The Shining One

  By Bill Britton

Note from Doug Fortune:
I realize that this writing certainly 'rocks the boat' of most Charismatic/Pentecostal doctrine, however with such a current proliferation of perhaps well-intentioned but inacurate information, I believe it important to understand the truth of what the Bible actually says about the devil. In no way am I trying to bring undue attention to the devil by publishing this, but rather attempting to bring balance and Biblical truth to bear upon the 'undue attention' he is already receiving from those who teach that he was anything other than what Jesus said he was, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." (John 8:44) "...for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8)
*****************************************

When God speaks of "the beginning," He is speaking of the originating point of the subject in question. For example, it was "in the beginning" that He made the heaven and the earth. That is, these things had their origin in Him, and they were his workmanship from the beginning of their creation.

The Word declares that the "fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom. " (Proverbs 1:7) That means, simply, that wisdom has as its originating point the place of the reverential fear of the Lord. "Hananiah spake unto me in the house of the Lord . . ." (Jeremiah 28:1), he didn't mean that Hananiah spoke to him in the latter years of the reign of Zedekiah. It is obvious that he meant exactly what he said: that when Zedekiah's reign began, right at the onset, Hananiah spoke to Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

It, no doubt, seems foolish even to attempt to clarify so obvious a point. There is nothing at all to understanding the meaning of "in the beginning." It means just what it says. If something has existed in a certain condition "from the beginning," that means that from the time that it was formed or established, it was in that condition. Certainly, there is no difficulty in following that line of reasoning.

Yet, it is on this very point that we run into a head-on collision with fundamental doctrine, for despite the fact that "from the beginning" obviously means at the creation of a thing, men have taught a doctrine for years that contradicts this simple statement of fact. We speak of that which is taught concerning Satan.

Fundamentalists have long agreed that Satan was, in the beginning, the "anointed cherub that covereth." They have taught that he held the most coveted position among the angelic hosts until he led a rebellion against God in an attempt to usurp His throne. At that time, we are told, Satan was cast out of heaven and became, instead of an angel, the devil that he is today.

It is amazing that such a doctrine could have enjoyed such widespread acceptance in the light of the teachings of Jesus on this subject. Please note: MAN says that Satan IN THE BEGINNING was holy, but later fell from that estate. JESUS said of him that Satan was a MURDERER (not an angel) from the BEGINNING. (John 8:44)

Not only that, but the apostle John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, penned these words in regard to Satan's origin: "The devil sinneth FROM THE BEGINNING." (I John 3:8)

Now, if we are to believe that the Bible means what it says --- and we believe it does --- we must believe that from his very beginning, Satan was evil.

We find no conflict with this belief and the nature of God as some suppose. We have heard the argument that God would never have created something that was evil. Our first reply to that is another question: If God creates a being that He knows is going to become evil, would that not be the same thing as creating one evil in the first place? It is, then, no less thinkable that God would create one who would become evil than just to create an evil one to begin with.

However, out of God's own mouth, we offer a contradiction to the words of the Lord in Isaiah 54:16 where he declares, "I have created the WASTER to destroy." We gather from this passage that Satan is a created being with a definite purpose. That purpose is stated in the opening words of the above quoted verse:

"I have created the smith (the devil) that bloweth the coals on the fire, and that BRINGETH FORTH AN INSTRUMENT for his work."

We see this purpose being fulfilled in the life of Job. Job was a righteous man ACCORDING TO THE LIGHT THAT HE HAD. He was perfect IN HIS GENERATION. That is, his perfection was a comparative perfection. In comparison to those who were living around him, Job was a perfect man. Relative to the amount of revealed truth in that day, Job was a perfect man. But in his inward working, God saw a spirit that did not measure up to the standard of Christlikeness, for the spirit of Christ is one of humility, and Job was not a humble man. He was proud of his righteousness. Hear the testimony of scripture on this point: "So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous IN HIS OWN EYES." (Job 32:1)

It was because God desired to burn out the dross of pride in this man (who even had the testimony of God that he was a righteous man) that God brought forth the "smith to blow the coals upon the fire." Please note that it was not Satan's idea to persecute Job! Oh, no!!! It was God Himself who brought up the subject! There Satan was, presenting himself before the Lord, and God asked, "Where have you been?"

