PART 2

UPON ASCENSION AND DESCENSION

    Expect now the Day of God which, as a fiery oven and molten heat, shall come upon the Old Heavens and Earth, not only to shake but to dissolve them. Such a signal change will be effected through the fiery Baptizing Cloud in which the Holy Ghost will descend the second time upon the New Jerusalem Waters(63) (Lamb-followers). These, called and fixed,(64) are to mind no other thing but Ascension, that they might receive those powers from the Most High by which the works of Glorification shall issue forth. None can be capable of these powers but such as are separated and redeemed out of the earth.(65)

    The apostles were commanded of the Lord Christ, when He intended to pour forth(66) the Holy Ghost, to serve nothing else but to attend wholly unto waiting for His coming; upon which they accordingly received the first fruits of it. But where shall we find, in this time, a holy, separated brotherhood that, in pure concord and harmony, are willing to come together and wait for the residue of the Spirit by which to do the greater works of God in the earth? This earth has long lain barren from bringing forth this kind of fruitful powers.(67)

    Therefore, it is of absolute necessity to provoke to such a gathering in Spirit that there may be an ascension (spiritual) together to the Mount of Olives, drawing them apart from all worldly encroachments in order to wait until the bright glance of the Supernatural Majesty shall again break forth in power and great glory. We may then show ourselves to those of our brethren who yet dwell in the Kedar (darkness) of a worldly state, to invite them out of this embondaged life of sorrow and drudgery.

    Who then shall first bring of these glad tidings, but such earnest and fervent seekers who have set the Morning Watch, looking for the East Gate to open? This gate has been shut the six working-days of man's labor. All such labor is to cease when the great Prince of the Sanctuary arises and ascends in us in that Most Holy and inward Court. This shall be the start of that one perpetual Sabbath(68) in which we rest from all our own works in order that the Holy Ghost may act and do all in the Most Holy Place in us as an offering well-pleasing to the Father. He only accepts such worship as is performed by this most excellent Spirit.

    Therefore, how vain and unavailing are all our acts and works to be viewed till the Powers of the Holy Ghost comes to move, all pure, strong, and effectual? For nothing can endure or abide(69) (the fiery oven of the day) but what is brought forth by the infinite power of God, the Holy Ghost. Therefore, this Golden Reed is given to be our Measure, from thousands to thousands, till the living waters from under the threshold of the sanctuary do rise, as an impassable river, to drown all that is drossy and earthy, that nothing may live there except that which is after a Godhead-Appearance (after the nature and character of Christ).

    Now, let us then go on to pursue that for which the lively hope is begotten in us, not looking back to any veiled or shadowed ministrations which could never perfect that which we in the everlasting counsel of the Holy Trinity are predestined unto; for know it for a truth from the Yea and the Amen, that the now vile and drossy man shall be made all Gold through the tincturing virtue of the Deity entering into him.(70) This is the amazing wonder which is left for the Holy Ghost to bring about.

    "But who are elected hereto as subjects in whom this shall first be worked out?", it may further be asked. There are various fore-running signs and qualifications which have already been mentioned, as in the following-and-dying(71) process. This only will I add further; that those who are chosen in God to be the first springing plants of this New Creation will have given to them a mighty Spirit of Faith and a clear, satisfying persuasion that this great, thorough and marvelous change is to be effected.

    For this to occur, they must be cast into a new spiritual model(72) and be equipped by the Spirit of Wisdom, that they might be found in a believing posture. Let none imagine that this will fall upon any suddenly(73); all who are recipients of it shall have a foregoing work done in them and know a great change in the secret of their soul's inward part.

    This is utterly necessary so that through a cleansing, fiery work there will be a coming-through unto the great and last Baptizing into the pure nature of the Deity. Once thus endowed with the nature of Deity, God will then discharge all bodily functions as to the Most Holy Things. For when such things are performed from the ground of mixture,(74) where good and evil are in contest, the Fault-finder may have whereof to accuse.

    It shall no more be said, "The Spirit and we do works." For man must come to the end of his day's work. The Holy Ghost doth take upon Himself to do this great work which pertains to glorification in those that are progressed sufficiently to cease from their own works, upon seeing the utmost extent of their unprofitable and dead earth.

