The great Pyramid, Part 32

The great Pyramid, Part 32

The Grand Gallery and the Ante-Chamber to the Kings Chamber, continued

After the visitor to the Great Pyramid enters the Ante- Chamber and stands erect, he finds himself at first in a little compartment measuring 21 inches from front to back, by 42 inches from side to side. His further progress is barred by the “Granite Leaf,” nearly 15 3/4 inches thick, which has its under surface in line with the roof of the entrance passage. The traveler will, therefore, require again to bow very low in order to pass under this block of granite before he can get the full freedom of the Ante-Chamber.

The stooping necessary to pass through the entrance passage, which is constructed entirely of limestone, represents the voluntary death of the human or earthly will, self-renunciation, but this alone is not sufficient. Some on giving up their own will accept the will of the Pope, for instance. To these the Pope’s will becomes infallible, and they consent to believe and do whatever he commands (for others it is the will or decrees, ordinances of a particular sect or denomination to which they belong). This is not true consecration to God. Those who accept the high calling of God in Christ Jesus must not only deny themselves, but they must also bow to the will of the Lord.  As granite in the Great Pyramid represents things Divine, so the Granite Leaf represents the Divine Will, to which those who would enter the School of Christ must bow submissively. Before they do this, although they are standing under a granite roof (Plate XXXI) representing Divine protection, they are, nevertheless, still standing on limestone. This symbolizes the fact that they are still regarded by God as human beings, not yet begotten to the spirit nature. But as soon as they come to the decision to bow down to the will of God symbolized by the Granite Leaf, thus evidencing their willingness to ” lose their lives” for Christ’s sake, Christ imputes to them a sufficiency of his merit to render their sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. Their justification then becomes complete; and their sacrifice being now a living one, because entirely free from the Adamic condemnation, it is at once accepted by the Lord. As the Apostle states, “there is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit“—Rom. 8: 1.

The difficulty here with the majority of professing Christians is that they know nothing of this second and most important step which they must render first if they are to ever enter the narrow path which leads to joint heir-ship with Christ Jesus our Lord. For the most part the majority are completely ignorant of this necessary step, believing as they have been taught by the blind guides of Christendom that all that is necessary for spirit begettal and a heavenly inheritance is simply a mere profession of faith. Such have put too much faith in their ministers, the blind guides and as such have missed the way. Not the way to salvation, mind you, that was secured through the ransom sacrifice of Christ and is simply dependent upon faith and obedience.

No! It is the “new and living way” to which we refer, a way which leads to something more than just salvation, but to a change of nature, spirit begetting, to cross bearing, to suffering, to sacrifice and then upon a faithful completion of this course to glory, honor, and immortality.

But alas as we have alluded to the blind guides have misled the majority of believers. Even as it is written,

Woe to you lawyers! (Doctors of the Law as they were then called, but now known as the Doctors of Divinity both nevertheless designated by the Lord as the “blind guides” of the blind) For you have taken away (through your traditions and speculations) the key of knowledge (the key to the privileges and opportunities of the Gospel age as they pertain to the church and her special calling, the “Heavenly Calling”, a call to sacrifice now and by and by to glory later, much of which is taught through the Tabernacle types which you neglect to teach) you did not enter in yourselves (enter into “His rest” through faith and consecration, and thus never entered the “Holy”, the spirit begotten condition, Why? Because you were blinded by your own ignorance and disbelief preferring the teachings and traditions of men over that of the Word of the Lord.), and those who were to enter in (whom you presumed to be leading in the proper path, who stood outside the Tabernacle proper) you have hindered (misled through false teachings and misrepresentations),” Luke 11:52 and so they too have never entered in.

That is to say through your own ignorance you have deceived them into thinking they have done everything require of them, yet there remained one more crucial step. You thoroughly convinced them that a mere confession of faith in Christ was all that it took, not only to be saved, but to be begotten of the spirit or “born again” as you like to call it, and that all such believers were assured of a heavenly inheritance. The blame for this deceit however belongs to both the blind guides and the blind who follow them as the vast majority of professed Christians have long since placed far too much faith in the “wisdom of men” in their ministers, Pastors, teachers and etc., rather than in the Word of the Lord itself.

There is no scriptural evidence to support the theory that a mere profession of faith grants anyone spirit begettal.

