Mike

Mandii,

I agree the TWI Verbal Tradition (TVT) got way out of hand on both Paul and Victor Paul. We got out of balance on LOTS of other things as well: grace liscense, guideline law, dicipline, tough love, etc., just like all other churches. The first century church got out of balance and became RC.

I've found a most beautiful chapter in Dr's last book called about Zacheus. It?s called ?Climbing High to Seek Truth.? It really dispels the myth that Dr?s teaching was bereft of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That DID happen in TVT, but not Dr?s teachings.

Here are some of his last words to us, from that last year, and his last book.

*************************************

On page 207 he writes:

?As we pass through life, we must climb ever higher and higher in our hearts and minds with the greatness of God?s Word. We must always keep progressing to see more and more of God?s Word and His promises manifested in our daily lives.?

****

.....too many people (me included) had ended their search for more and more. We were resting on our laurels. That is... we older leader grads (OLG) were resting on our laurels. Oops! I don?t like the looks of THAT acronym. It looks too mych like OLD! And, gosh! I hope Ossifer Zix from the Acromyn Enfrocement Police (AEP) doesn?t see this before I have a chance to ski daddle outta here (SDOH). He?s gonna git me fer THIS one fer shir!

*************************************

On page 212-213 he writes:

?All I know is that the Word of God says Zacchaeus was a publican and he was rich. We learn one other thing about Zacchaeus in this account and that is that he was motivated by a wonderful desire: He wanted to see Jesus.

?Luke 19:3:

And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

?Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus-who he was. Perhaps it was simple curiosity prompting him. The text doesn't say. But whatever the reason, at least he wanted to see Jesus. I wish that today, across our nation, there were more people who wanted to see Jesus. When people ask to see Jesus today, we've got to show him. When they want to see Jesus, who he is, we can show them God's Word and the greatness of Jesus Christ's position in the Word.

?Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but he couldn't. The reason he couldn't see him or get to him was for "the press." That doesn't mean the news media, such as newspaper, radio, or television reporters. "Press" means "numbers of people." There were so many people sur-rounding Jesus that Zacchaeus couldn't get a glimpse of him.

?Verse 3:

. . . because he was little of stature.

?Zacchaeus was short. The biggest thing about him was his desire to see Jesus.

?Verse 4:

And he [Zacchaeus] ran before [ahead of where Jesus was walking], and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he [Jesus] was to pass that way.

?Zacchaeus climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to get a view of this noted person, Jesus, whom people were talking about. Zacchaeus took the necessary action to fulfill his desire. That's very important. If you want to see Jesus Christ through God's Word, you need to move, take action. Zacchaeus took the initiative and climbed up into that sycamore tree.?

**********

Ten times I count the phrase ?see Jesus? in these two pages.

Couple this with the introductory paragraph I gave you from p.207, and it's progressing to SEE JESUS that he?s urging with us OLGs to do. It?s for other grads too.

*************************************

On pages 214 and 215 he writes:

I want to tell you, whenever there are men and women desiring to know the Lord Jesus Christ, they will have that desire met according to God?s Word. Those people who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall (absolutely) be filled. That?s right. What an example of fulfilling this promise from this record in God?s Word.?

****

Again, he?s telling us to hunger for the Lord Jesus Christ.

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On pages 221 and 222 he writes:

?Jesus Christ is a physician of the soul. A physician is not needed when one is healthy. Jesus Christ comes to seek and to save, to give wholeness to those in spiritual need. He seeks those who are lost-men and women who need the Lord Jesus Christ. He has no problem ex-tending himself to you and to me, because we are the people he came to seek and to save. Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus Christ is "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him." Jesus Christ is always ready to meet you. He met Zacchaeus, who had climbed up in a tree to see him. Wherever there are men and women who really want to hear, Jesus Christ is always there.

?There is no one so low that the arms of the Almighty are not underneath him. There is no one so high that the arms of the Almighty are not over him. And there is no one other than His Son who can save people. For there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved.

?Ladies and gentlemen, whatever you have to do to know the Lord Jesus Christ, do it. Wherever you have to go to learn about him, do it. The one great driving force of your soul should be to know Jesus Christ. Who is he? The only way you'll ever know who Jesus Christ is is to come to God's Word. The Word makes known Jesus Christ. The Word tells you who he is. It is that Word which brings you to a knowledge of salvation.

