Into the Garden
Martin Cecil April 17, 1960 pm
Now we come to the evening hour of our meditation, that in joy and humility we may with one accord come before the Lord. In our meditations today and last night we have begun to share a deeper understanding, a greater vision, of the resurrection and the life as it relates to our own experience here and now. This morning I had particular reference to what is called Christianity. In dealing with the subject the way I did no condemnation was intended toward anyone. If we are to serve God we must face the facts, whatever those facts may be. We cannot be governed by God if we attempt to function in a state of self-delusion, so we must see things as they are. Christianity as it is known in the world has, unwittingly insofar as the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians are concerned, been a shroud to obscure the Truth. That millions of human beings have found themselves under this shroud is no criticism of them.
The Lord would build His house on earth, the tabernacle of His habitation, and to do so He needs human beings. As long as human beings are trapped in the patterns of Christianity as it has come to be known, or in any other aspect of the patterns of this fallen world of man, the material which the Lord would use to construct His house remains unavailable to Him. We recognize that there are many sincere people with responsive hearts who find themselves not only under the shroud of what is called Christianity but the shroud which covers the whole of fallen man’s world. Christianity, as such, is just a part of the pattern, but contained within it there are those human beings who give some thought to God and to spiritual things. It is the pattern of religion itself which has tended to keep human beings from reaching a point where they might function under God in the expression of the Spirit of God.
I stated that Christianity as man knows it was just a part of this fallen world pattern. What is it that maintains the primary control with respect to the fallen world pattern? Fundamentally it is the commercial structure, which includes the control and manipulation of finance. All things on earth are subordinate to this. Politics seem to take a prominent position in the affairs of men, and human beings become quite worked up, politically speaking, but politics are subordinate to the control which is exercised through finance. This supreme factor of control in the fallen world of man is spoken of in the Book of Revelation, and elsewhere in the Bible, as Babylon. Society, as such, is governed by the same central control, as also is religion. This is clearly enough seen when we consider the local affairs of a church, because care always has to be taken not to offend Mr. So-and-So or Mrs. Someone Else because they contribute extensively to the upkeep of the church—and possibly they might be persuaded to give the church a new organ! These, perhaps, are insignificant affairs, and yet they indicate the part that money plays in the average church body; the control is maintained through finances. The minister has to stay pretty well in line or he is out of a job. This is one tremendous advantage which I have in this Ministry! because, while I seek to make it as easy as possible for each one of you, I am not governed by any of you. My primary purpose is not to please you, but rather to please the Lord. Because you are also interested in pleasing the Lord we are able to come into agreement, and to the degree that I do please the Lord, and you are dedicated to pleasing the Lord, you find that that which I do is pleasing.
Necessarily in this Ministry we need finances. In the world of man we cannot very well get along without money. Incidentally, as has been emphasized before, even in the world of God there is a medium of exchange, so we do not in any way reject money as such, but if we are to serve the Lord and please the Lord we cannot be controlled by it. We need finances to carry forward the Ministry of the Lord on earth, but no one, obviously, could buy the Ministry of the Lord. Such finances as are made available to the Ministry of the Lord are received on one basis, and that is as they are given freely in love—we call them love offerings—without any strings attached. Sometimes we receive a gift which the giver would like to be spent on some certain thing. If it is possible to make use of that gift that way we do it, but if it is not, if it is needed for something else, we use it for something else. We cannot, if we are to serve the Lord, let ourselves be trapped into the state of being governed by that which governs man's fallen world—“Babylon the great.”
We trust the Lord that adequate finances will be forthcoming. We know that this is based upon the Law—according to the response, so shall the Ministry of the Lord receive of the substance which is essential to its manifestation on earth in the world of fallen man. If there is not much response, then there is not much manifest ministry. According to response, so is it established. We move forward with the assurance that there are responding ones the world around who will, as they begin to catch the vision, offer themselves as material in the Lord's building, and also offer the essential monetary substance that is required. The Ministry of the Lord uses money as a medium of exchange; that which is received is used. In the world of man, money, finances, credit, are all used to control the human beings who are a part of the world of man. If we remain under that control we remain in the tomb, under the shroud. Responding human being everywhere have been invited to come forth from the tomb, relinquishing subjection to the controls which man exerts through this primary pattern of influence so that acceptance of Divine control may become a reality.
There are human beings everywhere in the world, in every kind of human pattern—religious, political, every sphere—who are the responding ones. God is interested in saving human beings. He is not interested in saving the world which man has made. If all human beings would respond to that which God offers and come out from under the old controls of this fallen world, all human beings could move over to become the building material for the house of God on earth, and there would be no necessity for conflict or destructiveness of any kind; but because the vast majority of human beings are identified so thoroughly with man’s world they exhibit an unwillingness to relinquish it. From the standpoint of the Ministry of the Lord at this present time we seek those responding human beings everywhere, anywhere, who are willing to come out from under the shroud of man's world, so that they stop being governed by what we have spoken of as the patterns of black magic.
