When Satan boasted to the Prince of Hell that he had overcome the Son of God and had him hanging on a cross, the Prince of Hell drew back in horror exclaiming: "O thou Prince of destruction, author of Beelzebub's defeat and banishment, the scorn of God's Angels and loathed by all the righteous persons, what inclined thee to act thus?
"Thou wouldst crucify the KING OF GLORY, and by his destruction, has made up promises of very large advantage, but as a fool wert ignorant of what thou wast about." (From the Lost Books of the Bible; Nicodemus XVIII).
Now to quote from verses one and two and verses nine and ten and verses twelve and thirteen, I am instructed to share the following:
"O Prince Satan, thou great keeper of the infernal regions, all thy advantages which thou didst acquire by the forbidden tree, and the loss of Paradise, thou has now lost by the wood of the cross;
"And thy happiness all then expired, when thou didst crucify Jesus Christ the King of glory.
"O Satan, Prince of all evil, AUTHOR OF DEATH, and source of all pride, thou shouldst first have inquired into the evil crimes of Jesus of Nazareth, and THEN THOU WOULDST HAVE FOUND THAT HE WAS GUILTY OF NO CRIME WORTHY OF DEATH.
"Why didst thou venture, without either reason or justice, to crucify him, and hast brought down to our regions a person innocent and righteous, and therefore hast lost all the sinners, impious and unrighteous in the whole world?
Christ's trip into Hell is verified in the teachings of Saint Peter. That the gates of Hell were opened is true. And the prisoners were set free, but they were not exalted. Each soul was released from the bonds of Hell, but each was only placed on the level where he could begin to transform his life and make amends for his failures in the past as his own development began.
There is also the record of the ancients which acclaims: "On him who OVERCOMES sin DEATH HAS NO CLAIM."
Satan was the author of death! Not God!
God permitted death to be established as a way of release for those who would continue to sin throughout their mortal lives, with no desire to overcome their weaknesses.
"THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH!" Then is given this information, in the day when man was driven from Paradise. Genesis three, verse twenty-four: "So God drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden, Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life -- (Lest Adam, or man, put forth his hand and LIVE FOREVER in his sins). This is the fullness of that ancient record.
That straight and Narrow Way back into Eden, the realm of Life was guarded and is still guarded so that man cannot partake of the Fruit of the Tree of Life -- AND LIVE FOREVER IN HIS SINS.
And as sin is the cause of death, so is it the cause of every condition leading to death, all the deterioration, the pain and anguish, the misery and old age and the intense suffering that accompanies death.
Therefore if man was permitted to put forth his hand and partake of the precious Fruit of the Tree of Life, without first OVERCOMING sin he would go on living forever in his sin. And in such an existence his miseries and distresses would not only continue to increase, but would intensify until the lot of man would be utterly impossible to endure. And so it was that God permitted death to remain on the earth until man himself OVERCAME THE CAUSE OF IT -- which cause is Sin. Death itself is a back-door release from the distressed, agonized tortures of the physical ills and sufferings brought on by sin. So it is through the very evils of one's own transgressions man is required to relinquish the body or temple, which God bestowed upon him in order to endure the low grade of mortality which he brought upon himself.
And it is true, "That through one man death came into the world," each man since that day has brought on his own death. For each man is punished for his own sins and not for Adam's transgression. We have been born into this lowest realm of mortality and are forced to remain here because of our own failure to rise up and OVERCOME THE EVILS OF OUR LIVES.
But death, seen from this angle, as a means of release from suffering, old age and helplessness is a mercy. And so God has permitted it to remain. Yet death is not necessary. It may be a privilege to the wicked and ungodly and sinners, but there is no glory in it. Man was not ordained to die. Man has only to OVERCOME SIN and Death will have to back down and all the inherent ills thereof.
This is verified in Hebrews 11:13-15. This scripture is speaking of the ancient Patriarchs who never lived under the laws (for the law was given because of sin, according to Galatians). However, before the sins of the people, under Moses, the ancient Patriarchs lived not under the law, but under THE PROMISES THROUGH FAITH."
