The Inner Christ Pt. 3

The Virgin

'To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”' Genesis 3:16

'A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ' John 16:21

'Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.' Revelation 12:1-2

THE VIRGIN MARY

Friends, welcome. Today we have gathered to continue our contemplation upon the soul, the woman, and the child of the virgin.

Into her heart a seed was sown,

a ripe field is the soil of the virgin,

unto one is given her life to own,

to bear the child of promise she is certain.

Once a harlot but now made whole,

is the bride repented of her sin,

her skin once scarlet but now made snow,

for her husband is now her covering.

Indeed, the woman clothed with the sun is no longer naked. Her breasts and tender skin are no longer unveiled for those who wish to fondle her. Now, she is protected from thieves and murderers who would rob her of her innocence. Now she is returned to her true husband and her glory restored.

Let us remember that the woman here is a symbol of the soul; let us remember that her true husband is the Christ, the spirit from whence she came.

Who is this clothing if not Christ, the sun of righteousness? What is this sun if not the light of the knowledge of God? What are the garland of twelve stars upon her head if not a symbol of her submission to the government of Christ; the twelve tribes of Israel?

Only a woman, a soul, who submits herself to the rulership of Christ her Lord, can be covered by his light and bare his child. It is written:

"your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you" Gen 3:16.

Why is the moon under her feet? It is unquestionable that the moon has no light of its own, seeing as it but reflects the light of another. In greek, the language of the new testament, the moon is called "Selene"; a feminine name. The sun is called Helios; a masculine name.

'Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night... ' Genesis 1:16

The soul is like the moon, the lesser light, which cannot shine apart from the sun. The spirit is like the the sun, the greater light, which vivifies the moon with its rays.

When the moon is away from the sun, she becomes dark. When the moon reenters into the presence of her lover, she shines bright and her beauty restored. The 8 phases of the moon tell a profound story of the soul's journey from darkness to light; from separation to union.

Darkness to light.

To have the moon underfoot and the sun as the garment, speaks of the 'lunar soul' subjecting herself to Christ; 'the solar spirit'. Only such a woman can give birth to Christ, the man-child, who rules the nations within us with a rod of iron; only such a woman can reflect his light and become a candle that cannot be hidden.

We make no mistake in affirming that every single soul ought to enter into matrimony with Christ, their true husband, and give birth to the fruit or child of The Holy Spirit.

To give birth to a child of the Holy Spirit is to allow his word impregnate our hearts, gestate within us, and let that which has been conceived within us express itself through us into the world.

The one who allows the word impregnate their soul and bares the fruit or child of the Holy Spirit is a Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. For it is written:

“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”' Matthew 12:48,50

Why did The Christ say this? This is because he who does the will of the Father "expresses" the nature of the father on earth. The expression of the Father is Christ, and when he is unveiled through a vessel, that vessel becomes his mother, a means through which he "comes into the world again".

The Christ always expresses itself through a prepared vessel; through a temple; The Christ is always born out of a virgin.

As Jesus, who was in alignment with God, said: "if you have seen me, you have seen the father", so also will it be for anyone who aligns themselves with the Christ.

They will be walking and talking expressions of God; they themselves will be Christ, in the most perfect sense of the word.

They will be epistles of Christ, books of life to be read by all men, written not with ink but by the spirit of the living God.

Anyone who sees them has seen The Christ, nothing less and nothing more.

The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is something that must happen on the inside of everyone of us. Paul said:

'My little children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, ' Galatians 4:19

Why is he relating the pains of childbirth to the "formation" of Christ within us?

Listen, to incarnate the Christ is something indispensable; something expedient. The Christ is only incarnated in a temple, a soul, that is cleansed of all robbers and money changers. Yes, the Christ is only incarnated in one who is cleansed and has become a virgin; one who has become a new wineskin, ready to receive the new wine.

We must understand that this is the significance of the "symbolic" waters of baptism, which comes before the descent of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, the waters are a symbol of the cross; the place of death and resurrection. The death of the old and the birth of the new; the name "Jordan" literally means "to descend".

A descent always comes before an ascent. When we read Genesis 1, we see that the "evening" came before the "morning"; darkness came before the light. Before the great joys of the birthing of Christ from our beings, comes intense birth pangs like a woman in labour. Jesus said:

'For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of birth pangs.' Mark 13:8

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

Without a doubt this humanity will be destroyed, and from the ashes of the apocalypse will come the birthing of a new planet; a new and more advanced humanity; a heavenly Jerusalem if we may.

