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And the apostles said unto the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ And the Lord said:
“—But which of you having a bond-slave plowing, or * feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by when he comes from the field, * ‘Go and sit down to meat?’ And will not rather * say unto him, ‘Make ready wherewith I may eat, and gird your- * self and serve me, till I have eaten and drank; and afterward *, you shall eat and drink ?'” – Lk 17:5, 7-8
(Here it should be pointed out that the ‘servant’ rendering we find in so many English texts, is a gross misrendering of the Gr ‘denies’ which is actually a bond-slave. That is, one sold into, or taken over into slavery in order to liquidate a past debt. Such were common in the days of Jesus. There were also hired helpers receiving pay. In the Gr they were ‘misthion’. So, there is not the faintest excuse for rendering doulos that of ‘servant’ which – tous – implies one working for pay at one’s free will. But the doulos was one who, thru poor judgement, had been taken in by his own ambitions and become bankrupt. Then his chief creditor would take him over into slavery to liquidate the debt. THAT is the kind of person Jesus used to illustrate His answer unto the apostles.
Have you perceived it? Can you take the shock?
WE the earth humanity – are indwelled by those spirits whom Lucifer deceived! WE are the rebels against Yahweh-God. WE are the deluded ones who ‘hitched our cart to a star’ – the wrong star. We were ‘taken in’ by the subsidiary LIGHT of the realm. And so we were ‘cast down to earth’ until we should have ‘worked out our own salvation.’ Howbeit, the Compassionate One came to make a great sacrifice, opening up a short-cut back into the realm of the Father for all who will renounce the false ‘star’ and cling by faith to the Redeemer.
WE are the ‘bond-slaves’ whose ambitions exceeded our judgment; WE grasped for more than we could manage and handle; we were too ignorant to consider the day of reckoning.
Therefore were we taken over into slavery unto Lucifer: slaves unto him whom we chose to serve in dim ages of the past.
The apostles were the Lord’s especially chosen out from among the ‘chosen people,’ (chosen to infiltrate and sabotage the enemy’s kingdom). These, even those did he say were ‘bond-slaves’ of Lucifer: their indwelling spirits were of that host which are numbered in Lucifer’s ‘tail.’ Therefore retorted the Christ to them, substantially saying: “What gall you have to ask me for ‘power of attorney’ that you may flash in regal splendor, wielding powers far beyond your humble and outcast station! Back in the folly of your teen-age days, you ignored your Father’s command, being taken in by the Shining one who promised you wisdom. Indeed you are getting it (at the price of ‘blood, sweat and tears’)! FAITHFULNESS in duty is required of all ‘sons.’ YOU were grossly unfaithful in the past. Therefore must you now PROVE your repentance over the past willful disloyalty to your Parent, by laboring hard and patiently to faithfully carry out all that you have been commanded to do. THAT IS YOUR DUTY (as a bond-slave.) IF then, over and above this, I behold in you eagerness to go out of your way to help, to comfort and succor others, THEN will I gradually add to your faith, that you may better be enabled to help those who are eager in returning to the Father’s estate.’
So often we see humble and upright folk, toiling with great patience, yet they make no headway, many of them ending up tragically. And at times we bear such bemoaning their ‘fate’, And there are times when we hear from others who know them well, something along this line: “There can be no God; no JUST God in heaven who would let a thing like that happen to ‘John Brown’.”
From man’s limited perspective, such sentiments may appear in place. Yet without spiritual vision and understanding, the judgment is based entirely on the present and now.
Such conclusions arise because of a complete ignorance of the indwelling spirit’s past: of its willful disobedience to the Father, and its long trail of works-in-evil.
Here let the reader pause to more deeply ponder the tragic depth of Truth underlying the facts of ‘man’s lost estate.’
Yes, let one also deeply ponder THE abysmal error of church dogma which postulates a virgin soul fresh from the hand of God at the birth of every human infant! Could a delusion be greater? But ‘bond-slaves’ taken over to work out a portion of the incalculable debt! Incalculable? Yes! But bear also in mind that thru the grace of God, cyclic ‘years of release’ were established wherein slaves were to be released. And after this cycle had run to its own square (7 x 7), the JUBILEE ushered in when all forfeited proper ties were also restored: when ALL rested and rejoiced in full rights and liberties restored. (More of this later).
