The Eternal Mantle (Single Session) By Dr. John L. Mastrogiovanni, Copyright 2012 Orientation: Discuss the Laws of Biblical Interpretation: Principle of Roots and Branches. The writers of the NT where Hebrews who thought in Hebraic concepts and utilized the Greek language and its philosophy to express the Hebraic ideas. (Explain wisdom, understanding and knowledge in a Hebraic v.s. Greek sense.) There is a reason Jesus disciples where fisherman, basically unlearned non-theological men. Why? Because the learned, especially in theology have too many intellectual filters to perceive what God is doing. (The story of Cornelius.) Every time we open the scripture to study, we have the potential to fall from the level of ascent we have attained. One of the most famous scriptures that testify of this is said by Jesus Himself: John 5:37-40 You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life. NIV At the same time, as we open the scriptures and study them, with the leading of the Spirit, we have the potential to open the revelation that lies hidden in us and ascend even higher. I ve been in the Lord 33 years at this point and in ministry (pastoring a church) for 27 of those years, during that time and in particular with first myself, I never met a protestant and in particular a Charismatic, Word of Faith, Pentecostal, who would admit, I have some religion in my life. In my upcoming book on the Order of Melchizedek, I felt impressed of the Lord to talk a bit about religion and revelation. In the second chapter entitled, Theophanies and Messiahs this statement is made: Religion occupies the space where revelation doesn t exist. Thus all of us have different degrees of religion in our life based on the measure of revelation we have received. To add to this point, years in ministry have little to do with the measure of revelation we have unwrapped. As a matter of fact, if we are really developing, the longer we are in true spiritual service, the more we become aware we know very little. In many cases religion fluctuates within us and can increase diluting revelation, as well as decrease in revelation s presence. The determinate factor is how we see reality, and that which determines how we see, is based on the inner work of our spiritual lives, one of the center keys to dealing with you ability to actually ascend, the transformation of Ego in our lives. Understand the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. Or literally, the spirits of the prophets to the prophets are in obedience (1 Corinthians 14:32). This statement when taken within the context of both Old and New Testament is not just telling us that the prophetic is subject to the prophet in the sense of when He or She speaks, but also subject to the level of spiritual ascension and perception they walk in within their SOUL. This is why there was a school of the prophets in the Old Testament; the misnomer was that it taught them the aspects of the prophetic as their ability to be accurate in their gift. Actually, it taught them how to ascend into the higher spiritual worlds and become one with Yahweh. This way they could see reality as God sees it and the prophecy will come forth as God perceives it. Example: The Dark Room and the Lit Room. The wilderness in Jesus life: Matt. 4:1 Jesus was led, Luke 5:16 Jesus retreats, Luke 15:4-5 4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? NKJV To God the most important commodity or object of creation is the Soul We have the demeaned the soul because of what it has become without God. But! When God formed the Adam the scripture says:
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. KJV God s entire premise of creation was the Soul; even the New Testament tells us in Hebrews 10:39 that we are not those who draw back, but those who believe to the preserving (saving) of the Soul. hm*d`a&h*á/m! rp*u* <d`a*h*áta# <yh!ýa$ hw`hy+ rx#yy]w~.hy`j^ vp#n\l= <dà*h* yh!y+w~ <yy]j^ tm^v=n] wyp*a^b= jp^y]w~ And formed Yahweh of the Powers, the Adam from the refuse of the lowest ground, and with great force blew in the breath of many lives, and it came to pass the Adam became a living soul. Understand in the beginning God and Adam were one, Adam was the container and God was the resident. At the fall of the Adam, the container or vessel was shattered and God had no place of residence. Since the fall, God has been going through the long arduous task of reconstructing His dwelling. The challenge is all those manifold lives that made up the Soul that God lived in (called the Adam), through partaking of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, all perceived individuality, which is called Ego, and the fabric of the physical universe was born. The Fall of The Adam is the Big Bang. We took on a physical form by the mercy of God, all the little fragments were each were clothed, encased in physical world we call flesh. He did that because to fall from the light is to go into eternal darkness (or as Jesus said, into outer darkness) so in His mercy He encased each piece in flesh (a type spiritual stasis) so the broken Soul, the broken Vessel, the broken Adam can be worked on and reconstructed. This is why Jesus is called the Last Adam. The first Adam was living Soul because of the breath of God (by which had many united lives). The only way to redeem the fractured Adam would be for that same Life-Giving Breath to be placed back into the many fragmented lives! Jesus on the Cross became the fallen Adam! (Communion: His Body was Broken.) He became humanity; taking on all the sin and now any piece that receives Him He reignites and begins the process of breathing into it life making it a living, holy, righteous