MEDITATIONS
TWO PLACES OF SAFETY:
According to God’s Word, Palestine is the safest place for the Israelites and the Word of God is the safest place for the Gentile Bride. Now that God has come down, all other places have no divine protection. Those of the Jewish church and the spiritual Israel (Bride) who trust God and His Word implicitly will have their eyes opened to see the move of God for each of them in these last days. Do not believe any writings or statements unless and until they are verified with God’s Word and vindicated by God Himself, no matter how nice they appear to your carnal thinking.
When the Male Child is snatched away to God’s Throne, the tribulation period starts in full swing. Michael, the angel, who stands in the last day for his people, then gets the authority to push the Devil down. Also the Spoken Word ministry fully becomes operative through the Bride as the Kingdom is received by the Male Child. Immediately the Woman (1) i.e., the Bride who left everything to follow the Bridegroom totally, "fled into the desert where she has a place prepared of God". Now this word ‘fled’ has an anological meaning i.e., "vanished". Jesus said: ‘I go to prepare a place for you’. Now that God has come down, we are certain that the place had already been prepared. So Jesus’ promise to take His Gentile Bride to that place must be fulfilled where she partakes in the Wedding Supper for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (Gentile calculation). While this is going on, a similar thing should happen to the Jewish people on earth since they are the time-piece to know God’s move with the spiritual people. When the state of Israel was formed and the call went all over the world for the real Jews to gather in Palestine, the Prophet of God, William Branham, also sent his clarion call like Moses to the churches of all sorts asking the people to come out of denominations and to depend totally on the Word of God. As we all know, Jerusalem was captured in June 1967, and the Jews came back to Jordan boundary. This was the time when, the Bride Messenger should have crossed the boundary of spiritual Jordan, like Joshua of old, and sent the call to the spiritual Gentile Bride and claimed the boundary all over the world wherever she was located. The trumpet call began to sound to the overcomers in places where the seven church messengers had already brought forth God’s messages to the Gentiles during their respective church ages, such as Wesley, Martin Luther and so on, upto Branham starting with Paul.
After the Bride is raptured to New Jerusalem (Jesus Who came down on the moon landing day finishes His work within 31/2 years and takes away the Bride by stealth), there is immediately a voice in heaven saying "Now is come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of HIS anointed". The Lord Jesus Christ is the Almighty God and King and HIS anointed One is the Human Head of the Bride. Martyrdom (tribulation) starts after the Rapture (Moffatt: Rev. 12:11 - "They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they had to die for it but they did not cling to life"). The West, in fact, should shine more than the East. The two witnesses are killed in spiritual Sodom Gomorrah and Egypt. People of all nations see the dead bodies of these two men which should be possible only through Television. This happens for 31/2 days and the people do not allow the dead bodies to be put in a tomb. These two prophets torment all those who dwell on this earth except the people of the Israel State. During the tribulation period, part of Jerusalem, the Holy City, will be trodden by the Gentiles again (Luke 21:24). (God’s time-piece shows again - a short period of Gentile power - Rev. 11:2). These are the points for the reader to ponder and then judge. The two prophets shake the whole world after rapture and have power like Moses and Elijah. Since the two prophets torment all the nations on earth, it would be wrong to say that they preach only in Palestine (Rev. 11:9-10). Also they prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days (Gentile calculation). They fight for the real Israelites and those Christians who live like Jews under Old Testament Law having only the name as Christians and are blinded to this move. They command rulers of countries like Russia and China saying "Let my people go" and succeed in delivering those Israelites who are held captives by mighty miracles and wonders. There were given to the Woman (2) (Jewish Church) two wings of the great eagle (two witnesses as prophets of the great eagle - the Great Prophet God) "that she might fly into the desert into HER place". What is a desert? It is a place outside human control and organisations. How can a member of any organisation say he is in desert? It is popular religion which is called a ‘fertile country’ but to be on God’s Word and be a resident of Palestine (God’s place for His people) is the desert of safety. The Bride’s desert is in heavenly places.
The present day Jews and nominal Christians will not be in the Bride. They will not understand the Bride move as they are the blinded Israelites for whom the two eyes (two prophets) are given to help them to see God and His move after Rapture. Till that time they will be blind. So to the Branham people who contend "Everything is finished after Bro. Branham’s death", God says, "I will have to ride this trail once again". They will be blind and will not accept this Bride move till the two witnesses come when ‘Jacob’s trouble’ also starts for them. These blind people always talk about dying as martyrs in tribulation as they are tribulation saints. But those on God’s Word will flee earlier to safety and they alone will be raptured. Desert means empty expanse and for the spiritual Bride in heavenly places how can the desert be the world except New Jerusalem, as she has forsaken everything in the world? The woman will be nourished time, times and a half (Jewish calculation) away from the face of the serpent who comes down incarnate in a man. Now the serpent tries to pour out words so sweet and which seem to be full of grace and life that it might attract the woman and engulf her. But the woman has fled to her place of safety. There is a popular approval among the civilised and scientific Gentile world for one religion, one people and one world Government. They drink these sweet words of the serpent and progress in their build up of unity which is not on par with God’s Word. Thus the serpent leaves the Woman and concentrates its attention on this ‘one unity’ people. The anger of the Serpent becomes roused against the remainder of the people who knew the Bride message all right but did not get ready and missed the Rapture. It makes war against the remnant of her seed (Woman 3) who refuse to bow to its feet. But they keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ although they had rejected the Bride message in total and missed the Rapture. They become bold and preach that they will go through tribulation and die as martyrs. Such has been their desire and blindness to the move of God to gather the Bride. May God have mercy and help us to escape this tribulation which will soon come. "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that ye hath but a short time". Rev.12:12. Here you see the Gentile Bride rejoicing in heaven while to the people of the earth and sea "WOE" is pronounced (onset of tribulation).
"The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement unto the son" - John 5:22.
"If any man hear my words, and believe not, I JUDGE HIM NOT; for I came not to JUDGE THE WORLD, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath ONE that judgeth him: the WORD (not words) that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day" - John 12:47-48.
