More Letters to a Brother
On Properity….
As is usually the case, I am in substantial agreement with the points you make in “All Flesh has Failed”. But I do have some comments regarding your views on prosperity teachings. Like many in the Sonship camp, you seem to be seeing just one side of this issue and disregarding the historical (and spiritual) context in which these teachings arose and the divine purpose they serve. I am by no means defending the excesses of some “Kingdom” or “Word of Faith” ministries: you know, the “name it and claim it” teachings that I feel encourage covetousness, materialism and superficiality. I do believe, however, that there is a place for a balanced approach to the issue of prosperity.
Brother, with all due respect, God is doing a deep, deep thing in all His people, not just the demographic you are a part of. He is rooting out of His people the hurts and complexes produced by generations of poverty and discrimination and He is using an anointed Word of Properity to accomplish that. I truly believe that God hates the spirit of poverty that has so many Christians in bondage. This spirit is engendered by a religious teaching (every bit as fleshly as any prosperity teaching) that you need to be poor to be holy and that looks with suspicion on material blessings. This glorification of poverty is a teaching that moved from the Catholic church right into the Pentecostal holiness movement. It is interesting but disappointing to me that a variant of this teaching is finding an echo in some Sonship circles.
I truly look forward to the day when all the Church sees eye to eye and when the spirit of Understanding will flow like a river. I know you do too!
On eternal torment…
Hi XXXX! I had meant to get back to you on this topic but was caught up with stuff at work and just didn’t have time. I hope it is not too late to put in my 2 cents regarding this vital topic. Anyway, I felt led by the Father to share this quite different perspective on the whole issue of eternal torment and eternal life. I have to say at the outset that I owe these insights to the enlightened teachings of my pastor (I know that is a dirty word in some kingdom circles, but you know what? I don’t care!) Harlo White. The way he explains this (very briefly) is that since God is a consuming fire and He is eternal, the fire is also eternal in the sense of unending. Now, what people have misunderstood is that although the fire is eternal, when the work is done and reconciliation is achieved, the fire changes from a tormenting thing to a purifying force that continues until perfection is attained in that individual soul. It is an on-going process, world without end. Amen? The beauty of this explanation, aside from the fact that it is true and scriptural, is that all the scholarly debate about the meaning of the word “eternal” is avoided while retaining the fullness of the concept of eternal (that is, unending) life that is promised to those who receive the revelation of Christ.
On the physical body of Jesus…
I certainly do not want to get off-track either but I really feel that much of what Christianity teaches is man-made doctrine and that if you are sincerely seeking him and are willing to die to fleshly conceptions, He will lead you into all Truth.
First of all, I want to stress that what I shared with you is by no means a “doctrine.” It is a part of a much larger revelation that the Father has imparted to my spirit. The Lord has impressed upon me the need for His people to understand His Word by the Spirit and to die to the very human desire to fellowship with a fleshly Jesus. You asked for specific scriptures to back this up. Here is one: II Cor 5:16. Also, you will note when John saw the one who identified himself as the Alpha and Omega when he was on the island of Patmos, he looked nothing like the Jesus that John knew intimately during the Lord’s earthly ministry. You will also note that when he spoke, John records that it was the sound of many waters (Rev 1:15) which is later defined as “peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues” (Rev 17:15). The ascended Christ has no physical body of his own and when you really think about it, how can matter exist in the spirit realm or what we call heaven? The problem is that most Christians have a really carnal conception of heaven as a physical place with physical people walking around.
The resurrected Jesus before his ascension manifested what our physical bodies will eventually be like here on earth when the Spirit within us quickens every area of our being. He was able to walk through walls, appear and disappear at will and death had no power over him. For the sake of the unbelief of Thomas, he did appear with a body Thomas could relate to just as he still appears today to many in long flowing robes because that is how they envision him. But for the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus, it wasn’t until he broke the bread that they received the spiritual revelation of who was in their presence. And brother, that is how he wants us to perceive him, by the spirit.
I hope this sheds some light on how I see things. Anyway, it is good to exchange views in the spirit of mutual respect and edification.
God Bless!