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****************** SPIRITUAL JERUSALEM OUR REFUGE ******************

IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE BOOK OF REVELATION, WE MUST AT TIMES LOOK 
TO OTHER TEXTS FOR FULLER PICTURES OF THE SPIRITUAL SYMBOLS. THIS 
STUDY IS TO ENABLE US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE TRUE CHURCH. 

Joshua 20:
 20:1  The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,
 20:2  Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for
you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of
Moses:
 20:3  That the slayer that killeth [any] person unawares [and]
unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge
from the avenger of blood.
 20:4  And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities
shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall
declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they
shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place,
that he may dwell among them.
 20:5  And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they
shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote
his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.
 20:6  And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before
the congregation for judgment, [and] until the death of the
high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer
return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house,
unto the city from whence he fled.
 20:7  And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali,
and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which [is]
Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
 20:8  And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they
assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the
tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad,
and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
 20:9  These were the cities appointed for all the children of
Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that
whosoever killeth [any] person at unawares might flee thither,
and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood
before the congregation.

TWO WORDS stand out like beacon lights in this text; "unawares" 
and "unwittingly". The Hebrew words from which these are 
translated have the following meanings:

1) Failure to know or realize that the sin was committed.
2) Committing a deed without any intent or purpose to sin.

If we are to understand how this affects the church today, and  
to therefore SEE a clearer picture of the Spiritual Jerusalem, the 
"bride of Christ", then we must first discover what these six cities 
represent. Since the names of people and places are usually 
significant in the type, let us study briefly the names of these 
cities.

The first city mentioned is Kedesh (Joshua 20:7). In the Hebrew 
this word means "sanctuary"; a place that is consecrated or set 
apart for a certain purpose. We know that Kedesh is only one of 
six cities which when studied together give us the entire 
spiritual picture. These cities will portray a spiritual type of 
our refuge today. We realize that in the fullest sense, this refuge 
is Jesus. However, these cities cannot portray Jesus in the fullest 
sense. To be a type of Jesus personally there would have had to be 
SEVEN cities. Seven is the symbol of SPIRITUAL perfection!

Jesus is a perfect refuge when we rest in his bosom in eternal 
glory! However, in this present world our refuge is a little less 
than absolute perfection. The very best that man has ever attained 
in this world was the result of the sixth day of creation. Man was 
created in the image of God. He was not God, nor was he equal with 
God, but was in the highest state that he could obtain in this life. 
Man's highest status is pictured in the sixth day of creation, and 
this is all we can attain in this life. Even though we NOW have a 
perfect REFUGE SPIRITUALLY in Jesus, we will have to wait until we 
leave this world to enjoy the "seventh day" experience of TOTAL REST 
and REFUGE (PHYSICALLY) in our Lord. 

If you compare Genesis 1 and 2, you will notice the seventh day is 
the only one which has no mention of an evening or morning; a 
beginning or an end. Certainly, this is a glorious picture of 
eternal "REST" with our Lord. Since our present experience with 
Christ is not TOTALLY COMPLETE as it will be in eternity, we must 
look to the scriptures to see how they portray our present 
relationship to Christ (Romans 8:10-23).

In Matthew 25:40, Jesus said,
25:40 Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these 
my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Jesus also taught us a similar lesson in Matthew 12:46-50 where he 
spoke of his true disciples as being (spiritually) his "brothers 
and sisters and mother". The statement Jesus made in that passage 
shows us beyond a shadow of a doubt that those of us who are God's 
children are a part of a family (in this life) that is much MORE 
important than even our (fleshly) family. Jesus' LITERAL mother and 
brethren were outside wanting to talk with him. Jesus refused to go 
out to them because HIS SPIRITUAL FAMILY WAS LISTENING TO HIM TEACH 
AND THAT WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN answering the beckoning call of HIS 
OWN LITERAL MOTHER.  The passage of scripture in Matthew 25:40 shows 
us that our relationship with Jesus here in this life is the same as 
what Jesus experienced in his fleshly life; it is our relationship 
with God's true people. As Jesus said, what we do to one another (in 
the family of God; the body of Christ), we do to him. This is 
because our relationship with Jesus is an indirect and incomplete 
relationship in the "physical" sense while we live in this time 
world. Jesus dwells in the hearts of his true people (John 14), so 
our relationship with them SPIRITUALLY is our relationship with 
HIM. That is of course ONLY a spiritual relationship. In other 
words, our present physical relationship with Jesus is not fully 
perfected (ie: the refuge is only SIX cities here). It is our 
relationship with his SPIRITUAL "body" the church (I Corinthians 
12:27).