"And hath given him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the Son of Man" - John 5:27.
(If Jesus did not come to judge and had committed the same to another One, how could this be if Jesus Christ is not the Father Himself?)
"I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak" - John 12:49.
"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I SEEK NOT MINE OWN GLORY. There is ONE that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily I say unto you, If a man keep my saying (or Word) he shall never SEE DEATH." - John 8:49-51.
Many people seem to have a wrong idea about the ministry of Jesus Christ in these last days. It is because man always wants to see and believe and anything which he cannot see is decried as not being there. If I could walk on the sea and show that I am a great man, the whole of India will come to my feet and start worshipping me as an incarnate of God. The Hata Yogi of India wanted to become a god like that, and had advertised very widely and collected huge sums of money. Even renowned ministers and other political heads attended the function at Bombay to see him walk on water. I still vividly remember the grand advertisement about this feat published in the Blitz Magazine. But ultimately the whole thing proved to be a flop and great shame, since the Yogi, instead of walking on water, went right down into it. Yes, he walked not on water but into the water! Such adventures are nothing but death in the sight of God who commends only implicit faith on His Word.
I remember I used to peach that Jesus Christ will judge everyone according to this Holy Bible. In the second verse quoted above, Jesus says: "I came not to judge the world". Then WHO is going to be the judge? Is the Bible going to be kept open in front of nations and itself pronounce judgement? "The letter killeth but the spirit giveth life". Jesus said He never came to judge but to save the people. There is ONE (another person) to judge those who reject Jesus Christ and receive not His name. He says He is God Almighty and the Word which He spoke will manifest in the last days as a person and judge people. That WORD is a MAN and does not just mean the "Bible Words’ as we all used to think till now, and into that Man comes the Word (the living Bible as a whole). So Jesus actually hints about another anointed One who is appointed to judge. This Person should exist because of the Word that Jesus Christ spoke, for He is Almighty God and His words can never fail but should produce everything of its kind in DUE TIME. THE SON OF MAN is, therefore, a product of the WORD that Jesus spoke. When our Lord said, ‘in the last day’, it certainly pointed out to the end-time in which we are now living.
Jesus came to seek the glory of the Father, and accordingly spoke only the words of the Father (John 8:49-51). He never spoke anything by Himself nor did He seek His glory. Jesus said that someone else is to come in due time to seek His glory, and that person who comes in the name of Jesus Christ will not seek His personal glory like others by going away from God’s Word. This Messenger or the Anointed One will only speak the Words of Jesus Christ Who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will judge everyone who does not give glory to the Lord Jesus Christ by their being in man-made denominations and other organised religion or political groups. The Pentecostals in India make a lot of fuss over holiness and self-righteousness, and their consecration mostly finds emphasis in not eating meat, not chewing betel or using snuff, wearing only white garments or saffron robe, not going for pictures, not taking photographs, walking barefooted, not touching money, not eating eggs, eating vadai, growing beard, not cutting hair, silent fast, forty days fast, not drinking-teetotaller, sathyagraha, indefinite fast, kneeling on gravel, reading the Word of God in kneeling position, not laughing, morose look, shaving the hair completely or having only a little hair, closing eyes in front of ladies, reading the Bible and giving respectful terms wherever it pertains to Jesus Christ like "Yesuvagiya avargal, viyathiyai sukapaduththinargal", separating husbands from wives and putting them in different assemblies, talking a lot about holiness but put girls and boys together in the same building and many other such things all which no doubt sound morally good and have a show of human wisdom and holiness. But these are only secondary to committing the unpardonable sin of being in some organised denomination or groups possessed with denominational spirit, and thereby steal the glory of Jesus Christ which is due only to Him. Only the saints of God who totally depend on His Word can give all the glory due to Him and not others. Don’t steal the glory of Jesus Christ. All those who seek their own personal glory will be cast into outer darkness of tribulation where they will be biting and gnashing their teeth.
Depending on God’s Word means to depend with the proper interpretation of the Word of God as revealed through the vindicated messenger of God for that age. For example, a man went to a Doctor to get medicine for a patient at home. The Doctor gave a bottle of medicine and said ‘Shake well and ask the patient to drink it all’. He went home and asked some men to come and catch hold of the patient’s legs and head. They then shook him well till he could no longer bear and then took the bottle to administer the medicine. But alas! By this time the patient passed away as a result of the violent shake to which he was subjected. They didn’t know that it was the bottle that needed shaking and not the patient. The Prophet’s followers, instead of shaking the preachers well with the Word of God, are allowing themselves to be shaken and kill the message and die themselves. Come on, give a powerful shake to the preachers with the Word of God and you will find them running away. Shake them with the "Gleanings" (extracts from the Spoken Word Books) now being circulated by Bro. L.D. Dale at 612 South Market Street, Troy, Ohio, U.S.A. (45373).
"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also" - John 15:22-23.
These are the days when everyone says ‘Oh we too love the Lord Jesus Christ’ and yet they are unable to give up all their selfish motives. When Jesus came for the first time, the Pharisees, Sadducees and other people were unable to hide their ill-conceived and selfish motives as everything had come to light. Thus they had to reject Jesus whose teachings invariably condemned all their selfish way of life. With His coming, all their misdeeds were brought to surface. But for Jesus they could have continued in their sins. In the same way, people in these last days who talk about their keen anticipation for the coming of Lord Jesus, are also full of selfish motives, colour prejudice and money minded. When such people hear us preach about God coming down on the moon landing day, they are unable to relish it. If they accept the message it would mean an end to all their misdeeds and money begging. In any case, now that the Lord has come down, there is no cloak for this denominational, self-righteous and murderous generation to hide themselves. Their true colours will have to be shown, whatever it is. Now is the time for God’s people to know what kind of snake lives in which hole!
"He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory; but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him" - John 7:18.
