Circumcision Part 3 (Final)

    Circumcision is signing the bondage of the Law in blood. “Bondage!” you cry out.  Yes, the Law is binding, as Paul explained in the following passages:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. (Gal 5:1-6)

     Just like the marriage bond filed with the government official, signing the bond of the Abrahamic Covenant is binding. Normally, in a bond, security is presented. With the Covenant, the security is yourself. In effect, the person who believes and is circumcised promises to pay, upon his or her default, their souls.  
     The person who is circumcised for spiritual reasons, indenture themselves for perpetuity since the Covenant is everlasting. Surprise! Everyone will default for if anyone says he is without sin, he is a liar (1 John 1:10).  The point that God made was that nobody can depend on their own fidelity for the reward; they must trust the fidelity of God’s Word. God’s truth is what makes men free (John 8:32).
     How can anyone be born again? They must “marry” Jesus! Marry Jesus! Abraham did that. His willingness to sacrifice his only remaining son was a commitment to that relationship. Abraham became a “bride” to Jesus’s the “Bridegroom.”
     Unfortunately, the Hebrews failed to join the marriage ceremony as brides to Christ. Was Abraham’s circumcision effectual in his reward? (We find that he did go to Heaven.) No; the circumcision was merely his signature to the “marriage pact.” Whether he signed it or not, he was still married to Jesus, which marriage could only be broken with fornication against his Bride, or blasphemy (Mat 12:31).
     Hence, it is not the “signature” of circumcision which was affective, but the change inside – from unbelief to belief. “Belief” in scripture, is more than believing; it is believing so intensely that there is trust. That trust in God is called “faith.”
     The change that Abraham experienced was heart-felt. The human heart reveals our natures. The obvious is hard palpitations with excitement, but more importantly are the peaceful rhythms of contentment. “Heart” is used to describe peace within. We call that “contentment.” “Joy” is when a person is so content, that the heart beats soundly without rapidity because anticipation of the reward is so profound! Thus, the heart is the representative of human emotions. Lust palpitates in the heart and disrupts contentment. People who lust have a I must have that attitude, and like the beasts, the anticipation becomes real! Peace is when lust is bound and people are free and have contentment. Scripture calls that “circumcision” as well, but not of the penis, but the “heart” as can be understood from the next passage:

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. (Deut 10:16-17)

     Moses could not circumcise himself nor even his son. Zilpporah did the “dirty deed” for him. Neither can we circumcise our own heart and neither can anyone else. God circumcised Abraham’s heart with the gift of faith (Ephes 2:8), and Abraham, although he was making the sacrifice, had nothing to do with receiving the faith but using it!
     God circumcised Abraham’s heart and the sword of God cut the flesh from his heart, or as is written, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” God’s Word – Jesus – changed Abraham’s heart, not the sharp blade of the knife! Check that out with the following:

And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. (Deut 30:6)

    When was Abraham circumcised? When he had enough faith in God that he used it! His heart was circumcised when his faith exceeded his doubt, and his unwillingness changed to willingness. Abraham was born again, not by his own doing, but he knew that someday the blood of Jesus would redeem him and Isaac who he was ready and willing to sacrifice and be sacrificed.
     By doing that, he diminished himself and elevated God. Abraham was “born again” as he put Isaac on the altar to please God. That act signified that he was presenting a better sacrifice than even Abel. The Cain part of him was replaced with an attitude like Abel’s! That was Cain circumcised from the nature of him, and replaced by Abel’s nature (Heb 11:4), but better yet, the nature of Jesus whose was better than Abel’s (Heb 12:24).
    God supplied the “knife” to Abraham but he had to be willing to use it. As such, Abraham assisted in his “circumcision.” Just as with rebirth, Jesus does the rebirthing, but to be reborn is the willingness to be changed. The second birth, then, is yourself holding the “sword of the Word” with God wielding the power and guiding the sword, not toward our all-too-valuable penises, but to the more valuable heart:

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. (Jer 4:4)

     What happens at spiritual “circumcision?” That is when the old nature is cut off from the creature, and he or she becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) and that is a change in the “flesh,” according to 1 Corinthians 5:16, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” In other words, the flesh is no longer important to those who truly believe in Christ.
     When is a person’s heart circumcised? Not at baptism, but at rebirth. Baptism symbolizes the circumcision of the heart which precedes. Abraham was circumcised to seal the deal (Gen 17) before he actually trusted enough to participate in the deal (Gen 22). Hence, circumcision was not the important thing, but the willingness to trust God!
     Circumcision, then, has no saving value: “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law (Gal 5:3). It merely signifies indebtedness to the Law. There is no gain in circumcision: “For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. (Rom 2:25). In fact, it is burdensome and extraneous, as is written:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;  Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart. (Jer 9:25-26)

     One might ask, “Why, then, was Abraham circumcised?” It was a testimony for him  and the Hebrew people that their God was the One True God, unlike any other. They were willing to obey God but still failed to love Him as their hearts were not yet right, not having been circumcised. It was faith that made them spiritually circumcised:

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also. (Heb 4:5-11)

