Garden Ministries

Janet Weaver Smith ©7-7-2015 gardenministries.org

Three words should describe the character and heart posture of those who follow Jesus and encounter opposition to their beliefs: Gentle. Steadfast. Immovable. Ephesians 4:2-3, 1 Corinthians 15:58.

There is a sizeable culture shift underway in America in relation to how the 66-books of the Bible are viewed and practiced as a legitimate source for moral guidance and truth. There are those who are rapidly distancing themselves from the literal nature of this holy book and there are those who are ready to stake their very lives upon the Biblical moral code and upon the God of creation who wrote the book through inspired humans. With the very fabric of our nations foundational ethics shaking, how do believers in Jesus Christ stand firm during this tumultuous time and how do we deal with the “fine sounding arguments” that disbelievers use to contradict and undermine the spiritual authority of the Bible? Colossians 2:2-4, 8

It is moral compromise to only partially believe a Biblical truth while also agreeing with a “fine sounding argument” that denies, undermines, or diminishes what the Bible clearly says about a matter. Suppose a parent writes a note to their childcare provider clearly defining what, when, and how to care for their children while they are gone. After the parent’s are gone, can you imagine the caregiver changing the plan without asking the parent’s because they decided that the parent’s did not actually literally mean what they said? In a healthy, thriving family environment, who has the final say for how the child is treated and raised and who is ultimately held responsible for how they raised the child: the parent’s or the childcare provider? The parent’s.

The Bible was given to humanity as a Tutor to lead us into an intimate relationship with God’s Word—Who is a Person named Jesus. When we reject this holy Tutor, we are rejecting it’s Author. But there is no neutral in making this distinction. By rejecting Jesus and undermining His Word, we are accepting another belief system. When we do not hold fast to the Word of Life, we open the door to a spirit of empty religion, which causes spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical instability because it is full of hypocrisy and delusional excuses because there is no real power to transform us into someone better—that is Christ Jesus. Empty Religion merely “holds to a form of godliness but denies the power” of God to change us to become like Him.
2 Timothy 3:5

Empty religion is like the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” cliché since the loudest, most dominating and controlling force demands all the power and attention and establishes the lists of “do’s and don’ts” that best support the ideology of the biggest squeakers. There is no neutral in power struggles. An outside-in, fear-based, control-and-domination rules-and-regulations legal system must fill the void whenever people’s own hearts and consciences cannot hold them to a moral center. When the law written on people’s heart’s becomes seared and jaded, all access to the fruits of the Holy Spirit has closed. Because there is no real love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control that rule the heart and create a safe human environment, laws are put into practice to replace what the Spirit-filled heart is supposed to supply. Galatians 5:16-26

As soldiers of Christ, we “follow the rules of engagement” and bend our knee in gentle submission, holding fast to God’s Word. In doing this, “we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5, 2 Timothy 2:5, Colossians 2:2-4,8, Proverbs 30:5,6, John 14:6, Galatians 4:3

Take for example the increasing number of “fine sounding arguments” concerning the church’s position on the issue of homosexuality. Christian churches must now decide whether or not the Bible is God’s literal word and whether or not they abide by it as their resource for God’s truth about this and other matters. For those of us who hold fast to the word of life and believe that the 66-books of the Bible are the Holy Spirit spoken, trustworthy words of God, we can refer to those scriptures that define human sexuality and abide by God’s commands concerning them. We don’t add to them, redefine them, or subtract from them. We respect that God says what He means and means what He says and because we love Him, we obey Him, knowing and trusting that our Creator’s commands are good for us. Proverbs 30:4-5

So what do the 66 books of God’s gracious word to His created humanity say about human sexual union?God revealed His created design for sexual union when He first created mankind as a “male-female” person named “Adam.” Genesis 2:22-24. By separating the female from out of the male, God solved Adam’s state of “aloneness” by giving him a counterpart; a woman, made in God’s image, who of her own free will, could rejoin herself and come together with her husband in love to conduct a unique, interdependent, collaborative, productive relationship.

The emotional-physical part of coming together in loving passion through sexual union even created new life and innately provided a new life with a holistic male-female, God-like family environment in which the child could grow. A light bulb needs a male-female connection for power to light it up. The original blueprint for human procreation requires a male-female contribution and God’s design made it so the “connecting parts” fit perfectly together as male and female. This design forever reveals God’s original “It is good” plan.

For a time, because the sinful fall of mankind introduced unfavorable human conditions, especially for women, as a form of protection and preservation, some men had multiple wives. Though not the ideal one-man-one-woman marriage, this “workaround” was preferred to the existing alternatives of prostitution, slavery, and homeless wanderings. By the time the Apostle Paul wrote his instructions for church overseers, culture had progressed enough for him to require overseers to return to the ideal setup and to “be the husband of one wife.” 1 Timothy 3:2

Ephesians 5 further elevates the symbolic value of marriage when Paul likens a godly marriage to represent a heavenly one: that is, Jesus Christ as the bridegroom and His devoted first-love followers as His bride. The marriage bed was to remain unadulterated and pure as it was learned that this form of intimacy directly represented Christ’s unadulterated love for His bride and her devoted love for Him. The Holy Spirit also led Paul to write extensively about the sinful consequences of rejecting God’s created design for marriage and human sexual union. Hebrews 13:4, 1 Timothy 1:9-11, 1 Corinthians 6:9, Romans 1: 25-27

And what is a Christian’s gentle, immovable response to Bible-demeaning “fine sounding arguments” about human sexuality? We are to follow Jesus’ example and discern the motive behind the conversation. Is this a discussion where the people involved are truly seeking a greater knowledge of the truth of who God is or is the motive to prove opposing views wrong using “fine sounding arguments” that cause division and striving. It’s all about motive and the overall objective behind the discussion. Discern but don’t condemn. This is how we remain gentle and immovable.

The motive behind what the Bible calls deceptive “fine sounding arguments” is usually to discredit its spiritual authority in order to justify what the Bible calls “sinful actions” so as to eliminate the need for repentance and turning to Jesus for forgiveness or to relate to Him from a position of surrender and reliance.

Some believe the 66-books of the Bible is God’s inerrant word. Some do not. And some hold a fuzzy line and believe parts and pieces of the Bible are God’s word, but not the whole. Most people go through a process in believing that God exists and that the 66 books of the Bible are His literal words to mankind. Once that has been decided, the relationship with God’s word begins and followers of Jesus Christ learn that the Bible contains clear personal guidance to help them grow in their realization of how profoundly God loves them.

Wherever a person is at in that process directly affects where his or her moral compass finds its “true north” and determines how they process and make moral decisions when presented with “fine sounding arguments.” These arguments get their “fine sounding” status because they often capitalize on the tender sides of human nature, such as compassion and justice, but create confusion and hypocrisy because what is “right and wrong” is subject to change. And because “right and wrong” is fuzzy so is its rhetoric.

Empty words are spoken because the speaker has no sound, anchored bearings from which they speak. Truth cannot be divided or split up into hypocrisy. It is whole and complete and imparts peace. All that does not come from truth will not resonate and hit a person’s moral tuning fork within them and thus, its empty words ultimately become subject to enforcement by intimidation rather than peaceful trust.

In stark contrast to morally floppy messengers, Jesus has never spoken an “empty” word? At all times, even while under great duress, Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, either remained silent or only spoke and acted in total and complete, reverent submission to the Father. Just like Jesus, we are to guard the integrity of our words and are to follow the Holy Spirit as we speak or remain silent. Matthew 10:19-20, Hebrews 4:12-13, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 2:1-2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

If we want people to trust the words of Jesus in us, then we must let Him teach us how and when to speak what He is saying. We must overcome the compulsion to “save” people in our own fearful and impatient striving to defend and prove ourselves “more right” in times of dispute. Instead, as we sink into complete gentleness and patience and restfully wait for the Holy Spirit to speak (or not) and simply follow Him. Ephesians 4:2

Referenced Scriptures (New International Version):

Colossians 2:2-4,8 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments [Gr: pithanologia = persuasive speech.]. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world [i.e., worldly principles] rather than on Christ.

Ephesians 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Galatians 5:16-26 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

2 Timothy 2:5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.

John 14:6 “I [Jesus] am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Galatians 4:3 So also, when we were underage, we were held in bondage under the elemental spiritual forces of the world [i.e. worldly principles held us in bondage].

Proverbs 30:4-5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. 6Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

Genesis 2:22-24 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

1 Timothy 1:9-11 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality [Greek: arsenokoites = a male engaging in same-gender sexual activity], for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men.

Romans 1: 25-27 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Matthew 10:19-20 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit

2 Peter 2:1-2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

1 Corinthians 2:13-14 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:17-25 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility [Greek: mataiotés = emptiness, unreality, purposelessness, ineffectiveness, instability, frailty; false religion] of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Philippians 2:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain [Gr. kenos].

Janet Weaver Smith ©2015 – gardenministries.org

How we process life’s inevitable disappointments determines whether we are growing from them or shrinking. The bitter root of unforgiveness is sewn in the heart of a person who has processed their disappointments into a state of dis- or unbelief toward God.

Unforgiveness results in striving. Because we do not trust God’s forms of justice and His ability to work everything together for our good, we create our own “justice plan” through judgments and vows. We say something like, “thus-and-so was wrongfully done and I will NEVER do that! This-or-that is what I will do to counter that injustice.” And then we go our way thinking we have settled the matter.

Rather than come to center and trust God’s justice, because we mistrust God and broken people, we swing all the way over to the other ditch and form a self-reliant “who and what I am against” justice rather than a God-reliant, word-centered “who I am for” justice.

If we skip the first step of forgiveness, our judgment against perpetrators and subsequent vows to “never do that ourselves” are founded on our own strength which literally sets us in motion toward doing the very thing we vowed not to do, but usually in a different way than was done to us so we deceive ourselves into thinking we are upholding our vows.

Until we are willing to humble ourselves and forgive, we will “excuse” our hypocrisy of doing the same thing, or worse, that we vowed not to do. And until we can admit to our own hypocrisy and failure to bring true justice, we will keep striving to fulfill our judgmental vows by attempting to prove that we are right in our conclusions. Eventually, proving our “rightness” becomes equally or more important than the actual getting of justice.

