#485 – Consecration of the Priests – Part 3: The Function of The Inner Man
Now that we have refocused upon the Consecration of the New Inner Man rather than the Consecration of the Outward Man, we are rethinking this whole area of Consecration. Our “doctrine” from now on is that full consecration is not now and never has been an option for the Church He is Building. No casual Christian or lukewarm believer will ever be accepted into the Lampstand Church. For that reason no casual believer will ever be accepted into the Priesthood Ministry. For the exact same reason there will be no casual or lukewarm Christian in the Kingdom of Priests and certainly none in the Kingdom Government of God.
Therefore, the only conclusion we can derive from those facts is that there must be ANOTHER realm for the thief on the cross, those under the Brass Altar and those who are standing on the Laver or Sea of Glass and even those who are before the Throne of God. In other words there must be various places in the Tabernacle of God for the “saved” that have not developed or matured.
We believe God has clearly revealed these places in the Eternal Tabernacle of God as the New Earth, the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem. In the present heaven we believe these three places are revealed as the Outer Court, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place being where God dwells. The Tabernacle of Moses is a copy and shadow of the Tabernacle that is now “heaven.” When we die we go to the Tabernacle in the invisible realm that is called heaven. Thank God for the visible Tabernacle because it gives us the understanding about God’s plan and purpose! It also reveals what God purposed from Himself before the world was and before the creation of the earth.
We also believe that IF we preach the Kingdom of God as present Reality it is essential that we clearly preach the difference between these three places. It is essential that every believer be fully informed about the demands of the Kingdom and why full and total Consecration is required. Why must this be preached clearly? Because this has to do with our eternal destiny and what God purposed for HIMSELF in the creation.
Since the gospel of grace has totally emasculated the gospel of any cost of real discipleship or any need of maturity or development, it is essential that a clear word of the Kingdom be preached. Why? Simply because the gospel of grace declares that “We are already saved” and how can you get “more than saved?” “Saved” has become the goal of the Outer Court assemblies. God’s Eternal Purpose is unknown and what God Purposed for Himself in the Creation is ignored. The gospel of grace focuses upon two or three scriptures and the rest of the Bible is disregarded as unimportant.
Col 2:9 For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
This scripture ( according to the gospel of grace) says that each of us who have received Jesus as personal Savior is already complete in Christ. Therefore, there is nothing more to be done. Jesus has made it to the Throne of God and since I am “in Christ” I am also seated on the Throne of God.
However, the Bible says that “To him that overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I overcome and sat down with My Father on His throne.” The gospel of grace says “ Since Jesus overcame and is seated on the Throne and I am in Him it means I am already an overcomer.” In other words everything that was attributed to Jesus Christ has already been attributed to me if I have accepted Him as my personal Savior.
Since this “gospel” sounds logical it has been accepted as Bible Truth universally and is even preached in some Pentecostal churches today. This IS the real problem with the Outer Court Ministries. They ONLY recognize what is visible and logical. If we are “complete” at the Brass Altar then the garments, the Brass Laver or the anointing oil and Consecration are all unimportant. Growth and development is unnecessary because Jesus Christ is already mature so since I am in Him I am already fully grown up in Him.
The problem is with all the other scriptures that insists that we grow up in all things INTO Christ and be (experientially) conformed to His Image. The Bible says that we must “Go on to perfection.” Paul insisted that he was not yet perfect and yet every fundamentalist insists he is already perfect by accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. The Tabernacle is summarily dismissed by saying “But that is Old Testament.”
I mention this because insisting upon a full Consecration Offering is considered a false doctrine by many groups. Jesus became poor so I could become rich. Jesus died that I might live. Jesus suffered so I wouldn’t have to suffer. Jesus took the curse so I could receive the blessing. This sounds good and is also true in one dimension but that is presented as the full gospel. Anything other than that is treated as false doctrine. The Kingdom message is also considered as false doctrine because they say the Kingdom is NOT for now but has been postponed until the Millennial Reign of Christ.
For that reason the first four paragraphs in this study will be declared as false doctrine. Why? “Because these things are just ‘works’ that the can never “save you” and are condemned by the Bible.” Nearly every objection to the Kingdom message is centered upon this matra of being “saved.” Why is “saved” a problem because the Bible surely speaks about salvation? The problem is that “salvation” is a process instead of an event that we can look back at. Forgiveness of sins is the “event” but that has been strangely evaluated as “full salvation.”
