Between the Thieves by John Haramia
There was a prolonged silence around the campfire as the speaker allowed that truth to sink in. Finally, he continued, "But I have a question for you all. Tell me, when your time comes to ascend into Heaven, what do you expect to see?" Peter, as usual, was first to answer, "The Scripture says, the LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' - Psalm 110:1 The Scriptures cannot be broken. We will see you sitting at the right hand of the Father." "True, Peter, but only half the truth, and half the truth can be a thief that will steal from your understanding. What of the Scripture that says, "For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save his life from those who condemn him." - Psalm 109:31 How can the Messiah do both? You are right in saying that the Scriptures cannot be broken, but what you must now learn, and what you all will spend the rest of your lives learning is how to marry together contradictory Scriptures. The two must become one. The truth is in between the thieves, in between the extremes. Remember Golgotha (Calvary)!" "But how Lord, how can you be at the right hand of the needy and at the right hand of the Father simultaneously?" "It is simple Peter, almost too simple, almost too humble for the minds of men to understand. You must believe in your hearts that with God all things are possible, but if you wish to understand with your heads, I will try to explain. "The Father's throne will no longer be in Heaven. He paused once again as he had before to let this truth sink in. That is part of eternity past. Do you remember when I said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven?" - Matthew 5:3 Midst the downtrodden is where the throne will be: with the poor in spirit! The spiritually needy cannot make it up into the Kingdom of Heaven, so the Kingdom of Heaven, throne and all, has come down to them. The throne of my Father will forever be set up in the hearts of those who know they need spiritual help. So when I am at the right hand of my Father, I will also be at the right hand of the poor and vice-versa. Like an ear of wheat my Father has now become individual kernels available for those who need help, for those who need His essence in their hearts. "Remember, 'it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.' - Matthew 19:23 You see, he is too full, increased with goods, in need of nothing, or so he thinks. No, there is only room for the throne of my Father in the heart of someone who knows he is empty and wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. This is the type of individual who is able to receive God's gift, a piece of God. Or stated more accurately: the peace of God. "A long time ago the Father decided to have more children, to multiply Himself, and now He is doing it by becoming less! He is becoming more by becoming less, another contradiction I realize, but easily explained. Unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. This is the love that a father has when he pours his energy into raising his children. It is the love that any man displays when he lays down his life for his friends." This is what the Father has done. He has poured Himself out, not unlike the blood you saw pouring out of me. "When the Helper comes, the Comforter, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, and whom I myself will send you from the Father; He will speak plainly about me. And you, yourselves, will also speak plainly about me, for you have been with me from the beginning. I do have the fullness of the Spirit, for I have been with Him from the beginning. I do remember all things. All things are given into my hands and put under my feet. But with the Father, even after He has poured out His fullness, there is still an overflow. This is what you and all those who believe will receive. You will acquire portions of His overflow. "The Scriptures I have referred to this day cannot be broken. They are the testament, the last will and testament of the Father, the will of God. If you are in doubt as to what the will of God is, read the Scriptures. They are the will of God. The Comforter is the executor of this bequeathing who will insure that everything takes place exactly as it is written. The Father that I knew has become the Spirit that will live in you, that lives in me. He knew that you could not change, so He changed for you. He transposed into something that could indwell you. His word was 'The soul that sins will die!' But he didn't want you to die, He wanted you to live with Him; so His word had to die, the word that was your death penalty. And that word has now been transformed into your pardon, your 'eternal life.' - Matthew 19:16 With God all things are possible! "He is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship God in spirit and in truth. I have loved Him and I still love Him and I will love you and Him in you through out the ages. In the eternity of the future there will be no houses of worship. Instead there will be temples. He has become more, indwelling His children. When every one of His children is