Let Seven Times Pass Over

This past April (2012) was a special seven year anniversary for many of us who once wandered in the desert wilderness of The King’s Chapel and Shepherd’s Chapel, so I thought I’d take some time and write down some of the thoughts I’ve had recently regarding this occasion… knowing that today is a new day.

My purpose in sharing these thoughts along with my personal experiences and the things I’ve seen in blog-post format is in the hope that others might identify and relate to them, thereby helping to confirm or clarify where they are, where they’ve been, and more importantly who they are in Christ, yea, the very sons of God. It is not because I am trying to promote or teach some new doctrine, as some would like to accuse me of.

Besides, when it comes to spiritual matters affecting a change of heart, the “teaching” comes from the Teacher within, Christ in the temple (which temple you are), not from the enticing and seducing words of men. As I’ve said many times before, what you believe in your mind, like doctrine, and what you know in your heart, and from experience, can be entirely different things. And because of the enmity of the one, the two parties often do not agree with each other. In fact, the two even war against one another.

1 John 2:27  But the anointing (spirit of truth) which ye have received of him abideth in you (Christ abides in you), and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things (things spiritual, i.e. pertaining to the heart/heaven), and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

That brings to mind one of the truisms I have learned in life both from experience and observation, and that is that preaching is mostly a vain and temporal proposition at best. For example: Take the person who suffers from alcoholism who consistently endures the preaching (code word for b*tching to an alcoholic) from his or her spouse or his or her relatives, or close friends, or the boss, or the pastor, or the doctor, etc. I tell you truly and from firsthand knowledge… it has but minimal effect. Oh, that individual may “clean up his act” for a time to stay a divorce or the loss of his job or to satisfy the judge, or just to quell (shut up) the “preaching” for a season, but unless and until a “desire” to stop drinking is birthed from within and raised up, the road to recovery and ultimately sobriety will remain barricaded by the addiction’s spirit of denial and subtle mental defenses, even when all hell breaks loose in his or her life.

The founders of AA, Dr. Bob and Bill W., and many multitudes of recovering alcoholics declare and testify that it takes Divine Intervention, an act of God in a person’s life, to birth this desire. That means it is a spiritual experience, not a matter of need or want of the mind/choice. It is a matter of the heart, wherein lies the kingdom of God. (Luke 17:21  … behold, the kingdom of God is within you.)

Nevertheless, there are those alcoholics who manage to refrain from drinking alcohol for long periods of time and even attend AA meetings on a regular basis who have not birthed the true desire to stop drinking and have not experienced a change of heart. I know. I did that for a full year. They are referred to by other members of the fellowship as “dry drunks”, because their lack of true serenity and peace within, while not evident to them, is clearly seen by those who have had a spiritual experience… those who have had “seven times pass over them”.

There also exists a commonality among recovering alcoholics in that most of them only come to the realization (revelation) of their powerlessness over alcohol through much pain and suffering, enduring earthquakes so extreme in some cases that they lose everything; e.g. their homes, their marriages, their close relationships, their jobs, their health, their wealth, their dignity, etc. This I also know from firsthand experience… having been there and done that.

And so it was by the grace of God, now two months shy of 30 years ago, I was freed from the captivity of the world ruling King of Beers, but little did I know at the time I was soon about to be taken captive and enslaved once again. This time it would be by the world ruling King of Babylon.

Note: A world ruling “king” is a power that dominates one’s life and his or her world view. Religion for many people, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc., is not only one of those world ruling kings, throughout man’s history it has been the predominant one, the top one, the head of gold.

The Snare:

It all began about a year into my recovery from alcoholism when I kept hearing folks at meetings talk about God’s will for them in their lives. I honestly couldn’t get my head around that. As much as I listened and thought about it and prayed about it I couldn’t define what His will was for me. What was I missing? No one could give me a satisfactory answer that filled the void I felt, yet I knew there had to be one.

So I picked up the “sword” and set forth on a search for the Holy Will, beginning with a feverish new quest for the knowledge bound within the pages of the Bible, which at the time, like most Christians, I believed as I was taught since childhood to be the inerrant Word of God. It would not be until decades later that I would come to “know” by revelation that the “Word” (His Will, His Spirit) was made flesh and dwells in us, the very temple of God, and not on paper and ink. John 1:1 does not say “In the beginning was the Bible, and the Bible was with God, and the Bible was God.”

Then in 1992, following ten years of intense daily Bible study and delving deep into the languages of Hebrew, Chaldean, and Greek, and now ten years since the birth of my youngest daughter, Angela (messenger), I was praying for a “blessing” to come my way. I surely thought God was intelligent enough to know my financial circumstances at the time and when I used the term “blessing” in my prayers, I really meant “cash”.

Digression on prayer: Back in those days my prayers consisted of me doing all the talking, mostly asking for help and for things but always including a woe-is-me daily request for forgiveness because I felt so lowly and unworthy. I’d also always remember to throw in some prayer requests for others… because although I did have some genuine concerns, in all honesty it was more self-serving than not. It made me feel better because I could tell myself I did something good.

Anyway, with all that blabbering, no wonder I could never “hear” His voice. God didn’t stand a prayer of a chance of getting a “word” in edgewise (lol)!  With all my fears from the stormy winds and raging seas within, I was never able to be quiet and “still” long enough to hear Him knocking at the door of my heart.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

To repent means to “turn back” to our Father. That’s the spirit of Elijah. That’s what John the Baptist preached. It is our Father’s will that we not perish (suffer in our ignorance) but rather that all should turn to Him. (2 Pet. 3:9 …not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.)

