Phineas F. Bresee - A Prince In Israel - Media Sabda Org

institutions of the church pressed most heavily upon him, he would smile, and say with joyous
emphasis: "Jesus knows what He will do."
Free From Fanaticism
I never knew a man who was freer from all forms of fanaticism, and from that presumption which
so often masquerades under the guise of faith. He insisted upon our using all the means which were
placed at our disposal, trusting God for the outcome, and giving Him all the glory. While he
frequently prayed for the healing of the sick, and his prayers were marvelously answered in many
cases, he never anointed any one with oil. He would pray with and for those who desired to be
anointed, but would invariably have some one else do the anointing. His exegesis of the passage in
James, referring to anointing the sick, was that the oil was used as a kind of medicine, and that we
complied with that requirement when we gave to those who were ill the best remedies at our
disposal. He claimed that God healed in all cases, whether means were used or not, and that healing
was always divine healing.
A Man Of Prayer
He was unusually gifted in prayer. On one occasion, at a prayermeeting in the old tabernacle, he
led in prayer, and the power of God came upon him in a very marked manner. It seemed as if he led
us up and up until we could almost see the jasper walls, and hear the songs of the redeemed. It
seemed as if we entered the eastern gate, and were approaching the vast multitudes of angels and
men who surrounded the throne. We could almost see the inner temple, and for a moment were in
an atmosphere which was full of spiritual power and celestial fragrance. But gradually, with our
gifted leader, we receded from the city of gold, and realized that we were still on earth.
A Marvelous Illumination
On another occasion, not more than two years ago, as Dr. Bresee was leading in prayer at the
Sunday school service in the First Church, at Los Angeles, I had a very remarkable experience. We
knelt close together on the platform in the Sunday school room. I do not remember what he said, but
during his prayer, the Holy Spirit suddenly flashed upon my mind and heart an intense realization
that it was my privilege to here and now anticipate and possess in my own being everything that was
in heaven--the tree of life, the fountain of life, the river of life, the crown of life, and the glassy sea.
It was one of the most wonderful and glorious illuminations and revelations of the deep things of
God that I had ever been permitted to enjoy. I immediately spoke to Dr. Bresee about it. He said what
I had been shown was the exact truth, and one that had been made plain to him in recent years. I went
home with him to dinner that day, and we had a long conversation upon the new truth that had been
revealed to me. As a result of this experience, and our talk in regard to it, in which he set forth his
convictions upon the subject of our having a real heaven within and around us, I devoted much time
to the prayerful study of the Scriptures bearing upon this phase of truth, and was amazed at their
teachings. I discovered that the portion of the 12th chapter of Hebrews, which speaks of our coming
"unto Mount Sion unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable
company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,
to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the Mediator of the new