Discouragement

     Discouragement is the loss of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the condition of joyfulness and motivation. Discouragement, then, is despair and apathy. This morning I was discouraged. I have almost 500 Facebook friends who are linked to this. My commentary is even available to the public. Some days I have as many as 700 "hits" on my blog. On other days, its a few as 70. That is discouraging and indicates that even my friends fail to read what is written.
     It takes from one-and-one-half to two hours to study and write my "take" on what Holy Scripture means. I do that because I believe that God is worth the time! I get enthused when I consider God's Word and its meaning to mankind, and have a strong desire to share what I have learned. I have learned the secrets to the Garden, the mystery of God, the true nature of God, and what it takes to be born-again. I have discovered that salvation is the outcome of the most important decision in life: the time I first believed which is called regeneration by theologians but "born again" which Jesus said we all must be to live eternally. That was worth the reading all by itself!
     One man in Bible study that I was teaching said, "I agree with Brother _______; if it's not about salvation, why study it?" My answer to that was, "The entire Bible is about salvation. We must know the One who saves us, His plan for mankind, and what He has done previously. We need to know God inside and out!"
     I write much about the creation. To know Who can save mankind, we must know Who created mankind. Knowing the Savior is knowing the Creator. John chapter 1 refers the reader back to the beginning of time to find the Savior! That man's attitude was discouraging and for a time, I was unmotivated: Why study scripture and comment if people brush off the commentary?
     I become joyful as I come to know God! Satan's tactic is to destroy that joy by discouraging me. He can't do that so he uses other people. People discourage me. I love them but they are used by unseen forces to undermine others and my enthusiasm.
     After I wrote the rough draft of my first book, The Skull of Adam, I had a friend read and provide critique. Her only comment was "I don't understand your punctuation." (It was a rough draft. I had not even checked punctuation.) I would have favored if I had useful critique. I was discouraged. I even thought about not publishing the book. When it was finalized some of those who read it gave me feedback. They learned so much that they never knew about God. Encouragement is the way Christians love others. Of course, I didn't want false feedback. True friends are honest in addition to encouraging.
     The most important book ever to be written had no punctuation or even spaces. It's message was the greatest story ever told. Others have critiqued it, added spaces and punctuation, and even translated it into hundreds of languages. Despite the punctuation, the Holy Bible reveals the avenues to death and the Way to salvation. In its entirety, Holy Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is all about Jesus. My calling is to share that message so that people understand, like the eunuch in the Bible. what it takes to be saved.
     When people don't study scripture, their thoughts are, I am saved because I believe. They may be destined for Hell because they think that is the extent of being a Christian. Welcome to the world of demons for even they believe in Christ and tremble (James 2:19)! I get discouraged because people only believe. I know that false security because I once believed that. Sure it is written:

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 6:31)

Scripture expands on that:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.(Rom 10:9)

     Salvation comes about as a result of  being born again. That enlightenment is when one comes to realize that they must diminish themselves and look up to God (John 3). How so? Trust that what Jesus did was sufficient: dying and being raised from the dead! That firm trust is what it takes to be saved. If one truly believes that, the person will confess that doctrine openly. Baptism is testimony of belief, and seals the deal with God. God circumcises the heart, that which Zipporah found unpleasant when she cut off her son's foreskin. We and others get off easy: After rebirth, God cuts off the foreskin of the heart, and the babe in Christ is converted from an old person to the new.
     Did you know that? Do you care about that? Make my day; care about that! If you are reading this commentary, I am encouraged. The more people who read it the more I get encouraged. Of course, scripture is not about me; I get encouraged when others learn Holy Scripture because belief changes things. It changes the person, it increases love, it encourages God when you read it, and it dismays Satan.
     It is not about the numbers. It's what people do with the knowledge. Writing words is futile if people never change. Encourage me by sharing what God has done for you in the comments section below. Encourage God by testifying in the space below what He means to you! Don't worry about the punctuation for it's the message which is important.
   

Spiritual Fornication and Adultery

     Marriage, when a religious ceremony, is Holy Matrimony for a reason. It's when two fleshes become one flesh (Gen 2:24). Adam was one flesh and Eve another. Together they were in unity and shared the same flesh. Marriage returned Eve to Adam from whom she was made. The two individuals became one marital unit whose purpose was to love, honor, and cherish each other as if the other was each of them; loving each other as they loved him or her self.
     Since the marriage was ordained by God, there was not only a unity in the flesh but in the spirit as well. Mankind is more than flesh; he too is living spirit (Gen 2:7). Therefor the two with spirits became one in the spirit since there is only one Holy Spirit. "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor 6:17). Do the mathematics: One plus God = Godly; Another one plus God = Godly; therefore one plus another one is Godly. That is divine mathematics to the base, not of ten, but of Jesus. For those not mathematically inclined, two people each having the same spirit are one union. If both are born again, then the Holy Matrimony is him plus her under God.
     Marriage in the more formal Christian churches is sacramental: a rite ordained by God. It should be in all churches! Why so? Holy Matrimony is a type of marriage to Christ. Those in the Spirit of God are the Church and the Church is the bride of Bridegroom - Jesus Christ (Mat 9:15). Jeremiah prophesied of a day in which the Groom was taken from the Bride.

Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth (gaiety), and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate. (Jer 7:34).

