DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD?

  Part 2

  Doug Fortune

It is now two days later and I find myself in the old section of the city of Lyon, France, standing in front of the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon, a cathedral erected in honor of John the Baptist. How fascinating to find that all the statues of John have no head, they have been beheaded. Once again, I find myself swept up in revelation. John was the last prophet of the Old Covenant. He represents the end of an era of Law. Jesus said of John, "For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist..." (Luke 7:28) John represented the pinnacle, he was a 'head' of sorts of all the Law represented. That 'head' had to be severed in order for another Head, Jesus the Christ, to take His rightful place. So it is with us, "For Christ is the END of the LAW for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:4) The 'head' of Law must be replaced by the Head, Jesus Christ, Who brings grace and truth: "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17) Our law-based relationship with Father and every law-based mentality must be severed.

"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a BODY hast thou prepared me... Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the LAW; Then said he, Lo, I come to DO THY WILL, O God. He taketh away the FIRST, that he may establish the second." (Hebrews 10:5, 8-9) Father has NO pleasure in relationships based in sacrifice and offering by the Law, rather He desires a BODY that delights to do His will! He removes the FIRST (sacrifice and offering by the Law), to establish the SECOND (a BODY that delights to do His will). The FIRST must be severed in order to establish the SECOND. The BODY that delights to do His will cannot have two 'heads'! Much of religion tries to operate with two 'heads'; one 'head' of Law and one 'head' of grace. That may be why the religion of Churchianity looks and acts like a two-headed monster. It is time to wield the Sword of the Word and slay the beast within!

What is a law-based mentality, you may ask? It is a performance based relationship that is the result of eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, right and wrong, the Tree of Law. That Tree is unguarded, it is easy to eat from. The Tree of Life wields a Sword (Hebrews 4:12) that must be passed through in order to partake. It has never been about right and wrong, it has always been about life and death. Our thoughts and deeds cannot be measured by the question, Is this right or wrong? They must be measured by this one question, Does this produce life or death?

Part of our high calling is to be 'life-giving spirits'; "Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit... And just as we have borne the image [of the man] of dust, so shall we and so let us also bear the image [of the Man] of heaven." (1 Corinthians 15:45, 49 Amplified Bible) I do find it fascinating that in order to be a LIFE-giver, we must first experience the 'death' of another life... the severing of one 'head' to receive a different 'Head'.

As I ponder this I am reminded of Revelation 20:4 as it declares, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were BEHEADED for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Yes, I do understand that there are multiple layers of fulfillment to be found in such highly symbolic and prophetic Scriptures, but I am always looking for a present application for our lives, so this is where I will focus. My primary method of interpretation for the Book of the Revelation is viewing the book as "The Revelation of Jesus Christ..." (Revelation 1:1), or Jesus Christ REVEALING Himself.

Thrones obviously speak of authority, and remember also that in Biblical symbolism, the head speaks of authority and mentality. Because mentalities DETERMINE the essence (nature) and exercise of authority, it is imperative in order to operate in proper authority that one possesses the proper mentality. There are few things worse than those exercising authority influenced by a carnal mentality, "Because the carnal mind is ENMITY against God..." (Romans 8:7) Is it any wonder that the ones sitting upon thrones in Revelation chapter 20 have been 'beheaded'? I believe this to be a spiritual picture of those who have allowed the 'severing' of the carnal mind, they operate in divine sovereign authority because they have received a different 'Head'. Notice that they are seated upon the thrones. The seated position speaks of a 'finished work'. Jesus declared, "It is finished..." (John 19:30), and He "...sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:3) Father is raising up a people who are appropriating the 'finished work' of Jesus Christ by the 'severing' of the carnal mind. Because Christ has become their Head, they operate in divine sovereign authority to rule and reign.

