An exposition of 

THE HEAVENS DECLARE

THE GLORY OF GOD 
 
 

 

H.K.Pywell  

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Copyright   ©  2000 H.K.PYWELL

Any part(s) of this publication

may be copied

[except for monetary gain]

WITHOUT

prior written consent

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no changes or additions are made.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Contact: psu221 @ aapt.net.au 
 

 

 

THE JOURNEY 
 
 

Let me tell you a story.

It is a story about a man who died,

and went to heaven,

and then came back.

_______________________ 

And so he died. 

Not the event many people think it would be. Because we don't actually die. It was more like getting rid of the weight of the body which had rebelled against the spirit by cancer

or by heart disease or by some other ailment. It was not so much the loss of abilities

and senses, it was more the losing of restrictions.

It was a new experience, just like birth. And the angels. Well, what can I say. They seemed absolutely in charge. Like two midwives with a new baby.  

But he was the baby. And in a way he felt like one. He felt too young to die, just as he felt too young to leave school, and then to be married, and to have children, and to be old. He was certainly too young to be old. His life disappeared as quickly as breath on a warm mirror. 

It was just before he died that the angels appeared. (They seemed to be illuminated, yet not with natural light. A slightly bluish tinge, if anything.) And it was a great comfort to the family and to the Christians that he could tell them what he saw in those last moments. Except, of course, that those moments were certainly not the last. 

And suddenly he was free of that burden which was his body. He was out of the sinful flesh so corrupted by Adam.  

And they began to travel. 

They ascended quickly, yet with little sense of motion.  

And so he looked back at the earth. As he did so, a thought came to him that this is what Lot's wife did. And in an instant he pictured himself turning into a speck of frozen space-dust, doomed to float fully conscious, in eternal oblivion. The thought chilled his soul. 

Then the angel communicated.

That is the last thought you will receive

from the prince of the power of the air.

 

And the thought disappeared.  He was out of the air. He was in space. Out of the realm of the prince. Thank God he had an escort. He shuddered to think what would happen if he was left to his own devices.

So he took the time to gaze at the wonderful creation of God. Of course he had always underestimated the size of the earth.  He always said, "Isn't it a small world."

Well, it's not. From space he saw the splendour of it.   

And then he thought that this is a view of the earth from God's perspective. It is how God must see it.   

[ He was confused. Silly thoughts flooded his head, possibly because of the shock of death setting in. He thought that there is no air in space to vibrate with speech, and yet  angels can communicate with him. He realised that physical barriers are no barriers at all in the spirit. And it was minus 270 degrees, or thereabouts, and he wasn't cold. 

And he also had the strangest realisation that if he were to return to earth on a trajectory from where he was, he would land on the North Pole. But if he could vary his trajectory by only a few degrees, he would have to turn upside down before landing on the South Pole. But then again, if he didn't have a body, why think of that? ] 

His confusion was interrupted by a communication: 

See the great Signs. 

It was more a command than an invitation.

Then he saw the Great Signs as he should have seen them all of his life. How blind he must have been. And now, too late to tell others, he knew. 

He saw that all things which pertain to the kingdom of God are written in the heavens. And what better place for God to write them. There they can be seen by all.

Man can look up day and night and wonder and meditate.  

Ps 19:1   The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his    handywork.

Ps 97:6   The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. 

He saw that God has set the heavens to tell us of Him, if we would only look. If we

would only raise our eyes and consider. 

Ge 1:14   And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide    the day from the night; and LET THEM BE FOR SIGNS, and for seasons, and    for days, and years: 

He realised that the lights in the heavens are not only for the dividing of time, but they are placed deliberately by God as SIGNS.

The signs were to point to the glory of God. The signs were to tell of His righteousness. 

 

Psalm 19 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his    handywork.  DAY UNTO DAY UTTERETH SPEECH, and night unto night    SHEWETH KNOWLEDGE. There is no speech nor language, where their    voice is not heard.  

If they show knowledge, and if they utter speech, what do they know and what do they say ? And so he looked a while longer. And as he looked a song came into his heart and mind.  The rhyme may be written, but the music is impossible. And these are the symbols he saw and understood for the first time: 

THE SUN:   GOD IN HIS GLORY. 

SUNSET:   GOD COMING TO EARTH AS THE MAN CHRIST JESUS. 

SUNRISE:   THE RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

THE MOON:   GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. 

THE EARTH:  OUR FLESH. 

EARTH'S SHADOW: A SPIRITUAL MEASURE. 

THE ECLIPSE:  JESUS CHRIST IS GOD. 

THE STARS:  THE ANGELS AND THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN. 

METEORITES:  HOW SATAN AND HIS ANGELS FELL. 

BLACK HOLES:  THE DESTINY OF THOSE WHO TURN FROM GOD. 

THE SEAS:   THE NATIONS. 

THE CLOUDS:   THE LIVING SAINTS. 

RAIN :   CHRISTIANS DYING TO THEMSELVES.  

SNOW:   THE SEAL OF GOD UPON EVERY CHRISTIAN. 

HAIL:   THOSE WHO TURN FROM GOD. 

THE RAINBOW:  THE COVENANT IN THE LIVES OF CHRISTIANS. 

LIGHTNING:  JUDGEMENT; FIRST OF THE SAINTS,

                        AND THEN OF THE WORLD. 

THE TORNADO:  THE PRESENCE OF GOD, AND HOW TO ENTER. 

SLEEP:   DEATH. (WHICH CEASES AT SUNRISE)  

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE:

                        THE REMOVAL OF EDEN &

                        THE JOURNEY OF SAINTS AT DEATH

 

 

THE SUN 

GOD IN HIS GLORY 
 

He remembered:

Ps 84:11   For the LORD God is a SUN and shield

Mal 4:2   But unto you that fear my name shall the SUN of righteousness arise     with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves

            of the stall. 

And the song he heard was:

The Gospel in the sky is writ, 
But none on earth perceiveth it. 
The writing there is very clear, 
Concerning all things we hold dear.  
 
Let us begin the awesome story: 
THE SUN SHOWS GOD IN ALL HIS GLORY! 
 
None sees the sun with naked eye, 
And none sees God, Lest he die. 
But we may gaze on pure sunlight, 
Reflected in the Moon at night. 
 
The LORD incarnate (at his birth) 
Reflects his own light on the earth! 
And once we see this glorious sign, 
All other symbols fall in line. 
 
 

It was clear to him that many nations and peoples had worshipped the sun. Yet they had not understood that this was merely the symbol of God. It was a symbol of God manifest in the spirit. What a terrible shame. They could see that all life was dependent upon the sun, and this was more than sufficient reason to have the sun as the highest of their gods. But the true and living God has used the sun as a perfect symbol of Himself.

And the science-based West had rejected the God-given symbol. They showed themselves just as foolish as those who accepted false worship of the sun. 

Of course the false worshippers were put to death,

2Ki 23:5   And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had    ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in    the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto    Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of    heaven. 

True worshippers worshipped God, but they also saw the sun for what it really was: 

The God-given physical symbol of a spiritual truth.

 

 

THE MOON

GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH 
 

And thus it comes to us, quite soon, 
God in the flesh, shown in the Moon. 
For God hath shown his Godhead, 
And some will wonder why. 
'Tis all revealed from heaven, 
And shown there in the sky! 
 
The Sun is turned to darkness, 
The Moon is turned to blood. 
By symbols we are given, 
These things now understood. 
 
