An open letter to the Ministry...
If the Spirit of Prophesy1 is God and it calls itself the Word of God, and if that Word declares that in Proof of itself all things prophesied in it shall be fulfilled, as separating itself from men and others who would claim to be gods, is there any among you who can answer me some matters pertaining to That Spirit?
Moses put upon the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle a Mercy Seat of gold whose ends were fashioned in the form of Two Cherubim. There it was reported by the multitude of the Jews that God was seen to reside, between the Two Cherubim. Then, in the Temple of David were placed Two Olive Trees carved in the form of Cherubim. Now God forbade the casting of any images of Himself or other Gods. Why were these Cherubim put in the Holy of Holies?
Zechariah, chapter 4 and 11, speaks of Two Anointed of God. He describes them first as Two Olive Branches, then Two Olive Trees, and Two Staves,2 Beauty and Bands. Who are they?
Israel (Jacob) in His Blessing of Inheritance, Genesis 49.10, says that the Scepter shall remain in Judah, nor shall the lawgiver pass from between His Feet, until Shiloh come, and to Him shall the Gathering of the people be. Shiloh is not a Jew, of the seed of David. Who is Shiloh?
Isaiah speaks of The Double (chapter 61.7) Who is The Double?:
And to whom is he referring when he refers to Their Land?
Isaiah 61.7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for Confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in Their Land they shall possess The Double: everlasting Joy shall be unto them.
John, addressing the churches in Revelation, particularly Philadelphia, says in the Latter Days they will be given a New Name. Why?
King Solomon, whose wisdom reigns above all kings, said in I kings 8.41:
I Kings 8.41 Moreover, concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake...When he shall come and pray to this house: Hear thou in Heaven thy dwelling place and do according to all that the Stranger calleth to thee for...
Now these are just some of many profound statements of prophesy which speak of the Glorification of God by Two Anointed Ones. In fact, there is more weight in the Word of God describing Two Anointed than there is for one. Christ has a Double.
I have put these questions and others to the greatest in the Ministry, including the Pope, and have been completely ignored. Their numbers are over eighty by now. Last of these is Pastor John. How can you be of Christ and deny these things? Or ignore them? What wise man among you will answer me?
Mel West
Notes to letter I
1. Revelation chapter 19.10
2. I understand that the Hebrew word for Stave and Lawgiver is the same word i.e., the phrase can be read either way.
Dear Mel:(1)
Regarding the two Cherubims on the Ark of the Covenant: Yes - it is true God forbade the casting of images portraying Himself or other gods - however Cherubims are not "gods" nor were they ever worshipped by the Jews. Moreover, God is sovereign, and if God said to cast images of Cherubim for the Ark of the Covenant, would you have questioned God, had you been Moses? Moses certainly didn't; therefore if images of Cherubim were okay with God, and with his servant, Moses, then who are we to challenge it? See Romans 9:20a.
Regarding Zechariah 4 and 11 - The Traditional JEWISH interpretation for the Two Anointed/Branches/Staves/Bands is they were Judah and Ephraim (Israel), the two nations formed from the split up of Solomon's kingdom. I'm curious, Why didn't you include in your set of "doubles" the two sticks mentioned in Ezekiel 337:15 thru 23? At any rate, the TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION is that the two Anointed/etc. represent the Jews as the people of God in the Old Testament, and the Body of Christ in the New Testament. I know of no interpretation that regards these interesting symbols as historic individuals. So - take your pick.
Regarding Jacob's Blessing in Genesis 49:10 - How do you know Shiloh is not a Jew? According to the earliest JEWISH TRADITIONS (and those old traditions were usually right on!), and according to the writings of the Talmud and the Mishnah, SHILOH WAS A JEW! If it was good enough for generations of Jewish scribes, rabbis, and scholars, who should know their own history and sacred writings better than anyone else, then it's good enough for me. How about you?
Regarding the "double" that Isaiah speaks of in Isaiah 61.7: YOU ARE READING SOMETHING INTO THE SCRIPTURES THAT IS TOTALLY UNWARRANTED! The double Isaiah mentions is NOT A PERSON, but a DOUBLE PORTION OF JOY for the shame that God's children endured. Please meditate on this verse and you will see there can be no other reasonable interpretation!* Also, refer to Leviticus 26:14 thru 29, where God promises to punish the Children of Israel SEVEN TIMES (meaning seven times more severely than what He had punished them theretofore). Though these two passages (Is. 61.7 and Lev. 26:14-29) speak of different things, the principle is nevertheless the same. So you are mistaken to read a "person" into the "double" in Is. 61.7.
Regarding the "new name" that believers are given in the Book of Revelation, there are a number of views on this interesting subject, but the one that makes perhaps the most sense is this: the new name is needed because a believer is a NEW PERSON in Christ (see 2nd Corinthians 5:17)! Moreover, in the Old Testament God told his chosen people the Jews that He would give them a new heart, and a NEW NAME (See Ezekiel 11:19-20 and 36:24-27; also Isaiah 62.2), and no one assumes this promise of a "new name" refers to some mysterious "double". So why should we assume a new name in the book of Revelation refers to some mysterious "Double" ? (Also, consider that in the Old Testament, God's chosen people, the Jews, were named THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, but in the New Testament, God's chosen people are named THE BODY OF CHRIST - a new name!)
Regarding Solomon's dedicatory prayer in 1st Kings 8:41 - God had told the Children of Israel not to mistreat strangers in their midst - "stranger' meaning any Gentile who immigrated to their nation to live. Now, any "stranger" who came to the House of Israel's God to pray, would have to be CONVERTED to Israel's religion. So, Solomon is simply requesting God to answer the prayers of such a "stranger" as well as the prayers of Israelites. There is nothing mysterious about this request of Solomon, nor the Spirit speaking through Him did not have in mind some future person known as a "double" for Christ! And anyone who reads such an interpretation into this passage of scripture has been listening to the wrong voice!
Now-speaking of "voices" - Since we are coming to the end of the age, demon activity is rampant among men. So, not surprisingly, there are a large number of individuals today who hear "voices" that tell their listeners some fantastic things! Like, "We are people from another star, and you have been chosen to bring peace to the world, and save mankind!" (Read the book "Uri" by Andrea Puharitch!) Or: "I am the spirit of John the Baptist, and I have come to reveal a great truth to you -- that you are the reincarnation of Jesus Christ!" Such deluded souls develop Messianic complexes, and almost invariably come to a bad end!
I surely hope you are not one of these individuals! If you are, then you will have to repent of listening to your 5 particular "voice" and have the unclean spirit cast out of your life. Especially if the spirit has convinced you that YOU are Christ's Double! But, whether or not you "hear a voice," I detect a spirit of defiance and occultism about your letter, and these attitudes should be repented of.
I suggest you pray God to give you a teachable spirit.
A FRIEND WHO'S PRAYING FOR YOU.
(unsigned; no name, no return address)
P.S. - People who write "OPEN LETTERS' are suspect right off the bat. Too many cranks around these days.
* You have to take in context! Read the whole chapter! (sender's note)
(1) Letter written to me with no signature nor return address; all notes, marks, and underlines are his/hers; original underlining was in red!
Dear A.L.,
I am unable to respond to your conscientious letter, lacking the benefit of your name or return address, so please forgive me for responding to you through this book.
There is a Spirit of Truth which all men like to claim lives within them. And they use this spirit to persuade others to invest in them, to believe them, that others would do their will. In simple terms, there are many who walk this earth laying snares for others. In this regard, God has acknowledged these people from the beginning and told them that one day their own foot will be caught in the very same snare they had laid for others; and they will fall back and be taken. It is not by His power, nor by His might, but by His Spirit that He will one day be seen Glorified in the face of the world. And in that day He says He will plead with you face to face.
Let's face the facts. He has a great deal of things to plead: all of those things He prophesied before time. Ultimately He has to point out that what He said He would do He has done. And that, my friend, is the Spirit of Truth; and that is the Spirit of Prophesy.