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door (of your heart), and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

You know the spirit of Elijah works both ways, i.e. to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers (Mal 4:6)”. So… He that has an ear, let him “turn” and do some knocking of his or her own at the door (Mat. 7:7)… and then wait patiently for it to open so you can hear what the Spirit has to say.

End digression.

As it turned out, the answer to my request for a blessing was yes, but the answer to the “cash” was no… at least not for now. Shortly thereafter my wife came home one day and announced that we were going to have another baby, my fourth one (that I know of, ha, ha). Oh my gosh… I was expecting a blessing, but I wasn’t expecting to be expecting! After the initial shock subsided, it didn’t take me long to realize that God is Judge, not me, and that “the birth of a new son” was the answer to my prayer for a blessing.

Enter: The Book of Daniel

With my wife’s approval, we gave our new son an Hebrew (OT) first name and a Greek (NT) middle name, Daniel Christopher (Knight). Daniel means “God is (my) Judge” and Christopher means “Christ Bearer”. I also find it highly amusing that Daniel grew to be 6 feet 6 inches tall and wears a size 16 shoe.

As I mention at the beginning of this blog, I share these thoughts and personal experiences in the hope that you identify with them as they relate to your life. I know the events and specific circumstances of our individual lives are different, e.g. not everyone is an alcoholic and not everyone has a literal son named Daniel, but God is Judge and the way He works with us and in us is His righteous judgment. Not only that, His righteousness and His righteous judgment is testified to, witnessed by, the scriptures. Read them with that in mind and you will be edified.

Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God (Christ is the righteousness of God) without the law is manifested (in us), being witnessed (testified to) by the law and the prophets;

When we see the way someone else relates his or her thoughts and experiences to scriptures, it just may spark a flash of light (revelation) in our own.

Here’s another verse, this one from the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ where John has just heard a really great inspiring message (angel) from a fellowservant of God:

Rev 19:10  And I (John) fell at his feet (thereby elevating him) to worship (follow) him.

There’s a great tendency for people to follow a man (or woman) who they recognize as or perceive to be a messenger of/from God. Don’t do it! Worship (follow) God. We are brothers and He hasn’t elevated one of us above the other.

And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The testimony of having seen Him, i.e. the witness of Jesus (in us), His revealing Himself to us, is the spirit of prophecy (teaching). That is what prophecy is all about and from where it originates… the righteous of God, manifested in each of us individually! Prophecy (teaching) does not come from the will of man (2 Pet. 2:21). It does not come from scholarly study of the Bible. Been there and done that to the max!

So let me ask you: How do you read the Bible? For example, do you read the Book of Genesis as a history book? I know I did most of my life. But now I don’t see Adam merely as the “first man” in history but rather as an allegory and witness of you and me? We are “adam” and in adam all die.

I also see many of things manifested in my life, particularly over the last twenty years, witnessed to in the Book of Daniel, especially but not exclusively those things pertaining to the ministry of The Kings Chapel. Of course I identify with many other scriptures as well, but the Book of Daniel was the first book I taught chapter by chapter and line by line when I began The King’s Chapel online Bible studies in 1999, seven years after Daniel was born, and the only book I taught online twice. It was also primarily from the Book of Daniel, chapter nine, that I gave “The Proclamation” on April 24, 2005, that ended that church wilderness era. The final verse on that day was the first half of Daniel 12:1.

And now, seven years from the day of that Proclamation, as I sit on my porch looking at the great stump that was left in the ground after the huge tree that once overshadowed my house was hewn down just couple of weeks ago, my thoughts turned to chapter four of Daniel… where I “saw” not history, but more incredible testimony of the marvelous judgment (God is Judge) and the wonderful works of God in our lives.

Now before I go on and share with you what was revealed (revelation) to me in Daniel, I want to expound on 1 John 2:27, the first scripture quoted in this blog. Not only do we have “no need (necessary requirement) that any man teach (instruct) us”, no man CAN teach us to “know” matters pertaining to the spirit! No man can cause us to hear what the Spirit has to say, just as no man can preach you into sobriety. It must originate from within, and only Christ, the anointing (anointed One) that resides in us, can teach us, can reveal those things to us, for He and He alone is the “Revelator”… not man and his cunningly devised fables. This I also know from firsthand knowledge, from the revelation of Jesus Christ.

There was a time that I considered myself to be a teacher of God’s Word. I not only had an interpretation and commentary for every scripture in the Bible, including the Book of Revelation, I could back it up with credentials and with documentation from the Hebrew and Greek texts and concordances and cross references with history and current events and with the commentaries of the greatest scholars both past and present. I was very diligent (cunning) in all my research because never did I ever want to deceive anyone.

But it doesn’t work that way. There’s an example of what I am talking about in Matthew chapter 6.

Mat 16:5  And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

A new understanding begins to take place when you “come to the other side”, when you crossover “the sea”, when you “come over”, which is to “overcome”. At that point, you too will begin to forget about “bread”. You can “believe” it, but you won’t “know” it unless or until you have crossed over, meaning until you experience it.

Mat 16:6  Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Jesus is speaking to His disciples. Disciples are those who see Jesus as a man, in the form of a man… outside of themselves. In other words, they see an image, which is actually contrary to the 3rd Commandment. These followers of Jesus are those who walk with Him and talk to Him and come up with phrases like “What would Jesus do”?

