Another Coffee Break - By Regner Capener
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Preparing the Bride of Christ For His Return By Janet Van Hierdan
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Friday, November 26, 2010
Heaven III:The Patriarchs, Part 2
Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s been a couple of years or more since I quoted from any research articles or papers on the subject of coffee, but here’s one for you to take a look at. This one deals with coffee’s ability to cancel bad breath.
Yup. That’s what I said. New research has demonstrated that certain coffee extracts actually can cancel bad breath. Read it for yourself: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132100
While you’re reading, pour yourself a good cup from the French Press – the darkest brew you can get. You’ll liiiiike it!
Before I resume my sharing on Heaven, let me first wish you all the best Thanksgiving you’ve ever had. Despite the economic woes that have hit this nation and much of the world, there aren’t any of us who don’t have things to be thankful for. 2010 has been a year of spectacular change – and a year of some of the most remarkable experiences in the Lord we’ve ever had. The presence of the Glory of the Lord surrounding us and being in and with us has increased in the past year by a quantum leap.
Despite much shaking, sifting and change taking place in us and in our fellowship we wouldn’t trade where we are in the Lord for anything! The change and the spiritual growth are worth everything it has cost thus far, and we are determined to have God’s best manifested and operational in our lives. Our objective is to be readied for the Lord Jesus Christ as His Counterpart, His Other Self – a people of whom He can joyfully say, “This is My Bride!”
Thank you, Lord, for 2010 and all that you’ve done in us, with us, for us and to us this year!
When we left off last week, I’d just shared Abraham’s comments to me where he answered my question like this: “Once you’ve heard the voice of God, there is no other voice!”
Reflecting back on the nearly sixty years that have passed since, I can attest to that statement. The call of God that comes with that audible voice – no matter whether the voice is audible in your natural ears or your spiritual ears – establishes something in you that no one can steal from you or convince you otherwise by great argument.
I grew up watching the impact of my Dad having heard the voice of God saying to him, “I want you to go to Alaska for me,” and seeing the results that came from it. Dad plowed through every conceivable obstacle and ignored the odds stacked against him. Despite religious arguments to the contrary, as well as the advice and instruction of his denominational peers and superiors, the voice of the Lord rang in his being to the day he went home! He never deviated from what God commanded.
Like my father before me, I’ve been the topic of much controversy and opposition because of the path I’ve walked in God, but having heard the voice of the Lord clearly – not once, but many times – and knowing that voice, has been the steadying factor throughout my life.
My conversation with Abraham continued as he described his trek through Canaan, his journey into Egypt, his screw-up in introducing Sarah as his sister and the way in which God turned it for a blessing in his life.
One of the things that amazed me as he described his walk with God was the revelation of much the fear of death ruled him despite the numerous experiences he had in both seeing the Lord visibly and having angels appear with messages from God. Time after time after time again he would see the Lord, hear and respond and then have Satan attack him with fear.
I said to him, “You must have received deliverance or have overcome that fear by the time you took Isaac up to Moriah to offer him up as a sacrifice.”
Once again I was permitted to see into his experiences and his emotions and feelings. I understood perhaps for the first time the Scriptures that record, “…and Jesus, knowing their thoughts…” (Matthew 9:4, Luke 11:17). There is a knowing in your being that you simply don’t question. It is as clear as anything can be.
Can I deviate for just a minute to share with you a personal example of how this worked in me many years later? During the years I was at Long Beach Christian Center we had an instance where a lady in great distress came to see Dwain (McKenzie) for counsel. After Dwain had listened to her for a few minutes he called me into his office and asked her to repeat what she had just shared.
She did so and then stepped out of the office for a minute. Dwain said to me, “OK, Brother. Give me your take on this.”
The answer was clear to me. I knew the inside of that woman almost better than she knew herself. I said to Dwain, “Brother, this woman is a practicing lesbian. In fact she takes the male role in the relationship. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is tearing her apart and she doesn’t know what to do with it because she is a professing Christian.”
Turned out she was a Sunday School teacher at a large Charismatic fellowship in the Los Angeles area. She was afraid to talk to her pastor and figured she could safely come and talk to someone else who was a fair distance away without jeopardizing her position.
When she came back into the office, Dwain said to her, “Would you like to hear what Regner just said about your situation?”
She nodded her head, and he continued. “He says you are a lesbian, and you are playing the male role in the relationship.”
Her face turned dark, she stood to her feet, went out of the office and slammed the door. Moments later she came back and said, “You can’t have known that! I’ve never told anyone! How did you know that?”
I answered her, “You can’t hide anything from the Holy Spirit, and He is the revealer of all truth.”
