Six and a half years after the vision in The Lesson of the Sealing, I was at home one day, walking down the hallway, when God interrupted my thoughts. As I stepped into the living room, my eyes closed and I stepped into another vision. This time, though, I remained fully cognizant of my presence in both my physical surroundings and the vision, walking in two places at once.

In the vision, I was standing on a craggy precipice that appeared sketchy, as in an artist’s quick rendering. With nothing ahead of me but thin air, I was at a literal dead end, unable to take another step forward or upward. I had gone as far and as high as I could go.

Gazing out into the void, I saw another sketchy formation, quite a distance away. The front of the formation was gently sloping, resembling a coastal landing area. Standing back a bit from its front edge was a group of people, who I somehow understood were just a small number of countless others beyond the horizon. Motionless, the people appeared posed and cartoon-like, lacking detail.

Stymied by the open expanse, I was alone and stuck, having no way of getting to where the people were gathered. But when I again looked, I saw that a large cross, lying horizontally, had been positioned across the void to form a bridge.

The imagery of the Cross being a bridge between man and God is often used to portray the Gospel and is not unique to my vision. But I was unprepared for what I saw next.

The Bridge-Cross, contrary to its typical depiction, was not empty. Instead, Jesus was attached to the Cross. To cross the bridge, I would have to walk on Jesus. Horrified, I didn’t move.

Jesus, understanding both my thoughts and my dilemma, looked directly at me. With loving firmness, He said, “You must walk across Me. It’s the Only Way.”

Submitting, I began an obedient walk that was punctuated with emotional sobbing. Painfully aware of the suffering that Jesus was enduring for me, I inched my way forward, doubled over (both physically and in the vision) in grief. Every hesitant step that I took in the physical was duplicated with a similar step in the vision. As I slowly crossed my living room, I also crossed the Bridge that was Jesus, His Holiness alone sustaining me.

Arriving safely at the other side, I stepped onto the landing. Still doubled over, I asked, “Where am I?”

An authoritative Voice from an unseen Being responded, “In the Land of the Living.”

Confused, I questioned, “The Land of the Living?” But no explanation followed.

Straightening up and turning my attention to the people present, I was surprised to see my deceased maternal grandparents at the front of the crowd. Though they appeared stoic in a type of frozen animation, I was ecstatic to see them. Then, thinking of my dad and my stepdad, who are also both deceased, I asked if they too were present. Hearing only silence, I sensed that there were things that I was not yet to know.

Then another thought popped into my mind and out of my mouth. I asked the unseen Voice, “If this is the Land of the Living, why am I still sick?”

The Voice responded in a matter of fact manner, “You aren’t. You’re being restored.”

Now, even more confused by the answer’s apparent contradiction to my ailing body, I could only query, “Restored?”

“Yes,” the Voice replied. “Jesus took your sicknesses.”

More confused than ever, I sought further clarification, asking, “He took them?”

“Yes,” the Voice said, patiently. “Look.”

Looking over my shoulder at Jesus, who was still lying on the horizontal Bridge-Cross, I watched as He raised Himself part way up on His left arm to look at me. Nodding in agreement with the Voice, Jesus affirmed that, unbeknownst to me, He had taken sickness off me, as I had crossed over Him. With His right arm, He lifted a large sack-like satchel up in the air for me to see, offering it as proof that my sicknesses were in His possession, not mine.

With that knowledge, the vision ended. My tear laden, physical eyes opened to reveal that I was now standing on the far side of the living room from where my walk had begun. The walk had also taken me to a new position of faith, leaving me with validations, as well as with questions that only God could answer. Both would be used to draw me into an even deeper relationship of greater Truth with Him.

“The land of the living” is a Biblical phrase, occurring fifteen times in the Old Testament. According to various concordances, the Hebrew word translating as “living” means exactly that, nothing more. However, the Hebrew word translating as “land” has a variety of usages, referring at times to the whole earth, particular land areas, specific nations, the earthly realm and even the earth’s inhabitants.

Though the phrase does not appear in the New Testament, the word “living” does, ninety-four tines. Fourteen times it describes God as the “living God,” a phrase also appearing fifteen times in the Old Testament. The root of the Greek word that often translates as “living,” with variations occurring 141 times, is the origin of the English word “zoology.” The word encompasses all physical and spiritual existence emanating from a Self-Existent God, who is literally life itself.

The “land of the living,” incorporating both physical and spiritual life, is where the people of the living God abide with Him. It is where life flourishes in connection to God.

God’s Presence—life and its sustenance—has always been in and among the people of His Creation in various ways. Initially, after breathing His life into man, God walked the Garden with Adam and Eve, sharing an intimacy with them that He desired. But even after sin came between God and His Creation, God continued developing His relationship with men beyond the Garden’s gate. As men roamed, searching for fulfillment, God kept dropping by, openly engaging Himself with first one man, and then another, as men’s hearts and minds were made conducive by faith.