To this question, Satan replied, "From walking up and down in the earth. " (No mention at all of Job. )

"Well, Satan," the Lord asked. "Have you considered my servant Job? Have you noticed that he hates evil and fears God? Have you noticed that, Satan?"

Indeed, Satan HAD noticed Job, but he wasn't doing anything to him. One of the most glorious testimonies of the preservation of the saints of God is given here in this passage by Satan himself: "Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not made an hedge around him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side?"

Oh, glory to God! There is truly a hedge around the people of God, and that hedge is Jesus Christ himself. The psalmist recognized and gloried in this fact when he said, "The angel of the Lord encampeth around about them that fear Him and delivereth them." (Psalm 34:7) "You've put a hedge around him," Satan said, "and I can't get to him!" Then he went on to say, "You must put forth THINE HAND and touch all that he hath, and he will then curse thee to thy face."

But the Lord, who trieth the reins of the heart, knoweth them that are his, and He knows who can be trusted with affliction. He, therefore, said to Satan, "Behold, all that he hath is in thy power --- in thy hand --- only upon himself put not forth thine hand."

Brethren, don't you believe for a moment that anything in the heavenly realm is out of control. God is in full control of that sphere of action, and Satan himself is under the jurisdiction of God. If you can receive this in the spirit, you will understand that Satan has no power at all except that which God allows him to have. Do you REALLY believe that Satan could cause all the trouble in the world unless God had permitted it?? My friend, if you believe that Satan is a thorn in the side of Almighty God, then your God is entirely too small. Satan poses no problem for God. God could destroy him at any time. God binds his hands daily. It is God who sets his boundaries and limits his power --- it was, in fact, God who created him in the first place --- and that was for one purpose and one purpose only: For the PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS! Beloved, when that purpose is accomplished, Satan will have completed his course as an INSTRUMENT in the hands of God who has everything under control . . . and then will his end come. Why, the devil himself knows that there is a time limit on his presence and activity here. Have you never read the words of Revelation 12:12 which say: "Woe to the inhibitors of the earth and sea; for the devil is come down to you having great wrath because he knoweth THAT HE HATH BUT A SHORT TIME."

God is constructing a temple, made of living stones, through which to manifest Himself throughout the ages of eternity, hallelujah, and Satan was created (a sinner from the beginning) as a chisel and hammer to be used in the construction of this building. The living stones that are even now being placed in this temple have been chosen, says the Lord, in the "furnace of affliction. " (Isaiah 48:10) God, however, is mercy; God is love; God is compassion. He is a healer, not a destroyer. It was, nonetheless, necessary that an oven be heated in which to purify the gold --- a furnace in which the wood, hay, and stubble were to be burned --- but God, in his nature of love, could not perform the necessary affliction. It was for this reason that He created an instrument that was capable of performing this essential action in the lives of men, for in Satan God literally created a "chastening rod."

If we can realize that behind the acts of Satan is the mighty hand of God working to bring forth gold from these earthen vessels, we can rejoice, as David, in our afflictions and trials and exclaim with him, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. " (Psalm 119:7) Praise God! When we begin to see the GOOD that comes from the assaults of Satan on our lives, we are able to appreciate all the more the greatness of our God and the depth of the wisdom of His great mind. Praise His wonderful name! He is truly a God of power and might, and ALL things are in His hand --- even this enemy whom we call the devil.

If we have now received the testimony of Jesus Christ concerning the origin of Satan, that is, that he was a "murderer from the beginning," we must now reckon with another point of our fundamental theology. If Satan was not, after all, the "anointed cherub that covereth," who was?

It is taught that the 28th chapter of Ezekiel is speaking of Satan in his "perfect state." In the 14th verse of this chapter, the subject under discussion is called "the anointed cherub that covereth," and the Lord says, "I have set thee so." This is the basic scripture for the fundamental position holding Satan as the anointed cherub.