The light of the Moon is as the Sun, 
(Let us be of one sweet accord.) 
The light of the Moon is as the Sun, 
What is it? But "Jesus is Lord!" 
 
The sun shall give no light, 
Yet thy sun shall not go down. 
The sun shall give no light, 
Yet THY SUN shall not go down! 

And on the other side of the earth he saw the moon reflecting sunlight upon the earth.

It was the symbol of God manifest in the flesh, reflecting his own light. No man has seen God at any time, the Bible said, so it is fitting that we can't look at the sun whilst in our bodies. But we can look at moonlight all night. We can't see God in His glory, but we can see God manifest in the flesh. We can see Jesus.  

Joh 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the    bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 

In other words, we can see God in Christ Jesus.

He that has seen me has seen the father, Jesus had said.  And then the man realised what happened to Jesus. Now it made sense: 

Mt 17:2   And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the SUN,

            and his raiment was WHITE as the LIGHT.

Something similar happened to Moses, so that Moses had to cover his face from the people, but this was more than that. For Jesus said, 

Joh 8:12   ... I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

            he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of    life.

 

 

The literal 'light of the world' is the sun in the sky. The sun in the sky is a symbol of God in His glory, because God said it was. If Jesus is saying, I am the light of the world, then he is saying he is God. But he is God manifest in the flesh. He is God reflected through the Man Christ Jesus, just as the sun is reflected by the moon.  

And then the man who recently died understood some things which had eluded him: 

Isa 30:26   Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the    light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day    that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke    of their wound.

Now, if the light of the MOON is as the light of the SUN, what would be the difference? Nothing! When the MOON arose we would think it was SUNRISE. It is just as the risen Christ when He takes His glory once more as God, for He is God.

And why should the light of the Sun be sevenfold? For seven is the perfect number of God, and God is saying to us,

LOOK, HERE IS A TRUTH REVEALED FOR YOUR LEARNING, AND FOR MY GLORY. 

And this interpretation was confirmed by the prophet: 

Isa 60:19   The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the    moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting    light, and thy God thy glory.

Isa 60:20   Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself:    for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy     mourning shall be ended. 

The sun, the sun in the sky, shall no longer be a light for us. Neither shall the moon give light. But THY SUN , that is, God, shall no more go down. He will no longer set. He will never again come to earth to die. He will blaze in His noon-day glory for all to see, and for all to love and to worship.   

He, the Lord Himself, will be our Everlasting Light. and our God shall be our glory.

What a marvellous truth!  

And the man who died saw more. 
 

________

(Ã) 

 

 

SUNSET:

GOD COMING TO THE EARTH

TO SHED HIS BLOOD 
 

At last! The secret of the romance of sunset.  

At last! The bitter-sweet knowledge of why countless peoples of all nations are moved, enthralled and entranced by the glory of the sunset.  

At last! The truth! 

The Glorious Blood-red Sunset 
When day has almost ended. 
The cause? Pollution in the Earth. 
God's parallel? Intended! 
Apply these things to what you see 
And knowledge will much dearer be. 
For Sun to set and leave the skies 
Its last rays on the Earth do cry, 
"Ignore pollution, quite blood-red, 
But read your own true worth, instead!" 
Address the men of God, my friend, 
By them, our Lord commended. 
Await the rising of our Sun, 
And mourning shall be ended. 

If the sun in the sky represents God in His glory, then sunset shows how that He came to earth. Indeed the sun appears to touch the earth (or sea) as it sets.

And the glorious colours, what are they but the colours of his death ?

They are blood-red. For Christ shed his blood for us.  

And of course, with the sun in the sky, pollution has filtered out the blue light leaving only the red to continue.

But here is the great truth.  

It is because of the pollution in the world that the sun turns to blood.

It is for the pollution in us that Christ died.

And this reminder is given daily, by God, for all of the nations to see and to observe and to meditate upon.

Sunset is the great symbol of Christ, and Him crucified. 

Why had he never seen it before? It was so clear. So obvious. So stunning in simplicity.

It was a message from God to an unbelieving world. And unbelief had blinded their eyes to the sign.

________

(Ã)

 

 

SUNRISE:

THE PROMISE OF CHRIST'S RETURN 
 

Psalm 19:4-5 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of    the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the SUN,  Which is as a    BRIDEGROOM coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man    to run a race. 

But Jesus is that bridegroom: 

The Sun is as a Bridegroom 
To rise when Night is done. 
And we wait for our Bridegroom, 
"Even so, Lord Jesus, Come!" 
 

Mr 2:19   And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast,    while the BRIDEGROOM is with them? as long as they have the     BRIDEGROOM with them, they cannot fast.

Mr 2:20   But the days will come, when the BRIDEGROOM shall be taken away    from them, and then shall they fast in those days 

The psalmist says that the sun is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber.

Christ says that he is the bridegroom. 

This means that Christ is the sun. He is the light of this world. 

Joh 8:12   Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,

            I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD:

            he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,

            but shall have the light of life 

So sunrise is the promise that Christ will return. It is the assurance that He will come for His Bride. 

It is the Great Symbol of the Promise. And with this Promise the Christians could comfort themselves together. 

________

(Ã) 

 

 

SLEEP:

DEATH 
 

Jesus said, regarding Lazarus who had died, 

Joh 11:11   These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus    SLEEPETH; but I go, that I may AWAKE HIM OUT OF SLEEP. 

Joh 11:14   Then said Jesus unto them plainly, LAZARUS IS DEAD. 

So what is it about sleep that is so plainly and clearly an example of death? Well, he saw that there is a time to awaken. That time, by nature, is dawn. It is when the sun comes up. It is sunrise, the symbol of Christ's return. And the resurrection, the great awakening out of sleep, will occur at the return of Christ. The scripture says that the dead in Christ shall rise first. What a perfect symbol ! Why had he never seen that ?  

And his mind flooded with recognition of passages of scripture: 

Ps 17:15   As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied,

            WHEN I AWAKE, with thy likeness. 

Isa 26:19   Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.    AWAKE AND SING, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of    herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 

Da 12:2   And many of them that SLEEP IN THE DUST of the earth

            SHALL AWAKE, some to everlasting life, and some to shame

            and everlasting contempt. 

And again regarding Lazarus, Jesus gave the reassurance: 

John 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: 

So here he saw at last, perfectly and clearly, the sign given to all men regarding death and resurrection. All men sleep, and all are wakened after sleep by the rising of the sun. And sunrise is the symbol of the return of Christ who said that He is the resurrection, and the life. Christ returns for His bride. And the sun comes up "as a bridegroom out of his chambers."  

And the man who had recently died was in awe of God. 

________

(Ã) 

 

 

EARTH'S SHADOW:

THE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN 
 

The Moon waxes much greater, 
Full orbed, then shines much less. 
The reason is quite simple; 
There is no need to guess. 
The shadow on the Moon, you see, 
Is placed there just to say, 
The Moon would like to give full light, 
But Earth was in the way. 
 
Increase the light, decrease the dark; 
This principle holds true. 
Draw nigh to Him, or drift away; 
It warns both me and you. 
 
When Earth (our flesh) is in the way 
Dividing us from Light, 
Without the Moon illumined, 
My friend, How deep the Night! 

