Tag: carnal mind

Articles

Dying to Death – The Second Death

Pete

The issues of life and death, like all Scriptures and truths of the Lord, are hidden from those not yet given the gift of faith and the accompanying eyes to see and ears to hear.  Becoming grounded on some basic principles, such as the topic of death,  is essential to growing in understanding.  May these words help those few the Lord may lead to read them.

Pete & Ronel

Dying to Death

All men are PURPOSEFULLY born in marred vessels of clay so the Lord can remake us into a new mold in His image on His timeline.   Nothing we experience is wasted, it is all the work of the potter.

Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 

Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 

Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

We are born into sin and thus begin the lives of every man.  As clay in the potter’s hand, the false doctrine of free will is readily destroyed by the truth.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Rom 3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

We will naturally remain this way until our time of reformation comes and we begin our transformation into the image of God.  This is the process of salvation and the same said as being “our journey from death unto life”.  Paul’s words of the helplessness of Romans 7, expressing every man’s journey to be righteous under their own strength (i.e the law) segues into the freedom and new life described in Romans 8.  Abiding in death, stuck in a prison, and bound to the law we first await Christ.

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 

When Christ comes He delivers us and sets us free from the law and the death that the law of sin and death (carnal mindedness) brings.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

The law of sin and death is the same as the law of Moses and also the same as the law of the Gentiles.  Simply put, this law is what all carnally minded people are under.  Yet do not despair because all mankind is ignorant and oblivious to their plight until the Lord comes and sets them free from the resulting bondage that is also spiritual death.

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

We begin to be transformed from death and having the mind of our father the devil, unto newness of life, having the mind of Christ.  This is our salvation and takes a three-day spiritual journey to complete.  The last enemy to be destroyed to complete the transformation is death.  This is the death of our carnal mind that has kept us in bondage all our lives.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

1Co 15:25-26  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The Lord who holds the keys to life and death, considers physical death to be the same as sleeping [Joh 11:11, Dan 12:2, etc].  The Lord’s words are Spirit and life and speak to great mysteries that only few are given to understand.

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

Our dying to the Lord is our dying to death.  This is subjecting our carnal mind to the will of God and following the Spirit by the law of faith.  That is how newness of life is found and how we are being raised with Christ in the resurrection.  Christ speaks and acts in parables but most like Martha are only able to see the physical or outward application.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 

Dying to death is also known as the “second death” which every man will fulfill in their appointed time.  We experience and fulfill all the Scriptures, living by every word.  All those experiences are indeed ours [1Cor 3:21] to fulfill and many err by taking things out of the book as not applicable to them.  Dying to death comes to a head in our day of the Lord, when the Lord comes a second time for judgment and salvation.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The consummation of salvation is our being given our crowns which is the mind of Christ that is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  When the Lord first comes to us, we will be found dead in our sins and trespasses. This is the fate of all men naturally born in marred bodies of flesh that cannot help but sin.  The Lord has His ways to correct us and remake us through the fiery experience of His judgments.

Exo 32:33  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 

In our day of the Lord, the new man is brought forth as the old man and our carnal way of thinking dies under the fire of God’s jealousies.  All men have sinned without exceptions and thus are blotted out from spiritual life until their appointed time comes.    The time comes for our day of the Lord when we find ourselves in the lake of fire, experience the second death, and thus are being saved!

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 

Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life[i.e. all who sin who have been blotted out at first] was cast into the lake of fire. 

The second death and our resurrection are one in the same event we experience.  Think of a two-sided coin and know that the Scriptures are speaking about His two witnesses which are the old man and the new man.  Both the carnal old man and the spiritual new man are clay in the potter’s hands.  He is molding and shaping us on His schedule and by this process, we die to death at the same time newness of life is brought forth.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 

In this consuming fire [Heb 12:29] that is the Lord, we are being quickened and in due time are overcoming our flesh.  As we progress, we are able to look behind ourselves and see our deliverance from the ways of the world which is ruled by the spirit of Satan or said another way carnal mindedness.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

Our flesh does not go willingly to its death.  It resists the ways of the Spirit until it is brought into subjection.  The Lord prevails when our time has come and we are freed from the law of sin and death and separated from the carnally minded by our faith.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 

Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 

We should earnestly pray that we grow in the faith.  The challenges of living in this carnal world but not being of it, get bigger the further we walk, yet the Lord will equip us with the faith and temperament to bear it.

