The Foundation of the World

In the beginning we are all born into this world as know-nothings. Then we grow up and accumulate some knowledge and either remain as know-nothings or become know-it-alls, the difference of which I confess is difficult to distinguish because far too often we are simultaneously both. Even so, the fact that babies are born without any earthly knowledge whatsoever should be a no-brainer for everyone to understand, right?

Here’s how we all begin.

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Before we go any further, allow me to digress and ask you if you are familiar with or aware of the allegories in the water? How’s that for a homonym and a metaphor? You see the scriptures are filled with alligators, I mean allegories, and they will bite off a big chunk of your understanding if you don’t see them.

When you think about it, this should be easy to understand. Spiritual things simply cannot be seen by the flesh eyes or understood by the carnal mind, for they exist in another dimension, an unseen dimension, the kingdom, the realm, the dimension hidden inside. The spiritual world is within, not without (Luke 17:21). The world is without.

The beauty of it is though, that while we cannot see “love” because it is a spiritual thing, we can see the manifestation of it. We can see the light shine. We can see the expression of love in the earth. Likewise we cannot see “will” except as it is made manifest in action and deed.

So when Paul writes in Romans 1:20 that the unseen spiritual things (on the inside) are understood by the visibly seen things (on the outside), even His ongoing power and authority, that’s what he is talking about. The world without is a manifestation of, even a projection of the world within, the spiritual realm.

Of course if that is true, and the Bible is above all a spiritual book about us and Christ in us, then the events of the Bible that everyone sees as happening without, must also be “seen” as happening within. Therefore they are allegorical. Think of them as “spiritual code”. That is not to say that the Bible doesn’t speak to the physical and mental, because it does that too. In fact those are the levels we understand (see) the Bible at first because the natural, carnal mind cannot understand the things of the spirit… until the Spirit of truth and understanding comes (is sent) upon us.

Here is what Christ had to say to His disciples concerning their understanding of spiritual “things”:

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

They cannot bear them now because they are seeing Him as a man (outside of themselves, in the world) and thus they are hearing Him with that which is contained in their skulls, i.e. their carnal minds. You “see”, they haven’t as yet personally experienced the crucifixion at Golgotha, the place of the skull (theirs, yours, and mine), which must happen before Christ enters the holy of holies, the inner sanctuary of their (our) hearts.

Even so in saying that, the Lord never said that their lack of understanding those many things at that time was in any way a bad thing, did He? Be patient in the Lord. His truth, His revelation, the spirit of understanding, is on its way.

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.

The Spirit of truth comes from the kingdom within, not from without, not from the words of man’s wisdom. And only you can hear your inner heart. No one can “hear” it for you, or even tell you what you are hearing. Likewise no one can trust your heart for you or follow it for you.

Hold it! Stop for a minute! Back up a sec! Are you saying the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ takes place within us?

It does if you have a skull.

Ok, let’s revisit the allegories in the water for a minute. Question: What exactly is allegory? Allegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal.

Again, we must begin to understand things that are seen and things that are read and seen in the mind’s eye, which is still imagery… we must begin to see those things as pertaining to our spiritual world, the world within, instead of just to the world without. If we don’t see the spiritual and hear with understanding, we are yet blind and deaf.

That accounts for the fact that a Biblical scholar and pastor can quote and teach the scriptures daily from Genesis to Revelation and still not have “knowledge” of Christ. This I know to be true because I was such a one. And now I know that all that rich wisdom and knowledge I thought I possessed doesn’t even come close to the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Now back to our beginning.

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

And so it is in our beginning, when we are born, even though our heart (our heaven) and our mind (our earth) have been created, the earth (our mind) is truly void of knowledge and has yet to be formed, meaning we have no worldly foundation. It’s like a brand new computer hard drive, unformatted and void of any data. It is in and upon our minds, the earth, that the forming, the foundation of the world (the cosmos), our unique and individual world, begins to take place. We even call childhood our formative years.

Now here’s the kicker. Did you know that we are also born without the knowledge of who we really are, the sons of God, because darkness (the carnal mind) covers (hides) the face of the deep, even the deep place, that holy of holies, the inner sanctuary of our heart? That remains a mystery to us until it becomes unhidden (revealed), until the veil of darkness is rent by Christ and taken away. And that unveiling occurs in our final generation, which individually happens to every man in his own order (1 Cor 15:23).

Yes, the last man Adam, our true identity in Christ, is the primary thing which has been kept secret, hidden by God from the foundation of the world (Mat 13:35).

Are you saying God hides things from us, that He keeps secrets? Well if something is going to be revealed to you, it must first be hidden from you, right? If someone tells you something you already know, then there is no revelation, there is no new light being shed.

Listen to the words of Christ in Mat 13:35.

