“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, … .” Hebrews 11:32-34

The theme of the Dark Nights is not going draw a crowd. You may have noticed this in the number of responses to each post. It takes a near “special forces” mentality to even listen to this type of message. Thus, in a day when numbers are equated to anointing, pastors find it difficult to teach on the deeper, more substantial matters of the normal Christian life.

The unfortunate result is that the current church culture has lost its grip on victory in the midst of darkness. They have forgotten that Satan’s greatest defeat occurred at the moment he thought he had gained his greatest victory. I wrote to you before, this journey is not for the faint of heart. One can stop at any time. In fact few, very few have completed the journey. Yes, Jesus paid the price for us, but that price was the price for Everlasting life, not the price to save us from difficulty. In fact Jesus said to us that in this world we would have difficulty, but we are to fear not. Fear is the enemy of God’s plan - which requires faith. That is because fear is a belief that something bad is going to happen, where faith is the belief that something good is going to happen. You cannot have fear and faith on the same topic. Nervousness is not the same as fear.

CULTURAL PROPAGATION

I am afraid that our culture has propagated fear at levels we simply do not recognize we have. As I have often said, “Little bitty battles produce little bitty victories and result in little bitty champions. Great battles produce great victories and result in great champions. Which one do you want to be?” Battles do not occur because we failed to win the war, battles are a part of winning the war. Yet, we are taught that if we experience battles we somehow failed to make a right choice. There is no place in the Bible where this is true.

I am writing to help you make it through this difficult journey that no one wants to tell you about - because it is not popular! If it is too hard, I understand. Just remember, in the future you will more than likely come to this point again and you will face the same issues you face now, only what defeated you before will be seven times stronger the next time you face it. Quitting only infuses the dark side with greater boldness, a boldness you will later encounter.

TO GIVE HIM ALL THINGS

To those who want to find the deeper spiritual roots and live at levels where nothing Satan throws your ways sets you back nor overcomes you, then journey on with me. You will make it through the darkness to a point where you trust God at levels you have not experienced in Him before. At this coming level you will be able to give Him all things, even the things no one but you knows about today. You will easily lay your Husband, your wife, your children, all afflictions, all quandaries, all of your shame, along with all of your desires, at the feet of the one who brought you out of darkness into the Kingdom of His most marvelous light.

ESCAPING THIS COCOON OF DARKNESS

When you emerge from this cocoon of darkness, you will become a destroyer of Evil. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will dwell in you more deeply, more completely, and more powerfully than ever before. The Holy Spirit will indwell you, endue you, and infuse you. Jesus overcame Satan in Sheol, but even Jesus did not raise himself from the dead, it was the Holy Spirit that raised Him from the dead and that same spirit dwells in you. He will raise you up, both in this life and the life to come.

I know some of you feel you cannot take any more - if that is you, take a rest and read these posts later, when you are stronger and full of faith. Though not biblical there is a statement of Vince Lombardi that is true, “Fatigue makes cowards of the bravest men.” Be at peace, rest and gain strength - then fight again.

WHY DID GOD ALLOW IT?

Diane and I have gone through many dark times. Like many of you some of them had to do with children. We adopted a child who it turned out had “Tourette’s Syndrome.” Though Diane and I did not know the child had this when we brought him home at birth from the hospital, we both know it was no accident. If nothing else good happened from this, and there are a myriad of great things, I have found it was God’s hand at work to change me. I am a better man, a better father, and better husband and a better leader, all because of this wonder child. Yes, Diane and I have also shaped the life of that child who is now a young man. We have never lost sight that we are all part of God’s wonderful plan, but there were some very dark times.

We parents seem to get stuck on the idea that we are placed here for our children, we fail to comprehend that our children might just be sent from God to shape us.  What if it is by the shaping we are given through our children that we actually impact more lives than we would have had God not sent them from Heaven. We think we are to shape them, but what if God sent them to shape us? You see, the benefits of life, in all its forms, is omni-directional and is never just a one way street of mono-focused, exhaustive efforts to form the child for adulthood. We are always better off because of God’s choices for us - even in the children He chooses to give us - even the ones who have special needs. We would never become what we were created to become if it were not for them.

In spite of all the pain and anticipated pain, it is in the midst of dark times that the brilliant light of the miraculous occurs - you see you do not need a miracle until you need a miracle.

But, wait … there is a sound from above and behind you. Something unexpected is happening. It is as if Heaven … .

Blessings,

John Paul

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:4-5

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” John 19:30

“And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.” Luke 23:46

Scripture says that children are the glory of the father. If that is true on Earth how much more so is it true in Heaven? Thus when the Scripture states, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5) we find that when the Light of the World was put to death, the Father’s heart was broken, the glory of the Son had been put to death, and the result was that the visible nature of the darkness of sin was exposed.

The above verses represent the three stages I am about to write about. I have no fascination with darkness. I do have a great desire to present the truth. Sometimes truth is uncomfortable, sometimes truth is delightful, either way to ignore truth does not change the reality of that truth. Many say you want a new day, new wine, new spiritual outpourings. For that to happen, the old must pass away. In this journey death to self must happen. Self must pass away. As Scripture states, every new day begins in darkness; sorrow comes in the night, but joy comes in the morning; and in creation the evening then the morning were counted as a day. There has never been a new day without darkness and chaos.