From these few thoughts we should see that the cities of refuge 
picture our refuge in Christ as it is experienced in the true 
"church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 
20:28).
Another reason that the six cities cannot picture Jesus is because 
it would break the consistency of the Bible symbolism! Cities are 
normally used to picture churches (either true or false). For 
example, Jerusalem is a picture of the TRUE CHURCH (Hebrews 12:22-
23; Revelation 3:12; Galatians 4:26), and Babylon is a picture of 
false religion. I find no place in the Bible where a city is a 
direct symbolic picture or "type" of Jesus.

We have already shown that "Kedesh" means a sanctuary. Certainly, 
God's true people ARE a sanctuary. Many people think of a church 
as being a building and the sanctuary as being a special "holy" 
part of the building. They are so careful to be at their best 
behavior while there. They wait until they are outside to smoke 
their cigarettes, cuss, etc. Actually, God is not concerned about 
the building, but IS concerned about us as His people and wants us 
to LIVE as His SANCTUARY (holy dwelling place) ALL THE TIME and 
in this "present world". 

 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men,
 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world;

God does not live in the church buildings Acts 17:24). God dwells 
in His people; His SANCTUARY; "Kedesh"! The church is not just a 
sanctuary for God to dwell in, but also for His people as well. 
There is no fellowship in this world that can even begin to 
compare with the fellowship of the saints. Certainly the TRUE 
church is a wonderful refuge from this wicked world!

Every country  and tribe that is mentioned in Joshua 20 is also 
a valuable part of the type! Just as a quick example to illustrate 
our point, Kedesh is located in Galilee in Mount Naphtali. 
Galilee in the Hebrew means "circle" and Naphtali means "wrestler" 
or "struggler". The "mount" would refer to a HIGH PLACE. Try to 
picture in your mind the spiritual lesson this gives us. Imagine a 
circle of wrestlers gathered on a mountain top. Can you think of 
any safer place to be than among such a group of people? You not 
only have the mountaintop as a place of safety, but also the 
encircling "wrestlers" to surround and protect you.

Spiritually, the saints of God are a circle, or in other words a 
closely united group of people who are constantly wrestling with 
the forces of Hell and all its false spirits and religions 
(Ephesians 6:12). They are gathered on a spiritual "high place", 
which is scripturally called Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22-23). It is 
no wonder that the name of the city where these wrestlers are 
gathered means "sanctuary". Certainly, there is strength and safety 
in the assembling  together of God's true people (Hebrews 10:25). 

The second city of refuge (Joshua 20:7) is called "Shechem". This 
means "shoulder" in the Hebrew language and is a symbol of 
strength to bear a load.

Galatians 6:2, Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law 
of Christ. 

Certainly the work of the church includes our helping to carry 
each other's "loads". Some people call themselves Christians and 
yet are unwilling to sacrifice their time, talents, or money for 
the benefit of other TRUE Christians. God's plan is for the church 
to be a load bearing "shoulder" for the benefit of God's true 
people.

The third city mentioned is Hebron, which means to be "associated" 
or "joined together in fellowship." Lost people "fellowship" one 
another because of similar interests, occupations, place of 
residence, etc. When those things change, they change their 
"fellowship!"

In the family of God we always have fellowship with all of God's 
people who are in right standing with God, as long as we also 
are where we should be spiritually. One of the greatest hindrances 
to fellowship is the failure to "walk in the light as he (Jesus) is 
in the light". Look at what 1 John 1:7 has to say;

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin.

