VISIONS BEYOND THE VEIL
By H. A. BAKER
Missionary to Tibet, China, and Formosa
The 12th Edition in English
Published by
OSTERHUS PUBLISHING HOUSE
4500 W. Broadway
“This book has not and will not be copyrighted.” This is the uncopyright notice.
It is my intentions to republished this book, so that readers may see and understand the power of the Holy Spirit as it fell among the children of the Adullam Rescue Mission in early twentieth century China.
Thomas S. Gibson
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/tsgibson/propheticword.html
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter I Mighty Outpouring of The Holy Spirit
Chapter II Supernatural Manifestations of the Holy Spirit
Chapter III Scriptural Results of the Outpouring
Chapter IV Visions of Heaven
Chapter
V
Chapter VI Angels in our Midst
Chapter VII The Kingdom of the Devil
Chapter VIII End of this Age and Return of Christ
Chapter IX Chinese Beggar Boy Prophesies
Chapter X Some Light on Writing the Bible
Chapter XI The Homeland
Chapter Xll The Way
INTRODUCTION
The children and young people upon whom came this outpouring of the Holy Spirit
and through whom came these visions and revelations were members of the Adullam
Rescue
had been beggars in the streets of the city. In some cases they were poor children with
one or both parents dead and had been brought to the Home. There were also some
prodigals who had run away from their homes in more distant parts of this or
adjoining provinces.
But from whatever source they came, these children, mostly boys ranging in ages from
six to eighteen, had come to us without previous training in morals and without
education. Begging is a sort of "gang" system in which stealing is a profitable part. The
morals are what would be expected of a "gang" in a godless land.
The Bible is carefully and daily taught in the Adullam Home, and the gospel is
constantly preached. Since the children coming into the home have always been open
to the teachings given, before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit recorded below, some
of them were doubtless converted, while many had a very good knowledge of the
main themes of the Bible.
All who received the Holy Spirit knew enough to believe in one God and to trust in the
blood of Christ for salvation. They also prayed for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. They
sought Christ. We did not see any one seeking visions or any of the manifestations that
were received day by day as all single heartedly prayed and praised the Lord Jesus. He
alone was sought and magnified throughout all the weeks of the Spirit's outpouring.
In this visitation from the Lord all were treated impartially. The oldest and the
youngest, the first arrivals and the latest comers, the best and the worst, all sitting
together around their common Father's table were alike treated to His heavenly
bounties.
This giving of the Promised Spirit was clearly a love gift of grace "apart from works" or
personal merit. It was not something that was worked up. It was something that came
down. It was not the result of character building by man from below. It was a blessing
of God that came from above.
The Experiences Herein Related are Unexplainable on
Natural Ground
The experiences of these Adullam children that are herein related cannot be explained
on natural ground, because:
1.
These wonders could not possibly have been the product of the natural minds
of
these children. Such uneducated, mentally untrained, unimaginative boys as these
could not themselves have conceived of such things.
2.
These spiritual experiences, visions, and revelations could not have been
the working
of the subconscious mind. Many of these children were too young, too ignorant, or too
recently rescued from heathenism to know the Bible teaching on these subjects.
3.
Then, again, these things cannot be explained by the psychology of mental
suggestion from others. We ourselves had never seen such visions, never been in
meetings where there were such, or read or heard of such visions as were given these
children. These experiences were new to all of us.
4. Furthermore, the children did not get these things from one another. When the
power of the Lord fell in our midst many children were filled with the Spirit at the same
time. Those who were in different rooms sometimes had simultaneous visions of the
same things. There was no possibility of comparing one with another.
5. The complete harmony of these visions covering numberless details is beyond any
natural explanation. Even the most ignorant children, who could easily be confused on
cross questioning, whether questioned singly or in groups, gave as clear and uniform
answers to questions covering great numbers of details as could possibly have been
given by eye witnesses of anything.
6. Neither can these experiences be explained as any sort of mental excitement, religious
frenzy, natural emotion, nervous state, nor any sort of self-produced condition. This
outpouring
of the Holy Spirit came upon normal children in a normal state of mind free
from all the conditions just mentioned.
The Visions and Revelations Given Adullam are
Consistent
Supernatural Experiences in the
Supernatural visions and revelations are foundation rocks upon which the Church was
established and upon which it stands. The whole Bible, Old and New Testament, is a
supernatural revelation from God.
In the Old Testament, God revealed his will to men by speaking through prophets by
direct inspiration in which the mind of the prophet had no part. The Lord appeared to
men and spoke to them in a "voice" with "words." He thus spoke to Moses, as man
speaks to man face to face.1 In the Old Testament, God revealed himself to men in
dreams, in visions, and in various kinds of supernatural revelations. Angels brought
messages to men and were continually active as God's ambassadors in carrying out His
plan of redemption on earth.
The New Testament, likewise, claims to be a superhuman revelation. Paul said of the
gospel he preached: "Neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came
to me through revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1:12). What he wrote in all his epistles
was simply a part of this supernatural "revelation of Jesus Christ."
Without such working of the Holy Spirit and without such visions and revelations as
were given Adullam there would be no Christianity at all. The true Church, begun in
this manner, exists to the present day because just such supernatural manifestations
formed the cradle in which it was born and nursed into vigorous life. When Herod
would destroy the baby Jesus, the wise men were "warned of God in a dream.''2
1"Jehovah
spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." Ex.
33:11.
2"Being
warned of God in a dream." Matt. 2:12.
"An angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a
dream." Matt. 2:13.
"A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There
was a man of
"The Lord said unto Paul in the night by a
vision." Acts 18:9.
"When I had returned
to
"Peter went up upon the housetop to pray. And . .
. he fell into a trance." Acts 10:9, 10.
"And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter . . .
and a voice came unto him again the second time." Acts
10:13-15.
"Cornelius . . . saw in a vision openly . . .
" Acts 10:1-3.
"I John . . . was in the Spirit . . . and I heard
behind me a great voice . . . saying What thou seest, write
in a book." Rev. 1 9-11
"But I will come to visions and revelations of the
Lord. I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago
(whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of
the body, I know not: God knoweth), such a one
An angel
appeared to Joseph in a dream. One like a man of
praying
in the temple at
It is a revelation from the Lord who spoke to him in "a great voice," and it is also a
record of visions given in the Spirit and through the ministry of angels. Paul either died
and went to heaven "out of the body" or was in vision caught up to heaven like our
Adullam
children and there saw
supernatural revelations that the Lord had to send him a thorn in the flesh to keep him
humble.
Angels, also, had a large part in the work of the first church. The early disciples were
often protected and directed in their work by the angels. In this way they were
delivered from imminent danger from earthly powers. An angel spoke to Philip,
directing
him to
directing him. Cornelius, his household, and his friends were led unto the way of
salvation and into the baptism of the Holy Spirit through the words of an angel who
came to him. This angel, appearing in bright apparel, talked with him, directing him to
send for Peter and then departed. When Peter was in prison an angel rescued him. This
angel loosened the chains from Peter's hands, told him to put on his garments and
shoes, opened the prison door and the city gate that was locked, and led Peter into the
street.
Greatest of all the supernatural manifestations in the early church were those of the
mighty Holy Spirit, who came to that Church just as the Lord had promised He would
come after Christ ascended to the Father.
That first church did not read prayers. Neither did that first church say prayers. That
first
church prayed to God from the heart, and God directly and supernaturally
caught up even to the third heaven . . . He was caught
up into
"By reason of the exceeding greatness of the
revelations, that I should not be exalted overmuch there
was given me a thorn in the flesh." II Cor. 12:7.
"An angel of the Lord spake unto Philip."
Acts 8 :26. "There stood by me this night an angel of the Lord
whose I am, whom also I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul;
thou must stand before Caesar." Acts 27:23,24.
"Cornelius . . . saw in a vision openly—an angel
of God coming in unto him and saying to him . . . " Acts
10:3.
"And behold an angel of the Lord stood by him,
and a light shined in the cell and he smote Peter on the
side, and awoke him, saying, Rise up quickly: And the
chains fell off from his hands. And the angel
said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy
sandals." Acts 12:7,8.
"When they had prayed, the place was shaken
wherein they were gathered; and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit." Acts 4:31.
answered these heart cries. When the disciples were in danger they got together and
prayed to God. This was not formal praying; it was not a cringing, heartless, carefully
worded prayer meeting for men's ears. Everybody prayed at the same time;
everybody cried to God in a loud voice. This was a special prayer meeting for one
great need.
When God answered, everybody knew He answered. The Holy Spirit shook the house
in which these people were praying, and every one was "filled with the Holy Spirit,"
with a mighty superhuman power. They then went out spreading gospel fire in the
very face of death.
The early church had a living God. Through the Holy Spirit they had Christ in their
midst. He worked in them and through them supernaturally by gifts of the Holy Spirit:
"For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of
knowledge; to an other faith . . . ;to another workings of miracles...; to another gifts of
healings . . .; to another prophecy . . .; to another discernings of spirits . . .; to another
kinds of tongues . . .; and to another interpretation of tongues" (I Cor. 12 :7-10) .
Where
is the Living God who brought our fathers up out of
before the eyes of the heathen? Where is our God who once answered in a voice that
men could hear, yea, whose voice shook the whole earth? What has become of the God
who from the time the earth was created sent his angels to walk and to talk with his
people?
What has become of the angels?
And the Christ of the Bible? Where is He? Have they taken away our Lord, so we
cannot find where they have laid Him?
What has become of His "Promise"? Christ said that if He should go away it would be
better than ever for His people, for God would walk with them more than in all the
ages past. His Promise was, "It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I do not go
away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send Him unto you." "He
that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also."3
Our Lord has gone. Where, oh, where is the Holy Spirit that was to come to take His
place; to carry on His uncompleted task; to work in the midst of His Church in signs
and wonders and gifts of the Holy Spirit? Has God died ? If so, when? Or has God
withdrawn so far away that He cannot hear? Can not God talk any more? Have the
angels deserted us for some other universe? If so, when did they forsake us? After all,
is the Holy Spirit, this great power of God, this great substitute for the miracle working
Christ, the Christ whose words the winds and waves obeyed, whose words burst the
3Jn. 16:7; 14:12.
tombs, is this Great Substitute just a gentle influence? Where is the Holy Spirit Who
shook and filled a whole house of praying disciples and through them shook a world?
If ever there was a Living God, if ever there were angels, if ever there was a wonder
working Christ, if the Holy Spirit was ever given, if the Bible is a supernatural
revelation from God, then such trances, visions, revelations, and workings of the Holy
Spirit as have been given Adullam are supernatural visitations from God such as we
should expect.
These trances, visions, revelations, and supernatural manifestations are normal
experiences in the supernaturally founded, supernaturally filled, and supernaturally
directed Church of the New Testament, the only Church the Bible tells or foretells
anything about.
CHAPTER I
MIGHTY OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Morning prayer meeting was lasting longer than usual. The older children left the room
one by one to begin their studies in the school-room, while a few of the smaller boys
remained on their knees, praying earnestly. The Lord was near; we all felt the presence
of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Some who had gone out returned to the room.
Such a mighty conviction of sin—a thing for which we had prayed so long—came to all,
that with tears streaming from their eyes and arms uplifted they cried unto the Lord for
forgiveness for their sins, which now seemed so black. One after another went down
under the mighty power of the Holy Spirit until more than twenty were prostrate on
the floor. When I saw that the Lord was doing a most unusual thing in our midst, I
slipped over to the school room and told the boys that if they felt led to come and pray
they might be excused from their school work. In a short time the Chinese teacher was
left sitting alone by the table. All his pupils having returned to the prayer room, they
were whole-heartedly praying and praising the Lord. When the teacher realized there
was nothing for him to do, he started for his home. I had not invited him in with the
children, for, although he has been with us a long time, he seemed utterly dead, rather,
not yet alive to any spiritual conception of the gospel. Having gone but a short distance
from the house, he returned. When he entered the prayer room nobody noticed him,
for every one was intent on his own business with the Lord. The teacher went to the
farthest corner of the room, where, for the first time in his life, he knelt down and tried
to pray.
As the Lord's power was so very manifest, I felt it best to leave the young man by
himself and not to intrude on what I knew must be the work of the Spirit and of the
Spirit alone. It was not long before I noticed the teacher with arms uplifted, tears on his
face, pleading with the Lord to forgive his sins, which I heard him say were so very,
very many. He being proud, for him to humble him self thus in the presence of his
pupils meant a real Holy Spirit conviction of sin.
The meeting went on hour after hour, the children showing no desire to leave. I had
nothing to do or say; the Lord seemed to have complete control; I just tried to keep out
of His way.
As the children in visions saw the awfulness of hell, the anguish of lost souls, and the
indescribable hellish power of the devil and his angels their agonized crying was
beyond anything I had ever heard or imagined. It was all real to them. Many saw
themselves
bound and dragged to the very brink of hell, which to them was no myth
but an awful reality. Condemnation for sins and the power of the devil over them was
terrorizing in its reality. But freedom from this evil power through the grace of the
Lord Jesus was just as real. When they experienced this loosening power from the
clutch of the evil one their salvation was as real as had been their condemnation. Their
joy, laughter, and peace of soul in the knowledge of what they had been saved from
gave them an experience from which I am sure they will never be able to depart.
Since from early morning they had all been in the very presence of the Lord, by the
time their late afternoon meal was ready I thought surely the service for the day was
over. Not so. Some left the prayer room for a short time, but all were soon back, saying
they wanted to wait upon the Lord all night. This was something decidedly new to us,
for previously an hour service was too long for some of them. We had long wanted
them to pray more; now that they were willing, why refuse them? Not a child went to
sleep until a late hour that night; not until six o'clock the next morning were the last
voices stilled in the prayer and praise service that had lasted over twenty hours with
scarcely a pause. Josephine Baker.
Continuous Weeks of the Latter Rain (Note the Azusa street outpouring was originally called The Latter Rain) After the first two days of the mighty outpouring of the latter rain there was not the manifestation of the power of God there had been. We therefore went back to the regular order of work, expecting to spend more time in the evening, tarrying before the Lord. The boys went to their school work, and I went out to call on some people to talk to them about the gospel.
Our morning prayer meeting began at about half past seven. As usual, we all prayed at
the same time, and each went out when he pleased. Upon returning at twelve o'clock, I
heard some one praying in the prayer room. Going in to see who it was, I found our
quietest and most timid boy, Wang Gia Swen, a boy of about eight years of age, hidden
behind the organ praying in a loud voice and weeping as he confessed his sins to the
Lord. He had been praying continuously since the morning service without stopping
for breakfast.
As I came out of the prayer room the boys came out from their school. They were then
to go to the garden or to the other kinds of industrial work for the rest of the day, but
some of them wanted to know if they could stay to pray. Having been told that those
who wished to might remain and pray, a few went to work, and all the others went
into the prayer room and began praying. Almost at once there was another mighty
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This outpouring was so continuous that for over a week
no more attempts were made to do regular work. We did only necessary things. Every
one spent the rest of the time taking in the great blessings from God.
In the first days no one paid much attention to eating or sleeping. Whenever the young
folks began to pray the power of God would fall, prostrating many to the floor. It was
impossible to have meals at regular hours without interfering with the work of the
Holy Spirit. After the power of God lifted from different ones they would go out for a
time to rest or to take some food and then return to the prayer rooms soon to be under the power of the Holy Spirit again. These manifestations of the Spirit were so continuous that nearly all day until late in the night some were under His power. When things became quieter at nine or ten in the evenings, we would suggest that all go to bed and rest until the next morning. Usually several would want to pray and wait on the Lord longer. As these continued in prayer nearly all who had gone to bed would get up and return to pray. During these nights there was not much sleeping. Some of the boys never left the prayer rooms all night.
They did not want to sleep. When they got sleepy they rested on the floor awhile and then got up to seek the Lord again. Soon they were lost once more in the things of God. One thing is certain. This was a Holy Spirit outpouring that demanded nothing on the part of us missionaries except our keeping out of the way taking care not to interfere with His
wonderful work. Our part was to open up our own hearts that we, too, might be taken deeper into the heavenly blessings that were falling in such mighty showers. Our presence or absence in the meetings made little difference. One of the first mornings we were delayed in getting downstairs.
Without any call to prayer meeting, one after another of the children had gone into the prayer rooms and begun praying and praising the Lord. When at last we were able to get past the many interruptions and go down to the prayer rooms we found several of the younger children prostrated under the power of the Holy Spirit and singing in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
From the very beginning the manifestations of the Spirit, the visions, and the
revelations carried everything into the supernatural realm so far beyond our own
limited knowledge or experience of supernatural matters that Mrs. Baker and I
confessed to each other that these things had already passed to the place where the
only resource we had was to believe that God was bigger than the devil. We took
refuge behind the promise of God that we had before found safe, the promise that
those who sought the Father for bread would not get a stone; those who sought a fish
would not get a serpent; those who sought an egg would not get a scorpion; those who
with pure motives, like these children, sought the Holy Spirit would not get evil things
or demons, but would get exactly what they sought, the Holy Spirit (Lu. 11 :13).
In all the succeeding weeks God proved that promise true. Since He had proven that
promise to us before, it set us free from anxiety as we saw and heard the wonderful
things of God that took place in our midst, every day different, one wonder succeeded
by another, as our wonder working God took His Adullam refugees from stage to
stage and from glory to glory in His school of the Holy Spirit.
CHAPTER II
SUPERNATURAL MANIFESTATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Many of the most marvelous manifestations of the Holy Spirit were given to those who
knew little of the Bible teaching on the subject, thus confirming the supernatural nature
of these visions and confirming the reality of the outpourings of the Holy Spirit
recorded in the New Testament.
