Romans 1:20: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. John 1:3 says; All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. We know that there are many things in the old scriptures of the law and prophets that point to Jesus Christ and his first coming and also to his second coming. These things are often called "types and shadows". Moses delivered the people of Israel from Egypt and the bondage of Pharaoh. He was a "type and shadow" of Jesus Christ. Jesus has delivered us from the world system and the bondage of satan into the kingdom of God. The children of Israel left Egypt with great riches. This is a "type and shadow" of the body of Christ being delivered from this world system into the Kingdom of God and its Glory in Him. What greater riches can a man have than eternal life and oneness with God? Corinthians 2:9 Paul says: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. Many things are found in the old scriptures concerning Jesus Christ. Are there no "types and shadows" of him in the natural creation? After all he is the one for whom and by whom it was created. The fact is, there are many things in the creation that point to him and to God's plan for mankind in him. In this book, we will cover some of these things in the natural creation that point to his purposes in Jesus Christ.
After the great flood of evolution and its accompanying philosophies of the beast, there was a huge rise in the "religion" of humanism and atheism. Men began to believe that they were the authors of their own destinies. Some even claimed that they were gods themselves. Others became atheists. They believed that the creation came about by chance without any Creator or any reason. Psalm 14:1 says: The fool saith in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works. When we look at the universe and see the order in it, we certainly have the right to agree with this. The atheist is a fool! For instance, in chemistry there is the "Law of Combining Proportions" that says that atoms combine in simple ratios to form compounds. Two hydrogen atoms combine with one oxygen atom to form water.(H2O) One carbon combines with two oxygen atoms to form the compound carbon dioxide.(CO2) These simple ratios exist for all compounds found throughout the science of chemistry. Though each compound has its own distinct ratio, the ratio for each compound never changes. All compounds combine in the same simple ratios. If these combinations had come about haphazardly there would have been no order in chemistry and the science of chemistry would never have come about.
All the laws of physics all have this same order. The laws of motion, inertia, thermodynamics, and nuclear physics are so ordered that scientists have been able to apply mathematical equations to them. In fact, if there had been no patterns and order present in the universe the science of mathmetics would never have come about. Indeed, we would never have been sure of anything. Try to imagine the statistical chance that all this order came about by chance. It would more than likely take a computer 50 years to come up with the statistical number that it could happen by chance. Because of this mathematical order that God has placed in the creation, mankind has developed a great technology that threatens to destroy them. Scientists were very careful to set up standards in weights, measures and temperature so that their experiments could be preformed under the same conditions each time. Because of this, they were able to compare their results very carefully before drawing their conclusions and stating the laws of physics and other sciences. Any scientist who reported false results deliberately, lost his credibility with other scientists. We can truthfully say that our technology was based strictly on TRUTH. This is why our technological ability has far outstripped our social abilities. Because we adhere to truth in the sciences but not in our sociological relationships, we have become technical geniuses and sociological idiots. Jesus came and gave us the laws of truth such as those found in Matthew chapter 5 and 6 so that we would be able to develop a society of truth and peace but we pay no attention to them, in fact most of the world thinks they are foolishness. Jesus said, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If we did this there would be no murder because no one wants to be murdered. There would be no adultery, lying, false witnessing, or thiefs because no one wants these things to happen to them. There would be no children without food or vaccines, because no one wants to see their children sick and hungry. There would be more concern about feeding the hungry and caring for the sick than there is about sending up space rockets. This is why I am so skeptical of the new "one world order" presently in existence. How can we conquer the universe and save ourselves, when we won't take care of each other? Do you see why we are so advanced technically but still have terrorism and war killing innocent people all over the world? Of course, the reason is that we adhere strictly to truth in technological things but every one has their own concept of truth in dealing with each other. The ultimate outcome for selfishness, if given enough power, is self destruction. God says this will happen if he doesn't intervene. Perhaps this is why we have these ultimate nuclear weapons; to prove that the words of Jesus in Matthew are truth. He said, my words will judge the world. Do you believe that a one world government will save mankind from itself?
Jesus came to give mankind the laws of truth and peace but only a very few hear and obey. The 8th chapter of proverbs verse 22 starts this way; The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world, I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Who was this that was with God from the beginning? It was Jesus. You who have read the whole chapter may say, this chapter is talking about wisdom not Jesus. However go to Corenthians 1 : 24. Paul says: But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Jesus Christ the power of God and the WISDOM of God.
