The Gates of Heaven III

There is indeed an immortal father and he is concealed in a secret place.

This secret place is one least expected by the carnal man but the son knows. The son knows where to find the father and is not afraid to seek him in the valley. What good can come out of nazareth they say? Light is found in dark places.

'He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.' Psalms 18:11

'For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' II Corinthians 4:6

Ahh, listen to me O' man, the secret place is you; the darkness is you; the deep is you and it is where the father is hidden.

You yourself are the nazareth from which no one, not even you, expects the light to spring from. The High Priest always rises from the midst of the multitude. The high priest is not flesh and blood but the immortal light that shone from the beginning; the immortal light that is in himself the beginning.

Selah.

Who would have known that the light will arise from the formless and void? Who would have known the light was concealed in the deep blue? Who would have known that goodness can be found in the land of Samaria? Who would have known that light could come forth from the loins of the harlot of Jericho?

The Lord knows! Because he knows, he himself calls himself out of where he hid himself. Yes, the Lord is the planter and what he plants is himself; what he harvests is himself. The Lord is the planter, the harvester and he himself is what is harvested.

As the gates of heaven opened before me at the command of the mighty angel, fear, awe, and joy descended upon me. Who would have known that the gateway into life was guarded by the tip of the sword?

My soul asked "Are you for me or are you against me? "Neither", said the angel in response. This is because he is for me, but not the me that is fearful of the cross. This is because he is against me, but not the me that is prepared to pass through the eye of the needle.

The eye of needle is the flaming sword of the cherubim. The cherubim are the immortal children, dancing in the land of delights. No one shall pass except he who has resolved to be like them; no one shall pass except he who has resolved to be a child again.

The flaming sword barricades the gateway into the land of delights. Who shall pass?

The flaming sword is the mountain of Sinai. The mountain of Sinai is the tip of the sword.

Only those who are prepared to live shall ascend the burning mountain; only those who are prepared to live may touch its base. To live however, one must be prepared to die. Golgotha is the mountain of Sinai, who shall ascend?

'You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”' Exodus 19:12-13

Yes, the stone is the immortal rock of ages; the arrow is the torah, it is the law. It is life and fortune to the heavenly man but death and ruin to the fleshly man. Who can understand?

As I walked through the gates of heaven, I inhaled the air and inside of my belly was a fire. It was a fire that enveloped me with the most profound peace and tranquility. This was a land like no other, this was a place like no other.

The entire land was illuminated but there was no sun. The light was in the very air I was breathing. The light was the 'ruach elohim'. The wind turned this way, that way, and no way. Can you read?

The shekinah is one, two, and three. The shekinah shines resplendently in the holy of holies; it shines resplendently in the third chamber. It is a light that is beyond light and darkness, it is a light that is..

The entire region I was in was the third chamber and at the centre was an ark in the form of a palace. I knew my father was in there. I knew he was the very bread, the law, and the budded reed within that ark.

The vision was a teaching.

It was not telling me of something I had already attained but it was telling me of what I had the possibility of attaining. My immortal father was showing me the way in a vision. A way that began with a gate, barricaded with a sword.

To the carnal man, the gate is nothing but death and darkness, it is foolishness beyond comprehension. He would never believe the father can be in such a place. What does the carnal man know about the father who is in secret? Only the son can know.

To the carnal mind, what business does the Christ have amongst the harlots and tax collectors? The carnal mind can never understand.

Real light is found in dark places. Gold and diamonds are found buried deeply within the earth. The earth is you, the earth is me.

The father is concealed in a secret place.

What is bright light to the carnal man is utter darkness to the heavenly man. The carnal man believes salvation to be in revenge, he looks at it as bright light. Forgiveness is like thick darkness unto him, he does not know that is where the father is hidden.

What is bright light to the heavenly man is utter darkness and doom to the carnal man. While Jesus was marveling at the glory set before him, Peter was seized with gloom.

Sheer dread and terror was upon him.

The cross was so bright a light that it appeared to Peter as profound darkness. Who knew that the father was hidden behind the scourge of the roman whip? It was an unfathomable evil to him. It was impossible for him to see the father in such a place. The light was a secret to him, he was unable to search it out.

'It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.' Proverbs 25:2

Joseph had a dream in a beautiful field but who knew the gate of heaven was to be found in a dungeon? The gate of heaven is adorned with a ceremonial blade. The blade has upon itself the blood of 7,000. The number 7,000 is a mystery. The blade cuts this way and it cuts that way, it brings down and it lifts up. Who can know?

The dungeon of Joseph was not outward but inward. The outward dungeon caused him to see the true dungeon which was within himself. It caused him to come face to face with his fears for his life, his doubts in God, his heartbreak from being betrayed by his brothers.

The problem is not our fears, doubt or heartbreaks. The problem is what those things can make us become; the problem is what those things can cause us to do.

