"... the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, who is the IMAGE OF GOD,
should shine unto them." (2 Cor. 4:4)
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the IMAGE
OF CHRIST from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit
of the Lord." (2 Co 3:18)
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,
and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped
the beast, neither the IMAGE OF THE BEAST, neither
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or
in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ
a thousand years." (Rev. 20:4)
INTRODUCTION
The Bible speaks of two images:
The image of Christ (who is the image of the Father).
The image of the Beast.
And it further states that we all are being changed into the
likeness of one of these two images. There is no middle ground
here.
THE IMAGE OF CHRIST
In the first instance, the process that leads us in life to
the image of Christ begins with (1) regeneration - specifically,
when we are "born again," and our spirit is regenerated
and becomes once more alive to the leading of the Holy Spirit;
then (2), as we "behold and reflect" the Lord in our
spirit, we are (3) changed into Christ's image (2 Cor. 3:18)
[who is the image of the Father (2 Cor. 4:4)]; and (4) as we
are changed gradually and in the "growth in life,"
we are brought into unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ;
and this unity produces (5) the church; and the church produces
(6) Christ's testimony in the earth. (John 17:21). And ALL
this is accomplished through the operation of God's grace.
Moreover, in connection with this great truth, we must always
bear in mind what GRACE is: GRACE MEANS THE UNMERITED,
UNRECOMPENSED FAVOR OF GOD; GRACE cannot be earned;
add even the slightest effort on the part of man, and grace
is no more grace. (Rom. 11:6)
THIS IS A PROCESS OF LIFE THAT BEGINS DEEP WITHIN US - IN
"OUR INNERMOST BEING" (i.e., OUR SPIRIT), AND THIS
PROCESS IS PREDICATED SOLELY ON THE LOVE OF GOD:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
The "Beast"
by Albrecht Durer
(1471 - 1528)
AND THIS PROCESS FLOWS OUTWARD FROM OUR SPIRIT TO
THE WORLD, AND AS IT FLOWS OURTWARD TO THE WORLD, IT PRODUCES
CHRIST'S TESTIMONY, BOTH IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. This is
the "good pleasure" of the Father's will:
"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times HE
MIGHT GATHER TOGETHER IN ONE all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in
him." (Ephesians 3:10)
THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST
Contra wise, the image of the Beast is produced in EXACTLY
the opposite fashion: it is the result of an action that operates
from the outside inward, and it operates according to the Law.
As C.I. Scofield writes:
"Law is prohibiting and requiring." (Ex. 20:1,
17) It forces its oneness on others by compulsion and coercion.
It's the kind of oneness that is produced by brutality and
cruelty.
"Law is a ministry of condemnation." (Rom. 3:19)
It operates by the ministration of GUILT. (Ex. 20:18-19,
and Phil. 3:4, 9) It motivates its adherents by guilt, not
by love.
Law produces the kind of oneness that is achieved by an IBM
or a General Motors; the kind of oneness that is produced out
of a rule book and a set of regulations - of "DOs"
and "DON'Ts." It's the kind of oneness produced
by the "scribes and the Pharisees" of today's Christianity
who trust in the Law and -
"... compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and
when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell
than yourselves." (Matt. 23:15)
This is the kind of oneness that produces the "image of
the Beast."
THE QUESTION IS ...
The question is, what kind of oneness are you producing: the
kind that is based on producing GUILT in your brothers
and sisters in the Lord? The kind of oneness that is based on
rules and regulations: get up at 5:00 a.m. in the morning; pray
alone in your room until 7:00 a.m.; have breakfast precisely
at 7:30 a.m.; etc., etc.? The kind of oneness found in monastic
orders such as Opus Dei, and the Franciscans? The kind
of oneness where your every waking hour is governed by this
or that regulation? IF THAT'S THE KIND OF ONENESS UPON WHICH
YOU ARE RELYING, BE SURE THAT YOU WILL NOT PRODUCE THE CHURCH,
BUT INSTEAD YOU WILL PRODUCE THE "IMAGE OF THE BEAST."
The Bible says:
"FOR CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH.” (Romans 10:4)
And it goes on to say to ALL those who would set themselves
up as HOLINESS POLICEMAN over "God's heritage"
(the church):
Holiness policemen
"Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set
at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ.
"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess
to God.
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself
to God.