We must raise a question here, however, as to the essence of Satan. Is he spirit, or is he man? There can be only one reply to that question, of course. He is spirit. Should there be, however, one who would disagree on that point, we would like to point out that Satan, on the night of Jesus' arrest, "entered into Judas. " (John 13:27) Now, we know that a man cannot enter another man. We know full well, however, that spirit can and does enter the heart of man, and it was the Satanic spirit that night that took possession of the body of Judas and performed his wicked works through him.

Please refer again to Ezekiel 28, verse 2, where the Lord is addressing the "anointed cherub" --- "Thus saith the Lord God; because thine heart is lifted up and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; YET THOU ART A MAN, and not God . . ."

Satan is not a man; he is spirit. But the person addressed in this chapter IS a man. Notice verse 9: "Wilt thou yet say before Him that slayeth thee, I am God? But thou shalt be a man and no god in the hand of Him that slayeth thee . . "

The personality in this passage is unquestionably a man, not a spirit, and the verses that follow (verses 12-15) are a description of that man:

"Thou sealest up the sun, full of WISDOM, and perfect in beauty."

It is important to understand what "wisdom" is if we are to understand the nature of the man in this passage. By comparing spiritual things with spiritual things, we learn that "wisdom" is none other than Jesus Christ, for Paul writes in I Cor. 1:24 that our Lord is the "wisdom of God." The man in our passage, then, is filled with Christ. Now, to be filled with Christ is to be filled with "all the fulness of the Godhead" for we read in Col. 2:9 that Jesus Christ is just that: the fulness of the Godhead.

This man in Ezekiel 28 was a partaker of that for which we still wait and for which Paul prayed when he said, "I bow my knees unto the Father . . . that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Eph. 3:14-19) He expanded on this thought in Eph. 4:13 where he taught that the culmination of our faith is to be realized in our coming to the "measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

This coming into the fulness of Christ is that condition in which Christ manifests Himself through us to the extent that we are in His exact image. That is the meaning of Romans 8:29 which declares God's purpose for His people in these words: "Whom He did foreknow, He did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son."

We wait for this manifestation of Christ in us (Col. 1:27) with inward groanings, desiring that God should hasten the work and bring to pass His eternal purpose in us. The Word declares that not only are we groaning in our spirits for the fulfilling of this promise, but all creation itself "groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, " (Rom. 8:22) waiting for the "manifestation of the sons of God. " (Rom. 8:19)

With what longing do our hearts reach out for this perfection in Him --- this being FULL of the wisdom of God --- and to think that man in the 28th chapter of Ezekiel is said to be already a possessor of it! "Thou sealest up the sum, FULL OF WISDOM . . ." This man was ALREADY in the image of God.

He was, also, "PERFECT IN BEAUTY. " Again, we compare scripture to scripture and learn that "beauty" is holiness. The psalmist wrote, "Worship God in the beauty of holiness." (Psalm 29:2) The singers of the Lord in II Chron. 20:21 were sent forth to praise the "beauty of holiness." Thus, when David said, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I SEEK after . . . to behold the BEAUTY of the Lord . . ." (Psalm 27:4), he was saying, "I will seek the HOLINESS (or righteousness) of the Lord." And is this not the commandment that Jesus gave to us in His sermon on the mount: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (holiness)." Matthew 6:33.

To grasp fully the meaning of "perfect in beauty" and being "full of wisdom," we must understand the meaning of Hebrews 1:13 which reads, in the King James version, "(The Son is) the brightness of (the Father's) glory and the express image of His person . . ."

Kenneth Wuest gives us the meaning of the original Greek for this word "brightness" as being "out-raying". The sense of the Greek here, he writes, is that there are "rays of light coming out from the original body and forming a similar light-body themselves." (See Hebrews in the Greek New Testament, Wuest) What it means, literally, is that "the Son is the out-raying of the divine glory, exhibiting in Himself the glory and the majesty of the divine Being."

When the writer of Hebrews, therefore, stated that the Son is the "brightness of the Father's glory" he meant that the Son is so indwelt by the Father that the glory of the Father's nature SHINES FORTH from within him, thus CLOTHING the Son with Himself to the extent that the Son is the express image of His person.

