Eternal Mindset. This is an interesting topic. Oh, yes it is! But it is one that I am by no means authorized to speak about, though I long for certain things to be expressed. So, for this exercise, I keep my mouth shut. Shh! This is serious business. My only charge is to ask questions and insert thought responses wherever I am allowed to express. But for the most part, I let the Author speak for Himself; the Eternal One, my Father, Life Coach and Teacher.
I invite you to come share a seat with me in my Father’s classroom as He discusses the topic of Eternal Mindset. I must admit, this is going to be a very intense session, mind stretching, almost brain altering, but what can I say? Let imagination have its way?
This class has begun:
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place and when He had finished, one of his disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:
Father, hallowed be your Name, may your kingdom come, give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong and do not bring us to the test.”
I read the words from the book of Luke Chapter 11 verses one through four. This is a prayer that I learnt growing up as a child. I really do not remember when was the precise first time of learning this prayer. But I do remember reciting this prayer almost on a daily basis, sometimes, three times each day. Life is funny. When as a child, you learn to recite things, not really paying attention to what is actually being said, especially when learning something by rote. But I want to explore this prayer for a bit. Though only a few lines, those words speak great volumes. In fact, I just want to study one verse. Just one.
I consider the second verse in this Chapter. I read:
2 And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this: Father, hallowed be your name, may your Kingdom come.
Now, I want to zoom much further into this verse and pull out the words:
May your Kingdom come.
Wow! This is such a powerful four- word statement. I want to study this line:
May your Kingdom come.
What does that even mean? Kingdom? What Kingdom?
Is this a command? Or is it a promise?
God commands us to pray that his Kingdom comes, for He said, ‘when you pray, say this...’. This is a command. God commands us to always ask for His Kingdom to come.
God is willing for his Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
Every time I say this prayer, I keep asking God to bring his Kingdom to earth, as it is in heaven.
This is a mighty request! Yet, it is a request made upon God’s children.
I now read from the book of Matthew Chapter 6:
33 Set your heart first on the Kingdom and justice of God and all these things will also be given to you.
So, now I ask myself, why does my Father want His Kingdom to reach this earthly realm?
I recall the words from the book of Ephesians Chapter 1:
5 From eternity He destined us in love to be his adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling his free and generous will. This goal suited Him:
6 that his loving-kindness which He granted us in His Beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.
7 For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by His blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this appears the greatness of his grace,
8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding.
9 God had made known to us his mysterious design, in accordance with his loving-kindness in Christ.
10 In Him and under Him God wanted to unite, when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth.
When I study verse 5, I highlight the words ‘from eternity’. I pause to think for a while. From eternity? God is sitting in His eternal place. This must mean then that God is speaking to man from his place of eternity. God’s Word (expressed in Scripture) allows man to know His thoughts and what He is willing to do for man. God wants to adopt man as his own, as it was in the beginning when He first formed Adam. This is what He is saying in the book of Ephesians. Not only that, but God wills for man to join Him in his eternal place. This is God’s will, but only until the fullness of time has been reached.
So, I isolate these thoughts for a bit. I think to myself.
_So far, the earth is not eternal
_A place of eternity exists
_God resides in this place of eternity. God is eternal
_God wants to join earth with heaven, but only until the fullness of time has been reached.
I think further on...
Eternity = absence of time
Time removes life’s eternal nature.
So then, the eternal nature must be timeless.
So far, man exists in the boundaries of time.
God wishes to remove man’s time boundary transcending him to a place beyond time. I pause for much thought.
Let me go back to the beginning. So, how did man end up in this box called time, somewhat cut off from life’s eternity?
I read from the book of Genesis Chapter two:
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
I continue reading. I read from Chapter three:
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Clearly, God was not lying when He told man, ‘surely, he will die, if he were to eat of the fruit.’
I stay with this thought for a little while.