     Therein is much. Foremost is that circumcision has no bearing on righteousness. It is not the blade which imputes righteousness but by God through the gift of faith. Although righteousness is imputed, circumcision remains a seal. What is that similar to? Baptism.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (Col 2:10-12)

     The “circumcision made without hands” is the circumcision of the heart. It is submitting the flesh to Christ for him to handle. It is Christ who circumcises the heart, and it is not of ourselves. Then after speaking of circumcision, Paul writes of baptism. Like circumcision, it is the seal that their hearts were changed.
     Circumcision requires someone to wield a blade. Zipporah did it for Moses’ son, but the sword of the Word is done without hands. Thus, lowering someone into the baptismal waters is not saving but symbolic as only Jesus’s hand can save! Since Jews were in bondage to the Law, baptism symbolically washes away the bondage “signature” which is the blood from the knife. The second birth sets free, and baptism is the emancipation ceremony.  
     Unlike circumcision which testifies to the power of the knife, baptism testifies to the Power of Jesus’s Name! Baptism reveals that although we are not chosen people as the Jews, but are peculiar people of a chosen generation (1 Pet 2:9). Baptism changes Gentiles’ spiritual identities from Gentile to Jew because circumcision is symbolic of baptism: “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”  (Rom 2:29).
     I hope that these three commentaries help to explain circumcision better and compare it to baptism. The order nor necessity of either circumcision nor baptism is important. Scripture has one “must be” and one “must do.” We must be born again (John 3:7) and we “must do” (Exod 18:20) the folliwng: “And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.”
     What is the one must do? Like the two things Jesus commanded with the one Greatest Commandment, we must do unto God and others with love!

Circumcision Part 2

     The rite of circumcision is important in scripture as it is found throughout the Old and New Testaments. “Rites” are ceremonial practices. Ceremonies are not “sacraments” in the sense that sacraments are consecrations, and rites are not. Sacraments, are thus, dedication to God’s Will or purposes for mankind. Rites, on the other hand, are ordinances, or practice of the commandments. Therein is a huge difference between ordinances and sacraments; the former is obedience, and the latter is dedication because of trust.

     Circumcision is a “rite” in that it is not saving, but obedience. Examine the process; one obedient to God’s Law has his foreskin cut-off. That is nothing more than following orders, and it is dedication by shedding one’s own blood to “prosper.” I use “prosper” here rather than “salvation” because salvation is the prosperity promised in the Abrahamic Covenant!

     Scripture says in order to prosper, “Marvel not; ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Why not be amazed? Because Jews thought circumcision was soterial (saving)!  The rite of circumcision is a token – an outward sign for what should be inside. From where did that idea come?

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you… 13 My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Gen 17)

     Circumcision is like putting a “signature” to a document. In the case of the Abrahamic Covenant, it was a signature written in blood. Zipporah recognized the “importance” of it when she, rather than Moses, circumcised her son. Moses had shed blood before, and shedding a little more was meaningless. At any rate, Zipporah knew that the bloody rite was ineffectual  (Exod 4:25) – just a signature much like a wife signing a loan application half-heartedly. She understood that much more than Moses, it seems, and that is bourn out by scripture:

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. (1 Cor 7:19)  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. (Gal 6:15)

     Why circumcise then? It is a testimony for bondage to the agreement. The Covenant was for the Jews to be righteous, and their reward would be prosperity. Some believe that to mean the Promised Land of Canaan, but apparently Abraham knew it was the Paradise of Heaven. Abraham also knew that it was what was inside that mattered. Circumcision was signing on the dotted line that I am a new creature!

     New creatures are those regenerated back to God’s design in that the original generating was “very good” in the image of God. “New creatures” undergo a transformation from the old creature (2 Cor 5:17). Rebirth is merely half “born again” if a new creature is not forthcoming! As we still see today, “halfway born” is abortion - spiritual abortion in this case. Those who feign trust without changing abort the rebirth process.  What is important, then, is not the cutting asway of the foreskin of what is most problematic, especially for men, but changing what’s inside. Circumcision, in patriarchal times, did nothing more that testify to the agreement whether there was a change or nor. In fact, the Hebrews changed little. They continued to get circumcised but noting changed inside!

     The New Testament version, as you shall see, of circumcision is Baptism. As with circumcision, it too is a rite or ordinance, and is not a sacrament (something that saves.)  Like circumcision, churches which are enslaved to tradition, baptize on the eighth day after birth. That is ironic because baptism signifies change or rebirth, and infants have merely suffered the first birth! Formal churches get that idea for baptism from the timing of circumcision, as is written. “And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Lev 12:3). Thus, baptism is timed as was circumcision for a reason; they understood that baptism is nothing more than circumcision. Those who adhere more closely to scripture understand that baptism, unlike circumcision, is at rebirth to seal the deal with God. Rather than sealed with blood, it is sealed with water (the invisible “ink” so to speak).

     Tomorrow, I will wrap up my commentary of circumcision. Stay tuned.

