My own doppelgänger and perhaps yours; is tired, unmotivated,
thoughtless, self-focused, isolated, weak, apathetic, quick to anger, sure to
be offended, more adventurous in the sinful world, and seems to be less loving.
I don’t like who my doppelgänger is, but he is the part of me that I wish I was
not.
Psychologists, perhaps, would prefer alter-ego to doppelgänger. Maybe
they are somewhat different. People don’t see their altar-ego, but I saw mine.
Hence, he is a doppelgänger (double goer), whereas the altar-ego is another
personality, usually unseen. My altar-ego revealed himself to me, and I was frightened
of either (1) who I am, or (2) as others see me. I seldom see my doppelgänger,
but apparently others see it more than me as my altar-ego (other self).
From a spiritual viewpoint, a doppelgänger is the natural man. It’s the personality
that wants to do his own will. The natural man’s personality is exactly like I
saw with my doppelgänger. When sinners are reborn, it is the natural man that
is remolded into spiritual man. Rebirth is not instantaneous all the time. Just
like real births, there is a gestation period before birth, and then growth
afterwards. Satan endeavors to keep the natural man alive, and kill the
spiritual man at the same time. That does not end until the person is dead.
Satan never gives up. The Christian – the spiritual man – must defeat the
natural man. He is not on his own, but has the Holy Ghost to comfort and
assist.
“Comfort” means much more than “make comfortable,” but to “keep safe”
until salvation comes at death. Oftentimes comfort is distress as a
means of keeping safe. For instance, heat from a fire is quite uncomfortable,
but it keeps us from danger. My doppelgänger stressed me out this morning. I
saw me as others see me, and was not comfortable knowing that inside there is a
person whom others don’t like and as a Christian neither do I!
Throughout life, nobody should be comfortable with who they are until
they are made entirely good as Adam was in the beginning. We can never reach
perfection, but God credits for trying. I bet that Adam’s altar-ego was extremely strong
in his conflicts with Satan. Satan tried to restore who Adam was after he sinned,
and God was in the process of creating a new man for himself. One personality
of Adam wanted pleasure, indulgence, and control; whereas the new Adam wanted
to be like Jesus.
Those two conflicts are often presented by an angel in white on the right
shoulder, and a devil in red on the left. Actually, they are both us, and both
are in us. Seeing my own doppelgänger in a dream was horrifying. Is that how
others see me? Is that how God sees me? I wasn’t doing evil; I wasn’t doing
anything. I was merely asleep as someone tried to love me. When we sleep, we
are not loving. Perhaps the “sleep” wasn’t what the doppelgänger was doing.
Perhaps he pretended to be asleep so as not to love! I saw my doppelgänger, but
still don’t understand him, but now am aware that something needs to change.
The doppelgänger is the old creature which should have been hanged from a tree when anyone first believes.. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (1 Cor 5:17). However, the Devil still reveals him at times as a reminder that he is the way you were. It is similar to Lot's wife looking back when Sodom was destroyed; it is implied that she still saw herself in Sodom, obviously with pleasure.
God's goal is for his new creatures to crucify their old personalities. Satan's goal is to keep showing the person his old self until he wants to be him or her again. Some doctrines don't accept it, but preferring the old self-god over God is apostasy. The new creature may give up the Christian identity for the evil one from before. If that happens, it's as if crucifying Jesus again (Heb 6:6).
My own doppelgänger isn't real. I have never seen mine in person because he doesn't exist. However, I do see him in my dreams. I see what I used to be but it is no longer the present me. The choice is always there: to be a Christian or to be my doppelgänger.
Before my dad died, I asked him, "When does the temptation end?" He responded, "It never ends." Until Christians die, the Devil will continue to display the old creature. Death puts that vision away once and for all, and finally Christians are saved.
Some say that Christians cannot sin because evil cannot exist in a spirit-filled person. That is true for Jesus. He never ever had sin within his soul because He is God! Pentecostal Christians are taught that they are filled with the Holy Ghost. The Greek word pimplemi also includes "supplied" and ":imbued." Is it not possible that "imbued" is a better adjective? In a video no longer on Youtube, I explained the difference between "filled" and "imbued" and likened imbument to a sponge. The soul, if imbued, is not filled or even saturated by the Holy Ghost, but he is present. How present depends on how righteous.
