JACOB'S LADDER

Who is John The Baptist?

2Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

It’s interesting that John the Baptist of all people would ask if Jesus is the coming one (Messiah) or not. Why would he doubt that all of a sudden? Wasn’t it John who saw the Heaven’s open for Him? Wasn’t it John that believed HE that should be baptized by Jesus not the other way around? Wasn’t it John who declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. So why all of a sudden did John doubt?

Well, John was in PRISON, he was suffering, going through hardship, and just like John, when trials arise and we find ourselves in the bondage of fear, doubt, or whatever else holds us captive (prison), many also may find themselves questioning their faith. Why, you ask?

Because many “Christians/Muslims/Buddhists/Jews/etc” have been sold a lie. But let’s focus soley on CHRISTIANITY as a whole. There is so much division in this one world religion, that it should be obvious, that not everyone has been taught the TRUTH. Perhaps, the TRUTH has been taught with an excess of confusion, lies, and tradition. Interesting enough, the word “Babylon” means “Confusion with Mixture.”

But here we are, Christendom. And in this faith, there are major flaws. A majority have been taught that once they verbally accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior that riches and prosperity will follow. Many “Christians” have been taught, that if they go to church enough times, sow their proper tithe and give their proper offering to the Lord, which they pay of course to their Man made “Church”, that God will open up the heavens and pour out his blessings. They believe when they say a few choice words “Jesus be my Lord and Savior” that their troubles will go away. But that is not the case.

We need to do more than believe on the LITERAL NAME of Jesus (Yeshua) – We need to believe on his NATURE/TRUTH – Which is what the meaning of the word “name” is. It is not just saying “Jesus be my Lord and Savior” it is becoming ONE with the TRUTH that is CHRIST.

This is why JOHN began to doubt when troubles came. He believed in the literal Man Jesus, as do I, but that doesn’t free him, it is only the BELIEF and KNOWLEDGE of the CHRIST WITHIN that frees us from the prison of life’s trials and torments.

The reason, many “Christians” today suffer, and doubt, is because their faith is not built on the ROCK (Christ/Truth), but on sand (people’s beliefs and traditions).

They, like John, know Jesus after THE FLESH and not after the SPIRIT. They believe their salvation comes from declaring their worship to a man from thousands of years ago, that will come again, a man that is in a galaxy know as heaven, far, far, away. They do not know the TRUTH of CHRIST WITHIN. That Christ has never left, nor forsaken us… So, when the storms beat them down, they start to doubt. They scream, “I thought things were supposed to be easy! Where is that promise land? Why are my kids still on drugs, why am I still sick, why am I broke, why, why, why, I thought YOU were supposed to make everything better… ARE YOU THE CHRIST OR AREN’T YOU?”

Why wouldn’t they question their faith and have doubts in salvation? If they have been told, do this and do that, and God will abundantly give to you.

Many have been taught by “Blind Guides” that God doesn’t want them to suffer, that sickness is for the unbeliever, that Jesus and his disciples were loaded/rich and that God wants them to have the same wealth. And when these “followers” find themselves in the “prison” of their trials they find these promises to be empty. And then, when, and if, they question their sandy beliefs they are told by their “Blind guides” it is because of their lack of faith. They don’t see that their whole belief system is corrupt, and based on lies.

What many churches and religions promise today is NOT Christ, they are selling Greed and Lust. Remember it is not ALL churches and denominations in Christianity, there are many wonderful churches, charities, Christian TV shows and stations, preachers, priests, and pastors, who mean well and truly seek the WORD OF GOD… But many, many more do not.

Matthew 7:14
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

For many, they enter Christianity, as one would enter a market to buy a lottery ticket. It has sadly become like spiritual lottery for them. “You got to be IN it (Babylon) to win it.”

Here’s how it goes down. People are going through hard times they may flip through the channels and find preachers making grand promises, meet someone handing out a flyer at the train station, hear a message on the radio, or even have someone dressed up nice come knock at the door. Those that are hurting are looking for the way out. And these blind guides seem to offer a very easy one.  Some say, You need to step out in faith and give! That the reason you haven’t experienced abundance is because you haven’t given enough.

Now, for those hurting, this itches their ears real good. It is exactly like the lottery. So they, in their error and greed, GIVE… because they WANT MORE. This has nothing to do with knowing the Lord of Hosts. This has nothing to do with Christ. This is what is wrong with Religion today.

“You have turned my Father’s house into a marketplace”

And boy is it. You don’t have to go far to see that MANY are “buying and selling” the sacrifice (Jesus) is many mega churches, events, concerts, conferences, and more. Just like in Jesus’ day.