So, now I ask myself. If we are not exactly on Eden’s ground or God’s eternal place for man, where is man currently? On what ground or land is man currently residing on? Remember this very earth has an expiration date. So, if the earth dies or is to become extinct, on what ground is man going to continue to reside? Man needs a dwelling place on a dying earth.
I take note of King David’s lamentation in his Psalm 27. King David speaks of a certain land. He calls it the 'land of the living'. He got a glimpse or sight of this land as He recorded in verse thirteen.
But wait. How is he even able to see the 'land of the living'? It must be through God’s Spirit.
He put his own eye in their hearts so they would understand the greatness of his works. They will praise his Holy Name and relate the magnificence of his creation. (Sirach 17: 8,9)
So, now I ask, if it were that King David was able to see the land of the living, then on what ground was he travelling or coursing through while on the earth? I scroll back a page to land on his Psalm 23. King David recalls the following in verse four:
Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me, your rod and your staff comfort me.
It is clear that wherever this king is walking, he is walking down a very dark, dreary and wearisome road. He sings further:
Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)
King David sure did not have an easy road in this walk of life as he coursed through earth’s paths. I am sure that many of God’s servants walked a very arduous road as they coursed through this life. They had no choice but to live by faith. The Word was their lamp and their sight wherever they went. Though a very difficult one, I still think about King David’s words. He takes pleasure to speak of this land that is living.
He makes me lie down in green pasture. He leads me beside the still waters, (Psalm 23: 2)
Let me pause for a bit here.
So far, I have read that
_there is a land of the living,
_but there is also a place that is the valley of the shadow of death. For darkness overshadows the path that man is to walk.
_The only way that man is able to see is by using the lamp of the Word given by God. Man is walking on a very, very fine line here.
_Without the Word, it is impossible for man to receive glimpses of eternity.
Let me extrapolate now.
Without God’s Spirit, it is impossible for man to receive glimpses of eternity.
I now wish to draw a picture of how I interpret such words.
I invite you to come share a seat with me in my Father’s classroom as He discusses the topic of Eternal Mindset. I must admit, this is going to be a very intense session, mind stretching, almost brain altering, but what can I say? Let imagination have its way?
This class has begun:
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place and when He had finished, one of his disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:
Father, hallowed be your Name, may your kingdom come, give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong and do not bring us to the test.”
I read the words from the book of Luke Chapter 11 verses one through four. This is a prayer that I learnt growing up as a child. I really do not remember when was the precise first time of learning this prayer. But I do remember reciting this prayer almost on a daily basis, sometimes, three times each day. Life is funny. When as a child, you learn to recite things, not really paying attention to what is actually being said, especially when learning something by rote. But I want to explore this prayer for a bit. Though only a few lines, those words speak great volumes. In fact, I just want to study one verse. Just one.
I consider the second verse in this Chapter. I read:
2 And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this: Father, hallowed be your name, may your Kingdom come.
Now, I want to zoom much further into this verse and pull out the words:
May your Kingdom come.
Wow! This is such a powerful four- word statement. I want to study this line:
May your Kingdom come.
What does that even mean? Kingdom? What Kingdom?
Is this a command? Or is it a promise?
God commands us to pray that his Kingdom comes, for He said, ‘when you pray, say this...’. This is a command. God commands us to always ask for His Kingdom to come.
God is willing for his Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
Every time I say this prayer, I keep asking God to bring his Kingdom to earth, as it is in heaven.
This is a mighty request! Yet, it is a request made upon God’s children.
I now read from the book of Matthew Chapter 6:
33 Set your heart first on the Kingdom and justice of God and all these things will also be given to you.
So, now I ask myself, why does my Father want His Kingdom to reach this earthly realm?
I recall the words from the book of Ephesians Chapter 1:
5 From eternity He destined us in love to be his adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling his free and generous will. This goal suited Him:
6 that his loving-kindness which He granted us in His Beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.
7 For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by His blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this appears the greatness of his grace,
8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding.