How can we fulfill this scripture? What does it mean "as he is in 
the light"? To fully answer those questions would require a much 
longer study than this one. If you will ask for our study on 
"WHEN DO THE SEVEN TRUMPETS SOUND (in Revelation)?", it will 
illustrate and prove the fact that God manifests or reveals 
different degrees of light (understanding) at different times in 
history. The days in which we live are days when much GREATER 
LIGHT and understanding of God's truth are being revealed BY HIM 
to HIS TRUE MINISTRY for the purpose of edifying His people. If 
we are to have "fellowship" in these last days, we MUST walk in 
the LIGHT WHICH GOD IS REVEALING TODAY, and NOT just study the 
works of "PAST BRETHREN". The "refuge of FELLOWSHIP is ONLY 
available to us IF WE HEED THE LIGHT FOR TODAY.

The fourth city of refuge mentioned is Bezer (Joshua 20:8). This 
name in Hebrew means "stronghold". This is a very good 
description of God's TRUE CHURCH. It is a strong refuge against 
the enemy.

The strongest  refuge is not of any help unless you stay within 
the protection of its walls. If we want to remain safe 
spiritually, we need to make full use of the church of God as a 
place to feed on spiritual food and to gain  strength both from 
our fellowship and from our labors together with other saints of 
God. If we leave the protection of God's "stronghold" by 
wandering among false religions, we cannot expect to be protected.

The fifth city of refuge is Ramoth, which in the Hebrew means 
"height" or "exalted position". Paul describes this picture of the 
church in Ephesians 2:6 where he speaks of our being lifted up to 
sit "in heavenly places in Christ Jesus". Ramoth is described as 
being in the country of Gilead which in the Hebrew means "a heap 
of testimony", or in other words "an accumulation or group of 
witnesses." The church is a spiritual "high" place amongst many 
"witnesses." This "high" position is a symbol of the greatness of 
the blessings we receive by "feeding" together at God's table. 
When people claim to be saved and yet do not have "spiritual 
hunger pains" (to give them a real desire to set under the 
truth), they are demonstrating their LACK of salvation. Salvation 
is spiritual life and a living spirit must be fed regularly on 
spiritual food. Just compare the spiritual with the physical. 
Someone who never gets hungry is dead. If a person has very 
little appetite or "loses" their dinner after eating, they are 
sick. A healthy person will always have a good appetite; 
especially when they work hard! These things are just as true 
spiritually.

Many times people confuse the desire for PHYSICAL AND LITERAL 
FELLOWSHIP with the desire for SPIRITUAL FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP. Even 
most lost people enjoy getting together with their "circle" of 
friends, but the saints especially enjoy the spiritual fellowship in 
studying and "feeding" on the TRUE WORD OF GOD.

The sixth city of refuge was Golan, which in the Hebrew means 
"Joy". It was located in the land of Bashan which means "soft 
soil," and is a region famous for its rich pasture land. There is 
nothing that will bring "JOY" to a sheep like the thrill of 
feasting in the midst of a pasture full of good food while the 
shepherd watches and warns against approaching enemies. When 
people claim to be sheep (true Christians) and do not have a 
yearning to feed on good pasture, they are deceiving themselves! 
That is one of the best ways to know if a person is saved. Many 
lost people go to a true church and "listen" to the Word of God. 
However, they cannot truly FEED on the message (I Corinthians 
2:14). They hear it and may even partly understand it, but to 
"EAT" something is to take it into your being and let it become a 
part of your life and you will LIVE IT!! It will truly thrill your 
heart!

We have seen from this brief study that the six cities of refuge 
together form a good picture of our true refuge today in the "body 
of Christ" (I Corinthians 12:27), the true church of GOD (Acts 
20:28). However, some people do not seem to realize they need a 
refuge. Perhaps the best way to understand our GREAT need is to 
read Joshua 20:3. This scripture shows that ALL who have killed 
anyone "unawares and unwittingly" MUST flee to the refuge or lose 
their life (see also Numbers 35:9-28 and Deuteronomy 19:3-6). At 
this point you might object and say you have never done such a 
thing as to kill anyone. However, the Bible makes it quite clear 
that Jesus was "foreordained" to die for his ELECT." All of God's 
chosen ones have committed the most dreadful sin of causing the need 
for the death of JESUS CHRIST. I find that most people think they 
are good enough to go to heaven and will be all right in the end. 
THIS IS A LIE FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL. We are all KILLERS and need 
desperately to flee  to the city of refuge where the "HIGH PRIEST" 
(Joshua 20:6) is "ever" living (Hebrews 7:25) to make intercession 
for us. We need JESUS  as our HIGH PRIEST EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES!!