Who is a righteous man in the sight of God? The person who seeks the glory of the One Who sent Him is called a righteous man in terms of God’s Word. But in terms of human thinking, anyone who appears to be morally good is called righteous, no matter whether he is saved or unsaved. Jesus always sought the glory of the Father till the last minute, speaking only the Father’s words.. The Word of Jesus Christ has now brought the SON OF MAN who in turn seeks the glory of Jesus Christ by standing true to God’s Word in this generation when most people are found to be deviating from the Word of God. The Son of Man speaks only the Word of Jesus Christ. The Bride of Jesus Christ, in turn, does not seek her own glory but seeks the glory of the Bridegroom Who has revealed Himself to her. Thus there is no unrighteousness in her. The Bride speaks only the Word of the Bridegroom. All her words and revelations and interpretations unite entirely to the Head, there being no deviation whatsoever. Come on people of the earth! Worship God who created the heaven, the earth and the sea and everything therein and give glory to the Lord Jesus Christ Who sits on the Father’s throne. This is the everlasting Gospel of God. These messages are not intended to make people to glorify me. I seek only the glory of our King and Lord Jesus Christ. Wake up ye children of God, and glorify the Lord with me before the judgement could fall on the earth so that we may be off from this turbulent world.
LOVE OF THE BRIDE - LOVE IS THE FINISHING TOUCH OF GOD’S TEMPLE:
There are many expressions of love found in the Bible viz., animal’s love, bird’s love, mother’s love to her children, children’s love to their parents, sexual love, love of friends, love between a boy and a girl, master’s love towards his servants, love in politics, denominational love, friendship surpassing woman’s love, love between husband and wife, love of jewellery etc.
"The ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider" - Isaiah 1:3.
"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" - II Samuel 1:26.
Jonathan loved David and his love was so great that although he was the rightful heir to the throne after Saul, he was most willing to give that up to David and be next to him. This indeed is a wonderful example of friendship and could be called as "Thyaagam" i.e., sacrificing everything for the sake of friendship (I Samuel 23:17). Yet with all this, "pure friendship" when David became King, Jonathan and Saul died in the battle. Jonathan loved David very much but stayed among David’s enemies in a different place. The principal enemy of David was Jonathan’s own Father - Saul. Jonathan perfectly knew that David would be the King but he had his father’s love to break and join David. Thus Jonathan was tossed between two loves. He expressed his love to David who also reciprocated and commended it. But what was still lacking? He continued to be a loyal son to his wicked father and stayed among his own kith and kin where God refused to move and already wrote "Ichabod" on Saul’s house. If Jonathan had loved God as a Bridegroom, he would have certainly quit everything, even at the risk of his life, and stayed with David - his father’s enemy, for David was the Word of God for that moment. Thus, when the sword cuts his father, he could have been saved to see the wonderful move of God in David’s time - a man who was after the heart of God. Jonathan, being David’s bosom friend, should have come under the shadow of David (Psalms 91:1).
In the same way, we too are confronted with so many affections in this world which of course is right in the human sight. But in these last days, when destruction is about to fall with shocking suddenness, the safest place is to be on God’s Word and His positively vindicated move for the Bride age. Be careful, O Bride of God, about your place of choice. Get away from the place where God refuses to move. Draw closer to the place of God and His Living Word. Once when another man was found by the disciples to be casting away devils, Jesus said: ‘He that is not against me is for us’ and supported his work although it was outside the fold of the apostles. That man loved Jesus Christ all right, but only those who stayed with Him were privileged to be His apostles. They were the Lord’s friends for whom He died. There is no greater love than for a man to die for his friend. The greatest love is to live with the immortal God who will transform our bodies and glorious body. Let us walk with God like Enoch and vanish away in the twinkling of an eye.
"Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" - Isaiah 9:6.
God speaks to man at sundry times by coming down to this earth. When he came to create this universe, His name was WONDERFUL. When He came down during the period of Moses and Joshua, His name was COUNSELLOR. When He came to save mankind and died on the cross, showing the love of God and the living way, He was the MIGHTY GOD. When He filled everyone with His Holy Spirit and begat spiritual children, born of water and of the spirit, He was the EVERLASTING FATHER. Now at the end-time before Millennium, He should come as the PRINCE OF PEACE. Let us welcome Him with open arms and be His obedient subjects thereby acknowledging Jesus Christ our Lord as King of the earth sitting on the throne of His Father as all in all. Let us give all the glory due unto Him lifting up our hearts and swearing that we will be true to God’s eternal Word at all costs.
COMMUNITY WAY OF LIFE
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for BRETHREN TO DWELL TOGETHER IN UNITY! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even LIFE for evermore" - Psalms 133.
God blesses all the people who please Him. Everyone of us in this Universe can get the favour of the Lord by leading a life that pleases Him and doing only what He commands us to do. People say that all blessings are given to the elect without any effort on their part. But there are many universal blessings for people who are saints as well as sinners such as sunlight, rain, moon, air etc. which demand no special merit (Read Bro. Dale’s book entitled "VOLITION VERSUS SOVEREIGNTY").
Human nature is such that all the commandments of God are found to be offensive. The easiest way to condemn anyone is to call him a ‘serpent seed’ straight on his face. But if we observe carefully, in our everyday walk of life, a person who condemns another of a particular sin must surely be himself indulging in the same sin. That is the reason why he is able to notice it in another man. A thief who steals a cycle will first shout "cycle thief, cycle thief" to safeguard himself, and then cycle away with terrific speed as if he is attempting to catch the thief, thereby misguiding those who try to catch him. In the same way, "the real serpent seed" will not hesitate to condemn others first as "serpent seed". I do not find even a single instance in the Bible or in our day to day life where an "honourable man," who wants to lead a generally good moral life, does not "condemn" another at sight. The real children of God will quietly trust in God’s defence. Sinners must call upon the Lord (Rom.10:13), and men are obliged to do something in order to gain God’s blessings (I Sam.2:30). God’s laws are meant to correct our fallen nature (Ps. 19:7 - "The law of the Lord is perfect, CONVERTING the soul"). The command to forsake everything and follow Jesus Christ was not just the useless idea of a street vagabond, or a "Hippie" or a "freelance." It is a sure remedy for the soul, as medicine is for the physical body.