Here are three stages you will need to know so you can traverse the darkness and emerge into the glorious light prepared for you. Remember, you are the light of the world I am trying to help you come to place where you believe it. If you do not understand darkness, you will think you are losing. If you understand the matter of light and darkness - in time - you will shine.

THE FEELING OF BEING ABANDONED

The beginning of the Dark Night of the Spirit starts at the demarcation line of the Cross. If you decide to take Jesus at His word, and pick up your cross, you have volunteered for this journey. The deep darkness at the crucifixion was found between the sixth and ninth hour of the day, when for three hours, just prior to the death of Jesus, God darkened the entire Earth (Luke 23:44). An eclipse did not cause this triad of time. It was true, unexplainable darkness. It was during this moment that Jesus uttered three very important statements, the first being, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Why did Jesus say this? Because, the darkness He felt at this moment was more than the physical darkness everyone saw. He could tangibly feel the increasing morass of sin taunting Him and claiming victory. You may have heard the same taunt. The stench of the decaying demonic beings surrounding Him, jeering, and touting their own prowess would have overcome most of us. Hanging there in abject darkness, the natural spoke of the invisible. This painful statement was uttered with the full realization that Darkness was gaining an apparent victory and the Father’s Light seemed to be no longer present with Him. The Glory had departed. Jesus knew the Father had turned His face away. For the first time Jesus felt totally abandoned and helpless to accomplish the task for which he came.

Up to this moment, Jesus would see the Father acting on something and then He would do the same on Earth. Suddenly, the spiritual atmosphere changed, the Father was doing nothing and Jesus immediately felt it. With this you now understand more concerning the prayer of Moses and why it included the phrase, “May God make His face shine on you.” You may also be gaining greater revelation on the cost of taking up your cross. Very few take up the Cross today, they mistake the Grace of God as a substitution for carrying the Cross. However, if this perspective is true, why did Jesus say that if we want to follow Him we’d have to take up the cross to do it?

THE RECOGNITION OF INCAPIBILITY

While the Dark Night of the Soul is about being purged of the misguided thought that your agenda is God’s agenda; the Dark Night of the Spirit is about knowing God’s plan and finding that you are incapable of fulfilling it. This second phase, the recognition of your incapability, is depicted by the words Jesus spoke next when He said, “It is finished!” These words indicated that Jesus realized he had done all He was capable of doing. He had manifested all of the Father’s names to those He had been given (John 17:6). The human part was done. As He hung there on the cross, incapable of moving, or walking away, with all His disciples except John no where to be found, Jesus must have asked, was this enough? Yes it was, but hanging there the question must have lingered - was it enough? There was absolutely nothing left He could do, as a man He could do no more … Jesus was one breath away from dying, a plan that had been in place since before time began.

GOD MUST FINISH THE TASK HE SENT YOU TO DO

Jesus would take one more breath and whisper the third, and final phrase, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” This was the recognition that the Father must be the one to finish what He began. If, like Jesus, you pick up your cross, He must do the same in you, evidenced by this third dying statement of Jesus. In spite of what the enemy wants you to believe, death to self is not bad.

After this final saying, Jesus breathed His last and gave up His spirit. Herein, Jesus recognized that it was not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of His Father that the conclusion of the task would take place. It was in the Garden that the soul of Jesus was broken, but it was on the cross He gave up the rule of His soul over His spirit. There He gave that rule to His father. Thus, if the Father did not back Him up in His coming decent into Sheol to confront Satan, Jesus would stay in Sheol with the rest of humanity who had died … and the world would remain lost.

This decent was not a journey that flesh and blood could take. This journey in the stench of gross darkness would have to be done in the context of a greater reality - the Eternal reality of the Spirit. Here, before Satan, the Spirit of the Father would attest to the sinless life Jesus lived. As a result, all who had been imprisoned in Sheol, and believed the good new Jesus spoke to them, would have their chains taken off. But, for that to happen, Jesus had to believe the Father would turn His face toward Him again and resurrect Him. At that final moment on the cross, Jesus in essence said, “Father, I am helpless, take me, you will have to take it from here … and He died. Notice, Jesus did not say Father in to your hands I commit my soul - He said “Father in to your hands I commit my spirit.” God, who is Spirit revived spirit in the Dark Night of the Spirit.

Again, I remind you, it was the Spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead and that same spirit dwells in you. You can stand with courage and faith in the midst of great darkness knowing you will not fail and the Spirit of God will raise you up.

DARK NIGHTS

Dark Nights are all about feeling helpless, and directionless, incapable, and that combined with the lingering question of failure or success can be quite daunting. However, this last Dark Night of the Spirit is the hardest of the Dark Night series. In fact, after it is over, you will most likely feel you never completely left this moment - you will seem to have one foot out of the Dark Night and yet one foot seems to be stuck there - a reminder that it is only through Jesus you can accomplish the impossible and become a truly spiritual person.

This lingering knowledge that darkness is lurking all around you is what true light is all about. If you are the brightest light in the room, when you look around at the room it will seem pretty dark. There is a paradoxical “Spiritual Law of Light and Darkness” and that is this, “The greater light you contain and radiate, the darker the room around you will seem so be.” Thus you feel you never quite leave the darkness. Please do no equate darkness to pessimism - they are not the same. Hope eliminates pessimism and there is always hope in God.

