Beloved, do not be surprised at the fire in you, the test that comes face-to-face with you, as though some strange thing were happening to you; (1 Peter 4:12)Peter describes Fire Testing as "fire in you, the test that comes face-to-face with you." This is the Fire Test. It is something like fire inside the believer. The believer in the Church Age is symbolically smelted to test his silver and gold, precious metals that represent divine good production. Peter informs us to "not be surprised" when it hits us in the face. He further describes it "as though some strange thing were happening to you." It is not the norm but a powerful test. It is a form of suffering that is designed to prove our metal.
In which you have great happiness (+H), although now for a little while, if perhaps it is necessary, you have become sorrowful in many different kinds of tests, (1 Peter 1:6)The Church Age believer should have great happiness (+H that comes from God) because of all the blessings in store for him. However, in order to prove the capacity for those blessings, many different categories of tests, which often include suffering, are required. Bible Doctrine is provided in grace to the believer, but it will be tested. That doctrine must be applied to the tests that occur on the Stage of Life as the believer executes the Plan of God. There will be many different kinds of tests; and with each one, an opportunity to pass the test and qualify for further blessings in time and eternity.
In order that the verification of your doctrine, which is more precious than gold that perishes, even though validated through fire, may be discovered to result in the praise, glory, and honor at the time of the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:7)The purpose of Fire Testing is the verification of Bible Doctrine in the soul of the believer. The word for verification is Greek dokivmion (dokimion), which refers to verification testing, a test designed to verify something. The communicated word (Greek rJh'ma, rema) of doctrine (Greek pivsti", pistis) from Bible Class (Romans 10:8) is what will be verified. Verification testing is Step 4 in the process of the metabolization of Bible Doctrine.
Metabolized Bible Doctrine is described in 1 Peter 1:7 as more precious than gold because gold will not survive the final destruction of the earth to enter the heavenly state. However, the metabolized Bible Doctrine in the ECS will survive all eternity. For more on metabolization reference Metabolization of Bible Doctrine. Gold is also a symbol here of divine good production associated with the Righteousness of God.
The
next phrase in 1 Peter 1:7 is "even though validated through fire."
This is Fire Testing. The word validated is Greek dokimavzw
(dokimazo), which means to be acceptance tested, qualification tested,
validated. The word, verification, which was previously used, referred
to a specific test. The word, "validated," that follows is a term
for the final qualification test, which marks the completion of the entire
testing process. When the product has been validated, it has passed
all of the acceptance criteria and has not been disqualified by any test
failures.
"Validated through fire" refers to Fire Testing. Just as gold is refined by fire testing, or assaying, the soul of the believer is symbolically smelted in the Angelic Conflict to determine the net worth. Wealth is measured by Bible Doctrine in the soul - not gold in the bank. The heat of soul smelting, or Fire Testing, provides the opportunity to try out the morsels of Bible Doctrine analogous to gold and silver in the soul. The scattered pieces of epignosis in the soul are like nuggets of gold and silver. Verification Testing is a chance to apply these nuggets to experience. Fire Testing is a rigorous form of verification testing that is analogous to refining gold and silver. Fire Testing is suffering which facilitates spiritual growth. The suffering of Fire Testing will burn out the scar tissue of hardness of the heart.
Under
normal conditions the believer with a hardened heart might be severely
hindered from assimilating Bible Doctrine. Those with hardened hearts
often have learning difficulties. However, the intensified suffering
of Fire Testing will break down the barriers of scar tissue of the soul.
By passing the Fire Test, the epignosis doctrine in the heart is
validated for use in the construction of the ECS. The Holy Spirit
will then gather up the nuggets of gold and silver and merge them into
the ECS in a process that is analogous to refining gold and silver from
ore. Flaws and weaknesses that are exposed during the heat of Fire Testing
will be skimmed off like dross in the refining process. Only pure
metal can be used in the construction of the ECS.
The believer who passes Fire Testing will have verified production to bring praise, glory, and honor to Christ "at the time of the revelation of Jesus Christ." The "revelation of Jesus Christ" is a reference to the Rapture of the Church. While the Tribulation is occurring on earth, the Church will be in heaven. During that time every believer will be personally evaluated by the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10b). Divine good production like gold, silver, and precious stones will be rewarded; whereas, dead works will be burned. Gold, silver, and precious stones, which are revealed through Fire Testing on earth, will be the basis for eternal reward at the Evaluation Throne of Christ.
This is the substance of the message of James.
Get ready now, rich people. Weep, crying out in misery over your distresses that are coming upon you. (James 5:1)Many Jews who had become Christians were rich in worldly possessions. However, without the gold of the Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS), there would not be enough salt of land to fertilize the nation of Israel. The people living in Israel were headed for the Jewish holocaust of 70 AD. James wrote a warning to Christians about the approaching judgment.