We see then that Jesus Christ was co-existent with God the Father from the very beginning of the creation. Jesus was not only with God from the beginning, as John said, he was God. How can something exist with God, and yet be God? Suppose I set two bottles of compressed, life giving oxygen in separate rooms. These rooms do not have any air in them but there is an open door in the wall separating them. One bottle of oxygen is in each room. If the oxygen is released from both bottles, it will mix by the process of diffusion. The oxygen in both bottles will become one. It is impossible to tell which molecule came from which bottle. The gas in both rooms have the same properties and the same concentration. They are one. This is a crude physical way of representing the oneness of God. In the beginning, God declared himself to be love. He did not have to declare himself to be anything because, he is that he is. However, he intended to become a Father and he was going to be a loving Father. I do not know the entire ramifications of this loving oneness but thanks to Jesus Christ I have all eternity to find out. I also know that Jesus spoke by the commandment of the Father and nothing he ever commanded us to do can bring harm to anyone. His commandments were to love one another.
Jesus extends all through time. From his works of creation to his walk in the garden with Adam, his warning to Noah, his promise to Abraham, his instructions to Moses, his prophesies to Jeremiah, and Daniel, and he became flesh and dwelled with mankind. God manifested himself in the flesh. This is the mystery of God, Ephesians chapter 1: 9. Yes, throughout the old testament the prophets spoke of one person, Jesus the word. After Jesus finished his work he spoke of other sons. Paul said in Colossians that Jesus was the first born of God. This means there are to be others who will be born into the spirit. God intends to have many more sons. Jesus told his disciples "Just as I and the Father are one so you will be one with me". If it is possible for the overcomer to be one with Jesus and Jesus is one with God, won't believers who enter the Body be one with Jesus and also be God? I believe that the great vision found in the 1st chapter of revelations is the manifested body of Jesus Christ. Revelations 1: 12-18 says: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Please note; it is this great body of Jesus Christ that has the keys of Death and hell, not Peter. This proves that the church is not built on Peter, but on the revelation of Jesus Christ that the Father revealed to Peter. This great image is the symbolic many membered body of Christ. The wonderful head with the eyes of fire and the countenance that shined as the sun, in his strength, was Jesus Christ the head of the body. The rest of the body represents the many membered body of overcomers from the apostles to those who overcome the anti-Christ in the last age. The brass feet that look like they have just come out of a furnace are the Holy Ones who come out of the anti-Christ furnace of tribulation, tried by fire. You can find the type and shadow of this furnace in Daniel chapter 3, and we will cover it in a later chapter. These brass feet come into the perfection of Jesus Christ right here on this Earth. They are the ones who are alive and remain, and are caught up to him, when Jesus comes again. His voice sounded like a voice of many waters. And why not, He is made up of many members. Perhaps this is why today's evil society has joined Pharaoh and Herod in the murder of babies. The devil knows that both male and females will be in this Body. That's why he's not seeking to kill just the males as he did in Pharaoh's and Herod's time.
Jesus was the perfection of selflessness. A lamb was sacrificed every Year by the Israelites at the passover. This passover lamb had to be perfect, one without a blemish. It was symbolic of Jesus. It was the blood of Jesus Christ that has redeemed us from eternal death. Paul said, "I die daily". (1 corinthians 15:31) This is the cross of Jesus that is applied toward the sacrifice of self. As was said before, selfishness is the main cause for all the evil that goes on throughout the world. Didn't Jesus say that we are to take up our cross and follow him? This cross is the Christian sacrifice of self. To enter into the body of Jesus Christ, self must die. Jesus told his disciples, "The gentiles have those that are over them and these have those who are captains over them. But it shall not be so among you. He who would be chief let him be servant." (Mark 10:43-44) Even though he had all things with the father he put it all off and became a servant for our sakes. He tells us that we must put away all selfishness and become an humble servant. We must submit our will to his.