Circumcision - Part 1

     For those who are unaware, “circumcision” is cutting off the foreskin of the penis of a man for either of two reasons: (1) hygiene and (2) as a token of obedience, not really for the individual but for the nation, specifically Israel. "Medically it is a treatment option for problematic cases of phimosis, balanoposthitis that does not resolve with other treatments, and chronic urinary tract infections” (Wikipedia; “circumcision).
     Phimosis would make reproduction more painful and difficult, and the directive to "multiply" (Gen 1:28) would be jeopardized. Balanoposthitus is inflammation and that would discourage reproduction. Infections are uncleanness. Phimosis is fairly well a trap for bacteria, and in Mosaic Law, uncleanliness is sinful:

 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.(Lev 5:3).

     God was somewhat tactful in this precept since a  man’s uncleanness is his unwashed  penis, and a woman’s her vagina in that menstruation is considered unclean, as it is written:

And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. (Lev 15:19).

     Adding to that is sex without coitus or attempts to engage in sex without conception:

The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even. (Lev 15:18)

     Sexual uncleanness is serious business to God or it would not have been made Law! Of course, man is not under the Law, and never was, but God still had his reasons for each edict. The obvious was for the health of the Jewish people so as to multiply with proliference. The less obvious is abstention for birth control. In periods of uncleanness there would be no sex for multiplication, thus a natural form of birth control was available. Since men and women could not abstain due to lack of will-power, then God seemed to have helped them out somewhat! 
     The less obvious but possibly the most important reason was to discourage sex for pleasure, or sexual pleasure without the intention of multiplying. The Garden Paradise, even if it is not the Heavenly Paradise, has the same spiritual "climate." Heaven will be a place without sexual pleasure, as can be seen in the passage:

And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:34-36).

     Your cry can be heard: "But there was sex in the Garden, was there not?" No there was not! All children were born aided by pleasure. God knew in advance that "multiplication" would occur outside of Paradise because of His foreknowledge. The Garden was never for sexual pleasure for any reason but to serve God, and not themselves! Sexual pleasure would have despoiled Paradise; sex had to be in the world, the place outside of Paradise. 

     Reproduction was serious business for God or He would not have commanded it. Leviticus 15:18  makes it clear that pleasuring without coitius was iniquitous. Some believe that the original sin was that sin. How would eating of forbidden fruit be associated with sexual pleasure? Directly it was surely not; the sin was disobedience, but why did Adam and Eve cover their genitals with an apron of fig leaves (Gen 3:7)? Because they were ashamed what disobedience had led to! 
     There were four rules given to Adam: (1) To have authority over the creation (Gen 1:26)– the animals, and themselves, (2) to multiply (Gen 1:22), (3) to not eat of the Wisdom Tree (Gen 2:17), and (4) to serve and protect the things of the Garden (Gen 2:15). Dominion over the animals included Adam and Eve for a reason - self-control. They were expected, not only to control the animals needs, but their own passions!
     Eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (The Wisdom Tree) provided them with understanding of a moral code; this is good and that is evil. Not knowing evil at that point, they ate, and maybe did something evil. Whatever it was, they understood that what they had done was not good which everything had been up until that time (Gen 1:31). One might think, What evil did they do?  Immediately, there was a clue – their aprons to cover their genitals! Although the genitalia are mere tools for reproduction, since the tree was also a “tree of beauty and pleasure” (Gen 3:6), perhaps the two used their new knowledge for pleasure rather than reproduction!
     That makes sense because immediately after being cast out of the Garden, what did they do? They pleasured themselves immediately. Their motive is not known, but they did pleasure in the conception of Cain (Gen 4:1). Since Cain was sinful, and that was his nature, it may be that his conception was in sin. Jesus validated that when he said, "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one..." (1 John 3:12).
Cain's sin was grievously materialistic and sexual:

Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." (Jude 10:11). 

     We know from Revelation 2:14 that the sin of Balaam, and before him Cain, was food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. Sacred literature relates that Cain desired to marry his twin sister, Luluwa, whose name means "beautiful" rather than Abel's twin, Aklia/Aklemia ("gift of God"). Envy seem to be the nature of Cain who was always coveting what belonged to others! Cain had lust in his heart, not just jealousy which he is known for!

