The Splitting of the Adam: It's time to Awaken!

By Don Felumlee

More than any inspired sermon or theologically correct teaching, there's but one, prevailing message which clearly emanates throughout the entirety of the scriptures: Our loving, Heavenly Father is desperately yearning to touch his broken and fallen creation! Before this can happen, however, from the chosen mouthpiece of a prophetic, firstfruits company, there must first and foremost resound an eye-opening message of earth-shaking significance, for the somber, sleeping church-which he shall ultimately work through-must first be awakened into the image of God! A splitting of the Adam must eventually take place within the ever-longing hearts of his beloved children! Yes indeed, my friend, a splitting of the Adam must inevitably take place within you! Join us now, if you dare, beloved, as author and teacher Don Felumlee proclaims a fresh, divine perspective of the coming of the Lord! "... I have looked high and low for explanations on resurrection and have not found anything as thoroughly detailed and understanding as in your book. I'm enjoying the read" ☺️ Pastor Joe Shutts, New Freedom Church, Lebanon, Ohio

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635756470

Book preview

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The

Splitting

of the

Adam

It’s time to Awaken!

Don Felumlee

ISBN 978-1-63575-646-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63575-647-0 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by Don Felumlee

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Preface

The prophet Isaiah proposed it. The master teacher answered it. And the determined apostles faithfully extended its course! To what am I referring, you’re probably asking? I’m referring here, to the ever-debated question of Isaiah 28 – to whom shall he teach knowledge?

Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. (Is. 28:9, 10)

As we ponder the above passage in an attempt to understand the foundational building-block through which the work before us is laid, I must immediately begin the process by asking a pertinent, thought provoking question of my own. Have you ever given thought as to why the inspired prophet above decided to purposely repeat himself on two separate occasions? Really, have you ever actually thought about it? Why do we find the phrases precept upon precept, and line upon line both repeated above? Anybody?

In Acts 26, as the apostle Paul stood pleading his case before King Agrippa in Rome, he made an astonishing statement which will quickly lead us in the proper direction of our answer:

…Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come… (Acts 26:22)

Did you catch that, my friend? Paul clearly tells us here that everything that he ever taught as he was spreading about the word of truth, he graciously obtained from the law and the prophets. Everything! He spoke none other things! If that’s the case (and it most certainly is), then here’s my next question. As you read through the Pauline epistles, where are all of the quotation marks? What do you mean by that, brother Don? You’re probably asking. Well, here’s what I’m referring to. Most of us are probably aware of the fact, that when a quoted text is used within a literary work, it should always be placed within quotation marks, right? So, if that’s the case, then once again, where are all of the quotation marks in Paul’s writings if everything that he taught was taken directly from the Old Testament? The answer here, my friend, if ever understood, becomes one of the greatest foundational building-blocks to obtaining revelation knowledge that you could ever possibly acquire. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear! The reason for which the quotation marks were rarely necessary throughout the Pauline epistles, was that Paul was no longer insisting upon literally interpreting a spiritual book!

On the road to Damascus, through an eye-opening experience one day, he had suddenly realized that beneath every literal line of the Old Testament writings (line upon line), lay a hidden spiritual line of revelational truth (line upon line)! Likewise, beneath every literal precept of the Old Testament writings (precept upon precept), lay a hidden spiritual precept of revelational truth (precept upon precept)! He and the other apostles had suddenly realized that the wisdom of God that had been hidden from the ages was never intended to be obtained through the literal interpretation of the Law and the Prophets (Old Testament writings), but through the spiritual interpretation of the divinely concealed pictures which lie anxiously beneath those incredible words. In the book of Matthew, the master teacher himself stated the exact, same concept in his own subtle way:

Ye have heard it said…..but now I say unto you! (Matt. 5:21-22)

Did you catch that, my friend? During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus himself, as he was teaching the disciples about the multi-faceted truths concerning the kingdom of God, vividly explained to them the extraordinary method behind his perplexing message. You have heard it said (literal interpretation), but now I say unto you! (Spiritual interpretation)! Can you see that? For the first time in their lives, they were now beginning to hear the line beneath the line, and the precept beneath the precept. Out of the mouth of Jesus, they were now beginning to hear the spiritual interpretation of the literal, Old Testament writings. Why? Because standing before them and proclaiming to their ears, was the living, visible manifestation of the Volume of the Book itself!