One of the issues God discusses in Isaiah is the fact that He realizes that concerning many prophesies man may yet claim that his idol hath done them or some other thing had done them, or that they did not matter. In this respect, though God acknowledges no existence of other gods, He knows that He is continually being subjected to critics who know His Purpose better than He and speak for Him on behalf of matters He intended not. What was going on in the Temple during Christ's day is a good example to draw upon: for Christ saw that the priests were living in fine homes and competing for the best positions in the market place. To maintain this standard of living they sought to raise new sources of revenue through the Temple - They had been limited to 10% tithing by Moses. This was not enough for them, so they began selling doves and exchanging money. Christ called this Temple a den of thieves.
Christ had another problem. He was a sign of God. For following close on His Heels was fire. He knew it and said it. For the Sign of the Virgin is the Scattering of the Children of Israel. Christ also knew that the Word of God is divided between Two events: The Scattering of Israel and The Gathering or Restoration and Redemption of Israel. One of those Two Events involved the killing of the Anointed of God, as described quite clearly in Isaiah and the Psalms. My God, My God, why hath thou forsaken me? the Messiah asks.
Christ knew and said beforehand that He would be put to death. One need not be a prophet to know that; all He had to know is who He was and the Word of God clearly explains the rest. It is a pathetic situation, because I doubt Christ wanted to fulfill those prophesies. For when we analyze whom He was fulfilling them for, we realize that He was willing to be Sacrificed to prove that the Priest's were dealing falsely with God.
One of the clearest episodes in prophesy involves the killing of the Messiah. What was Christ to do? Pull out those prophesies and read them to the priests and show how according to the Virgin Birth they will be scattered? Would He say, Behold me, behold me, for I am a sign of Evil to come upon your heads?
Today we have the same prophesies hiding in the Bible, being far from the vision of the Rabbis who have recently been returned to the Holy Land, living under a New Nation called Israel. They can't see that if the Virgin were to appear before them now, it would be a sign that their nation would be once again scattered. I hoped that the Body of Christ might be able to drive this point home. But to do so one must also address, for the benefit of the rabbis, the other prophesies concerning the Messiah. And many of them, perhaps the bulk of them, do not deal with the age of the Virgin Birth, but rather concern a time when Israel is restored to the Promised Land. And in this the Ministry have many questions to answer as concerning the image of that Particular Messiah who Israel termed The Gatherer. We make a distinction between the Gatherer and the Suffering Messiah because of the strong correlation in prophesy of a Branch being raised unto David to rule from Jerusalem after the Restoration, as opposed to another character who is distinctly identified in prophesy as The Suffering Messiah; who certainly is not one who is either received in Jerusalem or reigns as King in Jerusalem. I separate the character or identity of these Messianic precepts into Two personalities, because they individually have distinct and, on the surface, opposite missions. Reading my book, you will see that it is my opinion that the Two are of the Same Holy Spirit of God. Such a spirit has but one point of view and one purpose: to Glorify the Word of God as He wrote it. The fact that the Two separate Events are in reality one being is further evidenced in the epitaphs which show the Messiah standing in Jerusalem, midst a great deal of weeping, grief, as a mother over her lost son, whilst showing them (Jerusalem) that they pierced and wounded Him. So, in the final analysis, the Two are really One in my eyes. But you can't see the One until you have seen the Two.
Men tend to measure one man from another by the way they appear on the surface. My measure is rather from a different direction: The Word of God. Both events have to be a full reflection of the Word of God, as the Prophets told it. And because of this, because of the Warning of the Prophets addressing this generation, there is a strong indication that the Messiah of the Latter Days would be denied. And because of the episode of the Bands, perhaps even killed. If there is any truth to it, I am merely addressing the possibility and trying to save a life, to ask you to consider the Latter Day Messiah in the light in which He was created.
As concerning The Double, I have no doubts that the original text of Isaiah uses that term as a Noun, an object, a thing; and I have no doubt that the Hebrew is referring to that thing as the Glory of the Gentile, a source of great Joy to them. In my book, The Double correlates with Isaiah's vision of the Teil and the Oak, the Substance of God's Holy Seed: Two things which look alike but are distinctly different; and they are eaten as an offering for the Sacrifice at Hand, mentioned by Zechariah and Zephaniah. So Zechariah says so I fed the flock of slaughter with my two staves, Beauty and Bands.
As concerning the parable of the two sticks, I was not aware of that passage. And it makes me consider the Inheritance contemplated by God: through whom shall it come? In the final analysis, Judah, one stick, is merged with Ephraim/Israel, the other stick, and formed into one nation which will never cease to be. Both of these sticks were Promised a role in the final inheritance, and there is reason to suspect from scripture that the King could come through either one of them or both. We shall see, as a matter of fact, that the Rabbis have always anticipated Two Messiahs: One of Joseph/ Ephraim and the other of Judah/David. So my suspicions, as concerning this, were not without ground.
Concerning Messiah ben Joseph, we know that when Israel laid his hand upon Ephraim, he was directly passing on the Blessing entitled to Joseph to Ephraim, by passing over Joseph so to speak. Manassah was the one entitled to the Blessing of Joseph, from Joseph's point of view; and Joseph questioned his father on this, why he was putting his hand on the younger son and not the elder, Manassah. His father responded that he knew what he was doing. So in this regard, any claim that Joseph might have in being the seed of the Messiah(s) is really in the name of Messiah ben Ephraim,1 whom God called His Firstborn, as He had previously referred to Jacob, who, incidentally, was the younger son of twins held in Rebekah's womb. Ephraim's Inheritance is soiled by a Curse, however, which is quite obvious in Old Testament prophesy. The Old Testament prophesy concerning the Inheritance through David is unified throughout in agreement that at least the King who stands in Jerusalem at the end of days is a branch raised up unto David. But, in the context of the Two Sticks, it is certain that whatever form this character takes He functions to weld the Two contestants for the Domain of God into one nation.
The Essenes, who lived long before the time of Christ and until His Crucifixion and the destruction of the Temple, are not too much in disagreement with traditional rabbinical views on this subject. The Essenes believed also in Two Messiahs: they called them Messiah ben Israel/Aaron and Messiah ben David. Their basis of tying the inheritance of one of them through Aaron is based upon a prophesy (of Isaiah?), showing How God's Blessing comes through Aaron and David. They viewed one Messiah as a priest-king, in the Tradition of Melchizedek, which is, from their point of view, passed through the Levitical priesthood, through Aaron, Moses's brother and God's prophet, and another, who is a King in the image of David and through David's seed, Messiah ben David.
Another part of this Inheritance has to be examined with respect to Israel's youngest son, Benjamin, for Israel's Will of Inheritance addressed Him, saying, God shall never cease to be between Benjamin's shoulders. When we examine Benjamin, we find in prophesy, in Jeremiah particularly, that Benjamin is given a special position in the Inheritance. For it is his seed which is scattered and taken into captivity to Babylon; and those of that captivity are described by Jeremiah as the good basket of figs, a seed who would be restored to Jerusalem. The other basket of figs, Judah, would be left in Jerusalem during the sacking of the city and the captivity and wiped out to the last man.
All this means is there are many claims to the crown. And considering the prophesies of the scattering of Israel, we see that anyone waiting for the Messiah today would have a feat before him to trace any lineage back to either Judah, Benjamin, or Ephraim. Tracing lineage back to Aaron might be easier, I suppose, since most Jews with the name, Cohen, claim to be descendants of Levi, and presumably can trace their ancestry back to Aaron.
But as concerning these considerations, I really have no hang up as to whose seed it is that produces the Messiah(s). Christ claimed his legitimacy, as a son of David, through His Mother Mary, whose ancestry is claimed through David, a son of Judah. I can accept this and close out the Messiah ben Judah/David in Jesus of Nazareth. And I can expect Messiah ben Judah to reappear in Jerusalem in the Last Days. But not to take you up to Heaven, but to rule over you here on earth, to lead you to Peace.
The Essenes claimed two things concerning the Messiah. First, they claimed that they were the legitimate ones to receive Him, as they base their claim on a prophesy of Ezekiel, that the Sons of Zadok shall receive the Messiah and Minister unto Him. The Essenes called themselves the Sons of Zadok and took their ministry of receiving the Messiah, when He comes, quite seriously. Messiah ben Aaron/Israel they also called the Teacher of Righteousness who would reappear on earth in the Last Days. They viewed Him appearing alongside Messiah ben David and even went to great lengths expounding upon the protocol of receiving them. So in this, my views concerning Two Anointed Ones, or a Double, were not ungrounded.
