| Chapter #41 |
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As read by Kenneth B Visscher |
The Urim and Thummim Stones - Witnessed Twice
Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. Exodus 28: 9 - 11.
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
Exodus 28:30
{Quote From Wesley}
Their government was a theocracy; God was their king, the high priest was, under God, their ruler, this Urim and Thummim were His cabinet council: probably Moses wrote upon the breast - plate, or wove into it, these words, Urim and Thummim, to signify, that the high - priest, having on him this breast - plate, and asking council of God in any emergency, should be directed to those measures, which God would own. {End Charles Quote, italics mine}
Urim Stone: “LIGHTS”. A flame as being denoted THE LIGHT OF GOD from THE EAST, for restoration of all creation will arise FROM THE EAST and move forward UNTO THE WEST until ALL CREATION IS CREATED BRAND NEW.
“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:27
Thummim Stone: “PERFECTIONS”. An epithet of the High Priests Royal Ephod that represented COMPLETE TRUTH. In relation to HIM THAT OVERCOMES this Stone represents one going forth on a VENTURE. They come forth at the end of that VENTURE in complete innocence and in a state of utter completeness in God. They also have the prosperity of the Kingdom of God as their fullness and eternal portion.
“ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1 Peter 5:10
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There is one thing about the Ephod that gladdens my heart in the midst of my tribulations and gives me hope in the midst of this world that is needing to come to full restoration. And that is that the Ephod in Ancient Israel is a present truth for today for those who desire to walk in the light of God’s present purposes. It is not just an ancient artifact, a relic of history. It is indeed a witness of the Spirit of God in each one who loves the Lord in sincerity and in truth. The one thing about the Ephod that has encouraged my life is the phenomenal display of the Grace of God towards man because of understanding it’s significance. This grace that I see is attested to in both the Old and New Testaments of Scripture, and can be used to liberate anyone who is walking in any measure of falsehood or iniquity. The Ephod is a ‘symbol’ of this great Salvation Christ wrought for us, and then the ability He gives us to walk in the Spirit in perpetually.
Below are some quotes from Hannah Whitall Smith, taken from the Internet. These are indeed encouraging gems of God’s great plan for mankind. These are quotes from her autobiography “The Unselfishness of God and How I Discovered It”, which were eliminated in all the publisher’s editions, but which thankfully were saved by some son of God who had found them. Both grace and iniquity is discussed in these quotes.
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“The salvation is absolutely equal to the fall.”
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“I had expected to enter into a feeling of Christ's own personal sufferings in the life and death He bore for our sakes, but instead I seemed to have a revelation, not of His sufferings because of sin, but of ours. I seemed to get a sight of the misery and anguish caused to humanity by the entrance of sin into the world, and of Christ's sorrow, not for His own sufferings because of it, but for the sufferings of the poor human beings who had been cursed by it. I seemed to understand something of what must necessarily be His anguish at the sight of the awful fate which had been permitted to befall the human race, and of His joy that He could do something to alleviate it. I saw that ours was the suffering, and that His was the joy of sacrificing Himself to save us.”
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“I saw that the kingdom must be interior before it can be exterior, that it is a kingdom of ideas, and not one of brute force; that His rule is over hearts, not over places; that His victories must be inward before they can be outward; that He seeks to control spirits rather than bodies; that no triumph could satisfy Him but a triumph that gains the heart; that in short, where God really reigns, the surrender must be the interior surrender of the convicted free men, and not merely the outward surrender of the conquered slave. Milton says, "Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe," and I saw that this was true.”
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“Read in the light of these views, my whole soul thrilled with praise over the very words that had before caused me to thrill with horror. "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let them also that hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melted before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God." God's wrath is against the sin not against the sinner, and when His enemies are scattered, ours are also. His sword is the righteousness that puts to death sin in order to save the sinner. The fire of His anger is the "refiner's fire", and He sits, not as the destroyer of the human soul, but as its purifier, to purge it as gold and silver are purged.”
"Implacable is love
Foes may be bought or teased
From their malign intent;
But He goes unappeased
Who is on kindness bent."