?What do you need to hear? God's Word. Jesus Christ was that Word, the Living Word, who met Zacchaeus that day in Jericho. And he brought Zacchaeus to the great reality of being a believer, because Jesus was willing to teach him and Zacchaeus was meek to learn. If you want to experience the truth of God's Word, climb high to seek truth. God always has and always will seek out and teach those who are looking to Jesus Christ as their savior and lord.?

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When all these were coming out in print, we OLGs were all on our own trips, all imbalanced in one way or another, and these things slipped right by us (or out of us).

I tried to show some of these kinds of things to the CES bulldozers in the early 90?s after they had been blowing the whistle on how the TVT had lost track of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I believed them for a few years, until I found a ton of things like these quotes.

The reason I believed them at first, in the late 80?s, is because I clearly saw it the TVT, but I hadn?t yet learned the VAST separation, the VAST difference between what got put into print from what went on behind the scenes. This is the case for other things that got out of balance besides the lordship deal. (Exy, this is for you)

The print record, and also the tape, has lots of things that we OLGs were learning how to tune out. We would say things in our heads like:

?Yeah, yeah, that?s just Dr?

or

?How many times have I heard THIS before??

or

?He doesn?t really mean that. He just mis-spoke, but I?ve a hot line to the Father and I?ll correct it immediately and just forget about it.?

Us OLGs have some accounting to do. Hows come we didn?t see the VAST difference between TVT and the Word of God that God was teaching to Dr and Dr was getting into print with our help? How?s come we didn?t see that VAST difference? Because we got 'Sower-and-Seed'ed that?s how! We drifted away from the pure Word in PFAL and went back to tradition and KJV "research" on our own with no 1942 promise to back us up. And our fruit tells exactly which 3 of the 4 "Sower and Seed" categories we fit into, when ?all nine all the time? is used as the standard which we were shooting for.

We got work to do. Thank God for His patience with us.

.

[This message was edited by Mike on April 05, 2003 at 19:34.]

[This message was edited by Mike on April 05, 2003 at 19:54.]

Mandii,

I haven?t yet read you post. I?m on the go.

Rafael,

It is a little more complicated than you state.

It is the case that ?mistakes that disqualify those books from the very definition of "God-breathed" contained therein? pertains to each and every book says ?Holy Bible? on the cover. No exceptions. They're all reconstructions of the originals.

It is this complication I have been addressing, and God has solved.

Rafael I?m completely able to type with my mouth closed.

Mistakes are an interesting thing. When I studied the lying list, the notion of mistakes often entered the fray. There are some odd things about mistakes that I haven?t yet presented.

The detection of mistakes is more complicated than people think. A casual awareness of mistakes will omit some crucial notions.

**********************

One such notion I learned from commercial map making. In order to protect the copyrights on maps, the owners sometimes will deliberately introduce an a ?error? in some small side street or brook or some small item like that. This ?error? is then registered, along with the rest of the map in the copyright process. If someone copies their map, this error is usually picked up unawares.

Is this an error in the usual sense? It would sure look like an error to a motorist using the map and finding that Elm Street is a dead end in actuality, but connects to Maple Street in on the map.

Is it a lie? Does it hurt any one?

Does God have such license? Is there ANY remotely similar setup where God might put something down in a way that LOOKS like an error, but is deliberate on His part? This might take some time to thoroughly answer, so I suggest some pondering.

**********************

Here?s another:

When I was a about 5 or 6 years old, I asked my father how electricity worked. I was only remotely interested in the wall socket power, but flashlights were pretty cool, and electric trains were the ULTIMATE toys.

TO help me, my dad took a vacuum cleaner hose and lifted up one end, and held a marble in his hand. He told me that the marble was just like an electron, and the hose was just like a wire. He then dropped the marble into the hose opening and rumble-rattle-rrrrm OUT CAME the marble out the other side. He told me THAT?s how electricity works. It helped me for several years, until I wondered how magnetism worked, and the model broke down, and I learned the next level of how electronics works.

Now, did my dad lie? Was his explanation an error? Did it hurt or help me? It helped.