The evidence of this "forthshining" was manifested on the mount of transfiguration, where Jesus was transformed before His disciples. He was, at that point, "putting on" the light-body, which was literally the Father shining forth from within Him. (It is to be here noted that here was a most marvelous manifestation of the sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus. His faithfulness to God had brought Him to the place of glorification --- but he refused it, choosing, rather, to remain in the flesh that He might suffer the death of the cross and bring MANY sons to glory. Who can comprehend the height and depth and breadth of such love? Jesus Christ was "perfect in beauty" and had attained the end of holiness; glorification.

To be "perfect in beauty," then, is to be clothed in the "light- body" that is produced by the OUT-RAYING of the INDWELLING Spirit. Zion, whose physical manifestation is the church of Jesus Christ, is to be clothed in such a manner, for it was prophesied of her, "Out of Zion, the PERFECTION OF BEAUTY, God hath SHINED." (Psalm 50:2) Oh, saint of God, can you not hear the call of the Spirit, within your own soul, crying, "Awake, awake: PUT ON thy strength, O Zion; PUT ON thy beautiful garments!" (Isaiah 52:1) "Oh, put on the Lord Jesus Christ!" How our hearts long for the day when this beautiful prophecy will find its fulfillment in the hearts of all those who are known as Zion: "Out of Zion, God hath shined." Our hearts cry out for the day when it shall be said of us that we are made perfect in beauty and are, at last, created in the image of God, clothed in His righteousness.

Do you not see, however, that the man in Ezekiel 28 had already partaken of this perfection? He was already perfect in beauty --- he was already in the image of God. Beloved, there is only one man, besides Jesus Christ himself, who was ever created in the image of God, and he is that man of whom it is written in Gen. 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him." That man was Adam! Adam alone, of all the race of men, ever bore the image of God. Only of Adam can it be said, "Thou hast been in Eden, the Garden of God." (Ezekiel 28:13) Only of Adam can it be said, "Thou was PERFECT in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." (Ezekiel 28:15)

Adam, not Satan, was the "anointed cherub that covereth" and it was Adam whose heart was lifted up "because of his beauty" who "corrupted his WISDOM by reason of his brightness." (Ezek. 28:17) You see, his "brightness" was the "light-body" which he possessed by virtue of the indwelling God. But Adam made the mistake of thinking that it was his own brightness and he thought in his heart, "I am a god (see verse 2); I sit in the seat of God." That is why it was not difficult for the serpent to tempt him in the Garden of Eden. The Satanic temptation appealed to the thought that was already in Adam's heart, for the serpent whispered, "Ye shall be as gods." Adam and his wife received the serpent's testimony because deep inside them they ALREADY believed that what he was saying was true.

Because of their sin, therefore, God drove them from the Garden (Genesis 3:24), or as Ezekiel records this event, "I will cast thee as profane out of the MOUNTAIN OF GOD. " (verse 16) Now, the Garden of Eden and the Mountain of God speak of the same thing. This mountain is called in Psalm 48:1-2 that "city of our God" or the "mountain of holiness." This city is seen again in Revelation 21:2 and 12 and is called "the New Jerusalem." Paul, further, speaks of this city saying that "Jerusalem . . . is ABOVE." (Gal. 4:26)

The point we wish to make here is that the mountain of God is Zion, or the New Jerusalem, and that it is ABOVE. (This is a spiritual city with a physical counterpart on earth. This is discussed in another study.) Jesus identified "above" in the words recorded in John 8:23: "Ye are from beneath; I am from ABOVE: ye are of THIS WORLD; I am not of this world." The "beneath" is identified as "this world" . . . and the only other world to which "above" could apply is the spiritual world --- the heavenly realm. The mountain of God, therefore, is the heavenly realm. When "the anointed cherub" was cast out of the mountain of God, he was cast out of the heavenly realm.

We have another view of this truth in Song of Solomon 4:12 where Christ speaks, saying, "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse (bride)." The New Jerusalem, which is above, is also the Garden. When God said to Adam, "I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God," He was saying, "I will cast you out of the heavenlies, out of the spiritual realm." And that is exactly what happened.

