Day 4 ~~~ Season of the Incarnation

Season of the INCARNATION
Day 4
Year of Our LORD,
12.28.2008

“O ye Gates…”

Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up,
ye everlasting doors;
and the King+ of Glory shall come in.

Who is this KING+ of Glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads,
O ye gates;
even lift them up,
ye everlasting doors;
and the KING+ of Glory shall come in.

Who is this KING+ of Glory?
The LORD of Hosts,
[ of divine, Heavenly Armies]

HE+ is the KING+ of Glory.

Psalm 24:7-10

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In the natural realm, GATES are found throughout the Bible. Gates are fortified to open and close to protect a city compound during Old Testament times. Gates are found around animal enclosures, to let the flock in and out. Gates differ from doorways, also. Doorways indicate openings or entrances, but gates indicate barriers in that opening that can be opened or shut, being the only way to get in or out of an area fortified by a wall.

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In Psalm 24, the GATES have heads.

These GATES also are placed at the entrances of the EVERLASTING DOORWAYS. This, of course, brings to mind the GATES of the Heavenly New Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven as a Bride. Here is a description of these wonderful GATES, from Revelation 21:

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And had a wall great and high,

and had twelve gates,

and at the gates twelve angels,

and names written thereon,

which are the names

of the twelve tribes

of the children of Israel:

Rev. 21:12

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And the twelve gates were twelve pearls:

every several gate was of one pearl:

and the street of the city was pure gold,

as it were transparent glass.

And I saw no temple therein:

for the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY

and the LAMB are the Temple of it.

Rev. 21:21,22

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If these are the gates David refers to in Psalm 24 as the fortified entrances into the Heavenly Jerusalem, then it would stand to reason that the angels at these gates would be the “heads.”

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If, howver, Psalm 24’s gates ALSO refer to something on earth… where Heavenly Armies and the KING+ of Glory will enter… then we can see this type of gate in Genesis 28:10-17. Jacob had a dream or vision. In it, Jacob saw angels ascending and descending a ladder from the earth to Heaven. At the top of the ladder was standing the LORD GOD of Abraham and Isaac. Jacob called that place Bethel, and said, “This is none other but the House of GOD (Beth-el) and this is the GATE OF HEAVEN.”

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From these Scriptures, Old and New, we can see the many ways gates are used in the Bible to indicate natural as well as supernatural places. Our Incarnate LORD came to break open the GATES of HELL/HADES/SHEOL.

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HE+ did that, as we all know, most valiantly.

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But when HE+ returns at His+ SECOND ADVENT, HE+ will OPEN and SHUT supernatural gates which are still in operation today upon this earth and in the heavens.

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Have you ever wondered why some homes, some neighborhoods and towns, some schools and alas, even some churches, have a “dark” or “dirty” feel about them? The people inhabiting these places have opened up themselves to the spirits of sin and darkness and demonic activities. Thus, the GATES are opened in that area to evil beings.

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When the people of The LORD walk in obedience, stay steadfast in prayer, and pick up their cross daily… the gates of that home, town, school, or church are opened to the Host of Heaven.

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So, we REJOICE when we remember the LORD’S Incarnation because it brought forth spiritual victory into the realm of mankind.

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Lift up your heads,

O ye gates;

even lift them up,

ye everlasting doors;

and the KING+ of Glory

shall come in.

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Who

is this KING+ of Glory?

The LORD of Hosts,

[ of divine, Heavenly Armies]

HE+ is the KING+ of Glory.

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Bless GOD, FATHER, SON+, and HOLY SPIRIT!

and Blessed be HIS+ Kingdom

forever and ever!

Amen.

+ + +

Day 3 ~~ Season of the Incarnation

Season of the INCARNATION
Day 3
Year of Our LORD,
12.27.2008

“Lift up your heads…”

Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up,
ye everlasting doors;
and the King+ of Glory shall come in.

Who is this KING+ of Glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads,
O ye gates;
even lift them up,
ye everlasting doors;
and the KING+ of Glory shall come in.