     Of course, Satan did not spawn Cain but he was apparently conceived due to lust rather than obedience. In other words, right after God forgave them for sinning, the two sinned again as is still the custom, or rather, the nature of the people sub-servient to the flesh.
     Why would that be? We know that David was “shapen in iniquity” (Psalm 51:5) of which he repented. It seems that Cain had the same problem but did not repent! On the other hand, Abel had a righteous nature and was obedient to Adam and God. Perhaps Cain was conceived in pursuit of pleasure and Abel in an effort to please God.
     The point is that mankind’s genitalia are the main source of sin. That is obvious since fornication (sexual immorality) is a sin against the temple of God’s Holy Spirit, and for Christians, that means us! (1 Cor 6:18-20). Likewise, physical fornication is disrespectful to God, and is akin to spiritual fornication with “other gods.” (Jud 2:17). In the case of fornication, those “other gods” are ourselves!
     Whether sex without the intent to reproduce is wrong is not for certain, the preponderance of the evidence is that in the beginning that was not God’s intent. Thankfully, for those who pursue sex for pleasure, the Mosaic Laws no longer apply because as they were too hard to obey anyway. Mankind just did not have dominion even over themselves and only a few of the beasts because Adam and Eve failed God!
     However, the flesh is still mankind’s problem as they cannot please God by the flesh (Rom 8:8). The entire flesh is represented by the genitals in patriarchal times. Fig leaves were not sufficient to cover the entire flesh so God protected them from sexual prowess with coats of skin, undoubtedly from a lamb (Gen 3:21). The implication is that man’s own futile attempt to cover the tool was insufficient on two counts: (1) Man cannot cover his own sin, and (2) the entire creature must be covered. The Word (Jesus) did that with the skin of a lamb in the beginning, and covered all the flesh with his own flesh on Calvary. 
     The intent from the first sin onward was that only God could cover sin by grace and man’s works were ineffectual. By grace, God created Adam, and by grace, God covered Adam’s sin and re-created him (not to be confused with recreation!)
     In the Old Testament’s Abrahamic Covenant, circumcision of the male genitalia was symbolic of cutting off all the flesh. Why just the male? Because Adam was held accountable for sin (Rom 5:12) since God revealed to him alone His Will for mankind. (Eve had not been created when God revealed death to Adam.)
     Face it; people’s genitals are a huge problem for mankind! Early pagan worship provided sexual coitus in their temples. Even to this day, the phallus is a religious symbol for pagans, and the obelisks seen everywhere is the Freudian symbol for male prowess and dominance. The pubic area of women are the “high places” on which pagans worship, and are even called the Venus mons. Appreciate it or not, our genitals need covered for our own sake, and to respect God. Modesty is not an option; that became obvious with Bathsheba’s display of all her flesh to David!
     Circumcision was a partial remedy for the mankind’s pleasure problem but was ineffective because the desire for pleasure remained. Only those truly serious about the Will of God would honor the “seal” of the Abrahamic Covenant. It must have represented something more effective which Abraham understood! That is known because Abraham is in Paradise as he knew the blood which was really effective against the entire flesh.
     Some think of pleasurable things as idols. Not so! Mankind’s “idols” are their flesh and pleasurable things appease their self-gods by pleasuring the flesh. Hence, “the flesh” is not only the skin of the creature but his desires as well. Tomorrow that will be examined.

On Glorification

     The ultimate choice, or use of free will, is the notion of pleasure or treasure. Which shall it be? Yesterday’s commentary was on TREASURE. It was identified as “glorification.” Let’s take a look at that concept.

     Glorification is recognizing God for whom He IS! Glorification is God-focused, not person-focused. Nobody can be glorified without first glorifying God. If anyone searches for “glorified” in the entire Bible, 95% of all the hits will be God glorified. More, precisely, “glorification” is God’s suffering on the behalf of humanity, as Paul wrote, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom 8:17). That idea was validated by the apostle John:

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:38-39). 

     Glorification has an added component, it is not only suffering on the behalf of the creatures, but dying in their place. Jesus, was glorified by dying; he propitiated his own blood to redeem mankind. This is difficult to understand in that Jesus is God, but he glorified Himself when His own Flesh suffered for mankind. John 3:16 indicated why: “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 was glorified in substituting His flesh for ours so that we could be regenerated immortal. Not just with eternal life, but eternal TREASURE. As mentioned yesterday, our treasures are in Heaven (Mat 6:20). “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field.” (Mat 13:44).

     Treasure, for Christians, is when they return to the condition as in the Garden Paradise. In order to obtain glorification, consider this, “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:20-21). If Christians live like Christ, just as Christ, in the end, they will be glorified. They will gladly suffer for God by taking up their own cross by denying themselves and following Jesus (Mat 16:24).

Paul, Peter, and all the apostles glorified God by either suffering for, as in the case of John, or dying for Jesus. Their “cross” was dying for the Doctrine of Jesus. They did for Jesus what he did for mankind. Their deaths did not propitiate for the sins of mankind or even themselves, but glorified God.

     Glorification, for God, is being Himself. When Christians glorify God, it is for Him being as He is. We thank God for who He Is in our prayers. That is glorifying God. Because God loves the aroma of incense, in this case, our praise, He in return glorifies Christians who are sincere. The Third Commandment is essentially a command against the refusal to glorify God by taking Jesus’s Purpose with apathy. He died that we might live on, yet people trivialize God. Jesus sweated blood in agony for us (Luke 22:44), but what do most do for him? Minimize the profundity of him dying in our place!

    Jesus, as God, made Himself glory-worthy first for generating mankind (Gen 1:1). Mankind owes their lives to Jesus because his hand did the creating. Jesus glorified us when he made flesh from dust and breathed life into inanimate, formed clay. Jesus was shown to be glory-worthy again when he died that man could be regenerated. That is back to the original condition in the Garden. What is that? Doing freely the will of God! The first time around, Eve did Satan’s will, and Adam did his own because God told him His Will, not Eve.

    Jesus returned as Spirit as he was in the Garden (Acts 2). He was glorified. I believe that Jesus’s glorification commenced at the transfiguration on the mountain so that he could be powerful enough to redeem all the sins of mankind and face Satan on his own turf.

