Hebrews 12:15 “Looking diligently . . . . lest any root of bitterness springing up disturb you, and thereby many be defiled.”
This verse may seem on the surface to have nothing to do with our subject. But a brother writing to me from the United States, has made a very interesting comment, which I would like to share, because I’d previously seen no connection. He writes as follows –
“Since our spirits came from the heavens, does it not follow that we would have had acquaintances there with other spirits? Have you ever wondered why you have felt very close to someone you have just met, and could not understand why? Perhaps the reason is that your spirits were very close in a former heaven. Ephesians 3:15 speaks about ‘every family in heaven’. . . . . Have you ever met someone for the first time and found yourself having an intense dislike for that person – and were not able to discover why? Have you ever had an inexplicable fear of some situation but were not able to explain it? Have you ever had strife with other Christians that baffled you? Do you think that this strife could have its roots in a former heaven?”
“Part of the unexplained reason for strife ands bitterness in relationships between seemingly mature Christians may be that they have not dealt with sins committed against each other in our spirits in the previous heaven. . . . We did not realise that the tap root of bitterness could go back deeper into our previous abode in heaven. . . . David said, ‘Remember not the sins of my youth.’ Could he have been referring to something deeper, the experiences of heaven before? . . . Perhaps we were just as stubborn and bull-headed there as we have been here on earth. Are we willing to ask forgiveness for all sins, whether they may have been committed in the earth realm or in the heaven before?”
Now here is something that warrants thought and meditation, and I thank my brother in Christ for writing in this vein. Since we read his exposition, we have had occasion to think it over quite deeply, and what is more, a few circumstances have come to our notice where the problem could operate. In one instance the Lord made known to us that a certain person had a “spirit of injustice in his heart” based on something in his previous existence.
Isaiah warns that “from the root of the serpent comes forth a viper, and his fruit is a fiery flying serpent.” (Isa.14:29) Furthermore we have it on good authority that “the love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Tim.6:10)
Our Lord grew up “as a root out of dry ground” (Isa.53:2), and He proclaimed Himself to be “the root and offspring of David.” (Rev.22:16) Paul tells us that when the “root is holy, so also are the branches” of a tree. (Romans 11:16)
I’ll leave it at that. This is something that needs further thought.
