The God Who IS and the Non-moving Run: Suspended Time (This is My Personal Theology: Pentecost is the Feast of the HARVEST, Completed Time NOW)
God cannot see the end of time; He IS the end of time. THAT's our problem: so are we.
Although we are speeding through the universe at 1.3 million miles (2.1 million km) per hour, in some aspects we are not moving at all. I speak of movement between the Beginning of Creation and the Consummation of All Things at the End. You might think that we, each of us individually, are at some mid-point or happily near the end of the cycle of birth and rebirth which develops us in this sphere of death (unawareness of godhood). It seems by appearances we are becoming prepared to move on. I think not. I believe the whole of our experience was simultaneous in suspended time. It was, as it were, a flash, one kaboom and done. The present and the future were completed long ago. In God's economy, there is no time.
As I see it, the course of all the universe from the Big Bang to the final darkness, and our history within it, all of it has already happened. There has been but a point of action, which was a decision, even an opinion actually, which ended it. All of what was decided has already been taken care of. All of it. We are in the process of waking up in what is already a situation, the end arrangement, looking forward to what was finished at the Beginning. We are plowing a field which harvest is already in the barn. All time is proceeding in suspension.
It was not merely intended, but was an established fact, that at the fall of God into the ignorance of manhood, we were ascended. Him, us, same same. Not that we would ascend, but had ascended. The Beginning Son STARTED with the Risen Lord. We ARE Christ, God who descended. As Christ we now rise to what we already are - the Father we were. For God assumed the goal achieved, therefore the future was created. That finished it. We are not really going anywhere; we are already there!!
In “Unless I Go Away,” freedom enjoying Neville, the sunflowers in the field, the rats in the dump, and the cage all existed at the same time. We are in a progression of eternal states which all exist together: Eternal Father and Son, risen and sent, fallen and repentant, redeemed and redeemer. We ARE that which we work unto. We just haven’t realized what IS to be realized. Yes, God became man that man might become God; but God had become the man who becomes. There was never really any doubt, for the God man becomes already IS. As Jesus Christ, God's consciousness crucified upon this flesh, we are that which we work unto.
Again, in God’s economy, we are already what we want to be. What we are "going" to be is already a done deal. Time does not matter; the decision has already been made. We ARE Jesus Christ, and we are the Father. We have only come here to do what has already been done, by believing that what we did worked. Says F. J. Huegel:
"The Christian does not walk in order to reach the Throne. On the contrary, His walk is determined by the fact that in God's Economy he has, antecedent of all ethical demands or achievements, been placed with Christ in a position of immeasurable ascendancy. He has been made to sit together with Christ in heavenly places in order that, having received an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, he might reign in life by one, even Jesus (Romans 5:17). He walks like a king because he is a king (Revelation 1:6). He is not called upon to walk in a kingly fashion in order that he may reach the throne. God's order is different. The Christian begins at the throne and his kingly manner is only the inevitable outcome of his exalted position. Our frustrations and agonies in an effort to attain the unattainable, our shame and our defeats such as we find in Paul's own experience tabulated so faithfully in Romans 7, came about naturally and inevitably when, failing to grasp all this, we put the emphasis on our conduct rather than on our position, which must come first." (Reigning With Christ, 1963 Zondervan Publishing House, 1969 Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany Fellowship, Inc. p. 58).
I did not intend to continue with Huegel (a great book, almost impossible to read, but a great book nonetheless), but he has a very interesting proposal: "A correct reading of the passage (from Ephesians 1:17 into Ephesians chapter 2) leaves out the artificial close of the chapter with the opening of Chapter 2, for such a division does not exist in the original Greek (his words, not mine). What Paul really says is: 'Which he (the Father) wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead . . . and you (omit italics of Chapt 2:1) who were dead in sins and trespasses. The Father raised up Christ and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and You who were dead in sins and trespasses'" (p. 46-47).
Huegel says that Paul says that we were lifted and seated with Christ when Christ was raised to his God-state, which he now enjoys. I say that when Christ was lifted WAS AT THE BEGINNING, WHEN THE INEFFABLE DETERMINED THAT HE WAS RAISED AS THE MANIFESTATION. That was Its assumption. We are now just playing out the dream assumed.
