Gateways and By-Ways

Written by Greg Benner 10-24-2010

Times, Places, and Dates

Time, places, and dates are significant in heaven’s history of the world as mankind works out his salvation before a Holy God.   Though things occurring around us seem to be the by-product of external influence, random chance, or cosmic oversight…in reality…circumstances portray the cause-and-affect impact of human decision within the context of God’s transformational reach to a struggling humanity.

In an effort to help you understand kingdom dynamics in a physical world, I bring you to the realization that Santa Monica, like many coastal cities represents a secondary western spiritual gateway into America’s interior. As a point of reference, the primary spiritual gateway resides on San Juan Island off the coast of Washington State in Puget Sound. I’ll write more about that later as God leads…  

Spiritual gateways, as with other supernatural realities, carry associated physical manifestations with them. That is why we hear places like Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, New York, and Boston called “gateway” cities. If one does careful historical, geographical, and Scriptural research under the Holy Spirit’s leadership…they will discover that gateway cities share common physical, cultural, and spiritual characteristics. These similar features include, but are not limited to…social unrest, religious fragmentation, cultural identity, convergent weather, entrenched problems, stronghold thinking, resulting consequences (i.e. Seattle: liberalism, San Francisco: un-bridled sexuality, Houston-Miami: Hurricanes, New York: violence, etc.), and more. 

What lurks within the gates on the by-ways of life?

Physical or Spiritual

When certain “evidences” appear upon the earth as physical realities (i.e. peace or violence, abundance or lack, health or disease, clarity or confusion)…their manifest physical appearance on earth before us was preceded a spiritual event which occurred in the heavenly realms…first. Those things we see in our tangible surroundings with spiritually-enlightened physical eyes are merely “indications” of those things occurring or that have occurred in the spiritual realm…first. For example…the face of society we refer to as “culture” most accurately portrays humanity’s dance with the resident sin (human violation) and those spiritual forces, entrenchments, or influences (good or bad) which exist in a given physical or spiritual region. Let me give you an analogy from yesteryear’s arcade… When a pinball is loaded into the firing line and shot into the pinball machine equipped with bumpers stationed at key locations…the hurtling ball bounces off any encountered bumper in a deflecting or opposing direction because that ball’s mass is inadequate to dislodge the bumper it hits. 

Translation

Please let me translate the pinball analogy into spiritual language… When a person is born into the physical world thrust between good and evil represented by God’s loving intervention and mans’ human waywardness…that person’s pathway is determined by the level of spiritual authority released by either their submission to or rebellion against God and eternal truth (reality). One’s submission accumulates God-given spiritual authority, while rebellion forfeits authority’s privilege revealing that both impact eternal human experience. God’s loving extension of authority is founded on our obedience and filled with His blessing. Conversely, God’s retraction of authority is founded on our rebellion and followed by His discipline. So goes our existence in the cross tension between God’s kingdom of light and satan’s dark domain… Our lives travel time’s continuum on the parallel pathways of physical and spiritual reality surrounded by heaven’s angelic army and hell’s demonic destroyers simultaneously in this dark world spoken of in Ephesians 6:12-13. Though Jesus defeated death at the cross…we must remember that God gave satan dominion over the atmospheric environment surrounding the earth calling him (satan) the prince of the power of the air. As believers in Christ, we are not of this world…but, “are” bombarded by the spiritual forces (good or bad) surrounding our lives upon the earth amid our unfolding destiny.

Snapshots

In my effort to deepen your understanding…I will give you first-hand examples accompanied by pictures of things that crossed my path to “evidence” all I have describe above during my first day walking. They are as follows: 

Defining Significance

The date I put my feet in Pacific (west coast) water to launch my transcontinental walk was 10-10-10. Due to God bringing things into conformity with His timing through breakdowns, inconveniences, and my responses to such events…my first day walking today is 10-20-10. There is Scriptural symmetry in both the launch and today’s date through the number 10 and its multiples. Next, I began on the western sea’s edge at the end of Interstate 10 in a “secondary” gateway city…Santa Monica. I entered into the Santa Monica gateway arena at 7:00 am representing the number 7’s “Scriptural perfection” and began walking at 8:00 am representing the number 8’s “new beginnings.” Upon my arrival to the pier’s water end…I immediately encountered an Asian woman sitting cross-legged in the pier’s shelter rocking and praying aloud over an open prayer book of some type. Her presence was my first sign that spiritual activity of some persuasion was occurring underscoring that I was at the entrance to a gateway. As I started walking up the pier, I saw two things further revealing that my journey was originating from a spiritually significant point. First, I spied the pier’s “arched gateway” in the distance at land’s entrance to the pier. Before reaching the arched gateway, I encountered a sign declaring, “End of the Trail.” Evidence I was on a “pathway” carrying me through and beyond a “gateway” into open territory…was mounting.