     The transfiguration was complete when Jesus said, “It is finished” and “gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30). A transition was made when the transfiguration was finished: Jesus was transformed from the Flesh of God into the Ghost of God’s Flesh. His “Ghost” went to Hell and dropped off the sins of mankind as his body rested in the tomb. When sin was defeated, Jesus’s Ghost came back to the tomb and Jesus’s flesh was resurrected. His glorification of God was finished! Look at that claim:

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. (John 17:3-5)

     Jesus glorified the Father, “That they might know thee the only true God.” That’s how Christians are to glorify God, and by so doing, God shall glorify us! Why would God do that? Examine the following scripture:

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Rom 8:16-17) 

     Christians must suffer tribulation for God as He did for us. The apostles did that, and we are expected to as well. If we are ashamed of him, he will be ashamed of us (Mark 8:38). We must be not “ashamed of the gospel of Christ” (Rom 1:16). That is our tribulation, and those who are not ashamed, glorify God by doing His will rather than Satan’s or our own! God’s will for mankind before we were ever generated had a purpose:

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:29-31). 

     Mankind was meant to be glorious. He created us for eternal life with imperishable flesh in a place without suffering or death!  “Very good” (Gen 1:1) is GLORIOUS! Ultimately the final stage of glorification is the resurrected body. Resurrection is having life breathed unto the creature again and remade a living glorious soul just as at the beginning. Regeneration and resurrection both result in glorification. We are remade in the image of God just as back in the Garden. Jesus, himself was not to be glorified as a high priest like Aaron, but Melchesidec (Heb 5:4-6).  Glorification, then is like Melchisedec. Look at him:

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (Heb 7:1-3) 

     Glorification is being like Melchesedec, who, it is clear, was the identity of preincarnate Jesus. Abraham glorified Melchesedec with tithes, glorified him as “King of righteousness,” and as “King of Peace,” which is Jesus, because his purpose was to bring spiritual peace in Earth.

Abraham glorified God. Scripture then explains glorification of God: (1) without father, (2) without mother, (3) without descent, (4) no beginning, (5) no end, and (6) continuous Existence. Melchesedec was a manifestation of God, and anytime that God manifests Himself, that Person is Jesus!

     Glorification is the ever-present eternal image of God. Jesus was without Father or mother because he is God in the Flesh. He is called “the Son of God” because his flesh was generated by God for a purpose. He was to be glorified, and as I have shown, that is His purpose for us! The “treasure” which Abraham sought was not the land of Canaan, but glorification in Paradise – to be made again in the image of Jesus!

Location of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

     One of the most fascinating things which link the Old Testament to the New is “The Cave of Treasures.” According to the Book of Adam and Eve and the Conflict With Satan, that was Adam and Eve’s home after expulsion from the Garden of Eden and contained the gold, frankincense, and myrrh which was given to them at their marriage:

1 AFTER these things God said unto Adam, "Thou didst ask of Me something from the garden, to be comforted therewith, and I have given thee these three tokens as a consolation to thee; that thou trust in Me and in My covenant with thee. 2 "For I will come and save thee; and kings shall bring me when in the flesh, gold, incense and myrrh; gold as a token of My kingdom; incense as a token of My divinity; and myrrh as a token of My suffering and of My death. 3 "But, O Adam, put these by thee in the cave; the gold that it may shed light over thee by night; the incense, that thou smell its sweet savour; and the myrrh, to comfort thee in thy sorrow." 4 When Adam heard these words from God, he worshipped before Him. He and Eve worshipped Him and gave Him thanks, because He had dealt mercifully with them. 5 Then God commanded the three angels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, each to bring what he had brought, and give it to Adam. And they did so, one by one. 8 The angels then comforted Adam and Eve, and departed. 10 These remained by Adam in the House of Treasures; therefore was it called "of concealment." But other interpreters say it was called the "Cave of Treasures," by reason of the bodies of righteous men that were in it. 11 These three things did God give to Adam, on the third day after he had come out of the garden, in token of the three days the Lord should remain in the heart of the earth. (1 Adam & Eve 31) 

     It would seem that the Cave was called that because of the gold, frankincense, and myrrh which was contained therein. In verse ten above, that is not so. It’s because the bodies of righteous men were buried therein; to wit: Adam and Eve in the beginning. It may be that those bodies are treasured because they will arise first when the trumpet is sounded at Jesus’s return. (1 Cor 15:52).  That notion is also identified elsewhere:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Mat 24:31-32) 

     Because Jesus ascended in Jerusalem (the Garden of Gethsemane) and his Holy Ghost returned there, (Acts 2), the best bet is that the living and dead in Christ shall be gathered at Jerusalem. “The Foundation Stone” under the Dome of the Rock was at one time much larger as it has been chiseled away with time. Somewhere in Jerusalem, perhaps the Garden of Gethsemane, Calvary, or The Foundation Stone; Christians will be “funneled” into Heaven from all over the world. It will not take time for that, but done in a “twinkling of an eye” as is God’s method. (1 Cor 15:52).

Where are the of Treasures, now, considering that the “treasure” is not the three substances; gold, frankincense, nor myrrh but the patriarchs? I was thinking on the Cave of Treasures as I awoke this morning, Where is it now? It struck me, possibly the Cave of Machpelah where Abraham and Sarah are buried, among others. It is called, “The Cave of the Patriarchs.” 