Think about this, if it were possible for the world to even try to descend and save themselves, they would immediately find themselves stuck in Sheol.  Why, because they have already submitted to Satan and the sin in their life would trap and keep them there. There would be no advocate for them, the Holy Spirit would not do that. They would join the chained and imprisoned. This is why salvation comes only through Jesus. It impossible for a sinful being to save you from the captivity of another sinful being. This would be called a transfer, but the darkness would be the same.

By now you know that it is impossible to live a truly Spiritual life outside of God who is the One, True, Pure, Spirit. It is also impossible to approach God without coming to Him through Jesus, the sinless, only begotten son of the Living God. He made it all possible.

In God’s justice, those who emerge from this greater darkness, will find a greater glory, become a greater light, and demonstrate the names of the Father to a world who dwell in darkness. The scales of Justice will balance on your behalf and God will be all in all. The world is waiting for your victory through the blood of Jesus.

There is more ….

Blessings,

John Paul Jackson

“Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” Matthew 27:45

Standing in the splendor of this light that is not only thick, but pulsing with life, it is hard to imagine that a time of darkness is coming. But darkness must come, even if it is for a little while. Jesus told His disciple that a time was coming when it would seem like He had deserted them, then His presence would return to them (John 16:16).

The disciples, like you, wondered why? Things are going so well. Whether you have entered the Spiritual Dark Night, just entering it, or have yet to enter, things will seem to be going pretty well right up to the time darkness begins to over shadow you. You must remember, the same people who waved palm branches, and shouted Hosanna as Jesus rode into town on the back of a donkey, three days later shouted “crucify Him.” Things change pretty quickly in  the world and if you do not understand what this coming darkness is for, it can be an enormous set back. Yes, there is still a time and a purpose for all things under Heaven.

DARKNESS BEFORE GROSS DARKNESS

There is a deeper reason for the manner in which the crucifixion events happened. In the heavenly protocol of the Crucifixion, for three hours, before Jesus died, the Sun was darkened. This darkness was not caused by ash from some distant volcanic eruption, as some scholars have surmised, nor was it darkness brought about by a solar eclipse as other scholars have implied. Think about it, that would have been a three hour eclipse. What’s the longest eclipse you have witnessed, five minutes?

Truth be told, this darkness was not even caused by the Sun, it was caused by the Glory of God lifting from the Earth. Most of us see light and we think all light comes from the Sun. Yet, it is God’s Glory that keeps all matter from drifting apart - it is part of the creation in so much as all that exists comes from Him who is light. God’s Glory is light and when it lifts darkness is the result and yet many choose to believe something happened to the Sun. Much of the Light we see today is “Glory Light” and we do not have the eyes to see it …. yet.

NON-NATURAL DARKNESS

So for three hours Darkness came over all the Earth. It was only then that Jesus cried out. It was then He felt the Light of the Father depart, it was then He knew His mission and life on Earth was finished, it was then that knew He was about to face a greater darkness than this. This coming darkness was a darkness no man or woman had ever overcome. This approaching darkness was not found on the face of the Earth as was the three hours of darkness He had just gone through. The darkness found in the place Jesus was going to was the vilest, grossest, darkness that exists.

Where Jesus was going was the very seat of Satan, it was his home. Here, in Sheol, Satan had kept all mankind from Adam to John the Baptist imprisoned. All of that was about to change, but Jesus had to conquer the darkness Himself. He had to get the keys to death, Sheol, and the grave. He could only do this if there was found no darkness in Him. He could have nothing in common with Satan, nor could He have submitted Himself to the world in any way. If He did He would be captured in Sheol, along with the millions who had come there before Him.

THE TIME OF TRUTH

This was indeed a time of truth and a time when anything done in darkness or behind closed doors would be made known. This was the hour when all Jesus had gone through in His life would make sense. It was here in this gross darkness that Jesus would shine. He would proclaim the good news of who He was and invite all who would believe to come with Him to Paradise. However, before many of them would arrive in Paradise, many of those who went with Him would make a stop on the face of the Earth to publicly proclaim all they had heard Jesus tell them, how they had been witness to Jesus taking the Keys from Satan, and that Jesus was truly Lord. Indeed, for all who would believe, His Kingdom had come and defeated the power of the evil one. It is still true today - all it takes is faith. Sometimes that kind of faith comes by understanding the word - thus faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

VICTORY IN THE DARKNESS

Going into darkness is not something that we look forward to, after all it is very hard. But like Jesus, in the midst of your darkest hour, you will shine and great victory will come - you will over come that which was designed by the evil one to take you out and you will have new power after God regenerates you.

If the Son of God had to trust in God the Father to lift Him out of this darkness, don’t you think you will too?

You might remember that before you entered this last Room of Mystery you were in the Holy Place, a room full of Light that came from a Lampstand that God lit with His spoken word. But, here, in the last room, you are in the midst of the greatest light possible - the Light of the Creator Himself.

THEN DARKNESS COMES

In this last room, the light is the brightest light that exists, but if the Light is not present, this Last Room of Mystery will also be the darkest room in the Tabernacle. So you are grateful for any light especially this particular light. However, you are noticing that the Light seems to be dimming and your heart starts to pound. Then, as quickly as it came, it is gone. It was so bright - it is now so dark, so very dark. All you are left with is the dim circles of light left in the cones and macula of your eye, but that is physiological and has nothing to do with spiritual things. You are alone. You cannot even see your hand in front of your face, let alone find your way out of this tent. Panic sets in and you must get out … now!