Studies

Thou Art My Son, Today have I Begotten Thee

Pete

Thou Art My Son, Today have I Begotten Thee

Until one is released from the law and ceases from being bound by their carnal reasoning, one will remain separated from the Spirit of Christ and walk contrary to faith.  Having knowledge of and continuing to search the Scriptures is not faith as the Lord’s words to the professing Jews of every generation make perfectly clear.

Joh 5:39  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 
Joh 5:40  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Joh 8:44  You are of your father the devil [following your carnal mind] and the desires of your father [at enmity with the Lord] you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 

There is much spoken about concerning “the law” in the Scriptures that throughout the ages carnally minded men have made very complicated and twisted to their own destruction.  When the Lord returns the second time for salvation, imparting the gift of faith, then we understand His truths and the simple commands.

Joh 16:25  These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs [parables]: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.

Before faith is come, we will see and hear but not in Spirit and in Truth and will remain separated from the Lord and not know Him or have the understanding of the Father.

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 

It only becomes plain when the Lord gives one the keys to the kingdom of God which is precious faith of the Lord [Eph 2:8] and His promises to come [Rom 10:9] if we endure.  But until the time one is given this gift, the kingdom of God will remain a mystery and we are shut out in spiritual darkness and not being able to partake of the wedding feast.  Faith is the covering, the very garment one must have to come to eat at this feast.  Until then we will be ever learning but not able by our own works and reasonings of the Scriptures to come to the knowledge of the Truth.

Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment [has not faith]? And he was speechless. 

Mat 22:13  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. 

The only way one is justified is by having the faith of the Lord and standing on His promises to save us if we can only believe.

Rom 3:28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 
Rom 3:29  Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 
Rom 3:30  since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 

Justification is our overcoming and that victory comes only by faith and our being born again into a living hope.  Standing on faith has us giving up all the carnal reasonings of what is right and wrong under the law given the carnal nation of Israel.  Christ is the end of the law for all those that truly believe.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 

All men are born into this carnal bondage that only the Lord can grant one repentance from and bring the freedom of Christ.  When He comes in our flesh, we are released from the law and the sin and death that so naturally results from walking with a carnal mind.  We thus become free as we enter faith and begin to know the Lord in spirit and in truth.

Mar 1:14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 
Mar 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 

Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

The Lord’s prophets are also angels who minister to those that are given faith in their time and serve a valuable purpose in preparing God’s faithful remnant.  But those that serve and prepare the tabernacle of God cannot eat at that altar unless they are chosen and dragged thru the veil of the flesh.  Angels of God who are messengers in serving the Lord in preparing those given faith desire to look into the things pertaining to the Gospel but to them, it is not now given.

1Pe 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 [messengers of God not given to be faithful] desire to look into. 

The baptism of John prepares us for the coming of Christ and is representing by the prophets and prophecies and are growing in the knowledge of the Scriptures.  All good and necessary yet all men must wait until Christ comes to them and will be on the outside for truth but not finding it on their own efforts.

Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 

Those faithful are pulled out of the people of God who serve the tabernacle and prepare the way.  Only a few are given to be His high priests in the order of Melchizedek that is given to bear the iniquity of the priesthood.  That iniquity and sacrifice are what Christ and His Christ will bear as they are rejected and crucified by their own people.   The true priests [the Sons of Aaron in OT type] and those that do service [the Levites in OT type] must be separated from one another and cannot eat at the same altar.

Num 18:1  And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. 
Num 18:2  And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. 
Num 18:3  And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die. 

Working for rewards or bribes, seeking to justify themselves by their outward good works,  those the Lord has blinded serve the tabernacle but cannot enter into the holiest of holies.  The faithful priests only, the true Sons of Aaron in type and shadow are the only ones that can eat at the altar of God.

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 

The difference between the two laws, the law Moses/Gentiles and the law of Faith is the great gulf [Luke 16:26] that separates God’s people from everyone else known as the Gentiles.  All mankind remains in bondage to their carnal mind, even after coming to the knowledge of the law and the prophets and must first be in bondage waiting on the Lord to come set them free.

