By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrew 11:5
There is a manner of man that would be translated; a precedence was set for us in Enoch. The Bible testified of him that he walked with the LORD and pleased HIM. This means that Enoch walked with God so much that there was no difference between him and the Spirit of God. If we must be translated likewise, there is a stature expected of us.
There was another man that was translated into the Old Testament, Elijah. When he was to go, the sons of the prophet knew it, and instead of walking closely to him, they were rather talking Elisha out of it. Elisha, who understood that he must not have his own ministry for gain’s sake, walked closely with Elijah, bridging the gap between them.
For us, our translation is in three stages:
- From Darkness to Light
- From Blood to the Word
- From Earth to Heaven
God sent us a message in this dispensation; the reason God sent us a prophet is not to make us Christians—there were Christians on earth before and when he gave; his message came to awaken us into translation. The message of the prophet was that cry that was made to awaken the sleeping virgins: “The Bridegroom cometh, come out to meet Him.” He was the potter who asked the question, “Watchman, what of the night?” His message brought us an awakening and a focus. Now, let us go through the stages of our translation.
FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT
The first translation is from darkness to light; this is what the word of God has come to do to us—to translate our mind from darkness to retain God in our hearts. A wicked man is someone who cannot retain God in his mind. Darkness is not just witchcraft; false doctrine is worse than witchcraft.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Colossians 1:12-13
This translation is a process; thus, we grow in it to the degree that we become completely obedient to the entire word of God. Hence, our knowledge and obedience to the word of God are not yet competitive. Some people still struggle with some basic instructions from the scriptures. A man can love to pray because he understands it in scripture but still struggles to give it to God; his knowledge is not complete. As he grows in the word of God, his translation is continuously increasing, and he is growing in stature. Therefore, it is a translation from false doctrine to righteous doctrine, from false religion to Christ, from a darkened mind into an enlightened mind.
FROM BLOOD TO THE WORD
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19-23
God knew what your weaknesses, failures, and mistakes would be. Jesus told Peter that Satan had desired to have him, but he had prayed for him so that his faith (revelation) would not fail. The Bible made us understand that creatures had been subjected to vanity. There is no good in any man. God has manifested through man and will still manifest Himself in and through man (flesh), but that flesh is still subject to vanity. That flesh must die; God does not need it. The Bible says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; therefore, there is a translation for the creatures to be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. It is faith that will do this, too. Maybe we don’t have faith for this healing yet. This is not the healing of headache, or whatever ailment we have in the flesh, but this healing is a deliverance into adoption of sons. So, we groan in this body, and earnestly expect a translation from blood to water.
Yes, we have received the Holy Ghost, but we are still in the flesh. The Holy Spirit is an earnest payment for the full salvation that we are expecting. What are we expecting? The salvation of our bodies. That is why, with the Holy Spirit in us, we need a law to guide us until full adoption. And the law is the word of God.
It is safe to say here that since we are still in this body, you need fellowship. God is called the LORD of hosts; He does not want to dwell alone, so the seed died so that it would not abide alone. Find a brother to pray with; don’t despise the gathering of brethren; two are better than one. You must keep the salvation that has been given to you so that you can receive the fullness of it when the time comes. Let the translation begin and progress in your mind, translating you from darkness to light so that you will be found worthy to receive the full redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
We can take this further by saying that God has placed His servants with the word of God to rule over us, and it is expected of you to humble yourself under God’s mighty hand so that you can be exalted in due time. There is no private rapture. God is a God of order, and we must grow in order, for our translation must be in order. You cannot despise the shepherd God has placed you under and expect to go into rapture. Don’t outgrow the position God has placed you in if you don’t want to dry up.
Brethren, our bodies would be redeemed, that redemption is the healing of this body. When that redemption occurred, death would be swallowed up. The bride would not be raptured in a sick body. The Bible says, “to wit, the redemption of our body.” This may look like a grammatical error to a natural man because it says, “our body” instead of “our bodies.”. But it only tells us that our salvation is common, we have received like precious faith, and we are one body, one faith.
The blood of Christ shed on the cross was an offering made for us. Because he offered His blood, we can say from the scripture that He did not have blood anymore. He had flesh and bones, according to Luke 24, but not blood. Life is in the blood, and if He gave us His life, that means He shed his blood completely for us. That blood is in us if we are born again.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. Ephesians 5:25-30
The body of Christ now powered by the word of God; He is in His glorified body. When we have gotten to this stage where we are translated from blood to the word, then it can be said of us that we have walked with Him. Then, we can expect the last translation -from earth to heaven.
FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN
Every family has a surname, and that surname is your name as well. When the family of Christ is called up, all who have walked with Him and have pleased Him would respond to this final call. There is a flight for us to catch, and there is an appointment with our bridegroom. Yes, the devil will obstruct you but as you journey but you must escape for your life. The urgency you give when you have a flight to catch at the airport, more of it should be given to this journey of faith that you have started, there a goal. As we grow in stature, and in partaking of His Divine nature, we groan, expecting the adoption of our body. When this is achieved, our final translation comes to play, God counts us worthy, like Enoch, like Elijah, to translate us from earth to heaven.
May God help us. Amen.