Mystery Of God

Mystery  Of  God

In His Temple — Ark Of His Testament

Uranda   April 11, 1953  Class

As we come to the end of another week we have the privilege of sharing an hour of meditation. And tonight I would like to meditate with you for a little time on certain portions of that blueprint with the specifications which we speak of as the Book of Revelation. The introduction to this particular subject of meditation is contained in the Tenth Chapter. I would like to read the entire chapter to you so that you may feel the vibrational pattern of the context:

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud:

and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun,

and his feet as pillars of fire:

And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea,

and his left foot on the earth,

And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried,

seven thunders uttered their voices.

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write:

and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,

Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven,

and the things that therein are, and the earth,

and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein,

that there should be time no longer:

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,

the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said,

Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel

which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book.

And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter,

but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up;

 and it was in my mouth sweet as honey:

and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again

before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

This concluding verse makes the statement that the author of the Book of Revelation was to prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues and kings. Obviously, since this outworking was near the end of the life manifestation of the one who penned the words, the promise was for another time, another incarnation in his service on earth. But our particular point tonight is contained in the seventh Verse: “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Here we have a definite assurance that the time would come on earth when God would no longer be a mystery to the children of men, when the things of Heaven would no longer be a mystery on earth. The unification of Heaven and earth within the range of the consciousness of man is necessary to the fulfilment of this promise. We are here to share in that outworking by which this promise may be fulfilled. It is only as you let the mystery of God be finished in you that you can be a means by which the mystery of God may be finished in the world.

In relationship to this pattern of outworking, we have here a remarkable picture of the process of incarnation, for each and every one here came into the world to fulfill a certain task, came into the world to share this divine fulfilment. “And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.” This is the book of the individual life, the individual purpose, according to the Divine Design.

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him Give me the little book.

And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up;

and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey,

And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it up;

and it was in my mouth sweet as honey:

and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

The willingness to come into the world, the willingness to follow out the pattern of the Divine Design, is signified here. And the action necessary to that was pictured as being sweet as honey in the mouth. The actual outworking of the experience in life on earth could not be anticipated as being altogether pleasant, and so in the belly—that is in the process of digestion, outworking or fulfilment—the book is bitter in the belly.

God does not give any assurance that when we come into the world to serve all things will be pleasing, that there will be no difficulties, no obstacles. We have all experienced in one way or another something of what it means to have this book of individual life expression prove to be bitter in one's belly. But knowing that it will be so, or would be so, did not stop us from eating the book, receiving it into ourselves, accepting the Divine Commission, coming into the world to accomplish something according to the Divine Design.

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Once we begin to see this portrayal in relationship to ourselves, our purpose on earth, we can profitably take a moment to consider the passage which outlines the world condition at the time that is here designated. Remember that the statement is: “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” Here is a description of the world situation, the nature of the world condition at the time specified.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Now there is the essence of the message or revelation of the Seventh Angel. You are here sharing in a Ministry which recognizes the Master’s meaning when He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” and that we should seek that Kingdom first and let it manifest. And here is the statement that the time is come, the time of the sounding of the Voice of the Seventh Angel, when the kingdoms of this world are to become the Kingdoms of our LORD and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever—the process of outworking in the lives of human beings when the Kingdom of our LORD in Heaven shall be extended into the earth to include the world and all the kingdoms of this world, that it may be known that they are the Kingdoms of our LORD and of His Christ. And in this pattern of outworking we read:

And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats,

fell upon their faces, and worshipped God.

Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,

which art, and wast, and art to come;

because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come,

and the time of the dead, that they should be judged,

and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets,

and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great;

and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth,

And the temple of God was opened in heaven,

and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament:

and there were lightnings, and voices,

and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Now, we cannot possibly take time tonight to examine all parts of this remarkable portrayal but to note only a few significant points—that is, significant in relationship to our present pattern of meditation. We recognize that the nations are angry—and the time of the dead that they should be judged. Now human minds have jumped to the conclusion that that meant that people who are dead in the sense of being buried in graves and their bodies have returned to the dust of the earth. But who are the dead? Those who are dead to the impulse of the Spirit of God, those human beings who are not aware of that Spirit, who do not respond to it, who do not let it have meaning in their lives. If one has no means of perceiving any given thing, one is dead to that thing. This is a commonly recognized principle in daily life in the outer sense. One is dead to the fact. But here we have a still greater significance, because those who are dead to the Spirit of God are subject to death and are in the process of moving toward oblivion.

