The Holy Spirit: Power Presence and Purpose Part 23

The Advent Part 15

Acts 1:10-11, “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven and He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

There they stood, looking steadfastly toward heaven, and one could only speculate what was going on in their hearts and minds. Their Master was after all leaving them, He was ascending into the heavens and a cloud received Him. This was no small thing it was something that one would remember for the rest of their time here on heart.

Now the cloud that Jesus was received into was no atmospheric formation, but rather it was manifestation of the presence of God, just as during the days of Moses the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting.

Exodus 40:34-35, “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”

I often think of the reverence those of old had concerning the things of God, the reverence with which they approached worship and service, and once again I am compelled to compare it with the absolute lack of reverence that we see when it comes to the sacred in our present generation.

A cloud received Christ out of the disciples’ sight, because in His glorified state the disciples could no longer look upon Him and live. He was hid from their face, and instead two men stood by them in white apparel.

Although there are scripture wherein we are expressly told that no man could see God and live, and that no man has ever seen God, no one bats and eye when some televangelist or another starts spinning a yarn of how they sat on God’s lap and braided His hair. Either we are ignorant, blind or just foolhardy, but whichever the case may be it is still tragic and sad.

There is so much of God for us to discover, there is so much of the power of God that is readily available to us as His beloved, yet we feed ourselves with irreverent stories, and boldfaced lies, rather than press in, and seek out, and pray and fast that the true power of the Holy Spirit might manifest in our midst.

How can we reconcile the fact that the Bible says no man can see God and live, yet one of the most televangelists in America has said, on live television that they sat on God’s lap and braided His hair. I’m sure they’ve said worse, but it’s this one thing that I remember as having seen when I was young that marked me even to this day.

1 Timothy 6:13-16, “I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

So some of the things that Paul writes to Timothy concerning Christ, is that He dwells in unapproachable light, that no man has seen or can see Him, yet we do nothing and say nothing and accept as point of fact when someone says they played patty cake with Jesus in heaven.

I guess I’m just tired of all the foolishness, and sick of all the gullibility. Do I believe angels appear to individuals? Yes, of course I do, I’ve even seen one on occasion. Do I believe God still speaks to His children via the Holy Spirit by way of prophecies, dreams and visions? Of course I do it is Biblical, and I’ve experienced these things on occasion as well. Prophecy however, angelic visitations, dreams or visions are not a competition, and I get the sense many believers are trying to one-up each other when it comes to supernatural experiences.

‘You had a dream? Well, I was translated to the third heaven. You were translated to the third heaven? Well, I sat on God’s lap, on His throne, and we played Sudoku!’

God chooses the measure in which He reveals Himself to His servants, but whichever means and measure He chooses to reveal Himself in, He will not bypass or disregard the Word. So, no, I don’t believe the nice lady with the purple hair when she said she sat on God’s lap in heaven, no matter how sincere she might seem.

As far as the two men dressed in white are concerned, the selfsame two men that stood by the disciples as they looked steadfastly toward heaven, they were angels of the Lord. Angels are first and foremost messengers. They are created beings, they were in fact created by God through Christ, and for Him, and although they are divine in their nature, men ought not to worship them as it is a sin. We worship God, and God alone, and not angels, dominions, principalities or powers. All these things are subject to Him, created through him, and for Him. I mention this in passing, only because I’ve heard this wind of doctrine blowing about, that men ought to worship and believe in angels just as they ought to worship and believe in God, because it is in fact the same nature, the same celestial origin, just different manifestations of it.

Colossians 1:16, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were crated through Him and for Him.”

Revelation 22:8-9, “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.