APES AND PEACOCKS
Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be
sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.
- If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with God the Holy Spirit and
ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth,"
(John 4:24)
Apes and Peacocks
A study from the book of Ecclesiastes
The Magnificence of Solomon
It’s very interesting that right in the middle of the Bible there is an “income
tax return.” It isn’t very long, but it is rather impressive. Sources of income are
shown and then some entertainment items, apparently to be deducted.
Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents
of gold. (2Ch 9:13)
In our monetary standard, this adds up to $20,479,500; and even by modern
standards and inflation, this is not bad!
“Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought...” “Chapman” is an old
English word for people who were conquered and taxed. Solomon engaged in
various businesses, and the merchantmen that were in business with him also
brought in money.
Besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of
Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of
beaten gold on each large shield. (2Ch 9:14-15)
When you get so much money, you have to do something with it. The
ancient Greeks had a custom of converting a large accumulation of gold into
shields and spears or other paraphernalia. Following this custom, Solomon
made “300 shields of beaten gold, using three hundred shekels of gold on each
shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.” (2Ch 9:16)
This was one of his out-of-town hunting lodges.
Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure
gold. (2Ch 9:17)
The man about whom this is written was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Obviously, he was the most glamorous king that the Jews ever had. While we
do not know exactly when he got out of fellowship with God, there are one or
two passages of Scripture that give us some indication. One thing is clear from
verse 17: an ivory and gold throne was not for comfort. For this, he would have
chosen something like a rocking chair! Anyone who makes for himself an ivory
chair overlaid with gold does so for one reason only — for a status symbol to
satisfy the ego. Now the throne itself was only a part of it.
And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool in gold attached to
the throne... (2Ch 9:18)
In other words, if you got that close to Solomon, you got there by kneeling.
That footstool was for people to kneel in front of him!
...And arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the
arms. Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on
the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. (2Ch 9:18-19)
Solomon also went in for some rather beautiful appointments for his banquet
tables.
All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the
house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered
valuable in the days of Solomon. For the king’s ships went to Tarshish (Spain,
one of the famous smeltering centers of the ancient world) with the servants of
Huram; (Hiram, king of Tyre) every three years once came the ships of
Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks” (2Ch 9:20-21)
Not elephants and lions, not tigers and pythons — but APES AND PEACOCKS!
Can’t you just see one of these ships unloading? Peacocks strutting down the
gangplank, each with a slave leading it; and large cages with apes scratching,
howling (For they are not people, and never will be — there is a great gap
between us)
The apes and peacocks were the ultimate in status symbols, the final touch
in Solomon’s extravaganzas.
So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches
and wisdom. (2Ch 9:22)
Now, this Genius wisdom was from God:
“And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his
wisdom that God had put in his heart. (Mind) (2Ch 9:23)
A Guarantee for Happiness
As Solomon had approached the throne, he recognized immediately the
magnitude of the task ahead of him. He sought the Lord, and offered burnt
offerings unto Him at the brazen altar of the Tabernacle. (2Ch 1:6) As a result,
God appeared to him and offered him whatever he should ask. (2Ch 1:7)
Solomon answered, “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out
and come in before this people: for who can rule this great people of Yours?”
(2Ch 1:10) God was pleased with his request and granted him his desire above
anything he could have dreamed:
“Wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you
riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you
has possessed nor those who will come after you.” (2Ch 1:12)
Then God added a Promise, which would be a guarantee for happiness: “If
you walk in My Ways, keeping My Statutes and Commandments, as your father
David walked, then I will prolong your days.” (1Ki 3:14) Solomon was to
function daily under the “grace apparatus perception — Operation Z” that is, he
was to take in God’s Thoughts, transfer it by faith to his human spirit, and
exhale it toward God and toward man. Although Solomon was granted human
genius and Divine Spiritual wisdom, like the Lord Jesus Christ, (Luk 2:40-52) it
had to grow and develop under Bible teaching, just as ours does. (1Ki 2:1-4;
Prov 1:1-6)
Solomon started out great: from Divine Thinking in his human spirit, he
began to erect an “edification complex — Temple” in his soul. He was grace
oriented: “Who am I, “he said, “that I should build a house for Him..?” (2Ch 2:6)
He had the mastery of the details of life: “Because.... You had this in mind, and
did not ask for riches, wealth or honor...” (2Ch 1:11) He had a relaxed mental
attitude, free from mental attitude sins: “Not one word has failed of all His good
Promise, which He Promised; (1Ki 8:56) and he admonished his people, “Let
your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the LORD our God, to walk in His
Statutes and to keep His Commandments, as at this day.” (1Ki 8:61)
He demonstrated the capacity to love God when he determined “to build a
house for the name of the Lord.” (2Ch 2:1) capacity for friendship; (1Ki 2:7) and
he even had the capacity to love the opposite sex until promiscuity destroyed it.
Finally, we see the “top floor” of his edification complex, (Spiritual life) — in the
statement of the Queen of Sheba in, (2Ch 9:7-8) — his inner happiness: “How
blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before
you continually and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the LORD your God who
delighted in you...” In other words, the Queen of Sheba realized that it is the
Spiritual wisdom of God which makes people happy. She saw the reflected
glory of God through Solomon’s Spiritual life, and she believed in the Lord!
(Matt 12:42)
Unhappily, there came a time when Solomon’s head was turned, and he
went on a carnal binge. “They brought every man his gift, articles of silver and
gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, so much year by year.
Now Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses, (Quite a rancher!) and chariots and
12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king
in Jerusalem. He was the ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River even
to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt. The king made
silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as
sycamore trees that are in the lowland. And they were bringing horses for
Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.” (2Ch 9:24-28)
From this passage, you get the impression that Solomon was not only rich,
but getting richer by the minute: yet somewhere along the line, the mental
attitude sin of pride started him on a downward path. Now remember, he is
born again; he is a saved man; but he got out of fellowship and failed to
rebound. I don’t know exactly where or when; but I can tell you he was out from
the “apes and peacocks.”