There is the statement in another place that the dead shall be raised up. Not the dead bodies in graves. The Bible teaches no such thing. But among those who are dead to the Plan of God, they are not aware of it, they have no consciousness of it, they do not know it; among those who are dead to the working of the Spirit of God, who are dead to the reality of the Divine Plan, there are those who shall be awakened that they may respond and yield and be resurrected into the pattern of Divine action. They become aware of the Spirit of God, become aware of the Divine Plan, and begin to share in it moving in the current of life. But those who do not respond to that resurrecting call are those who become subject to death in the sense of moving into the realms of darkness unaware of the reality of God's Plan. In this pattern we see that the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, is being extended into the earth to include the children of men, and the dead are given the opportunity of resurrection—that is, that they should be judged. And how are they judged? They judge themselves. They judge themselves because they themselves determine whether they shall yield to the working of the Spirit of God or not, whether they shall reject the Divine Plan or not. So we begin to see that this process of judging is at work in the world now. “And that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”

Look back in the pattern of history. Until the last few years has there been any time when man had sufficient power, sufficient knowledge, sufficient weapons, to make him be in position to destroy the earth? Is man now in the process of destroying the earth? His most materialistic mind recognizes that if there is a war of atomic weapons, for instance between United States and Russia, that it could very easily bring our pattern of civilization to an end. And so the leaders of what we call the free world are making every effort to avoid such a war, seeking honorably to avoid it. The statement here is that in this pattern of outworking with respect to the Lord God Almighty, “that thou shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” At no time in recorded history have we had a condition in the world before which meets that point in this specification. And in this outworking the specific factor is emphasized, “And the temple of God was opened in heaven.”

Now where is Heaven? Heaven is at hand. Heaven is here on earth. Heaven is within reach. Heaven is here whether man knows it or not. Heaven is here whether man is dead to it or not. But those who are alive to the fact that Heaven is here, that the Master knew what He was talking about when He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” are in position to begin to recognize that the Temple of God is being opened in Heaven. In some distant place far away? No, right here on earth in that Kingdom of Heaven that is at hand. Now when the Temple of God is opened in Heaven on earth we have the beginnings of the manifestation of God’s Power on earth.

You have been called from out of the world pattern, from the north and the south, from the east and the west, to share in Love Response to God, in yielding to the Truth, letting go to Divine Control, permitting the Divine Design to have meaning, to yield to the resurrection and the Life, to the end that you might set up the vibrational patterns of the Temple or Body of God on earth.

This Body must be opened in Heaven before it can appear on earth. We have recognized this principle in our studies before and we have recognized that there must be on earth the generation of the pneumaplasmic substance—whatever name we might use to describe it—which is caused to conform in an invisible sense to the Divine Pattern of the Temple of God in Heaven, that the Temple of God in Heaven may through that process begin to have form on earth, and that the Temple of God in Heaven may be the Spirit, the Inner Reality of Being, for the Temple of God on earth. And the Temple is the Body.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of the living God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Now, if you are the Temple of the Living God, your body, then your being, your Temple, is to be opened in Heaven. It is finally to be opened on earth, yes, the beginnings of the manifestation, the revelation of that Truth on earth. But before you individually as Temples of God on earth can be opened on earth, you must first be opened in Heaven. And that means while you are living on earth. “And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven.” “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” And when the Temple of God is opened in Heaven in you, you the outer man or woman, you the outer form of being, can be opened on earth, and your physical form will be the means by which the Heavenly Temple is revealed on earth.