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“I shall never forget a memorable occasion in our own house, when a celebrated Preacher from Boston , was visiting us. The conversation at the breakfast table turned on the subject of God's love, and this Preacher declared that you must not count on it too much, as there were limits as to what His love could endure, just as there were limits to a mother's love; and he went on to declare that there were certain sins a daughter could commit which the mother never could forgive, and which would forever close her heart and her home against her child, and he asserted that it was just so with God, and that he considered it was a grand motherly religion that taught anything different.
I have no doubt his object was to combat my views on Restitution, although we were not talking on that subject; but he evidently wanted to convince me that God was not quite so foolishly loving as I thought. It was more than I could endure to hear both mothers, and the God who made mothers so maligned, and although the speaker was my guest, I broke forth into a perfect passion of indignation, and declaring that I would not sit at the table with any one who held such libelous ideas of God, I burst into tears and left the room, and entirely declined to see my guest again. I do not say this was right or courteous, or at all Christlike, but it only illustrates how overwhelmingly I felt on the subject. The honor of God seemed to me of more importance than any ordinary rules of politeness. But I see now that I might have vindicated that honor in an equally effectual but more Christlike way.
Still to this day, the one thing which I find it very hard to tolerate, is any thing which libels the character of God. Nothing else matters like this, for all our salvation depends wholly and entirely upon what God is; and unless He can be proved to be absolutely good, and absolutely unselfish, and absolutely just, our case is absolutely hopeless. God is our salvation, and, if He fails us, in even the slightest degree, we have nowhere else to turn.”
END QUOTES
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Shared so many times in these studies has been the thought of “Lucifer”, or that fallen part of humanity and the spirit of rebellion that works in mankind. The nature of Adam in his fallen state. The above writings show forth the delusions of the mind that Hannah Smith encountered in her description of the salvation of Christ. How that Lucifer cements carnality and religion into one rebellious mass against the truth of Christ. So now allow me to show you the difference between the true and the false.
As shared previously, Urim means “lights” and Thummim means “perfections”. If you will, see this as a layered growth in our “understanding”. A realm of wisdom begetting wisdom. For the Urim and Thummim can only operate in the Spirit of the Lord when we are gaining FROM THE LORD - “Wisdom and Understanding.” When we cry up unto the Lord and seek Him for the understanding we need to endure this hour of testing that has come upon the earth and for wisdom as to how to walk forward and overcome in spite of the many pressures of this day. So then, light comes upon light, greater light than the light we had before. And because of the light a greater realm of perfection comes to our spiritual walk. This is only day by day, as we learn to take each day at a time. As we learn to lay down preconceived ideas and formulas for making pet doctrines work. We come instead into a ‘relationship’ with the Living Christ that is due to this walk in the Spirit and the giving of light which then leads to perfection.
At the same time we also learn that the work God is doing in the lives of the Overcomer is not yet done. We do read: “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Colossians 2:10. But does that mean we have come now to full growth in the Lord? Have our testings therefore come to an end? Is there no more warfare in the Spirit? No more realms for us to overcome? Have we finished our steps of obedience? NO! This means that HE IS OUR COMPLETION. All we need IS IN HIM. And we are always in full measure and complete supply when we are IN HIM during the time of our need. So that would mean therefore that in each testing in your life, HE IS YOUR COMPLETION. In each realm of overcoming, HE IS YOUR COMPLETION. In each place that your testimony would go forth to reveal Christ in you, HE IS SEEN. Please understand. We are IN A PROCESS. Each time a testing comes to us, we learn more and more progressively that HE IS ALL WE NEED TO MEET THE NEED!
The Urim and Thummim are Stones of “Witness”. They witness to the Spirit of God speaking in your heart. This is reality, not fallacy. The covering of the Royal Ephod is a calling on those who form the “order” of Melchisidec. An eternal priesthood. It is not just an historical relic of ancient history, the Ephod is A REALM OF SPIRIT. It is THE WITNESS OF GOD UPON YOUR HEART. And the Urim and the Thummim ARE TWO STONES OF MOTION. They “move” according to the Will of God IN YOU. They RISE and they FALL according to the dictates of His Spirit in your life. That you would indeed be one of those who are known as they who are sons because they are “led” by the Spirit of the Lord. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14. The Stones of Witness will always cause greater light and greater revelation and greater growth to come to your spiritual walk. You will learn two things. These two things seem to contradict one another but in reality they do not.
