CHAPTER 9
THE GOLDEN LAMPSTAND
he golden lampstand, or candlestick,
stands to the left as one enters through the door of the tabernacle. It is made of pure gold, from one piece of
metal, has no joints, and is carved with buds and flowers under each branch of it. It stands on a square base on
the floor of the tabernacle, with six branches, three on the one side and three on the other. The seven lamps are
level at the top.The candlestick represents ONENESS WITH THE HOLY GHOST.
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST
This is the first operation in the tabernacle which shows forth the perfection of God in man in an operation involving God and man. The previous emblems or pieces of furniture either showed BRASS, which signified imperfection and death to something, or as in the table of the shewbread, it was made of wood which showed humanity, though covered by the nature of God. This candlestick is made of pure gold, which signifies the pure nature of God. It is saying that the Holy Spirit when He comes into our spirits, brings PERFECTION TO OUR SPIRITS, and there is nothing of man left in our spirits, though the soul and body remain as human as we will let them. This operation brings perfection to the CHURCH, in that when we are in the Spirit, we can operate as perfect as God. That is, when we come together for worship, it is just as if Jesus is in our rnidst when we operate in the Spirit. That is the reason why in this realm, there is no place for us to say that a man or a woman said such and such. It was either in the Spirit or in self, and if self is dead, then it must be in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in us.
DIVINE ORDER
The three branches on the one side and the three on the other speak of God's divine order of things. Six is the number of man. If the branches were six, then they would be just pure man and no perfection, since six is the highest number man can attain to. But the SEVENTH candlestick, which is in the center, divides in two that which would be the number of man, making it THREE AND THREE instead of six. Three is God's divine order, and three twice given shows that the church has the witness of God's divine order within herself. We see, therefore, that perfection only comes in JESUS CHRIST, for He is the center candlestick (lampstand).
THE GLORY OF GOD
To bring forth the glory of the light takes three things.
1) The gold 2) The oil 3) The wick
THE GOLD
The gold is the pure nature of God, without mixture, as only can be brought forth by the work of the Holy Ghost
within us. This is covered with fruits and flowers, which shows the bringing forth of godliness. Fruitfulness is
the nature of God, and the flowers depict TRUTH which has been engraved deep within the structure, not something
which has been put onto it, but that which has become part of its own nature. This speaks of Spirit work in our
lives as the work of Hiram the artificer, who God specially endowed with wisdom to build and decorate the Temple
of Solomon (1st Kings 7:13-45). Deep marks of beauty sharply engraved in the skin of our consciousness, and indelibly
imprinted upon our souls, make us not only the property of God, bearing the marks of Jesus in our bodies, BUT make
God a part of our property.
Gold is the only metal I know, which does not burn, but is made pure by fire. This speaks of the indestructibility
of the pure nature of God within.
PURE OLIVE OIL
This oil is not manufactured, but is obtained by beating the olive berries from the palm olive tree. This evergreen
tree gives forth its strength to its berries which contain this vegetable oil. It was the smiting of the rock by
Moses which brought forth the water for the deliverance of Israel. It was the pressing of the life from the man
Jesus which brought the Holy Ghost to us. The oil is a type of the Holy Ghost. The container of the oil is the
candlestick, made of pure gold. We can thus see that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not within the soul of
man, but in his spirit. His Spirit dwells in our spirit. The work of the Holy Ghost is in the soul, but He lives
in the spirit of man. This is the reason that the candlestick is shown in the Holy Place which is the realm of
the soul.
Proverbs 20:27, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly
(soul)."
THE WICK
There is no authenticity for the thought that the wick was made from the old garments of the priests. However, this could well be true.
ONE GREAT LESSON
We must, however, learn this one great lesson. There are many more true things which God has deliberately omitted from our Bible, because they have no direct bearing on our spiritual existence. We should never, therefore, seek out irrelevant revelations which will only serve TO CHOKE our gospel, cramming it with generalities and thoughts of no spiritual importance. The wick, whatever it is made of, signifies humanity. The oil, which is the Holy Spirit, preserves it from being immediately consumed. By the coordinated effort of the three, a fourth is produced; the light created from the fires of the Outer Court.
THE BRANCHES
The candlestick or lampstand looks like a a tree with branches. The center stem is called the candlestick, and has six branches. In John 15:5, Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches."