    Having received such a view of themselves they can no longer act from that mixed property (flesh/spirit), but are made to know another more excellent ministry by uniting now with the Seven Forms of eternal Nature Compacted(75), and made ready for a pure, Spiritual Body where all ability and God-sufficiency will show forth itself after quite another sort.

    For while under the internal purifications of the soul cleansings, there was always a doing and never done, nor was a finish ever expected while in such a place -- until the Holy Spirit comes to make ready His own Body (it is a spiritual body). Then shall there go forth various working powers, which I should unfold as they have been revealed unto me, but knowing there are as yet none (1670's) who can receive or bear such wonder-working powers, they must lie awhile under the seal of secrecy until it is known who are worthy of them. Them will God reveal to us in His time.

    It is for these there shall be the bringing forth of a new, creating store(77) that hath in bank been treasuring up for those that shall meet me in this high and heavenly way. Such have left this visible and fadeable realm for the more pure and weighty precious things which the day of the Holy Ghost must and will bring in.

    To this allotment the Wisdom of God hath charged us to stand and not to let the Golden Stone(78) left in trust to unadvisedly slip out of our hands. Rather, we are told to wait for Him, who only is mighty, able and skillful to use it, to work upon it to open the wonder-working virtue of it. Meanwhile we are taught to hold out our six working-days until the seventh year(79) of this Sabbatical Rest is come.

    Blessed are those which are arrived at the sixth and last day in a ready preparation and hopeful expectation. For soon will the East Gate(80) open to give an entrance into that good Land where we may be as those true Rechabites,(81) no more to build, or plant, or sow into a corruptible soil. No more to drink of the wine of an adulterated(82) vine brought forth by the sweat of the brow, but to reap all of those rich, good and plentiful things which are made ready to our hand according to that saying of our Lord Christ unto His disciples, "I have sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labor..." -- John 4:38.

    This refers to the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost which were so fluently shed abroad and given in that day. So again, a rich prize shall be possessed, and much more will be experienced when the residue of the Spirit shall be poured forth -- even such a supply of life that substance shall be blessed with the multiplying power of the Holy Ghost.

    After this way(83) will God provide for His own household in a distinguished manner. For this, it is given to understand, that there will be a kind of faith given as shall reach as high and extend itself as large as an Almighty and Infinite God can answer unto. For such a Spirit of Faith is of absolute necessity for the accomplishment of such mighty things. Therefore, we may be provoked to pray unceasingly for this gift (the gift is the residue of the Spirit; such faith as is here described will follow).

    Thus, we have defined some part of the glory that doth follow upon Ascension, through being established in the (spiritual) Body of the Holy Spirit, by whose glance of light it is given us to see another Level and degree. That is, that those who have Ascended and Glorified are to then descend(84) in order to show and declare to their fellow Saints what dowry and inheritance they are possessed with by the Holy Ghost, that they might serve their Lord and Master's assignment here in this visible, tangible realm.

    Here is a secret written in the Book of Life upon which there has been a fast Seal. Now (1670's) the Lamb of God is come, in Spirit, to break it open that we may read and know the great royalties which He hath redeemed us to enjoy. WE REMIND AND MAKE OBSERVATION THAT WHEN ANY GREAT AND MIGHTY CHANGE WAS EVER BROUGHT FORTH AND EFFECTED UPON THE EARTH, IT WAS DONE BY Angels that descended from heaven.

    It is mentioned in Holy John's Revelation (Revelation 18:1 & 20:1). We are not to understand that such ministrations are limited to those Angels who were Seraphic in nature and which never knew a birth in time. Such events also included those Angels of the Resurrection(85) that have passed through the ten days of tribulation (Revelation 2:10) and have overcome through the blood of the covenant.

    These are those whom the Mighty God will employ for the replenishing of a New Creation and coming down with the Spiritual Powers to lay the foundation for the Mount Zion glory. It can never be expected that this great over-turn and change upon the present confused Babylonish State of things will be effected until Angels of Time(86) (redeemed men -- please see Revelation 22:8&9 as compared with 21:9; also 19:10) have ascended and then descended.