But God wanted more than a “drop-by” relationship. He wanted permanent togetherness that would allow Him to share the full measure of His Life. So God built a Family of His own, through the descendants of Abraham, a man of faith upon whom God bestowed His blessing. God would remain with Abraham’s descendants through thick and thin, with the Promise of God’s Presence sustaining them. Where they went, God went, selectively meeting with them in a portable Tabernacle of His design.

But God wanted yet more, and so did His people. So God gave them Israel, a land of their own, a land where God could dwell among them in a glorious Temple. He did, but behind a necessary, though unwanted, curtain—a cumbersome hindrance that separated a most Holy God from the unrighteousness of men.

So God sent His Righteous Son to tear the curtain down, once again enabling face-to-face intimacy between God and men. (See Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45) Injecting the world with His Righteousness, Jesus provided the antidote that men lacked to overcome the power of sin (See 1 Corinthians 15:56). In one overwhelming act of grace, Jesus turned the hearts of those who would accept Him into personal Holy Temples of the Lord God Almighty (See 1 Corinthians 6:19), making them “the land of the living.”

We, who are sons of the living God, are “living land.” By His grace alone, our bodies carry the life in Christ that has been given to us though faith, wherever we go. As instruments of God’s revitalization program, we extend His life that is in us to the spiritually dead, wherever they are, through our obedience to go wherever God leads us.

God always has sustained Creation by His grace, timing His Provision to fit every need. But His abundant grace has never been more apparent than in the eternal life of Jesus, freely shared with us. The moment when Jesus walked out of the Tomb, He resurrected a world that had been deadened by sin. Administering spiritual CPR, Jesus began pumping God’s Breath—the Breath of Life—back into the world’s breathlessness, resurrecting one person after another, in reclamation of His Father’s land.

In our rebirth into Christ’s life, God places a new spirit—one in tune with His Righteousness—within us, permanently setting us apart from sin for eternal fellowship with Him. (See 1 Corinthians 1:8, 9) In renewal and healing, God reveals His power that is at work in us (See Ephesians 3:20), as He restores us to the wholeness that is found only in Jesus.

Restoration is a process, sometimes slow and sometimes fast by our accounts, but a process, nonetheless. God’s endless grace—embodied in Jesus, displayed upon the Cross and released through the Tomb—restores righteousness within the confines of our reconciliation to our Righteous God. Initiating and empowering the restoration process, God alone dismantles deception and nullifies lies, rebuilding Creation upon the unshakable foundation of Truth in Jesus.

In Jesus’ willingness to bear the wrath of God due men (See 1 Thessalonians 1:10), Jesus “took” our sin upon Himself, bearing our guilt (See Isaiah 53:10b) and shame (See Hebrews 12:22b) upon His Body. “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressor” (Isaiah 53:12e), “and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6b). For our sake, “he was cut off from the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8c).

In bearing our sin, Jesus also “took” our sicknesses that were a part of the curse attached to sin (See Deuteronomy 28:14-68). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” (Galatians 3:13; see also Deuteronomy 21:23b)

“This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’” (Matthew 8:17; see also Isaiah 53:4) “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds, you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

The curse was never a part of God’s will for man. God’s will always has been and remains one of blessing, never cursing. (See Deuteronomy 30:19) God is for us, not against us (See Romans 8:31), proving so through His Son.

In the glory of the perfect work of the Cross (See Hebrews 5:9 & 7:28), God’s will has been done. The work is complete… finished… assured… secure in Jesus. Set in place, it is achieving complete unity that becomes clearer to us only through revelation, a supernatural God-given understanding, emanating from our ongoing and deepening relationship with God over both time and eternity. (See 1 Corinthians 13:12)

To walk out the complete life that God has ordained for us, we must first step into the life of Christ, allowing Jesus to strip away our past, freeing us for a future with Him. As we continue walking with Him, taking one obedient step after another, we are propelled forward by God into deeper relationship with Him, by the faith that He develops in us. (See Ephesians 2:8)

Our questions may be many and confusion may linger, but in the knowledge of the Lord, we thrive, flourishing in Christ. Given eternity, we have unlimited opportunity in our quest for understanding. As we continue seeking God, He makes sure that we find Him, delighting both Him and us in the revealing of the glory of His mystery.

“It is to the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 25:2)

Such is the glory of eternal life:  the honor of living in the land of the living God, knowing Him. (See John 17:3)

In journeying with Jesus via the Cross and the empty Tomb—which isn’t empty after all, but teaming with the overflowing life of God, we transit the span created by sin, crossing from death into eternal life via the Body of Jesus.