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As I walked up the pier through the arched gateway, I turned onto Neilson heading south to Ocean Park Boulevard, turned left, and walked eastward. Adding a little more meat to the skeleton of understanding…God has called me to walk eastward in light of Matthew 24:27 which says, “for as lightening comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”  By now, some of you may be re-considering my opening post comments posing the possibility that I may be off my rocker for walking across this troubled land…again.   Let me reassure you however, that Scripture gives many examples of God calling His men and women of the hour to specific tasks as He uses their involvement to connect heaven’s dots on history’s course toward Christ’s return. Paul drives this point even deeper in 2nd Peter 3:11-12 where he asks his readers, “…what kind of people ought you to be?” He goes on to answer his own question by saying, “you ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” Simply put, heaven’s writer implies that our fulfillment of God’s created purpose for our lives impacts heaven’s plan. God is not dependent upon or surprised by our level of involvement…He foreknew it.  Therefore, it appears that all of us were graciously given significant roles in God’s business (John 15:15 NIV) as we discover, embrace, and accomplish all He designed us to do for His glory.

World Opinion or Heaven's Fact

People’s opinion of our quest to obey God may engulf us. Yet, human opinion is far less important than what God knows about our inner heart toward Him. As I walked further up Ocean Park, I passed my first Masonic lodge on the journey again indicating that I was traveling a spiritual pathway. Continuing onward…I came upon a side street named “Westgate” just prior to Ocean Park turning into “Gateway Boulevard.” If that were not enough to point my steps with God’s direction…even more evidence jumped out from across the street through building signage to my left as I waited to cross. First I saw a sign that boldly declared, “The Gateway,” while another championed “Yoga Meditation.” My observations quickly established that other people dabbling in eastern religion, finding their power within, or tapping into the powers of this dark world easily “recognize” this area to be a spiritual hotspot. Men and women upon the earth gravitate toward physical “familiar-feeling” regions just like birds of a feather flock together. We see this to be true in those social, educational, financial, political, relational, and spiritual cultures that surround our individual or corporate lives.

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Have you ever wondered why unsaved people (without Christ) are filled and operate with spiritual awareness, while professing Christians who supposedly have Jesus living inside them…remain oblivious to God’s kingdom realities? As God’s people…how can we ever hope to break Satan’s grip on the world around to advance God’s kingdom among those who need God’s love, mercy, and power if we do not know how God’s kingdom works?   After seeing the above indications identifying the path I was obviously on… I stepped toward the next street only to find it named “Exposition.” This street name showed me that something was being, or about to be…exposed. Moving along, I then came to “National Boulevard” telling me that my trans-continental quest was aimed at national spiritual issues….not just local. Next, I came to “Washington” Boulevard before intersecting with “Adams” Boulevard.   Why are these significant?

Crumbling Foundations

Psalms 11:3 asks a penetrating question…”if the foundations are crumbling, what can the righteous do?”   How does this apply? I’ll explain. George Washington was America’s first president who had Masonic ties. Throughout history, we know the Masonic order’s spiritual doctrine openly opposes the supremacy of Christ. This fact is authenticated by noteworthy historical figures including great revivalist…Charles Finney in the 1800’s. What gives Finney credibility? Historical records chronicle Finney’s impact as being single-handedly responsible for more lasting salvations ever attributed to one man either before or after his evangelistic service to Christ in America. Additionally…the young Charles Finney understood the inner workings of the lodge firsthand because he personally left the order after his own face-to-face encounter with Christ in the woods one day.  On the heels of his life-changing experience…the transformed Finney returned to town that day closing his legal practice, launching out to plead Christ’s cause, and indirectly exposing the order’s error through systematic declaration of Christ’s Gospel. While many recent evangelistic thrusts net 4-6% retention rate with regard to salvation experiences lasting long-term…Finney’s retention rate 20 years after-the-fact hovered between 70-80%. The Masonic Order’s obvious spiritual error highlighted by historical fact indicates that our nation’s formational foundations crumbled beneath a level of deception ultimately responsible for the subsequent erosion of our national spiritual stability. 

More To Consider

You may find it interesting that both Santa Monica and inner city Los Angeles’ street layouts are comprised of boulevards, avenues, and streets running on the angle…not in true north-south or east-west direction. The angled-orientation of these transportation networks undeniably reveals another Masonic social influence during the founding phases of these two cities. This is redundantly true across America… Likewise, one will notice that many historic landmarks-at-large across our great land are located along boulevards named after significant leaders (i.e. George Washington and John Quincy Adams in Santa Monica and Los Angeles). In the same fashion, other boulevards are named after key historical places where world-changing events have previously occurred (i.e. Philadelphia: where America’s founding documents were signed). Such historical leaders or locations named on street signs often represent the spiritual cross tension between truth’s decency and deception’s tyranny in given locale. Culture: man’s individual or corporate response to the “feel” of their present location, merely exposes the existence or entrenchment of those forces originating in heaven or hell. 