9 God had made known to us his mysterious design, in accordance with his loving-kindness in Christ.
10 In Him and under Him God wanted to unite, when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth.
When I study verse 5, I highlight the words ‘from eternity’. I pause to think for a while. From eternity? God is sitting in His eternal place. This must mean then that God is speaking to man from his place of eternity. God’s Word (expressed in Scripture) allows man to know His thoughts and what He is willing to do for man. God wants to adopt man as his own, as it was in the beginning when He first formed Adam. This is what He is saying in the book of Ephesians. Not only that, but God wills for man to join Him in his eternal place. This is God’s will, but only until the fullness of time has been reached.
So, I isolate these thoughts for a bit. I think to myself.
_So far, the earth is not eternal
_A place of eternity exists
_God resides in this place of eternity. God is eternal
_God wants to join earth with heaven, but only until the fullness of time has been reached.
I think further on...
Eternity = absence of time
Time removes life’s eternal nature.
So then, the eternal nature must be timeless.
So far, man exists in the boundaries of time.
God wishes to remove man’s time boundary transcending him to a place beyond time. I pause for much thought.
Let me go back to the beginning. So, how did man end up in this box called time, somewhat cut off from life’s eternity?
I read from the book of Genesis Chapter two:
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
I continue reading. I read from Chapter three:
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Clearly, God was not lying when He told man, ‘surely, he will die, if he were to eat of the fruit.’
I stay with this thought for a little while.
So, now I ask myself. If we are not exactly on Eden’s ground or God’s eternal place for man, where is man currently? On what ground or land is man currently residing on? Remember this very earth has an expiration date. So, if the earth dies or is to become extinct, on what ground is man going to continue to reside? Man needs a dwelling place on a dying earth.
I take note of King David’s lamentation in his Psalm 27. King David speaks of a certain land. He calls it the 'land of the living'. He got a glimpse or sight of this land as He recorded in verse thirteen.
But wait. How is he even able to see the 'land of the living'? It must be through God’s Spirit.
He put his own eye in their hearts so they would understand the greatness of his works. They will praise his Holy Name and relate the magnificence of his creation. (Sirach 17: 8,9)
So, now I ask, if it were that King David was able to see the land of the living, then on what ground was he travelling or coursing through while on the earth? I scroll back a page to land on his Psalm 23. King David recalls the following in verse four:
Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me, your rod and your staff comfort me.
It is clear that wherever this king is walking, he is walking down a very dark, dreary and wearisome road. He sings further:
Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)
King David sure did not have an easy road in this walk of life as he coursed through earth’s paths. I am sure that many of God’s servants walked a very arduous road as they coursed through this life. They had no choice but to live by faith. The Word was their lamp and their sight wherever they went. Though a very difficult one, I still think about King David’s words. He takes pleasure to speak of this land that is living.
He makes me lie down in green pasture. He leads me beside the still waters, (Psalm 23: 2)
Let me pause for a bit here.
So far, I have read that
_there is a land of the living,
_but there is also a place that is the valley of the shadow of death. For darkness overshadows the path that man is to walk.
_The only way that man is able to see is by using the lamp of the Word given by God. Man is walking on a very, very fine line here.
_Without the Word, it is impossible for man to receive glimpses of eternity.
Let me extrapolate now.
Without God’s Spirit, it is impossible for man to receive glimpses of eternity.
I now wish to draw a picture of how I interpret such words.
From my depiction, I represent this box to be the time stamp that forms the boundary of the earth, as it remains disconnected somewhat to meet with the rest of eternity. Technically speaking, the circle disrupts eternity’s space but I chose to put the circle with the assumption that the line of the circle has no true end.
