His Rest is a better state of grace. In the Old Testament this grace was shown forth as life-giving physical blessings such as the absence of war and the provision of good crops. Today, the grace is shown forth in a whole new dimension of the Spirit that is characterized by a supernaturally endowed Righteousness and heart-purity that over time matures into being "like Jesus" in character.
The Savior speaks of one redemption in John 3:16:
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
But in Ephesians 5:25-27 Paul goes on to speak of another redemption that is deeper and more profound:
“Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might **sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
This is evidently something distinct from the first redemption, and unquestionably more profound and more radical in its nature. In the one, sinners are saved from perishing; in the other, the already saved Church is now washed and made to be without blemish!!!
What is this mysterious greater redemption? How do you get it yourself? The purpose of this website is to thoroughly answer both of these questions for you using tested and true heritage experts.
Direct references to this much-fabled better way are right there in black and white in your Bible:
Heb. 3:17 "Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."
Heb 4:1 "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it."
Heb.4:4-10 "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; 5 and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest." 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His."
2 Peter 3:13-18 "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.*** You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." More
So, since this mysterious greater redemption was not claimed by the Israelites in the Old Testament, it was left for us to claim. The astonishingly powerful early church walked in it, until they were martyred.
So what is His Rest? I have seen definitions from very good sources that go something like this: "It means that you walk in unbroken spiritual victory with a mellow trusting attitude." I am sorry to say that this common understanding, while superficially true, misses the whole point. It is something far more wonderful than this. His Rest is a mystery.
A Scriptural "mystery" is a truth that cannot truly be grasped by the mind before it is experienced directly. For example, Salvation is a mystery to those who are yet lost. It is just too wonderful and unearthly for the lost to quite grasp! Similarly, His Rest is a mystery to those believers who have not yet obtained it. Again, it is just too wonderful and unearthly to quite grasp!
So if you cannot grasp it, how do you get it? You need help. In most cases before a lost soul is saved, someone will explain how they can find salvation just as this website explains the way to His Rest for you.
The original sin of Adam and Eve opened us up to not just acts of sin, but also to profound deficiencies of character. Repentance does not work to heal these because we were born with the propensity towards these deficiencies. We are not to blame for them.
But they still need to be dealt with in God's way before we can gain a Christ-like character.
Included in this library are several remarkable old documents that explain these character deficiencies that plague all those born of Adam. Deficiencies
If you are not familiar with the remarkable background of John Wesley, you may wish to update your knowledge now by text and by video: John Wesley
His Rest is found on the narrow way. However, few are willing to narrow their choices to those things that truly please Him. For this reason, not everybody can even start on this way.
All today's churches cannot be much help to us either since they were not taught this challenging way of heart purity in seminary, and so, are not able to preach it. All these churches have no idea of how to relate to His Rest so those who are seeking a pure heart are left to their own devices. This website is designed to help.
Most of the material found here was not designed for regular pulpit use. They were to guide seekers for His Rest that came from near and far to attend special services and old-fashioned summer tent meetings on sawdust floors. Regular preaching was concerned with salvation and judgment just as they are today.
The owner of this website found it impossible to get saved in his native Canada. The churches of the sixties were so institutionalized that they had lost their ability to communicate to the lost. So instead he had to become a latter day "Jack Kerouac" traveling the globe in a desperate gamble to find reality. Tom Plumb
1. Introduction This page contains a number of important topical introductory articles that you will need to start initially and at various times thereafter as you become more familiar with the challenging task before you. Definitions are made clear.
The left hand menu options will guide your research:
2. Central Idea This is a short and very punchy resource for those who want to instantly get to the core of our theme.
3. Testimonies This page offers testimonies of those precious souls both heritage and contemporary, who have entered His Rest. Most are excerpts that describe how they came to abide in this spiritual dimension, and are often taken from very lengthy heritage works that describe the whole life. Most are quite instructive to those who wish to follow on to enter His Rest, but I have also included some testimonies from famous medieval souls within His Rest that did not provide us with as much helpful information, even though their stories are stunning. (e.g. Mme. Guyon, Brother Lawrence & Saint Francis of Assisi)
Early historical figures are often that way, because they were so very poorly informed themselves. In fact, they would have literally given their right arm to have the wealth of resources found on this website at hand. But they did not. You do!!!! So you can be far more informed on how to both enter and retain His Rest than they ever were because the generations since have read their worthy works - and then went on to build upon their shoulders.
4. Enter This page is the beef of the website. Most of these exceptional resources were carefully sifted from the Wesleyan Heritage Library CD to provide excerpts and brief resources that speak directly to those who earnestly seek to know how they too may make their hearts pure and white as did many in the past. Diligent reading of several selections are necessary in order to get a proper overview of what is required to enter His Rest. Let the attitude of the Bereans be your guide.
Careful minor editing and notes make occasionally obscure heritage language clear. Obsolete old English words are translated. These old-fashioned authors tend to be awfully long-winded, so I have selected the best portions for you.
