~ The New Jerusalem ~
~ The New Jerusalem ~
 ..PDF Version |
Chapter:# 30
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| The Gate Of Manneseh |
And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. Genesis 41:50-51
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Revelation 21:1-7
Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 ASV
( Three Visions )
“As I looked out through these eyes in the new body, I could see both the natural realm of this creation as well as the world of spirit at the same time. I saw the influences of spirit upon those who dwelt on the earth in natural bodies. These influences were both from the power of carnality and principality as well as Holy or demonic forces which pulled each person into a walk of instability. I could see men walking as though they were in a wrestling match with themselves, being torn this way and that by the influences of that which was good verses that which was evil. Great wrestlings in the world of spirit were taking place over the life of each one. The thing I noted about the spiritual eyes in the glorified body was that I could discern accurately each thing which came into my vision. It mattered not if it were that which God had originally formed from dust, or if it were that which had come from the realm of spirit and all the entities therein. This discernment was not based on time but on continual knowledge of that which was of God and that which was of this lower element in the earth.
At the same time I was aware of the life of resurrection flowing through my new body of flesh, the very life of The Lord Jesus Christ flowing through the veins of this body. That the animations of my body were according to His animations and His workings, that which He in sovereignty purposed to be done in full accord with the Will of God was passed, and that which was the final perfection of His life in a vessel thus glorified was the force of life that flowed through my being, even in my veins.
What interested me the most was the thoughts of the mind in this new body. For the thoughts of the mind were implicitly accurate and complete, there was no partiality or anything that was not in full faculty. As I had seen the Ancient of Days upon the Throne, so I had His thoughts. My mind in this Glorified Body was MY MIND, and I could think as I willed to think. But the thoughts I thought and the choices I made WERE MADE IN PERFECT UNION WITH HE WHO SAT UPON THE THRONE. As God thought, so I thought. As I thought, so God thought. Within this mind was the power of thinking which had no limitation or restriction or falseness or shadow of lack or lack of understanding. Each thought was resilient in the Wisdom of God without any measure of restriction. This was a mind much more intelligent than the one I possessed on earth in my first natural body. The thoughts in this mind were the very thoughts of God, or rather, God thinking in me.
( End
Vision )
“ I beheld Ruth holding a basket in her arm filled with a sheaf of Barley, standing in the arches of the Gate of Manasseh. ( End Vision )
( 3rd
Vision )
I saw an incredible loud and monstrous storm of black cloud
and of fire, a huge tempest billowing and blowing and churning from the North,
and in the midst of this through it came The Lord Jesus Christ at the time of
His appearing. Psalm 18: 11,12.
The Gate of Manneseh: Forgetting, he that is forgotten, forgetting the former pain.
There
is a specific reason in the wisdom of God as to why Levi and Joseph are not
mentioned in name as to the Gates of The New Jerusalem. In both cases the
interpretation is open to discernment for anyone who desires pure truth with no
constraint. The way I understand this though is very important as to the
meaning we find in the Gate of Manneseh, that the Lord would have us “forget”
our former pain.
Both the Gate of Manneseh and the Gate of Gate of Ephriam were not sons born directly of Jacob, but were sons born of Joseph as he ruled Egypt. The last Gate, the Gate of Benjamin was once again directly from Jacob as Benjamin was the flesh brother of Joseph. So to repeat, Manneseh and Ephriam were grandsons of Jacob, both being born in Egypt but blessed in Jacob.
Simply put, the old carnal part of your life, which life we all endure, is to be removed from us forever at the appearing of Christ. Until then however this carnal nature will continue to grow alongside the spirit of life in us until He comes, then the twain shall be eternally separated and only the life of our new born again nature will remain in bodies glorified and in perfection with nothing more to be added or done in our lives. This will signal the end of all testings and the end of all the years of our travail.
When
before the Lord concerning the Gate of Manneseh I wondered why I saw Ruth
holding a sheaf of Barley in her basket? Because Barley represents the
overcoming company, those who apprehended that for which Christ apprehended
them. The entire picture of Ruth is one of being gleaned as LEFTOVERS from the
fields of the lands of Boaz in Israel. Boaz is a type of Christ, and he owned
the entire field. I saw however the last gleaned sheaf in the basket held by
Ruth, the stalks of Barley left behind when the rest of the field was first
harvested. In other words, the Overcomer in their experience is cast out of all
the systems, either by their own choice or by circumstances generated by the
systems themselves. When I say systems, I mean the denominational systems, the
political systems and soon the economical system. All of these represent the
systems of the world which we are learning to overcome. These are the places
where our footfalls eventually cease and we come to an end in our ability to
walk there. The news of the day, the political efforts of nations, the
blasphemies in denominations, they all become paled to our eyesight when we
behold the wonder of the Lord in the calling to overcome. Manneseh then
represents the ending of the former life, and the remaining of the life birthed
and matured from Father.