That lady was set free that day and delivered from a spirit of sexual perversion which had tormented her for years. We baptized her the following Sunday. Her former partner, unfortunately, rejected the Word of the Lord.
Sorry for the side-trip, but I just wanted to show you what happened that day in Heaven. The revelation of what Abraham went through was nothing less than marvelous! I saw the patience of the Lord with Abraham because his heart was perfect before God. Once he’d heard God’s voice, he was going to obey the voice of the Lord, no matter what!
We talked about the time he heard the Lord tell him to take Isaac up to the hills or mountains of Moriah (his great-great (etc.)-grandfather, Shem, had his citadel not far from there) and offer him as a sacrifice. As he shared it,
“I had seen God do so many things for me throughout more than 50 years (Abraham was somewhere between 125 and 130 years of age at the time), and His covenant was so established in my being that I knew without a doubt things were going to be OK. I knew that if I killed Isaac and succeeded in offering him up as a burnt sacrifice, God was going to do a miracle and raise him back from the ashes.
“The fear of death was gone from me. I had no question that God would not fulfill His covenant with me through Isaac as He had promised. When the Angel of the Lord stayed my hand and I saw the ram, my faith was fully justified.”
Now it was time for my conversation to shift to Isaac. He was standing nearby and had listened to my conversation with his father. Once again as it was with Abraham and seeing him as a vibrant, healthy man, so it was with Isaac. Most of the pictures I’d seen up to this point (and in fact, most of the pictures today that portray Isaac) displayed him at or near the 180 years of age he was when he died. Just about any picture you look at shows him blind and feeble. The Isaac I saw was anything but. He appeared as a man in his late thirties, perhaps near forty as he was when Eliezer brought Rebekah to him, full of vim, vigor and vitality.
Thinking back my judgment of height was probably distorted because of my young age, but he wasn’t a short man by any stretch. Appearing perhaps two inches taller than his father, I’d have guessed him to be over six feet in height.
My momentary image of Abraham picking him up and laying him on the altar, arms and legs bound with ropes just didn’t fit what I was seeing. Abraham was no weakling! This guy looked like someone who worked out regularly, so his story of the events when his father awakened him that fateful morning and told him they were going to offer a sacrifice to the Lord was more than a little enlightening.
“What did you think,” I asked, “when your dad woke you up and told you that you were going to offer a sacrifice?”
“My father had told me of his many experiences of hearing the Lord, seeing the Lord, and having visitations of angels, and although we hadn’t been offering any sacrifices that I could remember, it just seemed like everything was normal.”
“What about when you asked your father where the lamb was for the burnt offering,” I continued. “What were you thinking about?”
“We were into the third day of our journey into the hills. Father was getting ready to prepare the altar, I was carrying the wood, he had a burning torch in one hand and a knife in the other. I hadn’t seen any evidence of a lamb. The two servants who accompanied us had stayed behind with the asses and the food provisions a couple of hours before.”
Isaac tilted his head back and smiled. He was obviously remembering the instant, and in that moment it was as though I’d been transported to the scene to see it in person.
“Weren’t you scared to death when your father suddenly took your hands and began to rope them together?” I asked.
“There was a momentary flicker of fear but a supernatural presence of the Lord settled over me and quieted my spirit. I had no rational explanation for what was taking place. It was like my whole being was put into a restful state. I knew without knowing why I knew that Father was being obedient to the Lord and that something miraculous was about to take place. I was able to relax as he picked me up and put me on the altar. Even the sight of his upraised hand with that knife in it didn’t rouse me. It was almost like I was looking at the event in the third person and thinking, Hmmmmm…this is interesting! I wonder what comes next. Subconsciously, I think, my body still tensed up.”
Isaac’s response obviously answered questions that were forming in my mind even before I could speak them. His face had an expression of enormous joy as he continued, “When the Angel of the Lord appeared and I heard his voice, the tension left and my whole body relaxed. Seeing that ram caught in those branches was almost funny. I just knew that God had a sense of humor in his timing. I also knew somehow that what was taking place had some kind of strong prophetic significance to it, although what that significance was escaped me at the time.”
My conversations with Isaac were wide-ranging and it isn’t possible to recount everything in an article like this, but let me recount two others because of their importance.
John (in Revelation 21:16) describes Heaven as a city 1500 miles wide, 1500 miles long and 1500 miles high (12,000 furlongs). Obviously, I didn’t see the whole of Heaven in this visit – nor for that matter in any subsequent visits – but what I saw made it almost seem as if each tier (and there are apparently many tiers from what I saw and experienced) was like a country unto itself. Do the math. 1500 X 1500 = 2,250,000 square miles. That’s the area of each tier. I lived in Alaska for most of my life and it is easily two and a half times the size of Texas at 586,000 square miles. We think of Alaska as a vast land, but it pales in comparison to just one tier of Heaven. When you cross the Brooks Range into arctic Alaska, it is almost like being on another planet!