     The Bride without the Bridegroom ceases gladness; that is the Jews (the Bride) rejecting Jesus (the Bridegroom). Keep in mind that when one looks at Jesus, the person sees God. (John 12:44). The Jews were always "married" to God. They were fickle, and nearly always had affairs with other gods.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me (KJV),." which is "lo yih'yeh-l'khä élohiym áchëriym al-Pänäya" (Exod 20:3; English transliteration of the Hebrew Text)

      Pänäya is a plural noun used as the singular paneh which means "face". Thus al-Pänäya  means above or against the face {Strong's Dictionary). Think on adultery. What is it? Denigrating marriage by having carnal knowledge in the "face" of Holy Matrimony. Those who commit adultery defy God because Holy Matrimony is symbolic of Holy Union with God. 
     We are not to have other gods above God's face, and neither to have other lovers in the face of our marriages. Conversely, if we do the latter, we don't have fidelity to God who admonished, "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Mat 19:6).
     "What" can be anything. In the context of marriage it is Holy Matrimony which man is not to put asunder. "What" also means the Church whose relationship to the Groom - Jesus - must be one of trust and fidelity.  God's point is taken: if anyone cannot retain Holy Matrimony, he or she disparages God. However, many have broken their relationship with God because of martial adultery. It is not the unpardonable sin. (Refer to Psalm 51 which was King David's repentance for adultery and murder). Many church denominations, however, treat it as the unpardonable sin!
     The above commentary is about adultery - the pollution of Holy Matrimony. What about fornication? That is having consensual carnal knowledge with another outside Holy Matrimony. That too is wrong, although indeed, it is consensual. In the case of theism, the fornicator wills to have intercourse, and the god is willing for it to happen. Thus spiritual fornication is choosing another god, given a choice, in the face of God. The Hebrew people were God's chosen, and their marriage was the Abrahamic Covenant. Many Jews were circumcised (that's the I do take part of their spiritual marriage), and some others were not.
     Those Hebrews "married" to God, committed adultery in God's face. That's what Adam and Eve did (Gen 3). They stood under another tree when the Tree of Life was theirs from whose fruit they could freely eat.
     The uncircumcised Jews fornicated with other gods. They had not taken God as the Groom but another god. The act of  sexual intercourse between people is fornication against God. It may be consensual under the rules of  their god, but not Jehovah God.  
     Since Jesus is the Bride of the Church, adultery is anathema to the relationship between Christians and Christ. Fornication is pleasuring the self in defiance of pleasing God. Non-Christians who don't engage God fornicate with other gods, most notable themselves! Christians who commit adultery don't have fidelity to God. 
     I hope that the reader, whether promiscuous or not, or remarried or not, takes this symbolism as Holy Scripture intends. Herod the Great and Herodias, his former brothers wife, killed John the Baptist because he confronted their adultery. When Christians commit adultery it is handing Satan Jesus's head on a platter (symbolically). I refer to Psalm 51; that is both the sinner's prayer (the fornicator's) and the prayer of repentance (the adulterer's prayer). I have prayed that prayer myself. I pray that others do too because adultery is more than an action but thoughts of activity:

That whosoever looketh on a woman (or one person toward another) to lust after her (or him) hath committed adultery with her (o him) already in his (or her) heart.(Mat 5:28; parentheses mine)

     In other words, all have sinned. Whether a person has had coitus or not, the act was still done mentally. Ironically, the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh are part of original sin because God covered Adam's and Eve's genitals. Why? Their libido was their shame.
     Christians are always the first to judge those whose marriages have failed. Because of original sin, they too have committed adultery in their thoughts. Anyone who claims to be without sin is a liar (1 John 1:10). Those who excuse their own sin as more trivial, rationalize what they do. Although some sins are greater than others, the punishment for any non-repented sin is the same. I would advise reading and making Psalm 51 the prayer of all. Men are all "Davids" and women are all "Bathshebas". Bathsheba never wrote a prayer of repentance; perhaps she prayed David's.

Badly Mistaken

What is the worst mistake one could make in life? (My Quora Question)

Now for my own thoughts on that matter: One answer hit it squarely, The question is focused on the individual. It implies that I am important to me. The most important thing in life is preserving my life.

Even if after my life, existence is nothingness, that is sordid. I can’t stand the thought of not existing, and forever after. Neither can I stand any thought of eternal punishment.

The worst mistake, in my opinion, is failing to do a simple thing: trusting Someone who is Almighty to save me because I realize that I am not really capable of doing that. myself Trusting that I will  never die provides hope.

I am no god even though I play the role at times! We think of life as existing in the physical world. The bias of science is against things which cannot be quantified (operationalized). Believing in the unseen and the unmeasured is faith. The worst  mistake in life, in my opinion, is neglecting the possibility of the unseen because nothing (even scientific things) cannot be proven.

My hope is that life exists beyond this one. A fatal mistake would be to discard that possibility because the consequences are severe if there is eternal life! Fools gamble their knowledge that there is not when the consequences are horrendous.

Wise people do not gamble. It is wise to consider that there are things which may be beyond our body of knowledge. The two trees in the Garden represent that decision. Which “tree” should wise people stand beneath? One offers eternal life and the other wisdom and pleasure. Which tree to stand beneath is a decision all people make. It is a crucial decision because one results in eternal life and the other eternal death!

False Security

      Most often we neglect hard scripture as if it pertains to us very little. Everything in the Bible is there for a reason. People let ancient history scare the holiness out of them! The purpose can be sought and learned, despite the history lesson. Today's commentary is about false security. It's about the isolated and protected city of Tyre but it is more about people who believe that they are safe when they are not!

