THE HEART OF MAN
THE HEART OF MAN
OR
THE SPIRITUAL HEART MIRROR
(An Allegorical Representation in Ten Pictures)
This booklet originated in France in 1732, was revised and
re-written for the mission fields of Africa by Rev. J. R. Gschwend in
1929, and has subsequently been translated and printed under
copyright in over 250 indigenous languages by All Nations Gospel
Publishers who are distributing it today in 127 mission countries.
People of all languages, classes and religions are being led by this
booklet to experience the deep spiritual truth and significance of
God's message to mankind as expressed by the prophet Ezekiel 586
years before Christ, "I will give you an new heart and a new mind ...
then you will be my people, and I will be your God!" Ezekiel
36:26-28.
THE HEART OF MAN
THE TEMPLE OF GOD
OR THE WORKSHOP OF SATAN
1 John 3:4-10
? Copyright by:
ALL NATIONS GOSPEL PUBLISHERS
P. O. Box 2191, PRETORIA, 0001, SOUTH AFRICA
REG. No. 61/01798/08
ISBN 0-908412-16-9
As you read this book, please bear in mind that it is like a mirror
in which you will be able to see yourself. Whether you are a heathen
or a Christian, one who does not believe in Christ or a backslider,
you will see yourself as God sees you. "Man looks at the outward
appearance, but I look at the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). God sees us as
we really are.
Satan is the father of all lies. He is the prince of darkness and god
of this world, who disguises himself as an angel of light to lead men
and women the wrong way. In these days, as in times past, there are
many false apostles who disguise themselves, pretending to be
apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself is transformed
(disguised) into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:13, 14). Satan, the god
of this world, keeps people in the dark so that they cannot see that
God loves them or that Jesus died to save them (2 Cor. 4:4). All
sinners and those who do not believe are spiritually dead and blind
concerning God. They are ruled by the evil of this world (Eph.
2:1-2). Unless their eyes are opened in some way to their lost
condition, they are heading for eternal destruction. The person
who says, "I have never sinned" is deceiving himself. For "The Son
of God appeared for this very reason, to destroy what the devil had
done" (1 John 3:8). "So then, submit to God. Resist the devil, and
he will run away from you. Come near to God, and He will come
near to you" (James 4:7, 8).
As you read this book and study its pictures, you will be able to
see your own heart. Allow God's searchlight to show you the
condition of your heart. Acknowledge your sins and do not deny
their existence, for God's Word tells us that "If we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we
confess our sins to God, He will keep His promise and do what is
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right: He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing" (1 John 1:1-10). "The blood of JESUS, His Son, purifies us
from every sin."
.
You are ruled either by Satan or by God; you are a slave to sin or
a servant of God. If sin controls your life, do not deny it, but cry out
to God. He will set you free through Jesus Christ who came to this
world to save sinners, to break the power of Satan and sin over us,
He is our Saviour. You are in the presence of a holy God who knows
all the secrets, the hidden thoughts and actions of your life. It is
impossible to hide yourself and actions from God, for "God made
our ears - can't He hear? He made our eyes - can't He see?" (Ps.
94:9).
"The Lord keeps close watch over the whole world, to give
strength to those whose hearts are loyal to Him" (2 Chron. 16:9).
"He watches every step men take. There is no darkness dark
enough to hide a sinner from God" (Job 34:21, 22).
"But Jesus did not trust Himself to them, because He knew them
all" (John 2:24).
Therefore "happy are those whose sins are forgiven, whose
wrongs are pardoned. Happy is the man whom the Lord does not
accuse of doing wrong and who is free from all deceit" (Matt.
11:28-30).
Explanation of the Pictures
THE FIRST PICTURE
This picture shows the heart of a worldly, sinful man or woman,
described in the Bible as a sinner, that is, one who is controlled by
the evil of this world and by the natural desires and cravings of the
human nature. This is a true picture of the heart as God sees it. The
bleary, red eyes speak of drunkenness as described in Proverbs
23:29-33: "Show me someone who drinks too much, who has to try
out some new drink, and I will show you someone miserable and
sorry for himself, always causing trouble and always complaining.
His eyes are bloodshot, and he has bruises that could have been
avoided. Don't let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red,
though it sparkles in the cup, and it goes down smoothly. The next
morning you will feel as if you have been bitten by a poisonous
snake. Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not
be able to think or speak clearly."
Below the head in this picture, the heart of man can be seen
occupied by various animals which speak of the many different sins
in the human heart, as the heart is the centre and breeding place of
our sins. God tells us by the mouth of His prophet Jeremiah, that
"Nobody can understand the human heart. There is nothing else so
deceitful: it is too sick to be healed" (Jeremiah 17:9).
Jesus Himself confirms this by saying, "For from the inside, from
a person's heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral
things; to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of
evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly - all
these evil things come from inside a person and make him unclean"
(Mark 7:21-23).
1. THE PEACOCK
While the beauty of the peacock is admired by everybody, here in
the heart of man, it speaks of the sin of pride. Lucifer, once God's
special angel of light, lost his position through pride and so became
God's enemy - the devil (Isaiah 14:9-17; Ezekiel 28:12-17).
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Pride comes from the very centre of hell, and reveals itself in
many ways. Some people pride themselves on their riches, their
standard of education: fashionable clothing by which they expose
their bodies in a shameless way: the wearing of jingling ornaments,
bracelets, rings, etc., as is so clearly described in Isaiah 3:16-24.