Whenever any new truth is revealed, many people suddenly leave us. When I was first preaching in the City of Madras, millions used to praise me. But when the Jesus’ name truth was boldly preached, there were thousands who flatly refused to identify themselves with me. Again when I brought the messages of Prophet Branham, a vast majority left me. Finally when God visited me in Chicago on the moon landing day (20th July, 1969), I couldn’t hold any false ones, with the result that a great number of even Bro. Branham’s followers became my enemies. I challenge them now to read the "GLEANINGS" (Extracts from the Spoken Word Books being circulated by Brother L. D. Dale) and disprove it to be wrong. If they can do that, it would automatically make the Prophet who pointed to the Word way, also as false. We are the ones who acknowledge the Prophet’s words to be true but you followers in the West make him false by your wrong propaganda and misinterpretation of the statements found in the Spoken Word Books. Even now it is not too late for you people to mend your ways, but very soon you will be crossing the ‘life line’ once for all. The new truths now being revealed are certainly marvellous dividers of the sheep and goats. These end-time messages drive away the chaff and preserve the wheat, and the hay is bundled first to feed the beasts. You cannot be a member of a denomination, and yet claim to be on the Word of God (Heb. 13:13).
"There the Lord commanded BLESSING and LIFE for evermore" (Psalms 133). We seek ‘blessings’ and ‘life’ in many ways, but here is God’s way. The present day Christians refuse to enjoy God’s blessing and life as presented to them. The fact is, anything which is lightly got is little valued. Gold is costly because we have to go deep to get it. Stones, on the other hand, are cheap as they can be found on the surface. The ‘heavenly blessing’ and ‘life’ commanded by God are very costly and only those who show implicit obedience and trust on the Lord Jesus Christ are able to acquire them. Emotional and excitement seekers cannot even dream of this life. Even the world-famed evengelists will not exchange their fame, popularity and money for this hard way of life. In the early days, the people of God dwelt together in an unity that surpasses our imagination. More than 3,000 believers were sharing everything in common without guile and were of one heart and soul. No one claimed anything which he possessed as his own (Acts 4:32). When we live together, there is a great flow of life from God, and we no longer need to have "showy revivals, fast and pray, rend the heavens, kneel down and pray slogans or any kind of religious vaccinations or inoculations or preventive serums" (Read John 13:34; II Cor.8:14). We have a moral responsibility for others (Matt. 25:41-45; I John 3:16-18). We are our brothers’ keepers also. "He that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin". Remember the Levite and the Priest who by-passed the wounded Samaritan and also the Pharisees who strictly observed the law and the commandments and Sabbath, but wouldn’t help a stranger in distress. Such an attitude, as we all know, was severely reprimanded by Jesus. We talk about Millennium, when Jesus Christ will rule in peace, where the poor will not suffer and the rich will not exploit and so many utopian dreams. We all look forward with keen anticipation for that day to come soon. But why don’t the present day Christians realise that this life of common living is only a step in that direction? It has become however, the blessed privilege of the Bride which uproots all the existing stinking systems.
Even before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, there existed societies like Essenes, Nazarenes and so on. Essenes’ Order was a popular one and many Hebrews belonged to it. It is even believed that John the Baptist, who went to the desert in childhood, belonged to this Order, and he had a great influence among the Church Rulers of his day. The historian Josephus says that there were about 4,000 of this Order. They had common living and many big groups in different cities were living in communities. Everyone who embraced this order surrendered all his earthly possessions which became the common property of the whole group. Now people will immediately say that under modern civilisation a society such as this can hardly be expected to thrive, and to substantiate their view they will deliberately bring some false allegations against it or even bring about some accusations which might be true to some extent.
Man’s nature never changed since Adam and there were many wicked and selfish individuals even during the days of Essenes as it is today. This community living was not the idea of Peter. There are many instances in the Holy Writ that support this idea. Jesus also got Himself separated from his parents, brothers and sisters and relatives. He had many people who left their all to follow Him. He commanded many to leave their homes, families, parents, jobs etc. He didn’t allow some even to bury their own fathers saying ‘Let the dead bury the dead’. Judas was the treasurer and Jesus ordered the supplies and asked Judas to purchase them. Judas once complained that the woman had wasted the valuable ointment over Jesus’ feet which he felt could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Thus we can infer how the common fund in those days was used by the apostolic consecrated family to help the needy and poor in addition to meeting their own needs. Noah and his married sons with their wives and children also remained together as one family. The Israelites had a massive community life of an unimaginable nature in the wilderness for forty years, and God was always present amidst them in pillar of cloud and fire. King David also, at a time when he was constantly pursued by the mad King Saul, lived with his men and they had all things in common. From time immemorial, many Godly people belonging to various religions have also left their footprints of common living in the sands of time. Many Institutions, Schools, Colleges and even Bible Schools all have some kind of community life. The Catholic priests as well as Nuns follow the same pattern, and they do not accept salaries. There are many kinds of community living in India as can be seen from the many established Ashrams (place of dwelling mostly located in wilderness or mountain slopes like Himalayas as for people (Sanyasis) who leave this world to lead a successful spiritual life.)
Even many unsanctified people also try this kind of common living for some reason or the other. Communism boasts about this life, and all over the world there is a clamour for One World Government, One World Religion and International Brotherhood. But people seem to forget that such life can only be practised or tried humanly and without any compulsion. Nations and groups which submit to the rule of a communistic society, WITHOUT THE POWER OF GOD to pilot its affairs, will sooner or later lose their freedom totally and become only bond-slaves to that system. Whether it is a big society or a small group, if God is not the founder and leader of the entire set up, these types of economy could well lead to tyranny of the worst magnitude.
