The Spiritual Universe
By Chaumont Devin

                                   Chapter 1.

     The Pillar of Life.



     "Him that overcometh will i make a pillar in the temple of my
God." Revelation 3:12.

     Now lend me your imagination for a moment, and picture man as a
living pillar, standing between earth and God.  This pillar we shall
call "The Pillar of Life."  It is made up of three blocks.  Top
down, these are spirit, soul, and body.  The image you should have
in your mind is that of a support pillar, the base of which rests
upon the earth, and the top of which touches God.  This pillar
should be standing in a bacground of earth and sky.  The horizon
should bisect the area obscurred by the middle block, which
represents the soul.

                    ________________________________________
                    |                                      |
                    |                GOD                   |
                    |______________________________________|
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |   spirit   |            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |____________|            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    | spirit     |            |            |
                    |- - - - - - |- - soul- - |- - - - - - |
                    | matter     |            |            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |____________|            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |    body    |            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |            |            |            |
                    |______________________________________|
                    |                                      |
                    |              earth                   |
                    |______________________________________|

     "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1.  The background for our pillar of life is a blue sky
and a brown earth.  The original Greek and Hebrew words for "heaven"
are the same as the words for "sky," and the words for "spirit" also
mean "air" or "wind."  Heven is the abode of spirits, just as the
sky is the abode of the winds.  "God is a spirit." --John 4:24A.
And "God is in heaven." --Ecclesiastes 5:2B.  But God is not alone.
God is "The Father of Spirits (Hebrews 12:9)," and a host of other
spiritual beings stand continually before his throne.  "I saw The
Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by
Him on his right hand and on his left.  And The Lord said, who shall
persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at RamothGilead? and one
said on this manner, and another said on that manner.  And there
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came forth a spirit, and stood before The Lord, and said, I will
persuade him." --i Kings 22:19-21.  Satan is also counted among
them.  "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before The Lord, and Satan came also among them. --Job
1:6.  And so are the elect of god still living on the earth, a fact
we will discuss in more detail later.  (God) "hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus." Ephesians 2:6.  This background of blue sky, peopled with
its hosts of spiritual beings, we will call "The Spiritual
Universe."

     In Western philosophy,it is commonly supposed that our idea of
the atom originated with the Greeks.  Yet it is a well-known fact
that many Hebrew words are used with extended meanings.  For
example, "ruach" means either "air," "wind," or "spirit."  "Nephesh"
means either "breath" or "soul."  So why not refer to the particles
of the material universe (The "earth") simply as "dust?"  This, in
my opinion, is exactly what the ancient Hebrew scholars did,
recognizing the particle character of matter centuries before the
"atom" of the Greeks.  And this "dust" is said to be of the "earth,"
the brown lower half of our background, which we will now call "The
Material Universe."

     Here, once again, scripture is uncannily correct.  But the
Bible was never meant to reveal the secrets of the material universe
to men.  No, the Bible is the document of the human struggle for
spiritual life.  Jesus could have told us anything we have ever
learned about nuclear physics and the atom, and much more, but this
was not his purpose.  "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and
to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly." --John 10:10.  As a matter
of fact, even the things he did say were not believed.  "If I have
told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe,
if I tell you of heavenly things?" --John 3:11.

     "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.  As
for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he
flourisheth.  For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the
place thereof shall know it no more. --Psalm 103:14-16.  All living
form springs from the "dust" of the material universe, which I
sometimes like to think of as the "particular" universe.  From the
dust it borrows its form, from the dust it derives its nourishment
and sustainance for as long as it lives, and to the dust it must
ultimately return.  This is true of flora:  "And God said, let the
earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree
yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the
earth: and it was so." --Genesis 1:11.  "And out of the ground made
the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and
good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and
the tree of knowledge of good and evil. --Genesis 2:9.  It is also
true of fauna:  "Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast
of the field, and every fowl of the air." --Genesis 2:19.  And of
man:  "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. . ." --Genesis 2:7.
All terrestrial life is planted firmly on the ground.

     To understand our pillar, let us examine the creation of life
itself.  The first block, set firmly upon the earth, is "organism,"
"body," or "living form."  Plants and trees predominate on this
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first level of life, so we will paint it green.  It flourishes,
blooms, and dies, and is resolved back into the molecules, atoms,
and particles from whence it came.  This first block has no
appearant intelligence at a conscious level, however intelligent it
may actually be.

     Next, we have living form with conscious intelligence.  Some
Hebrew of long ago must have noticed that creatures possessing
conscious intelligence, or "soul," were creatures that also
breathed.  So the Hebrew word, "nephesh," meaning "breath," was
given the meaning, "soul."  This level of life is dominated by
animals, which have breath and blood, so we will paint our second
block red.  This is appropriate, because Genesis 9:4 states that the
"life," which is translated from "nephesh," is in the blood.  It may
surprise the reader to find that creatures having soul include such
animals as mice, fish, lizards, and even bugs.  This is not clear in
the King James translation of Genesis 1, but can easily be
ascertained with a minimum of research.  It will be found that the
"breath" in the words "breath of life" is consistantly translated
from our old friend, "nephesh," which can mean either "soul" or
"breath."  Conscious intelligence is supported by living form,
which, as we have noted, always springs from the "earth," or the
"ground."

     The third block we call "spirit."  It is invisible, so we will
paint it white.  Soul is characterized by conscious intelligence,
but spirit is characterized by God-consciousness.  Just as soul
rested upon living form, so now spirit rests upon living form and
soul.  in each step of the creation of life, the previous step has
been retained, but God has added something new.  So man shares
living form with all other species of terrestrial life, and this
life springs from the dust of the earth.  But he only shares
conscious intelligence with animal life.  His spiritual life seems
to be shared with no other form of terrestrial being at all.

     The English word, "spirit," is usually translated from Hebrew
"ruach," or Greek "pneuma," in the King James version of the Bible.
But there is another word that may cause confusion.  The word,
"angel," is often used to mean "spirit" as well. "Then said they,
"it is his angel." --Acts 12:15. "The Sadducees say that there is no
resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess
both." --Acts 23:8. "Their angels do always behold the face of my
father which is in heaven." --Matthew 18:10.  "...A voluntary
humility and worshipping of angels..." --Colossians 2:18.

     But what is a spirit like?  It is like God, who is "...eternal,
immortal, invisible..." --1 Timothy 1:17. "The wind bloweth where it
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell
whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born
of the spirit." --John 3:8. It is not made of matter: "Handle me,
and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."
--Luke 24:39.

     And what can a spirit do?  It can sense: ". . . those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and
evil." --Hebrews 5:14. It can see: "Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God." --Matthew 5:8. "Then answered Jesus and
said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do
nothing of Himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things
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soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.  For the Father
loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and
He will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel."
--John 5:19-20. It can eat:  "Man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." --Matthew
4:4. It can drink: "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall
give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
--John 4:14.  "and the spirit and the bride say, come. and let him
that heareth say, come. and let him that is athirst come. and
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. --Revelation
22:17. It can walk: "Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh." --Galatians 5:16.

     We often say that we "sense" the presence of the holy spirit.
And the prophets repeatedly "heard" the word of the Lord.  Actually,
the human spirit has two major functions in our lives.  First, it is
a channel of communications between God and man.  Second, it is a
channel for the inflow of the power of God.

     "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." --i
Corinthians 15:44.  It is convenient to think of the human spirit as
a second body, existing in the spiritual universe.  The physical
body springs from the atoms and molecules of the material universe,
while the spiritual body springs from God.  The physical body
derives its nourishment from the earth, while the spiritual body
derives its sustenance from God.  And upon physical death, "Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it. --Ecclesiasties 12:7.

     The soul of man, the central block of our pillar of life, has
access to the physical environment through the organs and senses of
the body, and to God through the senses of the spirit.  Like the
original Adam, Jesus had perfect spiritual life, existing
simultaneously on earth and in heaven: "No man hath seen God at any
time, the only begotten Son, which IS in the bosom of the Father, He
hath declared Him." --John 1:18. "No man hath ascended up to heaven,
but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which IS in
heaven." --John 3:13. This was the original plan of God for man.
Paul expressed this idea with the words: "and the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ." --i Thessalonians 5:23.
















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                             THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE

                                   Chapter 2

     A WORD ABOUT INTELLIGENCE

     Solomon on wisdom:
"22.  The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His
works of old.
23.  I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the
earth was.
24.  When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were
no fountains abounding with water.
25.  Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I
brought forth:
26.  While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the
highest part of the dust of the world.
27.  When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a
compass upon the face of the depth:
28.  When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the
fountains of the deep:
29.  When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not
pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the
earth:
30.  Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily
His delight, rejoicing always before him;" --Proverbs 8.

"1.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
2.  The same was in the beginning with God.
3.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing
made that was made." --John 1.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And the
earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said..." --genesis 1:1-3.

"through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word
of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which
do appear."  Hebrews 11:3.

"By the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing
out of the water and in the water." --2 Peter 2:5.

"The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same Word are kept
in store." --2 Peter 2:7.

"By Him all things consist.  Colossians 1:17.

     Not only was the universe created by the word of God, but it
continues to hang together by the same means.  It is interesting to
note that the Greek word translated "Word" in John 1 is "Logos."
This  is the Greek root of the "-ology" suffix used in the names for
scientific disciplins.  It is also interesting that there are many
"-ologies," some truly scientific, some not so scientific, but that
physics,the science that deals with the real "logos" of physical law
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is not one of these.  From this Greek root also we have the English
word, "logic."  It is well-known in physics that the material
universe is governed by the logic of physical laws.  Physical life
forms obey the same laws, but life is characterized by something
more.