Tribulations either drive us toward God or away from Him. Hardship is how Jesus learned and modeled obedient love. To become an overcoming bride for Jesus, we are to follow Him through life’s obstacle course in an ever-increasing, reliant trust.

God uses trouble and difficulties to create a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. It is the fiery trials that prove our faith as genuine and what creates real relationship with God and others. We are less harsh when we learn to forgive and remember how He has forgiven us.

If we are finding it difficult to forgive someone, we can simply ask the Lord to remind us of the times and areas where we currently need or have needed forgiveness or where we are justifying our own bad behavior toward someone. This levels the playing field pretty quickly and helps us better value God’s mercy. Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Forgiveness protects us from the pain of becoming judgmental, vindictive, and hypocritical. Forgiveness kills bitter roots and gives us clear vision to see the truth of God that sets us free.

For more on “Judgments – Vows and Bitter Roots” see:

Teachings

http://www.cornerstone.ag/pdf/PDFIsaiah61BandF/bitter.pdf

Everyone has their process in believing that God exists and that the 66 books of the Bible are His literal words to mankind and contain personal conduct guidance to help us grow in our love relationship with God.

Some believe the Bible is God’s word. Some do not. And some believe parts and pieces of the Bible, but not the whole. Wherever a person is at in that process directly affects where his or her moral compass finds its “true north.”

We can say from our experience where we are at in our process:

We believe that the 66-book Bible is the literal and true word of God. As believer’s in Jesus Christ, our personal relationship with His Holy Spirit helps us better understand what God is saying in His word and how we can become more like Him by listening to Him and obeying His word.

We have learned first-hand that we can trust the 66-book Bible to help us love God and love people more compassionately and fairly. We believe that it is God who directs our love relationship with Him and who lays down the moral and ethical ground rules, not the other way around.

We prefer the New American Standard (NAS) or the New International (NIV) versions of the Bible but also enjoy The Message and the New King James (NKJV) versions. In our more robust times of study, we especially enjoy looking into the original Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Philippians 2:15-16 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life

Revelation 22:19 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

Janet Weaver Smith – May 22, 2015 – September 28, 2016 ©gardenministries.org

Before the middle heaven veil is fully torn away and the millennial age of Christ’s rule on earth begins, the constraints of time and the fallen human nature directly affect what is visible and what is invisible to the human eye. (For more on this subject, see my article entitled, “The Visible Invisible.”)

Grounded in the Living Word and guided by the testimony of Jesus Christ through the Spirit of Prophecy (Hebrews 6:5, Revelation 19:21), a believer has living access to realms beyond their body’s physical ability to see and perceive. Our illumined heart-eyes can cross a prophetic bridge between heaven and earth and see outside of the constraints and limitations of this age into the not-yet-seen invisible realm of the Kingdom of God and the age to come. Peering through this lens, I write this article about the Spirit of Might and Power and the Coming(s) of Christ.

Samson was a sarcastic punster who loved wordplays and riddles and integrated them into his powerful exploits as the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in might. Judges 15:14-16 As [Samson] approached Lehi [Hebrew for “jawbone”]; the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him [Samson]. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone [Hebrew – lehi] of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. 16 Then Samson said, “With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey’s jawbone I have killed a thousand men.”

The Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon Samson and empowered him to single-handedly slay 1,000 charging warriors. Because the Spirit of Might’s immense power, Samson probably did not even need the donkey’s jawbone as a weapon. It seems that Samson deliberately chose to yank out a donkey’s “fresh” jawbone to make a point and used the jawbone as an ironic, sarcastic “nod” to the place called Lehi (i.e., “Jawbone”) where he made “donkey’s” out of his enemies.

Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17-23 that by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, we would know God better and have the “eyes or our heart” illumined so that we could see three very important things:

1. The hope to which we are called.
2. The riches of the Everlasting Father’s glorious inheritance in his holy people.
3. Almighty God’s incomparably great power for “us who believe” which is the same as His mighty strength exerted when raising Christ from the dead and us who believe with Him.

How do we access these three promises and gain access to the Spirit of Might and Power?

• By never giving in to hopelessness, despair, or empty religion that does not require faith.
• By consuming and holding fast to the prophetically inspired Word of God—
especially His Word in the 66 books of the Bible.
• By asking Jesus to make us His ready bride and continuing to say “Yes!” to Him in our process of overcoming evil and trusting and relying wholeheartedly upon God.
• By letting perseverance finish its work so that we become mature and complete (James 1:4).
• By turning to Jesus and continually offering up great praise—no matter how we feel.
• By loving Jesus as our First Love and patiently waiting for Him to fulfill His Word. Love is Patient.

As Kingdom Priests who are being prepared to reign on the earth with Christ during The Millennium, we are called to continually offer up the spiritual sacrifice of Great Praise. This helps stave off hopelessness and despair and engages a BIG key toward opening the door to breakthrough! The Angel of Great Praise activates and opens doors for Great Change as God Himself comes and inhabits His chosen dwelling place in His beloved people (Psalm 22:3, Ephesians 2:22, 1 Peter 2:5, Revelation 5:10, Luke 2:13).

The Spirit of Might and Power is necessary for the government of God to function in the earth. Jesus is the head of His body and His governing bride will be in perfect union with Him.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.

(AUTHOR’S NOTE: In the following text, I submit to each believer in Jesus Christ what I believe are inspired possibilities. It is likely that I do not yet see the entire or complete picture and thus accept that, as the Spirit of Understanding and Wisdom hones it into completion, there may be some tweaks to this verbalization of what I have been seeing and perceiving.)

As we know, the Bible teaches us that the Son of God came to earth and took on human flesh in order to fulfill His Father’s will and offer Himself as a sinless, fully human sacrifice unto God on behalf of all sinful humanity, thus establishing His rightful place as the Savior of those who believe in Him and as the loving King of the universe for all eternity.

Through the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit within an asking-seeking-knocking believer in Jesus Christ, a process of preparation is underway. Prepared for what, or better said, for Whom? They are being prepared to receive Jesus in his “comings” or “arrivals.” Notice the use of a plural form of “coming” and “arrival?”

For Bible believers, we already know that the plural form of “coming” is accepted because Jesus has already come once and has also promised to come again. However, in His Last Day’s coming, could it be that it happens progressively and in stages? For example, after a series of some very intense happenings in the earth in what is termed, “The Day of the Lord,” Joel 2:28-30 prophesies that God will pour out His Spirit and as a result, believers who have received His Spirit will supernaturally experience and express the Presence of God like never before. I believe that we can call the Joel 2:28-30 outpouring of the Spirit of God one of a few waves of The Lord’s end-time coming(s). This wave, along with a preceding wave, results in preparing believers for His final full-on physical appearing, which is the final wave that changes everything forever. Thus, I believe the Lord’s Last Day’s coming is of a 3-fold nature.

I call the first wave Christ’s parousia coming. I see this “coming” as a wave that usually happens over time and comes to a hungry, seeking believer in Jesus. He comes in a deeply private, somewhat hidden work of the Holy Spirit. I see that this wave is that which prepares the believer to become what I call, “The Word Bride.” Though possibly severely tested in their faith, these “Word Bride” believers will not undermine, devalue, or deny the 66-books of the Bible as being God’s true Word. They are those who prove faithful to His Word and His promises by holding fast to them, even when directly challenged by fear, doubt, and unbelief.

The Word Bride has come to intimately know and love the Person who is called The Word: Jesus Christ. Loving God by obeying His Word is how this lovesick bride is perfected and made complete in Christ’s parousia coming to her privately and personally revealing Himself to her and asking for Her response of faithfulness and love. In the end of this cycle, the perfected bride loves Christ even more than what He has promised her! (Matthew 24:3, 1 Thess. 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23, 2 Thess. 2:1, 8, James 5:7-8, 1 Peter 1:16, 2 Peter 3:4, 12, 1 John 2:28)

I call the 2nd wave Christ’s epipháneia coming. Titus 2:10-13 describes an epipháneia of His grace and then of His glory. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12 It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age 13 as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah. 14 He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds. (1 Timothy 6:14, 2 Timothy 1:10, 2 Timothy 4:1, 8)

This epipháneia coming is Christ’s Spirit filling His faithful, steadfast Word Bride with more visible manifestations of Himself, for example, through the Spirit of Might and Power. Faithfulness in this 2nd wave means that the Word Bride continues to hold fast to His Word and furthermore, gives all glory to her husband, Jesus. Filled to the fullness of Christ, and in love with Him heart, soul, and body, the Spirit-filled Word-Bride doesn’t even think to take self-credit or glory for the vast displays of Christ’s wonder and majesty manifested by Christ in her, nor does she become offended with her God when the resulting persecutions come. Like her Husband Jesus suffered when He emerged in the earth, she too endures persecution as she emerges and takes her place alongside of Him. (Psalm 45:9)

I call the 3rd and final wave of His coming Christ’s Apokalupsis. This is the complete merger of the previous two waves into the 3rd and final wave in which the invisible totally emerges into the visible when the resurrected King of all kings: Jesus Christ is fully revealed in all of His glory and majesty and comes to earth to rule and reign. (Zechariah 2:10, Zechariah 14, Revelation 19:11-16)

It should be noted that on the enemy’s side, there will be a counterfeit 2 or 3-fold “coming” of Satan in the coming of the lawless one, the antichrist, the beast. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9 Then the lawless one will be revealed (Greek: apokaluptó), whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his [Christ’s] mouth, rendering him [lawless one] powerless by the manifestation [epipháneia] of his [Christ’s] coming [Christ’s parousia]. 9The coming [lawless one’s parousia] of the lawless one will be accompanied by the power of Satan. He will use every kind of power, including miraculous signs, lying wonders, 10and every type of evil to deceive those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them

In Matthew 24:3, when the disciples talked privately to Jesus about his coming, they used a Greek word, parousia. Yet when Paul describes Christ’s coming in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, he uses the Greek word epipháneia. Add to that, both Paul and the Apostle John use yet another Greek word to describe the coming of Christ: apokalupsis which means the opposite of being hidden—an unveiling and revelation of what was hidden. (For more on this, see my article entitled, ” Preparing for Christ’s 3-Fold Arrival and The Transfiguration of Spiritual Zion.”) (Author’s Note: There are other Greek words associated with Christ’s coming to also explore such as erchomai, phanaroo, and maranatha.)