When taken literally, the Old Testament writings vividly produce the most accurate compilation of historical data ever known to man. But when spiritually interpreted through eyes of understanding using proper, biblical guidelines, those same 39 books will instantly explode into a mighty revelation of the Christ of God! Yes indeed, my friend, from the stones in the garden, to the river out of Eden, it’s the spiritual interpretation of those literal, black on white words, that modern-day Christendom is so desperately in need to hear. There must be a great awakening! That being said, however, the question which lies before us is this. What’s the spiritual catalyst which will provide for such an awakening? That’s the real question. What’s the prevailing message that the slumbering, spirit-filled church-world so desperately needs to hear? That, my friend, is the sole purpose for the Splitting of the Adam, an in-depth study concerning the misunderstood concepts regarding the coming of the Lord!

In this thought provoking study, which will shortly follow, the most commonly used approach of taking the latest, world-wide events, and foolishly projecting them into an updated, eschatological paradigm, will be completely thrown out the window! In lieu of this dangerous methodology, we’ll be taking the time-proven advice of the apostle Paul himself, which he clearly revealed to the Church of Corinth.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Cor. 2:13)

Can you hear that beloved? Without exception, and completely regardless of the subject matter at hand, Paul never failed to utilize his proven manner of inspirational instruction: he compared spiritual things with spiritual! Please take notice here that he did not say that he compared literal things with spiritual, nor visa-versa, but spiritual things with spiritual! He took the Old Testament writings, spiritually interpreted the endless analogies which they most definitely portray, and used that information to faithfully bring about the most pertinent, life-changing, spiritual truths which our heavenly father has to offer! With this understood, my friend, it has now come time to wake up and realize that we also can ultimately do the same! Throughout the inspired contents of the work at hand, it’s my full and honest intent to thoroughly investigate the word of truth regarding the highly debated subject matter of the coming of the Lord. With Scud missiles, nuclear warheads, and cobra helicopters permanently aside, it’s finally come time to discover that when scriptural principles are firmly applied, the Bible interprets itself!

Chapter One

The Ends of the World

Once upon a time when there was no time, on the corner of nowhere when there was nothing, there was a meeting… The Father was there, the Son was there, and the Holy Ghost was there taking the minutes… And the minutes of that meeting became the Volume of the Book… There hasn’t been a meeting since, and there was never a meeting before, because there doesn’t need to be… For everything that will ever happen in this time, space world, happened in that meeting… The Lamb of God was slain in that meeting… And you and I were there! Where you might ask? In him!

—Dr. Kelley Howard Varner

Within two short weeks of a glorious event which forever changed my life back in 2001, a friend of mine, knowing that I was a teacher, dropped a series of tapes into my hands and asked me if I would give them a listen. The paragraph quoted above was taken directly from one of those tapes! Somehow, my friend knew deep within his spirit that there was something of great, eternal value lying firmly entrenched within the riveting words of that angelic messenger who he had just encountered, but apart from gaining the literal understanding of it, he just couldn’t put his finger on it! Nevertheless, that divinely appointed moment of purposeful connection has become the major reasoning for which I currently write and post both the articles in my web page as well as in the present topic of the book at hand.

As I inserted the cassettes and began to listen, like the unborn fetus of John the Baptist when the Virgin Mary greeted Elizabeth that blessed day, my overwhelmed spirit began to suddenly leap from within! It was just like God, I thought, for no sooner had the Heavenly Father opened the narrow doorway into a higher dimension of the Spirit to me did he then begin to send some well-seasoned, apostolic fathers into my pathway to clearly explain to me this newly acquired realm of the heavenlies. Nearly every last word of those ninety-minute cassettes began to biblically confirm to me the personal experience which I had suddenly encountered just a couple of weeks prior—what a welcomed relief they were. I thought I had lost my mind!

As I continued to listen, however, I eventually began to realize that the genuine truth of the matter was clearly quite to the contrary, for rather than losing my mind, I had actually regained it! In reality, I’d been suddenly caught up unto God and the Lamb, for what I had experienced is what the Holy Scriptures are truly talking about when they speak of the catching up of the saints. With this understood, it suddenly occurred to me that my longtime friend had not just taken that thousand-mile round-trip to attend a praise-and-worship conference for the benefit of himself, but he had travelled there for me. And now, my friend—by extension—if you also are reading the captivating pages of this enlightening study, he travelled there for you as well.