Some children who had never heard us speak of the present day outpouring of the Holy
Spirit as "the latter rain" in this outpouring upon Adullam actually experienced it as
The Latter Rain
As we all prayed and praised the Lord together with closed eyes some of the children
seemed to feel water drop ping upon their heads. They were so busy seeking the Lord
they did not want to hinder the blessing by opening their eyes to look around. At the
same time, in their hearts they wondered how it could be sprinkling rain on them when
there was a roof and a floor between them and the sky. But with the sprinkling their
hearts were refreshed. As the dropping of water seemed to increase and the sprinkling
became a shower it all seemed so glorious that the wonder of how it could rain in a
downstairs room was forgotten. The sprinkling became a shower, the shower became a
great downpour, the downpour became a deluge filling the room and rising higher and
higher until the fortunate seeker was submerged in this wonderful life-giving flood
from heaven.
At different times several children experienced this sense of the downpouring of rain.
Six months after the great outpouring, and after a "dry spell," the flood gates of heaven
were opened again, and there was another down pouring of the Holy Spirit. Again two
of the small children experienced rain, "the latter rain," that seemed to fall upon their
heads, penetrating and flooding their whole beings.
Through Bible study and through direct revelation by the Holy Spirit, Adullam is now
coming to understand the meaning of this "rain." They understand that "this is that"
spoken of by Joel the prophet: "He hath given you the former rain moderately, and he
will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first
month" (Joel 2 :23).
The "former rain" was upon the first church, the seed church, sown on the earth on the
day of Pentecost and the succeeding two or three hundred years. The "former rain" was
the rain in the autumn upon the grain that was sown in the ground. Then came "the
great falling way,"4 the long winter of the dark ages, the grain sown in the earth—the
Church in the world—apparently dead. Then came sprinklings of the "latter rain" in the
first month in the spring through Luther, Wesley, Fox, Finney, Moody, and other
servants of God. Salvation by faith, the born again experience, holy living, first the
blade and then the ear, began to come forth. Now the sprinkling is becoming a shower. Healing through faith in Jesus has come again. The Lord is again casting out devils, healing the sick, raising the dead, proving Himself the Almighty God in the midst of those who believe Him. The hope of the Coming King has revived. The Lord is again baptizing believers with the Holy Spirit as in the beginning, the former rain, so that they speak with other languages and prophesy as the Holy Spirit gives utterance (Acts 2 :4).
The
harvest is near. "The former rain," "the seed rain" (
"former rain" and fell into the earth and died has come forth. It will soon be the full corn in the ear. Beyond anything Pentecostal days ever saw, "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions," "and also upon the servants and upon the handmaidens in these days will I pour out of my spirit" (Joel 2 :28, 29; Acts 2:17-21).
Because of this final and greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the church in the full ear will have restored to it the years eaten by the locust, the canker-worm, the caterpiller, and the palmer worm (Joel 2:25). The fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit will all be restored to the true church of bloodwashed believers. In its supernatural life and supernatural ministry, multitudes will be converted: "The floors shall be full of wheat and the vats shall over flow" (Joel 2:24); multitudes which no man can number will come into the garner "from all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues" (Rev. 7:9).
4"Now we
beseech you brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our
gathering
together unto him . . . it will not be, except the
falling away come first." II Thess. 2:1,3.
If you read Acts 2 you will see that this outpouring upon "all flesh" is for to-day. Our
Adullam people, at any rate, are sure of this. Many times has the Lord stood in their
midst, made to them the same promises He made to first believers, and commissioned
them with the same commission to carry the same gospel in the same power with
which He sent forth the first disciples in the days of the "former rain." We know that
"the latter rain" that fell on Adullam is like the former rain, but it is the last rain that will
bring the wheat and tares to full harvest and separation and will usher in the return of
the Lord of the harvest to gather the wheat into his barns and burn the tares in the
furnace of fire.
The Holy Spirit has on different occasions and by different Adullam people been seen as a Tongue of Fire 5 upon the head of each one in the room. In some instances more than one person has seen this vision at the same time. Of course, all who are familiar with the Bible know that the things of God are not equally revealed to all.
When the Spirit has fallen in our meetings many have felt The Holy Spirit as a Wind6 blowing upon them, flooding their souls with peace and power. These breezes from heaven have sometimes been in such power that we have no difficulty in believing the record that when the first disciples met together and "lifted up their voices to God with one accord, when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together,
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.''7
Many times have older and younger children seen The Holy Spirit As Seven Lamps.
5"There came
from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind . . . and there appeared
unto them
tongues parting asunder, like as of fire, and it sat
upon each one of them. And they were all filled with
the Holy Spirit." Acts 2 :3, 4.
6Acts 2:1,2.
7Acts 4:21,31.
At times of special outpouring of the Holy Spirit these seven lamps of fire were seen let
down from heaven into the room in our very midst. At other times in the visions of the
throne of Christ in heaven, children saw the "seven lamps of fire burning before the
throne, which are the seven Spirits of God" (Rev. 4:5). We all knew that the seven lamps
meant the Holy Spirit in our midst.
In the first days of the outpouring of the Spirit one small boy spoke in pure prophecy
when in the Spirit he seemed to be in heaven at the feet of Jesus. The Lord spoke
through him in the first person clearing up many things the children did not understand
and telling them how to tarry and how to seek the Spirit. At that time the Lord said,
"When the Spirit is in your midst do not open your eyes, for that will hinder; the Holy
Spirit will descend to give you power to preach the gospel, to cast out demons, and to
heal the sick; the Holy Spirit is in seven colors, red, blue, and other colors." One of the
older boys then said that when the Spirit had been upon him he had seen a great, red
light and other colors. The word from the Lord explained this to him and others who
had seen different colors. Of course I know light is made up of seven colors but I had
never thought of the seven lamps before the throne of God, the Holy Spirit, as seven
colors. All light comes from God, and God is light.
These
Adullam people have also seen The Holy Spirit
Brighter Than the Noon-Day Sun This manifestation of the Holy Spirit
as a great light has been very common. Some children, having opened their eyes
to see if it was something about the electric light, could scarcely discern the
lights in the room because of the exceeding glory of the light of heaven which
seemed to fill the place. These children know what Paul meant when he said that
on the
heaven" that was "brighter than the noon-day sun" (Acts 26:13). After their visions of
heaven and this great light brighter and clearer than any they had seen on earth
Adullam people know why in heaven "there shall be no night; and they need no candle,
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light." Through these
manifestations and revelations these one-time-beggar children in this dark land on this
dark earth know beyond a doubt that in the New Jerusalem in heaven "the city has no
need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of God lightens it and
the lamb is the light thereof" (Rev. 21:23).
CHAPTER III
SCRIPTURAL RESULTS OF THE OUTPOURING
That this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is from God can be clearly seen in that it exactly
fulfils the prophecies in the Bible that foretell what results will follow outpourings of the
Holy Spirit. We mention some of these results. One of these that was to accompany the
work
of the Holy Spirit and that was first manifest among us was a Clear Assurance of Salvation.
Through visions or other workings of the Holy Spirit, sin and the lost condition of each
one was made so real that every ground of hope was banished unless the Lord in
undeserved mercy would answer prayer for the lost and save him. Then the Holy Spirit
made the wonderful salvation and grace of God as real as had been the lost condition.
One after another soon came through to a clear "I know" experience of salvation. This
made such a transformation in the lives and testimony of the Adullam family that there
was
no mistaking that the Home was made up of many who were Born Again.8
The whole atmosphere of the place was changed. The joy unspeakable and full of glory
came in until it bubbled over. As the boys were at their work in opening ground for a
garden they praised the Lord so much that some of the boys in the neighborhood,
mocking them said, "Praise the Lord," whenever they met our boys. When one boy
went into a store to buy nails, before he realized it he said, "Hallelujah! I want some
nails." The tribes boy has had a wonderful experience from the start. One day on his
way to work he danced down the street in the joy of the Holy Spirit, praising the Lord
somewhat like the style of Billy Bray. Being cleansed from sin and born again of the
Holy Spirit and still seeking more and more of the Lord, the children were carried into
8"Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born
anew, he cannot
see the
"Ye received the spirit of adoption whereby we
cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of
God." Rom. 8:15, 16. "Hereby we know that we abide in him
and he in us, because he hath given us of his
Spirit." I John 4:13. "He that believeth on the Son of God
hath the witness in him." Gal. 4:6.
these deeper things of God until over twenty of the Adullam people Spoke in Other Tongues as people did on the day of Pentecost; as they did when the Holy Spirit was poured forth at the House of Cornelius; as they did when they received the fulness of the Spirit at Ephesus; as the apostle Paul did; and as the Samaritan Christians undoubtedly did when they received the Holy Spirit in mysterious power and manifestation, so striking
and wonderful that Simon wanted to buy it.
Although most of these Adullam people had never seen any such demonstrations,
having been taught to seek the Lord for the Holy Spirit, they were not only rewarded
with a great "joy unspeakable and full of glory" in their own hearts, but they got the "I
know" satisfaction about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They know they received it the
same way the New Testament saints did in the beginning, as shown by the only five
recorded passages of scripture just mentioned which tell how the apostles and first
disciples received the Holy Spirit and what they did when they were fully immersed, or
baptized, in the supernatural Spirit.9 These Chinese boys and girls were saved by the
9"And they
were ALL (the one hundred and twenty) filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to
SPEAK
WITH OTHER TONGUES as the Spirit gave them
utterance." Acts 2:4.
"While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy
Spirit fell on all them that heard the word, and they of
the circumcision were amazed, as many as came with
Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was
poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit: For they heard
them SPEAK WITH TONGUES and magnify
God." Acts 10:44-46.
"Paul having passed through the upper country
came to
Paul had laid his hands upon them the Holy Spirit came
on them; and they SPAKE WITH TONGUES
AND PROPHESIED. And they were in all about twelve
men." Acts 19:1, 6, 7.
"Now when the apostles that were at
they sent unto them Peter and John. They laid their
hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the
apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given he
offered them money saying, Give me also this power,
that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may
receive the Holy Spirit." Acts 8 :14, 17-19.
"And Ananias departed and entered into the house,
and laying hands on him said, Brother Saul, the
Lord, even Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way
which thou camest, hath sent me, that thou
mayest receive thy sight, and be FILLED WITH THE HOLY
SPIRIT." Acts 9:17, 18.
Having been "filled with the Holy Spirit"
Paul said, "I thank God, I SPEAK WITH TONGUES MORE
THAN YOU ALL." I Cor 14:18.
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel
to the whole creation . . . and these signs shall
accompany them that believe . . . In my name they
shall cast out demons: THEY SHALL SPEAK WITH
same Lord and baptized with the same Holy Spirit in the same way as the first disciples,
for
like them, they not only spoke with other tongues but also Prophesied as the Spirit Gave Them Utterance.
No one present at the time has ever doubted that the Lord spoke to us by direct
inspiration in the first days of the outpouring of the Spirit when He spoke through one of the smallest and humblest of the children. There was something about the voice, the
penetrating power of those words, a heart-gripping power that cannot be described. We had never heard such a gripping voice from God in any sermon in all our days. We
all knew we were hearing directly from the Lord. Quite a number of the Adullam people later spoke in prophecy, insomuch that we marvelled more and more at the miracles that were taking place as the Lord spoke the wonderful things of God, revealing His plans and purposes in picking the outcast "nothings" of the earth, who were recent beggar boys, to make them the mouthpieces of the living God, speaking through them by direct inspiration, edifying and building up this little group of simple bloodwashed believers so recently saved out of hopeless physical and spiritual despair.
Another
most striking result of the work of the Holy Spirit was the way in which,
according to the Word, He fulfilled the promise that when He, the Comforter,
came He would take of the things of Christ to show to His disciples and would
show them "things to come."10 It
seemed most wonderful how the Spirit revealed to these simple believers, who
had only heard of the Bible for a few months, the things of Christ, His salvation,
and the things of the future by Visions of
the Unseen Worlds.
NEW TONGUES." Mark 16:17.
10"When he,
the Spirit of truth is come, he shall guide you into all the truth . . . and he
shall declare
unto you THINGS THAT ARE TO COME . . . He shall
glorify me: for he shall TAKE OF MINE AND
SHALL DECLARE IT UNTO YOU." John 16:13, 14.
Many of these visions were given to several at the same time. Nearly all of the visions
were seen by quite a number of persons. In many cases the children came to ask if the
Bible
said anything about certain things they had seen in vision.11
The visions, seen by even some of the smallest children six years of age, as well as by
the older boys, were seen while they were under the Power of the Holy Spirit, not as a
dream but as real life.
Some of the visions seen were: Christ tied to a post and scourged; Christ bleeding on
the cross while scoffers looked on; the body of Christ taken from the cross, carried to
the tomb, placed in the tomb, and the tomb closed; an angel opening the tomb and
Christ's resurrection; His appearance to the women, to the disciples by the sea, and to
those in the upper room; the ascension of Christ and the descent of the two angels;
heaven; detailed visions inside the New Jerusalem in heaven; angels; the redeemed;
hell; the condition of the lost in hell; demons; the devil; the great tribulation and things
pertaining to saints and to the subjects of the beast during that time; the battle of
Armageddon; the binding and imprisonment of Satan in the pit; the binding of the Anti-
Christ; the devil cast out of heaven; the Great Supper of God and birds eating flesh of
kings and captains of the earth; the coming of Christ with his angels; the sun and moon
changed; heaven quake and earth quake and destruction that attended the coming of
Christ;
the resurrection of the righteous; the marriage supper of the Lamb in
detailed views of our mansions in heaven and other heavenly scenes.
This work of the Holy Spirit through visions, as well as in the heart, created such a great
interest in Bible Study that even the smaller children wanted to know if they could not stop studying "earthly books" and study the Bible only.
Since the unseen world became so real, it is no wonder that there was a change in the
life
of Prayer and Praise.
11"And it
shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all
flesh: . . . and your
young men shall see visions." Acts 2:17.
While not all the Adullam people spoke in other tongues, all except those who were too
dull of mind to understand much of anything were anointed and filled with the Holy Spirit in a much greater measure than ever before, so that Adullam was often lifted up to heavenly places in Christ to joyfully praise and worship the King. Although there were times when a person almost wondered if these heavenly citizens would come "down to earth" again, there was no need to fear. This any one would have seen who could have been in one prayer meeting where boy after boy in real intercessory prayer pleaded with God for the lost, praying that God would use us all as real warriors for Him in this battle
of righteousness. The experiences already related have made prayer more than a formality. All know now that our foes are spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Preach in the Power of the Holy Spirit
After two or three weeks of the Lord's dealing with them, nearly all the children wanted to preach, even the younger ones. There was some real preaching in the power and
demonstration of the Holy Spirit. Some of both the younger and older boys hardly seemed like our boys when they preached under the real unction of the Holy Spirit, not timidly and apologetically as before, but as having authority. Hell and heaven, the devil and his power, Christ, His blood, and His salvation, were no myths to these boys. They knew the Lord told them to preach, and they were given the message, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." As we listened to some of these messages preached with great assurance, warning people to flee from the wrath to come and showing them the wonderful salvation in the love of Christ, our hearts rejoiced within us. When the Power of God was especially great in our midst there was some unusually miraculous preaching.
At the Chinese New Year, when the streets were filled with all classes of people out for
a holiday, we Adullam people, having circulated thousands of tracts, formed a circle on
the street to preach the gospel.
One of the older boys had prepared a sermon on a New Year theme. But when the
preaching began, the power of God so fell that this boy suddenly began speaking in
other tongues, while another person interpreted. One small boy after another preached
as interpreter. As soon as the Lord was through with one interpreter he would step
back and another feel the unction to preach. As soon as this one stepped into the circle
he would get the interpretation. This went on for an hour or two while as many people
listened as could get near enough to hear. There were some people of the type that
seldom listen to the gospel who now listened most attentively as these boys spoke with
an earnestness that must have seemed strange and unusual. As we came away from
that service conducted by the Holy Spirit in such order and beauty, each preacher being
of the Lord's appointment, each one speaking the message from Him under direct
inspiration, we could but ponder in our hearts at these wonders of God. We seemed to
see something of what the preaching of the church was in the beginning and what it
seemed so clear the Lord wanted it to be in the end.
Not that preaching through other tongues and interpretation was in the beginning or
subsequently to be the regular order of preaching, but, as I Cor. chapter 14 clearly
shows, such preaching constitutes a part of the Lord's method of preaching the Gospel
in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.
In such preaching the mind of the speaker is entirely inactive, and before utterance he
does not know what words the Spirit will speak through his lips. This is pure prophetic
preaching.
In the preaching of the gospel to the nations of the earth and in the building up of
believers in the church the mind of the speaker may be active and know, at least
momentarily, before utterance what the Spirit will speak through him. The message
may be an exposition of the Scriptures, as in the sermon by Stephen, or otherwise.
Peter on various occasions "being filled with the Holy Spirit preached as the Spirit gave
him utterance."
Although preaching the gospel under the direct unction of the Holy Spirit is not exactly
pure prophecy, it is nevertheless, prophetic when definitely guided and directed by the
Holy Spirit.
There were a few other instances of preaching with tongues and interpretation in some
of the villages.
The Lord was the preacher on several occasions in our little street chapel. For two or
three nights the youthful preachers, under the real unction of the Spirit, preached the
most inspiring sermons I have ever heard from Chinese evangelists. It seemed as if
those sermons would stir any one to real repentance. God showed his love in still
greater power a few nights later. When a boy in his teens was preaching with real
power his eyes suddenly closed and he began to Prophesy like an Old Testament Prophet under direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit in pure prophecy. The manner of the
preacher suddenly changed; the form of the Chinese sentences became rhythmic and
perfect; the address changed to the first person, such as, "I am the Lord God Almighty,
the one true God, who made all things, who now speaks to you through this boy."