Now there is nothing wrong with having an income of twenty million dollars a
year — even for a believer — provided he comes by it honestly. It is not a sin
to be rich; but it is sinful to desire to be rich; you have to be careful that money
doesn’t turn your head, form going all the way to Spiritual maturity. (1Ti 6:9-10)
Two things got to Solomon, money and women! He got out of fellowship — had
a thousand women and twenty million a year income, and the continued result
was that he was not functioning by the “grace apparatus for perception, —
Operation Z” and the erection of his edification complex came to a screeching
halt; but his human genius stayed with him! (Eccles 1:13; Eccles 2:9)
The Grace Apparatus for Perception
God gives every believer a “grace apparatus” by which to learn and
understand Divine Thinking and by which to live in the angelic conflict. Although
it was somewhat different in the Old Testament, every believer in the New
Covenant Age is the recipient of the human spirit, Spiritual life and the indwelling
of God the Holy Spirit, at the moment of Salvation. This is strictly grace; no
believer earns or deserves such a gift! The human spirit is the means of storing
and using Truth; the Holy Spirit is the means of understanding Truth. God has
further provided by grace the completed canon of Scripture, which is the “Mind
of Christ.” (1Co 2:16) He has authorized the local church and or computer,
(Heb 10:25) and the gift of pastor-teacher, (Eph 4:11) to communicate Divine
Thoughts to the assembly by Isagogics, (Historical background) Categories
(Salvation, sin, Spirituality, carnality, etc.) and Exegesis. (Etymological and
syntactical word meanings from the original languages)
It is generally assumed that human I.Q. also determines the ability to learn
in the Spiritual realm. But grace would not be grace if every believer did not
have the same ability to learn and understand Truth. The difference in believers
is in volition — whether they are positive or negative toward Thinking with Truth!
When the grace apparatus is functioning properly, Truth goes into the
perceptive lobe of the mind by the filling of God the Holy Spirit; here it becomes
“gnosis” or knowledge understood. This, however, is not the final target in
“Operation Z”; for at this point you neither agree nor disagree — you merely
understand what is communicated.
Illustration
Now volition becomes an issue. Before Spiritual Thoughts can do any good,
they must be believed. Positive volition expresses itself in a way compatible
with grace, and that way is FAITH! Therefore, when the Truth is believed, it is
transferred automatically from the perceptive lobe of the mind to the human
spirit, where it is stored and becomes “epignosis” or Spiritual knowledge fully
understood and possessed. (Eph 3:16-19; Col 1:9-10) Now, naturally, Truth is
not just to be categorized and stored in the human spirit and left there; it must
be utilized. (Thought with) It must be cycled back into the conscience or norm
and standard lobe as a frame of reference for new norms and standards and
for more advanced Truth. “Epignosis” or knowledge believed and fully
understood, must also be exhaled toward God and toward man. When this
grace apparatus for perception is functioning daily, the believer is built up in the
faith and an edification complex — Temple is erected in the soul. (1Co 3:11-16;
Eph 4:12-13; Col 2:7)
Sin — mental attitude sin, overt sin, and sins of the tongue — put us out of
fellowship with the Lord and shut down the function of Operation Z. However,
the whole grace process can get cranked up again very simply by “rebound”:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1Jn 1:9) At this point we are filled with
God the Holy Spirit again; and as we resume the inhale of Truth, the grace
apparatus functions. Solomon failed to rebound. As a result, he went on a
carnal binge greater than any of the three or four in which his father, David,
engaged. Yet out of his carnal binge came a message for us: the message of
the “apes and peacocks.”
The Bible indicates that Solomon was the wealthiest man in the world in his
day; yet eventually, he came to the place where everything bored him. He
began to look for entertainment in strange and devious ways. Now it is a matter
of speculation as to why the apes and peacocks; but here’s a man who had to
have peacocks around like Chicago has pigeons; he had to have apes like
people have dogs and cats. Why? Somewhere along the line, Solomon got out
of fellowship and failed to rebound, with the result that he lost his perspective.
As people move on in the carnal binge, they have a tendency to begin to
think and to act just like any unbeliever. Then, suddenly, in the scramble of
thinking and acting like an unbeliever, they begin to SEEK happiness or to try to
create it. You see, when a believer forsakes the Source of happiness,
happiness eludes him.
As far as the world is concerned, everyone wants to be happy. Don’t you try
to be happy? Perhaps you go out to the golf course because you think it will
bring you happiness; but you get mad and upset, so you try do something else.
… and something else.… and something else. Maybe it’s swimming, bowling,
visiting people, working at the church, television, the theatre, clubs, bars,
whiskey — seeking happiness. But when you get to the end of the bottle, there’
s no happiness; when you get to the end of the day off or the vacation, there’s
no happiness! Every morning when you get up, you are determined to find
happiness; and every night when you go to bed, you still don’t have happiness.
You begin to wonder, “What is this thing called happiness?”
The Place of Happiness
Illustration
The world is divided into three kinds of people: unbelievers, who haven’t
accepted Christ as Savior, believers who have and believers who live in
carnality: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not
obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)
For the unbeliever, the only way of happiness is to get into the “top circle” —
that is, in union with Christ. There is no fellowship with God apart from Jesus
Christ. The only issue for the believer is personal fellowship with Him in the
bottom circle. (John 15:5-8) The unbeliever and carnal believer can have a
certain amount of happiness, but it is superficial and temporary and does not
sustain in adversity. Human happiness is unstable and depends on
circumstances, people or the acquisition of the details of life. Such happiness
often depends on getting one’s way in life and or not being crossed. However,
boredom, restlessness, instability and frustration all neutralize this relative
human happiness.
For the believer in Jesus Christ, the ONLY place of Spiritual happiness —
Virtue, is in the “bottom circle,” in fellowship, where Solomon started. But don’t
ever be deluded into thinking that there is such a thing as instant or automatic
happiness. HAPPINESS FOR THE BELIEVER IS POTENTIAL!
The Design of Happiness
God has designed happiness in the Christian life to be a permanent and
stabilized MENTAL ATTITUDE, which does not depend on emotion, people,
self, things or happenings. Therefore, it is an inner Spiritual happiness (+H) that
sustains in the most difficult circumstances of life. From eternity past, God has
always possessed perfect happiness. It is an integral part of His character.
