Eyes That See and Ears That Hear (Part 1)

Luke 8:10  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdomof God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.What does it mean to have eyes that see and ears that hear? Well, I can tell you for close to forty years of my adult Christian life I believed that I had them both, and I know many Bible students who still believe they do.  Some of them write to me and take it upon themselves to inform me how wrong I am in the things I now say… because I no longer see and hear things the way they do. Of course I must admit that I used to do the same thing to others.The problem is you see, if you admit someone else is right about a thing, and that thing is the opposite of what you believe to be true, then lo and behold you would have to go the throne and tell King Ego, the lord of self-righteousness who sits in the temple of God (your heart) claiming to be God, that he is wrong. Good luck with that! It is much easier to use the tools of denial and/or finger pointing accusations and/or condescension, etc., than to take a look at yourself. Why is that so? Because it takes courage and power to take a stand for justice, to face the truth against fierce opposition, to do the right thing when it goes against the tide of one’s emotions such as fear of reprisal or fear of persecution. On the contrary, it takes only weakness to do the opposite… which often is simply going along with the crowd or doing nothing at all.

The good news is that Jesus Christ gives us POWER over our fears and anxieties, which indeed are powerful enemies that can defeat us and rob us of eternal life (which means ongoing peace, joy, and happiness). (Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” By the way, it also takes POWER to forgive others, even the power of Love… and that power also comes from Christ (Luke 5:24).

Now back to eyes that see and ears that hear… although we never really digressed.

To me, it was always a matter of excellence in Biblical knowledge and scholarship that gave one better understanding and set one apart from the Biblically illiterate who could not possibly possess eyes that see or ears that hear, at least not according to such self-serving criteria. That mind-set provided justification enough for us “like minded” believers to consider ourselves God’s “elect”, which translated attitudinally into class “elitism”.

It was not until the true Light shined in the darkness and I “saw” just how spiritually “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Rev. 3:17)” I really was, that my “eyes” were opened and true understanding of the things of the spirit began to take place, meaning I began to be still and hear… “what the spirit, even life itself, had to say”.

Up to that point I was “rich” in Biblical knowledge, well versed in the Hebrew and Greek languages, and increased with goods, meaning I thought I had wisdom and a good understanding of things spiritual. But I tell you of a certainty that I know now that all I had was the best the carnal mind could imagine and interpret of the things that it cannot “see” or “hear” (understand), which things are spiritual.

What I learned from the experience of the cross and the revelation (renting of the veil) that followed, was that until I came face to face with the “abomination of desolation” and “saw” that adamic “man of sin”, “the son of perdition”, the one who will perish (who will surely die), that one who sits in the temple of God (again, one’s heart), the holy place (because it is the house, the mansion, the  dwelling place of God) and claims to be god, the authoritative ruler of the world (your world), that I still dwelt in darkness, no matter how intellectually and spiritually enlightened I thought I was. Darkness is darkness and though you call it smart scholarly darkness or stupid ritual darkness makes no difference… and even less sense, for both are darkness because there is still no (true) Light present!

1 John 2:8  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

The Biblical phrase “eyes to see and ears to hear” metaphorically expresses one’s ability to see into the spiritual realm, scripturally referred to as the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God, and to understand, meaning to know, what the spirit has to say. Most will no doubt agree with that definition, but again, as much as we all like to think we understand what it means, there are several things that beg questions.

For example, “Just WHAT is the kingdom of God”, and furthermore, “WHERE exactly IS the kingdom of God?” Oh, and for that matter, “Can you define what spirit is and how it “says things”, or communicates to us?”

First of all, regarding what a kingdom is, it is simply a domain or realm wherein something or someone exists, be they king or subject. We say for example, that cats and dogs are part of, or belong to, “the animal kingdom”. Wheat and corn do not belong to the animal kingdom. They exist within the domain of plants, i.e. the plant kingdom. Here is Strong’s definition of kingdom:

G932 βασιλεία basileia

bas-il-i‘-ah

From G935; properly royalty, that is, (abstractly) rule, or (concretely) a realm (literally or figuratively): – kingdom, + reign.

The point is that there is both an earthly realm (kingdom) and a heavenly realm (kingdom). Flesh and blood are of the earthly kingdom and not part of the heavenly kingdom, nor can flesh and blood ever be partakers or inheritors thereof (1 Cor. 15:50). That which is of the earthly kingdom (realm) is carnal (earthy, of the mind), and that which is of the heavenly kingdom (realm) is spiritual (heavenly, of the heart).

1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

Now the carnal mind, which is the domain or realm where all religion exists, has its own set of eyes and ears and sees only images and interprets things in relation to the earthy visible world. That is why you hear preachers and teachers and scholars relate prophecy to world events because they see with their earth-realm eyes.  And because they do not have eyes that see into the spiritual realm within or ears that hear what the spirit has to say, they all interpret the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ as a series of world events that take place in the last days, the final generation… which preachers and teachers have been declaring their generation to be in for the last 2,000 years. That means there has been 2,000 years of well researched and prophetic teachings from sincere ministers that did not come to pass and thus were (and still are) in complete error. And since what they taught did not come to pass, one would have to say their prophecies were false, which would make them false prophets, wouldn’t it? I do not judge them, because I taught the very same things which I now know testifies to the fact I did not have eyes that saw into the spiritual realm or ears that heard what the spirit has to say, though I thought I did.  I now know from experience, which is quite different than book knowledge or just believing, that “Jesus [truly] is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10).”

