ALL’S WELL
THAT ENDS WELL
CONT., page 4
I
will not attempt to relate all that took place during the time of the regular
Passover to Pentecost, 2003, but only the matters relevant to our desire to
understand what Yahweh might be doing in this day per the church, including
both the Remnant Bride and Christianity.
Before these events, it was announced that the Remnant Bride would come
together with the expressed purpose of establishing the garments of skin
covering of holding all things in common (in contrast to Christianity’s
inadequate fig leaf covering of the tithe), as well as the one and twelve
government.
Because
of delays in some of the men arriving here for Passover, according to
Numbers 9:1-12 we had to delay
this event thirty days, or until the evening of May 15. As the delayed Passover approached,
there were five men plus myself who had come together to hold all things in
common. The significance of this
number five became quite outstanding.
Here are some of them.
While
each of these are quite revealing, one of the most outstanding and revealing
testimonies here per our gathering is related to the first item –
David’s five smooth stones.
Let us examine this.
One
day as I was visiting with the brothers upstairs in our “dorm,”
this item concerning these five smooth stones came up. Something very striking about this
became apparent to me, especially in light of one of the brothers. It suddenly seemed evident that the
stones were “smooth” because they represented not having hair, as
this particular brother’s body evidenced. He, like the stones, was smooth. Thus it became apparent that the “smooth stones”
were in fact a prophetic type of someone without the glory of Yahweh on them,
pictured by not having hair or being smooth.
At
first thought you might not see the connection, but I went to the Scriptures to
confirm this possibility, and what I found was entirely confirming. The Hebrew word for “smooth”
describing the five stones is the word “challuq,” which comes from
the word “chalaq.”
Both of these words contain the identical three Hebrew letters, just
with different vowel points. In
both cases they mean “smooth,” and are translated such. The first time this Hebrew word is
used, which is in the “chalaq” form, is in Genesis 27:11 where we
read – “And Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, ‘Behold, Esau
my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man.’” Bingo! That was
it! Clearly the distinction that
these five stones had was that, like Jacob, they represented one who was
lacking the glory of Yahweh upon them.
(The second time this word
was used was when Rebekah placed the skin of the kid on “the smooth
part” of Jacob’s neck, which made him feel hairy like Esau, thus
affording him the blessing – vs. 16.)
Did any of these five men gathering here for Passover and Pentecost have the glory of Yahweh upon them? Absolutely not! Experientially, all five of them were “smooth.” So, at least these five men qualified as five smooth stones taken from the brook (which contains a small amount of water, in contrast to a rushing river of the Spirit) in order to slay Goliath.
Another
hope we had was that with five barley loaves provided by the lad, we could in time
get the twelve apostles, or the twelve baskets left over, needed for the one
and twelve government. But let me
tell you another story that relates specifically to the number five and an
absence of glory, and is so miraculous that it has often given me hope and
encouragement to continue in the Remnant Bride quest.
One
day in July, 1985, Yahweh spoke to me and told me to pray. I went into the living room, knelt
down, and asked Him what it was He wanted me to ask or pray. His answer startled me so much that I
immediately stood to my feet to evaluate what He had just told me. I will not use the man’s real
name here, but He told me to ask for John’s wealth. The reason I stood to my feet was
because John was worth several million dollars. I knew John, and we went to the same church. But in order to pray for his wealth, I
had to know beyond any doubt that this was from Yahweh, and to see if I really
had the faith to ask this.
To
strengthen me, Yahweh brought up three incidences – “Didn’t I
tell you such and such and it came to pass?” Three times He asked me this, and in each case the answer
was the same – Yes, You did.
“Therefore,” He said, “you can trust Me is
this.” OK, I then had the
assurance, but I was not certain if I was to pray specifically for John’s
wealth, or for wealth equivalent to John’s. Concerning this He assured me that I was to pray
specifically for John’s wealth, which I then knelt back down on my knees
and made the request just the way the Spirit gave it to me –
“Father, give me John’s wealth.”