Your riches have become corrupted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. (James 5:2)Only the gold in the ECS has intrinsic value. The worldly riches of the people had become corrupted and lacked the spiritual value to deliver Israel. One of the measures of wealth of the era of 70 AD was clothing. Rich people often had large wardrobes of woolen clothing. Worldly riches are likened to garments that have been destroyed by moths. Here is a symbol in the Bible. The moth is a symbol of one who depends upon worldly riches, i.e. a monetary reversionist.
Your gold and your silver have become tarnished; therefore, their tarnish will be evidence against you and will consume your flesh as fire. You all stored up treasure in the last days. (James 5:3)Rich people without ECS's were like people who had gold and silver that had been ruined by tarnish. The tarnish was evidence of lacking pure gold and silver, which were symbolic of divine good production. Tarnished gold and silver had been adulterated and were without intrinsic value. Tarnished gold and silver would have to be smelted by Fire Testing. This is what is meant by "their tarnish...will consume your flesh as fire." The Fire Test, however, that is approaching is the Fifth Cycle of Discipline for Israel. This verse was fulfilled in 70 AD. The rich people had "stored up treasure in the last days" of the Jewish Client Nation prior to 70 AD. Their worldly treasure, however, did not deliver them. They were destroyed in holocaust of 70 AD.
James 5:4-6In spite of their riches, the people had accumulated injustices. They had held back the wages of the laborers who harvested their crops. The Lord of the Armies refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, who will deliver them into military defeat at the hand of the Romans. Lord of the Armies is transliterated, Lord of Sabaoth, in some English Bibles. Sabaoth is the transliteration of the plural of the Hebrew ab*x* (tsaba'), which means armies.
4 Behold, the wages of the workers who harvested your fields, held back by you, are crying out; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of the Armies.
5 You have lived luxuriously on the land, and you have lived indulgently. You fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
6 You condemned (via the courts). You murdered the just person. The person does not resist you.
These Christians were rich. They lived luxuriously and indulgently. This means they had been attracted to the the Cosmic System as the goddess of love. The same thing happened to Israel due to the influence of Balaam. The people also ate the choicest cuts of meat, as "in the day of slaughter." This was a symbolic reference to the day animals were slaughtered on the farm. But there hearts were fattened, which means they were not condemned for fattening the body but for being fat headed. Their hearts refers to their right lobes, the location of the golden nuggets of epignosis, which would never be used to pass the Fire Test.
These upstanding citizens of Jerusalem were also guilty of criminal behavior. They used the courts to condemn others. And they were also guilty of murder. Such activity reveals that these people were also enslaved to the Cosmic System god of war. When they did these things, they accumulated further injustices with the Supreme Court of Heaven, which was prepared to judge them severely in the Fifth Cycle of Discipline.
But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. (1 Corinthians 7:9, NAS)Unmarried people who do not have a completed ECS, face tremendous pressure due to not having the completed Intimacy Room for Right Man or Right Woman in the soul. They will be easy prey for the lust pattern, which operates outside the ECS.
A person who is Filled with the Holy Spirit may decide to enter into sexual lust and sin. In so doing, the person grieves the Holy Spirit and sins, e.g. lasciviousness or mental adultery. The person who is in a state of sin lacks the power of the Filling of the Holy Spirit and is subject to the power of the Cosmic System. The one in sexual lust does not have the covering of the ECS with the Intimacy Room (i.e. the Integrity Envelope). Consequently, the soul in sexual lust is sucked into the Cosmic System due to the vacuum in the soul. The soul in the Cosmic System may be under the power of Satan's thinking and Satan's demons.
A chain of events begins:
Thus, cosmic thinking of sexual lust can eventuate in burning one's own body from sexual heat under the power of the Cosmic System. Sex is God's gift for marriage and is altogether good when it is under control in marriage. However, when sex is empowered by the Cosmic System, it becomes a burning furnace that is no longer cooled by love.
The Illustration, Sexual Love Fire Analogy, shows how fire relates to sexual, or conjugal, love. The Fire Triangle illustrates the three ingredients required to make fire: Fuel, Heat, and Oxygen. All three are required to make fire. If any one is removed, the fire will be extinguished. These three ingredients also correspond to production in the Christian Life from metabolization of Bible Doctrine. The analogy was demonstrated in the Golden Lampstand of the Tabernacle. The lamps contained olive oil fuel and were supplied heat from the flame and oxygen from the air. The burning lamps symbolized production in the life of Christ and the believer, e.g. John the Baptist (John 5:35). The lamps produced light, which was a kind of glory.