Revelation 13:17
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Now, not all, try and buy that sacrafice. The WISE VIRGINS were prepared, it was only the FOOLS that went out to purchase the precious oil (wisdom) needed to light the way.

So, the same is true for today, as it was in Jesus’ day.

LET’S COMPARE

The OUTER COURT where they sold doves, oils, sheep, goats, and exchanged money is alive and well today in the FOYER of many mega churches, or conferences. You enter in and as far as the eye can see, there are books, dvd’s, cd’s, oils, tambourines, streamers, key chains, tee shirt, hats, and more, for sale. (Now, look, there is nothing wrong with merchandise and I am not condemning such behavior, but CONDEMING the belief, that ANY OF THESE PRODUCT can bring you closer to God. You are not getting the OIL OF GLADNESS when you purchase “Olive Oil” whose label reads “Oil of Gladness” you are getting a PRODUCT. The problem is, just like in Jesus’s day, most don’t know the difference.

Moving on:

In the INNER COURT the Pharisees always saved the choice seats for the so called “important” people and inside these Churches today, the same is true. Whether those seats are for family, friends, or visiting pastors, celebrities etc… they rope these seats off in many congregations as they did in Jesus’ day and before.

At the ALTAR we see long prayers made as well as those in charge of the service making bold proclamations about how much they tithe and give. The same as Jesus’ day and before.

Matt 6 ²Therefore when thou give thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men

Matt 6⁵And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.

You see, not much has changes at all. The Pharisees are still alive and well today in many “Christian Circles” and they are still making their converts twice the sons of hell (ignorance/suffering) that they are. This is why they rejected Christ. They didn’t understand the TRUTH of the Gospel (good news) nor could they receive it. Because they were baptized INTO DARKNESS which is why they hate the LIGHT.

But when CHRIST is in the midst, these lost SHEEP are brought back into the fold. When, and IF, they HEAR (understand) His Voice (The Truth).

But those, like JOHN who are called LESS than the LEAST in the KINGDOM do not know what is TRUTH or what is LIE when trouble comes. “Are you the Christ?”

Let’s be real, no one wants to suffer. We all want things to go as smoothly as possible. We don’t want difficulty, pain. We don’t want struggle. And, when things don’t go our way, even those like JOHN, who seem so enlightened, and who spend day after day condemning people of their sin, may complain and whine and even doubt their faith.

You see what I am beginning to do here is paint a picture of WHAT kind of believer JOHN the BAPTIST really was. A true Believer never doubts CHRIST.

But JOHN wasn’t a true believer, he was LESS THAN THE LEAST in the KINGDOM. Which means people… He NEVER entered into the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN that was WITHIN HIM. John, like many religious today, are focused on the outward, on the ceremony, fasting, proclaiming, condemning, etc, etc, but when the rubber meets the road, they don’t even know who CHRIST IS.

4Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

The Truth sets us free. Now what you ask, does the TRUTH set us free from? …. The LIE!

You see many of us have been sold this lie of religion. And what this LIE does is it binds us, it traps us, it condemns us, it kills us, and it keeps us IN PRISON, as John. And in this PRISON of the LIES we were force fed it is hard to see the TRUTH. But for those who do, for those who understand the HOPE OF GLORY IS CHRIST IN YOU, not coming OUTSIDE OF YOU on a white horse, you are SET FREE.

Where once you were blind (ignorant) you see (have understanding). You begin to understand the TRUE POTENTIAL that is inside us all, that EVERYTHING is made by the son, for the son, through the son… which “Thou Art That”

“Born not of flesh and blood, but of the SPIRIT.” And as SONS (Children of God) we are set FREE from the LAW OF DEATH that JOHN and his cronies set before us.

“I set before you good (truth) and evil (error) chose this day which you will serve (believe/know/walk in).”

Let me explain JOHN the BAPTIST a bit more. He LIVED in the WILDERNESS (the place of temptation/trying) he did not LIVE in the promise land. He ATE WILD (not tame) HONEY and LOCUSTS (destroy the harvest). JOHN is the perfect picture of the RELIGIOUS MINDSET that even CHRIST allowed to be BAPTISED from. Just as many of us did.

We believed that RELIGIOUS was the way to go. We wanted freedom from the world, we wanted to know God… so we went to one we believed would lead us there…. And believe it or not, JOHN as ignorant as he was of the TRUTH (Christ) in his captivity, still was God’s messenger, who prepared the way… HOW, you ask? … Well, isn’t the LAW our schoolmaster that drives us to CHRIST?

