Popular theology tells us that our ultimate destination is heaven--a place much better than this earth in which we live. In "heaven" everyone is kind and generous, and good deeds overtake each other. There is no suffering, no pain, no illness and no sin. And, in "heaven," God's abundance is always present in the life of everyone.
More importantly, in the context of modern theology, heaven is a place where you can continue to be who you are, yet God meets your every need, causes every negative thing to become non-existent, and ensures your personal happiness for all eternity. So is this heaven a genuine location in the universe? Or is it "devil theology" - a figment of our vivid imaginings? Three biblical principles debunk this caricature of "heaven." First, Adam and Eve, the first humans, were never in the heaven that is God's dwelling place. Nor is there any evidence that they ever visited heaven. They lived on earth in the Garden of Eden where God visited them, then outside of the Garden after they disobeyed God. Second, Jesus' millennial reign will be on the earth (Revelation 20). Third, at the end of Jesus' millennial reign, the Bible states that God will come to live with man in a new earth (Revelation 21). There is no mention of us going to live permanently in heaven, but only of God coming to the earth. "Heaven" is God's description of what the earth was designed to be before sin and depravity took control and pointed us in a different direction. It is the place that we ourselves must begin to recreate now and during the thousand years of Jesus' millennial reign. We must decide to progress toward God's original architectural plan for the earth and away from the devil's original blueprint. The heaven that most individuals are claiming is what Satan says you cannot have until after this present life, if you are one of the lucky ones. The heaven that God wants for you exists at this very moment in your solar plexus. It is within you (Luke 17:21)--a peaceful surrender of self, followed by full communion between God's Spirit and yours. It is a heaven in which you decide that you want nothing less than God's best for you and for others. When each person who claims to be a disciple of Jesus rises to this level, we will indeed have heaven on earth.
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When we consider the phrases "natural enemy" or "arch enemy," we perhaps remember someone who betrayed our trust, someone who caused us physical or emotional harm, or someone whom we view as a threat to our safety and security. It never occurs to us that any aspect of our humanity can betray our trust, cause us harm, and threaten our safety and security.
In fact, the physical mind and brain are the natural enemies of the soul and spirit. The mind and brain are concerned with physical survival, and consider only what serves the physical aspects of our humanity. The inherent corruption of the mind and brain is designed to close our eyes to our spiritual realities. In a society governed almost exclusively by the mind and brain, the fittest members experience temporary physical "survival." In contrast, the soul and spirit are committed to physical as well as spiritual survival, and also to group survival. They know that when the group survives, each individual soul and spirit also survives. Self-destruction is inevitable in a society ruled by the brain and mind, unless they come to the realization that the soul and spirit are not the arch enemy of the brain and mind. They are designed to be co-leaders, existing in a state of mutuality. The goal must be survival, not to the exclusion of others, but instead, within the context of a paradigm that embraces all, including the weakest members of that society or institution. Reconciling the mind and brain with the soul and spirit is an arduous, but not impossible, task. It involves closely examining the motivation that underlies every thought, and refusing to allow the thought to permeate our humanity, or our emotions and actions, unless it serves the best interests of all. A Manchurian Survivor is someone who knows who they are, knows what they know, and knows who they know. They refuse to compromise on principles, values or ethics. They are unflinching.
As is true of Manchurian candidates, Manchurian survivors are made, but the process is very different. Manchurian candidates, knowingly and unknowingly, accept downloaded into them evil spirits of greed, lust, rebellion and every other form of evil. These evil spirits inhabit the empty spaces in the body of their candidate, who also is provided with personal demons (alluringly named "spirit guides") whose job is to deliver to them Satan's instructions and enforce compliance. In contrast, Manchurian survivors refuse to tolerate anything in their being, in their body, or in their soul that is not of God. Every spirit that is not of God, every ruler that is not of God, every principality that is not of God, and everything, everything, everything that is not of God is cast aside. They realize that the overcoming power emanates from inside of them, and the power is thwarted and diminished if forced to coexist with evil. The process of cleansing the evil is far more arduous than the split second delivery of spirits of greed and others. But unless we multiply the gifts of the Spirit and the talents, God will not deem us worthy. The fastest methodology for multiplying these gifts is to give them room to grow. They cannot grow and expand when smothered by evil spirits. Ninety percent of our bodies is empty spaces. Satan's goal is to inhabit as much of that empty "real estate" as possible, in the manner of a squatter. In contrast, the Holy Spirit, the sole Spirit of God, inhabits the solar plexus only, and leaves the empty spaces empty. Instead of demons and evil spirits that corrupt and drain the energy from every cell in the body, the Manchurian survivor is filled with pure ether that energizes, heals and restores. Junior Manchurian Candidates are akin to rabbits. They seem to multiply tenfold with every breath. They are motivated by greed, but the greed is not fully matured and is similar to raw envy of the apparent privileges and possessions of the Manchurian candidate and others. A junior Manchurian candidate can be created merely by pumping them full of spirits of greed. Greed is the most gripping of all distractions and delusions.