And something else. He had often wondered, as child, why we never saw the back of the moon. Why do we always see that old, battered face, night after night, year after year, millennium after millennium ?  Why does the moon turn at such a perfect speed as to prevent us from seeing the other side ? If it did not turn at all during its orbit, we would see both sides fully, at some stage. Or if it turned quicker we would again see both sides perfectly, but more often. What is the point of God making the moon defy our view ? Why hide the back of the moon ? We have managed to photograph it, and, admittedly, it looks nothing like the moon that we know so well, but what is the point ?   

But the shadow on the moon was now clear to him. The light from the moon is as the light of Christ. It is in symbol the light of God to us, reflected in the man Christ Jesus.

But the light grows less, sometimes. And sometimes it grows more. The sign was clear. We either move closer to God, or we drift away. We receive more light, or less. But we are never still. The earth, our flesh, can all but hide the moon. The moon may be eclipsed. We can refuse to receive light from God. Or we can bask in the full moonlight.

As Christians, we have that choice. 

And then he knew. Suddenly he knew why the back of the moon was hidden.

It had to do with the eclipse of the sun, for God showed it to him. 

________

(Ã) 

[Note: So as not to mislead in science, the phases of the moon are not the same as the eclipse of the moon.] 
 

ECLIPSE:

JESUS CHRIST

IS THE

LORD GOD ALMIGHTY 
 

He watched until the moon passed over the sun, and caused an eclipse upon earth.

It fitted perfectly. And suddenly he knew that it showed that the man, Christ Jesus, is God.  

If Jesus is the Lord Himself; 
If He and God are one; 
Then in the sky we ought to see 
The Moon eclipse the Sun. 
For He is all the Fulness, 
And He has paid the price. 
The Glory of the Living God, 
Full face in Jesus Christ! 

A challenge is but one Eclipse. 
Our feelings we must marshal. 
Questioning the Great Sign thus; 
Is it Full? Or only Partial? 
 
Now what rules the sea, 
But the Moon and the Sun. 
And Who rules the nations, 
But God, Who is One. 

The changeless face upon the Moon 
Is changeless by decree. 
For God was in Christ Jesus, 
Redeeming you and me. 
For men, with all their skills have tried 
To see our Moon's full hidden side, 
And finally this deed was done 
Without a landing on the Sun! 

So that is the great truth of the eclipse and of the hidden side of the moon. If the sun in the sky represents God in His glory, and if the moon in the sky represents God manifest in the flesh (Christ Jesus) then the conclusion is clear: the moon fits perfectly over the sun to show that Jesus Christ is God. And we do not see the other side of the moon, for the other side of the moon, in symbol, is the sun. 

The 'other side' of the man Jesus Christ is God in His glory. 

 

And further to that, he saw that there is an umbra and a penumbra. He understood that some will see a partial eclipse, and others a perfect eclipse. Some will see that Jesus Christ is part of God in the sense of a Trinity, and others will see that He is God manifest in the flesh, and in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. They will see that there is only one God with whom we have to do, and that this God bears the name of The Lord Jesus Christ. It is the name above all names. In other words, had he lived two thousand years ago, and if Jesus Christ had walked into the hospital ward, and sat down next to him, and had spoken to him....   HE WOULD BE TALKING TO GOD. 

And this God was the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. This is the true and living God. And he realised that the disciples did not worship Jesus with one eye upon heaven. He saw that they knew what blasphemy it was to worship a human. They were Jews. They should know. And they did. And they freely worshipped Jesus the Christ as God, for He was God manifest in the flesh. But not all men had reached hither the finger, or put forth the hand. They had not all seen the glorious truth of God manifest in the flesh. And many things which had puzzled him before he died were made clear, and the segments of scriptures seemed to seep into his mind with no conscious effort: 

Isa  44:6 and beside me there is no God.

      43:10 before me there was no god formed,

            neither shall there be after me.

John 20:28 Thomas answered and said, MY LORD AND MY GOD.

Heb 1:8 But unto the son he saith, THY THRONE, O GOD, IS FOR EVER AND EVER. 

Isa 48:11 and I will not give my glory to another

      45:23 unto me every knee shall bow

Mat  4:10 Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written

            THOU SHALT WORSHIP THE LORD THY GOD,

            AND HIM ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE. 

Mark 5:6 saw JESUS afar off, he ran and  WORSHIPPED HIM

Mat 8:2 and behold there came a leper and  WORSHIPPED HIM

John 9:38 and he said, Lord, I believe, and he  WORSHIPPED HIM

Luke 24:52 and they     WORSHIPPED HIM

Mat 9:18 came a certain ruler and   WORSHIPPED HIM

      15:25 then came she and    WORSHIPPED HIM

      28:17 when they saw him they   WORSHIPPED HIM  

Mat  2:2 we... are come to    WORSHIP HIM

Heb 1:6 let all the angels of God   WORSHIP HIM  

And a voice thundered through his spirit which said, 

HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD. 

THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE,

OUR SUPREME GOD,

IS ONE SELF-EXISTENT ONE. 

JEHOVAH, OUR ELOHIYM IS ONE JEHOVAH

 

 

THE SEA:

THE NATIONS 

CLOUDS:

CHRISTIANS 

RAIN:

CHRISTIANS DYING TO THEMSELVES 

THE RAINBOW:

LIGHT OF GOD THROUGH HIS SERVANTS 
 
 

And as he looked he saw the heat from the sun evaporating millions of tons of water from the oceans. It was the real 'greenhouse effect', without which no life could survive upon earth. And he knew that the sea represents the nations as the Bible had said in the book of Revelation. And suddenly scriptures fell into place as he realised the truth of what he saw. The nations had rejected God. They either worshipped false gods, or they became wealthy and felt they had no need of the true God. He knew, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." (Psalm 14:1) but he had never aligned this with the statement concerning Wisdom in Job, 

"The depth saith, It (wisdom) is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me." (Job 28:14) 

So the fool says there is no God, and the sea, showing the nations, has no wisdom.

How clear ! He also knew that, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." (Pr 9:10) 

Even in Job, then, was woven the truth of the Great Symbols. Even back then, and by this obscure, but righteous man, was given an eternal truth for all to see, and to wonder, and to praise God. It just needed searching out. It just needed finding.

Pr 25:2 

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

 

So here it is. God has hidden the signs for those who would search. But he never searched. He looked, but never saw. How blind he was. And now that he could see, it was too late to tell others. He had listened too long to those false teachers who misrepresented God. But at last he knew. At last he could understand. And like an ever-widening torrent of knowledge and of truth, the holy scriptures illuminated in his mind: 

Jas 1:6   But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a    wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Jude 1:13   Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars,    to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

 

 

And he began to see the truth of scriptures long since forgotten by him. If he were still in his body it could be said that he fell into a trance. But now, out of his body, it is difficult to say. He focused upon one particular thought, and followed it.  

He saw that Leviathan is in the sea and is feared by all.

The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. (Job 41:26) 

This creature could not be overcome. It was awesome. It was the great and the ultimate predator. All things were consumed by it. It feared nothing. Man was no threat. 

27  He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.

28  The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.

29  Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear. 

But now he knew that it was Satan. Leviathan, the real creature in the real seas of earth, was a symbol of Satan amongst the nations. Satan could not be overcome by man. He was the strongest. No weapon was of any use. And he was proud. Satan was lifted up; Leviathan was proud. 

He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.(Job 41:34) 

And yet. 