Now there is nothing wrong with being a disciple of Jesus. But once He “goes away” from you (as He says He will) and is crucified at Golgotha, the place of the skull (your skull), and you “see” Him transfigured into the pure Light of Truth, the Spirit of Truth, and He comes again unto you in that Spirit of Truth as the Comforter (still, calm spirit within), you will no longer be a disciple, but a witness (having seen, Acts 2) and now sent forth bearing within you the testimony of Jesus Christ. In other words, a witness is someone who testifies to what he or she has seen. And at that point the door in heaven/heart will have opened and you will have “heard” the voice from on high saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. Yes… You!

Anyway, in Matthew 16:6 the disciples heard the words of Jesus the same way disciples today hear them when they read them. And when they read them, they naturally want to “know” what those words mean.

Mat 16:7  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.

This is what disciples (students) do. They hold Bible studies and discuss the scriptures, intellectually reasoning among themselves to determine their meaning. Now I am not saying there is anything wrong with having Bible studies. I know a lot of fine folks who regularly attend them. I did so myself for most of my life. But I also know some self-righteous folks who attend them who are all puffed up (leavened) with their doctrinal “knowledge” of the Bible (1 Cor. 8:1). You can probably relate to that. I certainly can, for I was one of them, a Pharisee of the first order. To wit, we of The King’s Chapel and Shepherd’s Chapel prided ourselves in not being “Biblically Illiterate”… as others are. Ah, all is vanity indeed.

But can’t you just imagine some folks from the local community church who attended this Bible study held by the big twelve senior disciples? They would be thrilled as they walk away with words of wisdom from such men of God… only they would walk away with the wrong meaning!

So beware! The irony is that the disciples just did what Jesus told them to beware of, i.e. not to do. They just formed a doctrinal “belief” about what Jesus said and I’ll wager they were quite satisfied with their consensus conclusion. (This is an example of forming the wrong conclusion with just a few words Christ said. I did it with all the words from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21!)

Here are a few more scriptures on the topic of understanding the things that are written.

2Pe 1:16  For we have not followed cunningly devised (rendered wise) fables (vain doctrines, falsehoods), when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

This is what separates that which the preachers and pastors and scholars teach, who have seen nothing (Ezk 13:3) and thus follow the traditions of men that are devised from the wisdom of men (like I did for all those many years), from those who have actually seen Him as He is, from those to whom the Lord has revealed Himself, from those who have heard His Voice and know where it comes from… the inner sanctuary (heart) of the temple, which temple you are.

2Pe 1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Have you “heard” these words from God the Father on high? It’s not something you hear with your flesh ears. Again, it’s His voice spoken from within the inner sanctuary of your heart/heaven that lets you know you are a son of God.

2Pe 1:18  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

One more time: His voice comes from heaven, which is within. (Luke 17:21 …behold, the kingdom of God is within you.)

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

What Peter is talking about is that you would do well to take heed to those have ”been eye witnesses of His majesty, vs. 16” as a light to show the way, as opposed to the prophecy (teachings) devised by the wisdom of man, until such time as “the day star arises in your own heart”. What the eyewitnesses that have seen the Light have to say is far more sure and trustworthy than those who teach that have seen nothing.

Eze 13:3  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

Eze 13:6  They have seen vanity (vain traditions) and lying divination (cunningly devise fables), saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

Does your hope in confirming the “word” lie in studying under a great Bible teacher?

Was not Saul, the Biblical scholar who experienced the revelation on the road to Damascus where he saw the Light and became an eyewitness of His majesty and thus his name (nature/heart) was changed to Paul, a prime example of this? How did he speak from that point on? From commentaries and concordances?

1Co 2:4-5  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

And again:

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

How did Paul come to know what he “knew” and thus the gospel (good news) he preached? Was it from Bible study? Was it from the sermons he heard in the synagogues? Was it from the great scholar Gamaliel he studied under?

Gal 1:11  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

Gal 1:12  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

You see, all the Bible scholars in the world cannot you teach you the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Man cannot reveal Christ to you and in you. Only the anointing that resides in you can teach you. Only the Revelator, Jesus Christ, can do such a thing!

So be quiet in your soul when you pray, when you go up into the mount, and “hear” that still (whisper, calm spirit) small (fine) voice from within.

Part 2

Allegorically speaking, are you a Nebuchadnezzar?

There are two points I would like to make before turning to Daniel chapter four to review some testimony of Jesus Christ (John 5:39), the life within us, the hope of glory (Col 1:27).

The first one is simply to state that which you already know, that there is a physical realm, the outer world that we can see with our flesh-made eyes and an invisible spiritual realm, the inner world that we cannot see with our flesh-made eyes. What is not commonly realized to its full extent is that the natural physical realm is a manifestation of, an image of, a creation of the Word (will) of God, John 1:3. That should not be too difficult a concept to comprehend, for have not all the things man himself has ever created first had their origin in his mind… as an idea or thought?

The point is, all the things we see in nature that are without us can also be “seen” within us, like the nature (names) of animals. Paul understood this when he wrote in Romans 1:20 that “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

The second point I would like to make is that in the physical realm our bodies and our souls live in the now, in the present moment, though our spirit can dwell elsewhere. We live our lives as the saying goes “in real time” without any dress rehearsals. So for all practical purposes, if we are living in the now, even the present moment, there is no past or future… time is no more (Rev. 10:6).

