JACOB'S LADDER

BAPTISM OF MEN OR GOD?

I began this essay in hopes of shedding some light on the story of Naaman the Leper. However, like most of my essays I began with an idea, and I end up somewhere else. You see I haven’t written an essay in a while because I haven’t really felt inspired to. So I sat down finally to discuss the book of 2 Kings, but I soon found out the story of Naaman was secondary to a greater truth that needed to be revealed.

As always, this is touching on some sacred calves/cows/idols. Ever notice how similar the word sacred and scared are? Interesting, makes you go hhhhmmmnnnn! Especially since most of these sacred idols/vain beliefs instill a great deal of fear into those who are taught to obey such. Today, we talk about literal water Baptism.

Luke 20:4
The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

This question, the religious leader of Jesus’ day could not answer. Well today, it will be answered. What you do with this revelation is between you and the Lord. But as the old saying goes don’t shoot the messenger, but feel free to shoot some comments below.

So, this is what the MEAT of the essay is about, and I pray also your eyes will be open to the allegory of Naaman.

SO, LET’S START ALREADY!!!!!!

If you’ve ever read 2 Kings, you’ve probably stumbled upon the story of Naaman, a great ruler in Syria, who was feared, loved, respected, but who also a Leper… Yeah I know GROSSSSSSS, right? Well, settle down peanut gallery, this is another great allegory for us to learn from. Because the leprosy I’m talking about here is NOT one in the physical realm, even though we know there are some who actually still suffer from this terrible affliction.

A word of advice if you ever need help with something and you meet a Leper never ask them to give you a hand. They might literally give you one! Okay, bad joke, sorry, especially if someone reading here is a Leper. Which by the way, contrary to common belief, is a treatable condition, as is the spiritual leprosy we suffer from at times.

This NAAMAN was A LEPER, and wanted a good old fashion healing. So he sends Israel’s king a letter, the King is like, “WHAT, DO I LOOK LIKE GOD? I CAN’T DO THAT!” But Elisha, (the one who followed after Elijah) hears about this and dispatches a messenger to Naaman, saying if he dip in the Jordan 7 times he’ll be healed. Needless to say, he really didn’t want to at first, but eventually he does and all is right in Naaman’s world again…

Many people use this story to coerce people into getting a literal Baptism, (Which, we’ll soon see is a man-made tradition), not a BAD THING to do, but let’s be real people God wants you to be IMMERSED in the WATER (which we need to live) of his WORD. God could care less about that lukewarm still tap water many Religious Leaders dump people in, teaching that afterward WHAMO! They are BORN AGAIN! Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself here, and probably agitating/troubling a bunch of you reading this right now. And by troubling I mean, I am stirring up and troubling THOUGHTS (water) inside you.

John 5:4
For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

So I am glad if you are being challenged right now. But trust me, you haven’t read anything yet.

So the popular “Christian” belief out there is, you confess the Literal Name of Jesus, get dunked in literal tap water, and YOUR SAVED!

Well first of all, you aren’t to confess a LITERAL NAME, in fact JESUS wasn’t even YESHUA’S, so if you think by confessing a literal name saves you, your confessing the wrong name. Now, if truth be told, this has nothing to do with CONFESSING a LITERAL NAME.

First let me show you what the translation from the Greek of the word CONFESS is. Taken from the Luke 12:8 Who shall ever CONFESS ME before men…

CONFESS: “HOMOLOGEO” – to say the same thing as, to agree with, assent.

This is a revolutionary idea, because it plainly tells you that Jesus was NOT saying, whoever DECLARES MY NAME (Jesus) is saved. What he is REALLY saying is…

“Who ever SAYS THE SAME THING I SAY, AGREES WITH.”

To be saved, you must UNDERSTAND what Jesus understood, you must SAY what the FATHER and CHRIST says, you must BE ONE, even as Jesus is One with the Father. To confess Christ, is to AGREE WITH CHRIST. To be ONE with Christ.

Jesus is the LIGHT of the world, you must agree that YOU TO in CHRIST are the LIGHT of the WORLD.

Matthew 5:14
Ye are the light of the world.

And the NAME we are to AGREE with in Greek. NAME = “ONOMA” the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one’s rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.