**********************

Next:

There is a situation in language where something can be said that?s not true to fact, yet it comes from a perfect, non-lying, non-error committing, non hurting, helpful source. When such source issues a statement that?s not true to fact, then it?s a figure of speech.

So, whenever an apparent error is discovered, one of the tasks facing responsible researchers is a thorough going over in the category of figures of speech. This is hard work and takes a lot of time.

*********************

So errors are not so cut and dry. I go REAL slow when hearing of errors, and for good reason.

[This message was edited by Mike on April 05, 2003 at 17:41.]

Do you mean... mistakes?

Mandii,

I agree that putting flesh, ANYONE?S flesh, on a pedestal is asking for disaster.

Fortunately it?s hard for us to put Paul?s flesh on a pedestal since he?s 2000 years dead. We never met him.

I?m real careful (and successful) at NOT getting into personality worship of Paul, even though I was accused of it by non-grad Christians in the 70?s a lot. I was totally successful at separating the words form the man. The words are from God, and not Paul. Paul was a servant, a worker, and God originated them and taught them to Paul. Of course Jesus Christ IS intimately involved in this process.

Now with VPW it?s a similar situation of separating the words from the man. HOWEVER, this time it?s no so easy. He IS dead, but not in our memories. Many of us DID CERTAINLY get into a flesh worship trip towards him back in the good old days, and that got worse as time went on.

This does take hard intellectual work, even in the emotional category, to separate the words form the man, but when we do we find that God was the real author, and Dr a mere servant, a helper.

Paw,

I've noticed that the time stamp Time Zones on the editing function differ from the zones for time stamp in the posting function.

I'm able to adjust my post stamps to PST, but not editing stamps.

Speed looks about the same to better.

Mark,

Have you ever studied the red letter words of Jesus Christ that are in Acts of the Apostles?

Three times Jesus makes a cameo Post Pentecost appearance in Acts. First time is in the narrative account of the incident on the Road to Damascus. The next two times are in flashbacks to the same incident.

If you put all three accounts of the same incident together, you get Jesus saying something very similar to Colossians Chapter One, the "Christ In You" chapter.

Jesus' earthly ministry words are in the 4 gospels, but his greater ministry is at the right hand of God, and from there he taught Paul what to say on his behalf. This is stated in Galatians, that Paul got his words by ?the revelation of Jesus Christ.?

We were right in respecting the epistles of Paul as greater words. Read Peter?s dying last words concerning these MOST important epistles.

Have you ever been accused of being a Matthew/Mark/Luke/John worshipper? They were mere sinful men.

Look at Mark and Luke. They were traveling companions of Paul, students of Paul's, and probably never even saw Jesus. They got their gospels by revelation, just like Paul. Paul?s was the greatest.

[This message was edited by Mike on April 05, 2003 at 16:36.]

Later. I have an early appointment today.

Zixar,

You must be getting desparate. Your debating style reminds me of the Iraq Army.

Rafael,

Who made me responsible to answer your questions? In the manner you ask? And in the timing you demand?

I'm gonna have to talk to that guy!

The data is in the tape/book/magazine record. It stuff that either sliped by us unnoticed, or things that got forgotten.

Zixar,

It's good to consider the quality and heart that went into such "disprovings" as you allude to. Bad data needs to be discarded.

Stayed Too Long,

I?ll enjoy this more when people get tired of making me the subject of discussion.

Pirate,

The kind of questioning I mean is respectful. It?s possible to ask questions about one small area while properly respecting the bulk of easy to understand truths already taught. This skill is not encouraged here very much.

This is why I don?t engage in the kind of questioning, researching, and tearing down that most of the PFAL AEs have gotten here.

In science, the art of skepticism is highly developed, and does respect the bulk of established data and working theories. A good scientist does not believe anything NEW unless he is forced to by the data and logic.

Both believing and skepticism can be overdone. One degenerates to gullibility, the other to cynicism. It?s the balance that is best.

Wow,

No. I was not referring to that. I was referring to the love and great cooperation we enjoyed ON THE FIELD.

Maybe you would have done better to have FIRST questioned everything he taught. Thet's what I did.