The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them... Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn... He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof... And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. (Isa 23:1,7,11 & 17)

     Tyre was an ancient city of Phoenicia on the coast of the Levant just north of Israel in what is now Lebanon. The city was built about a mile off the coast on a huge rock and was totally encompassed by the sea. It was like a castle with only one "gate" and surrounded by a natural moat. It could only be entered by sea. It was impenetrable because those who attempted to accost it were themselves vulnerable from the open sea. As all the nations around it were defeated, and utterly destroyed by all the empires which arose, Tyre remained safe. Isaiah warned of it's destruction long before it was destroyed. That was laughable: Tyre was too safe to sink.
     Nothing or no one is safe. Although Tyre was defeated by the Persians, it was destroyed by the Greeks. As Alexander the Great conquered the world, he just would not let Tyre go unscathed. His armies spent years building a land bridge to the island, and not prepared for onslaught, Tyre was the first time ever utterly defeated. Alexander was patient and persistent but he did make the safe city unsafe, and finally faithful Tyre fornicated with the kingdoms of the world after the Greek Empire tampered with her virginity. She then belonged to Alexander, and there was no turning back. She was a used woman, and now is just another Islamic whore which has been tampered with by every kingdom since its fall. Once majestic and pure, Tyre indeed is a fallen woman!
   
     What's Tyre have to do with us? What did it have to do with Israel? Tyre is symbolic of both Judiasm and Christianity. The Jews thought themselves safe so many times, but time and time again, Israel was destroyed. Just as the Macabbbees returned Israel to prominence, there came the Romans. Centuries after Tyre - the city built on solid rock - was destroyed, the very foundation of the world - Jerusalem fell. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem where once was Ornan's threshing floor, was the epicenter of creation as Jews believe. Like Tyre, Israel was destroyed even though the rock on which it was built was spiritually solid at one time. Now warriors have chipped away that rock until it's just a remnant of what it once was.
     Israel, although it was safe, was destroyed 70 years after the birth of Jesus. In Isaiah 23:15 Tyre was to commit harlotry with other kingdoms. Jerusalem did just that! When Herod's Temple was destroyed, it was used for harlotry of all sorts, even having statues of other gods and a homosexual prostitute! Since then, Jerusalem has been the harlot of many nations and empires. (Since 1948 the nation of Israel was returned to the Jews. God was true to His Word. He would never leave nor forsake them; 1 Kings 8:57).
     Note that neither Tyre nor Israel were ever left by God. By not trusting God for safety, evil empires destroyed them. Neither Tyre nor Israel had fidelity to God and both flirted with other gods. They were free to be unsafe if they didn't mind becoming vulnerable to destruction. Alexander the Great is symbolic of Satan. Likewise, Caesar's forces violated Jerusalem. Caesar is symbolic of the Beast and proclaimed himself a god!
     Why all the history? Why did Isaiah prophecy the future? Was it just for Tyre and a warning to Israel or does it have deeper meaning? Discerning Christians should realize that Tyre is a lesson to us!
     I know people who feel safe from Hell because they have been "good". Their perceived goodness would be laughable to God if it was not so pitiful (Isa 64:6). Good people are far from safe! They too will be destroyed. When judgment comes, God will say, "I never knew you" (Mat 7:23). Their "goodness" are as works of iniquity!
     Another group of people who feel safe are atheists. Not only did God not know them but they didn't know God. They feel safe because for them, safety is in themselves and there is no adversary. They shall be destroyed like Tyre.
     Another group who will fall who claim to be built on the solid Rock. Their "city" is built on the Rock - Jesus. However, they are deceived. It's not the actual Rock on which their faith is built but sinking sand. They believe that God will keep them safe but not trust Him to do so. If it could be, they are half-Christians, sort of brothers to Christ with another father. They believe in Jesus but fail to serve him. They live in God's "city" but do little to keep it strong. Of course, the shield of faith is the protection  to defeat the fiery darts of their "Alexander" - the Devil (Ephes  6:16).
     Rather than relying on a false shield as the citizens of Tyre depended on turbulent waters, Christians are to use the shield of faith in Jesus. In other words, like Moses did in battle with the Amorites, Christians are to look to the cross for safety. Having their own self-defense is too little for the principalities we engage daily!
     The last group, perhaps, are those who believe in eternal security, what John Calvin called the preservation of the saints. Remembering that God never left the people of Tyre nor Israel but they failed to depend on Him, they were destroyed. Israel was brought back to safety because they have a few who were faithful (antithetical to Sodom). Tyre is almost non-existent to this day. Sure it's still a small city on the coast off Lebanon but it is no longer powerful nor important. In the end, only New Jerusalem will exists. Tyre will ultimately be destroyed forever!
     For Christians, it was said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb 13:5).That promise was and is always true. God would never leave Israel but they didn't depend on Him; neither did Tyre. Their safe feeling was on themselves. Sure, the Israelites gave lip-service to God but they forsook God. That applies to Christians as well. He will never leave nor forsake us, but we are free to not be servants to Him at any time. We serve God by choice not because we are in bonds. Jesus's death on the cross for us freed those who trust Jesus from bondage.
     Tyre didn't make a decision to leave God. They didn't have Him in the first place. That is the condition of many "Christians". They have false-security. On the other hand, Israel believed themselves secure; they had been faithful to God too long to fall. Their  faith was false as was their religion. They fell! By grace God will restore some of them but most will perish forever.
     There are Christians who believe their fortress cannot fall. They feel secure because of their belief in God. However, just as the secure people of Tyre felt secure and did have a degree of safety, adversaries still shot fiery darts at them. They scoffed but eventually one fiery dart was fatal. That's the same for Christians unless God is their Mighty Fortress. The shield of faith must be maintained at all times and reinforced by the Sword of the Word.
     The story of Tyre is similar to the one of Job. Tyre was not trusting and was destroyed. Job, the epitome of faith, was attacked by Satan's fiery darts and remained faithful. God was his fortress, and like Israel, Job was restored. Christians have tribulation. If they don't they must already belong to the adversary. Even those built on solid rock and have a hedge of safety about them are sill vulnerable if they are not sober and vigilant:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Pet 5:8)