“And there was seen in His Temple,” in Heaven, in you, “the Ark of His Testament.” What is a testament? People make what they call their last will and testament. It is a declaration of an agreement or a determination, a pattern of will, a desire, an order of disposition—a recognition of an agreement. “And there was seen in his temple”—that is, the Temple of God opened in Heaven in you on earth. “And there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Now when people see you, see into you, see your life, see the expression of your being, what do they see? A declaration of the principles, the precepts, the concepts, the beliefs of the prince of this world? Most human beings when you look into their hearts, when you watch their pattern of action, when you recognize their currents of thought, when you hear their words, you find a revelation of what? The testament of God? No, the testament of the prince of this world—of distortion, of discord, of conflict, of every miserable thing. When one looks into you, what is the testament there found? Is it the testament of God? Or is it the testament of this world?

Before our Master reached the point of having to endure the indignities and the agonies of the trial and the crucifixion He made a statement, “The prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing in me.” There was absolutely nothing of the testament of the prince of this world in our LORD and KING, not one word of his testament. “The prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing in me.” And He said, “Follow me.” If we are going to follow Him, then we must reach a point where those who see into our lives, see the pattern of our living, that which results from our living, and they will not see the testament of the prince of this world but rather behold in you, each one, the Testament of God, the revelation of God’s Will and Purpose, the revelation of His Covenant, the revelation of the fulfilment of His promises, the reality of the working of God’s purpose on earth in you. If Heaven is in you and you are the Temple of God according to the Divine Word, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of the living God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you”, then that Temple is opened in Heaven in the inner sense of reality in you, so that it can have meaning through you. While you are dead to Heaven, dead to the things of Heaven, the Spirit of God, the Temple of God in Heaven in you is closed. Do you think, in the sense of the Inner Realms, disassociating the pattern from human beings individually and collectively, that the Temple of God is closed? No, the Temple of God in that sense is open all the time and does not need to be opened.

It is the Temple of God in Heaven in you that needs to be opened into a pattern of expression through you, that it may be revealed on earth. And as you begin to be aware of that Temple of God in Heaven in you, you go through the processes of resurrection and then the Temple of God is opened in Heaven in you, and as you let that temple be opened it begins to have meaning in your consciousness, in your heart and mind, conscious and subconscious, and it begins to be revealed through your body, your actions, your words, your deeds, your thoughts, your feelings, your attitudes. You begin to let the Temple of God be opened in Heaven in you. And when one looks into you one can see into the Temple in Heaven that is opened in you, and one finds there the Ark of His Testament, the Testament of God, of our Lord and King. We find the nature of this Testament revealed for instance in the Lord’s prayer. “Thy Kingdom come,” man is supposed to pray. “Thy Kingdom come.” Where? On earth here, to be extended into the world of men. “Thy will be  done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Here we begin to see the Ark of His Testament in you, that is in the Heaven in you if you will but let that Temple be opened in you. And once you begin to see the Ark of His Testament in the Open Temple in Heaven within any human being, you begin to know the reality of the words, “For Thine”—for Thine O LORD and KING—“For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever.” As we begin to let the Temple of God in Heaven in us be opened so that it may be revealed through us, the steps are being taken by which the mystery of God shall be finished.

We are now living in the time in the outworking of the Divine Plan when this fulfilment must appear on earth. It is for this purpose that we are gathered here on Sunrise Ranch. It is for this purpose that our lives are dedicated to service, that the Temple of God may be opened in Heaven in you, and that the Ark of His Testament may be seen in that Temple in Heaven in you, and that you may no longer by your life, by your living, reveal the testament of the prince of this world. You begin to realize that every thought and word and deed is revealing some testament, either the Testament of our God or the testament of the prince of this world. You cannot while you live stop revealing one testament or the other. And once you let the Temple of God be opened in Heaven in you there we begin to see the Ark of His Testament in you, and you begin to let the reality of God’s Power manifest.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven.” And where is Heaven? It is here at hand. “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

When you begin to let these things work out in you and through you, you come to the point of beginning to know the mystery of the Seven Personages. The first is the woman. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven.” And where is Heaven? Up in the sky somewhere? If you were looking to see this great wonder, would you look off up into the sky and hope to see it? No. We must look where it is. And the Master said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” within reach. It is here. And as the working of God’s Power is made manifest in the processes of the sounding of the Voice of the Seventh Angel there is a cycle of outworking in human lives, and the first has to do with the woman. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

And second personage or focalization, the pattern in the outworking through the person, through you. Each one of these outworkings has to do with you as an individual, the processes of your resurrection. “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads, And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”