Nonetheless, the only apocalypse that matters is the apocalypse that ought to take place on the inside of us; the destruction of the old nature and the birthing of the new, via the unveiling of The Christ within.

The only descending of the heavenly Jerusalem that matters is the one that happens in our hearts. This is what it means for the kingdom of heaven to come. Come where? The kingdom of God is the government of God and this government ought to settle in our hearts.

The law being written on the tablets of our hearts is the most important apocalypse. This is what it means to "let it be on earth as is in heaven".

Transformation must first happen within before it can express itself without.

The word "apocalypse" is derived from the greek word "apokalupsis". "Apokalupsis" literally means "revelation" or "unveiling". The apocalypse is first and foremost an internal thing. Why, we might ask, is the revelation or unveiling of Jesus Christ associated with so much destruction and chaos?

'Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. ' John 12:31

Who is the "ruler" and what is the "the world" if not the carnal man, satan, the enemy of God within us?

And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ' Luke 10:18

'Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ' Romans 8:7

It is impossible for the new man to be born without the old man being judged and executed. It is impossible for the kingdom of Christ to be established within us if Satan, the carnal nature, the enemy of God, is not CAST down from heaven within us.

For a metamorphosis to happen, the caterpillar must die to the life and reasoning of an earth crawler and be "born again" as a heavenly butterfly.

The chrysalis, which serves as a tomb for the caterpillar, is the same womb from which the butterfly is born. Every end is a beginning of something, every beginning an end of something. The waters of baptism, which serves as a tomb for the carnal nature, is the same womb from which the heavenly man is born.

This is why it is said that The Lord does not come before the falling away or CASTING DOWN of the son of perdition. The son of perdition being the carnal man, satan, who indeed exists within every single one of us. Everyone is waiting for the external second coming of the Lord, but few realise that this is a reality that must first happen on the inside of us.

'Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the FALLING AWAY comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.' II Thessalonians 2:1,3-4

Brothers and sisters, who is this temple, this vessel, this mother of Christ, if not you and I? Who exalts himself above all that is called God and sits as ruler in the temple if not the carnal man?

Do we not know that he who harbours malice, hatred and pride has declared himself an enemy of God and his loving nature? Do we not know that he who lives a life of vengeance, lust and envy has declared himself an enemy of God?

'Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ' Romans 8:7

Many at times we have said: "Jesus has washed all my sins, i'm free from all slavery, Christ is my master, hallelujah!", yet in that same breath we curse our neighbour "by the instruction" of the spirit of rage.

How can we then say "i'm not a slave to sin", when our very fruits testify of our slavery and need for cleansing? How can we obey our pride and think we are not enslaving ourself to it?

'What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? God forbid! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? ' Romans 6:15-16

Millions and billions of people testify with their mouth that "Jesus is Lord", but our inability to forgive our husbands or wives or colleagues, testify who is really Lord over our lives. It tells us who we are obeying. The Lordship of Jesus is evidenced not by the claim of the mouth only, but by ACTION; by fruit. Jesus said:

'“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? ' Luke 6:46

It is impossible to say "Jesus is my Lord" and consciously and willingly cheat a friend. It is impossible to say "Jesus is my Lord" and treat our cleaners and drivers as though they have no value. Its impossible to say "I love Jesus" and not love and strive to live by everything that he represents. Jesus defined love this way:

'“If you love Me, keep My commandments. ' John 14:15

'This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ' John 15:12-13

Certainly, we have no power of our own and need his strength and life to live as he lived. We need the Holy Spirit within to empower us. We will never however, discover this strength of the Holy Spirit if we don't put the teachings of Christ into practice. "Faith without works is dead" said James.

How can we say we have "faith" in something and that faith has no substance? "Faith is the substance of things unseen, evidence of things hoped for." said Paul. Our actions, our conduct, our thought patterns are the evidence of what we truly believe; they are the tangible expressions of the intangible nature of our hearts.

Every time Jesus talked about a person having "great" or "little" faith, it was based on an "action" they carried out. Listen, works without faith can save no one and faith without works, the substance of it, is dead. Works and faith go hand in hand. Alone, they are powerless.