Between gasps that come in rhythm with the pounding of your heart, you try to calm yourself by remembering the room is small, it is only three steps to anything, but those three steps seem to take a life time - and they will. It is far too soon for you to be able to see the light that was deposited in you by Jesus, so much fear still clouds your spiritual eyes - however, in time, at precisely the right time, you will shine and others will not only know it they will see and feel your presence before you even speak to them or touch them. There is a spiritual touch that can happen without touching.

Remember, I wrote on this over a year ago? It is here that you learn to touch someone without physically touching them. Up to this point, you thought you were ready, you are much, much, closer though it will still take some time and there are some significant spiritual matters you still must learn.

Next post I’ll write more on the three phases I mentioned in my last post. You’ll need to know these …. and more.

Blessings,

John Paul

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1Thessalonians 5:18

“You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.” Ezekiel 28:15

“I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.” Daniel 5:14

In this last vestige of the Dark Nights there is one temptation that must be avoided and you are the only one who can address this, the most rigorous and hard to kill of all temptations. This temptation is a master of disguise. It appears as humility, and touts what you have been through as proof you are broken. It often masks itself as righteous, mature and recognized by those who are spiritually disciplined.

What is this temptation? It is the temptation to be prideful in our brokenness. It makes us feel that somehow we have paid the price to be where we are rather than Jesus paying the price, a price that allows us to take a journey of purification through the Tabernacle, a journey that we do not deserve. Pride in our brokenness is still pride, no matter how hard we have tried, no matter what we have gone through or given up. Further, this level of pride can result in going around the mountain yet another time. This small level of pride is what made Moses strike the rock instead of speaking to it, which by the way was not the real sin, it was the manifestation of the sin.

MUST WE BRING WATER OUT OF THE ROCK FOR YOU?

The real sin was the underlying pride that made him angry when the people came to him wanting him to get them water from the rock when they were thirsty. Moses forgot that he never was the one who did any of the miracles. It was God. Pride has a sad way of making us forget who the true source of all we do actually is.

Be careful that the new wine you are becoming does not turn to vinegar before the bottle is even opened. All it takes is one wrong particle of bacteria, one small crack in the cork, or one unaddressed moment of pride.

THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SPIRIT

So, here you are in this small golden room so that you might understand how small you are. You can also deceive yourself in this room. How? First, by thinking you actually get to stay here. One day you will, but not just yet. In this room you experience the Light of God for a variety of reasons, but one reason you may not have considered is this; you are experiencing the true, pure, light so one day you can comprehend what it is like to be away from that light - which you will soon find out. Dark Nights are truly dark, and this one is the darkest of them all.

You may be thinking that God might actually leave you. No God is not going to leave you - and we will talk more on that shortly - but it will feel that way. The fact is, this God forsaken feeling will become so prevalent that, even in knowing this before hand, you will still feel He has turned away. Only by the process of being in the Light can you deeply feel for those in darkness, who have no access to this Light, to its beauty, its comfort, its penetration, its illumination, nor the security one has when the Light is present.

LIGHT AND HOPELESSNESS

To be without Light, is to be without hope. When the light departs, the glory departs and all thoughts of a good future vanish. As thoughtless as you may think this process is, God must allow you to experience this darkness, so you can fully comprehend that without Him, you really can do nothing. His presence holds all matter together. It is only with His presence that you, without reservation, know that with “full” faith you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Notice this verse does not say you can do all things because of Christ, but “through Christ.”

The only way you can grasp the depth of this subtle difference is for God to lift His light from you for a season. When He does this, things will get very, very dark and you will not only notice the absence of His presence and His light, you will feel the loss of the Light as you no longer feel it penetrating you, nor do you feel yourself absorbing it.

THE SOURCE OF ALL MATTER

It is in this darkened place that you eventually and unfeignedly understand the absence of His presence and your resultant inability to do what He has asked you to do. This is where “death to self” is actually experienced - the death of any thought that you actually have the capability to do anything or have any merit in yourself that is worth while in the Kingdom. You will no longer think God is fortunate that you are on His side.

THREE PHASES

The Dark Night of the Spirit does not speedily come and go. There are three long phases of the Dark Night of the Spirit and you must go through them all. First, you will feel abandoned by everyone, and at times, even abandoned by God. Second, you will recognize you are incapable of completing the task you were sent to do and you will battle with the deepest sense of low self worth and sense of failure you have yet encountered. Third, you will recognize that only God can finish the task He gave you. Eventually, you will find that He will still use you to do it, but in His strength, not yours and in a manner you least expected.

It is in the Dark Night of the Spirit that you will learn what it means to be able to give thanks in all things for this is the will of God through Christ Jesus concerning you. Without this experience, it would be extremely difficult for you to consistently do this, especially to do it by grasping why the Lord allowed your deepest pain to come to you. By then end of the Final Dark Night, you will grasp this and like thousands of others before you, weep with gratitude as you marvel at God’s patience with you.

We’ll look at these three phases of the Dark Night of the Spirit and more in the next post.

