Angels and Demons Part 5

Greetings,

                We have been in a series that is intense and at times very stretching. There are purposes for this knowledge, and what we will discuss this week will be one of those purposes. We left off by saying that the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:7 is primarily responsible for maintaining the divide or “veil” that separates our dimension from the dimensions where many of these fallen angels are trapped.

                “Do you not recollect that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining him [from being revealed at this time]; it is so that he may be manifested (revealed) in his own [appointed] time. For the mystery of lawlessness (that hidden principle of rebellion against constituted authority) is already at work in the world, [but it is] restrained only until he who restrains is taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:5-7 AMP)

                In order to understand the job of “he who restrains” it really becomes necessary to understand what the mystery of lawlessness is. The word translated as mystery is the Greek word musterion. This word primarily means that which was hidden now being revealed. Its primary relevance in the Roman culture was the information which was known to the mustes or initiated ones. The initiated ones were the practitioners of the mystery religions. In other words, the mysteries were the secret knowledge practiced and passed down by occult adepts. Here Paul makes the distinction “mystery of lawlessness” because he uses the same word musterion in other writings to refer to mysteries found in Christ. Here he wants us to know that the activity associated with mystery religions was well and alive in the earth. This is still true today.

                Mystery religions practice the occult. That’s what they do. They are responsible for doing rituals associated with summoning demons or even fallen angels. In order to summon certain fallen angels, as we discussed in last week’s email, they must be called out of their dimensions and into ours. This means that the mysteries these people practice will allow them to “sidestep,” so-to-speak, the barrier that separates our dimension from others. It is this activity that Paul is relating to the work of the restrainer. In other words, while the restrainer maintains dimensional separation, there is an ongoing effort to sidestep what the restrainer was put there to do.

                I’m not going to try to prove the identity of the restrainer to you but I will say this: the text does not tell us who it is. Some say it’s the Holy Spirit. The problem with this idea is that the Holy Spirit is God and God is omnipresent. How can an omnipresent being ever be “taken out” or removed from anywhere?

                In any case, whoever this restrainer is, he will one day be taken out of the way. If you have followed me up to this point then you have probably figured out what I am getting at. The problem is that when the force is removed that separates the earth from the dimensions where many fallen angels are trapped, our world will quickly change in many ways that elude the imagination. Today we deal with disembodied spirits of dead nephilim. They are like cupcakes when compared with the power of beings that are the direct creation of God.

                Consider this: the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 men in one night (2 Kings 19:35). No destruction like this has ever been affiliated with a petty demon. We are talking about two entirely different classes of entities. Are we really prepared for spiritual warfare to move to a whole other echelon? This is why I am spending an entire year on the topic of spiritual warfare. In Christ we have the victory, but we need to be prepared to enforce it. As what I am explaining to you begins to manifest, those that are unprepared and those that are lukewarm will undoubtedly fall away.

                The passage in 2 Thessalonians 2 continues to link the removal of the restrainer to the manifestation of the lawless one, otherwise known as the antichrist.

                “And then the lawless one (the antichrist) will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming. The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels--[all of them] lying wonders--And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 AMP)

                Notice that as we learn about the coming of the antichrist the Bible is clear that many signs, pretend miracles, and lying wonders will accompany him. I have previously explained that this is synonymous with what we see described in the sixth seal. Sure enough, as we read about the sixth seal in the book of Revelation we find that “stars will fall to the earth.” These will include the stars (angels) that are currently kept from us by the restrainer—they will return.

                “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” (Revelation 6:12-13)

                Now that we have established that many fallen angels will be coming to the earth at some point in the future, we have greater clarity on what Jesus meant when He said that the last days would be like the days of Noah. There was a point during Noah’s lifetime when fallen angels, their children, other related abominations, and men all occupied the earth at once. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.

                “And as it was in the days of [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” (Luke 17:26)

                However, even in saying all of this there is still activity I have yet to address. We have established a scriptural understanding for many things, but now we are prepared to dive even deeper. Next week we will get into the topic of genetic engineering and the creation of hybrid creatures and abominations. What we will find is that this is not something to be unveiled in the future. This is already happening.