     "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." --John
1:4.  This something more than the logic of physical laws is called
"light," or "intelligence."  The logic of the material universe
deals with such things as mass, distance, velocity, and force.
These things are used by life for its expression, but have no life
or intelligence of their own.  This is why people show their
fundamental ignorance of reality when they call God a "Force."  God
is intelligent,and alive, attributes that cannot be possessed by a
force.  There is nothing known to man that has life without
intelligence, or intelligence without life.  We have endowed
computers with intelligence, though they have no life, but this
intelligence is only an extension of our own intelligence and life,
just as our own comes from God.  It is obvious that intelligence is
inextricably bound up with life, and that both come from God.

     We are familiar with at least two types of intelligence.  These
are (1) intelligence without conscious awareness, and (2)
intelligence with conscious awareness.  For convenience, we will
call the first type "unconscious" or "subconscious" intelligence,
and the second "conscious" intelligence or awarness.   Of the two,
remarkably, the first seems to be incomparably greater than the
latter.  Examples of functioning unconscious intelligence include
such things as the beating of the heart, the balancing of the PH
level of the blood, hair growing back to exactly its original length
on one's arm.  In short, control of all the complex motor and
chemical processes that go on inside the human body and other living
things.  Conscious intelligence includes such things as thinking
about a problem, or recognizing the face of a friend .  Conscious
intelligence is suported by many levels of unconscious intelligence,
and is characterized by the phenomena of conscious awareness and
thought.

     An interesting and fundamental characteristic of intelligence
is that it has no mass.  For example, a computer program is an
intelligence.  It can take over a computer and make it run.  Many
modern computer programs are almost like a sort of artificial
personality.  A computer program can be stored on a medium, such as
a computer disk, from which it can be "loaded" into a computer's
memory.  Yet the disk weighs no more or less with a computer program
on it than it did before.  Computer programs are sold for hundreds
of dollars, because without them a computer can perform non of its
tasks.  But an "empty" computer weighs no more or less than it does
with a program inside.

     This brings us to another curious aspect of intelligence.  For
intelligence to function, it seens to require some type of host.  So
life, which is a form of intelligence, uses the material universe as
a host.  Conscious awareness, which is another kind of intelligence,
uses an animal body and brain as its host.  A computer program uses
a computer as its host.  The written word uses paper and ink as its
host.  The spoken word uses the medium of the air.  Etc.  But
intelligence is not matter.  It is not the body of an animal, nor a
computer, nor the written page, nor yet the air.  In all cases
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stated above, matter, in various forms, somehow acts as host to
intelligence, which is massless, invisible, and not material at all.
This is Einstein's "mind over matter."  This is Paul's "The letter
killeth, but the spirit giveth life." --2 Corinthians 3:6.  And
Jesus' "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that i speak unto you, they are spirit, and they
are life." --John 6:63.

     So does it follow that intelligence is spiritual?  In other
words, being massless and invisible, is it part of the spiritual
universe?  Appearantly not.  It seems rather that intelligence can
use either matter or spirit as host.  God is a spirit (1 tim. 1:17,
john 1:18, and john 4:24), and God is intelligent.  The angels are
spirits (Psalm 104:4), and the angels are intelligent.  So
intelligence is something that can exist in both material and
spiritual universes.

     Another aspect of intelligence IS ITS TEMPORAL CHARACTER, THAT
IS, as we know it, INtelligence cannot exist independently of time.
Intelligence can be stored as information on a computer disk, a
written page, or for a fleeting moment in the air.  But for a
computer program to run it must be loaded into a host computer,
whose internal mechanism is governed by a clock, which keeps time.
All life forms are in one way or another sensitive to the passage of
time.    The written word can be stored on the pages of a book for
years, but to exist as intelligence, it must be incorporated into
the human mind, which is functioning in real time.

     This brings us to an important observation.  Distance means
nothing in the spiritual universe ("...When ye are gathered
together, and my spirit..." --1 Corinthians 5:4), but spirits are
subject to time.  "The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me
one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me..." --Daniel 10:13.

"9.  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar
the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held:
10.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, how long, o Lord,
holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth?
11.  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was
said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed
as they were, should be fulfilled." --Revelation 6:9-11.  We do not
know, however, whether or not time in the two universes is the same.

     Let us now examine intelligence in the three major blocks of
terrestrial life.  All living forms are endowed with incredible
resources of intelligence, but not all have conscious intelligence.
And when they do, the conscious intelligence they possess is
enormously inferior to their intelligence at an unconscious level.
It is well known that at a subconscious level the simplest life
forms have more intelligence built into them than man has at a
conscious level.  For example, men can create mechanical devices
that can fly to the moon, yet no one has ever designed anything as
complex as a blade of grass.  Nor can we begin to fully understand
the chemical processes that are controlled by the unconscious
intelligence within such an organic "device."  We do not begin to
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have space here to explore the simplest example of living form.  Not
only that, but we do not even possess one example understood well
enough to be duplicated by man.  Yet people who call themselves
"scientists" would have us believe that such things happen by
accident instead of by plan.  To wander alone into the forest is to
surround oneself not by curious accidents of evolution, but by
untold myriads of expressions of the unsearchable intelligence of
God.

     The darwinian idea of spontaneous evolution suffers from one
fundamental and fatal flaw: it is based upon the assumption that
life arises from matter, and that intelligence arises from life, all
by accident.  In reality, without intelligence there can be neither
matter nor life.  Modern physics comes closer and closer to
understanding this reality, almost by the minute.  Without
intelligence, randomness (the "chaos" of Genesis 1) will simply
increase.  It is only by the intelligent application of logic that
we now have living form.

     A piece of intelligence is injected into the material universe.
Just how this happens is not understood.  It is allowed to take
control of atoms and molecules, producing order and physical form.
It performs the functions for which it was designed, and terminates,
like a program in some giant computer.  At least some of its
original intelligence is passed on.

     This brings us to another fundamental problem with the idea of
spontaneous evolution.  It is commonly believed that all the
information necessary for an organism's development is contained in
the D N A of the organism's first cell.   Experiment shows that D N
A controls physical form.  Unfortunately for the theory of
spontaneous evolution, no experiment has ever shown how.  As a
matter of fact, from the standpoint of current technology, such an
assumption can only be thought of as bizarre.  At least two
alternative possibilities come to mind, both involving intervention
by an intelligence or intelligences external to the organism itself.
(1) The genes along the D N A might serve as a sort of check-list to
be refered to by an external intelligence developing the physical
form.(2) The genes along the D N A might serve as receptors tuned to
receive information for the development of a single trait in the
organism.

     Whatever the case, locked within each living form are resources
of information such as would clog the libraries of the world could
it be reduced to print, and resources of logic such as might make
mockery of our most advanced computing machines, for example, the
Cray.  Together, these two features of living form spell one thing:
intelligence, or light.  This is the intelligence of God, written
inimitably upon every tiniest specimen.  It is high time we stopped
deceiving ourselves with silly ideas of spontaneous evolution, and
started laying the credit where it is due: not at the feet of those
who ask us to close our eyes to the manifold witness of reality in
order that we acclaim THEM, but at the feet of that age-old being
before whom intelligence and life go on rejoicing millenium after
millenium.

"And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it
not." --John 1:5.

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"The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because
that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they
became fools." --romans 1:20-22.

     But what about conscious intelligence?   This thing we call
"soul" is composed of three elements.  The first I have called
"computer," because that is really what its function is.  Not
"intellect," which is something else.  A computer is essentially a
central processing unit, capable of performing logical and
mathematical operations, and a memory, holding processing
instructions and information.  The animal soul has very
sophisticated versions of both.  The second element, the "emotions,"
is made up not only of emotions, but of all feelings, instincts and
drives.  This component is far less easily understood than the
computer, and man has yet to design a comparable machine.  So far,
no one has ever made a machine capable of suffering.  The third
component, which I have called "will," is even less easily
understood than the emotions.  I don't think we even know what it
is, let alone how it works.  It is the component of the soul that
considers, decides, and makes sure that decisions are carried out.
Sometimes it appears to be a separate component of the soul.  At
other times it would seem that it is not.  But it must exist if
there is such a thing as "free will."

     To illustrate just how these three components work, allow me to
give you a simple example.  A tuna fish is swimming at a certain
velocity through the sea.  The sight of a minnow is fed into the
soul of the tuna through its eyes.   The computer checks the form of
the minnow against its memory, and identifies it with images and
patterns already there.  The tuna remembers eating minnows before,
and the feeling of satisfaction that arose from the experience
before.   The idea of the minnow evokes a feeling of hunger in that
component of the tuna's soul which I have called the "emotions."
The computer begins making rapid calculations as to course changes
and energy required to intercept the minnow.  The computer reports
that an intercept is feasable.  The emotions are coming alive with
the instinct to attack.  The will then makes the decision, "i will
attack!"  The computer guides the tuna through a series of intricate
adjustments.  Course is altered by x degrees in the horizontal, and
by y degrees in the vertical plane.  Speed is increased by a precise
amount.  The jaws of the tuna snap shut at the exact instant, and
the minnow ends up inside.  The feeling component responds with
satisfaction, and the computer files all the important facts of the
experience away for future reference.

     Perhaps the will would have shown up more clearly if the minnow
had taken some evasive action which would have made the effort of
catching it more than the meal was worth, yet the tuna persisted
anyway, because it had made up its mind.

     At the risk of being accused of projecting human emotions onto
the animals, I will positively state that it is intuitively obvious
that animals have computer, emotions, and will.  Animals can clearly
experience such things as joy, love, hate, anger, fear, etc.  They
remember, and know, and they can perform exceedingly complex
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mathematical calculations.  They can also decide to do things, and
carry through their own decisions.  But they appear to have no
conscience, no knowledge of sin, and no conscious awareness of God.