I said all that to say that my conversation with Isaac paused for a bit as we got up and began to walk through what seemed to be an endless field. We could just as easily have been in the same field where Isaac was meditating on the things of God when he saw the coming camel train with Rebekah silhouetted against a red-streaked sky and a setting sun, so graphic was Isaac’s description.
“Did you know that your father had sent Eliezer to find a wife for you,” I asked as we re-lived that moment.
“Yes,” he responded. “My mother and I had shared a wonderful relationship with each other. It was the only real feminine companionship I’d had for the first 37 years of my life. The servants were there of course, and there were many young maidens among them who caught my eye momentarily, but the “knowing” that comes within your spirit wasn’t there. It had been three years since Mother had passed on and I was beginning to feel the need for someone – a counterpart, an “other self” – who would fulfill me like Mother fulfilled Father and vice-versa.
“Eliezer had long been Father’s most trusted servant and faithful steward. When he left to fulfill his mission, I was aware of it; and I knew that he would choose wisely and effectively. There was great anticipation in me and excitement during the waiting time, and yet I had peace.”
Re-living the scene when Isaac first saw Rebekah was revelatory. I can’t say that I fully understood what I was seeing at that moment, not having yet reached my tenth birthday, but something was communicated in the realm of the spirit that later bore fruit. Eliezer had done his job well. In a very real sense he had served as a paraklete. When he delivered Rebekah to Isaac, Isaac saw everything in Rebekah that he had desired and expected. She was indeed his counterpart, his “other self.” What I saw take place was an instant reciprocal communication of love between the two of them, and it was a love that lasted their lifetimes.
I began to think about the two sons that came of their union – Jacob and Esau – and Isaac saw what I was thinking. “Come on,” he said, “and I’ll introduce you to Jacob – Israel!”
We met back at the bench where I’d talked with Abraham. Jacob – like Abraham and Isaac – was in the prime of life looking, I would imagine, much like he did when he went to work for Laban – tanned, outdoorsy, muscular… you get the picture.
Seeing Jacob in this way made me look around at other people. None were really close to us, other than a few passers-by. No one looked old! You understand my reference point from my youth, but there were no “gray-hairs,” no “old” people. I realized that being with the Lord and being in His presence had a powerful effect on people’s appearance. When Jesus was talking with Martha (upon the occasion of Lazarus having died) He said to her, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (See John 11:25-26)
No kidding! All Jesus had to do was speak Lazarus’ name and he came forth out of the tomb alive and restored! Ditto for me when I was 41 years of age. When Della spoke life back into me and the doctor later did a complete physical, he told me that I had all the markings and youth of someone at least 20 years my junior. Gone were the traces of former diseases and sicknesses that had been resident in my body. I had all the youth of a 20-year-old. (And I still do to this day!) My last physical earlier this year pretty much said the same thing. The doctor told me that my blood work was that of someone between 25 and 40 years of age – not someone nearing age 70.
It was more of a curiosity to me 60 years ago that everyone I met in Heaven was so youthful and vibrant in their appearance. Now, all these years later, I completely understand! The presence of the Lord does that to people!
Well, I’ve run out of time for today. Guess I’ll pick up my discussions with Jacob in the next Coffee Break. See you then.
Next: Heaven III: The Patriarchs, Part 3.
Never have we seen such a time in history as this! Never has there been a more urgent need for the pursuit of the presence of the Lord in our lives! Never has it been so critical that the body of Christ understand Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins!
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. CapenerCAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Prosser, Washington 99350
(509) 515-0133
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
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CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Heaven II: The Patriarchs
Howdee!
In case nobody has told you yet, you look like a million dollars! Yup. Fact is you’re worth more than a million dollars – and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Got some more French Roasted Columbian Supremo from San Francisco Bay Coffee Co. in the pot. Hurry up and pour yourself a cup so we can get started.
Before we get started today, let me pass on a quick word to all those who may be receiving the Coffee Break in their inboxes for the first time. Periodically – in fact frequently – I receive recommendations from folks who think their friends or acquaintances might enjoy receiving these posts. Sometimes those recommendations sit in a file until I can get to them. This past weekend saw several hundred additions.
That said, if you are among those receiving a Coffee Break for the first time and after reading choose not to receive it, please click the “Unsubscribe” button at the bottom of the post. On the other hand, if you like what you read, I’d appreciate a confirming “Subscribe” click. Thanks. We don’t want to be accused of spamming folks with articles they aren’t particularly interested in. If you missed the first part of this discussion and want to catch up, you can either go to http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com and read it there, or email me and I’ll send you the previous Coffee Break.