So, you see it is much more than carnally saying a literal name and proclaiming it. To be BORN AGAIN you must be in complete agreement with EVERYTHING that is CHRIST. You must speak, act, think, live, BE CHRIST to be BORN FROM ABOVE!

1 John 4:17
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Now, how do we know if we are walking in the Truth. We test the spirits. And how do we do that? Well watch.

1 John 4:3
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even NOW already is it in the world.

Now, for those people still waiting for Christ to return. HELLO PEOPLE, Christ never left nor forsook us. We simply need to have Christ FORMED in us, REVEALED in us as us.

That word COME- “Erchomai” means metaphorically “to come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence”

Now let’s translate that passage of 1 John 4:3 and see how different it is, from the carnal understanding in the world.

1 John 4:3 (Jacob’s translation) And every Thought that doesn’t completely agree that Christ comes into being in the Flesh is not of God.

So to be BORN FROM ABOVE, means there cannot be a difference between you and Christ. Like a true marriage, you should not know where you end and he begins, the TWO MUST BECOME ONE, and that ONE is the SPIRIT OF TRUTH/CHRIST revealed IN US.

So, NO people you can’t get dunked, say a name, and be BORN AGAIN. However, this is a carnal symbol of what has spiritually begun in you.

So I say PRAISE GOD for even that!

Even Jesus the man was Baptized by John. He did this to fulfil all prophesy. He was delivered into the hands of men, after all. 🙂 I too, went to John to be baptized. I wanted to know God and I believed the only way to do this was to go to a Pastor and then I was told I needed to repent and get baptized. This began my journey in the wilderness where I was tested and tried, but after this I WAS HUNGRY to know GOD more than ever before. religious Churchiosity didn’t feed me what I was looking for. It would be the ANGELS (messengers/messages/thoughts) of God that would feed me, and then I would leave this line of thinking (that God can only be found in Religion) and I began to teach the same.

Many forget that Jesus was a pattern of what we go through. This is why when John baptized Jesus, Jesus said, “suffer it to be so”. Immediately after his baptism, he was driven into the wilderness to be TESTED AND TEMPTED. In the wilderness of RELIGIOUS THINKING we go through the same thing. Let’s briefly look at what Jesus was tempted with, the same as we are.

1) Turn STONE into Bread. – Make the LAW – a daily way of Life, follow it to a tee. Religion tries to convince us to make their LAWS LIFE. Religion tries to get you to live by every word written in the Bible, literally not symbolically. But Jesus knows, we are not to live by literal laws or written words alone, but by Every Word (Truth) that Comes (revealed) from God.

2) Worship Satan (Your Carnal Self) – religion teaches it’s all about what YOU do. And if YOU work hard enough, and YOU do enough, and YOU have faith in YOURSELF then YOU COULD ONE DAY EVEN RULE THE WORLD. (We teach this to kids, ONE DAY you could be president) – But we know that it is Not Us that does anything, but God. “I can do NOTHING of myself” Jesus said. This is why Jesus answered, GOD alone we worship. By putting FAITH in OUR CARNAL SELF (Satan) and worshipping our effort, our works, we are mislead. For it is GOD that WILLS ALL AND DOES ALL for GOD’S GOOD PLEASURE.

3) Throw yourself down from the Heights of the Temple and your won’t dash your foot against a stone. Well first of all, is Satan is leading you to the HEIGHTS of the TEMPLE (You) he hasn’t taken you into the Kingdom of God now has he. This is another great temptation that our Carnal Nature tries to convince us with, that we can have revelation and still live like the “devil” so to speak. That we can continue on in a sinful/ignorant life without our WALK being hurt. Foot dashed against a stone. (Our walk/message/gospel WON’T be dashed by the law) BECAUSE WE ARE NOW UNDER GRACE. This is what we see being taught in Church today. And the SATAN within us (God’s ADVERSARY) – The Flesh is at enmity (Opposed) to the spirit – our carnal nature (who we have believed ourselves to be) tries to convince us we can still live a life of cursing, attacking, backbiting, cheating, stealing, lying, etc. and we won’t be hurt.

Remember in all points we are tempted the same way. The Lust of the eyes, the Lust of the Flesh, the Pride of Life. We saw it when Eve first ate of the FRUIT (what man’s carnal knowledge of what is good and what is evil produces = fruit) when we worship the Knowledge of good and evil, instead of worshipping the LIFE OF CHRIST.