Karmicdebt,

This phrase ?older leader grad? has been evolving in my vocabulary due to the demographics of readers and posters here. As I slowly learned in posting, many people here never personally saw Dr?s ministry functioning well and in action, only Craig?s. Many never saw the ?good old days? in the 70?s, before the Corps started helping the adversary to spoil it all.

Remember, I do not subscribe to the one villain theory. I think we (older leader grads) all contributed to the problems.

I have slowly learned that most of what I have to say primarily concerns those who were in ANY kind of leadership position in and around the time of Craig?s installation and Dr?s death, around 1982-85. I am defining ?leader? here as just about anyone with some intelligence who went farther than merely taking the class. In MY use of leader, IN THIS CONTEXT, I mean any twig leader on up (or is it down?) plus any Corps or WOWs. It could also mean any one that served, or was in a position to help and guide.

Because I do not subscribe to the one villain theory, I see primary responsibility for the ministry meltdown (one year after Dr?s death) as being due to the collective disobedience of older leader grads, and YES, I DO INCLUDE MYSELF HERE! I think we (older leader grads) all contributed to the problems, but the GOOD NEWS is that we older leader grads can come back to PFAL, master it as we were so often instructed to do by Dr, and then resume the ?good old days? only in better form, never to be tricked out of it again.

As for newer grads, I think it?s much more difficult for them (you?) to ever become motivated to return to PFAL with Craig?s fingerprints all over it. I try to reach out to newer grads the best I can, but it?s the older ones who know what I?m talking about best.

As time progresses, I believe this situation of me singling out older grads will be less important.

Wordwolf,

For you and other dumbdowners I?ll spell out my reasons for this thread.

We (older leader grads) never really finished PFAL in the 70?s, so we were told to master it. One of the reasons why we never finished it, and why it is not well understood today, is because we were never aware of (or forgot) how Dr used HIS vocabulary to emphasize this dichotomy.

As we return to PFAL, knowing that certain words in Dr?s vocabulary pertain exclusively to the spiritual side and certain others to the physical, THEN our reading will progress faster and more accurately.

The purpose of this thread is NOT to inform of the obvious: the existence of the dichotomy.

The purpose of this thread IS to inform of the not-so-obvious: the WAY Dr described or referred to the dichotomy.

Many AEs and other problems become workable as we get this dichotomy clear IN THE TEXT of the PFAL writings.

Huh?

Carrying On:

Here is a list of some scriptures connecting with this thread?s topic.

This listing is the short version. I noticed that the extended contexts in the long version contain a few remote references to the Return of Christ. I?m posting this short list here for quick easy reference.

I Sam 16:7

...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth;

for man looketh on the outward appearance,

but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Isa 55: 8,9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Matt 6:20

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,

and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

John 4: 23,24

But the hour cometh, and now is,

when the true worshippers

shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:

for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit:

and they that worship him

must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 12: 24,25

Verily, verily, I say unto you,

Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,

it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

He that loveth his life shall lose it;

and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Acts 1: 9-11

And when he had spoken these things,

while they beheld, he was taken up;

and a cloud received him out of their sight.

And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up,

behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

Which also said, Ye men of Galilee,

why stand ye gazing up into heaven?

this same Jesus,

which is taken up from you into heaven,

shall so come in like manner

as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Rom. 1: 20

For the invisible things of him

from the creation of the world are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made,

even his eternal power and Godhead;

so that they are without excuse:

Romans 8:5-8

For they that are after the flesh

do mind the things of the flesh;

but they that are after the Spirit

the things of the Spirit.

For to be carnally minded is death;

but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:

for it is not subject to the law of God,

neither indeed can be.

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

I Cor 1:26-29

For ye see your calling, brethren,

how that not many wise men after the flesh,

not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world

to confound the wise;

and God hath chosen the weak things of the world

to confound the things which are mighty;

And base things of the world,

and things which are despised, hath God chosen,

yea, and things which are not,

to bring to nought things that are:

That no flesh should glory in his presence.

I Cor 2:9-14

But as it is written,

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,

neither have entered into the heart of man,

the things which God hath prepared

for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:

for the Spirit searcheth all things,

yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man,

save the spirit of man which is in him?

even so the things of God knoweth no man,

but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world,

but the spirit which is of God;

that we might know the things

that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak,

not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,

but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;

comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:

for they are foolishness unto him:

neither can he know them,

because they are spiritually discerned.