"LET US NOT THEREFORE
JUDGE ONE ANOTHER ANY MORE ..." (Romans 14:10-13)
SPOTS IN YOUR FEASTS OF LOVE
The Bible says that those brothers and sisters who feel that
they have been called as God's "HOLINESS POLICEMEN"
(i.e., those who live by the law and force others to live by
the law as well) -
"... are spots in your feasts of charity, when they
feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they
are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose
fruit withereth, without fruit, TWICE DEAD, plucked
up by the roots;
"Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame;
wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
for ever." (Jude 1: 12-13)
Now think about what is being said here: People who set themselves
up as God's "HOLINESS POLICEMEN" are -
"Spots in your feasts of charity [love]" - without
love; hateful; hurtful.
"Clouds without water" - promising much, but
delivering nothing.
"Trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, TWICE
DEAD, plucked up by the roots" - "TWICE
DEAD!" Think about the horrible implications of
that phrase!
"Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame"
- raging against others, and as they do so, revealing their
own shameful condition.
"Wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness
of darkness for ever."
RAGING AGAINST YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS
And there is something more! - When you "RAGE"
against your brothers and sisters in Christ, when YOU
attack their character (as those who have "RAGED"
against us in Antipas have done) you identify yourself with
Satan. Why? - because he is called -
"... the accuser of the brethren." (Revelation
12:10)
And if that's so, whose side are YOU really on when
you accuse your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Christ's or
the devil's?
When you bring such accusations against them, you reveal the
fact that you have no idea what SALVATION is all about;
you have no real comprehension of what Christ did for you on
the cross - which is a pretty serious matter insofar as your
Christianity is concerned.
NOTE
Now one must be very careful here; we are not talking about the necessity of confronting our brothers and sisters over matters that pertain to our Faith; indeed, we are told "… to be ready always to give an answer to every man that as-keth you a reason of the hope that is in you …" (1 Peter 3:15); what we are talking about here are ad homonym attacks against the character of our brothers and sisters.
HOW QUICKLY AN ACCUSATION AGAINST A BROTHER AND/OR SISTER SPREADS
They
that accuse their brethren act only to do evil.
Darby says that those who accuse their brethren according to
the Law -
"... act only to do
evil."
In other words, they intend to hurt and bring harm to their
brothers and sisters in the Lord, and this is so regardless
of their protestations to the contrary. And there is something
more to be remarked on here: Those who involve themselves in
this kind of wicked activity are more than cognizant of the
fact that accusations are easily accepted by most people if
they are repeated over and over again; that once such calumnies
and defamations become widespread, they take on a life of their
own - they spread like an "infectious DISEASE,"
and so much so that they are able to entrench themselves into
the thinking of people without any real proof as to their veracity.
As a result, they are subsequently able to withstand all the
objections, criticisms and denials of those against whom these
calumnies and defamations have been directed. The herd instinct
in man then has its heyday, and even the most independent souls
tend to follow the "great majority." But the so-called
"great majority" will NEVER be on the
side of God.
It is not without reason that the Bible says:
"Wide is the gate, and broad is
the way, that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there
be which go in thereat:
"But strait is the gate, and narrow
is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW
there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
Dr. Ernst Simmel of the University of California calls the
force that animates this DISEASE a -
"... PATHOLOGY of defamation and calumny."
In other words, when the target of such defamations and slander
is subjected unrelentingly to vilification, and when the people
who listen to what is being said do not IMMEDIATELY remove
themselves from the influence of this slander, it will INEVITABLY
take hold on them.
WHAT A POWERFUL THING OUR TONGUE IS
"Behold, we put bits
in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn
about their whole body … But the tongue can no man tame;
it is an unruly evil, FULL OF DEADLY POISON."
Brothers and sisters, I tell you the truth: we must guard our
tongues carefully insofar as our brothers and sisters are concerned.
Oh, what powerful things the words that flow from our tongues
are. The Bible says that with the tongue we -
"... bless God, even the Father; and therewith curse
we men, which are made after the similitude of God."
(James 3:9)
And when our tongue is used to curse men - believer and unbeliever
alike - it becomes an instrument of Hell; IT SETS ON FIRE
THE COURSE OF NATURE. That's what the Bible says:
"The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so
is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole
body, and SETTETH ON FIRE THE COURSE OF NATURE; and
it is set on fire of hell." (James 3:6)
Now, note carefully what the Bible is saying here:
The tongue is a fire.