    This ascension is for the obtaining of personal Union and Power with Christ their Head-Life, in order that they might then descend to act as His Representatives in this world. Such a Godhead Commission(87) will go beyond and above all worded testimonies by signs and deeds of wonders; all of which are reserved until Elected Angels(88) do ascend to receive a mighty empowering from the Holy Trinity.

    This is the finishing mystery that is awaited and looked for, so that the ruined and apostatized state of creatures may be restored to their first state. Then the New Jerusalem will open and descend; then shall the Priestly Kingdom be revealed and its Government be known and managed by the Saints of the Most High.

    They, after Ascension, must have some space of time for their Installment and Establishment(90) in the New Creation Powers and Gifts of the Holy Spirit so that these gifts may not eventually fade away again as they formerly did, but become established and founded upon a Rock immutable.

    For as the heavens have received the Lord Christ out of visible sight, so it will receive also(91) these Ascended Angels until they be confirmed and established for Kingly Dominion. Their visible forms may be seen by mortals while their inward, transformed spirit, soul and body are translated out of sight into the heavens(92).

    But it may be asked whether those who attain to this level shall be secured from the mortal death? To this, each one must stand to his Election and allotment as known to God. We cannot say anything more as from the Lord but this only; we have received good assurance that if bodily death should overtake us while upon this Ascension Ladder, there will be a considerable advantage.

    Open access,(93) by Christ the Lord is made for such as die in the faith, who will find a free passage through the Mortal Death into that Mount Zion to be received. Here the Lord Christ and the High Order of Holy Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles have been gathered.

    Therefore, slack not your work but pursue onward, for nothing shall be lost, but all which is here accomplished is taken into account according to the measure of one's attainment. Although, it must be granted that such as shall continue in this visible body until the whole process be accomplished, will be more eminent Instruments to glorify God in a world that lies under death and curse.

    For those who thus continue to the completion of the whole process will experience the very Redemption of the visible, weak and impotent body which shall not die dishonorably, as has been the manner of the whole earth. These will be changed as mortality will be swallowed up by Immortality and all Rule and Authority(94) shall be put under, so portraying the Lord Christ in the earth. This is according as it has been prophesied, that Judah shall rule with God (Probably Genesis 49:8-12) and be had in admiration by Dignities, Principalities and Powers -- such honors will the ascended and descended Angels have.(95)

    As to what is communicated here , let it be accounted of as weighty and momentous, that it may provoke and stir up all pure minds to meet harmoniously upon this Ascension Ladder where one Saint may call to another in the Attracting Power of Love to go up together. Oh, where, where shall we find such, who, so highly raised in the spirit of their minds, will agree to run and endure in this heavenly race with us until we reach the DESCENSION to bring down glorification!

    Is there not a number sealed unto this? Oh God! Bring them into manifestation and knowledge of each other that, as clustered grapes, we may all be filled with the Wine of the Spirit which, when ready, is to be pressed out for cheering the weak and faint who are also members of this Body of the Lord Jesus(96), but who yet remain in a humbled and suffering life, crushed down under sin.

    We should now conclude this present subject, but there is one objection to which I must give answer. "You have here discoursed of a high and wonderful State of Ascension and Descension for visible glorification. How came you to understand the way of it without ever having actually Ascended by a Cloud of Glory coming down to receive you out of all mortal sight, after the manner of Christ?"

    We answer thus: You are given to know that there is an Ascension in Spirit which makes way for the Soul, whose Resurrection Body then follows. For who knows the way of the Spirit? It flies as a Bird in the air so that no mortal can discern it. It is of that sublime quality which enables it to easily pass into the realm of light and glory for a prospect and view of that Celestial Orb which will, in time, descend into Time for the manifestation of that which will be Eternal.

    Thus it is given to some to be taken up in Spirit, to discover what lies concealed, and not yet understood, in the Superior Regions. Hence we may give satisfaction to this question as to how truly and safely we may declare and open these mysterious deeps concerning glorification, even though the Holy Spirit has not yet descended in the residue of the Spirit. He has not yet ascended in personality(97) but in spirit only, not in soul and with a Spiritual Body.

    For in this we must keep a distinction and not pretend to anything beyond what is attained. For I may have a revelation of what is ordained and purposed to be accomplished by the Holy Spirit as the ground upon which Faith is to work, but so long as this work is yet future and not yet accomplished, one's experience is in spirit only.