     It is tempting to think of organism as hardware and spirit as
software, but things turn out not to be so simple.  The middle block
of our pillar is divided into two parts by a horizontal line.  This
is the imaginary line separating our two universes.  Everything
above this line is "spirit," and everything below this line is
"matter."  Spirit seems to be a sort of medium in which the soul can
exist with inward consciousness, including that of the passage
oftime.  "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of
the flesh; but they that are after the spirit the things of the
spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace.  Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
--Romans 8:5-7.  Part of the soul is flesh, and part is spirit.
Like the animal soul, or intelligence, both parts have computer,
emotions, and will.  And yet these two parts are inextricably fused
into one for as long as we live on the earth.  The spiritual
consciousness has spiritual drives: to worship God, and do his will,
to pray, to read the word, to win souls, etc.  The physical
consciousness wants to emphasize and preserve itself, to breath, to
drink, to eat, procreate, etc.  These two sets of drives are often
in conflict with each other.  "The flesh lusteth against the spirit,
and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to
the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
--Galatians 5:17.

     A clear understanding of this dual character of human
intelligence may offer great insights into the mysteries of the
human mind.  For example, why human intelligence is said to be
"reflective."  Why animals are thought only to know, whereas humans
know that they know, etc.  An awareness of the spiritual aspect of
human intelligence may help to explain many traits that are uniquely
human.  For example, why humans create music, have what is called
"conscience," have a compelling drive to worship, even if the object
of worship is known to have no power at all, etc.

     The conscious intelligence, however, is focused outward.  In
the animals, it is directed toward the physical environment.  This
gives the animal rapid mobility, and the ability to rapidly interact
with its environment, both of which require breath and blood.  It
has feelings of hunger, and pleasure, and pain, but it is
consciously aware of none of the complex chemical processes which
give it life.  As an animal, man has all of these features of
conscious intelligence as well.  And besides these, man has
something similar in the spiritual universe.  In the "cool" of the
day (translated from "ruach," meaning "spirit") he can walk and talk
with God.  But once again, his conscious intelligence is directed
outward, so that the deeper mysteries of life remain locked within.

     The Hindu mystics have been seduced by an awareness of this
inner intelligence since history began.  To understand and control
the intelligence within remains their unfading dream.  But they have
discovered less in 5,000 years of turning inward than modern
science, using impirical means, can discover in one good day.  The
truth is that there is a barrier between conscious and subconscious
intelligence that has never been breeched by man.  This must be the
Page 10
flaming sword at the east end of Eden, spoken of in Genesis 3:24.
We can no more learn the secrets locked within us by introversion
than a computer user can learn computer programming by using a
computer program.  And without understanding such processes, it is
silly to think of controlling them.  "Which of you by taking thought
can add one cubit unto his stature?" --matthew 6:27.  A little faith
in Jesus might have saved the eastern mystics a great deal of time!

     I suppose that God never wanted man to be very intelligent.
Otherwise, he would simply have altered the design a little, and all
of us would have intelligence beyond our wildest dreams.  If the
simplest of men could somehow externalize all the intelligence
locked within him to a conscious level, then that man would have
such vast resources of intelligence at his disposal as to make all
the scientific discoveries of all the ages pale into total
insignificance.  No,  "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a
man, I put away childish things.  For now we see through a glass,
darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I
know even as also I am known." --i Corinthians 13:11-12.  Our
awakening is yet to come.






































Page 11


                             THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE

                                   Chapter 3

                                        Death in the Heavens

     "And out of the ground made The Lord God to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life
also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good
and evil. --Genesis 2:9.  "And The Lord God commanded the man,
saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of
it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
--Genesis 2:16-17.

     God cannot lie("in hope of eternal life, which god, that cannot
lie, promised before the world began;" --titus 1:2.), and yet we see
Adam and eve walking out of the garden alive.  What really happened?
To us, of course, death is the ceasation of our all-important
physical life.  But such things are trivial to God.  Whatever we do,
the body is going to die anyway.  To be overly concerned about that
would be like being more concerned about the vehicle than the driver
in an automobile accident.  It is our spiritual life with which he
is concerned.  This is the part of us that relates us to him.  "Look
not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I
have refused him: for The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man
looketh on the outward appearance, but The Lord looketh on the
heart." --i Samuel 16:7.  Something terrible had happened to Adam.
No longer was Adam able to walk with God in the "cool" of the day,
for the word, "cool," is translated from the Hebrew word, "ruach,"
meaning air, wind, or spirit, and Adam's spirit was dead.  To God,
death is not the ceasation of physical life, the decomposition of
the body, and its resolution into the atoms and molecules from which
it came.  It is the death of the spirit.

     The human spirit comes out of God.  Like God, it is
indestructable and immortal.  So the spirit cannot decompose, and
cease to exist in the way that the body does.  Everything is still
there, but it simply won't work according to the way it was
designed.

     Thus the true meaning of death is not decomposition, but
separation.  Upon physical death, the soul is cut off from all
further contact with the physical environment.  It is useless to try
to communicate with the dead at the graves.   They cannot see, hear,
taste, smell, or feel through their physical senses any more.  They
have been totally and completely severed from further contact with
the material environment.  We cannot hear them, and they cannot hear
us.  In the same way, spiritual death means being cut off from God.

     Did Adam know what would happen?  Probably not.  And God
wouldn't warn him again, because God was after faith, which required
blind obedience.  So "sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
deceived me, and by it slew me." --Romans 7:11.  The problem was
that with spiritual death, Adam lost access to his source of Devine
power.  And without this power, sin would move in and take over his
life.  The first time he sinned, he had a choice.  But once sin had
Page 12
the mastery of his life, he was doomed to go on sinning again and
again.  His power cable to God was broken, and the old weapons upon
which he relied suddenly wouldn't work any more.

     "Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a
worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth," said another
blind man (John 9:31). And Jesus said, "They that worship Him must
worship Him in spirit" --John 4:24.  Of course God is omnicient.  He
knows all things.  And yet he is said not to "hear" sinners.  This
is because the human spirit, not the body, is the instrument of
communications between God and man.  So when one prays, matters such
as one's physical posture, whether or not one's eyes are open, even
the words one frames with one's physical lips, all may have little
or no relevance whatsoever, since the real issue is whether one's
spirit is working or not, alive or dead.

     As a communications device, the human spirit might be thought
of as a radio transmitter and receiver.  To communicate effectively,
all circuits and systems in such a device must be functioning in the
manner for which they were designed.  The smallest deviation from
this design, a malfunctioning of any of the smallest parts, such as
a tiny capacitor, resistor, or diode, may interfere greatly with the
effectiveness of the device.  And when something goes really wrong,
the radio transmitter/Receiver is said to be "dead."  All the
equipment is still physically there, and most of its component parts
are probably functioning as usual.  But as far as the real purpose
for which it was designed, the radio transmitter/Receiver is dead.

     Adam had once been the son of God: "Which was the son of Enos,
which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the
son of God." --Luke 3:38.  But now he had changed.  From "the image
and likeness of God," he had devolved to the prototype of fallen
man.  "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son
in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:"
--Genesis 5:3.  No longer is there mention of "the image and
likeness of God," for Adam had become something else, and his
offspring were born like him.  "Death reigned from Adam to Moses."
--Romans 5:14.  "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
--Romans 5:12.

     So not only Adam, but the whole human race has experienced
spiritual death.  As in Adam, the focus of life has shifted from
communion with God to the mundane task of eeking out a physical
existance:

     "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of
it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring
forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return." --genesis 3:17-19.

     This is precisely the condition of modern man, as Paul so aptly
described:  "god gave them up unto vile affections: for even their
women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27.  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the
woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working
that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence
Page 13
of their error which was meet. 28.  And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate
mind, to do those things which are not convenient;  29.  Being
filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit,
malignity; whisperers, 30.  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful,
proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31.  Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32.  Who knowing the judgment of
God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." --Romans
1.

     And without Christ, even the "good" among us are doomed, "For
the good that i would i do not: but the evil which i would not, that
i do." --Romans 7:19.  And "That which i do i allow not: for what i
would, that do i not; but what i hate, that do i." --Romans 7:15.
They try, and when they fail, all they can do is blame God or the
Devil: "If i do that i would not, it is no more i that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me." --Romans 7:20.

     Down through the centuries, God has been unfolding to us the
revelation of his will.  This revelation of God's will is called
"the law."  "Wherefore then serveth the law? it was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was
made;" --galatians 3:19.  Spiritual life was to come by Jesus
Christ, but it was necessary for people to know what God wanted of
them.  "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith.  But after that faith is come, we
are no longer under a schoolmaster.  For ye are all the children of
god by faith in Christ Jesus." --galatians 3:24-26.  Unfortunately,
people have not been capable of obeying the laws of God.  Some have
been cooperative, others have not.  But people have broken every law
that God has ever made.  Be it the easy abstinence from the eating
of a particular fruit, or the difficult keeping of sexual taboos,
man has consistantly broken all.  In fact, "By the works of the law
shall no flesh be justified." Galatians 2:16."If there had been a
law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should
have been by the law.  But the scripture hath concluded all under
sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to
them that believe." galatians 3:21-22.  Sin is defined as the
transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), and "All (human beings) have
sinned, and come short of the glory of god." --Romans 3:23.  And
"the wages of sin is death." --Romans 6:23.

     "But the gift of god is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord." --Romans 6:23.  "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and
to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." --John 10:10-11.
"For tHE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS HATH MADE ME FREE
FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH." Romans 8:2.  People already had
physical life.  Jesus came that they might have more abundant life:
not only physical, but also spiritual.  Mankind was on a downward
spiral of sin and death that would end in hell.  People were sinning
because they were spiritually dead.  The power of God was not coming
in, and they had become the servants of sin.  Sin is spiritual
suicide, and their sin held them in the condition of spiritual
death, and so the cycle went on.  But Jesus broke the viscious
Page 14
circle of sin and death by introducing the free gift of spiritual
life.  With life came spiritual power, and with spiritual power came
freedom from sin.  Without sin, death lost its sting.
"55.  O death, where is thy sting? o grave, where is thy victory?
56.  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our
lord Jesus Christ." 1 corinthians 15.

