Another Coffee Break

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 139^th 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:





























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.

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 17^th 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 32^nd 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.

Solutions! Salutations, too! Hey, you need solutions, don’t you? So, I’m declaring solutions to you. Hehehehehe………

All right. Good Morning! You DID sleep well last night, didn’t you?

Lots more French Roasted Columbian Supremo in the pot this morning, so pour yourself some brew. It's Gooooooooooooddddd!!!!! Mmmmmm Mmmmm..........love that aroma!

If there is anything I’ve learned throughout the years it is that dreams – and specifically, dreams from the Lord – are given to us for a variety of reasons. I marvel at the unique nature of the pictures and experiences that come this way. These dreams are intended to communicate the heart of the Lord in a visual way.






You understand, of course, that I’m not referring to the dreams that derive from eating chocolate-covered dill pickles or some strange combination of foods before we go to bed. I’m referring to the communication that is Spirit-driven.

Because we are first and foremost spirit-beings, then soul and then body, anything which is spirit-driven or spirit-motivated and/or has any kind of spiritual emphasis will be reflected in our dreams while we are asleep. Ever wonder why you have certain dreams that seem to lack logic or rationale? Ever wonder why you have dreams that communicate some kind of message? Ever wonder why you sometimes have nightmares?

Everything that happens to you during the day or over the course of several days is retained in your subconscious memory. Everything you hear and everything you see goes straight to your subconscious memory. Your dreams won’t necessarily come out of your subconscious memory – although some will be influenced by it.

Dreams are a form of spirit communication. When you watch certain television programs, listen to music or focus heavily on the news of the day, for instance, there is a constant level of spirit-communication taking place. Virtually all media is spirit-driven.

That may seem to be a stretch or an exaggeration, but as one who has both studied (and taught at the university level) and put into practice the art or science of subliminal communication, I speak from practical experience. I don’t want to get sidetracked on that subject today, but it is important to emphasize that we are constantly being communicated with on a spirit-level.

If our daily input comes from television programs, a barrage of negative news, or much of the popular music on the radio today, much of what goes straight to our spirit will be driven and motivated by demonic spirits with a demonic agenda.

If, on the other hand, the majority of our daily input comes from spending time in the Word, listening to and participating in praise and worship music, and simply enjoying the presence of the Lord, the Holy Spirit will be transmitting and imparting the very life-flow of God into us. The result will be that we will begin to have more and more dreams, visions and visitations from the Lord.

When the dreams took place that I’ve just described and shared with you on the night of August 7^th/morning of August 8^th, Della and I had just completed a period of some two weeks of literally soaking in the presence of the Lord. The River of Life Campmeeting that Peter and Cathryn Nash (Frontline Worship Centre) sponsored in Red Deer, Alberta was filled with praise and worship, revelatory teaching and prophecy (**not the so-called “End Time” prophecy that many Christians often think of), and miraculous displays of the presence of the Lord. We had seen non-stop signs and wonders accompanying the teaching and preaching of the Word.

You simply cannot be in that kind of environment without it impacting every part of your being. Your spirit is continually receiving revelation and impartation from the Holy Spirit. These dreams I’ve just described are only a tiny part of the experiences we had in God during this two-week period!

In the weeks since, I’ve had several more dreams from the Lord – some of which confirm these dreams and add to a collective experience. Why am I saying this? Many of you – my friends, my acquaintances and my Coffee Break readers – have been having dreams, visions and visitations from the Lord during the past months or even years; but the frequency of these experiences has increased and is increasing even more!

It is important to pay attention to what is happening. We are in the midst of the greatest world-wide harvest of souls in history! Despite all of the negative news that we hear and see on television and in the news media in general, spectacular things are taking place as we come to the end of this era.

What’s it all about? Jesus is coming back for a Bride without spot or wrinkle (see Ephesians 5:27). He is coming for a Bride who has made herself ready for Him; that’s to say that she has pursued Him with a fervent love, and has done all to respond to His every desire so that she reflects His glory, His nature, His character and His makeup. She is ready because she has done all to become His Counterpart, His Other Self!

Folks, right now the body of Christ is not ready for His return! Certainly there are many Christians who meet the criteria of Ephesians 5:27 and Revelation 19:7-8, but as a whole the biggest part of the body – those who profess to know the Lord and walk with Him – are not in pursuit of His presence in their lives, no matter the cost!

Many, many Christians are very passive about their Christianity. They’ve become religious instead of relational! They have the form of Godliness but they lack the power and authority that goes with a personal love-relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ is desirous of having a full house, a completed Bride, a readied Bride who is anxiously looking for Him to come and receive her, more and more and more believers are experiencing supernatural dreams, revelations and visitations as the Holy Spirit draws the people of God. God is revealing Himself in spectacular ways to His people. His objective is to inspire them, to draw them, to make them so dissatisfied with who they are and where they are spiritually that they begin to cry out with their whole being for His 24-hour presence.