That
Sunday I saw John at church and he came up to me and asked if my family and I
would like to go to his exotic game ranch outside of Waco, Texas, and spend the
weekend. I accepted, and because
of the prayer I had just prayed, took this to be Yahweh’s sign that He
was going to give me what I had asked, this being the first installment.
The
next weekend, my family and I loaded into a van that had been given to the
ministry to the poor I had begun, and headed out to John’s ranch. Somewhere around half way, the van
overheated. I pulled into a truck
stop, and there was no water in the radiator. Suspecting a leak, I placed some stop leak in it and refilled
the radiator with water. But,
shortly down the road the van overheated again! “Oh boy, this is really a bad leak,” I thought,
so this time I placed two containers of stop leak in it. But that was not even enough! By the time we arrived at the ranch, it
was boiling hot again. Three
radiator’s of water later, I decided to check the oil. What I found was nothing less than a
miracle. There was not any oil in
the motor! I added five or six
quarts of oil to get it to the full mark, the amount placed in it when I
drained it for an oil change. We
had just driven a hundred miles with no oil in the motor, boiling out three
radiator’s of water! Looking
back, it was a miracle that motor did not seize up! (I have no idea where that oil went!)
But
that was not the only miracle in that already significant trip. I am a fisherman, and there was a pond
on that ranch that had bass in it, so they said. One day I grabbed my rod and tackle box, and as I approached
the pond, Yahweh spoke to me. Very
clearly, He told me – “Fish on the other side.” I looked across the pond, and surmised
that that was a terrible place to fish.
It looked like a place where the pond had been scraped out to make it
deeper, so I knew there was nothing there to attract fish. But, right in front of me was a
fisherman’s dream. Deep
water, plenty of cover for the fish, and there they were – big bass! Time and time again I cast into the
“good” spot, but never got even a single bump. Trying different lures did not get any
more action, so I thought – “Maybe He meant to fish on the other
side of this ‘good’ spot.” So around the pond I trekked, right past the place where
Yahweh told me to fish.
At
this new location, once again I tried to coax out the big one, or
anything. But, time and time again
my efforts got me not even the slightest bump. Now at the end of my own skill, I thought –
“Well, maybe Yahweh knows what He’s talking about” – so
off I went to the place where He told me to fish – the “other
side” (which was in fact the right side of the pond from where I had been
standing).
Taking
my standard top water lure, over my head and out onto the undoubtedly poor
fishing area it went. But right
away – boom, came the first hit!
Reeling it in, I placed my first fish on the stringer. Now, cast number two went out –
once again, boom, right away another strike and now the stringer held two
fish. Cast number three yielded
the same results – an immediate hit and fish number three was on the
stringer. Three casts and three
fish – incredible! But
Yahweh wasn’t finished.
Over
my head went the lure and back out into the “poor” fishing
area. Cast number four quickly
yielded fish number four, and onto the stringer it too went. Cast number five went out and it too
yielded fish number five. Now this
was incredible – five casts and five fish, all in the “poor”
fishing area! Then Yahweh spoke to
me once again – “That’s enough.”
Well,
according to my quick assessment of our needs for a meal, we needed one more
fish. So, over my head once again
went the lure and back into the same teaming waters for one final catch. But this time the lure came back
alone. Back in again it went to
the same area; but again – nothing to take home. Another cast, then another, until I had
cast at least a dozen or more times back into this previously hot fishing
area. But, as before in the other
“good” places, I did not even get a bump. “Well,” I again drew the same conclusion,
“maybe He knows what He’s talking about.” So I gathered up my five fish and went
back to the ranch house (or mansion, as it was). Unquestionably, I knew Yahweh had worked a miracle in my
life by fishing “on the other side.”
That’s
not all there was to that most incredible trip, there were many other things
that could be shared, but it’s enough to give you the information you
need at this point. Why do I bring
this up? Because it seems to be
strikingly intercessoral and prophetic.