     And so, through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance from the
sin which kept us in bondage to spiritual death, we have undergone a
spiritual ressurrection, and been placed together in heavenly places
with Christ.
"1.  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and
sins;
2.  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3.  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4.  But god, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he
loved us,
5.  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (By grace ye are saved;)
6.  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7.  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Ephesians
2.

     So we have undergone the experience of spiritual birth, and now
embark upon our journey through spiritual life. "Wherefore laying
aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all
evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the
Word, that ye may grow thereby:" 1 peter 2:1-2.
























Page 15


                             THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE

                                   Chapter 4.

     Baptism.

"1.  Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and,
behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house
eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and
the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at
the south side of the altar.
2.  Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led
me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh
eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3.  And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth
eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through
the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4.  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters;
the waters were to the knees. again he measured a thousand, and
brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5.  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I
could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a
river that could not be passed over.
6.  And he said unto me, son of man, hast thou seen this? then he
brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7.  Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were
very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8.  Then said he unto me, these waters issue out toward the east
country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which
being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9.  And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which
moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there
shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall
come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live
whither the river cometh." --Ezekiel 47:1-9.

"1.  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2.  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the
river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of
fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations." --Revelation 22:1-2.

"and the Spirit and the bride say, Come. and let him that heareth
say, Come. and let him that is athirst come. and whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely." --Revelation 22:17.

"9.  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, how is it that thou,
being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for
the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10.  Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift of
God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink; thou
wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living
water.
11.  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with,
and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12.  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well,
Page 16
and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13.  Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this
water shall thirst again:
14.  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a
well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15.  The woman saith unto him, sir, give me this water, that I
thirst not, neither come hither to draw." --John 4:9-15.

"37.  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38.  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39.  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on
him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because
that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" --John 8:37-39.

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh
after me is mightier than i, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:" --Matthew
3:11.

"49.  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will i, if it be
already kindled?
50.  But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I
straitened till it be accomplished!
51.  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you,
nay; but rather division:
52.  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided,
three against two, and two against three.
53.  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son
against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the
daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter
in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." --Luke
12:49-53.

"4.  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that
they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of
the Father, which, saith he, Ye have heard of me.
5.  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." --Acts 1:4-5.

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
--Acts 1:8.

"1.  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all
with one accord in one place.
2.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3.  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and
it sat upon each of them.
4.  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance." --Acts
2:1-4.

"37.  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart,
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
Page 17
brethren, what shall we do?
38.  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all
that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
--Acts 1:37-39.

     Baptism goes hand-in-hand with believing and repenting, and
should occur at the same time or shortly thereafter.  The word,
"baptize," is a transliteration of the greek word, "baptizo," which
means "immerse."  Some say that this transliteration was used
instead of the english word to avoid conflict over the issue of
sprinkling, which had come to be commonly accepted as a substitute
for immersion by the "church."  Water baptism is a simple act of
obedience which clearly separates the sheep from the goats.  The
great majority of "Christians" reject baptism in favor of sprinkling
or something else, which is a clear indication of where THEY stand.
But Jesus said,
"19.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20.  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
amen" --Matthew 28:19-20.

     Since baptism is often socially unacceptable, it can be a real
test of one's willingness to obey and serve God.  Curiously enough,
this may be especially true among people who call themselves
"Christians."  This obediance aspect must be why Jesus deemed it
necessary to be baptised by John.
"13.  Then cometh Jesus from galilee to jordan unto John, to be
baptized of him.
14.  But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of
thee, and comest thou to me?
15.  And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now: for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. then he suffered
him." --Matthew 3:13-15.

It seems a little bit silly to suppose that if we fail to obey him
in water baptism we will somehow be able to obey him in anything
else.  And yet this first act of obediance, which seems so
insignificant to the seasoned warrior, is where many would-be
Christians make shipwreck before they have even begun.

     Marriage is the closest thing we have to baptism in everyday
life.  In marriage, a woman vows to be faithful to her husband "till
death do us part."  In water baptism one vows to take up his cross
and follow his Lord.  Both declarations are made openly, to be seen
and known of all men.

     How many baptisms are there? "one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
..." --Ephesians 4:5.  Sometimes people are confused, because there
appears to be more than one "baptism."  This is not the case.  There
is one baptism, but this baptism has two parts.  The physical part
of baptism is the immersion of the body in water, while the
spiritual part of baptism is the immersion of the human spirit into
the spirit of God.

     Water baptism is symbolic:
Page 18
"1.  What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace
may abound?
2.  God forbid. how shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?
3.  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?
4.  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans
6:1-4.

     But the real baptism is the baptism of the human spirit in God.
It is thus no coincidence that the Holy Spirit has been called, "the
water of life," "the living water," etc.  Physical baptism is
carried out by men, whereas spiritual baptism can only be carried
out by God.  John could baptise with water, but only Jesus Christ
could baptise with the Holy Spirit.  In water baptism, the human
body, which turns out to be mostly water, is immersed in a greater
body of water.  This is symbolic of what happens to the human spirit
when it is "immersed" in the Spirit of God.

     It must never be supposed that the experience of spiritual
baptism, which is the initial experience of greater spiritual power,
is not necessary because one has already experienced spiritual
birth.  Spiritual birth is the initial experience of spiritual life.
It is only after spiritual birth that spiritual baptism can occur.
And it is only by the power associated with spiritual baptism that
the life begun at spiritual birth can be properly maintained.  This
is why Jesus insisted that his disciples "should not depart from
Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he,
ye have heard of me." --acts 1:4.  It was not that they had no
spiritual power at all.   They had already been out exhorcising
demons and healing the sick.  But if they were to maintain that
spiritual life which was already in them, to stand, to fight, and to
overcome, it would be necessary for them to have within them a
higher level of the power and light of God; and this power was to
come with the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

     Still, it must never be supposed that baptism has any power to
save sinners.  Nor can it be regarded as some sort of pre-requisite
for getting into The Kingdom of God.  The thief on the cross went
straight to his rendezvous with Jesus in paradise.  Nowhere do we
ever read of anyone performing any kind of baptismal ceremony for
him, or for any other person already dead.  Nor do we ever read of
any infant baptism being performed.  Such things are blatantly
heretical, and an abomination in the sight of God.  By this time, we
should have the spiritual maturity to understand the words, "Except
a man be born of the water and of The Spirit, he cannot enter into
The Kingdom of God." --John 3:5.  Nowhere in this conversation with
Nikodemus is Jesus speaking of baptism.  The words, "Born of the
water," simply mean physical birth, which is accompanied by a rush
of fluid from the mother's womb.  Jesus is not talking of Baptism,
but comparing and contrasting physical and spiritual birth.  Nor was
anyone ever left out of The Kingdom of God because he failed to
speak in tongues.  The death of Jesus on the cross is the only thing
that ever saved anyone from sin.

     The idea of baptism for the dead, that is, to be baptised for
unbaptised people who have already died, springs from a
Page 19
missinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:29.
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead
rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?  From this
one missunderstood passage, people have woven a whole false doctrine
about substitutional baptism in the mistaken belief that without
being baptised it is impossible to be saved.  Creating whole
doctrines on a single passage causes many such errors.  All the
important doctrines of the Bible are supported by at least two or
three passages, and usually by many more.  What Paul is really
saying is that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then baptism has
no meaning, since baptism is symbolic of death and ressurrection,
both ours and Christ's.

     Yet spiritual baptism usually occurs through "the laying on of
hands."  "wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the
gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." --ii
Timothy 1:6. "then laid they their hands on them, and they received
the Holy Ghost." --Acts 8:17. "and when Paul had laid his hands upon
them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and
prophesied." --Acts 19:6. This idea may seem strange to us, but in
new testament times, it was appearantly so commonplace as to need no
explaination:
"1.  Therefore 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,
2.  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of
resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." --Hebrews 6:1-2.

     The Bible refers to the baptism of the human spirit in
different ways.  Among these are, "the baptism with the Holy Ghost
and with fire," "the promise of the father," "the gift of the Holy
Ghost," "being filled with the Holy Spirit," "receiving the Holy
Spirit," having the Holy Spirit "come upon" one, and being "sealed"
by the Holy Spirit.  Some of these phrases seem to refer to the
initial experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, while it is
obvious that others may also refer to a continuing or repeated
experience.

     "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit
of promise," --Ephesians 1:13.  In spiritual baptism, the whole
personality undergoes change.  The human spirit is "heated to
plasticity," then "imprinted" with the character and nature of God,
and this imprinting results in profound changes in the entire being.
"And the spirit of The Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt
prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man." --i
Samuel 10:6.  "If any man be in christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." --2
Corinthians 5:17.  In ancient times, people of importance wore
signet rings.  When they wrote letters, usually on parchment
scrolls, they dropped hot sealing wax on their edges, and pressed
these seals with their signet rings.  An unbroken seal of this kind
guaranteed the sender's identity to the recipient of the letter.  It
also guaranteed that the letter had been read by no one else since
leaving the sender's hand.

     And the baptism in the Holy spirit is a foretaste of the power
of the world to come.
"Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the spirit in our
hearts." --ii Corinthians 1:22.
Page 20
"Those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the holy ghost, and have tasted the
good word of god, and the powers of the world to come," --hebrews 6.

     Biblical evidence indicates that the baptism of the human
spirit is accompanied by inspired utterances in a language unknown
to the speaker.  In the King James version of the Bible, such
utterances are refered to as "tongues."  The fact that the
"Gentiles," or non-Jews, had spoken in tongues was taken as a sure
sign that they had received the Holy Spirit in exactly the same
manner as the Jews.
"45.  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished,
as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was
poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
46.  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. ..."
--Acts 10:45-46.
"15.  And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us
at the beginning.
16.  Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John
indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy
Ghost.
17.  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto
us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was i, that I could
withstand God?" --Acts 11:15-17.