So many forget, that Jesus’ journey is a symbol of our journey. “As he is so are we in this world” 1 John. So just like Jesus, he was baptized by RELIGION (less than the least in the Kingdom) as are we. But after his testing, he NEVER baptized a single person, not one.

So, I am not saying being literally baptized is a bad thing. For many it is the beginning of a wonderful journey, as it was for me. But I AM saying, it is NOT OF GOD, but of MEN. And totally not necessary for salvation. The only two things we are instructed to do by Jesus, was to Love God, and Love Others, and the only way to do this is to confess the Name (nature) of Christ (power and wisdom of God).

First we understand God carnally, then spiritually. ADAM is 1st, then Christ last. Our journey starts with seeing God as a distant angry God who will punish us endlessly, our journey ends knowing God as a Son knows a loving Father, that you and the Father are one.

Now remember spiritual birth is a process just like physical birth, and even after you rise out the grave (your vain imaginings and false beliefs) Like Lazarus coming out of the grave, you still have grave-clothes (dead beliefs) to get rid off… And if you are getting Baptized at a literal man-made church it’s probably a good call that you are far away from being truly Born Again, although, like I said the good news is, the process most likely has begun! But unfortunately many believe this “man-made” doctrine of BAPTISM is the ONLY WAY to be saved. Many denominations like those in the “Church of Christ” seem to have built their entire faith around it.

Now I’m about to make a bold proclamation here. So forgive me if it offends, but it doesn’t make it any less true. When the Pharisees asked Jesus if he be of God or not, he asked them a specific question about John the Baptist.

Matthew 21: 24And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

Many can’t answer this question, much less the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Here is the reason. If they say John’s literal baptism is off Heaven then why aren’t they doing it? If they say its man-made, they are scared because SO MANY think literal water Baptism is of God.

Well, I’m not going to be like those Pharisees, I’m going to tell you plainly what this water Baptism is after… IT IS AFTER MEN, IT IS MAN MADE, IT IS A VAIN TRADITION! It is NOT from HEAVEN, but from the EARTH (soulish realm)

I know this may come as a shock for some of you, but here is why WE MUST understand if John’s Baptism is of GOD or MEN. If you CAN’T tell the difference between a carnal traditional symbol and the Truth, then you CAN’T know the TRUTH OF CHRIST.

Matthew 21: 27And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

If you can’t tell the difference between MAN MADE DOCTRINE AND TRADITION you can NOT KNOW THE THINGS AND AUTHORITY OF GOD. It is as simple as that.

Now, I’ll show you why I know the baptism of John is of MEN, and not of God.

1) John NEVER entered the KINGDOM. He was less than the least in the Kingdom of God. Which means John the Baptist NEVER entered into the true REIGN OF HEAVEN. He was under the LAW. He could not bring a teaching from HEAVEN if he NEVER entered into the heights of its understanding. This is why he was in the wilderness and not the land of promise.

Luke 7:28
For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Clearly, we see here, John is a picture of the religious man. The greatest of men, but worse than the least in the KINGDOM OF GOD. He never entered into the Kingdom. This is why John fasted often and Christ didn’t. This is why John lost faith and didn’t know if Jesus was Christ or not when he was in prison. John condemned, Jesus never condemned. John was in the wilderness, Jesus was in the Promise. John was under Law, Jesus was under grace and truth.

Now if you can’t tell what is a man-made doctrine, then how are you to know the authority and truth of Christ?

So I will answer Jesus’ question to the Pharisees. The Baptism of John was OF MANKIND! A VAIN TRADITION, but a powerful SYMBOL of what is to come.

Want more?

Ever wonder why Jesus NEVER BAPTIZED with water? AND – Jesus came to ONLY do the WILL OF THE FATHER! If it was the will of the Father to Baptize, Jesus would have, as he could only do God’s will.

John 4:34
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to DO THE WILL OF HIM that sent me, and to finish his work.

If it was God’s will to literally baptize men and women in literal water, he would have done it. But he DIDN’T. Jesus ONLY did the things he heard our Father told him to do. And to FINISH the complete work of God.