During the crossing, Jesus transfuses His life into us, shedding His life-giving blood upon us, “and by his wounds, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5d). Cleansed of both sin and its residue by the Lamb’s Blood (See Revelation 7:14), we are made well, restored to wholeness, for “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” (Romans 3:25)

Centuries earlier, God had explained the necessity of blood sacrifice, saying, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Leviticus 17:11)

“[Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) No one is an exception. Whoever and whatever we were prior to our crossing, Jesus is Jesus is Jesus, and we are all the same in Him:  sons of the living God, alive in Christ, by faith in His blood.

Receiving life, all vestiges of death fall away, for God is “the God who gives life to the dead” (Romans 4:17b).

In the words of Jesus, recorded three times:

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32b);
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mark 12:27);
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:38a)!

The living! As sons of the living God, in this world temporarily, but no longer of it (See John 17:11 & 16), we walk in two places at once:  one world seen by all, the other visible only to those within it.

Yet, only one true walk exists, revealing all others to be nothing more than shams—a variety of death crawls, sucking the breath out of mankind, draining life.

But with the Breath of Life that has been breathed into us, we praise the living Lord:

the One who enables us to walk in His Righteousness;
the One who has laid down His own life to be the Bridge;
the One who is the Only Way onward and upward;
the One who has restored His Creation unto Himself.

We praise the Living God in His “Land of the Living,” now and forever more.

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“For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”  (Psalm 116:8, 9)

Between the physical healing and the manifestation of God’s Presence that are both described in The Lesson of the Radiance, another notable event occurred, this time at the home of the friend with whom my husband and I spent the night. The following morning, at the onset of my awakening, while my eyes were still closed, I experienced “a vision plus,” for lack of better terminology. Differing from a dream, the event felt as real as the present moment.

Before the vision began, I knew that I was in the guestroom bed of our friend’s one story home, lying on my back, with my arms at my sides. Then, in an instant, I was in the vision, having no awareness of my actual physical surroundings.

In the vision, I was likewise lying on my back in a bed with my arms beside me, but I was in a second story bedroom. Unlike the actual guestroom, the room in the vision was small, with the bed against the right-hand wall. To the left, across a narrow open floor space, a large picture window provided a view to a driveway below. The only other object in the room was a large television with a blank screen that was sitting at the foot of the bed.

As the vision began, I saw a large black sedan pull into the driveway and come to a stop beneath the window. All four car doors opened as a handful of men got out. Tall and dressed in dark suits, they wore hats and sunglasses, giving them the appearance of stereotypical movie mobsters from days gone by.

Walking toward the house, the men quickly disappeared out of my field of vision. Then, just as quickly, an extensive alarm system was activated. Very loud sirens, bells and whistles sounded, as the television screen came alive with flashing lights and warnings. Instinctively (in the vision) I sat up in bed, realizing that a very real and present danger was trying to enter the house to get to me. But it couldn’t. I was protected, and I was safe. With that knowledge, the vision ended.

In the next moment, my awareness returned to my physical presence in my friends’ guest bed, drawing my attention to an electrical tingling in my toes. Spreading up the outer edges of both of my legs, the tingling sensation outlined my body, as a child traces his or her hand with a pencil. Continuing to flow up my torso and around my arms, the current followed two symmetrical pathways that united at the top of my head, encasing me in an electrical silhouette. Then, and only then, did my eyes open, as the event ended.

Other than the generalized awareness of protection that I had received in the vision, I had no understanding of the event that morning. Bewildered, I mentally filed the experience away with other unanswered questions.

Then, a couple of months later, during one of my regular morning Bible readings, I came to Ephesians 4:30. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Sealed! Instantly, without question, I knew that I had been sealed by the Holy Spirit! Though uncertain about what sealing entails, I was confident that God was protecting me with Himself. Having installed the Holy Spirit in me, God was my “Alarm System,” keeping evil at bay. With the Gift of the Holy Spirit—the third Person of the Trinity, God’s commitment to my welfare was affirmed by God in a way that I couldn’t mistake for anything less. God, living in me, would be my much needed strength and shield. (See Psalm 28:7)

God distinguished Holy Spirit baptism, a vital part of Christian life, from water baptism through the words of John the Baptist and the baptisms of Jesus. Including both John’s words and Jesus’ baptisms in all four Gospels, God left no room for doubt regarding their significance. (See Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:2-11; Luke 3:1-22; John 1:8-34)

While John preached repentance, baptizing with water, Jesus—the One upon whom John would see the Spirit both descend and remain—would baptize, not with water (See John 4:2), but with the Holy Spirit (See John 1:33). The Holy Spirit’s remaining upon Jesus would be God’s signature, anointing Jesus and identifying Him as “the Son of God,” simultaneously privileging John the Baptist with the testimony that was his life purpose to proclaim. (See John 1:34)

In the words of John the Baptist, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” (John 1:30b, 31)

In the presence of John and others, God the Father propelled Jesus into the earthly portion of His Eternal Kingdom Ministry with public baptism. Glorifying Himself, God honored Jesus with the Person of the Holy Spirit, effectually declaring that God would be with Jesus, wherever Jesus went. Jesus and the Father were One. (See John 17:22) Then, acclaiming Fatherhood of His Son by Word, as well as by Spirit, God left no room for doubt regarding the nature, as well as the permanency, of His relationship with Jesus.

