February 22, 2013

Greetings and Salutations!

A quick update for you concerning A TALE OF TWO BRIDES. Destiny Image has uploaded the e-Book version now for purchase at your usual e-Book suppliers, such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, as well as others. This is the first book in a series of books based on a unique revelation of the preparation of the Bride of Christ. The series is a prophetic picture which spans time itself to show the processes the Lord has taken, and the pattern of overcoming demonstrated in certain key individuals throughout the ages.

A TALE OF TWO BRIDES is designed to whet your appetite and magnify the spiritual thirst in your being to be a part of that called out and elect company of people we know as the Bride of Christ.

And THAT is, coincidentally (or not) what this series is all about. Having said that, grab that deep dark-roasted cup of coffee, and let's get right back into our discussion.

Sometimes, the definitions of the various Greek and Hebrew words given in these discussions is not as complete or as rounded as they could (or should) be, so let me revisit the basic Hebrew words at the core of our picture of the Spirit of Counsel and Might. At the same time, we'll make our transition into looking at the fourth of the Seven Spirits of God.

The word “Counsel” is taken from the Hebrew€eòtsaòh and we quickly identify this as a parallel to the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding.

€eòtsaòh means to provide wise and prudent advice; to demonstrate or show plan and purpose. This word comes from its Hebrew root yaò€ats : to resolve [issues or problems]; to consult and devise [a way out of the problem]; to guide.

The companion to “Counsel” is the Hebrew word g^ebuòraòh, which we have translated “Might.”

This Hebrew word in many ways directly parallels the Greek dunamis, and means: force (both literal and figurative), mastery, might, power and strength. Its root is the Hebrew gibbor, and literally provides us with a picture of “the ability to back up and enforce” [the aforementioned wise and prudent advice, once the ‘advisee’ takes the counsel].

In Proverbs 4, Solomon paints a pretty graphic picture of how the Spirit of Counsel and Might works.

Proverbs 4:5-9: Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Then he goes on to say,

Proverbs 4:10-13: Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Solomon then caps off this picture of counsel with the following:

Proverbs 4:20-23: My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

When Solomon opens up his counsel with the Proverbs (which by the way is sometimes referred to as The Book of Wisdom), he begins like this:

Proverbs 1:1-5: The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear [counsel], and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

The connection between the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, and the Spirit of Counsel and Might – and the revelation of how they function in cooperation with each other is demonstrated in the last portion of Proverbs 1. (Since we quoted this portion -- and it is a bit lengthy -- in the last Coffee Break, I'll refer you back to it. Read Proverbs 1:20-32.)

Let's move on now to the third of the Seven Spirits of God: the Spirit of Knowledge and of The Fear of the Lord.

As Isaiah continued his prophecy concerning the onoma of the Messiah, he described him as having the Spirit of Knowledge and The Fear of the Lord. As you might well realize, this Spirit of Knowledge differs radically from the "knowledge" associated with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The Hebrew word, da.ath, which comes from the root, ya.da, and is translated: "knowledge," could be better defined as: understanding, wisdom, awareness. Ya.da is a primary root word with so many applications and uses it would take perhaps four or five pages just to write an exegesis. In brief, depending on usage and accompanying verbs and/or accusatives in the Hebrew language, it can mean: knowledge (in a general sense), or: the ability to foresee, to perceive, to exercise wisdom, to know experientially, etc.

Knowledge which comes from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil brings fear, unbelief, doubt, pride, arrogance -- along with a host of things too numerous to mention here -- and most of all, death.

Knowledge which comes from the Spirit of Knowledge comes as revelation -- an indefinable knowing in one's spirit. It brings life, peace, and a continuity of relationship with the Lord.

As I shared in a previous Coffee Break series, when Adam and Eve were first created, they were given every piece of knowledge at creation that they would ever need for functioning in the manner God first ordained. In Him was all the revelation they would need -- for eternity! There was no need for the "knowledge of good," and there certainly was no need for the "knowledge of evil."

The serpent sold Eve a lie in making her believe that they were missing some vital information -- "knowledge" -- which would make them "as God;" that this information had been deliberately withheld so as to keep them in a place of ignorance and subservience. Thus was born the lie that "knowledge is power; knowledge is authority; knowledge is essential to the well-being of the human race."

It was -- and is -- pure, unadulterated garbage! Knowledge which comes by any other means than the Spirit of Knowledge is missing one-half of its very existence: The Fear of the Lord. The quest for the knowledge which comes by study and education always leaves an individual wanting for more. They are never satisfied.

Paul wrote to Timothy warning him to avoid the peril of associating with those who are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth." (II Timothy 3:7) He went to great lengths to describe those who have this drive to continue “adding to their education" and the motives behind that drive. "For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant and proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, hardened of heart and unforgiving, slanderers, lacking in self-control, fierce and savage, haters of those who do good, betrayers, stubborn and self-willed, puffed up and impressed with their own accomplishments, loving the pleasures of the flesh rather than being lovers of God, having a pretense of righteousness and Godly authority, but denying the [true] power of God. From these people, steer clear and avoid any kind of relationship." (II Timothy 3:2-5 -- my translation)

A quick analysis of these "Tree of Knowledge-eaters" shows a graphic picture of people in chaos. Why? Once again, it is because they are missing a principal ingredient indispensable to "knowledge."