We recognize many of the evil spirits which are used to control human beings, but we also see, or may see, quite clearly the part which the commercial financial structure plays in dominating the world of man. Some of the Christian churches constitute very big business. Finances play the prominent role; everything else is subject to that. Expediency, compromise, and all the other things that are necessary to maintain the appearance of something worth while are in evidence everywhere; but, underneath, whoever it is that handles the finances calls the tune. Of course there are lesser patterns in the world and greater ones, rising up to an apex somewhere, by which the affairs of men are manipulated. What is called communism seems to be the threat in the world of man, but who financed it in the first place? who controls the purse? Those who are in that position in relationship to communism, as such, might possibly be found to be in the same position in relationship to some other patterns too! What appears on the surface, that which engenders fear in human beings, is necessary to control human beings and to make things work out in the way intended, but what appears on the surface does not really tell the tale; there is that which goes on underneath from the standpoint of the control which is exercised through finance. Where does it come to focus? in whom? From our standpoint, what difference does it make? We are not interested in being controlled by it anyway, but we need to see something in relationship to it so that we recognize that the structure which man has built on earth is not a structure which God is interested in saving.
One aspect of that structure appears in religion—not only the Christian religion. It gives it a good appearance and deludes people into imagining that there is something worthwhile, but you are beginning to recognize the grave clothes when you see them. And yet there are human beings trapped at the moment in this vast structure of man's creating whose response is awakening to God and the things of God, and it is for these, for all who will respond, that we would hold the door open, that we might show the way out—not simply by telling people that they should do thus and so, behave this way or that way, but by demonstrating in our own lives how it is done, revealing it ourselves.
There is a remarkable description in the Book of Revelation, the 18th chapter, with respect to these things:
“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven.”
Where is Heaven? Far, far away somewhere? The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, Heaven is right here.
“I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
“For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
“Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
“How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
“Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
“The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
“And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.”
Does that not cover most everything in the world which man has created?
“And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
“The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
“And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
“For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
“And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
“And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
“And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
“And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
“And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”
That is quite a description! And it is talking about the same thing about which I have been speaking—“Babylon, that great city,” the city which is maintained on the basis of the consciousness of fallen man. A city is the symbol of a state of consciousness. The New Jerusalem comes down from God out of Heaven—a new spiritual consciousness, a new understanding. And here we have Babylon, and the control which is exercised through the commercial pattern, through finance. God is not interested in saving Babylon, but He is concerned for those who have been trapped in Babylon. He is not willing that any should perish but that all, if possible, should come to repentance.
Until human beings begin to see the nature of that in which they are trapped they are not likely to be very much concerned about coming out of it. We would not limit our consideration of these matters simply to what is called Christianity; that is just one phase of the pattern; and yet there are countless sincere and earnest human beings who are trapped in that aspect. There are others in other states of bondage. It is all a part of that which is symbolized by bondage in the darkness of Egypt. The whole structure which man has built on earth must go.
If God were to arbitrarily eliminate it, as He well could, how many human beings would there be left on earth? Precious few. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And it is our concern that His Will should be done in this respect as in all others, so that all responding human beings everywhere may have the opportunity of coming out of Babylon, of participating in the resurrection—that is what it is—of emerging from the darkness of the tomb, through the grave clothes.
Did you ever wonder why comment was made in relationship to the grave clothes, how they were lying in the sepulchre after our Master’s body had come forth from the tomb? They were lying in a certain way, which particularly struck those who observed it. They were lying in the way in which they were when the body had been wrapped in them, but there was no body. Those who are trapped presently in the great city of Babylon, in all its wide ramifications, must come out through that which has held them in bondage; in other words, the bonds must be seen. The responding one cannot just slip out by a back door somehow without any recognition of what it is he is being called out of. The grave clothes which bind human beings in the human pattern of things must be seen for what they are; otherwise the human being will not be interested in coming out. So he comes out through them.
In whatever measure you yourselves have come out of that pattern you have come out through it; you have worked your way through it. Things have been cleared for you step by step so that you could come on through, just leaving the grave clothes behind. You do not have to do anything with them; you do not have to destroy them. You just come on through and leave them behind. The body of Jesus came on through the grave clothes and the grave clothes were left, and it seemed a very remarkable thing for those who observed it; and yet, symbolically speaking, in relationship to ourselves we can recognize that that is exactly what happens in the experience of the resurrection, in the experience of coming out of Babylon. You have to clear through all the grave clothes and just leave them behind as you come on through them, emerging through the door of the sepulchre into the Garden of God. It is in the Garden of God that the house of God is built. You recognize something of that already, do you not? It is in the pneumaplasmic substance that the Divine design must be established, and when it is established there physical substance conforms with the design, and so the house of God is built—built of the material supplied by individual human bodies which have come on out through the grave clothes into the Garden.