What we believe, what we have faith in, is substantiated by our physical, emotional and mental actions. Let us pause for a moment and think about the various thoughts and actions we carried out in the past week. The aggregation of those thoughts and actions tell us who or what we really have faith in.

A girl who chooses not to forgive her sister who offended her has faith in the pain inflicted upon her, not Christ. A man who would take up his fists against his brother for money owed, has faith in his anger or maybe greed or maybe fear of being broke, not Christ. A man or woman who lives or thinks promiscuously has faith in lust, not Christ.

These are the very natures that are completely antagonistic to the Christ; these are the very things that ought to go to the cross; these are the ashes that ought to be traded for the beauty that is Christ.

In that process of trading off our old way of thinking and reasoning, in that process of picking up our cross daily, we feel the birth pangs. These birth pangs and great sorrow come as a result of the destruction of the old nature and the birthing of the new. Change is always painful.

The flagellations are a symbol of the birth pangs.

How painful is the process in which God takes our pride to the cross in order to resurrect humility? How about when he is teaching us how to love someone who has hurt us so badly?

It is excruciating to the flesh, who is dying, but beautiful to the spirit being vivified. In the moment of our metamorphosis, there is much pain and travailing like a woman in labor. When that fruit of humility is finally born out of us however, then comes much joy and gladness.

The ashes of pride are traded for the beauty of humility and we become more heavenly. For this reason Jesus said:

'A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ' John 16:21

After the birth pains, after the great tribulation, after the earthquakes and shakings, after the destruction of the old man within us, comes the birth of the new man; the heavenly man. This is what it means to be "born again". It is not a mouth claim. The great tribulation, the earthquakes and tragedies which kill the old man, bring the new man to life.

This here is a clue we give to our readers, in order to understand what is being spoken about in the book of the apocalypse; the revelation of Christ Jesus WITHIN US.

Let he who hath an ear, hear what the spirit is saying:

'Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ' Revelation 7:13-14

How comes that the 'great tribulation’, which was death and destruction to many, happened to be a cleansing and birthing process for those "who came out of the great tribulation"?

How comes in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, Jesus very definitively talked about the great tribulation and likened it unto a "birthing process"?

'For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pangs.' Matthew 24:7-8

Where do these earthquakes and pestilences happen if not within the bosom of our hearts? The separation of tares from wheat inside of us? What is born out of this travailing if not the Christ, the son of the living God?

Make no mistake, this outer planet will be destroyed and will be reborn but not before this destruction and rebirth happens within us.

The great tribulation, the birth pangs, the baptism, the cross, the belly of the whale, are all the same principle expressed in different ways. They all speak of the death of one thing and the birth of another. After the death of the old man in us comes the birth of the new man in us.

This is what it means to become a "Virgin Mary", mother of Christ. It is first an internal thing. A virgin doesn't only speak of one who has never engaged in physical sexual intercourse, its also speaks of a heart that has been cleansed, made pure, ready to receive the sperm of Christ her lover. This is why Paul said:

'For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. ' II Corinthians 11:2

Listen to what was said by Isaiah:

'Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. ' Isaiah 7:14

Paul here, made it very clear that all of us ought to become that virgin, the bride of the Holy Spirit; that bride of Christ. The virgin is not just a historical woman, the virgin is HERE and NOW.

As the spirit in Genesis 1 hovered upon the waters, to impregnate it with the word, Christ, so also did the spirit hover upon Mary and impregnate her with the word, Christ. Without a doubt, the child of this conception is "The Light" which "comes into the world". This must happen on the inside of us, our soul must submit to Christ within and bare his child.

For this reason Paul said:

'For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' II Corinthians 4:6

The great tribulation, the cross, the baptism, the dying, cleans our temples so that we can become virgins again, ready to receive the new wine; ready to pour it upon all the peoples. This is why Isaiah said:

'“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord , “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.' Isaiah 1:18

This is why it was said that the "144,000" who "came out" of the great tribulation, the tomb/womb, "washed their robes and made them white". The color white speaks of their purity; their virginity; their chastity; their new wineskin. It is a reality that must happen on the inside of us. The mother, the vessel, the temple, the revealer of Christ, are they who do the will of the father.

“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”' Matthew 12:48,50

Selah.