Isaiah doesn't just identify Jesus' onoma by the "Spirit of Knowledge:" he adds, "and of the Fear of the Lord." The Hebrew word, yir.ah, used here for "fear," is differentiated from pa.chad, the word normally associated with, and translated, "fear." Yir.ah is more properly defined and understood as: reverential awe; to regard as sacred and holy.

Pa.chad, on the other hand, is defined as: terror, alarm, dread, to be startled, to shake in fear, a trembling. It is the polar opposite of that which Paul described in his letter to Timothy as "[the spirit of] a sound mind." In II Timothy 1:7, he wrote, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (KJV)

The onoma of Jesus Christ consists partially, therefore, of what we could call "The Spirit of Holy Knowledge." It really is divine knowledge -- the knowledge of majesty. It is the Spirit of Revelation. It comes with the innate sense of the holiness and presence of the Lord, and an integrated sense of awe, reverence, and respect for the presence, power, wisdom and authority which give truth and credence to that revelation. For Jesus, it was central to the very essence of His existence since He shared that awe and reverence of His Father, in whom was all Truth, Knowledge and Revelation.

The contrast of pa.chad is that it is the onoma of the spirits of fear and terror which accompany -- often unsuspectingly to the one "learning" -- the knowledge of good, or the knowledge of evil. Satan's knowledge is the absolute counterfeit to the Spirit of Knowledge, which is integral to the Bridegroom's existence.

The Spirit of Knowledge contains the Fear of the Lord, whereas the Tree of Knowledge contains the Fear of Evil (and the Fear of Man, and the Fear of Death, etc.)

For those who want to disavow the Lord God and the revelation which comes through the Spirit of Knowledge, there is knowledge available; but that knowledge will often ultimately lead to sickness, to ill health, to disease, to a dependency on illicit or prescribed drugs, alcohol, or nicotine, and finally to death.

Wholeness, health, strength, life, vitality, vigor, vibrancy: these are all the hallmarks of the onoma of Jesus Christ. They are the promise, and some of the gifts, in the dowry of the Bridegroom to the Bride -- so long as she can overcome the temptation to eat of the Tree of Knowledge.

The Spirit of Knowledge and Yir.ah are a part of the character and nature of agape.

Consider, then, John's statement in his first epistle (I John 4:18): "There is no fear (phobos -- terror) in agape, but perfect and complete agape casts out all fear." There is a unique significance to this statement.

We all know that we are triune beings created in the image of God. Just as God exists in three dimensions as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we exist in three dimensions as Spirit, Soul, and Body. We also know that Spirit always has the preeminence over Soul and Body. For each of these dimensions, there are individual manifestations in the realm of love, as well as the in realm of fear.

At the level of the Body (or the flesh), love is manifested as eros: lust, erotic desire, unreasoning craving. Eros is totally one-sided and demanding of self-gratification. (It is important to note that eros never appears anywhere in Scripture, either in the N.T. Greek, or the Septuagint, as a definition of love. Two other Greek words are used instead: pathos, which means: depraved passions, the unstifled and uncontrolled urges of the flesh; and, epithumia, which means: the lusts of the flesh, desires [in the mind] for that which is forbidden to the flesh; this word is also used to describe illicit sexual intercourse.

The word, eros, was never used in Scripture because it was the name of the Greeks' god of love. This so-called god was their incarnation of the basest and most licentious of sexual activities -- all under the guise of "love." The existence of this false god (which essentially made one's fleshly desires to be their god) permitted the Greeks’ promotion and encouragement of homosexuality and lesbianism.

Correspondingly, the Fear of Death operates at this level since death can only affect the body or the flesh. The Fear of Death is responsible for many major diseases and afflictions of the flesh. Panic attacks, asthma, nerve disorders, “clinical depression” and heart attacks, are just a few of the symptoms of the Fear of Death. Dare-devil stunts and many supposedly daring acts almost always stem out of the Fear of Death as an unconscious reaction to the need within one's being to "face it down."

In the realm of the Soul, the mind, or the will, love takes the form of phileo (pronounced, phi-lay'-oh). This is the word which is translated as "brotherly love." It is the love which functions in most marriages. It operates principally on the basis of reciprocation: that is to say, "I love you so long as you respond and love me."

Phileo is a conditional love, based primarily in prevailing circumstances. It is an emotional love capable of bringing great highs and lows to an individual's feelings. It is the love of friendships. It is the word used most frequently in classical Greek literature to describe romantic love. Phileo's domain is that of human relationships. It is the basis for most "fellowship" between believers in spite of the fact that fellowship is supposed to be predicated mostly in agape.

By the same token, in the realm of the Soul, there is a fear which attacks relationships, and it is described in Scripture as The Fear of Man. This fear is the greatest hindrance to genuine fellowship, and it -- perhaps more than any other spirit of fear -- impedes the growth of believers by interfering with the development of trust. The greatly needed capacity to expose our weaknesses without fear or intimidation is one of the primary purposes of the Paraklete during the preparation and processing which occurs within Ekklesia.

Let's pick it up here next week. We've already run a bit long today, and this discussion still has a ways to go.

Blessings on you!