In this chapter of Hebrews is mentioned some of the Patriarchs, the first one named is "Enoch, who was translated that he should not see death; and was not found because God translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." So it was through his righteousness that Enoch overcame death.
This chapter of Hebrews also mentions Noah, Abraham and Sarah, then in verses thirteen to fifteen it states that these Patriarchs all died in the faith (not having overcome completely and thereby had failed to turn FAITH INTO KNOWLEDGE).
Verse thirteen reads thus: "These all died in the faith, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES, BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF. They were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were pilgrims on the earth.
"For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
"AND TRULY, IF THEY HAD BEEN MINDFUL OF THAT COUNTRY FROM WHENCE THEY CAME OUT, THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE RETURNED," without dying or relinquishing the body for had they exercised that gift of FAITH fully they would have been able to OVERCOME all sin and advanced into the state of "ALL-KNOWING!" This condition contains the PROMISE that "If your eyes be single to the glory of God you shall be filled with Light and there shall be no darkness in you (no negation, no doubts, no evil, no jealousies or fears or DEATH). And he who is filled with Light shall COMPREHEND ALL THINGS and GOD WILL UNVEIL HIS FACE UNTO HIM!" WHICH IS LIFE ETERNAL!
Such are the Promises of Almighty God. And His Promises cannot return unto Him unfulfilled or void. And the Promises of God can only be returned to Him as man lays hold of them and fulfills them. The PROMISES are in the hands of man. They were meant to be fulfilled in the eternal NOW! Not in "The afar-off!" God gives no commandment or law save He prepared the way of their fulfillment. And man is the Way. As man fulfills the Promises he automatically has the power to return to God for God's face will be unveiled to such.
In Rev. 21:4, is given this pertinent passage of scripture: "THERE SHALL NOT BE ANY MORE DEATH!"
Proverbs 13:14: "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the SNARES OF DEATH." Chapter fourteen, verse twenty-nine proclaims: "The fear (awe or LOVE) of the Lord, is a FOUNTAIN OF LIFE, TO DEPART FROM THE SNARES OF DEATH!"
The foregoing scripture declares plainly that death is accomplished by ENSNARING mankind. What are the snares? They are often so subtle and so camouflaged as ordinary human traits we accept them whole-heartedly.
These SNARES are all negative thoughts. Hate, discords, selfishness, jealousy, greed or any of the multiple, ordinary human traits. These are the SNARES. These are the cleverly planned traps that bring on old age, ugliness, sickness and finally DEATH.
A woman I once knew, when the thought of perfection was mentioned, declared emphatically, "Why I wouldn't give up one of my faults or weaknesses for the glories of heaven!" And she meant it. And so do most people feel who have not learned to look with the eyes of loving understanding.
It is only as one looks closely at the ills and evils and the desolating vicissitudes of mortal life and begins to wonder about the why and the wherefore as he begins to contemplate the possibility of a higher way that it is possible to begin to direct one's destiny, and the possibility of escape from those SNARES OF DEATH. Then is it possible to find a way of escape from that "Broad Open Path that leads to destruction" by entering into THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW WAY, which is difficult to find but not at all difficult to travel for it is a way of joy and increasing happiness. It is the Pathway of the Patriarchs, who traveled it through FAITH IN THE PROMISES. And anyone on this earth, who so desires can enter into the status of the Patriarchs. He can pass beyond the laws and enter into the glory of the PROMISES through developing his own attribute of LOVE.
Anyone who will take hold of that First and Great Commandment of LOVE and apply it in his life will no longer be under the law. He will have fulfilled all the laws and the prophets. He will have entered the Way of the Patriarchs, which is the contact with God, in which one will be instructed in his actions and in his life and will be directed in the unfolding and perfection of his own individual destiny, and often to foresee God's perfect plan for others. It is a great and holy calling, the calling of the Patriarchs.