And yet here was something which had baffled and irritated him for years. If Leviathan was so powerful, and so immense, and mocked any human attackers, how could he be controlled with a human hand ? The scripture had said that Leviathan was controlled by a human hand. 

And then he knew. 

He knew at last the truth of the matter.  

8  Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. 

It was astonishingly simple.

Lay thine hand upon him.

      Lay thine hand; take authority over Satan.

Remember the battle.

      A prophecy of the coming battle when Satan was cast from heaven.

Do no more.

      Do not search him out. Do not be drawn into your own battle. For the battle is  Christ's and has been won by Christ, and upon this victory we stand. If we battle  for ourselves, we are overcome. Yet by simple faith in Christ the victory is ours.  How clear.

 

Isa 27:1   In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall    punish LEVIATHAN the piercing serpent, even LEVIATHAN that    crooked serpent; and he shall SLAY THE DRAGON that is in the SEA. 

What is it to God to kill a creature in the sea ? Nothing at all. But to destroy the source of man's rebellion, and the rebellion of angels, that is worthy of record. And it is the record of the destruction of Satan. 

And suddenly his trance ended. 

His eyes saw the broad view once more. And he knew that the action of God separates the Christians from the unbelievers, and causes them to become a separate and distinct body. That is the symbol of the sun evaporating clouds from the sea.  

Thus is Man divided into two groups. The children of God and the children of the devil.

Clouds show how God has separated Christians. Clouds are that separate and distinct body. But he noticed that the pollution is left behind when water is evaporated. What a marvellous sign! The pollution of sin is left behind when the person is chosen out of this world by God. The cloud is pure. And it purely reflects sunlight. It shows the light of God. 
 

Now Clouds are also in the sky, 
And so for those who wonder why, 
The message comes through clear and loud 
"God put His light inside the Cloud." 
 
Strong Sunlight falling on the Sea 
Means much evaporation. 
Just so, our God has chosen men 
From each and every nation.

Both bodies are just water, 
And water they remain; 
But one has been so purified 
That it may fall as Rain. 

Raindrops, then, show Christians, 
Through whom our Lord doth shine; 
And all the glory, Lord, we show, 
Is not of us, but Thine. 

Sunlight through the raindrops 
A Covenant doth show; 
Clearly in the sunlit sky, 
the glory of the Bow. 
The Covenant with Noah, 
The earth no longer doomed; 
But on the clear and frosty night, 
FULL CIRCLE ROUND THE MOON! 
 
 
Full circle round the Moon, my friend, 
Do you see what this means? 
The Covenant so perfect 
Is the one that made us clean! 

Strange things, clouds, hanging between heaven and earth, suspended.

Millions of tons, floating like vapour, because they are vapour. And God said our life is like a vapour. Gone in an instant. 

But he noticed how that the sunlight upon the clouds caused them to appear brilliantly white. They reflected the sunlight just as Christians reflect Christ.

At sunset, the clouds enhance the spectacle. They show the Lord's death till He come. Evening after evening the clouds reflect the dying sun. And the Christians never cease to preach Christ, and Him crucified. 

Sunrise, on the other hand, causes clouds to glitter with brilliant gold.

And he understood that real gold was the work of God in a believer's soul: 

Job 23:10   But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come    forth as gold. 

God said He put His light inside the cloud.

That must mean that He put His Spirit inside the Christians. 

Job 37:15   Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his    cloud to shine? 
 

God also said that thunder was his voice, and since thunder comes from the clouds, this must mean that He speaks through His servants: 

Job 40:9   Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?  

The men of old time certainly seemed to know God. They had a way of stating the truth which was steadfast and unshakeable. They spoke for God. 

And suddenly he remembered how the water vapour in the bathroom hung like a curtain. And at certain times of the year, sunlight would illuminate it in a single narrow shaft. And when he breathed, the droplets would surge and ripple in the narrow beam.

Sometimes he had to move a little because the droplets reflected sunlight so well that they became a little dazzling. 

And he realised that the human droplets were controlled by the breath of God. They would surge and ripple and reflect according to his will. 

 

And the symbol of rain was made clear to him. The fact was that the function of water evaporating from the sea, and being taken up in clouds, was to fall again to the earth.

These droplets had to die so that creation may live. The Christian had to die to himself so that his light may shine for others. And when the droplet died, or fell to the earth, the sun shone through the droplet and cast a rainbow. So the Christian who dies to himself shows a covenant. Admittedly, it is an old covenant whereby God has promised not flood the earth once more, yet the covenant remains in place even today. 

But the greater covenant is shown by the symbol of God manifest in the flesh. It is shown around the moon. On the bitter cold nights, the ice crystals around the moon give an extraordinary spectacle. It is a pure rainbow, but in circular form. It is not as brilliant as the daylight rainbow, but it is a perfect circle. It is not the temporary covenant, the semi-circle. It is the full and everlasting covenant of Christ. It has seven colours. 

And at long last he recognised the number 7. It was the seal of God. [Wasn't there a book he read years ago by F.C.Payne ?*] He saw that it was the number of days in the God-given week, and the number which divides into the incubation of bird-life, and it is the number of colours which we see in the rainbow.

It is the number of plagues, loaves, baskets, clean beasts, ewe lambs, service to earn

a wife, years of plenty, years of dearth, unleavened bread, lamps, sprinkling of blood, sprinkling of oil, days of uncleaness, days of separation for plague, spirits, angels, vials, seals, heads and crowns. It is God saying, 'I am showing you a certain thing.' 

He saw the scripture: 

Jos 6:4   And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:    and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests    shall blow with the trumpets. 

He saw, at last, why Solomon was 7 years building the temple of God, yet 13 years building his own house. For 13 was the number of rebellion. And Christ had twelve disciples, of whom one was a rebel. But Christ was treated like the 13th, and destroyed.

And even in the genealogy of Matthew, where Matthew promised Christ as the 14th generation, Christ came as the 13th.

And the man who recently died thanked God that the answer was clearly written in the King James Version. In Psalms. Number twenty two.  
 

________

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LIGHTNING:

JUDGEMENT 
 

Now lightning streaks between the clouds, 
Thundering there, astonishing loud; 
And at this point we have no choice, 
For God said Thunder's His own voice. 
 
The force of Lightning, all may see 
Derives from inequality. 
Lightning must be therefore sent 
To illustrate the Lord's Judgement. 
Beginning at the House of God, 
Correction meted by the Rod. 
The Earth it strikes for condemnation, 
Showing we must judge the nations. 
And who 'gainst lightning dares to stand? 
And who takes God's fierce reprimand? 
So wicked men ask rocks to fall, 
Rejecting Grace, so free for all. 

And the lightning flickered and rippled over and through and under the clouds.

As it struck the earth it showed that the saints shall judge the world. And the lightning seemed to be all over the earth. Hundreds of strikes per minute and thousands per hour.

And for every strike the thunder echoed in the sky. It was the warning of the coming judgement of God.  

Revelation chapter two:

26   And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give  power over the nations:

27   And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be  broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 

And as it passed from cloud to cloud it showed that the saints shall be judged according to how they failed to fulfil the needs of others.

For lightning operates upon disparity; upon the generating of a charge; upon inequality. And inequality among the Christians means that some are fat and full whilst others struggle and starve. 

These things should not be. And he saw that while Christians allow such behaviour, they are in danger of the judgement. 
 