Realizing then that there is a kingdom (realm) of the earth (carnal) and a kingdom (realm) of heaven (spiritual), let’s address the question: “Where IS the kingdom of heaven”, the realm wherein God dwells. And from what we have discussed so far, it should be obvious that you are not going to see it with your earth-realm set of eyes. In fact, Jesus Christ plainly said so:

Luke 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Religious people, especially Pharisees like I was, are always looking and observing outwardly for the kingdom of God to come. They “see” Christ riding on a white horse and coming in the clouds of heaven to the earth to subdue it and rule it with a rod of iron. When they read of a new heaven and a new earth, whereby the old heaven and old earth have passed away, they see the blue sky and the terra firma instead of their hearts and minds.

Therefore they listen to preachers and teachers and delight in timelines and point to current world events, political climates, and astronomical anomalies as signs we are closer and closer to their “vision” of the coming kingdom of God. Of course it is precisely because their eyes are earthy, that they are easily, yea naturally, directed outwardly to the form of images, things they can see, but which are in reality are only the vain (empty) imaginations and vain doctrines of men.

Contrast this with what Christ has to say concerning where the kingdom (realm) of God is.

Luke 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Yes, the kingdom of God, the realm or place where God dwells, the HOLY PLACE, is within you! Well, where within you? In the holy of holies within the temple! Really! Know you not that you ARE the temple of God, and spirit of God dwells in the temple… therefore in you? Is this too great a concept to grasp?

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

And if the Spirit of God dwells in you… from whence will you hear His voice? Are you still looking at world events and outside circumstances? Read 1 Kings 19:10-13 where Elijah was down in the pits (cave) and the LORD shook his outside world with wind, quaking, and fire. It was not until he heard that “still small voice” that he was moved to action.

Psa 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Are you looking outside yourself? How do you SEE? Are you looking for Jesus Christ to come to some temple in Jerusalem in the Middle East to dwell? Dear one, “eyes that see” are eyes that see inwardly, into the realm of the spirit, meaning deep into the inner sanctuary of one’s own heart.

Have you measured that temple lately (Rev. 11:1)? Have you taken a personal inventory? Hey, the journey inward is a very scary place to go for most people.

And what of that man of sin we spoke of earlier, that son of perdition who sits in the temple of God (on the throne of your heart), claiming to be god (supreme ruler in chief), and thus defiles the temple of God? Well, it is written that Jesus Christ shall destroy him with the brightness of His coming (2 Thes. 2:8)… and He shall indeed.

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Here is another question: “Are you among those looking for “the antichrist” to appear on the earth and sit in the temple of God claiming to be Christ? If you are, I’ll tell you this: He’s already sitting there. He just hasn’t been revealed to you yet. In other words, you haven’t “seen” him yet because it takes “eyes that see” into the spiritual realm… again, into the inner sanctuary of one’s OWN heart.

However, be aware that the holy of holies, your heart of hearts, is a place wherein you cannot just enter at will… because believe it or not, God has placed obstacles before it, such as the veil of your carnal mind. You see, ONLY the high priest can go behind the veil, and then only once a year… UNTIL you experience the cross and the veil that separates your carnal mind from your inner heart is rent by God from the top down.

In the Book of Genesis there is another analogy of this… actually there are several beginning with the creation of “heaven” and “earth” and the separation of the firmament, etc.  However, the one to which I am referring is the one where Adam was sent forth, even driven (divorced) out, from the Garden of Eden, the Garden of God, and would have to labor and till the ground (the earthly mind) amidst the thorns and thistles it would bring forth.

Gen 3:23  Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

The Garden of Eden, the Garden of God, is the place where the “tree of the life dwells”. This is simply another analogy or metaphor for the spiritual place within one’s own heart wherein we cannot go until Christ is crucified at Golgotha (place of the SKULL) and rents the veil. Then will the two Cherubims (cerebrum), i.e. the carnal mind, and flaming sword (letter that kills), be taken out of the way!

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

I tell you of a truth, that the coming of the Kingdom of God is spiritual “REVELATION”, not an outside worldly event. That is what the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is all about… the REVELATION of Jesus Christ to YOU! When He comes… He comes to YOU, in Spirit, not with ocular vision, and YOU SEE HIM (John 14:17-18)!

And it is an earth quaking (mind shaking) event, when darkness covers the whole earth (mind) for a space of time, a day (period) of darkness and gloominess complete with the revealing (opening of the eyes that see) of the son of perdition and all the evil spirits (doctrines) and defilements of the temple of God… which temple you are.

Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

And again, being able to see or to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God is not something one just decides to do on his or her own, nor is it something that can be taught, for it is according to the will and timetable of the Father… in His time. Until then, the ability to see, to cause one’s own revelation, is beyond the capability of flesh and blood, of the carnal mind, which itself is enmity against God. To know the mysteries of the spiritual realm is something that is given unto us from on high… otherwise we see not and hear not, though we might think we do.

Luke 8:10  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Again, though we see with our earthly eyes the great works and miracles of God, and thus think we “see”, we really don’t… unless the LORD Himself, even through Jesus Christ, gives us an “heart” to perceive, and “eyes” to see, and “ears” to hear.

Deu 29:2  And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;

Deu 29:3  The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:

Deu 29:4  Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

May God grant us eyes to see and ears to hear.

… to be continued.