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [FAITH] hath made me free from the law of sin and death [The law of carnal thinking].

Those the Son has set free shall be free indeed from the law of sin and death and will no longer be reasoning back and forth of right and wrong but will come to Christ and stand on His simple commandments.  The Jews that believed on Christ were not free, they remained of their father the devil [being carnally minded] and bound in unbelief and could not receive the Truth to be saved.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 

All who first hear the Gospel will not enter into the Lord’s rest and lay down their carnal reasoning which is unbelief.

Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 

Few are given to escape the bondage of being carnally minded in every generation, they all fall and get snared in [the church of] the wilderness.  Part of living by every word God spoke [Mat 4:4].

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

The entire parable of John 8 and Christ speaking with the Jews who believed upon Him tells of this experience. All those chosen will first claim His name, saying we believe; but remain of our father the devil, bound by the carnal mind which is “the law of sin and death” that has us reasoning and determining what is right but being unwilling to come to the Lord as a little child and sit down.

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 

Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father [the devil – Joh 8:44].

Only those born of true faith, the seed of Isaac will inherit the promises of the Lord and enter into the Holy City being connected to the Lord in Spirit.  The harlot, the church in the wilderness is a physical and carnal gathering that is one Body, but the true church is a spiritual gathering in heaven.

1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 

1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 

We are “none of His” and do not belong to Christ, until we come out of her [Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots] with great affliction and begin to be led of the Spirit having the gift of faith imparted unto us.

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 
Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 
Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

This religious experience is such a deception.  We will only see it when the Lord has mercy and pulls us up into heaven and reveals it to us.  It is part of coming to see it is all dung except the righteousness of Christ that only comes by faith [Phi 3].   John and we marvel when we see the harlot, the church in the wilderness that is Spiritual Babylon through which all God’s people must come.

Rev 17:6  I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. 

Rev 17:7  But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

It is the signs and wonders and fire from heaven we experience being joined to this woman, that holds us in deception until the Lord is revealed and faith comes.  Mercifully a day comes, appointed unto every man in their time, when the Lord will reveal the truth to us [His word is the truth].   Then we see clearly that had been deceived and abiding with our father the devil, within and without all the while thinking we had been serving the Lord.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

It is only to a blessed few of the Lord’s angels that He begets and declares to be His Son in this age.

Heb 1:5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 

This declaration is made on “this day” which is today which is the last day of the three days by which the Lord is building His temple.  It is not a day we choose, it is the Lord who chooses us for salvation and comes to rebuild His Temple on that day.

Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 

The Book of Hebrews is written not to flesh Jews but to the true spiritual Jews that came out of the harlot church when they were chosen of God and called up hither by the Lord.  These are the sons of God who are henceforth led by the Spirit and no longer are bound to their own self-righteous reasoning under the law.  We have an earnest of our deliverance now with the firstfruits of the Spirit and we no longer walk by sight but by faith in the promises of God yet to be revealed.

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 

All angels and messengers of the Lord are His ministering spirits speaking words of fire throughout the earth.  The Lord’s angels prepare those who will be declared sons and given the gift of faith of our Lord and exalted [called up hither].

Heb 1:7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 

Heb 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 

Heb 1:9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 

The faithful few are called out of their fellow angels and exalted by the Lord as He seats them in heaven and gives the true anointing [faith] in the Spirit.

This elevation by the Lord is accomplished when the sons of God are spiritually killed in the harlot city as those still bound to the earth [their carnal mind] make merry of their evil deeds to those who spoke the commandments that vexed and tormented their carnal reasonings under the law.

Rev 11:10  And they that dwell upon the earth [focused on carnal things] shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 

Rev 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 

That is where the saints of the Lord are found, in heaven, all having been called up and seated at the right hand of God.  It is when Christ in us the hope of glory, is crucified and then raised to the dead, that we as Christ are made partakers of His holiness and the divine and precious promises of the Gospel.

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 

Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 

Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in heaven

Those the Lord is saving in every age seated at His right hand in heaven.  All our prior service for the Lord, being under the law and our carnal reasoning of right and wrong will be seen as vanity and dung when called up hither.

Heb 10:11  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 

Those yet under the law will continue to make a good showing in the flesh but those sacrifices can never take away sins.  It is only when the Lord comes and imparts faith and that we can cease from our own works and then be saved.