Soul. This is why Jesus says in Revelation 1:11, 1:17, 2:8 and 22:13, These things say the First and the Last The breaking story keeps repeating throughout scripture until Christ. It s not until Christ we see a mending of the vessel, overtly in scripture. However it is spoken of through the Old Testament from which our New Testament stands, also repetitively that the mending will occur. For example the first real manifestation we see prior to the recapitulation of the breaking story is Melchizedek; he was a King, and Priest and a Prophet. They were not three, they were one. They were three attributes of the One. However, by the time we reach Moses, do to the disobedience of Moses; we see a separation of the King, the Priest and the Prophet and as time in scripture moves on, the more fragmented, the separated things become, however, there is interlaced in it the proclamation of the Messiah, the Anointed One, who would mend it all together. 2 Kings 2:1-14 1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel. 3 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent!" 4 Then Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they came to Jericho. 5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?" So he answered, "Yes, I know; keep silent!" 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So the two of them went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to
Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." 10 So he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so." 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. NKJV Laying the Foundation: It came to pass and, when they had crossed over It came to pass: yh!y+w~ (within this phrase is the Divine Name hy) And so it was, when they had crossed over: <r`b=u*k= yh!y+w~ It came to pass, like they crossed over. The phrase crossed over is the word, yr!b=u! which means Hebrew. A Hebrew is a state of being; it is one who has crossed over from the corporeal world (physical world) to the spiritual world. If you notice the word <r`b=u* sounds a lot like, Avram: <r`b=a^ Genesis 14:13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. NKJV (Note: This designation occurs right before Abram encounters Melchizedek.) It is important to understand at this point ministry office and anointing has very little to do with the Mantle of God, in the respect of how it is attained. For that matter the purpose of ministry office and anointing, really was in existence for only one purpose in the nation of Israel and in the Church; that is in attaining of the MANTLE. I am going to make this statement out the outset, many have passed on ministry office, and many have passed on anointings, but no man has ever passed on the Mantle of God that is strictly a matter of Eternal Purpose and spiritual ascension. Some may say, Didn t we just read how Elijah passed on his mantle to Elisha? Not at all, it doesn t even say that; actually it says that Elisha will receive it, if he sees (perceives) at the time of Elijah s taking and if he doesn t, he won t. Within scripture there are certain principles that keep reoccurring one of them is the concept of Triads (A triad is part of the fragmentation perspective, not from the perspective of Divine intention.) For example: Father, Son, Holy Spirit; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; King, Priest and Prophet; Government (office), anointing (gifting/manifestation) and mantle. Why does this apply to the state of Hebrew or one who has crossed over? Because we must understand that the anointing of God is freely given and it descends upon the recipient, it is poured out. Governments or position exist (which are connected to the spiritual dimension of principalities) and people step into those, the point is these too elements of the triad do not require you to cross over; they only require you to receive. A famous scripture makes this point quite clear: Matthew 7:22-23 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' NKJV The prophetic does not require ascension (or a crossing over) into the spiritual world; the authority to cast out demons, do not require ascension into the spiritual world; and signs and wonders which is a culmination of the two do not require ascension into the spiritual world. In other
words, we do not have to cross over to do what we commonly call ministry. The primary purpose of God s authority and anointing was never intended for what many of us in the world of the call Gospel. Think of it, you can have a church of signs and wonders, where the worship is focused on the Lord, people healed, the prophetic flowing, and the manifestation of authority to deliver people from demons, and Jesus say to that church, I do not know you! What does this mean? God has spent the last 500 years since the beginnings of the Reformation reestablishing, the voice of scripture, the voice of the spirit, the five fold ministry and the anointing of the Spirit, and all of them did not require a massive corporate crossing over. However, God began dealing with the Church right around the turn of the millennia (the year 2000) regarding the concept of yr!b=u! Crossing Over, why? Because in the land called, crossed over is where the Eternal Mantle abides. (I am not saying people or some people groups didn t cross over, but what I am saying is now we have completed the necessary development to begin as a whole to Cross over.) We are now finally at a place were we can finally use government and anointing for its purpose, to attain the Mantle. See this with me, you can have all the signs, wonders, miracles, worship songs focused on the Lord, and demons fleeing from people, and still be DIS-MANTLED. See this