But why do we have to go through the painful sacrifice of self? In order to see the real reason, we must see the vision of the coming body of Christ. This body is already a reality, it has been a reality since the foundation of the world, but it is not yet manifest in
it's glory. That will take place when he appears again. The scriptures say: my people perish for lack of a vision. I will now show you a vision of the body of Jesus Christ that is found in the scriptures. This may surprise you, but it is the image of God that is spoken of in the book of Genesis, chapter 1. This vision of the image of God is the first of the "HIDDEN THINGS" of the natural creation that we will cover in this book.
The real vision begins way back in genesis chapter 1; verse 26, it says: And God said let US make man after OUR image and after OUR likeness. Notice that God is speaking in the plural, "our" and "us". I believe he was talking to his beloved son Jesus. But more than that, I believe he was talking to the entire body of Jesus Christ. Those in the body of Christ are not bound by time. What is your idea of what this image is? Is it the way of man? Mankind has been one of the most violent and evil creatures in this earth. Certainly this is not what he meant. Some people think that it's man's intellect. Even with his intellect he is unable to save himself because of his selfishness. That's why pollution is destroying the earth and we live in fear of nuclear annihilation. Even now mankind is fulfilling God's word in an attempt to save himself by the means of a new world order. Revelations 12: 11-18: By the use of this "one world order" he hopes to control the use of nuclear weapons. Just as you found the image of the many membered body of Christ in revelations, you can also find the image of this one world order of the beast in the 2nd chapter of Daniel. Some say that the image of god lies in man's ability to create. We Know that man can only create using the matter that God has already created. We know that he cannot create matter because one of the laws of physics says that matter cannot be created or destroyed. This is true except for a very few cases where unstable nuclear elements can be used to destroy matter. Man cannot create a new universe with eternal life inherent in it because he cannot visualize such an abstract universe as this would be. The universe he is in now is a universe of increasing entropy....DEATH! Many people deny the existence of God because they cannot visualize or explain him. No matter what he does to try to save himself he is still in a universe of death and Jesus Christ is the only door out of it. In order to see how man is in the image of God, we have to go to the 12th chapter of Corinthians beginning with the 12th verse. The apostle Paul received a wonderful vision which explains exactly what this image of God is. This word in Genesis was only the first part of the revelation of man's image, the rest of the revelation is given here in Corinthians. First, let me give you the dictionary definition of the word image: IMAGE (n): a representation of a person or an object. Something about man is a representation (image) of God. You know that God is perfect and any thing that represents him must also be perfect. It's hard to imagine any thing about man that can fit the description of perfection, isn't it? Let's see what the Holy Ghost showed the apostle Paul about the image of God. Verse 12: For as the body is one and has many members and all the members of that one body being many, so also is Christ. Paul is talking about this body that we walk around in. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body. Whether we be Jews or gentiles, bound or free, we have all been made to drink of one spirit. For the body is not one member but many. If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore, not of the body? If the ear shall say because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; Is it not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing where would be the smelling? Nay; but God has set the members every one of them in the body as it has pleased him. Now if they all would be one member where would be the body? But now they are many members but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you. Nor the head to the feet I have no need of you. Nay, much more these members of the body which seem to be less important we bestow more abundant honor. And our uncomly parts have more comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored all the members rejoice with it. That there should be no division (discord), but that the members should have the same care one for another.
Speaking of less the comely body parts, consider the immune system. We have seen the outcome of what happens to a body without the immune system in this generation. The disease AIDS causes the body to waste away and eventuality die due to some disease it is unable to fight off. Consider the wound healing mechanisms. When the body is wounded histamine is sent to the wound site where it opens the arterioles to allow white cells to enter the wound to fight invading germs. Histamine causes the nerves at the wound site to become hypersensitive. Thus, the wound becomes very sore. This helps to prevent the re-injury of the wound. The hormone systems regulate the different functions of the body from sex to growth. Until this generation we hardly knew these beautiful (comely) body parts existed. They have been unknown down through the ages but now we know how important they are. Without them the body could not exist. Do you see how we are made in the image of God? Our natural bodies are made in the image of the spiritual family of God. The great body of Jesus Christ. Someday, perhaps very soon, this body will be manifested in all of the glory of God. In that day the body of Christ will be one with God. Yes, because of the mercy and love of God, it too will be God! This may be a hard saying for you but it is true according to the Holy Scriptures. Romans 8:17 says we are joint heirs with Christ. This supernatural body will exist in complete love and unselfishness just like our physical body operates.
