If you are in the process of re-examining old childhood beliefs and have realized there has to be a "more excellent way", this book is for you. With this in mind, I invite you to "Take Another Look" at some of the most important tenants of fundamental Judeo-Christian dogma. We will explore these basic ideas from the cultural context in which they were experienced and written, as well as the influences of the translators. This will take us from a fear-based message to the Gospel, or good news, with a love-based premise. In this day, there are several versions of the Bible. I suggest choosing the version which best suits your understanding of language. II Timothy 2:15 says: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The study presented in this book is based on the "Thompson Chain-Reference Bible", "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible", the guidance of the inner teacher - the Holy Spirit, and spiritual common sense. The result has challenged much of the second-handed information that has been passed down through Christian patriarchy. This scripture also mentions, "rightly dividing the word of truth". To do this, we need to discern which scriptures are inspired by God and which scriptures contain man's perceptions and hidden political and cultural agenda's. I ask that you listen to your own inner Christ intelligence which is able to lead you into all truth, rather than listening to the feeble attempts of men's voices on the paths that seem right, who are only plunging us into the depths of unanswered questions, ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Take Another Look
A Scriptural Review of Traditional Christian DoctrineBy David HulseAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 David Hulse, D.D.
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-0704-5Contents
Acknowledgments......................................................ixPreface..............................................................xiTAKE ANOTHER LOOK....................................................1A Scriptural Review of Law and Grace.................................1God - Master of Heart or Law?........................................3Law vs. Grace........................................................6THE RESURRECTION.....................................................15The First Resurrection...............................................19The Spiritual and Natural Worlds Coming Together.....................26WHAT DOES HINDER THEE?...............................................29Reality vs. Unreality................................................29The Realm of Appearance..............................................31Awakening From the Dream.............................................37The City is Your Own.................................................41Beyond Thinking......................................................47HELL YES? HELL NO?...................................................53History of the Fundamental Doctrine of Hell..........................53What is God's Judgment?..............................................55A Place of Correction................................................59The Lake of Fire.....................................................61Deliverance from Hell................................................64Appearance of the Anti-Christ........................................66The Many Bodies of Christ............................................68AGREE WITH YOUR ADVERSARY............................................71How to Stay Out of Prison............................................77Love Thy Enemy.......................................................81RELEASING SPIRITS....................................................83Reconciliation.......................................................85Releasing Spirits....................................................88The Other Side Of The Coin...........................................96THE POINT OF RETURN..................................................99The Great Returning..................................................99Cleansing Of The High Place..........................................115From Knowledge To Expression.........................................131Back Into The Upper Room.............................................140Conclusion...........................................................144LWM Message-of-the-Month.............................................147About The Author ... David Hulse, D.D................................149
Chapter One
Take Another Look
A Scriptural Review of Law and Grace
We will never move on to understand our perfection (wholeness) until we establish ourselves in the principles of the true teachings of the universal Christ. We have invested a great deal of time laying our foundation on the shifting sands of second-handed, passed-down information, rather than on the solid rock of our ability to show ourselves approved. Due to a perception of a separate God, we have focused on what we can get from God, rather than on what we can give to God. We have not considered His heart and His desires. We have forgotten that relationship is a two-way street where God is concerned.
"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto your name give glory ..." Psalms 115:1
Present truth is experienced when the inherent Word enters our consciousness from Spirit, tuning the soul (mind) to the same vibration of Spirit, making them one. From this union, the body follows. The word that brings this revelation is not just another revelation about God, but is a word that reveals the heart of God. The heart of God is saying, "I thirst and hunger for a people to be my body. I desire an availability to express my love, mercy and grace to humanity at an earth level."
God's desire is to speak to us face to face. Yet, we have used the law and letter of the word in such a way that we have drifted away from God. He does not need the word to be condensed or watered down by religious interpretations. The law is not the heart of God. The spoken and written words of the law were intended to bring humanity to know its need for God. The realm of prophecy, gifts, miracles and healing is seeing where God has been, but it is not seeing God in the present. Let's go a step further. The so-called five-fold ministry has been given for perfection, but we, as a spiritual creation, are already perfect as our Creator is perfect! Certainly, there is a need for ministry and gatherings, but their purpose is only to remind each of us how to know God in ourselves.
We have settled for "a" blessing long enough. "A" blessing includes the temporal gifts such as prophecy and physical healing. "THE" blessing is eternal and life evermore. (Ps. 133) The fact that we are born into this earth gives us the God-given right to life. You do not have to earn immortality; it is your identity. A ministry which teaches that healing and deliverance can only come through the ministry of another man, short-changes its people. God is ready to reveal Himself in His sons to deliver creation from the limitations imposed by the law. God's will is for life and immortality to be brought to manifestation! He is ready to reveal the Word in its purest essence. We will begin to experience true manifestation as people tune into their oneness with God.
"Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land." Isaiah 1:18-19
This scripture does not refer to people just getting together to reason out their problems. But rather, it is a call from God to man to communicate His heart. All that is required from us is our willingness to leave our doctrines of law and legalism as interpreted by human perception. Are you willing to meet God at the reasoning table of the heart? God doesn't want His Word being twisted and used to build great organizations that use "thus saith God" to hold people captive to its hidden agendas. God is ready to direct your thinking toward ways that will resonate deep inner truths. It is time to drop our pretenses and stop being religious with God. It is time to communicate with God face to face.
God - Master of Heart or Law? "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people and sanctify them ... and be ready ... for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mt. Sinai." Exodus 19:10-11 "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightenings and the noise of the trumpet and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us and we will hear, but let God not speak with us, lest we die ... And the people stood afar off and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." Exodus 20:18
God desired to speak with Israel face to face, but they were not able to deal directly with the voice of God. They were afraid, so they rejected God on a first-hand basis. Instead, they wanted Moses to go to the mountain, come down, and tell them what God had said. This is when the pollution of the Word of God began.
However, we must take into consideration that the Bible is only an interpretation of whatever God would have actually said. Our scriptures do not contain the words written with the finger of God. Today, preachers speak of law and legalism as they carve their own interpretations of God's law into the minds of their followers by adding "thus saith the Lord". In truth, what they share about the laws of God is their human interpretation of the law, which is based on another's human interpretation. It is this cycle that leads us away from the heart (intent) of God.
Let us consider a serious question. If the word of God, with all of the law and legalism of religion, would have been able to bring the whole world to God, why haven't more people responded? Untold thousands have left the church, feeling hopeless from not being able to bow to this God of law and legalism. Religion, standing in its self-righteousness, has turned many people away from, rather than to God.
God gave the law to Moses to improve the condition of human kind. It was not given to institute a way to God, or to confine society into religious sects. It was given that we might see ourselves and understand our need for a relationship with God.
The law says, "thou shall not steal". Consider the situations of two people, one who is responsible and one who is not. The responsible man wants to work but, for some reason beyond his control, he is not able to. His family is hungry and, out of desperation, he takes fruit from a food stand. He is caught, arrested and brought before the law. The irresponsible man is lazy and feels the world owes him a living. He takes fruit from the same stand and is also caught, arrested and brought before the law. Is it fair that the law applies equally to both persons? Grace would look at each situation individually. There is record in the history of the scriptures, that God allowed a lying spirit to come upon man, and other times, lying was not permissible by law. What about David? David is considered to have been a man after God's own heart. Yet he committed adultery, murdered and ate the forbidden shewbread of the temple. According to the law, all of these actions were punishable by death. Why was David not put to death? Because he was king? No! David was a man who knew and followed the heart of the Most High. He did not live by the law and was therefore not judged nor punished by this law. However, he did pay for his mistakes through the life of his own son. He reaped what he had sown, just as we all do. The key here is that there is a difference in reaping what you sow, and being judged by God. Nobody gets by. To every action there is a reaction. It is time to grow up and take responsibility for what we sow.
We need to see behind the letter of the law and into the heart of God. We can never be righteous by our works; righteousness is only found by allowing the God within to manifest.
"Sacrifice and offerings thou didst not desire, mine ears thou hast opened, burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast not required." Psalms 40:6 "Sacrifice and offerings thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast no pleasure ... He taketh away the first, that He might establish the second." Hebrews 10:5-9
The Old Testament law speaks of sacrifice and sin offerings repeatedly. But God said that was never MY heart! Again, these things were only given that humankind might see the hopelessness in reaching God by their own works. When Jesus fulfilled the law, it was in a different cultural time period. Religion no longer preaches the need to sacrifice animals, but it does preach the need for your entire life to be one of sacrifice and walking the "crucified way". This is just another way of making sin offerings in an effort to appease God and make humankind worthy. Even under the old covenant, God became weary of the human effort and declared, "I never desired these things."
If we choose to live in law consciousness, we need to keep the whole law. In law consciousness, if you break one law, you are guilty of all. The reason we see so many Christians miserable is because they confess a belief for the law and yet cannot live by it. By their own terms, they walk in condemnation. With the law, religion has pointed a finger to those who need help with not breaking the law. It is a fact that some people are habitual liars and others are kleptomaniacs, etc. But, according to the law of religion, we condemn even those people whom we know are in a prison of their own. The heart of God wants us to stop judging and start loving.