with me, the verse I just read, Jesus said, I never knew you, depart from Me The level by our current perception (and subsequent theology) is basically this, if you are close to Jesus, follow Him and manifest the Spirit in gift and calling and have wonderful expressions of music and song called worship, and experience a manifestation of His presence; you have attained what God is after. I am here today to tell you, being in His presence means very little when it comes to what we are talking about. Consider this if you weren t in His presence, then Jesus would not be able say depart from me. Remember He not was speaking in theological terms of omnipresence or omniscience; He was speaking to those who do all these things in His name and call Him LORD. The next challenge in this verse is the word lawlessness. The Greek word used here is a)nomi/an (anomian) which is correctly translated. The problem is what does that mean to the Hebraic mind? This word is used over 30 times in the Septuagint for a word that has nothing to do with breaking the Law or better said the Commandments, it has to do with the Hebrew word uvr which literally translated means wicked or disjointed (consider this when you are disjointed, you are also dismantled, men and women of God, this all about CONNECTION! This is all about true Divine Oneness. By letter definition this means the head that changes by the eyes. It is here we need to bring to light another Hebraism. For most of us in the western world, when we think of the prophetic or the residence of God, we think of the horizon, we think of looking ahead or up. But actually the scripture creates the picture of God s residence behind you. For example: Ezekiel 3:12 and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: NKJV Revelation 1:10 and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, NKJV Why? Because this is the one place where your eyes cannot see; you do not have eyes in the back of your head, thus this is where the prophetic source, the residence of God abides. Here then is our challenge as we pursue to define what the (Eternal) Mantle is and why are we calling it that.
(For example: There is no such thing as individual anointings, individual governments and individual mantles in the higher worlds of the spirit, they are actually only facets of the One. Those are really perceptions that exist as you descend to the lower carnal worlds.) Let s talk about the spiritual worlds for a moment: I remember about 25 years ago sitting in a minister s luncheon and the speaker said something that really upset me. Being that I was saved for a total of about eight years at that point, just started our church, he said, most Christians plateau in their spiritual development in year three and never really go beyond that, including ministers. After about year three, they discover a call of some kind, and develop their ministry, their gifting and their office, but rarely go beyond in their actual spiritual development. I admit I was offended! He was basically saying that all the ministers in that room are still in an advanced basic believer s bible class. One of the reasons why we have the issues with our churches is for that reason. We may be highly gifted, very seasoned or skilled in our gifting and office, but we cannot elevate people to a higher spiritual level than we walk in. Why because our all the study of the Bible will not change how you see. Study will help you perceive within the parameters of your current level of spiritual sight, but to actually ascend a series of events have to take place in the inner work of the heart. God is more than desirous to ascend, the challenge is when the inner work starts, we reach of a Gospel of deliverance (escape and rescue) rather than a Gospel of transformation. According to scripture, 4,000 years of Hebrew teaching and the Apostles themselves there actually six dimensions to the spiritual world (the top three worlds have the same intensity of revelation and or Light, so they are considered One. They are: [ws /ya (Limitlessness/No End), /wmdq <da (Adam [the thought of Creation]), twlyxa (Emanation/Nearness), hayrb (Creation/Divine Throne), hryxy (Formation/Angelic Realm), hycu (Manifestation/Action/Lower Realm/Soul/Physical). [Numbers 11:17 & 25, Ezekiel 42:6. 1 Chronicles 8:38 (Azel and his six sons), Zechariah 14:5, Isaiah 45:6-7]. We are familiar with the negative aspects of these worlds, Paul did share them with the Ephesians 6:12; Principalities, Powers, Rulers of the System, Spiritual Malice in High Places. (Ever hear the expression, New Level, New Devil? ) The government of God and the anointing of God are freely given, then descended from above and have been abiding with us since the Pentecost. But the Mantle, that is a different story. The Mantle will descend, but only for a moment, because it eternal place is not in the lower worlds, in the current state of affairs. its eternal place is in the higher worlds and once it touches its person and/or people, it ascends and remains in its higher resting place. You see, it will only rest upon those who abide in its resting place, in the worlds above. Let s look at this in the scriptures we started with: (Scripture Page 1) 2 Kings 2:1 Gilgal is lg*l=g! the Wheel, the second time around. 2 Kings 2:2-3 1. We have the ascent into the first of the four dimensions. When there is the ascent there is also a resistance to proceed. It is not warfare in the way we usually speak of it, rather it is the very prophetic place you need to go, begins to resist you! Because it is dealing with your soul, to create the necessary and appropriate desire to attain it. Then Elijah says, Stay here now, the Lord has sent me to Bethel. Elisha refused. By our current standards Elisha was not submitted. The issue was not about submission, but about CONNECTION. (Remember the words, disjointed and dismantled.) The sons of the prophets came and accurately prophesied