Blessings,

John Paul Jackson

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Holy Rooms are full of Light due to God’s presence. After all nothing can be holy without Him. This last Room of Mystery is so full of that Light it is hard to fully notice its’ smallish dimensions. The tapestry of the Cherubim hangs ten cubits or fifteen feet above your head. This Mysterious room is the Room of the Spirit. It is much like your spirit, which is held in an area within you that is much smaller than the rest of you. God, who is Spirit, who is also Light, radiates His Presence through His Spirit here, both in the Tabernacle and within you.

WHAT IS GOD AFTER IN THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SPIRIT?

To make it into this room, you had to crucify your flesh in the Outer Court. Next, you trudged through the Dark Night of the Soul in the Holy Place. However, you have yet to experience the more formidable Dark Night of the Spirit.

The grip sin once had on your life was broken in the journey through the Outer Court, the grip of personal agendas through emotions, intellect, and stubbornness was broken in the Holy Place. But, here in the Holy of Holies, there is one more breaking that has to take place, and that is the breaking of the deep seeded root of your own personal capability. In other words, up to this point you actually think you can accomplish what God called you to do.

This root of self-sufficiency runs deep in you. You are programmed with it from a very young age. What is the evidence of this root in you? Well, the thought is deceptive because when you have it, it actually seems to be a holy thought, at least at first. What is this thought? It is the thought that you actually have the ability to accomplish what God has asked and called you to accomplish. Personally said, it is the “I can do it” syndrome.

THE ART OF BROKENNESS IS FOUND HERE

Some errantly believe that brokenness brings the onset of each of the Dark Nights. This is not accurate. Truth be told, all Dark Nights bring brokenness and true brokenness does not come from just one experience of the Dark Night, it come in layers of experiences that prepare you for the next experience. Said another way, we can take a look at the pruning process spoken of by Jesus.

THE COST OF NEW WINE

Jesus is the branch; you are the vine coming from that branch. If the branch does not bear fruit, He cuts off the branch. Why? Because He is not looking for beautiful branches, He is looking for lots of fruit or grapes. This is parallel to the Outer Court. If the branch does bear fruit He still prunes the branch; again to produce more grapes. We tend to think that this pruning is brokenness, but not so. It is parallel to the Holy Place of the Sanctuary.

Some think that when the grapes are gathered brokenness has been achieved, once again this is not so, it is simply the harvest. However, it is the joy of harvest that makes the depth of the Dark Night that much more effective in working its work within you. None-the-less, there is one more process that perfects the deepest form of brokenness.

“And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me.” Job 30:16

For those of you who are up for it, God is actually looking for much more than grapes. God will look over all the grapes for the choicest ones and those He selects will then be thrown into His wine press and slowly turned into wine. Here in the wine press of God, you will lose all shape and form of who you once were. You will be crushed, pulverized, and beaten to a point where no shape, not even the semblance of you is left, and what is left is culled off and discarded. Only the bare essence of who you once were remains, and that lies formless in the vat below. God will then pour you into a barrel and store you in darkness until the perfect time for your release.

At that most perfect of all moments, God will then pour you out on the people He takes you to. And those He brings across your path, will drink from you and be filled with God’s goodness, the rich goodness that God took so much effort to produce in you. At this time in your life you can be poured into any shape of container the Lord desires you to be poured into. This moment is worth the wait for both you and them.

There is a wine whose quality only comes through the Dark Night of the Spirit. Some of you, without knowing it are nearly ready to be uncorked. Others of you are just starting this process, still others are in the barrel and are on hold. Be patient. A few of you are not sure you want to take up this cross at this time. We’ll address that in a later Dark Night post.

There is much more to come.

Posts will come faster from this point forward, so please look each week.

Blessings,

John Paul Jackson

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-5

By now you are probably thinking you are near the end of this journey - wrong! The deeper things are yet to be absorbed. However, in order to absorb everything, at the most optimal rate, every once in a while you must stop and reassess where you have been and where you are in light of the Journey. Often, it is these simple moments of reassessment that opens the deeper mysteries. It is time for you to seize that moment.

GREAT MYSTERY

The Tabernacle was a great mystery for the Hebrew children and it must have been an even stranger sight for those on the outside who knew nothing about it. Just watching the six thousand men it took to break down, move, and set up the tabernacle was intimidating in its self, not to mention the Pillar of Fire that some think reached up three hundred feet into the Sky. God sure knows how to make His presence known. At the same time you have probably wondered, like many of us, why God does not do more signs and wonders like this. It is my suspicion that it is not God that has changed, but us. But, I have digressed from the topic at hand.

When you walk through the interior of the Tabernacle it preserves a certain sense of majesty and Awe. Then, as you enter the Rooms of Mystery, or Sanctuary, that sense of Awe is magnified hundreds of times. The fact is, in the truest sense, the palpable presence of mystery and Awe increases with each step you take. The spiritual wonder that all who enter here experience eclipses words and yet the basics are easily explained. It is the intensifying atmosphere of God’s presence that becomes the inexplicable. One has to experience it to fully understand the difficulty of the finite trying to explain the infinite. Mere words fall light years short of even coming close to expressing this moment.

THE LAW AND THE SPIRIT

The two covered rooms you are in, also represent the Law and Spirit. In the Holy Place, the room you were in just before the Veil that separates it from the Holy of Holies rose, you were expected to follow the letter of the Law. Thus, perseverance, intellect and passion were greatly needed in order to unlock the understanding of the laws, statutes, and ordinances that tell you what you can and cannot do. Therefore, in order to strictly follow the Law, the soul became greatly valued.