More than any inspired sermon or theologically correct teaching, there’s but one prevailing message which clearly emanates throughout the entirety of the scriptures: Our loving heavenly father is desperately yearning to touch his broken and fallen creation. However, before this can be—from the chosen mouthpiece of a prophetic, firstfruits company—there must first and foremost resound an eye-opening message of earth-shaking significance; for the somber, sleeping church, which he shall ultimately work through, must first be awakened into the image of God. A Splitting of the Adam must eventually take place within the ever-longing hearts of his beloved children. Yes indeed, my friend, a Splitting of the Adam must inevitably take place within you!

Join me now, if you dare, as we venture into a realm which—if ever understood—will forever change your pursuit of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, and by the way, you can take a deep breath now, you haven’t missed the rapture. As we will soon discover, the catching up of the saints, of which I currently speak, does not just refer to an all-at-once experience (as we have traditionally been taught) but to every man in his own order. So quite possibly, my friend, if the Spirit of the Lord has been urging you onward and upward as of late, don’t quit your journey now, for this might just be your moment!

The Bigger Picture

As I pondered upon the approach to which I would initially be taking throughout the writing of this book, over and over again, the phrase bigger picture repeatedly arose into the enlightened forefront of my encapsulated mind. However, at that particular time—as to the length, breadth, and height to which this bigger picture would eventually develop, I can honestly say that I was completely unaware as to the overwhelming magnitude of which it would soon be heading. In fact, when I began this writing, I actually had no intentions, whatsoever, of it ever becoming a book. My initial objective here was to develop a series of shorter, more concise articles which I could successively post to my web page, but the problem with that strategy was that due to the enormous amount of related content within the subject matter at hand, I quickly realized that the posting of only smaller portions of material at any one time could quite possibly do much more harm for the intended reader than good.

The very last thing which I ever wanted to do was to take a vitally important subject matter such as the coming of the Lord and leave the students of its content completely hanging in limbo as to the significantly bigger picture of which it most certainly relates to. An approach of this manner would have, without a doubt, created many more questions than the important answers that would have initially been discovered. For this reason alone, therefore, it’s of utmost importance that we realize, up front, that for clarity’s sake of the bigger picture at hand, it will be absolutely necessary in the earlier stages of this writing to navigate multiple passages of scripture, which at first glance until the latter parts of the study arrive, may seem completely unrelated to our traditionally held viewpoints concerning the coming of the Lord (especially chapters 2 and 3). Because of this, it’s quite possible that early on in the study, you may actually find yourself struggling a bit to grasp the much-needed paradigm to which we’re attempting to bring about; but please hang in there! Before we complete our lengthy journey, I have no doubts, whatsoever, that the Holy Spirit himself will take the multiple fragments from the earlier stages of this writing and clearly weave them together with the most commonly quoted passages, concerning the coming of the Lord in the back half of our study. Within those sections, we’ll be adding some additional details which will further help to clarify the message. The concepts and principles that will clearly be presented within the back half of our material contain divine revelation which every believer needs not only to meditate upon, but also to clearly understand. Try not to let your curiosity get the best of you, however, and jump ahead to the closing sections, for it’s only in the grasping of these earlier concepts which will allow the latter portions of our study to be clearly understood.

The Last Days and the End of the World

Before we begin our attempt at tackling such an extensive subject matter as the coming of the Lord, I’d like to first and foremost make a quick reference to my Facebook page, from which I will often be referring to throughout the entirety of our study. Within this page entitled The Epicenter: Tremors from the Throneroom, you will immediately discover a series of ten individual articles that have been both purposely and sequentially laid out to provide adequate foundation for the study at hand. However, due to the fact that selected excerpts from many of these articles will often be revisited and explained throughout the pages of this book, it’s not absolutely necessary to read them in advance. Without a doubt, though, should you find yourself struggling within the earlier parts of our study or perhaps would simply like to gain a more comprehensive grasp on a particular matter, please feel free to revert back to this resource.