Now, actually, from the standpoint of geographical position all these things are in the same place, but to see something of the principles and to recognize what it is that is happening we have this portrayal in the picture coming forth from the tomb through the grave clothes into the Garden—but the Garden is not separate from the person. As the pattern, the Divine design, is established in the pneumaplasmic realm for the individual, and collectively for the house which the Lord is building, then the physical forms of human beings conform to the design and it begins to appear, not made with human hands. It has been portrayed as a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It is not a part of the structure which human beings have built on earth. It is in the world, but it is not of the world.
And when we say, “Come out of her, my people,” we do not mean that we have to go some place, physically speaking, to some geographical position, but just come out of the state of subjection to bondage in the darkness of Egypt, come out of Babylon, that great city, so that the manipulations of those who control the structure of Babylon can no longer manipulate you. Now, most human beings are completely oblivious to the fact that they are being manipulated, or if they begin to catch sight of something they do not know what to do about it anyway; so they, generally speaking, ignore it. There are some who start to try to fight it, try to change things around in various ways—politically speaking, perhaps, or in relationship to the financial system, or something else. There have been many such endeavors initiated by individuals who began to wake up to what was happening, and yet they did not really know what to do about it. They were a part of Babylon and they were fighting against Babylon! To fight against something gives that against which you fight strength—so it was quite all right with Babylon!
We are not interested in fighting anyone. All we are interested in is coming out of Babylon, leaving the controls of it behind and accepting the government of God, that we may be used in the building of the house of God on earth. If it is to be built the Lord must do it; otherwise we labor in vain. God is interested in saving human beings but He is not interested in saving the structure which man has built on earth. Most people, to start with at least, imagine that if there were not the human structure there would not be anything, just absolute chaos. With the world the way it is now that probably would be true; but we are here to let the Divine design take form, so that there is something, there is something which may receive those who come out of Babylon. Because that which God creates has been forgotten, because man has become so accustomed to his own structure, he imagines that there could not be anything else. That is a lie of the devil, because there is the Divine structure, that which was revealed by our Master when He came forth from the tomb to walk in the Garden.
Our concern is to let that Divine structure be built. If we deal carefully with the human structure when we are working with those who are trapped in it, our care is not because we impute any value to the human structure but because we are concerned to make it easy for the individual to come out of the human structure. If you immediately rush in and start to wreck the human structure by what you say, then the individual will probably react defensively and it will be impossible for that person to come forth. So we are careful. We need to understand; we need to see; we need to have clear vision; but when we are dealing with those who are coming out of the human structure we must remember that we serve according to response, so that we are wise as serpents and harmless as doves, not putting unnecessary stumbling blocks in front of anyone. But we ourselves need to see the facts, to see things as they actually are, so that we cannot be deceived. Our Master said something about almost deceiving the very elect. We need to reach a point where we cannot be deceived by any of man’s marvelous structures, we know what they are. But in serving others we do not need to say everything we know. We deal with people at their own level, open the door for them at that level and gradually, step by step, as they come forth they will begin to see more and more of the nature of the grave clothes which have bound them. But they cannot see it all at once.
And so it is with you. You are being led forth step by step. Perhaps some of the things that are said will shock you a little, but because your response holds you centered you will find that you clear through the grave clothes easily and leave them behind, becoming increasingly aware of the Garden of God and that which is there, something so wonderful, so marvelous, that all the imitations which man has made are recognized as being very crude counterfeits. Once we begin to catch a glimpse of the reality, begin to know what it is, begin to see it as it is, we cannot be deceived any more.
How good it is to find those things for which our hearts have longed, lo these many years, to begin to become acquainted again with the glories of the Kingdom, the Garden of God planted eastward in Eden. How wonderful to realize that it is here, it is not far away; it has only been obscure to human beings because their eyes have been wrapped around with a napkin of the grave clothes. But as the wrappings are taken off vision is restored, sight comes again to the blind, and that which was seemingly dead begins to be restored to life, and the wonder and beauty of the Garden of God planted eastward in Eden begins to be sensed again—perhaps not clearly seen yet, but something known and much felt. And so, yielding to the firm control of the Spirit of the Living God, we may begin to come home and to discover the mansions which the Lord has prepared for us on earth, in the Garden on earth, in His Kingdom on earth—mansions, not cramped, limited hovels, but mansions.
And we remember that our Master showed the way, that we may experience the way here and now. “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” “Come out of her, my people.” “I am the resurrection and the life.” So let it be known in you, that because you experience these things others may know the Way, the Truth and the Life because of you. “Be still and know that I am God.” Yield and let go to the Spirit of the Most High which is present with you in this hour, and always. The Word of the Lord was: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of man’s world.” So is His Word spoken to you tonight. Peace be unto you.
© emissaries of divine light