Mat 13:35  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

So the answer is an obvious “yes”, God has hidden “things” and kept them secret and undiscoverable from the foundation of the world, our own individual world. And only Christ within can reveal those secret things. He is the mediator and the one and only revelator of the secret things of God. Carnal minded man cannot search them and find them out on his own.

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!

So exactly what is the foundation of the world? Is the world the same thing as the earth? Does the foundation of the world mean the same as the creation of the earth? No it does not. Allegorically speaking, i.e. in spiritual code, the earth is your mind and the world is that which is founded upon it.

The world is the cosmos, your personal and perceived universe in which you dwell, and although there may be similarities and they may even intersect, your world (cosmos) and my world are not the same. We live on the same planet but not in the same world, not in the same environment and set of circumstances including age, religion, gender, race, education, etc. In other words, I don’t live in your head and you don’t live in mine. For that we can probably both be thankful.

Now here’s a beautiful thing about our beginning, about newborn babies. Because their worlds have not yet been formed they are exempt from anyone’s judgment based upon their personal deeds of good and evil. I say “personal deeds” because there are some, other than their parents, who would judge them simply because of their race or even the religion of the family they were born into.

Anyway, at this point it can be said that newborn babies are loved unconditionally by their parents simply for being born, for there are no conditions present other than that they are the son (or daughter) of their father and mother and that they have come into being. And so it is, they are loved by their mother and father from the very beginning, before the foundation of their world.

John 17:24  Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

And as He is, so are we in this world.

1 John 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

This is an awesome verse if you are able to fully comprehend what it means? Forget all the traditions and fables and laws and ordinances that church and religion has taught you. There is simply nothing you must do in order for God to unconditionally love you! You are His child. He knew you and loved you before the foundation of the world and nothing can ever change that. And as it is written in Heb. 13:5, He will never leave you, nor forsake you.

And so it is we love Him, because He first loved us… even before the foundation of the world.

1 Jo 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us.

So if you ever get the feeling that God doesn’t love you unconditionally, especially because you have weaknesses in the flesh (don’t we all?), then you do err in your understanding… because your sins have been forgiven.

Not only that, if you think God doesn’t love all those people who you perhaps don’t like because of the evil you believe or perceive they have done or are doing to you or others, then you do also err… because you judge from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, your carnal mind. You judge them based upon their earthly “foundation”. Surely you must know some people don’t have what we call “a solid foundation”.

Does God love us based upon our earthly foundation? Do you believe God’s love is conditional? It cannot be so… because God IS Love.

You know, I remember when our eldest daughter was born and my wife wanted to have her Christened in the assembly of the church, that the Presbyterian minister came to our house to counsel us before the big day. At one point during our conversation I asked him what happens to babies if they die… as babies. He told me that because of their innocence, in that they have not reached the age of accountability, they go to heaven to be with the Lord.

Of course to me, that would be like saying to my son on his thirteenth birthday, “Son, until this day I have loved you unconditionally, because you are my son. But now that you have reached the age of accountability, from now on my love for you will depend upon the decisions you make and how you live the rest of your life.”

Anyway, my wife will testify to what I said next. I told the preacher that I know what I am about to say may seem ludicrous, but if what you are telling me is indeed true, that babies and young children go to heaven because they are innocent until they reach the age of accountability, then why take the chance that they will grow up and “do evil” and choose not repent and possibly end up going to hell and be tortured for all eternity by an all loving God? Wouldn’t preventing them from reaching that age, though extremely painful to our hearts, be considered tough love? Wouldn’t sacrificing them, sort of like Abraham willing to sacrifice Isaac on the altar, be guaranteeing their salvation?

Needless to say he was taken aback by my youthful euthanizing suggestion and my wife promptly placed me in the proverbial dog house for what seemed like eternity. Of course the way I saw it, all that did was delay the conception of our next child. 🙂

But here’s the thing. Babies have both a heaven (heart) and earth (mind) when we they are born, and although they have no worldly foundation at birth, the secret (hidden) thing is… they do have the Tree of Life dwelling in their midst.

As it is written, Adam (again, we are adam) was sent forth out of the garden, out from the “heart” where the Tree of Life dwells. And his flesh carnal mind, the formation of those two cerebrum (cherubim) that turn (spin) the “flaming sword” every which way, would prevent his return to Eden where the Tree of Life resides.

In secular terminology that which is formed in our carnal (flesh) minds is the ego. In Biblical terminology that which is formed is the antichrist, the worldly character (nature, name) you grow up believing you are. Just know this. If your name (nature) or anyone else’s name (nature) has not yet been changed by God, someday it will be!

Now I know that won’t sit well with many people, but the fact is that the carnal mind is the seed of the serpent. The carnal mind IS that which is enmity against God, meaning it is anti-God, anti-Christ.

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.