However, none of this will deter us from sharing on the Kingdom of God or the radical Consecration necessary to participate in the Kingdom of God. Neither will it discourage us from sharing about experiential maturity or being conformed to His image or growing up in all things into Christ. We will not lose our enthusiasm for telling the lukewarm and casual believers that they will be vomited out of the Body of Christ. We have developed our own matra which is; there is an unmeasurable difference between believing something about Jesus and fulfilling the purpose for which God saved us!
As we examine the verses on grace we see there really is an initial “saving grace” but there is also a “daily LIVING Grace” and a “grace to minister” and a grace to “finish the race” and a “grace to die.” Every level of grace must be received from God as we grow and need it. This is also “God’s Grace.” However, God’s grace was never given as an excuse to remain in the basic beginning Christian experiences.
For that reason we believe there is a “Consecration Grace” that accompanies the revelation of the Kingdom of God and its various demands. Unless God grants “Kingdom Grace” to recognize and surrender to the inward Government of God we may just remain ignorant. Unless God gives “Living Grace” to live in and manifest the Kingdom Laws experientially we will not develop an effective message that will convince others of the validity of the Kingdom as Present Reality. If the Kingdom was just in word only that might be possible. But since the Kingdom is manifested in power and demonstration of the Spirit it MUST become experiential as an inner reality, in an inner Government with inner Laws which are understood and obeyed. This will not happen without a Kingdom Grace! It is my opinion that God ONLY teaches us about the Kingdom and reveals its secrets and mysteries to those living in the Kingdom dimension.
I am speculating that this does not happen in the natural light of the Outer Court. Therefore, the Kingdom dimension begins to be revealed in the Holy Place and within the Spiritual Light of the Seven Spirits of God. The revelation of the mysteries of the Kingdom are coming from the Showbread as it becomes illuminated by the Seven Spirits of God. Since the Showbread then must be eaten it appears that the Kingdom Reality is manifested by the New Inner Man. It is for that reason we are focusing upon the “Kingdom Consecration” of the New Inner Man.
I know the questions will be asked; “But how do we do that and what words do we say?”
This is the problem with the invisible realm of the New Inner Man and the invisible nature of the Priesthood and the invisible dimension of the Holy Place Life and Ministry. Consecration in this invisible realm is by a life lived out in total surrender to God’s plan and purpose. Of course this is too abstract for the Outer Court people to comprehend. Why? Because this is NOT in the natural or visible Realm or even the realm of logic. This “consecration” is centered around fulfilling God’s Highest Intention for man that was designed for the man before the world was! God’s provision is designed to enable the Consecrated man to function in fullness within the creation and time period allotted to him. How do we know that? Because that is what our Prototype Man did. Why is this the highest calling today? Because, it is in this period of time when God is preparing us for the Eternal Kingdom. It is our function today in the Holy Place and its Priesthood ministry that is an integral part of our preparation. We know that by the Prototype Son!
Some will say; “But that is just the anointing.” No, that is the result of ALL seven of the Outer Court experiences combined into a Transformed Life. Still, we cannot separate the anointing from the consecration and say we need one and NOT the other. Neither can we isolate the garments, water baptism or forgiveness of sins or even repentance. Each of these provides something toward our consecration. These experiences combined are culminated in the Consecration Offering but now Consecration has moved from something only outward to something inward. Just from doing His will outwardly to expressing what He, Himself, is. Then the highest calling that we can see from our current position is this; “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” “I only do what I see the Father doing.” “I do nothing from my own initiative.” “As I hear, I speak.” Consecration in this realm then is NOT just about what we do or don’t do (as ministry) but this Consecration is about obedience to do nothing or say nothing unless He speaks. Of course this is far beyond our experience today! Still, this discipline is the obedience of Consecration. Since it is the outward man that insists upon doing and speaking and going, it is the outer man that first needs to consecrate his body to do the will of God. This is what we are referring to as “Consecration Grace.” Since this outward obedience BEGINS in the New Inner Man, it is here that our Holy Place Consecration is focused. It is because of this level of Consecration that furious activity by the outward man is seen as irrelevant. This is NOT a consecration to DO Something but a consecration to BE SOMETHING. I am guessing that this is the level of consecration that leads to sonship!