that this will be the last day of Elijah. The challenge with prophets who do not have the Eternal Mantle is they only prophecy what is, and only address what will be based on their perception. 2. They key is they said, Do you know These are the words of spiritual death Knowledge will kill you! Elisha says, Keep silent... The same repeats in verses 4-6 first is about Bethel, then Jericho and finally Jordan. However with Jordan the sons of the prophets do not speak. This is a process of spiritual decent. They begin at the before the Throne (Wheel) then the House of God, they descend to where the Spirit had blown, and finally the lowest place, Jordan. However, Jordan is not just the lowest realm; it serves as a place of change, a place of Crossing Over. When they arrive at Jordan we find fifty prophets. The scripture doesn t mention numbers and names just to fill in space; they are there to open spiritual scenery. The number 50 is commonly known as the year of Jubilee. But the number 50 has a broader meaning, in which Jubilee abides, the perpetual Heir, the Eternal Son. Verse 8-9 They Cross Over and Elijah asks "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha says 2 Kings 2:9:.yl*a@ ;j&wrb= <y]n~v=áyp! an`áyh!yw] uv*yl!a$ rm#ay{w~ We translate this as: "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." The word portion in Hebrew is ql^j* (used 39 times in the Old Testament) however the word in this verse is, <y]n~v=áyp! The p in simple terms is the month however it is made of two letters, the y and k. The y is the Divine Spark of Creation and the k is the Container or Vessel in which it resides. In the center of the p actually forms the letter b which is the House. In other words, the Divine Spark of Creation is housed in the Container of the Mouth! He then asks for <y]n~v= yes it means double, but like most Hebrew words, the have many aspects of meaning, to be double means to be a changer. For example: 1 Samuel 21:13 So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. NKJV Elisha says, Shall it be now, the Divine Spark of Creation Housed in the Container of Your Mouth which transforms with your breath, be upon me! He wasn t asking for a double portion, he was asking for the Divine Spark of all Creation! 2 Kings 2:13-14 3 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. NKJV tr\d\a^áta# <r\yẁ~ And he raised up the mantle
Genesis 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, KJV tr\d\a^áta# jq^y]w~ And he took the mantle The eternal mantle must always be raised up before the Lord in worship. Why? Because of what it is made of. The key to perceiving spiritually is connecting to substance. If I do not have the receptors in my eyes to perceive the color red, then I will not be able to connect to the experience of Red. We have learned that faith is the substance But there are things we need to grasp, for example, we have learned that the soul is mind, will and emotions. Okay, that describes the manifestation of the soul, but they are manifestations like water comes in solid, liquid and gas, but these states doesn t describe the substance of water, is H 2 O. Understand using the law of first mention, in Hermeneutics, the first mention of mantle is used in Genesis 25:25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. Why? Because Esau is another telling of the Adam story. Esau will loose his birth write because of his ego, the desire to gratify self. So Jacob will become Esau obtain the birthright. Then Jacob must flee, to Bethel and remain there until he acquires his wifes, and then returns, but before he does, he wrestles with the angel, which in Hebrew tradition, is actually the angel of Esau, and when he wrestles it for the blessing, which is the unveiling of his true identity, Israel. (Straight to God, Sarah in the Middle). The substance of the mantle is one of the most important aspects of understanding the mantle and why it abides in the eternal world. (The Soul of the Flesh is in the Blood.) The key to substance is the source. The easy answer is God. But here is where we need to understand something maybe we haven t seen before. The substance of the mantle is what you were before fracturing of the Adam prior to the fall. The mantle is who you were, and what you have been saved to be. What was the hairy garment of Esau? His body The spiritual container or Body of the Spirit is the Soul It s the whole, it s not just the church! The Church is of this dimension, like the kingdom of Israel and was the agent through which the living stones, the pieces of the vessel are acquired. 1 Samuel 15:26-28 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. KJV We need to reunite the Triad of the Kingdom, which is: The anointing of the Spirit, the Authority of the King and the mantle of the Kingdom (which encompasses all nations and people). To truly be like Christ and for that matter, be Christ in the earth, we must wear the mantle of the Christ the way he wore it. He wore all of humanity within His heart. We must do the same. Many of us ministers made the error of saying I serve God and I minister to the people. No! To serve God is to wear the mantle of His people and humanity. The Eternal Mantle, each of the facets of that mantle, it is not prophet for prophets sake, what we call the prophet s mantle, is the responsibility of the people and humanity. Because connected, assembled to together, they are the dwelling of the Infinite One.