7And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

Now this is the best part, when we take the whole story in context a mystery begins to unfold before our eyes. We realize what it is exactly that Jesus is trying to tell those about JOHN. What Jesus is trying to tell us about THE RELIGIOUS MINDSET.

Like I wrote earlier, today, many preachers, NOT ALL, but many are “itching the ears” of their blind and abused flock. They make all these promises, but life for 99.9 percent of them only gets worse. Because now, they have the same troubles, the same trials, the same sickness and death, but before RELIGION they didn’t feel so bad about having a drink, or dating, or whatever else they did without condemnation before hearing JOHNS VOICE “REPENT, REPENT”

Paul said, “I was alive once before the LAW came and then I DIED”

You see before bad religion gets its hooks in us and convinces us we are sinners damned for eternal torture, life was alright. But after JOHN baptizes you, you find a ton of guilt, shame, and rules and regulations heaped up on top of your already screwed up life. You find you are more bound than ever.
“ARE YOU THE CHRIST, OR WHAT?”

Well, why wouldn’t you worry. You were sold a line of DUNG. Which is what PAUL called everything RELIGION taught him, and he was the KING OF RELIGION.

Religion teaches, do this, do that, and you’ll be blessed, have faith. However, in Christ there is a humbling. That RELIGIOUS man needs to be put to death.

His HEAD (authority) needs to be chopped off, as JOHN’S head was, for CHRIST’S true ministry to begin!

So now Jesus speaks to the multitude and he says. “PEOPLE what exactly was it that you ran into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?”

When we wanted to learn the Truth? Did we expect to learn ONE TRUTH that is unbending, uncompromising, and firm? Did we expect to walk the straight and narrow path that is so very hard to find that few shall find it? Did we expect to be taught by ONE TEACHER who says THIS IS THE TRUTH and there is no BENDING IT, there is no SWAYING from it, there is no OTHER WAY then this way?

And what is the WIND this REED sways from… DOCTRINE. We can’t be tossed to and fro without WIND OF DOCTRINES. Take a second to look up how many denominations there are in Christianity today… Yet there is ONE SPIRIT, ONE TRUTH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD THAT IS IN ALL!

Did we expect that we could believe what we want and throw away what we didn’t? Did we expect that AS CHRIST SUFFERED SO MUST WE? Did we remember that the SERVANT IS NOT ABOVE HIS MASTER and if they HATED HIM THEY WLL HATE US? Did we expect to be PERSECUTED, HATED, ACCUSED, TORMENTED, AND MADE HUMBLE? …

OR did we expect TO SEE A REED SHAKEN BY THE WIND?

The walk that God has prepared for his elect is NOT an easy one. It is meant to break us down and humble us. It may even be a road of pain and suffering, but it most definitely is a road of PERSERVERANCE and TRUST. It is designed to get you to love the most horrible of people and to forgive the most foul of crimes. This straight and narrow path is NOT one that we can veer off from time to time, because the WIND is blowing in another direction. And believe me, the TRUTH is not popular today. The ANTICHRIST/Man’s EGOCENTRIC system is popular today.

We saw how many turned away from Christ when the going got tough, or how many called him a heretic when he explained…

“Eat my FLESH and DRINK my BLOOD” or you can’t have the kingdom.

The reason? Because they believe in the LITERAL INTERPRETATION of scripture and not the ALLEGORICAL REVELATION of God’s word through scripture and experience.

You see to EAT SOMETHING, means you ASSIMILATE IT (become ONE with it) If you eat and APPLE, the APPLE soon BECOMES YOU.

This is what CHRIST was teaching, this is a great truth. TO EAT the Flesh and Drink the BLOOD of Christ is to allow the Flesh and Blood of Christ to become YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD.

“That day you shall know that I am in the FATHER, the FATHER in ME, and I in you” ==== We are ONE in CHRIST. There is no SEPERATION in Christ.

You don’t, and can’t, SEE (understand) Christ as being something far away from you, when THE AUTHORITY of the RELIGIOUS man is severed, you see CHRIST IN YOU, AS YOU, WITH YOU, FOR YOU, BY YOU, IS YOU!

“Know you not that you are the BODY OF CHRIST” “Until Christ be Formed In you” “It is No Longer I that Live, But Christ”

8But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

Did you come out into the wilderness to find a set of COMFORTABLE BELIEFS? Did you expect to receive riches and luxury? Did you expect to inherit literal riches, or to inherit the TREASURE OF THE TRUTH that you are IN FACT a CHILD OF GOD?

Indeed, most of us went out into the wilderness for a better life. We wanted an easier walk, a bigger house, better car, no more money problems, no more family problems, better health… WE WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT COMFORTABLE THINGS! And when that doesn’t happen, if we are of the MINDSET that is JOHN (RELIGIOUS LAW), we doubt.