Spirits of greed can now be created in a computer, and loaded into a Smartphone with the appropriate app. They also can be loaded into eyes or into the finger tips so that merely by looking at someone's solar plexus or pointing at them with the intention to transfer can cause the spirits of greed to be transferred to that person, especially if they cannot take precautionary measures. It takes approximately six months for a junior Manchurian candidate to mature into a Manchurian candidate. There are many ways of creating a Manchurian candidate. You can place them in position with their full knowledge and consent, you can appropriate their power and authority by force or threat, or you can create a powerful distraction or delusion to prevent them from recognizing their loss of power.
Manchurian candidates are among the most dangerous of all betrayers. On the surface, they appear to be one with you. But they are merely waiting for an opportunity--that moment in time when they are told that it's time to pull the plug. When fully formed, they are not motivated by conscience or principles. They are motivated solely by greed, which is the most powerful of all the negative emotions. It equates in power with love, but is on the negative end of the power spectrum. Chief among the strategy of Manchurian candidates is to condition you to disregard, disrespect and disbelieve the ether. They communicate with you through the ether because it is the manner in which the spirits communicate. But they need you to question its existence for one principal reason--the ether is God's aura. We are in it and it is in us. It is supposed to fill all the empty spaces in our bodies and in our homes and in our soil. It is what causes babies to grow into adulthood and what causes an acorn to become an oak tree. It is much more than air. If you do not respect the ether, you do not respect God. If you communicate deceit and deception while standing, sitting or walking in God's aura, you will continue to do so when you stand face to face with him. Manchurian candidates will never be invited into God's kingdom. Why and for whom do you do the things you do? There was a time when I did most things for God and others. I hate having to look on human suffering and my spirit knows that it is not God's will that anyone should suffer. So I did it for them and for God.
But when you do it for others and exclude yourself, your motivation eventually will dissipate. Humanity, when given over to self-interest or to Satan, has an iron clad methodology for draining everything out of you. This blog post was previously titled, "Do it for Others." But I have arrived at the point at which I have to do it for myself only, in the manner that benefits God and myself. Only then can I gain the capacity and the motivation to do for others. If we don't love ourselves first, we won't have enough love to give to others. So perhaps you too have been brought to a point where you no longer have the drive or the motivation to do for others. Perhaps it is because you have ignored self for too long. Jesus endured the cross not only to save humanity, but also to save himself and to inherit the kingdom that was promised. Before you begin to do for others, first secure your personal needs. Some hold to the principle that when we perform good deeds we should have no motivation or ulterior motive. Others believe that when we perform good deeds, we should expect a return of a thousand fold. If the seeds are healthy, the earth always returns at least a thousand fold.
It is a basic principle of sowing and reaping that if we plant one healthy grain of corn, we will have a corn tree that bears at least a dozen ears of corn. If we continue to plant, eventually we can have an entire acre of corn, or more, from that single seed. Similarly, one pear seed can produce a tree that will bear fruit for decades. So what should be our mindset when we do good deeds? Should we always expect a thousand-fold return? It depends on the motivation. If the motivation is self interest, fear or greed, the good deed can be as corrupted as a rotted grain of corn--it can produce no harvest and will offer no reward. On the contrary, if the motivation is love, gratitude, or compassion we should expect a healthy yield. When the Scriptures challenge us to act only within the parameters of love, gratitude or compassion, it is not because God is seeking to control our actions. It is because he knows that we gain nothing and will reap no harvest unless the motivation is clean, healthy, and powered by love. The world may seem dark at the moment--wars, rumors of wars, corporate takeovers by trusted colleagues, betrayal, illness, devastation of every form and kind. But while the days may seem dark, there is hope that a new day is dawning. It always seems darkest before the dawn, and even the most violent storm eventually is replaced by a bright and sunny day. So there is hope. Hope for those who are hopeful, for those who refuse to compromise, who hold fast to their belief in the truth that irrespective of what happens in the world around us, we can have radiating from our core, a light that is capable of obliterating every form of darkness. |
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