Matthew 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming [“coming” in Greek is Parousia meaning the coming of Your Presence] and of the end of the age?” I believe that Jesus will come by His Word (first wave: parousia) and by a mighty outpouring of His Spirit (second wave: epipháneia) to fully prepare and mature a bride and to physically return to and fully change (final wave: apokalupsis). During the first wave of His parousia, or what I call, “The Word of His Presence” coming, Jesus unites with His responsive and willing bride by washing her with the water of His Word until she is fully persuaded that she is loved and utterly trusts Jesus and gives Him her full “Yes.”

As Christ the Word comes [parousia] to the believer and transforms them by dividing between the old man nature embedded within the fallen soul and plants His truth deep within [his or] her spirit, she responds and sheds her old man nature in preference for Christ’s new man nature. Over time, if the believer doesn’t quit, he or she will be prepared to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s 2nd wave of coming to them [Christ’s epipháneia].

This coming is a new level of shining and illumination that fully manifests the true nature of the Godhead through her transformed heart, soul, and body. As His very own possession and body, Christ fully releases Himself unto her and fills her to His fullness by the powerful overshadowing of the Holy Spirit’s outpouring. (Joel 2:29)

This filling and indwelling is done by and through The Word Himself and is done through His Presence being imparted unto a faithful bride, who by the Holy Spirit, is crying, “Come!” The Word enters His lovesick bride, unites with her, and fills her with His fullness, thus completing her in His image, upon which, she receives His commissioning for governing headship as His eternal marriage partner.

Transformed and transfigured into His pure and spotless image, Jesus’ beautiful bride will operate in the Spirit of Might and Power and act in Christ’s governmental authority. Alongside of her Husband Jesus, the bride begins to rule and reign on earth, having gained divine marital rights and full access to His name(s) such as: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.”

The “Parousia” coming of the Word Presence of God to Christ’s bride is a mysterious filling-and-completing that will happen to the bride before the final physical Apokalupsis coming of Christ. I believe that it is during the second epipháneia wave of Christ’s coming that the bride will receive her transfigured body. Just as the Pattern Son Jesus was transfigured and received fullness prior to His death and receiving His resurrection body, so will His bride be transfigured into His fullness prior to receiving her resurrection body at His final physical Apokalupsis coming.

As governmental agents representing Christ’s Kingdom in the earth, the crowns of reward with their overcomer titles will be given from Jesus to His empowered Bride who is fully enabled by the Spirit of Might and Power to rule and reign with her beloved husband Jesus. The transfigured bride will be in a state of ruling and reigning on earth before she makes her final transition into her resurrection body that serves as her functioning state during the millennial age. This final transition into a resurrected, eternal body like Christ’s happens at the 3rd wave or stage of Christ’s apokalupsis coming. The Lord Jesus Christ comes in waves spiritually to prepare those who say Yes to Him for His second physical coming. When we behold Him, we become like Him (1 John 3:2). Thus we are beholding Him spiritually and we are being changed from the inside out in our spiritual uniting with Jesus. When we see Him physically, our prepared spiritual state will be enabled and empowered to behold Him and as His Lovers, be physically changed to become like Him in His resurrected bodily state of glory.

Before the final resurrected body stage, the Shining, epipháneia Spirit-filled bride of Jesus Christ is spiritually and somewhat physically transformed, transfigured, and lives in an enabled “heaven-and-earth” reality until at the last trumpet when she receives her resurrected body at Christ’s second physical coming (1 Corinthians 15:50-57). Some are alive and changed. Some have laid their life down and are killed as the Two-Witnesses martyrs who are dead for 3 days and then resurrected. Some are already asleep and come from the Cloud of Witnesses.

At some point during this entire end-of-the-age governmental shift, middle heaven is directly impacted and war breaks out between Michael and his angels. I personally believe it may happen when a remnant company of overcoming saints break through the final barrier of resistance and become the fulfillment of Romans 8:19. These are those who are the Word Bride who is filled with the Spirit of Might and Power and who is also transfigured into His fullness. Full manifestation is used of the revealed sons of God that creation groans to have revealed in the earth! Romans 8:19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing [Apokalupsis] of the sons of God.

These overcomers are the first fruits [after Jesus, Who is the original First Fruit] who become the manifested sons that all creation has been groaning for. When the church births these believing male and female “sons,” the veil of the demonically-infested religious spirit that has occupied the middle heaven will be torn and cause a complete displacement of evil from the middle heaven screw zone (for more on this, see my article “The Visible Invisible – ay 13, 2015” and my illustration “Middle Heaven Screw Zone.”)

When Satan’s occupation of middle heaven is over he has to change the way he conducts his “business.” When Satan is completely ousted from middle heaven and thrown down to the earth, he will become limited to being an earth-bound being with no earth-and-middle-heaven access. This displacement signals the short amount of time he has left (Revelation 12:7-17) and in his realization of this, Satan’s rage explodes. Now Satan conducts direct onslaughts to which the fully enabled, manifest sons of God in the earth will be given governing authority through the 7-fold Spirit of God and will directly combat and confront Satan’s work through the Sprit of Might and Power and the entirety of the 7-fold Spirit of God.

An open heaven happens when the veil is taken away. Heaven rejoices to receive God’s Kingdom replacements who now occupy middle heaven and are activated and sustained by an ever-praising and praying Priestly bride who occupies and governs both the middle heaven zone and wherever she walks about the earth as she is led by the Holy Spirit to finish His work in the earth. Because of this open-and-middle heaven occupation, the transformed, transfigured bride has “boots on the ground” and is walking upon the earth while at the same time is kept in her transfigured “heavenly” state from being vulnerable to the power of evil. Heaven-and-earth have become one in and through a sanctified bridal remnant company. This company of saints bears continual witness to Christ’s love and salvation throughout the earth and call people to repentance by turning to Jesus Christ for salvation and disciple those who say Yes to Jesus to be conformed into His image. They operate in the earth for a time as a “Two Witnesses” company, in the same ways the actual Revelation 11 Two Witnesses will operate in Jerusalem.

The faith-inspired “greater, good works” that the bride is prepared [parousia wave] in advance to do are now operating in full force and the [epipháneia wave] Spirit of Might and Power graciously endows this company of saints (John 14:12, Ephesians 2:10). Fully transformed, these sons of the Kingdom/bride of Jesus Christ are the Last Days Peacemakers and Peacekeepers who represent and enact Christ’s government on earth as they wait for Christ’s final second physical [apokalupsis wave] coming. They will operate in the Spirit of Might and Power and will generously manifest and especially produce the fruit of the Spirit called “Peace” in full keeping with the Word of Truth.

In the meantime, we who would be fully conformed to Christ’s image and be transformed and transfigured by Christ’s fullness are to hold fast to the Word of Life and be faithful in the little during the parousia wave of His preparation. Faithfulness in this wave prepares us to be entrusted with the next epipháneia wave of His outpoured Spirit of Might and Power. We remain faithful by embracing the cross, laying down our self-rights and, like the Apostle Paul, daily purpose to know Christ and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2)

If Jesus is our First Love to Whom we daily turn our hearts toward in worship, praise, adoration, and thanksgiving, then we can trust Him to speak to us and help us lay down the temporal and old man nature in exchange for the eternal, new man nature. This daily embrace of the cross-life involves Holy Spirit-led trials and is what permits His Word to become fully anchored within us so that we can be entrusted with the More of God—without being taken out by it. First Love the Word Himself is at the core of an empowered and enabled overcomer who purposes to forever hold fast to Jesus and never deny His name or His Word—even unto death. (Revelation 12:11)

The bride of Jesus Christ, the wife of the Lamb will forever say, “GOD HAS SPOKEN!” and will forever love the Word of God Who is now her eternal husband. In the faith, hope, and love that remain, she is forever one with God through the transformative Word, Jesus Christ and, as a mature son of Heaven Father, is fully indwelt by His Holy Spirit. Never again will fear, doubt, and unbelief tempt this bridal overcomer. Completed by Christ’s outpoured love, she is fully persuaded that God’s Word is true and never to be disobeyed. Her garden of intimacy with Christ is secure and forever impenetrable to the first lie that tempted Eve to disbelieve God’s Word, “Hath God said, ‘You must not…?'” (Genesis 3:1)

When it’s all said and done, Papa’s family is complete. His eternal purpose in creating humanity has, through Christ, reached its fulfillment. As Christ’s eternal witness and body, the wife of the Lamb bears testimony for all eternity of the goodness of God. As His established witness to the true character and nature of the triune Godhead, the eternal wife of Jesus Christ effectively represents God to the entire universe for all eternity. (Ephesians 1:3-14) This is why we must get to intimately KNOW Him—now.

Janet Weaver Smith ©5-13-2015 gardenministries.org

God is not fickle and does not lie or speak half-truths. When he speaks, he means what He says and it is always completely true. His mysteries and parables point people toward concrete realities that require a personal relationship with him to understand. This article is written to ignite faith to pursue the revelation of God’s truth like never before and to believe that what Jesus prophesied in John 14:12 will literally happen soon. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

According to God’s word, the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit will dramatically increase in the last days. God created humans to be his family and to dwell with them, not just visit them now and then. Ephesians 2 describes a Kingdom Age in which His Spirit joins the “citizens” of this Kingdom together in a living temple in which the triune God inhabits. Just at Jesus, The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us; The Word of God is coming again to his people by His Spirit to fill and dwell within them as his faith-filled, bride-minded family. This “filling to the fullness” coming-of-the-Kingdom Age is part of an unfolding, progressive preparation for the final and dramatic unveiling of Jesus Christ at his Revelation 1:7 second coming.

William Branham released a prophetic insight that describes this Word-Bride relationship: “The revelation of the Seventh Seal brought Christ back to earth in Word Form to separate His Bride. She unites with the fullness of the Word, for the manifestation of the Sons of God and the translation. This Coming of Christ in the office of Son of Man is also called His ‘parousia’.” (William Branham: biblebelievers.org)

If God has spoken something, it exists as soon as it is spoken—whether the human eye can yet physically see it or not. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hope connects us to God’s spoken word while faith builds our trust in His truthful character. All the while patience toward God purifies our motives as we wait for his fulfilled promises. Ultimately, our relationship with Jesus Christ becomes the pinnacle of our interest—far and above any fulfilled promises he has spoken to us. Our purified hearts are ready for the invisible to become visible.