"Against me have you sinned." The penetrating words, the sense of having been
ushered into the presence of God, I cannot describe. The seats of our little chapel were
soon filled, while as many people as could see gathered about the door, listening in awe
and wonder. If there was the least commotion the Lord commanded order, speaking
through that boy and saying, "Make no mistake in this matter. Listen carefully and
understand. I the Lord God, have all the authority in heaven and on earth. To me every
man and every demon must give account. I know all about every one of you. I know
all your sins. I know how many hairs are on your head. There are fifty-six of you living
in sin here to-night. Repent to-night, and I'll forgive you." For half an hour or more we
verily were in the presence of a prophet, as the Lord in this way rebuked those people
for idolatry, ungodliness, and all their vices, until there was no ground for hope left
anywhere. Then, as in the case of the Old Testament prophets, God spake of the glories
He had prepared for His people. Like a loving father he pleaded with them to repent
that night. He spoke of the coming of distress upon the nations and of the destruction
of this ungodly race in the day of God's wrath. All these things were repeated several
times with exhortations to listen to every word as from a God who would hold every
person present accountable for his own soul after that night.
When the prophecy was finished the boy sat down. There was not a move or a
whisper. It seemed to me that every person must know that God was speaking. Nearly
all present had come in while the boy's eyes were shut. When the Lord spoke saying
there were fifty-six present bound by the devil and sin, one of the boys carefully
counted
those not of our own Christian boys. There were just fifty-six.12
A
striking instance was that of a man from whom Two
Demons Were Cast Out.13
12"And it
shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all
flesh and your sons
and your daughters SHALL PROPHESY." Acts 22:17.
"Now there were at
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of
scripture is of private interpretation. For no PROPHECY ever
came by the will of man: BUT MEN SPAKE FROM GOD, BEING
MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT." II
Peter 1:21, 22.
13"He that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." John 14:12.
"And these signs shall accompany them that
believe. In my name shall they cast out demons." Mark
The Lord had told the boys through prophecy and direct revelation, "Demons must
obey me." They saw the Lord prove His word. Had we space to give details, we could
prove beyond any other possible explanation that actual living demons were cast out of
one devil-possessed man. It would take too long to give the history of this man. We
had known him a number of years, and he has since been with us six months. In short,
he had been, for many years, the victim of melancholy. Because he was so bound in
chains of darkness that he was ready to take his own life we had kept him with us to
prevent this. He was always sad. All effort to lead him to any knowledge of salvation
through Christ was of no avail. His mind was blind to everything pertaining to the
blood.
The Lord used three people in casting out the demons. One demon the size of a man
had an awful, black appearance. Several children saw him come out. While being
rebuked through the Lord's using one suddenly "filled with the Holy Spirit" for the
particular occasion, the demons put up a final fight for the man of their possession. The
man's hands clenched together; his eyes shut tight; his whole body became rigid and
resisting.
Finally the Holy Spirit enlightened the man's heart; his body relaxed; his hands went up
to God in praise.
Angry
Several children saw the demon after he came out, rushing about in great anger,
seeking whom he might enter or tear.14 All the children having rushed in from where
they had just sat down to their meal, stood about with uplifted hands, thanking and
praising Jesus. Among these the demon saw no opportunity, for they were all looking
to Jesus whose blood covered them. The school teacher, who was not truly converted,
also came in and was looking on in curiosity but was not praying. The angry demon,
16:17.
14"And one
of the multitude answered him, Teacher, I brought unto thee my son, who hath a
DUMB
SPIRIT, and whensoever it taketh him, it DASHETH HIM
DOWN: and he foameth, and grindeth his
teeth, and pineth away; and he answered. .. Bring him
up to me: And they brought him unto him: and
when he saw him straightway THE SPIRIT TARE HIM
grievously, and HE FELL ON THE GROUND,
AND WALLOWED foaming . . . Ofttimes it hath cast him both
into the fire and into the water to
destroy him. And when Jesus saw that a multitude came
running together, he rebuked THE UNCLEAN
SPIRIT, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf SPIRIT. I
command thee, come out of him, and enter no
more into him. And having cried out, and TORN HIM
MUCH, he came out: and the boy became as one
dead- insomuch that the more part said, He is dead.
But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up;
and he arose." Mark 9:17-27.
seeing his opportunity, seized this man and threw him to the floor with a thud. There
the second demon sat upon him, so that the teacher could not rise. Several children saw
this. Our gardener, who was some years ago miraculously delivered from opium, saw
this too. He was suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit and cast the demon out of the
room.
I saw only the two men, the one unbound and set free, the other suddenly fall beside
him. I supposed the school teacher was prostrated by the Holy Spirit of God that was
present in great power. I questioned him when he was able to arise as to why he wept
and why he fell. He said, "I wept from sheer terror. Something awful happened. Every
thing became black; I saw myself about to go into a black pit at the base of a terrible
mountain." When on the floor, he saw himself being bound by demon chains and about
to be carried off into terrorizing darkness, but he was set free again.
The physical appearance of the man from whom demons were cast out changed at
once. He testified that he had peace and joy in his heart. He was given a vision of
heaven at the time he was delivered from demons. When he lay in bed in the evening
thinking about the Lord he got so happy that he wondered if it was right for him to
have such great joy.
CHAPTER IV
VISIONS OF HEAVEN
The Bible tells us the heaven of the redeemed is "the third heaven."15 The future home
of the people of the Lord is a place in the third heaven. This place is a city. The name of
this city is "The New Jerusalem." This New Jerusalem is not "a figure of speech." It is not
a combination of ideas skillfully clothed in earthly words of the Lord to give man a false
conception of something it is not. The Bible says this New Jerusalem is a real city with a
real foundation which God himself laid.
This celestial city is foursquare, one thousand five hundred miles on every side,
surrounded by a wall two hundred feet high with foundations of twelve kinds of
precious stones, the most beautiful precious stones known to man. The wall itself is
jasper, which sends forth a brilliant jasper light. Twelve gates lead into the city, the
streets
of which are like burnished gold.16
15"I know a
man in Christ . . . such a one caught up even to the third heaven." II
Cor. 12:2.
"I go to prepare a place for you." John
14:2.
"But ye are come unto
the spirits of just men made perfect." Heb. 12
:22, 23. "For we have not here an abiding city, but we seek
after the city which is to come." Heb. 13:14.
"By faith Abraham . . . looked for the city which
hath the foundations whose builder and maker is
God." Heb. 11:10.
All the saints of old died desiring "a better
country, that is, a heavenly: Wherefore God is not ashamed
of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared
for them a city." Heb. 11:16.
16"And he
carried me away in the Spirit. . . and showed me the holy city
heaven from God . . . her light was like unto a stone
most precious, as it was a jasper stone, clear as
crystal, having a wall great and high; having twelve
gates . . . and the wall of the city had twelve
foundations . . . and the city lieth foursquare, and
the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he
measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand
furlongs (1,500 miles): the length and the breadth
and the height thereof are equal . . . The wall
thereof a hundred and forty-four cubits (216 feet). And
the building of the wall thereof was jasper: and the
city was pure gold, like unto pure glass; the
foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with
all manner of precious stones. The first
foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the
third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth,
sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite;
the eighth, beryl, the ninth, topaz; the tenth
chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth,
amethyst. . . The city hath no need of the sun,
neither of the moon to shine upon it for the glory of
God did lighten it." Rev. 21:10-23.
In
this city are the homes of the redeemed, the abode of angels,
throne of God.
Why should not the New Jerusalem be a real city with streets of real gold and with
jasper walls and with foundation stones of precious jewels? Did God so exhaust his
material when he made the universe that he had no gold or jewels left for heaven? If
God could make a world, could he not suspend a city in the sky beyond the stars? Here
and there a little impure gold in a fissure of a distorted rock of this cursed and
perverted earth or here and there the discovery of a precious jewel hidden in the debris
of earthly ruins are only lingering reminders of the reality of which these are merely
shadows. The real, the imperishable are in the city whose builder and maker is God.
What we see on this perverted, degenerated earth are only shadows. "The creation fell
into subjection to failure and unreality" (Rom. 8 :20) . The gold we cherish, the jewels
we adore, the cities and mansions we build are only copies of the real in the city that is
soon coming down.
The
Adullam children were caught up in vision to this city of
the city I do not know. How Abraham saw it I do not know. How Paul could be caught
up to
beyond natural order. We need not, at present, know the How. We know the Fact.
John was shown the city. He was told by the Lord to write the things he had seen and
send them to the Churches.
In the Spirit Adullam children were caught up to this city time after time, not as in a
dream but as a living reality. Their visits were so real, in fact, that the children supposed
their souls actually left their bodies to go to heaven and return, or that in some
unaccountable way they had gone to heaven soul and body just as they might in daily
life
visit some distant place. Frequently when in
and partaking of the heavenly fruit they gathered some extra to tuck in their garments
to bring back to earth for "Muh Si and Si Mu" (Pastor and Mrs. Baker).
They knew they were only on a visit to heaven and soon to return. Upon returning,
when the Spirit lifted from them, finding themselves in our Adullam rooms they
proceeded at once to search in their garments for the delicious fruit they had brought
back to please us. Not finding this fruit in their garments, a look of great surprise,
confusion, and disappointment came over their faces. They could not, for the time,
believe they had not bodily gone to heaven and come back with the fruit tucked in their
garments.
Walking on the streets of the New Jerusalem was to them as real as walking on the
streets of a Chinese city. One day, when walking down the street in bright sunshine, I
asked the boys if the visions were as real and as clear as what we then saw. "Just as
real," they said, "but much clearer due to the light in heaven and the white garments
and the cleanliness everywhere, all adding to the brightness."
When in the Spirit, the children were usually lost to their natural surroundings. In many
cases, although they supposed they were in heaven, they talked aloud, describing what
they saw, thus carrying on conversation that we all could hear. Often they acted out
before our eyes what they supposed they were doing in heaven.
Caught up to the Third Heaven
The Adullam children said they went to the third heaven. As they passed through the
first heaven they felt air on their faces. Having passed the second heaven, they looked
back upon the stars in their wonderful beauty, much as from a mountain height a
person might gaze down upon a beautiful, light-studded city below. From this starry
heaven they passed on into the third heaven until they
Came to the Heavenly
As they approached this heavenly city they saw its light in the distance. Coming nearer,
they saw the beautiful wall radiating its wonderful jasper light. The foundations were of
indescribable beauty, sparkling with red, yellow, orange, purple, blue, green, violet,
and all the other colors of the twelve most beautiful jewels.
This city in the sky the children saw as three cities in one: one city suspended above
another, the largest city below, the smallest city on top, making a pyramid. Since this
city John saw is surrounded by a wall, and since the city is one thousand five hundred
miles high, Bible students have supposed the heavenly city is not a cube but a pyramid.
Our children, however, knew nothing of this, neither had I ever thought of the New
in space can suspend these cities in space. The Bible does not tell us the internal order of
the
city.17
One of our small boys spoke in prophecy when in vision at the feet of the Lord the
Lord was talking to him. In this prophecy the Lord said that he had made heaven big
enough for everybody, that he had made it in three cities one above another, and that
at present his throne is in the upper city.
Since time and distance are nothing in the heavenly realm, there is nothing impossible
in
such an arrangement of this city of
stories in the ark, where God preserved the present creation. God is three in one. Why
should not the city of the Great King be three in one? Why should not the King reign
from the top of the pyramid of all the universe, since "the stone which the builders
rejected was made the head of the corner," the capstone of the pyramid of all creation?
By the Gates into the City
Adullam entered by its pearly gates into the city of golden streets. Angels in white
guarded the gates and welcomed those entering in. No beggarly reception this. Here
the one-time rejected off-scourings of the earth were welcomed as kings by these
angelic hosts. Had not the Savior promised the weakest and humblest of his children a
kingdom where they shall reign with the King of Kings for ages and ages?
Through the gates into the city! Out of earth into heaven! Out of the mortal into the
immortal! Out of death into life! All the old life behind and below! All the new life ahead
and above! Inside the gates! Angels, angels every where. Angels talking, angels singing,
angels rejoicing, angels playing harps and blowing trumpets, angels dancing and
praising the King. Such a scene no mortal ever saw; such floods of inner joy flooded the
whole being as no one ever knew except when filled with the Holy Spirit, the eternal
life, the heavenly life of God, "the earnest," "down payment" of heaven.
The children clapped their hands in rapture. They shouted for joy. They sometimes
rolled on the floor in unrestrained laughter and jumped and danced in great delight,
17From visions
seen by other heavenly visitors it is evident that there are also arrangements
of sevens
in the heavenly order. Apparently there are series of
plains as well as series of arrangements on each
plain. No one need suppose that in vision anyone has
seen more than a fraction of heaven.
See my book, "The Three Worlds" for further
visions of the New Jerusalem.
while their faces were so transformed by this heavenly joy that the glory of the celestial
city seemed to shine upon us. There was no sorrow in this city; no mournful, long-faced
religion there; no funeral dirges in the hymns. This was a city of joy, "joy in the Holy
Spirit,"
"joy unspeakable and full of glory."18
With Innumerable Hosts of Angels
Inside the city, the children knew the meaning of the Scripture which says, "Ye are come
into
the city of the living God, the heavenly
angels" (Heb. 12 :22) . Not only about the gates of the city were these happy angels, but
also throughout the city everywhere were these heavenly hosts. Angels were always
ready to escort the children from place to place throughout the city; angels walked with
them and talked with them; angels explained to them the meaning of things they did
not understand, even as they talked with John and revealed to him the things of God.
Often in these experiences with the angels our children were given harps and taught to
play them and sing as the angels did. They were also taught to blow the trumpets and
were taught
The Music and Language of Heaven.19
When we saw the children, with closed eyes, all dancing about the room in rhythm, we
found that in vision they were dancing with the angels in heaven and keeping time to
the heavenly music. When we saw them apparently blowing a trumpet or going
through the motions of playing a harp, we found that in vision they were joining the
heavenly orchestra in the praises of the King. We could not see the heavenly harps or
trumpets. We could not see the angels' joyful dance or hear their song. We could hear
only the children singing heavenly songs. It. was a daily sight to find some child off in a
corner by himself, lying comfortably on the pine needles, going through the motions of
playing a harp. Upon going near, we could hear him singing a new song we had never
taught him. Approaching still nearer, we would discover that the words were as
strange to us as the tune. The singer was singing in the heavenly choir. His song was
the song the angels taught him. The words of the song must have been in the language
of angels.20 Seeing the children singing in this heavenly angelic choir was a sight not to
be forgotten. Sometimes several of them in some place in the heavenly city or its
wonderful
18"The
19"Ye
rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory." I Peter 1:8.
20"If I
speak with the tongues of men and of angels." I Cor. 13:1.
fully under the power of the Holy Spirit, three or four of them would get off by
themselves. If we were near, we would hear a consultation as to who would play the
trumpet and who would sing. After all was decided and everybody was ready, the
heavenly hymns began. The trumpeters held their hands up before them and blew as
though blowing trumpets. The harpists both played and sang, while those without
instruments joined in the singing. In these cases they always sang in languages we did
not understand, unless by mutual agreement they decided to sing one of those hymns
they "used to sing down on earth." In that case they sang in Chinese.
Seeing and Worshipping Jesus
The climax of all heavenly joy and wonder was "seeing Jesus" and worshipping Him
who had saved them by His blood.
Soon after entering the gates of the city the children were escorted by the angels to "go
and see Jesus." We could hear these children talking about "going to see Jesus" and see
them as in vision they were approaching the throne of Christ. When they came into the
wonderful presence they stood reverently gazing with love and devotion upon the
Lord of all creation, who was also their Savior. First of all they thanked Him, and
adoringly worshipping Him they joined their hands before them, bowing in true
obeisance. Then they knelt and bowed their faces to the floor in true worship "in spirit
and truth,"21 which few if any know on earth who have not the baptism of God's Holy
Spirit.
The Throne of God and the Throne of Christ
The throne of Christ the children saw as did John when he was "in the Spirit": "And
behold there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon the throne; and he that
sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius: and there was a rainbow round
about the throne, like an emerald to look upon. And round about the throne were four
and twenty thrones: and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting arrayed
in white garments: and on their heads crowns of gold,—and there were seven lamps of
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." Rev. 4:3-6.
Jesus Preeminent in all Things in Heaven
No matter how amazed were the children at the wonders of the golden city, no matter
21"The hour
cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in
spirit and
truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his
worshippers." John 4:23.
how
happy in the pleasures of
angels, Jesus was never forgotten. His name was mentioned in all the conversation; his
praise was mingled in all the enjoyments; he was always magnified everywhere, in
everything, and in everybody there.
Houses by the Golden Street22
On either side of the beautiful golden streets were buildings side by side, a room for
each person, every room opening onto the street. Upon the door and about the front
were precious jewels so resplendently brilliant that the building shone with light and
glory. The name of each occupant was above the door. Angels led the children into the
rooms. Within all the rooms were the same kinds of furnishings: a beautiful golden
table upon which was a Bible, a flower vase, a pen, and a book; by the table was a
golden chair; there was also a wonderful golden chest and a golden bed. In each room
was a jewelled crown, a golden harp, and a trumpet. The walls were gold. From the
Bible, made of such paper as had never been seen on earth and bound with gold, light
and such brilliant glory shone forth that the whole room needed no other light. The
visitors were told that when they came to stay after death they could go out into
table.23
22“Your minds
must not be troubled, . . . There are many rooms in my Father's house.” John
14:1, 2.
(Goodspeed.)