In the Christian Community existing at this end-time (or the Community consisting of people with a Bride-calling who have the revelation of the end-time ministry headed by the Son of Man), solving the social and economic problems is not at all the criterion. The Community exists purely to show the Bride’s love for God Almighty Who has come down to prepare her and take her away in the Rapture. It is not like just having a namesake religion without first having a personal experience with God. Nor does it signify membership like that in a harlot system. In such a community the love of God is not considered as an unseen power. The love shown towards God is not out of fear of punishment. The love solely develops out of a revelation of God coming down in this generation as the "Bridegroom" to marry the "Bride" in this earth and prepare her for the Rapture. The Bride is full of love for her Master - the Head, without whose order she will not do anything and fail God like what Eve did by twisting the Word of God and ignoring the Head. This supreme love is the motive force which makes them (Bride) like a girl who after marriage prepares to go with her husband forsaking her home and everything else which were dear to her in the former environment in order to seek a new life in an entirely new surrounding. She completely clings to her partner’s love. Such kind of love can neither have jealousy nor hanker for any kind of power but promotes unselfish nature and makes her ready to fly away in due time putting on the garment of immortality. She has the Tree of Life which comes only into a selfless society that acknowledges God Who has come down as her Bridegroom.
In this society of Bride, there can be no unbelievers (II Cor. 6:14-15). Just as we can’t have marriage for trial, this kind of life is also not meant for trial. Such a life calls for a complete change in our attitudes and also lays emphasis on self denial and sacrifice. So many things could be said for and against this. But unless there are dedicated people, this life surely will become a flop making them look like flies in the ointment. People must die to self as selfishness wrecks their lives. Once when I was travelling from Rotterdam to New York by the steamship "Ryndam", I watched the whole crew and the passengers living a sort of community life (forced) during the 15 days of voyage. If it can be possible in a ship, it should also be possible for the Bride who has a great love for her Master. It should be worth reading the following extract taken from a book entitled "THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF ISRAEL" by Gail Hoffman:
"Community living among the Zionists in Palestine is the economic backbone of the great movement of the Jewish return to the land of their fathers. One of the first community groups was located at the south-eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Here hundreds of feet below sea level (686 feet) in temperatures that often stood at 112 degrees, the early pioneers struggled to esablish a home. Lack of funds, lack of know - how and the opposition of antagonistic Arab tribes men made the way very hard for years.
Eventually a settlement called Dagania was established, but it took forty years of sweat and tears to establish this first bridgehead. Today there are acres of fertile fields, barns are filled with choice cattle, warehouses contain stores, a fine dining hall feeds hundreds of the community, a library, public hall, amphitheatre, and high school building as well as many small neat little homes comprise this happy community.
Since the founding of this first enterprise various Jewish agencies have been opened for training of workers, and for the assistance of all communal ventures; central marketing agencies established on a non-profit basis handle much of the marketing. Loans can now be secured for the aid of young communities.
The kibbutzim, or communal farms, range in size from Ein Harod and Tel Yosef, each with 3000 acres, to areas no bigger than 200 or 300 acres. Their numbers vary also. Ein Harod has about a thousand members but most are groups of three, four or five hundred persons. A few have less than a hundred members.
Most groups are established on land provided by the Jewish National Fund, and money needed for a start comes in the form of a loan, with a very low rate of interest. The young people, most of whom are in their early twenties when they start a group, manage everything themselves. Committees are elected to arrange the various classifications of work, and tasks are assigned to each member of the community. Some go to the barns, others to the fields and vineyards. A few lead the sheep to pasture. Some must remain at work on administrative duties connected with quantity buying, the storing of food, and the care of the children, the aged and the sick.
Some settlements have spacious dining halls, and modernly equipped kitchens, but often when a group starts operations, the end of a shack, which serves as a dining hall, is partitioned off, a few small paraffin stoves and tables are installed, and the kitchen is ready. Yet satisfactory meals must be served on time to hundreds of hungry workers.
To enable the mother as well as the father to put in a full day’s work, trained baby experts and kindergarten teachers take full charge of the young babies and children. Special provisions are made for the mother before and after the birth of her child. After work, both their mothers and their dads arrive to spend a happy hour or two with their offspring, and spend much of the Sabbath with their children.
Many groups supplement their income from the fields and dairies and citrus groves by establishing workshops and factories. This helps provide employment for every type of worker in the group, and also provides work in the slack seasons on the farms.
This life with all its hardships is what these young people have chosen. They are taking part in a great movement of redeeming a land. No place for pettiness, egotism or selfishness. They find that the new freedom means discipline. But they themselves work out their own rules and regulations. To these young men and women, cooperative living has provided a means of training in agricultural work, but it is far more than a mere makeshift - IT HAS BECOME A WAY OF LIFE".
I can quote many books and periodicals which deal with this Way of Life. Of course it is not so easy as it looks. Since I found out the Lord Jesus several years ago, we have been living in some sort of community life as God always brought some family member or other friends to live in our home. In the beginning we were rather forced by circumstances to practise this. Gradually it became a regular and acceptable feature in our family. We did have some heart aches and problems of which I shall relate a few to help the people during the short time now left before Rapture. People who can’t believe this message, as revealed to the Bride in this Age, will never reach the Tree of Life however hard they may shout "Thus saith the Lord". They are all off the Word. They are missing some great thing happening under their very nose, and they will never see this life as the Prophet had told clearly. They have missed it already and there is no meaning for them to continue to talk about the Rapture.