THE FOURTH CHURCH AGE
The candlestick or lampstand represents the fourth church age, wherein is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
upon God's people, as a preparation for the overshadowing of the church by God. The bringing forth of the Manchild
church is the final act of God in the creation of man in His likeness.
Ezekiel 47 speaks of four moves of the Spirit in the earth. The fourth move brings man into the full flow of the
living waters.
John 7:38 speaks of living waters flowing from the belly (soul) of man.
Ezekiel 47 says the waters would flow from the house (temple). When we put the two together, we see that man is
that temple referred to.
In Ezekiel 47:3, the man with the line in his hand measures. First, 1,000 cubits of water flows to the ankle. The
first move brings man only ankle-deep in the Spirit. The second 1,000 cubits of water flowed to the knees. Man
was knee-deep in the Spirit. The third 1,000 cubits of water flowed to the loins. Man was half-way covered, and
at the same time half-way buried in God. The fourth 1,000 cubits of water flowed to cover man completely. God had
made His final move in the earth.
I believe that this is the time of the final outpouring in which we now live. This outpouring is hurling men from
their thrones, and although the water is rising gradually, it will eventually overflow every kingdom, in the spiritual
sense and finally in the natural.
This therefore is the meaning of the phrase used here, "the fourth church age."
It began at Pentecost, was arrested by the incursion of Satan in the church, broke out at Azusa Street in Los Angeles
and some other points all over the world, and in our time is making a new resurgence among all peoples of the world.
Nothing will stop the flow of the Spirit now. It is going to become a flood and heal the whole earth. Praise the
Lord! The barriers and fences of religion, and the walls of man's ideas and programs are doomed in the path of
the mighty flow of the Spirit. You see the signs of it in every religious organization. The true children of God
everywhere are listening to the Holy Spirit, and soon and very soon, no man will find a place for his feet. It
will be "waters to swim in."
PERFECTION
Man cannot attain to perfection with himself as a carnal being, BUT he can be perfect in his OPERATION now, if he remains in the Spirit. A car might have worn parts and worn tires, but yet it operates perfectly. In the realm of the GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, man walks into a place of perfection. In the Spirit, we discern perfectly, we speak perfectly, we prophesy perfectly, and all the operation of the Spirit is as perfect as God is perfect. One does not make mistakes when he is in the Spirit, neither can a prophecy be wrong which is in the Spirit of God.
EQUALITY WITH CHRIST
The seven lampstands are on one level at the top which signifies equality with Christ. When man comes forth in Christ, he will sit in an equal place with Jesus Christ as part of the Christ Himself. Ephesians 2:6, "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
There is perfect equality between the head and the body. Jesus is the head and we are the body, WHEN THE BODY
FUNCTIONS IN THE SPIRIT.
It is, therefore, not just a matter of being perfect at some future time, and then gaining equality with Christ,
but obeying the Spirit now, operating perfectly now, because we have been given an equal status with Christ. This
is not to bring Christ down, but to lift humanity. Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men unto me." John 12:32.
It is necessary for us to understand equality. This is a statutory equality which is different from the position
one holds in the body, and the work appointed for each to do.
In other words, Jesus is the head and the different functions are apportioned out to us, the body. We are just
as important and equal in the body operation as the head, but, of course, we are not the head. If one part usurps
the function of another, then two jobs would be undone.
I am afraid that this is the problem of the body today.
ERROR IN THE BODY
Before we attain this perfection, which entails changing the human nature to the DIVINE NATURE (2nd Peter 1:4), we must abide in the perfection of the Spirit. At present, we do partake of the divine nature in a limited way, but then we shall in its fulness. No man will rise to the perfect image of God before the death and the resurrection of the FIRSTFRUITS COMPANY, and this event shall jolt all creation. No man is correct in going around saying he is Christ. He cannot be Christ until the firstfruits come forth, and we shall all know about this when it happens, because perfection will come to a body of people and not to an individual. Thus it is the body that will be called Christ, and not the parts. This is the meaning of the scripture in Matthew 24:23,
"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;
believe it not."
If Christ was going to come in this fashion, then in obedience to the scripture, we would not believe Him when He comes. This scripture, more than any other, clearly says that Christ will not come and say unto any man, "I am Christ." Thus, any person who says this is doing so in the spirit of the antichrist. The people of God who are now being taught that because Christ is coming forth in His church in the individual members, that we are Christ, are being "artfully and cunningly" prepared by the devil to accept the antichrist. My instruction to you is that you must repent now and cease from this heresy, if so be that you thought it was all right to worship the Christ in your brother. Worship the head, not the body. The body is not yet perfect. We must only worship God.