Jesus came from God to DO GOD’S WILL. Now, if Jesus NEVER LITERALLY BAPTIZED WITH WATER, and literal water BAPTISM is the will of God and NOT a MAN MADE TRADITION than Jesus didn’t finish the work, and did NOT do the WILL of He who sent him… But we know JESUS DID fulfill God’s will, and the work is COMPLETE.

John 19:30
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, IT IS FINISHED: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

AND JESUS NEVER ONCE BAPTIZED OR FASTED! BTW, fasting is a symbol of going without the word of God/bread and water of life. Once again not a man-made tradition that is take literally. If you enter the Kingdom (rule) of God, and understand the TRUTH you will always be filled, in within you a well of LIFE GIVING WATER (TRUTH) SPRINGS.

John 4:2
Though Jesus himself BAPTIZED NOT, but his disciples.

So if Jesus did the ENTIRE WORK and WILL of God, and DID NOT BAPTIZE then one can simply deduce that THE BAPTISM OF JOHN is NOT FROM GOD!

WOW JACOB! DID YOU ACTUALLY WRITE THAT? Yes, I did. Can’t believe it myself, mainly because this essay was supposed to be about NAAHAM. But, like every one of these essays I go where I am led, call it spiritual A.D.D.

Now, am I saying we should just stop literal water baptism? Well I’m not about to declare anything. God gave SAUL into the hands of DAVID to kill, and David WAITED.I AM NOT GOING TO SLEY SAUL (religious thinking) God will and is. However, for me and my house I will serve the Lord. My wife in particular was never baptized the way many in Christianity have been baptized. Does that mean she is NOT SAVED? Of course not, what a foolish thing to say, or think, Jesus died once for all.

Look there was a time people believed if they didn’t literally circumcise their children on the 8th day, they weren’t “saved”. However we see that ABRAHAM was justified by his FAITH long before his literal circumcision. A man is NOT justified by his works, but by his FAITH. And it is impossible to please God without it.

And in the new testament, we learn that literal circumcision was only a symbol, and not to be taken literally.

Romans 2 28For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

You see, it is not of WORKS (what we physically do) but what GOD does. We are NOT justified or saved by ANYTHING WE DO.

Galatians 2:16
Knowing that a man is NOT justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Let me briefly explain what a LAW is in a nutshell. A LAW is something that you are told you HAVE TO DO OR ELSE. Now the LAW is good, but we are NOT justified by the LAW, but by FAITH. The LAW shows us, we can’t WORK OUR WAY to GOD.

A literal BAPTISM is a WORK of MANKIND. As John brought it and JOHN was the LAW MAN. Saying do this or do that, or else.

CHRIST baptizes with FIRE (THE SPIRIT). Now we saw many of Jesus’ disciples baptizing, but Paul didn’t, he never worried about such things. He understood it was a symbol, and he said, we should LEAVE THESE THINGS to move unto the PERFECTION in Christ.

Notice again, what PAUL calls DEAD WORKS. (death = ignorance/carnal beliefs)

Hebrews 6 1Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; NOT laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2Of the doctrine of BAPTISMS, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Dead/Ignorance Works = Baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment (In the Literal sense of course)

Now, look if you are getting literally Baptized good for you. I was, when I was scared that I would burn forever if I got hit by a car and died and wasn’t literally baptized. You see FEAR drove me to do this, it has nothing to do with what God wanted, it had everything to do with what that proud ignorant Pastor wanted. This is why when you ask many “Christian” leaders how their service went they answer, “We had one hundred salvations this morning. We led hundreds to the Lord, Praise God!” They say. Foolish, Vain, Arrogant, and Deceived. And most can’t even see this, even though the scripture is clear.

Romans 9:16
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Look it’s not a bad thing to get water baptized. I’m not saying don’t do it. Do what you feel led or pressured to do. Either way, it tells me you want to know God for one reason or another. THANK GOD FOR THAT! But don’t you dare think, you, or your Pastor has done something to help SAVE YOU!

John 15:16
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

When we enter the absolute faith that God is in complete control, we enter into God’s rest. When we cease our labor and effort and rely only on God, when we stop believing there are things we NEED TO DO, as opposed to letting patience have its perfect work then we will be in union with the truth/Christ (Then we will be CONFESSING CHRIST). Then we will know the peace that has alluded us for so long.

