There is a fourth measuring.

What remains to be judged after we have died to the world, to sin, and to self-will? It is our readiness to live as an individual apart from the Lord Jesus (even though we are following Him). After we have died to the world, to sin, and to our personal ambitions, there still is the marriage of the Lamb to be considered—the union with Jesus that He desires above all else.

The Lord invites us now to "waters to swim in." He comes to us to see if we aspire to be a person of power and glory in the Kingdom of God or if we desire to be part of Himself.

We will become an eternal part of the Lord Jesus, of His Substance and His Life, if this is what we desire above all else. Marriage to the Lamb is union with Jesus as He is in union with the Father. At this point we surrender our individuality so we may become a part of God through our marriage to the Lamb.

In order for any human being to enter and live in the Kingdom of God, to become part of the new heaven and earth reign of Christ, he must be willing to forsake the spirit of the world, sin, and his personal ambition. These three forms of iniquity, the world, sin, and self-will, must all be purged from the new heaven and earth. They bring chaos into the Paradise of God.

Not all persons are called to the same degree of union with the Lord Jesus. Those who are called to be part of the firstfruits of the Bride must experience many seeming forsakings and other painful and confusing experiences before they cry to the Bridegroom to come to them and be their strength and wisdom.

Since no individual ever is compelled to receive the Lord into himself in eternal union, and by nature we are willing to abide in our individuality, the Lord must apply various means of bringing us to a sense of desolation. We must become aware that even though we have been reconciled to God through death to the world, to sin, and to self-seeking, we still do not know the Lord Jesus Himself as our Husband, our Friend, our Counselor, our Lord, our Brother, our Companion. Although we have fought and won many battles through His grace we still are strangers to Him.

Then the Lord Jesus proceeds skillfully to make us aware of His love for us and of our need for Him to personally come to us.

The bringing of the saint into union with Jesus is portrayed in the Song of Solomon. The Song of Solomon becomes precious to the saint who is experiencing the fourth judgment and the waters to swim in.

No individual ever will be forced to invite Jesus to become an eternal part of his personality. To enter such a marriage with Jesus is always a personal choice. The person who has been chosen to be married to the Lord can never find rest until he is an eternal part of the Lord Jesus.

To be continued.