The Body of Truth
"And they answered and said unto Him, Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Wheresoever THE BODY [Soma -(Greek) - The Body of Truth] is, thither will THE EAGLES (Sons of God) be gathered together." (Luke17:37)
We are encouraged of the Lord to continue this time
again with another pamphlet - We pray God to enrich
YOU with it and enlighten your darkness.
In this pamphlet, we will be taking a look at some of
the things that relate to the 'SECOND COMING OF OUR
LORD JESUS CHRIST.' Our Meditation shall be drawn
from LUKE 17:20-37. We reproduce the text below for
your convenience:
Verse 20.: "And when He was demanded of the Pharisees,
When the kingdom of God should come, He answered them
and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with
observation."
Verse 21.: "Neither shall they say, lo here! or lo
there! For behold the kingdom of God is within you."
Verse 22.: "And He said unto His disciples, the days
will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days
of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it."
Verse 23.: "And they shall say to you, see here: or
see there: go not after them, nor follow them."
Verse 24.: "For as the lightening, that lighteneth out
of one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part
under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his
day."
Verse 25.: "But first must he suffer many things, and
be rejected of this generation."
Verse 26.: "And as it was in the days of Noah, so
shall it be also in the days of the Son of man."
Verse 27.: "They did eat, they drank, they married
wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that
Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and
destroyed them all."
Verse 28.: "Likewise also, as it was in the days of
Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold,
they planted, they builded."
Verse 29.: "But the same day that Lot went out of
Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and
destroyed them all."
Verse 30.: "Even thus shall it be in the day when the
Son of man is revealed."
Verse 31.: "In that day, he which shall be upon the
housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come
down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let
him likewise not return back."
Verse 32.: "Remember Lot's wife."
Verse 33.: "Whosoever shall seek to save his life
shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall
preserve it."
Verse 34.: "I tell you in that night, there shall be
two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the
other shall be left."
Verse 35.: "Two women shall be grinding together, the
one shall be taken, and the other left."
Verse 36.: "Two men shall be in the field, the one
shall be taken, and the other left."
Verse 37.: "And they answered and said unto Him,
Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Wheresoever the
body is, thither will the eagles be gathered
together."
THE DAY OF THE SON OF MAN.
The phrase 'the Day of the Son of man' (verse 24) is a
reference to the time period when God, through His Son
Jesus Christ, is concluding the work of redemption in
the earth. The phrase is thus related to what is
commonly known as the second coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
In verse 24, we are shown in a figure, the character
of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ toward HIS
CHURCH in His day. We are told, "as the lightening;
that lighteneth out of one part under heaven, shineth
unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the
Son of man be in His day." The Lord as the sun of
righteousness arises first upon those who earnestly
look for His appearing, giving them the light and life
of full redemption (Malachi 4:2). But then, as more
and more people open unto Him, the fragrance of His
saving knowledge will fill mankind, as it is written:
"the knowledge of the glory of God shall cover the
earth as the water cover the sea." (Num. 14:21; Isa.
11:9).
The Day of the Son of man is a Day of days. It
actually covers the time period from the closing years
of the gospel age until the closing years of the
kingdom age "when He shall have put down all rule and
power and authority" (I Cor. 15:24). We may more
appropriately call it the Second Advent of Christ.
The scriptures reveal three phases in this time
period. The begining is designated in the New
Testament by the Greek word "PAROUSIA". It means
"PRESENCE" and denotes a time of great manifestation
of the presence of Christ among the faithful ones. He
works among the faithful ones to bring them to the
fullness of salvation experience. So many of His
people are unaware of this great work as the
scriptures clearly indicate, moreso, the rest of the
world. This period of time is likened to "the days of
Noah" (verse 26) or "the days before the flood" (Matt.
24:37-39)
The second phase is reffered to as "the day in which
the Son of man is revealed" (verse 30). It is the day
of the revelation of Christ, the day of His appearing
(Colo. 3:4; I John 3:2). In that time period, what
has been done in the secret (first) phase, which was
hidden, is now made manifest. The glory of God will
be manifested fully by those who have been brought
into fullness of life. During this time period is the
great tribulation that is to come upon the earth, the
antitype of Noah's flood.
The third and final phase is the time of His reign
over all the earth, the time of the establishment of
the kingdom of heaven over the whole earth. It can be
demonstrated from the Holy Scriptures that we are in
the first phase of Christ Second Advent, the Parousia.
Our burden in this pamphlet is to draw the attention
of God's people to the things that pertain to the
first phase of the Day of the Son of man and to show
how this affects us. What is the Lord doing in the
earth at this time? What is God saying to His people
now?
THE LORD'S SECRET ACTIVITIES.