The strength to lead a nation arose from those very dark places, those very broken places. The Christ always rises from Nazareth, the place of no good thing. He came face to face with darkness; he came face to face with himself.

Who knew that behind that darkness was a secret? Who knew that overcoming the darkness will lead him to the secret place? Joseph was a king because he searched it out. The father who he discovered in the secret, rewarded him openly.

'But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ' Matthew 6:6

Behold the open reward:

'In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.' John 1:4-5

'The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ' Genesis 1:2-3

The open reward is the budded fruit of the Holy Spirit, it is the outward unveiling of the light that was concealed, who can put it under a bushel? The light is the father, buried in the heart of man. The darkness is the heart of man, the heart of man is the deep.

'They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.' Psalms 64:6

Light is concealed in the most unexpected places. The carnal man expects the sun's rising from the lofty hills of Jerusalem but his advent is from nazareth. Nazareth is the place from which the branch sprouts, the place where no good thing is expected. The appearance of the Christ is not comely.

As I crossed through the gates I beheld a river on my right hand side that was dazzling like unto crystal. The waters shone like diamonds and all that was within it was alive. The waters flowed out of the palace that was in the center of this region and watered the land. The palace was made of pure gold.

The palace was also an ark and it was a tree. Who can understand?

In my excitement, I dove into the waters and swam in it. I tell no lies when I say that the creatures within the waters were indeed speaking with me and I spoke in return. They were not only in the water, they were the water itself. They spoke words of ineffable healing and beauty. A solemn calm came upon me as I swam in these waters.

Who knew that such beauty and wonder lay hidden behind such a dreadful gate? A gate so bright that it appears to be darkness to the carnal man, who can enter? Behold the gate of heaven:

'Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.' Matthew 19:21-22

In the dungeon, Joseph's great possession was the fear for his life, it was the feeling of betrayal he held so deeply in his heart, it was the feeling of being forgotten. There was no way through the eye of the needle of he did not leave these things behind.

Sometimes our great possessions are our feelings of shame, sometimes it is our fears, sometimes it is deeply rooted anger for that embarrassment and pain our friend created for us many years ago, or maybe it was our sister? Or our father? We hold onto it so dearly and we refuse to let it go.

Just like the rich man, we say to ourselves: "Who would I be without this pain? Who will I blame it on? Someone has to pay for this". We hold on dearly to poverty as though it were wealth. We consider the counsel of the messiah to part with it as a counsel of darkness. Like the rich man, we walk away sorrowful and say "who can do this?".

What I was seeing in the heavens was not something outside me but something deep within. I was seeing something in the secret place, enshrouded in the deep darkness. The vision was telling me what would soon become my story.

Many make the mistake of assuming that the things they see and experience in the heavens are a testament of their spiritual maturity. How foolish was I, priding myself in many experiences that I thought I understood but did not understand. I believed myself to be a matured one.

Haha, the folly of youth, so delightful to see. It is worthy of much compassion and sympathy.

The mature one is not the one who goes up to heaven but the one who is able to bring it down.

Behind the gates of death were the rivers of life, the irony. Who would've known? That gate turned out to be many things in my life. It turned out to be many areas that a death needed to happen for me to live.

Every vision in the heavens must have an earthly manifestation. The vision is only complete when it has become on earth as is in heaven.

You are the earth, I am the earth. A heavenly experience is but a beginning, not an end. It has taken years of dealings with my immortal father to be able to now explain to you a vision that once did nothing but excite me and inflate my ego.

As I swam in the waters, I was led to a shore. On the shore were a number of angels who had the appearance of the most radiant and dazzling little children. They all appeared as though they were 6 years of age. Their appearance was a parable, it told the story of their innocence, beauty, and power.

These were mighty angels of the court of the immortal father.

One of them seized my hand, lifted me out of the water and said "The father requires your presence, come with us". As I began to walk with them, some were treading with their feet, some were floating in the air. That it in itself is another parable, one which we shall unravel another day.

They led me up to the regions of the mighty palace at the center of the realm. A palace which was also an ark; a palace which was also a tree. From a distance, I heard a thunderous voice resound from the palace and flames began arise from every part the region.

The words he spoke were powerful, oh so powerful.

Between I and the palace was a mighty bridge. It was a bridge made of raw gold and angels were standing in a file on either side. These angels had an appearance of fire. Their skin was fire, their speech was fire, their gaze was fire.

The thunderous voice came from the palace, which was at the center of the region and a flame a rose from the midst of the palace. I knew it was the voice of my father. As the sound rose, the angels upon the bridge began to blaze intensely. The whole bridge was set on fire. It was like a thousand explosions happening in an instant.

As I began to cross the bridge, from one region of that heaven to another, making my way to the palace, I understood the words of my father who was in secret. I understood them and I trembled, I was dazed, I was amazed..

To be continued...