Even as the five smooth stones represented five men without the glory of
Yahweh upon them, and even as I miraculously caught five fish by fishing
“on the other side” at a ranch that the destination thereof was
miraculously reached without any oil, so it seems most fulfilling that I
received five men here in my home to hold all things in common without the much
needed oil of the Spirit. Yahweh’s words –
“That’s enough” – seemed to speak clearly for our
gathering that the five men we had here (while others planned on coming) were
indeed sufficient to accomplish all that was necessary. Thus I cannot help but feel that this
entire gathering, though not providing us that which we thought and most
desperately need, was fulfilled according to Yahweh’s will and purpose as
foreshadowed by those preluding events per John’s ranch, and that
intercessorally it has been and will be most effective.
But how about John and all his wealth for which I prayed? Here again we find highly corroborating events. After I prayed that prayer, John began losing everything he possessed. He lost his businesses, his investments, his ranch, even his own home. In the end, John lost everything he had. But how is his wealth now going to get to me? In Ecclesiastes 11:1 we read – “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.” This passage is often quoted for those who will give to the church, but it equally applies here. John’s bread was indeed cast upon the waters of mankind. Many people ended up getting all that he once possessed. But Yahweh told me to ask for John’s wealth, and the waters of mankind that received all of his wealth, can equally return it back to me as well. I believe this will happen, not because of my word, but because of Yahweh’s word, His prayer through me. His word never returns void, any more than did that lure I cast upon the waters at His command. All I need is another miracle – the miracle of the fulfillment of the Remnant Bride coming together to hold all things in common.
Furthermore,
while John was a multi-millionaire, our gathering here was not without some
fulfillment of this wealth. We six
men (and for a couple of weeks in the middle there were seven, or one and six)
came together with the purpose of having one purse, and placed all we had in
that purse in order to hold all things in common. It is noteworthy, and undoubtedly significant, that the
covering under which the Remnant Bride gathered was well in excess of a million
dollars. One gentleman in
particular was personally challenged by Yahshua’s instruction to the rich
ruler to sell all and follow Him.
For him this was the very choice he had to make, for he is wealthy
(though he does not live in any regard extravagantly), and what Yahshua told
His disciples at that time when that rich man walked away, was decidedly proven
in our gathering – “The things impossible with men are possible
with God” (Luke 18:27).
Yahweh proved true this very promise, and we look for a greater and
expanded fulfillment of this to come.
I
now wait for the complete fulfillment, even as the ranch was a promising
in-part fulfillment and even as our gathering under the covering of holding all
things in common was a promising in-part fulfillment. Yahweh asked me to pray that prayer for John’s wealth;
it was not of me in any regard, and John’s wealth was in fact removed
from him when I was told to pray specifically for it. While I have now experienced in-part fulfillment of this
prayer, I wait for Yahweh to fulfill His word, even as it is written –
“man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh”
(Deuteronomy 8:3). (More on this
in closing.) I wait for that which
He speaks.
Regarding
the question as to whether our gathering was successful, I believe this can be
answered with an affirmative – Yes!
Because of some of the stories and truths I share here that came out in
our gathering, because of its seeming correlation with or even fulfillment of scriptures
as well as events from my own life, because of Yahweh’s purpose in my
life as an intercessor, I believe we have reason to be confident that He was
accomplishing His work in us. We
had five smooth stones to come together in order to defeat Satan and his
corruption of Christianity. And,
we miraculously did this without oil (as equally testified by the ranch
trip). The first Remnant had the
oil of Pentecost, and that made all the difference for them. But, we obediently came under this
divine covering without the oil – five smooth stones.
We
obeyed that which Yahshua taught, and we waited upon Him. But after Pentecost on June 8, each of
the men began to return home, not regretting what we had done. At this time each has returned back to
his work. In a very real sense, it
seems that we too had to identify with the first Remnant in their Jonah booth
experience. Even as the first Remnant lost their
covering of holding all things in common, so we too lost our covering. Is this then the end? I do not think so, but the results and
the plans, as always, are in the hands of Yahweh. There are still days before us before Tabernacles, 2003, or
the end of the test of Carmel, or even beyond. What is most important is that we obeyed, and that we
continue to seek Him and obey. Let
us proceed a little further in this and see what more might be of significance
in what took place and in what we learned.
Continue
to page 5 of Alls Well …
for CORNELIUS