As concerning Beauty and Bands, which terms I like to use to describe the Two Messiahs, because they describe their different natures, the reference to them as Staves can also be read as Lawgivers, as I understand, since I am told that the Hebrew word for Stave and Lawgiver is the same word. For my part, both words read the same in my book anyway. So you can call them Staves or Lawgivers. But we have to acknowledge that the word Lawgiver certainly hits directly home, in the context of the King and His Inheritance, since it takes us directly to Israel's Will of Inheritance concerning Shiloh and Judah's Blessing of Inheritance. For there it says that Judah shall hold the Scepter (and Lawgiver) until Shiloh come. If the condition of the inheritance placed in the word, Until, means the same and is used the same in Hebrew, then there is no doubt as to the meaning of this phrase. Judah holds the scepter until Shiloh comes. And when Shiloh, to whom the gathering of the people shall be, comes the Scepter of God can be transferred to another. And Shiloh is surely described as The Gatherer. There is but one Gatherer mentioned in prophesy, after Moses, as I recall, and He is also called the Redeemer and Deliverer, who is created much in the character of another Moses, who is The Lawgiver, who comes to Jerusalem in the Last Days. We see Isaiah describing a character, in this regard, who speaks unto these people precept upon precept, line upon line, with stammering lips, like Moses, and in a foreign tongue. And I don't think He was referring to the day of Pentecost, since the precept involves reasoning with the multitude, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until they fall backward and are taken. It correlates with the opening of the Sealed Book and the Book of Remembrance. In Malachi God says that a Book of Remembrance shall go before Him in the Last Days. If you were the one who would write such a book in the Last Days, what do you suppose you would write about? Would you skim over the issues, so as not to infuriate the people, or would you write what you see and hear? Certainly, you would have to call into remembrance the basic precepts of the Bible, wouldn't you? You would write the Book of Remembrance, being faithful to all the precepts, and reconciling them.
As concerning all these things, my book deals deeply with them; and there is no need to go over all the precepts again here. But I must say, concerning the question you had, whether I thought I were The Double, I hope that it is answered in my book. And I hope that you will see in it that I have driven home the point that I am no different than you, but I seek to understand the truth. I didn't write the Bible; I just want to understand it better. And I cannot understand it by operating in a void or a vacuum. It is always good to ask another his opinion as to what such and such may say. And if there is any memory of me, in my work, I suppose by this Testimony we have to remember that I asked and there was no one who would offer a word in reply. As concerning this role, I know the frustration of years in asking and no one answering. No not one answered. And the one who thought to do me good by answering me forgot to sign his name to the letter; thus I have no way of communicating with him, so to explore the wisdom of his spirit and acquire truth and understanding. But perhaps, when he reads this book, he will answer me.
I must admit, my open letter to the Ministry left a lot to be desired, for I was addressing issues which really cannot be encapsulated into a short letter. I wish I could, but I am deficient in that regard. But for your benefit, perhaps we can here encapsulate a few precepts that need to be addressed by the Messiah when He comes:
Precept upon Precept:
Christ derives His legitimacy on the basis of fulfillment of Prophesy: He was prophesied to come. Part of that prophesy states that the Anointed would be born in Bethlehem, Judah, a son of David. For it dealt with the restoration of the throne of David upon the mount. According to the Testimony, Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judah. The Jews question whether Christ ever lived, as no contemporaneous record seems to mention Him (except those written by Christians). But this argument is for nought anyway, because Israel has been restored to the map again and I doubt, should they read about the Prophesied Virgin, they would be happy to see her.
Christ derives His Name from the epithet, Messiah, which means Anointed of God. That Anointing is compared to the Anointing of David. One of the epitaphs of The Anointed says that He will speak unto this people precept by precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little, with stammering lips and in a foreign tongue, until they fall backward and are taken.
Jesus the Christ did not do that. And in all fairness to the Rabbis, we have to admit that the Messiah whom they are waiting for has to do it. They believe that their Messiah, even, will acknowledge their Oral Torah and address it as well as the Torah. The Testimony concerning Christ does not include such an episode.
The episode really involves the time of the Deliverance anyway. For it is at this time that such an act would be meaningful. For then one can review the precepts, the prophesies, from the standpoint of what had been done, not what is to be done. For what is to be done is a subjective thing; but what has been done is more objective, historical fact. So we can see how such an act can be related to the opening of a Sealed Book or preparing a Book of Remembrance. In the Odes of Solomon we can see how this was even seen as a letter written by the finger of God which becomes a great volume. The basis of this vision is legitimate: for do we not have the epithet that his ministry are so few in number a child can write them? And in this example cannot we perceive how one might call into remembrance to Judah how they were scattered and sifted throughout the nations of the world and even burned to the extent that they even feared the genocide would be to the last living Jew? Certainly, as far as calling things into Remembrance, there is no episode in history which compares to Hitler's diabolical designs. Think of it, six million Jews were thrown into the ovens and the pits! Certainly the burning was on a far more horrible scale than the prophets ever imagined. And can we call this the judgment of God? I hesitate to think about it; for I cannot imagine God being identified with a beast like Hitler. Even for the meting out of evil in the land. But I'm sure there are instances in the Bible where God uses an evil man to lay the rod upon the Jews and Gentiles. The Anitchrist becomes this kind of character, as a matter of fact, and restitution is finally offered by casting him and his false prophet in the pit. So in the end, however the evil does come about, it is for certain that Evil itself finally ends up being cast into the lake of fire. I would like to consider Hitler, perhaps, as that evil one and be done with it, hoping that such an evil one has been burned and consumed forever, never to pass by our door again. But I think I am unlike many ministers I see, who seem to watch with expectation for an even more evil one than Hitler to come upon us.
But as concerning these times, I have to admit that the generation of my day is far more evil than any generation who has walked this earth. Certainly those who work to create pollution and nuclear missiles are doing more harm to the inheritance than even Hitler contemplated. For no man has raped and pillaged this earth more than the generation of this day. And many of these people, like those feeding the furnaces of Hitler and driving his trains, buying the cosmetics from the Jews' fats, and denying visas, call themselves The Body of Christ and the Chosen People. Whilst it is easy for me to point out the epitaphs which relate to the Darkness and Gloominess of the Latter Days, asking you whether these days match up to God's description of them, it certainly would not have been easy for Christ to show them in His Day. For today many believe the entire world is sitting right on the edge of the precipice of fire through nuclear war and through pollution; the world, for the first time in history, now has an end which can be, by common consent, judged just a few years away or even but an hour away from this moment. I tell you, there has never been a Darker Moment in history, and the only thing darker is the moment you see the Clouds forming above your head. And those Clouds, of which I speak, you know all too well mean the end of all things. It is the end of an inheritance. For in these times we have made no provision for a continuation of the Inheritance. We have robbed our children of it. And watching the planet as we now see it, I should think by common consent all would agree that unless man changes the only thing which can save what is left of the earth, to prevent it from continuing on a path to become another Venus or Mars, is to purge mankind from it altogether. Perhaps if you were observing this situation through God's Eyes you would find yourself concluding the same: that this generation is the same as that which was purged from Sodom, the same which was purged from Babylon* and Israel; it has not changed but gotten even worse. So be careful how you use the term, Body of Christ, and Chosen People, lest you offend Him. For my part, I have yet to find evidence of the Body of Christ. For He said not one jot nor tittle of prophesy will go unfulfilled; even that He would fulfill it. I have yet to find any in the Ministry who are working for that cause. Rather, they work for their own cause, as those ministering for Hitler worked for their cause. Ye call good evil and evil good. Produce your cause; who will defend me? the Lord has said on many occasion. He said He looked down from heaven and no where did He see men doing good. Now tell me, does it make any difference when He looked? Or where?