_____________________________________
Victor N. Alexander's Ephesians, from the ancient Aramaic:
16. I never cease from confessing on your behalf and in remembering you in my prayers,
17. That the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of Glory, should give you the spirit of wisdom and the revelation of his knowledge,
18. And that he may brighten the eye of your hearts, that you may know what is the Hope of his calling and the wealth of the glory that is the inheritance of saints,
19. And so that great power is magnified through us by our faith in him, according to His all consuming power.
20. That He performed through Christ and raised him from the dead* and placed him from His right in heaven,
21. Higher than all the thrones, authorities, powers and lordships, and higher than all the names that are ever praised, not only in this universe alone, except also in the future.
22. And everything under his feet shall be worshipped and to him, as he is above everything, He has given the leadership of the Church.
23. Which is his body and the embodiment of the One who embodies all.
__________
*1:20 Lit. Ar. id.: "House of the dead."
________________________________
Ephesians 2
1. Also to you who were dead in your sins and foolishness,
2. As you walked in the ways of old, according to the worldliness of this universe, and according to the leaders of the earth's governments,* in the spirit that compels Children to be heedless,
3. According to the same practices that we also followed in the past through the lust of our flesh, and according to the flesh we did what we considered justifiable* and ended up being children of wrath like everybody else.
4. God, however, who is rich in mercy, loved us because of His great love,
5. Whereas we were dead in our sins, He gave us life with Christ and saved us by his grace,
6. And He raised us with him and placed us in heaven through Jesus Christ,
7. That He may show the universes that are coming the great riches of his grace and His fulfillment through Jesus Christ that descended upon us.
8. For it was by Grace that he saved us through faith, and this was not of your doing, except the gift of God.
9. Not through the performance [of deeds,] so that no human should be proud.
10. For we are his creation, whereas we are born through Jesus Christ as works of grace, those by which from olden times God favored us.
11. Because of that, remember that you people were in the beginning according to the flesh, and that you were called unto circumcision from uncircumcision, which is accomplished with hands of flesh.*
12. And you were in that age without Christ, and you were foreigners of Israel,* and you were strangers to the covenant of the kingdom, and you had no hope and no god in the world.
13. Now, however, through Jesus Christ, those of you who were outsiders* in the old times, have become kindred through the blood of Jesus Christ. 14. For he is our peace, he who made two into one, and who united the knot of the old pair in equality,
15. And [he resolved] the enmity in his flesh, and the Law of commandments he cancelled by his own commandment, so as he may rebuild both lines through his Triune essence into one new human being, and create peace,
16. And so he may gaze upon both of them in one body with God, and so he may kill the enmity by his Cross,
17. And so he may come and proffer peace upon you, to those who had wandered off and to those who had stayed near.
18. Because through him we have kinship, both [lines of the Covenant] in one spirit toward the Father.
19. Henceforth, you are neither outsiders, nor migrants, except you are inhabitants of the saints' towns, and the children of the house of God.
20. And so you may build upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, and he is the cornerstone* of the building, Jesus Christ himself.
21. And by him is administered the entire structure and through him is the holy temple raised by the Lord,
22. While you are also utilized to fortify God's building* in spirit.
__________
*2:2 Lit. Ar. idiomatic figure of speech retained: Secular leaderships that do not accept Jesus Christ as Lord and God.
*2:3 Lit. Ar. id.: "According to conscience."
*2:11 To understand the significance of the Cross (a concept lost to Western theologians,) there has to be opposition of the two paths, the one branch suspended horizontally in the air, the symbol of the Spirit, anchored by the vertical branch that is buried in the ground, symbol of the world. The horizontal branch cannot stand without the vertical branch, or else the cross loses its significance and purpose. Thus accordingly without opposition, Christianity cannot exit.
*2:12 Continuing reference to the symbol of the Cross.
*2:13 Lit. Ar. idiomatic figure of speech: "Distanced."