THE HIDDEN PURPOSE
In the dispensation of grace, it is readily revealed and easy to be seen, that the Holy Spirit comes into the lives of the believers to endow them with power. Power first is to overcome sin within, and then secondly to give the believer supernatural power for service in the Lord's business. There are two other areas of the work and purpose of the Holy Spirit which are not readily seen, and were indeed a mystery until God has begun slowly to open the message to us as we mature in Him. The first area is the overcoming of self. This involves a man "deny(ing) himself, and take(ing) up his cross and follow(ing)" Christ. Matthew 16:24. Self dies hard. Self is subtle. Many times, man believes he hears God when he is listening to himself. Is it GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS OR SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS? Any preaching or prophecy which is self-centered, and dwells on the goodness of the individual and does not exalt Jesus or God, is not of God.
THE INSEMINATION OF THE BRIDE
The second and great work of the Holy Ghost is to plant the seed of life into the womb of the church, which
is the soul of the believer. It is far more important to God to change the NATURE of the believer, than to endow
him with power. No matter how much power the individual has, if he or she is not changed from within, God has not
yet brought forth a SON. God wants to multiply, just as we want to multiply. It is within HIS DIVINE nature to
bring forth children. This nature of God is expressed in everything He makes. The grass, the flowers, the trees,
the birds, the animals, and all things bring forth abundantly.
God's order of bringing forth is the same everywhere. The scripture declares that everything brings forth after
its own kind. Therefore, if we desire corn, we plant corn. If we must bring forth Christ in the earth, then we
must plant Christ. What the ministry has been doing for hundreds of years is planting themselves in people and
expecting to bring forth Christ.
God's divine order is revealed in Luke 1:28, 30-33. God first sent the angel Gabriel to Mary with a message.
"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. Fear not, Mary,
for thou has found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name JESUS. He shall be great and be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him
the throne of His father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall
be no end."
This message of the angel was absolutely positive. He skipped 2,000 years in one sentence to bring all the good
news concerning Jesus. Not a negative note - nothing was mentioned of the death and suffering. The intention was
clear to bring faith in Mary to receive the Holy Ghost and the work He should do within her. Mary cried,
"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." Luke 1:38.
The angel left. His work was done.
The minister of the gospel is the angel; the messenger who carries the word of the Lord to the maiden, the church.
The church is not the wife of the minister. The minister is not the husband of the church, he is the husbandman,
not planting his own seed, but the seed of the word to invoke faith in the maiden. When the faith is invoked in
her, then she receives the Holy Ghost. He it is that plants the seed of the Christ within the soul, which is the
womb of the church. The overshadowing of the Holy Ghost is the overshadowing which is necessary to bring forth
the change of the human nature to that of the divine nature.
OBEDIENCE
This obedient nature can only be planted within man when he obeys the Spirit of the Lord. John 14:23 shows this
plainly. In verse 22, Judas, not Iscariot, asks the Lord a most pertinent and direct question.
"Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world?" Verse 23, "Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will come
unto him, and make our abode with him."
This shows that the coming of the Christ is first within the believer, BUT only the believer who obeys the Holy
Ghost.
The further explanations here show that every man who loves God keeps His sayings. The ministries and believers
who go about freely expressing their love for God, yet continue to "do their own thing," are only deceiving
themselves that they love God. In short, love is obedience.
MAN'S EFFORT
We can see here that no amount of effort or labor on the part of any son of God can bring him into the NATURE OF GOD. Only obedience to the Spirit will allow him to plant the CHRIST SEED within the soul, which will change the soul nature to God-nature, the mind to the mind of Christ, the emotions to the emotions of God, the will to the will of the Father, and the desires to the desires of God. This work, when it is completed, will bring forth a change from mortal to immortal; the body itself being resurrected from its mortal tomb. This will take place in God's time when the firstfruits company comes forth; then after that, at the coming of Jesus Christ, each man "in his own order." 1st Corinthians 15:23.
WISE MINISTRIES
Matthew 25 describes some virgins as wise and some as foolish. The wise virgins had OIL in their lamps and in
their vessels.