23Since the first
edition of this booklet, a letter from a woman in
that ten years previously both she and her son had
visions of this street and of these dwellings both
confirmed the visions of this street and of these
dwellings- both confirmed the visions of the Adullam
children regarding the external appearance and
interior furnishings of these rooms by the golden street.
In a distant part of the
this street.
These rooms by this golden street may be the thrones
which John mentions; "I saw thrones and they sat
upon them." (Rev. 20:4)
Adullam children have had visions of other parts of
the New Jerusalem with its spacious parks and
elaborate mansions. Tribes people have also seen this
part of the city.
An account of these visions with others of the New
Jerusalem and the teaching of the Scriptures
regarding this city and the New Heaven and the New
Earth is given in detail in a book entitled "The
Three Worlds." You will want to read of these
other wonderful revelations that cannot be given in the
limits of "The Visions Beyond the Veil." You
will be more than repaid by the reading of this book. 420
pages, 200 illustrations.
In these visits to heaven the children could go to their rooms at pleasure to read their
Bibles or to play their harps and trumpets. Sometimes they took their trumpets or
harps
out into the streets or out into
redeemed who are now in heaven.
In these excursions through heaven the children, though lost to their real surroundings
on earth, were always conscious that their visit to heaven was temporary. They knew
they were there only to see what was prepared for them after death, so they might go
back to earth again to tell others. Angels and the Lord told these heavenly visitors that,
if they believed and obeyed, all these things would be theirs. They not only knew they
must come back to earth again, but they sometimes knew when they were coming.
One boy, after enjoying the glories of heaven, hung his crown and trumpet up in his
room so he could have them again after he died and went to heaven to remain. He then
came back to earth. The power of the Holy Spirit left him. When he opened his eyes he
was in our Adullam room telling the wonders of his trip to heaven.
Can we suppose the Lord saved these boys, baptized them with the Holy Spirit, and
then fooled them by showing them a figurative and mythical heaven? Impossible!!! An
earthly father may deceive his children with false hopes and false promises. Our
Heavenly Father shows his children what he has for them (I Cor. 2:10), promises he will
give these things (Rev. 3:21), and then gives the very things which He has promised
(Lu. 11:9, 13).
When these children saw the heavenly rooms of their Adullam friends they clapped
their hands, laughed, and shouted with great joy, calling each one by name to come and
see his room. The one in the Spirit was passing along the streets of the New Jerusalem,
reading the names above each door.
In Heaven Meet Adullam Boys Who Died
The first day when the Holy Spirit fell upon the children, and one of the boys was
caught up to heaven, with angels who came to welcome him came also the two
Adullam boys who were undoubtedly saved and who died the year before. These two,
"Hsi Dien Fu" and "Djang Hsing," had with them in heaven a little girl who died in
Kotchiu four years previous, whom our children had forgotten.
These who had died and gone on before led those who were caught up in the joys and
wonders of heaven. They led them to see Jesus, first of all, and to worship and thank
Him. After this they were shown their dwellings and escorted around the city or led out
into
All who went to heaven were given white garments. The angels, also dressed in
seamless garments of spotless white, had wings, but the redeemed did not have wings.
There was a clear distinction between the two.
Later on many more of the children saw these Adullam boys who are in heaven. Heaven did not seem far away as, caught away in the Spirit, they acted out heavenly visions before our eyes. With closed eyes and radiant faces they clapped their hands and shouted for joy to these boys who died that year, calling them to hurry over to see some dwelling, some golden street, some new scene among the angels, some new discovery in the
garden
of
Heaven was so real, so near, so wonderful, so certain, that if one of our children had died in those days the others would have envied him his privilege. The step to heaven after death or at the coming of the Lord seemed so small and the coming of the Lord so near that it removed from our minds all mystery as to why the first disciples could sell their possessions and face persecution and death without wavering. Our kingdom is not of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven, whence also we wait for our Savior. Our life, our work, our service, our hardships here are only brief and passing incidents on the way to the true life, the true city, in the true kingdom that cannot be shaken.
CHAPTER V
Scripture Teaches the Regeneration of Natural Creation
Before
telling about the visions of Paradise we wish to show that such a
these children saw is in accord with the Father's plans for his children, as revealed in his
written word. When the Lord created the first perfect man and his perfect bride he
"planted
a garden eastward" in
"And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the
sight, and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden" (Gen. 2:9).
Hence, in the beginning, the Lord planned for man to dwell in the midst of all the
beauties
of nature. He was given a home in the garden in the eastern part of
wonder "park" that God himself planned and planted. In that order there was no sin.
There was no sickness or death. There was no thorn or thistle. There was no curse. That
was a different world from this. That world was a heaven on earth with man enjoying
what might have been eternal life, in dominion over a whole world of trees and flowers
"pleasant to the sight," a whole world of beauty and glory such as the present earth has
never seen. God planned all these things for man's eternal happiness.
When
sin entered, man's enjoyment of this creation became a limited, temporal
enjoyment. The first Creation of birds, and flowers, and trees, and animals, that were in
the
first world and its
"For
the creation fell into subjection to failure and unreality." Sin lost to
man his
"park" and his Eden God.
Restored
from sin, man will be restored to his Eden God and his
spiritual order. The first order was earthly; the last is spiritual but real. It is similar to the earthly, even as Christ after his resurrection was real and similar but still spiritual and different from the earthly order. He still could eat and drink with his disciples.24 He still had flesh and bones that could be felt25 and hands that could serve fish and bread to His hungry disciples.26 But in the resurrected order the Lord was not subject to the limitations of the material world of time, and space, and physical bounds. Even so the world with its
natural
order of animal, bird, and plant creation is to be born again into a All
creation was included in the work of the cross. When Christ died all creation died.
When Christ arose all creation arose. When Christ bore the crown of thorns he bore
all the curse that brought the thorn and the thistle. He is “The Firstborn of
all Creation.”
higher,
spiritual order similar to the first creation but also different from
it. It will be the real order not again subject to corruption and
unreality (Rom. 8:20,
The natural creation is to be born again through the resurrection of Christ. Christ saves more than man. He saves the whole creation that fell into unreality in the fall of man. For "all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck, is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God . . . There was always the hope that, at last, the
creation itself would also be set free from the thraldom of decay, so as to enjoy the
liberty
that will attend the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8 :19-21
24"Him God
raised up the third day, and gave him to be made manifest . . . unto witnesses
. . . who ate
and drank with him after he rose from the dead."
Acts 10:40-41.
25"See my
hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath
not flesh and
bones, as ye behold me having." Lu. 24:39.
"And they gave him a piece of broiled fish. And
he took it and ate before them." Lu. 24:42.
26"So when
they got out upon the land they see a fire of coals there, and fish laid
thereon, and bread . . .
Jesus cometh and taketh the bread, and giveth them,
and the fish likewise. This is now the third time
that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after that
he was risen from the dead." John 21:9, 31.
this does not mean that the present natural order of plant, animal, and all natural life
looks forward to being set free in the same resurrected order and the same liberty the
saved are to enjoy in a new estate, what does it mean? All nature looks forward to the
new spiritual regeneration that belongs to the redeemed, for Christ ''brought us forth
by
the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.''27
Christ himself "is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.''28 How is
Christ "the first-born of all creation" unless it be that in his resurrection into the new
order animal and plant creation will eventually follow in this order as the full harvest of
which Christ was but the "first-fruits"? Even the earth itself is to be a regenerated in the
new order, since "according to his promise we look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness" (II Pet 3:13). Will not that new earth have trees and
flowers and animals and birds and all the beauties of glorified nature in a higher
incorruptible order that shall abide forever?
"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead
them" (Isa. 11:6).
These things are as certain as the word of God, for "he that sitteth on the throne said,
Behold I make all things new," and he said, "write for these words are faithful and
TRUE" (Rev. 21 :5) .
John "saw a new heaven and a new earth," and he also "saw the holy city, New
As
there was an
regenerated,
resurrected order, the New Jerusalem will contain an
New
Earth in the new order. This
Perhaps
the revelation of such a
most of the readers as it was to us. This is because we are so dull of mind and slow of
heart to "believe all that is written in the scriptures."
We
did not teach these children about this
27"Of his
own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of
first-fruits of
his creatures." Jas. 1:18.
28"Who is
the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation." Col.
1:15.
smallest children, who were naturally most ignorant of these matters, were our best
teachers. That they got these things from the Lord is clearly evident, as you will see by
a
comparison with the teaching of the Bible. It teaches there is just such a
heaven as these children saw. Paul said he knew a man who was "caught up even to the
third
heaven" and that this person "was caught up into
Revelation "the Spirit saith to the Churches, to him that overcometh, to him will I give
to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God" (Rev. 2:7). Of the heavenly
scene we are also told that "on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life
bearing
twelve manner of fruits.''30 Hence there
is a
water and trees of fruit.
This
"
"
word
of Persian origin, and is used in the Septuagint as the translation of '
means an orchard of pleasure and fruits, a garden, or pleasure ground something like
an English park." But this "park" in heaven is only "some thing like" a park on earth,
because it is as much greater than earthly parks, in extent and beauty, as God's
thoughts are greater than man's thoughts. Man's most beautiful parks, with their
picturesque landscapes, their flowing streams, their crystal pools, the wooded nooks,
29"I know a
man . . . caught up even to the third heaven . . . how that he was caught up
into
II Cor. 12:2, 3.
30"And he
showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal proceeding out of the
throne of God and
of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof: and
on this side of the river and on that was the tree of
life, bearing twelve manner of fruits." Rev.
22:1, 2.
the verdant greens, the fragrant, variegated flowers, the carolling birds, and animal
pets,
are only imperfect imitations on the part of man to reproduce the
"in the beginning."
If God did not put into the heart of man this love for nature and this desire for natural
parks of pleasure and fruit, whence came this universal love of nature, that has been in
the heart of man from the days of his earliest history? Is all man's efforts to preserve a
little of the vanishing natural beauties of this cursed and perishing earth only a vain
fancy to be followed for only a few fleeting years? Is a love for the birds, and animals,
and flowers, and trees, and mountains, and valleys, and lakes, and streams, and all this
handiwork of God just a passing amusement given by the Lord to cheer us a little on
this pilgrim journey? Are not the finest combinations of all that is beautiful in nature
just
mere fore-shadows of the unperverted and unlimited realities in the
God in heaven?
These natural beauties are not just scenes passed on a pilgrim journey. They are guide
ways
of God, pointing to the
become an eternal love, enlarged beyond all natural limits for all who overcome by the
blood of the Lamb, who, by faith in him, enter by the gates into the city with its
Paradise
of God, the
Adullam Children See Paradise, the
You
will be interested, as we were, in what our Adullam children saw in the
the
soon as he entered the heavenly city. There he was met by the two Adullam boys who
had
died in Hokow. These boys, taking him through
magnificent trees, golden and sparkling.
The whole scene was so entrancing the young man said to his two glorified friends,
"This is good enough for me. There cannot be anything more beautiful. I will stay right
here." The boys who had preceded him to heaven said, "No, do not wait here, for there
are much greater marvels." Going on a little farther they came to still more wonderful
trees, some of them bearing fruit. The whole park-like surrounding and the grassy
lawn beneath the trees were enticing beyond any earthly understanding. The young
man said, "I must stay here, I cannot go on and leave this great beauty. I am so happy."
"Come on," said the others, "there are many things in heaven exceeding this." "You go,"
he replied, "but I shall remain right here for awhile." The others left him on the grass
under the trees with the great, open, velvet-like grassy space before him. Floods of joy
and happiness he had never known on earth flooded his whole being. He was in the
land of joy, "joy unspeakable and full of glory," "the land that is fairer than day."
Frequently an angel came walking by, playing a harp and singing. The angel smiled,
offered him the harp. "I cannot play," he said. The angel passed by. Soon other angels
came, smiling to him as they played and sang.
The angels were dressed in seamless garments of white; their faces were perfect; one
was not more beautiful than another. "When they smiled—Oh, I can't describe that," the
boy said, "there is no way on earth to describe the angels' smile."
Similar
and surpassing beautiful scenes in
large
number of Adullam children. In
delicious fruit, and vistas of most beautiful flowers of every color and hue, sending
forth an aroma of surpassing fragrance. There were birds of glorious plumage singing
their carols of joy and praise. In this park were also animals of every size and
description: large deer, small deer, large lions, great elephants, lovely rabbits, and all
sorts of little friendly pets such as they had never seen before.
The lion and the lamb will lie down together. Fierce
and ferocious nature will be regenreated to a higher plain than it was even in
the beginning when all was “very good.”
Playing with the Lion and Other Animals in the
The children held the little pets in their arms and passed them from one to another. Or
perhaps they found the lion peacefully Iying beneath a tree. In that case they climbed
on his back, ran their fingers through his shaggy mane, brushed his face, and put their
hands in his mouth. If they so desired they curled down beside him to enjoy together
the love of their common Maker. Why not? Some where "the wolf also shall dwell with
the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion
and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. Their young ones shall lie
down together" (Isa. 11 :6-8).
Little children rode the small deer, while older children rode the larger deer or the
friendly elephant. All was perfect love. All was great harmony. Such shouts of joy! Such
happy childish laughter! Who but our Father in Heaven ever thought of or planned
such
a
Eating and Drinking in the Heaven "
When hungry, the children ate of the wonderful fruit or gathered freely the sweet
tasting, refreshing manna that was scattered all about. Were they thirsty? Here and
there
trickled little brooks of the stimulating and refreshing water of life.31
Adullam Sees the Bible Saints in Heaven
In the open, lawn-like vistas amidst the trees and flowers and birds of Paradise Adullam
saw companies of the redeemed dancing and playing trumpets with the angels.
Sometimes they joined this happy festival group, in which were small children, larger
31The scriptures
teach that there will be eating and drinking in the
state, and hence there is such eating and drinking in
heaven as seen in vision by these children.
Jesus said, "I appoint unto you a kingdom . . .
that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom." Lu.
22:30
"But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth
of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it
new with you in my Father's kingdom." Matt.
26:29. Thus Jesus said he would drink the fruit of the vine
with his disciples in the ressurrected state. Jesus
himself ate and drank after he rose from the dead.
"Him God raised up the third day, and gave him to
be made manifest—unto witnesses that were chosen
before of God even to us, who ate and drank with him
after he rose from the dead." Acts 10:40, 41.
The Bible distinctly says there will be eating in this
heavenly Paradise of God, for "He that hath an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the
churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to
eat of the tree of life, which is the Paradise of
God." Rev. 2:7. "To him that overcometh, to him will I
give of the hidden manna." Rev. 2:17.
The "tree of life" is a general term that
covers a variety of fruit-bearing trees in unstated number, the
fruit having a "life giving quality particularly
adapted to man in his sinless state. The "tree of life" is
not just a single tree with a single kind of fruit,
for the scripture clearly states that in this "park" in the
New Jerusalem in heaven John was shown "a river
of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the
street thereof. And on this side of the river and
on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of
fruits." Rev. 22:1, 2.
children, and adults, but where no one was old. What heavenly scenes! What heavenly
singers! What joy among the angels and the redeemed! The angels pointed out
Abraham, David, Daniel, the prophets, the saints, and the martyrs of old. They saw
Peter, James, Paul, and others of whom the world was not worthy. Our boy from the
poor Miao tribe saw his aunt and his own little sister who had gone ahead to the land
"over there." Taking our boys by the hand our little Chinese Mary, who died in Kotchiu,
now joined them in heaven.
One Boy Was Given a Vision of The Death of a Christian
As relatives and friends gathered about the dying one an angel stood by the bed, awaiting
the liberating of the Christian's soul. When the man was set free from his bodily encumbrance, the angel took him by the arm and ascended with him into heaven. The principalities and powers of evil hosts in mid-heaven in their attempts to hinder the passage of the angel and his charge were overcome by the angel's faith and praise as the ascent continued toward the heavenly city.
Having been welcomed at the gate, this new arrival was received by hosts of angels, singing, dancing, rejoicing, all uniting in giving him a royal welcome into the eternal city of the redeemed.
CHAPTER VI
ANGELS IN OUR MIDST
Outpourings of the Holy Spirit upon Adullam children and young folks have always
been attended with visions of angels in our midst.
In this connection it is well to remember some scriptural teaching about angels. The
Scriptures teach that angels have a part in the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Since "the
spirits (or angels) of the prophets are subject to the prophets" (I Cor. 14:32), angels have
some part in prophetic utterance when a prophet speaks under the inspiration of the
Holy
Spirit. The visions John saw on
was "in the Spirit" were given him through an angel (Rev. 1:1, 10). Angels therefore
have something to do with being in a trance, seeing visions through the Holy Spirit,
and getting revelations through the Holy Spirit.
Each true church has, perhaps, a special angel to minister to that particular church (Rev.
1:20). Every saved person has an angel to minister to him (Heb. 1:14, Acts 12 :15) .
Every child has the ministry of angels, for the angels of children have constant access to
the throne of God in heaven (Matt. 18 :10).32 Angels always see us,33 though we seldom
see angels. Angels differ in rank (I Cor. 4 :9) .
Both The Old and New Testament furnish sufficient proof for the reality of angelic
ministry in the Adullam Home. We have already told of the visions of angels rescuing
children whom demons had bound with awful chains and were dragging to hell.
Angels, then, apparently have a part in saving the lost. Since angels led these children to
heaven
and escorted them through the golden streets and the glories of
seems that angels have something to do with the visions given Adullam. As most of the
children who spoke in other languages did so when they were dancing and singing
with the angels it may be that angels have something to do with speaking in other
languages, for it is possible to speak with "the tongues of angels" (I Cor. 1:13) at times of
32"Are they
(the angels) not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake
of them that
shall inherit salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
The disciples believed not that it was Peter knocking
at the gate. "They said, It is his angel." Acts
12:15.