With bookkeeping now accomplished, I’d like to quickly journey backward for a moment to Matthew 24, which was the main supporting text for the last posted article on The Epicenter entitled The Last Days and the End of the World. Without question, if modern-day Christendom is to ever fully achieve a more accurate understanding of what the coming of the Lord is actually talking about, they must first and foremost gain precise understanding of what it’s not referring to. Again, if you haven’t had the chance to review this article, it can be easily accessed in its entirety by typing in a direct, web-engine search of The Epicenter: Tremors from the Throneroom. Within this article, you’ll gain absolute, pertinent information regarding four major concepts which are directly related to the coming of the Lord.

Initially, we discovered that when the scriptures ultimately speak concerning the last days and the end of the world, they’re not actually referring to some futuristic, global event in which the planet as we know it will encounter a devastating series of cataclysmic events, where its living inhabitants as well as the earth itself will be suddenly destroyed and annihilated. Such a theory, regardless of the teachings of modern-day Christendom, is found nowhere in the Bible. Therefore, aside from reverting to the article again, for now, I’ll simply say this about the matter. Throughout the entirety of the scriptures, without exception, the phrase the end of the world makes an undeniable referral to the complete and total ending of the age of the Mosiac law, which was officially culminated with the death of Christ at Calvary! (Heb. 9:26) Likewise, the phrase the last days in scripture refers to the last days of Judaism, which came to its final close with the destruction of Herod’s temple in AD 70. For a better understanding of these incredibly misunderstood biblical concepts, the previous, three-part article contains thirty-five pages of both historical facts as well as scriptural references, which will undeniably validate both of the above statements. Due to the fact that the article is already in print, however, I simply cannot take the time during our study at hand to thoroughly repeat the subject matter; nevertheless, it’s all been recorded for a full review.

The article’s other two topics, which are closely associated with the traditional teachings concerning the coming of the Lord, are those of the great tribulation and Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks. Contrary to the popularized teachings of John Darby, C. I. Scofield, and Clarence Larkin, within this article, we ultimately discovered that the great tribulation is not an event which is yet ahead of the Church, but it speaks of the three and a half years of hell on earth which the Jewish nation personally walked through from AD 66–70 as the Roman General Vespasian, followed closely by Titus, laid complete and total siege to the city of Jerusalem and its temple. Finally, with a thorough discussion of Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks, in our last portion of the study, we discovered that there’s absolutely no biblical basis, whatsoever, for futuristic dispensationalism’s infamous gap of two thousand years between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week of that prophecy.

So, what’s the significance of all of this? We quickly discovered that with their gap taken away, there’s absolutely no biblical foundation, whatsoever, for their entire nonsensical theory, concerning the most commonly held viewpoints of the book of Revelation. Why not? Because without the support of Daniel chapter 9, there’s simply no other reference throughout the entirety of the Holy Scriptures, which they can systematically use to base their beloved seven-year tribulation upon—none whatsoever. Take away their seven-year tribulation period by explaining what Daniel chapter 9 is actually talking about, and futuristic dispensationalism instantly falls like an unstable house of your favorite deck of playing cards. Again, there’s a complete, detailed overview of all four of these topics thoroughly discussed, in the previous, three-part article. With this clearly stated, we can now move onward and upward with our never-ending quest of exposing the immense refuge of lies, which are currently plaguing the modern-day church world.

The Parousia of the Lord

With the misunderstood concepts regarding the last days and the end of the world clearly explained in the previous article, in this study, we must now turn our attention to exploring the remaining part of the question which the disciples inquired of Jesus in Matthew 24: …And what shall be the sign of thy coming…? (Matt. 24:3). Without a doubt, the subject matter at hand has become one of the most highly intriguing yet grossly misunderstood topics of the entirety of the scriptures: the coming of the Lord. As we begin our pursuit for truth in the matter, the first order of procedure here would be to quickly understand the main reasoning for why our loving Heavenly Father would bring the world or age of the law to its everlasting end during the last days of Judaism in the first place. Clearly, as we take a moment to just sit back and ponder the situation, the actual answer to the question at hand becomes undoubtedly quite evident: His lone, simple desire was to bring a permanent relocation to the place of his dwelling presence.

His ultimate, intended purpose had never really been to just hide his magnificent glory behind the beautifully woven veil of a man-made tabernacle, but to one day reveal himself through a more excellent, spiritual temple which he alone would build—a temple which you and I are! This one magnificent truth regarding the the permanent relocation of the place of his dwelling presence during the end of the age of the law (world) is really quite simple to validate, for when Jesus’ disciples asked their ever-infamous question in Matthew 24 (…And what shall be the sign of thy coming?), the Greek word which was actually used there for the word coming was parousia, which literally means presence. Therefore, the question which was really being asked in this chapter was not What shall be the sign of thy coming? but What shall be the sign of thy presence?