Grace is the expression of God’s perfect happiness; hence, grace is the source
of our perfect happiness.
God desired to share His happiness with mankind in time — “But now I
come to You; and these things [Thoughts] I speak in the world so that they may
have My joy made full in themselves.” (John 17:13) To do so, God must share
something of His Mental attitude and Virtue with man. In grace, God found a
way to share His Virtue happiness; BUT THIS HAPPINESS IS CONFINED TO
THE PLAN OF GOD. It must first of all come through Salvation, (Eph 2:8-9)
then through the daily function of Operation Z. The ultimate of inner happiness in
time is the erection of the edification complex — Spiritual life of the soul, and
this is accomplished through the function of the grace apparatus. The +H or top
“floors of the Spiritual life provide the capacity to enjoy both the details of life
and at the same time to enjoy a relationship with God. “These things [Thoughts]
we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” (1Jn 1:4)
By his own volition, Solomon put himself outside the bottom circle, outside
the plan of God for his life. He is under the concept of apes and peacocks; he
is going to try to find happiness apart from God. He began his reign by building
the house of God — the first Temple — and he ended it by constructing houses
and palaces for himself and his own pleasure. He began his reign with revival,
and he terminated his reign with entertainment. Some of the most fantastic
entertainment offered in the ancient world was offered at Solomon’s parties,
where he even turned loose apes and peacocks.
He began his reign by concern over Spiritual things, and he ended by
occupation with temporal things. Although he did not lose his Salvation at any
point, Solomon is one of those tragic cases in history of a believer with the
greatest potential for reflecting the glory of God, as few other believers have
ever had; yet he failed. There are two books that record Solomon and his
philosophy for life in seeking happiness; Song of Solomon and in the Book of
Ecclesiastes. We will take the latter, Ecclesiastes and see the story of the
apes and peacocks.
Solomon’s Autobiography
The Book of Ecclesiastes is the autobiography of Solomon out of fellowship
and using his God given wisdom [Human genius] to explore the different
aspects of the old sin nature. What did he think? Well, he thought in terms of
“apes and peacocks.” He became indifferent to Spiritual Thoughts and went on
a frantic search for happiness. The more avenues he explored for happiness,
the more “scar tissue” he put on his soul. Scar Tissue on the soul leads to a
frantic search for happiness in the details of life, and winds up in frustrated
lusts, and finally, total misery. For the believer minus Spiritual Thinking; the
details of life only compound the misery; there is no capacity for either
happiness or love apart from Spiritual Thinking in the soul.
So the story of Solomon is the story of entertainment, the story of living it
up, the story of having everything he ever dreamed about within his grasp; yet
having these things, he did not have happiness. And this story is recorded in
order to save you time and trouble and, if you have it, money; for Solomon tried
everything, that is except the grace solution: rebound, faith-rest, Occupation
with Christ — the whole Operation Z process! In Ecclesiastes, he describes
eight different things which he tried in order to achieve happiness; and in none
of these did he ever find it.
The Man with a Message
(Eccles 1:1) “The words of the Preacher...” Solomon was not a preacher;
he was a king; and Ecclesiastes is not the words of a preacher, unless the
preacher is absolutely empty and totally devoid of Truth, for seven-tenths of this
Book records human viewpoint. Seven-tenths of the things in Ecclesiastes are
contrary to the Doctrines of the Word of God. They are IN the Word of God;
they are a part of the Word of God; but this Book records what a person thinks
when he is seeking happiness apart from God’s Thinking, and trying with all of
his might to find a substitute for fellowship with God. So, the first thing we have
to do is to discover a more literal translation for the word “preacher”.
There is a phrase in the New Testament, “preach the Word”; (2Ti 4:2) but in
the strict sense of the word, it isn’t a “preacher” who preaches the Word; it is a
pastor, and he preaches the Word by teaching the Word. Solomon wasn’t a
preacher; but he certainly had a tremendous message! That is what the word
means here— “The words of the MAN WITH A MESSAGE.”
Now we know three things about Solomon: he was a king; he was the
richest man in the world; and he had a message. His message was the
testimony of a believer seeking happiness while he was out of fellowship. “The
words of the man with a message, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.”
Solomon renders the verdict from his testimony first: “Vanity of vanities,” says
the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (Eccles 1:2) The word “vanity”
means “emptiness” and Solomon concludes that all of the time that he logged
out of fellowship was emptiness. Now this doesn’t sound like any glowing
testimony — and it isn’t! This is the way a person feels when he is out of
fellowship. Without being filled with God the Holy Spirit and Thinking with the
Word of Truth, “What advantage (Happiness) does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?” Solomon asks; (Eccles 1:3) and he will go on to
demonstrate that there is none!
After stating his conclusion in verses 2 and 3, he continues in verses 4
through 10 to set forth his reasoning by four interesting Principles from nature.
Life out of fellowship with God is like cycles in nature which always go back to
the same thing. “A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth
remains forever.” (Eccles 1:4) With every passing generation, the earth keeps
right on going. One generation comes along trying to find happiness apart from
God, and it disappears. Another generation comes along and makes the same
mistake; then another, and another; and history continually repeats itself, so
that we conclude with Hegel: “We learn from history that we learn nothing from
history.”
“Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises
there again.” (Eccles 1:5) Here is a description of the rotation of the earth. As
the earth rotates, the sun goes down; and as it continues its rotation, the sun
comes up, then down again. In other words, the earth is just going around and
around and around — and so are a lot of people on it!
His next illustration is a cycle that the Air Force uses to a great extent —
winds aloft. “Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind
continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.”
(Eccles 1:6) The wind travels in circles or currents. This is just like a lot of
people who are seeking happiness without God; they are going around and
around and around, but always coming back to the same place — no happiness.