To explain the need for the PRESENT high priest (ie: JESUS) to be 
"living" in order for us to remain in the refuge, let us imagine a 
person named John who is saved by the GRACE of God and begins to 
live a Christian life. He knows very little about the Bible, so he 
does not know what to look for to find a true church. As a result, 
he begins to attend a church where SOME truth is preached but many 
false doctrines are also preached! To make matters even worse, the 
church is participating in the ecumenical movement and approves of 
many UNGODLY religious deceptions such as the so-called 
"Charismatic movement," money-mad TV preachers, etc. John does not 
realize it, but he is in what the Bible calls SPIRITUAL BABYLON. 
John's presence in the false church causes him to SIN. He must 
"come out" so as not to partake of false religion's sins 

Revelation 18:4:
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of 
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye 
receive not of her plagues.

II Corinthians 6
6;14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what 
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what 
communion hath light with darkness?
6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath 
he that believeth with an infidel?
6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye 
are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell 
in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they 
shall be my people.
6:17 Wherefore  come out from among them, and be ye separate, 
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will 
receive you,

Many people use this scripture to teach that a person should 
"come out" from a marriage if they have an unsaved companion. 
This is ridiculous as Paul would be contradicting his own 
writings (see 1 Corinthians 7). It should be easy for the reader 
to see that in this text in 2 Corinthians, Paul is comparing 
the "temple of God" (true saints- 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19) 
with the temple of IDOL worshippers (this would be counterfeit 
religion and therefore COUNTERFEIT "saints". In other words, Paul is 
saying that if a TRUE child of God is a part of (i.e. attends) a 
church which is false, God commands them to "come out". 

Generally, when a Christian is attending a FALSE church, they do 
not realize that it IS FALSE, and they do not even understand 
what IDOLATRY is. In fact, probably the majority of people in the 
world would tell you that an IDOL is a statue. However, the Bible 
gives us MANY pictures of idols that are common in people's lives 
today. NOTICE THE FOLLOWING IDOLS IN LUKE 14:15-27;

     (1) "A PIECE OF GROUND"- Symbolizes physical possessions.

     (2) "FIVE YOKE OF OXEN"- Symbolizes one's job or employment.
These oxen were the means by which this man would make his living 
and support his family.

     (3) "I HAVE MARRIED A WIFE"- Symbolizes one's family.

If you will study this text of scripture very carefully, you will 
learn a great deal about what God considers IDOLS. We all realize 
that it is NOT WRONG to have necessary physical possessions. It 
is actually GOD'S WILL that each of us WORK, so it is not wrong 
to have a job (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12). We also can easily see 
from the Bible teachings that is IS NOT WRONG to get married. 
Therefore it becomes obvious that the reason that Jesus said such 
people would not partake of His supper (i.e. would not feed on 
the Word of God and therefore would be damned) is because they 
made IDOLS out of their POSSESSIONS, JOB, AND FAMILY. To check 
and see if this is really so, let us examine the context of 
Jesus' explanation of the parable and read from Luke 14:

 14:26  If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea,
and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple (one who is taught).
 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after
me, cannot be my disciple.

Many people find this text difficult as they cannot understand 
what Jesus meant by "hate". Since the Bible teaches that if we 
"hate" someone, it makes us a murderer in God's sight, then we 
must realize that Jesus was speaking in a sense of comparison. He 
is saying that unless our love for him is so much more than what 
we have for our relatives (and everything else), then we cannot 
be his disciple. That means we must forsake ALL if we are to be 
allowed to "feed" on his word and learn to follow him. 

If we are to understand what God wants us to "come out" of, we 
must determine what "IDOLS" would be present in churches which 
call themselves a part of Christianity. We realize that an IDOL 
is anything that becomes more important to us than Jesus. It is 
often the case that people will CLAIM that Jesus is most 
important in their life. It is so easy to think of Jesus as being 
"way off in heaven", and therefore to assume that we are putting him 
first in our life by the fact that we go to church and do or don't 
do certain things. However, the Bible makes quite clear that Jesus 
uses the Word of God to test us and to see how that we really feel 
about him. 