________

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SNOW:

CHRISTIANS  
 

But if raindrops do show the saints, 
Then snowflakes do the same. 
And every snowflake's different, 
(He called us all by name.) 
 
And snow, incessantly it falls 
On earth, we can not measure. 
It falls, six-sided, as you know, 
God calling it a "treasure." 

Re 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. 

Six has something to do with man. 666 is the number of a man. God made six days and then said to the Hebrews that the seventh was holy.

There were now six billion humans on earth. And by his understanding, earth was about to leave six thousand years of creation, and enter the seventh.

Six million Jews were killed by the third Reich (meaning Empire or German Commonwealth).  And then some things learned at school made sense. 

The First Reich was the 'Holy Roman Empire'  962 - 1806,  

The Second Reich was 1871 - 1918   

And the Third Reich was Nazi system 1933 - 1945 

But here he saw something else. The original Roman Empire crushed the Jews.

And the standard worn by the original Roman Empire was the Eagle. Was it a coincidence that the Nazi symbol was the Eagle? Was it a coincidence that the original Roman Empire took the Jew captive and removed his homeland; and that after suffering under the last 'Roman Empire' the Jew received his homeland once again. 

No. This could be no coincidence, he thought. It could be no coincidence because, firstly, there are none. God works all things for the pleasure of his own will. 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL. 

And secondly, if the seventh day is soon to begin, then Israel must be placed in his own country first. And Israel will soon recognise Christ. 
And through his mind resounded the echo of words which will never pass away:

Ro 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Jer 23:3  And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

Jer 23:8  But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Zep 3:20  At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

Isa 54:3  For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Eze 36:24  For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

Eze 37:21  And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 

And immediately it was clear why Christ did not correct the disciples when they asked him a certain question. The question was asked after Christ had risen again, and the disciples wanted to know of the literal establishment of the kingdom of Israel which had been promised for so long: 

Acts 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 

He realised that Christ had not said, Do not look for a kingdom upon this earth, or,

I will not restore Israel as you think, but you are now a spiritual Israel only.

On the contrary, Christ said simply that these disciples were not to know. Now if any man is not to know the time of an event, then it is certain that the event will take place.

And Christ had said that the disciples were not to know of the time or of the season

of this event. The Father has put it in his own power, but they were not to know. 

And so he saw that the words of Christ were repeated by the apostle when he said,

Ro 11:1  I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. 

And then he realised that it had happened again. He had drifted in thought. Knowledge seemed to infuse somehow. But it was the snowflake which he had understood. Nothing to do with Nazis. It was the snowflake which was converted from a raindrop by the cold. So if every raindrop represents a Christian, then every snowflake also represents a Christian. And as if to prove the matter, snowflakes are six-sided. And six has to do with man.

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HAIL:

CHRISTIANS WHO TURN FROM THEIR FAITH 
 
 

But what of hardened Christians 
Who sin with no remorse? 
Are they not unlike droplets, 
But driven off their course? 
And blown by winds of doctrine 
Repeatedly above. 
And Hail is formed by moisture 
Which clearly lost its love. 
 
And each time they ascend on high 
Refusing to their self to die, 
Have they not made an awful pact? 
And to themselves more men attract. 
 
And thus it builds with layer on layer, 
So full of movement, void of prayer. 
And in them is no light nor joy, 
And when they fall, they do destroy. 

Now, this revelation concerned him a little. Hail certainly destroys, and hail is formed by moisture, just as raindrops are. But what concerned him was the fact that God had said,

Job 38:22  Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, 

The snow was of no concern since he could understand that every snowflake is as different as every Christian. In that sense they are, every one of them, a treasure.

But the hail was destructive. How could something which is destructive be a treasure?

The hail is blown up and down and increases in mass every time. It begins quite small and sometimes may end as lethal as a cannonball. He remembered reports, though unsubstantiated, of elephants being slain by hail. So if the hail attracts more moisture to itself, then the moisture can not fall as it ought. Instead of watering the earth, it remains as one mass. As one group. Now where had he seen that before? 

He was perplexed. How can something destructive be a treasure? And what had he seen that was like the hail? 

But there was no more time, for his mind became filled with knowledge of the Whirlwind. 

________

(Ã)

 
 

TORNADO (WHIRLWIND):

THE PRESENCE AND POWER OF GOD 
 

The Spirit of God is like the wind 
And falls upon the men who sinned. 
Men by themselves are foul and lost, 
But filled with God at Pentecost. 
 
The Hebrew's pillar of smoke and fire 
Caused all the things that did transpire 
In the upper room that lovely night 
When God filled men with his pure Light. 
 
"It" was that whirlwind 
That caused the rocks to break, 
That parted all the Red Sea, 
And made the mountains quake. 
 
To dwell inside the Whirlwind 
Is to be where all is still. 
To dwell with God, our Saviour, 
Is to be within His will.

Can we, by strength, approach this Wind 
That hurtles rocks like chaff? 
Can we, by works, approach the Lord. 
And not cause Him to laugh? 
 
The more we strive by our own works 
The sooner we are killed. 
But, should He descend upon us, 
Then surely we are filled. 
Within the eye of that great Wind 
We see to heaven clear, 
Yet outside is storm and wrath 
And death forever near. 
 

He could see that tornadoes, or whirlwinds show the glory of God, and how that none may approach. It is to show how that a man can not reach God by his own works and by his own efforts. It is not possible. In fact, the harder a man works to reach God, the sooner he is destroyed.

And yet. And yet if a tornado, by some quirk of nature, were to descend perfectly upon a person, he would be safe. If a tornado were to traverse a plateau, and to 'fall off' the edge; and if a man were camped below, what would happen to him ?  Not a hair of his head would ruffle. The leaves would stay upon the ground. The grass would be still. 
If the tornado fell like that, then as the man looks up, he can see the blue sky of heaven.

Yet he would be surrounded by chaos. Not far away, grains of sand become bullets, and rocks become cannonballs. Straw is driven through wood, and trees are twisted and uprooted. It is exceeding dark out there. The noise is deafening.  

So we can not reach this quiet place by our works. We cannot dwell in God through

our own strength. It is His work. It is His design. It is He Who descends upon us.

And in times past He showed himself in the pillar of smoke and fire which led the Hebrews out of Egypt. The pillar divided the Hebrews from the destroying army which pursued them.

And didn't it descend upon the apostles that night at Pentecost ? Didn't they hear a rushing, mighty wind ? And didn't cloven tongues of fire sit upon them.

But here he saw the small word so often missed. He saw the word 'it.' For the Bible had said that 'it' sat on each of them. There was only one. It sat on each of them. The pillar of smoke and fire divided at its base as it descended, and it touched each of them. 

And what a difference in the manifestation of God. Men have represented this manifestation in paintings. They used such skill, yet showed the apostles like so many candles with a single small flame hovering gently above each holy head.

What a difference to see the whirlwind of God descending upon a room, and filling it.

And the base of the whirlwind dividing, and the flames licking out and anointing the apostles for service.

What a difference in the way in which men represent God, and the way in which He shows Himself. 

And so it was clear that the tornado was a symbol of the presence of God. And that the disciples dwelt in the centre of this symbol. But if they were to try to leave the centre of the tornado they would be destroyed just as surely as one who tried to get inside using his own strength. 