It is a world of iniquity.
It defiles us.
It is set on fire by the forces of Hell.
IT SETS ON FIRE THE COURSE OF NATURE.
The Bible continues:
"Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths,
that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
"Behold also the ships, which though
they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds,
yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever
the governor listeth.
"Even so the tongue is a little member,
and boasteth great things. BEHOLD HOW GREAT A MATTER A
LITTLE FIRE KINDLETH!
"For every kind of beasts, and of birds,
and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath
been tamed of mankind:
"But the tongue can no man tame; it
is an unruly evil, FULL OF DEADLY POISON."
(James 3:3-5, 7-8)
RAILING ACCUSATIONS
Listen, dear brothers and sisters in Christ: When you speak
evil of people, especially on a PERSONAL level,
when you bring "railing accusations" against them
- even in the name of God - BE SURE, IT IS NOT GOD THAT IS
DIRECTING YOU, even when you think you are right! And this
is true not only of your brothers and sisters in Christ, but
of your enemies as well: Consider the Archangel of God, Michael,
when he disputed with the devil -
"... durst [dared] not bring against him a railing accusation
..." (Jude 1:9)
And one would think that if anyone deserved to be "accused,"
certainly it would have been the devil; and if anyone had the
rank to do so, certainly it would have been Michael. But if
Michael would not do so, then who are you to speak evil, even
of your enemies? When you participate in such defamations,
you "CORRUPT YOURSELF," speaking -
"... evil of those things which ... [you] know
not: but what ... [you] know naturally, as brute beasts,
in those things ... [you] corrupt ... [yourselves]."
(Jude 1:10)
OUR CRITICISM OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS DESTROYS THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH
Jesus said:
"... whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say
to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council:
but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, SHALL BE IN DANGER
OF HELL FIRE." (Matthew 5:22)
And why is that? - because when we criticize our brothers and
sisters in Christ, when we "bring them down" because
they fail to "measure up" to our standard of righteousness,
we tear apart the Body of Christ, and that is something that
the Lord will NOT tolerate!
Again, our testimony to the world is our ONENESS. Jesus
prayed:
"THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE; as thou, Father, art
in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: THAT
THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. (John 17:21)
But when we tear each other apart by our incessant criticism,
we destroy that oneness. The fact is, no matter how hard we
strive, no matter how much we try to please others and demonstrate
our worthiness to them, there will always be some whom we cannot
please, and their ceaseless criticism will eventually wear us
down and destroy us. This is what invariably happens when we
are forced to "live up" to someone else's standard
of what holiness is all about. I say again, it is NOT
rules and regulations that produce unity in the church; as we
have already indicated, this is how corporations achieve oneness;
but this kind of oneness is of the flesh, and will only bring
us misery and failure as anyone who has been subsumed in a "corporate
culture" knows.
This, however, is NOT
how the church produces oneness. The church's oneness is not
based on rules and regulations, but on the life of Christ, and
that life is not something that can be forced or coerced. The
unity which Christ gives is ours as a natural by-product of
our "abiding in Christ:" Again, as we abide in Christ,
and as we -
Christ's image
"... behold ... the Lord [daily in our lives] as in
a mirror ... [we] are changed into the same image [i.e., Christ's
image] from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18)
In other words, as we are changed into the likeness of the
Lord, we reflect His glory, and His glory brings oneness among
the brothers and sisters; then THIS ONENESS PRODUCES THE
CHURCH, and THE CHURCH PRODUCES CHRIST'S TESTIMONY IN
THE EARTH and answers the Lord's prayer when He prayed -
"That they all may be ONE ... THAT
THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME.” (John 17:21)
WHAT ARE YOU PRODUCING? - THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST OR THE IMAGE OF CHRIST
Brothers and sisters, you must ask yourselves what kind of
an image is it toward which you are pressing? If you are building
the church of God by means of rules and regulations, if you
are judging your brothers and sisters by a holiness standard
that you believe is the "measure of God," if you govern
your life by "outward appearances," then be sure that
what you are building has NOTHING to do with God. Indeed,
you will find on THAT DAY that what you have produced
is the IMAGE OF THE BEAST. Now you must be honest with
yourselves here! You can't fool God on this point. Maybe everyone
else, but surely not God. The Bible says:
"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day
shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and
the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."