The Illustration also shows the ingredients of sexual love required for divine good production. First, the fuel, or food, must be metabolized Bible Doctrine. Sexual capacity for life and love requires: An Edification Complex of the Soul with an Intimacy Room and Sexual Fountain of Youth. The Sexual Fountain of Youth is the revival of sexual capacity for life under spiritual power analogous to the miracle of Abraham's sexual blessing after sexual death. The Intimacy Room is for Right Man or Right Woman only. In the place of heat is Virtue-Love with Marriage Intimacy Love from the ECS. In the place of oxygen is Spiritual Rapport with God through the Holy Spirit. When the three ingredients combine to produce sexual love, the result is marital bliss from the grace of God. The production is spiritual. The Spirit controls the soul and body. Very few Christians ever achieve the divine Happiness that God has for believers who achieve Spiritual Rapport in Marriage. The key to good sex is not relationship with people. Adam and 'Ishah proved that after they sinned. The key to good sex is love from Spiritual Rapport with God.
Principle: Spiritual Rapport must precede sexual rapport.In contrast to sexual love in spiritual rapport, the Illustration also shows Sexual Fire. Sexual Fire is the burning from sexual heat in 1 Corinthians 7:9. There are only two sources of spiritual power, God or Satan's Cosmic System. When any one of the three ingredients of Sexual Love are missing, conjugal love ignites into Sexual Fire. The reason is that it is impossible to be partially filled with the Holy Spirit. As soon as a Christian sins due to temptation from Cosmic, Political, or Ecumenical Babylon, the person loses the power of God and becomes the victim of Satan's Cosmic System. The influence of Cosmic Babylon is analogous to the Oxygen of the Fire Triangle. There are only two options here, the power of the Holy Spirit or the power of Satan.
Next, the influence of Political Babylon may be substituted for Virtue-Love and cause Sexual Fire. Political Babylon includes relationships that are not Right Man - Right Woman. Thus, fornication and adultery are not love relationships but illicit productions of Political Babylon (1 Corinthians 6:15-19). It is impossible to have sexual love outside of marriage (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). The heat of sexual burning will be transmitted into the flesh and skin because the Cosmic System cannot produce a stabilized sexual relationship. In contrast, sex under the power of God is cooled by virtue-love and stabilized by the Holy Spirit.
Sexual Love Fire Detail
The influence of Political and Ecumenical Babylon may produce insatiable sexual thirst and hunger in the hypothalamus. The influence of Political Babylon may produce sexual thirst, while the influence of Ecumenical Babylon may produce sexual hunger. The base of the triangle (Political and Ecumenical Babylon) may link with the Cosmic System to produce sexual fire. When the Cosmic System controls the soul, the hypothalamus will also be enslaved and attempt to regulate the body during sex. The hypothalamus will control the metabolism, body temperature, as well as emotion through influencing the pituitary.1 Since the hypothalamus is motivated by the lust pattern under Cosmic control, it cannot produce satisfying sex. The sexual hunger and thirst of the hypothalamus can never be satisfied by Political and Ecumenical Babylon.
The hypothalamus is a part of the lower region of the brain that regulates hunger, thirst, metabolism, and body temperature as well as sexual hunger. The hypothalamus also communicates with the pituitary to regulate the adrenal glands, the emotional powerhouses. When Marriage Intimacy Love (an expression of virtue-love between Right Man and Right Woman) from the ECS controls the hypothalamus, sex is the ritual of love and is under control. However, when lust overpowers the hypothalamus, sex is devoid of love and is not under control. Sex from lust opens the flood gates of emotional revolt of the soul, which leads to slavery to the Cosmic System. Lust is not an effective cover for the hypothalamus. Lust feeds the hypothalamus with erroneous desires, which causes it to become unstable and drive the body into more frustration. Stress and guilt will fill the subconscious, which will lead to depression. Any expression of conjugal love apart from the laws of God will end in utter frustration and if such activity is continued for long, the body will be destroyed as well. Those who practice illicit sex will burn themselves out.
Spiritual Rapport is the roof over the marriage that
secures the blessings of God. Spiritual Rapport respects the authority
of God and thereby secures the love of Right Man or Right Woman.
The sexual relationship in Spiritual Rapport is inside the Divine Dynasphere
as opposed to the Cosmic System. Spiritual Rapport adds to sex:
Divine Blessing and Marriage Intimacy Love from the ECS. In Spiritual
Rapport love surpasses sex as the motivation for happiness.
