This
is My Body.
This is
My body,
which is given for you:
This
do in Remembrance of Me.
One night, in 1984, I dreamed
two dreams. The surrealism of spiritual dreams can be very subtle, and yet startling in
their revelation.
The visionary dream began, as if I was
caught off guard, or daydreaming, for I was in my evangelical church in the midst
of worship service. There I was seated in a pew
observing my knees and my hands, which were grasping a full plastic communion cup
of grape juice. Knowing the
established order of receiving the communion of 'The Bread' first, and then the 'fruit of the vine' second, I was embarrassed for myself, for
having seemingly slept through such an important moment. It seemed apparent to me
that the 'Bread' had already been given, of which I could not
remember having received. I hurriedly gave thanks to the Lord for His precious gift
of His Life Blood, and drank fully from the cup. Upon finishing, I then sheepishly looked about
the church congregation, to
see if any one had noticed my slumbering. To my chagrin, it seemed the whole
congregation, including our Pastor, was patiently waiting for me to fully finish
communion, for indeed I had not received the 'Bread', but only the
Blood of the New Covenant.
At that time, two of the choir men, with whom I was
familiar with, came to get me so that I might finish Communion. However, I had
another dilemma. I began to wonder if I should receive the Bread (The Body of
Jesus Christ), since I was considering leaving this charismatic Protestant
Church, and would no longer be a member of the congregation. My thoughts
turned to the Holiness of the Lord, and the gift of His Body, as I pondered in my
heart my unworthiness. I could not refuse HIM (Jesus), nor could I refuse any
member of the congregation (The Lord's Body of believers), including the pastor
who was waiting for me. As the three of us walked down the center isle toward
the railing, we began singing a glorious song of praise. Though not familiar
with the song, I caught on quickly, and began to sing out with the rest of the
congregation. As we were reaching the altar railings, the song of praise began
to crescendo for the finale verse. But then all of a sudden, I alone was
bellowing out the last words of the praise in a high note, as the rest of the
congregation whimpered, or peeped the remaining phrase. Momentarily,
I felt embarrassed with my bellowing, but then I began walking toward the
pastor, who was standing on the main floor outside the railings, and to the left
of the center aisle.
Upon reaching the pastor’s
position, I took a flat, white, circular communion host from the plate, and
then returned to my seat giving thanks to Jesus for His great love for
me. As I was returning to my pew, the unleavened bread enlarged
three times in my hand, and momentarily displayed an inscription of, 'ROBERT'S
MEMORIAL', around the top edge of the circumference, and then the inscription
disappeared. I sat down and
consumed the Lord's body, and it was sweet in my mouth! I
mention the sweetness, because of the spiritual significance.
"Follow the way of love, even as Christ loved you, having given Himself
for us, an offering and sacrifice to God, a sweet smelling savor." (Ephesians 5
verse 1 thru 2.)
Very interestingly, the quality of bread that this church had served in the
natural setting was marred, given that the oil in the bread was usually rancid
in my mouth. Even during the spiritual dream, my mind was aware of this problem
of natural oil rancidity, in the bread that was presented as the Body of Jesus Christ.
In the visionary dream, immediately
after consuming the Lord's sweet Body, I was awake, as if not asleep at
all. I pondered the visionary dream for a few moments, and then quickly
fell asleep, and found myself off into a sequential dream experience.
The second Communion dream of the same
night.
I was in the entrance to the
foyer of a Roman Catholic Church. To my immediate left stood one man,
and to my right was a priest dressed in a black tunic with a white collar, and a
black head piece. I heard
them talking to each other. The man to my left had a look of great dismay on
his face, as he was expressing his sense of loss, even while standing in that church
building, and in the presence of the priest. The priest, trying to reassure the
man, implied that he was in the right place, and mumbled some thing about the great traditions of the
Catholic Church. Concerned for the man, and not satisfied with the response
from the priest (who in the dream represented spiritual authority), I sheepishly interjected
to the man, that he should seek after Jesus Christ, his Savior with the entirety
of his heart.
Note: The
Roman Catholic Church has taught that the church's traditions, along with the
papal and council decrees, have held the same
authority as the Bible, or the Word of God. While it is true that the apostolic traditions of the
early church, as seen in Scripture (Sola
Scriptura) remains effectual to the Body of Jesus Christ, however, those
teachings that depart from the heart of Scripture have brought spurious traditions that lead to
confusion, and a separation of the collective heart of the people, who should be
seeking after the Heart of God in Spirit and Truth. Obedient love and devotion
to God the Father, through His Personal WORD and Son Jesus Christ alone, is the sufficiency of the
universal faith, which reveals that ones trust and faith in Holy God, justifies the soul,
showing within us through His Spirit, the mirrored love
of Christ, being manifested to the world.
I then walked between the two men
into the main sanctuary, with a resolute understanding in my mind; I was there to receive
(actually take or steal), seemingly out of dire necessity, the Communion
Body of the Lord from the tabernacle. As I stood there alone for a moment,
I saw the height of the ceiling, and can recall that the church had a Gothic
like structure. Certainly for the religious, the building had a satisfying
religious atmosphere. It was dimly lit, with some sunlight coming through
the stain glassed windows. Then I began to walk the center isle passing the many
empty rows of pews and straight to the tabernacle where the bread was stored. I
suppose in Roman Catholicism, I was about to commit a sacrilege, for with my own
hands I was
going to help myself from the tabernacle.