     The record of the Bible is corroborated by the experiences of
men and women of our time.  Almost without exception, the people who
have believed in spiritual baptism as an experience separate from
that of rebirth have been people who themselves regularly speak in
unknown "tongues," and who believe that speaking in "tongues" is a
major indication of having been baptised in the Holy Spirit.  The
most important sign, of course, is the change that the true
spiritual baptism will bring about in one's intellect and life.
Speaking in tongues is merely an accompanying phenomenon.  Tongues
may not be the ultimate weapon against the forces of darkness, but
their absence can be a clear indication that something is wrong.
They are like the bubbles in boiling water, which indicate that a
critical temperature has been reached.  I do not believe it when
ordinary people claim to have been baptized in the Holy Spirit
without speaking in tongues, any more than I would believe that
water, under ordinary temperature and pressure, can remain fluid
beyond 212 degrees.  Many people have made such claims, only to
change their minds completely after experiencing the real thing.

     Here are some interesting facts about the five biblical
accounts of people being baptised in the Holy Spirit:
(A) All five are found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
These are Acts2:1-13, acts 8:14-18, acts 9:17-18, acts 10:44-46 Acts
11:15-17, and Acts 19:1-7.
(B) The word, "baptism" is mentioned in association with all five
cases, whereas many modern "theologians" try to dissociate the
receiving of the Holy Spirit from baptism.
(C) In four of the five accounts, an Interval had ellapsed between
the time the people received the Lord Jesus Christ and the time they
were baptised in the Holy Spirit, while many modern "theologians"
insist that people are baptised in the Holy Spirit at the moment
they accept Christ.
(D) In four of the five accounts, people were baptised in the Holy
Spirit through the ministries of people who had had the same
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experience themselves at some previous time.  It is no wonder,
therefore, if people do not receive the deeper experiences of the
spirit when they submit themselves to shallow disciplers, who have
never experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit themselves.
(E) In three of the five accounts, the baptism in the Holy Spirit
was accompanied by "the laying on of hands."
(F) In three of the five accounts, it is recorded that the
experience was accompanied by outward manifestations, including the
speaking of "tongues,"  While in a fourth case, such outward
manifestations are clearly implied, and in the fifth case it can be
proven that the person being baptised in the Holy Spirit, namely the
apostle, Paul, practised speaking in tongues on a regular basis
later on.  (G) As mentioned before, the fact that the Gentiles had
spoken in tongues was taken by the Jews as decisive evidence that
they, too, had received the Holy Spirit just as the deciples on the
day of Pentecost at Jerusalem.  This is in sharp contrast to the
teachings of many modern "theologians," who tell us that tongues can
not be viewed as valid evidence of being filled with the Holy Ghost.
(H) When Saul of Tarsus was baptised in the Holy Spirit, the "laying
on of hands" was performed not by an apostle, but by a disciple
named Ananias, disproving the teaching that only the original
apostles could excercise the laying on of hands.  These points
should be carefully considered if we are to understand the meaning
of the baptism in the Holy Spirit from the biblical evidence
available to us.

     For those interested in receiving the Holy Spirit with power,
we recommend the words of Jesus:
"9.  And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11.  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will
he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give
him a serpent?
12.  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13.  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him?" --Luke 11:9-13.

     If on the other hand, we deem it unnecessary to seek to be
baptised in the Holy Spirit because we suppose that we have already
received all there is to receive of the Holy Spirit when we first
believed, or if we suppose that the baptism in the Holy Spirit was
only meant for the twelve apostles, or for some former dispensation,
or if we are of the opinion that it is unnecessary to ask to be
baptised in the Holy Spirit or to speak in tongues or to receive the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, because the Lord would cause us to do so
anyway were it really his will, then of course we will never ask.
And if we do not ask, then we have hardened ourselves against the
teachings of Christ, and we will probably never "receive the Holy
Spirit."

     But if we do ask, then let us also SEEK for the Holy Spirit.
The first step in seeking something is to search in the places
whereit is likely to be found.  Who would look for palm trees in the
arctic, or rivers in the kalahari? (Written long before edna).  And
who would seek to be baptised in the Holy Spirit in a church where
the power of God is never preached.  We know that the power of God
Page 22
dwells in persons to the level of their own spiritual experience,
and that most people seem to receive the power of God through the
ministries of others.  So we are forced to look for this power among
the people who have it.  People who claim to have been baptised in
the Holy Spirit themselves.

     Not all such claims will be genuine, of course.  But it will
soon be evident to us which of them are, and which are not.  "Prove
all things; hold fast that which is good." --I Thessalonians 5:22.
So we will sift and weigh the evidence, keeping that which is good,
and rejecting that which is not, until we have received the power of
the Holy Spirit for ourselves.

     But we will not be plagued by fears of receiving the spirit of
the devil.  For we are confident that if even worldly men know how
to give good gifts to their children, then certainly the heavenly
Father must know how to give the Holy Spirit to his children without
giving them the spirit of the Devil.  God will not give us snakes
for fish, scorpions for eggs, or stones for bread.  Nor will he give
us demon possession for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We have but to
knok, and the door will be opened unto us.  And we are not afraid of
what we shall find on the other side.

     When I received the Holy Spirit, I was a lad of fourteen, on
the Moluccan island of Bacian.  I was worshipping and praising God
when I was cought up in a revelation of the light and power of God
that changed the course of my life.  Three people were with me, and
all laid their hands on my shoulders and back.  They were Edna Devin
(my mother, now gone), Gertruida Cia (one of her students, now
gone), and Joseph Latu (another student).  Since then, I have seen
people baptised in the Holy Spirit in many different ways, and
seemingly without any predictable pattern.  But there are two
circumstances that tend to be present in the majority of cases I
have observed.  These are (1) the proximity of people who have
already been baptised in the Holy Spirit, and especially the laying
on of hands, and (2) the act of praising God on the part of the
person who is later to receive.  Let me emphasize, however, that
neither of these conditions seem to be necessary at all.  But since
a very common factor is physical proximity and the laying on of
hands, I have often wished I might trace that chain of contact back
through my mother to the person who laid hands on her (I believe it
was a black woman in Seattle), and further and further back through
the many who must have given their lives, and  possibly all the way
to the day of Pentacost at Jerusalem.  Sometimes, under the pressure
of those who would denigrate my gift, I forget the splendor of the
rock from whence I was hewn, and the depth of the pit from whence I
was dug!  But in the milennia to come, perhaps I will be granted the
opportunity to have them stand for a moment before me in a line so I
can inspect them with humility and awe!










Page 23


                             THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE

                                   Chapter 5

                                  The Balance

"15.  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature.
16.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned.
17.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18.  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover." --Mark 16:15-18.

     Spiritual life begins with spiritual birth, but the baptism in
the Holy Spirit marks the beginning of the cycle of charge and
recharge with spiritual power.  "But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto
me both in Jerusalem, and in all judaea, and in samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth." --Acts 1:8.

     Part of the soul, as we have seen, is analogous to an
electronic computer.   But if we carry our analogy further, we will
see something else.  Of all the cables that connect a computer to
other things, there are only two basic types.  The first is for the
flow of information, and The second is for power.   Modern computers
are now being developed wwith properties that paralell those of the
human soul/Spirit even further, for some now contain built-in
rechargeable batteries.  The computer's battery is being
continuously recharged as needed while the computer is plugged into
its power source.  Should outside power fail, the computer's battery
immediately takes over.  No data is lost, and the computer keeps
right on performing as if it were still receiving power from its
source.  The battery is being drained, but if the power black-out
doesn't last too long, power will begin flowing in from the source
again, the computer's battery will be recharged, and everything will
go right on as before.

     This is exactly the way the human spirit works.  God is the
source, and the human spirit is the cannel for the inflow of the
devine power.  This infusion of power, then, is not a "one-shot"
occurance, but a process that is repeated over and over again.  In
Acts 2, " . . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
--Acts 2:4.  Then, in Acts 4, they were all filled again: "And when
they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they
spake the word of God with boldness." --Acts 4:31.

"He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; . . ." --i
Corinthians 14:4.  The mystical experience is an experience of
charge and recharge that builds the human spirit.

     In Acts, we have not one, but two accounts of the apostles
being "filled with The Holy Spirit."  We have already mentioned the
Page 24
day of Pentecost, when the spirit was poured out among them for the
first time.  Later, persecution led them to seek God again.  "And
when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they
spake the word of God with boldness." --Acts 4:31.

     In spiritual baptism, one is said to be "filled" with the Holy
Spirit.  Yet the baptism in the Holy Spirit should never be viewed
as a once-and-for-all experience."  Just because he or she has once
been baptised in the Holy Spirit, a person should not be regarded as
being "spirit filled" or "full of the Holy Ghost" for the rest of
their life.  When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, one's spirit
is charged with power, but this power will drain off with time, and
it will be necessary for one to be filled again.

     When one is "sealed" by the Holy Spirit, the imprint of God is
fresh upon one's heart.  But this impression will also wear off with
time, and it will be necessary to re-heat the wax, and press in the
signet ring again.  "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." --Ephesians 4:30.  When
one comes away from an encounter with him, one bears in one's being
a fresh imprint of the character of God.  When this happens, one
will come to a new understanding of verses such as the following:
"... the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and
ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing
teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as
it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." --i John 2:27.  The soft
wax is a symbol of the human heart, melted by the energy of the Holy
Spirit.