    And while such things are experienced in spirit only, and not in the entirety of spirit, soul and body, which comprise one entire Angel of Ascension and Descension, it is allotted only to the spirit. That is, the spirit, as a Heavenly Spy(98) is first sent ahead to observe and behold the pattern of those heavenly things which are to be replanted here in this world, by and through the creating Word descending from on High.

    The High and lofty One will tabernacle with the low, meek and pure in heart to generate the New Heavens and Earth, which is the effect(99) and consummation of all spiritual sight, vision and revelation, as the more pure display of the Holy Spirit issues forth in fruitful powers. This is the reality and greatest worth to be possessed and for which we are to press on in the Lord's Spirit; that we might attain to and possess what each step of this Ascending Ladder brings us into.

    Far be it from any who have known translation in Spirit, to see and hear what is in the heavenly sphere, to settle down(100) here without pressing on for a Body which might be exercised in the Holy Spiritual might. Otherwise such an advantage will never turn to the account and renown of our Mighty God and Savior, that He alone may be exalted and glorified in His Saints, filling up the full measure of this Body in His elected Dove-Flock.

    He it is who has sent me to declare unto them that He stands all ready to receive and in glory to install each one of our Ascending Angels and to descend with us for the establishing of an everlasting Kingdom. In such a Kingdom shall joy, triumph and glory be the New Song which the redeemed from among men shall sing to their Mighty God and Savior.

    Thus I am now returned in Spirit, as a Heavenly Spy, to make report of those substantial, high, worthy and precious things which I have seen and found in the Love-deep and immeasurable spaces of eternity. Such a view has all-fired my soul to be clothed upon with that Body which may effect all that my spirit has been made to see and understand.

    For which, good assurance is given to all who shall unite, travel and journey on together in the Love-Harmony and spirit of Faith, that they shall see that Key(101) suddenly come down which will open the Ascension-Gate. Then we may pass in one by one as those for whom it is prepared. Now who, O God, will come to this Holy Resolve, gird up the loins of their minds and, as Mighty strong Elijah's, out-run all Ahab chariots which enter but into Jezreel (I Kings 18)? Even so, let thy Mighty Hand, O Lord God, be upon thy Ascending Angels, which are thy chariots and which move swiftly as driven upon the whirlwind of Thy Spirit; for this let our eye be fixed steady evermore. Amen.

63. This is a reference to those who are the followers of Christ as opposed to those "waters" upon which the great whore of Revelation 17:1 & 15 sat. It also has reference to those who awaited the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. See also Revelation 19:6.

64. By "fixed," she means that state of singleness of heart and mind wherein nothing but ascension is tended to. If we think this to be radical and in the extreme, let us consider those 120 who gathered together in that Jewish upper-room so long ago to await the outpouring of the earnest of the Spirit, attending nothing else but to tarry until the promise had come. What we await is not the earnest, but the residue of the Spirit and the entrance into all that has for so long been held out to those who would endure unto the end. Would we rightly say that they were justified in the putting aside of all worldly endeavors to await the downpayment, but that so much should not be asked of us who await the full balance?

65. She here speaks spiritually of that earth known as the body. That is, none but those who have been fully redeemed and have received a glorified body shall be endowed with such powers.

66. This has reference to the 120 believers, which included the apostles, in the upper-room waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As we all know, this outpouring took place right on schedule -- on the day of Pentecost.

67. This has obvious reference to the bringing forth of the fruits of the kingdom, which is but the manifestation of Christ in fullness along with the working of the powers of the kingdom without limitation. Again, the earth mentioned here is a reference to the body.

68. This, dear saints of God, is the Sabbath, and only Sabbath, God would have you and me to keep. We have so often heard this one and that one express their views on keeping the Sabbath, but this perpetual Sabbath, in which man has ceased from all his works, is the only true Sabbath, and until we enter into the true Sabbath we are not really keeping the Sabbath no matter what laws we observe. "There remaineth therefore a rest unto the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest (working not at all, but is merely a vessel through which the Holy Spirit does the works) he also hath ceased from his own works, even as God did from His" --Hebrews 5:9,10. A natural, outward keeping of a Saturday, or any day, is but unbelief which may keep us from entering into the true.