Beloved saints, who are well on your way to attain immortality, this Community life is only a step before Rapture. It is more or less like a waiting room in the Station where passengers wait till the train arrives and then forget all about it. First of all you ought to determine if Jesus Christ, Who is the rightful owner of the Father’s Throne, is your Bridegroom - the Head, this is very important. If any community is formed on human foundations, woe unto the people who submit to such a dead system. When you have firmly decided to become a member of such a community, the next thing to observe is to obey the Lord in regard to your possessions. "Sell that thou hast and GIVE TO THE POOR" - Matt.19:21. "Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the Kingdom of God" - Luke 6:20. When you become penniless, then ask the community to take you in your humble state. If they seek wealth they will avoid you, and it will be your luck if you don’t get entry. But there will always be some rare person who knows God in this Age, stands on God’s Word and gets the end-time revelation. Such an anointed one will be able to understand you, and happily take you in your consecrated and humble state. We do not ask anyone who comes in the Manujothi Ashram at Tirunelveli to sell everything and give to us. We would gladly take you in for short and hard Community Life provided you accept the end-time message and fully consecrate everything in the altar of God and obey His command and then come to us penniless. You will be most welcome and will be blessed in the peculiar way of life that exists in the Ashram and find yourself always filled spiritually. In our homes don’t we observe that children raised in a large family are better natured and selfless than those who had few or no brothers or sisters? In a large family "give and take policy" is of necessity applied to every member. In Community Life the family is very large and hence the rules which preserve the society must always be considered above the whims and fancies of the individual and his or her desires and needs.
I have seen some people come into this life saying that they have left all, but store in their rooms eatables like cakes, sweets, biscuits etc., and eat these things alone when not observed by others. When they get caught, they cut a sorry figure. There are some others who secretly deposit their money and keep their property outside, and then come into Community Living. Such people are like drones doing nothing for the common good. If there is a big stone to be lifted, people can join hands and together do it easily. In the same way, a little effort is needed on everyone’s part to lift great problems which an individual finds difficult to do by himself. There are people who gather only out of fear to go through tribulation and calculate their money to last them for two or three years till Rapture takes place. There are some who bring in a small amount of money and within a short time make a lot of fuss and claim the whole community funds for themselves. They try to earn more money for themselves by their losing initially a little money, and also start fighting for position the very next day they come thereby creating dissension. There are some individuals who never work but sleep the whole days, and come promptly at meals time saying, Praise the Lord, Hallelujah. But God knows the hearts of the people. Such kind of people do not get any spiritual blessings in their lives and they get out soon saying that this kind of life is disgusting and intolerable. There are some other people who give nothing but falsely propagate that they brought thousands to me - they wouldn’t have seen a thousand rupees in all their life time!
We have also got to be careful about the moral life of the inmates. There may be some "cupids" who praise this kind of life only to deceive some innocent girls into adultery and run away. They then slander outside saying this life is against the Word of God. The man who is incharge of this Community must not behave like a boss. He must be like an experienced father and know how to treat the people with love. Some years ago when we had just started this Ashram, an Anglo-Indian gentleman and his wife came to live amidst us and brought about One thousand and two hundred dollars. Since we did not have much experience, we thought this family was God sent and took them in. The lady was of course was getting on wonderfully, but the couple in general were bent upon spending lavishly. The husband would always want to travel by air even for routine matters, go to the richest hotels and take treatment in the costliest hospital etc., and we had to spend all our funds for his extravagance. Within a few years all the funds were almost depleted. Whenever I planned to attend some big campaign of our Team, his wife would prophesy that the Lord was against my attending that campaign and so I should not go. The husband also would insist that I should heed his wife’s prophesy. I used to feel pretty embarassed and grieved in spirit, but in order to avoid making him feel offended I would either cancel or postpone my programme. Sometime he would want to take young girls in the scooter saying that it was the social custom of his community. When I resented to see him doing such things, he would only get angry and not try to mend himself.
So these sorts of things were going on for quite sometime. I became convinced that the woman’s prophecies were all false, and ceased to attach any importance to them. Then the demons in her seemed to be greatly provoked and we all fervently prayed for her. Finally, much to the surprise of all, some 50 demons were cast out of this lady who had all along been talking in tongues and deceiving people. We also gathered information from reliable sources about her husband having disclosed to one of his close associates that he would be with us only for a few years by which time he expected to establish foreign contacts, and then go over to England for permanent settlement. To cut a long story short, this gentleman and his family finally left us and we had to pay them more than Rs.20,000 in kind (double the amount he brought) from the Community belongings which practically left us in nil balance. We had obtained a receipt from him duly signed before he went to England with the sale proceeds. After leaving us they began to slander that we had fleeced them and also wrote an article in an American Christian Publication entitled ‘Pentecostal Indigestion’. Thus instead of spiritually prospering, they backslide and entered into a worldly job once again as pre-arranged.
Then there is the case of another man who joined the Community, bringing with him a meagre amount for the common fund. It so happened that the very next month of his joining, a German lady offered a house to me as a custodian of her work in Bangalore stipulating many terms and conditions which I still have in my files. This gentleman approached the lady, and insisted that the house should only be registered in his name and started to fight claiming a share in the house. The lady, however refused to accede to his request. Ultimately, after some years, when God blessed us with this new ministry, we handed over the house also back to the lady. Even so some kind of slander still goes on in this regard against us. We don’t desire to hold any property in our name. Inspite of all such obstacles, God has always been providing marvellous helps to meet all our needs. There have been many such bitter experiences coming in the way of Community Life.
The Bride has got to be very careful in associating with new comers to the Community Life. In the not too distant past, a middle-aged lady suddenly came to join the family of God with a hidden motive. She seemed to be getting on well for a few weeks or so, and then gradually began to show her true colours. Her sole object was to get married to a boy, an active member in the Ministry, whom she had already chosen in her heart. She wanted me to intervene and take upon myself the whole responsibility and finalise the affair. But owing to certain very justifiable reasons, we couldn’t help her out. So she packed off immediately and started concocting stories against us and made many to believe them. Needless to say, the world could never judge situations correctly and honestly. But do we have to fight to establish the real facts? We feel happy to get rid of such false and wicked people. Surely God does remove the unwanted characters when we earnestly pray to Him as a Community. When new-comers join us they get some wonderful and hard experiences and cutting of corners in their lives (which they could not eradicate in their previous home life) as the Spirit moves and brings them into God’s desired place.
Another striking feature we have noticed is that whenever any unconsecrated people come to stay amidst us for a week or month, the entire providential help ceases and we don’t get even a single cent unless such people leave us. As soon as they keep their legs out of the Ashram, we continue to get help as usual. Even when we try to help out of the community funds some of our unconsecrated or unsaved family members, we have seen God stopping all help and we have to ask His pardon. Then the help flows like a stream.