     We know that it was customary for the apostle Paul to pray with
"tongues" and with "tears."  "serving the lord with all humility of
mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the
lying in wait of the Jews:" --Acts 20:19.  The Corinthians were
evidently proud of their spiritual gifts, but Paul wrote to them,
"I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:" --i
Corinthians 14:18.  He also wrote, "He that speaketh in an unknown
tongue edifieth himself; . . ." --i Corinthians 14:4.  But it is
certainly not one's body that is "edified," or built up, when one
prayes in an unknown tongue, so we take it that Paul must have been
talking about the human spirit.  "For bodily exercise profiteth
little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise
of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." --I Timothy
4:8.  By praying in unknown tongues, people were somehow building
the strength and power of their own spirits.  The meaning of
"praying in the spirit" was clearly defined by Paul when he wrote,
"For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my
understanding is unfruitful." --i Corinthians 14:14.  The baptism in
the Holy Spirit, accompanied by inspired utterances in unknown
tongues is thus the initial experience that sets in motion the
dynamic cycle of immersion and re-immersion, charge and re-charge,
being filled and re-filled with the Holy Spirit and power.  And this
is the substance of spiritual worship and spiritual life.

"21.  Jesus saith unto her, woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when
ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the
Father.
22.  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for
salvation is of the Jews.
Page 25
23.  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father
seeketh such to worship him.
24.  God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth." --John 1:21-24.

"For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of
his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my
prayers;" --Romans 1:9.

"but now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we
were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the
oldness of the letter." --Romans 7:6.

"What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with
the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing
with the understanding also." --i Corinthians 14:15.

"praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints;" --Ephesians 6:18.

     If we grasp the implications of the principles we have been
studying above, and come to believe in the existence of this
supernatural power in our persons, then our whole approach to life
and worship may be transformed.  We may learn, for example, that
there is more than mere courtesy to a handshake.  That there is
virtue to be had from physical proximity to and physical contact
with people who have within them the power of God.  People may sense
the power of God among us with such intensity that they will be
driven to confess their sins and make peace with God.  We may learn
anew the significance of "the laying on of hands" for salvation from
sin, for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, for the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, and for physical healing.  And we may come to understand
Paul in a way we have never understood him before when we read, "for
the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." --i Corinthians
4:20.

     We have seen man as a pillar, standing between earth and God.
Now let us view him as a balance.  The soul, or intelligence is at
the fulcrum.  On the left we have the human spirit.  On the right we
have the flesh, the human organism we call the body.

"16.  This I say then, walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil
the lust of the flesh.
17.  For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit
against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so
that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18.  But if ye be led of the spirit, ye are not under the law.
19.  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20.  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies,
21.  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of
the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past,
that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22.  But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23.  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Page 26
24.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts.
25.  If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit."
--Galatians 5:16-25.

     Now tilt the balance to the left.  The flesh rises, together
with its passions and desires, and the spirit has nowwhere to go but
down.  This happens when we concentrate on the things of our
physical lives.  Sometimes people even cause this to happen by
trying to do good.  In an effort to overcome lust, they allow their
minds to become focussed on their own passions instead of on Christ.
They fail to understand that by thinking about their sins, they may
only get worse.

     We have no hope for righteousness in our own strength.  True
uprightness can only be achieved through the power of God.  Like
peter, we can "walk upon the water" only as long as we keep our eyes
upon Jesus.  ("water" is often used as a symbol of humanity in the
Bible.)

     Now tip the scales right.  The spirit rises, and the flesh has
nowhere to go but down.  This is achieved both by "keeping our eyes
upon things above," and by keeping the flesh down.    "But I keep
under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." --i
Corinthians 9:27."  We need to excercise our spiritual senses.

"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those
who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both
good and evil." --Hebrews 5:14.

     As a man, even Jesus Christ himself recognised and practised
these things.

"7.  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers
and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was
able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
8.  Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things
which he suffered;" --Hebrews 5:7-8.

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went
out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." --Mark
1:35.

"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain
to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." --Luke 6:12.

     Armed with this understanding, we will comprehend the crucial
importance of building our spiritual lives, that part of us that
Paul called "the inner man."  "That he would grant you, according to
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit
in the inner man;" --Ephesians 3:16.  When our cars run out of gas,
we don't get out and push.  We buy gasoline.  So it is with our
spiritual lives.  Fuel is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  When our
spiritual lives are not running right, it is useless to push.  We
need a fresh encounter with God.

     By now the reader should be able to see that scripture is
important and precise, and not to be trifled with as it has by our
Page 27
modern "translators," who don't seem to have the foggiest idea of
what they are about.  Or do they?  We need to zero in on the pure
milk, and then the meat, of the Word.  We need to be radically
transformed by the renewing of our minds.  We need to see the full
reality of what we were meant to be, and what our true potentials
are, and live accordingly, walking daily in the light of God.





















































Page 28


                             THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE

                                   Chapter 6

                             Faith and Presumption



     At this point we should be able to see the difference between
true faith and presumption.  True faith is not simply believing
something will happen: it is sensing that it will be the will of God
for something to happen, then believing and acting accordingly.  It
is not just believing anything, but it is believing what one has
seen and heard, through one's spiritual senses, of God.  In other
words, it is believing what one knows spiritually.  One can presume,
and try to convince oneself that any supernatural phenomenon will
occur, but it is highly unlikely that anyone will ever stand before
any mountain and say, "... be thou removed, and cast into the
sea,"Matthew 21:21) and have it actually happen, unless that person
first knows that it is the express will of God.  After all, one can
never really believe what one does not know.(Romans 10:14)  So true
faith is believing and acting upon what one knows spiritually.

     Considerable damage has been done to innocent believers through
the missinterpretation of passages such as James 5:14-15.  In recent
years, certain "faith healers" have succeeded in convincing
themselves as well as others that it is never the will of God for
anyone to be sick.  When such people fail, as they regularly do,
they typically bring the blame for their failure to rest upon the
victim of the disease.  "You're still doubting. you still don't have
enough faith. there's something wrong in your relationship with
God..." if the prophets and apostles of the Bible ever made such
inferences as these, they are certainly never mentioned in the Word,
unless it was when the disciples made the suggestion that a certain
blind man might have been so afflicted because of some sin, an idea
which Jesus rejected outright.(John 9:2-3)  The teaching that
healing and financial solvency are part and parcel of salvation
carries with it the brutal implication that if a person remains sick
and/or poor, he might not really be saved after all.  Such
teachings, which dissintegrate when confronted with either the Word
or reality, seem to be the cause of much added misery on the part of
people who are already afflicted and of much foolish arrogance on
the part of certain people who just happen to be well.  Healing and
abundance are gifts that God may bestow upon different individuals
at different times, but surely it would be dissasterous to confuse
them with the salvation of the soul.

     Often God will not work in the face of unbelief.  Jesus seemed
unable or unwilling to release the power within him with normal
intensity at Nazareth.  Why?  Could the unbelief of the people be
regarded as another power rivaling his own in intensity and
strength, and holding it in check?  Evidently not.  After all,
unbelief is not associated with power, but with a lack of it.  It
seems to have been merely that the Father was unwilling to manifest
his power to the people of Nazareth who were unwilling to believe.
The earthly ministry of Christ began when a woman believed that he
had power to turn water into wine.  Remember his reluctance?  "...
Page 29
mine hour is not yet come..." he said.  But because of the
persistant belief of that woman, God decided to move and the power
of God was minifested in the person of Christ at the marriage in
Cana.(John 2:1-11)  From these examples we can clearly see the vital
role of faith in facilitating the manifestations of spiritual
power.(Galatians 3:5)

      If it was necessary for people to believe in Christ before he
could release the power that was in him, then if we are to perform
miracles it must be IMPARATIVE that people believe in the power
within us.  It is clear that uprightness and honesty must be
engraved into our character, because if we lie about other things,
who will believe us when it comes to the power of God.  How
significant it is that the person whose faith triggered the first
miracle of his ministry was the one person on earth who must have
known Jesus best -- his own mother.  She knew of the power that was
in him, not only because of his birth and the prophesies which
preceeded it, all of which had taken place some thirty years before,
but because of the witness of his life.  By then she knew that no
one could ever have lived the kind of life that Jesus was living
before her eyes without a tremendous endowment of the power of God.
Of course, many people would distrust us, even if we lived as
perfectly as Christ himself, and it would probably be futile for us
to attempt any "mighty work" among a majority of that kind of
people.  But the stage will be set for the release of the power that
is in us when we come among those who have confidence in us, and
believe in the existance of the power within us.

     Sin, or rebellion against God, is the one thing that will
totally block all flow of the divine power into one's being.  This
is because sin results in the death of the human spirit,(Romans
6:23) which serves ordinarily as a channel for the flow of the
divine power into one's being.  Just as the roots of a tree absorb
water, (Psalms 1:3) so the human spirit absorbs the power of God,
storing and channeling it into the human soul and body, whence it is
released into the world.  Picture the human spirit as an inverted
tree, bearing fruit in the world, but with its roots deep in
God.(Galatians 5:22-23)   If the tree dies, the sap no longer flows,
and the fruits wither.  Sin causes one's spirit to die, and when
one's spirit is dead there are no more releases of the divine power.

     But the human spirit is not only a storage battery, or a
channel for the inflow of the divine power, it is also man's channel
for communications with God.  It is through one's own spirit that
one has contact with the holy spirit, and thus with God.  It is only
through one's spiritual ears that one can hear God, and through
one's spiritual eyes that one can see him, and know what he is
about.  When one's spirit dies, one can no longer sense the specific
will of God to act upon it.  The inner direction is lost and many
improvisations become necessary.