An epithet of the Messiah of the Latter Days includes the restoration of God's Tabernacle, His Holy Tent, and also the Temple. Have any of you prepared yourselves with open hands to receive Him who has Promised to restore them? Would Christ negate those things? You, who would build your own houses and call that house God, may wish to negate them, but Christ is a Spirit of One House of God. What have you done to help build this House? Have you sought to be joined with the Jews, to worship together in One House? Have you sought to enjoin yourself with the Moslems who revere the same God, the Same testimony and the same Christ? You all make your own mountains, your own houses, and you condemn without knowledge those who will not enter your house. I remind you what Noah promised, which carries through all prophesy: The Gentile shall come to live in the Tents of Shem. Your orientation is that all people will live in your house. Why do the Heathen imagine such a Vain thing?
Produce your cause. Are you trying to defend Christ or yourself? It may be that you are not helping Christ at all if you put Him at odds with His Maker. If these days were seen in prophesy, did not God know it? And Christ, being the Word of God, did He not know it? How then does this speak for the Ministry of these days? The result testifies to them. They have allowed the world to get closer to the pit than their predecessors. Is this the Judgment of God, that He would desire the world to become as gloomy as it is now? Had he not intended in Christ that it become a Heavenly Place, that His Kingdom would be placed on earth as it is in Heaven? That is what Christ told you to pray for, isn't it? And the Kingdom does not come by observation does it? For the Kingdom is in your hearts. And I have been searching your hearts for it and have not found it! What I have found in your hearts is that you pray to God, do works in Christ's name, and yet have no faith or interest in His Kingdom desired on earth. Rather, you look to the day that God's wrath comes. And you ignore the Testimony of John who told you, through Christ, to watch for the First Resurrection, which precedes a Thousand years of Peace, after which is the Judgment and the Second Death. The First Resurrection involves a character called The Word, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Do you know in whose name He will call? Is it Judah, Ephraim, Joseph, Jesus, Aaron, Moses, or even little Benjamin?
How will you recognize this Spirit when He comes? By the marks on His Hands, or the wound in His Side? Did not Christ tell you that you would recognize Him by His Word? By His Spirit? And what measure did He give, even, that others would recognize His Own? By that same Spirit: That you would love one another as He loved you, as He commanded. And He gaged this by saying to be a friend. His calibration of a friend is one who is willing to give his life for a friend. He did it.
You have called me your friend. But friends do not hide themselves in secret places. The prophesies warn of those who work in dark places; Christ warned of anyone claiming to be of Him who hides in dark places. An epithet of the Anointed in the Latter Days is one who digs people out of the holes in the rocks, the caves, and tears their teeth and claws to shreds. For God does not reveal Truth in dark corners; rather, He puts it in the open and throws a Candle upon it. Therefore, you should not have feared signing your name to your letter. But I respect your desire to remain anonymous. But as a friend, I wonder whether you would give your life to save mine? I wonder whether you are this kind of spirit.
I am an imperfect man born into an imperfect world. And whilst I know my weaknesses, and the world's, I have faith that the world can be saved. And from my early days I believed that if God resided in the Tabernacle and was witnessed by the Multitude of the House of Israel, and if that God had the ability to Save them and Deliver them, so too can that very same God save the world. Today, it is farther from Salvation than in the days of Christ. And I know that to save the world something of strong measure has to be ordered. The Tabernacle is the only thing I have ever seen described in the Bible which has demonstrated its ability to do that of which I speak. Simply speaking, if it is restored, upon the Mercy Seat, between the Two Cherubim, God will appear. And in that appearance should be Christ. Further, you have a greater chance of coming face to face with your God there than by means of any other vehicle apart from heaven. And God did prophesy that He would plead with you one day face to face.
The Ministry convey the doctrine that this thing, The Tent, is no longer needed, or desired, because Christ is the substitute for that Tent.
But would Christ agree with this conclusion? Would He agree with this, knowing full well that God had promised He would restore the Tabernacle as in the days of the Solemn Feast? Certainly Christ would not remand God's former pronouncement of good towards Israel!
Would Christ be concerned whether the Anointed of God is Two or One? Verily, the answer to this is that there is but One Holy Spirit of God. Before Abraham that Spirit appeared as Three men, one as the Angel of God before him and the other two men were angels sent down to Sodom to see the goings on down there for Himself. God gathered things Two By Two into the Ark, except those things dedicated to Sacrifice, which were gathered by numbers of seven. The Answer to Two Anointed Ones should not bother you, for if you are of the same Spirit, you would know that they are One Spirit appearing in Two different forms. Like Beauty and Bands, or, as described by Isaiah, the Teil and the Oak, they are different. In regard to the Two events of the Bible, the scattering and the gathering, the purposes of the Anointed are two different things. By appearance He who is the sign of the scattering would be different than He who is the sign of the gathering. Had I room in my letter I would have mentioned this. But I hoped you might have known it. For it is the Spirit which is life, not the Body; the flesh profiteth nothing. But in the Spirit there is life, so saith the Lord Jesus. The problem with man is that he measures all things by the flesh; and you limit God by the flesh.
Now God said He would prove Himself in the flesh. The epitaphs talk of the Anointed walking and drinking as a man in the flesh. The men who visited Sodom were in the flesh; certainly they were fleshy enough that all the men in Sodom were trying to kill them and Lot offered his daughters in exchange for their lives! The four cherubim Ezekiel saw by the river Chebar certainly had the appearance of a man. According to David, God rides upon a Cherub and behind Him is desolation. The name for Cherub means Terrible. Coupled with the visitation of the Anointed is the Wrath of God. The epitaphs in the Latter Days speak of God coming with His full wrath. His wrath is not without Judgment. Did He not warn Israel through the Prophet that even on the day of their visitation He would lay evil upon them? Then, reading about the Virgin, is this not strong enough correlation for the scribe to be wary about the visitation which cometh?
The Mercy Seat is a place of judgment. Christ said I have not come to judge you; there is one who judges you. The Latter Days is a time of judgment. You have problems with this, I suspect, because as the Chosen People the Christian ministry believe they are saved from judgment and need only be concerned about the judgment seat of Christ, which is to determine the extent of the reward Christ is to give them: some get crowns, others lesser status. But remember what God said, explaining to Israel why He was putting them to the sword and scattering them as He would sift grain midst the nations: Because you alone I have known on the earth; therefore, because of your iniquities, I shall punish you. And remember Lot's Wife.
You said you are praying for me. My desire is to restore the Tabernacle. Will you still pray for me? Will you still be my friend? Would you enquire of it with me? Every time I have mentioned it, the Ministry have run.
They run away because they believe that the Restored Tabernacle would be a place of Sacrifice. And I have to ask why they must make decisions for God. Have they not considered that God knows about the part in the Bible concerning the Sacrificed Messiah and may just contemplate putting the memory of that event on the Altar of the Tabernacle? Couldn't He just put a small cross on the grid of the Altar and be done with it? Why do you deny Him the right to restore His Tent? Why is it that the Ministry feed the flock with the untruth that God no longer desires to restore His Tabernacle?
Speaking of the fear of Sacrifices, there is a flock of slaughter in the Bible, mentioned in particular by Zephaniah and Zechariah. Zephaniah says, I have made me a great sacrifice, I have bid me my guests. Does not Zechariah pick up on the sacrifice and explain it from there, couching it in terms of feeding the flock of slaughter with Beauty and Bands? And doesn't Zechariah ask you whether it was a fair price He received of Beauty, having gotten thirty pieces of silver, and cast it thence unto the potter? And did He not break His Covenant in that day with all the people? Doesn't the Ministry claim that a New Covenant was established in That Day with all the people? And doesn't the Ministry claim that in That Day He broke the Old Covenant with all the people? Give me your ear.
I accept your premise that Beauty is the New Covenant, with the Curse of the Law now passed away. The epithet of the thirty pieces of silver the ministry attributed to Jesus; therefore, Jesus must be Beauty. I accept that.