In Deuteronomy 8:1-3 we are told that God sent the MANNA to Old 
Covenant (literal) Israel for a purpose much different than many 
people realize. Most folks have the idea that God simply sent the 
manna as food for His people. However, we can see from the 
scripture that God had another purpose as well, and it was the one 
He stressed as His MAIN REASON.  He sent it to test and see WHAT WAS 
IN THEIR HEARTS. A careful study of the subject will reveal to the 
reader that God sent the manna to LITERAL Israel in order to check 
their true feelings about HIMSELF. 

John 6:
 6:48  I am that bread of life.
 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are
dead.
 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a
man may eat thereof, and not die.
 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if
any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the
bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the
life of the world.
 6:52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How
can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?
 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his
blood, ye have no life in you.
 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath
eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit,
and [they] are life.

It would be good if you would read the entire context of John 6 in 
order to get the whole picture. We could summarize Jesus' teachings 
in this manner;

     (1) God supplied LITERAL MANNA to LITERAL ISRAEL under the old  
(literal) covenant and (as we have shown) one of His foremost 
purposes was to TEST Israel.

     (2) That work of God in the Old Testament writings is a "type" 
of the way that God sent Jesus as our SPIRITUAL MANNA for SPIRITUAL 
ISRAEL today; God's TRUE CHURCH.

     (3) Whatever the manna represents is something that we as God's 
children today MUST EAT in order to PASS God's test that he is 
giving us.

     (4) Jesus said that we MUST "eat his flesh" and "drink his 
blood" in order to have ETERNAL LIFE. That can only mean one of two 
things:     
          (a) That eternal life comes by EATING JESUS' LITERAL BODY; 
in which case, no one today could have eternal life. 

          (b) That Jesus was speaking in SPIRITUAL ALLEGORY and 
therefore we must SPIRITUALLY EAT whatever is HIS BODY today. 

     (5) We DO NOT FEED ON HIS BODY by partaking of another "type" 
or allegory which is given to illustrate the same truth. In other 
words, we DO NOT "FEED" on the body of Christ by partaking of the 
Passover ceremony (commonly called the "mass" or the "Lord's 
Supper"). We have another study which will prove that the LITERAL 
ceremony called "the LORD'S SUPPER" is NOT what Paul or Jesus were 
teaching us to do. Today's Protestant movement has its own form of 
"MASS" which it inherited from its spiritual "mother", Roman 
Catholicism.
     
     (6) Jesus explained how that we are to feed on him in verse 63 
of John 6. He said it was NOT HIS FLESH that was spiritually 
profitable or the means of eternal life. He said it was HIS WORDS 
that were the true manna for us to feed upon spiritually.

     (7) All of this shows us that Jesus' words (i.e. THE WORD OF 
GOD) are the means of eternal life. They are also the true MANNA 
which God uses to test us today.

     (8) Many people are taught that the Bible is the "word of God". 
We need to consider several things about such a general statement:

          (a) The devil and even ungodly men such as the Pharisees 
do quite a lot of the talking in the Bible. Their words are of 
course NOT THE WORD OF GOD. RIGHT???

          (b) The Bible teaches that God's people MUST "FEED" upon 
the WORD OF GOD. If we are to "feed" on a literal BOOK, then we MUST 
SURVIVE SPIRITUALLY BY LITERALLY EATING BIBLES. Obviously that is 
ridiculous, and the Bible is NOT THE WORD OF GOD, but rather a means 
for a TRUE GOD CALLED PREACHER to use as a guideline to "hear the 
word  from God". Timothy was a fellow preacher friend of the Apostle 
Paul's, and was the first pastor of the church at Ephesus. Paul 
wrote to him outlining his duties as a pastor, and specified the 
need for Timothy to study the scriptures and to teach them to the 
people in order to both SAVE THEM AND TO SAVE HIMSELF (1 Timothy 
4:11-16).

     (9) The "word of God" is supplied by God as spiritual "food"
for His people when He truly inspires the understanding and teaching 
of the SPIRITUAL meanings of the Scriptures. 