Think about it. The past is not some place you can get in your car and travel to, is it? One cannot physically go there because it is no longer a part of physical real time. And so it is that the former things have passed away. The only way the past becomes relative and perceived as real is when you mentally bring it into the present moment by way of thought and expression of words. If you don’t think about it, (again, for all practical purposes) it isn’t there, it doesn’t exist… meaning it isn’t “present” in your mind. It isn’t part of now.

We have all heard the expression “he or she is dwelling in the past” or “he is reliving the past”. But in reality (real time) one can only remember the past, not relive it. You can remember falling off a cliff and breaking your arm. You can even reenact that event by falling off a cliff and breaking your arm once again. But in the physical realm you cannot actually “relive” it. It’s now history.

The same thing applies to the future. It doesn’t exist either. You cannot board a jetliner or spaceship and go there. The only way the future exists is when you bring it into the now through thought and words.

The reason I bring up these two points is because although the Bible is true and contains much history, it is mostly allegory relative to each of our individual lives… in the now. In other words we must bring those things that are written into our present lives and learn from them by seeing (witnessing) them happening in our lives. We must see them as relative to now, rather than merely reading them as historical events, claiming to believe they really happened, and then calling that faith.

Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:6,13 that the things that happened to our forefathers in the wilderness “happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

Here is how I understand this now. As our forefathers wandered in the desert wilderness, so do we. I know for me personally that in one respect my journeys through the churches I attended most of life were akin to 40 years of wandering through the dry spiritually barren desert, living according the law. But I now know that the spiritual Rock was there all the time (1 Cor.10:4), and that Rock was/is Christ.

Then too, until the revelation of Jesus Christ (until the ends of the world are come) I relied almost entirely on the scriptures, the law and the prophets, to teach me and to testify of Him. Everything I believed had to be “documented” in writing from the scriptures.

But when the spirit of Elijah is come (Mal 4:5) and causes one to turn back (return, repent) to the Father (who resides in your heart, His temple, His house) then school is out. The schoolmaster has done his job and brought us to Christ. We now are no longer under the tutelage of the schoolmaster.

Mat 11:13-14 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

John the Baptist came, is come, and shall continue to come in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17) preaching “repentance”, which isn’t giving up cigarettes, but rather “returning to” or “turning to” the Father. It is a matter of the heart (the Spirit descending upon us) and not of the flesh (doctrine).

Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

In my personal experience, before John, before the spirit of Elijah came upon me, I searched and studied the scriptures daily. I used to say that to know God, you had to know the Bible, but that was not true in Abraham’s case or Noah’s, was it? And the antithesis was true in Paul’s case.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

After the revelation it’s quite a different story, for when the ends of the world (last days, end times) are come upon you and you see Him as He is, transfigured into the pure Light and Spirit of Truth, you need no longer rely upon the scriptures to testify of Him. Why not? Because He’s here with you, residing in you, and you “see” Him.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that you should not read the Bible or that it is irrelevant or unnecessary. The letter of the law indeed serves it purpose. But the scriptures CANNOT give you LIFE (John 5:39).

Gal 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

Saul/Paul was quite the Biblical scholar, a master of the law. If the law could give life then he certainly would have had it before his trip down the road to Damasus.

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

You cannot be forgiven unless you have sinned. You cannot return to Father unless you have first gone astray. You cannot be lifted up unless you are first down. And so it is you cannot be set free from the law unless you are first in bondage under the law.

The beauty of the scripture is that it has concluded all under sin! So then it’s not the belief in the scriptures that give you life (peace, happiness, serenity) but rather your belief in Him… the One of whom the scriptures testify.

Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Christ cannot be revealed to us unless He is first hidden from (in) us. And so it is the seed is hidden in the ground before it is raised up in glory.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Wandering in the church wilderness and trying to conform to doctrines and dictates of the law were schooling indeed, but Moses (the law) cannot take you across the Jordan and into the promised land (kingdom).

Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

When Christ finally comes and reveals Himself to you, do you have need any longer to be taught about His coming? It’s like if you have arrived at a certain place, do you any longer need the map that shows you how you are going to get there?

Let me say one more thing about the law and the prophets using the example of the event that takes place on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Mat 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

(Note: In Biblical numerics, six is the number of man. Spiritually speaking, that is the number of the days of our “creation” leading up to the seventh day… when we will find rest.)

Following Christ’s crucifixion in your mind (Golgatha), you are raised up with Christ, which is to be taken up with Him into an “high mountain” apart (pertaining to oneself). The high mountain is a metaphor for an elevated spiritual place of understanding.

It is there you will “see the Light”. It is there you will “see” Jesus Christ transfigured before your “eyes” into the pure Light of Truth, and you will hear (understand) the voice (will) of God. If you want further details of this just read Revelation Chapter 4. The “high mountain” is your heart where the throne of God resides, which is from whence you will “hear His voice”.

Here is Matthew’s account of the transfiguration. We see that Jesus has just raised them up, as in brought them up into the high mountain.

Mat 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

This is how He appears when we see him in the revelation (Rev 1:14-16).

Mat 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

Now notice at this point, when they first “see” the Light of Truth, that Moses and Elijah (the law and the prophets) also appear unto them.

Mat 17:4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

They want to make room for both Christ and law and prophets to dwell (tabernacle) together in the high place. In other words, they want to hear and serve the law and the prophets (follow their church, religion) and Jesus Christ at the same time.