there, then, He too, will be there in the fullness of His spirit. "Can't you see the dilemma He faced. The sheep were scattered in every direction, each one simultaneously on the precipice of hell. In order not to lose a one of them, He became something that could reach all of those scattered individuals at once, something that could correct the mistakes of all those individuals at once; the Good Shepherd giving his life for the sheep. "God is the one who has all the freedom, and as strange as it may sound, even the freedom to make a mistake, not that He ever exercises it. Do you understand? Let me put it this way. He never allows a 'mistake' that He is not willing or able to fix. You see, the crime for a God of Creation is not in having something go wrong, the crime is in not trying, or once one has tried, in not fixing what has gone wrong. Was it a mistake to allow other beings their freedom? It was not in the eyes of God. He had faith that He could fix anything that went wrong. The crime for Him would have been not to try to teach them how to be free. To be quite plain something went 'wrong' in Heaven, but He was willing to do whatever it would take to fix it. It was real freedom that He gave away, but He also kept enough freedom to solve any problems caused by His gift. He really knows how to handle freedom. He has a lot of experience with it. He knew that it would return to Him and He has gloried in the one good work and on all the bad ones. He has eaten crow, swallowing up the mistakes, so that you might learn. "He understood that He would have to share some more of His freedom, some of His time with you to help you out of your dilemma. Still, all you had to offer in return was the bondage you had turned your freedom into. Nevertheless, as unequal as the trade sounds, he accepted it for your sakes, and took on the bondage of a human body. He tasted of death, so that you would not have to. Your bondage was swallowed up by his freedom. He was not afraid of death, and when you are not afraid of death, anything is possible. Death has been swallowed up by life, and in your case it will never emerge again. Light swallows up darkness, immediately, instantaneously, like a lightning bolt. It's not even a fair fight. It was never in doubt. He has died for you to pay for your freedom, for your mistakes! I that speak unto thee am He." He paused once again to let this truth sink in. "Now, if you understand that, then understand this; it is impossible to kill God, you can only spread Him. This is why He is still alive, and will soon be living in you. Some might say that the Unchangeable has changed, but they would only be partly right. If He who is always multiplying has become more, then so be it. He has also become less, keeping the wheel of eternity balanced so that there is no friction, and so that the perpetual motion can continue. One of the unchangeable things about God is that it is His nature to change (in an orderly fashion within boundaries). He cycles with a perpetual motion this is His way. "And speaking of motion I'd like to stretch my legs, Peter, come take a walk and talk with me." They began to follow the shoreline. They walked and talked for a while, and as they did;
Peter, as usual, was first to answer,
"True, Peter, but only half the truth, and half the truth can be a thief that will steal from your understanding. What of the Scripture that says,
"But how Lord, how can you be at the right hand of the needy and at the right hand of the Father simultaneously?"
"It is simple Peter, almost too simple, almost too humble for the minds of men to understand. You must believe in your hearts that with God all things are possible, but if you wish to understand with your heads, I will try to explain.
"The Father's throne will no longer be in Heaven. He paused once again as he had before to let this truth sink in. That is part of eternity past. Do you remember when I said,
"Remember,
"A long time ago the Father decided to have more children, to multiply Himself, and now He is doing it by becoming less! He is becoming more by becoming less, another contradiction I realize, but easily explained. Unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. This is the love that a father has when he pours his energy into raising his children. It is the love that any man displays when he lays down his life for his friends." This is what the Father has done. He has poured Himself out, not unlike the blood you saw pouring out of me.
"When the Helper comes, the Comforter, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, and whom I myself will send you from the Father; He will speak plainly about me. And you, yourselves, will also speak plainly about me, for you have been with me from the beginning. I do have the fullness of the Spirit, for I have been with Him from the beginning. I do remember all things. All things are given into my hands and put under my feet. But with the Father, even after He has poured out His fullness, there is still an overflow. This is what you and all those who believe will receive. You will acquire portions of His overflow.
