26. The Measuring Rod

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Then a measuring rod was given to me, like a scepter or staff of authority, saying, “Rise and measure the sanctuary, and measure the altar and those worshipping inside of it.”

The primary thought of the coals of Fire from the Altar entering into the soul of a brother or sister is their decision to receive or to refuse the love of Jesus for them. The primary thought of this measuring rod is gathering and separating, placing a distinction across all Christianity between those who draw near and those who draw back. The goal is a Church that knows she is redeemed, in weakness, and regardless of any outward appearance.

The Measurement. First, there is only one measurement, and that is the measurement of the completion of Christ. – Until we all come down to the unity of the faith and acknowledgement of the Son of God, into being a complete human, into the measurement of the maturity of the fullness or completion of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

Then, those who are given the task of this “measurement” are those living inside of and coming out from the Holy of Holies, that Ark of the Covenant appearing in Chapter 11. – We preach Christ, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect and complete inside of Christ (Colossians 1:28).

The Purpose of the Altar. Specifically, this is our ministry, to reach out with the measure of Christ to draw into the full knowledge of God all who have drawn near, all who are worshipping God in the Altar of Incense, that they might become the woman clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The distinction is actually very clear. The purpose of the Altar is to carry us into the knowledge of God – and then – to carry the knowledge of God into the Church. At no point does this Altar serve as a dwelling place for anyone to remain inside of it. Those who are dead, in Revelation 6, are hiding from God in rebellion. These in Chapter 11, however, are something entirely different.

They Won’t Go Away. Yet the Altar itself represents God’s dealings with a Christian concerning devotion to Christ, to “Yes, Lord.” These are Christians who WANT to be with God, they just have no idea they should believe that they are. They endure “the dealings of God” for years, yet all of it seems not to bear fruit. BUT – they won’t draw back, for they know that Life is inside the Holiest and they would have Life.

Peter expressed what they feel, in sorrow and confusion. – Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Are you not wanting to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, towards whom will we go? You have the words of age-unfolding life…” (John 6:67-68).

One Hundred Million. I was astonished to see Daniel’s count of those who were drawn by Fire into the presence of God, that is, 10,000 times 10,000. I have been saying “100 million” or more, only because I thought it was a great number. I did not realize that it was a number already spoken by God.

Here is another view of this same “measurement,” that is, drawing this 100-million-count “tithe” into the full measure of being clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ. – “Come out of her My people, so that you may not have fellowship together with her sins and so that you may not receive of her afflictions and beatings” (Revelation 18:4). We will consider the full meaning of this later.

Brought to Jesus. Here is the same thing again. – Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man (Genesis 2:22). And. – Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house (Malachi 3). But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming (Isaiah 6).

There are a people upon the earth today who belong to God, and God WANTS them gathered into the full knowledge of His Salvation. 10,000 times 10,000. 100 million out of 1 billion. The tithe. The Bride. The woman – clothed with the sun.

From Hebrews 10. Therefore brethren, having already a free and bold proclamation of entrance into the Holiest inside the blood of Jesus… Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith…

Do not throw away your boldness of freedom, which has a great reward. Indeed, you have need of endurance, so that, having done what God desires you might receive the promise.

My just ones live out from faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul delights not in him. We, however, are not of those drawing back into loss, but we are of faith into taking ownership and full possession of our soul.

Into the Promise. Those who are worshipping God inside the Altar of Incense are those who have drawn near, inside of the Spirit, and are now “enduring,” refusing to draw back, until the PROMISE comes to them. This is our task, given us by God, that is, whosoever will, to bring them into the Promise.

Look back at the seven overcomings, the abilities of Jesus made complete inside our human inability. We are prepared, more than we understand. God has prepared us with Jesus; we need nothing of ourselves. By His grace we are ready and willing and able in the Day of His power.

Our Two Boxes. Now, the “measuring rod” that is Christ has two parts, both of which are found fully inside of Revelation 11:1-4. Both of these parts will have a box on the Jesus Secret page, “We Are the Second Witness,” but I will include them in this lesson.

The first part is the work of this measurement, both to draw into the Holiest and to separate away the outer court. I have known the meaning of this part clearly for decades. But the extent of the second part I have known only as I am writing this. The second part will be a Jesus Secret box, Jesus speaking the full extent of “I will give” into us. Let’s finish the separation before we return to “I will give.”