In order to understand what Paul is saying here, think about how your body operates. Each member has it's function and it preforms it's job in complete unselfishness and love for the body as a whole. What would happen if the eye became self centered? Suppose one day it said, "I think my great abilities are overlooked in this body. I'm going to set out on my own to find my real identity and individuality, in order to enhance my self esteem. If the body were driving down the highway it would probably hit a telephone pole. If it were walking in the woods, it might walk over a cliff. This is what happens to society when self esteem is prized more highly than the word of God. Our eyes, ears, hands, feet, heart, liver, immune system, and head are all many members yet one great unit. For example, suppose you were in the batters box in a baseball game. Suddenly the pitcher threw the ball right at your head. First you drop the bat, your arms go up to protect your head. Your legs buckle and you fall to the ground. The ball goes flying over your head. All these things happen in an instant. These members all act in complete unselfishness under direction of the head to protect the body. Such is going to be the great body of Jesus Christ. Isn't this a wonderful vision? Our natural bodies are made in the image of the family of God. Jesus and the Father are one and the body of Christ will be one with them. All one spirit and one mind. In this great unified body there will be no selfishness. It will be joined in perfect love one member for another. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the whole human race were joined like this? Every thing that is done would be for the common good instead of for selfishness and greed. Too bad some of our "freedom" organizations don't see that freedom should be for the common good instead of for self gratification. Without the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts, this will never be.
How does God look upon this body? He calls it Jesus. God knows it by its head. He will no longer remember its past sins. The blood of Jesus has covered them. The cross of Christ has made us perfect. We have a new name, Jesus. How can all this be? I'll give you an example. Suppose I put you in a group of ordinary people Then I cover every one's head so that no part of the head can be seen. I bring in your best friend and I tell him to pick you out of the group. Even though he is your best friend and has known you for a long time, it's unlikely that he can pick you out. But now I tell every one to take the covers off their heads. Your friend would know you right away. How do people know each other? Do they look at someone's hand or their belly or their neck to tell who they are? No. They look at their head. We are known by our heads. This is how God looks at his sons. They are known by their head, Jesus. How wonderfully intelligent God is to have made such a perfect representation of the manifested Sons of God. Think of how loving and unselfishly the head takes care of the body. The body loves and obeys the head without question. Though they are many members they are ONE body. God even now patiently awaits this precious fruit of the earth. (James 5: 7) Can you see why we must let the cross destroy self. Self has no place in this God body. Self esteem must not be prized so highly as our blind church psychologists tell us. There can be no self in the body of Christ. Indeed, there will be no need for it. God is complete and entire and has no lack whatever. There is no need for individuality or self in Him. God is love and Love shares all that he is with his beloved Sons. Whenever self enters in there is a division just like Paul says. Note the word in-divid-ual has the word divide inherent in it. The devil brought about a division in the sons of God when he exerted self pride. How terrible the consequences to humanity have been.
In God there is no lack. He is all and in all. In-divid-uality which is a form of exerting self is not needed. In God there is no place higher to go. You are there! This is the wonderful fulfillment of the promise of God. This is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let the beast speak of self esteem. To go after his things is to strive for death. He will set himself up as God and speak of race purity and genocide to make a perfect genetic man. His talk is based on evolution which is the gospel of a jungle beast. You must stand fast in this evil day. Remember, your high calling in Christ Jesus. Hold fast to him. He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. Tribulation is only for a moment when compared to eternity.
In this chapter we have seen that both Jesus Christ and the Son Body will be manifested at his coming. It is made up of many members, yet they are one Body. According to the revelation that Brother Paul had in Corinthians chapter. 12 they will be knitted together as one unit and they will have unbounded love for one another and for their head, Jesus Christ. Our human body is its earthly representation. (IMAGE) Think of how loving your body operates to protect the whole body while in complete submission to the head. This is a perfect representation of God's finished creation, the body of Jesus Christ. They will speak with the voice of many waters and will be of one mind.
In that day, he said, I will turn to the peoples a PURE language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one MIND. Isn't this a wonderful vision of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus? We have seen that the human body is one of the hidden things that are made. It represents Jesus Christ and his body of Sons, the image of God. In the following chapters we will see other natural things that represent
Jesus and his body.
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