     Alexander was the lion which devoured Tyre. They had a sense of false security believing that they were on solid rock and in safety by the waters around them. That water was not the hedge which protected Job. Neither was it Living Water which protects us! We must do things to keep safe! We must be vigilant and sober and read the Word to grow faith. Tyre did nothing and were destroyed. If Christians do nothing with their faith it will wither and die. Regarding the gift of faith, we must treat it as a treasure for faith is what will bring us from safety to saved!

Making Wrong Things Right

     There is much conflict in the world today. Order and decorum is accordance. Chaos and anger is discordance. Open your eyes and look at the world. Look at the United States; the country which has been the epitome of civility is the bastion of hatred! Where did love go? Where did civility go?
     Rebellious people insist on having things their way in spite of civil people who want things civil. Civility means order! Those who are uncivil do it for two reasons: (1) for notoriety and (2) to demand that others believe or do things their way.
     Those loud-mouth and unruly protestors demonstrate quite well that they are mere children. Like babies, liberal people symbolically hold their breaths until their faces turn blue or throw temper tantrums. They never matured. It is a reflection on their upbringing. Their parents must have tolerated those tantrums and gave their little demons whatever it was they demanded! Yes, uncivility is demonic. Uncivil people are blindly obedient to the law of sin which is rebellion from the Law of God. Those with mob mentality continually display Narcissistic behavior. They assume the role of gods who demand strict obedience from the crowd.
     Civil people elect one voice to represent them. That is a rule of order. Immature people flaunt order by too many voices. It is not words which they want heard but attitudes. The attitude of rebellious people is mob-like. Mobs intimidate civil people to do their wills. Members of mobs are tyrannical: little Hitlers and Stalins screaming to have it done their way. Satan smiles.
     Mobs have herd mentalities. All the cows and steers do what the bull wants. The "bulls" are those bullies leading the mob. They are so vicious that they care little if the herd is destroyed in trying to protect their own "bull". For instance, the mob cares little if the Democrat Party dies as long as they destroy order. With respect to that, the herd which we see are all bulls. The cows and steers just stand back, chew their cud, and let the bulls have their way on their behalf. The herd cares little for order, and are even apathetic to the wolves which lead sublimely from the bushes directing the bulls. George Soros and others like him are the wolves. They are vicious and cunning as they get the herd to do their will. They operate much like Satan does!
     In history, emperors and kings led their armies. They rode up front and were constantly under heavy fire. Alexander the Great, Peter the Great, and Napoleon placed themselves in danger as they led their armies from the front. They were leaders, albeit vicious. Modern warfare favors the czars. Those like Soros and Obama fight their wars hidden away from danger. They are cunning at getting the naïve herd to do their wills! Foolish people do that for the meager crumbs while the leaders reap the harvest.
     The most sacrosanct possession of mankind is life itself. Our patriot fathers recognized that when they decreed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." (Preamble to the Declaration of Independence). "Unalienable rights" are those precious assets which sane men refuse to relinquish. Life itself is unalienable but yet millions each year are sacrificed as an inconvenience.
     The present danger which the mob fears is the loss of their sexual freedom - their promiscuity. The lusts of the flesh is the main attraction to mankind. People, especially women, demand that they have the freedom owned by harlotry. They want the freedom to copulate like the freedom men have. To be blunt, liberal women desire the right to fornicate with impunity! What stands in their way? Not men! They must have their women free to be at their command. Stupid feminists think they are doing their will while actually doing the will of men.
     What is it then which stands in the way of sexual freedom? Gestation is just a little inconvenient. Life itself is much inconvenient to them. Many liberal women obviously don't mind getting pregnant but they do mind staying pregnant. Unborn babies are inconvenient. They stifle the women's ability to exercise their libido for nine months, but children - life itself - are a lifetime burden for them.
     The herd mentality which is evident today is that the "cows" of the herd want intercourse, and the bulls want them to have it. The main thing on the minds of the "cows" in this age is sexual liberation. They demand to be the bulls (feminism). They act like the bulls and many look like them too. Feminist women certainly do have bullish attitudes not to mention boorish. The herd is angry because they want to kill their offspring and less barbarous people prefer that they live.
     Which is more civil: women and their sires destroying their offspring or civil people protecting life? The former is barbarous and the latter natural and civil. Why are women so vocal in the mob. They want to be like the bulls. They want to copulate with impunity. Unfortunately for the product of conception, they are the sacrifice so that selfish people can have pleasure.
     The present "debate" or war on the SCOTUS nomination is all about the freedom to destroy their own. Abortion is the debate. All other things pale to that! The mob demands that the loss of life for their unborn be justified by making it right. They want civil people to normalize their barbarism! Taking innocent life is a crime against humanity. Socialism which fosters abortion (feminism) commit crimes against humanity but unlike Adolph Eichmann, their crimes go unpunished. Eichmann, displaying a moment of contrition, displayed a short instant of remorse before he shook it off. Feminist women have no remorse. Some even brag about the "notches" under their panties.
     For America to be great again, we need to regain our civility. At the moment, the mob is coming for Trump but it is guaranteed that Pence will be next.  Will it be too late when they come for you?