Driven from the Garden, no more could Adam hear the voice of God walking in the cool of the day. He no longer possessed spiritual ears. He who had never known anything but the "rest of God" was to labour and toil in the field. The communion with the Spirit was broken, the heavens were closed, and Adam found himself naked, stripped of the light-body that had been his, and was left with only the "skin of an animal" ---- his own human flesh --- to cover him. What a loss! What an unspeakable loss! Oh, I think that the heart's cry of the apostle Paul must have originated within the soul of Adam himself: "Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death."

"How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?" (How art thou fallen from the heavenly realm, Adam?) "How art thou cut down to the ground, thou which didst weaken the nations?" (How art thou brought into the realm of the flesh, thou which didst sell all men into the bondage of sin and death?)

The above passage from the 14th chapter of Isaiah provides us with another tragic picture of the fall of man from his exalted position in God. We are well aware that Lucifer is generally believed to be Satan in this passage (verses 12-17) but the evidence of the scriptures is such that we cannot accept this position.

Lucifer means "day star." This could read, therefore, and, in fact, SHOULD read, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Day Star?" Now, we are told by Paul to compare spiritual things with spiritual things, which is the only way that we can arrive at the hidden messages of the spirit of God. If, then, we are to understand the nature of this person called "Lucifer," we must determine how "day star" is used in other passages.

Peter writes of this "day star" in his second epistle to the church. He had been discussing the glorious experience that he, along with James and John, had had with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. Speaking of the voice that spoke to them there on the mountain, he said, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy (the written

Word) whereunto ye do well to take heed . . . until the day dawn and the DAY STAR (Lucifer) arise in your hearts." II Peter 1:19.

Peter indicates that we are awaiting the dawning of a new day, and, indeed, we do look for that thousand-year day in which the Kingdom of God will be set up first in our hearts and then within the earth itself. With the dawning of this new day (as with any new day) will come the rising of the sun, which is the day star. Malachi speaks of the rising of this day star when he says, "The Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings." (Malachi 4:2)

Jesus said, furthermore, that He will give to those who are His body of overcomers "the morning (day) star." (Revelation 2:28) Now, whether we call it "day star" -- "morning star" -- "sun" -- or "Lucifer" -- it is all the same. This "rising of the day star" in our hearts is the OUT-RAYING of the Christ within, for you see, HE is the day-star. (Revelation 22:16)

If the one called "Day Star" is Satan, we could well ask ourselves why Peter showed such enthusiasm for its rising in our hearts. No, the Day Star cannot be Satan at all but is, rather, the "hidden man of the heart" (I Peter 3:4) --- the indwelling Christ --- "the perfect man" (Ephesians 4:13) --- and that for which we are waiting is what Adam had in the beginning with Him. Remember, Adam was so indwelt with the presence of God that he was covered on the OUTSIDE with a light-body exactly like the one on the INSIDE. As long as he was a partaker of the Christ-life, he was himself a "day star" for he was a member of the Perfect Man, which is Christ.

Lucifer means shining one, and Daniel said, "They that be wise shall shine with the brightness of the firmament." (Dan. 12:3) Oh, praise God, this is no figure of speech. You see, God is light and when that God-light works its way out into our outer-man and clothes us with that light-body that will never die, we shall, in truth, shine with the brightness of the firmament. The Day-Star is the OUT-RAYING of the Father -- the Forthshining of the Son --- it is the "putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. 13:14) Hallelujah! The day is coming when the Son shall shine forth from within; the day star will have arisen in our hearts, and we shall put Him on as a garment. Then will this mortal have put on immortality, for we will be clothed upon with our house from Heaven, Jesus Christ Himself. Glory!!

"For in this," Paul wrote, "we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house from heaven; if so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked (as was Adam). For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we should be unclothed, but CLOTHED UPON, that mortality might be SWALLOWED UP of life." II Corinthians 5:2-4

No --- Lucifer is not Satan. Lucifer is the perfect man, and we wait with great anticipation for Him to arise in our hearts and, shining out of us, to envelope us in Himself.