But here was John’s problem to begin with. He was LOOKING outside himself for a SAVIOR. But the SAVIOR is not found without, but within.

Where we ARE the SAVIOR IS, “Greater is HE that is IN me, than HE that is of the WORLD (carnal man’s ego)”

Christ asks us and important question, “WHAT IS IT that we went out to see?” What do we want? Do we want the TRUTH? Or do we want what the LIES the WORLD is offering?

JOHN represents the LAW and the PROPHETS. These TWO WITNESSES do indeed come before Christ. Many of the SONS OF GOD will first humbly allow themselves to be baptized by this RELIGIOUS SYSTEM know as JOHN. (The Law and Prophets) these are the tutors and governors we are under until the time appointed by the Father. Than we, like CHRIST are driven deeper into the wilderness and we are TEMPTED… But IN CHRIST we overcome. And JOHN is not CHRIST, JOHN offers death, Christ offers life… He may be THE GREATEST AMONG MEN… BUT MAN is A LIAR!

11Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Sure John is the GREATEST AMONG MEN. And the GREATEST MAN doubts the TRUTH. The GREATEST of MEN doesn’t even know CHRIST to begin with. The GREATEST OF MEN, still END UP IN PRISON. Until, the authority of the GREATEST OF MEN (liars) end.

Religion is NOT THE WAY. Religion simply sets the stage and prepares the WAY. The Law and the Prophets are the first TEACHER that we ARE subject to. And, like Salome’s Mother we grow tired of hearing the Law and Prophets tell us WHAT SINNERS WE ARE! John is our taskmaster, the one meant to bring us to Christ, to bring us to A NEW AND BETTER WAY!

Now I know what your thinking. Are you saying John is somehow NOT HOLY? Well, that is not what I’m saying it is what CHRIST JESUS SAID.

“He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Christ tells us that the LAW AND PROPHETS are the LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

And do you know who Jesus also says is the least in the Kingdom of Heaven?

Matthew 5:19, ANYONE who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus says the LEAST IN THE KINGDOM are those that say FOLLOW THE LETTER OF THE LAW and THEY THEMSELVES CANT DO IT! That in a nutshell is who JOHN is, a hypocrite and a liar. The RELIGIOUS SYSTEM is as the field that is filled with dead mans bones… But praise God all it needs is Christ to breath LIFE back into them all.

12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

And the days of JOHNS are still here. They still teach DO THIS AND DO THAT and CANT DO IT THEMSELVES!

This is why the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN has suffered violence UNTIL CHRIST!

Finding out what the Kingdom of Heaven is makes it easy to understand this scripture more clearly. For the Kingdom of Heaven is NOT EAT OR DRINK. It is not a life of LUXURY AND PARTYING. It is RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY in the HOLY GHOST!

The Kingdom of Heaven is a PLACE OF REST in GODS SPIRIT! And when we were under the influence of the LAW AND PROPHETS that Peace, Righteousness and JOY was STRANGLED AWAY.

Jesus compares the prisoners of BAD RELIGION as children screaming “Look at all I have done and you haven’t given me anything, I’m still hurting, I’m still broke, ” They cry “Look at our tears, I’m crying because of how hard my life is and YOUR NOT HELPING ME!”

But now it is time to put away childish things and move unto maturity. We will never be free, nor will we know the TRUTH of who we are, until the HEAD OF JOHN is cut off!

We have to stop condemning ourselves, we have to stop condemning others, when we ourselves can’t get it together. We have to stop expecting an easy ride and stop worrying if the Truth doesn’t line up with what everyone else believes. We have to STOP ACTING LIKE CHILDREN crying WHY HAVENT YOU DONE ANYTHING FOR US LORD!

Today is a new day, it is the Last day! It is the Day of the Lord!

A Day that is terrible and great indeed. There may be suffering and pain. But without pressure a DIAMOND would never be formed. Without the winepress the Wine would never become a SPIRIT. Without the trials in our lives we would not grow strong AT ALL!

This is why we are told to COUNT IT ALL JOY. When these trials come upon us. This is why we are called BLESSED when we are persecuted, and tormented. Because without it the FRUIT of ETERNITY would never blossom.

We did not go into the wilderness to see a REED SHAKEN BY THE WIND.

We went into the WILDERNESS (our journey to the promise land) to have ETERNAL LIFE. And “THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE”

To know God the FATHER and Christ Jesus that is WITHIN!

Jacob
http://www.JacobIsrael.org
“The Truth Will Change You”