In the Tabernacle type only those who had entered into the courtyard, who had recognized the brazen altar as typifying Christ sacrifice, and subsequently washed at the laver (typifying the washing of the word) and from there gone forth to present themselves at the entrance to the Tabernacle (typifying the surrendering of the will, consecration), only these having passed the “First Vail” and entered the “Holy” were begotten of the spirit. The vast majority of professed Christians have yet to have experienced a change of natures and are still of the earth, earthly “natural men” lingering in the courtyard, in the tentatively justified condition.

It is important to notice that when Paul besought the Romans to present their bodies a living sacrifice, and pointed out to them that it was their reasonable service to do so (Rom. 12: 1), he did not address those who were enemies of God through evil works, but those who had turned to have faith in God, and were, therefore, his “brethren” of the household of faith. The man who lacks faith cannot present his body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Not having been freed from condemnation his death would not be sacrificial, or holy, but would be forfeited at the hands of justice; nor would his body be his own to present. The death of such avails nothing, for “God hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked“; but the sacrificial death of those declared “blessed and holy” because of their faith in Jesus avails much, for “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints “—Ezek. 33:11; Psa. 116:15.

The visitor to the Ante-Chamber who bows down under the Granite Leaf (likewise typified by passing beneath the “first vail” of the Tabernacle), steps for the first time on to granite; symbolizing that those who submit themselves to the will of God, have now risen from the plane of human justification to the plane of spirit-begetting. Henceforth God reckons them dead as human beings (Col. 3:3),—not dead in Adam, but dead in Christ,—and alive as spirit beings. They are “accepted in the Beloved” as members of his body. They are immersed into Christ, because they are immersed into his death (Eph. 1:6; Rom. 6:3); and becoming partakers of his sufferings and death they will ultimately, if found faithful, become partakers of his glorious resurrection, the first or chief resurrection Phil. 3:10, 11; Rev. 20:6.

The first stone of this granite floor is about a quarter of an inch higher than the limestone; and if a vertical line be drawn downward from its first or north edge, it will be found to pass beyond (south of) the Queen’s Chamber which symbolizes the perfect human condition.

Once an entrance has been gained into the Ante-Chamber proper, it is found that the level of its floor falls immediately to the level of the limestone Step outside, showing that although those who are spirit-begotten have now the spiritual mind, the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), they have as yet undergone no change of nature as regards their bodies. They have received the Holy Spirit of promise as an earnest or pledge of their future spiritual inheritance (Eph. 1:13, 14), the Divine nature, but their bodies are still human. Nevertheless, as they are standing on granite, this shows that they are reckoned by God as partakers of the Divine nature, because they have presented their bodies a living sacrifice, and are striving to fulfill their vow of consecration. Above them is the granite roof, signifying that they are, even more than before, under Divine protection. “He that dwells in the secret place of the most high, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty “—Psa. 91:1.

Before they can enter the “Sanctuary” or King’s Chamber, which is a figure or type of heaven itself (Heb. 9:24), they must bow down once more and pass through another low entrance- passage. The stooping necessary to do this symbolizes death, for those who will become joint – heirs with Jesus Christ must rise from the plane of spirit-begetting to the plane of spirit-birth, that is, they must be changed to the spiritual condition in the actual as distinguished from the reckoned sense before they can enter the heavenly glory, for “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God“—1 Cor. 15:50 (That is the spiritual phase of the kingdom). That the plane of spirit-birth is higher than the plane of spirit-begetting is indicated in the Great Pyramid by the fact that the granite floor of the King’s Chamber is on a higher level than the upper surface of the first granite stone in the floor of the Ante-Chamber.

The emergence from the low entrance-passage into the King’s Chamber symbolizes the ‘resurrection of those who have been faithful followers of Christ. This is the first or chief resurrection concerning which John the Revelator states: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years “—Rev. 20: 6. Paul, speaking of the same class, said: “The dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thess. 4: 16), and again, “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him2 Tim. 2:11, 12.

This gracious offer of joint-heirship with Jesus is free to those who have ears to hear the glad tidings before the time when the door of opportunity will close, and all who accept and are faithful unto death will receive the crown of life, and will find that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in them, for they will be raised in the likeness of Christ’s glorious spiritual body and will reign with him—Rev 2 : 10; Rom 8 : 18; Phil 3 : 21; 1 John 3 : 2.

It is thus evident that the Grand Gallery symbolizes the plane of faith-justification; the first granite stone in the Ante- Chamber the plane of spirit-begetting ; and the granite floor of the King’s Chamber (or Sanctuary) the plane of spirit-birth, the Divine nature.

Continued with next post.

 

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