________

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VOLCANO:

THE PRESENCE OF GOD

AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHURCH  
 

He saw that a volcano is the structure of the true church. Most organisations are built on the triangular model. They have an apex. Some man or woman is at the apex. Like the 'triangle of forces', it is static. It is not dynamic. The forces are contained and nullified.

His mind received the triangles which have beguiled men for centuries. The first was Satan attempting to exalt his throne above the stars of heaven. The others followed his lead. And he saw in an instant: 

      Satan over the angels  

      Nimrod over Babylon  

      Pharaoh over Egypt  

      Saul over the Israelites

 Diotrephes over the true church

      The Pope over the Catholic organisation

      The Arch-bishop of Canterbury over the Anglicans

      Hitler over the (failed) 1000year Reich

      The pastor over individual congregations of believers 

But the prototype was from Satan. It was his system. It was his way. 

But the true Church has no summit, no 'pastor' or Pope or Arch-bishop or any that live upon the summit.  God is the summit.

He is not at the summit, but He is the summit, and any that aspire to his position are consumed by the lake of fire which erupts from time to time.  

What a perfect symbol, he thought.  
 

________

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METEORITES:

THE ANGELS THAT FELL 
 
 

The stars that fall from heaven 
Now are no stars at all. 
The brightness of their burning 
Caused only by their fall. 
As lightning falls from heaven, 
So Satan hurtled down, 
And "shooting stars" at night, you see, 
Show him of great renown. 
 

It was becoming obvious, to him, that every major doctrine was written in the sky. Even to the fall of Satan. Immediately he knew that meteorite showers are the perfect physical sign of Satan and his angels being cast from heaven. They have no light in themselves. They are as dead as the rock and ice which hurtles toward earth, to burn in the atmosphere. Yet they blaze for a moment and are gone. Just so the angels which fell. They have lost all power and authority in the kingdom of God. They have no light. And they can no more reach heaven again than the real meteorites can take off from earth and fly once more in the physical heavens. They are finished. 
 

________

(Ã) 
 

 
 

BLACK HOLES:

THE JUDGEMENT

UPON REBEL ANGELS & REBEL SAINTS 
 

Oddly, there was no song for this. Faintly, in the back of his mind, he heard the song of Moses. It must have been coincidence. He couldn't connect the two things. 

And he couldn't actually see any black holes. But as he stared into space, he began to think of the judgement of God. He began to see that those that once belonged to God, and who rebelled, are given no second chance. Those who wilfully and deliberately turn from God are sent for a special punishment.  

He wanted to see it. He wanted to see inside the black holes. He would like to be the first human to enter the unthinkable. He would like to pass the event horizon and be drawn in where normal physics ceases. He would like to see what those who rebelled could see. Somebody's radius it was, Schwarzchild, he thought, and turned his attention to Cygnus X-1. Over there. 

And suddenly he was without the angels. Suddenly he was hung in the furthest part of the universe. There was nothing there. Nothing. No light. No sound. And absolutely no communication. He was utterly alone. He was desolate. Nothing moved. He could not think clearly as an overwhelming terror gripped him. He was caught for eternity in the most hideous loneliness and horror and desolation. He was in the blackness of darkness forever. He was hung in space, fixed between the most distant stars from which he received no light. Just to have a body which could shake with terror would be a comfort. To have a mouth with which to scream would be a blessing. He had nothing. He was nothing. He was utterly forsaken.   

And from the depths of his spirit he cried out to God.

Thank you, Lord, most holy and true. Thank you, Lord, for you are just and holy and good. And you are righteous to deliver me to this end. I deserve no better. I am so sorry... 

And as his spirit convulsed in the agony of eternal death, he was spared. Instantly he was back with the angel. Immediately he saw his folly. He had wanted to be the first.

He had lifted himself up with pride. He had wanted to dare to experience the end of the unholy for an instant. And now, eternally, he would thank God that it was only for an instant. 

________

(Ã) 

 

 

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE:

THE REMOVAL OF EDEN

&

THE JOURNEY OF SAINTS AT DEATH 
 

Thankfully he was immersed in the acceptance and reassurance of the angels. Their presence was such a comfort. It felt as if he had come home.  

He noticed both he and the angels were rapidly gaining upon stars which themselves were speeding away from earth. He could see, as if it were explained in an instant, that the universe is expanding rapidly.  

But just as suddenly he knew why. And what a shock to find out what others have only conjectured about for years. He knew why the universe was expanding.

The shock shuddered through him. The awe of the event threatened to overwhelm him. Suddenly he saw how foolish, and how blind he was whilst on earth. God had given the pure and marvellous sign, and this had been used, as it were to disprove that God Himself was real.  

'How perverse we are,' he thought. 'How utterly perverse!' 

He knew that the expanding universe is commonly extrapolated backwards (in the minds of men) so that what is now clearly seen to expand, somehow meets at a given point in history.  This is supposed to be the Big Bang.  He realised that this carnal and humanistic thinking had plagued humans all the days since the Fall. 

But the reason, the real reason was simply, purely, and majestically a SIGN.

It is simply and absolutely a sign from God to his people.  

He began to see, as if in a vision, God and His holy angels in Eden with Adam.

He saw how that the trees of Eden were the angels. How that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was Lucifer, and the fruit was the fruit of his lips.

And suddenly they left. They all left. The presence of God departed. The angels of God departed. Eden lifted off the earth.

'So that is why !' he thought, 'That is why the angels are left to guard the way to Eden.'

It is because there is now only one entrance. Straight up. He could understand that looking at a map, at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, one would think that angels, placed at the east of Eden, could be outmanoeuvred. Why not walk around to the South, or North, or West and come in that way? But now, having seen how that Eden was removed, it is plain. The only way in, is up. And who can ascend to heaven without the assistance of angels? 

But it was the departure from earth of the holy angels that is the sign. A myriad of angels departing from Earth is shown in the myriad of stars expanding into the universe.  
He knew that stars represent angels for he remembered that the dragon drew a third part of the stars from heaven with his tail. And that was Satan bringing a third of the angels with him.  

And even his own departure, now as a saint, was foretold in the heavens.

Every human that dies in Christ leaves the body behind and departs for heaven.

And the scripture says:

Da 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.   

It was quite obvious, then, that the expanding universe was no accident. No freak of nature out of control. The expanding universe was designed to give us a clear and unmistakable message: Eden and the Kingdom of God is unattainable. Eden and the angels have departed. Yet through Christ, each saint that dies will be accepted in heaven. How clear.  

Quite suddenly, and quite abruptly their journey halted. He realised that he was face to face with an angel of extraordinary power. He remembered God had said that the angels of God 'excel in strength.'  Well, this one certainly did. And how resolute. Not actually aggressive, nor actually threatening, but absolutely adamant. (These feelings were transmitted to him in a manner which he did not quite understand, but they certainly caused an instant response in him.) 

And now he came face to face with the angel. Of course, this was one of those which was set at the east of Eden. How merciful of God to give him the knowledge prior to the event! And as the angel  drew a great sword, his heart fainted. The sword was first levelled at him, which caused immense and quite reasonable fears. And then, very slowly, it pointed back to the earth. It pointed as if that were the way he should go. And so he looked back. 

But the earth was gone. 

There was nothing. There was nothing in the universe. It was completely black.

And yet... just there he began to see something. Ah! There where the earth once hung were some faint lights. And as he looked he began to see more clearly. It was a sphere of lights, about the size of the earth. They were scattered over what would be the surface of the earth, if he could see it. 