Continuing now with my narrative in sharing my first visit to Heaven, did I mention the fact that the place was huge? Honestly, it was almost like being on another planet. In previous Coffee Breaks, I’ve talked briefly about my visit some 14 years ago or so to the Garden of Eden and the spectacular colors that abounded. What caught my attention, although I didn’t fully understand the significance of what I was seeing, was that the colors were pure. It wasn’t until years later hearing Jesse Duplantis talk about the same thing that I realized what the difference was: there was no death in the colors!
If that doesn’t make sense, let me explain it like this. Whenever you look at grass, at trees and bushes – at plant life of any kind – you see death present. Sure, you see the greenery, the colors of the flowers, the trees and all, but you also see a brownish tinge to just about everything. That brownish tinge is the evidence that the plant is dying. There is both life and death present.
In Heaven, there is no death whatsoever. That said, there is no brownish tinge to the plants, the trees, the flowers or anything growing. What’s even more fascinating is that each plant, each flower, each tree, each blade of grass gives off a sound. Individually, that sound doesn’t represent much but collectively they add to the sound of the praise and worship that fills the atmosphere.
Do you remember something that Jesus said to the religious Pharisees when they griped about the fact that the whole multitude of disciples were praising and magnifying the Lord during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem? With their religious mindsets they were unable to recognize Jesus as the Son of God and therefore deserving of praise and worship. They couldn’t see that any praise given to Him was in fact passed on to Father, and that Father God was being worshiped in the process.
Jesus’ answer to them was, “I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” (See Luke 19:40)
And that’s a fact, folks! Literally everything that God created was designed with praise and worship inherent in its makeup. The fact that we don’t see it much in the world today only reflects the contamination that has taken place because of sin. Even in this contaminated environment when you come into a place where there has been much praise and worship of the Lord over a prolonged time, the entire atmosphere is charged with His presence.
During the years we were at Trails’ End in Post Falls, Idaho and had such stupendous and miraculous displays of the presence of the Lord during our praise and worship gatherings, when folks came to visit, they frequently remarked about the peace and the electrically-charged atmosphere. Even folks who had no relationship with the Lord were drawn into His presence because of the continuous sounds of praise and worship that had gone forth (and were continuing).
Sorry for the digression but you get the picture. Jesus wasn’t kidding when He said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26a)
You get the picture. There simply cannot be death in Heaven. Everything I saw reflected the life and the light that is Him! Hence, the light had a brilliance we know nothing about here on earth. The red of the roses was redder and purer than anything we see here. The green of the grass, the green of the trees, the varying colors of all vegetation were pure and without contamination. Relating back to my experience a few years ago of being transported to the Garden of Eden, I’ve come to realize that the Garden of Eden was nothing more than a duplicate of Heaven. It was a re-creation of Heaven here on Earth. That’s what Adam and Eve gave up. (I’ll talk more about them later.)
How do you explain eternity? How do you explain “without beginning and without end”? We are all created beings with a finite beginning. We have a “time-space” mentality that has no reference point for timelessness. Nevertheless I got my first taste of eternity with this trip to Heaven. Let me see if I can at least shed some light that will help you understand the concept of eternity as I saw it.
Let me start with the 139th Psalm. The entire Psalm is a description of David’s eternal existence with the Lord – or perhaps I should better describe it as the fact that he pre-existed with the Lord before he was born here on earth. Before you think I’ve gone off the deep end, let me show you how he puts it:
“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand, When I awake, I am still with You.” (Psalm 139:13-18 NASB)
It may not be immediately obvious to the casual observer, but his phrase “When I awake, I am still with you” denotes the fact that there was a fundamental recognition of the Lord built into his DNA which pre-existed before he was born. Hence, David was first a spirit being in the presence of the Lord before he was born here on earth.
OK. Don’t look at me in that tone of voice. I didn’t make this up. Take a look at something that the Lord said to Jeremiah:
“Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)
Jeremiah and the Lord knew each other before he ever was born here on Earth. That word “knew” in the original Hebrew text is yada’: to know or to ascertain by seeing, to recognize and acknowledge. There was a recognition of each other, a knowing of each other’s character and makeup. There’s a whole lot I could bring into this discussion on this topic, but I don’t want to get too sidetracked.
One more illustration should suffice. God is having a conversation with Job with He asks the following questions of him:
(1) “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare now if you have understanding.” (Job 38:4)
(2) “Was it in concert with thee that I ordered the morning light: and that the day spring knew its appointed time?” (Job 38:12 Sept.)
