I AM JUST PUTTING THE FINISHING TOUCHES TO A MAJOR ARTICLE entitled “Parallel Psychic Power-Games in the World and in the Church: A Detailed Examination of the Meaning of being “Baptised in the Holy Spirit” and the practice of Speaking in ‘Tongues’ (‘Languages’) with Special Insight into the Occult Background of their Present-Day Manifestations”. It is so far 25,000 words in length and contains 42 pages. When it is complete, it will be even longer. Most likely, after this article has been published next week, I will receive the usual requests saying something like “Please can you sum it all up in a few paragraphs as I am far too busy to read all this”. I am not going to mince my words or pull my punches here. If you want to understand what is really happening in the world; if you want to properly grasp historically, poetically and prophetically what is written in your Bible; if you want to get to grips with how you are supposed to conduct yourself in the midst of all the madness, then you will have to study. Not just read but study. Diligently. Diligence is a fading feature among the people of the world and even in the lives of many of those who would claim to be ‘Christians’. The former have grown too used to superficial soundbites and cliché-ridden memes on (anti)social media, while the latter would rather spend hours singing trite repetitive ditties to ramp up their endorphin and oxytocin levels and then naively imagine they are “in the spirit”. We have become lulled by self-hypnosis into a fog of escapism.

Some subjects are both easy to write about and easy to read, not needing to be too lengthy or in-depth. But some subjects are considerably more complex and require a great deal of application, both on the part of the author and of the reader — the upcoming article being a case in point — in order to overcome popular misunderstandings, whether wilful or incidental. Being able to comprehend all this has nothing to do with intellectual ability or innate intelligence quotient. The perceptive, discerning mind, which is especially possessed by the diligent disciple of Christ, does not use conventional intelligence to make sense of anything. There is a form of spiritual sharpness which transcends normal human intelligence and is much more powerful than that. It is a kind of astuteness of the spirit which cuts through baloney (false food) and gets to the real meat of the matter. The disciple of Christ loves to study the deep things of God. S/he loves to grapple with important issues of the day. S/he loves to learn so much that s/he can share it with others. Therefore, you know what? You’re going to have to use your head. That’s what you have a brain for. That is why you have been gifted with insight and spiritual savvy.

“I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven” (Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, verse 13), said a man who had grown weary of the world and its madness and saw the futility and vanity of human endeavour in a world without God. After all his seeking, he discovered the gargantuan truth that “God made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (ibid., Chapter 7, verse 29). Wherever one looks, in all one’s wisdom, the Fall and human disobedience has permeated it all and ricocheted down the corridors of time through demonic interference and the stamp of our corrupted DNA (both physical and spiritual).

Ultimately, study brings sorrow because the more we understand and the wiser we become, the more we comprehend the monumental mess that humans (including ourselves) and the continual promptings of demons have made — a mess which the world insanely thinks is shiny and a worthy tribute to the human spirit. The rampant shadow of delusion and deception haunts the steps of the wise and diligent student of truth. But none of that deters him or her from the need to study, to perceive and to overcome. In a world of lies, truth is like a red-hot brand burning its way into your mind. Soak up the pain and embrace it. Most will not.

Here is one of my favourite of all the sacred texts: “Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding” (Book of Proverbs, chapter 4, verse 7). For this you need to have a diligently studious mind — not to pursue vain intellectual ruminations but ultimately to gain an inner understanding of all God’s precepts and thereby “hate every false way” (Psalm 119, verse 104). In this wayward world, this is a never-ending process…

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© 2023, Alan Morrison / The Diakrisis Project. All Rights Reserved. 
 
[The copyright on my works is merely to protect them from any wanton plagiarism which could result in undesirable changes (as has actually happened!). Readers are free to reproduce my work, so long as it is in the same format and with the exact same content and its origin is acknowledged]