Spiritual Needs Pyramid

     Mankind has needs! They all do. Physical needs are presented as Maslow's Hierarchy of needs on a "Needs Pyramid", the most basic needs at the bottom, and the more discreet ones at the top. I'm not a big fan of his needs hierarchy because (1) they are all about the self, and (2) self-esteem is in conflict with Christ-esteem. I hate to admit it but eternal life is all about what happens to the self! Because of that, the thought was implanted that since mankind has spiritual needs, there must be a hierarchy. The figure below are some of the spiritual needs of everyone. That is not to say that everyone has the needs met but everyone has that potential.

Herrin Spiritual Needs Pyramid

     Hidden within the hierarchy is reception of the Holy Ghost. That need to have a spiritual side is at the time of transformation. I don't like to scare people with the Pentecostal use of "Holy Ghost" but that usage is from the Greek pneuma after Jesus died: His own Spirit transformed from Spirit to Ghost since the Son of Man has just experienced death on the cross and "gave up the ghost" (Mark 15:37). Because Jesus gave up his Ghost, mankind has the potential of receiving Him (in reference to the Holy Ghost as Him).
     The transformation could have been nearer the top. However, there are spiritual needs that even those not transformed desire. Mankind's ultimate desire is the spiritual "peak experience" - glorification. That is when mankind is perfected by God to be in His presence. Physical men have worldly flesh which is corrupt and corruptible, but spiritual men shall have incorruptible and pure flesh. Mankind's spiritual goal should be to have the prize - that peak experience. That is glorification:

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Cor 15:52)

