You are welcome to Return to God Forum. I am Dr. Danson Ubebe – Teacher and Author. This is Ep. 16 of our teaching series. It is the sixth of a sub-series; “Called to the kingdom of God”.
Our topic today is: Sleep and the way.
Objective: To show man was not created to sleep and how sleep can hinder knowledge of the way.
Text: Sleep is one of the normal things in life. But the way cannot be known unless a determined effort is made to first find what is the truth. It is insufficient to say Jesus is the way and the truth. .
Reflection on sleep and the way.
God revealed by scripture the things which belong to man (Deut. 29:29). But till now, most Christians, high and low, show little or no interest in knowing them. Two of the pillars of sanity in the faith are events from foundation of the world to birth of Cain and the knowledge of the way without being like doubting Thomas (John 14:5). Both capture the essence of sleep and the way.
The things God has revealed were once the mystery man keenly sought without finding out. So, he could not know how he got here, and where he is going. It may sound shocking to some that God did not create man to sleep, for like begets like, and God does not sleep (Ps. 121:4). It appears most people are ignorant of who is like Godhead among spirit, soul, and body. Be it known that it is the soul, and he is a spirit by reason of his Maker who is the father of the spirit of all flesh (Num. 16:22). Currently the soul is being converted by the law of the Lord to the glory of Christ (Ps. 19:7; 2Cor. 3:18).
The soul is like the word of the Lord amidst grass and flower. The grass withers, and the flower falls away, but the word lasts forever (1Pet. 1:23-24). Likewise, the grass is like the spirit formed within man (Zech. 12:1b), and the flower like the body formed as his exterior (Gen. 2:7). So, as the word lasts forever, so is the soul being renewed (2Cor. 4:16). But the spirit and body can
be tied by evil. This is the setting of scripture:
Today, man has twisted the setting like Jesus observed the Jews were like their father – Satan (John 8:44). Everyone claims to speak the truth and to hear from God. But say things contrary to God’s word which include to speak with one voice (1Cor. 1:10). And 99.9% of their predictions turn out false. How then can you say you know Jesus as the way when you do not know the truth? And how can you know the truth when you are asleep? E.g., Most believers do not know why man is a spirit, and yet, he is not the born-again spirit which is of God (1John 4:13).
You cannot understand scripture on your own. Everyone needs Spirit of truth to teach and remind him of what Jesus said (John 14:26), for the word of God is a spirit (John 6:63). It is impossible to understand it with school learning. Scholarship makes the faithful to speak subjectively like the ignorant. Those who know the truth speak with one voice, have same mind and soul, and work in unity or make same judgment, as one who follow the way (1Cor. 1:10). This was the manner of first century disciples whose labor was evident (Acts 4:32-37). It is for this purpose God gave the Spirit of truth to dwell in us as our teacher (1John 2:27). But man usurped the role of anointing of the Spirit of truth. Meaning he has taken the title of priest, so to speak, to himself disregarding God’s command against it (Heb. 5:4).
Most believers, high and low, threat the scripture like storybook. They present it repeatedly without in-depth knowledge. So, it is easy for them to believe man instead of God. E.g., They disown religion which is God’s pure and undefiled method of worship (James 1:27). Instead, Christianity is said to be a relationship as per opinion of man. Relationship is common in every covenant, even with the devil. But pure and undefiled religion is unique to God.
Mystery of sleep. God does not slumber nor sleep (Ps. 121:4), and Adam was likewise created, for like begets like. Adam lost his godly sight instantly he sinned. Hiding, as Adam did in Eden is a metaphor for sleep. It separated the soul from God. So, sin simulated sleep to keep man out of God’s sight, for He cannot look at sin (Hab. 1;13). Since then, man cannot see things like
God. So, to man sleep is for rest and reenergizing the body. But the primary function of sleep is to sow the soul like seed for him to wake anew in different form in another place (Lk. 8:5-8). The sleep separated the soul from God to be slave to sin he chose. It was in this context Jesus said Lazarus’ death was sleep which separated him from the living (John 11:11). It suggests Adam was asleep when God cursed him and clothed his nakedness etc.
The sleep in Eden separated man from God in spirit and body. Eden is on celestial earth with its glory (1Cor. 15:40). It is above the firmament. If only the spirit died man would have be looking glorious like God and like Jesus in His transfiguration until mortal death. But is it so now? Or man would have been born a zombie or sleepwalking, for dead spirit will oppose live body.
