IN THE BEGINNING

Part 11

I Will Remember

#170.04

 

I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. Psa. 77:11.

God’s wonders of old, what could they be? Was David speaking of the "good old days" when things were popping with the miracles of God? We know quite a few people who would say so. They speak of His mighty works and wonders, remembering and talking about the days when there were revivals in every church and street corner. Those were certainly wonder-filled days; but God’s works and wonders are much more than historical events men can reflect upon in the past. His works are those things He finished before the fall of man. 2And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Gen. 2:2. His works were finished from the foundation of the world (Heb. 4:3).

The word wonder is translated from the Hebrew, pele; which means a miracle, and is a derivative of pala. Pala is a primitive root; meaning to separate, that is, to distinguish; by implication to be great, wonderful. Old is the Hebrew qedem, and means, the front, of place (absolutely the fore part) or time (antiquity). It comes from qadam, meaning, to project (one self), that is, precede; hence to anticipate, hasten, meet. And the definitions of remember (zakar) is ...to mark (so as to be recognized), also...to be male (ref. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

Now, with just a small portion undergirding our understanding, is this not the hour of remembering the Lord’s wonders of old? Isn’t there a hint of stirring in our spirits which is opening slightly our recollection to where we were in the days of old when the foundations of the earth were wondrously laid, when all things were rolled out for the morning stars of heaven and all the son’s of God to see and understand? If we are hearing these questions asked by the Spirit, we will, indeed, begin to remember, and joy will flood over our souls. A harmonious shout for joy will burst into the symphonic song of the stars. When we hear God’s word, His phone call, if you please, our eyes will open to spiritual truths that were laid in Beginning. Where we have failed to add realities and cubits to our stature, His Word will accomplish it, and as He is, so shall we be in our knowing and our walking.

As the word streams from the height of our heavens and out of the depths of our deep, we will see where we were, where we are, and where we shall be. This is the power of God’s Word. In Him there is no darkness nor weakness at all. He is moving and speaking over our waters. We hear Him querying our minds, plumbing into those areas which have been covered over with darkness for such a long time. His voice, like a waterspout, churns our solitude. The sound of each word is a lightning bolt of illumination to our understanding, and we see. When He is silent, horrible darkness prevails; for without His voice there is no light, none whatsoever, and His wonders are not known. There is no righteousness in darkness; for it is the land of forgetfulness, as we read in Psalm 88:12. While darkness prevails, wonders will be missing, and without light, there can be no righteousness; for in the land of forgetfulness, there is no remembrance of the wonders of old. It is not, however, God’s plan for us to abide in darkness. Ignorance is not to be our portion, and to never remember the wonders of old is foreign to what He is laying out in our lives.

His purpose is for us to know who and where we were, and in knowing this, we will know who and where we are. Once this dawns upon our understanding, not our intellect, but our understanding, we will know our manifest destiny.

Our understanding often comes in the light of questions, and the piercing question we are being asked today is — "Where were you, Job?" As the light of that question jars our memory, the purpose of all things will take form in our knowing. That knowing will see everything being founded in Jesus Christ, the Beginning and End of all things. Understanding will explode from that single microcosm of Jesus wherein all the fullness of God dwells. With His shell having been rent, and His life pouring forth, that tiny microcosm of a man will swallowed up the huge macrocosm of worldwide sin, sickness and death. He will swallow it up as surely as light swallows darkness.

Mortality grew exponentially by the disobedience of one man, and likewise has immortality grown, and shall continue to grow, by the obedience of one Man (John 5:12-21). The microcosm of Jesus will grow exponentially, but slowly for a season. That Big Bang (see last months study #169.03) will swallow up all things human. None can escape it. No one can escape the all-encompassing light and love of God any more than he could escape from being born into darkness when God said "Come forth."