Boulevards and Blood

Boulevards are wide multi-lane arterials divided by landscaped or mall-type areas like one finds between America’s capitol building and Lincoln’s Memorial in Washington DC. Arterial refers to being a main supply source to surrounding avenues and streets just like arteries, veins, and capillaries are to human blood flow. Avenues on another note…typically are wide tree-lined thoroughfares that lead to important places just-off boulevards like veins branch away from arteries. And finally, streets are smaller paved or unpaved travel-ways that emanate from boulevards occasionally with avenue origin being far more common…like capillaries relate to veins.   In most cases, one finds that clear-cut lines between different segments of society, levels of affluence, types of ethnicity, and sects of spirituality are drawn to stratify people groups based on geographical proximity, elevation, and founding origin. While walking through inner city LA, I noticed that poverty’s oppression and violence lived in the lowlands, while increased wealth, liberty, and cleanliness adorned the highlands. In other words…people groups-of-a-feather flock together based on those bastions of good or strongholds of evil entrenched in that area becoming part of its “spiritual roots.” Consequently, these spiritual roots become the “hub” from which all things emanate, move, and breathe in that area… 

What’s The Big Deal?

Why did I go into all of this stuff you may ask? Simple… To describe in principle…that America has spiritual gateways (points of intake or discharge) allowing both incoming and outgoing flow from or to other places like all other areas of the world possess. Gateways typically exist in sea ports or harbors akin to places in Paul’s day like Corinth, Athens, and Ephesus. Also similar to Paul’s experience is the fact, that gateway cities located in seaports often represent core areas of opposition to the gospel of Christ due to their multi-cultural and multi-spiritual nature. In purpose…gateways route traffic (i.e. vehicles, blood, or spirits) toward or away from interstate, highway, boulevard, avenue, street, and path flow systems of that region, territory, or kingdom. Like the human body eats, digests, and eliminates…so gateways are to a nation. A nation’s diet remains important to God. What is America eating spiritually? Where did it come from?   Is it health or junk food in God’s eyes? One day…Jesus will return to test the quality of our spiritual diet and health with fire. Will He find pure gold in the ashes of our lives? In truth, all of us tend to blame our lacking life statures on over-generalized national issues without giving focused attention to accepting the weight our individual choices add in tipping heaven’s scales… Just remember, people’s personal and corporate dietary cravings worldwide driven by those desires that dominate them within. Sobering thought…huh? 

It remains important to God that those committed to His Son Jesus Christ know that both the kingdom of light and of darkness possess highly organized DNA. Likewise, those things flowing into or out of gateways (i.e. geographical, human, or spiritual heart regions) come from and go to all points in all realms at all times…either good or bad. The principle behind all I have written to you thus far…is found in Jesus’ words penned on His behalf in Matthew 15:17-20 where He says, “don’t you see that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man unclean…”   Based on long-term Scriptural research, historical evidence, life observations, and in-depth prayer…I believe that America and its comprising territories have flirted with, embraced, consumed, swallowed, and digested many thinking, value, motivation, and spiritual patterns originating more in worldly deception than in Jesus the Christ. As a result, America’s composite heart formed by the individual heartbeats of its citizens…has become largely “unclean.” As a result, the combined tone of life in our land has and is responsible for polluting and diluting God’s kingdom in America and other nations God has entrusted to our care. Without God’s repentance-based restoration, our responsibility in His eyes grows more perilous each day. But, that is not the end of the story… 

There Is Hope!

In Jesus, there is always hope! “All things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27 NIV)! No matter how bad things seem, get, or feel…we as believers who have genuinely integrated with the body of Christ have freedom and power to become victors as we help others find their way to Him.   Together dear friend, we can change our world…advance God’s kingdom…and bring pleasure to God’s heart one rescued life at a time! 

Time For Action!

It is time God’s people act on the prophet Jeremiah’s charge to “stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it…” to find rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV). 

Perspective

Hope is a kingdom privilege gained through living God’s way, not a right that can be selfishly demanded at eternal cost to others.   By definition…privilege is both opportunity and responsibility inseparably married. Though different than works…privilege is earned through heart attitudes and actions pleasing to God. We as His people created in His image empowered by His heart…have a choice.  We can either rise victorious in truth and love or fall to defeat at the hands of our human selfishness, indifference, and inactivity. We may think we are only one person in heaven’s big picture believing that our life does not affect anyone but us. Untrue! Simply put, God created each of us to function as an important integral part of His church (Bride), to bear one another’s burdens, to put feet to our faith, and to love others ahead of ourselves.   Life’s journey is a team sport… We need each other! 