     From these things it is clear that one's spiritual power is
dependent upon one's relationship with God.  But it must never be
assumed that the reverse of this principle is true.  Jesus did not
condemn John the baptist, for example, because his ministry was not
filled with miracles.  On the contrary, he positively
stated,"...Among those that are born of women there is not a greater
prophet than John the baptist..."(Luke 7:28) nor, in his second
epistle to Timothy did Paul condemn Trophimus because it was
Page 30
necessary for Paul to leave him sick at Meletum.(Ii Timothy 4:20)
and Paul highly commended Epaphroditus to the Philippians as a man
who fell sick and almost died because of his disregard for his own
life in his work for the lord.(Philippians 2:25-30)  We would not
dream of questioning Jesus' relationship with God during the thirty
silent years leading up to the beginning of his ministry, nor do we
question Paul's relationship with God, though he was lashed, beaten
with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned. (Ii Corinthians
11:24-33)  Similarly, it is wrong for us to doubt the relationship
of others to God simply because they are sick, beset by
difficulties, or because we have never observed them releasing
spiritual power.  It is not miracles, happy circumstances, or good
health, after all, that count in our relationship with God; but a
life lived according to his will.

     It is in one's body that the divine power surrounding one's
person seems to be strongest.  This is obviously what the woman had
in mind when she said in her heart,"...If I may but touch his
garment, I shall be whole..."(Matthew 9:21)  And what the men of
Gennasaret had in mind when they besought Jesus that the sick people
of the land "...Might only touch the hem of his garment..."(Matthew
14:36)  And this is obviously why Naaman, the leper, was
dissappointed when Elisha failed to appear and "... strike his hand
over the place..." where he had the leprosy.(Ii Kings 5:11)  Things
closely associated with the body are also associated with the
release of the power.  For example, Moses' staff, David's sling,
Jesus' spittle, and the mantle of Elijah.

     This power can be released involuntarily or deliberately
through physical contact.  It may be released as casually as in a
handshake or even a backslap; but it has probably been released to
greatest effect in the deliberate laying on of hands.  "...These
signs shall follow them that believe..." Jesus said, "... they shall
lay hands on the sick and they shall recover..."(Mark 16:17-18)
Paul mentions a doctrine of laying on of hands in his epistle to the
Hebrews(Hebrews 6:2), and it is evident that the apostles were aware
of the power that could be released by the laying on of hands, and
employed the practice extensively.

     Paul not only practised the laying on of hands, but
handkerchiefs and aprons were brought to sick people from his body
for purposes of healing and the casting out of demons (Acts 19:12).
The intensity of the power in one's body is in a category higher
than the power surrounding one's person, and this power may be
released through direct physical contact, or even through objects
with which the body is closely associated.

     Now let us apply some of the principles we have studied to the
case of the patriarch Job.  Satan refered to the concentration of
power surrounding his person as "...An hedge about him, and about
his house, and about all that he hath on every side..."(Job 1:10)
The power of God was flowing into Job's soul through his spirit,
whence it was being radiated out through his body into the world.
It was manifested in the material universe on three levels of
decreasing intensity and importance.  First and foremost, it was
manifested in Job's soul, where it gave him power to be what God
himself called "... a perfect and an upright man, ..." --Job 1:8.
next, it was manifested in his body, giving him physical
invulnerability.  And lastly, it was manifested in his possessions
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and in his material surroundings, keeping order and harmony and
giving physical invulnerability to his children, his servants, and
his flocks.  When God agreed to withdraw some of the power so that
Satan could attack Job, it was the lowest level that was first to
go.  Satan moved in, destroying Job's children and possessions, and
wreaking havoc in his material environment.  The next level to go
was Job's body, which Satan soon covered with sores.  But without
getting into Job's soul, where the power was still too intense, it
was impossible for Satan to force Job to sin.  God would never
withdraw the power at this level unless Job sinned, and sin was
precisely what Job would NOT do as long as he still had the power.
At this point the attackes of Satan were reduced from the terrifying
destruction of property and human life to foolish babblings in the
mouths of Job's wife and friends.

     Notice how poorly this account conforms to the teachings of
many modern theologians.  God called Job "a perfect and an upright
man," and yet we are consistantly told that it is impossible for
anyone to be perfect or upright.  "We look perfect to God," say our
teachers, "because he sees us through the blodd of Jesus Christ.
And yet, even Satan himself was not able to accuse Job.  "It is
never God's will for anyone to be sick, they say, yet this was
clearly God's will in the case of Job.  "Anyone who has the lord in
his heart is always happy and smiling," they tell us, yet Job's
misery was accepted by God.  "When things keep going wrong for us,"
they continue, "it is because we are not right inside."  Yet Job's
relationship with God never changed in the least throughout the
calamities that befell him.  "It is impossible to conceive that God,
who is good, could ever cause anyone to suffer," they say.  Yet Job
blamed God for his torment, not Satan.  And Job's charges were never
denied.  "But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish
women speaketh. what? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and
shall we not receive evil? in all this did not Job sin with his
lips." --Job 2:10.  "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set
themselves in array against me." --Job 6:4.  "Therefore take unto
you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and
offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall
pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your
folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right,
like my servant Job." --Job 42:8.  Job's three friends, in a manner
exactly like that of those of whom we speak, had a cut-and-dried
view of reality in which there was no place for the kind of dynamic
interaction that was taking place between Job, God, and the devil.

     From what we have said above, it is obvious that spiritual
power must begin with spiritual life.  We are not told how Job came
to have the spiritual life that was in him, but we do know that
there are two simple steps by which it can be acquired at this time.
These are (1) believing in and accepting the forgiveness of sins,
the spiritual life, and the spiritual power available in Jesus
Christ; and (2) repenting, which includes being sorry for,
confessing, forsaking, and begging forgiveness for one's sins.
These two simple steps, when taken with true faith, will be followed
by the miracle of spiritual birth.  This new spiritual life, when
nurtured to maturity, will result in true spiritual power, instead
of the endless gimmicks and simplistic ideas of men.

                             THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE
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                                   Chapter 7

                                Spiritual Power

     "... I long to see you," wrote the apostle Paul to the
Christians at Rome.   "... that I may impart unto you some spiritual
gift..."(Romans 1:11)  But why did Paul deem it necessary to "see"
these people before imparting to them "some spiritual gift"?  Why
could he not simply have explained his spiritual gifts in a letter,
and left them to receive them on their own?  Was there something in
Paul's presence that was not in his letters?  "... I was minded to
come unto you before..." he wrote to the Corinthians, "...That ye
might have a second benefit..."(II Corinthians 1:15)  But what kind
of benefit?  Certainly Paul could not have been referring to his OWN
charming personality.  What was it then?  There was obviously some
benefit about Paul's person that was not to be gained from his
writings.

      Paul was evidently talking about the application of that thing
in him which he referred to in another place as "... the power which
The Lord hath given me to edification..."(II Corinthians 13:10)

     Wherever he went, Paul carried with him an endownment of Divine
power that hovered like a cloud about his person.  This power might
be released by direct physical contact, such as when he laid his
hands upon the brethren at Ephesus, when "... the Holy Spirit came
on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied..."(Acts 19:6)
Or when he laid his hands upon Timothy so that he could receive "the
gift" within.(II Timothy 1:6)  Or it might be released in a song, as
when the prison was shaken at Philippi.(Acts 16:25-26)  Or again, it
might be released by command, or utterance, as when he exorcised the
demon from the girl at Philippi,(Acts 16:18) or in the healing of
the cripple at Lystra.(Acts 14:10)  This power might also be used
destructively,(II Corinthians 13:10)  As in the blinding of the
sorcerer at Paphos.(Acts 13:11)  It is interesting to note that in
the last two examples, as well as in the quotation openning this
chapter, the use of Paul's EYES is mentioned.  Paul had the power of
Dod in his person, and the release of this power was invariably
accompanied by physical action of some sort on his part.

     But the apostle Paul was not alone in having this power.  Other
biblical examples include Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel,
Shadrach, Meschach, Abed-nego, and the apostle Peter.  Non-biblical
sources, though less reliable, are abundant, and reason demands the
assumption that at least some of them must be authentic.  Even now,
we are being constantly confronted by claims that this person or
that person possesses an endownment of Divine power.  Such claims
are open to our investigation, and their validity can be determined
easily by the test of reality.  Some are obviously fraudulant, but
it would be absurd to suppose this of all of them.  From the
writings of the past and the evidence of the present, it is clear
that a concentration of Divine power has always surrounded the
persons of men and women whose spirits are alive, that this
phenomenon continues to be with us in the twentieth century, and
that we have no reason to suppose that it will somehow dissappear in
the future.

     Yet the power of God behaves differently in different
individuals.  Not everyone has the terrifying countenance of Moses,
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nor has everyone the uncanny physical invulnerability of the warrior
David.  And, in the case of John the baptist, whom Christ acclaimed
as the greatest prophet ever born of women,(Luke 7:28) not once do
we read of the release of the power that was in him in the form of a
miracle. (John 10:41)  Jesus Christ could not do any great miracle
in Nazareth because of the unbelief of the people.(Matthew 13:58,
mark 6:5-6)  All people who are spiritually alive have within them a
measure of the power of God, but this power may never have reached
the required level or been subject to the right conditions for the
MATERIALIZATION of a miracle.  Many are not even aware of the power
that is within them.  Some, like John the baptist, have cherished
and cultivated the Divine power within them, but somehow hold it in
check.  Others, like Jesus in Nazareth, are restrained by the doubt
of the people around them.  But there are always a few in whose
lives the release of the Divine power has occurred so often as to
have become almost commonplace.