The pages below are optional. The essential purpose of the website is accomplished in the above pages, but there is still real value on these pages.
Wisdom On this page seasoned sanctified figures of the past give guidance to those who have more recently come to enter His Rest. These articles provide good insight into the inner workings of this state of grace for anybody, although it was specifically written for those who have just freshly entered His Rest.
Historical Assorted articles to add facts and flavor.
Ichabod Much material is found here to help answer the aching question, "So, if Holiness and the Great Awakening was so great, just where did it go?"
Charismata Articles and resources of special impact for charismatic/pentecostals that are digging into the relationship between "His Spirit" and "His Rest". Also included is a section of heavy-duty prophecies on the topic and another on cast-iron Gnostic deceptions that seek to keep us all in bondage.
Articles Assorted treasures that did not fit under the above topics.
FAQs Seekers of His Rest in every century have been full of urgent questions about this topic. Here you have access to both those heritage questions, and their fascinating authoritative answers that have been tested by both time and tempest.
Links Excellent Holiness preaching by George Delo together with other links.
Books Links to places that sell books on Holiness.
Note: In many Christian circles these days tongues, prophecies, dreams, visions, gifts, healings, miracles and ministries etc. are pushed almost to the exclusion of everything else. All these spectacular acts of power do good if used in the fear of God, but have little direct bearing upon the topic of this website. This is so because this culminating holiness is just as foundational as salvation itself and is worked by a second application by faith of the same blood-bought "saving grace".
The settling of this matter of heart-holiness is of much more importance to the soul than these various miraculous helps in serving others that He may graciously provide along the way. The gifts put their weight upon the foundation which is Christ, and not the other way around. Gifts are necessary equipment for serving others. A completed sanctification makes you a reliable and trustworthy steward of His treasure to reliably serve Him in the first place. Build wholly upon the Rock, and your house will not fall in the storm.
Earnest Seeker
Grab this shovel! You will need it. This will all take considerable digging. There is a lot here, and you cannot expect it to be easy since Churches and seminaries seldom teach this topic as they once did. It is off the topic of basic salvation -so few know about it.
Most of us will have to dig right down to the bedrock basics of Scriptural holiness without church help. Before Luther it was this way for Salvation itself since so few had it. So it is now with this. To start digging down to the basics of the Gospel which contains His Rest see: The Robust Gospel
This library website seems to be unique on the web in systematically bringing together both living and heritage saintly souls who walk in His Rest in the common cause to restore this rare state of supreme and unshakable constant harmony with God back to knowledge and practice in our day. This state of spotless grace is what all those who hunger and thirst for God's best are looking for: a better and higher state of grace to dwell in -which is truly worthy of His Name in every way. No more inner battles will ever be needed again because the inward carnal man together with his perennial lusts has become fully vanquished, never to be seen again! The old man is gone!!! Hallelujah!!!
Paul and the majority of the early church walked in this. You can too!!!
A Christian Saint
According to Scripture every genuinely saved Christian is a saint and "Separated from the World."
This is preached in every genuine Protestant pulpit.
A Catholic Saint
As you well know such a one must be long dead after having lived as an outstanding model Catholic with proven signs following. Living admirers then have to go through a decades long process before a committee of the Curia. They will explore the life exhaustively to see if he or she is worthy of this privileged official designation and the great public acclaim that follows. Saints are then invoked along with the Lord in Catholic pulpits and prayers.
A New Testament Saint
A New Testament Saint is spiritually broken in the narrow way, enters His Rest and then lives a blameless life exhibiting the appropriate fruits and signs of the Spirit. This shined forth in the Early Church and then again in Wesleyan pulpits. Today, it is virtually forgotten.
Disclaimer: This is a non-denominational library website that seeks to answer the question, "So -just how do I enter His Rest?", but please understand that the theology of holiness is much wider than just answering this question. I do my best so that believers from every background may feel at home, but of course, I cannot really succeed. Please understand that the material is designed to be evangelistic and experiential. It is to clear the way for believers of every stripe to enter into the peerless experience of His Rest, rather than promoting any flavour of doctrine -or even doctrine itself.
Doctrine is important, but there is always more to learn. His Rest is the prize, while doctrine is a man-made tool meant to help us get there, and beyond. The Word remains faithful and true, but our ways of misunderstanding it seem to be endless -especially when we have not yet experienced what it is referring to. I have taken great pains to clarify the material but still you may run into problems. Refer to the first three choices on the left hand menu, the FAQ pages, or read my digest "How to Enter His Rest" on the Entry Directions page.
This is a seriously spiritual website that deals with the conventional gospel, and then quickly goes beyond it to deal with matters that all will find challenging. It will be new to most although it comes to us from antiquity. Your knowledge and faith will be stretched and increased. I hope your experience will be also. In these days of promiscuous indoctrination at every turn, I encourage you to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, and search the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so. Like those worthies, do not give up, and you will be commended by the Lord as they were. Tom Plumb