How great the tragedy, then, that we see in these words: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning." Adam, walking in perfection, reflecting the glory of God, the express image of the Father, fell from that place in the heavenlies and because of the sin of PRIDE, the Day Star no longer shone from within. Adam could no longer be called the "shining one" for the light-body had departed from him, and he knew "that he was naked." (Gen. 3:7)

We have said that it was the sin of pride that brought about the fall of Adam (who, because of the fall, could no longer be called Lucifer) and we see this evidenced in the words that are attributed to him in Isaiah 14:13-14: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne ABOVE the stars of God . . . I will ascend ABOVE the height of the clouds; I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH."

This was his response to the serpent's temptation: "Ye shall be as gods."

You see, Adam was not content to have God manifested THROUGH him. He desired to be a god in his own right. He was not content to be the out-shining of the Father --- he wanted to BE the Father. He was not content to allow the authority of God to rule and operate THROUGH him. He wanted to take the dominion himself.

The temptation that the serpent offered was merely the verbalization of the hidden thoughts of Adam's prideful heart: "I will be like the most high." And punishment that is mentioned in Isaiah 14:15 is just another way of saying. "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Hear it! "Thou shalt be brought down to hell (the second death), to the sides of the pit (the grave).

Further proof that it is not Satan who is being discussed in this passage lies in verses 16 and 17 which read: "They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, "Is this the MAN that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that MADE THE WORLD AS A WILDERNESS . . "

We have already noted that Satan is not a man; he is a spirit. But this is a MAN that shook kingdoms and made the world a wilderness. It is Adam who made the world a wilderness, for it was to him that these words were spoken: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake." Genesis 3:17.

The full implication of the curse is set forth in type in the "wilderness wanderings" of the people of Israel. It is to be remembered that all the things that happened to Israel are a type and an example of spiritual truth. It is, therefore, very significant that the wilderness into which they wandered is called in Exodus 16:1, "the wilderness of Sin."

When God created Man, He placed him in a Garden ---- a kingdom of peace and righteousness ---- but when Adam sinned, he and all his descendants were cast out into a wilderness of sin, and death, and suffering. That is why Paul wrote in Romans 5:12, "By one man (Adam), sin entered into the world, and DEATH by sin; and so death (a wilderness) passed upon ALL men. "

Paul was lamenting this "making of the world a wilderness" when he said, "I am SOLD under sin." (Romans 7:14) Man was sold into the bondage of sin and death by Adam's transgression. That is why it is written of him that he "opened not the house of his prisoners." (Isaiah 14:17) Indeed, he could not open the doors of the prison houses, for he himself had become a slave to the flesh. And we, who have inherited his nature, are all too aware of the power of sin. We know the meaning of bondage and slavery, and our hearts cry out with Paul, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" We literally weep these words from hearts that are weary of sin --- only to hear the glorious reply: "I THANK GOD. THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!! Glory to His Name!!

The world is a wilderness --- a wilderness of sin --- a desert of death --- but hear, O child of God, what the Lord hath spoken of this wilderness in which we now roam:

"The WILDERNESS and the solitary place shall be GLAD for them; and the DESERT shall blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing . . . for they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.

"Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees, say to them that are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong; fear not: behold, your God will come... he will come and SAVE YOU.'

"Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; FOR IN THE WILDERNESS shall waters break out, and streams in the DESERT.

"And the PARCHED GROUND shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water . . . and a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the highway of holiness . . . and the REDEEMED of the Lord shall walk there; and the ransomed of the Lord shall RETURN and come to Zion (the heavenly realm) with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. " Isaiah 35.

Oh, hallelujah!!! Glory to God! We have been sold under sin, that is true --- but the ransomed of the Lord SHALL return. This wilderness shall bring forth fruit unto life everlasting, and bubbling up from the parched ground of these earthen vessels shall flow rivers of Living Water. Beloved, THEN shall the "morning stars" (the MANY-MEMBERED DAY STAR) all sing together and the SONS OF GOD shall shout for joy! (Job 38:7) For then shall the Day Star have arisen in our hearts and clothed us with Himself.