The foolish, although in every detail were identical to the wise, did not have oil in their vessels with their
lamps. The oil in the vessel is a type of the CHRIST IN THE SOUL changing the nature of the believer. When the
bridegroom comes is the type of the Christ coming forth in His fulness within the soul of man. The OIL IN THE LAMP
is a type of the Holy Ghost in the spirit of man. The candlestick made of pure gold shows that the spirit of man
is the container of the Spirit of God.
The great and final test came at MIDNIGHT. It is possible that we are quickly approaching midnight. In any event,
midnight on earth is an immediate consideration of modern man. What is midnight? It can be described as the apex
of darkness on earth. It is also a turning point in darkness. Every evil operation has been maximizing toward its
perfect manifestation. Spirits have been striving for 6,000 years to bring forth their personalities within the
human realm. This includes the expression of their natures in destructive power, and in every form of carnality
and evil desire. In our time these forces will succeed, by permission, to manifest the fulness of their natures,
which is described in scripture as 666.
The answer given the five foolish virgins when they came knocking at the door was, "I know you not."
The full understanding of what was said lies in the meaning of the word "KNOW." The word in the Greek
is "oida," which in this passage carries the same meaning of an intimate relationship as "ginosko"
in Philippians 3:10, which in one facet of its meaning speaks of knowing, in the sense of Adam knowing his wife
Eve. When applied in this sense, the bridegroom was in effect saying, "I have not had union with you."
In a marriage chamber at midnight, no admittance can be given to any but the bride. This is what was being implied.
The MARRIAGE SUPPER IS now, and it will culminate with the consummation of the marriage between Christ and His
bride, the church. Not the whole church, as is shown by the parable of the virgins, but just that part of the church
which will be ready. This is the reason that in 1st Corinthians 15:23, "Christ the flrstfruits"
is mentioned, and in Revelation 14:4, the virgins were called "the firstfruits."
THE MARRIAGE SUPPER
The marriage supper of the Lamb is the place in the spirit, where the sons of God receive the seed of Christ
within their souls, and the long sought after change begins to occur in their soul nature. This change is variously
described in the scripture, and is the "parousia," or coming, in 2nd Peter 1:16,
"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming
("parousia," in Greek) of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of His majesty."
This word "coming," as used here in the Greek, means not only the arrival of Jesus Christ, but the coming
within His church, and the eventual revelation and manifestation to the world.
Contrary to old beliefs, the marriage supper of the Lamb is not in the skies somewhere in space or on another planet,
but RIGHT HERE AND NOW. The word of God proves this.
Matthew 22:11-13, "And when the King came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding
garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness;
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
This, above all others, shows definitely that the wedding FEAST is right here on earth, and that it is not a rapture
which shall take us up into the skies for a wedding feast. This we know surely, because there was a man in that
feast, according to the word we just read, which should not have been there and who was cast out. THIS IS AN EARTHLY
SCENE of those in our midst, who are not covering themselves with the righteousness of God, but just taking the
word in their natural minds without absorbing it into their spiritual beings.
The work of the Holy Ghost is to inseminate the bride at the marriage feast with the Christ seed, so that she might
bring forth Christ. If the ministry is the husband of the church, then the ministry would come forth from her,
which would not be good enough.
In view of this light on Matthew 25, in the parable of the virgins, we can see that the SPIRIT is called the lamp
and the SOUL, the vessel. This is confirmed by scripture.
Proverbs 20:27, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly."
The word "candle" is to be translated "lamp," and the word "belly" is to be translated
"soul." Thus, the spirit of man is lit by the Spirit of God, and when it is, it sheds light into the
vessel of the soul. God, speaking of Paul in Acts 9:15, says,
"He is a chosen vessel unto me."
Romans 9:21 speaks of "vessel unto honor." From the Old to the New Testament, man, the soul, is
referred to as a vessel. It is God's revealed will that He desires man's soul to be like his Spirit. This is the
chief reason God desires to inhabit man's soul with His Holy Spirit. This is clearly expressed in the scripture.
Matthew 6:10, "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
This expression applies not only to the heavenly invisible realms of God, where He dwells in all the magnitude
of His unimaginable power, but in every realm which is called heaven. Now, heaven is the dwelling place of Almighty
God, and wherever God prepares for His dwelling place is heaven. Thus, if we are the "temple of the living
God," then we must be a heaven. God dwells in our spirits when we are filled with the Holy Ghost, therefore
this scripture can be applied to our souls that God is making the soul of man as perfect and as habitable as His
Spirit. "Thy will be done IN earth" means within the earth man or the soul man, as it is in the
spirit man. This marriage of soul and spirit will be dealt with in detail in another chapter.