MAN GETS HIS DESIRE

Adam and Eve thought they could come close to God and even become god-like through the noesis gained from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus, in returning mankind to Himself, God let man start by using the soul they so errantly thought they needed. It was as if God said, “If mankind wants to serve Me through their soul, I’ll let them try it. The result was three hundred and sixty plus laws that it took a genius to figure out, not to mention the ebbs and flows of passion and raw stubbornness that it took to carry out the rigorous demands of the Law.

THE MYSTERY OF THE HEART

However, you are not in the Holy Place, you are now in the Holy of Holies. Here in the Holiest of all the Rooms, where God who is Spirit and Light dwells, the Law is not seen, though it is present. Where is it? It’s inside the heart of the Ark of the Covenant and in a strangely mystical way, it has been making its way into your heart from the moment you entered the Tabernacle. If you step back and study the layout of the Tabernacle, you will see that the Law is encased inside the deepest room of all the rooms, the room inside the Ark. You cannot get inside this room, but it can, and will, get inside you.

Henceforth, as the prophets of old wrote, the law gets written on your heart and not on tablets of stone. The transfer from stone to flesh has been made. Once this occurred, man would no longer need to worship God through their soul, but with their spirit - God longed for this day to come, however, in His justice He could not do so until Jesus - in the fullness of time, justified the transfer. This is what the apostle Paul was expressing in Romans 8 and many other places as he wrote about the Law and the Spirit.

The Journey you have been on through the Tabernacle depicts that transfer or transition and that transition has transformed you. Until you entered this Room of Spirit, it was hard to understand the importance of this Holy Transition. Now you are a little more enlightened, but only a little, as there are volumes of understanding yet to be gleaned.

SPIRITUAL INACCESSABILITY

Thus you find the Holy Place and the Outer Court is about the Stone Tablets of the Law, while the Holy of Holies is concerned with the Spirit of the Law. For a time the two Rooms were separated by a Veil (and you thought we’d never get to this topic - well, we’re closer). By its weighty presence and beauty alone, the Veil kept the Soul in it’s place and sadly, at the same time, it kept the Spirit in its place as well. One might broadly say that with the tearing of the flesh of Jesus, the Holy Spirit could come to write on your heart. Until that tearing took place, the Spirit had little access to our spirit. More on that topic in another posting.

IMAGO DEI

You might remember, if you have been following this blog, that in some of my earliest writings on this topic we discovered the Tabernacle is both a depiction of the construct of Heaven and of God; simultaneously it is also a construct of man made in the “imago dei” or image of God. Therefore, if you continue that line of thought, the dimension of the Tabernacle’s layout and your layout is similar.

Now the shocker - the soul is larger than the spirit - about one third larger, and it loves to use its bulk to rule. In fact, your soul is a “bully” and if it cannot rule by deception, it will rule through compulsion. Thus the Law and the Soul found themselves inextricably twisted together for about fifteen hundred years. The Flesh or Carnal nature formed by this cohesion would only be undone by the tearing of the flesh of the ONE who had not succumbed to the souls rule. So we find, the sacrifice of the Holy in order to change by reversal the bondage of the profane.

Said another way, prior to the giving of the law, man followed God with the flesh, meaning man followed God in various and sundry carnal ways. The result was the Flood of Noah and later the Tower of Babel. Subsequently, with the giving of the Law, man would follow God with his soul - mind, will, and emotions. So man was left to search out the various laws, ordinances, statutes, that were given and intellectually find a way to live within them. However, with the fulfillment or the word of the Prophets, the Law would be written inside you, on the tablets of the flesh of your heart. Until that change took place, the spirit of a man could not rule his soul nor his flesh and the battle raged on.

Then came Jesus.

Blessings,

John Paul Jackson

The first Ark, the Ark of Noah, was to save man and was made from wood covered by tar or pitch. But, it was inferior in-so-much-as it only saved eight people. It did not make a way to save mankind. A better Ark was coming. The second Ark, the Ark of the Tabernacle of Moses, is also made with wood but instead of being covered with pitch, it is covered with Gold. The wood that it is made from represents humanity or mankind. More specifically it prophetically represents Jesus the Messiah who came in the form of man and in doing so made himself of no Heavenly reputation. Wood is common, and the prophet Isaiah wrote that the beaten and crucified one would be common or uncomely.

COMMON AND UNCOMELY

Yet, as common as Jesus made Himself to be in the view of mankind, He was far from common in the view of Heaven. The wood of the wooden Ark covered with Gold depicts this reality - fully man and simultaneously fully God; two materials, two natures, in one person. It’s representation is prophetically clear - God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:15-16) and there was found no sin in Him. The solid Gold Crown around the edge of the top of the Ark is the Crown of the only one worthy of having every knee bow and every tongue confess His lordship over all.

As you continue to gaze at the sight before you, you can still see details of the Ark. Looking through the brilliant white light you are still able to the drops of blood from the Lamb of God, blood Jesus shed. These drops of blood are the only reason you are not consumed as you stand here. It is by the blood of Jesus that your sin is given Mercy. In other words the blood allows the Mercy Seat to extend Mercy to you. Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy starts to take on new meaning and tears of gratitude course down your cheeks as you are touched by this personal reality.

