Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
But I would like to contrast that to my recent experiences. ...I began to see Christ in the experiences of these [frail Biblical] characters. I began to hear His voice. I could feel [Jesus'] love for His Father ... I cannot put into words what it was like, to feel [the heart of] Jesus Christ...
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It cannot be overstressed that the presentation of such an experience really means nothing, in the big scheme of things. The one who comes down from the mountaintop with his or her tales of glory may be just as mean and selfish as before. "Touching Jesus" may be all that really matters, but it is in and of itself no guarantee of enduring reality.
I say this because Peter, when he came down from the mountain, still denied the Lord three times. The disciple Judas got to kiss Jesus on the cheek! The two sons of Aaron got to sit with Moses and the seventy elders in front of God's throne, and eat and drink. They saw God and lived to tell about it, but later they were burned up.
And so forth. Many people were allowed some real access to God, only to be cast off later for transgression. So I can't pretend to be anything. My offering the story of seeing Jesus in the Psalms was for this purpose: suppose in God's Word I experience something of the heart of Jesus Christ, and can feel it, as it felt to the young disciple John as he lay on Jesus' breast at supper. In God's Word I can hear "...the voice of my Beloved, saying 'Rise up and come away.' " Then in the LSM Bible I read a footnote telling me, "There is nothing to be found here. Move along." I am going to respectfully but firmly tell LSM to go jump in the lake.
John did the same thing, I think, to the gnostics with their "Jesus was only a vapor" teachings. John replied, "We handled Him with our hands". Basically someone was coming along and saying, "Who are you going to believe, our ideas or your experiences?" And John was telling them to get lost. Likewise I will tell Lee's "economy" to get lost if it tells me to ignore the Christ I have seen in scripture.
And as I've noted, this "...no Christ is here to be found" is a rather prevalent theme in Lee's psalm expositions. In the first 35 psalms, for example, we see barely 10, if that, which acknowledge some divine revelation. And usually that is simply because the NT authors got there before Lee did. So he has to pay lip service.
I am aware that I am not supposed to judge anyone's heart. What was in Witness Lee's heart the Lord knows. If there was darkness, perhaps mine is ten times darker. But I can and will say that his teachings missed the mark by a wide margin. Lee's teachings are telling me to turn away from the precious Jesus who is speaking to me there in God's Word. But I will reject Lee's teachings instead.
The author of Hebrews was right: God
is speaking to us in these last days in the person of His Son. We should accept no substitutes. Nothing should ever distract us from "the voice of our Beloved".