Who is this KING+ of Glory?
The LORD of Hosts,
[ of divine, Heavenly Armies]

HE+ is the KING+ of Glory.

Psalm 24:7-10

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“Lift up your heads…” we can feel the marvelous victory of this elated phrase, but do we realize all that it entails?
The word head is ROSH in Hebrew. That word and its related form, RAYSH, appear about 596 times in the Old Covenant (Old Testament), according to William White, Jr.* Yes, it does mean a head of a body, animal, or statue, but it has several other usages in the Hebrew Bible.

Interestingly, to “lift up the head” is a figure of speech used often in the Psalms and indicating an intention to begin a war, the most violent kind of self-assertion, according to Mr. White.

With the coming of Emmanuel, GOD-with-us, The LORD declared war on the kingdom of darkness entrapping the human race. Even more, The LORD declared His means of victory: HIS+ Only-Begotten SON.

That… or more accurately stated, HE+… was HIS weapon of warfare. HE+ was all that was needed to deliver mankind from the traps and lies of the adversary… the same adversary who was walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

PEACE, yes, was announced to mankind upon the Birth of JESUS CHRIST, not simply to all men, but rather to all who would respond to His+ invitation to repent and follow HIM+.

But at His+ Birth, WAR was announced to His+ enemies, the enemies of GOD. WAR was announced to the rulers of the darkness of this age and to the keepers of the gates of hell [Hades].

Thus, at the remembrance of His+ Incarnation, we need to remember BOTH of His+ announcements: a promise of WAR and a promise of PEACE. Both promises are a matter of great rejoicing! Both promises are for our benefit. And indeed, we cannot have one without the other.

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Bless GOD,
FATHER, SON+, and HOLY SPIRIT!
Blessed be HIS+ Kingdom
forever and ever!
Amen.
+ + +






*Information about head is from William White Jr., editor of the Hebrew section of W.E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, pp. 105-106; Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville; 1996.

THE HEAD COVERING... part 2

The Head Covering ….. part 2

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We are continuing on the Head-Covering Teaching from 1 Corinthians 11, picking up from where we stopped. In review, the first 3 verses establish the Godly governing order in the Christian home and church: man is the head of woman, CHRIST JESUS is the head of man: GOD is the head of CHRIST.

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Every man praying or prophesying,

having his head covered,

dishonoreth his head.

1 Cor.11:4

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Verse 4 today is straightforward and easy to understand… in the KJV. Some modern scholars, however, dislike this rendition BECAUSE the Greek text literally says… “Every man praying or prophesying having down over the head dishonors his head”.
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Upon careful reading, WHAT is “hanging down over the head” is missing in the Greek text. It is grammatically an “understood” element [according to the classic Greek New Testament Lexicon, BADG, p. 405, under kata.]
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It is understood to be a cloth covering and has so been understood in the Early Christian writings of the first 200 years as well as by all the Christian church up to the last few decades!
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Tertullian, a well-known Christian apologist, wrote (circa 211 A.D.) about a soldier who was somehow a Christian. He would not put the Roman laurel band or wreath as a crown on his head because he was Christian. He was martyred because he wouldn’t deny CHRIST before men. Keeping in mind 1 Cor. 11 regarding the head covering issue for both men and women, let us hear what Tertullian said to the church when he gave instruction as to wearing a “band” or crown, as awarded by the Roman government for various government honors:
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Much less may the Christian [man] put the service of idolatry on his own head — nay, I might have said, upon Christ, since Christ is the Head of the Christian man — (for his head) is as free as even Christ is, under no obligation to wear a covering, not to say a band.
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But even the head which is bound to have the veil, I mean woman’s, as already taken possession of by this very thing, is not open also to a [laurel] band. She has the burden of her own humility to bear. If she ought not to appear with her head uncovered on account of the angels, much more with a crown on it will she offend those (elders) who perhaps are then wearing crowns above.
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For what is a crown on the head of a woman, but beauty made seductive, but mark of utter wantonness, — a notable casting away of modesty, a setting temptation on fire? Therefore a woman, taking counsel from the apostles’ foresight, will not too elaborately adorn herself, that she may not either be crowned with any exquisite arrangement of her hair.
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What sort of garland, however, I pray you, did He who is the Head of the man and the glory of the woman, Christ Jesus, the Husband of the church, submit to in behalf of both sexes? Of thorns, I think, and thistles, — a figure of the sins which the soil of the flesh brought forth for us, but which the power of the cross removed, blunting, in its endurance by the head of our Lord, death’s every sting.
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Yes, and besides the figure, there is contumely [contempt] with ready lip, and dishonor, and infamy, and the ferocity involved in the cruel things which then disfigured and lacerated the temples of the LORD+, that you may now be crowned with laurel, and myrtle, and olive, and any famous branch, and which is of more use, with hundred-leaved roses too, culled from the garden of Midas, and with both kinds of lily, and with violets of all sorts, perhaps also with gems and gold, so as even to rival that crown of Christ which He afterwards obtained.
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For it was after the gall HE+ tasted the honeycomb, and HE+ was not greeted as King of Glory in heavenly places till HE+ had been condemned to the cross as King of the Jews, having first been made by the FATHER for a time a little less than the angels, and so crowned with glory and honor. If for these things, you owe your own head to HIM+, repay it if you can, such as HE+ presented HIS+ for yours; or be not crowned with flowers at all, if you cannot be with thorns, because you may not be with flowers.
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Ante-Nicene Fathers, VOL 3. TERTULLIAN, PART FIRST, SECTION 4, entitled: The Chaplet or De Corona (Of the Crown), Chapter 14, pg. 102
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But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth

with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head:

for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

For if the woman be not covered,

let her also be shorn:

but if it be a shame

for a woman to be shorn or shaven,

let her be covered.

1 Cor.11:5-6

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No woman I know is happy about going bald or being bald, as some dear ones have endured with chemotherapy treatments. Every woman who has had to endure baldness has gone to great lengths via wigs or hair-pieces or scarves or hats to avoid looking freakish. It is a great sorrow to her.
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The Apostle here is teaching the church that BEFORE GOD, a woman praying or prophesying unveiled is as outlandish TO HIM+ as a bald woman is to normal society. If she refuses to cover her head properly, then she is to be made bald. It’s a good antidote. She’ll cover her head then, and without a struggle, no doubt!
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There are some teachings out there that affirm the head covering IS hair. That cannot be because substituting “hair” in the above verses for covering makes the entire verses of no sense.
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Next blog on this topic will show WHY … the Biblical reasons… WHY The LORD governs the home and church this way.

WHY WE WEAR A HEAD COVERING...

Let us look closely at the Word of GOD

to find out why we are wearing the head covering.

The instructions are found in 1 Corinthians 11: 1-16 and are given by The Apostle Paul to the Church gathered in Corinth… a wildly pagan Greek city of commerce, trafficking in everything, including the bodies and the souls of men.

Brazen women… bald-headed, shaven and shorn and uncovered… walked the streets openly, since one of the “temples” of pagan worship to Venus (basically, prostitution) was located in Corinth. To make matters worse, Rome ruled it, so the Roman soldiers were there, adding to the open debauchery.

In the midst of this environment, the Apostle Paul was sent. A church developed. Here is what the Apostle wrote to the young church.
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11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
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Yes, the Apostle Paul delivered his instructions to the brothers, not to the sisters. Brothers were always in leadership positions in the Early Church. The brothers received these Apostolic ordinances and instructed the church in these ordinances.
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11:3 But I would have you know,
that the head of every man is CHRIST;
and the head of the woman is the man;
and the head of CHRIST is GOD.

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This next verse establishes the Spiritual foundation of Christian order, specifically, the order in the Christian church and home. The “one in charge” of every man is Our LORD JESUS CHRIST. That means that all men must answer to CHRIST our LORD. The governing authority of the woman is the man. And, the governing authority of CHRIST is GOD.

There is nothing complicated about this governing order. The complicated part comes about because our churches and homes are out of order.