The process of faith and patience that inherits God’s promises directly affects the spirit realm and forms a purified conduit for God’s spoken word to transition from its stored place in the invisible realm of the Kingdom of Heaven and come into its manifested and visible place in the earth. Our relationship to the Jesus as The Word of God plays a key role in this transition.

Saints of God, called to stand in great faith and hold fast to God’s word, are pressing in for the promised fullness of God like never before. God has positioned them as His answer to Luke 18:8 and one day very soon, in various places around the world, the veil that separates the invisible from the visible will be completely pierced through, removed, and replaced by a canopy of the light of God’s glory. When this happens, much of what is now invisible will become visible. Ephesians 5:13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

Isaiah 25:7 And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. The layered veil that keeps some things hidden is thinning and in many places throughout the earth is ready to burst.

The Bible describes the way in which the Kingdom of God emerges from an unseen, invisible-to-the-human-eye heavenly realm into our physically observable earthly realm and paints the picture as a dawning process. Take a look at the Greek word: ginomai. It occurs 671 times in the New Testament and means this: “to emerge, become, transitioning from one point (realm, condition) to another, and signifies a change of condition, state or place.” The following scriptures are a few examples of the use of this Greek word ginomai:

Matthew 5:44-45 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. “May be” is ginomai and could be read as “…that you may emerge from one point, realm, or condition [i.e. heaven] to become in another realm [earth[ sons of your Father.”

Matthew 6:10 Your [Heavenly Father’s] kingdom come. Your will be done, [“be done” is ginomai – emerge and become from one point, realm, or condition to another] on earth as it is in heaven.

Even Satan used this “emerging” principle when he tried to tempt Jesus to do something that the Father was not asking him to do and to act apart from the word of Father by taking matters into His own hands and accessing heaven’s supernatural resources to make bread “emerge” from stones.
Matthew 4:3-4 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread [“become” is ginomai – emerge and become from one point, realm, or condition to another].

Satan knew that Jesus had access to heavenly resources. The temptation was to get Jesus to turn to and act independently from the Father’s will or leading. Jesus simply replied, “It is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” In this statement, Jesus is saying that we cannot put the created before the Creator. Jesus knew that it is God’s word that sustains life and that physical bread is actually an earthly manifestation of a heavenly reality. God’s word is the real bread of life that comes down from heaven to earth and earthly bread was a representation of this reality.

The ginomai principle of emerging from one realm to another is also represented by how lightning works. When an electrified atmosphere is ready to be discharged of its energy, a “step leader” emerges from the cloud and grows downward. The earth plays an important part in this discharging process. Positive streamers arise from the surface of the earth from various objects such as trees or people or just about anything that is electrically responding and reaching out to the cloud.

Once a response is generated, these positives streamers do not continue to grow upward toward the clouds. They only have to grow so far and the downward step leaders make up for any difference. The streamers “job” is to simply wait patiently, staying engaged by stretching upward as the step leaders approach. Once the step leader and a streamer connect, the ionized air creates a conductive path into which massive electrical current flows between the earth and the cloud. This release discharges the cloud of its stored current and neutralizes it. This natural representation of power emerging from “heaven down to earth” beautifully describes how the lightnings of God’s glory come to earth. God requires engaged relationship to be actively waiting and believing before he supernaturally discharges his glory and emerges from heaven to earth.

Just like lightning requires a patient streamer from the earth to be sent up for the lightning strike to come down, so heaven responds in-force to patiently waiting, believers who continue to send up faith “streamers” by believing and standing firm on God’s word. When the conductive path is completed and the lightnings of God pierce the darkness, the Holy Spirit’s marvelous light comes rushing through the opened door and God’s supernatural presence becomes visible to the human eye. When the veil that covers the eyes of our inner soul is supernaturally lifted, the results of it will manifest on every dimension of our created existence: body, soul, and spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:9 inspires us to believe that we will see and hear with our physical eyes and ears things we have never seen or heard or even imagined before.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Once the next layer of the veil is pierced through and taken away, what exists in the not-yet-visible heavenly realm will become visible to the human eye. This breakthrough will produce the “greater works” that Jesus promised would come.

Right now, great hope is carrying intercessory lovers of God through the veil in faithful prayer (Hebrews 6:18-20). Declaring and decreeing the word of the Lord, their ever-increasing faith is activating heaven’s response to release the “substance of the things they have hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1), and soon, this bridal company of saints will emerge-and-become (i.e. ginomai) eyewitnesses and carriers of God’s supernatural power in the earth. Clothed in the fullness of Christ, these “righteous ones” will truly “shine like the stars” (Philippians 2:15, Daniel 12:3) and perform the greater works that Jesus spoke of.

Devout Christ-followers will be so “ginomai-cally” connected with the fullness of the Holy Spirit within them that they will literally “call things that are not as though they were.” (Romans 4:17) The tangible, visible substances that already exist in the heavenly realm will transition into, and visibly manifest in the earth.

In the meantime, we wait in great faith, hope, and love for God. Our faith-filled “streamers” are reaching up toward heaven’s downward angelic “step leaders” as a conductive path through the middle heaven is forming. Once complete, the lightnings of God will blast through and completely displace the veil of separation between heaven and earth. An open heaven will occur and the revelation of God dwelling with his people will manifest. The greater works of Jesus will be the new norm.

Until this fullness comes, a dawning of it is forming in the hearts of God’s people all around the world. Great faith to press in for the more of God has been aroused and the Morningstar himself is rising in the hearts of many. People who are letting “perseverance finish its work,” and who keep turning to God in faith-filled, first-love prayer are causing the veil to thin. (James 1:4)

God’s word assures us that the transforming process of relationship with God can eventually come to completion. Every time we choose to believe and obey God, we are maturing, the veil is thinning, and we are that much closer to fullness and the final breakthrough. Ephesians 4:13 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

God saved His best wine for last. The miraculous wonders of God and the display of His splendor will once again be made manifest in the earth as God performs His great shock-and-awe, end-of-the-age, grand finale’.

Finally, the long season of arduous waiting will be over and the time will come for God’s BIG promises to be fulfilled. The Isaiah 22:15-22 shift will occur, then the Haggai 2:9 “latter glory of this [God’s] house,” the John 14:12 “greater works,” the 2 Corinthians 2:9 “never yet imagined,” the Joel 2:28-29 “pouring out on all flesh,” will burst through the final layers of the veil and rush to earth, and the Habakkuk 2:14 earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD!”

Thankfully, God has purified and prepared a Bride for Jesus ahead of time. This company of saints has been thoroughly prepared in advance to faithfully steward this great outpouring. As His end-time, Spirit-filled laborers, this company of saints will bring in a great harvest for God. Furthermore, God promises in Isaiah 62:8 and Haggai 2:9 that this outpouring will not be lost, stolen, or compromised but will be fully kept for and enjoyed by the whole family of God, with God himself dwelling in their midst.

God is calling for his saints to fiercely contend for this breakthrough by holding fast to his word of life and by engaging in extravagant faith, hope, and radical obedience. This faithful, enduring response actively engages a heaven-downward assault upon the demonic strongholds of the middle heaven screw zone until heaven and earth meet, righteousness and peace kiss each other (Psalm 85), and an open heaven begins.

God has strategically arranged for the battle lines to be drawn and is gathering His enemies like sheaves to the threshing floor. Micah 4:11-13 Satan’s attempts to prevent this breakthrough will backfire and be used against him, resulting in the very thing he is trying to stop. God’s magnificent wisdom always trumps the enemy. Just like Satan’s attempt to crucify the Lord of glory backfired big time, so the attempt to crucify Christ’s bride will backfire. 1 Corinthians 2:8 none of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Matthew 24:35 [Jesus said] Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. We have much to look forward to in the days to come as the Word himself, comes in his promised fullness!

Janet Weaver Smith ©2-24-2015 gardenministries.org

James 5:7-9 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble (groan) against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged (condemned). The Judge is standing at the door!

The season of discipline and reproof can feel deeply grievous and the burden of it all so heavy. Instead of growing deeper in patience and more joyful by casting the impossible burden upon the Lord to carry, we may be tempted to hold on to all of the responsibility for change and inadvertently start blaming others as part, or all of the cause of our misery. The enemy capitalizes on this season of hardship and sews seeds of division and unforgiveness as he plays upon our grieving, sometimes embittered souls, and tries to tempt us to hopelessly blame ourselves, blame others, and especially break faith with and blame God as the problem, thus keeping us from the breakthrough.

Breakthrough always means a greater level of humility (i.e., complete dependence upon God for our all), which always involves some level of personal brokenness and an “end of rope” admission. It is at this point of our admission that we are at the Door of breakthrough.

We may be stuck because, rather than sinking into greater patience and humility, our inward groaning is bleeding out sideways against others through resentment or comparison. We want relief but we are not ready yet to admit our own need for greater trust, personal repentance, and God’s infinite mercy. If we have judged ourselves without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, then we are prone to judging others as well without His leading. We will judge that which we have first judged in ourselves and deemed as less than or as superior. And we will relate to others based on these self-imposed, hard-line judgments, comparing ourselves to and competing with them based on our desires for an improved life.

But how can a person feel less than themselves and superior to themselves? That is the ironic epitome of self-centeredness! Who’s to say that our judgments of self are right or wrong? We must have an outside, all-knowing, trusted source for this and the Holy Spirit who loves us is that Source! The judging and condemning of self by self is in-and-of-itself impossible. We must rely upon an outside, objective measure by which we can effectively hold ourselves accountable.

That is what God’s Spirit and God’s Word does for us. He gives us a living Truth plumb line that we can depend on and align with day-by-day from moment to moment. There is no 1-2-3 formula rulebook to follow. There is simply ongoing, alive, spontaneous, family fellowship with God who is our loving Father, faithful Bridegroom-King and sweet Holy Spirit. John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

Whatever God does or says, we can trust Him as being good in all of it. It is His to lead and guide and ours to follow and depend upon. We are always listening, obeying, and rejoicing! If we have asked Him to speak and have opened our heart to hear what He has to say, even if it may be difficult to hear, we can trust that He will tell us what we need to hear to grow closer to Him.

Revelation 3:19-21 Message to the Church in Laodicea 19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

James 5:10-11 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Hebrews 5:1-2 1 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.