Revelation 20:4 declares also that this is a people "...which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image..." The ultimate end of worship is to become ONE with that which we worship and show forth the IMAGE of that which we worship, we take on the identity of that which we worship. Remember what Adam was clothed with originally? The Psalms tell us that Adam had been crowned or ‘clothed’ with GLORY and honor; "What is man, that thou art mindful of him... For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (the word translated there as angels is Elohim in Hebrew), and hast crowned him with glory and honour." (Psalms 8:4-5 my input in parenthesis) That word translated as crowned is atar in Hebrew and means to encircle, to compass. So we see that Adam’s clothing befit his IDENTITY in the nature of God. When Adam sinned he was no longer clothed with the glory, he was naked. Because he CHOSE to operate with a different nature or IDENTITY, God then clothed him with the skins of a beast. His clothing now befit his identity in the carnal BEAST nature. Adam was originally made in the 'image of God', after he took on a new identity he displayed the 'image of the beast'. Father is raising up a people who have no identity in the 'beast' nature because they have been 'beheaded' of the carnal mind.

Notice also that Revelation 20:4 says, "...JUDGMENT was given unto them." What is this judgment? The prevailing thought when it applies to judgment is that of punishment or retribution. This is clearly NOT New Covenant understanding, for 2 Corinthians 5:21 is quite plain as it states, "For He hath made Him to BE SIN FOR US, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." The New Covenant emphasis of judgment is not punishment or retribution, rather the emphasis is that of SEPARATION. Jesus came into the world as a Separator! "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the EARTH..." (Matthew 10:34 Amplified Bible) As we've discussed before, earth is symbolic of carnality. Jesus definitely did not come to bring peace to our carnality! "I have not come to bring peace, but a SWORD. For I have come to PART ASUNDER..." (Matthew 10:34-35 Amplified Bible) He came to bring a Sword to our carnality! And what kind of Sword does He bring?... "For the WORD of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged SWORD, piercing even to the dividing ASUNDER of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) The Sword that He brings to 'divide asunder' our carnality is the "engrafted Word (Christ IN us), which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21 my input in parenthesis) You see, judgment in the New Covenant is upon our carnality. Jesus came as the One to separate us from our carnality. The New Covenant emphasis is not so much a matter of bringing judgment upon individuals for their sin (as in the Old Covenant), but rather bringing judgment upon the kosmos, upon carnality itself.

Jesus speaks of this in John chapter 16 when He says, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the WORLD (kosmos in Greek) of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment... Of judgment, because the prince of this world (kosmos in Greek) is judged." (John 16:7-8, 11) Christ IN us, as the Comforter (the Holy Spirit), reproves the world (the kosmos) of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. It is HIM that does the reproving, not ourselves! The word translated as 'world' in those verses is kosmos in Greek. Its' meanings include- an orderly arrangement; the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family; the ungodly multitude; world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly; the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ. Or to put it plain language, the kosmos speaks of the 'worldly system', that which originates from carnality. "Then Jesus said, I came into this world (kosmos in Greek) for judgment, as a Separator..." (John 9:39 Amplified Bible) Jesus came as a Separator to bring judgment, to bring a separation to the kosmos of the 'worldly system', to bring a separation to all that originates from carnality. His intention is that "The kingdoms of this world (kosmos in Greek) are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15) Yes, He came to the kosmos to bring separation, in order that the kosmos (all that originates from carnality) be consumed in the Kingdom.

It is the judgment WITHIN us, the judgment WITHIN a people that brings us into a relationship of oneness with Christ, as duality is 'separated' from our lives. This results in the GLORY of God being revealed in us. As the glory of God is revealed in us, this brings forth a righteous 'judgment' to everything around us. Remember, the Kingdom is WITHIN us, and when the Kingdom WITHIN us is so firmly established with far more power and authority than the kingdom AROUND us, then the kingdom AROUND us must be subject to the Kingdom WITHIN us. Jude spoke of this principle; "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude 1:14-15) This does NOT mean that the Lord will have a people going around judging and condemning those who do not 'measure up' to their standards. We already have plenty of that going on! Rather, this speaks of a people IN and THROUGH whom the Lord is appearing to such an extent that the evil intentions of individuals are exposed. Or to say it another way, a people IN whom the Light of Christ is so bright that darkness is exposed all around them. Thus it is THROUGH this people that have been 'beheaded' of the carnal mind that "The kingdoms of this world (kosmos in Greek) ARE BECOME the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ..." (Revelation 11:15)
(To be continued...)