     Obviously "change" implies transformation. Glorification is the second transformation. So as to he transformed the second time, requires transformation the first time. Of course, the first transformation is having the same spirit which Jesus has: "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost..." (Acts 2:4). The first transformation is to have the Holy Ghost so as to be like the Flesh of Jesus at the second transformation. In order to be in the presence of God in Heaven, requires both those transformations. Therefore, receiving the Holy Ghost and obtaining the prize of glorification are the greatest spiritual needs of mankind!
     Most people fail to recognize those needs because of deception. Somehow they are convinced that they are okay without those needs being met. Glorification is consummated after death as can be seen near the top of the pyramid. We all have a need to die! Think not? Wait until you're old, sickly, and decrepit; you will someday desire death when you get old!
     Christians - those who have been transformed - tire of the corrupt flesh and have a desire for glorification. It's not death that Christians seek but eternal life which entails glorification. Everyone dreads dying but Christians look forward to living forever. Those who are not Christians are either apathetic to death or dread dying.
     Satan's role in the spiritual realm is to keep people apathetic to death or in defiance of the thoughts of death: his most profound lie will ring true in most peoples minds: "Ye shall not surely die" (Gen 3:4), Thus, sinners don't get their spiritual needs met because they are deceived.
     Transformation is imperative! Even Jesus was "transformed" in that he was transfigured. Until that time, Jesus had been seen with mankind's face. At the transfiguration, Jesus was seen as he was and will be. His appearance at the transfiguration matches well his appearance to John in Heaven. The transfiguration revealed to Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, John revealed the Presence of God in His entirety. Jesus's transfiguration brought the patriarchs and apostles together to see the same God -  how God would appear on His throne.
     Christians are transformed in like manner, if regeneration is effectual. "Regeneration" or the act of being "born-again" is the transformation. With regeneration a "new creature" is created: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor 5:17).  That happens at rebirth but is testified to at baptism. Regeneration is transformation, and baptism is the manifestation of it. It's the Christian's transfiguration manifested from inward to outward to the world. Transformation is really the beginning of living, whereas before sinners are more zombie-like - alive but dead.
     The basic need as seen on the pyramid, is "love of self". Mankind was created in God's image. God is love. Because He needs adoration, it should be clear that God loves Himself. He is a jealous God (Exod 20:5) because he wants to be loved. That "need" is for Him. He does love Himself for if not, God would self-destruct.
     Mankind was created with self-love. It is basic to our existence. The problem with self-love is if  opposition with the love of God it's bad. That degree of love is being as gods ourselves (Gen 3:5). Self-love is not the problem but is if we serve that "god" before the One True God by doing what is right in our own eyes (Deut 12:8). That attitude is holding ourselves in authority and deauthorizing God. We elevate our love of self to the amount that we should love God. Therefore, the problem with self-love is mankind's attitude - that we are gods. Think not? Just watch people for awhile. Look at yourselves. Life is all about you!
     Validating my premise is what scripture says: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Mat 22:39). God knows how much we love ourselves. Our degree of self-love is the standard for loving others. Indeed, God's command is to love others to that extent! How much is that? That they not perish because that is what people desire for themselves. (John 3:16).
     People love themselves so much that none wishes that they perish (go to Hell). Ironically, God expects that degree of love but people seek redemption for their own selfish motives - to preserve themselves! God uses our inherent love of ourselves to convince people that they need Him. Just look at John 3:16 closely: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
     God uses our self-love as a means to believe in Him. He knows that mankind desires to live forever, and never perish. Why should anyone believe in God? To save their own lesser god! Self-love is important because we must seek God to maintain ourselves. None want to not be; none want to perish (die forever). We must turn to God to preserve us because we are not really gods. God uses our godhood for us. We desire to not perish so much that sinners turn to him.
     Sin is not a spiritual need. It is an inherited desire (original sin). Mankind need not sin but desires too. Hence, iniquity is not on the pyramid because it is not truly a need but an act of self-pleasuring. Pleasuring is not a need. Mankind doesn't understand pleasure. We don't need it but want it! Our wants are what kills the soul.
     The second level of needs is one of belonging. Man(kind) was created with God as the Father. Everyone has a need for parents. Eve is the mother of all mankind. We all belong to Eve. But Eve has two natures. She is God's yet sin resided in her. On the other hand, mankind needs a father. Father God is Him! Adam was a created son of the Father, as was Jesus. However, Jesus Barabbas, meaning "son of the father" has parentage as well. He was Jesus son of his father the Devil (John 8:44).
     Fathers are our "masters"; we must choose who is our master. There are two choices of masters who we must choose (Mat 6:240). Natural born people are sinners - born Barabbas. Sinners belong to the Devil. Mankind has a longing for a better Master. As such God adopts those who are born-again as His (Ephes 1:5). "Adoption" is when sinners cry-out to God (Rom 8:15) for what? The redemption of our bodies (Rom 8:23). Adoption is at the transformation. Our sense of belonging is taken from Satan and returned to God.
     Another need on the pyramid is nourishment. Not real bread but the Bread of Life. That is beginning to know God and desiring to have Him. It results from that need to belong.
     Jesus is the Bread of Life, and all men are elected to need that bread (1 Thes 1:4). Election is God's implantation of desire for Him. All men are called by God. That response is that we need the Fathers' nourishment. How can God protect us? By bringing us to safety. The nourishment or safety sinners seek is protection from the evil one.
     Transformation brings that protection by regeneration. "We must be born again!" (Jesus said that). It is not optional if one desires to not perish. God keeps sinners safe until they have the opportunity to be transformed. Afterward, if truly transformed, they are safe from Satan and Hell.
     Holy Matrimony (marriage) is a strong need. Adam needed companionship as the animals had, so God created Eve from Adam for Adam - from man for man (Gen 2:18). Marriage is indeed a spiritual need - not to feel alone! Furthermore, Holy Matrimony is symbolic of the Church's marriage to Christ who is the bridegroom (Mat 9:15). Our need for marriage is two-fold: for a bride and the Bridegroom. As we need a spouse, there is a spiritual need inside for Christ to satisfy the longing for communion.
     With marriage, the need for companionship (next on the pyramid) is partially met but we still need a relationship with Christ. We are to demonstrate friendship by being friends. By hate, friendship is negated. In our quest for companionship with God is substitution of friendship with others. That leaves a feeling of emptiness until we can love others so much that we never want them to perish, just as God so loves us!