Some pride themselves on their forefathers, nationality, culture,
sport, etc., forgetting that "God resists the proud, but shows favour
to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5). God hates pride and self-importance
(Proverbs 8:13). "Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to
downfall" (Proverbs 16:18).
2. THE GOAT
1. The sinner's heart
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represents bodily desires, immorality, adultery. The sins mentioned here have increased in these modern, but last days, to such
an extent, that we have to admit the truth of the words of Jesus
when He predicted, nearly 2000 years ago, that the last days will be
like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Not only has this sinful way
of living gripped men and women and come into the homes of
religious people and institutions, the schools and hostels, but this
wickedness shamelessly and in a subtle way enters the hearts of
people by means of cinemas, theatres, obscene literature, and in so
many other ways, that what God calls sin is being looked upon as
modern morality. Millions of young people form their idea of an
ideal life from the cinemas and novels, only to find themselves in
trouble, shame and regret. Immoral an loose-living actors and
actresses become the heroes and heroines of the younger generation. The dance-halls, too, are very often the breeding places of
immorality. God's heroes of purity, like Joseph (Genesis 39) and
others, are no longer taken as examples. Even the old Zulu heathen, who would put an adulterer or adulteress to death, could
teach our so-called civilised generation a lesson and stand up
against us in condemnation at the day of judgement. God tells us
not to play with immorality but to avoid it. "Any other sin a man
commits does not affect his body; but the man who is guilty of
sexual immorality sins against his own body: Don't you know that
your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who
was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to
God" (1 Cor. 6:18, 19); "So if anyone destroys God's temple, God
will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are
His temple" (1 Cor. 3:17).
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3. THE PIG
speaks of the sins of drunkenness and gluttony. It is a dirty animal
eagerly swallowing up everything in its way, clean or dirty, and in
the same way a sinful heart devours every immoral suggestion,
expression, picture, literature, etc. The body, intended to be the
temple of the living God, is made unclean by harmful food and
filthy habits such as the smoking or chewing of tobacco, the use of
opium and harmful drugs and tablets, etc. The habit of smoking
tobacco and even "opium" has gripped men and women as never
before. Only the power of God can free such poor tobacco victims
and slaves of the devil. While most religiously inclined people
would not dare to smoke in a church-building, considering it almost
an insult to God, they nevertheless have no hesitation about soiling
through this stinking weed, that which is actually the temple of God,
i. e., their bodies. "Surely you know" says the Apostle Paul, "that
you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you! So if
anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him" (1 Cor. 3:16,
17; 6:18, 19).
A greedy person is hateful or worth nothing in the sight of God.
We eat in order to live; we do not live in order to eat. Hunger can be
satisfied by eating wholesome food, but greed will always cry
"Give, give!" ,
Greed will never be satisfied, will never be filled. According to
the Old Testament law a glutton and a drunkard had to be stoned to
death (Deut. 21:18-21). "Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced
to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing
rags." (Prov. 28:7). Remember that a certain rich man, a glutton
and a slave to his desires, died and found himself in hell in great
pain. The evil of drink need hardly be mentioned. It is only too well
known to be taken lightly. God tells us clearly in His Word that no
drunkard will possess the Kingdom of God. Beer is not a food, it is a
drink that confuses and affects the mind, so that those who drink it
act foolishly. They become immoral and even kill and murder one
another which they would not otherwise have done. "Drinking too
much makes you loud and foolish. It's stupid to get drunk" (Prov.
20:1).
Those who make and sell strong drink are just as guilty before
God, for God says, "You are doomed! Heroes of the wine bottle!
Brave and fearless when it comes to mixing drinks!" (Isaiah 5:22).
"You will be condemned if you give drink to your neighbours,
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giving it to them till they are drunk" (Hab. 2:15). "Surely you know
that the wicked will not possess God's Kingdom. Do not fool
yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are
adulterers or homosexual perverts or who steal or are greedy or are
drunkards or who slander others or are thieves - none of these will
possess God's Kingdom" (1 Cor. 6:9, 10).
The sins of our human nature are unmistakable. These are some
of them: "immorality, filthy and indecent actions, worshipping of
idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they
become jealous, angry and ambitious. They separate into parties
and groups; they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other
things like these. Those who do these things will not possess the
Kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-21). "Do not get drunk with wine,
which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit"
(Eph.5:18).
Jesus gives the following invitation to everyone who is thirsty
concerning spiritual matters. "Whoever is thirsty should come to
me and drink" (John 7:37, 38). "Come everyone who is thirsty here is water! Come, you that have no money - buy corn and eat!
Come! buy (spiritual) wine and milk - it will cost you nothing!"
(Isa. 55:1). "Whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never
be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a
spring which will provide him with live-giving water and give him
eternal live" (John 4:14).
4. THE TORTOISE
speaks of laziness, sluggishness to obey and witchcraft. Rebellion
is as bad as witchcraft (1 Sam. 15:23). "A lazy man who refuses to
work is only killing himself, all he does is think about what he would
like to have" (Prov. 21:25, 26). Joshua had to say to the Israelites,
"Don't stay here doing nothing; hurry! Go on in and take it over!"
(Judg. 18:9). Human nature is very lazy and slow to obtain the
things of God. Jesus said, "Do your best to go in through the narrow
door" (Luke 13:24). "Anyone who seeks will find" (Matt. 7:8).
The Kingdom of heaven has suffered violent attacks, and violent
men try to seize it" (Matt. 11:12).
Carelessness concerning the salvation and spiritual welfare of
our souls leads to eternal death. It keeps us from praying, from
searching for the deep things of God, from accepting God's rich
promises; it leads to destruction. When God speaks to you, urging
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