Heb 10:12  But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 
Heb 10:13  From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 
Heb 10:14  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

A carnal Peter, which is the carnal version of all men, did not understand the Lord when he first heard the Lord’s words.  A day comes to all God’s people when they will hear these words in the Spirit and know following Christ has cost them everything including being forsaken and forsaking all we once thought was important.  Losing and giving all of this up is the necessary cost of being His disciple and when we enter eternal life and our inheritance in the saints.

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 

Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 

The saints of God and those the Apostles are writing and speaking to the saints to this very day.  We are joined in Spirit and with all those the Lord has made faithful and clothed bringing us into His wedding feast.  Our inheritance connects us with all the saints, not in the flesh or via phone and conference calls but in Spirit.  This is the church of God that has overcome the world [in down payment] and is being sanctified by the work of the Lord in their heart.  Only those in the faith of Christ partake of this blessing in this age.  It is all a gift, given to those the Lord has chosen.

Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 

The conversion from flesh to Spirit is a translation.  It is how we come out of Babylon [Rev 18:4] and are dragged thru the veil of flesh into a spirit realm all by the hand of the Lord.

Col 1:12  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [enrolled] us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 

Thus the Lord works all things, send false prophets unawares into those He has chosen to sift and winnow out the true ones in due time.

1Co 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 

The winnowing and refining’s and sifting is all part of the process to bring out of Egypt [the world] first the called, then the chosen and then the faithful into His kingdom.

Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 

Paul’s experience is every man’s experience in the appointed time as man shall live by every word God spoke.  We must be separated from the spiritual mother [Joh 6:63] that begat us and called by His grace to a higher place of understanding.

Gal 1:15  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, 

The mother that gives birth to us spiritually is the church in the wilderness which is another symbol for Babylon of which our time in orthodoxy is merely a shadow of the greater spiritual experience to come.  All of God’s people come out of this church in the appointed time after it has served its purpose in preparing us to be seated with Christ.

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne [called up hither, seated in heaven]

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

Our evil experience includes knowing Christ in the flesh and being deceived all the while increasing in knowledge but still being in bondage to the gods of this world; both the Assyrian [world] and Babylonian [religious world] kings.  We live out both evil experiences thinking we are the Lord’s chosen people before we are made faithful and truly converted.

Jer 50:17  Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. 

Jer 50:18  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. 

There comes an end to prophecies and speaking in tongues as Paul wrote to the carnal Corinthians.  To be Christ we must do Christ and that becomes the only thing we live by when the prophecies and learning knowledge and speaking in new tongues ceases.  The end of the matter is charity which is keeping His commandments.

1Co 13:8  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 

That end comes when we are enrolled into heaven and translated by faith into His kingdom.  To fulfill the word of God we must live that word and once it is lived, there comes an end.

Luk 22:37  For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. 

The end is when we are numbered by our own people as transgressors and put to death like our Lord.  The subsequent raising to life by the Spirit of God is the power of the Gospel that is revealed by our faith and what henceforth guides the Israel of God in the way.

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 

Just as the woman at the well found out [which woman we are when Christ comes to us],  the true worshippers of God do so in spirit and in truth and do not worship in the mountain [the world] or in Jerusalem [the one below, the harlot, spiritual Babylon].  The true worshippers’ worship in Spirit and in truth and no longer partake of the sacrifices and offering practiced by a carnal nation.

Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 

Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

The experience of being in the world and knowing Christ in the flesh and then going into Babylon has a second witness in Ezekiel and the story of the two sisters Aholah and Aholibah.  The second sister also known as Jerusalem is much more sinister and deceptive than even the first evil experience.

Eze 23:2  Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: 

Eze 23:3  And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. 

Eze 23:4  And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. 

Yet we as Christ must go through these experiences of evil.  Christ must go through Samaria [Joh 4:4] and be crucified in Jerusalem below [Luk 13:33].   Both sayings speak to the evil experience we must experience to learn good and evil to have His work completed in us as we become like our Lord and possess eternal life.