But what of Bands? Was He not broken also to break the covenant between Judah and Israel? Don't you have to see the signs of the breaking of that covenant also, just as you saw the sign of the breaking of the covenant with all the people? Now if Bands is the Stave or lawgiver used to break the covenant between Judah and Israel, how could he be either the nation Judah or Israel? Your argument that Beauty and Bands are other names for Judah and Israel, the nations, just doesn't make sense. What does make sense is staves which are signs of what God would do to those nations. I think, however, if you were to review the epitaphs of the Messiah, you would find that He is referred to as a Sign of God in most instances. In one case does He not say I will lift up an ensign from afar? Or in another does He not say He will give you a sign: behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and His name shall be called Immanuel? I suspect we could compose a fairly long list showing how God refers to giving you a sign which invariably turns out to be an epithet of the Messiah. Thus, you can see my turmoil in reconciling your conclusion that Bands is, for instance Judah, and Judah divides Israel from Judah. This is how I read what you are saying, but perhaps there is more to this that I do not understand. But reading from the Jewish point of view, being aware that the names of the Messiah have been clearly identified in prophesy as being of both Israel and Judah, I would have trouble reading the two staves to mean anything other than Messiah ben Judah and Messiah ben Israel. That is, I can meet you half way. I can follow your interpretation and call those two messiahs by the names of Judah and Israel. And I think many prophets, and many rabbis, including the Sons of Zadok, would agree with this understanding.
This is one example of many which reflect upon the Ministry's suspect doctrines. And it is one of my complaints that to hide doctrines which are suspect, the Ministry have excised books from the Bible which made their doctrines suspect. And I wonder if Messiah ben Judah or Messiah ben Israel would challenge you on these things. For instance we can first talk about the Wisdom of Solomon:
Chapters 8 and 9 clearly describe the Anointed being asked to restore the Tent; the Testaments of the patriarches all relate to a division of the Anointed into Two Tribes: Levi and Judah. The Testament of Benjamin, II.6, clearly shows the Anointed visiting the children of Israel and being denied; and then visiting the Gentiles who also deny Him when He comes. It says, and He shall convict Israel through the chosen ones of the Gentiles. What is it that has caused the Ministry to conclude that would not happen? Does not Isaiah talk about Jerusalem and Judah being shamed in the last days? Doesn't shame have something to do with conviction?
Ode 41.8 of the Odes of Solomon says:
Ode 41.8 All those will be astonished that see me. For from another race am I: For the Father of Truth remembered me: He who possessed me from the beginning: for his bounty begat me and the thought of his heart.
Now if it were not for Isaiah's comment about one who speaks to these people with stammering lips and a foreign tongue, I would have paid no heed to this Ode. But the other indications of a foreigner strengthen the argument. I wonder if the Ministry have been trying to hide this all along, to avoid doctrinal problems. But who is this foreigner and from whence does He speak? He exists but says He has been remembered by the Father of Truth, a very important fellow to be remembered by. Can you say you have been remembered by the Father of Truth without knowing at the same time you had existed beforehand? Lo, I come, for in the book it is written of me, says a Psalm of David. It seems to me the Ode is repeating the same precept as David, but elaborating upon it.
Both the Anointed and the Nation are referred to as Olive Trees (also the Fig Tree and the Vine). Jeremiah 11.6 shows Israel described as a Green Olive Tree which hath fire kindled upon it and its branches broken. In chapter 11.18 he introduces a voice who is given knowledge of it; and that voice then describes itself as The Tree, being led like a lamb to the slaughter and cut off from the land of the living. The context of this precept is repeated concerning Zechariah's vision, culminating with the staves Beauty and Bands.
Speaking to the House of Israel, Jeremiah in 10.14-16 says that they are all vanity, and the work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish . Now the portion of Jacob is not like them, for He is the former of all things. And Israel is the Rod of His Inheritance. Ezekiel says in 21.27: I will overturn, overturn, overturn, overturn it: Until he come whose right it is: and I will give it Him . Now this is used in the same context as the prophesy on Shiloh. If you can understand that God will overturn things until He whose right it is comes, then you ought to certainly understand that Judah will have the scepter until Shiloh comes. Both sentences have the same kind of construction.
Jeremiah 23.20 says, The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He have executed, and till He have performed the thoughts of His heart: In the Latter Days ye shall consider it perfectly . Ezekiel 34.12 says, As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that He is among His sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day . Who is so wise a man that He can say God has no intention of sending His Messiah forth to do this, in the cloudy and dark day, in the day that He is among His sheep that are scattered.? Does not this agree with the prophesy saying that God has chosen Zerubbabel, son of Shealatiel, as a signet in that day? Wasn't Zerubbabel born in Babylon among the people of the captivity; and did not God then choose Him and then call Cyrus, for His part in the restoration of the walls and temple of Jerusalem, His Shepherd? It seems to me Ezekiel fully understood how God could be among His flock that are scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee, says Zechariah, For they are men wondered at: for, behold I will send forth my servant the Branch.
By this construction the Branch is men wondered at. For in the structure of the sentence it is the prophet addressing Joshua the high priest and his fellows to behold His Servant the Branch. Since He is talking about The Branch, it would not make too much sense to then imply that the Men Wondered at are some other things, i.e., Joshua and his fellows?
To read The Branch as something other than men wondered at puts to much of a strain on English grammatical rules. And the fact is, the epitaphs of the Messiah show that He is wondered at: I am a wonder to many; all those who see me will be astonished etc.
Isaiah says in 8.18, Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion . Now which children is He talking about? Were any of Isaiah's children signs and wonders to Israel? When Isaiah stood before the throne of Heaven in His Vision and they all asked, who shall we send, did not Isaiah reply, Here am I send me? Why do you suppose they were sending Him? What charge did He have? If you compare Him to all the other prophets, you will find that His Prophesy, above all the others, describes Israel and its Messiah more lucidly in the time to come.
What did Isaiah mean in 9.8 when He says, The Lord sent a word into Jacob and it hath lighted upon Israel! ? Or in 11.1 who is it that is the Rod which comes out of the stem of Jesse? And who is the Branch who grows out of His roots? This was written after David, so David is not the Rod. The Rod is of the name of David. Which thing Christ could surely claim, but who is the Branch which grows out of His roots?
What is Isaiah referring to in 29.13-29.18 concerning doing a marvellous work and a wonder? Is it not the proof of His Wisdom by opening the Sealed Book? And who are the people described in 44.5: One shall say I am the Lord's; and another shall call Himself by the name of Jacob: and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname Himself by the Name of Israel. It is for certain the last named writes to you, for he subscribes with his hand and takes Israel as His surname. He is different than Jacob! Wouldn't it be idiotic to presume that these are not the children whom Isaiah had previously mentioned that were for signs and wonders?
Now this is for you in particular:
Isaiah 49.1 ff: Listen O isles, unto me: and hearken ye people from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name. And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft: in His quiver hath He hid me.
And he said unto me, Thou art My Servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the Womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.
And he said it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my Salvation unto the end of the earth.
It is easy to identify Christ with the role of Salvation, because that is what He claimed to be. But it is harder to identify Jesus as being that Servant mentioned by Isaiah who would raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved of Israel. For the Restoration involves the Deliverance, the Deliverer. And Jesus preceded that event. He was the sign of the dispersion, not the gathering. For He has to choose one sign or another: the Virgin Birth or the Gatherer. This is not to preclude Him from being that character who restores the Preserved of Israel, through His Resurrection. I can accept this, but remember that as The Restorer of the Preserved of Israel (those preserved after the scattering and burning; i.e., the remnant) He is known by the name of Israel. He would be, to fulfill this prophesy, Messiah ben Israel.
Zechariah 6.12:
Zech. 6.12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the Branch: and shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the Temple of the Lord.
6.13 Even He shall build the Temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and He shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
There you have it. The Branch is the Messiah who builds the Temple of the Lord. No wonder the Jews took issue with Jesus claiming to be the Messiah! For the Temple was still standing in His time and He even cursed it, saying that not one stone of it would be left standing. Now His curse was not a prophesy in itself, but a confirmation of a prophesy already known among the scriptures. Now for the Branch to build the Temple of the Lord, it presumes that the temple is not then standing. Pretty simple. Now, for Jesus Christ to justify His Claim to the Messianic Branch, He has to do what Zechariah just said He would do: i.e., build the Temple of the Lord.
When Christ stands upon the earth to do these things, in the Name of Israel, will He see faith?
