“For wheresoever the
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matthew 24:28
KJV).
“The foe has
devastated and desecrated
everything in the sanctuary …They said in their hearts, Let us make havoc [of
such places] altogether. They have burned up all God’s meetinghouses in the
land” (Psalm 74:3, 8 Amp.).
“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him”
(Isaiah 59:19 KJV).
“You crushed the heads of Leviathan…You did give him as food
for the creatures inhabiting the wilderness” (Psalm 74:14 Amp.).
The
guilt and/or sin offering in Israelite Law history ended up being about the
“fat tail” of the animal, inclusive of the fat that was on the entrails (or intestines) and the lobe of the
liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; basically the visceral parts of the
animal.
The
“sweet smelling savor” which was the fat burning off these visceral parts was
not naturally a sweet smelling anything; but spiritually, in obedience to God,
it was, indeed, a sweet smelling savor in God’s nostrils (because of what it
represented): the final stage of removing all the fat away from the visceral
gut, from the Christian’s spirit, from around his “feeler” and “knower” parts
(that these spirit parts might function better).
The
daily sacrifice we make of our bodies (inclusive of all our inner and outer
parts [our whole man]), is to keep us in the flames of purification, to keep
the fat from accumulating on our inner man.
Indeed,
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the
mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all
your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated)
and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent)
service and spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1 Amp.).
It
requires that we remain fervent in spirit to “feel” or “know” God as we should,
that we might better hear God’s still small voice when He whispers to us. Removing the carnal mind is removing Leviathan;
the eagles, God’s prophets are made to eat eyes out of heads and feed upon the
carcass of the many headed monster. The
false arguing and vain imaginings of the wretched multi-membered man is
corrected by the spirit of prophecy; the mind of Christ is conferred to His
body in manifested form through much correction and discipline. A sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is developed
via this process.
The
spirit of man is at the heart or center of man, and is spiritually visceral,
just as the correspondingly naturally visceral parts of man are near his
center. And the functions of the natural
visceral parts are to purge the body of waste and keep the mortal lifeblood
pure; likewise, the functions of the spiritual visceral parts keep the eternal
lifeblood pure.
The
burning away of the fat off the natural parts seems to represent removing those
things which hinder its functionality.
Spiritual fat or carnality is removed by placing our visceral man upon
the altar, not just once for all time, but daily; the sacrifice of our life
burns away the hindrances to hearing His still small voice, first there at the
center of our being, and then in echoes outward into our souls and ultimately
even into our bodily senses.
For though we walk
(live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not
physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the
overthrow and destruction of strongholds [ONE OF
WHICH IS LEVIATHAN], [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings
and every proud and lofty thing [ESPECIALLY LEVIATHAN]
that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every
thought and purpose
away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5, insertions mine,
Amplified Bible).