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

Gen 3:22  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: 

When faith comes, the things concerning Christ come to an end and a new day arrives where we are joined to the Lord in Spirit along with an innumerable company of angels.  This is our enrollment in heaven and where the gathering of spirits being made perfect is taking place.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, [all those faithful and One with the Lord]

Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 

The gathering in Spirit is the true heavenly Jerusalem.  The one on the earth still minding fleshly things, reasoning under the law, is the Jerusalem below which is still in bondage and represents Hagar and Ishmael.  That church still under the old covenant of the law is still in bondage to the law and is not yet free.

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 

While the Jerusalem above is barren at first with no children, we are to rejoice as we have Christ our Husband and trust in the promises yet to be revealed.  In the end, we will bring forth children for God as we go to the Gentiles to sow the seed and wait upon the Lord to make those worthy for eternal life.

Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 

In the end, this will encompass all men as all men shall be saved through Christ and will come out of the Holy City that worships Him in Spirit and in truth.  Thus the promise of faith given to Abraham will be fulfilled and all the nations and tribes of the earth shall come to Christ.

Gen 15:4  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 
Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 
Gen 15:6  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 

All those made alive in Christ by faith are joined with Christ and are one with Him IN ONE SPIRIT.

1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 

Thus all things are made new and we know no man after the flesh but filter all things through the prism of faith and what the Lord is doing in the Spirit.  The way of Christ will be foolishness to the natural man and like our Lord, we will be reviled and called all manner of evil for His namesake.  Thus we count it all joy to judge righteous judgment in all things as we ourselves are not judged by any man.

1Co 2:14  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. 
1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 
1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

The word of God is true and cannot lie.  The true church is speaking and edifying the saints to this very day as all those raised to life live they did not die.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 

Extremely few believe these words.  Paul, Peter and all the faithful before us are not dead. They live today in Spirit with the Lord and minister to us being part of the One Spirit that is the true Christ.

Extremely few believe the Gospel and in the promises of the Lord.  It is that unbelief and trusting in carnal things that enable the devil [their carnal mind] to keep men bound for their entire life by the fear of death [Heb 2: 15].  But how precious is that death to the Lord who raises His people to eternal life.

Psa 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints 

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 

Articles

Spiritual Lessons on Fire and Wood Burning

Pete

“Spiritual Lessons on Fire and Wood Burning”

For the first time in my life, I have gotten much experience in buying and burning firewood.  It’s a good lesson and reminder for things we already have been given to know in the Spirit.   The major workings of the Lord are not seen with physical observation (Luk 17:20-21), yet they are revealed in His physical creation.  This is a major revelation once you are in the Truth and have your heavens opened to such a great understanding.

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the [physical] things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the [physical] worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Using the physical to ascertain things in the Spirit is a useful and needed tool for us to study the Scripture and grow in the knowledge of the Truth.   Our primary way of learning the deep things of God (assuming we have been given ears to hear and eyes to see) is comparing spiritual to spiritual across the Old and New Testaments (2Ti 3:16, 1Co 10:11, Hos 12:10)

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words (the entire Bible) that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

One can take anything in the physical and outward world and with the mind of Christ, apply many spiritual truths and principles thus proving the macro truth of Romans 1:20. In this study, we are going to look at physical fire and apply its traits and characteristics in the physical to the truth of how the Lord works in the Spirit.  At a bare minimum, this study should help refute the lie of an eternal hell where God burns his own creation alive forever and without end.

What is Physical Fire? – Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in a chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products (gases, ash, etc.)

This is interesting because it is the positive of spiritual fire that is the Word of God and that fire is making a quick work in making major changes within us that comes with much spiritual heat and light.

God’s Word is fire:  The fire is what is remaking us from a natural firstborn Adam into a son of God via the process of our judgment.

Jer 23:29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Having our old “natural” way of life burned up is not pleasant to our flesh and its desires, yet it is necessary for us to be saved and made partakers of His Holiness.

Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Mal 3:3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

Men and our flesh are likened unto trees and wood in Scripture.  In the negative meaning (as the word is two edged – Heb 4:11), trees and wood symbolize our physical life and life of being carnally minded.  That is what God’s fire is making combustion within our day of judgment.

Jer 7:20  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

Joe 1:19  O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 

Eternal hellfire along with the delusion of free will is one of the biggest lies of orthodox Christianity and the “other jesus” billions know and worship.  The Lord’s fire is what is saving us and burning up the wood that represents our flesh and carnality.

Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Psa 89:46  How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself forever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

Eze 5:4  Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

The question of how long is also answered in Scripture.  It takes as long as God has ordained for every man as our entire lives have been predetermined (Psa 139:16).  But we know the fire of judgment by the Word (Psa 19:9, Rev 1:3, Joh 12:48) will eventually go out when its work is finished and we have learned (been perfected) righteousness.

Pro 26:20  Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife (the fiery trial) ceaseth.

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Sodom and Gomorrah are not still literally burning in an eternal hell.  God’s spiritual fire worked its work and destroyed the sinfulness and the sinful city which is its purpose yet today in saving all men.

Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Gen 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities …..

What is needed for fire to combust?  Typically, physical fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and a fuel source (i.e. wood).  The presence of these things is not enough, as combustion requires a spark and a heating of the wood to its ignition temperature.  The heat needed to spark a fire can come from lots of different things for instance:  a match, focused light, friction, or even lightning.

The Spirit of God is the oxygen (the air, the wind) that fuels His Word and is sparked to life by the many wonderful works of God to His children.  The Lord who works all things (Eph 1:11) is the one who creates the sparks in our spiritual life and brings the trials that raise the temperature that burns up the wood and impure metals within us.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:13  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.

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (spiritual match)

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance (match)

Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ (spiritual friction)

Burning wood creates smoke:  Smoke is a symptom of a burning fire and contains the trapped gases along with other organic matter.  These are pollutants which are then driven away by the physical or spiritual winds that are God’s judgment by the Word.

Hos 13:3  Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

Rev 14:10  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:

Rev 14:11  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.

Little pieces of wood burn quicker and faster than big pieces:  A fuel’s size also affects how easily it will catch fire. A larger fuel, such as a thick tree, can absorb a lot of heat, so it takes a lot more energy to raise any particular piece to the ignition temperature. A toothpick catches fire more easily because it heats up very quickly. Chopping us up and burning our carnal mind results in fiery trials which come in all shapes and sizes according to what is needed.  In the same way, the Lord gives us stripes (judgment) according to the size of the log (sin and carnal-mindedness) needing to be devoured.

Luk 12:47  And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Luk 12:48  But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

The Lord starts us out dealing with the small stuff before He moves on to the big stuff needing to be burned up.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

The hardened parts of our wicked heart will take a hotter fire than the small sins.  The Lord truly knows how to deliver the new man (the godly) out of those temptations.

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

The harder the wood or the more of it, the hotter the fire:  Fire burns hotter when the wood is hard or there are lots of it.  Here in South Africa, the best wood for braii is arguably Namibia hardwood.  The Lord knows how to dial-up the heat in our lives accomplish His work in us by fiery grace.  Our hardened rebellious hearts take a hot fire to burn the “I, me and my” out of us.

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Eze 24:9  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.

Eze 24:10  Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

Softer wood burns easy and quickly and there are some issues the Lord works that require much less heat and anguish than others to purify our heavens and our earth.

Dry wood burns best and green wood is difficult to burn:  The Lord prepares us to be burned in His fire by drying us up of good works and draining us of confidence in our flesh.  The Lord promised there would always be seasons on the earth (Gen 8:22) that are used to prepare the wood for further chastening.  The best wood is seasoned wood that has been prepared and dried out waiting it’s time to be burned in a fireplace or a stove.

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

 Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Jud 1:7  Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Truly wet wood will not burn:  Two different perspectives I will mention on this criteria as there are always two sides to the Word, it being a double-edged sword.  In the negative sense, water or wetness is associated with the flesh and our walking by that mindset.  When we are still wet with that mindset, we have not been prepared for judgment and the Word of God is not yet burning up our old man and we remain carnal beasts.

On the other hand, when we are full of the Spirit, drenched in God’s rain which is His doctrines the fire does not harm us.  Those raised in the first harvest of men (the second harvest of the three) will be the completed new man and have the fullness of the Spirit and hence there is nothing left to be hurt by the Lake of Fire has already been through that in this age.

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

The new man who stands on faith abides in the fire and is never hurt.

Dan 3:24  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

Dan 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Fire generates heat which warms us physically and also warms us up spiritually and helps get us through the non-fruit producing seasons of life.