I Cor.15:50-52

Now this I say, brethren,

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;

neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Behold, I show you a mystery;

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,

at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,

and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,

and we shall be changed.

II Cor. 4: 18

While we look not at the things which are seen,

but at the things which are not seen:

for the things which are seen are temporal;

but the things which are not seen are eternal.

II Cor. 5:14-17

For the love of Christ constraineth us;

because we thus judge, that if one died for all,

then were all dead:

And that he died for all,

that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,

but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh:

yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh,

yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Therefore if any man be in Christ,

he is a new creature:

old things are passed away;

behold, all things are become new.

II Cor.10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh,

we do not war after the flesh:

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,

but mighty through God

to the pulling down of strong holds;)-->

Casting down imaginations,

and every high thing that exalteth itself

against the knowledge of God,

and bringing into captivity

every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Gal 5:16,17

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit,

and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh:

and these are contrary the one to the other:

so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Eph 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 3: 20

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above

all that we ask or think,

according to the power that worketh in us,

Col. 1: 9

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it,

do not cease to pray for you,

and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will

in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Col. 3:2-4

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,

then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Heb 4:12-13

For the word of God is quick, and powerful,

and sharper than any twoedged sword,

piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,

and of the joints and marrow,

and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight:

but all things are naked and opened

unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Heb11:1,3,6,27

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed

by the word of God,

so that things which are seen

were not made of things which do appear.

But without faith it is impossible to please him:

for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,

and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

By faith he forsook Egypt,

not fearing the wrath of the king:

for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

I Peter 1:3,4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again

unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,

and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

I Peter 5:4

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear,

ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

It was very surprising to see that in Dr?s vocabulary and usage of words, he reserved the phrase ?Word of God? for the spiritual side, and the word ?Bible? for the 5-senses side. Knowing this while reading and studying PFAL is VERY useful.

Here is where Dr taught us this. It?s in ?Receiving the Holy Spirit Today? page 27 (in the 6th edition it?s page 44):

******************************************

******************************************

******************************************

RHST p. 27

As we eat physical food to strengthen the physical

body so we must have spiritual food to build up the

spirit. Your mental faculties are not built up through

the exercise of speaking in tongues, but your spiritual

faculties are greatly strengthened. Things which are

in the senses world cannot feed the spirit. This is a

law of God.

John 3:6:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that

which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

This law works with mathematical exactness and

scientific precision. Anything that is obtained through

the five senses?seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,

touching?is in the senses world and relates itself to

the flesh. The Bible is in the senses world, and as

such the law of God requires that the Bible feed the

mind which is included in the Biblical word ?flesh.?

So if the Bible is in the category of the senses world

and thus can feed only the mind...

******************************************

******************************************

******************************************

There it says point blank that the Bible is in the five senses category. Not only does it say that there, but it says it TWICE there, in two successive sentences, in two slightly different ways.

Dr often taught that "The Word of God" was in the Spiritual category, like in John Chapter One the Logos existing in the beginning, but the Bible was NOT in existence in the beginning, it was only in God?s foreknowledge.

The Bible doesn?t contain The Word of God.

The Word of God contains the Bible.

Here is another one of these many occurrences of Dr?s precise useage of these words. The Way Magazine article "Ordained of God" (J/A81) has some passages that later were re-worked and appeared in Chapter 5 of Vol. V ?Order My Steps In Thy Word.?

The magazine was printed pre-1982, when things were building up to the big change over, when the 40 year 1942 project was completed. The book was printed post-1982 when these new things were fully available. The magazine has the Natural/Factual perspective and the book has the Spiritual/True. There was a change in the revelation to Dr because of the change in circumstances.

Here is a small sample of both for comparison.

Natural-Factual ......................................Spiritual-True

MAGAZINE.................................................. BOOK

If you?re called of God, ...................A person called of God

you have to be the first..................has to be the first

person up in the morning; ...............person up in the morning-

you?re working, ............................ ready to work,

you?re serving God?s people. ............preparing to serve God?s people.

You get up, ..................................A leader gets up,

you pray, .....................................prays,

you read the Bible, .........................reads God?s Word,

you speak in tongues, .....................and speaks in tongues;

you prepare yourself with ................he must be prepared with

the greatness of God?s Word, ...........the greatness of God?s Word,

[This message was edited by Mike on April 01, 2003 at 9:56.]