The problem is, people refuse to GIVE UP the IGNORANT belief that they are in control. They say, YOU MUST DO THIS, YOU MUST DO THAT!

Religion just adds fuel to this fire. It gives you, and teaches you, a list of do’s and don’ts that you MUST FOLLOW or else. But you will NEVER enter God’s rest in this system of thought. You will always fail, because your WORKS are DEAD.

Hebrew 3 10Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

The heart of UNBELIEF is the heart that says, MAN SAVES HIMSELF. And literal water baptism is yet another man-made tradition that needs to be understood simply as a symbol, and NOT a NECESSITY!

One day, people will realize that God is in control, not them. When they give up the Reigns for the REIGN (Kingdom) of God, then they will REST! Oh and what a wonderful day this WILL BE.

However, I want to reiterate, to be Born Again from ABOVE is a process, much like a literal pregnancy, it takes time. At first when the word of life (Christ) is conceived (resurrected/risen) within, you may not feel a change, you may be excited (I’m saved, I’m saved) you may scream because some religious leader told you so, but you are far from that moment when CHRIST is TRULY DELIVERED/REVEALED in YOU.

This is a process people. You can’t just say LORD, LORD and enter into the Kingdom (rule/reign) of God, you need to be broken first. You need to be humbled, you need to learn that you are not, and never have been in control. You must find out that the only anti-christ there is, is the anti-christ that is you (who you think you are).You’re ego, your self-will, your SELF is in HELL (ignorance/grave) and Christ is right there WITHIN that HELL, speaking to all of those trapped by their vain imaginings.

Christ is WITHIN THE TEMPLE teaching, DAILY. Christ is IN YOU teaching daily.

Like Joseph and Mary, you will not find CHRIST among your kinsfolk (religion and tradition)… you must RETURN to JERUSALEM (teaching of peace) and then you will learn, that Christ is only about GOD BUSINESS, which is TRUTH and SALVATION. To try to find Christ anywhere outside of the TEMPLE (your heart/mind/within YOU) is an fools errand. The same person is called a thief and a robber. Because you are trying to steal the Kingdom from God.

John 10:1
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

The good news is those that ENTER GOD’S REST, the same BECOME THE SHEPARD OF THE SHEEP (Christ) – When you enter in, you become CHRIST as CHRIST becomes YOU.

John 10: 2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

You see CHRIST is the DOOR we enter, and when we enter CHRIST, we become CHRIST.

John 10: 7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

I know this is a hard saying. But look, we become the body of Christ, the mind of Christ, and are given the name of Christ, what is left? Nothing. We must DENY ourselves, we must understand “who we think we are” is not who we are, and we must understand, who we are, is who we have always been. GOD’S CHILD!

Now, here is the good news. God’s will, WILL be done. His WORD will NOT return void, it will accomplish what it was sent into the world (carnal mind and lusts) to do (save). However, to deliver that Christ Child, to manifest that CHILD OF GOD, that IS THE TRUE YOU, hurts!

Through much tribulation we enter the Reign (Kingdom) of God. There are lots of bad habits and formed thoughts/imaginations God needs to break… And so, I am FINALLY going to use this example in 2 KINGS to show how stubborn we all can be.

Because if truth be told, as with every character in scripture. Naaman, is yet another example of us, before coming to the knowledge of the Truth and the Stature of the perfect man.

What I am basically going to do here is take the chapter break it down, hopefully the Lord will open my eyes (understanding) and yours as I do so… So, let’s start shall we?

2 Kings 5
1Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

Let’s start by pointing out that the name NAAMAN means PLEASANTNESS, and he was Captain for the King of SYRIA which means EXALTED. Our Carnal nature loves being exalted, raised above everything else.

NAAMAN is perfect picture of MANKIND today, life on the outside seems perfect, a man of title one who demanded respect, loyalty and service, after all he was IN A PLACE where he was EXHALTED, and his life seemed pleasant. He had power, money, servants, but the man was a LEPER.

Now before going any further, I want to give you the definition of Leprosy: Having or consisting of loose, scurfy SCALES. SCALES? Isn’t that what covered PAUL’S eyes when he was BLIND. Which needed to fall away before he could SEE?