Jewish midrashic literature avows that, in addition to the patriarch couples, Adam, the first man, and his wife, Eve, were also interred in the Cave of the Patriarchs, a tradition supported by ancient Samaritan texts. The tradition is supported by the simple wording of Genesis 23:2, which refers to "Kiryat Arba... Hevron" ("arba" means four). Commenting on that passage, Rashi listed the four couples chronologically, starting with Adam and Eve. (Wikipeda; “Cave of the Patriarchs)

     In other words, the Cave of Machpelah is the same as the Cave of Treasures where the gold, frankincense, and myrrh were originally, and its location remains today the city of Kiryat Arba which is the “town of the four.” That has significance because four families were buried there, the first being Adam and Eve. Since, that Cave was where the gifts to Jesus were stored, were they still there?

It is known from scripture that “wise men from the East” brought three gifts. It was not necessarily three men but three gifts.

     Kiryat Arba is from the south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The wise men came from the East but possibly the gifts came from the South. In other words, wise men knew where to find them! It can be assumed that since God provided the guiding star, God would have revealed the whereabouts of the ancient treasures.

     Perhaps the magians (Greek; magoj) were not really sorcerers or magicians, but as sacred literature says, “kings shall bring me when in the flesh,” then later it is written therein, “Then God commanded the three angels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, each to bring what he had brought, and give it to Adam. And they did so, one by one.” There were no wise men to bring presents to Adam, but there were to Jesus. However, perhaps those three “kings” were angels (messengers) because they brought the Good News.

     The wise men saw the star in the East. They were in the East where they viewed the star. One of two things may have occurred: (1) When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, he robbed Solomon’s Temple and took its treasures. Perhaps the three Treasures were stored there. The other alternative is that (2) God revealed to them where the Treasures were kept in the Cave of Malachpelah.

     Regardless, the three treasures given to Adam were, “Gold as a token of My kingdom; incense as a token of My divinity; and myrrh as a token of My suffering and of My death,” and were obviously given to Jesus (God in the flesh) as tokens of his Kingship, Divinity, and suffering and death. The three gifts represented Jesus’s status and purpose, and they surely came from the Cave of the Patriarchs – righteous men’s legacy to him!

No one knows the whereabouts of those treasures today. Where the gold, frankincense, and myrrh are, is of no consequence for they were not the valuable “treasure.” What was? Jesus Christ and his heavenly realm. He is no longer King of the Jews, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; nor is he suffering and dead! He is King of His own realm, the God of everyone, and Jesus is alive, well, and eternal in Heaven. Where Jesus’s treasure is, is where ours are:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Mat 6:19-21) 

     A few minutes ago, Terri and I were discussing the importance of wealth in life. My cousin is quite wealthy but can’t even find time to take a vacation in that his priorities are on his “kingdom,” which is his very prosperous manufacturing business. I told Terri that I considered that route to prosperity years ago twice, and stayed content with where I am. I am in great health and retired at a young age. My only worries now are the souls of those whom I love. My cousin, however, should be retired at his age but is still worrying about his “treasures.” It seems by his conversation that his treasures are his rare automobiles. My treasure awaits me; it is eternal life.

     Abraham was promised prosperity in God’s covenant with him. Jews, to this day, still believe that the prosperity was the milk and honey of Canaan-land. They missed the point, but Abraham knew the source of prosperity, and today he comforts new arrivals in his bosom (Luke 16:22), indubitably Paradise in Heaven. In that instance, the poor man Lazarus, not having treasures on Earth, received his treasure in Heaven. Inevitably, the treasure is always in Heaven. Where is the gold, frankincense, and myrrh now? Perhaps the three angels - Michael, Gabriel and Raphael – carried them there for safekeeping as tokens of Jesus’s Kingship, Divinity, and eternal life!