THE PAWN IN THE GAME
Man's soul is the pawn in the game. The spirit of man returns to God anyhow, therefore God does not lose anything
when a sinner dies. The body will go to the earth, and be resurrected to be the eternal habitat of the soul, whatever
condition it is in, BUT soul is the man, and he is the one to be saved.
Ecclesiastes 3:21, "Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth
downward to the earth?"
Ecclesiastes 12:7, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
THREE STEPS TO LIFE
There are, therefore, three steps which the soul man takes from death to complete life in God.
1) The blood step 2) The Holy Ghost 3) The Christ or the manchild
1) The blood step is taken when the believer accepts Jesus as his Saviour, and submits himself to the spirit of
the death of the cross, thus giving up his carnal life and submitting to a spiritual life. He then is passed from
death to life; from a dead soul to a living soul. The blood, therefore, being the life of God, quickens us to life.
We died being children of the dead Adam. In Jesus Christ, we come alive through submitting to a spiritual blood
transfusion given by Dr. Holy Ghost. All living things feed. Therefore, the soul, being alive, cries for food and
is fed by receiving the Holy Ghost to dwell within his spirit and energize his soul.
2) The Holy Ghost is God within. His duty is to form the nature of the Father within us, so that we will no longer
be under tutors and governors, but by nature, we will do the will of the Father, and our natures will give us much
joy when we do His will.
3) The Holy Ghost will form the nature of God within us by planting the seed of the Christ child within us, and
when the fulness of time is come, we shall bring forth Christ.
Eph. 5:26-27, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might
present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish."
Such terms in the word of God as "present it to himself" are not meaningless. In this instance, what
God is saying is that the Spirit of God in the ministry is preparing the church to present it to Jesus as a bride
without spot or blemish. Christ presents the church to Christ. There is no basis for the ministry or anyone else
to call himself or themselves Christ. This simply means that the preparation of the church cannot be done by man,
but by the Christ in man. The manchild ministry is not the ministry of Christ, because the manchild must necessarily
grow up to the stature of a man before he can take a bride. When he does in the millennium, it will be the world
at large which he, a many membered company, will take, to form Christ in them even as Christ had been formed in
him. At this time, this company will include the man Christ Jesus who is the head of the body.
HOW TO RECEIVE THE HOLY GHOST
We receive the Holy Ghost by obedience to the blood. Some groups teach that by obedience to the ministry, we
receive the Spirit and other attributes of God, but this is error. This is the same error which the Catholic Church
and all the other denominations preach, when they say they are the only true church, and unless you belong to their
ranks you cannot make heaven.
God's order of things is that one obeys the Word of God to receive the blood of Christ, which is the life of God.
The next step is to obey that which you have received, to receive that which you desire. We obey the blood, and
we receive the Holy Ghost. When we obey the Holy Ghost, we receive the fulness. This is clearly defined by Jesus
Himself in John 14:23,
"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him,
and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
The Holy Ghost causes people to speak in tongues, but not everyone who speaks in tongues is filled with the Holy
Ghost. In some places, devil worshippers speak in tongues. There are unclean churches who believe in abominable
living, preaching and teaching abomination for doctrines, yet speak in tongues. People can speak in tongues psychologically.
There are three types of tongues. (a) Tongues from God (b) Tongues from the devil (c) Tongues from the mind of
the individual.
FIVE SIGNS OF THE BELIEVER
Mark 16:17-18, "And these signs shall follow them that believe: (1) In my name shall they cast
out devils; (2) they shall speak with new tongues; (3) they shall take up serpents; (4) and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; (5) they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover.
Of these five signs mentioned, there is only one which could be reasonably shown in a congregation - speaking in
tongues. This is surely a sign of the Spirit being within, when involuntarily one speaks another language, whether
it be the language of angels, some extinct or living language; it does not make any difference. In parts of Africa,
Christians receiving the baptism of the Spirit, in many instances, speak clearly in English, which they could not
speak before, with their understanding as unfruitful as those who speak Greek here in tongues.