Each of us may only be a little nut of an acorn, or a little spark of a bang in the whole picture of the Big Bang; but in Christ there will be no end to who we are, and that is no small thing. As our genealogy dates back before the founding of the earth and the world, and beyond into infinity, so shall our prodigy proceed forward into that glorious infinity, ever growing, multiplying, and helping to fill the universe with Christ’s glorious life; thus, the manifestation of sons of God.

Paul Mueller compliments the thought of this ever-expanding, exploding glory of God’s Kingdom: "And now, in this new Kingdom Day, God is sending the next phase of His Kingdom to the earth, which is the beginning of the era of the reign of Christ in a greater way. We are now in a transitional period! It may even be another revolutionary period! The Kingdom of God is progressing from the Kingdom within us to the Kingdom manifested outside. We are moving or progressing from the old age of the church to the new order of the universal reign of Christ. Christ has always reigned! David declared the reign of the Lord (1 Chron. 16:31 & Psa. 47:8), and Nebuchadnezzar also confidently affirmed the reign of the Lord over all (Dan. 4:34). But there was to be a future time foretold by the prophets, when ‘the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High’ (Dan. 7:27). At that time also, he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father’ (Rev. 2:26-27).

"This is that time; this is that Day! Christ is being more revealed or more manifested now as the King of kings and the Lord of lords! He is revealing Himself more to His elect, and is also affirming and confirming their ‘genealogy’ in the Kingdom of God, which is their relationship with the past order of things in the Spirit, just as He affirmed the genealogy of Jesus to begin the last age. God is not starting over! He is bringing to completion, to fullness or to final manifestation that which He began many centuries ago! Although this is a time of a distinct transition, or a spiritual revolution, it is also a time of the continuation of the plan and purpose of our Father, which He began in the Garden of Eden. Jesus said, ‘My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, AND TO FINISH HIS WORK’ (John 4:34). And that is our calling as well! We are not called to start something totally new! But we are called to do the will of our Father, as Jesus was called, and also to FINISH THE WONDERFUL WORK OF OUR FATHER (Rom. 9:27-28)." — End Quote.

Our Father finished His work and rested. We are now to bring our portion of that finished work into manifestation. Whether we are preaching, teaching, singing, shouting for joy, or sitting silent, we are significant parts of manifesting the finished work of God. Whatever it is that we are doing or not doing, we are helping to fill up that which is lacking. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith, He is our Beginning and our End; therefore, it makes no difference if we are a high pitch or low pitch in His song, an accent or a rest, we all make up the whole. And heaven and earth reverberates with the harmonious symphony of the wonders of old to the groaning creation. What a joy, what splendor to sing the Song of the Stars!

So, where were we, we who are called to finish our portion of the work of God? Do we remember? Where were we, dear sojourners, who are called by the name of Job, when the foundations of the earth were laid? Where were we when our genealogy was in the makeup of that foundation? Let us declare if we remember. In so doing, our past will become our present, and our future will embrace those in dry places. 1The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 2It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Isa. 35:1-2.

Rosemary Garzon speaks of remembering in her article, The Dew Upon The Roses, December 1999.

"Let us turn our thoughts toward Ezekiel, as he sat by the river of Chebar; for it was there where God opened his heavens to see and to remember His glory. The river of Chebar speaks above and beyond a natural river of water. It could be called the ‘River of Remembrance.’ ...’Chebar’ is ‘Kebar’ in Hebrew, meaning: ‘length; extent of time, that is, a great while; hence long ago, formerly, hitherto.’ It comes from ‘kabar; to plait together, to augment (especially in number or quantity, to accumulate)’ (Strong’s Exh. Conc.).

"Yes, Ezekiel’s heavens were opened to see and remember some of the glorious things from the realm of the Spirit before he came to earth in a physical body. He was made to see and understand their place in future events yet to take place in God’s Plan of the Ages. He was beholding these things in his present lifetime here on earth; thus, there were three dimensions of time coming together: the far distant past, the future, the present. From this understanding, we see the root word, kabar — to plait together —in effect. It takes three stands of hair, rope, or any other things to plait together, even bringing Ezekiel’s visions into clear focus. All earthly things are patterned after heavenly things. The very ultimate of heavenly patterns, of course, is the ‘Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.’ We see Ezekiel beholding some of the patterns he knew in the Fatherland before ever coming to this earth realm.