ATMOSPHERE

In this atmosphere and in the presence of the “All Knowing” you remember this blood first prophetically emerged as being significant at the first Passover.  Here, in the confines of slavery, the Angel of Death, judged the ten gods of Egypt, and passed over those Children of Israel who had applied the blood of the Lamb on the four sides of the doorposts of their house. In effect their house became their Ark for that night and it too foretold of the Ark you now stand before. Amazingly enough, the Ark in this tiny room foretells of the plan of God and the salvation of mankind. How intricate are the ways of God - the more we know, it seems we know less than we knew before we knew. Each level of new understanding unveils ten deeper levels we never knew were there.

NEW JERUSALEM

The blood sprinkled on this Ark allows the brightness of the Glory of God to become a visible manifestation above this seventh piece of furniture in the Tabernacle - the Mercy Seat. Because of the blood of the Lamb, God is now justified in making His presence known to man. It is still true today. The Mercy Seat is the only piece of furniture where the Glory of God dwelt in brightness or “self-radiant” light. It sits in this 10 cubit X 10 cubit X 10 cubit (1,000 square cubits) room. You might have noticed that this, the smallest of rooms in the Tabernacle, is “four square” and it prophetically represents the New Jerusalem that is to come where there is no need for the sun, for the Glory of God illuminates it and the Lamb of God is its light.

Thus there is no need for the Sun, nor for a Lampstand in this final Room of Mystery - God illumines it and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is there.

Blessings,

John Paul

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”  Romans 3:23-26

The Cherubim and the Mercy Seat are made from one piece of gold. This not only indicates the “oneness” of Heaven, it indicates the intricate relationship of God and all who are in the Throne Room of Heaven, including His angelic messengers. Here in this close union, God thinks what He wants to accomplish and the angels carry it out., few if any words need be used. The speed of thought prevails due to the fact that far too often you need answers to you prayers just that fast.

THE SPACE

As your eyes become more in-tune with the Spiritual realm, your gaze begins to turn from the Cherubim to the space between the two guardians whose wings arch over a seeming empty void. This is the GOD space and is so powerful, that if the Living Light were not there, it might actually become a black hole sucking in any energy that comes near it, but the Eternal Light of Life is there and His radiant splendor is penetrating you more than you could have imagined before this experience. This space is far from absorbing all life - it is giving all life. In fact, it enters your mind that if it were not for this Living Light, there would be no life on Planet Earth.

DIVINE METAPHOR

In the New Testament (Romans 3:25), the Greek word for Propitiation is ‘hilasterion’ and is literally translated “Mercy Seat”. It is used here where the author of Hebrews writes that God presented Christ as a propitiation or ‘mercy seat’ to demonstrate the righteousness of God. So when you are looking upon this Empty Space called the Mercy Seat, you are looking upon a Divine prophetic metaphor of Jesus, the coming Messiah, the Mercy Seat - who now has come. Is it any wonder Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” John 5:39. All things in Scripture speak of Him.

ABSORBING KNOWLEDGE

Still, knowledge is being pummeled through you, here you are becoming living knowledge and you grasp  that the root word for “Mercy Seat” is the same root word used for “atonement”. It means to cover, cancel, appease, or cleanse. The Mercy Seat is not just a seat it is a covering. Thus the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled over the Mercy Seat giving full and pure justification for God not giving you what you deserve - instead God extended Mercy to you. It is increasingly clear that the Mercy Seat did not derive its worth from the purity of its gold covering, but from the fact that this is the place where the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled in the presence of God. Here, in the mystery of this room is another mystery, the shedding of blood covers sin and it has been that way from the beginning. God shed the blood of an animal to cover the sin of Adam and Eve and He has shed the blood of His Son to cover you. You marvel at how tightly God weaves all things together.

THE DOOR TO THE ARK

It is not long before Divine curiosity begins to overwhelm your mind and you begin to search for the door into the Ark so you can see what is inside. Where is the door through which they put the Stone Tablets, The bowl of Manna, and the Rod that Budded? It does not take you long to find there is no door, no trick latch, no way into the Ark, except by lifting the Mercy Seat that covers the Ark. You are startled at this flood of understanding. You realize why you are to never circumvent God’s Mercy to get to the Gifts  that He wants to freely give you. They are God’s gift to you, not yours to get for yourself. All things pertinent to life and existence are provided through the great Mercy of God. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

THE APPROACH OF GOD

The more time you spend in this room the more you feel Divine Revelation entering you, … God begins the revelation of Himself with the Sanctuary. “In the beginning, God …” begins right here where you stand and only because of the blood shed by Jesus, are you here. It is from this place that Moses heard the audible voice of God speaking to him and to all the Hebrew children. God begins to touch you from within Himself, where He must begin, for He alone is God - Spirit breathed, living Spirit touching human spirit. So it starts from within this Ark, this Seat of Mercy, His Throne, and spreads outward throughout all the Tabernacle, all the way to the Brazen Alter where He first drew you to Him - even though most of the time you had no idea He was there or doing such. In fact it began far outside of and beyond the Tabernacle, for there is no place you can go from Him. He drew you to the entrance of Life in Him even when you did not know there was an entrance.