And his vision increased, as if gaining a clear focus. The lights were of different kinds.

And it was a shock to realise that most of the lights were similar in intensity to the angels that had escorted him up to here. Slowly he realised that what he was seeing was spiritual. He was seeing the reality. He was seeing the eternal, and not the temporal.

And yet things were happening in time. He noticed that the 'angel' lights seemed to escort the other lights as they moved. Into his mind came the knowledge: 

Ps 34:7   The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and    delivereth them.

 

 

Yes. Yes of course. That explains such a lot of things which had happened to himself and to many of the Christian friends. Now it was clear. And what a fool he felt just then. What a fool to have worried and fretted over trivial matters when God had sent his angels to watch over him. He felt embarrassed standing beside such mighty angels who had cared for him. He felt humiliated because he had tried so many times in his own strength to overcome trials, and here were angels, sent by God, who could achieve infinitely more than he. What a fool! he thought. 

But as he looked, he quickly forgot his own discomfort. Lights were going out. He could see how that they did not immediately extinguish. They slowly dimmed. And at the point of blackness, the escorting lights departed. And later, those same dark specks fell suddenly to what would be the centre of the earth. But then, not quite the centre. They formed a tiny sphere within the enormous sphere. The very centre seemed reserved for the blackest of black. This was confusing. On the 'surface' moved some of the black things, yet many were confined to the absolute centre. If only he knew his Bible better! 

If he did, he would know why some roamed about, and why others were confined.

But here and there new, and tiny blazes of pinpoint light appeared. A new life conceived. A new human spirit created. The brilliant pinpoint grew larger, but somehow dimmer.  And just as suddenly some of them took on an extra brilliance. It was then he noticed that the ones which took on the extra brilliance were escorted by the angel colours even before they erupted.  

How odd! he thought. 

And then his view changed. He saw how that the whole of the sphere moved in some interrelated manner,  similar to the oily-rainbow colours in a soap bubble. In fact that must be the closest similarity. It hung in space (if this was in physical space) like a vast soap bubble, with lights dimming or blazing, extinguishing or suddenly leaving the confines of the sphere. And the movement was as rapid as it was intricate.

Again he saw a single blaze of light skyrocket off the sphere escorted by two others of the different hue. 

Oh ! he muttered, quite shocked, I'm one of those. 

And  slowly it began to sink in that this was indeed the reality. This was indeed the world as it really is. The physical matter counts for nothing. It is not eternal. But what he could now see was eternal. And just as he thought that what he could now see was all of what existed, his vision took on an extra dimension.

Imagine that this enormous, almost boundless sphere was contained within a perfectly infinite sphere. And that shafts of light play from the infinite sphere to the enormous sphere contained within it. Now, these are not beams of light at all, but it is the closest earthly parallel. Imagine that these beams are so accurate as to seek out a particular pinpoint upon the earth, and bathe that pinpoint in even more 'light.' And other things were happening. The pinpoints seemed to pulse at times. And as they pulsed, flashes of 'energy' were transmitted instantly to the outer reaches of the infinite sphere. 

I'm getting confused, he thought.

PRAYERS said the angel.

 

Ah! now it made sense. The pulses were the prayers of the saints, received instantly in heaven. And the beams of light were something given by God, whether it be a spiritual gift, or comfort, or enlightenment, or some undeserved grace given by his pure mercy.

The whole point was, it was constant, bewildering communication.  

The sight threatened to overwhelm him. He began to think that he could not see anymore at all and still take it in. It was all too much to think. Too much to bear. 

How can God... began his thought.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU DID

THAT YOU ENJOYED ? asked the angel. 

I made a cabinet. It was for my wife. Then I suddenly became very ill. But how can God possibly... 

AND YOUR LAST ACTION WAS TO SAW A PIECE OF MAHOGANY, OUTSIDE ON A WORKBENCH.  AND YOU SAW THE SAWDUST BLOWN IN THE WIND.  AND YOU WONDERED WHERE EACH PARTICLE MAY END ITS JOURNEY. AND THIS WAS TOO MUCH FOR YOU. YOU RETURNED TO YOUR SAWING.  

Yes, he said, remembering perfectly.

 

GOD KNOWS.

AND HE KNOWS WHERE EVERY PART OF THAT SAME TREE HAS BEEN AND WILL BE. AND WHERE THE TREE GREW, AND HOW MANY INSECTS CRAWLED UPON IT, AND THE GENETIC CODE FOR EVERY INSECT AND WHERE AND WHEN IT WILL PERISH, AND WHERE EVERY LEAF AND MOISTURE DROPLET... 

I understand, he said. 

AND EVERY HUMAN THAT CAME INTO CONTACT WITH ANY PART OF THAT WOOD, AND THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTS OF THE HEART OF EVERY ONE OF THOSE HUMANS; THE EXACT FINGERPRINT AND THE FAMILY HISTORY, AND THE FOOD, NOW GROWING THAT WILL BECOME PART OF A MEAL FOR ANY PARTICULAR ONE OF THEM, AND HOW THAT... 

Please ! he said. I understand that I can never comprehend. My knowledge is nothing. 

And the angel ceased speaking. 

Some time passed. It was a time when the realisation sunk deep into his soul. He had always said it, of course. 'Man is not the top of the tree as the evolutionists imagine.'

He had always maintained the frailty of man. But to die, and to be taken off the planet, and to see the great Symbols which God placed as a witness to His glory, and to see with the eyes of angels, it was totally humiliating. Not in the sense of shame, but in the sense of reality and fact.

LOOK AGAIN.

 

And he looked. But not for more than the most instantaneous glimpse. It was like trying to look at the sun with his normal eyes when he was still in his body. He caught a glimpse, and then shrank from it immediately. He saw, but hardly comprehended, how that all things are of one substance. How that material and immaterial are in some sense a form of energy, but that all forms of energy are totally, completely, and absolutely held together by an almighty force. He saw in an instant the Dark Matter so elusive to humans is a force. And that force is God. He glimpsed the truth of the scripture: 

Col 1:17   And he is before all things, and  by him all things consist. 

What a shock. Even as he hung in space, guarded by angels, unaffected by the temperature which approached absolute zero,  unconcerned about the lack of oxygen, and now fearless about his destiny. Even then, he was held together by God. It was God all the time. Now he realised that God is the prime cause of everything. The First and the Last. The Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End. 

At last he saw that God is the Everything. The Almighty. 

And what was just words before, became a thundering, searing, white-hot realisation.

It penetrated his very soul. 

And he saw and understood, truly understood, the name of God for the first time: 

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

THE GOD, JEHOVAH WHO SAVES, THE ANOINTED ONE 

THE LORD GOD

JEHOVAH ELOHIYM 

which is 

THE ONE, SUPREME, SELF-EXISTENT GOD 
 

I am weak, and miserable and sinful, he thought, I don't deserve to see these things.

I truly deserve to be down there, he said, gazing at the sphere of blackness. 

YOU ARE BLESSED BY GOD said the angel. 

And then into his mind came this Word of God: 

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose  spirit there is no guile.

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that  he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy  house, even of thy holy temple.

 

 

So I'm going ? I'm going now to see God? My Lord and my Saviour, Jesus Christ ?

He looked full into the eyes of the angel. He was afraid, before, but now he had no fear. None at all. Take me to my Lord and my God. It was almost a command. He could not contain himself. What were all these visions and marvellous things worth when compared with possibility of seeing Christ ?  Nothing! It was all nothing ! And Christ was all.  Christ was everything that mattered.  