Yes, LEPROUS SCALES are a big problem. And a wonderful ALLEGORY! They saw Leprosy as a DISEASE OF THE FLESH. And isn’t that exactly what we all SUFFER from, the FLESH (carnal mind/pride) – Isn’t that exactly what we ALL need to be delivered from.

So what does scripture say about SCALES? Glad you asked.

Job 41:15
His SCALES are his PRIDE, shut up together as with a close seal.

Aren’t FISH covered in SCALES? Aren’t we supposed to be FISHERS OF MANKIND. Pulling them out of the SEA (IGNORANT WAYS OF THE WORLD)? And do we not, get rid of the scales of the Fish before we can eat it (become one with it)

Yes, SCALES are the CARNAL man’s PRIDE. This is what had to fall away from PAUL’S EYES before he could SEE (Understand the truth of God)

So when we see, many Lepers in scripture Jesus healed. And with new eyes, we see this as a symbol of how the TRUTH of GOD (word) cleanses man’s CARNAL PRIDE (which is a disease of his flesh).

In the process, few want to leave the old wine (carnal understanding) for the new (spiritual understanding). Very few are willing to give up their SELF WILL AND EFFORT. They want to be god themselves. And like NAAMAN they can be pig-headed and proud.

2And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

Notice, that the PROPHET of God is what could heal NAAMAN’S leprosy. And what is PROPHESY again?

Revelation 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Testimony of Jesus is the SPIRIT of PROPHESY. And what was the testimony of Jesus. TO BE BORN AGAIN AND TO WORSHIP GOD! To take on EVERYTHING THAT IS CHRIST.

So this is what heals MANKIND’S LEPROSY, the WORD of God, which is the TRUTH, and with it you are BORN AGAIN! So, truly this is a picture of Man needing to hear the WORD of God (TRUTH) to be healed/saved.

4And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 5And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

Like most THE PROUD believe salvation can be bought. Can we say TITHES AND OFFERINGS anyone?

6And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. 7And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

The one ruling ISRAEL at this time. Is a picture of the SOULISH CARNAL man ruling over the CHRIST within. He very much believes he is mortal and can do nothing to heal or save.

8And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 9So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

Naaman comes, the proud man comes showing off all his power, and Elisha doesn’t even greet him. Instead a messenger tells Naaman what to do to be saved and healed. But do Naaman listen? Ahhhhhh nope!

11But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 12Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

He was upset Elisha didn’t greet him, he was too proud to give up on HIS WATERS (HIS BELIEFS)… He thought he WATERS (THOUGHTS AND BELIEFS) were just fine. Why on Earth should he leave his OLD WINE for this NEW WINE. “THE HECK WITH THIS” Naaman said and took off angry.

How many of us, after being told everything we have believed is wrong would take that joyfully?

13And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather than, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

But a simple servant (greatest of all) pointed out what an arrogant fool he was being. “what can it hurt, he says it can heal you, shouldn’t you at least DIP IN?”

14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Seven we know is the number when God FINISHED creation. Naaman, as much as it troubled him, as hard as it was to swallow his pride, said, “I don’t want to be this proud sick leper anymore, I’ll do it.” So he left his OLD WATERS AND WAYS and followed a new voice and a new way. And this CLEANSED HIM. Now notice, his flesh was like a little child. Like Paul, the SCALES FELL AWAY but still he had a childish understanding of the things of God. He still had so far to go, as did Paul. (a child shall lead them)

15And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

Now Naaman understood, there is no GOD in the EARTH (man’s soul) but in ISRAEL (The Christ within)

You see this story is a story we can all learn from. The waters (understanding, teachings) you have bathed in – been immersed in – cannot heal you. Water Baptism and man-made works cannot save you.

So I say, come on over to the Jordan, dip in it seven times, until you are whole.

Step out of BABYLON PEOPLE, ask God to reveal the Truth to you, no matter what you lose. Those that seek to save their life IN THIS WORLD (THE LIFE IN THEIR LUSTS) shall lose it.

Don’t be like NAAHAM, dying of a prideful disease. I know you think your ways and your religious teachers ways are the only way. But I am telling you there is a better way. And that way is to give up your works!

Matthew 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jacob
http://www.JacobIsrael.org