69. "Behold,...the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, ...but who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire..." --Malachi 3:1,2. The Lord has tarried and has not come in His glory thus far that He might not consume us, for our God is a consuming fire! He therefore works to bring us into a place, into the side of that Rock which was cleft for us, that we, being covered by Him, might see all His glory and not be consumed by it. It is because our God comes in such Holy, resolute, passionate fervor that we are in need of new wineskins, that is, new spiritual bodies. When the Holy Spirit descends the next time, not in merely a measure as on the day of Pentecost, but in the residue and limitless fullness of God, the effect will be as a mighty, fiery oven whose Holiness will expose every undealt-with aspect of our carnal nature. There will be no hiding place for any remaining fragment of Adam. Oh, do we not see how that Holy Cloud has already begun to descend gradually, saints? We have no time to waste, but must with haste flee into the Ark of safety. It is to be found inward, in the Most Holy Place of our being, in the garden of our hearts, where He awaits us.

70. "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that hath called us unto glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" --II Peter 1:3,4. Peter here holds out the promise. Sister Leade speaks of the manner of its accomplishment -- by the tincturing, permeating power of Deity entering into the individual. This, she says, is an act which the Holy Spirit alone will accomplish.

71. This, I believe, has reference to those marks which death and resurrection can imprint upon the person. None but those who have followed Him in the fellowship of His sufferings will know Him in the power of His resurrection.

72. Those who will be among the Firstfruits Company will be enabled by the Spirit of Faith to come into another kind of walk with God for which we have no prototype to which we may look back, unless we look at Enoch. Those who move into such a believing posture concerning these things will do so because of the new walk they acquire with God. They will be taught of God directly, heart to heart. Therefore it will also be said of them as it was of Jesus, "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?" --Matthew 13:54 They will leave the outer by turning inward and finding Him there, thus making wisdom their sister and understanding their kinswoman. Such comes not through books, papers, tapes, and the teachings of men. It comes only from a spiritual birth within.

73. I have no quarrel with those who claim that they have already entered fully into these things, just let them show forth the fruits of it; that great unshakable tranquility of soul and divine wisdom and faith that accompanies such. The things I am most concerned about for those who think they "have it," is that, believing they have it they cease to enter in. By calling the "part" the whole they settle for the part. We have good assurance from one commissioned to declare it that none will enter into this without a foregoing work of fiery cleansing having been patiently accomplished and endured. Who, among Abraham, Moses, and David, as types, came immediately into the promise?

74. This "ground of mixture" is that condition which exists in the "in-part" ministry whereby one ministers through the gift imparted by the Holy Spirit. I have seen, and you probably have also, men with tremendous gifts of the word of knowledge, miracles, prophecy, etc., with very little if any real fruit in their lives. This is not to belittle them or to demean their function to the Body, it is just a fact. The baptism of the Holy Spirit DOES NOT SUDDENLY FREE ONE FROM FLESH! I wish it did. ("The main purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to bring about in us the Lordship of Christ, and that means the enthronement of the Lord Jesus as absolute Sovereign, without reservation or rival, in the entire life, in all its interests and activities.")--T. A. Sparks. It is away from the ground of mixture and toward the complete enthronement of Christ that we must go. The rational mind has no place in the work of the Lord. That is a work of the Spirit alone. God did not give us a reasoning mind; Adam did when he partook of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are to walk according to the registration of the rise and fall of the Life within, and this registration is seldom reasonable.

75. Reference is here made to the Seven-fold fullness of the Spirit of the Lord spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the (1) Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the (2) spirit of Wisdom and (3) Understanding, the (4) spirit of Counsel and (5) Might, the (6) spirit of knowledge and of (7) the Fear of the Lord..." --Isaiah 11:1,2. This will be the portion of those who move into that realm (she calls it "principle") of the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, unto the perfect man.

76. "His own Body" meaning, not that earthy body of limitation and death in which we now groan and from which we seek a deliverance, but that body with which those who endure unto the end shall be clothed upon. It is a spiritual body. "There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body" -- I Corinthians 15:44. This body is for the "sons." It is for those who have known the experience of adoption and have the residue of the Spirit rather than the firstfruits of the Spirit by which we can but cry, "Abba, Father."