At that particular moment in time, the master teacher himself had just completed nearly three-and-a-half years of his short-lived earthly ministry. Oftentimes, he had conducted private, closed-door sessions with his twelve disciples alone as he zealously attempted to explain to them the unfathomable mysteries, concerning the kingdom of God (the kingdom that he had now come to establish during the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy) and with his earlier statement in Matthew 24:2, concerning the stones of the temple being completely overturned within three days’ time, their curiosity had once again gotten the best of them. Shortly following that statement—as he sat alone at the Mount of Olives that day—once again, they privately gathered with the full intent of gaining further clarity concerning the end of the existing age (world), and the subsequent coming (relocation of his presence) which would shortly follow! The entirety of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew was merely the Master’s humble response concerning this curious, two-folded question.

As we shall soon discover, the coming which was spoken of here, had nothing to do, whatsoever, with his glorious return some two millenniums later on a puffy-white, cumulus cloud as an over-zealous angel blasts a B-flat major on his polished-brass bugle. But it had everything to do with our loving, Heavenly Father, bringing a permanent, lasting end to the currently existing age (world) and, as a result, relocating his presence from the Jewish temple in Jerusalem to the temple which we are, thus permanently establishing his everlasting kingdom within. This unshakable kingdom, though completely unseen to the natural eye, would not just exist for the first-century believers, but would continue to grow for the eternal ages to come. Unfortunately, however, what the sleeping church-world has failed to realize is that because of what took place at the end of the world (singular) some two thousand years ago, what is now taking place are the ends of the world (plural), for the ends of the world (plural), like the end of the world (singular), have nothing to do, whatsoever, with the cataclysmic end to our incredibly magnificent planet called earth. Let’s take a look!

The Ends of the World

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11).

Now, my friend, we’ve definitely arrived at a topic worth talking about! Unbeknownst to the majority of Christendom, from the very moment in which the place of his presence was clearly relocated nearly two thousand years ago, from the temple in Jerusalem to the temple which we are, a predetermined order of resurrection known as the ends of the world instantly began! OK, OK, I can already anticipate in my Spirit that there’s a mutual response hanging out there regarding the statement which I’ve just made: What on earth are you talking about, brother Don? So please, allow me to shed some light on the matter if I may. Have you ever wondered why the apostle Paul recorded the word ends in its plural form here in this passage yet left the word world in its singular tense? How many ends to the same world (age of the law) can there possibly be (selah)? Obviously, my friend, there’s something of great, beneficial value worth digging into here, and it all begins by examining the Greek word through which Paul used here for the word world. The word which is actually used here in 1 Corinthians 10:11 is the Greek word aion, which literally means age; and it’s the exact word which we also saw in our previous article from Matthew 24, where Jesus answered the disciples’ question concerning the end of the world. You see, two thousand years ago, at Calvary, the age of the law (world), once and for all arrived at its complete, everlasting end; but the question which now remains is this: Has your world (the legalistic mindset which was firmly in place during the age of the law) come to its end? Are you truly living by the third dimension of his provisional grace in this hour, or are you still seeking your Heavenly Father’s approval through the unending works (the law) of your carnal flesh? That, my friend, is the very issue to which we must all discover an answer for throughout the remaining pages of this study, for it’s the very reason, by which the Lord himself must once again appear to us all. With this in mind, let’s consider some additional passages from the book of Romans, which were also written by the apostle Paul regarding these matters.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world (age): but be ye transformed (out of that world) by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Rom. 12:1, 2).

Please notice something here folks; the renewing of the mind is not the goal in this passage. The goal here is to get out of the world (aion), which was currently existing at that particular time (the mindset of the age of the law). Today’s church-world has grown quite accustomed to thinking that the apostle Paul was merely telling the believer here that through the renewing of the mind, they can be freed from the behavioral ways of this world. As a result, they’ve taken the Holy Scriptures, which were primarily written to reveal our freedom from sin, and have frequently used them as a book of law (as we will discuss in a few moments) in a zealous attempt to create Godly behavior. The scriptures do indeed tell us that those who walk after the spirit will mortify the deeds of the flesh, but that’s not what Paul was saying here in this particular passage. He was saying that through the renewing of the mind, we can be transformed and delivered from the same legalistic mindset which had enveloped all humanity during the age of the law (aion-world). Keep that in mind as we continue.