Because of the way that the Lord has revealed Himself to me throughout my life, and because of the constant sense of His presence 24 hours a day, I cannot imagine life without Him being there, living in me, living through me, demonstrating His Kingdom for so much as ten seconds. The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I desire of Him. The more I have His presence, the more I thirst after Him. The more He demonstrates His power and authority through me with signs and wonders, the more I realize just how little I have of Him and how much more awaits!

The things I share in these Coffee Breaks, the experiences that I’ve shared over the past seven years (and continue to share) are designed to inspire you, to prod you, to anger you if necessary, but mostly to encourage you to move on in God! There’s no such thing as standing still in God. If you’re not pressing in for more of Him, you’re going backwards and growing cold spiritually. If you’re not activating and operating in the Gifts of the Spirit with the Fruit of the Spirit in full attendance, you are dying a slow death spiritually.

Remember the parable of the ten virgins?

Matthew 25:1-13: Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

I won’t make this discussion a complete breakdown of this parable, but there are some really important elements of Jesus’ statements to consider and meditate on.

Let me begin with one of Jesus’ last remarks where He says, “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” Ouch! These are virgins! These are folks who have gotten “saved.” They’ve repented of their sins, they’ve acknowledged Jesus Christ as their Lord, and they’ve led basically righteous lives. They’re dressed in white. They’re supposed to be awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom.

The announcement has gone out, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him.”

All of the virgins go to the assigned place of meeting the Bridegroom with their lamps lit, their flames burning, their passion and ardor for the Lord on display. The problem is, the Bridegroom doesn’t come when expected. Half of the virgins have taken extra oil so they can keep their lamps burning. Their passion and fire for God is clearly evident.

The other half has made no preparation for the Bridegroom delaying His coming. There is no foresight or expectation that He might … He just might not … come according to their timetable. What has happened? They’ve fallen into the trap of programming the Lord into a religious box. There is no pursuit of His presence. There is no thirst to really know their husband-to-be. There is no oil of anointing. (I’d really like to expand on this, but that will wait for another discussion.) There is no walking and living in the Spirit.

Here’s the problem, and this is a picture of a good part of the body of Christ today. Jesus has sent out an invitation to the world. John records Jesus as putting it like this:

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

All of the virgins believed on Jesus as the Son of God. Good, so far! But there’s a whole lot more. This is not an intellectual assent to Jesus being the Son of God. The Greek word translated “believed” in this statement is pisteuo. This is a whole lot more than simply “believing!” This is “to have faith in.” This is the result of hearing His voice, having faith generate within one’s being because you heard His voice, (see Romans 10:17) and then responding with your whole being to that voice.

The five foolish virgins stopped in their pursuit of the presence of the Lord. They ceased to pursue after hearing His voice in their being. They lost their passion for Him. Their flames went out, and there was no oil to restart the fire. They had ceased to “be filled” with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). The well of the oil of the Spirit had run dry.

Any personal and intimate communication by and through the Holy Spirit between them and the Lord had long since ceased. They didn’t “know” Him anymore, and when they presented themselves to Him – after He had already come and received those who were ready and waiting – His response was, “I don’t know you.” Jesus’ answer – literally translated from the Greek – was, “I don’t recognize you. I can’t see you. I don’t understand you.”

What a waste! To have come so far, and then treat the relationship in such cavalier fashion was a disaster. They were excluded from being part of the Bride. They were excluded from the personal and intimate presence of the Lord. Sure, they were “saved” from the fires of Hell, but they would never have the trust and confidence reserved for those who press into the Lord and seek after His best, no matter what it takes and no matter what it costs!

But here is the message of the Lord to all who find themselves in the category of the foolish virgins today. The call continues to go forth. There is a second chance for those who’ve blown it the first time around. He continues to seek after a people who will love Him with every breath of their being. He continues to look for those who will have His best in them no matter the cost. He continues to desire those who will not compromise His Word to them and in them.

There is still time – but very little of it!

That’s the essence of what happened in my dreams. There was a second chance for those in the cage who were biting and devouring one another. There was a second chance for the Russian officer. And they took it! There was repentance, and there was complete healing and restoration. There was deliverance for all. And Jesus received the Glory and Honor because of it.

For most of the past 20 years or so I have had a constant theme in my sharing and teaching. That theme goes like this: There is no substitute for the presence of the Lord.

In the past months, I’ve realized that there is one more element to this that needs to be added and it goes like this: There is no substitute for the Glory of the Lord being revealed in and through us.

Why do I add the second statement? Follow this if you will.

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! (See Ephesians 1:17-23)

Next Series: Heaven: A Trip to the Future.

The Holy Spirit is moving and operating in this day and age in non-traditional ways; and any attempts we make to box Him in or try to second-guess Him are doomed to failure. Those who are willing to hear what He has to say and are ready to “operate outside the box” will see and experience the Glory of the Lord!

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner A. CapenerCAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Prosser, Washington 99350
(509) 515-0133
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