I speak here from personal experience, from personal revelation, and not from the wisdom of man. Over the course of my life through much scholarly study and Biblical research, I had accumulated vast knowledge (riches) of the scriptures (the law and the prophets).

But here’s the thing:

Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (riches = knowledge).

Are you willing to let go of your “riches”… “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus… (Php 3:8)”? You don’t need to be concerned with what your church or any other church teaches, or what denomination you belong to. You don’t need to worry about doctrinal beliefs (meat) and how you appear (raiment) to others. There is no LIFE in any of those things. The LIFE you have is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.

Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

It’s not about what body of believers you belong to. It is not about appearance. Like I said earlier, I did have anxious thought for my life. That’s why I searched the scriptures daily trying to find eternal life! I believed that was where the truth and the answers were to be found.

Then the following happened (continuing in Mat 17):

Mat 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright (full of Light) cloud overshadowed (invest with preternatural influence [Strong’s]) them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Today, if you will hear His voice and harden not your hearts… with all sorts of doctrinal beliefs and churchisms,you can enter into His rest. Otherwise, you cannot (Heb. 3:19).

Mat 17:6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

Is this not also what happened to Paul?

It is also a startling realization (revelation) that every belief and doctrine and that you held so near and dear is overshadowed by the Light of Truth.

Mat 17:7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.

Arise means to “awake from sleep”, as in wake up!

Then I was awakened and understood (heard) and realized that all my riches had to go. I remember that I received much flack and flogging the day I stood up and declared that “church was over”, but the truth was that the seven churches (churchisms) were now over, overcome by the hearing of His Voice, i.e. what the Spirit has to say… which is “This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him”.

Mat 17:8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

When your eyes are “lifted up”, when your understanding is raised up, when you have an ear to hear [understand], you will have no need that any man teach you (1 John 2:27). It is the Spirit that gives you LIFE and when you KNOW that, you will no longer feel the need to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to sustain yourself… for He will give you to eat from the Tree of Life.

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (and that midst is within you, Luke 17:21).

As per the opening two points I made in this treatise, when I now read the scriptures I often see events that have happened or are happening in real time in my life and in the lives of others. I relate to many of the characters whose personas and natures (names) I have born or do bear. In 60+ years I have lived much of the history… even as prophecy fulfilled, for there is nothing new under the sun. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The mystery of the kingdom of heaven, that spiritual realm within and how God works in us, is all written within and without. I just couldn’t see it, though I truly thought I did. But when the veil of the carnal mind is rent at the crucifixion, Jesus Christ and the spiritual world within, yea the kingdom of God where dwells the Tree of Life, is revealed.

Christ told the disciples that very thing in John 16:12.

John 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear (receive) them now.

There are many things disciples cannot comprehend until after the revelation, until the Spirit of Truth comes, for disciples still “see” Jesus Christ in the form of a man, outside of themselves. They have not yet experienced the crucifixion. They still walk with Him and talk with Him and ask themselves, “What would Jesus Do?” But as He said, He must first go away and be crucified at Golgotha, the place of the skull (yours, as a real time event), and come again unto you as the Comforter, the Spirit (Light, Fire) of Truth, before you can “see” those “things”.

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and He will shew you things to come.

Now I have testified in previous writings how that like Saul of Tarsus I was truly a Pharisee of Pharisees, a persecutor of the church of God, one who put Christians in spiritual prison by binding them to religious doctrines and traditions (traditional carnal reasoning) of men. And then I was struck by the Light from above and did hear His voice… and the man I thought I was, that big man in the ego of my mind, was abased, fell to the earth, and I became a “Paul” in real time. You see, the name (nature of) “Paul” means “little”.

The point I am trying to make is that when I read about Saul/Paul I am not just reading the history of what happened two thousand years ago. I am reading the witness of personal experience. Of course not everyone becomes a Pharisee, at least not a chief one to the degree I did. Therefore some may not relate to certain scriptures the very same way I do. Or perhaps their end of days (the six) has not yet come… but it will.

And that brings me to Ole King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter four, whose persona I now see also dwells within us.

The name Nebuchadnezzar means “May Nebo protect the crown” (BDB). He was the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem (the capital, i.e. where the heart and mind dwell) and carried Judah (kingship) captive. I am not disputing the historical accuracy of this account for surely it did happen, but more relevant than that is to know that this is allegory depicting the power (king) that takes captive our heart and mind (our Jerusalem).

Who is Nebo anyway? Nebo was the “idol of Babylon and Assyria. Nabiu (Hamitic Babylonian), Nabu . Related to Hebrew nabi, “inspired,” “prophet.” Described as “the far hearing,” “he of intelligence, who teaches.” (Fausett)

Nebo was the god who presided over learning and letters. (Smith)

Ah, it’s beginning to make sense.

You know one of the reasons I started to teach and post online Bible studies back in the late nineties was because I desired deeper Biblical knowledge, which as I said, I thought would give me a greater understanding (riches) of God.

I did some work for a man named Dean who has been referred to as the nation’s foremost applied memory expert. Occasionally I would accompany him when he spoke to large audiences where he was often the keynote speaker. He would invariably tell his attendees that there are three ways to learn. The first and least effective way is simply by rote memory, going over and over (thereby highlighting) those things that you wish to learn and retain. The second method, the method he actually taught, was by seeing pictures, especially in the format of illogical associations that make a deep impression on your mind. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and Dean’s version was always “People remember infinitely more of what they see, than what they hear or read.”