Finally, the last illustration: “All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not
full...” Why? Because the sun hits it and evaporates the water. “…To the place
where the rivers flow, There they flow again.” (Eccles 1:7) When the water
evaporates, it goes into the air, it forms a cumulonimbus cloud, and it moves
over land; it precipitates, and then rolls down into the sea; the sun hits it, and it
goes up again. So, as in the other cycles, it goes around and around and
around. People seeking happiness without God are on a merry-go-round, a
cycle, a rut; they’ll never get anywhere! “All things are wearisome; Man is not
able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with
hearing. ” (Eccles 1:8)
Substitutes For Fellowship With God
Now we begin eight substitutes for fellowship with God. Here is the story of
apes and peacocks. Solomon, who had everything, was looking for something
different, something new, something unusual, something to bring happiness,
some fountain of youth, some source of perpetual stimulation — something
whereby he could be happy without God, without concentration on God’s
Thoughts, without the day by day by day inhale and exhale of Divine Thinking.
He lets us in on a secret right from the start, for he soon discovered; “That
which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that
which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.” (Eccles 1:9)
He began on a very high plane; but he got a little lower, and a little lower,
and a little lower, until he hit bottom!
Education He first came to the place where he decided that one can never
be successful and happy in life unless he goes to college — and many people
are sold on this today! Now there is nothing wrong with higher education in and
of itself. But sad to say, it has led a lot of believers astray, and it has confused
many people for life. I had rather be just a graduate from elementary school
and understand the Spiritual life; than to have graduated from some “secular”
school and be confused about everything the rest of my life. I can say this to
you; (Because I have had lots of education) that all the education in the world is
not worth one second of by-passing fellowship with God; and none of it can
fulfill the soul of the believer. It takes DIVINE THINKING to do that! Anything
else turns sour and becomes misery!
Now let’s take a look at a man who had a lot more education than most of
us: “And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom [Human genius]
concerning all that has been done under heaven...” (Eccles 1:13) To do that
requires self-discipline and study, which caused Solomon to conclude, “…It is a
grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.” If
you want to be educated, you have to study; but let me tell you, it is sore travail
by the power of the old sin nature! In (Eccles 12:12) Solomon tells us what
happens to the person who studies too much: “But beyond this, my son, be
warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books
is wearying to the body. ” You burn out!
The primary job of the ministry is to study, study, study. That sounds easy
to many people; but try sitting down and studying five or six hours a day, and
see what it is like! After a few months, you get burned out; (Studying by the
power of the old sin nature) you have to get away for a while. Now here’s a
man who studied and studied and studied — everything but the Word of God! In
fact, he tells us what he did study. But first he tells us his conclusion from all
that studying: “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun,
and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.” (Eccles 1:14) “Vexation of spirit
is literally “feeding on wind.” How would you like to join me in an eight course
dinner made of wind? We’ll have hors d’oeuvres, (Appetizers) — wind! We’ll
have a very special soup — wind! Then we’ll follow with a most unusual salad
— wind! Next, we’ll have an entree, like chateaubriand, with everything around it
— wind! Then a marvelous dessert — wind! Followed by finger bowls — wind!
Finally, we’ll have a demitasse, (Coffee) — wind! Then we’ll get up, filled and
stagger out of the room. Is that right? I guess we’d say today “hot air” — all
was emptiness and a lot of hot air!
Solomon started out in the right direction: he took math, and he turned out to
be a great engineer. When he finally got into calculus, he experimented with
some interesting projects. He tried to square the circle; and when he found out
he couldn’t, he said, “What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is
lacking cannot be counted.” (Eccles 1:15) He got into mathematics of infinity
and could never catch up with himself!
He tried another field of study: “I said to myself, "Behold, I have magnified
and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and
my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge." And I set my mind
to know [Human] wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this
also is striving after wind.” (Eccles 1:16-17) In terms of modern education, we
would say, “I studied psychology and psychiatry.”; “Madness and Folly 1-A;
“Madness and Folly 1-B; “Madness and Folly 2-A”; “Madness and Folly 2-B.”
He took the whole course in psychology and psychiatry; and when he
finished, he concluded, “I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.” (Hot air
— feeding on wind) “Because in much [Human] wisdom there is much grief, and
increasing [Secular] knowledge results in increasing pain.” (Eccles 1:18)
Remember, there is nothing wrong with higher education; there are many
advantages to it. But then, again, when any type of academic education
becomes a substitute for Spiritual Thinking or fellowship with God, it is all
wrong! In all of his academic life, Solomon did not find the happiness he sought,
for he had left God out.
Pleasure From academics, he tried an entirely different approach to
happiness — pleasure. This follows a logical progression. After you have
studied all week in school, what do you do? You go out on the weekend and
blow your cork; you go out and live it up — a complete change! And that’s
exactly what Solomon did. “I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with
pleasure. So enjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility.” (Eccles 2:1)
He started out by saying; “You know, I’m too serious. All this academic
training is making me a dull person. I need to relax a little, to laugh now and
then.” But he soon discovered, “I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of
pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” (Eccles 2:2)
Finding no happiness in having a laugh now and then, (“Behold, this is also
worthlessness” — Eccles 2:1) he turned to another form of pleasure:
“I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind
was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what
good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their
lives.” (Eccles 2:3) “One day,” he is saying, “I sobered up and realized that I
was getting nowhere. I looked around, saw all those empty bottles, and knew
that I was wasting my time; that I was becoming nothing but a drunken bum.
Oh, I am given a respectable term like “alcoholic.”
Maybe he got in his chariot and ran over a few kids; maybe he went down
to the local pub and beat up a few people; maybe he was one of those “noble”
alcoholics who quietly went home and beat up his wife — or wives, in this case.
It would have been a long fight, for he had seven hundred. One day, he decided
to straighten up; but he’s still on the pleasure kick — he’s just going to change
his brand!
He decided to start building; and since he had already had a course in
engineering, he would have a lot of fun with it. He built castles, aqueducts,
roads, many types of buildings and houses. In fact, some of the things Solomon
built lasted for many hundreds of years. He was the first person to find a
system of irrigation. He found a way to bring water into Jerusalem so there
would always be plenty of it; and he had a lot of fun! But he wasn’t happy!
