that the time appointed was “long.” It must have been a really, really long time?
In Psalm 73, the psalmist says, “As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.” Have you despised your image? What did the Bible just tell us about our “image?” Have you recognized that you are as a beast before the LORD? Why does the Bible say, “But these, as natural brute beasts, in those things, they corrupt themselves?” Are you aware of how foolish or ignorant that all of us are? Do you understand repentance? “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction… This is the way.”
There are many things within the pages of the Bible that can confuse, and without proper guidance by the Spirit and the putting forth from a helping hand, we may, in fact, fall short of eternal life. As Peter tells us in Acts 3, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk,” my prayer this day brothers and sisters is that you take heed, “arise o’ sleeper, wake up from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” I have no money to offer you, although what I do have, I give unto you. What is the way? This is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but through Him.
The Bible Unveiled 