So, man was put in this box of time as his reward for not obeying God’s will. Man was left to fend for himself. Man received a ‘time out’ from the Father. But as any Father who grows merciful, God is willing to put man back into His Will. How does He do this? He removes for man, this box of time. So that even though the earth fades, and all the heavens go with it, the Will of God will stand forever. And the Will of God is his Word. God removes the barrier of time by putting His Spirit back into man. The Word is Spirit, sharper than any two-edged sword. God longs to put His Spirit back into man so that man returns to Him and wholeheartedly walk in fellowship with Him. This was always part of God’s will; to keep man in fellowship with Him. To be in fellowship with God is to be in fellowship with life itself.
The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of Yahweh blows upon it. The grass withers, the flower fades but the Word of our God will forever stand. (Isaiah 40: 7,8)
I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. (Jeremiah 32: 40)
I write a short note here:
For what it is worth, the earth is temporary. For it is dying. It must mean then that the earth and all that there is within is self-limiting; it blows up for a time, but then eventually fades. Sin is self-limiting. It blows up for a time and then eventually fades. Sin = not moving in accordance with life’s ways. For death is opposite to life. How can death follow life?
Good is the opposite of evil, and life, of death, and the sinner is the opposite of the upright. Consider all the works of the Most High and you will see how they go in pairs, by opposites. (Sirach 33: 14)
The earth mourns and withers, the world pines and fades, both heaven and earth languish. The land lies polluted, defiled by its inhabitants who have transgressed the laws, violated the ordinances, and broken the covenant. (Isaiah 24: 4,5)
I want to stress something really important here; the definition of death.
True death is not the body losing its ability to function on this earth by whatever means. True death is simply not moving in life’s direction. It is a falling away from life’s order. If one is not moving in accordance with life’s laws, he dies. God’s Law is life. God’s Law is Spirit. God’s Law is Truth. God’s Law is Eternal. God speaks from eternity. God’s Law is Christ. God’s Law penetrates the dying earth to reach the ears of the Father’s children who currently reside on the earth so that they may live.
A Short Note on Death and Dying.
The topic of Eternity will not be complete if there was not a note found on death and dying. Death speaks to expiration. For something to die, it must mean that it is temporary; lasting for only a time.
I consider the following verses taken from the book of Sirach Chapter 41:
1 Death! What a bitter thought for someone who lives happily among his possessions, a prosperous and successful man who is still able to enjoy his food!
2 Your sentence, Death, is welcome to a needy person whose strength is failing, who is old, worn out, and full of worries; to one who is angry and without hope!
3 Do not be afraid of Death’s sentence; think of those who have gone before and those who will follow.
4 The Lord has decreed it for every creature; why should you rebel against the good pleasure of the Most High?
A pause for thought.
If the Father decreed that every creature shall die, then how is He able to fulfil his will that ensures man lives? How exactly does man leave this box of time to enter into eternal realms to be in fellowship with his Father, as He has promised?
It is through the Lamb of God; His Perfect Sacrifice.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14: 6)
It is by His Blood that the Judgment of Death passes over man.
I re-read from the book of Ephesians Chapter 1 once again:
7 For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by His blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this appears the greatness of his grace,
At that moment, one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these people clothes in white, and where did they come from?’ I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The elder replied, “They are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed and made their clothes white in the blood of the Lamb. This is why they stand before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. Never again will they suffer hunger or thirst or be burned by the sun or any scorching wind. (Revelation 7: 13- 15)
Wait! Now, I want to go back to the book of Sirach Chapter 41 and re-read the fourth verse. It says:
4 The Lord has decreed it for every creature; why should you rebel against the good pleasure of the Most High?
Are you reading what I am reading? Is this supposed to be a cheeky thought? ‘Good pleasure’. O what pleasure is found in ‘dying’ the earthly death? It leaves me to wonder for a bit.
So, now I ask my Father: ‘Abba, Why does this please You?’
Now He is telling me to ‘think Marisa’. I remain silent.
Let’s start from the beginning here. My Father is sending me back to the book of Genesis Chapter 22. I read:
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
He is telling me to keep thinking about these verses while He carries me to the book of Job. I read from Chapter 1:
1 Job, a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil, once lived in the land of Uz.
2 He had seven sons and three daughters.
3 Owner of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys and a large number of servants, he was considered the greatest man among the people of the East.