Mark,

I was often, in the 70?s, accused of making Paul my Lord instead of Jesus Christ, because I paid more attention to the epistles than the gospels.

If you ever did a lot of witnessing to other Christians, like I did, then surely you have run into this same accusation. How did you handle it? Is Paul your Lord?

Why don?t you search all my posts to see how I have regarded Jesus Christ as my Lord? It would save me the time of pasting them all here, and save on complaints about wasting cyber ink.

Karmicdebt,

And if your guess is wrong, then your debt increases, unless you have a saviour to pay that price.

Sirguessalot,

Allow me to address the 5 problems you?ve mentioned.

?Problem #1 - you seem to assume everyone else is more stupider than you.?

In 1998 I assumed that I was the only one who didn?t know about Dr?s Last/Lost Teaching when first shown to me. In the weeks and months that followed I found out that MANY were ignorant of it. I?ve found vast pockets of similar ignorance regarding other important topics in the record. I have discovered that as I informed myself of the contents of the record, it becomes very obvious that many others have NOT done this, and have also forgotten much. I don?t like the word ?stupid? but the word "ignorant" fits the situation. I didn?t assume it, I discovered it. Ignorance is an easily correctable situation for those meek to learn.

?Problem #2 - you seem to assume everyone else missed the EXACT same things you did in your own PFAL experience.?

I am aware of the exceptions, few as they are. I think it?s a fair approximation to say things like Dr?s last teaching slipped by us ?all.? Even those who did know about it let it slip from awareness. Many other things slipped by just about everyone. If it?s the case that my reporting on the contents of the record ?overly? informs anyone I shall throw myself into the mud and beg forgiveness.

?Problem #3 - you seem to assume that only those mysteries YOU have found in PFAL are worth the most.?

You seem to assume that I report ALL the mysteries I have found. I only report the ones I think will do the most good at this time. I do make assessments as to what is worth while, and because I am working God?s Word to bless people, I expect Him to teach me and guide me into the most worth while endeavors. I do NOT regard myself as a chief in the field, merely the first among Grease Spotters to dive into these things. IF any of you want to start digging PFAL for treasure I?ll celebrate your finds and appreciate them as much as the things I?ve seen. Besides, most of the things I?ve reported were shown to me. It?s not like I?m any discoverer or anything.

?Problem #4 - you seem to assume everyone else who wishes to be as smart as you about PFAL should be as willing as they are able to solve your riddles and find the cheese at the end of your maze.?

Anyone ?who wishes to be as smart ... about PFAL? has already arrived in my book. As far as my riddles like mirror reversal go, they are to lighten things up. I can?t assume EVERYONE will be intrigued by my style, but it seems I don?t have any trouble attracting response posts when I pose these things. If NO ONE responded I?d try another approach.

?Problem #5 - you seem to assume everyone else will marvel at the simplest of paradigms.?

Yes, I do assume that.

I?ve seen that the truth, after all the thickets of error are torn away, is MARVELOUSLY simple. Scientists have long known that ?nature keeps her books on a thumbnail.?

Shaz,

Because I look with eyes of thankfulness.

Here is another key place in Dr?s writings to note. I have mentioned this place previously, in more than one post, but only briefly. This passage is from the opening of Chapter 2 ?The Benefits of God? in Volume IV. It?s the chapter where the entire Psalm 103 is taught.

*************************************

?God?s Magnified Word?

page 14

Psalms 103 is a tremendous example of knowledge

and praise. Just the reading of it thrills the heart of

anyone who loves God. The beauty with which this

is set just from a human point of view, without even

thinking of its spiritual impact, should set at peace

the soul of any man or woman. For us as born-again

believers there are tremendous spiritual truths hidden

in this psalm that will elevate and enrich our lives as

we learn them.

*************************************

Line #4 mentions the Natural realm ?a human point of view.?

Line #5 the ?spiritual impact.?

Line #8 mentions how the spiritual is hidden from the 5-senses.

Here Dr teaches us that Psalm 103 can have more than just the 5-senses meaning we get with a natural reading. When passages and topics like this came to my dim attention in the 70?s, it seemed obvious and unimportant. I didn?t pay very close attention to passages like this back then.

