Stages, Levels, and Code

With some questions, I need to wait a while before I can address them. The last thing I want to do is establish something as doctrine when it’s just my personal opinion. When we talk about something connected with the Spirit Realm, all we have are guesses and estimates based on the few things the Bible hints at.

The doctrine of Divine Election has yielded tons of speculation from far better thinkers and writers than me. Still, I’m not sure I can go with what these smarter people have said. Some of the implications have taken me in a different direction. What follows is not doctrine, but my personal mythology, my guesses that seems to bring me peace for the time being. You are encouraged to come up with your own answers. These are things on which we need not agree.

Spiritual birth is confined to the Elect. We are the only ones whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. There are plenty of folks out there who are elected and don’t know it yet. I don’t know if Jesus was including all the Elect in His comment about rejoicing that our names are there, but He certainly included those spiritually born. They were simply waiting for the gift of the Spirit. Whatever people got from the Lord prior to the Resurrection, it included spiritual birth, but not the full gift of the Spirit of Jesus living inside. Now, the Divine Presence is the single critical marker of the regenerate Elect.

What happens to those who die without spiritual birth? I’m going to assume that their conscious awareness lives on in a temporary condition until Jesus returns. Jesus indicates it’s not a pleasant situation for the unregenerate, but the Elect are resting. We have the English word “Hell” to indicate one, and Jesus referred to “Paradise” for the other. On Judgment Day, everyone will be pulled out of their storage place. This world and everything that belongs to it will end. Anyone who isn’t Elect will then be dissolved. I don’t believe that “Hell” will continue after that. The Elect will go back to Eden, whatever that means.

Yes, I believe in a two-stage destiny. As long as this fallen realm exists, we remain in the first stage. Once it’s over, the second stage is an entirely different kind of thing. I’m sure evangelicals will gasp and think I’m crazy. That’s okay; they’ve been treating me that way for a long time.

But in the end, those who are not Elect are part of a big drama that we cannot comprehend in our current state. They are part of this world, part of the punishment, accouterments of the prison, and not subject to eternal connections. The Elect don’t get the same deal everyone else does. We often catch a much rougher ride here in the Devil’s realm. He knows who we are.

There are limits on what he can do. However, the failure of most spiritually born folks to actually embrace the Covenant means they aren’t taking full advantage of that protection. It’s not simply a matter of the Code of Covenant Law; the covering of Christ is based on your heart’s commitment (faith) and your obedience.

Some failures of obedience will have permanent consequences, leaving gaps in the moral hedge for the rest of your life. Other failures can be mitigated to insignificance. It’s a part of Covenant studies to learn what does and doesn’t have lifelong effects. But the non-elect belong to Satan along with the rest of this world, and it’s really a matter of his agenda who experiences what. The consequences on some levels still hit them, but they aren’t likely to notice it in those terms. Some levels of the Law Code work regardless; they are woven into the fabric of this fallen world.

It’s complicated, but because the mainstream has ignored the Covenant and how it works, we have no solid tradition of recognizing priorities and levels. How these things break out into teaching has been a major effort behind this blog.