April 2003

BEHOLD THE NEW DAY!

Part Twenty-three

IRAQ ATTACK! (5)

            One member of a task force receiving special training in hand-to-hand urban combat in Iraq noted recently that American troops have an advantage over the enemy in night-fighting because of hi-tech visual equipment that affords them clear perception of dark terrains by illuminating them as with emerald-colored lanterns. Thus the soldier declared confidently,

“The night belongs to us!”

            This is a Word to all God’s sons! It is now time to redeem the night season of our souls! The “good and evil” instincts of our human natures have long wrestled for dominance, but in vain! All the wrath done by the “evil” in our hearts was indeed destructive, nevertheless God says it will “praise Him” in the end! (Ps 76:10) Contrastly the “good” things we have done in our flesh were beneficial at the time, but fruitless in the end! This is because “The flesh profits nothing!” (Jn 6:63)
             Adam’s sons, Cain and Abel, typify our negative and positive humanity. Abel’s offering of the first lamb of his flock was pleasing to God; but Cain’s fruit offering from the ground that God cursed was unacceptable. Abel is thought of as a good man; while murderous Cain is usually condemned as an evil man! The name, Cain, Heb 7014 means: “Spear or lance (as pierced Jesus on the cross); also to strike a musical note; to lament, chant or wail in a funeral; or a mourning woman!” These well-define Cain’s fierce, self-pitying nature. The startling meaning of Abel, Heb 1893, is: “VAIN, VANITY; EMPTINESS, TRANSITORY AND UNSATISFACTORY!” This shares the root given for the majority of O.T. passages that use the words, “vain or vanity”, as sampled below.

“Every man at his best state is altogether vanity...
assuredly, every man is vanity!” (Ps 39:5, 11)

“Men of low degree (Heb 120 adam) are vanity; while

men of high degree (Heb 376 ishi) are a lie to be laid
in the balance; for they are altogether vanity!” (Ps 62:9)

“The Lord knows the thoughts of man (Heb 120 adam) are vanity!” (Ps 94:11)

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; vanity of vanities,all is vanity
...I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold,

ALL IS VANITY AND VEXATION!” (Eccl 1:2, 14)

“Thus says the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in Me,

that they are gone far from Me, that they have walked after vanity;
and now they are become vain?” (Jer 2:5)

“As for us, our eyes have yet failed as we watched to see our vain help!
In watching, we looked to a nation that could not save us!” (Lam 4:17)

            Why do people look to their nations for their protection from foreign enemies? They do not know to put their trust in Jesus Christ! They do not know He is Jehovah Jireh, “God will provide”. With no living Word of Faith in their hearts as they face the world’s perilous conditions, they can only seek the flesh for help! First they look to their own arm of flesh- setting up provisions at home for disasters; then they turn to their government for more sophisticated, large-scale protection like our newly-formed “Homeland Security” and our armed forces. Relying on leaders who must base their plans and strategies on human “intelligence”, is like a serpent seeking help from a mongoose! Jer 51:17-18 says, “Every man is *brutish in his knowledge! The goldsmith is perplexed by the graven images he has made. His molten images are a lie, vanity, the work of errors; there is no breath in them. At their time of Visitation, they will perish!” [*Heb 1197 for brutish is translated, “Kindle, burn, feed, consume- as by fire or eating; set on fire!” Besides the O.T. passages using this reference for “kindle, burn and feed”; Jas 3:6 provides the definitive usage for “set on fire”,

“The tongue is a fire among our members! It is a world of iniquity that
defiles the whole body and sets on fire the whole course of nature!
The tongue, itself, is set on fire by hell!”

            God is called a “Consuming Fire” in Dt 4:24; and Ge 2:1 says we are made in His Image; so we are also “consuming fires”! And what sort of “fire” burned in the heart of natural Adam? Jas 1:14-15 says, “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away and lured by his own lust! Then when lust conceives, it activates sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death!” Jas 4:3 adds, “You ask and do not receive because your wrong motive is to want to consume it on your lusts!”
             God used a “pillar of fire” to consume the darkness of the night as His people crossed on dry land through the Red Sea! (Ex 13:21) Then 2 Pe 3:10 says, “The Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night! The heavens will pass away with a great noise as the elements (Gk 4747 “principles of faith, beliefs, bases of knowledge”) melt with a fervent heat! The earth and its works will be burned up- totally consumed!” God’s Holy Fire is the Ultimate Purifier that restores things to their original condition! What was everything’s former estate? The universe and all that is in it came out of God as He spoke them into being! His Fire is the enemy of “wood, hay and stubble” that are our human works; but His Fire is the friend of “gold, silver and precious stones” that are Christ’s Works! (1 Cor 3:11-15)
             Long ago, men illuminated the night with oil-burning lamps. Oil was a critical commodity they kept in extra supply. Soon God will send His sons into this darkened world with the Light of His Kingdom Truths to liberate men’s fearful hearts! These sons will have special “night vision” to let them see the “rulers of darkness” that would try to hinder their way; and these sons will say, “Your Word is a Lamp for my feet; and a Light for my path!” (Ps 119:105) These sons will need a Word-Lamp filled with the “Oil of Anointing” by the Holy Spirit! No letter of the Word that kills will they teach; for such has caused the great darkness in the earth! This Christ Body will teach the Spirit of the Word that gives Life; and the fuel for our Word-lamps is Him Whose Name means, “Anointed One”. Let us, therefore, sing forth this battle cry, “The night belongs to us, because...

CHRIST is THE OIL IN OUR LAMP!

[TO BE CONTINUED]