How Can I Cooperate With God?

The bible tells us that we become a “…new creation…” and that “…the old passes away and all things become new…” when we enter personal relationship with Jesus Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:17). Likewise, Romans 12:2 challenges us not to “…conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of…” our minds, so we can “test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.” God’s word admonishes us to acknowledge, pursue, adopt, and to use those qualities His transformation within us made new…without condition. If salvation’s divine transaction occurred within you or me…there will be physical evidence in the way we live, love, and labor in Jesus’ name (James 2:14) when we say nothing. So, what type of evidence should show in our lives as God transforms us? 

Heaven’s Evidence

First, we see above in Romans 12:2-3, that our vantage point will change as we take on the mind of Christ. Second, account-after-account in the gospel writings reveal, that Jesus continually opened the eyes of those blind clearly showing that we cannot perceive God’s spiritual realities, until we are changed by Christ’s transforming power in our lives (see Matthew 13:14-17, 6:22-23, 9:29-30, 20:34; Mark 8:17-18, 25-26; Luke 2:30-32, 19:41-44, 24:31). As religious pride slams its fist on history’s table to silence a blind man healed by Jesus’ love, we find a now-seeing follower’s words in John 9:25 declaring, “…one thing I do know, I was blind and now I see.” Again, God always leaves transformational evidence when one’s life has been re-created through personal relationship with Jesus Christ. What evidence did God leave when He touched you? 

Why Should I Care?

Why is this important? The answer is multi-fold… (1) Both our own lives and those of the world-at-large are lost without God’s love. (2) Meeting, knowing, and obeying Jesus is an active sport filled with life and “responsibility.” Restored freedom and wholeness from our Heavenly Father liberate us…but, are not free. (3) Our purpose in life is about “others”…not us. Experiencing hope, life, and joy is a by-product of bringing hope, life and love to others. (4) Spiritually blind or near-sighted people cannot help others find the love and healing power of God they have yet to experience themselves. (5) John 15:15-17 helps us see that Jesus will give us insight into His kingdom “if” we do what He commands. Furthermore, Matthew 24:45-46 shows us that fulfilling our created purpose verifies us to be God’s “wise and faithful” servants when Jesus returns. (6) In John 4:34, Jesus declares that, “His food is to do the will of the One who sent…” Him. In verses 35-38 He goes on to challenge us saying, ““…open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest…” as He calls us all to Kingdom work. (7) And finally, Jesus connects the dots in John 14:12 when He says, “…anyone who has faith in me, will do what I have been doing.” In a nutshell, if God gave us what we could never earn or deserve…we should deeply appreciate His merciful gift. Appreciation is not expressed with empty words. True appreciation is “evidenced” by the way we live, love, and liberate others in Jesus’ name. As Saint Augustine once said, “preach the gospel. When necessary, use words.” 

Hiding and Patching

If we are honest with God, ourselves, and others…each of us knows that we have issues troubling to God’s heart lurking beneath the surface of our lives. Sure, we’ve had many victories along mixed with set-backs along life’s way. As with layers of an onion however…Jesus always comes at unexpected and inconvenient times not of our choosing to ask for those things we wrestle to let go of in His quest to peel away another layer keeping us from Him. Why? Because He loves us with an everlasting love! He created us to be above and not beneath…to be the head and not the tail…to be more than conquers…and to be members of a royal priesthood for His good pleasure. Yet, I’ve learned that hiding sin in our lives can become a lifestyle if we are not careful. Like the artificial palm tree cell tower I walked by on my way from Santa Monica to inner city Los Angeles…I am simply amazed by how many creative ways we find to camouflage sin’s existence in our lives as we think others will not notice. To our dismay however, we soon discover that people, like Jesus, are more observant than we hoped they would be. While we drift through life paying everything but attention, those near us sort between the leaves of our lives to see what is hidden within. Sin invades and distorts the foundational appearance of our lives as its roots burrow deep beneath our hardened exteriors to shift and break the character God calls us to display. Sadly, we miss God’s truth-bathed mercy as we patch and hide sin’s upheaval in our lives only to later realize that everyone but us saw the hump in our life path…

You Are Invited!

In closing today’s post…I invite you to join me at the feet of Jesus as we cry out for His mercy on those around us…including ourselves. Our world is in crisis! God created us to live life abundantly filled with joy as we become His hands, feet, and voice to those who do not know Him! I pray that God has used what has been written above to encourage, equip, and empower your passion in serving Christ and others. God bless you until my next post when I will relate more of my observations from along the path one step at a time…

Kind Regards,

Greg

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