1} You will learn that you have not yet arrived at full overcoming or full growth in your Spiritual walk, but you are progressively moving towards that goal. Knowing “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Psalm 138:8. Also “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Phillipians 2:13
2} You will learn that you are COMPLETE in Christ as relates to HIM being all you need to conquer in your life in each area you are asked to walk through. Col 2:10.
The two Stones of Witness are seen in type in two examples from scripture. Listen carefully Dear Overcomer to my words! Bind them upon your heart and set them as a part of that great hope we have of being GLORIFIED before the Lord in bodies of Glory. For I believe that there is a wheel within a wheel. Ezekiel 1:16. That there is a “church” within a “church”. That the OVERCOMERS ARE NOT PART OF THE NORM! The Lord is calling a company to come forth that will ONLY DISPLAY THE FULLNESS OF GOD WITHOUT ANY MEASURE. But dare I go one step further in this understanding?!?! Dare I say ONE MORE WORD ON THIS?!?! I believe that the Overcomers ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST IN THE EARTH. I do not believe that EVERY CHRISTIAN who is “churched in a denomination” is part of the body that The Apostle Paul describes in
Colossians 1:18 / 2:19 as the body of Christ, those who are vitally joined to the head from which all the issues of life do flow. They are not partaking of the manifested display of “lights” and “perfections” as are those who are in the process of overcoming. But the true overcomers, those Sons and Daughters of God who have set themselves to conquering even as Jesus conquered are PART OF HIS BODY.
I see the Two Stones of witness described in two more sections of the Word of God. The first example is of the two Olive trees in Zechariah chapter 4. These are none other than an Old Testament example of THE OVERCOMERS. Anointed with the oil of the Golden Candlestick, they measure forth LIGHT TO THE NATIONS. And Zerubbabel is seen measuring THIS FOUNDATION, even the corporate HOUSE OF GOD. The plummet, or plumb bob is in his hand so that the foundation can be discovered and measured and can be given as a realm of hope to God’s people.
{From The Visscher Family Homepage}
"Oh Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel ! Behold the plummet, the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. Yea for thus saith the plummet, yea, the word of God rightly discerned, this shall be even for this present hour. Behold the plummet, and the line in the hand of Zerubbabel ! Behold says God, my word hath gone forth in the hand of Zerubbabel, the plummet and the line, by my holiness have I sworn that my word shall not return to me void, but will accomplish that whereto I have sent it. Yea, this is my house, these be the stones, even thy fair stones laid in the colors of Amber and Jasper, behold this is my line, this is my temple, even this is my word fulfilled. A people strong, a people, the like of which has not been seen before, this people, the army of the Lord as the Word of the Lord hath declared. The land before them as Eden the fire doth consume, and behind a flame kindleth, and unto this shall be their marching order, and the retributive judgement of thy God. Yea, surely the Lord, even God , terrible in holiness and full of fury, even God, the God of hosts shall utter His voice before this army, and thereto shall all creation be gathered, and thereto shall the flaming brand burn and consume till all be ashes. This then is the Word of God to they who have ears to hear. This my word shall perform the fullness of my will, and all shall know me, from the least to the greatest, yea thus I swore, to Zerubbabel, even so shall this my house be built, even so shall it be finished. I am the Lord."
{End of The Visscher Family Homepage}
AMBER AND JASPER! How amazing is this Dear Overcomer!?!? So then God would bring forth a COMPLETED TEMPLE, EVEN THAT WHICH IS A PRODUCT OF HIS GRACE.
The second place in scripture I see the Urim and Thummim is now from the New Testament. It is equally as powerful as the prophecy of Zechariah and has just as much impetus for us today as it did when it was first penned. It is a realm of GROWTH, a place of WITNESS that God is bringing the overcomer to. For YOU DEAR OVERCOMER are a part of THIS GIANT THAT GOD IS RAISING UP, EVEN THIS CORPORATE SON. And each one will walk in their place in this body IN THIS WORLD. For God is bringing this TO THE EARTH. And for that creation will be glad, for it will spell the end of death and the beginning of a non-cursed creation.