There is a Universal Law of reaping and sowing that has absolutely nothing to do with religion, free will, belief or disbelief. It is a law of nature that a seed sown will produce fruit of the same kind. This Universal Law is not God sending punishment to us; it is our own experience of correction. (Jer. 2:19) There is no annihilation and eternal punishment set from the wrath of God for us to endure! We endure the consequences of our own actions, and we learn from these experiences.
Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days and nights just before His time of manifestation. It was here where He was tempted. The wilderness was that part of His mind where the temptation rose to use His power to prove He was the Son of God. Now remember, Jesus was raised during a time when the law was the prevalent mind-set of the culture. This belief system, which originated outside of himself, became adversarial to the experience of what was being fathered within. As He began His move toward the ending of the law, He brought in the testament of grace.
Law vs. Grace "The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you all things and is truth and is no lie and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him." I John 2:27 "This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ ... and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." I John 5:6
As we awaken in the midst of religious doctrines, it is important to realize that we are returning to the house of God. To return somewhere, we had to have been there before. As the purity of the word of God reveals itself, it is not any man who teaches us this word, but the anointing within that brings all of these things to our remembrance. God has called forth a ministry of instructors and through the witness of spirit, has enabled us to awake from the stupor of religious doctrine. This quest for truth will always be in opposition to religious programming. Our security lies in the fact that no matter how much our religious mind may disagree, the anointing abides deep within and is the Spirit of truth that always bears witness.
Look at what the scriptures say concerning law and grace. Many of these scriptures do not need comment; they speak for themselves if we simply look at what they say rather than listening to the parroting of religious theories and ideas.
"You who are trying to be justified by the law, have been alienated from Christ. You have fallen from grace." Galatians 5:4
We have all sat in pews and taken in the sermons about our fall from grace. But according to the scripture, as long as we depend upon our works to make us acceptable to God, we alienate ourselves from the grace of Christ.
"Are you so foolish, after beginning with the spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Galatians 3:3 (Amplified)
Do not forget that first and foremost, you are spirit! Your efforts in the human form are only those of the spirit experiencing humanity. What is true and whole about you has never changed, and never will. Remember your spirit and you remember who you truly are. When we remember who it is we are, then we naturally respond to one another in a state of grace. We do not need to rely on the conditions of the law to feel acceptable to God, we know that we are acceptable because we are a part of the whole that is God!
Many people who have accepted the plan of salvation still attempt to reclaim their salvation whenever they feel that have had a bad thought or behaved in a way that is not in accordance with the law. We need to set aside our belief in repentance and move on to perfection (wholeness) which already exists. Religion can hold people in a state of mind that they go to bed not knowing if they are "saved" or "lost". How many times have you left a meeting where such condemnation was preached that you walked away wondering if you had ever really had an experience with God or had received valid salvation? Condemnation comes through looking to human efforts to make you "good enough" to please God. The law will always make you feel ungodly, pointing out your faults, frailties and human weaknesses. The law takes your eyes off from grace and directs them to your works! This is the greatest weakness of the Christian world.
There is a so-called "gift" working in the church. Some call it "the gift of discernment" (spirit) but, in reality, it is the gift of suspicion (psychic). When God gives true discernment concerning a person or situation, it is given with compassion and love- never with judgment. Discernment is the ability to look past appearance and see the Christ in another. This brings healing to the mind of the observer, who is then released of all condemnation.
"And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Peter said not so lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice." Acts 10:13-16
In the eyes of God, all of humankind is clean, holy and righteous because God is all of these things. God sees us in our finished state of creation. When Peter saw a vision of the unclean beasts and was told to kill and eat them, he answered, "But Lord, I can't eat the unclean. I have a good reputation. I have kept the law and I am not about to break it now." God answered Peter, "I said arise and eat. Get up out of that place of law, legalism and externalism and arise!" Arise means to raise our own consciousness within. We rise from a legalistic religious mind into a spiritual, heavenly mind to see the world through God's eyes; the eyes of love and grace.
The scriptures say that you will know a man by his fruit- not by his self-righteous works. What is the fruit? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance- against such, there is no law! A person who finds that life comes by the grace of God and taps into the nature of God will manifest these fruits. There is no law necessary to produce good works through them because the nature of God produces after its own kind.
"We know that the law is good if a man uses it properly. We also know that the law is not for good men, but for law breakers, rebels, the ungodly and sinners." I Timothy 1:8 "... the law worketh wrath, where there is no law, there is no transgression." Romans 4:15 "... the strength of sin is the law." I Corinthians 15:56 "For sin shall have no dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace." Romans 6:14 Take a serious look at what the scriptures have to say concerning sin, law, and grace. Religion uses the law to keep the good people "in line". Yet we read that the law was not given for the good or the righteous man. The only strength that sin has is the law. Take away the law, and you literally take away the power to sin, for where there is no law, there is no transgression! Sin has no dominion over the person who moves from the law into grace.
(Continues...)
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