«　WEEK 4　DAY 3　»

　　Ezek. 34:13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them into their own land, and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the streams and in all the inhabited places of the land.

　　S. S. 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;…look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon,…from the leopards’ mountains.

　　Stones are always related to mountains and hills. If we want some rocks, we must have some mountains….What is the meaning of the mountains and the hills? The mountains and hills in the Scriptures always represent resurrection and ascension. They are something that is raised above the earth, above the plain….All the spiritual, living stones are in the resurrection life; they are stones joined to the mountain of Christ’s resurrection. If we are all living in the adamic life, in the old life and nature, we are simply in the plain. Since there is no mountain among us, there is no stone among us. But if we are living and walking in the resurrection life, we are enjoying the reality of the hills and mountains, and with these hills and mountains inevitably are the stones. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” p. 256)

　　Suppose I meet together with a few brothers and sisters. As a brother, I walk according to the natural life, and there is another brother who is always living in the natural life. A dear sister who meets with us is continually walking and living in her emotions: sometimes she is so happy, and sometimes she is exceedingly sorrowful and depressed. In fact, we are all a group of such believers; we are all so natural, continually living and walking in the natural life. Could you sense something in the nature of a hill among us? Certainly not. We are all clay; we are all on the plain. If you looked for a stone, you could find nothing but dust—dust, earth, and clay. Since there is no mountain, there is no stone.

　　Suppose, then, there is another group of believers. They know something of the cross, and they know something regarding the denial of the natural life….They are walking in newness of life and serving in newness of the spirit; they are living in resurrection. When you come to them, you sense there is something raised, something exalted, something that is higher than you….It is not difficult to find many stones, even precious stones. If you look at this one, you see a stone; if you look at that one, praise the Lord, you also see a stone. There are stones because there are mountains and hills.

　　The mountains and the hills are for the building of the house, the city, and the kingdom of God….Whenever there is some spiritual hill or mountain among the Lord’s children, there are automatically some stones, some materials for the building of the house and the city. The authority of God and the kingdom of God are there. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 256-257)

　　[In Song of Songs 4:8] Lebanon signifies ascension. In Christ’s ascension there are the positive peaks of reality, victory, and the destruction of the enemy. Amana means “truth, reality.” This is the truth, the reality, of the consummated Triune God; the all-inclusive Christ with His complete redemption; and the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving, sevenfold intensified Spirit. These realities are the three of the Triune God. Senir means “soft armor,” signifying that the war is over and victory has been gained. We do not need to wear the hard armor to fight. Satan is the defeated foe. We do not need to fight, because he has been defeated already (Heb. 2:14; Col. 2:15). We are now wearing the soft armor to enjoy our victory in Christ. Hermon means “destruction.” In ascension the enemy is destroyed. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs,” p. 321)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs,” ch. 8