     (10) This "word of God" will be provided ONLY from within the 
BODY OF CHRIST WHICH IS IN THE WORLD TODAY; HIS TRUE CHURCH  
(1 Corinthians 12:27).

     (11) This SPIRITUAL MANNA which God provides through His TRUE 
CHURCH (the "body of Christ") today will be a means whereby GOD 
TESTS His people even as He used the LITERAL manna to test literal 
Israel in the Old Covenant. 

     (12) Anything that we let take up our time or keep us away 
from "feeding" on the WORD OF GOD as part of the assembly of the 
spiritual "BODY OF CHRIST" is an IDOL. If God is sending forth 
LIGHT to His people, and you or I do not strive to get all of the 
understanding that He has for us, WE WILL FAIL TO WALK IN THE LIGHT. 
THE RESULT OF FAILURE TO WALK IN THE LIGHT AS IT IS GIVEN IS SHOWN 
IN 1 JOHN 1:7 AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER. That result is as follows:

          (a) We LOSE fellowship with God's TRUE PEOPLE and 
therefore we lose fellowship with HIM (notice context of 1 John 1).

          (b) Our continual cleansing by the "blood" is dependent on 
our walking in the "light". The word translated "cleanseth" in the 
Greek text from which this is translated is in a tense which shows 
CONTINUAL ACTION. If we fail to "walk in the light", then we will 
not be cleansed by the "blood" (see our Bible study on the "blood" 
for proof of this).

     (13) From all of these details that we have given, we should be 
able to see that:
          
          (a) The WORD OF GOD is essential to spiritual life, 
spiritual growth, and spiritual survival.
         
          (b) We obtain the TRUE WORD OF GOD from the teaching which 
God inspires through the TRUE BODY OF CHRIST. 

          (c) If we allow IDOLS in our life to prevent us from 
gathering with a TRUE congregation of God's people where God truly 
sends forth His WORD, then we will SPIRITUALLY STARVE TO DEATH. 

          (d) Therefore, IDOLATRY can bring to pass SPIRITUAL 
DEATH today even as it caused men and women to DIE LITERALLY (to 
portray the "type") in the Old Testament dispensation. 

     (14) The WORD OF GOD is the test by which God checks or "TESTS" 
our love for Him, and therefore we must be careful that we treat it 
with the UTMOST reverence and concern. After all, the WORD OF GOD is 
the means by which we are saved and the means which God uses to keep 
us spiritually healthy and alive (James 1:13, 1 Peter 1:21-23, 
Romans 10:17, John 6:53-63, 1 Timothy 4:11-16, etc.).
 
Whenever a person chooses to attend a church because of any other 
reason other than to "feed" on the DEPTHS of the word of God, 
they are guilty of IDOLATRY. Let's look at some of the things 
that people allow to influence their choice of a church to attend 
OTHER THAN TO RECEIVE THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF TRUTH ABOUT THE WORD 
OF GOD:
     (1) Close to home so little time consumed in travel.

     (2) Same denomination as mom and dad or other family. 

     (3) A SOCIAL club for purposes of recreation or companionship.

     (4) Convenience features such as child care, snack bar, etc.

     (5) Religious entertainments such as gospel singings, etc.

     (6) Short services so as not to consume much of one's time.

     (7) Attended for years so all close friends are there. 

     (8) "They teach the way I believe".
     
     (9) "Big congregation; good for business".

     (10) Lots of FLESHLY emotion and FLESHLY demonstrations. God's 
people are taught in the scriptures to follow the hungering of their 
HEART (symbol of SPIRIT). The FLESH cannot serve God or worship Him 
(Acts 17:25 and Romans 7-8).

TRUE CHRISTIANS HAVE ONE BIG CONCERN IN SEARCHING FOR A CHURCH TO 
ATTEND...THEY WANT TO LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE OF GOD'S WILL FOR 
THEIR LIVES BY GETTING AS DEEPLY INTO THE WORD OF GOD AS THEY ARE 
GIVEN OPPORTUNITY.

Some people allow the devil to convince them that they need to 
stay in Babylon (false religion) to help others, and that doing so 
is not sin a long as they do not believe the false doctrines or 
participate in the church services. This is like saying there is no 
sin committed if a person just sits around WATCHING the activities 
in a house of prostitution as long as they do not "take part." 
Babylon is a "house" of spiritual harlots and Matthew 5:28 says;

5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust 
after her hath committed  adultery with  her already in his heart.