Transit of man from timeless to time-based life.
The timeless land is of celestial earth where life is forever (Gen. 2:17). The earth where God formed man is above a divide called the firmament. In it is the garden of Eden and the tree of life. Same tree is in the kingdom of God (Rev. 22:2). It suggests the garden of Eden is like the kingdom of God. It affirms Eden is lit by the light God called out of darkness to lay foundation of the world. This was proven in a previous video. Below the divide is the part of darkness that was upon the deep (Gen. 1:2). It was not reclaimed by the light God spoke to be. It was left as terrestrial earth (1Cor. 15:40), a place of refuge for sinful nature, of whom Satan is the pioneer (Gen. 1:5-8). In it, God created day and night, and the sun, the moon, and stars in the firmament to give light in turn to the hosts (Gen. 1:14-18). Adam woke up as a fully matured man on time-based life under the sun as slave to Satan (Rom. 6:16). Afterward his descendants subsequently began to be born from his loins as lave to Satan to this day.
The light Adam had in Eden is like the light which shown on Paul on his way to Damascus (Acts 22:6). Eden is on a different earth from earth we dwell in, like life after death in new Jerusalem is in a different earth. The day and night, sleep and wake, and seasons began on terrestrial earth. If you knew where you came from and going, shown in previous videos, you will fear God and keep to His word. And will not be careless about God told me this or that.
Childbirth is a replay of Adam’ s transit sleep.
Like Adam experienced pangs of iniquity and transgressions when he woke up below the sun, so is every baby born till date (Ps. 51:5) into an earth of total forgetfulness of God (Eph. 4:18).
A man begins to live life in sinful flesh when he wakes from this first transit sleep, oblivious of the way of God. So, he cannot see, hear, and receive knowledge of Him. Till he is awake to truth he will remain blind, deaf, and dull in heart and cannot know the truth and find the way to eternity. As a distraction he goes about gathering and collecting things that are dying
(Eccl. 2:26). The pleasure from them keeps him asleep to truth. But Jesus was without the defects.
`Hardness of man’s heart.
Between first wake and second death is the opportunity given to everybody to believe in Jesus, the Savior (Lk. 2:11). So, do not harden your heart to believe Jesus and to please God by faith, for he who comes to Him must believe that He is (Heb. 11:6). Jesus unveiled two pathways – one through the narrow gate to life, and the other through the wide gate to destruction (Mt. 7:13-14). The wide gate attracts multitudes, and these are who go to the house of prayers with reasons unrelated to Christ. But the narrow gate attracts remnants who go to fellowship to hear the voice of God.
To hold onto unproven dogma suggests a harden heart, unbelief. E.g., grace is unmerited favor. Faith in God till the soul receives salvation requires matching works (Phil. 2:12). But faith for worldly things through prayer and believe you have received it is different.
Finding the way.
To find the way is the priority of fellowship. In any congregation there are two groups of people. Both are fully awake from night sleep. But only one is awake to truth. The other is resistant to truth. This is the deceived and deceiving who sow seed of satisfaction by the content of what they teach and preach. They flood ears with sure salvation, prosperity and born-again without mentioning the daily sacrifice like Jesus first suffered for us before He was born-again (1Pet. 4:1-6), and Judgment Day, and lake of fire, etc.
These feeds define the Broadway to destruction in full glare of those asleep to truth. Only a few find and enter by the narrow gate to life (Mt. 7:13-14). Even Paul with God’s grace and despite his unparallel labor with Christ was not perfect (Phil. 3:13-16). It suggests it is self-deception to ignore warning about evil works (Gal. 5:19-21), etc. Those who give thought to the caution, scripture described as wheats, and those who ignore it as the tares.
The mix of tares and wheats is in every congregation. Only biblical knowledge by Spirit of truth enables man to know the groups. Asking questions is one way to learn.
Tares are asleep to truth.
These are the deceived and deceiving who preach and teach messages different from the gospel of the cross of Jesus and Him crucified which Paul received from Christ (1Cor. 2:2). It is the only gospel that guaranteed salvation of man (Gal. 6:14). Messages about gain of things that perish with the using cannot keep man saved. Scripture described the tares severally as goats (Mt. 25:32-33), the five foolish virgins (Mt. 25:3, 8, 10-15), and the foolish man who built his house on the sand (Mt. 7:25). Evidence of the tares are rigidity in allegiance to the minister and his ministry, and belief in church dogma which does not have scriptural validity. Tares are stiff-necked, unwilling to listen to superior knowledge and understanding of scripture, or even believe scripture. Neither are they critical about what they are told by their minister. Everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes (Deut. 12:8).