(3) “Behold now behemoth, which I made with you.” (Job 40:15)
(4) “Wilt thou lay thine hand upon him [Leviathan] recollecting the battle made by his mouth? Do not so again!” (Job 41:8 Sept.)
Job 40:15 and Job 41:8 make it abundantly clear that Job was present in spirit form with the Lord to see Creation unfold. The Hebrew text of Job 40:15 can be translated two or three different ways: (a) “…which I made at the same time I made you;” (b) “…which I made when you were there;” and (c) “…which I made with and around you.”
Anyway you slice it, you have a picture of Job being present to see it happen. Job certainly lived after the Flood. The Septuagint records him as being a grandson of Esau. He wasn’t there in person at the time of Creation. He didn’t live in the Garden of Eden. In fact, mankind hadn’t yet been created when God created the animal kingdom. (See Genesis 1:24-25.)
I don’t want to belabor this issue, and I’ve already taken up more time with this subject than I’d planned in this Coffee Break. Perhaps I’ll do a separate Coffee Break on this topic some time later. What I’ve been getting at is the fact that when I was in Heaven, there was a sudden realization that I’d been with the Lord long before I was ever born into this world. The Lord makes this abundantly clear to Jeremiah, too.
Many of you, in fact, have periodically had the distinct impression that you are much older than you really are (in terms of earth years, that is). Our spirits are ageless. We were first created as spirit beings and spent time with the Lord long before He breathed us into the bodies we now inhabit. Once a person gets a hold of this fact, they have their first revelation of eternity. And there’s a whole lot more!
This is a revelation that – once it begins to unfold in your being by the Holy Spirit – will give you a much greater understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who He is, His being in Father and Holy Spirit, and their being in Him. Beyond that, you will begin to see how it is that once we are in Christ and He is in us, we are also in Father and Holy Spirit – that we are literally becoming One with them!
As you will soon see, during my conversations in Heaven no one “talked down” to me as though they were talking to a nine- or ten-year-old. Every conversation, every discussion, every question and answer took place on a mature, adult level. The conversations were spirit-to-spirit, not flesh-to-flesh or those that come out of one’s intellect. Truth was communicated in such a way that it would forever register in my being, and set the stage for my entire life. Even when I’ve somewhat shuttled the memories of those discussions into the background, the truth of God’s Word was conveyed … no, imparted and engraved into my being to be drawn upon at any moment!
And, as already noted, one of the things that became immediately apparent when we were standing at Heaven’s gates was that one of the essential reasons for my being there was to have the opportunity talk and converse with just about any of the Patriarchs, the Kings, the Prophets, the Apostles – and anyone else I had a yearning to meet.
Of course I wanted to meet Adam and Eve. Enoch was a fascinating individual, as was Noah, but I couldn’t wait to meet Abraham. How he was chosen by the Lord, and how he responded in the face of contrary upbringing, contrary times and contrary circumstances was a story I wanted to hear directly from him. The setting for our discussion took place at the edge of an open field sitting on what seemed to be a marble bench. Looking one way I could see lush greenery. Looking another direction brought the sight of rolling hills and fields of golden grain ready for harvest. Behind us was the city itself with gleaming architecture and designs that defied imagination: buildings with spires, gorgeous palaces and dwelling places fit for kings.
There was an air of simplicity mixed with stupendous elegance. The sound of praise and worship continually filled the air. It was always there. So were the indescribable fragrances of the presence of the Lord.
Abraham was anything but the picture of a decrepit, worn-out, 175-year-old man when I met him. He was robust, muscular, appearing tanned and in the prime of life. If anyone had asked, I’d have guessed him to be around 40 years of age. He seemed to be expecting me and although the Lord Jesus made the initial introduction, there was an instant knowing in my being that this was Abraham. His whole demeanor communicated confidence, patience, faith and trust, along with a solid sense of authority.
I might point out that some of the conversation was verbal and some of it was simply transference of thought. Sometimes I only thought about what I wanted to say and he was answering before the words ever came out of my mouth.
As Abraham began to speak, he painted pictures of his early life in Ur of the Chaldees. I might as well been transported there in person, so graphically did he describe things for me. He drew a picture of his father as a Babylonian priest and maker of idols – one who religiously performed his duties and responsibilities to the gods he served, and one who profited immensely from his creation and sale of idols of stone, wood, brass, gold and silver. His father, Terah (whose name has been alternately translated, “Ter is lord,” or “ibex:” – metaph.: hard, stubborn and rebellious as the ibex goat) became quite wealthy throughout the years adding to what he had inherited from his father before him (and had sizeable holdings of cattle, sheep, goats, camels and donkeys – not to mention monetary wealth).