     Companionship is a mutual relationship. We also want to be loved as well. To satisfy the need for love, it is almost instinctual that we must first love others. No one can reciprocate love if love is not there to return. People, even sinners, are often nice to people because they want love in return. God expects love in return knowing that He may not get it.  People also have unrequited love. That enables the unloved to empathize with God who also has much unrequited love.
     God needs our love as well. To get our love, God calls sinners to him. Because of an empty soul, or worse yet, one filled with iniquity, people await God's calling. They may not know that, but everyone longs for something to be within which they cannot explain. I can! They long for God, and God calls (John 6:44).
     People have a need to be called. They interpret that as a need for self-esteem but it's more about a need to be esteemed by God. He does esteem everyone because He so loves them that He calls everyone! Why do sinners inwardly need to be called? So that they can be loved by Someone important. They may not know who that Important Person is, but He Is God.
     God loves everyone. Albeit He loves them as they are (in the world), God's desire is that everyone belong to Him. God needs that sense of belonging as well, and expects His adopted children to love Him back. God's need is that His Law be followed . God's Law condenses down to loving Him with all the heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30. In order to obtain that love, God convicts sinners of their sins. Mankind needs conviction. King David convicted himself. The best kind of conviction is when we judge ourselves to be sinners. The need to not perish drives the need to be convicted. Sinners must be convicted for sorrow, repentance, and reprieve.
     Conviction is part of being enlightened. People who are enlightened come to realize their true identity and parentage. Enlightenment is realizing that all have sinned and are undeserving (Rom 3:23). As such, those walk in partial light. Full Light is coming to realize that no one can save himself but God can (John 3). Enlightened sinners are sorrowful that they diminished God's authority by assuming it themselves. Sinners need to have emotion, to cry-out, as is written! We need to be emotional about how we have wronged God.
     Contrite sinners feel guilt because they are guilty. That guilt needs release or it will eat them up, even unto death. To annihilate guilt, convicted sinners crave forgiveness. God does that if sinners seek it! Not only can sinners obtain forgiveness but communion, friendship, and love as well. With conviction, guilt, and forgiveness needs met, transformation has been met. Regeneration has occurred as the person is born-again a new spiritual creature.
     There comes satisfaction, and even joy with that need met. God keeps us safe and provides hope (1 Thes 5:8). Despair exists before transformation, and hope afterward. People need hope in their lives. "Hope" in this case is not hoping so but seeing the prize as if already obtained. People have such hope that they say, "I am saved" when salvation comes with death! Those with hope have their eye on the prize and so much so that it is already theirs!
     Those who are transformed (regenerated) are in communion with God. We are the prodigal sons who return home to the Father (Luke 15:11-32). We need God's love... always did but pleasure deluded us. Transformation returns that communion with our Father. I say "returns' because God always loved us, we didn't love Him back. Our transformation met God's need as well, and transformation is mutually beneficial!
     Guilt is stressful. We don't need guilt. Regeneration transforms the guilt into contentment, even joy! We need contentment. It can only be obtained by having a strong relationship with God. We need God! We need communion. Having that is contentment.
     Old creatures had old vocations. Sinners are in bondage to and slaves to Satan. Transformed creatures are newly generated; they as such have new vocations. Christians are transformed from royal fools into royal priests. Our new vocations are to go into the world and bring others into God's Kingdom. With transformation, God expects that (The Great Commission), and if we were truly transformed, Christians need that. We cannot sleep knowing that our brothers are doomed! (At least that should be a need.)
     Having children is fulfilling a need. Maybe it should be lower on the pyramid because it is basic. However, as far as importance is concerned, it is placed higher. Our need to bear offspring is because we are commanded to create new little companions for God who said, "Go forth and multiply" (Gen 1:22). God needs that and transferred His need to us. The parent/child relationship is sort of feeling the type which God has for us. If parent and child cannot love each other, how can they love God? We need children to know how God feels about us!
     That relationship fulfills our need to be honored such that we can empathize with God's need for reverence! Someplace on the height of the pyramid is sanctification. For me, it came with the onset of having children. Of course, I always wanted to please God but I also wanted to set an example for my children. I set myself apart from the world to be different than the world for two reasons: to please God and to set an example for my children. Of course, sanctification can occur at anytime but whenever it is, it is the strong desire to please God!
     Part of the Great Commission- going unto the world -is being an example to the world community. We must walk the Way of Christ and be like Christ or others won't want to be like us! Even when we are sinful, the need is for the community to see us as righteous. For many, that need to be a positive example for Christianity, keeps us from sinning grievous sins. The need to be a fine Christian examples make Christians more exemplary.
     Part of true transformation is agonizing over sinners. Christians should grieve that the world is going to Hell and that our loved ones may go with them. Jesus agonized for us (Luke 22:44) by sweating blood. Christians need to agonize over the lost so as to fulfill their new vocation - go unto the world.
     Our "personal apocalypse" comes near the end of life. We know that we have sinned, by grace have been redeemed (at our transformation), but know that we don't deserve eternal life. Old Christians people are told that often by Satan's emissaries. We know it to be truth. It causes a feeling of despair inside because we know that we could have pleased God more.
     There is a need to end that apocalypse and only God can do it. In that time, Christians develop a strong need for God to battle in that war with principalities for us! If you have yet to have that insecurity, age will bring it on! However, knowing that we don't deserve eternal life is humility which the meek shall have. Just realize that God is not meek; He is Almighty!
     Part of death is the agony of it in the mind. That personal apocalypse is the agony. Even Christians can dread dying because we know that we don't deserve anything but death. Death  is strictly a transition - no more than a "sting" (1 Cor 15:56) which must happen for the final transformation from mortality to immortality which scripture calls "glorified". To obtain the prize, not only must we be born-again but for most, we must also die. (Those raptured in the end avoid the sting of death.)
     To live for ever, which is our foremost need, means that we need to die?
     The first death is dying to sin as we are born-again and continues on with physically dying. The second death is dying forever! Rather than a mere sting it goes on forever.
     The basic need throughout life is to save our own gods. To accomplish that, wise people submit their god in exchange for the One True God. We all need to do that, and all are elected to do so! Until we have the hope of eternal life, most of the spiritual needs on that pyramid must be met. I need eternal life and so do you. I need God and so do you!
   