With that explained, let’s slow down here for a moment and begin to see how Paul’s thoughts from his passage in Romans 12 are synced perfectly together with his earlier passage which we discussed from 1 Corinthians 10:11. Look at how he begins this passage: I beseech you therefore, brethren… Can you see how the first five words of this verse leave what he is about to talk about here open ended? Can you see how, even though he was initially writing here to the first-century church, the Holy Spirit saw to it that he worded it in such a way that it would apply to anyone who would ever read this passage from that moment in time onward? For it was because of what took place at the end of the world—at Calvary (see Heb. 9:26)—that a certain opportunity had not only presented itself to that generation, but it had now been made available to all. What was this opportunity? Let’s begin to dig a little deeper now as we attempt to uncover the details of a glorious opportunity, which has now been made available to all.

To anyone who would ever read this passage, here was Paul’s advice: You therefore, brethren…, be not conformed to this world [the age of the law]… Can you hear that? Paul was telling every believer who would ever read this passage to be not conformed to or come into agreement with the mindset which was presently existing during that particular age, the age of the law in which he lived. If that be the case, therefore, and it most certainly was, and his solution to not being conformed to that age was to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, then obviously, somewhere in the past, my friend, there had to have been something which went dreadfully wrong to place the existing mindsets of all humanity into such a woeful, out-of-kilter condition. Not only that, but judging by the words of the apostle Paul himself, this woeful condition had remained completely intact and completely without cure until that particular moment in human history.

What Paul was trying to explain here was that due to what had just taken place at the end of the world (Calvary), an exciting avenue had now been fully provided through which each of our corrupted minds could henceforth be redeemed. By admonishing the reader to be not conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, he was telling them that somewhere in their past, there was a particular mindset which had been wrought into the entirety of the human race which did not exist at man’s original creation. And now that the world (age of the law) had finally come to its end, there at last existed an avenue of getting completely out of that mindset. Perhaps you’ve never pondered this thought before, but it’s definitely one worth considering; You cannot renew a magazine unless at one time in your past, you had already owned a subscription to it (selah). Therefore, if Paul was telling us to renew our minds, he was trying to tell us here that at one time in our past, we all had a mindset which was quite a bit different than it is right now—quite a bit different! And with the world now ended, we can finally re-obtain that original mindset.

Listen closely, my friend. If you were not yet aware, the Greek word which Paul used in the Book of Romans for the word transformed is the same Greek word which the Holy Scriptures also use for the English word transfiguration. So, let’s put some things together now. Paul was saying that since the world (the age of the law) had finally come to its end, there now exists an opportunity through which all mankind can experience the exact same glory which Jesus Christ himself experienced in Matthew 17 at the Mount of transfiguration, and the manner by which this can happen is through the regaining of the mind which you originally possessed in the beginning. If you can regain this mind, he was saying, you too will be transfigured. And just as a side note, listen to what Peter himself calls the transfiguration experience a perfect example of:

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from Heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount [transfiguration] (2 Pet. 1:16–18).

Ah, my friend, did you catch that? The transfiguration experience was an example to us of what the Bible is truly talking about when it mentions the coming or parousia of the Lord. It’s the exact Greek word for coming that the disciples themselves used in Matthew 24, when they asked the infamous question, …And what shall be the sign of thy coming (parousia)? Isn’t it rather interesting that there is not a single example during the entire transfiguration experience of anyone flying off of the planet to a heavenly abode three miles south of Mars somewhere? However, there is an example of an elevation to a higher dimension while right here on the earth (the ascent up the mountain) and then, once at the top, a glorious transfiguration from the earthly first man Adam (who Christ represented for us at Calvary) to the heavenly last man Adam (who gloriously arose from the grave). Isn’t it also interesting that all this took place as Moses and Elijah (who were types of the age of the law which was about to come to its conclusion at the end of the world) suddenly appeared to talk to Jesus about the things concerning his death? Where’s the traditional rapture concept described here, folks? Anyone? Paul says that the coming of the Lord or parousia, which Matthew 24 describes, concerns the regaining of the mind which we once had in the beginning—and so does Peter!