The door which you cannot find?… If God does not reach out to man, man has no access to Him. This is quite the opposite of how man thinks it works. We think of all the things we have given up at the Brazen Alter and at each stop at each piece of Tabernacle Furniture, but He gave up far more, far before we did. He gave up His Son, before the foundations of the world and by that pre-time decision God made a way for you to become one with Him - You might say, “He loves you in spite of you.” You wouldn’t do that, but then again, you’re not God.

THE CHANGE

Unexpectedly, the majesty of all you are beholding and have beheld hits you in the heart and you are overcome with God’s great love for you. Tidal waves of tears roll down your face, so much so, it is hard to catch your breath - you get it, you actually get it - from the beginning God has been going after you. You thought you had made the effort to come to Him. He knew you were frail, but dust, and like grass you wither away so easily. So God made away for all this to change … you will no longer wither, nor fade, nor break … you have been given everlasting life, by He who, in His Eternality, has the right and the power and the authority to give such.

This last Room of Mystery is small, but it is densely packed with all that pertains to life, and you are becoming a living witness to that reality.

Blessings,

John Paul

“And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, …” Exodus 25:18-21

Slowly you are learning how to move in this new environment. Your eyes are much more active and your feet a little more sure of each step you take toward the Mercy Seat. You notice your mind is much more active than it has ever been. Knowledge seems to abound as you stand here in the Holiest of all the Rooms of the Tabernacle. It seem like you are absorbing knowledge rather than just learning it.  The eternal presence of He who has all knowledge, wisdom, power, and understanding, surrounds you and you begin to feel these attributes exploding into your consciousness. As a result your thought processes are noticeably altered. Just as you absorb His light, you absorb these attributes. It is Spirit to spirit that this happens. None of this is occurring by your might, nor by your abilities. Without the entrance of His Holy Spirit into you, none of this could take place.

THE CHERUBIM

As your eyes adjust even more to the glorious light you are standing in, you begin to locate the source of the light coming from the top of the Ark of the Covenant which is also known as the Ark of the Testimony. Barely visible on either side of the light, there are two Cherub’s. They are solid gold, as is the Mercy Seat, and all three are hammered out of one piece of unbroken gold. There is no seam, not joint, no break between the three. Thus is the unity of Heaven in all matters - seamless, unbroken, perfect unity on all sides. The Room is over flowing with AWE.

COVERING ANGELS

You begin to try to focus on the Cherub’s which is far easier than focusing on the Living Light they cover. Cherub’s are strange heavenly beings and there are two of them on the Ark of the Covenant. When there are two or more Cherub’s, they are called Cherubim, so there were at lest two Cherub’s that God assigned to guard the gate to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24) and two that cover or guard the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. These two Cherub’s probably represent the angels Michael and Gabriel.  Michael is identified as a “covering” angel or archangel and Gabriel identifies himself as one who, “stands in the presence of God.”

STRANGE MATTERS

However, this is not the last of the strange or unique characteristics of Cherubim. Some Cherub’s have two faces (Ezekiel 41:18), some have four (Ezekiel 10:14), and some have only one face (Exodus 25:20).

Further, some Cherub’s have two wings (Ezekiel 1:1) and some Cherub’s have four wings (Ezekiel 10:21).

THE NAME OF GOD

In this Room, you learn that all high-ranking angels were identified with the name of God or ‘EL’ written in their name. Thus when God described the angel He was sending to the children of Israel He said, “Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.” (Exodus 23:21), i.e. Michael and Gabriel.

LUCIFER?

There is one other created heavenly being that is identified as a covering angel and who was so close to God that he walked in the midst of the stones of fire (Ezekiel 28:13-18). That created being would more than likely be Lucifer. Though he is not identified by name, the description written is prophetically clear. If the heavenly being written of in this passage is indeed Lucifer, then his name was more than likely changed after the fall, from a name that included the name of God ‘EL’, to Lucifer.

The longer you stay in the presence of God the more you are filled with Scriptural understanding. You have learned that the term ‘Archangel’ is synonymous with ‘Covering Angel’ called such because the Cherubim that were on either side of the Mercy Seat formed an “arch” over the Mercy seat (Exodus 25:20).

OTHER CHERUBIM

In addition to those two Archangels/Cherubim there are ten other Cherubim woven into the inner tapestry covering the Two Rooms of Mystery you have transitioned through. These ten Cherubim have their wings outstretched as well, as if to cover and protect the very atmosphere of, as well as all that transpires in these two rooms. These figures represent the ten Cherubim orbiting around the Throne of God. They are not moving in this tapestry, but in Heaven they are continually orbiting the Throne crying out Holy, Holy, Holy.

It is fitting that Holy Cherubim would cover these two rooms, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. At the same time you wonder why ten Cherubim and not another number? That means that there are twelve Cherubim total in these two rooms.

THINGS ONE CANNOT SPEAK

Perhaps we are learning a little more why the writer of the book of Hebrew wrote, “And above it were the Cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.” (Hebrews 9:5). There are some matters that only Heaven is allowed to reveal. But, for now you have received some amazing insights to a very special place.

Perhaps you understand more of what I wrote in the beginning of this Tabernacle Journey, that in the Tabernacle, you are beholding a model of Heaven, the make-up of God and the structure of the garden of Eden all at the same time. Each is unique, yet they are one.

There are many mysteries to the Kingdom and you are just scratching the surface in your journey to find them.

Blessings,

John Paul