Do Not Measure. But do not measure the court outside, because it has been given to the ethnic groups and they will tread upon it forty-two months.

We must have a clear knowing of God’s distinction. In our study of the Tabernacle, we saw that those Christians who remain in the outer court are those who embrace the sacrifice of Jesus and who study their Bibles, but they will not be immersed into the Spirit, nor allow the Spirit of God to flood into their souls. There is NO “heaven versus hell” issue. The issue is life or death. Life is KNOWING God. Death is not knowing God.

But what on earth does “do not measure” mean?

To Know. This is age-unfolding life, to know You, the one True God. God is the cause. Life is the result. The ACTION in-between, that which takes place inside of the human, is to KNOW.

The problem is that there are two kinds of knowing. The tree of life [to know God] was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. – For the thinking of the flesh is death, but the thinking of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6 – JSV). – It is the Spirit that gives life; the [thinking of the] flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak into you are Spirit and they are life (John 6:63).

The Door. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must worship Him inside of Spirit… (John 4).

The dividing line between death thinking and life thinking is very clear, it is the DOOR, Jesus as the One who immerses us into the Spirit, that is, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, called by some, the second work of grace. Those who enter through the Door into the Spirit are capable of knowing God; those who remain in the outer court, knowing about God and what He expects by their natural minds, cannot know God. But to understand how this issue works now in the fulness of times, let’s begin in the ordered camp outside the gate.

“Christian Arrogance.” I was listening to a podcast by a libertarian speaker who, it turned out, was Eastern Orthodox. He stated that he had heard a pastor on the radio share about having a bad headache and of asking God to heal him and give him strength that he might be able to prepare his sermon. The Eastern Orthodox speaker said, “That is so arrogant. God has already given His answer – aspirin.”

It is an absolute in the thinking of all who are Christians by ritual only that to claim a personal relationship with God is the height of arrogance. Anyone who says, “I know God; He speaks with me,” is ARROGANT, heretical, and bound for destruction.

Knowing about God. When someone receives Jesus (in whatever outward way that might happen, Jesus knows, He’s there), they are fully open to entering into the Holy Place, into the Spirit.

Yet in the outer court are found many preachers who agree with the ritualists that the Bible is NOT God speaking personally to you, that the Bible has already been figured out, and your job is to know ABOUT God and what He expects you to do. Those new Christians who are caught by these people are then convinced that receiving the Spirit into their souls is of the devil, and that they should know the Bible only with the thinking of the flesh.

“To Know.” And so these two groups of preachers are united in full agreement together concerning the Greek word, gnosis, that people who are into “gnosis” are, therefore, Gnostics. That means this to them. – Those who claim to “know God” by the Spirit ARE the false prophet of John’s vision. By exclusion, then, “We who know about God and the Bible with the thinking of our natural minds are true Christians.”

They never stop to realize that it is John who taught “know God by the Spirit” over and over. And here’s the deal. Whereas Paul preached against legalism; John, the man of the Spirit, wrote against Gnosticism.

Increasing Accusation. Arguing over what “Gnostics” taught in John’s day is pointless. Both Paul and John taught against the thinking that tries to “know” God as an exercise of good against evil. By AD 325, “knowing about God as good versus evil” had won this battle against Paul and John and taken full control of Christian thinking. The greatest doctrine of “knowing God as good versus evil,” is the contest of “heaven versus hell” as the issue of a “someday salvation.”

Here is my point. The accusation that we are the false prophet, even as we speak Christ, will increase rapidly. It will become very loud, and it will come from everywhere. God is even now preparing us to stand upon firm.

The Dividing Line. But here is the flip side – those who love Jesus will draw near, and they, also, will be coming from everywhere.

What really is the dividing line between knowing God by the thinking of the spirit versus knowing about God by the thinking of the flesh? You see, just as many will draw near who are presently far away outwardly, so also, many who appear to be near will, in the end, draw back. Many who are immersed into the Devoted Spirit, who rejoice in knowing the Word by the Spirit, do not go on, but rather, draw back. Soon they say, “I have no idea what I saw in that verse or in that teaching. It certainly speaks nothing to me now.”

Devotion. Here is the dividing line. – And no one is able to say, “Lord Jesus,” if they are not inside of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). “Yes, Lord” is the inward part and giving thanks is the outward part. Yes, Jesus is Lord, regardless, and He lives as you, but that does NOT mean that He no longer wants to save you out from the psychotic falseness of your own hades and into actual reciprocal Love.