What happens at the revelation is you first see anti-christ, the abomination of desolation, in the spiritual mirror. You “see” this vile person, this son of perdition, this ego-man of sin who sits upon the throne of your heart holding you captive. Then you come face to face with God and His Christ and your nature (name) is changed.

Here are some examples of name (nature) changes:

Abram’s nature (name) was changed to Abraham. Abram means “exalted father”. Abraham means “Father of many nations”. His wife Sarai’s name (nature) was changed to Sarah. Sarai means “princess” while Sarah means “noblewoman”. Jacob, whose name means “the supplanter”, was changed to Israel… which means “Prince of God”. That happened at Peniel when he came face to face with God after wrestling all through the night (darkness). Saul’s name, which means “self-willed”, was changed to Paul, which means “little” or “diminished”, at the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which was when he saw the Light and heard His Voice!

In the article “Let Seven Times Pass Over” where we discussed Nebuchadnezzar, the religious ego who takes the heart (Israel) captive, we learned that Daniel’s Chaldean name was Belteshazzar, which means “who lays up treasures in secret”. You see, we all bear an earthly name (nature)… at first.

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

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

So at the revelation, after wrestling all through the night (i.e. in darkness), when you come face to face with God, your nature (name) will be changed to your new name (nature). The old heaven (heart) and earth (mind) will pass away and a new heaven (heart) and a new earth (mind) shall be given in their stead. Ah, a new creation!

Rev 2:17  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 hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The hidden (spiritual) manna is contained in your heart, the golden pot (Heb 9:4) within you (the temple of God), and the white stone is a metaphor, spiritual code for a clean heart… one with a new nature (name). You will only know this new nature when you receive/experience it. It’s not an intellectual thing. It’s an internal spiritual awakening of Christ in you and you in Him.

So whose new name (nature) you will have?

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

And so it is your first name (nature), the name of  what you are in the world as the first man Adam, gives way to your second name at the marriage, at the revelation, to who you are as the last man Adam, the son of God. Perhaps you can now better understand when Christ says “We are in the world, but not of the world”.

So in the beginning we are sent forth as the first man adam, an earthly “formed” being who begins to dwell upon the earth and course through our generations while our true identity of the last man adam, the spiritual man from above, the son of God, remains hidden in the face of the deep within, to be revealed at the appointed time God has determined individually to each man in his own order.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The “creature” is the creation, which creation you also are… even adam. So “the creation” waits for the manifestation, the revealing, of the sons of God.

1 Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

This is an incredible verse! The world did not know who Jesus was even as it does not know who you are. In fact, you might not even know (yet) who you are. In that case, the creation (even you) still waits for the manifestation of the son of God.

1 Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Again, until our appointed time, until our visitation, until we return to the garden of God within, wherein dwells the Tree of Life, we are sent forth to till the cursed ground (carnal mind), replete with thorns and thistles, likened unto spyware, malware, trojan viruses, etc., to eat that which the ground (mind) produces all the days of our egotistical lives.

That is until the generation when we come to the end of ourselves, which is the end of the world (our own cosmos) and Christ in us is revealed.

Are you beginning to see? Can you understand that as we grow up in our world (cosmos) we are formed by the things we learn and believe? We are guided by the precepts and rudiments that are taught to us by our parents, our teachers, our preachers, and even our dirty little friends, etc. And surely it goes without saying that initially we had no “earthly” choice what race or nationality or religion or denomination we were born into that began to form the foundation of our world and shape our fundamental beliefs.

Remember when Jesus was taken to the cross, He looked upon those who had Him crucified and said “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)”. Do you suppose those Pharisees who were present were any different than Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee of Pharisees, that awful man who aided and abetted the killing of Christians?

Could Jesus not have just as easily looked upon the crowd and said “Father forgive them, for they know not who they are?” Surely He knew that they were lost (in darkness, their carnal minds), and that the god of this world, their ego formed in them, had blinded them (covered the face of the deep)… lest “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Cor 4:4).

Think about it the next time you feel you’re wronged or persecuted by someone. Look past the dark source from which it came, the ego-formed carnal mind, that man of sin.

I mean, suppose you were one of the Christians way back in the first century who was being persecuted by Saul of Tarsus. Do you see yourself cursing at him and accusing him of being a “non-believing”, against Christianity tyrant, an anti-christ… blah, blah, blah? Do you think God didn’t love him at this point?

Now suppose God showed you a vision into the future, so that you knew in your heart without a shadow of doubt who Saul of Tarsas really was in Christ, the hidden man from above, the second man adam. You now knew in real time, while Saul was abusing you and persecuting you, that soon his name (nature) would be changed, and he would become a new creation, the apostle Paul, a son of God.

You might well have looked upon him and said, “Father forgive him, for he knows not what he does… for he knows not yet who he is!”

May we all now go forth and begin to see others as our Father sees us ALL!