"See that ye despise not one of these little
ones: for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do
always behold the face of my Father who is in
heaven." Matt. 18:10.
33"We are
made a spectacle unto the world both to angels and men." I Cor. 4 :9.
mighty outpourings of the Spirit.
The children also had wonderful visions of multitudes of angels flying in the heavens,
and sometimes they saw them fly from heaven to earth.
Angels in the Midst of and about Adullam
At the times when the presence of the Holy Spirit was especially manifest many of the
children saw angels near by or in the room. When they were hindered by demon
power they saw angels come to their release. On occasions of the most blessed sense of the presence of the Lord in our midst and of the sweetest harmony and love in the
meeting, just above the room was a large angel, while the room was entirely surrounded by smaller angels standing side by side, each touching the other to the right and left,
so there was not a space in the whole circle for the entrance of any demon. On these occasions, when one or more of the children saw our angel garrison about us,
there
were never any visions of demons in the room, as was very frequently the case.
One evening when our angel guard was about us in such perfect rank children said
they could hear demons outside the circle of angels “I say unto you, that in making an angry commotion heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father
who is in heaven.”
Adullam believes we have guardian angels, as the Bible
declares. When anointed by
the Holy Spirit, so that their spiritual eyes were
opened, Adullam children have
always seen angels about them.
because of their inability to hinder the blessed fellowship in the Holy Spirit that was
within the angels' circle. Boys in Kotchiu had also seen this circle of angels.
I shall never forget the blessed sense of the very presence of God that was in those meetings in which the children saw the angel just above our happy, Spirit-filled people.
This angel looking down upon us, smilingly turned from side to side to look at the angels that encircled us and to see that there was not an entrance for the powers of
darkness. I wondered if the angel above us was not the special angel of Adullam and if the smaller angels of lesser rank around us were not our individual guardians. At any rate, the children saw the angels. Their eyes were usually closed when they saw them, but sometimes they saw them with wide open eyes. We could believe, without question that we were indeed in the presence of angels.
CHAPTER VII
THE KINGDOM OF THE DEVIL
No careful observer could have been with us during those weeks of the mighty
outpouring of the Holy Spirit and doubted that there are two Kingdoms in constant
conflict. As surely as angels minister and the Holy Spirit leads to a real Kingdom of
light, so surely do demons hinder, while the devil presides in a realm of evil spirits in a kingdom of real darkness. One kingdom was made as certain to us as the other. Man was
clearly
revealed as the battle ground. The Bible teaches that there are "the lower
ranks of evil spirits and the higher" (Rom. 8:38.
Demons
We
related how demons were cast out of one man and how the larger demon was seen
to rush about the room in great A demon idol.
Some demons look something like this, and worse.
anger, finally seizing upon an unguarded school teacher, who was looking on, and throwing him to the floor. In this instance two boys saw this big, black, man-like demon enter the man of his possession. Several children saw the cast-out demon, chased out of the room by a Spirit filled young man, take temporary refuge behind some small trees in
our court. This demon and the accompanying one about half his size were seen by
children who were praying with closed eyes and by some whose eyes were open. But
all saw the same things at the same time. The appearance of the demons was the same
to each individual.
In the Adullam Rescue Home we had a young girl who very evidently was open to
demon activity. She said that before coming here she was subject to "fits," or spells of
unconsciousness. A short time after she came she and some of the other girls went for a
walk outside the city. On the way back one of the new girls who was half-blind and half
witted lingered behind and lost her way. The older girl, having gone to find the one
who was lost, was returning home with her when she saw three demons before her, a
few steps away. One was "as tall as a door" and was accompanied by two others about
the size of a boy twelve years old. All these demons were dark in appearance, with big
eyes and awful faces. The two smaller demons being apparently subject to the large
one, obeyed and followed him. The girl was frightened at what she saw. The large
demon, coming near, seized her by the head. She became dizzy and almost
unconscious. She could scarcely walk. She could hardly see the street and had to be led
home by the other girl whom she had gone to seek. Upon reaching home she was
better for a time. A little later, while we were at supper, some one came in saying that
the afflicted girl was in her room unconscious. We found her prostrate on the floor,
breathing as if in a peaceful sleep, but we could not awake her. After praying for her we
all assembled in the regular evening prayer meeting. Soon the girl came in perfectly
well.
She said that she seemed to be bound by chains and dragged by demons farther and
farther down a great dark road, while all the time she was silently praying; then she
suddenly realized that the Lord had set her free and she was able to rise. At once she
became conscious, and her mind clear. As she sat on her bed alone in the room, she saw
the three demons whom she had met on the street now in the room. But now she felt
no fear, for she knew that the Lord was Conqueror. Accordingly, she drove the
demons out of the room in "the name of Jesus." As they reluctantly receded step by step
she followed in the name of Jesus until she drove them along the walk out of the large
Chinese door at the entrance of our compound. In the several succeeding months that
she was here she had no more "fits" or unconscious spells.
I have given these two instances somewhat in detail, because the effect of demon
activity in both cases was so evident that any kind of an observer could have told that
something supernatural had taken place. We might tell of many instances of demon
activity that have come under our observation the last few years, but these two are
sufficient in this connection; we want to tell something of the demon activity in
connection with the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
When there were manifestations we did not understand we kept praying and trusting
the Lord, but decided not to interfere unless we clearly saw something that was
harmful or sinful. After eight weeks of wonderful manifestations of the Holy Spirit we
were most thankful that we had allowed such liberty among the children. We saw how
marvellously the Lord had led them, and things we did not understand at first proved
to be part of the Lord's plan in giving us some of the most wonderful and precious
revelations.
Among
these unusual revelations were those of the Demons
the Children Saw.
While some of the children were having a blessed time in the Holy Spirit, others went
to sleep when they tried to pray. Those under the anointing could often see demons by
those who were drowsy and could not pray through. They saw demons coming in
through the open window or the door. Sometimes they saw demons lazily reclining
under the table or upon a couch that was in the room. Under the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, the children, with closed eyes, in the Name of Jesus would rout the demons out
of their places and follow them until they went out of the door or window.
They frequently followed these demons out of the room, opened a front or back door
to the compound, and chased the demons off the premises. When demons appeared on
the scene they were often seen by several persons at the same time.
Some of the children had seen demons before. We found that in spite of all our teaching
about the Lord they were still so afraid of demons they dare not go to their rooms
alone at night, and they covered their heads when they slept. Through these
revelations, however, the children found that the largest and fiercest demons were
unavailing against the smallest child covered by Jesus' blood, so that, for the first time,
we had a happy lot of Chinese children who had lost their fear of demons, were not
afraid in the dark, and were not afraid to sleep with uncovered heads.
You may wonder What the Demons were Like. The demons seen are best described as resembling the demon idols in Chinese temples. According to the Bible34 and according to the Chinese much idolatry is demon worship.
Making idols of the demon type is an attempt to reproduce the likeness of demons that
have been seen. The children saw demons as "high as a door," with pointed chins and warty heads.
There were others of different appearance too, some half this size. There were smaller
ones two or three feet high and little ones a few inches high, following the larger
demons about.
The large, big-eyed, fierce-looking demons are the ones to be feared as having power
to bind and take captives to hell.
The Principalities and Powers of the Air
The hosts of the powers of the air and their works of darkness in co-operation with
34But I say that
the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to
God: and I
would not that ye should have communion with
demons." I Cor. 10 :20.
demons on earth were seen by various Adullam witnesses, whose testimony is as
follows:
The government of the hosts of evil is in mid-heaven. Here are thrones from which the
devil's angels exercise their Satanic government over the earth. These rulers of
darkness vary: some are larger in stature than others; there is variation in dress,
crowns, facial expression, disposition, and authority. In all respects they are as devilish
in appearance and acts as the hosts of Satan are expected to be.
These rulers of evil are in constant contention among themselves, each resenting the
authority of those higher in power, each jealous of the other and all covetous of the
seats of highest rank. Those in higher rank hold their positions, not by consent of the
lower orders, but solely through their own superior fierceness and power. Cliques and
individuals are in constant conflict and quarrels.
All have crowns that represent various orders and ranks. All desire to sit on the thrones
above and supervise the work of evil on earth, rather than descend on delegated duties
to further the demonical powers below.
Those of highest rank sit on thrones in the mid-heavens, ruling over innumerable hosts
of evil spirits, from whose number delegations are constantly dispatched to earth to
entice its inhabitants, to withstand the forces of righteousness, to strengthen weak
places in the demonical forces of earth, and to bind and to drag the souls of evil men to
hell when they die.
Although these wicked angels fly in high heaven to the very gates of the New
congregate in countless numbers is in the region of the thrones of authority in the midheavens.
Here evil hosts of wicked spirits of all sizes fly hither and thither or move
about more deliberately. A certain halo surrounds the wicked angels of higher rank.
All are similar in some respects: All have wings, all have crowns, all belong in the
heavens. The delegated messengers go to earth only temporarily. Their evil errand
finished, they again return to the heavens.
The hosts of evil spirits on earth are very different from the devil's angels. These on
earth do not have wings; they can walk and run rapidly; and they move freely but
apparently do not leave the earth. They vary in size from a few inches to ten feet in
height, wear gaudy colored clothes of many stripes, and have fancy caps of various
shapes and colors; some, on the other hand, wear rags or filthy garments.
Some of these demons on earth have very little power and are of a rather harmless
order. Others, however, are large in stature, fierce in appearance, and have great
power. These on earth withstand the work of righteous men and the work of angels
among men. In one of their conflicts with an angel, earthly demons of highest rank,
assisted by others of lower rank, gathered about the angel, trying to strike him with
clubs, swords, and other weapons. Through faith and praising the Lord, the angel so
with stood this onslaught that no blow fell upon him nor could an evil hand touch him.
The demons of less power, standing at a little distance and watching the conflict, upon
seeing their companions unsuccessful in their attack, besought the powers of evil in the
heavens to send a re-enforcement of the devil's angels from the air. In response to this
entreaty a detachment of ten angels were sent down. As these approached the earth the
demons below clapped their hands in joyous welcome. When the wicked angels from
above reached the scene of conflict these less powerful demons, receding a distance,
stood in respectful quietness in the presence of the Satanic delegation from above, who
now took up the conflict with the angel. These forces the angel also withstood with
praises and faith until suddenly the Glory of God descended and entirely routed all the
hosts of evil.
The
boy who saw a Christian die also saw What
When one man who did not know the Gospel died, his soul, after being liberated from
the body, wandered about unhindered from place to place on earth, until one of the
devil's angels, descending from the sky with chains, bound him and forced him down
to hell. The death of a professing Christian who had known the Lord, but had not truly
repented, was still more terrible. When this man was dying, demons by his deathbed
waited in fiendish delight for the liberation of the soul of this hypocritical, one-time
professing Christian. The demons began to bind him before he was entirely out of the
body and completed the binding of their captive the minute he drew his last ungodly
breath. The hypocrite did not enjoy one moment of freedom to wander about the
earth. An object of ridicule to his demon captors, in terror he was at once dragged and
pushed into hell.
One such ungodly man was the special sport of demons who, having bound him in
chains, dragged him along on the earth, again and again jerking him up on his feet only
again to drag him down and haul him along like a dead dog. After furnishing
amusement for his captor the man was dragged down the dark road to the infernal
regions.
There was A Boy Dragged from Adullam to Hell because he had been so bad he was discharged as errand boy by an officer in the army.
After seeing him begging on the street for several days we took him into the Adullam
Rescue Home. He promised to reform, made an outward showing of decency, heard
the Gospel for a considerable time, and professed repentance.
Different articles disappeared from the Home, but the thief was not found until this boy
was caught on his way to sell the stolen plunder. We then put him out of the Home.
After several months of beggar life, during which time this boy repeatedly promised to
reform if only we would allow him to return, we gave him another chance. The Lord
also gave him another chance, for there were manifestations of the Holy Spirit and
supernatural revelations sufficient to make the way of life clear to the most simple. This
boy himself had anointings of the Holy Spirit, when the Lord dealt directly with him
about his sins and showed him the better way. In spite of all this the boy ran away and
joined a street gang of beggar-thieves. A few months later he fell and broke his arm,
infection set in, and he was about to die when he was picked up by a hospital worker.
In the hospital he was so hopelessly disobedient that he was thrown out and was soon
in a dying condition on the street. Coming to us with promises of repentance, we pitied
him and took him in once more.
Day by day he neared the end of the way. The night before he died I was awakened by
unearthly shrieks that sounded like uncanny howls of some wild animal or of some
fiend. The next day when the boy died I was away from home. As he lay in death
throes, delighted, awful hellish demons gathered about him. When his soul was leaving
his body the boy seeing his captors, wept, yelled, shrieked, and cried at the top of his
voice in wildest terror; "Mr. Baker, help! help! help! O, Mr. Baker, come quickly ! Mr.
Baker, Mr. Baker, Mr. Baker! Help, they are all about me with chains! They have come
for me. Help, help, Mr. Baker, help! Oh, oh, oh, help! help! help! They are binding me
with chains. Help! help! Oh, oh, oh, help! Oh—h—e—l—"
Visions of Hell
Over and over again children had visions of hell and the lake of fire. The first time any
one was under the anointing of the Spirit he usually had a vision of hell. He was bound
in chains by demons and taken through a region of darkness. Some children could hear
demons all about them in this region. If taken far, they could see a dim light in the
distance which proved to be reflections from the lake of fire. Some children were forced
so near they could see the lake of fire ahead. All the time they were pleading the blood
of Christ, asserting that they would not obey and would not be subject to the slavery of
their captors. They believed Jesus would surely save. We have already told how at this
climax, before the lake of fire was reached, the Lord did intervene with His bloodbought
salvation.
The Bible pictures hell as a place of blackness and darkness,35 and it teaches that part of
the devil's angels are now reserved in chains of darkness awaiting judgment.
The children saw not only darkness in hell, but also
The
that was always approached through a region of stygian darkness.36 In vision they
were led to the edge of a great lake of molten fire in a semi-dark pit from which arose
clouds of smoke. When the smoke settled low the fire in the lake was less distinct.
When the smoke lifted a little, the burning lake with red and greenish flames and its
inmates could be distinctly seen.
When the children were peering down into this pit in hell we saw them taking a firm
hold on some piece of furniture or getting down on their hands and knees, cautiously
bending forward to peep into the infernal regions. They looked a moment and then
drew back, afraid lest they fall in. They were horrified at what they saw. Then very
cautiously they looked again and drew back. Sometimes the children lay flat on their
stomachs, lest they slip and fall while looking over the brink of the lake of fire.
The lost were seen going into hell. Some fell in, some walked over the brink, and some
were bound by demon chains and cast into hell by demons. One boy saw groups of the
35"Jesus
said:—"And the rich man also died, and was buried. And in Hades he lifted
up his eyes, being
in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he
may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool
my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame. But
Abraham said,—between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed, that they which would pass from hence to
you may not be able, and that none may cross over
from thence to us." Lu. 16:22,26.
36"These are
springs without water and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of
darkness
hath been reserved." II Peter 2:17.
"The king said to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and cast him into the outer darkness." Matt.
22:13.
"God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast
them down to hell, and committed them to pits of
darkness, to be reserved unto Judgment." II Peter
2:4.
"And angels that kept not their own principality,
but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in
everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of
the great day." Jude 6.
wicked
bound in bundles, ready to be cast into this furnace of fire.37
When the fire abated and the smoke settled down the moans of the miserable could be
heard. When the fire at intervals increased in intensity and the smoke lifted a little there
were shrieks and wails of agony.
One person was rolled on the floor and caused to cry out as would a suffering soul in
hell.
In the lake of fire were oceans of hands reaching up for help. Those below appealed to
those looking in upon them to come to their rescue. We could hear the children talking
to them just as you can hear some one talking over the telephone and get but one end
of the conversation. We could hear one end of a conversation like this: "I can't help
you." "No, I cannot do anything for you." "But when you were alive you would not
obey the gospel." "No, it is too late; before you got here I preached to you, but you
made fun of me and despised Jesus. Now you know I told you the truth." "No, I cannot
do anything; this is the judgment of God." "If you had obeyed, you would now be
enjoying heaven with us." After some such conversation the children were led away to
enjoy
the presence of Jesus in heaven or the glories of the golden streets of the
of God.
Lazarus could see the rich man in hell tormented in flames, and the rich man could talk
with Lazarus, but he could not cross the gulf. When Christ reigns as King of Kings upon
the
earth the redeemed nations will look upon the lost.38
One boy saw his grandmother in hell, whom he had tried to win to Christ. She was
once a sorceress and murderer who had withstood the gospel she heard in her village
and caused many to refuse the light. Other children also had visions of relatives in hell.
This tribal boy who saw his grandmother in hell was the boy who saw his little sister
and his believing aunt in heaven.
37"Again the
kingdom of heaven is like a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of
every kind,
which when it was filled, they drew up on the beach .
. . The bad they cast away. So shall it be in the
end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and
sever the wicked from among the righteous, and
shall cast them into the furnace of fire." Matt.
13:47-50.
"I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the
tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them . .. As the
tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall
it be in the end of the world The Son of man shall
send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of
his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and
them that do iniquity and shall cast them into the
furnace of fire." Matt. 13:30, 40-42.
38"All flesh
shall come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. And they shall go forth, and
look upon
the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed
against me: for their worm shall not die, neither
shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an
abhorring unto all flesh." Isa. 66: 23, 24.
There was no vision of any one in heaven or the name of any one on the mansions by
the golden streets who did not trust in Jesus. Those in hell were all unbelievers. One
night when the Lord spoke through a small boy in wonderful prophecy, among the
things he said was, "There will be no one in heaven except those who believe the
gospel."