And then the third pattern, the third step in the outworking of the process of resurrection in your person: “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” How is this rule to appear? Something that fits the pattern of the popular concept of our LORD and KING when He was on earth? How often when I have been under the necessity of showing some firmness I have had people say to me, “Well Jesus would not have done something like that”—judging me and saying, “Jesus would not have done that.” In the first place it is inane and silly. They don’t know what Jesus would have done under that circumstance. But the primary point is this, if it is a part of the Divine Pattern, the Divine Program, we must have that strength, that stamina, that courage which permits the positive power of God to find manifestation on earth. In what kind of expression? The positive expression, the positive man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, a positive rule. “And her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

And then the fourth pattern. As you really begin to approach the Throne of God, begin to let the reality of the Divine Pattern unfold in you, you come to the fourth step in the process of resurrection. “And there was war in heaven.” What Heaven? The Heaven within you, the Heaven of your own being, not somewhere up in the sky, not somewhere in the dim distant past, not something in the far-distant future, something that works out in the pattern of your life in this day and time. “And there was war in heaven:”—in Heaven within you—“and Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.”

Now some assume that this battle was something that happened a long, long time ago and that it is all over and done and there is not anything more of it. Well it did take place a long time ago with respect to certain outworkings, but these steps take place in and through every human being who truly begins to respond and yield and let the power of God have meaning in his life. “And there was war in heaven"—in Heaven within you—"and Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven,” in you; that the dragon and his angels shall no longer have any place in the Heaven or invisible realm of your own being. What is the contest here now in this day? The contest which has been made manifest in you to varying degrees in various ways—this is the contest.

“And there was war in heaven.” In what Heaven? The Heaven within you. "Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not.” As you stay centered in God, love response to our KING, the dragon and his angels cannot prevail in you but are cast out of Heaven within you, and this is the pattern of the outworking in the process of the resurrection. This takes you to the point of three and one-half days—the three and one-half days. Our Master continued His public ministry for three and one-half years. Three and one-half is one half of a week. A week is seven days. The seven again signifying the cycles of outworking with respect to the re-creative processes in you which we call the resurrection. And only as you let these processes take place in you can you begin to let the mystery of God be finished insofar as your consciousness is concerned. Only so can you let the Temple of God be opened in Heaven within you so that you may begin to know what it is to let the Ark of His Testament be revealed in your life in your thoughts and words and deeds here and now.

Blessed Ones, this portion of the Divine Blueprint with its specifications contains many fascinating, interesting and vitally important points which we have not had time to consider tonight. But I wished you in this hour, to the degree of your response and letting go, to begin to see the part you can play and the part you are playing according to your response in letting the mystery of God be finished, letting the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory of God have meaning on earth, letting the steps of the resurrection take place in you. The Master’s body came forth from the tomb on the third day. It is in relationship, then, to this same cycle that the reality of the resurrection was established in Him and the Victory revealed; but as He said, “The prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing me.” He revealed only the Temple of God that was opened in Heaven within Himself; but with you, as you begin to move through the steps, the cycles of the resurrection, there is still something of the prince of this world in you, still something of his testament being given expression on earth through you. And so as you stay centered and yield and respond, there is war in Heaven in you, and Michael and his Angels are with you in the battle against the dragon. And though the dragon and his angels may fight, they prevail not, neither is there place found any more in Heaven within you, and then you reach the point where you can say with our LORD and KING, though the prince of this world cometh he findeth nothing in me. So it is that you can share the Victory. So it is that you can have a part in the actual outworking of God’s Great Plan on earth.

Our Gracious LORD and Holy KING, we thank Thee for the privilege of living on earth in this day and time. We thank Thee for the privilege of serving on earth in this present situation. We thank Thee for the privilege of doing our part toward letting Thy Kingdom come and letting Thy power have meaning on earth because we let Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, revealing the Ark of Thy Testament in the Temple of Heaven within us that all who will may come to know that Thou art indeed the LORD of Heaven and earth and that the kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our LORD and of His Christ, and He shall reign on earth for ever and ever. We thank Thee, Father, that it is so, IN the Christ, Aum-en. 

© emissaries of divine light