"The Scriptures I have referred to this day cannot be broken. They are the testament, the last will and testament of the Father, the will of God. If you are in doubt as to what the will of God is, read the Scriptures. They are the will of God. The Comforter is the executor of this bequeathing who will insure that everything takes place exactly as it is written. The Father that I knew has become the Spirit that will live in you, that lives in me. He knew that you could not change, so He changed for you. He transposed into something that could indwell you. His word was 'The soul that sins will die!' But he didn't want you to die, He wanted you to live with Him; so His word had to die, the word that was your death penalty. And that word has now been transformed into your pardon, your
"He is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship God in spirit and in truth. I have loved Him and I still love Him and I will love you and Him in you through out the ages. In the eternity of the future there will be no houses of worship. Instead there will be temples. He has become more, indwelling His children. When every one of His children is there, then, He too, will be there in the fullness of His spirit.
"Can't you see the dilemma He faced. The sheep were scattered in every direction, each one simultaneously on the precipice of hell. In order not to lose a one of them, He became something that could reach all of those scattered individuals at once, something that could correct the mistakes of all those individuals at once; the Good Shepherd giving his life for the sheep.
"God is the one who has all the freedom, and as strange as it may sound, even the freedom to make a mistake, not that He ever exercises it. Do you understand? Let me put it this way. He never allows a 'mistake' that He is not willing or able to fix. You see, the crime for a God of Creation is not in having something go wrong, the crime is in not trying, or once one has tried, in not fixing what has gone wrong. Was it a mistake to allow other beings their freedom? It was not in the eyes of God. He had faith that He could fix anything that went wrong. The crime for Him would have been not to try to teach them how to be free. To be quite plain something went 'wrong' in Heaven, but He was willing to do whatever it would take to fix it. It was real freedom that He gave away, but He also kept enough freedom to solve any problems caused by His gift. He really knows how to handle freedom. He has a lot of experience with it. He knew that it would return to Him and He has gloried in the one good work and on all the bad ones. He has eaten crow, swallowing up the mistakes, so that you might learn.
"He understood that He would have to share some more of His freedom, some of His time with you to help you out of your dilemma. Still, all you had to offer in return was the bondage you had turned your freedom into. Nevertheless, as unequal as the trade sounds, he accepted it for your sakes, and took on the bondage of a human body. He tasted of death, so that you would not have to. Your bondage was swallowed up by his freedom. He was not afraid of death, and when you are not afraid of death, anything is possible. Death has been swallowed up by life, and in your case it will never emerge again. Light swallows up darkness, immediately, instantaneously, like a lightning bolt. It's not even a fair fight. It was never in doubt. He has died for you to pay for your freedom, for your mistakes! I that speak unto thee am He." He paused once again to let this truth sink in.
"Now, if you understand that, then understand this; it is impossible to kill God, you can only spread Him. This is why He is still alive, and will soon be living in you. Some might say that the Unchangeable has changed, but they would only be partly right. If He who is always multiplying has become more, then so be it. He has also become less, keeping the wheel of eternity balanced so that there is no friction, and so that the perpetual motion can continue. One of the unchangeable things about God is that it is His nature to change (in an orderly fashion within boundaries). He cycles with a perpetual motion this is His way.
"And speaking of motion I'd like to stretch my legs, Peter, come take a walk and talk with me." They began to follow the shoreline. They walked and talked for a while, and as they did;
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. When Peter saw him, he asked, 'Lord, what about him?'
"If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me!"
Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?' - John 21:20-23
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written - John 21:25
And he made known to us the mystery of his will - Ephesians 1:9
Every man should do four things in his lifetime: plant a tree, build a house, father a son and write a book. - Plato
Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, - Job 19:23
Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness. - Isaiah 30:8
Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. - Jeremiah 30:2
THE MISSION
Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. - Amos 3:7
No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God - Hebrews 5:4 The setting is the isle of Patmos, late in the first century.
The setting is the isle of Patmos, late in the first century.
He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw: the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I, John., your brother and companion in the suffering on the Lord's Day, was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: 'Write on a scroll what you see. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. - Revelation 1:1-2
Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen. - Isaiah 8:1 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever. - Isaiah 30:8 Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. - Habakkuk 2:2
I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.'
Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, 'There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: 'Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.'
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, 'Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.' I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, 'You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.' - Revelation 10:4-11
I am ready to preach the Gospel. - Romans 1:15
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!' - Isaiah 52:7
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. - John 1:1-8