Christians “hear” and “know” many things, but to share Hheart with God, to be the Salvation of God in the earth, requires the full DEVOTION of the out-poured Spirit. Devotion means – For God Alone.

A Line of Fire. Consider the dividing line, a line of FIRE. Peter – “You have the words of age-unfolding life.” Peter – “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter – “Let me manipulate, that is, instruct You, Jesus.” Jesus – “Get behind Me, Satan, for you are offensive to Me.” Peter – “I do not know Him.”

What was the most terrible thing in all of Jesus’ ministry? There is one thing beyond all horror, the very stuff of nightmare. – Jesus NEVER once rebuked Judas. If God REBUKES you, you BELONG to Him (Hebrews 12). Peter muttered against Jesus for 8 months before he broke, and I for 24 years, but David ran immediately into God.

The Measurement of Christ. The measuring rod of the completion of Christ is given to us that we might draw our brethren into the full knowledge of God. Those who would know God must come through the Door and possess the out-poured Spirit who alone causes us to know. Thus there comes a mighty dividing line between those who draw near, regardless of the cost, and those who draw back into their own human thinking. We do not regard those who draw back, for our attention is taken by those who draw near. We receive our brethren as Jesus Himself; we call them by all that Jesus is. We draw them into the Promise, Christ Community.

The Rod Is Speaking. And I will give to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy… These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing established inside the presence of the Lord of the earth.

The meaning of “My two witnesses” will wait until the next chapter, except this, “My two witnesses” and “THEY” in Revelation 12 are the same ministry of Christ. Here we want to continue with the meaning and extent of this “measuring rod,” or, in simpler terms, ALL that Jesus is, now flowing through us into His Church. The measuring rod itself is speaking to John, that is, the measuring rod IS Jesus saying, “I will give.”

Jesus Himself. Give what? – Jesus Himself in ALL that He is.

The word “power,” that is, “I will give power” is not found in the Greek. I removed it in my own thinking long ago, for it limits the giving down to one tiny thing. Jesus is the flow of Spirit Word from God, the Father, into all created things, causing them to exist. The “two olive trees,” from Zechariah 4, depict the flow of golden oil out from God and into the Church.

Here is what Jesus is saying to us. “I am the flow of Spirit Word out from God, living and energeoing, through you into My Church, without hindrance or limitation. I, in all that I am out from God, come through your mouth as you prophesy Me.”

As He Is. Clearly, those words will shape what will appear in our Jesus Secret box. Let’s try to grasp the extent of what they mean. The closer we get to LIFE, the larger and brighter it becomes. Life is very real; in fact, it is the only reality there is. Yet we have never known it in our souls or in our bodies.

We can understand “I will give” only out from the larger interpretation of this vision. Here is the interpretation of “My two witnesses.” – God gives Jesus to us; in like manner, we give Jesus back to God. – As He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4). Jesus returns to the Father through us, carrying all of our brethren with us, arising out from death into LIFE.

Golden Lamp Oil. I would suggest that you read Zechariah Chapter 4 in The Message Bible. I have provided a link to it. It is clear that the center part of the chapter, speaking to Zerubbabel, is the same in meaning as the completion in Revelation 10. – He will complete [the temple].

But completing the House of God by the Spirit comes in-between the angel asking Zechariah about these two olive trees that he sees. Here is the final line, unique to The Message. – “These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide.”

Living Spirit Word. Here we are looking at “I will give,” that is, the measuring rod that is Christ, that is, all fulness, without measure. In the next lesson, we will consider the return to the Father. This flow of golden lamp oil is Christ Jesus Himself, that flow of Personal, Living Spirit Word out from the Father that brings forth, sustains, and carries all things.

Yet it is more specific than sustaining the creation, for this is the Word of the gospel, personal to and out from each. In the seven overcomings, Jesus gives us all of His ability, but “I will give” is far more than His ability. Nothing of God pertaining to creation is withheld.

Living for Us. Jesus is the In-between; He is the speaking of God by which we exist. God’s thoughts cannot become anything of creation except they be spoken. Jesus is the speaking of God. Thus Jesus is for us. And when He says, “I will give,” He means that we are as He, that we are that flow from God for others, that when we say, “God, You hear us,” we know that LIFE must be flowing out from us.