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” Revelation 11: 3,4. This Dear Overcomer is none other than the true Body of Christ in the earth. Please read from verse 1 to 13 in this chapter. Note again, the measurement of THE TEMPLE in verses 1, 2, and then of the tribulation that the body endures in the earth because of the time of their prophecy. See the two witnesses as MOSES and ELIJAH, not in person, BUT IN TYPE. That there is an overcoming company that is one leg and an overcoming company that is another leg of this body. Even two legs of the Body of Christ. This again is a true witness of the Stones of Witness, even the Urim and Thummim Stones.
Their suffering is a common element. For you Dear Overcomer will NOT FIT IN with the world. You will be ‘killed’ {suffer utter rejection and be thrust out} and your dead body will lay in the same suffering as the dead body of Jesus, even on that soil of the earth that men would call holy, but from which the witness of God will arise and the Glory of God will be seen. You Dear Overcomer will not suffer CORRUPTION! You Dear Overcomer will NOT FIT IN with the religious, with the worldly, with those who have placed God into a doctrine of lukewarm tradition. Our testimony may be silent, but it torments all those who reject our way in God of SEPARATION FROM ALL OTHERS TO BE PART OF HIS BODY IN THE EARTH. For if you are a true Overcomer, YOU WILL SUFFER SEPARATION FROM ALL OTHER GROUPS, GATHERINGS, CHURCHES, POLITICS, ECONOMIES, GOVERNMENTS AND EVEN YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD. God will separate you UNTO HIMSELF. For God is jealous over you with a Godly Jealousy. He is a jealous God who will never share His Glory with another, so He makes you Dear Overcomer ONE WITH HIMSELF SO THAT THE GLORY OF GOD IS YOUR GLORY AND HIS RESURRECTION LIFE IS YOUR LIFE. This is what the world hates. YOUR SEPARATION. They cannot stand it! Your separation is a testament to their rebellions, to their religiosity, to their anger. Your separation is testament to fleshly responses and to emotional gatherings that are not righteous. You Dear Overcomer are a part of this TWO WITNESS COMPANY, even those that manifest THE URIM AND THE THUMMIM OF GOD IN THE EARTH. How much to be envied are you Dear Overcomer! For this is THE ONLY PLACE OF THE TRUE WITNESS OF GOD IN THE EARTH. This body I speak of has been since Jesus ascended back unto Father until this very hour. This is a ‘present reality’, not a future expression! The Two Witness company IS WHAT YOU ARE A PART OF RIGHT NOW. For the past 2000 years, this company has witnessed to the Life of God in them and to the purpose of God.
Their end is RESURRECTION! The life of God enters into their dead bodies and they are CAUGHT UP TO THE THRONE OF GOD. And you Dear Overcomer are A PART OF THIS TWO LEGGED WITNESS COMPANY IN THE EARTH.
How do you know Dear Overcomer that you are indeed a part of His Body in the Earth? What motion of Spirit in you declares you one with this giant that God is raising up? For we know that of ourselves we can do nothing. Also that God’s purposes will never be withheld from them who walk uprightly in the integrity of His Gospel. What is the signal in you that conveys to you this unspeakable gift of His grace that would give you such hope? Is it the gamut of your testings? No! Is it the pressures you bear in solitude? No!
Is it the hope you have of seeing all things restored by God in the fullness of times? No!
Perhaps you suffer persecution. Does that qualify you? No! What about the measure of truth you know from the Lord personally spoken into your heart? Does that make you part of this mighty giant? No! Perhaps you can discern the difference between the Lord and the imitator - Lucifer, and may even be an expert at it, does that qualify you? No!
What thing is it that proves to you that you are indeed a part of this Revelation chapter 11 company of Two Witnesses or Zerubbabel’s grand temple? Part of the plummet?
The answer is simple. You bear daily your cross. You bear the marks of crucifixion. Your life is cancelled out completely that only His life is the measure of Christ in you. You testify not of YOUR life but OF HIS. For His life is all you own, nothing else. Dear Overcomer, you have willingly laid your life across the beams of the cross and have with joy received the impaling of the nails in your hands and in your feet. This frees the Urim and Thummim to motion in you in the perfect will of God for there is now nothing to prevent His Will from being done in you, through you and surrounding you.
To Be Continued........... Kenneth B Visscher