The tares believe in once saved, saved forever, and man and not God, and do not test what they hear with scripture. They are fond of saying God told them this or that, etc. They forget God will someday deny everyone who denied His word (Mt. 7:21-23).
The insert shows example of tares and wheats separated in a congregation. While wheats go to hear voice of God, the tares go to do church or personal agenda. But, (cont’ insert)
The wheats are awake to truth for they hear the voice of Christ. The wheats are of the truth (John 18:37). They teach and preach only the cross of Jesus and Him crucified (1Cor. 2:2). It is the only gospel which crucified the world to man, and those who faithfully believe to the world (Gal. 6:14). The office of a minister of the wheats is not for every Tom, Dick, and Harry to take to himself or be assigned by man or any worldly authority. Rather man can only affirm those who have been anointed by the Spirit of truth, for no man takes the honor to himself (Heb. 5:4-6). Hearing of truth comes by anointing of the Holy Spirit who also teaches men all things true and not a lie (1John 2:27). The minister is a bondservant of the people. It cascades down accordingly. The wheat makes it a habit to affirm if what he hears agrees with scripture before taking it to heart (Acts 17:11-12). Wheat is likened to the sheep, the five wise virgins, and the wise man who built his house on the rock. There must be a reason one submits to God (Jemes 4:12). To hear the voice of God is not necessarily by audible voice or face to face talk. It is to let the work one does to be right or be according to the word of God. Truth is to do everything in strict agreement with the word of God (Ps.33:3), for the word of God is truth (John 17:17). Devotion to the truth is the
way, which is the cross of Jesus and Him crucified (Gal. 6:14).
The wheats are remnants in a congregation. They believe the gospel of the cross of Jesus and Him crucified. If you deny it, what is the reason for your faith? Knowledge of biblical truth is for all. So, age, length of service, etc. do not matter. It is God who bless whom He chose to bless.
Second chance to live an everlasting life, the advent of Jesus. For a final chance to live in eternity, God gave Jesus to save the world that every man who believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). So, the Spirit of God raised a standard against sin (Is. 59:19). Jesus was crucified on the cross as the sin man committed before. Then, God forgave man the sin he committed previously (Rom. 3:25). It saved mankind as one body in Christ by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). So, everyone must believe in Jesus to be saved. Then abide in Him going forward. But it is impossible for offences must come (Lk. 17:1). Before Jesus ascended, He gave gifts to men to equip the saints, for the work of the ministry, etc. (Eph. 4:11- 13). The gifts represent authority to hear the voice of Christ and be of truth (John 18:37). So, point people to Christ, and guide against deliberate sin by desires, motives, physical senses, and actions (Job. 31:1). Endure every situation and let the suffering of Jesus in the flesh for us be what motivates you (1Pet. 4:1-3).
Those who hear the voice of Christ direct people to the message of His cross and Him crucified. It is for daily sanctification (1Thes. 4:3). They repent for transgressing, and do the will of God, and do self-denial service to people with agape love.
Second transit sleep is called mortal death.
The difference from the first transit sleep is that it does not separate man from God. Rather it separates man from the living. It leads the dead to Judgment Day. When death calls, the spirit goes to God and is directed to holding abode, known as either Hades, away from the Lord or Paradise which is in the presence of the Lord, so to speak. Those who believe and abide in Christ to the end will receive end of faith, and the soul will receive salvation in due time (1Pet. 1:9).
Final wake. The last wake is from second transit sleep (1Thes. 4:15). It is to give account to God on Judgment Day of life lived in the flesh (1Pet. 4:3-6). The verdict will reveal who believed Jesus and who denied Him. Those who believed will get second chance to live as righteousness of God and those who rejected Him to live in condemnation forever (Dan. 12:2-3). Then Christ will give glorious body to the saved (Phil. 3:21). The unsaved is sent to the lake of fire forever.
In summary, there is two transit sleep, one inborn, and one of ignorance of truth.
(All References are from New King James Version (NKJV) of Holy Bible. All rights Reserved).
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