The Outer Court ministries only see furious activity as valid ministry. Anything else is seen as being lazy or wasting time or being clueless about what ministry is all about. It is obvious that those who are geared toward furious activity will violently oppose any ministry that just waits on God and does nothing from their own initiative.
Now, it is amazing that all this is revealed in Leviticus 8 but in type, shadow and pattern form. The Consecration Offering is NOT just about death but about life out of death or resurrection. Not a resurrection of the physical body as shared at a funeral but a resurrection into a new dimension of Divine Life. Death (diminished responsibility) works in the Outer Man so a new dimension of Divine Life can work in the Inner Man. Since the Consecration Offerings are so all-inclusive and explain this transition from the Outer Court to the Priesthood ministry in the Holy Place, the study will be longer than usual. For that reason we are breaking this “Divine Demand” of total consecration down into several studies.
This will be the first time I have shared this level of Consecration in a comprehensive study. Therefore, I will be very careful about each part of the Consecration Offering and share as if all this is totally new. Some who read this will have already Consecrated the Outer Man to do the whole will of God and will have experienced some change in their vision and understanding. Most will not have understood the Consecration in this comprehensive way! I am sure this study will need to be readjusted and added to in many details as our experience of Consecration develops and God’s personal dealings follows. Out of this level of Consecration comes personal revelation that adds to the Consecration experience and that requires a further and progressive Consecration. How do we know that? From the Prototype Son! His Consecration was progressive from baptism until Calvary.
Much of this is revealed in Leviticus 8 and some on Exodus 29 even though it doesn’t specifically say this in words. I will add the scriptures in Leviticus 8 here to refresh our understanding.
Lev 8:2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread; 3 and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” 4 So Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, 5 Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded to do.”
Lev 8:6 Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near, and washed them with water. 7 And he put the tunic on him and girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him. 8 He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9 He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:10 Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. 12 Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.
Lev 8:13 Next Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with sashes, and bound caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 14 Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
Lev 8:15 Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16 He also took all the fat that was on the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar. 17 But the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse, he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:18 Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19 And Moses slaughtered it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar. 20 When he had cut the ram into its pieces, Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke. 21 After he had washed the entrails and the legs with water, Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:22 Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
Lev 8:24 He also had Aaron’s sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar. 25 And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh.
Lev 8:26 And from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake and one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer, and placed them on the portions of fat and on the right thigh. 27 He then put all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were an ordination offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the LORD.
Lev 8:29 Moses also took the breast and presented it for a wave offering before the LORD; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:30 So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
Lev 8:31 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and eat it there together with the bread which is in the basket of the ordination offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 “And the remainder of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire.
Lev 8:33 “And you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven days. 34 “The LORD has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf. 35 “At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that you may not die, for so I have been commanded.”
Lev 8:36 Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD had commanded through Moses.
As we study these details in the full light of Consecration (Outer Court Light) it would be pitiful if we could not see that EVERYTHING for the ministry and function of the Priesthood is supplied in the Consecration of the Tabernacle, the Consecration of the Priests and the Consecration of their garments. This is revealed in the multiple details. Even the Bull of the Sin Offering is included in the Consecration of the Priests which speaks of additional cleansing from sin and this was in addition to the first sin offering for the forgiveness or covering of sins.
As an example of cleansing we can look at Isaiah 6 and see the additional cleansing that was needed before Isaiah could make the transition to the next level of the prophetic ministry. Isaiah was not caught in any gross sin but in uncleanness and it is this “uncleanness” that must be dealt with before we can participate in the next dimension of Life, Spirit and Truth. Isaiah’s uncleanness was in his mouth and it must be dealt with before Isaiah could speak for God in the next dimension of prophesy. This same uncleanness is what we see in the many Outer Court prophets today. Not that they are in sin but that they seem to be limited to the natural dimension of prophesy. Further cleansing is all part of growth.