“I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for
myself; I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of
fruit trees; I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of
growing trees.” (Eccles 2:4-6)
He was trying to find happiness in ranches and farms. Maybe you have
spent all your life in the city, and you long to get out into the wide open spaces,
sit under your own fruit trees, and look over the expanse of your acreage!
Nearly everyone wants to do that sooner or later. Well, Solomon did it — but it
didn’t make him happy! He had to move on to something else.
Possessions He thought, “What I need to do is to improve the inside of the
house. There are lots of things, details — which would enhance my way of life.”
So in, (Eccles 2:7) “I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn
slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in
Jerusalem.” He was a great cattleman, but that didn’t satisfy. He went on to
provide himself with all the details of life the human mind could think of.
“Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and
provinces...” “Peculiar treasure” means “gems, jewels and unusual, expensive
things — apes and peacocks.” And then he had his “hi-fi”: “...I provided for
myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men--many concubines.”
(Eccles 2:8) In other words, he had two or three orchestras and bands around.
“Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in
Jerusalem. My wisdom [Human genius] also stood by me.” (Eccles 2:9) This is
the grace of God. God promised him he would always have this wisdom, and
God “IS faithful Who promised!” (Heb 10:23)
Finally in, (Eccles 2:10-11) he said, “I can’t go into every type of pleasure I
tried — I tried everything — but I can give you a summary”: “Thus I considered
all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted,
and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under
the sun. Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the
labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and
there was no profit under the sun.” (All led to dead ends) No type of pleasure,
no matter how enjoyable it is at the moment, no accomplishment, will ever bring
happiness apart from fellowship with God.
Heritage Since Solomon has tried all these different things with no success,
he now decides what he needs is a family; so he starts to have a lot of children
running around. Surely this will make him happy! Why, I know people who have
actually contemplated suicide because they didn’t have children. God has a
purpose for everything. If you don’t have children, forget it! God’s will is best.
God KNOWS what He is doing. Children are wonderful, and they are nice to
have around; they can give you a lot of pleasure; (And a great deal of misery,
too) but children are NO SUBSTITUTE FOR TRUTH and no substitute for
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. You will never find happiness in children if you are
seeking them just to be happy.
“So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was
grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. Thus I
hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must
leave it to the man who will come after me.” (Eccles 2:17-18) Solomon’s
reasoning is very objective at this point: “I have built all these wonderful things,
I have all this wealth, and now I hate it because I must leave it to my children.”
Well, what’s so bad about that, you may be thinking! Suppose your son is a
near-do-well, a real jerk! It’s awfully hard to say, “My son is a jerk,” because
when you say that, you are saying in essence, “I am a jerk.”
And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have
control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely
under the sun. This too is vanity.” (Eccles 2:19) Why was he concerned?
Because he suspected that his son might be a fool; and he was so right! His
son, Rehoboam, was such a fool that he split the kingdom. The split was never
healed — even to the time the Jews went into captivity.
Although Solomon didn’t live to see how badly his son turned out, he lived
long enough to know there was no happiness through heritage. The longer he
had lived, and the more he had seen of his son, Rehoboam, the more he would
have realized what a dead end having children was toward achieving his goal of
happiness.
It is marvelous to depart from this life knowing that your children have done
well, particularly as far as the Lord is concerned. But all the pleasure one can
derive from children and seeing one’s children become successful, or well
married, or whatever it is, will never make up for fellowship with God. It’s a
dead end! It’s the same old story — apes and peacocks! Pleasure and
boredom — always seeking happiness, but never finding it!
In writing his testimony, he recalls his father, David: “When there is a man
who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to
one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.”
(Eccles 2:21) David had known how to perpetuate his happiness — by continual
inhale and exhale of Truth. He left everything to Solomon; but Solomon has
temporarily lost his portion of Spiritual knowledge, application and stability. “For
what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors
under the sun? Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at
night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity.” (Eccles 2:22-23) Self-seeking
for happiness induces only misery.
Philosophy Well, education, pleasure, possessions and heritage have been
fruitless — what’s next? Philosophy! After you have gone this route, you have to
become a philosopher, which is exactly what Solomon did. The entire third
chapter deals with Solomon’s philosophy as a substitute for fellowship with God.
“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every
event under heaven.” (Eccles 3:1) While his philosophy incorporated
considerable human wisdom, it wasn’t God’s design for inner happiness.
“There’s a time for everything, “he says. “A time to give birth and a time to
die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a
time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a
time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and
a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A
time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw
away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a
time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for
peace.” (Eccles 3:2-8)
As he philosophized, he became aware of time. Life is made up of
contrasts, and there is a proper time for everything; but it must not dictate your
happiness. So, while Solomon found that there is a time for everything, it wasn’t
the answer. This led into other types of philosophy. He became an evolutionist.
“I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them
in order for them to see that they are but beasts.” For the fate of the sons of
men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed,
they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast,
for all is vanity.” (Eccles 3:19)
He went to common origin evolution, and therefore, he finally decided that
men were animals and animals were sometimes more noble than people. That’s
just a philosophy — human viewpoint. He probably had a fine, loyal dog.
Everyone else might be down on him, but the dog always wagged his tail. He
would pat his dog on the head and think, “People are animals; animals are
people.” Did you ever get to that point with your dog or cat? Well, Solomon did,
and he decided that they all had a common origin.
From evolution it is a simple matter to go into universalism This is still off
base. “All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the
dust. (Eccles 3:20) In other words, “We are all brothers under the skin; God is
the Father of all, and all are the children of God.” With this view, he could have
been president of the National Council of Churches. However, it is an entirely
erroneous view. “For you are all sons of God BY FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS.”
(Gal 3:26)
Solomon goes from bad to worse now and gets into agnosticism He says,
“Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the
beast descends downward to the earth?” (Eccles 3:21) He is still thinking of his
good old dog — and consequently, he comes to the place of agnosticism. “Who
knows?” He doesn’t know any more; he has come to the place where he
wonders whether or not God really exists.