   

Revival

     Periodically churches have revivals. Those are evangelical meetings with the intent of the church body to gain new converts. Revivals are to grow the local church (with a small "c").  Revival, on the other hand, is growing the spiritual Church (with a capital "C"). Sometimes local evangelical revivals spread and result in widespread spiritual revivals, such as the Great Awakening in the early 18th Century. That's true revival!
     Many believe that "revival" is returning to the joy that once was after conversion. The assumption is that there should have been joy if indeed one who was before subject to spiritual death suddenly has  the hope of eternal life. There is a certain affinity between hope and joy in that those who have hope should be joyful! Revival can indeed return a person to their original spiritual celebration, but that's not the primary objective of revival. Christians should not be thinking about themselves but others.
     Joy is associated with contentment. People who are not content with life cannot be bountifully joyful, nor should they be. Of course, people should be joyful for their hope but that is egocentric. The Great Commission is others-focused:

Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.  And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:14-15)

     The apostles had been elated when Jesus was alive  and performing miracles. With Jesus dead, a pale of gloom had set in. Although two had seen "dead" Jesus arisen, with the skeptical apostles, there was no joy in apostolic Jerusalem. Jesus suddenly appeared in the locked room with the eleven apostles, and noted their gloom. They were thinking of themselves! They once had faith but with Jesus's death, their elation waned. They needed revival to lift their spirits, reinforce their belief, and grow the Church.
     Why would Jesus care about whether the Church grew or not? Because he so loved the world that he wants that  none should perish (John 3:16) Jesus made it clear that, that is the source of Christians' enthusiasm. Because Christians have the hope of salvation, they should want that others have the same hope. Christians should also want that none should perish because that is agape love.
     What would revive the hope of the apostles? Going into the world and proclaiming the gospel! That's Bible. People can improve their own emotional and spiritual health by caring about others. Christians' are revived by loving others enough to care about their eternal souls!
     One atheist which I paraphrase said, "If Christians were as religious as they say, they wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that those they love are going to Hell!" That is a call for action. The apathetic Church is much like the hard-hearted apostles who were merely thinking of themselves! Sure they cared about Jesus's death but they had missed the point.
     The occasion of Jesus dying is called Good Friday. What was so "good" about Jesus dying? That event provided hope for all mankind! The apostles missed the point for Jesus's purpose, and Jesus was not pleased. Here he was alive after being dead where he found eleven of his most prized disciples still not understanding. What would give them the joy which they once had? To go unto the world and tell the people the good news: Jesus died but yet he lives!
     You see, revival is two-fold: for the apostles and for the people. If we quit worrying about our own spiritual interests which should already be affirmed, and worry about the lost souls in the world, revival will come. Thus, revival is more about others than ourselves. Sure we need revival but how can we be revived if others are dying? Most people miss the point of revival. It is for Christ but to benefit Christ who wants that none should perish, Christians must have a burden for those which are perishing. The spiritual well-being of those around us is what revives us. Face it, Christians get excited, or so they should, when people are born-again. The angels rejoice when even one sinner repents (Luke 15:10). Why shouldn't we?
     Jesus told the apostles to go unto the world for the good of others and also their own spiritual revival. They needed to show love for others! Caring about the eternal destiny of sinners is how best to show agape-type love - loving others as God so loves us!
     That's not merely commentary; it can be validated. King Hezekiah cleansed the Temple:

In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. (2 Chron 29:3-6, ESV)

     That was evangelical revival - getting their own "house" in order in preparation for obtaining others to their House. As Hezekiah cleaned God's Temple, Christians are to clean their own. Of course, in both cases, its really God who does the cleaning but Christians must be willing to have their temple cleaned just as Hezekiah desired to have God's Temple cleaned!
     It follows that with the Temple cleaned, the Israelites began to be joyful. They went into God's house, worshipped, played instruments, and sang. They had revival! Something, though, was missing. Note this:  "And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly" (2 Chron 29:36), Although sacrifices had been made and communion with God served there was more to do:

Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. (2 Chron 30:1; ESV)

     They celebrated the Passover, but Hezekiah wanted that others come celebrate with them! One idea which everyone must understand is that even for Hezekiah and the discerning Israelites, Passover celebrated redemption long before mankind was redeemed. To clarify further, Jesus's death and resurrection was during the Passover celebration. Whereas the Hebrew people escaped death in Egypt at the original Passover, Gentiles and Jews escaped death at the New Testament Passover. Originally it was the blood of a ram whose blood was sacrificed on the wood of the door. At Jesus's death it was the blood of the Lamb which was sacrificed on the wood "door" to eternal life  which is the Cross!
     Hezekiah knew what they were celebrating; it was a celebration of life! Not only their own salvation but the resurrection of Jesus! The Exodus was a time of judgment. Who would remain faithful to God who had provided the hope of salvation? Forty-years in the wilderness were the Jews forty "days" of temptation! Then in the end, all who were faithful and regenerated, were brought safely to the land of milk and honey! That is what the Passover is about - Jesus, his death, and resurrection! That's cause to celebrate, yet Jesus finds the apostles not celebrating the second Passover. They should have known full-well what the Passover was all about!
    As the Israelites had revival and celebrated the Passover again, that is the first step to revival. The second step is others. What about the world which God so loves? Hezekiah fulfilled the Great Commission. That far the plan had been working. The next step was a decree:

So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. (2 Chron 30:5-8; ESV).

     The decree was to go unto the world (Israel), and have them return to the Lord! Hezekiah's word's were like Jesus's who chastised the apostles because they also were also to go unto the world. Hezekiah's decree was a proclamation of the Great Commission!
     The Israelites corporately were to return to the faith they had when the Temple was built.. That is revival: the people turning back to God; not just Christians repenting, but the people doing so! Revival is for the people... Christians inclusive. It's not just for those in the church building but to bring the "sheep" in.
     Look at the disposition of the Israelites: as their fathers before them they were faithless and desolate; that's how Jesus found the eleven who should have been celebrating but were hard-hearted (stiff-necked) just as the Israelites were.  It should be clear that Hezekiah's revival was what Jesus instructed the apostles to do! "They were to serve the Lord their God." The Great Commission was to serve Jesus - their God! Isn't Holy Scripture well-planned by God? Hezekiah knew and understood the purpose of Jesus. The apostles did not! Hezekiah celebrated the Passover. The apostles were in doom and gloom.
    With that said, the world, not just the churches, need revival. Revival is going out unto the world and bringing them into the Church. That is not necessarily the church building but Jesus's "Ghost" residing in their temples. As with Hezekiah who cleaned the temple first, before offerings were made, sinners can have their temples cleaned by a washing with the blood of Jesus. That, my friends, is revival! What is it that those of the Church should do at revival? Clean our temples first in preparation for the crowd. Afterward, we are to go forth and bring them to the Lord.
     We all have "Christian" friends that we know may not be born-again. Most so-called Christians have not taken that first step! They don't need revival; they need the Lord.
     We all know people who are great sinners. Neither do they need revival; they too need the Lord. However, when a few or many are born-again the Church is revived, and the Lord is pleased as the angels sing! How can we be content knowing the world, even our loved ones, are destined for Hell? Revival is doing something about that. Our job assignment as royal priests is to bring the world to the Church - our Great Commission.