Just like Psalm 103 has the potential to impart to us the hidden, deeper spiritual understanding, so do the PFAL writings. God arraigned it that way to help us go farther than believers have been able to go since the first century.

As we master the material on the 5-senses level, then God can give us the spiritual understanding. This is key #4 to walking in the spirit we were taught in the Advanced Class.

I didn?t pay very close attention to passages like page 14 of Vol. IV, or pages 23-25 of the Blue Book, back then... but... after looking at these matters closely in recent years I have since learned that this the precise point, the need to attain a deeper spiritual understanding of PFAL, where we older grad leadership balked in the 80?s. Our egos hit this stumbling block in obeying Dr?s oft issued instructions to master the material. Dr told us to master PFAL, to get into it again at the deeper, spiritual level, but we thought our 5-senses understanding of the material was sufficient.

It wasn?t.

Here is first place we encounter Dr bringing up, right out in the open, this subject of the Natural/Factual vs. the Spiritual/True Realms. It occurs in the middle of the chapter ?Are You Limiting God?? in the Blue Book.

**********************************

?The Bible Tells Me So?

pages 23-25... (......substituting ALL CAPS for italics.....)

Have we been limiting God in our lives? We must

be if we do not have all sufficiency in everything.

Sufficiency is the will of God for His children in

order that His children may abound unto every good

work. Our having sufficiency is God?s will for us; yet

how many of us have limited God by not allowing

Him to fulfill this promise in our lives? How slow we

have been to realize that God is our ability, that He is

the life of our lives, the strength of our strength, that

He is our sufficiency.

We frequently limit God in ourselves by our wrong

believing, by accepting the knowledge that comes to

us through our senses. Our reason says, ?That just

cannot be,? and so we confess the negative, when all

the time His spirit within us is crying out, ?Sufficiency

in everything.? We have been so schooled to

revere the knowledge that comes to us through our

five senses that we fail to recognize the knowledge

that comes from the higher realm, the spiritual, where

the Word of God, and not reason, has first place.

Both realms or worlds are here: the natural world is

factual; the spiritual world is true. As there are four

kingdoms in this world, and one supersedes the other:

the plant kingdom, animal kingdom, kingdom of man

and the Kingdom of God; so, there is a natural world

and a supernatural or spiritual world. The natural

world and everything in it comes to the mind through

or by way of the natural senses. The truths of the

spiritual world are absolutely NOT dependent upon the

senses, but rather on the spirit from God in man.

We cannot know anything about the spiritual

world by way of the senses. That is why Paul said by

divine inspiration in I Corinthians 2:14, ?But the

natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of

God: for they are foolishness unto him ... because

they [spiritual matters] are spiritually discerned.?

Spiritual things from the spiritual world may be

known in this world only by the spirit which dwells

in us. Then, and only then, can the Spirit relate

impressions and truths to us about the spiritual world

and make them logical. Then, and only then, do we

have the God-given ability within us, making known

to us things about the spiritual world.

Time and time again, after I have explained the

difference between the natural and spiritual worlds,

how the one supersedes the other and that two

entirely different sets of laws are in existence, people

have said to me that they were thereafter able to give

God the place He deserves. Then they refused to limit

God within themselves.

Few people realize the great spiritual truth of

Christ?s substitution and the believer?s righteousness.

A man in whom the new creation lives is righteous

before God, according to the Word of God. The

born-again man is righteous, and to be righteous

means that we can stand before God in the righteous-

ness with which He clothed us by our acceptance of

Christ as our substitute for sin and the consequences

of sin.

************************************

I?ve come back to these Blue Book pages many, many times in the past 5 years. Getting to know how all these words were used very carefully by Dr is essential to understanding his teachings in their fullness.

The key vocabulary words I?ve identified and their distinctive Natural/Factual ? Spiritual/True associations are expounded upon in several more places besides this Blue Book passage. However they also are utilized with these same distinctive associations in ALL his teachings, and often in very subtle and hidden ways.

[This message was edited by Mike on March 31, 2003 at 22:23.]

Thanks, Rafael and Larry, for standing up for the greater principle. I really do appreciate it.