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16, 17)

From the Day of Pentecost forward, God has similarly revealed His pleasure with all who become His beloved sons in Christ, offering them Holy Spirit baptism by Jesus. (See Galatians 4:6) As affirmation of our acceptance into God’s eternal Family, the Presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit both confirms our future (See 2 Corinthians 1:22) and empowers our present (See Acts 1:8), transforming us through ongoing fellowship with God. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Salvation, a package deal, is an all or none proposition made by God. Either we accept His offer, being reconciled to God in Christ Jesus (See Colossians 1:22), or we reject it, remaining independent agents (See Romans 2:8). But like a birthday present of multiple pieces that are all wrapped in one box, we can open the package of salvation, taking out the primary gift of eternal life, but overlooking the accompanying benefits that pertain to this world.

While, indeed, the combined expectation and reality of eternity with God is arguably salvation’s most outstanding blessing, minimizing the significance of our role in God’s earthly kingdom leaves us short-changing ourselves and the world in general. Jesus specifically said that the Kingdom of God is within us (See Luke 17:21), not without.

Through Paul, God further expounded on the subject, saying, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20), ”…of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17b). To live Kingdom life as God intends, living the life given to us God’s way, we need unlimited resource. We need the Holy Spirit.

First John 5:7 speaks specifically of three separate baptisms for believers: “the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” Each testifies to the Truth of God, supporting one another, yet providing different benefits. Together they form the complete package.

When we confess and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into salvation by the blood of Christ. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…” (1 Corinthians 12:13a) Our position in Jesus is secure, for “…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)

Water baptism then enunciates in a different way the faith that we have declared in the finished work of Jesus, giving physical substance beyond our words of confession to the spiritual renewal that has occurred. Signifying death, burial and resurrection in Christ Jesus, water baptism enacts our spiritual rebirth, displaying obedience to God. As new creations in Christ Jesus, the old has gone, the new has come. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:2)

Solidifying in this life the eternal promise given to us in Jesus, Holy Spirit baptism substantiates our new life of personal reconciliation to God as nothing else can. Giving us privileged access to Himself (His Person, knowledge, power, etc.) through the Holy Spirit, God reiterates the promise that He once made to Abraham and has fulfilled to us in Christ:  God Himself is our ”very great reward” (Genesis 15:1), our provision (See 2 Peter 1:3, 4).

In committing our lives into Christ’s Hands, we receive both the honor and the responsibility of ministering the Gospel—the Truth of God in Jesus—to one another through word and deed. (See 2 Corinthians 3:6) Only “God in us” can work this miracle through us, further distributing His life to a hurt and dying world.

We need the continuity of Holy Spirit guidance in every aspect of life, pointing us and others always to the Truth of Jesus. (See John 16:13) Through revelation of the Truth of God, God accomplishes what we cannot, setting our lives apart from the turbulent nature of evil that cohabits this world with us.

But even the indwelling companionship of the Holy Spirit does not eliminate evil’s attempts to sway us. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:34b), and we do. Evil exists, brewing discord in our hearts and minds, disrupting even nature (See Romans 8:21) and employing dark spiritual beings against us (See Ephesians 6:12).

More importantly, though, Jesus had this to say: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:34c)

In having triumphed in the same battle between good and evil that tempts us, Jesus submitted to no one but God. (See Hebrews 4:15) He arose victorious, and so do we in Him. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we, too, experience the ability to conquer the flesh’s rebellious nature (See Galatians 5:16) that attempts to lead us away from God and into destruction.

God’s Way, the only viable way, is the way of agape love:  dedication to the highest good of others above oneself. Living out God’s love multiplies blessings, giving life—the very essence of God (See John 17:3). In deferring to the Holy Spirit’s leadership, we become part of God’s rebuilding process, being used by Him to construct anew what evil has torn apart:  our relationships with God and with one another. Kingdom living is all about unification:  salvation in Jesus, being made one with God.

Salvation is God—no less than Father, Son and Holy Spirit:  the complete Salvation Package in One Eternal God. (See Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29) Without God, there is no life, not in this world or the next, only a mortal facade.

God said, quite clearly, “Now choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19b) … “Choose Me.”

There is only One Way to do that:  Invite Him in… invite All of Him all of the way in.

And there is only one reason why we can:  God made the nonretractable offer possible when Jesus sealed the deal for us… in blood… His Own.

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“…Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2)