Abraham (then known as Abram) was about 50 years old the first time he heard the voice of the Lord speaking to him. He was still in Ur at the time. [This is confirmed in Acts 7:2-3.] As he related it, he was about his daily affairs helping his father with the flocks and herds. Although unaware of the reality of God Almighty, Yowd Hey Vav Hey (Jehovah, as His name has been Anglicized), he’d seen enough of the superstition and silliness associated with the various gods to last him a lifetime, and wanted no part of his father’s business in idols. Terah in fact employed a fair number of skilled carvers and artisans to keep up with the demand for the sale of idols, and his place as a Babylonian priest lent an air of authority and mystique to his idol sales.
The voice of the Lord speaking audibly in Abraham’s hearing came as something of a shock, as he described it. Used to the deadness and lifelessness of the idols his father made and sold, to hear a voice supernaturally as audibly as though a person was standing next to him and yet not see where that voice was coming from was more than a source of curiosity. It would have been spooky and surreal had it not been the voice of the Lord God and conveyed the peace, the authority and power of His presence.
It was at this point in his narrative that I stopped him momentarily and asked him, “How was it then, that having grown up among idols – your father being an idol-maker and a priest of Babylon – you were able to respond to the voice of a God you’d never seen, and apparently had no knowledge of?”
The look on Abraham’s face was both knowing and humorous at the same time. He grinned as he responded to me. His answer has stayed with me for my entire lifetime – and it is an answer which was the simple thread of truth I heard in all those with whom I conversed during my stay in Heaven.
“Once you’ve heard the voice of God,” he said smiling, and yet with a soberness that penetrated me, “there is NO other voice!”
As I pondered that answer, he continued, “Do you understand what I’m telling you? Every other voice that clamors for our attention and strives to communicate something to us fades into nothingness once you hear the voice of God. His voice has all authority, all power, all peace and all love embedded in it. His voice takes precedence over everything! It commands your attention! You can’t ignore what you hear.”
I’m running long again. This is a good place to stop. We’ll continue with these conversations next week.
Next: Heaven III: The Patriarchs, Part 2.
Never have we seen such a time in history as this! Never has there been a more urgent need for the pursuit of the presence of the Lord in our lives! Never has it been so critical that the body of Christ understand Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins!
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. CapenerCAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Prosser, Washington 99350
(509) 515-0133
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Greetings, Solutions, Salutations, Cheerio, etc., etc., etc!
How be you this great, getting’ up mornin’?
My coffee is steeping at the moment. Got some of the richest, oiliest dark-roasted coffee beans you’ve ever seen. Man, when you grind those beans, it fills the whole house with an aroma that just won’t quit! I’m going to pour my cup in a minute, and grab a “vitamin” to go with it.
You know what kind of “vitamins” I’m talking about, right? Those things you get over at Safeway, or Krispy Kreme, or Dunkin’ Donuts? Hehehehehe…… Now you’ve got it! Don’t you just looove those “vitamins?”
Lots more French Roasted Columbian Supremo in the pot this morning, so pour yourself some brew. It's Gooooooooooooddddd!!!!! Mmmmmm Mmmmm..........love that aroma!
This Coffee Break is really being shared at the urging of my cousin, Dawn. She’s heard me share parts of it and asked me the other day if I had ever written it down. Throughout the years of sharing in these Coffee Breaks, I’ve alluded occasionally to my experiences of going to Heaven, and have occasionally shared some of them with friends, family members and small groups. This will be the first time I’ve ever actually written about my trips to Heaven.
Throughout the years I’ve heard others share their experiences – Jesse Duplantis is a notable example; Steven Shelley is another – and because many of them have had similar experiences to mine I just never felt the necessity of putting it on paper. I’ve realized, however, that there are some singular differences and things that I experienced that I’ve never heard anyone else share. That being the case, my prayer is that you will receive something in my sharing that will reveal more of the character and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ in your being.
First, let’s lay a little groundwork.
The apostle Paul makes reference to something that has been the subject of much discussion and controversy throughout the years. Here’s how he refers to Heaven:
II Corinthians 12:2: I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught away (up, KJV) to the third heaven.
He refers to the “the third heaven.” OK, if there are three heavens, what are they, where are they, and why are there three? And if this guy was caught up to the third heaven, why don’t we see references to the other two?
If you’re like me, you’ve probably figured that the sky above (the atmosphere around the earth) is the first heaven, the universe (or else the realm of space surrounding the earth) is the second heaven, and God’s actual residence – the place where angels dwell, and where we go when we die if we know the Lord – is what we generically call “Heaven.” And you’d be wrong – like I was.
Some folks actually imagine different tiers of Heaven – like storeys in a huge building. Actually the answer(s) are pretty clear in the Word, and why more folks haven’t caught on to this is puzzling. Let me lay this out in logical and methodical order to clear up any confusion.