An incident occurred with us in India in 1981, which will adequately explain this situation. We were in a meeting
with brethren in Velpur, Andra Pradesh State, where they speak only Telegu. We had an interpreter, and the Lord
said we should speak on the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. The interpreter was somewhat displeased with us, and when
we were about to commence the meeting, we saw him go off in a rickshaw. We began to preach the word with as much
sign language as we could, and with the help of a brother who knew a little English. Suddenly, my wife saw an angel
standing beside one of the sisters. Now the chief problem there was that they did not want the women to speak in
the congregations. When this angel appeared beside this sister, she lifted her hands in the air and began to speak
in perfect English. Then, another woman, and another woman, and soon the whole congregation began to raise their
hands and praise the Lord in English.
We felt so stupid. Here we were trying to make signs to them and talk to them when it now seemed that all of them
could speak English. What had actually happened is that none of them could speak English. They were all speaking
in tongues. We did not find this out until they were out of the Spirit and we tried to talk to them. We have a
large congregation there now, and they still have not yet learned to speak English.
NOT A DOCTRINE
Tongues should not be preached as a doctrine. This is just a fact which takes place whether you will speak or
not. People should not speak in tongues because they want to or because they expect to, but because they are baptized
in the Spirit. The fact is that the speaking in tongues should not precede the filling with the Spirit, but SHOULD
BE AS A RESULT OF BEING FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. There are so many theories on this subject and so many different
teachings, that I have no desire to enter into the controversy. There should be no controversy on the matter because
if a person has to go about asking someone else if he is filled with the Spirit, it might well be a good indication
that he is not filled. The Spirit of God is His own witness, and this witness must be in the soul of the believer.
Nevertheless, because there are so many wrong and outright devilish teachings on the subject, many persons are
being deceived to think they have the Holy Ghost when they do not. The teaching that you receive the Holy Ghost
when you accept Jesus as your Saviour is erroneous and dangerous. In Acts 19:1-6, Paul went to some Baptist brethren,
who at that time were disciples of John the Baptist and asked them a simple question. "Have you received
the Holy Ghost since you believed?" They answered, "We have not so much as heard whether there
be a Holy Ghost." He asked them the next pertinent question. "Unto what then were ye baptized?"
They answered, "Unto John's baptism." These were disciples of John, and since John had not brought
salvation, Paul discovered that these persons were not saved. He preached Jesus to them, and then when they believed,
baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul then laid his hands on them, and the Holy Ghost came on them, and
they spake with tongues and prophesied.
There is a most important lesson here. Paul said nothing ABOUT TONGUES. They, however, spoke in tongues, although
it was not necessary for any supernatural form of communication among thirteen people who had no problem of communication.
Tongues is one of the expressions of the divine nature coming into man. There, however, is no time limit set on
how long after the Holy Spirit takes the spirit of a believer, that he should talk in tongues. With some it is
spontaneous, and with others it is delayed.
SOUL BLOCK
When man is filled with the Spirit, he is filled in his spirit and not in his soul. It, therefore, takes time for that which is in the spirit to come forth within the soul realm. Within our spirits, there lies all the fulness of God, yet we fail to appropriate it in the soul realm, because we have blocks which stop the manifestations. For instance, we who are filled with the Spirit of God do not manifest the perfect nature of God, not because we do not contain God in our spirits, but because we restrain Him by our soulishness. We have got to be overcomers, and break through the blocks. There are environmental blocks, heredity blocks, blocks of wrong teachings, and wrong upbringing, and wrong doctrines. When we are able to recognize truth, then the "halo of lies" will be swept away, thus allowing the Holy Ghost to break through with all the goodness of God.
SCRIPTURAL RECORD OF TONGUES
In order to make this manuscript complete in carrying out the thoughts mentioned, I find it necessary to give
the Biblical history of tongues.
1. GOD WROTE IN TONGUES. In Daniel 5:25, God wrote on Belshazzar's wall four words of judgment - MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
UPHARSIN. Men of every nation conquered by Babylon were present, and they failed to interpret the writing. I would
venture to say that every language in the known world was spoken in Babylon, as it was at that time the center
of the world.
"But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof."
Daniel 5:8.
Only Daniel under the power of the Spirit of God could interpret the writing.
2. ISAIAH PROPHESIED THAT THIS GENERATION WOULD SPEAK IN TONGUES.
Isaiah 28:11-12, "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing; yet they would not hear."