But if anyone builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, (1 Corinthians 3:12)The foundation refers to salvation in Christ. After salvation, a believer can build the Edification Complex of the Soul upon the foundation of Christ, or he can produce dead works upon the foundation of his own soul. The word, "build," is Greek ejpoikodomevw (epoikodomeo), which means to erect an Edification Complex upon. At the moment of salvation, the believer is spiritually regenerated and given the spiritual capacity to metabolize Bible Doctrine and erect the Edification Complex of the Soul. At the moment of salvation, the foundation of the ECS is laid in the soul of the believer.
Metabolization of Bible Doctrine produces Divine Good,
which is analogous to gold, silver, and precious stones, all of which have
intrinsic value.
Gold, silver, and precious stones can only be produced
in grace. Only God's production counts. The best works of man
constitute human good, which is considered to be dead works in the sight
of God. The best that man can do falls short of the Righteousness
of God. The gold, silver, and precious stones of the ECS are shown
in the illustration. "Wood, hay, and straw" represent human good
production, which will burn in Fire Testing.
Everyone's production will become evident; for that day will make it clear because it is revealed by Fire Testing, and Fire Testing will validate the quality of everyone's production. (1 Corinthians 3:13)The corrected translation of 1 Corinthians 3:13 reveals the method to be used to determine the believer's evaluation (or his grade) at the Evaluation Throne of Christ. The believer's production will become evident on the day of his evaluation. The graphic technique that will be used to reveal Divine Good production is Fire Testing. The believer's production will be tested by fire. Gold, silver, and precious stones will survive, while human good, "wood, hay, and straw," will be burned.
The word, "validate," is the Greek dokimavzw (dokimazo), which refers to the final assessment of the believer's life. Many tests verified the Bible Doctrine used to construct the ECS. The final Fire Test will burn up everything except the ECS.
1 Corinthians 3:14-15Metabolized Bible Doctrine in the ECS will be the sole criteria for eternal reward. Believer's with completed ECS's will receive decorations and promotion. They will have rank for all eternity based upon their production in this life. All human good will be burned up in the Fire Testing of the Evaluation Throne of Christ. Believers who have only their salvation will have all their works burned up, but they will be saved. They will lose their reward but not their salvation.
14 If anyone's production endures which he has built upon it (the foundation of Christ), he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's production is burned up, he shall suffer loss (of reward), but he himself shall be saved; yet, even as through fire.
'I know your modus vivendi (production), that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. (Revelation 3:15)The Lord did the metrics on the members of the Church at Laodicea and concluded they were neither cold nor hot. The people of Laodicea understood these metrics because of the problem with their local water. Laodicea was the rich, banking center with prosperity in Asia Minor. It had everything except water. Hierapolis to the north had hot water, and Colossae to the southeast had cold water from Mt. Cadmus. But water for Laodicea had to be piped in from neighboring towns. An ingenious method of piping in hot water was devised. Holes were bored in stone blocks, and the blocks were cemented together to carry the hot, mineral water from a spring about 5 miles to the south. However, by the time the hot water arrived in Laodicea it was lukewarm. The cold water symbolized the unbeliever, and the hot water symbolized a believer who was executing the Spiritual Life.
'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out from My mouth. (Revelation 3:16)The Christians at Laodicea are called lukewarm, i.e. neither hot nor cold. Notice the reversal of the sequence from "cold nor hot" (verse 15) to "hot nor cold" (verse 16). This represents the beginning and end of a sequence. There are Spiritual solutions for cold or hot. Cold people can be evangelized, and hot ones can metabolize Bible Doctrine. However, lukewarm believers are carnal. The have sinned, lost the Filling of the Holy Spirit, and neglected to Rebound. If they refuse to Rebound, there will be no solution for them. Their end will be the sin that ends in death, which is described as being vomited out of the Lord's mouth.
'Because you say, "I am rich; I have become extremely wealthy; in fact, I have need of nothing," in fact, you do not realize that you are under stress and miserable and poor and blind and naked, (Revelation 3:17)The Laodiceans were wealthy believers whom God had prospered. They were actually under the punishment of prosperity rather than adversity. Prosperity can be punishment for those who lack the capacity to handle it. The Laodiceans had a temperature problem. They were lukewarm, which meant they had been hot, but had cooled off. This was Fire Testing, which produced only slag and no gold, as illustrated by the list of their problems:
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. (Revelation 3:18, NAS)First, they needed to buy gold from the Lord and have it refined by Fire Testing. This is metabolization of Bible Doctrine, which requires authority orientation, i.e. Z-axis alignment, which begins with Rebound. Next they needed white garments to clothe themselves. This refers to the Robe of Righteousness in the soul, which is analogous to the X-axis of faith. Third, they needed eye salve to anoint their eyes so they could see. This refers to recovery from their problem of blindness, which is a Y-axis problem of those with scar tissue of the soul.