Weakness creates need. Knowing, embracing, and not excusing our weakness is an ongoing point of contention for all believers in Christ. God uses these very struggles to birth and build in us Christ-like gentleness and compassion. This compassion makes room for His mercy to ever be drawn upon and poured out.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. God’s mercy is extended to us so that we can rise to a new standard of moral excellence. His mercy compels us to become like Him and repent from the sins of legalistic judgments or immoral acting out. As we sincerely ask the Lord to show us any (or all) of our past, present, and future needs for His mercy and forgiveness and purpose to not defend or prove ourselves with a list of hypocritical excuses, our entitlement bubble is popped and we quickly drop any rocks of resentment, hard-line opinions, criticism, and accusation that we may have been tempted to throw at others or at ourselves.

John 8:7,9 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there…11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved? The Bride emerges from her season of discipline in the wilderness, in love with and completely dependent upon Her Bridegroom—Jesus. She has learned to lean.

Janet Weaver Smith – January 27, 2015 ©gardenministries.org

During the night of January 24th and into the morning of January 25th, 2015, as I slept, the Holy Spirit began teaching me what the first woman and man were like before and after they fell and were separated from God. The effects of the fall and the curse were mapped out like I had never seen or understood them before. I will start this article by setting the stage from Scripture.

Genesis 1:27, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Both male and female were made in the image of God and the consecutive first-then-second order of their physical formation and naming established Adam as Eve’s loving leader. The Apostle Paul references the man’s leadership role in 1 Timothy 2:13.

Genesis 2:22, The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Before Eve and Adam fell into disobedience, the leadership role of the man with the woman was dramatically different than after the fall. Before they fell, Adam and Eve were both fully anchored in a first-love submission to God’s divine leadership. The woman and her deep heart’s affections were perfectly grounded and centered in her Creator’s heart. This God-first anchored relationship provided a complete balance of power between the three of them—God, the man, and the woman. Both Adam and Eve directly “reported” to God, fully submitted to Him first.

Enter the cunning serpent, enraged that humans had come into his stomping ground to take his claimed stake upon the earth. After who knows how long, the serpent finally convinced the woman that just as he had separated from God and believed himself to be a god, so could she. When the woman disobeyed God by redirecting her longings and affection toward earth’s resources (Genesis 3:6) in direct defiance of God’s leadership and command, she came out from under her place of reverent submission to God. The woman’s deep heart longings and affections lost their perfect anchor point in God because she allowed the god of the stomach to redirect her desire and trust earthward.

Now separated from God’s anchoring leadership, all that was left for woman was man’s leadership role in her life—a created reality that she could not “uncreate” or undo. As a result of her disobedience and willful separation from God’s leadership, God told the woman that the man, in his created leadership role would now have power over her and over all of her powerful heart’s longings and affections. Separated from oneness with God, stuck with only the man’s created leadership role, and no longer stabilized by God’s anchoring leadership, the woman’s deep heart affection, nurture, and longings now became subject to the man to do with as he pleased. Furthermore, hatred and hostility (“enmity” in Hebrew = hatred) between the woman and Satan (the serpent) was added to the mix. Thus, Satan especially hates women and never hesitates to use willing men to act out much of his focused hatred of women.

Genesis 3:14-19, The LORD God said to the serpent, … I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. 16To the woman He said, 
“I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; 19By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Desire: Hebrew = teshuqah, from shuwq in the original sense of stretching out after; a longing.
Rule: Hebrew = mashal: to rule, have dominion, reign.

Then the man put his wife ahead of God and listened to his wife’s voice above God’s and fell. His desires were also redirected earthward. Pride and shame quickly took hold and both the man and the woman immediately started blame-shifting, hiding, and when confronted by God, refused to take personal responsibility for their disobedience. The beginning of male domination and female subjugation was at hand. The man’s earthbound powerful longings to be fruitful in the land, both in his work and in human reproduction, overpowered his ability to love his woman in true submission to God. His drive for work and sex influenced him to put woman down into a subjected state of servitude to his wants and wishes. Human culture shifted when women lost their place as “direct reports” to God.

After the fall, the physically and emotionally vulnerable woman was subjected to a servitude-type lifestyle when the physically superior male rose to power in a cursed land now requiring his strenuous physical strength and dominion to work for food and survival. Burdened by the toilsome burden of “making a living” and overwhelmed with the impossible task of managing the woman’s redirected emotional longings that were meant for God to satisfy, man emotionally detached and began relating to woman less as his own precious flesh-and-bone and more as his servant to help with all the hard work, satisfy his sex drive, and fulfill the need for procreation and family care giving.

Ruth 2:8,9, and 22 reveal how common, and even socially expected, the mistreatment of women by men was. “So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled. 22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.'”

From ancient time until today, women have been subjected to a male-dominated society with few exceptions along the way. Though some civilizations have sought to bring women back up to par with men, there has always been disparity. Why is that? What part belongs to the women to restore and what part belongs to men?

An excerpt from an online City Journal article proposes a key reason why modern women rarely hold elite business positions (hint: it’s because of the kids).

“Children exert a stronger visceral pull on women than on men. That’s irrefutably true during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, but does the pull loosen entirely just because a child has started solid food? It’s doubtful. Nor do women necessarily find that it goes away if their husbands are “equal partners.” As Princeton author of ” Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” Anne-Marie Slaughter observes, somewhat apologetically, most women don’t ‘feel as comfortable as men do about being away from their children.’” (http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_4_alpha-female.html) (By Kay S. Hymowitz)

The female brain is hard-wired to survive and does so mainly by creatively adapting to her environment. So how did female creativity adapt to being in a perpetual state of emotional frustration, stretching out after and longing for fulfillment from someone who cannot possibly fulfill what she longs for but yet has dominion over her and doesn’t hesitate to exercise it? Simple answer: through compliance and resentful manipulation.

In her book, “The Female Brain,” Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann Brizendine describes the female’s propensity to fear conflict (resulting in compliance).

“Studies indicate that girls are motivated—on a molecular and a neurological level—to ease and even prevent social conflict. Maintaining the relationship at all costs is the female brain’s goal.”

Dr. Brizendine goes on to describe how the female brain is hard-wired to process and express emotions whereas the male brain has much more brain space devoted to his sex drive.

“The principal hub of both emotion and memory formation—the hippocampus—is also larger in the female brain, as is the brain circuitry for language and observing emotions in others. This means that women are, on average, better at expressing emotions and remembering the details of emotional events. Men, by contrast, have two and a half times the brain space devoted to sexual drive as well as larger brain centers for action and aggression. Sexual thoughts float through a man’s brain many times each day on average, and through a woman’s only once a day. Perhaps three to four times on her hottest days.”

Additionally, Dr. Brizendine describes the female mother’s adaptive abilities (and men’s if they want to).

“A woman’s innate brain wiring, like that of other mammals, responds to basic cues—the growing of a fetus in her womb; her baby’s birth; its suckling, touch, and smell; and frequent skin-to-skin closeness with her child. Even fathers, adoptive parents, and women who have never been pregnant can respond maternally after close, daily contact with an infant. These physical cues from the infant forge new neurochemical pathways in the brain that create and reinforce maternal brain circuits aided by chemical imprinting and huge increases of oxytocin. These changes result in a motivated, highly attentive, and aggressively protective brain that forces the new mother to alter her responses and priorities in life. She is relating to this person in a way she has never related to anyone else in her life. The stakes are life and death.”

Down through the ages, women (especially the strong ones) have explored different tactics to gain a sense of personal power within their male-dominated, sex-driven surroundings. All successful and unsuccessful tactics seem linked to a few common denominators: a woman’s innate ability to create beauty in herself and her surroundings and her intellectual prowess in intuitively knowing how to navigate, and sometimes manipulate, the realm of deep emotion and sexuality. Better then men, women have learned how to swim the waters of the heart’s deep emotions. And better then women, men have learned how to avoid all such waters and stay “all up in their head,” seemingly high above such troubling, unknowable waters—or so men think.

Men cannot “think themselves above” the powerful emotions connected to their sex drive. The female brain instinctively knows this and thus, has adapted herself to supply or withdraw what is needed so that she can be supplied with what she needs. And male emotions are vulnerable to their female providers for release and completion. The male drive to conquer and dominate the world around them is partially dependent on some level of female participation, be it only in servitude, sex, and procreation. For thousands of years, women have complied with these set parameters and created adaptive workarounds such as managing and controlling men and their projected needs through feigned submission, seductive compliance, and romantic disinterest. Women also “manage” their relationships with other women through competitive usurping, jealous power plays, and insincere, agenda-driven befriending.

Aging men and women, who’s sex drive has diminished, simply shift to the ingrained routine that was established during their years of fortitude and passion. Older folks simply settle into the comfort of ritual and routine established in earlier years of engaging in the power struggle and compliance cycles. The strong willed sort might keep the spats going just for sport because fighting makes them feel alive but what are they fighting for? Freedom. Nope. Just to feel the energy of the power struggle one more day.

In all of these ungodly scenarios, whenever human beings put their trust in a system over and above the person of Jesus Christ, that person(s) is subject to fear, control, and manipulation, whether they admit it or not. If our heartfelt trust is not firmly placed in God, we are willingly and actively participating in the system of domination-and-subjugation. There is no middle ground. Real trust is only available through real faith and actions that prove that we believe God, who regularly asks those seeking fullness with Him to break faith with their lesser systems. We cannot serve two masters. We will serve one or the other.

History proves that there is no “neutral” in the great tug-of-war power struggle between men and women. Fallen human male and female beings are regularly doing one or the other. They are either controlling and manipulating others or they are being controlled and manipulated by others. Most likely, they will be engaged in both—much of which they are completely unaware of because it has become so ingrained.

Even well-intentioned women and men, who do not desire to control and manipulate others, but do not put God first in their hearts by choosing to submit to His anchoring Love and Lordship, will be subject to the affects of the fall and will perpetually swing back and forth, trapped in an ancient power struggle with no way out except through God. Look at history and try to refute this fact. Then compare this with the lives of the few who truly put God first and those who may look like they do, but do not and the fruit of their walk with God proves it. Look at Biblical, or historical, or modern day life examples. What do we see? Very few, but they are there and have actually attained God-centered balance. Those few are proof that it’s a truth and by God, it’s possible! The masses are proof that without God, it is impossible to regain the balance of power between men and women.