"Within each of us, who were with the Father before the foundation of the world, there flows this River of Remembrance, even Chebar, in the deep recesses (the valley) of our being. It is sealed, as it were, until the appointed hour when the Lord releases the flow. As He begins to give you drink from this ‘brook,’ you will KNOW from whence you came; you will remember that Council Room Meeting, as our Father laid out His Plan of the Ages. You will remember that ‘His Plan’ was the cause for the euphonic singing of the Morning Stars and for the sons shouting for joy (Job 38:7) when they beheld the foundations of the earth being laid. They (you – we) knew and understood the ultimate goal of our Father. Yes, you will remember your place in Him. You will remember being sent to earth at this appointed time." — End quote.

Remembering is not merely being able to remember events, or something we may have been taught. Remembering has nothing to do with being a casual observer or student. It speaks of being re-membered with that which we were once joined. I do not like to use "play on words" to express spiritual truths. I especially dislike using English words for this purpose, since the language is derived from various languages, such as Greek, Latin, French, German, Gaelic, etc. I find that doing so generally leads us away from the meaning of the original word. Nevertheless, remembering the wonders of old speaks clearly of being joined again, plaited together, being re-membered with who and where we were, who and where we are, and who and where we shall be.

To remember comes from the Hebrew, zakar, which means, to mark (so as to be recognized), also to be male. There will never be any recognition of who we are, in Whom we were created when the foundations of the earth were laid, if we do not recognize it. If we are not plaited together with the Past, with He who is the Beginning, as well as the Present (which is through Him), and, likewise, with the Future, with He who is the End, we will be undone. We will be lacking. We will have no form of godliness. When we are plaited together, however, re-membered, we will have the mark of the uniquely begotten Son of God upon us. That mark is the mark of the Male, the mark of the One who has the Seed of Life. This is what is to remember. It is to receive the mark of identification. It is to be marked as a son of God. What a mark to bear! Can we bear it? Yes we can, that is, when we come to the river of Chebar. We will remember, and in remembering, we will understand that which we remember.

I am beginning to wonder if there is anything we can learn, or if it is merely remembering that which was created in the Beginning. Perhaps King Solomon knew what he was talking about when he said that there is nothing new under the sun. Of course, there are new things to those who do not remember them. Moreover, everything that comes into the world is new in the sense of manifestation, and by inspiration, Isaiah wrote, 22How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth... Jer. 31:22. And, 19Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isa. 43:19.

The new things of God are not new to Him, only to us. For example, we were brand new babies when we were born; but that was not the beginning of our being; for we were together with all the sons of God when He rolled out the foundations of the earth — remember? If not, we should; for Paul said it was God’s pleasure to make known such things unto the apostles, who in turn made them known to us: 9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself Eph. 1:9. And Matthew quoted from the Psalms: 35That 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. Matt. 13:35. That Psalm of which He referred is, 2I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old Psa. 78:2.

You see, these dark sayings of old, that which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world, are not things which were in the world once before. They date back farther than that. They go back prior to what we call history, and the wonder of it is that Jesus was there as the Beginning, and having been created in Him, we were also there. It was then, in Him, that things were laid out. Jesus was, no doubt, remembering some of those things when He said, 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Matt. 25:34. And also Paul, 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Eph. 1:4.

Are we learning anything from what is being read in this article? It is highly unlikely. Oh, but we might be remembering a few things! And whatever we remember becomes alive to us once again. That is what a revelation is, and everything that is a revelation is a remembrance, and those remembrances are the ever-expanding wonders of old. In the larger scope of things, there is nothing new under the sun; but when remembrance dawns, light shines, and understanding is embraced.

