THE TEMPLE PROPHECY!     GP 9     11/70

         1. AS ELIJAH CLIMBED CARMEL to the altars of Baal & confounded the false prophets by the fire of God, so we climbed Carmel to the Temple of Bahai & there received a revelation by the power of His Spirit. We entered quietly into its hushed interior & sat upon its beautiful Persian rugs in awed silence as we viewed the beauty before us! The simplicity of the plain white walls emphasised the beauty of the SYMBOLS before us.
         2. SUDDENLY EACH SEEMED TO COME TO LIFE AS IN VISION--each CANDLE became a PROPHET proclaiming the Words of God; each FLOWER a SAINT, rendering the fragrance of His Presence; each URN a VESSEL fit for the Master's use, & each LIGHT a flaming PROCLAIMER OF TRUTH! Each was animated & alive before my eyes, & whatever their original intent may have been, God gave His Own interpretation to His humble Prophet by His Spirit, & He began to speak with another tongue as the Spirit gave utterance:
         3. (PROPHECY:) "THESE ARE ALL VERY SIMPLE CHILDLIKE ILLUSTRATIONS OF MY MANIFESTATIONS IN MY PROPHETS. First, this urn of oil that was poured out to minister to the people; & this urn was used to slake their thirst & these candles burned to give light & the lamps above with power to give light & the flowers with life which give wisdom. SO ALL OF THIS IS NOTHING WITHOUT THE LIFE BEHIND IT & WITHIN IT. The urn would be useless, but to look upon; and the vase would be dry & worthless & could not quench their thirst; & the candles would go out without oil; the light above would be darkened without power; & the flowers fade without life; & the words would die without the Spirit; & ALL OF THIS IS NOTHING WITHOUT MY LIFE & MY SPIRIT & MY LOVE.--And each is but an urn; each is but a candle; each is but a light; each is but a flower; & each is but a word, which has no usefulness, no ministry, no power, no light, no beauty, without Me.
         4. "FOR I AM HE THAT FILLETH ALL THINGS, to pour out upon the thirsty ground, to beautify the lowly life, to heal the ragged wounds, to enlighten the darkened minds, to bring GRACE & BEAUTY & WISDOM. Without Me ye can do nothing! You would be as candles without tallow, as lamps without power, as flowers without fluid, as urns without oil & as empty vases full of nothingness & useless!
         5. "EACH OF THE PROPHETS BUT SPAKE FOR ME & OF ME & BY ME--by My Power, with My Life, through My Wisdom, in My Light & of My Beauty & were nothing without Me. Some spake TRULY & some spake FALSELY & some quenched the Light & there was darkness. For they took My Words & did wrest them & the oil was contaminated & the water was poisoned; & instead of a fragrance, the flowers did stink with poisonous odour; & the fumes of the candles did suffocate; & power did consume & destroy & bring darkness rather than light, ignorance rather than wisdom, stench rather than fragrance, ashes rather than beauty & death rather than life!
         6. "BECAUSE THEY GLORIFIED NOT ME & GAVE NOT GOD THE GLORY, BUT GLORIFIED THEMSELVES & SOUGHT THE WORSHIP OF MAN RATHER THAN THE PRAISE OF GOD! So that My power was cut off from them & they no longer flowed with My oil, nor quenched with My water, their wisdom failed, their beauty faded & there was no life in them. THE PEOPLE DID SIT IN DARKNESS, the clouds were without rain, they sought after springs without water, their beauty withered into darkness & their words did die in silence, & those which did eat of them did also die & those which looked unto them were also darkened--how GREAT was that darkness."
         7. (THE PICTURE WAS OF A PROPHET STANDING BEFORE THE PEOPLE, DOING HIS ACT IN GOD'S SPOTLIGHT--pretty soon he became more conscious of his OWN words, his OWN thoughts, his OWN feelings--he became more conscious of HIMSELF instead of really being inspired by GOD. SO GOD JUST TURNED OFF THE LIGHT. But the prophet went right on, just as though he didn't KNOW the light had gone off & it became almost COMICAL & the people LAUGHED & snickered at the FOOLISHNESS. But after the light went out, millions were sitting cross-legged on the ground in total darkness, dying of starvation & thirst, because the prophet of God had lost the power & was continuing in his own power.)
         8. "BE NOT THOU, THEREFORE AS THEY, BUT GLORIFY ME IN ALL THINGS. Then shall thy candle be exalted & thy urn full of oil & thy vase flow freely with the Water of Life & thy flower shall not wither, thy power shall not fail, thy wisdom shall not cease forever.
         9. "THEN THOU SHALT CONTINUE TO BE A LIGHT UNTO MY PEOPLE & to quench their thirst for everlasting water & to heal their wounds & give beauty for ashes & wisdom for foolishness & shall pour forth thy life upon the dry ground that it may bring forth fruit that thou shalt glorify Me, the Author & the Finisher of all things, if thou shalt burn only with My Power & flow with My Life & speak by My Spirit & give Me the glory & NOT thyself, lest thou become as one of them, who have died & in whom is no life--the people who have died for want of the truth."

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         10. THE WHOLE THING WAS LIKE A TERRIBLE WARNING: THAT WE ARE NOT TO EVER TAKE CREDIT FOR ANYTHING, but to always give God the glory, else we would become like the false prophets. Each of the candles was a prophet & I could actually see them materialising out of the candle. God even named some of them while this was going on--MOHAMMED, BAHAULLAH, CONFUCIUS, BUDDHA & many others. EVEN SOME OF THESE HAD STARTED WITH THE TRUTH, BUT WERE THEN LED ASTRAY.
         11. IT WAS AS THOUGH EVERY ONE OF THOSE LIGHTS & EACH ONE OF THOSE REPRESENTATIONS WERE SYMBOLIC OF A LIFE OR A PROPHET OR A MAN OF GOD or someone God had used or tried to use. It was as though each one was like the flames & the flowers & the vessels. Each one was a prophet speaking that God was trying to use or using. But then some of them began to take the glory unto themselves & they PERVERTED His Words & they LOST His Inspiration; so then they continued to speak of themselves without God's power, lies & false prophecies, because God was no longer with them, because they were DISOBEDIENT PROPHETS; & they became FALSE GUIDES to the people who no longer knew the way, because they themselves could not find it because of disobedience, because they "loved the praise of man more than the praise of God."--Jn.12:43.
         12. MAY GOD FORBID THAT THIS SHOULD EVER HAPPEN TO ANY OF US! Let's keep the connection strong with His Word & His Love, in humility & obedience. "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, & to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, & stubbornness is as iniquity & idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee. ..."--1 Sam.15:22,23. I pray by His Mercy & His Grace that this may never be said of any one of us. "Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away; & every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit...Abide in Me, & I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye ABIDE IN ME." Amen.--Jn.15:2,4.


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