It is possible, even probable, that when a believer out of fellowship gets into
certain types of philosophy, if he is a logical thinker, he is going to become an
“unbeliever.” Yet believers who have become agnostics are still saved; they are
still born again. You can even become an atheist; but if you once accepted
Christ as Savior, you can’t lose your eternal life.
From agnosticism, Solomon gets to the lowest point yet — humanism “I
have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities,
for that is his lot. [Portion] For who will bring him to see what will occur after
him?” (Eccles 3:22) In the philosophy of humanism, man must achieve, man
must do it! Humanism leads to socialism, new-dealism and communism. It is the
basis of Satan’s attempts to provide the Millennium apart from the work of
Christ. Solomon is born again, and therefore, he is designed for one thing only
to satisfy his soul — GOD’S THOUGHTS IN THE FILLING OF GOD THE
HOLY SPIRIT. No philosophy in life, no detail can become a satisfactory
substitute for fellowship with the Lord!
Money Unable to find in philosophy the happiness he seeks, he goes on to
another experiment — money. Make money, have money, keep money, make
more money! Well, let’s see what happens. (Eccles 5:10)“He who loves money
will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income.
This too is vanity.” His conclusion, then, is that money does not bring happiness;
to love making money doesn’t make you happy; there is no permanent
happiness in any detail of life.
“When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is
the advantage to their owners except to look on?” (Eccles 5:11) So you have a
thousand of this, five hundred of that, and a hundred of something else — what
can you do with them? You can look at them, and that’s about it! Did you ever
collect stamps? So you had ten thousand stamps — great! You looked at your
collection once in a while; then what did you do? You became bored, and you
began to wonder into how much money you could turn it. Then you collected
something else, and something else, and then what? There might have been a
lot of interest while you were collecting certain things, but once you have them,
you can just look at them, and that’s all.
One night Solomon took a walk. Since he hired 50,000 people at a time in
his construction business, he was probably worried about his money — worried
about his income tax. Unable to sleep, he took a walk down by the barracks
where these thousands of workers lived. As he walked by, he could hear them
snoring. These people had little or nothing — maybe a change of clothing and
enough for the next day’s meal; but there they were, sleeping peacefully, while
he, Solomon, the richest man in the world, couldn’t sleep!
This evoked the wistful comment of, (Eccles 5:12-16)“The sleep of the
working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of
the rich man does not allow him to sleep. There is a grievous evil which I have
seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. When
those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son,
then there was nothing to support him. As he had come naked from his mother’
s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his
labor that he can carry in his hand. This also is a grievous evil--exactly as a man
is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind?”
In, (Eccles 6:1) Solomon has another thought on the subject: “There is an
evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men. (Who make
money)” Maybe right now you have been thinking that you would like to be a
rich man. Why? Because you associate it with happiness. You may have
wealth, but it will never be the means of a permanent or stabilized happiness.
How do we know this? Listen once more to Solomon. (And this is recorded for
our learning; Rom 15:4)
“A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul
lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat
from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.”
(Eccles 6:2)
The “severe affliction” is ulcers. As Solomon sits at a table every night in the
place of honor, he looks down the long table — 300 on one side, 300 on the
other side. The guests are eating pheasant, “pate de foie gras” — everything
you can think of that is delicious. He watches them eat and eat and eat, course
after course, while he sits at the head of the table all evening with nothing but
crackers and milk! “You think money makes me happy?” Solomon asks, “It’s no
fun for me to see all that I have made. I buy the best of food, and hundreds of
people eat at my table, devouring my food — and me? Well, I, the rich man,
can’t even enjoy it!”
Reputation Since money didn’t work, Solomon thought of something else.
Sooner or later everybody with money tries this. “What I need for happiness is
to have a great reputation.” So Solomon started working on reputation. It isn’t
necessary to go into details, but I want you to look at what happened to
reputation. “A good name is better than a good ointment, And the day of one’s
death is better than the day of one’s birth.” (Eccles 7:1) “If you die with a good
reputation, you have it made,” he is saying. That is probably why many wealthy
people give away a lot of money.
Solomon probably gave a lot of money to outstanding charities, established
a fund at several universities, and put up plaques with his name on them. In this
chapter, he says that he first had the idea that it is better to die a success than
to go on living unsuccessfully. However, he began to change his line of thinking
when making a name for himself didn’t produce happiness. “What’s a good
reputation with man if you don’t have a reputation with God?” he Reasoned.
“The day of death is not better than the day of birth if you are an unbeliever and
you are going to the Lake of Fire. What good is a reputation in Lake of Fire?”
(Isa 14:9-10)
And with this, his thinking began to straighten out. “You know something?
He said, “A reputation with man is no good; what we need is a reputation with
God.” So in, (Eccles 7:20) he says, “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on
earth who continually does good and who never sins.” No one has a reputation
with God — except the believer in Jesus Christ; so reputation is not the answer.
And again, he hit the same dead end — apes and peacocks! It didn’t mean a
thing. Wherever you look for happiness apart from the Word of Truth, it’s
always a dead end! THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FELLOWSHIP WITH
GOD!
Sex There is one thing he hasn’t FULLY tried yet — sex. The details of this
are given in, (1Ki 11:3-4) these two verses describe how Solomon started
collecting women. He married 700 of them, and 300 were concubines — one
thousand women in his life! Whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he said, “I
want her,” and that was it! What was his conclusion? “And I discovered more
bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are
chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be
captured by her. "Behold, I have discovered this," says the Preacher, "adding
one thing to another to find an explanation, which I am still seeking but have not
found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman
among all these. "Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright,
but they have sought out many devices.” (Ways to sin) (Eccles 7:26-29) In
other words, he did not find happiness in women.
Perhaps you are thinking, “That’s all wrong. I have found happiness with a
woman, or with the opposite sex.” Yes, but happiness must be in its
perspective. This Spiritual happiness came to you as a by-product of Spiritual
growth or it is only relative.
Marriage to the right man or right woman is a Divine institution. When the
right man marries the right woman, even though they are unbelievers with an
otherwise empty life, both can find relative happiness in that relationship. There
are very few instances such as this, where any happiness outside the plan of
God and the grace of God can actually exist. But here we have an exception:
an unbeliever, or even a carnal believer, can find the right woman or right man
and have relative happiness in their relationship.
“Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life
which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in
your toil in which you have labored under the sun.” (Eccles 9:9)
REBOUND
Solomon is a carnal believer, a believer out of fellowship and seeking
happiness in sublimation, escapism and the details of life. In none of the things
he tried did he find fulfillment or happiness. They all added up to apes and
peacocks — a search for happiness in the unusual, the exotic things of life!
One day he woke up to the fact that old age had overtaken him. He realized
with a shock that his youth was not only gone, but wasted. He was nothing but
a miserable, old man! Was it too late? Was his situation hopeless? So long as
you are still alive, believer, God has a purpose for your life.
“So, remove grief [Self-induced misery] from your heart and put away pain
[Carnality] from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are
fleeting.” (Eccles 11:10) How BY REBOUND! (1Jn 1:9)
“Solomon got back in fellowship in his old age. But he left a message for the
youth. Before YOU get to be an old person, listen to what Solomon had to say:
“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days
[Old age] come and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no delight in
them.” (Eccles 12:1)
The Creator is Jesus Christ, (Col 1:16) and Solomon is actually saying,
“Remember now, Jesus Christ!” How do you remember Jesus Christ?
First of all, if you are an unbeliever, it means to TRUST IN CHRIST for
Salvation. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name
under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12) If you want to spend eternity with God, you must remember Jesus
Christ NOW. “...Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is
"THE DAY OF SALVATION.” (2Co 6:2) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the
Truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6)
Secondly, if you are born again, you remember Him through the daily
function of Operation Z: rebound whenever necessary; inhale of Truth; faith-
transfer to the human spirit; exhale toward God through the “left bank” of the
soul; and the erection of the edification complex — Temple of the soul.
(1Co 3:11-16) This is the basis for fellowship with God in time, and it provides
both the capacity and the expression of love toward Jesus Christ.
Description of Old Age
In, (Eccles 12:3-8) Solomon begins a description of himself as an old man.
“in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble...”
The “watchmen of the house” are the hands. People often ask, “how old is
old?” When you get up some day and discover you can’t hold your hands still —
you’re old! You may be 25 years old, you can still be old! If you consume
enough whiskey so that when you get up in the morning you can’t hold your
hands still — no matter how many or how few years you have lived — you are
old, old, old — miserably old!
We all have to face it, everyone gets old. Natural old age is nothing to fear.
With the Word of Truth in the soul, old age is the most wonderful time of life. It
has been said that youth is wasted on youth; however, to the contrary, old age
can be the best part of life. “...And mighty men stoop....” Mighty men” are the
legs. When your legs get weak, and you can’t walk a block, you are old. “...The
grinding ones stand idle because they are few...”
Teeth often come out in old age. Your physical body has numerous signals
for old age! “...And those who look through windows grow dim.” When your
eyesight becomes dim, age has overtaken you.
“And the doors [Lips] on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill
is low, [The digestive system is functioning poorly] and one will arise at the
sound of the bird, [Insomnia] and all the daughters of song will sing softly.”
(Eccles 12:4) “Daughters of song” is an idiom for the ears. The hearing is bad,
and you’re old.
“Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place...” Does it bother you to set up
high and look over the tops of buildings? Do mountains bother you? You’re old!
“...And of terrors on the road...” Do you get afraid about life? Are you fearful
about retirement? You’re old! “...The almond tree blossoms, (White hair) the
grasshopper drags himself along...” This describes loss of physical strength. So
you can’t do 25 push-ups anymore? You’re getting old! “...And the caperberry is
ineffective. (And desire shall fail; loss of libido and the power of procreation)
For man goes to his eternal home [Death] while mourners go about in the
street.” (Eccles 12:5)
“Remember Him [Christ] before the silver cord is broken...” That’s the spinal
cord; your back is no longer straight. You have a permanent hump; and since
you can’t straighten up without it hurting, you stop straightening up; you’re old!
“...And the golden bowl [Mind] be broken, or the pitcher [Heart] is crushed,
the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed.”
(The cardiovascular system gives out) (Eccles 12:6) “Then the dust will return
to the earth as it was...” (The body becomes the chemicals of the soil once
more) ...And the spirit [And or soul] shall return unto God who gave it.” (Eccles
12:7) Only a believer possesses a human spirit. (1Th 5:23)
That grand and glorious, glamorous person of the Jewish race — Solomon — is
now old; but he has a message for the youth: if you spend your youth trying to
find happiness apart from fellowship with God, your old age will be miserable,
miserable, MISERABLE! You will be miserable. People may bow and scrape in
your presence; but behind your back they’ll say, “That old goat!” There is
nothing more tragic than old people who no longer have youth or outer beauty
as an excuse to get away with complaining, vindictiveness, temper tantrums,
and all the other mental attitude sins and sins of the tongue. They have no
happiness, no peace, and no power. As Solomon put it, they are empty.
(Eccles 12:8)
Sometimes God has to take believers out of this world before they reach
old age because they could never have a testimony in old age. But there is a
tremendous sphere of Spiritual life for older believers — a wonderful challenge
— perhaps the greatest of all. We need senior citizens who can demonstrate
that old age is the most beautiful time of life. But the one, whose entire life has
been characterized by selfishness and seeking happiness in the energy of the
flesh apart from Spirit & Truth, (John 4:24) will never make it. Old age will be a
dead end, the apes and peacocks will become gruesome, and life will be a
complete disillusionment.
RESULT OF REBOUND
“In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people
knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. The
Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of Truth correctly.”
(Eccles 12:9-10) In other words, the secret of happiness, peace and blessing is
in unbroken fellowship with the Lord, and or rebound, and then get back into the
Word!
No believer can find Spiritual happiness apart from Divine Thinking. The
believer cannot find happiness by seeking happiness, no matter what he
possesses. But the believer with Spiritual Thinking will have the inner happiness
designed by God for every believer, so that he will have the capacity to enjoy
ALL things. I believe that this generation of believers has a wonderful
opportunity to challenge the world with regard to the problem of old age.