First, David writes the following:
Psalm 115:16: The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
So David makes it clear there are plural heavens. We have to go to Peter’s epistles, however, in order to understand what they are.
II Peter 3:5-6: For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
What Peter is telling us is that the first heaven, along with the first earth, perished. I know that the KJV only translates the Greek in such a way that we are told that the “world that then was” perished, without specific reference to the heavens. However, the Greek word translated “world” in this instance is kosmos (the orderly arrangement of the earth as it relates to the sun, the moon and the stars; kosmos is a term which applies to both the earth and the heavens in general) rather than ge, (soil; the solid part of the earth, the ground, the world) the specific word used in verse 5 to describe the Earth as apart from the kosmos.
Next Peter says this as he distinguishes between the first and second heavens:
II Peter 3:7: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
So the second heaven is that heaven which exists today – “the heavens and the earth which are now.” These are “kept in store, reserved unto fire.” Peter goes on to say the following in verse 10:
II Peter 3:10: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
He repeats this in verse 12:
II Peter 3:12: Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
Now Peter goes on to tell us about the third heaven:
II Peter 3:13: Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Speaking from the perspective of the current heavens and earth, John confirms this as he sees a revelation of the new heaven.
Revelation 21:1: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Isaiah also prophesies this twice:
Isaiah 65:17, 66:22: For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. … For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
I’ll deal with the subject of “Paradise” in part two of this sharing since some folks often confuse it with Heaven – and the same distinctions occur between Heaven and Paradise in the Word.
Now, I’ve said all that just to lay the foundation so that you understand the perspective from which I relate my experiences. When we talk about going to Heaven, and being caught away into the presence of the Lord, we’re talking about eternity. We’re talking about the future. I was taken into the future – actually into eternity – where I had these experiences.
OK? Are we clear? Good!
The date, to the best of my recollection, was December 17, 1951. I was shy of my tenth birthday by about four months. For nearly six years the Bible had been my daily companion. A thirst to know the Lord – I mean really know Him as He is – had developed in my being. I read the Word first thing every morning when I awoke. It was the last thing I read before falling asleep.
After I began to have experiences at age four where I would awaken in the early morning hours to see angels in my room, my mother wanted to ensure that I knew the Scriptural foundation for the rather supernatural events that were taking place in my life; and she taught me to read using the Bible. By the time December of 1951 rolled around, I had been through the Bible from cover to cover perhaps nine or ten times reading – no, devouring – it with an insatiable craving.
For three continuous years, between the age of four and age seven, I had more experiences with angels than I could possibly count. One morning, at or near age seven, I awoke to see Jesus standing at the foot of my bed. Without taking time to go into all that He shared with me, He made it clear that He was calling me into His service and that He had some special assignments for me.
I saw some pretty graphic scenes of events that would unfold – both in the near future and in the distant future. He allowed me to see the return of the Jews to Israel and the restoration of their homeland not long before the UN declared Israel to be a nation once again. I was not a follower of the news, so if there had been any reporting of any preparation for it in the news I was completely oblivious. I simply knew of it as a prophetic Word and promise given to the Jews from the Lord through several of the O.T. prophets.
During this visitation Jesus shared with me events to come in my own life and made some specific promises to me that I won’t go into right now. Being with Him and experiencing His presence at that young age implanted a sense of His Glory that I still struggle to describe adequately to this day. The point I’m making is that from that moment forward, His presence was easily discernable. I didn’t need to see Him to know that He was there.
The night of December 17th was no different than any other night. I went to bed at my normal time, and as usual opened my Bible to read before going to sleep. There was nothing especially revelatory or scintillating in what I was reading. The 32nd through the 34th chapters of Deuteronomy aren’t particularly adventure stories to grip your attention, although there were a couple of verses in chapter 32 (6-7) that seemed to stand out momentarily.
I had laid my Bible out on the pillow and propped up on my elbows to read. All of a sudden I felt that extraordinary, almost electric sense of the physical presence of the Lord Jesus in the room. Almost involuntarily – spontaneously – I turned over expecting to see Him standing there.
What I saw instead was something you might expect in a science-fiction movie, but there was nothing fictional about it. The ceiling in my bedroom was dissolving away so that I could see the starlit sky above. Jesus was there in mid-air beckoning me with an outstretched hand. I reached up to take His hand and was whisked out of the bed to be right next to Him.
Effortlessly, we flew right through the ceiling and began to accelerate upward. I glanced backward to see where we had come from and to my utter surprise saw back through the roof and the ceiling my body still laying in the bed with my face in the Bible. It was a contradiction to what I was experiencing and I didn’t fully understand what it meant to be transported in the realm of the Spirit. There was no time to focus on it, however, and I turned my full attention to the Lord.
