Chapter 1

The Beginning of the End of Reason

    There was an election underway in the city of Mann. A new excitement was quite noticeable for there was a portent of change in the air. The Lord Mayor of the city of Mann was being openly challenged as to his leadership. This Lord Mayor of Mann was a very astute and crafty fellow who went by the name of Reason, the eldest son of one Mrs. Soul (she never used more than her first name). There was some disputation as to precisely who Mr. Reason's father was, and it was rumored that many years previous, Mrs. Soul had left her first, and true husband, Mr. spirit, upon being seduced (Genesis 3:4) by the wily and subtle, Mr. Twist-Truth, a veritable snake-in-the-grass.

    That had truly been Soul's downfall, for no sooner had she been seduced by that Twist-Truth fellow than she began the unlawful relationship with the Body and township of Mann, which unseemly affair she had carried on until this time. It had done terrible damage to Mr. spirit, who lost all influence over Mrs. Soul and also over the Body of Mann.

    When spirit was Soul's husband and all things were of an orderly nature, even the Body and township of Mann had felt their goodly influences and had never exhibited any inappropriate desires. However, no sooner had the Body and township of Mann taken the mastery over Mrs. Soul than it seemed to have lost all control over all its own desires. The appetites of Mann had become extravagant and gross, and Soul seemed to follow as much as lead in this unholy alliance.

    The Quintuplets, further evidence of Soul's sad departure from her first estate, originally given as protectors and servants, had revolted from their ordained service to facilitate only their own individual lusts. They were now officials throughout the city of Mann and their influence was considerable. In fact, nothing came into Mann or went out but according to their decisions and consents. The entire Body and township of Mann seemed greatly influenced by them, even Reason. They were, by name, Hearing, Sight, Taste, Touch, and Smell. None of them liked spirit any more than Reason did.

    The only one who really seemed in favor of the tawdry relationship between Mrs. Soul and the Body and township of Mann was Reason. He did all he could to keep Body and Soul together. It was a relationship which had an awful effect upon the city of Mann, for on every occasion when Holy Spirit had sought to do something for Mann, the prevailing counsel of Reason, Lord Mayor of Mann, had brought in objections and had worked against Him.

    There was no love lost between these two, Holy Spirit and Flesh, (that is what Holy Spirit called Reason, Flesh) for they lusted the one against the other and were contrary one to another so that the city of Mann could never do the things that were expedient. How often spirit had lamented over this sad dilemma, crying, "O wretched Mann! Who shall deliver from such a body of death?" (Romans 7:24) Lately though, he had been heard to state emphatically, "I thank my Sovereign that there is a way out through my Lord Jesus Christ!"

    It was suspected by many, though none would dare to admit it, that Mr. Reason was the very off-spring of that illicit union which had taken place between Mrs. Soul and Mr. Twist-Truth. One of the things which stoked these fires of suspicion was the fact that Mr. Reason had a very marked characteristic of hissing when he spoke, and sounded very much like that Mr. Twist-Truth fellow.

    Every one of Mr. Reason's sons (he had three, Logic, Common Sense and Proof) had this same peculiarity. Logic was a thin, fastidious, orderly man, always impeccably dressed and a very calculating sort. He liked to dote on words, loved math and liked to have riddles put to him. His favorite reading was any kind of mystery, but he hated the Bible. He said it made no sense at all and was not logical.

    Common Sense was a rather nondescript, casual sort but extremely observant. He shunned books and education, saying that the answer to most things was already apparent by the very nature of things. He never liked his name. Said he was anything but common. He could usually be seen sauntering along the streets of Mann, hands in his pockets, with a somewhat hopeful expression on his face. Yet, for all this, Common Sense was seldom inquired of.

    Proof, the younger brother, was bigger than either Logic or Common Sense. He was a forceful, blustery type who liked to browbeat others into submitting to his view of matters. He believed nothing but what the perverted Quintuplets told him. Yet, he would not allow others the liberty he enjoyed. He liked to tag along with Logic in order to convince any doubters of his brother's many discourses. Reason said that together they presented a formidable argument, even when they were wrong, as they often were.

    It was whispered about town, though never said openly, that Mr. Reason was but the titular Lord Mayor, because he never seemed to do anything but from the urgings of his mother (Soul), whom he always and in every way sought to please. He had for many years been the Lord Mayor of Mann without any challenger until this newly emerged Mr. spirit, who insisted upon spelling his name with a small "s." He said it was in respect of His Father who, alone, should have the pre-eminence.

    The cause for so much excitement in this election was not just because Mr. Reason was confronted with a challenger but because of the nature of some of the claims surrounding this challenge to Mr. Reason's rule over Mann. Mr. spirit had claimed for years to be the true husband of Mrs. Soul, though he made it clear that he laid no claim to being the father of Mr. Reason.