When God is restored to His rightful place in a man’s heart, if he is married or desires to be married, a revelation of great importance begins to unfold. His female wife can be literally viewed and treated as though she has come from within him and is really his own flesh-and-bone. With his beautiful lady “from” his side and at his side, he no longer needs the strong parental bonds to hold his heart or care for his body. Re-anchored in God with Christ as her first Love, the man’s wife and counterpart now supply what is her part of his peace.

If the man does not desire to marry, this place is filled entirely by the grace of God Himself, rather than through a female (and vice versa). As a redeemed believer in Jesus Christ, the woman is no longer subject to what the fall did to her powerful emotions of desire. She no longer tries to pull from her man what is God’s to supply, but rather freely shares what comes out from her deep connection to and communion with God, who she has become restored to as a “direct report.” Such a blessed man need not ruin his relationship by dominating his woman’s God-breathed beauty and love. To keep the well flowing, such a man would seek to nurture and care deeply for this special part of him in her.

When God is restored to His rightful place in a woman’s heart, she can fully love and serve God as she was created to do and thus love and serve her husband with great dignity and honor just as her husband can love and serve her with equal dignity and honor. Such a woman can also serve others in a corporate leadership role and rule because her relationship with God has been redeemed and the power His Spirit is being made manifest through her in godly wisdom and prophecy (For example: Sarah, Ester, and the Prophetesses Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Anna, and the Acts 2:17 end-time overcomers). Trust is one of the biggest tools on godly men and women’s tool belt. Trusting God first is the only way a couple will be capable of trusting each other.

There are many Biblical examples of the role of women being subject to male domination. For example, the uproar Queen Vashti created when the Persian King Ahasuerus summoned her to his party to show off her beauty to his men-folk and she said “No!” Outraged and incensed, the men at the party acted quickly. Female subjugation is a big deal and must be maintained at all costs. They influenced the king to take quick action to ensure that women throughout the land did not “get any big ideas” from Queen Vashti and think that they too could say “No!” to their man. God used Queen Vashti’s act of “insubordination” and the men’s subsequent attempt to quickly regain all control of women to usher into the picture beautiful, godly Ester.

In the first place, Ester won the heart of the king and was chosen as Vashti’s replacement because she first loved God and His beauty shone upon her, setting her above all the other beautiful women presented. Ester is a stellar example of godly female leadership. Hot Ester honored God above all else and through her love for God and for her husband, Ester acted valiantly on behalf of her country and her king. Her leadership took great courage, involved intense beauty, and included life-threatening, shrewd decisions. Queen Ester showed the world the price of loving God with her whole heart and how beautifully such anchored love befits her role alongside of her husband, the king.

Ester 1:10-12, 17-22, On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was beautiful. 12But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. Then the king became very angry and his wrath burned within him. … 17 “For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women causing them to despise [look with contempt] on their husbands by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.’ 18“This day the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s conduct will speak in the same way to all the king’s princes, and there will be plenty of contempt and anger. “When the king’s edict which he will make is heard throughout all his kingdom, great as it is, then all women will give honor to their husbands, great and small. 21This word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22So he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province according to its script and to every people according to their language, that every man should be the master in his own house and the one who speaks in the language of his own people.”

And then there’s Ruth. The beautiful short story of Ruth allegorically reveals the lovely process of God restoring an end-time Bride for Jesus. Once Ruth committed her life to God and Naomi and dramatically walked it out, Ruth’s social status quickly rose: Starting as a foreigner (Ruth 2:10), she next describes herself as a maidservant (Ruth 2:13), and then as a handmaid (Ruth 3:9). By the end of the story, Boaz, her future husband, refers to her as a wife (Ruth 4:10), then Ruth is inducted into the royal line of Israel as an ancestress of King David (Ruth 4:17) and ultimately, and finally added to the bloodline of Jesus Himself.

Thus, Biblical accounts of female subjugation and female triumph abound. When woman first separated herself from being a “direct report,” to God as her first-love, survival demanded that she switch how she used and controlled her deep emotions and longings to get what she needed or wanted. Woman adapted to her male-dominated society by using her emotions and longings for good or for ill, to soothe and caress the soul of another human being and/or shoot a bitter arrow straight through the heart.

Females who want to capitalize on a man’s need for a woman’s deep emotion, especially as a boy from his Mother, will misuse their power to comfort through manipulation of the man’s emotions to get something from them that is wanted. Men who do not want to be manipulated like that simply reject the woman and get someone else who won’t do that to them, thus manipulating their own circumstances to gain their vision for success. The power struggle to get what one wants and needs just flips back and forth between men and women, depending on who’s taking what from whom.

The Apostle Paul’s instructions to believing couples for a restored male-female, husband-wife relationship are a cultural slap-in-the-face to 6,000+ years of otherwise. Who ever heard of “laying down your life for a woman?” This was a completely new and even preposterous statement. As we read Ephesians 5, we see the stark contrast from how men used to view and treat women to how believing Christian men, re-anchored and balanced in a God-first love, are to view and treat women—especially their wife. Paul even went so far as to say that “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Women are to be subject “as to the Lord.” That verse tells us that women are to first be restored to reverent submission to God’s leadership as His “direct reports” before women are even capable of true submission to their husband’s leadership. Men must also be restored to reverent submission to God to be capable of loving their wives in the way Paul instructs them to love. A secure-in-God man can love his wife like God does. A secure-in-God woman can trust such a man and easily respond to his leadership with heartfelt submission.

Ephesians 5:1-2, 22-33, Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourish and cherish it, just as Christ also does the church, 30because we are members of His body. 31FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Women must walk in radical obedience to God just like men if they want the fullness of Christ. And brothers in Christ must refuse to use the power that the fall gave men over women. Neither of them can hide behind their spouse, children, careers, or religion. The expression of true faith is not what you say you believe but what you actually do outwardly toward others and inwardly toward God. Faith without applied obedience is not faith.

The end-time Romans 8:19 Manifest Son’s of God includes both men and women, as does the Bride of Christ. They are the same end-time group of people who come into the fullness of Christ. In order for the entire Bride/Manifest Son’s of God to become mature, the women must be delivered from viewing themselves through the old lens of subjugation and the men must refuse to resort to any form of subjugation. Today’s women have head knowledge that they are not lesser then men yet still, many women keep employing the old workarounds and tactics for survival because they don’t yet believe who God says they are in Him. They don’t yet believe it because they are not doing the work of repenting from the old ways and becoming restored to their first-Love, Jesus. Repentance means that women return whole-heartedly to God in radical obedience and quit viewing men as more spiritual. We can stop the god of the stomach from controlling our emotions and keeping us bound to the past.

Philippians 3:18-21. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Janet Weaver Smith ©12-1-2014 gardenministries.org

Satan’s objective was to split the Godhead. Satan tried to prove that he could be apart from God and still be “god.” Then, if Satan could just get Jesus to act apart from the Father and rely upon Himself in any way, shape, or form, then Satan would have accomplished his “divide and conquer” turn-to-self strategy and prove that he was right—he could act apart from God and still be a “god.”

This explains why Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness to “take the short-cut” and turn to His own power and resources by turning away from the Father’s will and timing and to act independently of God to accomplish what He [Jesus] came to accomplish. Not only did Satan fail at his attempt to get Jesus to turn to Self for answers and vindication; the very death and resurrection of Jesus Christ made the way for an entire company of brothers and sisters born into Christ to displace and replace Satan. These who would love Jesus wholeheartedly and die-to-self [Galatians 2:20] would enter into covenanted relationship with Christ, overcome Satan, and be joined to the Godhead in complete bridal unity. Because of our forerunner Jesus, the bride is invited into a relationship of eternal union with God as Jesus’ completed bride.” [Revelation 12:11, Ephesians 1:22]

The place of intimacy once held by the archangel Lucifer before he fell from his created place in God sharing the intimate name of “Morningstar” with the pre-incarnate Christ (Job 38:7), has now by God’s grace been given to she who would become Jesus’ pure and spotless bride. Believing Christians are called to overcome Satan by developing complete trust and reliance upon their Bridegroom Jesus and as a result, become the Bride that serves as Ha Satan’s eternal displacement and replacement. Only the overcoming bride receives the “Morningstar” name’s reward described in Revelation 2:28.

Now, not only can the Godhead ever be divided, neither will the bride be separated from her beloved husband–Jesus. The Godhead now shares intimate union as Jesus and His Bride are a part of the whole. When the culmination of the ages and all of time have been reached and the marriage of the Lamb occurs, the Godhead will eternally “house” a pure and spotless bride that cannot nor wills not to ever act separately from Whom she loves. The joy of eternal dependence on God has been consummated once and for all and Father has his family back—forever. Praise the Lord! Jesus is worthy of our all. The Father is good and greatly to be praised.

———-
Scriptures:
Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus tempted in the wilderness

1 Peter 2:22-24, [Jesus] WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.…

Philippians 2:5-8, [Jesus] who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.…

Hebrews 5:7-9, …in the days of His [Jesus] flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

Colossians 2:2-3, My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Ephesians 1:9-11, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will

Janet Smith ©gardenministries.org, 9-4-2014

Throughout the Old Testament, we read story after story of how God, through His covenant of love for Israel, supernaturally manifested Himself to her as a good and faithful Husband. He lavishly loved, favored, and provided for His wife Israel. Yet, in spite of all of His outpoured blessings and faithfulness to her, only a few believed and stayed true to Him while the masses rejected Him and turned away and worshiped other gods. Jeremiah 3:20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD.

Revelation 12 describes a woman who represents a significant end-time portion of the unfolding, eternal love relationship of God with His beloved human creation. Revelation 12:1-2 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

The Revelation 12 “sign” of a woman may have a two-fold interpretation. First, the woman represents Israel who has birthed the male child, Jesus. Secondly, the woman represents Christ’s body–the believing church.

But then a separating comes into view in the second “phase” of the Revelation 12:1-2 woman/child scenario. The woman, who represents the believing church, bears and births a male child, who represents the bride of Christ who are the matured sons of God (Romans 8:19). Both the woman and the child have a relationship with Jesus but one goes through the trial of their faith earlier (the child) and goes on to the next level sooner and one goes through their trial of faith later (and goes into the protected wilderness).