2Ti 4:2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Fire generates light in times of darkness to show us the path and bring others that need help to us.

Psa 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Mat 5:14  Ye (My disciples, the Body of Christ) are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Heb 1:7  And of the angels (messengers) he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

Flame color indicates relative temperature: Generally speaking blue and white flames are the hottest which ties wonderfully to the symbolism of colors in Scripture.   Blue symbolizes the things of God and the goal of our going through the fiery process now and in turn becoming a fire to save others.

Isa 10:17  And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day(the day of the Lord)

When the fire is truly intense there will be blue flames present.  In the same vein, the goals of achieving the righteousness of Christ (white linen) is only found in the fire of judgment with white also being an indicator of a very hot flame.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 19:8  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.

More air equals a faster burning and hotter fire:  A poorly burning fire is usually solved quickly by giving it more air (oxygen).  Our measure of faith (Rom 12:3) and infilling with the Spirit of God is all of the Lord’s determination. Only the Lord had the fullness of the Spirit in a clay body (Joh 3:34).  Yet we can look forward to growing in our anointing as we mature abiding in the Holy City (The Body of Christ) waiting for the fullness to come (Rom 8:23).

Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We should welcome the fire and seek it knowing it is what hastens the coming of the Lord within us more each day Lord willing (2Pe 3:11-13).

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

To keep our fires burning and grow in the power of God, we need spiritual air to tap into the power the Lord has given to His Christ (Joh 20:21)

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

A fire goes out when the wood is consumed:  The fire of God is used for good to remake us into sons of God.  Our God and Heavenly Father is inseparable from His Word which is consuming our wood (carnal mindedness) more each and every day

Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

The wood won’t be gone fully until the clay vessels are gone. Hence we persevere.

Pro 26:20  Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife (the fiery trial) ceaseth.

The priests of God in the making (Rev 5:10); we are the bearers of the Lord’s fire and work to keep that fire burning always in the temple of God which temple each we are.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

It is the Lord’s temple that the altar resides and where His fire will be forever burning.  It has nothing to do with the lie of eternal hell.

Lev 6:12  And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

Lev 6:13  The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

The residue of a wood fire is ash: Ash is a very fine dust particle that has many good uses.  Physical ash is an unburnable mineral that is very useful in fertilizing gardens, trees and promoting new life.  Interesting that ash is also used in making soaps that clean and purify us, controlling foul odors (landfills), and even deter and kill insects.  All of this has great spiritual significance when we apply Romans 1:20 to what the Lord is doing with us in this age where judgment is now fallen (1Pe 4:17).

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice (losing your life), holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Gen 22:7  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

I have even learned the hard way that ash retains its heat for a long time which in the Spirit is very positive in our ability to minister and help others when we are humble and our selfish lives have been burned up.

It is after our life is sacrificed, the wood has been burned that we are given new garment that is white as the ashes of wood burned in the fire.

Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Fire is made up of many burning pieces of wood:  It is difficult to light and keep burning a single piece of wood.  But if one puts multiple pieces in building his fire, the fire will burn much longer and more consistently.  This brings to mind the truth that the Body of Christ is being made into a spiritual fire right now in this age as the first to be judged.

Zec 12:6  In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

The cloud of many witnesses (Heb 12:1) and the infolding fire are one in the same description and vision of the Elect (Body of Christ) who are being made into saviours.

Eze 1:4  And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Oba 1:18  And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

As we come thru the fire, we become saviours who in turn will help save others including all mankind in the lake of fire.

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

It is the Body of Christ who will be the lake of fire at the White Throne Judgment.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

We saw just some of the attributes of physical fire and how that reveals how the Lord is working things in the Spirit. One could take virtually anything in the physical world and deduce much about the ways of the Spirit.  But they are going to need to be prepared of the Lord, we cannot give the gift.

Pro 20:12  The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.

I hope this study stirs your memory and recollection of these spiritual truths.  As winter comes to those in the northern hemisphere, making a fire and watching the wood burn can become a time of reflection and examination of ourselves and all the good works the Lord is doing to the children of men.

Isa 66:15  For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Comments and questions are welcome. You can also email me directly at peterjwilson56@gmail.com