But then he would go on to say that the best way to learn anything is to teach it! Wow, I thought to myself. That means that the way for me to better learn the Bible (and therefore know God) is to teach it, and I had the knowledge and credentials to do so. So in April of 1998 I started a local Bible study group and on January 4, 1999, I started to teach the Book of Daniel online and sent it by email to eight of my friends and relatives. That certainly was a new beginning (8), the end of which would forever change the lives of many, including my own.

Daniel chapter four:

Dan 4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.

Peace is the internal exemption from war and havoc and anxiety and fear (all of which are components of spiritual “death”). However, peace can never be attained as long as the mind (carnal) rules over the heart (spiritual). I know this to be true because of personal experience, documenting with much havoc and pain and destruction in my life that “the carnal mind (my way) is indeed enmity (hostile) against God” and by its very nature cannot love unconditionally. God is love (1 John 4:8,16).

Dan 4:2 I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.

It is a good thing for all of us to share our experiences and to show the marvelous things God has revealed to us. It is so far superior to trying to teach some vain (empty of life) doctrine about what we “believe” to be true in order to establish some “statement of faith” and validate our sorry religious state of mind.

Dan 4:3 How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

The greatest and most marvelous wonder of it all is to know that through all the generations (times, periods, ages) we go through in our lives, God’s will is being carried out! His purpose and His plan is being fulfilled. This reminds me of the allegorical poem, “Footsteps in the Sand”. You have probably read it before, but I’ll post it just in case you haven’t or would like to re-read it.

Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

The Lord replied, “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of suffering, when you could see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

I have come to believe that there simply are no coincidences in the path of our lives. Furthermore, if one has eyes to see the connection between the without and within, he or she can read about his or her spiritual life’s journeys in the scriptures.

Dan 4:4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:

Ol’ Neb has the world by the small orbs. He’s standing tall. He’s in complete control of his palace (at least for now, and only by permission from God, as do we all). He’s got money and power and prestige and people look up to him. The problem is he also looks up to himself. Self justification (judging) is what we all get with religion, not to mention that knowledge (especially the religious kind) puffs up.

Dan 4:5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

Looks like we have an absence of peace in the heart of the knowledgeable one, ole Neb. But as we learn from the writings of Solomon, when it comes to the flesh, to the physical realm, there is just never enough money or power or knowledge or pleasure to bring about everlasting satisfaction and peace. But even believing that to be true, who’s willing to give it all up? Ole Mr. Ego who sits upon the throne of our heart and rules the world, even as the god of this world, is not about to willingly abdicate his authority. Tyrants don’t step down. They must be taken down. The good news is that the brightness of the Lord’s coming is sufficient to the task (2 Thes. 2:8).

But then comes that stirring in the spirit, a walking in the “cool of the day” (“cool” is ruach in Hebrew, meaning spirit), and it alarms Nebo-man (adam, who we all are in real time). It shakes his foundation (bed). It disturbs him and rocks the house he has made of sand.

So Neb-the-Great decides to seek the answer to the anxiety in his heart from the religious community, the wise men of Babylon (confusion). See any parallels here? Haven’t we all been there and done that! I sure have. What, me Nebuchadnezzar?

Dan 4:6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.

The word “decree” in this verse is better translated “judgment” (Strong’s, BDB). Judgment is what the entire book of Daniel is all about. “Dan-i-El” means God is Judge, not you or me. God’s ways are judgment (Deut. 32:4, Dan 4:37).

Even so, we all at first believe that somehow the answers (wisdom) concerning spiritual matters (peace, salvation, knowing God and His ways) come from man’s reasoning, especially from scholarly religious leaders… because they supposedly have more knowledge, as in possess great “riches”.

The fact is, we (as adams) are all convinced by our woman (the flesh of our being) and therefore self-deluded into believing that those answers can be obtained by eating the fruit (that which is produced) from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the carnal mind of man). We believe it is the tree “to make us wise” to know and understand God and His ways, and therefore possess His judgment to know good and evil! But all we ever end up with is “do this” and “don’t do that”. All we ever end up with is the law and we never cross over (overcome) to the other side.

And that is the entire essence of what we are reading here in Daniel chapter four, that God’s judgment and His ways (His wisdom) cannot be found either by searching the scriptures or by listening to the wisdom of man. It cannot be found by eating the fruit produced by the carnal mind, that tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

On the contrary, eating that fruit produced from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the carnal mind) makes us carnal minded, which causes death (fear, anxiety, etc.). As the saying goes, you are what you eat.

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

And so it is that there are two trees residing in our midst: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the carnal mind) and the tree of life (the heart where love resides). God is love. The former produces death (fear, anxiety, unhappiness, etc.) and the latter produces life (peace, serenity, happiness, etc.).

Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

And so it is that the seed of the serpent is the carnal mind and the seed of the woman (the virgin woman) is Christ, the Spirit of Truth. And the seed of the serpent, the carnal mind, is enmity against God (Gen. 3:15). This is not by coincidence, but rather by design!

Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

That is why all the wise men, all the religious leaders and philosophers of Babylon (confusion), were totally unable to explain the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, though they all perceived themselves to be wise in their own minds. Yet they were all confounded, unable to understand!

Wise (H2449) חכם châkam khaw-kam’

A primitive root, to be wise (in mind, word or act): – X exceeding, teach wisdom, be (make self, shew self) wise, deal (never so) wisely, make wiser.