After the Lord had taken the boys and girls through most wonderful and systematic
lessons in the Holy Spirit they nearly all came at last to
The Parting of the Roads.
In this vision, repeated until it seemed the impression could never be forgotten, the one
in vision seemed to be standing by the cross at the parting of the two great roads. The
one was the narrow way of life that leads to heaven and glory; the other was the broad
way to hell and destruction.
Great, busy, hurrying multitudes—multitudes hustling with business, carrying great
loads of sin and rushing along with the affairs of life—were passing by in endless
streams and countless numbers. The child was the preacher at the cross roads. Again
we heard one side of the conversation: "Hello! my friend! Please wait a minute; I want
to speak to you. Say, do not go down that broad road; it leads to hell and ruin. I have
been down that way and have seen hell for myself. Stop here by the cross and let Jesus
wash all your sins away. From the Cross of Christ here you can start up this other road
that will lead you to heaven and everlasting life and joy. Oh! that fellow does not
believe it. There he goes on down the broad road. What a pity! I will stop this other
man and see if he will believe. Hey there! Just a minute! Say, do not follow that crowd.
They do not know where they are going. That road leads to destruction; that is the road
to the lake of fire. Please don't go on. I came out here to stop as many of you as
possible and give you fair warning. Better turn aside here, let Jesus wash your sins
away, and go with us up the road to heaven where God is. Oh, there he goes, too!
"Here is another. Wait a moment! Say, come out of that crowd. Cannot you see there is
no one traveling back this way? They all go down that road; no one ever comes back.
That is the broad road to hell. Stop here by the cross, believe the gospel of salvation
through Jesus' blood, and you will be safe. There is no other road further on. This is the
only road to heaven. Turn in here or you will be lost too.
"Oh, what a pity he does not believe me. There he goes with the others."
Sometimes the youthful preacher would decide that if no one believed him he would
follow the wilful crowd to see what happened. When he arrived with the crowd at the
brink of the lake of fire in hell, we heard him say, "Look at that crowd falling into hell!
Not one escapes. Everyone goes in." Slowly drawing near the edge of the pit and
leaning over and looking down into the lake with its suffering multitudes, the preacher
said: "I can not help you now. I told you all about this back there at 'the gospel cross
roads,' but you would not believe. No, you would not believe, even if I could help you
out. No, I am helpless now. If you had listened when I warned, the Lord would have
saved you; you came on and fell in because you would not take advice. No, I can't. I am
going back to the cross roads to see if I can find some one who will listen, and stop a
few at any cost."
He was occasionally successful in persuading one to listen. Then he would say, "Now,
you get down there at the foot of the cross of Jesus and pray. Oh, you don't know how
to pray? Well, you say what I tell you. 'Jesus, I am a sinner! I was on my road to hell. I
am only fit for hell. The big load I carry is only sin. Forgive my sins and teach me to live
only for your glory. Amen'." There was rejoicing then as the sinner was saved and
started up the narrow road, while the preacher went out to try to rescue another
deluded traveler.
These visions, with some variations, were repeated many times, making it clear that
salvation was only by repentance and belief in the blood of Christ, through the
preaching of the gospel; that the many were called; that few were saved; that the road
to destruction is broad and multitudes pass that way; that the way of life is narrow and
few there be that find it.39 It was made equally clear that the Christian is to stand in the
gap at the parting of the ways and persuade and warn to the limit of his ability.
We have told how the boys, even the small boys, went out at that time and preached
on the streets with unction of the Holy Spirit, sometimes under direct inspiration such
as we had never before witnessed. I will close this chapter with the story of
The University Student Who Went by the Cross Roads.
Opposite our front gate lived a university student who was to have graduated from the
university that year. After moving here I talked with him, asking him to come over and
discuss the Bible and Christianity in a friendly way. He came a few days, and I felt
certain he was convinced of the truth of what I said. The questions he raised seemed to
be answered to his full satisfaction.
Through him I managed to get a chance to talk with some of the other university
students during their vacation. I had been going to their rooms ten days, when there
39"Enter ye
in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth
to
destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby.
For narrow is the gate, and straightened the way,
that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find
it." Matt. 7:13, 14.
came the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Adullam. The students were
friendly, and I felt that the student I have mentioned saw clearly the truth of the gospel.
I could see that, although he was polite, he was not disposed to accept the truth and did
not seem to like the friendly way the other students responded to the Bible discussions.
One morning when one of our girls was out at our front gate it happened that this
young university student was out there too. The girl began telling him he ought to be a
Christian, in a simple way urging him to believe in Jesus to save him from his sins,
make him a good man, save him from hell, and lead him to heaven.
"What's the use of my being a Christian ? I do not need to be saved."
"You might die suddenly in your sins, and you would go to hell."
"Who are you?" scoffed the student. "You are a little snip of an ignorant girl, just a sort
of useless beggar. What do you suppose you are trying to do? You are trying to teach
me something when you are not worthy to even talk to me. I am a university student. I
am
wise. I have read many books. I have been many years in
read English as well as Chinese." He then spat in her face and told her to mind her own
business.
Two weeks later hearing a funeral commotion in the front alley, I was surprised to
learn that they were carrying this university student to his burial; I had seen him on the
street a few days before. One of the boys said that as we were going out to preach, a
few days previous, he had offered this young man a tract, but he would not take it.
I knew nothing of this conversation with the girl. About a month later this girl was in a
trance under the power of the Spirit. After seeing visions of heaven and the glories of
the redeemed she stood still and bent over as though looking into hell. This is what I
heard: "Ah! There is hell. No, I cannot; I have no power to help you now. You certainly
are in an awful plight. It is you who are worse than a beggar now, all dirty, all filthy,
and suffering in the lake of fire. In fact, you look worse now than any beggar I ever
saw. I thought you told me you were rich and that you had a great education. Where is
your education now? Well, I cannot help you now even if you do apologize. That may
be, but I have no power. No, only Jesus can save you, but when I told you about Him
you made fun of Him and cursed me.
"Look what we beggars who believe in Jesus have received in heaven: all is joy, all is
happiness; all is love in the city of golden streets with its wonderful Paradise of God."
The Righteous Scarcely Saved
Then the girl seemed to be crossing the lake of fire over a narrow bridge. We saw her
walking as though she were walking a rope, placing one foot carefully in front of the
other while extending her arm on either side until she recovered her balance. With a
sigh of relief she said, "My! this is dangerous! But the Lord will help me. I will get across
to the other side." Then she carefully brought the other foot forward and nearly lost her
balance again. She praised the Lord until she recovered her balance and proceeded as
before. In this way having crossed the room, she seemed to be safely in heaven, past
every danger of ever falling into the lake of fire.
Whatever the effect of relating these visions may have on others, these things have
taught us in Adullam to believe more assuredly than ever in the reality of heaven and
the
positively than ever do we assert that the way through this life that leads over the
dangers of the lake of fire, the way that "over-comers" must travel, is like walking a
rope which must be traveled step by step with fear and trembling.40 Only the Lord
Jesus can sustain us in the balance so that we may not topple in to the right, or escaping
that, fall to the left. We are surer than ever that God means for us to stand by the cross
at the cross roads to point sinners to the narrow, little-traveled road that starts at the
cross and leads by it on up to heaven and the life the Lord has prepared for them who
love Him. How can any be saved without this salvation; how can any escape who
neglect this salvation? "For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and
every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall
we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation" (Heb. 2 :2, 3)?
40"For the
time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first
at us, what shall be
the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? And
if the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall
the ungodly and sinner appear?" I Peter 4:17, 18.
CHAPTER VIII
END OF THIS AGE AND THE RETURN OF CHRIST
During the mighty out pouring of the Holy Spirit, by vision and prophecy we were repeatedly warned that the end of the present age and the return of our Lord is at hand.
The
Holy Spirit made this great climax at the consummation of the present age so
vivid and real that no doubt was left in any of our minds that the Lord God was
bringing last and supremely important messages to his people. The Scripture
teaches that the present age will end in the greatest tribulation the world has
ever seen and that immediately after that tribulation the Lord will return to “Ye men of
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld
him going into heaven.”
“Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they
shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory.”
The
Scriptures also teach that this age will reach its climax at its
"end" in the harvest when the tares will have reached full fruition
and when the wheat will have passed from the leaf and the blade to the full
grain in the ear. When both the wheat and the tares are ripe the angels will
come with the Lord to gather the harvest and to separate the wheat from the
tares. In other words, when the Kingdom of the devil is at its worst and the
41"But
immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and
the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the
earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming
on the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory." Matt. 24 :30, 31.
42Let both grow
together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the
reapers,
Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to
burn.
"And he answered and said, He that soweth the
good seed is the Son of Man; and the field is the world;
and the good seed. these are the sons of the kingdom;
and tares are the sons of the evil one; and the
enemy that soweth them is the devil: and the harvest
is the end of the world; and the reapers are
angels. As therefore the tares are gathered up and
burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the
world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and
they shall gather out of his kingdom all things
reach its climax in the incarnation of the devil in control of a demon-deceived and
tormented world and that this devil-possessed world ruler, the super-man, will be
destroyed
by the Lord at his coming.43
There may be those who take exception to the above remarks, but, without detailed
discussion of these matters, I will relate, as best I can, the visions and revelations given
Adullam children, who knew little or nothing of the theology involved.
Pestilence and Wars
Time after time they spoke in prophecy, saying that a time of famine, pestilence, war,
and desolation is coming and that it will be attended with persecution of the people of
God, whom He will especially equip and protect in this crisis.
One boy saw our school teacher trying to buy a measure of rice. So great a crowd
surrounded the granary that the teacher could only hope for success in making his
purchase by pushing with the crowd. Only one measure of rice could be bought by
each
man.44
In vision one ignorant, uneducated boy was transported to our civilized lands and saw
the peoples getting ready for war, making bombs, cannon, and implements of
destruction.
The coming of the devil and his incarnation in the Antichrist was prophesied many
times, as well as seen in vision.
that cause stumbling and them that do iniquity, and
shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear"
Matt. 13:37-43.
43"Now we
beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our
gathering
together unto him . . . let no man beguile you in any
wise: for it will not be except the falling away come
first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself
against all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he sitteth in the
himself forth as God . . . for the mystery of
lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that
restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. And
then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom
the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his
mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his
coming; even he, whose coming is according to the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for
them that perish." II Thess. 2:1-10.
44"And I
heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A
measure of wheat
for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a
shilling . . . " Rev. 6:6.
Visions of the Devil and Antichrist
The children saw the dragon, the devil with seven heads. One boy saw angels fighting
with him and seven of his angels. The devil and his angels were overcome and flung
out
of heaven to earth.45
Adullam boys saw the super-man the world is wishing for, the great subject of worship
that Buddhism, Theosophy, Mohammedanism and other religions expect. In him they
saw the devil incarnated as a handsome, strong man in the beauty and strength of
young manhood.
They also had visions of the image that in due season this God-defying Antichrist will
erect according to prophecy as an object of worship, the image that will be able to
speak and to deceive the world.46 I asked how they knew this handsome man of power
was the Antichrist. They said that a host of demons followed him everywhere, obeyed
his every command, advanced at his word, and halted at his order.
This Antichrist was also seen upon a plain as a beast with seven heads. Again I asked
how they knew this was the Antichrist, and the children said the angels told them. I
have already explained that, as to John, these revelations were given through angels
when the children were "in the Spirit" in a trance and that, like him, they carried on
conversation with the angels and by these heavenly messengers were told the mystery
of many things they did not understand themselves.
The Saints Under Persecution
During the reign of this super-man in his God-defying power the saints of God were
standing true and bearing faithful testimony in spite of every hardship and every
45"And there
was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven
heads and
ten horns, and upon his head seven diadems. And there
was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon
warred and his angels; and they prevailed not,
neither was their place found any more in heaven. And
the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent,
he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of
the whole world; he was cast down to the earth,
and his angels were cast down with him . . . Woe for
the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone
down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he
hath but a short time." Rev. 12:3, 7-9, 12.
46"And he
deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was
given him to do
in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell
on the earth, that they should make an image to
the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.
And it was given unto him to give breath to it.
even to the image of the beast that the image of the
beast should both speak, and cause that as many as
should not worship the image of the beast should be
killed." Rev. 13:14, 15.
danger.
They saw the two witnesses in
these two, endued with mighty supernatural power to fight with and to resist the
power of darkness in that awful time, the like of which has never been upon the
earth—the time when the devil and all his angels and demons will be turned loose upon
the earth, having great wrath, knowing their time is short. During this time, when no
one but a true Spirit-filled saint could stand for a day against such Satanic power and
supernatural Satanic miracles and manifestations, the children saw the saints filled with
the still greater supernatural power of their God, the Spirit of him, who is greater than
"he that is in the world." They had visions of preaching the gospel in the midst of great
persecution; but they were given such power that by a word from them, enemies
smitten by plagues47 or death. This power seemed to issue from within and came out of
their mouths; with it they rebuked and slew their enemies. They were exercising the
power the Lord had promised his disciples, power to do the works He did and greater
works.48 In some cases, after giving a testimony in a town that rejected them and
having left it a distance, fire from heaven descended and destroyed the wicked place,
even
as
were some times caught away bodily by the Holy Spirit as was Philip49 and as the
prophets supposed Elijah had been (II Kings 2:16). They were thus by the Spirit carried
away to a place of safety. In time of hunger and need food was miraculously
provided—manna, fruit, and other food. Angels ministered. Strength and boldness
were given to bear a fearless testimony. The Christians had power to speak with
tongues in the languages of strange and unevangelized tribes. When in vision the boys
or girls were thus preaching in the Spirit we ourselves could see how this might be true,
for while one speaker preached to the people of a strange language whom he saw
before him, another interpreted for him (I Cor. 14:28). Both spoke in other tongues.
One spoke a few sentences, then the other interpreted. They were preaching to some of
those of every tribe and language.
John saw an angel flying in heaven with the everlasting gospel to be preached to all
tribes
and tongues, just before the fall of
multitude no man could number, people of every tribe and language, who had washed
47"And if
any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth
their
enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them; in
this manner must he be killed." Rev. 11:5.
48"He that
believeth on me the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he
do; because I go unto the Father." John 14:12.
49"And when
they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and
the eunuch
saw him no more." Acts 8:39.
50"And I saw
another angel flying in mid heaven, having eternal good tidings to proclaim
unto them
that dwell on the earth and unto every nation and
tribe and tongue and people; and he saith with a
great voice, Fear God, and give him glory; for the
hour of his judgment is come." Rev. 14-6, 7.
their robes in the blood of the Lamb and had come out of Great Tribulation.51 Must it
not be in accord with the Scripture that, as the children saw in these visions, the gospel
will be preached again under angelic ministration in the miraculous power of the Holy
Spirit in a supernatural way, far exceeding that of the early Church in the days of its
persecution? May it not be that the harvest outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the latter
rain, will far exceed the seed-time outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the former rain, the
outpouring on the Day of Pentecost?
The Final World War
At the conclusion of the final testimony of the most perfect and supernatural church the
world has ever seen, in the midst of the greatest persecution by the greatest
concentration of Satanic demonical power and devil-controlled human power that any
age on earth has ever experienced, the Adullam children saw the Antichrist, the devilman,
the super-man world leader, marshalling his forces for the final world war of the
age.
They also saw the war in the spirit realm. In this they saw a man on a white horse,
leading his army of angels dressed in white.52 They also saw a rider on a red horse, the
rider dressed in beautiful dark colored array and followed by his host of demons in
black.
Some visions of the war on earth were also seen. Children saw battleships destroyed by
bombs thrown from airplanes, and they saw the ships with all aboard enter their
watery grave to be seen no more. Armies were seen gathered from all the earth,
engaged in the great and terrible struggle. The children watched the awful battle.
Poison gas and deadly instruments of war slew their victims in countless numbers. At
first the dead were buried, but later the slain, being so many they could not be taken
care of, were piled in heaps or left to decay as manure upon the face of the earth, as the
51"After
these things I saw, and behold a great multitude, which no man could number,
out of every
nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands. And
one of the elders answered, saying unto me,
These that are arrayed in the white robes, who are
they, and when came they? And I said unto him,
My Lord, thou knowst. And he said to me, These are
they that came out of the Great tribulation, and
they washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb." Rev. 7:9, 13, 14.
52"And l saw
the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called
Faithful
and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war . . . And the armies which are in heaven
followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth
a sharp sword, that he should smite the nations . . .
and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of
the wrath of God, the Almighty." Rev. 19:11, 14,
15.
prophet
has foretold.53
In
the midst of all these things everything was interrupted by The Sudden Return of Christ.
The sun became dark and the moon red like blood.54 The stars fell in showers. The
heavens shook and seemed to roll together as a scroll. There was a great earthquake
that rent the earth asunder. Great crevices opened and people were swallowed alive.
Buildings were shaken down, collapsing like children's toy houses, killing and burying
the inmates. While these things in heaven and earth were taking place the Lord
appeared in the heavens. Old and young, rich and poor were overcome with deadly
fear. They fled in every direction in wild confusion. Men fled from their shops empty
handed, without a thought of their valuables that a few moments before had seemed of
great importance. Families rushed from their homes without even a glance back upon
the luxuries that had been their life passion. In one moment all men became one in
purpose; they had only one desire; they sought only one thing. That one desire was to
flee from the face of the returning Judge; they sought only a place of refuge to hide
from the visible King of Kings. Some who were not killed by falling houses or who did
not tumble into the opened earth tried to flee to the mountains for safety; some leaped
into the rivers and perished; some slew themselves with their own weapons.