The Ministry all claim to be excited about receiving Him when He comes again: That He will come and snatch you from judgment. According to Revelation He carries a Name known only to Himself. How then will you know Him? Do you watch for a man riding upon a white horse? Do you watch for a man like Zerubbabel who is come to restore the walls and Temple of Jerusalem? Do you watch for a man named Shiloh, who according to Israel, The gathering of the people shall be? Do you watch for a man who speaks with stammering lips, like Moses, precept upon precept, and in a foreign tongue? Do you watch for the Branch who is as a branch sprung out of the Rod of the stem of Jesse? You watch for none of these things, I suspect.
In this Spirit I have prayed and, of my own accord, invoked the prayer of Solomon, praying for the restoration of the Tabernacle of David, that all people of the earth may come to know the name of my God, to fear Him, as do the people of Israel. I believe I have a right to make that prayer and that you, as a friend, would support it.
I am dismayed at the Ministry. For everything that supports their judgment they teach; the rest they pass over. And because of this, the flock has no idea what the Bible is about: the fulfillment of the Lord's Prayer. That prayer is for the living, not the dead.
Don't ask me to press the issue, but there are more prophesies to substantiate the understanding of Two Anointed Of God than there are to support the legitimacy of Jesus Christ as the Messiah of God. Jesus has a narrow claim to the fulfillment of prophesies, except that He comes again and fulfill them as they were clearly intended to be fulfilled; and at least in the same clarity of fulfillment as He did in His own time, as the Sacrificed Messiah.
To read the list of the Rabbis concerning the things Jesus did not do in fulfilling prophesy, which we include in a later chapter, is enlightening to say the least. And my argument bears a stronger claim on the Messiah than even the Ministry's claim that Jesus is the Messiah. Nevertheless, I am not opposed to the Ministry in this endeavor; rather, I am in full support of Jesus, whom I would be the first to call God's Well Beloved, who is David. This puts me in juxtaposition with the Rabbis, because they have called Jesus the least of the false messiahs. Reading their list of false messiahs who have come, one is shocked to find that many others, from the rabbis' point of view, were more credible as Messiahs than Jesus.
I mention this because the Ministry have to deal with this; they have been putting it off for two thousand years. They simply have to confront the rabbis one day to show them how Jesus is the Messiah Ben David. And miracles will prove nothing; the proof for which the rabbis watch is the fulfillment of the prophesies that are on their list, which we shall discuss later. The Ministry spend a lot of time talking about miracles, which are gifts of God, no doubt; but they would be wise to watch for one who fulfills the prophesies expected of Him. This is the greatest miracle for which to watch.
Knowing these things, that the Jews did not understand the thing He had been set to be, Christ asked the Father to forgive them, for they know not what they do, while he hung on the cross. He, himself, recognized that they made a mistake. And the mistake they made was not altogether that obvious. They were hanging a man who they believed was a false Messiah. Had they known how to read, they would have seen that they were killing their Messiah, the sign of the Virgin, and their Husband, making themselves the Widow of God. They were watching for the Deliverer, not one they would deny and kill. I can see how they made an honest mistake, and I would not be too hard on them. But I do not have the eyes of God, nor his judgment, so I cannot say one way or another the gravity of the mistake.
I can understand the Ministry's reluctance to have anything to do with the Tabernacle, because they have assumed the Anointed would restore Sacrifice; it is also understandable that they would fear the Temple as a place where the Antichrist would establish himself upon the mount, to be worshipped. And because the epitaphs of the Antichrist concern a man who pretends He is Christ, who performs miracles like Christ, and prophesies, one should be rather cautious against being taken in by such a personality. But if one knows the Bible, one knows that the Anointed, when He comes, must address the Tabernacle and its Two Cherubim, and He must gather all men unto Him. And to be in accord with Revelation, He must do it in such a way that no one knows His Name.
If no one knows His Name, it is obvious that no one really knows who He is, whether, even, He is Christ or not. It is the same episode which Christ faced in His Day.
The provision on His Name is a limitation on His Being. Do you know that God limited Himself, his works, through His Anointed, and one of the most prominent Christian limitations is that He can't tell you who He is? For if He told you, then the prophesy could not be fulfilled, that His Name is known only to Himself.
In Revelation, prior to speaking of the character called The Word, in chapter 19, we see another character (or the same) who is called the Reaper. As pertaining to the Reaper, who He is, one can see in Revelation that He has the likeness of the Son of Man. Now what likeness was John referring to? If He is the same as the character called The Word, then it follows that He looks like Jesus in some manner of speaking, but one is not sure. Doubts are so strong no one really knows His Name.
What, then, is the difference between The Word and the Antichrist? The Antichrist looks like Christ by appearance, because you judge appearance according to the flesh: miracles, and material things. The Word, on the other hand, agrees to appear without recognition, doing his work without a name, that He would not be remembered by Name. He is like the Comforter who is bid by Christ to do his work, which is Judgment, in the name of Christ. Christ says He will not speak of Himself, but of Christ and take of mine and show them to you.
If you do not know The Word's Name, then He would be a being suspect in the minds of men, possibly seen even as competition with Christ Himself. It is certain he cannot say, I am Christ, otherwise you would know His Name: i.e., Jesus. So He cannot say He is Jesus and fulfill this prophesy. Perhaps this explains the epithet of the Messiah who calls unto a nation who is not called by his name.
The resolution of The Word is in chapter 20 of Revelation, where it says, This is the First Resurrection; blessed are those who participate in the First Resurrection. So The Word is identified with the First Resurrection, which incidentally does not agree with Paul's concept of the Rapture. For The Word appears in the Tribulation cycle. The First Resurrection is in the Tribulation cycle, and those who participate in that cycle are blessed. What happens to those who do not participate with The Word during those terrible years? The church believes they are whisked away to Heaven, provided they are faithful to Jesus. But if they are faithful to Jesus, would they not be faithful to The Word also? And if so, would they not prefer to work with Him during the time of the First Resurrection? And how does one know it is the First Resurrection? Because Resurrected Beings are witnessed with The Word? Because The Word is identified also as being resurrected, being the Spirit of Jesus Christ?
I feel sorry for The Word, however, because present Christian thinking does not provide for the faithful to be here to support Him when he comes. For they all pray to be raised up to Heaven, away from the Tribulation, when Jesus comes, and this leaves The Word to work alone in developing a new army to support Him. And I should think He might resent that role, of having to work alone whilst all the faithful have flown the coop.
Nevertheless, The Word is described with an army. And many are shown dying for His Cause. There are even 144,000 Jews Witnessing for Christ which serve to illustrate He has had something to do with changing the hearts of the Jews. But these things probably don't apply to you, because I suspect you believe you are among the chosen to be lifted up to Heaven to avoid the Tribulation and support of The Word.
Many speak of the Comforter living with them. And wherever I look for signs of Him, I turn up nothing. Because the Comforter has to fulfill prophesy, He has to judge, for one. And I don't think He would be altogether that popular of a fellow with you as your judge. For I have passed judgment on you and if I have done it and not been received well by you, then how less will the Comforter be received? One of the complaints of the Rabbis, incidentally, is that Jesus did not fulfill that function which they expected of Him: judgment. Certainly Christ said, I have not come to judge, but to save; for there is one who accuses you (referring to the Comforter).
The Comforter, incidentally, is another name of the Jewish Messiah. And Christ was referring to something that the Jews had already known. Jesus did not invent either the term or the function of the Comforter.
Now to judge, one has to face you face to face. I can judge you from afar, but if you do not see me face to face and the authority I have for judgment (or it could be visa versa), then the judgment is meaningless. For judgment to have any weight, it has to be followed up with an act of God: like the diaspora for instance, or one of the Latter Day curses prophesied against this generation.
But this I can say, with regret, for I have recorded a people and a complaint against them and am full well aware of the role I have put myself in. This is a role I neither envy nor encourage myself to pursue. But from the inception of the precept of the book until now the precept has remained valid: Look through the eyes of Christ and listen with His ears, as near as possible as you can, and report what you see and hear. It is for you to judge how accurate my ears and eyes were and how faithful they were to the Word of The Lord. But, for whatever it is worth, I can now surely sympathize with Christ when He comes; knowing full well that this generation has heaped so much reproach upon itself that He who would Record it would be condemned by them.