The Way of the Patriarchs, that "Straight and Narrow Way, that leads to Life Eternal," is the Way Christ traveled and left the map for. This higher Way is the Way of the Patriarchs, those who LIVED BY FAITH IN THE PROMISES. And this Way has been awaiting every individual on the earth who will only lay claim to it through desire and through BELIEVING -- or FAITH.
The law of the Patriarchs is to live by the Promises in a dynamic FAITH in their fulfillment.
In Isaiah, chapter twenty-five and verse eight, this great prophet foretells of Christ in these words: "He who would swallow up death." And this great privilege was offered to all who will only accept it. As the following testifies: "If a man keep (LIVE) my sayings; he shall never see death." (John 8:51). The more perfect translation states it thus: "He shall never see or experience death."
Romans 6:16: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servant ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness."
Verses twenty-one to twenty-three continues thus: "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
"But now, being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end -- EVERLASTING LIFE.
"For the wages of sin is DEATH: but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
This gift of Eternal Life is offered to all, by God, through Jesus Christ, His Son, to all who would exercise their FAITH to the point where faith would become KNOWLEDGE. FAITH WILL AUTOMATICALLY GROW OR DEVELOP INTO KNOWLEDGE if man will only fulfill the PROMISE of its power. And in the fulfilling of FAITH in the Promises one can become the master of himself and OVERCOME sin and the tendency to accept mortal inclinations and weaknesses as his only heritage.
The ordinary mortal traits are the SNARES that lead to DEATH. But all the powers of Hell cannot force any living soul into these SNARES unless he willingly yields himself to follow the low, human path of least resistance. But man can resist and he can conquer! Man was created in the image and likeness of God. Whenever he rises up and begins to give battle or to exert himself to fulfill his divine heritage the SNARES of Satan crumble into nothingness. Man can "OVERCOME the evils of his life and lose every desire for sin!" And Satan, the enemy of man, has to back down. This is how DEATH IS CONQUERED.
I. Cor. 15:26: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed (in any man's life) IS DEATH!"
Romans 7:5: "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, which were by the law, did work in our members (or bodies) to bring forth fruit unto death."
Romans 8:6: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
James I: 12:15: "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation (such a one is literally destroying the SNARES which Satan instigated to entrap him into the grave) for when he is tried; he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them THAT LOVE HIM.
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of HIS OWN LUSTS AND ENTICED. (Or ensnared).
"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Death itself is corruption! And Death is the fulfilling of Satan's plan in which the body and the Spirit are separated. This body is Lucifer's greatest envy. He does not possess one, nor can he except through possessing the bodies of the weak and the wicked who yield themselves into his hands. But as man dies his body is left uninhabited to go down into the grave to fulfill Lucifer's triumphant plan of full corruption and decay and foulness.
The scriptures speak of DEATH in these terms: "And they gave up the Ghost (OR SPIRIT)." Yes! THEY GAVE IT UP! They yielded it up - the gift of life was relinquished because of the ills and ignorance and misfortunes that had accumulated by yielding to the SNARES that had been placed along their paths.
There is no honor or glory in such a relinquishing. One turns his God-given gift over to Lucifer, that the forces of evil might fulfill the completion of destruction to this sacred temple, or body, which man came to earth to gain.
It is true, there will be a resurrection, but the power of OVERCOMING is relinquished when one goes down into the grave.
And there are many in this day who believe that astral projection is the greatest achievement possible to attain. In astral projection the body and the spirit are separated. Astral projection is not the great aim or accomplishment. At best it is only a partial, inferior achievement.
In "BEING BORN OF THE SPIRIT" of which Christ spoke, the body becomes completely purified and spiritualized so that it goes along with the spirit. When the pure perfection is fulfilled, or when one is truly "BORN OF THE SPIRIT" the body and the spirit thereafter become inseparably united and only then can one receive a "FULNESS OF JOY!" And only then is his life completely sanctified as he is given the full power of service in the hands of God.
Now, to give the full unfolding glory of man as he was intended to be.
"MAN IS SPIRIT. THE ELEMENTS ARE ETERNAL, AND SPIRIT AND ELEMENT, INSEPARABLY CONNECTED (without death or a need for resurrection) receiveth a fulness of joy.