My Dilemma

     Our church had a study on spiritual gifts. I have known what mine are for years, and have usually used my gift whether it has been for teaching or lay-preaching. The study may have had the opposite affect on me than most. The intention was for people to recognize their gifts and use them for the Lord. For me, it validated my gift, convinced me that I had always used my gift, but now I am not, although I am certainly willing to. Rather than enthused, I feel dejected. I’ve always volunteered for any type of teaching activity, have a graduate degree in education, and know the Bible quite well, although I am not a seminary graduate.
     What’s wrong, then? I know my gift but can’t use it, for who knows for what reason. The conclusion is that maybe I’m in the wrong place at this time. Perhaps it is a sign that I need to go out into the world and tell others about Christ! I don’t want to do that because there are many where I am who could use some of the insights the Lord has given me over the years. I have obtained much from the Bible that no one in all my life has taught or preached. So many have used common commentary that much teaching is cookie-cutting, in that most preachers in one denomination have been taught the same limited curriculum.
     For instance, I had never had one of the most important chapters in the Bible taught thoroughly; to wit, John 3.  Although salvation is an often-preached sermon, that is not the MUST BE. Salvation is an outcome or affect, not a cause or Way. Scripture does not say, You must be saved, but “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Jesus said in that same passage, “marvel not,” indicating not to be amazed at that. I “marvel” that it is still taught that we must be saved. One preacher explained to me that Jimmy Carter gave born again a bad connotation. That was an admission that he was not teaching or preaching the gospel.
     The notion that we must be saved is so prevalent that it bothers me immensely! It implies that it is us who saves ourselves. How so? Walking to the altar has come to mean salvation.
     Regeneration (born again) is a lifelong process ending in salvation. When? At the end of life. Rebirth is the beginning, and faith is the interval between regeneration and salvation. Salvation is when Christians give up their ghost, as is written, “But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost…” (Job 14:10) just as Jesus did (Mat 27:50.)
     Salvation continues on after death until resurrection. The souls of Christians are sealed, but complete regeneration is not accomplished until the body and soul are reunited. That is glorification, and comes about at the rapture when Jesus comes down to take the living and dead in Christ to Heaven. Not to be confused, but the souls of the dead are already there, but at the rapture, new incorruptible flesh will be provided. The salvation process ends at the General Resurrection of the dead as Jesus set the example.
     That’s my thoughts about teaching on salvation based on scripture. My desire in teaching is to place the emphasis on rebirth as it is the only MUST BE in the Bible. Everything else is to convince that to live forever there is only one Way – to be born again. The rest of scripture is about the reward of that and the punishment if not! Holy Scripture condenses to three “chapters,” then: (1) Born again, (2) the importance of it, and (3) the result. Do not be amazed at that!
     My dilemma is what to do. How and where can I use my gift? I placate my desire to fulfill the Great Commission with my blog this instant. Each day, what I write is available to less people for two reasons: (1) Most elect not to learn about Christ, and (2) Google’s algorithms have limited the number of who can read my blog. For instance, suddenly readership dropped from 700 hits per day down to 70. That could not have been because suddenly 630 people at the same time decided to quit reading my thoughts! That would be irrational to believe that.
     My thought today is about frustration. I merely seek to do God’s will for me, but am hindered. What can I do with my gift if there are no recipients? I have agonized over that for nine years. What am I to do? I still have no answers and joy is diminished, knowing that I am not using my gift to its full potential. Satan’s task is to frustrate Christians. Of course, I am insignificant to him, but not to his demons. Paul had a “thorn in his flesh” which, “the messenger of Satan to buffet me.” Why would that be? “Lest I should be exalted above measure” (2 Cor 12:7). Perhaps I am buffeted (attacked) by Satan’s messenger, whoever it is, so that it keeps me humbled!
     My conclusion is that I must await God’s timing. Perhaps I am too arrogant or desire to use my gift for the wrong reasons as Simon the Sorcerer did. Teachers and writers must always ask themselves the question, Am I doing this to elevate the Lord or for my own elevation? Rebirth is understanding that only the Lord must be elevated, but we are to diminish ourselves. Perhaps since I have not, the Lord is diminishing me!

The Plan Revealed

     When reading the Book Isaiah, one would think that they are reading the New Testament. That is evidence that the Testament is one! There is but one Covenant but it is understood differently by the people of its time. God revealed to Isaiah and the other prophets his plan long in advance of its implementation. They saw what the apostles experienced long before it ever was, and he saw what John the Revelator saw long before apostolic times. Prophecy, and the accuracy of it, should be accepted by skeptical people as evidence that God is real. 

     It took superior intelligence to develop a plan for mankind and implement it to the tee. Jeremiah the prophet related the notion that God had a plan for each individual, as it is written, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end' (Jer 29:11).

     God has a plan for Israel. Jeremiah told us that, when he wrote the Words of God. The plan has some elements:

•  God's thoughts are Him planning.
• His plan is for "you' is for Israel and all mankind.
• The Lord Himself revealed the plan to us through scripture.
• His people (Israel and those who live and serve in their "tent;" Gen 9:27) will have peace. It might be asked, "Where is this place of peace? It was in Paradise in Heaven and forthwith, it will be in "Salem" which means peace. Salem, or the Garden Paradise, then a great city named New Jerusalem will come down to Jerusalem, "the foundation of Peace."
• Those who live not and serve not with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), God will think and evil will come upon them. Where is evil? The kingdom of Satan. Now he is Prince of the Power of the Air, which is the world, but in the end, Lucifer will rule over Hell alone.
• God will give us and expected end. Those who love, honor, and obey the Lord can expect to live in Paradise, and those who reject God's sacrifice of Himself, can expect Hell. As such, our fate is on our own hands as the sacrifice can either be accepted or rejected. All along, God planned that "none should perish" (John 3:16) and that is still His plan. To avoid perishing requires trusting God's plan!

     The New Testament provides more details on God's plan. His plan was sort of hidden in the Old Testament. Most were deluded into thinking that the plan was for Israel alone. Whenever anyone reads of God's plan for Israel, do not be mistaken; that plan is for everyone. That is the mystery of God of which Paul often wrote. The Abrahamic Covenant was for perpetuity, and was for Jews and Gentiles as well. Study it yourself; it does have one contingency - trusting God. The plan in that Covenant has two outcomes which are prosperity or tribulation. 