There will be people who say they are not lusting (desiring) after 
the false religion, but if that is true why are they there? 
Certainly you can win a harlot to Christ without being present at 
her ungodly activities. I realize the devil has "decked" his 
(spiritual) harlots and disguised them to look like (or at least 
pretend to be) the BRIDE OF CHRIST (Revelation 17:4), but that 
does not change the fact they belong to Beelzebub.

We have described the manner in which John (our fictitious person we 
have begun to use as an illustration) is deceived into committing 
sin. His sin is very terrible! Since he is saved and a part of the 
Bride of Christ (spiritually - Ephesians 5:22-32), his presence in 
the false church (Satan's bride) causes him to commit spiritual 
fornication (Revelation 17:2 and 18:3).

Fornication is from the Greek word porneia which means "sexual sin 
of any kind" (ie: harlotry, adultery, incest, homosexuality, etc.) 
John's spiritual fornication is two-fold. His "spiritual" 
relationship with the false church is the relationship of one who 
is a part of Jesus' bride partaking of a (spiritual "marriage") 
relationship with Satan's bride, which is SPIRITUAL HOMOSEXUALITY! 
God hates HOMOSEXUALITY of any kind (Romans 1:18-28; Leviticus 
20:13)! In Deuteronomy 23:17, the Hebrew word translated "whore" 
is the same basic word as is translated "sodomite", except that it 
is in the feminine gender. The passage refers to male AND female 
homosexuals! John's relationship with the false church can also be 
carried to the point of committing spiritual adultery with the false 
church's husband, SATAN!

God's will is that John "come out",  and let the Holy Spirit lead 
him to the TRUTH! However, John does not have knowledge of this 
and so is committing sins of ignorance." The Hebrew word 
translated ignorance means "unintentional" (Numbers 15:27-31; 
Leviticus 4 and 5). The means of God dealing with this form of sin 
is pictured in the "type" of the cities of refuge.

Picture a man who has just realized that he is an "unintentional 
killer" (ie: a saved person)! He is told about the "avenger of 
blood" (God's word or law) who is out to get him, and of his need 
of fleeing to a city of refuge (a true church of God)! There he 
can be safely protected, fed, and cared for by Levites (saved 
people who carry the "ark" of God's presence and do the service of 
God), and enjoy the good fellowship of others who also are 
"unintentional killers" (that leaves no room to pick, criticize, 
and run down one another as all are equally guilty - James 2:10)! 
Imagine this man's thoughts as he realizes the "avenger of blood"  
may be getting close! How foolish it would be for him to use the 
old excuses that people so often use:

     (1) "I'd start for the city, but I'm afraid that I might 
not make it!" That is like saying "I would start to serve the Lord 
but I am afraid that I will not hold out to the end of the "road".

     (2) "I'm afraid that if I go there I will not like the place." 
Does that really matter if it is your only hope to LIVE? YOUR FLESH 
WILL NOT CARE FOR THE THINGS OF GOD, BUT THE BIBLE SHOWS US TO PUT 
THE FLESH UNDER SUBJECTION TO OUR SPIRIT WHICH LOVES THE THINGS OF 
GOD.

What silly excuses these are! HIS ONLY HOPE IS TO FLEE! The 
"avenger of blood" has vowed to find and slay him if he is not in 
the city of refuge! People say, "I'm afraid I will not hold on to 
the end." They need to realize they do not stand any chance at all 
if they do not try! Besides, they have the wrong picture of 
salvation if they think that it is something that they are to do on 
their own.

Imagine the man in Deuteronomy 19:4-6 saying, "It is too far to go 
to the city of refuge. I'll find a closer city." HOW FOOLISH! Only 
a true city of refuge can protect him from the avenger! His very 
life is at stake! However, an even more serious situation occurs 
when a person is unwilling to put forth the effort to regularly 
attend a true church (ie: a spiritual city of refuge)! Certainly 
our spiritual life is more important than our physical life! How 
far would you travel to run from someone who was determined to 
kill you physically? How often would you flee from them? I'm sure 
most people would go as far as necessary and would flee as often 
as necessary in order to save themselves physically! Yet, when it 
comes to spiritual matters most people want to pick the church 
that is closest or fits their interests rather than considering the 
will of the Lord. SATAN'S DOCTRINE IS "GO TO THE CHURCH OF YOUR 
CHOICE!" GOD'S DOCTRINE IS, "LET GOD CHOOSE FOR YOU!" In other 
words, God wants to have certain cities (congregations) of refuge 
for His people!