Unlike the many other kinds of Community Living now in existence all over the world, the Manujothi Ashram is not a place where people have to work to earn their livelihood. All what we do is to trust God like the Israelites in wilderness for all our needs. Of course people do have to work and share the multifarious responsibilities, each according to his ability and without expecting any remuneration to ensure the smooth functioning of the Ashram. Why did God take the Israelites in the hard way and make them to suffer in the wilderness? It was to show them that He can supply all their needs. When people newly come to the Ashram, they are for a few days, assigned to do some manual labour. Ladies are mostly asked to help in the kitchen. But some of them show reluctance to do the chores allotted to them and try to get away or make a good lot of fuss. This only proves that they choose to enter the Ashram thinking that they can have an easy-going and idle life and thus defeat the very purpose of Community Life i.e., to seek God more vigorously and get themselves ready for the Rapture.
Free food and accommodation is provided, as God supplies from time to time, so that the individuals need not have to work and earn their liveliood. Only a little time is spent in doing the few odd jobs allotted to each of them, and most part of the day is at their disposal for reading a good many chapters from the Bible which they couldn’t have done while in their worldly way of life. Usually they read every day about 40 to 50 chapters from the Bible. The Holy Spirit marvellously opens the Bible to them, and they get the knowledge of God direct from His Word without any denominational thrust or teaching. They show rapid progress in their spiritual growth. But there are some who are so lazy that whenever they are asked to attend to certain work, they try to evade it under the pretext of reading the Bible. Apart from Bible Reading, the inmates are engaged in a round-the-clock non-stop chain prayer in groups. This will be continued till Rapture takes place, and they especially pray to God to soon gather all the Bride members before the door of grace gets closed once and for all indicating the commencement of tribulation for those who are left behind in Rapture. There are a few young men who have proved themselves to be mighty messengers of the end-time truth. God has greatly strengthened them for they have sincerely crucified their self life and go from place to place preaching the end-time gospel without any regular income to back them up but depending fully on God to meet all their needs. One can quite clearly observe the abundant and regular flow of God’s Spirit amidst the Ashramites, so much so that their desire for food etc. becomes waned and they can remain without eating for days together being filled with the presence of God. Many bear witness to the fact that whenever they leave the Ashram area, they find a great difference as they couldn’t experience the same happy and peaceful atmosphere anywhere else.
I am residing at Gandhinagar (Tirunelveli) and "New Jerusalem" is just a name we have given to our rented house; it has nothing to do with the spiritual New Jerusalem, mother of all, which is up above. People seem to have got mixed up after reading certain statements found in the Second Thunder Message ("Overcoming Death is possible in this Generation"). You may rest assured that there is nothing like "New Jerusalem Bank" or any other bank located in Gandhinagar where you have to transfer all your belongings. What we actually meant in the said message was the transfer of your property etc., to the Bank of God (Matt.6:19-20; 19:21). The real Bride is expected to do it before Rapture by selling away everything and distributing the money among the poor. We don’t expect people to give anything to us, and nowhere have we hinted to them to do so like the present day money-minded "Evangelists". That’s why we don’t even acknowledge any remittances immediately but write letters only when prompted by God. God provides all what we need in His own marvellous ways and we are more than content with that. Moreover, we are not a party to associate with people possessed with denominational spirits who cannot do God’s work without regular support. We trust only in God and He always responds to us in a mighty way for He knows that we seek the glory due to our Lord. Only those who are out of the grip of denominations and denominational spirit can give the complete glory to God and God alone. Being in denomination, people take all the glory for themselves and that is considered nothing but death.
Anyone who has the revelation of God coming down in this generation as Bridegroom will also understand and experience the joy of being married and becoming the Lamb’s wife - ready and prepared for the glorious take off. The Bride prepares herself to fully follow her Master by forsaking everything of this world. All her money, property and other worldly affections become nothing to her when compared with the new wine to which she is entitled through the new Bride Covenant. She experiences the flow of a new love in her, so much so that nothing in this world can ever pull her back to a worldly life. It is only the lack of such kind of supreme and divine love that tends to make people to offer lame excuses and prevents them from choosing this way of life.
LAY NOT UP TREASURES FOR YOURSELVES UPON THE EARTH :
The terms "Lay not up treasures upon earth," "Forsake all" etc., sound so terrific to the human mind that the very thought of it nauseates a worldly Christian since it cuts the very root of the purpose for which he became a Christian. In India many poor people have become Christians for the sake of bettering their worldly prospects i.e., to get a job, marry a girl and so on. We all have Bible in our hands, but whenever we come across a costly demand we just skip over it and do only the cheapest and easiest things. This is the principal reason why a vast majority of Christians are uable to show anything much of God in their lives. We firmy believe that all the commads of Christ are literal, and it is unwise to spiritualise anything, however difficult it might be. Entire dedication was commanded by Christ in His teachings. The rich man (Matt. 19) came to ask Jesus what good thing he should do to gain eternal life. He wanted eternal life to enjoy the immense wealth he possessed in this world. But Jesus, the great Physician, knew the desire of his heart and said that he should sell everything and give to the poor. He was not to stop there but also follow Jesus which was still harder than selling all. His purpose was lost. What was the use of eternal life if he had to sell all and give the money to the poor? He wanted eternal life only to enjoy his wealth. Since what Jesus told him was contrary to his desire, he went away sorrowfully. Jesus, however, did not do any bargaining like "Brinjal or potato business." His standard was perfect and unalterable. He did not call the man back and say, ‘Well, let me reduce the standard a bit as you are very sorrowful’. He just let that rich man go his way. The command to forsake everything was fully followed by the Apostles, and this ought to be practised by us literally at least in these last days.
"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. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, What ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." - Matt. 6:19-34.