18 He was still speaking when another messenger came and said to Job, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their eldest brother
19 when suddenly a great wind blew across the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young and they all died. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Now I read from Chapter 42:
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, Yahweh restored his fortunes, giving him twice as much as he had before.
12 Yahweh blessed Job’s latter days much more than his earlier ones. He came to own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-donkeys.
13 He was also blessed with seven sons and three daughters.
So, now my Father is asking if I have any questions for Him. He is waiting.
I remain in silence.
Yes, I have a question.
If Job, for his faithfulness, was repaid twice the amount, then how is it that he was only blessed with seven sons and three daughters in the end? Was this not the original number?
My Father is telling me to think. I remain silent.
Ahhh! I see the answer. It is found in the book of Genesis Chapter 22 verse twelve. He reminds me that He said:
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”
Everything that belongs to the Father goes straight back to the Father in his place of eternity. Job gained seven additional sons and three additional daughters on the earth, while his first seven sons and his first three daughters remained with the Father in His space of eternity. It also leads me to think further that Abraham’s faith revealed so much by his action, for he KNEW that his son was going to eternity to be with the Father. He knew that his son was leaving this temporary place of earth to be with the Eternal One. Both Job and Abraham reveal a testimony of Eternity.
So, now I go back to the question of dying in pleasure.
The Father already knows that passing the earthly death means life with Him in his eternal place. The Father longs and waits patiently for his creation of Man to reach his maturation point to be one with the Father, that is, through Christ. He waits for this day. He waits for Eternity to have His way.
Death is inevitable. It cannot be escaped, according to God’s Law. But when man dies inside His Law, he lives. When man surrenders himself to death, man receives God’s greatest glory. God calls man out to receive his greatest glory. This is the Eternal Mindset. My Father waits for the day that man turns from the ways of death, so that he can finally rest in the Glory of his Creator, who is the way of Life.
It was written that you should be the one to calm God’s anger in the future before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live. (Sirach 48: 10, 11)
Wow! Thought provoking word.
I leave the lesson now with my Father’s Word as He prays.
I read from the book of John Chapter 17:
After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed:
1 “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
2 For You granted him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given him.
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
4 I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.
6 “I have revealed You to those whom you gave Me out of the world. They were yours; You gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
7 Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.
8 For I gave them the words you gave Me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that you sent Me.
9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given Me, for they are yours.
10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to Me through them.
11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your Name, the Name You gave Me, so that they may be one as we are One.
12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave Me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
15 My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your Word is truth.
18 As you sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that you have sent Me.
22 I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are One—
23 I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory You have given Me because you loved Me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that you have sent me.
26 I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
I read from the book of Acts Chapter 7:
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,
58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem: Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for Yahweh your God is within you, Yahweh, saving warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for he has revived his love. For you will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the Feast. (Zephaniah 3: 16, 17)
I wish to share still more of my reflection; I am filled with them just as the moon is said to be full. Hear me, devoted people, and grow as a rose planted near a stream. Spread fragrance around you like incense; blossom and perfume the air like a lily; sing a hymn and bless Yahweh for all his works. Magnify His Name and proclaim His praise with song and lyre, expressing this with thanksgiving. How magnificent are the works of the Lord! All his commands are appropriately timed and satisfy every need. No one should say: “What is this? Why is that?” All must be studied in its time. At His word the waters ceased to flow and piled up, His voice caused the reservoir of water to open; at his order his every wish is fulfilled, and no one hinders his work of salvation. The deeds of all are before Him, nothing is hidden from His eyes; He sees all from eternity to eternity and nothing surprises Him. (Sirach 39: 12-20)
So, man was put in this box of time as his reward for not obeying God’s will. Man was left to fend for himself. Man received a ‘time out’ from the Father. But as any Father who grows merciful, God is willing to put man back into His Will. How does He do this? He removes for man, this box of time. So that even though the earth fades, and all the heavens go with it, the Will of God will stand forever. And the Will of God is his Word. God removes the barrier of time by putting His Spirit back into man. The Word is Spirit, sharper than any two-edged sword. God longs to put His Spirit back into man so that man returns to Him and wholeheartedly walk in fellowship with Him. This was always part of God’s will; to keep man in fellowship with Him. To be in fellowship with God is to be in fellowship with life itself.