While approaching the
entrance to the altar, I
saw to the left of the altar, and outside the railing and tabernacle, a dark,
even black rectangular hole in the wall, which resembled a food serving pass
through. Puzzled, I was drawn or pulled over to this dark opening. As I stood
in front of the opening, and looking into the darkness behind the wall, I saw to my
left, the torso of a man, clothed
in white garments standing behind the rectangular hole in the wall. I never did see his face, for his head was
above the lentil of the pass through. He moved towards me, and I instinctively
reached out my right hand, and at that moment he placed a small white circular
host of unleavened bread upon my opened hand. I thought about the strangeness of
receiving communion in what seemed like an impersonal manner, but then again
that is our perception, created by the spurious doctrines of men. In that next
moment, I was turned to my left, and not in the direction I had come from, and
began quickly moving toward a large Door in the side wall. Approaching the solid Door,
I became quite concerned, because I couldn't stop my travel and I was going to
feel very embarrassed when I ran into that Door. Even if there was time to open
the Door, there was no handle on the
Door for me to turn. As I was looking around I began saying
to myself, who’s going to open the Door? Is there any one here
that will open that Door for me? It seems like I was being
driven with a purpose, but not of my own accord. I braced my mind for the
collision that was about to take place, but I passed completely through the solid
unopened Door as if it were not - there at all.
Immediately, I found myself outside
of the building’s block walls, and into the light of day. I was standing, as it
were, in lush green and rolling pastureland that went as far as the eye could see. It also
seems to me that below the hills there was a solitary tree standing beside a still river. But, my
mind's attention returned quickly to the Holy Communion Host, which was still in
my hands. When my gaze again rested upon the Bread, the Bread had a golden glow behind
it as the light was extended throughout the flat bread. The glowing Bread had enlarge itself many times in my hands, gaining
in size to the circumference
like unto a volley ball. The Bread remained flat or thin, semi-transparent and
interlaced with many small irregular, perfectly fitting pieces, and as such, the
flat glowing Bread appeared to be whole and
complete. The Bread was like a jigsaw puzzle with miniature pieces, and yet
still one piece of Bread with no separations between the many infused pieces. I was compelled to raise this
'one
whole piece of Bread' to my wide opened mouth, and began to eat. I was
uncontrollably gobbling down that Heavenly Host; I emphasize, because now it kept
enlarging in my hands, as if the Bread was alive and never-ending. The more I
ate, the more there was, the more there was, the more I ate. My hands, which I
could not control, were shoveling that 'Holy Bread' down my throat, as if the
'Bread' was a conveyor belt it self, and extended itself far beyond where my
eyes could see. It seemed my Life depended on that One
Bread, and I could never be filled till I came to the end of that Bread, and yet
the Bread would never end. With my mouth hanging wide open, I opened my eyes as if I
had never been asleep.
I can assure
you that the Word of God is not stale or rancid bread
as is carelessly presented in the churches, but the Lord Jesus is alive, and His Word is
alive in dynamic power to all who receive Jesus, in trusting and living faith,
for He is Yahweh God's Bread of Life.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of
the vocation wherewith you are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is One Body, and One Spirit, even as you
are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One
God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
(Ephesians 4 verse 1 thru 6.)
Scripture concerning the Body of
Christ:
But speaking the TRUTH in love, we may grow up into
Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ from Whom the
whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint
supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,
(that) makes
increase of the Body, unto the building up of Itself in LOVE. (Ephesians
4 verse 15 thru 16.)
For I say, through
the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly,
according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in One Body, and
all members have not the same function: So we, being many, are One Body in
Christ, and every one, members one of another.
(Romans
12 verse 3 thru 5.)
For as the Body is one, and has many
members, and all the members of that one Body, being many, are One Body:
so also is Christ.
(1st Corinthians 12
verse 12.)
But now has God set the members every one of them
in the Body, as it has pleased Him. But now are they many members,
yet but one Body.
(1st Corinthians 12
verse 18, 20.)
Nay, much more those members of the Body,
which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the
Body,
which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant
honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
(1st Corinthians 12
verse 22 thru 23.)
That there should be no schism in the Body;
but, that the members should have the same care one for another.
(1st Corinthians 12
verse 25.)
Now you are the Body of Christ, and members
in particular.
(1st Corinthians 12
verse 27.)
For, we are members of His Body, of His
Flesh, and of His Bones.
(Ephesians 5
verse 30.)
Even though there are
different functions in the natural body of mankind, each and every cell of that body has
the same identifying DNA in the nucleus of the cell, and each healthy cell
functions to support the total maintenance for the wellbeing of the body.
Although the DNA remains the same in every cell, the cells were differentiated
by the zygote, whose instructions bring about the needful specialized functions of the
cellular body
to make the body, a whole, self-supporting entity. A zygote is the male
fertilized ovum from the female that has all of the cellular instructions for the
creation of the species.
So it is with the Body of
Jesus Christ. Our souls are like an ovum waiting to be impregnated by the Seed
of the Word of God through our faith in Jesus Christ. For as He is One with
Yahweh God and His Holy Spirit, so are we to be One in Him. In context, we might say, we all have the same spiritual genetics of the WORD
of God, for we are all members together in the One Body of
Jesus Christ. Yahweh God's Holy Spirit, binds us together in the Love of
the Almighty God, so
that we would function as One, to the glory of the One God Almighty. Our
individual functional capacity in the Body of Christ, is set in motion through
His Holy Spirit, Who through the Seed of His WORD, differentiates each member to
function in accordance to God's Love for the Holy Good of the Body of Jesus Christ.
The New Covenant Blood of Jesus Christ gives the members of His Body, His LIFE
and security, for the Holy Spirit of LIFE is one with the Holy Blood of our
Salvation. Without God's Holy Spirit, Who is one with the Serum Water and the
Blood of Jesus Christ, abiding in the soul, then there is no Eternal LIFE for that
soul.
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