     The nature and intensity of the Divine power in one's person
will also vary from time to time in the life of the individual.  For
example, Christ, who could seem to do no great work during the time
he was in Nazareth, was certainly not limited at other times.  Luke
says that John the baptist "...Grew, and waxed strong in
spirit..."(Luke 1:80)  The prophet Elijah, who called fire down from
heaven upon his enemies at one time, fled from them at another.
Peter, who had denied The Lord to one person fifty days earlier,
stood proclaiming him before thousands after his baptisim in the
Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

     The intensity of the power of God within us is determined by a
combination of factors.  In the first place it is a function of the
level of our own spiritual experience.  In Paul's life, for example,
we read of no instance where Paul ever brought anyone to a spiritual
experience of any kind until after his own spiritual birth.  Once he
had experienced spiritual birth for himself, however, it seemed that
he was able to bring other people to the same experience almost
everywhere he went.  Similarly, we have no record of Peter ever
bringing anyone to the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit
until after his own baptism on the day of Pentecost.  Once he
himself had experienced the baptisim in the Holy Spirit, however,
the people in Samaria were baptised in the Holy Spirit when he laid
his hands upon them, (Acts 8:14-20) and the gentiles at Caesaria
were baptised in the Holy Spirit merely by listening to his words as
he proclaimed Christ to them, and by his presence, together with the
brethren from Jerusalem, in the room where they were assembled to
seek God.(Acts 10:44)  As a matter of fact, nowhere in the bible do
we have evidence of anyone bringing another person to a spiritual
experience which they have not experienced themselves.  On the
contrary, Jesus said,"...The disciple is not above his master; but
everyone that is perfect shall be as his master..."(Luke 6:40)
Biblical evidence strongly suggests that the intensity of one's
spiritual power is relative to one's own spiritual experience.

     Our conclusions drawn from present reality are in striking
agreement with the evidence of the bible.  In the years since my own
spiritual awakening, I cannot recall ever hearing of any case in
which the miracle of spiritual birth took place in the ministry of
someone who had not previously experienced his or her own rebirth.
Nor do I recall any case of spiritual baptism under the ministry of
someone who had not been previously baptised in the Holy Spirit.  I
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have heard of a case in Sarua, Indonesia, however, where no one was
known to have been spiritually baptised before, but the Holy Spirit
was poured out upon pastor and congregation at the same time.  It
appears that the Holy Spirit is ready to reveal the deep things of
God to people who are willing to seek him with an open mind, but
that it is impossible for anyone, regardless of position or
education, to impart any spiritual experience or gift that he has
not himself experienced.

     The human spirit is like a storage battery that is charged and
recharged with power in spiritual experiences.  The capacity of this
battery can be determined by the depth of past spiritual
experiences, but the amount of power that can be realesed at any one
moment seems to vary with the amount of time that has elapsed since
the last spiritual experience, and the depth of that experience.  No
spiritual experience can last anyone for a life-time, but the level
of spiritual power within us is being adjusted constantly to our
present spiritual condition, and our present relationship with God.

     Furthermore, the release of the power from one's person must be
in accordance with the will of God.  This does not mean, however,
that the power cannot be released from one's person without his or
her knowledge or/And consent.  It does not seem likely, for example,
that the dead Elisha could have had any inkling of what was
happening when the corpse was raised to life as it came into contact
with his bones.(Ii kings 13:21)  Nor is it necessary that the
release of power be accompaned by any knowledge of the specific will
of God.  Many people of spiritual power will pray for anyone who is
sick, or for any possible request, so long as there is nothing
written against it in the word of God.  Such prayers, though limited
by james 4:3, may often result in legitimate releases of spiritual
power.  Perhaps this is why james, making no provision for any
knowledge of the specific will of God, wrote "...Is any sick among
you?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray
over him, annointing him with oil in the name of The Lord, and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick and The Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."(James
5:14-15)  Perhaps he did not expect the elders to have reached the
level of spiritual sensitivity at which they would know the specific
will of God in every case, but he knew that fervent prayer could
move God to heal people, and that God would miraculously heal that
percentage of cases that it was his will to heal, providing the
elders were faithful in praying for the sick.  Thus, when it is the
will of God, and when the proper conditions have been provided, the
power of God may be released from one's person, even though one has
no knowledge of the specific will of God in a given situation.

     The highest level of spiritual power, however, is power with
the knowledge of the specific will of God.  Our ultimate example of
such power is in Jesus, who said, "...The son can do nothing of
himself, but what he seeth the father do; for what things soever he
doeth, these also doeth the son likewise..."(John 5:19)  It is
obvious that Jesus was acutely aware at all times of the precise
will of God in every situation, and that he never attempted to
release the power that was in his person without first knowing that
it was the will of God for him to do so.  It was only necessary for
him to "see" what God was doing, and cooperate, and nothing was
impossible.

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     No one knows how many times Jesus walked past the cripple at
the gate  "beautiful" without healing him, and we have no record of
him ever attempting to do so.

      Why not?  Obviously because he did not "see" his father do so,
as did Peter and John sometime later. (Acts 3:1-8)  They healed him
not because they believed that it was never God's will for anyone to
be sick, but because they could "see" God healing him through them.
Theirs was no plea or supplication, but a decisive release of power
in the name of the risen Christ.

     The power within us is released when we act in faith at the
place, at the time, and in the manner in which God wants us to do
so.













































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                             THE SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE

                                   Chapter 8

                               The Spiritual Man



     We have seen man as a support pillar or column, based securely
in the atoms and molecules of the earth, but extending upward into
God.  We have seen the progression of events in the development of
human life, from physical form, up through conscious awareness, and
into the spiritual realm.  But by now it must be obvious that the
central issue of life is not the struggle for physical, but rather
for spiritual survival.  The body, no matter what we do at our
present level of technology, cannot last more than a hundred years
or so, at best, but the spiritual life that is in us will outlive
the very galaxies of our material realm.  So, let us nowtake our
imagination a step further,and invert our pillar of life, so that
the material universe will lie on top, resting upon the spiritual
realm.  Then our pillar, instead of being planted in the earth, will
be resting securely upon God.  This model, confusing as it may at
first seem, may be the better picture of THE TWO, WHICH SEEM TO HAVE
A CERTAIN CURIOUS SYMMETRY.  And, interestingly enough, it seems to
coincide with an ancient Hindu model, in which God is viewed as a
vast underlying ocean upon which lies the material universe LIKE
NOTHING MORE THAN A SURFACE FILM.  But this concept is based
squarely upon the word of God."...He shall be like a tree planted by
the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper.  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the
wind driveth away." -Psalm 1:3-4.  In this passage, the experienced
reader of scripture will immediately see the river as a symbol of
the Holy Spirit, which is God.  "Jesus answered and said unto her,
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but
the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life." -John 4:13-14.  "But the fruit
of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:"  Galatians 5:22-23.  Here
the human spirit is again viewed as a beautiful tree, rooted
securely in God, and bearing its resplendant and inimitable
spiritual fruit.

     So the spiritual man may be percieved as a tree, growing up
into the world out of God.  All intelligence and life, we now know,
is directly traceable to God.  He is the well-spring and the source
who lives in every new man. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be
not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1-2.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new." -2 Corinthians
5:17.

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     And let us re-examine the following, if perchance the ancient
account will take on new meaning and form:
"7.  And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.
8.  And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He
put the man whom He had formed.
9.  And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that
is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also
in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and
evil.
10.  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from
thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11.  The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the
whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12.  And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the
onyx stone.
 13.  And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that
compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
14.  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which
goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is
Euphrates." Genesis 2.

     Now it is the spiritual realm that is terra firma, and it is
the material universe that occuppies the area associated with
abstruse things which fly away.  With our lives firmly anchored in
God, can we now begin to comprehend just how fleeting and
unimportant our physical lives really are?  The world was never
meant to be anything else but a testing laboratory in which our true
character would be found. The suffering we see around us seems real
enough now, but the worst pain and slow death are reduced to trivia
in the face of greater reality to come.
"I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." --Romans
8:18
and
"When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part
shall be done away." I Corinthians 13:10.
"Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I
know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." 1
Corinthians 13:12.

Indeed, the world may churn madly around us, but nothing can break
us as long as we are firmly planted on Him.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword?  ...I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord." --Romans 8:35-39.

     Is suffering necessary then? Obviously so.  Why?  Because in
this life our Creator is not looking to achieve in us riches, great
intelligence, worldly success, and such things; but an attitude of
heart that is right before God.   "The hour cometh, and now is, when
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." John 4:23.
Suffering, when not self-induced, seems to have a cathartic effect
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upon the lives of men.  American Christians often observe that the
church becomes weaker in direct proportion to the standard of
living, and this idea seems to have its roots in the Word.
"Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm
yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in
the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the
rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will
of God." 1 Peter 4:1-2.  When we complain about suffering, it is
probably because we do see as through a glass, darkly, and have a
reduced awareness of the ultimate destiny ahead.  The dentist's
chair might bring many more complaints, for example, if we thought
death awaited us at the end of the session.  But the dentist's
needle seems trivial when compared to the good results we know we
can expect after he is done.  We are even willing to pay for this
experience of pain!  How much more trivial all of life's sufferings
might seem to us, if only we could glimpse the ultimate goal!
Instead of looking outward upon our miserable surroundings to
complain, we should look inward, and see the palace our creator is
building inside.  This is the house built without hands, eternal in
the heavens.

     What THEN should we do when the sufferings of life come our
way?  Do we need Christian counselors, psychologists, etc., to help
us through our distresses and needs?  Correct counsel is good, but
what we need more is to look inward.  Not to turn outward to men,
but to turn inward and sound the depths of our being for fresh
direction fromGod.  In Him lie the true answers to all our questions
and needs.  But we must be patient when he doesn't respond, because
his purpose is not to make life easy for us, but to perfect in us
the character we need for the powerful new life that awaits us in
days to come.  We are locked out of the higher intelligence that is
in us, just as Adam and Eve were kept out of Eden by the flaming
sword.  We are confronted with a hostile world that keeps growing
thorns.  But we hold in our frail bodies the indestructable new man,
so long as we continue in Him.
"This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is
swallowed up in victory.  O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave,
where is thy victory?'" 1 Corinthians 15:53-55.


















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