                To be continued…

Transdimensional Church

              12/10/11

Greetings,

                The nature of the human spirit, particularly when considering the spiritual nature of the Christian, is truly an amazing concept. This week we are going to explore some deep spiritual implications regarding the spiritual nature and tie it in with our function as the body of Christ. We are going to pick up with a comment made by Paul in the book of Ephesians.

                “And hath put all things under his [Jesus’] feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23)

                This passage is the tail end of a prayer written down by the apostle beginning in verse 16. To be honest, I recommend to everyone that this prayer be memorized and prayed on a regular basis because it is supremely powerful. Nonetheless, when we arrive at the end of the prayer we learn some important lessons.

He begins by saying that all things have been put under the feet of Jesus. This is interesting because when I look outside my window I don’t actually see the foot of Jesus stepping on anything. Do you? Of course not! So then if all things are under the feet of Jesus, where are his feet? This sounds like a silly question but I am very serious. When we read this we often immediately think: Oh that’s just an expression. Is it really? I propose that it’s much more than an expression.

If we do not regard this as an expression then we have to figure out why when we look outside of our windows we don’t see the feet of Jesus standing on everything. How does this work? The answer is that the feet of Jesus, being located in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 10:2-4), are fixed in a dimensionally superior position. Jesus has been seated in heavenly places in the third heaven at the right hand of the Father.

“which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:20 NKJV)

Every dimensional realm or “heavenly place” where the activity of Satan is permitted is therefore underneath the feet of Jesus.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV)

In order to comprehend what I’m about to tell you, it is going to require a conscious decision on your part to stretch the realms of your understanding. Going into the deeper truths of God requires a dismissal of unilateral thinking. We often try to bring the Word of God down into a framework that accommodates a practical approach. This is okay at times, but to truly walk out our inheritance involves allowing the Word of God to bring us up into a heavenly framework to accommodate a heavenly approach.

Notice that the phrase “heavenly places” is plural in both Ephesians 1:20 and Ephesians 6:12. One group of heavenly places houses wicked spirits. Another group houses Jesus and the realms of heaven. The group of heavenly places that houses Jesus is defined by the Bible as the third heaven. Therefore, beneath this realm are more heavenly places that can be understood as the second heaven. This is the spiritual realm from which Satan and his kingdom conducts their activity.

Within the respective heavens are multiple dimensions. This is why the phrase “heavenly places” is plural in both occasions.  Notice that Jesus is seated in heavenly places. A single person (Jesus Christ) is said to occupy multiple dimensions. The existence that Jesus enjoys in heaven is a trans-dimensional existence. Moreover, this trans-dimensional existence extends right through the second heaven and into our world because the Bible says that Christ is in us.

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

Not only does Jesus Christ enjoy a trans-dimensional existence, but so do Christians. All humans are born as trans-dimensional entities because of the fact that we have a spirit. Our spirit participates in the spiritual realm while running our physical body on this dimensional plane. It is therefore, trans-dimensional. While we have a conscious mind (soul) and a subconscious mind (heart) we also have an unconscious mind which comes from the spiritual experiences that we have neither conscious nor subconscious awareness of. What distinguishes Christians from other people is the fact that our trans-dimensional nature extends all the way into the dimension containing the throne of God (which is the beginning and end of eternity). Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and we are seated in Him.

“and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6 NKJV)

This is why we can come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). Only once we understand all of these things can we understand the passage that we began with. Here it is again:

“And hath put all things under his [Jesus’] feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23)

The church is the body of Christ and the fullness of Him that fills all in all. Just as Jesus in His trans-dimensional identity fills all in all so that He is omnipresent, so the church corporately partakes of the omnipresent nature of Christ in the heavenly places. Doing battle with a church that has a full revelation of the power we wield corporately is what the devil is scared to death of. It is my prayer that as you meditate on this letter, you will begin to comprehend these higher concepts. There is much more that can be said on these things, but we will save that for another time.

Discussion

1.       Is the church the body of Christ?

2.       What does it mean to have a trans-dimensional nature?

3.       Is Jesus trans-dimensional?

4.       Are you trans-dimensional?

5.       What does this mean for the church acting in unity?