The first phase of the second advent of Christ is
often likened to a night period. The symbol of the
night is used to show that there is a lot of ignorance
(darkness) concerning the activities of the Lord in
the earth in that day. I Thess. 5:7 says "they that
sleep (unconscious of, and hence, not involved in what
the Lord is doing in their day) sleep in the night."
In that night, there is nothing in the visible world
to show that anything is taking place (remember verse
20 of Luke 17). The world remains as it has ever
been, with mankind engrossed in their mundane and
religious activities "....they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded,
and knew not....." (Matt. 24:37-39).
But it is in that night that the Lord comes secretly
as a thief among His people. He comes to recover,
cleanse, restore and ultimately perfect those of His
people that are faithful unto Him. At the same time,
He darkens the eyes and binds the hands and feet of
the habitually unfaithful, casting such into outer
darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth
(Please read Matthew 24:42-51).
At the begining period of the Day of the Son of man
(His Parousia), the church is found in a backslidden
(apostate) condition, even though there are many
within the church system that have atrue heart towards
the Lord. Truth had long fallen in the streets of
Christendom. Many believers have corrupted the ways
of God. Erroneous teachings and practices (like
tares; Matt. 13:24-30) have been entrenched in
Christian assemblies. Over the years of the history
of the church, a system of religion has been
established that is a far cry from what the Lord and
His apostles handed down to us. Denominationalism,
human organisation, idolatry and man worship,
witchcraft, hatred, strife and contention, filthy
lucre, vain glory (titles), immorality and
worldliness, have become the order of the day.
It is easy to see then, why the Lord, during His
Parousia focuses His attention towards His people. If
He mus judge the world, passing it through great
tribulations, then He must first set His own house in
order. He sets out to recover all of His people that
have ears to hear Him. He must cleanse them from
their errors and evil ways. He must restore truth to
His church (Isa. 59:25). Please read the whole of
Isa. 59 especially verses 15-21, to see the nature of
the divine reaction to the defection of His people.
We are living now at the end of time. The church age
is closing up. The Lord is presently at work among
His people in a special way. He stands at the door of
every heart with a message, with something to say to
His people (Rev. 3:20), if they will hear or if they
will forebear (Ezek. 2:5). He warns His people of the
destruction and tribulation that is sure to come upon
all His enemies. All things that are not according to
His plans, whether they be found in His people or in
the world, shall be visited with judgement. He shows
the way of escape. Some will hearken, but some will
not. He is making the repentant ones to know they
must forsake the religious order and systems they have
made for themselves, lest they partake of the coming
plagues (Rev. 18:4). He causes His people to know
that thre are perfection and glories He desires to
bring them into which they cannot realize if they
remain in the degenerate spiritual environment of the
denominational church systems.
All these constitutes the activities of the Lord among
His people in the night season. It is a season of
mercy. Though darkness covers the earth and thick
darness appears to envelop the churches, the Lord
arises with light upon all those that fear Him. Those
responding to His voice are being prepared to partake
of His glory (Isa. 60:1-2). It is interesting to note
that Noah preached for about a hundred and twenty
years before the flood came. He spoke of a coming
judgement. He warned the people of His day. Noah's
ministry is illustrative of the way of escape open to
all in the first phase of the Day of the Son of man
(Verse 26).
MANIFESTATION OF DIVINE JUDGEMENT.
The activities of the Lord in the night seasons soon
begin to manifest itself in visible judgement. Some
among His people open their hearts to Him, hearken to
His voice and are delivered from their backslidings.
Others seem to harden their hearts and are left to
continue in those things that please them. Vers 34
through 35 of our passage says,
"I tell you in that night, ther shall be two men in
one bed, the one shall be taken and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding together, the one shall be
taken, the other left. Two men shall be in the field;
the one shall be taken, and the other left."
The bed, the field, the mill at which the women grind,
all speak of aspects of our spiritual services or
labours. Two men in one bed, two men in the field,
two women at the mill, are all companions labouring in
the Lord's vineyard but with evidently different heart
conditions.
In the midst of such activities (some faithful, others
unfaithful, some with a true heart, others with greed
and covetousness), the Lord opens the eyes of the
faithful to see the vanity of labouring to build man's
empire and leads them to respond to the upward call of
God in Christ Jesus. They are led out of symbolic
wilderness wanderings and brought into a place where
they can more clearly hear the voice of the Lord.
Thus we find being fulfilled in our day what the Lord
Jesus predicted about the time of harvest (Matt.
13:37). The great sifting is now going on. The wheat
class are sure to be progressively lifted in their
heart and mind condition to a life fully pleasing to
God, worthy of entering full union with Christ. The
tares class continue on in vanity, blind and deaf.
The deliverance of Lot from Sodom before the
destruction of that city (Verses 28 and 29) is a
picture of the deliverance of the willing hearted
among the Lord's people from the fallen church systems
of our day. Sodom is a symbol for organised
unfaithfulness and spiritual harlotry in what was once
a holy nation, a peculiar people (see for example,
Isa. 1:10; Rev. 11:8). Another name for Christendom
(in her departure from God and marriage to the world),
is 'BABYLON'
(Rev 17).