*2:20 Lit. Ar. id.: "Head of corner."
*2:22 Lit. Ar. id.: "Construct."
Although we are speeding through the universe at 1.3 million miles (2.1 million km) per hour, in some aspects we are not moving at all. I speak of movement between the Beginning of Creation and the Consummation of All Things at the End. You might think that we, each of us individually, are at some mid-point or happily near the end of the cycle of birth and rebirth which develops us in this sphere of death (unawareness of godhood). It seems by appearances we are becoming prepared to move on. I think not. I believe the whole of our experience was simultaneous in suspended time. It was, as it were, a flash, one kaboom and done. The present and the future were completed long ago. In God's economy, there is no time.
As I see it, the course of all the universe from the Big Bang to the final darkness, and our history within it, all of it has already happened. There has been but a point of action, which was a decision, even an opinion actually, which ended it. All of what was decided has already been taken care of. All of it. We are in the process of waking up in what is already a situation, the end arrangement, looking forward to what was finished at the Beginning. We are plowing a field which harvest is already in the barn. All time is proceeding in suspension.
It was not merely intended, but was an established fact, that at the fall of God into the ignorance of manhood, we were ascended. Him, us, same same. Not that we would ascend, but had ascended. The Beginning Son STARTED with the Risen Lord. We ARE Christ, God who descended. As Christ we now rise to what we already are - the Father we were. For God assumed the goal achieved, therefore the future was created. That finished it. We are not really going anywhere; we are already there!!
In “Unless I Go Away,” freedom enjoying Neville, the sunflowers in the field, the rats in the dump, and the cage all existed at the same time. We are in a progression of eternal states which all exist together: Eternal Father and Son, risen and sent, fallen and repentant, redeemed and redeemer. We ARE that which we work unto. We just haven’t realized what IS to be realized. Yes, God became man that man might become God; but God had become the man who becomes. There was never really any doubt, for the God man becomes already IS. As Jesus Christ, God's consciousness crucified upon this flesh, we are that which we work unto.
Again, in God’s economy, we are already what we want to be. What we are "going" to be is already a done deal. Time does not matter; the decision has already been made. We ARE Jesus Christ, and we are the Father. We have only come here to do what has already been done, by believing that what we did worked. Says F. J. Huegel:
"The Christian does not walk in order to reach the Throne. On the contrary, His walk is determined by the fact that in God's Economy he has, antecedent of all ethical demands or achievements, been placed with Christ in a position of immeasurable ascendancy. He has been made to sit together with Christ in heavenly places in order that, having received an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, he might reign in life by one, even Jesus (Romans 5:17). He walks like a king because he is a king (Revelation 1:6). He is not called upon to walk in a kingly fashion in order that he may reach the throne. God's order is different. The Christian begins at the throne and his kingly manner is only the inevitable outcome of his exalted position. Our frustrations and agonies in an effort to attain the unattainable, our shame and our defeats such as we find in Paul's own experience tabulated so faithfully in Romans 7, came about naturally and inevitably when, failing to grasp all this, we put the emphasis on our conduct rather than on our position, which must come first." (Reigning With Christ, 1963 Zondervan Publishing House, 1969 Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany Fellowship, Inc. p. 58).
I did not intend to continue with Huegel (a great book, almost impossible to read, but a great book nonetheless), but he has a very interesting proposal: "A correct reading of the passage (from Ephesians 1:17 into Ephesians chapter 2) leaves out the artificial close of the chapter with the opening of Chapter 2, for such a division does not exist in the original Greek (his words, not mine). What Paul really says is: 'Which he (the Father) wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead . . . and you (omit italics of Chapt 2:1) who were dead in sins and trespasses. The Father raised up Christ and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and You who were dead in sins and trespasses'" (p. 46-47).
Huegel says that Paul says that we were lifted and seated with Christ when Christ was raised to his God-state, which he now enjoys. I say that when Christ was lifted WAS AT THE BEGINNING, WHEN THE INEFFABLE DETERMINED THAT HE WAS RAISED AS THE MANIFESTATION. That was Its assumption. We are now just playing out the dream assumed.