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In other words, our homes and many of the modern churches are fleshly and worldly, doing things the “world’s way.” Their values are entrenched deeper in this world, deeper in this culture, than they are in CHRIST’S ways. Politically and socially correct values are emphasized rather than the Apostle's instructions for the Church.

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Because of that, another problem exists. We sisters discover we have fathers, husbands, and pastors who simply are not submitted to CHRIST as their governing head. IN THIS CASE, a sister must seek the LORD and wait patiently and quietly before HIM+ to hear His+ leading on this.

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It is hard to be a single sister, working and supporting yourself, and at the same time, trying to find a Christian pastor or Godly couple (as in a prayer group) in order to be under a governing authority. [It is wiser to meet or talk with a couple, rather than 1-to-1 with a brother.]
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It is also hard to be a married sister, submitting to a husband who is not as concerned about Spiritual things as his wife.
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Now…. having said that, we sisters do NOT need to get under a burden nor stress about this issue.

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The LORD knows the opposition facing us. HE+ knows the dysfunctional families, disinterested husbands, and nonchalant pastors.

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It is HARD for some of us to “find” a covering husband, father, pastor, or prayer-meeting couple in order to obey the Apostle’s ordinance here.

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The LORD WILL NOT DESTROY someone who simply cannot find someone appropriately to function as a human “covering.” Again, go slowly and quietly before The LORD in this matter, covering yourself in prayer.
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DO NOT DISPAIR,
BUT RATHER LOOK UNTO CHRIST,
THE AUTHOR
AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH.

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Since HE+ is the author, all authority comes from HIM+. As our Author, HE+ will provide everything needed for whosoever comes under His+ Wing… for the orphan who takes refuge in HIM+, for the single sister, for the widow, and for the married wife whose husband is not Spiritually-minded.

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Our LORD leads the willing soul and protects whosoever comes under His+ Shelter. HE+ will become your over-covering and governing authority until HE+ sees fit to change your circumstances.

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Remember:

HE+ is able…

HE+ doeth all things well….

and, HE+ is in charge.

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There is yet another danger that exists which has come up recently. This danger is coming from inside the flock of GOD….

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“Head” does NOT mean “source of life” instead of governing authority in these verses or in ANY verse in the New Testament.
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There is a popular movement afoot in the theological circles that is promoting this teaching. It has NO language support in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, nor English, as I have discovered. This particular teaching is taken from pagan Greek philosophers. The older, standard reference books all state HEAD means “governing authority” or one in charge. Some of the newer ones are putting out that HEAD means “source of life.” This is false.
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The purpose of this false teaching is to nullify the governing order. that will weaken the church... and it does NOT NEED TO BE WEAKENED any further!

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Yes, The LORD is the source of our life… but these verses are NOT ADDRESSING THAT ISSUE; they are addressing the governing order in the Christian home and church.

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Indeed, it is the governing order for men and women everywhere, but only Christians recognize CHRIST as their HEAD; others, alas, will be accountable if they have heard of CHRIST and yet reject HIM+. Likewise, Christian men and women will also be in trouble who reject the governing order in the church and home.
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We who are members of the Underground Church in America (regardless of whatever church or denomination we may or may not attend ) seek to follow the Apostle’s ordinances written in the Word.

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It is delivered to us to keep us safe. May The LORD add His+ blessing to us all, as we seek to do His+ Will. His+ will is not mysterious; in many instances, it is plainly written for all to see. Some simply do not want it.

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But thanks be to GOD... there's an Underground... an Underground Church full of unregistered, unorganized members rising up quietly who ARE determined to do His+ will to the best of their knowledge, to the best of their ability... regardless of their affiliation or non-affiliation with an institutional church.

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That is the One, Holy, and Apostolic Church that exists without spots and blemish, that exists without schisms, that follows their CAPTAIN+ withersoever HE+ leads them... even to following the Apostle's ordinances which the mainline denominations have discarded. These include the head covering for sisters and the Christian governing order, for all.

[ to be continued ]