    Mr. spirit was a man of "little stature," very humble and unassuming, and with godly inclinations. When Mrs. Soul had left his head-ship and struck out on her own to decide for herself between good and evil, (Genesis 3:22) he had simply followed along after her, bewildered and confused, and so, had walked in much darkness himself for, lo, these many years.

    When Mrs. Soul had declared her independence from spirit's lordship, her three children, Will, Intellect and Emotion, had gone right along with her. Now, these three, like their mother, were neither good nor evil in themselves -- just badly in need of the guidance of Intuition and Conscience, who had wisely remained with spirit, their father.

    Soul doted on all three of them. Will, the eldest, was the one who most often carried the deciding vote in a matter. He was quite strong, but almost always in the wrong direction, yet Soul seldom acted without him, if she could help it.

    Emotion was very moody. If she could be counted on for anything at all, it was to vacillate. She was up one day and down the next, for no accountable reason and could laugh and cry all at the same time. Because of her propensity for variance, she could not be counted on in matters of consequence or in a crisis. In spite of this obvious defect, Soul often followed her unlikely wishes anyway.

    Intellect was very unlike Emotion. Indeed, he was somewhat of a detached nature and would rely solely upon his considerable store of knowledge, having an obvious disdain for Emotion's preferences in almost any situation that should arise. He too, had a weakness, though. While he incessantly and very carefully gathered information and data about all with which he was acquainted, he often was at a loss for the wisdom with which to apply that information. It was because of this that Common Sense had coined the sarcastic and rather pointed phrase, "Some people seem educated beyond their intelligence."

    Mr. spirit had, of late, been contacted by the Lord of the realm in which the town of Mann was situated. The Lord of that realm (indeed, He is Lord of every realm) introduced Himself as Holy Spirit, better known as Lord Christ (John 14:3, 16-18, John 16:13,14), Who said that He had come to conduct Mr. spirit back into his rightful possessions, which had been lost when Soul was seduced, and to reinstate him and the entire city of Mann, if he was willing to be so led. This benevolence, He said, was to be built upon spirit's willingness to cease following the dictates of Soul and her son, Reason (Hebrew 4:12). Mr. spirit had been a follower, first of Soul, and also of Mr. Reason, ever since the seduction, but here was a new proposition.

    We are told that this contact with Holy Spirit, and the restored relationship, had come about in the following manner. Mr. spirit had for some time grown very despondent over his inability to make contact with Holy Spirit as he had in former times. He had sought Him in all the usual places, in all the streets of the City, but he found Him not whom he desired with all his heart. "Where could he be," spirit wondered to himself? "The watchmen of the city of Mann don't know where He is, (he had asked them and had been treated fairly roughly by them) where could He be?" Suddenly he remembered something about ". . . going down into His garden." He remembered Holy Spirit saying something the last time they were together. "What was it? Oh, yes! Now I remember. 'My Beloved is gone down into His Garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens and to gather lilies!' (Solomon's Song 6:2).

    There was, in the very center and heart of the City of Mann, a little and (for some strange reason) seldom visited park-like Garden of Communion. spirit went directly there. This was a very unusual Garden and not quite like any other. In order to enter into it, one must descend a very narrow way which led to a simple door. There were cob-webs on the door but upon entering, spirit faintly heard these words, "When thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:6). Looking around to see who might be there besides himself and finding no one, spirit quickly shut the door and slowly walked toward the center of the Garden, gazing at everything around him as he went.

    Mann had received commandment from the Sovereign in the very beginning of things, to ". . . dress it (the garden) and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). Alas, the Garden of Communion showed a great deal of neglect. Even so it was still quite beautiful and it could easily be seen that with a little care it could be exquisite. There was what appeared to have once been a fountain, right at the very center of the Garden. Only a trickle of water now flowed out from it, for this place was a Garden enclosed and this fountain a spring shut up, a fountain sealed (Solomon's Song 4:12). It was such a pity. Still, the little that did issue forth from this sealed fountain had enough life and vitality to cause quite a lush growth in this Garden.

    "This is a lovely place and so very peaceful," thought spirit to himself. As he was meditating on these things in his heart and wondering about how to contact his Beloved, his Sovereign, he was suddenly but gently nudged out of his reverie by a singularly pleasant voice.