What was not sin for us in the first instance at the Brass Altar has now become sin at the Second Veil although it only appears as uncleanness. In the Holy Place realm uncleanness IS sin but not in the same vein as gross sin at the Brass Altar even though both are handled by blood. Even the Garments of the priests are sprinkled with blood as an element of their consecration. In the Consecration Offering we must even make a distinction between the SHED blood and the SPRINKLED blood. Even though both are blood there is a definite distinction between what each one did in the Consecration.
In other words there is no area of a priest’s Life that is exempt from Consecration including his right ear, his right thumb and the big toe of his right foot. Even both hands are made full in abundance by the Consecration. However, everything that is placed in our hands is then offered up in fire. Even that is part of the Consecration and may be one of the most difficult things to Consecrate, even our new Life, our new garments of Christ, our new person and our new ministry. Even our inner anointing is placed within the Consecration Offering and this includes every place of our ministry. However, none of this is just to qualify for “earthly ministry” but to qualify for the Eternal Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek.
We can generally identify excessive activity with the earthly ministry realm and the “ministry” that is from first Adam. Even every activity in the Tabernacle that was related to Outer Court work was for a specific purpose of forgiveness, cleansing, preparation or development. There was no irrelevant activity that was just a show to please man as we see in the visible realm today. The sad thing is that this “show business” is not even recognized as a waste of time that is producing NOTHING eternal. It is just “work” like watching the grass grow. It is “activity” but is producing nothing!
In the Consecration Offering we see NO irrelevant activity. The Bull of the Sin Offering, the Ram of the Burnt Offering and the Ram of Ordination all meet some eternal requirements and provide for our qualifications. The specific garments, the accessories, the bonnets, the sprinkled blood and the shed blood are all essential for Priesthood and Sonship. None of these things were for show time! Therefore, any “meetings” that do not produce something eternal are a waste of time, effort and resources. To assume these irrelevant meetings actually please God is ridiculous. If we only did what we see the Father doing there would be NO irrelevant meetings. Why? Because everything that God does, in some way, is designed to fulfill His Eternal Purpose! Only this eternal work is recorded in heaven as fruit that remains. Everything else is a waste of time, effort and resources.
But why are you so critical when the leaders are doing their best they can? It is because I wasted 30 years of my life doing so many irrelevant things that produced NOTHING eternal. If what ever is done without faith is sin, then how can we evaluate irrelevant activity that was designed by man as “show time.” These ego satisfying meetings and reputation building positions are not honoring God as is mistakenly assumed. If rebellion is as witchcraft, what are ego driven meetings?
Even though it is not possible to point out all the abominations the natural man can do in the church as religious activities, we should clearly understand the many problems the Consecration Offering is designed to correct. The Consecration Offering MUST remove the source of these abominations and then add all the provision we need to do the real ministry and fulfill the Purpose of God for the Holy Place Priesthood. After that we still need to go on to perfection. Therefore, any activity that is not accomplishing this end is a deception and a big waste of time.
Since the natural / carnal / outer man is continually focused upon irrelevant activity he is the first and central focus of the Consecration Offering. This is the Consecration that we emphasized in the original Tabernacle Studies. However, after sharing this level of Consecration for over 30 years we haven’t seen the eternal benefit in our own lives or the lives of the ones we have shared the demands of the Consecration of the body. It has only been recently that we have understood the next dimension of Consecration that is essential along with the Consecration of the Body. That is the Consecration of the New Inner Man because it is he that must fulfill the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. I wasted years teaching the Consecration of the Body to do the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek simply because I was ignorant about the Two Rams. One was the “Ram of Burnt Offering” and the other was the “Ram of the Ordination.” Both are integral parts of the Consecration. I just combined ALL the sacrifices into one sacrifice as the Consecration of the Body to do the whole will of God. I never saw that the Consecration of the “Ram of Burnt Offering” was to be applied to the outer man and the “Ram of Ordination” was to be applied to the New Inner Man who is the one that is “Ordained” to do the New Covenant Priesthood Ministry.
The “Ram of Ordination” is Strongs word “ H4394 ; מלּא Hebrew, millû’ mil-loo’ and means (from H4390;) a fulfilling (only in plural), that is, (literally) a setting (of gems), or
(technically) consecration (also concretely a dedicatory sacrifice): - consecration, be set.