"AND GREAT SHALL BE THEIR REWARD AND ETERNAL SHALL BE THEIR GLORY.
"And to them I will reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.
"Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations.
"And their wisdom shall be great, and THEIR UNDERSTANDING REACH INTO HEAVEN, and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught.
"For by my Spirit will I enlighten them and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will * * * yea, even those things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet has entered into the heart of man."
Then we are told that, "These great and unspeakable things can only be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who LOVE HIM AND PURIFY THEMSELVES BEFORE HIM.
"TO WHICH HE GRANTS THIS PRIVILEGE OF SEEING AND KNOWING FOR THEMSELVES.
"That through the Power and manifestation of the Spirit WHILE IN THE FLESH they may be able to bear His Presence in the world of glory." (Page 251 "Ye Are Gods.")
In Isaiah is mentioned those great and unspeakable things which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard and which has never entered into the heart of man -- THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.
Paul was given a partial understanding of these great and almost unspeakable things as recorded in I. Cor. 2:5-11 as follows: "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
"Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught.
"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory;
"Which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that LOVE HIM.
"But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things; yea, the deep things of God.
"For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him: Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but by the Spirit of God."
So it is that these great Promises can only be given to those who fulfill that First and Great Commandment of LOVE! And in fulfilling it they will have fulfilled all the other laws of perfection -- and so will receive THE PROMISE OF THE FULNESS OF TRUTH.
II. Peter I:3-4: "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to LIFE and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious PROMISES, that by these ye might be partakers of the DIVINE NATURE, HAVING ESCAPED CORRUPTION, that is in the world through lust."
Death is the great enemy of man and of life! Death is the destroyer of man, his plans and his body. "Death IS the wages of sin, but the gift of God is Life Eternal, through Jesus Christ, His Son."
The gift of TRANSLATION or "BEING BORN OF THE SPIRIT" or the great glory of TRANSFIGURATION, which Christ received on the Mount of Transfiguration, is the reward for those who OVERCOME! The body becomes so purified and so spiritualized, through the perfecting of LOVE and hence in the relinquishing of one's weaknesses insomuch that Satan Snares have no power whatsoever. And as one grows and waxes strong in Spirit he is prepared fully and completely to "BE BORN OF THE SPIRIT" if so be he is willing to fulfill the laws of his own coming forth.
This condition of being "BORN OF THE SPIRIT" or TRANSLATED is not only a possibility but an eternal truth.
In the days of Christ this law of translation was understood. Luke 9:27. "But I tell you a truth, there be SOME (which is plural) standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Kingdom of God."
Matt. 16:28 reveals it thus: "Verily I say unto you, There be SOME standing here, which shall not taste death, till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom."
In the Lost Books of the Bible, there is a record of Tecla, a convert of Paul's who was TRANSLATED.
Then, of course, there is the recorded testimony of the writer of the Odes of Solomon, who bore witness of his own experience.
On the evening of November first, 1950, the Pope gave out the information that the Catholics had accepted or adopted the New Doctrine, that the Virgin Mary took her body with her into heaven, even as Elijah and Moses had -- and many others. This (New) Doctrine was accepted and acclaimed because there are many records in the treasure house of the Vatican to prove it, besides the many instances of the Virgin's appearances to chosen ones of this earth in recent years.
And so death is the great enemy of life -- the accepted lie of the ages. AND DEATH IS TO BE OVERCOME by all who put forth the effort to fulfill the PROMISES of Almighty God and so RECEIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE EVERLASTING!
"Write the works of Enoch as Prophet, priest and seer. Write of his works of purity and love and how he changed his carnal flesh to flesh divine without descending through the gates of death."
"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
Thus it is given that only in the control and the exalting of one's thoughts can the carnal thoughts and habits be OVERCOME and the carnal flesh be changed to flesh divine.
Christ included among the dead those who had never become animated or quickened by the divine power and love of God.
Matt. 8:21; "And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Verse 22: But Jesus said unto him, "FOLLOW ME: AND LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD.”