Taking the virtue of "Temperance" one step further.
The account of the birth of John the Baptist clearly delineates the theme of this essay: We know that "Holiness" means the uninterrupted flow of the Spirit of God in our lives so that God's direction and purpose for our lives is not hindered.
The Holy Scriptures tell us that John the Baptist was born in the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah, and therefore, he was filled with a full anointing of God's Spirit from birth: Luke 1:15-17: "The angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah the high priest to announce the impending birth of his son John the Baptist, saying, 'He will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, (because) he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Jesus ministry of salvation.)'"
This is not to condemn Christians who moderately imbibe adult beverages. Moderation in all things, especially alcoholic beverages, will not condemn anyone to hell. Jesus himself turned the water into wine at the wedding banquet as the first miracle he performed as the Savior of the World. But for the Holiness pilgrim, we know from the account of the birth of John the Baptist, that alcohol hinders the work of the Holy Spirit, which Holy Spirit the Holiness pilgrim operates out of on an ongoing basis. It isn't "Holiness" to revert back to the "natural" mode of thinking and reacting.
The principle is this: Any mind-altering, intoxicating substance shifts the gears of one's inner dynamic to the "natural" mode. The "Spiritual" mode must wait in abeyance for the intoxicating substance to be removed before it can manifest. In other words, they are mutually exclusive of each other. Why? Because intoxication by any substance is a form of sorcery, i. e., it is purely a carnal manifestation. It activates the carnal mode on a five-dimensional level, while Spirituality operates on a seven-dimensional level. And as stated in the previous essay "Christianity Graduate School," these two streams of reality will continue to flow opposite each other prior to the "New Heaven and the New Earth" referred to in Revelation chapter 21, in which God will create a harmonious blend of five and seven-dimensional realities, i. e., he will transform the entire world into a "glorified world" where death and decay, and trouble and sorrow will vanish away.
In Revelation 3:19-20 Jesus said "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Therefore, we, as Holiness pilgrims, should stay sober, and stay Holy on an ongoing basis, and thereby allow the door of our hearts to be always open to the King, for he is Holy.
Revelation 3:21-22: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
William A. Gabel, Jr., P. O. Box 184, Wabash, IN 46992
E Mail Address: WilliamGabel@Comcast.net
Website: Cycles Reseach.org