This is the “Ram of Consecration” by which the Priests were “Ordained” for function. The Hebrew word for “ordination” means a filling or a filling of the hands. Any
“ordination” that does not fill the hands is a waste of time. Any “ordination” that fills the hands as an ability given to the outer man is totally misunderstood. Why? Because everything placed on the hands was then offered up in smoke on the Brass Altar. The Gems that were “set” were in the Breast Plate of the High Priest that held the Urim and the Thummin. These two words mean Lights and Perfection. We could say the Light (illumination) to bring to Perfection.
Even the “consecration ability” given to the New Inner Man to function in the Priesthood Ministry is then given back to God as a “consecration offering” so that all “ability, anointing, function and direction is only supplied by the Father within the inner anointing. How do we know that? Both from the type and from the example of the Prototype Son. What type do you mean? Everything in the Tabernacle was sprinkled with Oil and Blood. What does that mean? The New Inner Man is the dwelling place of God and is the Tabernacle, theTemple or the Sanctuary in the New Covenant provision. Therefore, both the Oil and the Blood are sprinkled on the inside of the Sanctuary.
Lev 8:22 Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
Lev 8:24 He also had Aaron’s sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar. 25 And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh.
Since this IS the “Ram of Ordination” we should not think only of the outer man but now we need to refocus upon the New Inner Man. We are not ignoring the “Ram of Consecration” as applied to the outer man also but now the focus is upon the Priesthood and the Holy Place Life and Ministry so our interest and definition is directed to the New Inner Man. Why? He is the one designed to do the New Covenant ministry. Therefore, both the shed blood for our hearing, our doing and our walk and the sprinkled blood is applied to the New Creation Man AND his dwelling place. This dwelling place is called the “tent” or the “tabernacle.” When we recognize that “we” are living in this “tent” we can make a distinction between “us” and the “tent” in which we live. The “tent” is a separate entity but one that still is Consecrated by Sacrifice, by Blood and Oil.
Some things including uncleanness were handled by the “Bull of the Sin Offering” Lev 8:17 But the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse, he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Any uncleanness is carried outside and burnt with fire. The “refuse” is not sin but uncleanness. Sin is handled by blood on the Brass Altar and “refuse” is burnt along with outward appearance, hide, and the flesh, the natural part. Why? It is all part of the Consecration seen at different dimensions and different purposes.
After having ignored so many parts of the Consecration Offering for so many years it is embarrassing to see how much we missed and how much we misapplied as part of the next dimension of Christian Life and Function. It is not so amazing now why we didn’t see the results we expected when we shared the Consecration Offering in so many different places. Maybe God will gives us another opportunity to share the next dimension with more insight and reality.
Of course we must first find the ones who are not satisfied with the status quo and are willing to participate in the Sacrifice of the Consecration Offering. If we evaluate these demands against the popular gospel today we will not expect that this will be a big group!
We believe when the Full Consecration Offering is clearly shared it will also reveal the religious racketeering, the professional con men in the pulpit, the deceivers, the unscrupulous and ego centric who are seeking prestige, the spiritually blind leaders and those who promise more than they can deliver.
It is a terrible injustice when our “natural and intellectual training” has become a substitute for the Spiritual Preparation and Development that is revealed in the Book of Acts. Jesus chose ignorant and unlearned fishermen for a good reason. This intellectual training is irrelevant unless there is the development of integrity, and Christ-like character! This development is all part of the Consecration of the Priests. Professional Training and the Professional Class of religious leaders that resulted from it marked the decline of the visible church. Why? Because the church was never designed to be run as a business and directed by CEO’s who have set their own standards, goals and agenda. Too much of the visible church has accepted this deception as authentic Christianity.
The burning question now is this; How can this perversion of Christianity be destroyed and the real Christianity established once again? It is obvious that creating new programs and developing new systems of giving or pressuring believers to give more to get this strange gospel out so we can win more souls, will produce nothing eternal. It seems that “professionalism” in the visible church has been demanded by carnal leaders for all the time I have been exposed to these religious systems. Carrying all this uncleanness out through the Dung Gate will require more than revival or one trip to the dump. Today there are many “preachers” who can identify the “DUNG” but no one seems to know how to get rid of it. I am guessing that the Whole Burnt Offering will go a long way toward its cremation.