77. That store of the Spirit which is of a creative nature and which has lain so long dormant, building up in store for those who should come forth in the end of the age.

78. Christ in you, the Hope of glory, is the Golden Stone all Deified within, which, under the hand and sovereignty of the Holy Ghost, grows unto that which is spoken of here. It is not our initial salvation which is here referred to as being in jeopardy but the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. Those whose eyes have seen the promise of such precious and weighty things are charged to stand on them by faith, not letting them slip, that a full entrance might be known by them.

79. She here refers to the seven thousandth year as that day of rest -- the millennial time when God's kingdom will be established in and throughout the earth. A time, also, when those who do know their God will be strong and do exploits, having ceased from their own labors and then move only as they are moved by the Holy Ghost, being sons of God with power. Such a priesthood is pictured in the Scriptures as the Melchezidekian Priesthood --that Priesthood which is after an endless power. It was to this Joshua spoke in Spirit when he said, "Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" -- Joshua 3:5, at the time of that crossing over which was but the type of the true crossing over now at hand. Tomorrow, for us, is the 1,000 year millennial day just about to dawn.

80. "Then said the Lord unto me; this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by way of the same" -- Ezekiel 44:2 & 3. This gate was known as the way which looked toward the "sun-rising." It was the gate of the resurrection. Gates speak of "ways" and it was by way of resurrection that the Lord came into this eternal temple made without hands. All who enter into this temple, therefore, must enter in by the same "way," that is, by a death and resurrection! The "prince" spoken of in this portion of Ezekiel is not referring to Jesus Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords forever. This prince (with a small "p") sits in this gate to eat bread before the Lord. A prince is not a king and a king is not a prince. A prince is the son of a king. This prince mentioned in Ezekiel is a corporate son with a small "s" -- a corporate prince with a small "p." But there is another peculiarity about this prince. This prince was to go in and out by the same "way," whereas, "...when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by "way" of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and he that entereth by way of the south gate shall go forth by way of the north gate: he shall not return by way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it" --Ezekiel 46:9. This simply meant that when we gather together unto the temple of the Lord that we don't have to leave the same way we came in. We are to leave a new man or woman. But the "prince" who has come in by way of the East Gate has experienced the change, the ultimate change, and needs no further changing accomplished in him.

81. The Rechabites are mentioned in Jeremiah 35:6-10. They had taken an oath of their father, Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that they would drink no wine, nor build houses, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards, nor have any, but would dwell in tents as strangers who were only sojourning in the land. They were a type of those who would leave all to purchase the field in which the Treasure was hidden. The Lord's Spirit was their wine. His word was their seed. His work was their vineyard. He was their dwelling place and treasure. They were a type of some who, in the last age, would do in Spirit what they had done in the natural.

82. This is undoubtedly a reference made to that fertile springing plant of religion which is but the product of the labor of man, the offering of Cain, upon which the fire does not fall. It is that Vine which has filled the Harlot's cup and because of which mankind today stumbles in a drunken stupor having drunk thereof.

83. "This way," being that manner after which Jesus supplied the multitude with bread and fish to eat, the manner after which the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil in Elijah's day did not fail and the manner in which Peter received the coin from the fish's mouth to meet the needs at hand. Jesus never turned to the one (Judas) who held the purse, but always looked to the supernatural supply of His Father.

84. She is here alluding to that which the Lord spake when He addressed Nathaniel. "Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" -- John 1:51. This ascension ladder which she refers to is that which Jacob saw at Bethel when he saw the angels of God ascending and descending upon a ladder which was upon the earth and whose top (Head) was in heaven. These angels (messengers) mentioned here are not first descending and then ascending as one would normally expect angels to do. They were first ascending and then descending. These angels are those who have been fully redeemed (Revelation 12:5) from among men (please see Revelation 22:9), glorified in a resurrection-spiritual body in order that they might then descend and minister to the rest of the woman's seed (see also Revelation 12:5 & 6).