Both are so threatening to the dragon that he literally sits in front of the woman waiting to devour the child who instead, is caught up to heaven and is supernaturally brought to the next level of heavenly interaction and then he goes after the woman to kill her and anymore overcoming children she may bear.

The woman, i.e., the believing church, whether she knows it or not, has been pregnant with the hidden-in-plain-sight answer to her painful cries for deliverance. She bears a child who represents a company of saints who have entered Phase 2 and ultimately, breakthrough and make a way for all of them to be saved from the fiery dragon’s assault. Whether caught up and “in heaven” or on the earth, the child and the woman are uniquely protected from the onslaughts of the evil dragon.

Unlike faithless Israel of old, who rejected God even as He relentlessly and benevolently pursued her; this lovesick bride child carried within the woman will have very little upfront except for an insatiable hunger for the word of God, an inborn passion to know Him, and a relentless drive to pursue oneness with Jesus.

In John 17:22 Jesus has asked for this oneness with His bride when He prayed, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one.” Jesus also said in John 17:6 that “keeping God’s word” is what “qualifies” any believer to engage in this process of becoming one with Him. What makes the bride ready to marry Jesus is how she stands firm believing His word no matter how long He takes to fulfill it.

Jeremiah prophesied of this bridal company and how she/he is markedly different from the old covenant, faithless Israel. Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter [Israel]? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth–A woman will encompass [i.e., pursue, court, shelter, protect, and surround] a man.

No wonder the enemy has fought long and hard to undermine God’s word. It is the very weapon that God uses that displaces him when the people of God choose to stand and believe God’s word. Those who accept the entirety of God’s word and hold fast to it; they can expect that the Holy Spirit will work through their enduring faith in His word to completely transform them. His word cuts off and literally washes away all of their unfaithfulness, unbelief, and fear. His responsive love to their relentless cries for help increasingly transforms them and rebuilds their confidence as they are grounded in Jesus and Him alone.

In Matthew 25, we see another illustration of separating happen. Jesus described the 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins who were all waiting for the bridegroom to come. Even though all of them fell asleep in the waiting zone, why were five ready and why were the other five not ready? The ready ones had purified heart motives. Their heart had been postured to say with conviction, “as long as it takes, I will wait.” Being postured for the long haul makes you prepare differently than if you are expecting or presuming a shorter timeline. Endurance and perseverance must finish its work of purifying our heart from running its gamut (i.e., its full range) of fearful, self-protective, self-centered motivations.

This pure and spotless bridal company make themselves ready because they refuse to stop pursuing the fullness of Jesus through hunger for fresh revelation from His word, and applying its transformational affects through active obedience. Like good Acts 17 Bible-studying Bereans, this fiery-hot bridal pursuit of oneness with Jesus results in a completely cleansed-by-the-water-of-His-word, free bride, who’s Holy Spirit sanctified faithfulness moves Jesus to come to her and come for her.

Luke 18:7 will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

There is a special blessing that comes to those who pursue oneness with Jesus in such undying devotion, even though they have so little to go on with so little favor and blessing that drives them. The blessing of seeing Jesus face to face and being transformed into His likeness is the fulfillment they seek and will find if they faint not.

John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

1 Peter 1:7-8 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

The 5 distinguishing characteristics describing the Revelation 12:1-2 woman and her child

1. Woman: the believing, end-time church who experiences the events of the time of tribulation differently with greater difficulty and separate from her child who has been “caught up.”
2. Clothed with the sun: clothed with Christ’s salvation (the Sun)
3. Moon under her feet: the cycles of time (symbolized by the Moon) are transitioning into eternity
4. Crown of 12 stars on her head: having now entered Phase 2, the woman exercises divine authority in the earth in ever-increasing Christ-like fullness as she prepares for Christ’s millennial reign
5. Pregnant and about to give birth: the time to birth what had been hidden for ages has come (the bride-child experiences the affects of the tribulation differently with less difficulty and separate from his mother)

The 5 distinguishing characteristics describing the Revelation 12:1-2 woman and her child explained:

1. The Woman: the believing, end-time church who experiences the events of the time of tribulation differently with greater difficulty and separate from her child who has been “caught up.”

When the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, then the time comes for the Jews to “look upon the One they pierced” and believe in Jesus as their Messiah (Romans 11:25, John 10:16, John 19:37). The first interpretation/application of the sign of the Revelation 12 woman has happened: Israel has birthed the male child, Jesus. Now the second interpretation/application is in motion. The end-time body of Christ believing church will birth an overcoming remnant, mature sonship child, uniquely called “The Bride.”

The woman in Revelation 12:1 represents the believing church that is pregnant with her fruitful harvest of faith-unto-righteousness believers. In great pain, she cries out as she births a first-fruits, remnant company of overcoming believers, the great champions of God, the very elect of His heart, the manifest sons of God (Romans 8:19-39).

These champions emerge in the earth and fight their assigned, end-time breakthrough battle. Through the resurrection power of the risen Christ, these dread champions, by faith in God’s word, partner with heaven’s warriors, such as Revelation 12 describes as Michael and his angels. While all dark rulers and powers are already under Jesus’ feet, this powerful angelic company cast out all dark rulers and powers of the air from middle heaven and put them under the feet of Christ’s overcoming body (Ephesians 1:21-23, Hebrews 2:8).

Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (“take it” in Greek is harpazó), and “violent” in Greek is biastá positive assertiveness; used of the believer living in faith guiding and empowering them to act forcefully (i.e. “fired up” by God to act by His revelation.)

All along the way, heaven has fully participated in helping this overcoming remnant company pierce the veil and break through. The Phase 2 process of surrender through the testings and trial of their faith in God and His word has broken through and pierced their own personal dark veils of fear, doubt, and unbelief. In response to this bride child’s lovesick pursuit of oneness with Jesus and for His supernatural presence to be made manifest in their lives, Michael and his angels have been fighting heaven-downward as long as all believers are fully engaged in cultivating their love relationships with God through faithfulness to their individual and corporate assignments.

What made the champions-of-old great, and what makes these end-time champions of God great, is the same. Like Jesus and like His champions of the Old and New Testament, these end-time warriors will not get offended with the extremes that the Father asks them to endure for His sake (Hebrews 12:2-3). In great faith, hope, love, and death to self, they overcome the enemy because of a threefold application of their faith: 1.) they fully believe in and apply the blood of the Lamb, 2.) they are in touch with the truth of their God-given identity in Christ and the word of their testimony is prophetically true, and 3.) they live very sacrificially in that they do not love their life even when faced with death. (Revelation 12:11).

Though violently opposed by a watchful dragon, this overcoming, Remnant Company of champions breaks through the dark veil that stretches across the middle heavens. Once that breakthrough has occurred, the enemy, the accuser of the brethren, will be completely displaced from that area of middle heaven and thrown down, once and for all. This dark veil in the middle heaven, that has long separated humanity from experiencing a full-on supernatural release of God in the earth, will be fully pierced through as this believing remnant forcefully takes hold of heaven (Greek: harpazó) and heaven forcefully takes hold of them (Greek: harpazó). By continually turning to the Lord and believing His word, the veil of darkness must thin and finally, is pierced through and taken away.

1 Corinthians 3:16 whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wherever the overcomer remnant pierces the veil and heaven’s gates are opened wide in those areas, an outpouring of the supernatural of God will begin in that area and the kingdom of heaven will forcefully advance out from there. We expect to see those “portals” or open-heaven’s happen especially in the end-time cities of refuge where apostolic hubs have been planted.

An apostolically anointed “Two Witnesses” company of fiery messengers of God will be sent out from these city-of-refuge hubs throughout the earth to bring the message of hope to the nations and gather a harvest of righteousness for the Lord. They will take His Fire to the nations. Just as there is only one Elijah but also a company of those who operate in the spirit and power of Elijah, there will be only Two Revelation 11 Witnesses but also a company of those overcomers who operate in the spirit and power of the “Two Witnesses” and cannot be harmed as they preach the gospel.

The floods of the living God will come and directly confront and oppose the floods that the evil one is sending.

Isaiah 59:19 “From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.” Another translation of this verse says, “…when the enemy comes in like a flood, the LORD raises up a standard against him.”

Once the supernatural of God breaks forth, the progressive nature of the advancing and expanding kingdom of God on earth will correlate with the ever-expanding company of believing saints who grow in their faith and “forcefully” take and occupy the land. There is the initial piercing-through and then that opening makes way for the rest of the floods of God’s manifested supernatural presence to come and pour out upon His people and the earth.

This open heaven releases the great, end-time supernatural power of God that results in a mighty harvest for the ever increasing redeemed and restored family of God. As billions of people witness and experience the one true God in resurrection power, for those who believe in Jesus and take His Name as their own and turn to Him with their all, they will be saved and will be agents of change who bring the Father’s will in heaven down to earth (Revelation 12:7-10, Matthew 6:10 …on earth as it is in heaven).

This great harvest joins with Jesus, the Lamb, the Son of God, Who was and is and is to come and Who is, forever timeless, forever the same, forever the one true God, blameless before the foundation of the earth, created and chosen by God to overcome all evil by His sacrificial love. His great and mighty love was perfectly displayed through the shedding of blood on the cross and, as He was delivered up to life by the Father, the curse of death was swallowed up forever, as He, Jesus, the Lamb of God, one with the one true and only, everlasting God, completely disarmed the powers and authorities of the evil one, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). Amen and Amen.

2. Clothed with the sun: clothed with Christ’s salvation (the Sun)

The woman has chosen and entered Phase 1: SALVATION

3. Moon under her feet: the cycles of time (symbolized by the Moon) are transitioning into eternity

The Moon symbolizes the cycles of time: Psalm 104:19, “He made the Moon to mark time.” (ISV)

Enduring through her own trial of her faith during the tribulation, the woman, as the believing church, is also called to overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of her testimony, and she does not love her life unto death and thus, finds dominion over the power of death and the cycles of time because she is no longer subject to the limiting parameters of the curse of death that is attached to the ever-shortening timeframe of this present age.

The age that currently is, and the age to come have entered her and within her transforming body, soul, and spirit, these ages have now merged into one timeline through the transcendence of the eternal, indwelling fullness of the Holy Sprit, Who is Life. In and through her enduring faith, she has now overcome death through the inworking fullness of Jesus Christ fully forming within her.