God's great judgement awaits Christendom! Rev. 18:5
says,
"...her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities, therefore shall her plagues
come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and
she shall be utterly burnt with fire; for strong is
the Lord God who judgeth her." (Verse 8)
But before this judgement begins to break forth in
visible measures upon Babylon, God stands in mercy to
recover and save all that have ears to hear Him.
Arising from this divine concern, is the event of a
great gathering unto the Lord.
THE GATHERING UNTO THE LORD.
In verse 37 of our passage, the disciples wanted to
know where those that are delivered out of the
confused religious order of today are to be taken to.
Yes! Out of the denominational systems. Out of the
symbolic Sodom. Out of Babylon. But "where Lord!"
they inquired. And the Lord answered, "whithersoever
the body is, tither will the eagles be gathered
together." The word "BODY" is the Greek word "SOMA".
It means the body as a sound whole, the healthy body.
There is a true body that the Lord is raising up
today. Let it be known that this work of gathering to
Himself a people has been on for many years. A pure
work of the Spirit in this regard can be testified to
in many nations today. God is at the lead, at the
Head. Hundreds of thousands are gathering unto
fellowship with the Lord and with one another (II
Thess. 2:1; Psalm 50:5). The Lord Himself directs
their work in truth (Isa. 61:8) teaching them His
plans and purpose at this time of the end. He is
preparing them for the glory that is to be revealed.
Open up to the voice of His call.
God, through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (the
greater than Noah) is building an ark in the earth
today! And, where this body is, there the true saints
and seekers after God are to be gathered. It is this
body that will reveal the fullness of the glory of the
Lord as mentioned in Romans 8:19. Through this body,
God's plans and purposes for this age are to be
consumated.
There are two events that are to signal the end of the
first (secret) phase of the Day of the Son of man, and
begining of the second phase, His appearing. This may
be clearly seen in typical judgement of Noah's day.
First is the entering of Noah into the ark. Second is
the coming of the flood. The first speak of God
entering His rest in the church. The fulness of God
comes to dwell in this body that He is preparing for
Himself at this time (Psa. 132:8; Matt. 8:20). The
second event is the coming tribulation that shall
overthrow the ecclesiastical (religious) and political
kingdoms of this world. The present order of things
in our world will be destroyed with fervent heat (II
Peter 3:10). The social, moral, political, economic
order of today shall give way; ruined completely under
judgement. The kingdom of God and of His Christ shall
be installed upon the ruins of the kingdoms of this
world (Rev. 3:10; 11:5).
If you must escape the judgement that is to come upon
Christendom and upon the nations, you must be where
the SOMA is, where God by His Son is raising up a true
BODY unto Himself. You must hear and hearken to the
voice of the Son of man at this time and be taught of
Him (Rev. 3:10). You must deliver your soul from
Babylon.
The Lord has shown that no amount of revival meetings
or conferences can heal Christendom. We may weep for
Babylon, we may howl and take balm for her pains, if
so be she may be healed (Jer. 51:9). But God will
have us know that Babylon cannot be healed (Jer.
51:9). She is mad upon her idols of money, titles,
false and erroneous teachings and practices by means
of which she holds God's people in a religious
captivity (Jer.50:38) The commandment of the Lord is
for us to forsake her! (Jer. 50:9) and we should do so
without looking back (Luke 17:32). Remember Lot's
wife!
Those that gather unto the Lord in His Parousia are
described as 'EAGLES' (Luke 17:37). Eagles have this
ability to see afar off. These saints are made to see
that there is a judgement about to break forth. They
know inwardly that there is something beyond what they
are seeing in the church systems and their hearts are
drawn to seek the Lord. May you prove to be an eagle
indeed. May the Lord open your eyes to see beyond the
veil. May you be delivered out of the city of
religion at this very appointed time. May your flight
from the city not be in the winter period of great
tribulation (Matt. 24:20). May you avail yourself of
the mercy of the Lord towards His people at this hour.
The time to respond is NOW!
Please note that there are several places of
fellowship in several cities, towns and villages
(including where you are) where like-minded Believers
in Christ gather together unto the Lord at least twice
weekly - If YOU will pray and ask, the Lord will
direct you to one in your immediate locality.
My Beloved Brethren, until some other time when the
Lord brings us your way again, remember this is the
light in the evening time trumpeting God's final call
so PLEASE BE FAITHFUL TO PASS IT ON TO OTHERS THAT
THEY ALSO MAY RUN WITH IT.
JESUS IS LORD!
Your Brother - 'Segun Ogunfile.
The Writings of Segun Ogunfile 