He turned his back on the awesome display of the physical and the spiritual earth.

He ignored the wonder and the fear of the great vision. He wanted nothing but to see his Saviour. A great desire welled up inside him.  What else could count for anything ?

He faced again the angel which keeps the way with that great and dread sword. 

I have the faith of Jesus Christ, he said, He is my Lord and my Saviour. It is by His blood that I stand here justified. It is by His sacrifice that I am sanctified. Let me pass. 

The angel with the sword spoke.

I AM ALSO OF THE SAME FAMILY, AND SERVE HIM OF WHOM THE WHOLE FAMILY IN HEAVEN AND EARTH IS NAMED. 

STAND STILL, FOR IT IS THE TIME. 

And the heavens erupted.

It was time. The heavens tore like an old threadbare bed-sheet held upon a steel hawser and then rent by a hurricane. The very fabric of space writhed and shredded.

Light flooded the universe, both spiritually and naturally. He did not have to travel to the heaven of heavens, for it engulfed him in a moment and he was carried with it towards earth.

And there He was. Jesus the Christ. He was returning to earth as He said, and as all of the prophets had said. The sight is not a thing to be described. Words are miserable.

But some things can be said. Christ sought him and accepted him. And his joy was full.

Come, my beloved servant.

And he came, and he approached the light which no man (in the flesh) can approach.

He came to the Light above the brightness of the sun. And he was accepted by Christ. He was accepted by his Lord and his Saviour and his Friend. He was truly home.

His spirit shuddered with joy unspeakable. It was not for his own works. He could add nothing to the work of Christ. He was simply bought and paid for. Utterly loved. Absolutely accepted. Perfectly at one and at peace. His God loved him. And he was merely one of millions, and yet received a unique relationship with Christ. He had met his Lord and his God and his friend, Jesus Christ. And they spoke of some things. 

Words do fail.

We cannot describe this meeting

in any way which does justice.

And, in any case, it is too intimate,

too searching a moment for intrusion. 

And after they had spoken they continued on their journey. And as they travelled, myriads of angels travelled also. And he saw, and, to his astonishment, recognised people he had never met. Peter and Paul and James and John. Moses and Elijah and Enoch and Daniel. Job and Zechariah, Phillip and David, Matthew and Timothy.

On and on. And to his utter amazement, THEY KNEW HIM.

Men that  had lived two or three thousand years before him knew him, and he knew them. He was shocked. An angel looked at him: 

REMEMBER. 

And he remembered how Moses and Elijah appeared when Christ was transfigured.

The disciples saw and were amazed. Yet no introductions were offered. They had never seen Moses nor Elijah, yet they knew absolutely who was who. They did not imagine that it was Daniel and Job, for example. They absolutely knew as if they had grown up together in the same family. And in a sense, they had. Clearly, there are no secrets in the spirit. 

And he saw that the Saints were few in number compared with the Innocents.

The Innocents were made up of those who never saw light. They had been conceived yet never born. And the Innocents were made up of those aborted, or slain, or fallen prey to some disease or accident before reaching adulthood. And then he understood the symbol of the Hebrews and the Promised Land. The Hebrews that sinned in the wilderness died. They were all adults. Those under twenty one years did not perish. They had not offended God. The great majority of those who entered the Promised Land were children at the time of the curse. The adults were responsible for their own actions. The children were not.

And of course! That was why Jesus had given the parable of the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd left the Ninety and Nine safe in the sheepfold. He went into the mountains for the One lost Sheep. Christ left the Ninety and Nine children safe in heaven and came to the earth to save the 'one' lost sheep. To save the sheep that 

had grown up. The apostle Paul had said,  

Ro 7:9   For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came,    sin revived, and I died. 

And it was so simple. Paul was a child once. He was alive to God. The commandment entered in, and gave power to sin. Sin revived, or came alive, and Paul died to God.

He did not die physically, no more than Adam did in the day of his own rebellion. 

So the pattern was clear. And the sinful, unbelieving humans were confounded. Humans had judged God, saying that he would only save a precious few. 'Are you one of the chosen few?' they said to Christians in mockery of an uncaring and unjust God. Yet here he could see a perfect pattern.

Paul had said that 'ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD'.

Yet Jesus saved only the one lost Sheep. The ninety and nine were always safe.

They never left the sheepfold. They never grew up. The law never entered in. And the power of sin was the law.

 

Jesus had said,

Mt 22:14   FOR MANY ARE CALLED, BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN.

Mt 7:13-14   Enter ye in at the strait gate: for WIDE is the gate, and BROAD is the    way, that leadeth to DESTRUCTION, and MANY there be which go in    thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth    unto LIFE, and FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT. 

This was spoken of adults only. But regarding children, Jesus said,

Mt 19:14   But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto    me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 

And regarding the lost sheep, Jesus made an astonishing statement, missed by many.

He spoke of the Ninety and Nine which never left the sheepfold, and never went into the mountains, and then, in reference to the once lost sheep, he said, 

Mt 18:1414   Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of    THESE LITTLE ONES should perish. 

Yet people say that he speaks of adults. And of course he does. He speaks of 'one of these little ones' that grew up. The law entered in adulthood, and so the lamb was lost upon the mountain.  

But then upon his very soul pressed the magnitude of the moment. He wanted to know, and needed to know so many things, yet here and now was an event of which he was

a part. He focused his attention upon what was happening around him. And he found that he could change focus as smoothly as a racing driver changes gears. 

Quickly they approached earth.  And the great cloud, the great train circled the earth seven times. And things occurred on earth. 

Again he saw the scripture: 

Jos 6:4   And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:    and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests    shall blow with the trumpets. 

And Christ descended. 

The Lamb came back as

THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH. 

And the earth shook. 

And the nations trembled. 

And there was shouting. The people on earth shouted for joy. But most shouted in dismay and in terror. The angels shouted. The saints returning from heaven shouted.

What happened to Jericho was a mere shadow.

 

And he remembered a meeting in a large room where large, comfortable men sat in large, comfortable chairs, and a righteous man proposed a change upon moral grounds, and the leader said, It's like the Second Coming... it will never happen! 

Jos 6:20   So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it    came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the    people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the    people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took    the city.  

1Th 4:16   For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the    voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ    shall rise first: 

Rev 6:14-17  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every    mountain and island were moved out of their places.  And the kings of the    earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the    mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in    the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;  And said to the mountains and   rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the    throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is    come; and who shall be able to stand? 

And with Christ came a myriad of angels, and countless saints. And with them all, the man who died a few short hours before.  

But this was not the end of the matter. Only the beginning. As they approached earth,

he saw a most marvellous sight. There was an earthquake, such as there never was.

And the major cities shook and fell. Babylon was falling. In one hour her end had come. And the graves began to open. Dust whirled upward, and changed as it whirled.

It seemed to catch fire. And an angel said, 

REMEMBER. 

And so he remembered sitting in front of a fire some years before. He was meditating  about the resurrection, and with what body a man is resurrected. But he couldn't understand. As he sat by the fire, he casually threw a small log into the heap of coals.

Imagine that you are the log, he thought, and your body is as dead as this log.

As he watched, the log caught fire. Gasses began to spurt and ignite, and flames leapt around it. More heat began to pour from the fire. He sat back a little from the heat. R