Did you know that you and I were there in the beginning? Did you know that before you were ever born into this earthly realm, you—at one time in your past—had a completely different mind? If you’ve never heard of such talk, please don’t tune me out now, my friend, for there’s much more to say concerning these matters later on in our study. As I said moments ago, the world (age of the law) came to its everlasting end some two thousand years ago at Calvary, but the question which now remains, my friend, is this: Has your world come to an end? So what exactly am I talking about by asking such a question? Let’s do some digging!

As we discovered in the article, For Those Who Hunger on The Epicenter: Tremors from the Throneroom, since the fall of Adam, every man, woman, and child (other than Jesus Christ of course) to ever be born onto this planet was born with exactly the same mindset: a carnal one. However, as we have just mentioned, as a result of the end of the world (age of the law) two thousand years ago, a predetermined order—described by Paul as the ends of the world—began to suddenly unfold with the glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who was both the firstborn from among the dead (to be carnally minded is death) and the firstborn among many brethren (a people to whom the ends of the world are come). With this in mind, and before I proceed any further, allow me take a moment here to make myself perfectly clear concerning this statement. Please note here that in no way, shape, or form am I implying by this statement that Jesus Christ was carnally minded; but there’s much more to reveal here that I am purposely withholding until later on in our reading. For instance, if you have read the previous article entitled The Last Days and the End of the World, you will probably remember that when talking about the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy, it’s said concerning Jesus, that at Calvary, he was "cut off but not for himself…" Can you hear that? At Calvary, he was not acting for himself; he was acting on behalf of all of humanity, who at that particular time, was still carnally minded! For now, however, until we further explain later on in the reading, just remember that through the renewing of the mind, our world—the way of carnal, legalistic thinking, which had fully existed within every human being throughout the age of the law—can now be brought to its everlasting end.

So once again, if the writings of the apostle Paul are true and there now resides an avenue through which we can finally regain our original mindset, then at some point in time in everyone’s future, there has to be a change; and that change, my friend, is the actual purpose for his coming (his presence). Therefore, at some point in time in everyone’s future, through his magnificent, indwelling presence (parousia), he’s going to come or appear within to gloriously change some things. Once this has occurred, however, the ultimate purpose for this divinely appointed change has merely just begun, for once he appears to us to bring unspeakable change to our carnal minds within, he shall then appear thru us as a corporate manifestation to the remainder of humanity without.

Did not Jesus’ predecessor, John the Baptist, come bursting onto the scene, saying Repent, which simply means to change your mind about something? Why would he do such a thing? Why was it that he was pleading to the multitudes to change their minds in the first place? Ah, my friend, "… for the kingdom of God was at hand"! Daniel’s seventieth week had finally arrived. The kingdom of God was about to be established. A spiritual kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost was about to be unveiled. It was a complete and total return to the original, glorious lifestyle of the fullness of the Spirit. A complete and total return to the magnificent kingdom lifestyle, which was once displayed in the garden before the dreadful fall of man. Consequently, therefore, as one would truly expect, this same kingdom lifestyle has now come demanding a complete and total return to its original glorious mind!

With this now said, I can already sense a question hanging out there in the minds of many readers: Are you telling me then, that Christ has already returned, Brother Don? For now, at this point in our study, let’s just say that he has come, he is come, and he shall continue to come. But I will say this: the coming of the Lord of which Matthew 24 proclaims has already taken place some two thousand years ago, and that, my friend, is an established biblical fact. Are there prophetical overtones to Matthew 24? Absolutely, but those my friend, will be thoroughly discussed later on in our study.

With several articles now already in print on The Epicenter: Tremors from the Throneroom, for those who have read them, you probably won’t be a bit surprised by my following statement: It’s religion that has messed this thing up, folks! What they have tried to do concerning the vital subject matter of the coming of the Lord is to take nearly every mention of the word coming or appearing throughout the New Testament and throw it into a single, one-time event, which will suddenly occur during what they have labeled as the end times or the end of the world (not realizing, of course, that the end of the world which the scriptures actually refer to has already taken place). After lump-summing the entirety of these scriptures into one, single event, they then call this end-of-the-world event the second coming of Jesus Christ. Major mistake! Let me explain my point if I may.

Throughout the scriptures, it is revealed to