Surely it is a good thing that I am not Christ. For you have all shut your doors upon me when I knocked. But among all these there was one, up to this point, who answered, and that is you.
As for the voice which directs me, I can easily point you to Him: It is the Voice in the Bible: The Word. As for my prayers to Heaven, I have heard nothing from that voice which is not already clearly covered in The Word, and basically the only answer I get from my prayers is the desire to open the Bible and read.
But as I watch the Ministry and hear them preach I witness great feats and wonders, prophesies and healings, all claimed under the name of Christ. One becomes a very great and rich man if he prophesies in the name of Christ or heals in the name of Christ. And they are much closer to God than I, by their estimation, because they can prophesy for God and heal for God. I am neither a prophet nor a healer.
Neither am I one who, because the Bible says, You shall lift up snakes, runs around looking for snakes so to lift them up, so to prove my Faith. But rather, I am one who has inquired of His Lord and sought to understand Him, what He is purposed and How He intends to carry His Purpose out. And as I inquire, from one precept to another, I find that He has described these things in amazing detail.
Christ struck me a heavy blow when He said one must know the Will of the Father and to strive to be perfect as the Father. How can one be perfect as His Master? By tithing, prophesying, doing good works? Verily, these are not the way to Perfection; the Way to Perfection is knowing the Will of the Father and doing it.
What is the Will of the Father? It is the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven; it is the Tabernacle restored with Israel. And that involves Two small Cherubim whom The Bible promises you will one day know. And remember the epithet of the anointed who says in Psalm 27.4:
Psalm 27.4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His Temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His Pavilion: In the secret of His Tabernacle shall He hide me: He shall set me upon a rock.
And Ezekiel 36.26:
Ezek. 36.26 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you...A new heart will I also give you and a New Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the Stony Heart out of your flesh and will give you an heart of flesh. Then the heathen that are left around about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and planted that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. And the Heathen shall know that I the Lord do Sanctify Israel when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
As for me, I hope that the Messiah need not go through the things I have seen, namely:
Isaiah 41.26: Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? And before time, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yet, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. The first shall say to Zion, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. for I beheld, and there was no man: even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
And Ezekiel's claim in the final days:
Ezek. 36.23: And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, When I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
And My claim: Until the time of David, the Tabernacle, God's Tent, rested in a place called Peace: Shiloh. David removed the Tabernacle from Shiloh and placed it upon the mount in Jerusalem. It rested there until his son, Solomon, built the Temple.
Can you think of a more fitting name for the place of God's Sanctuary than Peace?
The prophesies talk about the desecration of God's Sanctuary and then the restoration of it and its people. Can you think of a more fitting name of the individual purposed in this Restoration than Peace? For at that time Peace is Promised on the earth. God asks, when Jerusalem is at Peace will thou not know it?
Notes to Letter K
1. Ephraim in Hebrew means Doubly Fruitful. I should think it would be a good thing if the Messiah to come subscribed with his hand by all these names: Doubly Fruitful, Those who prevail with God, and Peace; and I should think He might be seen as a Levite, in the tradition of Aaron, and becomes known as Melchizedeck, King of Righteousness, being a Teacher of Righteousness in every bit of the form the Essenes expected of Him.
I should think He might not even be offended if you called Him Moses, as the Lawgiver, for it is certain He is intended to make the crooked paths straight, to straighten out the perceptions of man on the Law of God. And as for another name, Zerubbabel, if He were born outside of the Holy Land in a place every bit like Babylon, I should think He may not be offended if He were called, Born in Babylon., Think of some other names along this direction of thinking, and I am sure, resurrecting another name to describe Him, like even the name, Noah, for instance, may not be objectionable to Him. For even in this there are prophesies which expect the Messiah to go into His Ark and even come from the sea. One expectation of the rabbis is just this, that the Messiah will come to Israel from the sea, in his ship. Its something like the old Quetzequatl (not to be confused with Satan but to illustrate the bringing of Wisdom to man) theme. for He comes to teach righteousness in the Torah of the Lord...Pick any name you'd like, even Gilgamesh; for it is certain that when you see Him you will see in his hand the Branch of Glory. As we can see, names only serve an aspect of Him. I still like the name: Branch, or, as the rabbis see Him, Unity. Give me a name and I'll show you how He fulfills it.
* If you were to compare Christ's prophesy of the Latter Days (Second Coming) to Jeremiah's prophesy against Babylon (verse 51.46) you will see that what Jeremiah prophesied Christ lifted and applied to the Latter Day Babylon. Revelation agrees with this by expanding upon it and calling the event, Mystery of Babylon, the Great Red Whore. The precept here is to purge the world of the thing which is Babylon. And the Babylonians, I am sure, thought that they were the Chosen People as well.
(From the letter to A.L.)
I suppose you would agree that anyone who devotes his time and energy to writing someone who will never read his letter works for no profit, and, as servants go, would be the least profitable of servants. I am writing you, a pastor who responded to me, without the ability to know you received it. And I, being a mere man, not knowing how I can communicate with you, wonder what God, Himself, must feel, having less of a tangible hold on you than I.
I wrote the Ministry from time to time, using no name nor return address. But had they read my early letters to all of them, they would have known my name and home. Once having read me, they would know my voice and know my name.
As my early letters developed, all being signed, I realized that the direction my letters were leading would result in responses as you raised, being concerned that I am another nut out trying to glorify himself. So I thought to write without a name and even suggested to those I wrote that they could put their name on the thing I had been burdened with. So over time my writing seemed destined to be ever more unprofitable. For me, God, and man.
When you mentioned the sticks, I thought of myself. Has there been a more unprofitable stick than I? I grieve over my failures, and I ask my God how long it shall be that I shall be a failure.
Now it isn't easy to admit that one is a failure. For I have always believed that you are not a failure until you admit it. And I have always counseled others to never admit they are a failure. Once you do it, it is a sign that you have given up.
The limits of my failures are not just allocated to my writings. I am an artist, a poet, at which I have miserably failed; and in business, the daily process of trying to make a living for myself, I have had a seven year long trial, with one disaster heaped upon another; and as I crawl out of each disaster, hoping that I can become one who is raised above the basic level of subsistence, misfortune visits me and I fall back into the pit again. For me, a sign of Hope only tells me that around the corner lies another misfortune. And in this I can only turn to Job, who can give me Hope. I pray, that perhaps the Father will visit some Mercy upon me and bring joy back into my life, as He did for Job.
Job and I have some things in common. He lost everything, even his family, and I too have experienced the same. I've never really had a family. For the moment I came to know it, it was taken away, broken up and scattered to the wind. In this day, having experienced recently the birth of my daughter, I thought that I might be rewarded by a family. But then, some unusual events occurred which caused me to be separated from it when my daughter was but three weeks old. On the day I left, she clung to my neck. I boarded a train from Paris to Brussels and cried most the way, looking out the window as the heavenly pastures passed by, thinking about that child who clung to my neck for but a moment and wondering about all the men to come into her life who will be the father to her that I was not permitted to be. I wonder, day after day, what she is like, what she will be like, and whether I will ever be able to see her again. So in all respects, as I assess my life, I cannot see where I have succeeded in bringing any joy into my life or others: through either my works or my being.
From my formative years as a young man, I have written and advised that one ought to always strive to make a contribution through one's works to the benefit of one's fellow man. It doesn't matter what it is one devotes his energies to, that determines the benefit; for all good works dedicated to another's well being are worthy. A house wife's works are as worthy as a woman at the top of the business empire. He who preaches in the street, knowing the Word of God, is as worthy as the pastor at the head of a great and rich congregation. In these all rewards are equal.
Thus, knowing these things, one is tempted to ask as to my relationship with God, the Father: Can there be any purpose in me? If my work is to no avail what purpose can there be in it? And what is God's answer to this, that one who works, trying to work for Him, works to no avail? Can He take any kind of pleasure in him? Can there be any kind of joy in a man whose works are known only unto Himself? Can He, even, take any joy in it?