Yet here is what the angel says to Zechariah. – Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!” – We are little, we remain little, and God flows through us.

Speaking Christ Personal. Jesus said, “I will give,” that we might prophesy, that is, that we might speak Christ, the same Word that is Jesus. The more I speak Christ, every Word made personal as me, the more I write The Jesus Secret, the more I know the living reality of the words flowing through me. The flow of those words causes me to know the Father and to know His Heart expressed through Jesus.

This Jesus who is giving Himself to me is utterly personal to me, and He is utterly personal to you just as much. The Words He speaks are known no other way. To share every moment of life with God is the gospel.

For Others. Two more important points. First, Christ as Redemption/Union is for each of us, but Christ as Unveiling/Salvation is out from us. Thus there is no “power” of this outflow of Spirit Word that is for “me.” It does not come for any advantage of mine.

In contrast, the Unveiling of Christ is reciprocal. I receive all – to give to you, with nothing left for myself. And you receive all – to give to me. I receive nothing of this aspect of Christ except you are willing to give Christ to me, and you receive nothing except I am willing to give Christ to you. This is the simplicity of Salvation, the only way by which the Body of Christ is “built-up,” from the sharing of each.

Clothed in Sackcloth. Then second, at my lowest point, when I thought I might have lost so much work with a defunct computer, I saw, in the Spirit, as an open door, and I heard Jesus indicating to me to step through that door. I had no ability even to respond. Then the same thing came to me a second time, the open door, and the invitation to step through. I said, “Lord Jesus, I am not able. But You are; You must carry me through.”

The next time I perceived that door, it was shut behind me, and I was safely inside wherever God was taking me. This is the meaning of “sackcloth,” the deepest utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus in all.

The Jesus Secret. My Beloved, I give all that I am to you - for others and without limitation. I am the flow of Spirit Word out from God. In all that I am, I come through your mouth as you prophesy Christ. You are as Me inside this world and I as you; you and I together give ourselves to Father for the sake of others. Give Me to your brethren, even as they give Me to you. I then move through you together into My Church as Personal Living Spirit Word out from God, as the knowledge of God entering into the knowledge of all. Nothing is withheld from you. All that God intends for creation now flows through you into your world. Believe that I am able; believe that I do this.

Three and One Half Years. Before closing out this topic, I want to comment on the three ways in which 3 ½ years are presented in Revelation. Forty two months is the first expression of 3 ½ years, then one thousand two hundred and sixty days, and finally, a time, times, and half a time, typically interpreted as meaning one year plus two years plus half a year. All three equal the same 3 ½ years; the difference, however, is how each is used. Forty two months refers to blasphemy, here and in Chapter 13. Then, one thousand two hundred and sixty days is used to speak of the ministry of Christ to His Church, whereas “a time, times, and half a time” refers to the protection of the Church from the evil one.

Symbolic and Literal. All three of these ways to say “three-and-one-half years” are symbolic, and I personally suspect that forty two months regarding blasphemy is only symbolic. However, I also think that, when referencing what God is doing through us towards His Church, there is a literal 3 ½ years, yet ahead.

When we consider the future, we know that we are speculating only, not predicting. Nonetheless, we know that everything the Spirit gives us is for our CERTAINTY in God through us, that we might stand firm. Out from this introduction, in the next lesson, I will speculate just a bit concerning the next few years.

Reading for Next Time. Our next lesson is titled “We Are the Second Witness.” So. for next time, read Revelation 11:1-13 a couple of times.

I will give to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy.

Now, the second witness of Christ is the primary truth. In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established (Deuteronomy 17:6 & 2 Corinthians 13:1). However, it is also important to enter into any knowing of “My two witnesses” ONLY out from the simple truth of the gospel, that we are filled with the Spirit that we might be witnesses of Christ. Revelation 11:3 and Acts 1:8 are the SAME. There is only one gospel.

Let’s Pray Together. “Lord Jesus, to know You moving through us into our world is beyond our capacity even to say, ‘Yes, Lord.’ We give ourselves to You without reservation, knowing that You carry us through. Lord Jesus, we give our mouths to you, that we would speak You as the life of each one, that we would make You known through our love for one another.

“Lord Jesus, we want only to be with You inside of Your glory. We know that You are able; we know that You do this, You cause God to be known. Be all that You are, Lord Jesus, now through us into this world. Lord Jesus, You have answered us.”