I am certain that back in the days when God established the six 
cities there were probably lots of people who complained that 
there were only six refuges, and that they were too far from home. 
Just so, we find that people are basically the same today! Instead 
of being thankful that there are at least a few true churches in the 
world today, they gripe and complain that they are "too few and too 
far away." As a result, people are constantly building counterfeit 
refuges (false churches). They build them because they want  
something "close" rather than following God's direction! If God is 
building the city (church), He will bless them and send a true 
pastor to feed them on the deep truths of God's word. It is true 
that babies need milk, but stronger food is needed so the babies can 
grow up, and raise more babies!

When people complain about the scarcity of "cities of refuge", 
they need to remember that God could have left them without any  
at all. If He were to make the situation too easy, there would be 
no test of faith. We simply need to ask ourselves this question. 
"WHAT ARE SALVATION AND ETERNAL LIFE WORTH TO ME?"

The devil manages to convince most people that there must be a 
true church in every place or the people there cannot get saved. 
There are plenty of lessons in the scriptures to show the 
falseness of such a doctrine. If it were true, then Phillip would 
have had to build a congregation in the desert in order to win the 
Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39). God will send someone to teach 
the truth to every honest and hungry heart no matter where they 
are. Then they can "flee" to a city of refuge. The country God led 
Abraham to go to was the land where the refuges were built later 
on. We have had many people come to this congregation who have 
stated they don't like this town and don't even know for certain why 
they moved here. Later they eventually see the working of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 19:4-6 say:

 19:4  And this [is] the case of the slayer, which shall flee
thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour
ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;
 19:5  As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to
hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the ax to cut
down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and
lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto
one of those cities, and live:
 19:6  Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while
his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long,
and slay him; whereas he [was] not worthy of death, inasmuch as
he hated him not in time past.

A person such as this man might have become convinced that he 
could not leave his family, his home, his job, and his friends to 
flee to the city of refuge. However, this is a very foolish 
thought. As least in the city of refuge his family might be 
convinced to come along. If he does not flee and the avenger kills 
him, HE WILL DEFINITELY GIVE UP EVERYTHING PERMANENTLY. The same 
is true spiritually!

Another excuse people use is, "I do not feel convicted or called." 
We need to realize that conviction is to know what you have done, 
and the "call" is know that the city of refuge offers a place of 
safety to you. If you are an honest heart, God will convey to your 
heart a very personal call (Romans 8:29-30).

One of the biggest deceptions that Beelzebub is using is to
convince people who are saved that since they did not mean to do 
it, then their deed was not sin and thus they have no need of making 
restitution (or "fleeing").

Picture the man in Deuteronomy 19:4-6. who has killed his 
neighbour. Imagine that he stands firm and proclaims that the 
killing was unintentional. What he is saying is true, but that does 
not prevent "the avenger of blood" from finding and slaying him. God 
has ordained a divine principle in Genesis 9:6, and only the cities 
of refuge and the mediatorial work of the high priest can help him! 
God did not specify that only presumptuously shedding man's blood 
would require the life of the manslayer (Genesis 9:6). God was 
typifying sin in both forms; presumptuous and unintentional. Both 
types of sin caused Jesus to DIE to PAY OUR DEBT. Because of this, 
we must "flee" for refuge (Hebrews 6:18 and context). If we wait too 
long the "avenger of blood" will overtake us and it will be too 
late.

An old saying states "the proof is in the pudding." We can prove 
our election to ourselves by listening to God's tug at our 
heart "strings". The result will be that we will seek out a true 
church (city of refuge) and faithfully remain in it to "feed" upon 
the word of God and to trust Jesus as our FAITHFUL HIGH PRIEST. 
OH HOW PRECIOUS IS THE REFUGE THAT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS PROVIDED!