53"A noise
shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with
the nations; he
will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the
wicked, he will give them to the sword saith
Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil
shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great
tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of
the earth. And the slain of Jehovah shall be at
that day from one end of the earth even unto the other
end of the earth: they shall not be lamented
neither gathered, nor buried: they shall be dung upon
the face of the ground." Jeremiah 25:31, 32, 33.
54"But
immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and
the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken
. . . and they shall see the Son of man coming on the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Matt. 24:29, 30.
"And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and
there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black
as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood;
and the stars of the heaven fell unto the
earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she
is shaken of a great wind. And the heaven was
removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the
chief captains and the rich, and the strong and
every bondman and freeman hid themselves in the caves
and in the rocks of the mountains; and they
say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and
hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great
day of their wrath is come; and who is able to
stand?" Rev. 6:12-17.
Everywhere was wailing and shrieking. Everywhere was riot and terror. Anything to
escape from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of His wrath was come.
After this there were visions of
The Great Supper of God,
where the beasts and birds were bidden to eat the unburied dead that lay scattered
over the ruined earth. Dogs and wild animals were seen feeding on the carcasses of
men. Birds and scavengers of the air joined in this supper prepared by God.
“And it shall come to pass in that day that . . . All
the men that are upon the face of the earth shall
shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be
thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and
every wall shall fall to the ground.” Eze. 38:18-21.
“Behold? THE DAY OF JOHOVAH cometh, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make
the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the
stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light, the
sun shall be darkened in its going forth and the moon will not cause light to
shine. And I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their
iniquity: and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease.” Isa. 63:9-11
While the boys were witnessing this great feast we could hear their remarks and see
their movements as the scene was described and acted out before us. One would say,
"Look at that eagle eating that rich fellow. See it picking his fancy clothes from his body.
Look
at that! It has taken a piece of his flesh and flown away.''55
55"And I saw
an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the
birds that
fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto
the great supper of God, that ye may eat the
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the
flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of
them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both
free and bond, and small and great " Rev 19:17, 18
THE GREATEST SUPPER ON EARTH
"Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall
go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest
shall be raised up from uttermost parts of the earth.
And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day
from one end of the earth: they shall not be lamented,
neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung
upon the face of the ground.'' Jer 25:32, 33
"And I saw an angel,.. saying to all the birds
that fly in mid-heaven, Come and be gathered together
unto the great supper of God, that ye may eat . . .
the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit thereon,
and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great." Rev.
19:17,18.
Another said, "O, look over there; a vulture and a crow both eating at that man. The
vulture has the most courage. He just picks and picks away, gorging himself, never
taking time to look up, but the crow is afraid; he takes a bit and looks around to see if
he is in danger. 'Ai ya,' do you see that? Look at the birds standing on that well dressed
fellow and digging into him." Then the boys suddenly with one accord wheeled around
with their backs toward the repellent scene, while their remarks, as well as their
motions, made it clear enough the sort of abhoring scenes that will characterize the final
feast of the earth. Here will be the rich and mighty, the captains of the earth, the
captains of industry, the captains of wealth, the captains of war, and the captains of all
Christ-rejecting enterprises and religions. They will not be there as honored guests, but
as the food for the scavengers of the earth over which they have lived in selfish luxury.
Thus the Adullam children have already seen and described in terrible reality the
culminating scenes of our boasted material civilization. They have seen the fruit of
godless sowing and the answer to the question of our Lord, "What shall it profit a man
if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" The Word of God says, "All the
nations that forget God shall be turned into hell." These simple children believe without
a doubt, because they have been shown by God and the angels what is also written in
the Word of the Lord, that the climax and consummation of the present world with its
human systems of education and its boasted organization and wealth will be "the great
supper of God," where the flesh of the dead will be more of a prize than will be the
splendor and culture that is now the pride of the living.
The Antichrist Bound and the Devil Cast into the Pit
The children saw the Lord and his angels bind the Antichrist hand and foot, preparatory
to
casting him alive into hell.56
There were visions also of the devil taken alive to the mouth of the pit; a box-like lid
was lifted up, and he was cast down into the black well-like shaft of the abyss; the lid
was
shut down, and the Lord locked it with a great key.57
The Descent of the Lord and the Last Trumpet
We have written of the visions of the return of Christ as related to the wicked. There
were equally clear visions relating to the saints. Adullam saw the heavens open and the
Lord descend in glory attended by His angels. On either side and following the Lord
was this great army of attendants in white. Those in front blew beautiful trumpets as
with the blast of trumpets the Lord and His army descended in perfect order, every one
keeping in his proper place and rank. As the Lord thus descended toward the earth
there were wonderful visions of the
Resurrection and Rapture of the Saints. (Note here that the author’s use of the
word Rapture is in conjunction with the first resurrection as recorded in the
word of God. – These children did not witness Christians being flown out
escaping persecution and the judgments of God falling on the earth. Before 1910
the doctrine that has become known as the Rapture of the church was virtually
unknown to Fundamentalist and Pentecostals.)
suddenly clothed upon by the heavenly tabernacle of the resurrection glory life. In
some cases bones were seen to come together as the children expressed it in Chinese
idiom: "one bone from the east and one from the west." These scattered bones, having
become clothed with flesh and transformed into the resurrection body, were caught up
56"And the
beast was taken, and with the false prophet that wrought the signs in his
sight,
wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark
of the beast and them that worshipped his
image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire
that burneth with brimstone." Rev. 19:20.
57"And I saw
an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great
chain in his
hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent,
which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him
for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss and
shut and sealed it over him, that he deceive the
nations no more, until the thousand years should be
finished: after this he must be loosed for a little
time." Rev. 20:1-3.
to meet the Lord in the air.58 One boy saw a funeral procession where a Christian was
being carried to his burial. On the way to the burial ground the trumpet sounded, the
Lord descended, the coffin opened, the dead sat up, arose transformed, and ascended
into the air.
I have already told how our children had visions of some of our Adullam people
already
dead and now in heaven, clothed in white and enjoying
seeing the saints of old clothed in white. The Scripture teaches that between death and
the resurrection the saints have spiritual bodies and that the saints are clothed in white
before the time of the resurrection.59 When I cross-questioned the children as to how
they knew whether the saints they saw in heaven had been resurrected or not, they
said they did not know until the angels told them that they saw only the souls of the
saints and that their bodies had not been resurrected. I questioned and cross-questioned
in some of these matters and always got a uniform testimony: the children always saw
the saints in white; the saints never had wings; all of the angels had wings; there was no
difficulty in distinguishing between saints and angels.
In summary, then, Adullam saw the saints in white now in heaven, with access to
the Lord with "all his holy ones"—all his angels—at the sounding of the last trumpet;
they saw the resurrection and transformation of the bodies of the saints and their
ascent into the air. They also saw
58"For this
we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left
unto the
coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that
are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are
alive, that are left shall together with them be
caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord." l Thess.
4:15-17.
"Behold I tell you a mystery: we all shall not
sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye at the last trump: for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption and this mortal
must put on immortality." I Cor. 15: 51-53.
59"And when
he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had
been slain
for the word of God, and for the testimony which they
held: and they cried with a great voice, saying,
How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on
the earth? And there was given them to each one a
white robe; and it was said unto them, that they
should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow
servants also and their brethren, who should be
killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their
course." Rev. 69:12.
The instance of the rich man and Lazarus shows that
the dead have bodies between the time of death
and resurrection. See Luke 16: 19-30.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.60
Great
tables were spread in
flowers with enchanting fragrance, its glorious birds of every plumage that sang their
carols of praise, where all redeemed animal and vegetable creation was one
harmonious,
spirit-filled, God-praising whole. Here, then, in this indescribable
of God in open spaces were spread the tables for the great Marriage Supper. Angels
and the glorified saints skipped about everywhere playing harps, blowing trumpets,
singing, and praising the Lord. Some of the children acted out these scenes before us.
They hurried to their jewel bedecked home to get their harp or trumpet and joined the
spirit inspired music of the greatest of all festival scenes, the climax of all the hopes of
the ages. Great companies sang, and danced, and praised the King. Others hurried
about preparing the tables or the seats and carrying the golden dishes of food.
In a park more beautiful than this or any earthly
park, the children had visions of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the
There was abundance of food, everything having flavor of its own, exceeding anything
that could be imagined.
When all was ready, the call was sent forth and the saints of all past ages gathered
around the tables to celebrate the wedding of the King's Great Son. The consummation
of all their hopes, the realization of all highest joy in heaven itself, came to its highest
point when the harlot, the beggar, the sinner, and the one-time off-scourings of the
earth came from the east and the west and sat down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at
60"And he
saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper
of the Lamb.
And he saith unto me, These are true words of
God." Rev. 19:9.
this
festal table in the
greatest height, the Son Himself came in and sat down at the tables surrounded by his
blood bought and white-robe clad bride the redeemed of every nation, and tribe, and
tongue
and drank with them the fruit of the vine.62
Adullam saw
The Books Opened and the Day of Judgment.
They saw the books in which the deeds of men are recorded and saw the Judge upon
the throne before whom all men were judged out of the books. The righteous were set
apart to stand in one great company on the one side, while those whose names were
not in the book of life were gathered into another great company to stand on the other
side.
The one company was separated to enter the
ages; the other group was doomed to go into the fire prepared for the devil and his
angels.63
A few were privileged to have visions of
The New Heaven and the New Earth.
The New Heaven was so filled with Shekina glory that the children could not carefully
look into it.
The New Jerusalem, the city four-square, occupied the central position in the New
Earth.
They saw the celestial city with its
New
Earth. The whole New Earth was much like the
61"I say
unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down
with Abraham,
and Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of heaven."
Matt. 8:11.
62"But I say
unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that
day when I drink
it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." Matt.
26:29.
63"Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the
Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world . . . he shall say also unto them on the left
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire
which is prepared for the devil and his angels."
Matt. 25:34, 41.
still
be in the city of
children, more than restored by Him who is more than Conqueror. It was the New
Heaven and the New Earth that had passed through the new birth65 and that will never
pass away, the earth where God will again pitch his tent with men, where he will
forever be called their God and they shall all and always be His Children. Amen.
Ka Do
64"And I saw
a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed
away:
and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, the
new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
made ready as a bride adorned for her husband."
Rev. 21:1, 2.
65"And he
that sitteth on the throne said, Behold I make all things new." Rev. 21:5
CHAPTER IX
CHINESE BEGGER BOY PROPHECIES
In fulfilment of the Scripture that "in the last days. .. your sons . . . shall prophesy" (Acts
2
:17), one of the little ten-year-old beggar sons of
of the Lord to bring us a message by direct inspiration.
A few months previous this boy, ragged and dirty—in fact, more nearly clothed with
filth than with garments—came to our door with his two companions to ask if he might
come in. When bathed and dressed, the boy looked like a guileless little fellow, and such
he proved to be. He at once took every Bible story and sermon to heart. He soon
learned to pray, and we could hear him praying in bed very earnestly every night.
When the Holy Spirit fell upon us this boy was among the first to receive the baptism of
the Spirit, speaking with other tongues as on the Day of Pentecost.
As surely as ever God spoke in the past, when men were moved upon by the Holy
Spirit, so that Scripture was inspired of God and prophets declared their message to be
"Thus saith the Lord" with such assurance that they were ready to back their convictions
with their lives, even so surely the living God still reigns and speaks to the children of
men by direct prophecy, when the circumstances demand it, and faith and other
conditions are according to His divine will.
One night the power of the Lord was present in an unusual manner. Heaven seemed
not far away. Then it was that our one-time, little, friendless beggar-boy seemed to
leave this filthy earth and to be caught up to heaven. Ushered into the presence of the
Lord Jesus, he fell prostrate at His feet in humble adoration and worship. As a matterof-
fact, the boy lay prostrate in the middle of the room surrounded by his companions,
who sat about him on the floor, listening intently to a message that came through him
from the Lord. Such gripping, heart-searching words I have never heard. While the boy
sobbed and wept with deepest grief the message was given, a sentence or two at a
time, in a clear strong voice. The language came in rhythm; the choice of words was the
simplest and purest. The intonation of the voice, the choice of language, the penetrating
power of every word was such that no person who heard could ever doubt that this
little simple minded Samuel was speaking by direct supernatural inspiration from God.
Prostrated in vision at the feet of the Lord, the boy said, "Lord Jesus, I am not worthy to
be here or to be saved at all. I am only a little street beggar." Then Jesus addressed the
boy. The boy did not know it at the time, but the Lord actually spoke through the boy
as a mouth piece, using the first person and addressing us and the children sitting about
him. Here is the "Thus saith the Lord" that we wish might grip your hearts as it still
grips our own.
The Message from Christ
"I weep tonight. I am heart-broken. I am in deep sorrow because those who believe in
me are so very few. I planned and prepared heaven for every one, having made room
for all the people in all the world. I made the New Jerusalem in three great cities, one
above the other, with plenty of space for all men. But men will not believe me. Those
who believe are so very few. I am sad, so very sad. (This message was given between
heart-rending sobs and floods of tears from the boy.) Since men will not believe me, I
must destroy the wicked earth. I planned to visit it with three great calamities, but it is
so wicked that I have added a fourth.
"If you have any friends, tell them to repent quickly; persuade all men as rapidly as
possible to believe the gospel; but if people will not listen and will not accept your
message the responsibility will not be upon you.
"Get the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If you will tarry and believe, I will baptize you. The
devil deceives you by making you think you will not receive the baptism, but wait and
seek and I will baptize you, and give you power to cast out devils and to heal the sick.
Those who receive the seal of the Holy Spirit are to preach and testify, and I will be with
you to help and protect you in times of danger.
"If you think perhaps you will not get to heaven, that thought is of the devil. I will not
destroy my own children; I will protect and save every one; not one of mine will perish.
I will overcome. Pray for Mr. and Mrs. Baker and I will give them power to cast out
devils and to heal the sick. The children in the home should obey. Do not fight. Do not
lie. Live at peace. When you pray, pray from the heart. Do not let your love grow cold.
"Tell other churches they, too, should seek the Holy Spirit. All churches must press
forward.
"The devil is coming to earth in a few years, and there will be great tribulation. Do not
worry; I will protect and care for you.
"People everywhere will gather together and fight in one place, after which I will come
to punish the earth. You must not fear, for those who believe in me will be caught up to
blow trumpets and to play harps.
"I will destroy two of every three. When I come everything must obey my voice
(Chinese,
"Yang yang du
fall; trees will be destroyed. There will be utter destruction where I will not leave one
blade of grass (Chinese, "Ih gen tsao du buh liu"). Those who worship idols will perish.
All sorcerers and spiritist mediums shall be cast into hell. Only those who believe the
gospel will be saved."
Thus hath the Lord spoken to Adullam and, we believe, to all to whom we may be able
to pass this message of prophecy. This message from our risen Lord was given in
Chinese as above recorded, the sentences spoken slowly and distinctly with pauses
between. I wrote them as they were given, often repeated a time or two so there could
be no mistake on the part of the hearers; there was ample time to record without
mistake every word the Lord spoke through this little inspired prophet of His choice.
The message complete, the little boy arose and told us he had been at the feet of Jesus.
He did not know that the Lord had spoken through him as well as to him in the first
person. He repeated the prophecy, saying, "Jesus said that, Jesus said this," etc.
This prophecy already heard, already written, and then again repeated from the little
prophet's memory item by item, made it easy to see how in days of old the prophets
spoke as moved by God, how a scribe might record every word as it came from the lips
of the prophet, or how the prophet himself could record his own messages, truly
saying, "thus saith the Lord."
In days of old, when religious and worldly men had departed from a simple faith in a
personal living God who spoke to men and when their unbelief and wickedness was
such that "in those days there was no open vision" (I Sam 3), God found a pure-minded
little Samuel and spoke to him in an audible voice a message that was fulfilled to the
very letter. Accordingly, we believe that God who is still the same living God that has
spoken to and through others in the past has, in this day of wickedness and unbelief,
given to us through our little Chinese Samuel a "Thus saith the Lord" that will shortly
come to pass, a message to be heeded to our eternal joy or neglected to eternal sorrow.
CHAPTER X
SOME LIGHT ON WRITING THE BIBLE
Through this outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon these Chinese children much light was
thrown upon the writing of the Word of God.
Prophecy Fulfilled
Such an outpouring of the Spirit, attended with such supernatural manifestations, is in
itself a testimony that the Bible was written by God. He alone knows the future.
Fulfilled prophecy was, in the mind of Christ and the apostles, sufficient proof of the
hand of God in the writing of the Scriptures.
In what we have recorded about this outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon these children
ten prophecies of the Scriptures were fulfilled: (1) such a baptism was prophesied for
believers of the present age; (2) it was to be accompanied by speaking in unknown
languages and by (3) prophesying as the Spirit gave utterance. (4) In fulfilment of
prophecy these children were shown "the things of Christ." (5) The reality of "things to
come" was also shown them. (6) True to prophecy, they were "born again" of the Holy
Spirit, receiving the witness in their hearts crying, "Abba Father." (7) The visions seen by
these children fulfilled the written Word that in the last days "young men shall see
visions." (8) Demons were cast out, and (9) the sick were miraculously healed, just as the
Bible said they might be, by the power of the Holy Spirit. (10) A miraculous change
took place so that things once loved were hated and things once hated were loved.
The Ignorant Confound the Wise
It is to be recalled that, according to the Bible, the revelations of God and the writings of
the Scriptures are independent of natural ability or of acquired education. An uneducated
Amos, or Peter, or John, inspired by God, wrote more profoundly than the
wisest of this world.
