"Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." Psalm 78:41

"...The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." John 14:10

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24

"And God said unto Abraham…in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Genesis 21:12

Good morning, friends, and may the joyous brightness of God's face shine into your life this day!

Those of you who are getting accustomed to my messages, know I claim that Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, taught to His disciples the secrets of the kingdom of God for the here and for the now, instead of merely promising them "pie in the sky in the sweet by-and-by." What is more, you have understood that because He was the Christ of God, His words were far more than casual; yes, they were far more than merely important; in fact, they went far beyond that of which He spoke at the time. For, you have learned that I state that His words distill into very prophecy. Is it not written "...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10)? That is where our churches and Bible teachers have fallen down: they have believed that the words of our Lord should be strictly limited to the subject He was discussing at the time. But I must remind you that the Prophet, when speaking of the sins of the Israel people, said that they "...limited the Holy One of Israel" (Ps. 78:41). And you may have realized that Christendom of today answers to Israel of old. And also that the life and experience of ancient Israel were but prophecies wrought out in drama – prophetic of the entire Christian era. Therefore, as Israel of old sinned by limiting the Holy One of Israel, so has Christendom done, in fulfillment of the prophecy wrought out by the Israel people. Therefore, if we want to come into understanding, it is high time that we stop to think; we must realize that the Christ of God was more than a mere man who spoke casually, for His every word originated in the Heavenly Throne Room. Clearly did He tell His Apostles that the words that He spoke unto them were not His Own, but the Father's (Jn. 14:10).

Open your Bible to the 6th chapter of Matthew's Gospel from which I will quote to you shortly. Today I am not going to confine myself to the kingdom of God for earthlings here and now, neither will I confine myself to prophecy, but I intend to quote to you an odd few paragraphs from that lengthy discourse Jesus delivered to the people when He was on the Mount, often called Christ's "Sermon on the Mount." In these odd few sentences I intend to quote, Christ did hide so much truth concerning the kingdom secrets, and prophecy of events to come, that indeed a small book could be written about it; in fact, according to the style of some, a great volume could be written to cover it. So today I will show you how the twoedged sword of His mouth covered even in a few sentences the gist of the secret of the kingdom of God, for earthlings here and now, and also prophesied of the Christian era, in fact, ran it right into the very years in which we now live.

So let me quote to you from Matthew 6:26-30.

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"

To help us better understand this truth, He set forth an illustration about the fowls of the air who did not sow, nor reap, neither gathered up into barns, yet, said He, "the Heavenly Father feeds them"; and then He questioned, "Are not ye," (or, people who believe in God), "much better or more important than the birds of the air?"

Just why did Jesus use birds of the air to illustrate His message, instead of, let us say, an animal such as a laboring ox or a donkey? Because He wanted to disassociate the thought of labor with the kingdom of God; He wanted to disassociate the thought of earthly or material things in connection with the kingdom of God. So, He chose the birds of the air because they can take on altitude, and thus by symbology portray for us the drawing nearer unto God. We don't think of God as being down deep in the earth somewhere, but rather at altitude – that is, up in the heavens. You may have heard me say recently that the birds of the air represent our thoughts. So here, by using birds to illustrate His message, He meant to say that our thoughts should take on altitude; that they should soar high above the things of this earth and material possessions, soaring high in the sunlit atmosphere to feel the warmth of God's love, without the slightest encumbrance from the things of this world. Then He closed His illustration of the kingdom secret brought out by the birds, by saying, "Are ye not much better than they?" In other words, if God will do that much for the birds who do not labor, but according to the best of their ability draw nearer to the warmth of His glorious sunshine by taking on altitude, would not God do equally as much, and even more for us, if we direct our thoughts according to the pattern set by the birds?

Then He questioned as to which one of us could add one cubit unto our stature by becoming concerned over our height. No doubt you have heard sermons on this before, but were you ever told that in that one question He also set forth a prophecy to cover the span of the entire Christian era? I have drawn to your attention how a great composer or an artist can put more than notes or color unto paper, but even that of a message; should not then the Son of God be able to do that much and even more? You see, my friends, Christendom, even as Israel of old, has perpetually limited the Holy One of Israel, and in so doing, they have sinned against the God of Heaven.