The Holy Ghost does not come and go, but remains silent or reveals himself through discernment of the Word (Jesus). If a Christian does not commune with God, God remains disappointed and silent, but then the unholy spirit may influence more as the Holy Ghost mainatains silence. Just as with Job, the person cannot be killed, but Satan can display the old person. Then us, as Job, must choose which master to follow. Job preferred his re-born person although Satan endeavored his best to get him back!
The doppelgänger can only be crucified by the Christian himself. Of course, the Holy Ghost assists in hanging him on the tree, but the Christian must hammer the nails so to speak (pick up the cross for the hammering). Surely, if sinners can crucify Christ, they can crucify themselves, and are expected to, as it is written, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom 6:6).
Remember that I wrote that the old self (the doppelgänger) is not real, but a fantasy or phantasm. Either he or she is imagination or a demon posing to be the old you. I go with the latter because deception is the way Satan works and his tools are demons. Either way, the doppelgänger is the Devil's way of constantly taunting those who are righteous. When Jesus was crucified, the old man, our doppelgängers, were crucified by his death. We must let go!
The doppelgänger is the old creature which should have been hanged from a tree when anyone first believes.. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (1 Cor 5:17). However, the Devil still reveals him at times as a reminder that he is the way you were. It is similar to Lot's wife looking back when Sodom was destroyed; it is implied that she still saw herself in Sodom, obviously with pleasure.
God's goal is for his new creatures to crucify their old personalities. Satan's goal is to keep showing the person his old self until he wants to be him or her again. Some doctrines don't accept it, but preferring the old self-god over God is apostasy. The new creature may give up the Christian identity for the evil one from before. If that happens, it's as if crucifying Jesus again (Heb 6:6).
My own doppelgänger isn't real. I have never seen mine in person because he doesn't exist. However, I do see him in my dreams. I see what I used to be but it is no longer the present me. The choice is always there: to be a Christian or to be my doppelgänger.
Before my dad died, I asked him, "When does the temptation end?" He responded, "It never ends." Until Christians die, the Devil will continue to display the old creature. Death puts that vision away once and for all, and finally Christians are saved.
Some say that Christians cannot sin because evil cannot exist in a spirit-filled person. That is true for Jesus. He never ever had sin within his soul because He is God! Pentecostal Christians are taught that they are filled with the Holy Ghost. The Greek word pimplemi also includes "supplied" and ":imbued." Is it not possible that "imbued" is a better adjective? In a video no longer on Youtube, I explained the difference between "filled" and "imbued" and likened imbument to a sponge. The soul, if imbued, is not filled or even saturated by the Holy Ghost, but he is present. How present depends on how righteous.
The Holy Ghost does not come and go, but remains silent or reveals himself through discernment of the Word (Jesus). If a Christian does not commune with God, God remains disappointed and silent, but then the unholy spirit may influence more as the Holy Ghost mainatains silence. Just as with Job, the person cannot be killed, but Satan can display the old person. Then us, as Job, must choose which master to follow. Job preferred his re-born person although Satan endeavored his best to get him back!
The doppelgänger can only be crucified by the Christian himself. Of course, the Holy Ghost assists in hanging him on the tree, but the Christian must hammer the nails so to speak (pick up the cross for the hammering). Surely, if sinners can crucify Christ, they can crucify themselves, and are expected to, as it is written, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom 6:6).
Remember that I wrote that the old self (the doppelgänger) is not real, but a fantasy or phantasm. Either he or she is imagination or a demon posing to be the old you. I go with the latter because deception is the way Satan works and his tools are demons. Either way, the doppelgänger is the Devil's way of constantly taunting those who are righteous. When Jesus was crucified, the old man, our doppelgängers, were crucified by his death. We must let go!
 |
| doppleganger credit: Bored Panda |
No comments:
Post a Comment