_____________________________________
Victor N. Alexander's Ephesians, from the ancient Aramaic:
16. I never cease from confessing on your behalf and in remembering you in my prayers,
17. That the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of Glory, should give you the spirit of wisdom and the revelation of his knowledge,
18. And that he may brighten the eye of your hearts, that you may know what is the Hope of his calling and the wealth of the glory that is the inheritance of saints,
19. And so that great power is magnified through us by our faith in him, according to His all consuming power.
20. That He performed through Christ and raised him from the dead* and placed him from His right in heaven,
21. Higher than all the thrones, authorities, powers and lordships, and higher than all the names that are ever praised, not only in this universe alone, except also in the future.
22. And everything under his feet shall be worshipped and to him, as he is above everything, He has given the leadership of the Church.
23. Which is his body and the embodiment of the One who embodies all.
__________
*1:20 Lit. Ar. id.: "House of the dead."
________________________________
Ephesians 2
1. Also to you who were dead in your sins and foolishness,
2. As you walked in the ways of old, according to the worldliness of this universe, and according to the leaders of the earth's governments,* in the spirit that compels Children to be heedless,
3. According to the same practices that we also followed in the past through the lust of our flesh, and according to the flesh we did what we considered justifiable* and ended up being children of wrath like everybody else.
4. God, however, who is rich in mercy, loved us because of His great love,
5. Whereas we were dead in our sins, He gave us life with Christ and saved us by his grace,
6. And He raised us with him and placed us in heaven through Jesus Christ,
7. That He may show the universes that are coming the great riches of his grace and His fulfillment through Jesus Christ that descended upon us.
8. For it was by Grace that he saved us through faith, and this was not of your doing, except the gift of God.
9. Not through the performance [of deeds,] so that no human should be proud.
10. For we are his creation, whereas we are born through Jesus Christ as works of grace, those by which from olden times God favored us.
11. Because of that, remember that you people were in the beginning according to the flesh, and that you were called unto circumcision from uncircumcision, which is accomplished with hands of flesh.*
12. And you were in that age without Christ, and you were foreigners of Israel,* and you were strangers to the covenant of the kingdom, and you had no hope and no god in the world.
13. Now, however, through Jesus Christ, those of you who were outsiders* in the old times, have become kindred through the blood of Jesus Christ. 14. For he is our peace, he who made two into one, and who united the knot of the old pair in equality,
15. And [he resolved] the enmity in his flesh, and the Law of commandments he cancelled by his own commandment, so as he may rebuild both lines through his Triune essence into one new human being, and create peace,
16. And so he may gaze upon both of them in one body with God, and so he may kill the enmity by his Cross,
17. And so he may come and proffer peace upon you, to those who had wandered off and to those who had stayed near.
18. Because through him we have kinship, both [lines of the Covenant] in one spirit toward the Father.
19. Henceforth, you are neither outsiders, nor migrants, except you are inhabitants of the saints' towns, and the children of the house of God.
20. And so you may build upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, and he is the cornerstone* of the building, Jesus Christ himself.
21. And by him is administered the entire structure and through him is the holy temple raised by the Lord,
22. While you are also utilized to fortify God's building* in spirit.
__________
*2:2 Lit. Ar. idiomatic figure of speech retained: Secular leaderships that do not accept Jesus Christ as Lord and God.
*2:3 Lit. Ar. id.: "According to conscience."
*2:11 To understand the significance of the Cross (a concept lost to Western theologians,) there has to be opposition of the two paths, the one branch suspended horizontally in the air, the symbol of the Spirit, anchored by the vertical branch that is buried in the ground, symbol of the world. The horizontal branch cannot stand without the vertical branch, or else the cross loses its significance and purpose. Thus accordingly without opposition, Christianity cannot exit.
*2:12 Continuing reference to the symbol of the Cross.
*2:13 Lit. Ar. idiomatic figure of speech: "Distanced."
*2:20 Lit. Ar. id.: "Head of corner."
*2:22 Lit. Ar. id.: "Construct."
posted by Daniel C. Branham-Steele at
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