If these things which have occurred in my life are for no reason, worthless in all respects, it serves no one. And I, who may be served by the knowledge from it, am served without worth. I wonder day after day if I am to go to my tomb taking the things I have learned, which can benefit others, with me. And in this, it seems, that my works are dedicated to the dead.1
As I write to the living, as I walk among the living, I find myself communicating on a level as if I were communicating with the dead. Seeing no response from the Ministry, except yours, after many years, I wonder whether you know, or would care, that I am alive. But to you, I am not a living, breathing soul, otherwise you would confront me face to face as one of the living. But for some reason you and the others have considered me not as worthy to receive as those among the living in your lives.
Knowing these things, I decided early on that I would address my letters to you, the Ministry of my generation, and dedicated them as a report to my children, your children, that perhaps they might choose to know me. And I have chosen rightly, because I know that they will understand perfectly everything I have said. They will have an openness about them which you and this generation have denied. They will have seen your works, that in them their is no inheritance on the earth, because of the pollution and the winds of war...
So they are my Hope. And they are my Witness. That I was a man who sought comfort and found none. I was a man who gave comfort, as I only knew how, and took it with me back into the tomb, leaving no credits or debits in my record of either profit or loss.
Now I could have chosen to work for a profit. I could have written commercially or painted commercially. And I probably would have been a success at it. But would it have been any profit to anyone?
The direction of my work led me not to fine cars and fine homes, though I have had them; rather, it led me to the contrary, and in Paris I wondered, writing about the Metro, whether I too would end up there, one more poor soul sleeping on a bench, or inside the cars of the metro, to escape the harsh winter cold. Many of those poor souls brought chills to my spine, for even the rags upon their backs could not comfort them. Nor would passer's by, hurrying to catch a train, comfort them: for I was told that once you give them money they spend it on a bottle of wine. I will never forget one man sleeping on a seat in the metro. As the car hurled through the tubes his body would roll as if it were to fall off its bench any moment. But he stayed put. His trousers had been ripped the full length of his legs, exposing the whiteness of his flesh all the way to his loins. His shirt barely covered him and I don't think he even had a coat. He wore torn tennis shoes without the benefit of socks. His troubled, ruddy face showed he was not starving from lack of food. And as I looked upon him, in all his nakedness, where he had been reduced to nothing, having neither concern for his nakedness, nor hope for comfort, I saw myself, wondering how I could profit from such a life. And I wonder whether the day will come where I will have penetrated your hardened heart to make you see the profit that came out of that poor, worthless soul in the metro.
I have the Hope of Job and pray that fortune will again come my way and hope those who take the metro will pause in a moment of reflection thinking about the cause of that life in the metro.
This book began in the Metro. I sent a small version of it to Reverend Jahnes, in Paris, suggesting that perhaps her congregation could do Paris a good service by rounding up those poor souls in the Metro, of which there are many, and bring them comfort. I wonder if any of her congregation have thought to visit the Metro for any other reason than to hurry from one place to another...A sad testimony it is. And I, the most unprofitable of servants, thought to write about it. Wouldn't it have been a good thing if God had chosen someone who is successful to write about it? After all, success breeds success. I often thought that the Pope is a successful servant of God: what works could be done if He would just visit the Metro! His is a busy schedule, I know, and his hands in visiting poverty are fully occupied throughout the world. But yours aren't...
Note to Letter L
(1) I wrote this before I learned about the Sons of Zadok. What an irony this turned out to be.
(Letter "M" omitted)
My dearest,
I am sending you a book which I know will be difficult to understand. I told you a little about it and long ago you saw in amazing detail the wonderful golden building it represents. I don't expect you to read it now. But it is a book our daughter and her children will read. If you should be the one who shows it to them, tell them This is your father whom you never knew.
The voice in the book is my voice; its problems deal with the same problems I have had.
The voice in the book came from the Bible. And that voice is a man who endeavored to take a wife, whom He loved dearly, but didn't love him. That wife is the Children of Israel. And in the course of writing the Bible, for whatever it is worth, that voice claimed that one day his wife and family would come back to him. The Bible explains how He intended it to come about. And on that day, a day of great darkness and gloominess, all men would come to know him. That He, our Father in Heaven, really exists.
I mention these things, not expecting you to believe them, but that you can better understand my grief and despair. For like Him, I cannot touch you across the sea, hold you in my arms to comfort you when you are sad and lonely, or have the joy and pleasure in holding you when you are happy. And like Him, I must live with the knowledge that another will be holding you in his arms. Nevertheless, I have the same Hope of that God, and Hope my family will one day come back to me.
When I write I know that my words can be somewhat sharp. But understand that they come from a man fraught with grief and despair in losing you. Sometimes those feelings produce wrath and bitterness. I hope, however, you can come to understand what is really in my heart, that no matter what I say, I love you, and my actions will always be devoted to your welfare.
I have thought to include this letter in my book. Because it involves a parable of sorts which can teach others how to penetrate through the barriers, which are continually being thrown up around us, of everyday life. For every man throws up a fortification around him and often goodwill is hard to be seen because of it. It is like a parable involving an old man in a small village. He was wiser than most men though the villagers hardly knew it. What they knew about him, however, is that he seemed to have a lot of money and was generous with it, always giving a small gift here, and another there, whenever anyone needed it. Not knowing why he did this, the villagers gave it little thought, and took him for only his money. What he was or why he did those things were concerns which never occurred to them. As a consequence, once he had given a gift he would never hear from them; until another gift was asked.
Now this man is also like the voice in the Bible. That voice also gave many gifts but never saw any signs that the gifts were appreciated or what benefit they had achieved in the lives of those to whom they were given.
So we can see that the old man gave, always wondering what benefit had occurred through the gift. He knew, of course, that the gifts were meaningful, because the villagers kept coming back to him for more. But he never saw any pleasure among those who received them. And rather than asking them, he chose to live with this fact.
One day he grew ill and because of his illness was not able to go out among them as before. And seeing that he was ill, the Villagers found another who would endow them with the few gifts they had grown accustomed to seek. But that man had a different motive for giving gifts and always asked the villagers to give something back in return.
One day the old man died. Now the villagers did not know it. But shortly after his death the old man's lawyer contacted them, explaining that they had been left in his will of inheritance. Hearing this they were all elated and began counting the ways they would spend their new money. And the day came when they were all called together to hear the reading of the Will: The lawyer stood before them holding a small package. They all wondered what was in it.
Now all of these people had been burdened by the giving of the other man whom they had been patronizing. For by now he had begun to demand excessive interest in repayment from them; and they all hoped that the money they would each receive from the inheritance would clear the debts they owed to the other man. None of them expected to gain any profit from the inheritance. They just prayed they would be able to clear their debt. It was a sorry state of affairs to say the least. And I doubt the Old Man would have wanted to know this, how his money would be used, clearing bad debts.
Well, the Old Man had no way of knowing what was going on in the village, because no one thought to write him or visit him. And had he known what was going on he might have done something different in his Will. So without this knowledge he left them something they would not value.
You can imagine the distress among the villagers when the small package was opened. For the package contained a small book, a book the Old Man had written. Disappointed beyond measure they all wailed and cursed the Old Man. For they knew no book to be able to solve their problems. And when they glanced at the book, insult was added to their despair because they could all see that the book would be boring to read. For it talked about the Old Man's concerns, how he felt, how he loved them, and why he wanted to help them in his own small way.
Many, glancing at the book, were offended, for it chastised them. And no one likes to be told he is wrong; nor do people like to be told where their weaknesses are. So the book was cast aside and soon forgotten. And the people went back to their homes, wondering how they would ever be able to get out from under their debts.
I hope that you are well.
...What is in the heart is what counts. As we see in this parable, few people know how to express what is in their hearts, and, not knowing how to speak, like the Villagers, say nothing.
Back to my story. It seems the man who had laid all the heavy debts on the villagers wasn't as bad as he seemed. For one day he picked up the Old Man's book and read it. And reading it he decided he would forgive the villagers a good part of the debt they owed him. And seeing this, the Villagers were so elated and grateful to this man that they erected a monument to him.
All stories have to have a happy ending. So you can see why I put this ending in the story. Everyone was happy in the end, and the Old Man knew all along they would be. Nevertheless, it is sad, isn't it? Because the Villagers never knew where their happiness came from.... Nor why.
Letter "O" omitted.
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