Seeing Ruth here speaks volumes to me personally. I for one am weary of always trying to sort out what is spirit and what is carnal in my life or the life of those around me. What I am looking for is the fellowship and communion of the Saints who have heard this higher call and have responded. Who judge not one another according to the flesh, but who see the Lord according to the truth of victory in Christ, not defeat in the fall of the 1st Adam. The need arises to recognize one another in the Lord, take a hold of each others hands and run as one this race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Ruth gleaned that which the field did not harvest. That which did not make the first cut according to the original crop.
The Overcomers look like failures, they look defeated in many ways, cast out and forgotten. As rejected ones they abide with no fitting place for them to take part in. These ones whom Ruth gleaned were ones who did not become part of the original harvest that made it to the barns. They were instead left behind, rejected, men and women of sorrows and acquainted with much grief. They that are set aside in this hour, waiting for the appearing of the Lord, are these whom Ruth has gleaned out of the fields of Boaz. They do not fit in anywhere else. Those who cannot abide compromise. Those who cannot abide false accusations or contentions which have no fruit or conclusion. They who cannot be a part of that which the Lord says is “unclean”. Not that they religiously refuse it, they simply cannot stand it, they cannot walk there, they cannot endure it nor do they require themselves to endure it. To them it is unclean and they touch it not. These are the stalks of Barley left in the fields which are gleaned as they who have Overcome. Burdened with the weight of their own trials and testings, willing to endure all the Lord placed in front of them, they were bowed down. They did not fit in with the original swath of the gleaners scythe. But because they were low, the blade missed them and they were left behind. Such is this little group that Jesus says are His Overcomers. These do not stand up in might of doctrine or personal belief in the systems of men, but only in the joy that their sins are forgiven and that they are called of the Lord to walk with Him day by day. They mind not to NOT be seen, but rather they joy to be one with the Lord in His sufferings and rejections.
They were bowed down with the weight and the burdens of life, thus escaping the blade of the scythe. But they were also bowed down because they bore full ripe barley grains. Grains which were of full age, ripe and heavy in fruitfulness. As the fruit of the barley grain ripened in them, they did not gain more and more recognition, but instead they gained more and more humility.
Now they are there coming to the Gate of Manneseh together as one gleaned sheaf of Barley in the basket held by Ruth. They come to FORGET THEIR FORMER SORROW. They come to forget the time they had of wrestlings between flesh and spirit, death and life, sorrow and joy. The trials of life for them come to an end and their course of faith is completed as they arrive in the Gate of Manneseh to abide forever in the Kingdom of God. These no longer need to discern that which was antichrist verses that which was Christ, they instead have ended their need to discern because that which was in part has been done away. They have entered into the fullness of their inheritance, their hope, their everlasting joy.
The entire theme of The New Jerusalem is God creating that which is new. This Gate is the first place that the new creation is gently realized. God’s entire purpose is to consummate all things in Christ. To bring all humanity, every single person, into the Gates of this City. When God is done, this City will have a full populace, a full measure, and no one will be exempted from entering in. The unjust, will not be unjust anymore. The filthy will not be filthy anymore. Anything that was carrion for the dogs, or who was a sorcerer or a whoremonger, a murderer or an idolater or whoever loved and made a lie, will no longer do such things, for this City will stand as that sole measure needed for all things to be made new. Nothing of the former life in this world will remain or be remembered. And all of this will happen as the New Jerusalem is on THIS earthen globe. But first, the sheaf in the basket of Ruth will enter in, then the rest of mankind once their processings are completed will enter in also, each man in his own order.
Part of the reason the Overcomers in this world are going through such sufferings is due to the calling of God upon them to be firstfruits unto God. Not just in the time to come, but now, in this present evil world, the Overcomer becomes this standard of fruitfulness which is borne upon the branches of the tree of life in them, which standard the world in this present time is convicted by. The life of they that overcome is also the standard by which all other systems and efforts of men are measured. The standard is simple, these are they who are in the true communion of suffering with the living Christ. They share daily in the fellowship of His sufferings in truth, not in some sort of self suicide sacrifice, but the purposes of God in bringing them to that place of being fully yielded to His will. These learn the heartbreak of Gethsemane, the pain of rejection, the scourging of false accusation and of being equated with criminals. As ones totally rejected they share in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that sharing they also come first into the full measure of His resurrection life. These things are most important to walk through in daily overcoming. It seems that many fall away from their fellowship, and that sharings with others becomes few and far between, but these form ONE SHEAF in Ruth’s basket, they are the ones who first enter in to the full promises of God.
Hold fast dear reader of these pages. The Lord is coming for His Barley sheaf. He will not allow you to be left behind, even though everyone else has left you behind, He will not do so unto you. Your life is the life He has called to exemplify the sufferings of Jesus. And your life is also the life He has called to exemplify the life of Jesus in resurrection. You who bear such painful experiences are they who first will enter this great hope and finished promise. What joy there is over the life of such who are born for such a time as this. We may very well see this fullness in our time, even the fullness realized in the Gate of Manneseh.
Next,
we come to The Gate of Ephriam: Increasing fruitfulness
because of association with the King. It is here
that we learn of true fruit in the Kingdom of God.
To be continued……………..
Kenneth B Visscher
Copyright