85. The Pharisees came to test Jesus on the issue of the woman who had had seven husbands, each having died childless. Their question to Him was, "Therefore, in the resurrection whose wife of them is she?" --Luke 21:33 The answer Jesus gives them is a hint as to those who come forth in the first resurrection. "...for they are equal to the angels;" Equal meaning, the same as. Strong's Concordance #2465 states that it means "like an angel, i.e. (that is) angelic" Also, I Timothy 5:21 refers to "elect angels," or chosen angels. It is the same word used repeatedly for the elect saints of God. When Jacob saw the ladder at Bethel, he saw the "angels of God" ascending and descending upon it and declared that this was the very "gate of Heaven." We know, from what Jesus said to Nathaniel in John 1:51, "Ye shall see the heavens open (a gate) and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man", that His Body is that ladder. It is a kind of Ascension Ladder upon which those who are ascending are, upon reaching the top, glorified in spirit, soul and body (angel of the resurrection) and then descend as ministering angels to minister that glory to those at lesser levels on the ladder in the Body.

86. "Angels of Time" are those which Jane Leade calls those "angels" who have had a birth in time, that is, who are men or women (there is neither male nor female IN Christ Jesus) who have been born just like the rest of us, and have been fully redeemed, spirit, soul and body (which redemption, she says, comprises the angel). Do the Scriptures bear out the assumption that some angels are redeemed men? Yes, they do! "And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy FELLOWSERVANT that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" --Revelation 19:10. Hear how the Concordant Literal New Testament states this. "And I fall in front of his feet to worship him. And he is saying to me, 'See! No! A fellow slave of yours am I, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." If you want to see who some others are who "have the testimony of Jesus," read Revelation 12:17. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Isn't that interesting?

87. Please bear in mind that this has to do with the Spirit without measure; not as in some measure as we have known it in the in-part Levitical ministry. A Godhead Commission is one whereby the representative or ambassador is precisely a true representative of Him who sent him, being filled with all the fullness of God. As such, this excellent ministry will so far out-distance all former ministries in that it administers from a creating store the very essence of that Word which they are. Christ, the Word in them, is All in all of them. None can never spiritually rise above that method by which he is taught. By that I mean that if one is taught only by the outward means of books, tapes, teachings, etc., then one is limited to an outward, intellectual growth beyond which he cannot further progress. One can never come into the actuality of that which outward teachings offer, merely by an intellectual assent. Somewhere, somehow, there must come an inward, spiritual birth in order for spiritual concepts to become life and reality. It is in just this realm of ministration that these angels of time shall minister to men. It is good for us to understand this and to know that no matter how much we understand certain concepts, no matter how good we feel about them or how much joy they kindle within us -- until those things are birthed inwardly WE DO NOT STAND IN THE GOOD OF IT! To think otherwise is to be deceived, and to have reason to cease pressing on toward the Prize. This is a very important thing for all of us to grasp.

88. This is the same appellation Paul used in I Timothy 5:21. "I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels,..."

89. She is, without doubt, referring to that oft contested Scripture, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" -- I Corinthians 15:22. The "ruined and apostatized state of creatures" did not just happen. Rather, we are explicitly told that "...the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity, not willingly (or voluntarily), but by reason of Him (God) who subjected it in hope" -- Romans 8:20. Our dear sister Leade is here referring to the fact that God will eventually restore man to his possessions which were lost in Adam's fall, and this only through Christ. How do we know this? "Because the creature (creation) itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" -- Romans 8:21. This is the glorious conclusion toward which our Divine Sovereign is working -- to restore mankind, all mankind, to his original place which he held before sin entered in.

90. Keep in mind that when the term, "ascension" is used, it does not refer to a physical removal from one place to another. Apparently, when one comes into this higher realm or degree in Christ there must be a space of time during which one learns to walk in the new-found place in the Lord; a kind of probationary period during which time it is learned how to abide constantly in the place to which attainment is had. It is not given us to think that we are to be able in these things in and of ourselves apart from the enabling grace of the Holy Spirit. To come into such a place is known as installment. To learn to so abide there until one is fixed is known as establishment.

91. As the heaven received Christ out of visible sight, so the heaven will also receive these, but not out of visible sight. Their ascension into this heaven is a spiritual, inward ascension, as she goes on to say.