If we read these verses without considering the prejudice of the present day Christianity with all its luxuries, we will find that Jesus clearly attaches great significance to a "single eye" and He states that riches disturb our clear and simplicity of vision. Then He goes on to say how God cares for the lowest of His creatures and how He provides for those who do not have a storehouse or barn. He also tries to stress the point that God will definitely care in a greater degree for them eventhough they do not have a store-house or provisions for the future. At the end He does not blame them for anything except saying "O ye of little faith". In Luke there is still another passage similar to this. The rebuke from God was "Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" (Luke 12:13-21). Here there is a little difference in the final remark i.e., "sell all that thou hast and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not". When we talk about this important matter from the Holy Writ, many would comment in the negative way saying: "That is not necessary for salvation. O Where is a man who will not fleece money? So and so preached like that to forsake and now he has cheated everyone and robbed all their money making them paupers. Jesus did not actually mean this to be followed literally. He just said it in a general way but not seriously" etc. Such people, if they read the following passage will clearly see that Christ’s teaching against laying up treasure upon earth was in fact literal.
"Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the Kingodm of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting" - Luke 18:22-30.
Jesus said: "It is easier for a camel (rope) to go through the eye of a needle than for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God". Whenever we contemplate over the situation to which our families and children would be plunged into if we forsake all, we naturally become discouraged. It ought not to be so for we have God’s Word to pin our faith - Heb. 2:10; 5:8; Rom. 5:5; II Cor. 6:10.
We know that disobedience to God’s commands brought death into this world. Knowing well the commandments of God, if any one disobeys wantonly, he must be prepared to reap the consequences as well. I have seen many rich men, both Christians and non-Christians., die in the C.M.C. Hospital at Vellore where I was an employee for some time. Their last hours were very alarming and full of sorrow. All their hoarded wealth could not do any good to them in their last moments. They did not know what good their wealth would do to others or who will enjoy and whether or not it would be utilised for some good purpose (Eccl. 2:17-21; 4:8).
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO HAVE RICHES AND NOT TO DEPEND ON THEM:
"And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again, and saith unto them, children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? - Mark 10:23-26.
Jesus did not say "How hardly this rich man enter". People seem to think that our Saviour was not severe in His remarks, but when we study this matter deeply we find that there was in fact no soft corner. This passage is not purported to make riches appear less dangerous to the possessor, but rather it explains why it is so dangerous. At first He states the cause which will prevent a rich man from entering into the Kingdom of God. The disciples were astonished and then Jesus goes on to explain that it is impossible because he trusts in riches. The disciples, instead of getting pacified, became more astonished, and this shows that there was no softening in the attitude of Jesus. It is evident that the disciples did not consider the case as less dangerous or hopeless for they eventually cry out "Who then can be saved?" This seemingly is an expression of people whose astonishment was confirmed and not removed by the answer of Jesus Christ. "They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" - (I Tim. 6:9-10,17). The Apostles were convinced of the Lord’s condemnation of trusting in riches to be literal and exhibited their conviction by action when they decided to follow Jesus:
"All that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their POSSESSIONS AND GOODS, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart" - Acts 2:44-46.
"The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need" - Acts 4:32-35.
Christ’s remark about the poor widow also shows that He intended His command to be taken literally - Mark 12:41-44: "And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And came there a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living".
The world will not come forward with an open heart to praise such an action but outrightly condemn it as very improper and insensible. But see how our Lord Jesus Christ commended this action much against our normal outlook. He judges not according to appearances. When Peter cut the servant’s ear, Jesus warned that he who takes a sword will perish with the sword. He also did not advise His disciples not to take what He said literally or casually (II Cor. 8:9; 13-15; I Cor. 4:11; II Cor. 11:27; II Cor. 4:17).
There are several of Christ’s commandments which cannot be obeyed when riches are accumulated. Some people say that to trust God for the future is to tempt Him. But there are so many varied examples of children of God trusting God, and God blessing them for that trust. The Lord God blessed Abraham for leaving the future and its consequences in the hands of God. We are all happy to call ourselves as children of Abraham, but do we have the same faith as he had on God? When Sodom and Gomorrah was to be burnt, God came down to Abraham, supped with him and promised to bless him with a son in his old age. And when Abraham did have a son, God decreed that he should sacrifice his only son. Abraham obeyed, and we know the great blessings wrougt on him by God for obeying His word. "By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; BECAUSE THOU HAST OBEYED MY VOICE" Genesis 22:16-18.
When God wanted the Israelites (male children) to appear before Him thrice in the year leaving their wives and children, He undertook to take care of the defenceless wives and children (Ex. 34:23-24).
"Neither shall any man desire thy land, When thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year".
Were the Israelites tempting God in this respect? How sincerely they trusted God at His Word and went to appear before Him leaving their wives and children defenceless. Don’t you feel that it required a great trust on God and His Word for the entire population of Israelites to leave the defence of their families in the hands of God when they were in Jerusalem? Can’t you trust God for your daily needs eventhough the majority of human beings normally live by working daily with their hands? We have a great, great God in Jesus Christ.
When Moses led the Israelites for forty years, the daily need of the millions was met by God throughout their journey. When they ran short of water, the spring broke forth from rock. When there was no meat, it was provided at their door step. When they wanted food, manna fell from heaven. Those who collected more without faith had not more and those who collected less had full - greedy ones who collected the heavenly food to last for the next day found it spoilt. This supply of manna stopped after their crossing river Jordan. Also when the Israelites kept the Sabbath sincerely, God brought abundant blessings:
"Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard" Lev. 25:3-4.
"And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year, until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store" Lev. 25:20-22.
"If ye will not for all this harken unto me, but walk contrary unto me, I will bring your land into desolation, and I will scatter you among the heathen; and your lands shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths when ye dwelt upon it" Lev. 26.
See the punishment of God on Israelites who disobeyed and did not
trust God. "And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to
Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of
the Kingdom of Persia" (II Chr. 36:20).
Message Delivered By:
Bro. R. Paulaseer Lawrie
"New Jerusalem"
Manujothi Ashram,
Sathia Nagaram
(Via) Pappagudi - 627 602.
Tirunelveli District,
South India.
YYYYYYY