I recall Preston Eby saying, "Everything in the universe is simple to he who understands it," and so true it is; but when understanding is lacking, even the simple things can be so confusing. That is the way it is with hearing the word ministered, reading the Bible, or other spiritual literature. Some hear, read, and understand, while others remain in darkness. In one place of the Bible, it shows that understanding came when the law was read.

3And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. Neh. 8:3. 8They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear (Or God, translating it, margin) and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read. Neh. 8:8 (NIV).

Brethren, do we know what it is for something to be read and to be made clear; that is, to be made clear enough by the Spirit of revelation that understanding breaks forth like the dawning of a new day? I truly believe we do; for we are distinguishing the difference between night and day, light and darkness, good and evil. We are reading and remembering the wonders of old, and in the midst of our remembrance, I hear the shout for joy!

There is something greatly lacking in our English word, read. To us, it generally carries no other thought than to scan written pages with our eyes and to perceive by the mind that which the writer had written. To us, reading has been the ability to see arranged letters of the alphabet, and to be able to receive a message from the array of letters. However, we find in the New Testament a much deeper meaning of the word when we consider the Greek. For instance, 3Blessed is he that readeth... and they that hear the words of this prophecy... Rev. 1:3.

It goes without saying that the majority of those who "read" the words of this prophecy, the book of Revelation, are not blessed. They are not encouraged, but rather, discouraged. Some become very fearful when they read this prophecy; for all they see is woe and doom, plagues and pestilence, fire and hail, brimstone and fire, the false prophet, the antichrist, the mark of the beast, a great dragon, and, of course, a great whore arrayed in purple and scarlet sitting astride a seven-headed beast full of names of blasphemy. There are not many blessings to those who read this prophecy in such a dismal, overcast way. The fact is, they have not read the book at all if they view it in this way. They have focused on the symbols and missed the reality. They have failed to remember that which was finished in Christ Jesus a long time ago.

You see, the Greek word for read is anaginosko, which has a little more depth than our English word. According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance the meaning of the word is to know again, and broken down (ana-ginosko) it means to up (ana) know (ginosko). It is an upward knowing. The word is always translated read in the New Testament, which seems a little strange, but when we understand more about the word, it is not strange. Anaginosko certainly means the same as our English word; but in some cases, such as here, we see there is more. There is more to it than merely taking the words at face value and seeing nothing else in them.

Even in the simplest realm of reading, it is an act of knowing again. The first knowing is when the writer puts his thoughts in print. The knowing again is when others read those thoughts and they know what the writer knows. What he knows is known again by his readers as they read. However, when it comes to spiritual truths, we must read deeper than the surface, especially when reading the book of Revelation.

The Word of this book has always been known by God. It was given to Jesus, and from Him the revelation was passed on to John who wrote it in a book, or upon a scroll. And now we are reading and knowing again those wonders of old. We are knowing them again, we are remembering them, we are embracing them; that is, if we are reading and hearing them by the same Spirit in which they were written.

With only a spark of understanding, it is clear to us that the book of Revelation has not been read by many. The words of the book have surely been preached and taught for hundreds of years; but in hearing they have not heard. Therefore, understanding is grossly lacking. Jesus spoke of this when He said, 13Therefore...because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 19When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 16But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty Matt. 13:13, 19, 16, 23.

Paul’s words also ring with clarity on this point: 4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, 5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; Eph. 3:4-5.

Let us take the liberty and note these verses in the spirit they were written: 4Whereby, when you read, when you remember, when you know again, you will understand that which I know in the mystery of Christ, the wonders of old, 5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed, made known again, unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

Hopefully, we will never read the scriptures, or any inspired word, the same again. Rather than scanning pages for data, let us read, let us know again, let us remember the wonders of old. When we do, we will understand, and in understanding we will embrace and walk in that which we understand. Such a simple matter, don’t you think?

To be continued...

Elwin R. Roach


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