92. This statement simply means that while they are walking among their fellowmen and carrying out their daily tasks, their spirit, soul and (spiritual) body is taken away inwardly (out of sight) to dwell with Him in the center of their being, until established there.

93. Thus, we are given to understand that those who do not come to a full and complete redemption while in their mortal body will find a free pass through death and receive open access into that Mount Zion state to which Paul alluded when he said, "But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the City of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,..." --Hebrews 12:22,23. It is implied that even after departing this life, further progress in these things may be had by those who died in the faith, on the ladder. Some in the past, who did attain unto the condition by which the new body may be given, still did not receive the manifestation of that body, but died in the faith, not having received the promise because they without us could not be made perfect. There is an appointed time in which the manifestation of that to which the sons attain will be manifested outwardly. Until then, all is held in abeyance. It is for this manifestation that the whole of creation groans, waiting for the adoption of the sons; that is, the redemption of the body, i.e. the installment of the new body.

94. This is the conclusion of the renovation process, all of which takes place inwardly before there can be any evidence of it outwardly. In order for Christ to become All, those things in the soul-life (thought-life, emotion-life, intellectual-life) from which so much originates, must be thoroughly and completely dealt with and put down by the Holy Spirit within. Saint of God, know it of a truth, none will enter into the high and holy things accounted of in these writings who have not truly and experientially turned inward to find union with Christ within, thereby leaving the outward. This is what Paul was speaking of in I Corinthians 15:24, when he said, "Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power." He will continue to reign upon the throne of our hearts and exert His kingly influence until He has put all enemies under His feet. This is an inward, spiritual contest first; then the accomplished work is manifested outwardly.

95. These ascended and descended angels are none other than the sons of God manifested on earth and as such will have been caught up (ascension) to that realm of the throne of God as depicted in Revelation 12:5. They will have given them ruling authority, because they are a kind of firstfruits or first-born of their kind, and therefore, as with Judah, the scepter, the rule, the throne, the kingdom, the inheritance -- all things -- are theirs. It must be constantly borne in mind that it is a foregone conclusion that these cannot act or even be anything apart from Him (Christ), who is essentially and literally their Life.

96. This is a reference to the fact that every man, woman, and child (every last human being) who ever lived and who ever shall live, comprised the corporate body of Adam who fell, being members in particular. It is to be understood that in order for Jesus Christ to be the Federal Head of a New Creation and, in fact, the Adam who arose, He must therefore incorporate in Himself every last one of those same individuals who were in the first Adam. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ (the last Adam) shall all be made alive" --I Corinthians 15:22. As such, it may be said that they are members of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ (potentially, in a futuristic sense, for none can or ever will be saved but by and through the cleansing blood of Christ), though as of yet, not aware of it. Dear saint of God, let there be no swelling up in us as was in those who took issue with the Householder (Matthew 20:1-16) for paying those who came in at the last hour the same as they who had labored in the heat of the day. He is a Sovereign God and may do as He pleases with His own. Remember also the attitude of the Jews upon hearing that even we dogs were to be allowed into the kingdom of God. Such an attitude has kept them from the Lord's Table, lo, these many years. It could exclude us from like blessings. Neither let us be as that elder son who remonstrated with his father when the fatted calf was killed for that younger brother newly come from the swine-pens, who had wasted his inheritance on harlots and riotous living. Let us rejoice with the Father that they have finally returned to their right mind. We have had the privilege of having been with the Father all the time. He is our Sovereign and may do as He will. "For by Him were all things created that were in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or principalities or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him. ...And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they are things in earth or things in heaven" -- Colossians 1:16-20.

97. She is apparently here referring to the individual's ascension in the soul (seat of the intellect, emotions, and will -- personality), not the Holy Spirit's. She is simply saying that until one ascends in spirit, soul and body for the residue of the Spirit and receipt of the new body, he must be content to ascend in spirit only.

98. As you will no doubt agree, allusion is here made to those who went ahead into the land to spy it out and come back with a report. (Numbers 13:1)

99. All spiritual insight, visions, and revelatory understandings have pointed to this ultimate, the New Heavens and the New Earth. This is apparently what she is saying.

100. She makes reference to the fact that seeing these things is not the same as having entered into them, so one is not to take solace in the revelation of such things, but press on into the obtaining of the substance and reality of them.