Dan 4:7 Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

There you have it! No satisfactory answers from the best religions extant in the whole world, including Christianity. Ever feel that way? If you are still seeking and searching by attending church and Bible studies, let me tell you from personal experience… you are barking up the wrong tree, eating fruit (carnal plums and figs) produced from the mind of man. But oh how tasty they are… and then when you eat and are filled, you walk away believing yourself to be wise.

If you want life (peace, serenity), you must seek Christ where He dwells, which is in your heart, not in or on paper and ink.

John 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

John 5:38 And ye have not his word (will, spirit) abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

Do you believe what preachers and Bible teachers tell you? Do you believe that the answers to life, to knowing God and His ways, to ongoing peace and happiness can be found by “searching” the scriptures? Did we not just read in Rom. 11:33 that that is not possible? His ways cannot be “found out”.

Again, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying the scriptures are not true and that we should not read them. God forbid. But the reason you read them makes all the difference in the world. They are the “testimony” of the life within you, which is Christ, the living Word (good will) of God. That’s why we pray “thy will (His good will, love) be done on earth (our mind) as it (His good will) is in heaven (our heart)”.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

You must go beyond the scriptures… to the spiritual realm. You must enter into the kingdom of God… which is within you (Luke 17:21).

John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

People will go to Bible studies and church services and sing hymns and praises, but they will not seek the kingdom of God that is within them. I for one did this most of my life. Luke 17:21 “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

They would rather eat the “eye appealing” tasty fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Sounds good, looks good… let’s go to church and eat!

Again, be not deceived and seduced into believing that the scholarly wisdom that comes from the carnal mind of man, that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, can teach you, reveal to you, the mysteries of the kingdom of God. That’s not what you have need of. Christ, the Spirit of Truth that resides within, is what you have need of. Examine yourself; seek the kingdom, and not what others tell you, and He will teach you. Here’s what Paul says concerning this matter.

1Jo 2:26-27 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Let’s now go back to Daniel chapter four where we find that the preachers and religious teachers and soothsayers and men of supposed great wisdom cannot interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that so troubled him.

But God is Judge, the discerner of our hearts. Here is how He works in us:

Dan 4:8 But at the last Daniel (God is Judge) came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,

It is the Spirit of God that searches the heart (judges). Again, Dan-i-el means “God is Judge”.

1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Once again, the carnal mind of man cannot know the things of God. It is incapable of doing so, no matter how much scriptural knowledge it is filled with. Lord knows I tried.

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world (which comes from the carnal mind), but the spirit which is of God (comes from the heart); that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

It is by His Spirit, the anointing (oil, spirit) within, by His revelations to us, that we come to know the things that are freely given to us of God.

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

One more time: That is why all the king’s wise men could not interpret the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar by God, because it was a spiritual matter, a matter of the HEART! You could say that Nebuchadnezzar (an allegory of us all, adam) had a heart condition that required a spiritual, a supernatural, preternatural, solution, not one that the natural mind of man can produce.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness (not understandable, confounding) unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

And so it is in Daniel 4:8 we see at the last, which is “at the end of time (BDB)”, which is that same as in your personal final generation, that God Himself will reveal that which is hidden. Simply put, the spiritual (hidden) “teaching” takes place in us all along, while we “sleep”, i.e. without us even being conscious of it… until it is revealed.

Now consider also that in Daniel 4:8 we read that according to the name of Nebuchadnezzar’s god, Daniel’s name (nature) is Belteshazzar, which means “one who lays up treasures in secret”.

Can you see it? God’s treasure, you, is being laid up in secret by His judgment which is stealth, hidden to our carnal minds.

BDB Definition: Belteshazzar = “lord of the straitened’s treasure”

Hitchcock defines Belteshazzar: “who lays up treasures in secret”.

Dan 4:9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.

Only God can reveal the deep and secret things. We cannot search them out on our own.

Dan 2:22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

God knows what is in the darkness (your mind) because the Light (Christ), though hidden until He reveals Himself, is in your heart.

Dan 4:10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.

A tree in the midst of the earth (us)? Seems I’ve read about a tree in the midst somewhere before, like in Genesis. Again, allegorically we are the earth, the clay, and this tree is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden of God. We are His planting.

Dan 4:11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:

Dan 4:12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.

Oh man, this tree has it all. It’s tall, strong, and good looking, and very wise in that it produces much “fruit” to feed all flesh! All the beasts of the field (our animal natures within) are under its control.

Yes, God has given us dominion over the fowls of the air (thoughts) and fish of seas (emotions) and over the cattle (our animal natures) and over all the earth (Gen 1:26). Our carnal minds rule the world, our own individual world!

Dan 4:13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed (metaphorically his foundation), and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;

This is revelation. This is the mighty shout of the archangel (chief big message) who cries with a loud voice.

A “watcher” means a “wakeful one”! Nebuchadnezzar is about to wake up.

Dan 4:14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:

This “tree” was raised up for the very purpose of being cut down! This is no coincidence. It is the plan of God from the beginning.

Dan 4:15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:

We are still in world while all this takes place.

Dan 4:16 Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

This is indeed a marvelous witness of the wonderful works of God, of His judgment, of His searching the heart, for just and true are His ways…always!

In other words, let his heart (understanding) be that of a beast’s, i.e. carnal in nature, until seven times pass over him, i.e. until the day of Lord comes and he is awaken and his true nature of a beast is revealed. (Seven is a spiritual number.)

Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

You see, we are all sons of God, and the tree of life, Christ, resides in our midst. But in Adam (again, we are Adam) our true nature as a son of God is hidden from our understanding… even until seven times pass over us, even until the time of the revelation of Jesus Christ within us.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

This speaks of you!

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The first man you are is adam. You are a living soul. But the second man you are, the man you really are, is the son of God. Yes, you are the son of God… in whom He is well pleased. If you haven’t heard those words from above yet, someday you will!

This is what it is all about. Someday, every man in his own order (1 Cor 15:23), will come to see the man of sin, for we must all come face to face with beast of the first man. This is the judgment, even the revelation of God.

It is written that when you see (revealed to you) the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, God’s house, the place where He dwells, which is in your heart, then and only then can you go to the high place, the mountain of God.

Again, “seven times” is a spiritual number. It is not a physical time period. It is whatever time it takes, whatever time God has allotted in our lives for us to come to see that “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will (vs. 32).

Dan 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

This matter is NOT by the decree of men. We cannot summon all the religious leaders and Bible scholars and bring this to pass in our own way. The time of His revelation to us knows no man. It is not determined by the wisdom of men who devise doctrines and create timelines.

Demand H7595 שׁאלא sh^e‘êlâ’ sheh-ay-law’

(Chaldee); from H7593; properly a question (at law), that is, judicial decision or mandate: – demand.

It is the demand (judgment) by the word (appointment… by God) of the holy ones (wake up angels… messengers, messages) to the intent (for the purpose) that the living (made alive ones from the awaking) may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men (within you) and gives it to whomsoever He will, and sets up over it (establishes it, raises up) the basest of men.

And if you think God cannot “raise up” the basest of men, I would suggest you think again. 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam ALL die, even so in Christ shall ALL be made alive.

Dan 4:18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

Dan 4:19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.

Many translations have Daniel saying “I wish this dream was about your enemies”, but as the true proverbial saying goes, “You are your own worst enemy”.

It is always easier to see our enemies without, but the enemies within are usually hidden from our sight or often we are just plain in denial as to their existence. This applies to our nation as well.

Dan 4:20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;

Dan 4:21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:

Dan 4:22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.

Bring this allegorical history into the present and understand it is about us living in the present. In other words, the tree that gets hewn down is… (insert your name here).

Dan 4:23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;

Dan 4:24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

This is the decree (judgment) of God upon your king, the carnal mind.

Dan 4:25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

Dan 4:26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.

Dan 4:27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

Like I said earlier, tyrants don’t step down. The son of perdition, that man of sin who sits upon the throne of our heart, standing and walking in the temple (palace) where he ought not be, will not willingly abdicate his throne. But God is able and shall destroy his authority with the brightness of His coming.

Dan 4:28-30 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

This is what the man of sin (ego) says to us. He walks in the palace (temple), stands in the holy place, sits in the temple of God claiming that he is God. He declares that it is by his doing, by his decree, by his following the wisdom obtained from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that justifies him in the sight of God.

Then comes the voice from heaven… and bye, bye oh man of sin.

Dan 4:31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

Dan 4:32-33 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.

This supernatural (spiritual) experience, this seven times passing over him, this revelation from God, would cause Nebuchadnezzar to no longer see himself as a man, even a great man, but rather as the beast that he really was.

Again, the great ole tree shall be felled and you will first “see”, as in come face to face with, the abomination of desolation, the man sin, the beast within, before the coming of the Lord. Anyone who tells you that is not the case, is simply someone who has not (yet) seen.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Like most pastors and preachers, I used to teach that this “falling away” was a falling away from the truth! But the fact is we don’t even know the Truth until that man of sin is first revealed to us. You “see”, the first thing that is revealed when the Light of truth comes is what is hidden in the darkness (our carnal minds).

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Is this not how Nebuchadnezzar saw himself?

Dan 4:34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:

Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Has not the potter power over the clay… Rom 9:21? Can the pot say to the potter, “Why have you made me thus?”

Dan 4:36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

Dan 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

There are many Christians who follow the traditions of men and call themselves God elect. (I did this for most of my life.) They go to church and attend Bible studies, etc. They are rich (in man’s wisdom) and increased with goods (the gold and silver of Egypt [ego]) and feel they are saved and therefore have need of nothing. They are those that “walk in pride” mentioned in that last verse of Daniel chapter four. That doesn’t mean they necessarily walk around haughtily. No, it is much more subtle than that. It is simply that their carnal minds are filled with the traditional wisdom of men, and they sincerely believe that by faithfully following their religion and/or denominational teachings, and doing all those good deeds, that they are in good standing with the Lord, but that makes their righteous their own, doesn’t it? There is a message for them in Matthew 7:21-23… if they can receive it.

In conclusion,

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets (men teaching the wisdom of men), which come to you in sheep’s clothing (looks good like religion does), but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Inwardly, Nebuchadezzar was indeed a ravening wolf. We all are. The beast dwells within us all. He just didn’t “see” it until God revealed it to him. Neither do we.

Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

The tree of life in your midst (the good will of God in your heart) is the good tree that brings forth good fruit (life, i.e. peace, love, serenity). The corrupt tree (your carnal mind) brings forth evil fruit (death, i.e. ignorance, anxiety, pain).

Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Yep, Nebuchadnezzar “saw” the tree, himself (that man of sin, his ego, the son of perdition) hewn down, because God revealed it to him. Only God can do that.

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

The thing is, that until seven times passes over us, we “know not that (we) art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”.

So here is a question and some food for thought. Do you still think Nebo will protect your crown (of life)?