Remaining Caterpillars
By
Gary Primo
July 3, 2010
Longevity of human life has been a favorite quest of mankind for thousands of years. Before the flood the Scriptures tell of the first generations of men living to almost 1,000 years. After the flood, YHVH cut the time of man’s life-span to almost 1/10. Since then it has been primarily mankind’s poor life-style that has shortened their lives even further. Man has always been searching for a magical “fountain of youth”. The science of genetics has now figured out a way to determine with a 77% accuracy rate who will live past 100 years. Is YHVH really concerned with how long we live? Or is He more concerned with what we do with our lives during our allotted time?
As far as man is concerned our physical existence has always been only a temporary state. I like to use the analogy of the caterpillar and the butterfly. Right now we are caterpillars. Death is like the stage where the caterpillar creates a cocoon around itself and resurrection from the dead is when we emerge as beautiful butterflies. As with other phenomenon common to nature, YHVH has given us plenty of examples of what His plan for mankind is. However, unlike the caterpillars, mankind refuses to accept his present state or his destiny. He refuses to accept his mortality and is continually seeking eternal physical life, rather than look forward to the blessed purpose and process that YHVH has intended for us.
In the Garden of Eden the first human couple made a decision that has effected all of mankind ever since. They decided that they were already Elohim and that they were wise enough to determine their own destiny and make their own laws. They decided that they did not need YHVH to gain eternal life; that they could accomplish that feat on their own, given enough time. Again, this is like a caterpillar refusing to turn into a butterfly and trying its best to remain a caterpillar.
Just as a caterpillar has no sense of what its incredible potential is, neither does mankind. Here we are 6,000 years later, no smarter than we were in the beginning. We still think we are already Elohim and can determine our own destiny. We still think that given enough time, we can solve all the world’s problems. However, YHVH has determined not to give us that much time. Just as YHVH stopped mankind’s advancement toward total knowledge at the Tower of Babylon, so will He stop it once more at the end of this age. Total knowledge will come only when we have accepted our destiny and are actually reborn as butterflies (spirit beings).
YHVH reveals His intended purpose for mankind right in the very first chapter of the Scriptures.
Gen. 1: 27 - So Elohim created man in his own image, in the image of Elohim created he him; male and female created he them.
YHVH created us in His own image. By all we understand about the physical world and the phenomenon of human reproduction, this means that we are the result of YHVH re-creating Himself. Just as a man reproduces himself through his offspring, so are we the offspring of YHVH. We are intended to become like Him. He has given us in great detail instructions as to how we are to accomplish this end. Most of mankind totally ignores YHVH’s instructions and seek salvation by their own methods. Many believe that death is the grand finale and there is nothing afterward. This is what self-fulfilled prophesy means. These individuals will get exactly what they believed would happen to them – eternal death.
YHVH’s plan is perhaps best laid out in the parables that Yahshua spoke to his followers.
Luke 19:12 - He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 - And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
14 - But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. (The nobleman is Yahshua).
15 - And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 - Then came the first, saying, Lord, your pound hath gained ten pounds.
17 - And he said unto him, Well, you good servant: because you hast been faithful in a very little, have you authority over ten cities.
18 - And the second came, saying, Lord, your pound hath gained five pounds.
19 - And he said likewise to him, Be you also over five cities.
20 - And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is your pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
21 - For I feared you, because you are an austere man: you take up that you laid not down, and reap that you did not sow.
22 - And he said unto him, Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
23 - Wherefore then gave not you my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required my own with usury?
24 - And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that has ten pounds.
25 - (And they said unto him, Lord, he has ten pounds.)
26 - For I say unto you, That unto every one which has shall be given; and from him that has not, even that he has shall be taken away from him.
27 - But those my enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring here, and slay them before me.
In this parable, the young nobleman is, of course, Yahshua the Messiah. The riches that he freely offers his servants are a portion of YHVH’s Holy Spirit and the promise of salvation, with which they are supposed to return an increase. This represents growing in knowledge and faith and venturing ever closer toward salvation. The first two servants represent those called out by YHVH and offered the possibility of salvation. To acquire this they are expected to increase what He has freely given them. These two servants grow (increase) in faith and obedience and when the Master returns, show him what they have achieved. He is proud of them and rewards them accordingly. The third man received the word, but did nothing to increase the free gift given him. He is like those who are called, mainly in the traditional Christian faith, and promote the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. They believe that they are fully saved at baptism and have no need to do anything or grow in the spirit. When the master returns and they tell him that they did nothing with what they were given, he condemns their actions and sentences them to death.
Such is it with any of the servants of YHVH. All are expected to take the seed of salvation that they are given, plant it in fertile ground and nurture it into a full grown plant. Many are too lazy to look after and nurture this plant and it eventually dies (along with their hope for salvation). These caterpillars die in their cocoons, never to emerge as butterflies. In the case of men, these will be resurrected once again to physical life (which they loved) and be destroyed in the lake of fire. They will never see the promise of YHVH because they hated YHVH and His son and His promise to raise us to eternal life if we believed and obeyed. They simply had no faith and did not wish to submit to YHVH’s authority.
Being called by YHVH is not a call to a life living in the lap of luxury and doing nothing. There is, in fact, much work that is expected of us. I am talking about each and every individual who receives this calling, not just the ministers. The only true church is in heaven, and the only true High Priest is Yahshua. As individuals we are to look nowhere else for a true church and no where else for a High Priest or human messiah. We already have our example, the only perfect being of the creation that has ever existed. We need to look to him and him only for our salvation, which we acquire by striving to perfectly follow his example. There are no shortcuts. We cannot rest our salvation on the belief that we are already in the only true church on earth or are being led by some perfect minister. I have learned through my experience in various churches, that there is no such thing as a perfect follower of Yahshua. In fact there is nothing wearing a human skin that can be called perfect. Yet many think because they are in the “right” church and are following the “right” leader that their salvation is guaranteed and they do not have to do anything on their own. They are deceived into thinking this by the very ones that they put all their faith into. These lying leaders tell them what they want to hear and they swallow it up because they do not accept what YHVH tells them. They do not want to do the work to earn their salvation. They want to be free to seek the pleasures in this life only, and leave all the boring stuff to others. These will receive the rebuke of the wicked servant when resurrected to judgment.
All who profess to be in the faith must learn the lesson of the caterpillar. The caterpillar has a certain job to do, while it is still a caterpillar. It is to eat (of the word), expel excrement (spread the word), spin a cocoon (die) and be reborn as a butterfly (be resurrected to eternal life). The formula is simple, as is the case of all things pertaining to the Way of YHVH. It is mankind who seeks to complicate everything by his futile attempts to gain eternal life on his own. YHVH’s way is simply that we must become servants before we can become kings. We cannot skip this all important step. A servant is expected to work. If he does not, he will likely be put to death. A good and faith servant is eventually rewarded, sometimes by being given his freedom. If we desire our freedom (from the confines of our physical state), we must do what we were created to do and not rebel against the only One that can grant us that freedom. We must accept our purpose as caterpillars and look forward to becoming butterflies.
YHVH Bless
G.P.