In what the Lord has done and revealed to these despised and outcast beggar boys and
girls can we not see a proof of the Word of God? While "not many wise after the flesh,
not many mighty" follow the old-fashioned, narrow way of simple faith in God, He still
can and does choose these "that are despised," even these simple Chinese children of the
streets and gutters, to "bring to naught the things that are" supposed to be so learned
and wise, in this age of godless reason and worldly knowledge.
Some more of the “despised”
While the wise of this learned (?), proud, and stiff necked generation that resists the
simple Word go on groping around in the darkness of their own self-sufficient
delusions, it must be true in this day, as in the past, that in the midst of so much
confusing of man's wisdom, Jesus can still say, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst
reveal them unto babes" (Matt. 11 :25).
As a whole, the educated and the rulers of the days of Christ did not understand His
miraculous works and life, or "they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory" (I Cor.
2:8). The rulers and the educated of the days of the apostles did not understand the
miraculous working of Almighty God through simple men endued with the power of
the Holy Spirit, or they would not have killed the Spirit-filled saints of the early Church.
The profound revelations to these Chinese children "not having learned" in the schools
of worldly letters is a corroboration of the written word of God that it came, as it claims
to have come, through open hearted men independent of natural ability or acquired
education.
Eye Witnesses of Past Bible Events
Some clear light was thrown on the way Bible writers might have had an eye-witness
knowledge of events already past. One of our naturally most ignorant and untalented
boys was, on more than one occasion when "in the Spirit," an eye witness of the
principal historical events of the Old and New Testaments. He saw the plagues of
son dead with the whole family in consternation. He also saw Elijah and Elisha cross the
his angel guard, and other Old Testament events were likewise seen.
This boy was also given visions of the miracles of Christ. He saw the temptations of the
Lord. The devil in the form of a handsome young man led the Lord to a high mountain
and in vision showed Him the Kingdoms of the world. Angels followed Jesus where
ever He went. There were visions of Christ walking on the water, healing the sick, and
opening the eyes of the blind. This boy and others saw the passion of the Lord Jesus,
His resurrection, and His ascension.
At first I wondered at these visions of past events. I then remembered that with God there is no "past," "present," and "future." He is the Great I AM. All things are alike present with Him. Since the Holy Spirit is His Spirit, by visions and His revelations of the Spirit, "past," "present," and "future" may, in God's economy, be made "present" to any individual to whom the Lord chooses to make such revelations.
These revelations of the past to Adullam corroborate the inspiration of the Bible. It was easy for God to take Moses and others by visions through events already past or through future events as an eye witness sees present events and for them to be able to record the past, the present, and the future in the one and only Book that records the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end.
Recording Revelations from God
The Holy Spirit showed us by illustration how some parts of the Bible became divine records of supernatural revelations. When the children were "in the Spirit," de scribing scenes they were seeing in vision, the Spirit caused one boy, who was also in a
trance lost "in the Spirit," to sit down and go through the motions of writing item by
item what the others were seeing and describing. Thus anyone should be able to see
how easy it was for God to write a Bible. One could record what another saw and
described.
If God can now take an ignorant, illiterate beggar boy from a dirty Chinese street, or a
half wild little tribes boy from a remote mountain solitude, can fill him with the Holy
Spirit, and have him "in the Spirit" escorted by angels see as an eye witness the things
beyond the veil—things of the present, things of the past, things to come––has it not
always been just as easy for God by visions to reveal everything that is written in the
Bible to any vessel of His choosing and have a Barak sit by his side to write just what
was seen and revealed, recording word for word any and every prophecy just as it
came from the Lord God?
If our boys can be caught into the presence of the Lord and come back saying, "The
Lord said," could not prophets of old even record their own prophecy or visions and
say with absolute truth, "Thus saith the Lord?"
How God, with whom past, present, and future is all the same, can reveal past, present,
and future events as present events, I do not know. The Bible says he can. The Bible
says He did. Adullam knows He still does.
If men ever spoke in prophecy as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, if men were
ever "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day" and caught up to heaven, if men were ever given
visions "in the year King Uzziah died," they can still be moved upon by the Holy Spirit
and prophesy. They can still be caught away "in the Spirit" and see the unseen worlds
beyond the veil. They can still see visions any number of years after King Uzziah died.
The same God is still on the same throne, reigning over the same world, dealing with
the same kind of evil hearts, through the same sort of men, with the same kind of
dispositions and passions Elijah had.
Since God does now in this day reveal Himself through prophecy, vision, and
revelations—as He is revealing Himself all around the world—he has, therefore,
revealed Himself just as the Bible says He did in days of old to the prophets and saints.
In this wicked age, in the midst of this present unbelieving, perverse generation, the
Lord can and will prove that what He has written in the Bible is the word of the living
God. He can and does move in the midst of a believing people in supernatural ways
through gifts of the Holy Spirit, confirming the word with signs following (Mark 16 :15-
20) .
CHAPTER XI
THE HOMELAND
In view of what we have written, it is clear enough that the Lord has used every means that is necessary to assure us that in the Bible we have "the sure word of prophecy"
to which we should take heed.
It has also been made clear enough that the great purpose of that former word of prophecy and the present day visions and prophecy in our midst is that we may know as
a certainty that there is a wonderful homeland just beyond the veil. No "stranger," no "pilgrim" is ever satisfied. The satisfying portion is at the end of the journey.
It may be that as the journey leads over difficult pathways and exhausting mountains the pilgrim becomes so wearied with his heavy burdens that he can scarcely hear the singing of the birds, sense refreshment from the way side flowers, or find any great happiness in the fellowship of his fellow pilgrims. But it will not be so at the end of the way.
Of such is the
The stooped and wearied bodies of life's pilgrims will be renewed by a bath in the
fountain of youth when they reach their home in the homeland. "In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye we shall be changed." "This corruptible will put on incorruption."
Old age will vanish. There are no old men in heaven, no faltering steps of the aged. No
dimmed sight, no deafened hearing, no crippled body encumbers any of the people in
the whole of that bright city.
There is a city that never gets dark, nor does it need the sun by day or the moon by
night. Its golden streets require no sweeping. Its jewel-bedecked dwellings need no
repair. There is a city that has no doctor signs, no diseased and disabled, no sickness or
sorrow; a city with no crepe on its golden doors, no funeral processions on its golden
streets; a city where melancholy and all mourning is done away; a city where all death
has been swallowed up by life and that more abundantly; a city of pure unbounded joy.
There is a land of unclouded day where storm clouds never rise. In that happy land
there is no bread line or struggle for survival. There is no selfish competition. There is
no self-seeking to engender unloving suspicion. No one is anxious as to what he shall
eat or what he shall wear. The garments of white will never grow threadbare. The trees
with the fruits of life will never be barren.
Musical instruments are quite imperfect compared with
the perfect harps and trumpets and musical instruments upon which will be
played the lost chords in the city of unending joy.
The water of life will never run dry, and whosoever will may drink.
All the joy and enthusiasm of the most joyful youth is the inheritance of everybody in
heaven. But in our most happy days we are still in a vessel of clay. In our highest
moments we sense a still greater joy and a happiness almost within the reach of our
hands, but ere it can be taken we are dragged away by the weight of the clay.
Children frolic and play. They run, and roll, and they leap for joy. They sing and they
shout. At times their joy and happiness seem complete. "Of such is the Kingdom of
heaven." But the highest exuberant joys and the most ecstatic thrills of bliss of the
happiest youth on earth are to be superceded by the greater joy that is "unspeakable"
when this body of hindering clay has been replaced by the body that is real.
In the New Jerusalem everybody is "in love." Every body is in love with everybody
else. Being "in love" on earth is as nothing compared with being "in love" in the land of
glory. Not a flaw, not an imperfection, not an unlovely trait will detract from being
perfectly and altogether "in love" with everybody.
On earth in our encumberance of this depraved tabernacle there is a song in the soul. In
its struggle for expression there are times it seems to break out of its restraint for a
second, but as quickly the perfect chord is lost. When God made man He put music in
his soul. But the discords of the mud have spoiled the harmony. The lost chord will
never be found until it is found in heaven when we are clothed upon with the
tabernacle that is from above. The finest, the sweetest, the most perfect music on earth
is but a seeking for the lost chords and harmonies the redeemed and the angels sing in
heaven. The finest instruments of music that have been made on earth, from the days when the sons of Adam began to "handle the harp and pipe" until the present day, are as mere imitations of the trumpets, the harps, and the instruments upon which "the lost chords" are restored in the golden city and upon which all the music of the liberated
soul can find its fullest expression.
Much of the music and the rhythm the Father placed in the souls of His children has since been turned by the devil into evil channels for pleasures of the lusts of the perverted flesh. From the wildest barbarians in the mountain fastness to the pleasure intoxicated
wild
men of the fashionable ball, men dance in musical rhythm to find sensual
pleasure that is of the lusts of the flesh. In heaven, to the tune of music that
is holy and pure, the redeemed and the angels dance in "joy" that is One hour in
the toils of the way. beyond all earthly or natural "pleasure" in the rhythm to which the stars are swinging and singing in their orbits.
There
is a park in the city, an
has been replaced by the real, in all God's animal and plant creation there is nothing
that hurts or destroys in all the holy mount.
On earth we see little and understand less—of the beauties of God's creation. The dirt
and the dust of the earth have clouded the windows of our soul. We scarcely see
through the glass even darkly. When God has brushed away the encumberances and
opened the eyes of the soul, for the first time will we really look upon and appreciate
the
glories of God's wonderful creation. All this will we do in the
There is a park where the birds of all plumes are ever singing; there is a land where
every ear will be tuned to hear their soul-stirring anthems; there is a land where
flowers of every hue are ever blooming; there is a land where every eye will be opened
to see them in their beauty; there is a land where the fragrance of the rose of Sharon
and the lily of the valley mingle with a thousand perfumes that over our world have
never blown.
Sometimes we seem to see the light of the city beyond the sky, but our vision is lost in
the blur of imperfect sight. Sometimes we seem to hear the enchanting music of a
different sphere, but the strain is lost in the discord of sounds that are nearer.
Sometimes we seem to sense an upward pull away from all that is enslaving, but the
attraction of earth holds our feet like stocks in the fetters that are earthly. Sometimes
the soul would fly to "the land that is fairer than day," but it falls back in disappointment
because of its broken wings.
He who declares his freedom to walk alone to the city of freedom finds his pathway
hopelessly blocked by the things of this world, the flesh, and the devil with no power in
himself to overcome.
But there is a way.
CHAPTER XII
THE WAY
There is only one way. Christ is the way. "No one cometh unto the Father but by me."
Man is not the way, man can never make a way, nor does man ever know the way to
the golden city. The city and the way to the city are altogether revelations from above.
Christ, who is the way, is not from below. He is from above. It is "He that descended
out of heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven," who is "the Great God our
Savior
Jesus Christ."66
Man does not travel toward the happy city of pure delight. He travels away from it. The longer he walks the farther he gets away from this heavenly city. Children belong to
the
farther they wander and the more they reason — whether they walk alone or follow the crowd—the farther they get from the city, until its light is but dimly seen or lost
forever. The only way to reach the city is to turn back.
"Except
ye turn, and become Man’s self constructed
bridge of good works and so called
good living will prove worthless and break beneath him
“in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men.” This is the end of the selfmade
moral man.
as
little children, ye shall in no wise enter the
walks alone, the older he gets, the richer he becomes; the more he studies with his natural mind, the more he passes turnstiles in his self-conceited course until, at last, the
farther turnstiles refuse to move, that should turn him back to a simple faith. He finds no way of returning to a heart like "a little child."
"The world through its wisdom knew not God."68 Man by study will never find God.
The man who trusts the workings of his own mind or the minds of other men will
never
see the city of
66John 3 :13,
Titus 2 :13.
67Matt. 18:3
68I Cor. 1:21
Man on the merits of his character will never walk the golden streets. What a man is,
what a man does, or how a man lives has nothing to do with his salvation. On the basis
of how "good" he is, the best man on earth has no more hope of heaven than the worst
man on earth. Man who trusts in his own character, his own moral goodness, is only a
modern Pharisee with eyes blinded to the truth. The publican, the drunkard, the harlot
will
enter the city of
is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
"By grace" we are saved, "apart from works." Salvation is something God gives. It is not
something man is or is not. Salvation is from above. It is not from below, or from
within, or from among men.
That which is born from below is flesh and born by the will of man. Those born from
below, no matter how wise or good or bad they may become, must be born again
from above. They become the children of God "who were born not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.''69 "Except one be born anew he
cannot
see the
who will ever see God or sing the songs of the redeemed in the city beyond the sky, is a
supernatural birth. It is altogether from above. Joining Church, singing hymns, reading
or saying prayers, working in or for the church, preaching from the pulpit, or giving all
one's body to be burned has nothing whatever to do with the new birth. The new birth
is something that God gives by grace regardless of works.
The finest pulpit orator, the most formal churchman, the most protesting protestant has
no more hope of heaven than the most reckless sinner, unless he be born again.
How to Find The Way Back Home
The Lord was so anxious to have me return that He made the way simple and plain. I
was a sinner living selfishly and not alone for the glory of God. I had turned to my own
way. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."71 "There is none
righteous—no not one." "They have all turned aside."72 I was among the number.
69John 1 :13
70John 3:3
71Rom. 3:23
72Rom. 3:11, 12
Jesus came from heaven to save "sinners," not "righteous people" with good characters.
Thus I had my chance. I should have suffered the penalty of my sin, but Christ loved me and died in my stead. He bore my "sins in his body upon the tree."73 Christ died on the Cross the Sinless One instead of the sinner. He "who knew no sin" died in my place on the cross where I should have died. I, the sinning Barabbas, the punishment deserving sinner, was set absolutely and unconditionally free. "He who knew no sin was made sin in our be half.''74 God punished Jesus, so He will not punish me. Because He forsook Jesus He will not forsake me. All I had to be was to be a sinner. All I had to do was to do nothing.
I simply believed that Jesus did it all. He that believeth hath eternal life."75 "He that believeth hath passed out of death into life."76 To them that believe he gives "the
right
to be come sons of God."77 Having
believed that Jesus did what He said He did and having accepted Him as my
substitute and as my sin-bearer, He I accepted me as His child. I He sent His
Holy Spirit into my heart, so that I was born from above. The Holy
Spirit in my heart bore witness, crying, "Abba, Father."78
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me” (Jn. 10:27).
Before that, I had worked. Now God worked in me to will and do His good will. The things I once loved I now hated, and the things I once hated I now loved. Now the
more I try to be good the worse it goes. The more I believe God works in me and for
me the better it goes.
The Lord has shown me the light of the city ahead. "I know Him whom I have believed,
73I Peter 2:24
74II Cor. 5 :21
75John 6:47
76John 5: 24.
77John 1:12.
78Rom. 8:15, 16
and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.''79 I shall surely enter by the gates into the city to share the joys of those who overcome by simple faith because of the blood of the Lamb.
Christ finished salvation. He died for the sins of the whole world. Eternal life is a "gift." "The free gift of God is eternal life."80 This gift is free. All we have to do is accept it or
reject
it, take it or ignore it. We must be like one or the other of the thieves on
the cross: either believe that Jesus is God and can save a sinner who
acknowledges his condition, and spend eternity with Christ in
Christ saves any and all who are saved because of their belief. "Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.''81 Those who believe and are thus saved,
The way to come back to the Christ Father’s House is the humble way the prodigal son
returned after his wanderings in the iniquity of his
own proud, self-willed way.
Every man who has “come to himself” so that he really knows
his own selfish heart
can honestly come as the prodigal came saying, “Father,
I have sinned against heaven and in thy
sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son.”
keeps.
They hold not the Rock, but the Rock holds them. They do not hold Christ;
Christ holds them. They are saved by grace through faith apart from
works. They will be kept by grace through faith apart from works.
"This is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith. Who is
he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the son
of God."82
The saved by grace and the kept by grace live lives of repentance, do the works of righteousness, and perform religious duties because they are saved already, but not in
order
to get saved. The work of value they do is because of what God has put in them
from above. The saved have become "partakers of the divine
nature."83
79II Tim. 1:12
80Rom. 6:23.
81John 3:16
82I John 5 :4, 5.
83Gal. 2:20
"If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."84 "All of Christ's children
have the Holy Spirit in their bodies and hearts and have been born again. "I no longer
live but Christ liveth in me."85 Christ within causes all my works that please him, "For it
is
God who worketh in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure."86
We must at last be like one or other of the thieves on
the Cross. Scoff at Christ as the only Son of God and die in sin, so that where
Christ is we “cannot come,” or acknowledging our own desert of punishment, believingly
cast our all and only hope on Him who died for us, and spend eternity with Him
in Paradise.
The saved are heavenly citizens who love not the world nor the things of the world.
They have as much of the "heaven life" now as they have of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit is the heaven life, the life of God, the eternal life. We have the "earnest," or down
payment, of heaven. Through the deeper experiences of the Holy Spirit heaven may
become more real than earth, so that the child of God may, at times, almost walk by
sight as well as by faith on his pilgrim journey to the city whose builder and maker is
God.
Our Adullam message is now complete. This testimony is sent forth, not because of any
natural superior knowledge, but because of these things that have happened among us
84II Peter 1:4
85Rom. 8 :9
86Phil 2:13
as "God revealed them through the Spirit." 87 The best we know we cannot write. The best to be known can only be known directly through the revelations of the Holy Spirit to one's own self. More we would write, but more we cannot now write. But what has been written, we have written that you may believe and that "believing you may have life in His name." Or, having life, that you may be encouraged to press onward until you receive more and more of the abundant life, the life through the baptism and fulness of the Holy Spirit, the life the Lord has planned for each of His children, the foretaste and fore-life of the Great City of the King, the city of God where all things are made new.
87I Cor. 2:10