4. Crown of 12 stars on her head: having now entered Phase 2, the woman exercises divine authority in the earth in ever-increasing Christ-like fullness as she prepares for Christ’s millennial reign.

The woman has entered Phase 2 and is wearing the crown of 12 stars prophetically telling us that she too enters into overcoming faith during the tribulation and wears the crown that represents her millennial authority to rule and reign with Christ in the Ephesians 1 fullness.

5. The Child: the time to birth what had been hidden for ages has come (the bride-child experiences the affects of the tribulation differently with less difficulty and separate from his mother)

The time to birth what the Spirit has carried in hiddenness has come. The bridal fullness has come to all who are of the first-fruits company. The bride child represents those who have fought the good fight of faith in hiddenness, who have come to fully believe in Jesus as their LORD, and have entered into the Phase 2 promised reward of fullness with Jesus Christ. They have continually said “Yes!” to the Holy Spirit who has made them ready and Who has now enabled them to see Jesus face to face, just as He is in His glory. As 2 Timothy 2:10 says, They “obtained the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

Seeing Jesus face to face has a supernatural affect on the viewer and they are instantly changed into what that revelation of Jesus imparted. Upon the final unveiling of Jesus face to us, we will enter into complete union with Him. His light explodes in us and we are transformed into His likeness—going from glory to GLORY! Finally, we are one with Jesus and are fully operative in His fullness. We are completely “lit up!”

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

By His Word and inworking Holy Spirit, Jesus has changed His “Transformers” to be just like Him and to be with Him where He is in His glory. The fullness of Him who is the Christ, the one true God, the only God, the everlasting God, has come just as He has promised. He has completed His first-fruits work in the saints and delivered them from darkness and fully invested them into His eternal, everlasting Light. The Ancient of Days has rendered His BIG “YES!” to His beloved bride child. And now the child turns to bring His glory to those who are also called and invited into Father’s family.

John 17: 24 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

Fully clothed in the fullness of Christ, these “wise ones” will turn and lead many to righteousness, including those who are their “mother”–the believing church.

Daniel 12:3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

2 Peter 1:18-19 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

———-
In summary and some additional thoughts:

–Hear God’s words and put them into practice and you will be able to withstand the floods (Matthew 7:21)

–Ask to see God’s face and don’t stop asking until you have seen Him face to face (2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 John 3:2)

–The Revelation church in Philadelphia who has endured patiently and kept His word experiences the “hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” differently than the Laodicean church. Both churches are called to overcome and will be rewarded for doing so. Philadelphia overcomes before the tribulation and is “kept” through the time of trial. The Laodicean church overcomers do so during the trial and testing of the tribulation.

–The bride child will enter into the fullness before the rest of the believing church, i.e., the woman does. This is because the bride child will experience their trial of faith before the tribulation and come into the fullness of Christ, i.e., “caught up” before the floods of destruction come into the earth. Though the bride child will still be on earth, they will also be fully in heaven as Romans 8:19 describes the revealing of the mature sons who will carry the LORD’s glory and fullness to a groaning, travailing creation.

–The woman will experience her trial of faith and testing after the floods come. The floods will polarize her “lukewarm” non-committal Laodicean church perspective into becoming either cold and offended toward God (the great apostasy) or hot-in-pursuit of Him, as one seeking to overcome what the Laodicean church was given to overcome (Revelation 3:14-21).

–In the midst of the devastation, the woman, i.e., the Laodicean believing church will also receive a supernatural protection from the LORD, though it will be different than the protection given the bride child.

–The bride child’s protection seems to be a more “kept from” Philadelphia-church-style form of protection. Their protection seems more supernaturally all-encompassing, as though they wear the very presence of God Himself as clothing of light and glory and can go about unharmed wherever the Holy Spirit sends them. It is likely that the glorified, heaven-on-earth bride child functions as the “Two Witnesses” company sent out throughout the earth as witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

–The Revelation 12 woman’s protection seems to be more geographically and physically imparted.

The Bride and the Revelation 2:17 New Name Reward
Janet Weaver Smith ©gardenministries.org March 8, 2014

Jesus—the Express Image of the Father
Hebrews 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. John 14:19: He who has seen Me has seen the Father. John 12:45: The one who looks at Me [Jesus] is seeing the one who sent me. Colossians 1:15: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Genesis 1:27: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

The Bride—the Express Image of Jesus
I saw a vision of Jesus coming out of the Father as His express image. He stood before the Father in human form though I knew him to be God. He (Jesus) was very big. As He stood before the Father with His back to the Father and facing outward, I saw the Father release from His heart an initiative that caused the Holy Spirit to come out of the Father and “move upon” Jesus.

Body Popping
Then Jesus, in full union with the Father and the Holy Spirit, released what the Father had initiated. This is what I saw Him release: Out from, and all over Jesus’ body, “popped” many small expressed images of Jesus (Genesis 1:27). They extended out from Him in a distance that appeared not too far out, maybe 4-7 feet. Humans were what popped out of Jesus. We were extensions of the only begotten Son of God and shared common attributes because we were all created (i.e., we were popped out) for the same purpose and that was to be “little” extensions and expressions of Him as together, we occupied the circumference of His overall body.

Connected to Our Life Source—Jesus
We were tangible, living hologram-like projections suspended out from Jesus’ body yet still connected to Him by multi- fibered cords of light, life, and a tangible energy substance. At the end of each living, multi-fibered cord of light, life, and a dark substance, was a human being. For some reason, in the multi-fibered cord, the darker substance seemed to be what made us tangible. I noted that there was not a cord of any kind from the Father to the Son. The Holy Spirit was the invisible, eternal Connector between them. The multi-fibered cord was only between Jesus and the human beings who had popped out from His body. If a human chose not to stay connected to Jesus, they would be separated from His life and light resources. Ephesians 4:18, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.”

Two-Faced: In a Good Way
It seemed like each human had the ability to look two directions at the same time. One look was outward and the other look was upward and behind. We humans were to look up and back at Jesus from whom we had popped out and extended from. As we chose to continually look at Jesus, we would naturally express Him as we looked outward. As expressions and extensions of Him, we would naturally express His nature outwardly if we chose to stay connected to Jesus.

The Multi-Fibered Life Cord
The choice to stay connected to Jesus provided continual access, through the multi-fibered cord, to Jesus’ life source, which contained tangible energy, and all of the resources we needed to live out and express the revelation of who were in Christ. We gained this revelation as we looked upward at Jesus. We expressed this revelation as we looked outwardly, living out the truth of our God-given identity.

Look to the Rock
The Lord spoke to me a scriptural example of this. Isaiah 51:1, “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn.” Through the new birth, we are now cut directly from Jesus, the Rock of our salvation. We are living stones cut from and founded upon the Chief Cornerstone (I Peter 2).

Transformation
As we continued looking at Jesus and outwardly representing Him, there was something being accomplished. Our hearts were being transformed to be just like Jesus’ heart—pure and undefiled. We all shared the common attributes of being created in His image, but each of us had to individually choose to remain connected to Him for this heart transformation process to happen. As we continually chose to stay connected, we naturally drew from the main vine, Jesus, and our outward life naturally developed as our hearts underwent the transformation process (John 15).

A New Name
There would come a time when this process of transformation would be complete and our heart would be just like Jesus’—pure, undefiled, and blameless before God. Jesus then gave a new name to those who had kept their gaze fixed on Him and had allowed His resources to transform their heart. These new names could only be given to those who had endured the transformation process and had stayed connected to Him as expressed images of His body.

One-of-a-Kind Traits
This new name “package” had concealed information in it that contained expressly unique and exclusive “personality” traits that were of and from Jesus Himself. The new name revealed traits from Jesus Himself that made that person completely unique. They still shared similar heart attributes with all the others who stayed with Jesus, but through the name written on them, they also gained an exclusive relationship with Jesus who fellowshipped with them in their exclusive and unique personality trait(s) that He gave of Himself as His reward. No one’s new name was duplicated and neither were their identity traits.

Revelation 2:17: the Overcomer’s New Name Reward
The reward of Revelation 2:17 is this new name. It is an Overcomer’s reward. Throughout Scripture we learn that Overcomers receive many different rewards including clothing, jewels, scepters, rods, crowns, access to “hidden manna,” and a new name “that no one knows except them.” In my vision, Jesus was revealing the one-of-a-kind nature of the new name and how special that reward is. Revelation 2:17, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.” People in ancient times often voted by casting stones. A white stone typically meant “yes” and a black stone “no.”

Obedience Pays Off
I saw that those who chose to stay connected to Jesus by fully obeying Him (Psalm 119:4) were being prepared to receive a fully transformed heart. The new name that no one else had could only be given to those who had a fully transformed heart. For those who proved themselves trustworthy because they stayed faithful and connected to Jesus as He transformed them, He could now give new names to and forever entrust them with uniquely interesting, exclusive expression(s) of Himself (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Rejecting Jesus Will Cost You
Those who rejected Jesus and did not let Him transform their hearts would not receive this reward and furthermore, their trait was given to someone who did. Ephesians 4:18, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.” The distribution of Jesus’ unique traits paralleled the reward distribution principle described in the parable of the Ten Talents (Matthew 25:14-29). Just like the “talent” was taken from the fearful, lazy servant and was given to those who gladly obeyed their master’s assignment, so the “exclusive traits” of Jesus would be given to those who stayed with Him and let Him completely transform their heart.

Enjoying Jesus on a Whole New Level
Once the new name, with it’s unique, exclusive identity “traits,” had been distributed among the faithful, Jesus sought that person out and enjoyed fellowship with them—especially enjoying that exclusively shared trait within them. There is great honor in the kingdom of heaven for those who received the new name with His distinctive traits. I understood that in the Revelation 2:17 scripture, where it says that “no one knows [the new name] except him who receives it” meant that the new name that Jesus wrote on their heart contained new and exclusive identity traits of Him that no one else shared, i.e., “no one knows except him who receives it.”

The New and Exclusive “You”
Just like a fingerprint differentiates people’s identities, so these traits uniquely expressed the image of Jesus in ways that no one else could. Jesus gave those who stayed with Him this wonderful and amazing treasure for their faithfulness.

Sweet Fellowship Forever
The best part about the “new name” reward was that it established an exclusive bond of intimate fellowship between Jesus and His faithful friend and released profuse joy and love between them—forever.