Now for a moment let us discuss this measure of length known as a cubit, which was founded in the length from one's elbow to the tip of the middle finger, usually considered as about 18 inches, although in different periods of time the exact length of the cubit varied considerably. Let me put this thought and question to you: was it not rather an excessive amount implied by adding 18 inches to one's height? I am not finding fault with the words of the Christ, but I do want you to realize that there were other units of measurement or length which He could have used, such as the digit or the fingerbreath, or the palm or the span, any of which would have equally as well served the purpose and been far more reasonable. It has never been known that a man could, by special thought and exercise, add as much as a foot to his height, nor even that of a span, which is about 9 inches, nor even that of a palm, which is about 4 inches. A finger-breadth is about 3/4 of an inch. It is quite conceivable that under certain circumstances a person could, through special exercise, add as much as a finger-breadth to his height, but even so our Lord would have been perfectly safe in putting the same question by saying, "Who could add as much as two finger-breadths to his height?" Had He used either of the terms – a palm or a span – it would have represented an excessive amount, but still far more reasonable than that of a cubit.

Was our Lord an unreasonable man? I do not believe we can find any account in the Bible to give us foundation for such a conclusion. Therefore, His using this measure of the cubit was intended to start us thinking, and coming to realize that here He was speaking of something very remarkable. He also gave us the clue to what He was talking about by referring to an addition to our height. Again, this is away from the earth and towards the sunlit heavens, which symbolize the kingdom of God.

To understand the prophecy of this measure of the cubit, we must understand it in the terms of a man's arm. From the finger tip to the elbow represents the approximate half of the arm, the other half being from the elbow up to and over the shoulder. Bear in mind that the arm does not grow from the finger tips to the shoulder, but rather out of the body down through the upper arm and out to the finger tips. Thus, He was showing us two periods of time; the first is basic, although useless from the shoulder to the elbow, while the second portion became the fully usable one from the elbow to the finger tips, for it is by means of our hands that we are enabled to work. So to understand the prophecy, we only look at the chronology which God has given us. This shows us that until the time of Christ there had been two main divisions of time: the first, that of the Adamic and Gentile world until the time of Abraham; and from the seed of Abraham until the time of Christ as the second main division.

To Abraham God said that "...in Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Gen. 21:12). At that time Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, but only through Isaac was Abraham's seed to be reckoned. That word "seed" is plural, and thus refers to more than one. This addition or plurality of seed through Isaac could not take place until Isaac had married. According to the Bible chronology, we find that Isaac was born 2,046 years after Adam's sin, and that he married at the age of 40. Not until Isaac had taken Rebekah into his mother's tent did the second, or cubit part, of the addition become possible. Therefore, from the time of Isaac's marriage, which was in the year 2,086 or 2,087 after Adam's sin, until the time of Christ speaking to the multitudes on the Mount, becomes 1,940 odd years, depending on whose chronology we accept as to the exact time of Jesus' birth. But here we are not interested in pinpointing a precise year; therefore, we merely add the 1,900 and 40 odd years, which becomes the approximate length of time (answering to the cubit) to the time that He was talking to the people, and that takes us into the decade of the 1970's. (If we were to add to that figure the "lifespan" of 30 years, which was necessary to enter the priesthood [Num. 4:2-3,23,46-47], then we arrive at the years from 2003-4 and beyond.)

The thought that Christ tried to convey of adding height to one's stature, was that of experience and spiritual understanding. In other words, which one of them, to say nothing of the nation as a whole, could take that thought and concern to enter into the maturity of that spiritual discernment which would accrue to the person and that nation, throughout a period of approximately 1,940 years? Had His nation been able to do that, Christ would have remained with them; for He is now about to return.

Bear in mind that the CUBIT was the sacred measure of length given to the people by Almighty God. HE had fashioned the human body: HE had decided on the length of a normal man's forearm. And this CUBIT was the measure used in the building of Noah's Ark. That Ark was a portrayal of how God would save from utter destruction a portion of people unto His Own glory.

That you may better understand the SACREDNESS of this "cubit" measure, let me show you something you have never seen or heard of before. The Ark built by Noah was a 300 x 50 x 30. Multiply those numbers and you will get 450,000 cubic cubits. EIGHT persons were ordered to enter it. So we divide the 8 into the volume of the Ark, which nets us the basic figure of 5625. Write it down so you don't forget it: 5625. Now, look at the Ark which Moses built according to the word of God. It was a 2.5 x 1.5 x 1.5. Multiply those fractions and you will arrive at precisely the same number as you wrote down for Noah's Ark, namely: 5.625! You see, beloved, God is a mathematician, and He does everything according to PLAN – a marvelous plan carefully worked out in minute detail. There is nothing haphazard about the ways of God.

Now that you have seen the utterly amazing about this CUBIT measure God gave us, you can better understand the importance of Jesus' words when speaking of adding "one cubit" unto one's height – utterly preposterous, and impossible for man to do. But the ONE is the basic number of God. So, when man has progressed far enough in his understanding of life and of God's way for man, that it can be said he has added that sacred "cubit" to his height, THEN is God ready to make His next mighty revelation of Himself to man.