The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of Yahweh blows upon it. The grass withers, the flower fades but the Word of our God will forever stand. (Isaiah 40: 7,8)
I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. (Jeremiah 32: 40)
I write a short note here:
For what it is worth, the earth is temporary. For it is dying. It must mean then that the earth and all that there is within is self-limiting; it blows up for a time, but then eventually fades. Sin is self-limiting. It blows up for a time and then eventually fades. Sin = not moving in accordance with life’s ways. For death is opposite to life. How can death follow life?
Good is the opposite of evil, and life, of death, and the sinner is the opposite of the upright. Consider all the works of the Most High and you will see how they go in pairs, by opposites. (Sirach 33: 14)
The earth mourns and withers, the world pines and fades, both heaven and earth languish. The land lies polluted, defiled by its inhabitants who have transgressed the laws, violated the ordinances, and broken the covenant. (Isaiah 24: 4,5)
I want to stress something really important here; the definition of death.
True death is not the body losing its ability to function on this earth by whatever means. True death is simply not moving in life’s direction. It is a falling away from life’s order. If one is not moving in accordance with life’s laws, he dies. God’s Law is life. God’s Law is Spirit. God’s Law is Truth. God’s Law is Eternal. God speaks from eternity. God’s Law is Christ. God’s Law penetrates the dying earth to reach the ears of the Father’s children who currently reside on the earth so that they may live.
A Short Note on Death and Dying.
The topic of Eternity will not be complete if there was not a note found on death and dying. Death speaks to expiration. For something to die, it must mean that it is temporary; lasting for only a time.
I consider the following verses taken from the book of Sirach Chapter 41:
1 Death! What a bitter thought for someone who lives happily among his possessions, a prosperous and successful man who is still able to enjoy his food!
2 Your sentence, Death, is welcome to a needy person whose strength is failing, who is old, worn out, and full of worries; to one who is angry and without hope!
3 Do not be afraid of Death’s sentence; think of those who have gone before and those who will follow.
4 The Lord has decreed it for every creature; why should you rebel against the good pleasure of the Most High?
A pause for thought.
If the Father decreed that every creature shall die, then how is He able to fulfil his will that ensures man lives? How exactly does man leave this box of time to enter into eternal realms to be in fellowship with his Father, as He has promised?
It is through the Lamb of God; His Perfect Sacrifice.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14: 6)
It is by His Blood that the Judgment of Death passes over man.
I re-read from the book of Ephesians Chapter 1 once again:
7 For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by His blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this appears the greatness of his grace,
At that moment, one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these people clothes in white, and where did they come from?’ I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The elder replied, “They are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed and made their clothes white in the blood of the Lamb. This is why they stand before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. Never again will they suffer hunger or thirst or be burned by the sun or any scorching wind. (Revelation 7: 13- 15)
Wait! Now, I want to go back to the book of Sirach Chapter 41 and re-read the fourth verse. It says:
4 The Lord has decreed it for every creature; why should you rebel against the good pleasure of the Most High?
Are you reading what I am reading? Is this supposed to be a cheeky thought? ‘Good pleasure’. O what pleasure is found in ‘dying’ the earthly death? It leaves me to wonder for a bit.
So, now I ask my Father: ‘Abba, Why does this please You?’
Now He is telling me to ‘think Marisa’. I remain silent.