The sense of acceleration was awe-inspiring as we traveled faster and faster and faster. Before long I was treated to a view of the earth that our astronauts would get to see more than a decade in the future. Past the moon, past the planets in our Solar System we traveled, continuing to accelerate until we were somewhere (I guessed) in the midst of the Milky Way galaxy. Our speed continued to increase until everything was a blur.
A good description of what I was seeing now would be akin to the visual effect the movie-makers have come up with in Star Trek or Stargate when the ships jump to hyperspace. The stars began to blend together as white streaks. It wasn’t long before we were in total darkness. There was no sense of direction, although the sense of acceleration and speed continued, and I was surrounded by nothing but utter blackness. The only thing I could see was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who still had me by the hand.
As quickly as we had been thrust into total darkness, we were standing at Heaven’s gates. It was almost as if I had blinked my eyes for a split second and Heaven was in front of us.
Obviously aware of the fact that I had been through the Word from front to back many times, often focusing on and spending time studying the lives of many of the Biblical characters, Jesus now turned to me and asked, “Is there anyone you would like to meet and talk to while you are here?”
Was there? Wow! Rattling off the names of people in rapid-fire I responded, “Yes, Jesus! I want to meet Adam and Eve. I want to talk to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I want to meet Joseph. How about Moses? And then there’s David and Solomon. And how about Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel?
I named off the apostles. I wanted to meet Paul and spend some time with him. The more I thought about it the more my list grew. Jesus looked at me and grinned. My request was no surprise to Him.
We stepped inside the gate. We went from what had been total darkness to total light. There was no sun, but Heaven was lit up with a brightness greater than that of the sun. Every one of my five senses were inundated with sights, sounds, smells and feelings hard to describe.
The aroma of Heaven was … well … heavenly! It was almost like being in a flower garden where every flower radiated its scent to the max at once. At the same time, it took no effort to discern between different aromas and flavors. It was a feast for the nose. I don’t know how to describe it any differently. I’ve had moments since in the years that followed where I have had the air fill with some of those scents – and there have been others with me who experienced it simultaneously.
Perhaps the most gripping thing I experienced from the very get-go was the sound. I’d already been learning to play musical instruments and was keenly aware of musical structure. The air was filled with a sound of worship and praise the likes of which have stayed with me my whole life. I’ll talk more about this later, but ever since this first trip to Heaven, there has never been a day – and scarcely a moment – when I don’t hear the sounds of praise and worship music flowing in my spirit – and brother, does it ever take many different forms!
Imagine for a moment hearing music like huge waves rolling over you. Each wave brings a different sound – a different focus – a different flow. One wave might be the sound of tens of thousands of voices singing in the most spectacular harmony you’ve ever heard. The next might be the sounds of strings being plucked or bowed or struck with cadences and rhythms we’ve only tasted of here on earth. Another might be the sounds of a million different kinds of brass or woodwind instruments. Every so often I could hear the simple strains of a single instrument in praise and worship. The music was … how can I describe it? … organic!
No, I don’t mean like the sound of an organ – although there was certainly that sound present. What I mean is that the music, the praise, the worship, the sounds of the voices and instruments literally penetrated you. They became a part of your whole being in such a way that you were part of that praise and worship.
Let’s put it like this: you can’t be there and be in that presence of the Lord and not have your whole being radiate that sound as though it originated within the very cells of your existence! And it does. We were created for that purpose. Each person becomes an extension, an addition to the sound of worship. Your very existence, your very presence (excuse me if I sound repetitious) becomes a part of that sound. It’s the sound of the Lord radiating in you, out of you, through you! It’s the sound of His presence! It’s the sound of His Glory!
The music we call “praise and worship” today is a poor substitute. But the Lord isn’t complaining about it. We, after all, are being trained and prepared for a new sound – and it’s not a sound like anything here I can compare it to. We need to break out of our religious boxes. More accurately, we need for the Holy Spirit to break us out of our musical mindsets, our expectations and the sounds we come to expect as a part of praise and worship.
I’ve run out of time today, so let’s pick it up here in our next Coffee Break as we consider the sights that I saw. If we have time in that discussion, I’ll get into some of the conversations that took place.
Next: Heaven II: The Patriarchs.
If we live in His presence, and continually respond to His voice, He will reveal His Glory in us. If He reveals His Glory in us, He will have received His inheritance in us – and that’s what this is all about!
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. CapenerCAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Prosser, Washington 99350
(509) 515-0133
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization for reprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted – provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. Older Coffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/ and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email, please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIES is a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenant with us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the above email or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
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