Christian with the Interpreter
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As guided by the Goodwill, Christian then went on till he came at the house of the Interpreter, where he knocked over and over; at last one came to the door, and asked Who was there? Christian: Sir, here is a Traveller, who was bid by an acquaintance of the good man of this house to call here for my profit; I would therefore speak with the Master of the house.
So he called for the Master of the house, who after a little time came to Christian, and asked him what he would have?
Christian: Sir, I am a man coming from the City of Destruction, and am going to the Mount Zion; and I was told by the man that stood at the Gate at the head of this way, that if I called here, you would shew me excellent things, such as would be a help to me in my journey.
Interpreter: Come in, I will shew thee that which will be profitable to thee.
So he commanded his man to light the candle, and bid Christian to follow him, so he had him into a private room, and bid his man open a door; the which when he had done, Christian saw the picture of a very grave person hang up against the wall; and this was the fashion of it. It had eyes lifted up to Heaven, the best of Books in his hand, the Law of Truth was written upon his lips, the world was behind his back. It stood as if it pleaded with men, and a Crown of Gold did hang over his head.
Interpreter said, "I have shewed thee this picture first, because the man whose picture this is, is the only man whom the Lord of the place whither thou art going, hath authorized to be thy guide in all difficult places thou mayest with in the way; wherefore take good heed to what I have shewed thee, and bear well in thy mind what thou hast seen, lest in thy Journey thou meet with some that pretend to lead thee right, but their way goes down to death". Then he took him by the hand, and led him into a very large parlour that was full of dust, because never swept; the which after he had reviewed a little while, the Interpreter called for a man to sweep. Now when he began to sweep, the dust began so abundantly to fly about, that Christian had almost therewith been chocked. Then said the Interpreter to a damsel that stood by, "Bring hither the water, and sprinkle the room; the which when she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure".
The Interpreter answered, This parlour is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the Gospel: the dust is his original sin and inward corruptions, that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first, is the Law; but she that brought water, and did sprinkle it, is the Gospel. Now, whereas thou sawest that so soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about that the room by him could not be cleansed, but that thou wast almost chocked therewith; this is to shew thee, that the Law, instead of cleansing the heart (by its working) from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase it in the soul, even as it doth discover and forbid it, for it doth not give power to subdue. Again, as thou sawest the damsel sprinkle the room with water, upon which it was cleansed with pleasure; this is to shew thee, that when the Gospel comes in the sweet and precious influences thereof to the heart, then I say, even as thou sawest the damsel lay the dust by sprinkling the floor with water, so is sin vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean, through the faith of it, and consequently fit for the King of Glory to inhabit.Interpretation:Christian constantly acknowledges that he is on the way to the Celestial City and is from the City of Destruction. Those, who claim to have been saved and delivered from the Satan, do not confess as such.
The Interpreter tells Christian that the man whose portrait was shown was the only man whom the Lord of the place whither he was going, had authorized to be his guide in all difficult places he might go on his way to the Celestial City. You need a minister of God as shown by the Interpreter in this portrait. He or she will be your constant guide on your earthly journey to the City of Zion or the Celestial City. You should take good heed to what your guide has shown you and should bear well in your mind what you have seen, lest in your journey you should meet with some that pretend to lead you right, but their way goes down to death. The guide concerned would definitely show you from the Scriptures and you would definitely see what he has shown. This would help you to avoid dangerous paths that lead you to the spiritual death. Nowadays, you may find many evangelists or pastors who would lead you to spiritual death.
The Interpreter shows a very grave person as a true minister of God to the wandering Christian. His eyes are lifted up to Heaven with his hand holding the best of Books and with the Law of Truth written upon his lips and the world was behind his back. The minister in the portrait stood as if it pleaded with men, and a Crown of Gold did hang over his head. There are five signs of a true minister of God who you should discern in the Christian world today. First of all, he should plead with men. He should have a heavy burden to reach out to the unsaved men. Secondly, the eyes should be lifted up to the Heaven and not towards the City of Destruction or the perishing world. Thirdly, he should hold the best of books in his hand. He should focus on and rightly interpret (divide) what is written in the 66 books of the Bible with special emphasis on the best of these 66 books in the Bible, which is the gospel fortified by the Acts of apostles, epistles and the final book of revelation. He should not attempt to delve into the unauthorized books which were not canonized or into extra Biblical revelations. Fourthly, the Law of Truth should be written upon his lips. The lips have to show the Law of Truth and not merely scriptural knowledge acquired by the head. It is the testimony of Jesus in his life. Fourthly, he should always show the world behind his back. Fifthly, he should have a Crown of Gold on his head. The crown of gold symbolizes his victory over the sin, the self and the world. It is this crown of gold which attracts the people towards his ministry. This crown is given to him by God on this earth itself.
The Interpreter nicely interprets the salvation experience through the parable of a parlour. The sin needs to be confessed when the Law disturbs the dust in the heart. Merely accepting Jesus mentally is not enough. The parlour has to be cleansed thoroughly by water. Every part of the parlour needs to be cleansed. The dust needs to be subdued. The dust of lust as disturbed by the Law needs to be subdued by the water of grace through the Blood of Jesus Christ. If the dust clings to the heart of a believer after receiving the knowledge of the truth, then the soul is still contaminated with the sin. The dust in a room consists of unseen particles. It is a constant process of cleansing the heart. There may be a dust of illicit sex hidden in your heart. There may be a dust of lust for money.
You need a damsel to cleanse your heart. The damsel is the indwelling Holy Spirit who cleanses our heart. The Law sweeps the dust in your heart but cannot subdue it. But the indwelling Holy Spirit does subdue it by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you receive Christ in the parlour of your heart, the sin in the heart is merely swept by the Law and Prophets but the sin is vanquished and subdued only by the indwelling Holy Spirit. When the gospel of Christ is preached, the preachers concerned do not tell the audience about the ministry of the Holy Spirit who comes into the parlour of our heart. The indwelling Holy Spirit continues to sanctify your heart. The Holy Spirit has already come into the world. A child of God who has accepted Jesus as his or her Saviour has in fact accepted the Holy Spirit into his or her heart.
There is a false doctrine that once you accept Jesus as your Saviour, you have to wait for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The false preachers present the Holy Spirit as distinct from the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is a Person and not merely some power. The Holy Spirit comes upon a person who accepts Jesus so as to indwell him. Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit used to descend upon prophets not to indwell them but to prophesy through them only during the time of their ministry.
When they (Peter and John) arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14 to 16). Please note that since the early believers had not heard about the Holy Spirit, the apostles had the necessity of laying down their hands on them to receive the (anointing) of the Holy Spirit. The new believers were only baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Had they been told at the time of receiving Jesus Christ about the Holy Spirit, they would have received the Holy Spirit at that time itself. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you receive His anointing. Anointing means the Holy Spirit touching your spirit to make His abode in your heart.
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