(I Cor. 3:13)
Again, the Bible says,
"FOR CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH.” (Romans 10:4)
Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
If, on the other hand, you - in the course of your daily life
- make it your business to simply "behold and reflect"
the Lord in your spirit, then you will find that there will
be shed abroad in your heart a love of the brethren - the kind
of love that the Bible speaks of in I Cor. 13:4-7:
"Love suffereth long, and is kind;
love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed
up,
"Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh
not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth
in the truth;
"Beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things. (I Cor. 13:4-7) [Interestingly,
the King James Version of the Bible uses the word "charity"
rather than the world "love;" and this is because
"Old English" differentiated between "passive
love" and "active love." CHARITY MEANT “LOVE
IN ACTION.”]
This is the kind of love that only the life of Christ can produce;
there are no rules and regulations that can bring about such
a result. And this love produces oneness, and that oneness produces
the church, and the church produces the IMAGE OF CHRIST,
which is His testimony in both the heavens and the earth.
WHEN YOU SEE A BROTHER IN HARM'S WAY
Now this does not mean that when you see a brother in
"harm's way" (so to speak) - and I have reference
here to REAL harm, not imagined harm - you should
leave the matter alone. But when you go to such a brother
(or sister) you must go with an attitude of humility and
compassion, remembering all the while that with
"what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and
with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you
again" (Matt. 7:2). God HATES a self-righteous
person. Jesus -
The
publican and the
Pharisee at the Temple.
"... spake this parable concerning certain [men]
which trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and despised others [And, oh,
I tell you, I have known countless numbers of such people
over the years (people I call "HOLINESS POLICEMEN")
- many of whom visited our ranch and had to be told
to leave; it is a sickness that seems to be inbred in
American Christians - even many who have associated
themselves with the ministry]:
"Two men went up into the temple
to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican
[a common person].
"The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican.
"I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of all that I possess.
"And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto
heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful
to me a sinner.
"I TELL YOU, THIS MAN (i.e.,
THE PUBLICAN) WENT DOWN TO HIS HOUSE JUSTIFIED RATHER
THAN THE OTHER: for every one that exalteth himself
shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
Moreover, when we go to our brother, we must go believing
the very best of him ["love hopeth all things"
(I Cor. 13:7)]. In addition, we must go PRIVATELY;
we must speak to no one else; we must NEVER talk
behind our brother's back. (cf. Matthew 18:15)
["Love suffereth long, and is KIND; love
envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, THINKETH NO EVIL
..." (I Cor. 13:4-5)]
In connection with this, we would do well to remember
the KINDNESS of Joseph toward Mary when she "was
found with child:" The Bible says:
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused
to Joseph, before they came together [sexually], she
was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
"Then Joseph her husband, being
a JUST MAN, and not willing to make her a publick
example, was minded to put her away PRIVATELY."
(Matthew 1:18-19)
Oh, I tell you the truth, what a wonderful thing to be
called a "JUST MAN" by God! And why was
Joseph called "JUST?" - because he had
compassion on Mary, even though he believed she had been
unfaithful to him sexually. He did not want to make her
a "public example" - as so many of our brothers
in Christ like to do when - as they see it - they "confront
evil in the church." These are those people who would
have felt quite at home with Torquemada during the Spanish
Inquisition.
So I say to you, when you go to your brother or sister
in Christ, you must go with the mind that was in Joseph;
you must NEVER go as God's "HOLINESS POLICEMAN"
like the scribes and Pharisees who brought unto Jesus
-
The
woman taken in adultery by Doré
"... a woman taken in adultery;
and when they had set her in the midst,
"They say unto him, Master, this
woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
"Now Moses in the law commanded
us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
"This they said, tempting him,
that they might have to ACCUSE him. But Jesus
stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the
ground, as though he heard them not.
"So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that
is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone
at her.
"And again he stooped down, and
wrote on the ground.
"And they which heard it,
being convicted by their own conscience, went
out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even
unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst.
"When Jesus had lifted up himself,
and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman,
where are those thine ACCUSERS? hath no man condemned
thee?
"She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus
said unto her, NEITHER DO I CONDEMN THEE: go,
and sin no more." (John 8:3-10)
Remember! -
"God sent not his Son into the world to condemn
the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
(John 3:17)