“And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.’ (Luke 16:24, NAS)The word for "cool off" is the Greek katayuvcw (katapsucho). This word is composed of kata, which means down from, and psucho, which means to breathe and hence to cool. The word psucho is the verb form of the noun, psuche, which means soul. In English, the word, psuche, is transliterated psyche. The noun form of katapsucho would be katapsuche, which would mean down from the soul; and that would be the precise meaning of hypothalamus, which is the interface between the soul and the body. The sensors that measure thirst as well as temperature are in the hypothalamus.
So, there was no water in Hades. The Rich Man was suffering from agonizing thirst. Thirst requires the function of the hypothalamus, or its equivalent. The interim body of the Rich Man contained the equivalent of the hypothalamus, which enabled him to feel thirst. He was in agony due to being in the flame of the fire that was burning in Hades. The fire of Hades is real and produces terrible suffering upon the interim body, which is capable of feeling the pain without being consumed by the fire. In the final judgment, unbelievers will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:12-15) along with the devil and his demons (Revelation 20:10).
Metabolism, with the balance of the three elements of the Fire Triangle, is under the control of the Control Room in Heaven. At the moment of birth, a life line from God is connected to the human soul and the human body is given soul life. When the human body is alive, spiritual energy from God flows through every cell of the body. That spiritual energy is called light. It is not the visible light that is part of the electromagnetic spectrum but is the glow, or glory, of spiritual production. So, the metabolism of the human body is controlled by spiritual light from God.
The Lord Jesus Christ understood all this precisely. He used this knowledge to heal the sick as a demonstration of His power over the human body. He simply commanded the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) to heal people. The spiritual light energy in the sick person was then restored and metabolism was brought back into balance. The spiritual light energy contains the spiritual information to control the metabolism of the human body. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't heal people by giving them medicine but by using the Spirit to restore spiritual light in the body. Medicine may also be used to restore the balance but not with the efficiency of the Spirit.
Matthew 6:22-23The Lord Jesus Christ explained light in the body by comparing the eye to a lamp that lights up the entire body. The eye in scripture is a hole that is symbolic of grace. This eye is the one that connects to the Heavenly Control Room - not the physical eye. The word that is translated "in focus," is the Greek aJplou'" (aplous), which means focusing on a single image, clear, healthy. So if the eye is in focus, the body will be full of grace, which means full of spiritual light. In contrast, if there is a problem with the eye of grace, the whole body will be full of darkness. This darkness is spiritual darkness, which means residence in the Cosmic System.
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is in focus, your whole body will be full of light. 23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
The
body with grace blessing from God will be full of spiritual light, which
will keep the metabolism in perfect balance. If the spiritual light
from God is blocked due to residence in the Cosmic System, the body will
be full of darkness, and that darkness can cause the metabolism to be out
of balance. Those in the light see light while those in darkness
cannot see the light. Depending upon which one of the three elements
breaks down, the body may exhibit various sicknesses. Three counterattacks
from the Cosmic System, Cosmic, Political, and Ecumenical Babylon attack
the corresponding elements of metabolism. Cosmic Babylon relates
to the air; Political Babylon relates to the heat; and Ecumenical Babylon
relates to the food.
This is the spiritual model of the human body, which the Lord Jesus Christ explained. It is much simpler than chemical models.
Principle: You aren't what you eat, but what you see and think.
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11, NAS)In many of the parables, e.g. the parable of the wheat and tares, the believers are symbolized by the wheat that is gathered into barns while unbelievers are symbolized by tares and chaff.
“And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12, NAS)These parables were given to Jews during the period of the Hypostatic Union, the First Advent. The end of the Jewish Age will be during the Tribulation, which will end in the Baptism of Fire. In the Baptism of Fire unbelievers will be taken off the earth to be burned while believers will remain. Unbelievers will go to Hades in the heart of the earth where they will await their final judgment in the Lake of Fire.
The Baptism of Fire will be the final great Fire Test. The entire earth will be engulfed in flame to clear the land for the perfect environment of the Millennium. Only those with silver and gold from their salvation will be saved. Believers will be delivered through the raging fire while unbelievers who have no silver and gold will die and go to Hades where their interim bodies will continue to suffer the agony of the judgment of fire. The final great Fire Test of the Baptism of Fire will separate the wheat from the chaff, the sheep from the goats, the believers from the unbelievers. Only believers will have silver and gold from their salvation to deliver them from the eternal flames.
September 6, 1998 - Revised Jan.31, 2016
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