LOSS OF COVERINGS. The result of eating the fruit was not at all as Adam and Eve had expected. Instead of becoming like God, instead of possessing that greater wisdom Lucifer had promised, instead of having the “secret” of Good and Evil revealed to them, they suddenly lost their “light covering” which had been their clothing hitherto, and found themselves nude. In Eden there were all manner of creatures, but each had its own covering. Some had feathers, some had fur, nonewere of “bare flesh”, the condition they now found themselves in. And a new sensation came over them, that of embarrassment, a sensation they couldn’t handle. Lucifer stood there and they knew they had to run into the seclusion of the bushes. They also sensed what was wrong. [Read more…]
96. The Trinity
THE TRINITY IS THE KEYSTONE OF THE DOCTRINAL ARCH;
WITHOUT WHICH THE REST OF THE STRUCTURE WILL FALL DOWN.
“THERE IS ABSOLUTE UNITY AND EQUALITY IN THE GODHEAD”
I am writing this brief paper as a testimony, rather than a Bible exposition. We have many contacts over the world because of the Prophetic Telegraph, and some of our readers may wonder what is the basis of our faith in respect of the Trinity, so we now believe it is the right time to make a declaration so that all doubts will be removed. [Read more…]
99. “Just a Wearyin’ For You”
I knew her when I was still young in the faith, in the early 1950s, and she was then in the autumn of her life. She was quiet, relaxed, serene, of deep understanding, and rich wisdom. I felt drawn towards her as one who might impart something to me, I hardly knew what, but in my spirit I sensed I needed to dwell in her presence a while. Looking back now over the last 45 years, I have greater perspective clarify than I possessed in my “salad days”. My renewed spirit was yearning for the Person of the Lord Jesus, the One she had by her side, invisible but real, untouchable but bristling with adventure, romance and life. I know that now, and am glad to recall the memories of those summer days when I stayed in her Guest House in Southbourne, near Bournemouth. [Read more…]
100. Pre-Existance. Part 1
In a recent edition of the Telegraph, we mentioned a book entitled “Embraced by the Light” by Betty Eadie. Several of our readers have written in to say that on reading this book, issues were raised that were totally new to their thinking. This was also the case with ourselves, and in particular the section on the PRE-EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL. Believers have found it quite a “jolt” to their spirits when first presented with the possibility of being created in the beginning as “spirits”, and that in the process of time they came down to earth to be born as human babies. [Read more…]
101. Pre-Existance. Part 2
GREEK EVIDENCE FROM THE FOURTH CENTURY B.C.
The last story in Plato’s Republic, which the author relates to his friend Glaucon, concerns a certain hero from the wars, one Er, son of Armenius, a Pamphylian by birth. He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies of the dead were taken up already in a state of corruption, his body was found unaffected by decay, and carried away home to be buried. On the twelfth day as he was lying on the funeral pile, he returned to life and told them what he had seen in the other world. His account was lengthy, and cannot all be retold here, but what concerns us most is what he saw happening to the spirits (or souls) of men BEFORE THEY CAME TO EARTH. [Read more…]
102. Pre-Existance. Part 3
APOCRYPHAL, PSEUDEPIGRAPHICAL AND OTHER WRITINGS
We were brought up in evangelical circles, where any writings OUTSIDE ‘Holy Writ” were considered not only suspect, but even dangerous to read! This applied to the Apocryphal works, found these days in many new editions of the Bible, and accepted by Roman Catholics. Over many years of change and recollection, we have come to see that there are numerous ancient documents that add colour, and often help, in the understanding of Scripture. We are no longer afraid to read them!Origen referred to a work called “The Prayer of Joseph” which sadly is no longer extant, but we do have a quote from it, concerning, first John the Baptist, and then Jacob and his re-naming to Israel. It is as follows, and comes from Origen’s Commentary on John 2:31. [Read more…]
103. Pre-Existance. Part 4.
Bible Dictionaries all refer to John 9:1-3 as the only “intimation” of pre-existence. It reads as follows:-
And as Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be manifest in him.” [Read more…]
104. Pre-Existance. Part 5
We have some very fine Christian friends of many years standing, men and women whose integrity is without question, and whose love and care has been afforded us time and again. Differences of understanding on odd points of Biblical interpretation have never demolished the trust and care we have for each other. And this has been said as a prelude to one such point – the subject of SOUL SLEEP. The fact that they believe in it and we do not will make the reading of these papers on pre-existence a possible bone of contention, but we are assured that if will make no difference to our fellowship. Indeed, we all aspire to ‘keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace’. [Read more…]
105. Secret Numerical Codes in Biblical Hebrew and Greek
In recent days we have seen a great deal of publicity on the discovery of hidden messages in the Torah, the five books of the Mosaic Law, based on what are now called “equidistant letter sequences” (ELS). These have only been discovered due to the rise of high-speed computers, and therefore the information could never have been available prior to the last twenty years or so. [Read more…]
106. An Everlasting Problem
Over the years we have written several articles about the meaning of words like “for ever and ever,” and we have read many different articles from the pens of others on the same theme. Each of us has in his own way tried to wrestle with the fact that we have no confidence in The English translations, knowing that “Conscious Everlasting Torment” is an affront to the Divine Nature. However, there has always been a niggle at the back of my mind over the translation. No matter how hard I have tried to justify translating the Greek word AION as something other than ‘ever’, it has always left that slight feeling at the back of my mind that I might have been twisting things for the sake of “correct theology”. Let me say right now that I maintain the theology of Ultimate Reconciliation without a shadow of doubt. [Read more…]