     Most of the Jews believed that the promised prosperity was the "LAND of milk and honey" which was the Kingdom of David. The patriarchs and the prophets knew that prosperity meant New Jerusalem when "Melchizedek" would return as Priest and King. Paul revealed the identity of Melchizdek; when you read of him, you are reading of Jesus: 

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (Heb 7:1-3)

     Remembering that God has a plan for us, and peace is planned for those who trust him,  the reward will be the King of Peace, the Man who always was and always will be. Abraham saw Him as Melchizidek; Christians see Him as Jesus! Abraham fulfilled the Adamic Covenant, with his tithe and honor, was "dressing and keeping" (serving and heeding) the Centerpiece of the Garden that Adam was assigned to do! The Abrahamic Covenant was a clarification of the Adamic Covenant, and both are the Covenant of Grace! Now let's see what Isaiah knew of the "plan:"

I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face... (Isa 65:2-3a). 

     God spreading out his hands to ALL the rebellious people is a picture of Jesus on the cross with arms outstretched. This verse is another way of saying, "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" (John 3:16). Like it or not, Jesus died to save everyone, even those who provoke Him openly! That's important because ome think of themselves and others as too far gone for Jesus. That's not the case... those who are forgiven the most tend to love Jesus more!

I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. (Isa 65:9) 

     Israel is important because Jacob is Israel. God's Inheritor (Jesus) came out of the seed of Israel, and Isaiah knew that well in advance, and expected the Savior to come! God's mountain, in that passage, is Golgotha, ironically "the place of Adam's skull" since Adam is surely buried beneath as the Adamic Covenant implied. Those who God makes worthy by their trust in Him, would inherit that "mountain" called Calvary. We know from Jesus himself, that the meek shall inherit the Earth" (Mat 5:5) as David knew and wrote in Psalm 37:11. Isaiah knew that as well because therein he wrote, "my servants," referring to God's, "shall dwell there." How could the meek inherit the Earth if God's plan had not been for Heaven to come down?

I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. (Isa 65:12) 

     Isaiah not only spoke of salvation but judgment. Those who do not belong to God will die. The cross of Jesus (the horizontal bar) represents Jesus's outstretched arms, him electing all, but few will come. Hence, it represents judgment as well, and everyone will chose the path they will take. The vertical member is the narrow way, and the strait gate is the Doctrine of Jesus, represented by Jesus on the cross.

     The two ways are the broad - the way of the unrepentant thief, and the right way is represented by the repentant thief. Isaiah knew that!

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. (Isa 65:17-19)

     Therein, Isaiah saw what John saw in his revelation in Revelation 21:1-3. God's plan for His people was perpetuity on His Holy Mountain in Jerusalem. Moses knew that as well. The Abrahamic Covenant was the same as the Mosaic Covenant! The land of milk and honey was not Israel but the Realm of God with its capitol in New Jerusalem. The Tree of Life stood there in the midst of the Garden of Eden and that place is now called Calvary! The "Tree" was Jesus, who yet stands there, only in the midst of the Paradise of Heaven (Rev 2:7). Isaiah knew that Jesus is that Tree and knew Heaven would come down. That implies that Heaven ascended, just as Jesus did, and will descend, just as Jesus will!

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isa 65:25).

     This passage describes the peace that will be in heavenly paradise which is the same as the peace which existed in the Garden as Adam had dominion over the animals. One might think that animals die and go to Heaven. Without souls, that cannot be. All living animals have or will die without a reward. I believe that the tame animals which were in the Garden of Eden ascended to heaven with the Garden. They did not sin; Adam did. Why would have God punished the innocent animals? They were immortal in the Garden and will thus be eternal in Paradise!

It shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. (Isa 66:18b).

     Isaiah, in that verse, foresaw Jesus's Ghost descending to what had been the Garden. In Acts chapter two, the Holy Ghost came down to the "foundation of peace" to bring peace on Earth! Isaiah saw representatives of all mankind, people of all tongues, seeing the "glory" of God. That "Glory" is the Holy Ghost, and they all understood in their own language, just as Isaiah prophesied!

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. (Isa 66:22)

     Where will Christians be after the old heavens and Earth are cleansed? Back home in the New Heaven on the New Earth, perfected for our habitation. Where will some spend eternity? In the Garden, now a great city called the City of God and known as New Jerusalem. Those of us who are meek enough to diminish ourselves and elevate God will indeed inherit the Earth!

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. (Isa 66:24).

     The cross of Jesus is much like a directional post with two pointers. The Way to Heaven is up... some wait in the Earth for the rapture when the living and the dead ascend to the heavenly Paradise with Jesus to wait on a return home, as others take the wider path downward, and immediately go to their eternal home in Hell. 

     The cross is the path to either Heaven or Hell and its bar allows us to choose our own direction by free will. We will either dress and keep the Tree of the Garden or not!

     Those who choose the Way most traveled will be dead. Isaiah referred to those as "carcases." They are those with forever dying bodies and suffering souls. They will suffer an unquenched fire and isolation since in Hell they will be abhorred by all!

     The choice is yours. Choose wisely, my friends!