There are THREE SABBATHS. (a) The seventh day Sabbath, (b) the Holy Ghost Sabbath, and (c) The millennial Sabbath.
The first Sabbath, or the seventh day Sabbath, could not bring man into righteousness; therefore, when God brought
the Holy Ghost rest to man, He brought man's Sabbath within himself. The promise is found in Ezekiel 36:27,
"And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments,
and do them."
Paul also clearly stated this fact in Hebrews 4:3,
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter
into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."
The whole passage here, with its context, points to the fact that God ordained the Holy Spirit to be the believer's
rest, and that when we receive the Holy Spirit, we should rest from our own works, and do God's works through the
direction of the Holy Ghost.
The millennium is the seventh day of God, or the seventh thousand year of man, in which God is bringing man into
His likeness, and in which man will rest from his works completely, and allow God to work through him absolutely.
In this period, the whole earth will be at rest, the devil will be chained, and the sons of God will form the government
under God. This millennium, or 1,000 year period, is also referred to in scripture as the THIRD DAY. This third
day of Christ is actually the seventh thousand year. (The evening and the morning is the day.) So, Jesus came at
the end of the age of the Law, which was the end of the fourth day, and the beginning of the fifth. Jesus' first
day, then, was God's fifth day. This means that Jesus' second day would be God's sixth day. We are now almost 2000
years from the birth of Jesus, so we are near the end of the sixth day, which is the second day of Christ. The
age will end on the second thousand year, and dawns the third thousand year or the year of JUBILEE, (the seventh
day).
3. JESUS SPOKE IN TONGUES
(a) Mark 5:41, "And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, TALITHA CUMI; which is, being
interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise."
There is no question here that Jesus spoke in a language that was not known to the people around Him. This is the reason in the first place an interpretation was necessary in the scripture. The theologians say it was the ancient Chaldean language, but the Bible says Jesus was not learned. John 7:15 bears this point out.
"And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?"
(b) Matthew 27:46b-47, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias."
Some of the persons standing there said He was calling for Elias. It is therefore plain that He did not speak in
a known language. He spoke in tongues. Here again, we see Jesus speaking in a language which He is not supposed
to have known. "Chaldaic," say the theologians. This only authenticates the fact that He spoke in tongues.
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
In John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. " The lampstand is the only light in
the Holy Place. This light is a combination of the golden container, the golden olive oil and the wick. In Matthew
5:14, Jesus said,
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid."
In this instance, we see Jesus using the part as the whole, calling the wick the light. The lamp could not work
without the wick, BUT THE WICK CANNOT WORK WITHOUT THE OIL AND THE LAMP. We are only the wick, yet we are the light
of God in the earth. The true light of God in the believers' lives must come through being filled with the Spirit,
and lit by the fire of the Outer Court from the brazen altar of sacrifice.
UNION TO UNITY
Because of God's desire to make us one with Himself, He enters into union with us through the Holy Spirit, whose chief work is to inseminate the bride with the seed of CHRIST, to change her nature from the human corruptible nature to the LIFE NATURE OF CHRIST, which is INCORRUPTIBLE.
THE WOMB OF THE CHURCH
Christ, the seed, grows within the womb of the church, as the seed, the Holy Ghost, planted within Mary grew and took nine months to bring forth. The Holy Spirit at this time is inseminating the church with the same seed of Christ, which He used to bring forth Jesus into the world. There is only one difference: God works in progressive stages of three. The first is always carnal; the second spiritual and carnal; and the third and final stage, the triumph of the spiritual over the carnal, bringing forth its perfect manifestation of the thing desired. The first stage of man brought forth Adam, the father of the fallen race. The second stage brought forth Jesus the God-man, the Saviour of the world. The third stage is bringing forth the Christ-man in the whole earth, the salvation of humanity and all creation. THE ABSOLUTE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT is seen here. Like Eleazar, the servant of Abraham in Genesis 24, His duty is to bring back the bride to Isaac. In God's divine order, man's nature is to be changed to the nature of the Christ by this operation of the Holy Ghost. The womb of the church, therefore, is the SOUL OF MAN. Jesus Christ was born from the womb of Mary as a natural birth. The final Christ shall be born from the womb of the church, which is the change to take place within the soul of man, which in turn will change the physical consistency of this body, AND THEN THE RELATIONSHIP OF ALL CREATED THINGS TO THEIR MAKER (Romans 8:23 and Revelation 12:1).
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