Let’s start from the beginning here. My Father is sending me back to the book of Genesis Chapter 22. I read:
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
He is telling me to keep thinking about these verses while He carries me to the book of Job. I read from Chapter 1:
1 Job, a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil, once lived in the land of Uz.
2 He had seven sons and three daughters.
3 Owner of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys and a large number of servants, he was considered the greatest man among the people of the East.
18 He was still speaking when another messenger came and said to Job, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their eldest brother
19 when suddenly a great wind blew across the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young and they all died. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Now I read from Chapter 42:
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, Yahweh restored his fortunes, giving him twice as much as he had before.
12 Yahweh blessed Job’s latter days much more than his earlier ones. He came to own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-donkeys.
13 He was also blessed with seven sons and three daughters.
So, now my Father is asking if I have any questions for Him. He is waiting.
I remain in silence.
Yes, I have a question.
If Job, for his faithfulness, was repaid twice the amount, then how is it that he was only blessed with seven sons and three daughters in the end? Was this not the original number?
My Father is telling me to think. I remain silent.
Ahhh! I see the answer. It is found in the book of Genesis Chapter 22 verse twelve. He reminds me that He said:
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”
Everything that belongs to the Father goes straight back to the Father in his place of eternity. Job gained seven additional sons and three additional daughters on the earth, while his first seven sons and his first three daughters remained with the Father in His space of eternity. It also leads me to think further that Abraham’s faith revealed so much by his action, for he KNEW that his son was going to eternity to be with the Father. He knew that his son was leaving this temporary place of earth to be with the Eternal One. Both Job and Abraham reveal a testimony of Eternity.
So, now I go back to the question of dying in pleasure.
The Father already knows that passing the earthly death means life with Him in his eternal place. The Father longs and waits patiently for his creation of Man to reach his maturation point to be one with the Father, that is, through Christ. He waits for this day. He waits for Eternity to have His way.
Death is inevitable. It cannot be escaped, according to God’s Law. But when man dies inside His Law, he lives. When man surrenders himself to death, man receives God’s greatest glory. God calls man out to receive his greatest glory. This is the Eternal Mindset. My Father waits for the day that man turns from the ways of death, so that he can finally rest in the Glory of his Creator, who is the way of Life.
It was written that you should be the one to calm God’s anger in the future before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live. (Sirach 48: 10, 11)
Wow! Thought provoking word.
I leave the lesson now with my Father’s Word as He prays.
I read from the book of John Chapter 17:
After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed:
1 “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
2 For You granted him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given him.
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
4 I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.
6 “I have revealed You to those whom you gave Me out of the world. They were yours; You gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
7 Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.
8 For I gave them the words you gave Me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that you sent Me.
9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given Me, for they are yours.
10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to Me through them.
11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your Name, the Name You gave Me, so that they may be one as we are One.
12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave Me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
15 My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your Word is truth.
18 As you sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that you have sent Me.
22 I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are One—
23 I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory You have given Me because you loved Me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that you have sent me.
26 I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
I read from the book of Acts Chapter 7:
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,
58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem: Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for Yahweh your God is within you, Yahweh, saving warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for he has revived his love. For you will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the Feast. (Zephaniah 3: 16, 17)
I wish to share still more of my reflection; I am filled with them just as the moon is said to be full. Hear me, devoted people, and grow as a rose planted near a stream. Spread fragrance around you like incense; blossom and perfume the air like a lily; sing a hymn and bless Yahweh for all his works. Magnify His Name and proclaim His praise with song and lyre, expressing this with thanksgiving. How magnificent are the works of the Lord! All his commands are appropriately timed and satisfy every need. No one should say: “What is this? Why is that?” All must be studied in its time. At His word the waters ceased to flow and piled up, His voice caused the reservoir of water to open; at his order his every wish is fulfilled, and no one hinders his work of salvation. The deeds of all are before Him, nothing is hidden from His eyes; He sees all from eternity to eternity and nothing surprises Him. (Sirach 39: 12-20)
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