Believers living in the Word in old age can know great happiness, can have
marvelous inner beauty and power, and can demonstrate in the angelic conflict
that it is Jesus Christ and His Word that makes the difference — not the details
of life; not the blind alleys in which people seek happiness.
“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God [Stay in fellowship]
and keep His Commandments, [And Think with the Mind of Christ] because this
applies to every person.” (Eccles 12:13)
What is the “whole of man”? It embodies all the techniques available to
believers of the Old Testament: rebound, faith-rest, Thinking with the Word and
Occupation with Christ, as He was revealed through the sacrifices, the Holy
days, the structure of the Temple, the written canon as it existed then, the
spoken message of the priests, and the teaching of the prophets. Man is
incomplete, man is never whole; man is never happy without the Word of God,
without Truth filling his soul.
“For God will bring every act [Production] to judgment, (Evaluation of the
believers’ Spiritual life) with every secret thing, [The thoughts] whether good
[Divine Thinking] or whether [Satanic — human thinking] evil.” (Eccles 12:14)
The believer will be evaluated on the basis of the construction and growth of his
Spiritual life. (1Co 3:11-16) Everything will be brought into view; everything will
be evaluated according to whether it has been done in the Thinking and filling of
God the Holy Spirit or in the thinking of the old sin nature.
If, as a believer, you persist in staying out of fellowship and ignoring the
Word of God, your life will be characterized by the dead ends of unhappiness,
disillusion, selfishness, unkindness, bickering, and self-induced misery. Nothing
could be worse, except to lose the ability to think. But for anyone who knows
Christ as Savior, this doesn’t have to be true. The answer is in the Word of God
and in the grace of God — first in rebound, and then continuing in the daily
function of the grace apparatus for perception — Operation Z. Therefore, make
it a habit NOW to rebound every time you are out of fellowship; to get into the
Word, to Think with the Word, to believe the Word, to erect an edification
complex in your soul, and consequently, to glorify the Living Word!
Summary of the Doctrine of Happiness
1. Happiness is related to the Essence of God: God always possessed
perfect happiness in eternity past. This happiness is a part of the character of
God. God is not only perfect, but He possesses perfect and eternal happiness.
He is also happy with His perfect plan of grace. Grace is the expression of God’
s perfect happiness. Hence, grace is the source of our perfect happiness, when
acquired through the grace apparatus of perception — Operation Z.
2. Happiness related to the Divine Decrees: In eternity past God desired to
share His own Spiritual happiness with man in time. This is only possible
through Salvation, (Psa 51:12) plus the daily function of rebound, reception,
retention, recall, resist sinning and repeating. (Neh 8:10)
3. Happiness is accomplished through grace: In grace God found a way to
share His happiness with believers; therefore, not only is Salvation through
grace, (Eph 2:8-9) but perception of Spiritual Thinking is through grace.
(1Co 2:9-16)
4. Such Happiness is confined to the Plan of God: Man enters the plan of
God by faith in Christ. (John 20:31) However, being saved means that
happiness in time is only POTENTIAL — not a GUARANTEE! Salvation does
not imply instant or automatic happiness, though Salvation may be associated
with happiness. Potentiality of happiness only becomes a Reality when a
believer functions under God’s grace apparatus of perception, and as a result,
erects an edification complex, (Temple of Divine Thinking) in his soul. (1Jn 1:4)
5. The ultimate of Happiness in time: Comes in two ways: the filling of God
the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22) and the top “floors” of the Temple. (John 17:17) In
eternity, perfect happiness will be automatic, since ultimate sanctification is
accompanied by exceeding joy. (Jud 1:24)
6. Recognition of Human Happiness in time: In the devil’s world, there exists
a pseudo happiness, which is temporary and superficial. Such happiness
depends on the details of life or pleasant environment and circumstances. It
often depends on getting one’s way in life, or not being crossed. However,
boredom, restlessness, instability and frustration neutralize this human
happiness. Therefore, human happiness in cosmos diabolicus, [Kingdom of
Satan] does not sustain under maximum pressure, adversity or human
prosperity.
7. God has designed phase two Happiness to be permanent and stabilized
through the edification complex of the soul. (John 17:13-17)
The Glory [Spiritual life — Divine Dynasphere — Temple — Edification
complex of the soul; ECS — Ten Problem Solving Devices] which You have
given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, [In Divine Thought and
nature; 2Pe 1:4] just as We are one. (John 17:22)
The inner happiness (+H) of the ECS provides both the capacity to enjoy the
details of life and at the same time to enjoy a relationship with God. This
happiness begins with the filling of God the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) and
reaches the optimum under the completed Spiritual life; it sustains in the most
difficult circumstances of life. Since Operation Z is the basis for the Spiritual life,
Operation Z is the key to Spiritual happiness.
These things [Divine Thoughts] we write, so that our joy may be made
complete. (1Jn 1:4)
8. The problem of the plural in the languages: Both the Hebrew “ashere”,
and the Greek “makarioi,” occur under the translation of “blessed.” Both should
be translated happiness’s. (Plural) The reason: there are two sources of
happiness — the filling of God the Holy Spirit and the completed Spiritual life.
9. The daily build up of Happiness; under the priesthood of the believer, is
the daily function of Operation Z. (Matt 4:4; Jas 1:25)
10. Such Happiness protects from disillusionment in the circumstances of
life; (Php 4:11-12) and in the things of life; (Heb 13:5-6) people, and or self.
11. Inner Happiness enhances the capacity for Virtue love. Once the top
floor of the ECS is constructed, the believer’s capacity for Virtue love is
intensified. This results in maximum blessing. The fragrance of memory is the
basis for happiness, peace and stability. (Song 3:1; Song 4:6; Song 8:6)
12. Inner Happiness is Commanded in the Spiritual life. (Php 4:4) The
Command is obeyed through growth to Spiritual maturity. (Jer 15:16;
John 13:17; 1Jn 1:4)
13. Inner Happiness is provided for phase three — eternity. (Jud 1:24)
You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of
joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psa 16:11)
End
 |
| |
 |