    Turning, spirit saw a man dressed in a pure white, luminous robe with a golden sash upon his loins. This figure was so arresting that spirit thought it only right and proper to pay homage to this holy one. When spirit threw himself at the stranger's feet to worship him, the one in white said to him, "See thou do it not, for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets: worship God" (Revelation 22:9). spirit, recovering himself, asked who he was and why he had come. "I am come to show thee, for thou are greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision of which I am sent to tell thee." spirit, quite beside himself because of the regal presence standing with him, blurted, "When . . . , I mean . . . , what is it that you would show me?" "Thou hast done well in that thou hast set thine heart to seek thy Sovereign and to seek once again to restore Mann under its rightful and true Head. In this endeavor thou shalt come to know that thou canst of thyself do nothing, and when thou hast settled it in thine heart that to zero must thou come, then thou shalt have begun in good earnest.

    "I am an "Ascended Angel," that is, I, like all of Mann, had a birth in time, and by the grace and mercy of our Holy Sovereign, before Whom I stand continually, was enabled to climb the ladder of ascension unto that glad realm of full redemption and union with our Sovereign. Therefore am I sent to make thee understand the necessity of becoming nothing in order that thou mayest cease from all multiplicities of the outer life and activities as out from thyself, so that thy Sovereign mayest become All in all in thee."

    A holy hush followed these awesome words and tears streamed freely down spirit's face. Finally, when he had regained some of his composure, spirit said, "My heart is melted within me, sir, for your words have, like a golden shaft, Love-tipped and Mercy-sent, pierced me through my heart. I am forever ruined for all else but that which my Sovereign would have in me and do through me. I perceive that all my much religious doing has been but hay, wood and stubble, but now I am mortally wounded, never to walk again as before in my own strength and purpose." When spirit looked up, he found the stranger departing as he faded from view.

    As he was pondering these things in his heart, he heard that once familiar Voice that he had always loved. It was Holy Spirit! "Oh, let my Beloved come into His Garden, and eat His pleasant fruits!" (Solomon's Song 4:16), spirit exclaimed under his breath. Holy Spirit spoke to him, assuring him that He had never left him nor had He forsaken him; that He was with him in and through everything, even unto the end of the world. He told spirit that He was pleased that he had begun to respond to His gentle pleadings to repent of his ways and was now seeking Him for grace to become fully His.

    He further assured spirit that even though there had indeed been a very painful breach brought about by Soul's great indiscretion, spirit's contrite repentance was all that was needed to re-establish his relationship with the Sovereign. Many other like things did Holy Spirit say to spirit that morning which had set him upon this new endeavor for the election of Mann.

    Holy Spirit had promised to reinstate spirit in his rightful place as Lord Mayor and Director of Mann under the leadership of the Lord of the realm, Holy Spirit. It was further told him that if he would turn himself over to Holy Spirit and look to Him only as his Advisor and Campaign Manager in this election (Romans 9:11), withdrawing all allegiance and fidelity to Reason, Soul and the Quintuplets, that He had it within His ability to see to it not only that spirit was nominated but also to make his election sure.

    Were that not enough to cause spirit to rejoice, Holy Spirit assured him that Soul would be restored to him in the same virgin state in which she was so hopefully betrothed to him at the first (Hebrews 10:39), and that she would never again be vulnerable to any such as Mr. Twist-Truth. She would be re-wed to spirit in a union immutable, made so by none other than Himself so that she would no longer call herself Hepzibah (forsaken), but Beulah (married).

    Presently, though, He said it was His immediate object to separate Soul and spirit, as their union in its present state was out of the divine order, she being the leader instead of spirit. It was so that even though Soul had departed from spirit and had gone after other lovers, spirit had, nevertheless, followed her still, and until recently had more or less been very much under her unseemly influences. This had stopped once Holy Spirit had come to him with His commandments which, if kept, would bring about many and great rewards for both him and Soul, and eventually for the entirety of Mann.

    All this was based upon spirit being so rid of Reason's rule, as well as his mother's rule, that Holy Spirit would regain His rightful enthronement over that portion of the realm in which the city of Mann was situated. But He stressed that He must be enthroned as absolute Sovereign, without reservation or rival, in the entirety of the city, in all its members, interests and activities, starting first with spirit.

    It was further yet assured spirit that if he agreed to these terms and there was a following hard upon them, Holy Spirit would not only make his calling and election sure, but would also cause spirit's rule as Lord Mayor of Mann to be a very exalted one. He promised to bestow upon him such honors of authority and powers, heretofore unknown under Reason's rule, that the peace and joy and contentment which would surely be spirit's, would also be multiplied throughout the entire body of Mann, until it became a new body and township.

    These words were delivered to Mr. spirit by the active hand of one Virgin-Faith with such force and authority as to leave him filled with such a willing belief that he could not doubt them. This Virgin-Faith was commissioned to dwell with Mr. spirit under the most pure circumstances for as long as he would have her stay, to influence Mr. spirit, permeate his dwelling, and tincture all that he undertook to do as from Holy Spirit.