Let the reader here stop to realize that the Old Testament account of Adam and Eve; of the: patriarchs, prophets and Israel down to the Christ and His apostles, are ALL ‘allegories to portray for us our spirits’ beginning and entry into disobedience and error; together with the long, tortuous trail back home to the Father’s estate. They were all but ‘plays’ enacted on the world stage, directed by God Almighty to portray the mighty Truths in magnitude and detail – that even the dump should understand. But let not the reader fall into the error of many that they are only allegories. For, God Almighty was well able to have all the recorded details wrot out in reality. And that He did. THEREFORE the many peculiar twists and tragedies in the Truth-dramas enacted – that every little detail of His Master-plan for the spirits in bondage to become restored to the Edenic estate, might be faithfully portrayed.
It has been written that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9). Why wouldn’t it be? The heart is in charge of the blood and, ‘in the blood’ is the life. The spirit. and life cannot be separated, for, spirit is THE LIFE. Wherefore, since the spirit indwelling man is a REBEL spirit: willfully rebellious against the Father in dim ages of the past, it must remain the normal expectation that his heart should manifest deceit and wickedness.
In many instances here on earth we find that those who have entered into willful error, and consequently come under the corrective chastisement of a wise and righteous parent, or into the hands of the law; also come to remorse and repentance, leading to a correcting of their ways.
Similarly with the REBEL spirits we are. ‘The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.’ Lucifer is man’s taskmaster while still in his post as earth-REGENT, yet God is the OVERLORD. Therefore his way of life has been to go from one grief to another, that he may get so wearied of the lucifer-way that with great passion he will turn to the Lord and say: “I WILL RETURN UNTO MY FATHER’ ESTATE.”
At that stage he ‘flees to Midian’ (which means strife) where he battles with the carnal mind. But entering into union with Zipporah (which means a little bird), he hears that spirit-voice twittering to call him home. When this has brought forth fruit (Gershom meaning kicked out), he sees the fire of God and hears His voice. THEN does he receive strength to boldly face Lucifer (depicted by Pharaoh) and secures deliverance thru the shed blood of THE PASSOVER LAMB. THEN comes the wilderness experience of every Christian, wherein is encountered multitudinous vicissitudes, that God may ‘PROVE us and come to know what is in our heart: whether or not we will now faithfully serve Him or ‘Pharaoh’ (see Deut (8:2-16).
In the Father’s Kingdom are countless posts, varying in importance, responsibility, and in the acquired skills required to fill. Therefore must every past REBEL journey thru the ‘wilderness’ to PROVE himself to the Father and, in meeting the specific trials and tests which Divine Wisdom has placed before him, thereby acquire that ‘skill’, that strength or soul-discipline which the Father has deemed essential, in order that the redeemed REBEL may again re-enter the Father’s Kingdom and fill a useful post.
As it was in the days of Israel under Moses, so must it be unto every Christian before he is fit to cross the Jordan and enter the Land of Promise.
While those who are not Christians are still among the ‘nations’, and in the abject power of Lucifer and the countless delusions of his realm. They have still to HEAR the voice of the ‘saboteurs’ whom God Almighty has sent among them (Apostle: meaning one sent), to DEFECT from the enemy’s camp; to sojourn in ‘Midian’ until kicked out (Gershom) by the fruits of the spirit-voice; when ‘Pharaoh’ is faced, and LIBERATION secured thru the shed blood. When the ‘wilderness’ has been traversed successfully, then for them too swells the glad song of HOME.
Briefly we might reflect on one chosen ‘saboteur’ who failed to ‘defect.’ “—none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled” John 17:12. Judas remained faithful to Lucifer. Therefore is ‘the man of sin’ to be highly honored by his master from Hell.
* “Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not * come, except there come a falling away first, and that the man * of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” – II Thes 2:3
* “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, * or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple o f God, showing himself that he is God”. – II Thes 2:4
This has been our first perspective. NOW we are ready to go back to the prismal becoming of the virgin-spirit thru the begetting power of the Divine parent, and behold the Father’s Plan for all His offspring in the Light, as well as for the cast-outs.
