Note: J. Preston Eby, in order to continue to devote his full energy to writing, no longer works in the office and does not receive email. He does, however, respond to any urgent correspondence via snailmail. |
To be added to the mailing list to receive the current issue of Kingdom Bible Studies each month: |
"Teaching
the things concerning the Kingdom of God..."
The
Kingdom of God
Book
Four
By J.
Preston Eby
Table of
Contents
Chapter
Title
Page
42.
The Increase of the Kingdom
3
43.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
14
44.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
29
45.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
43
46.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
57
47.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
70
48.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
84
49.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
96
50.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
106
51.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
120
52.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
133
53.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
143
54.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
158
55.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
170
56.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
184
57.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
198
58.
The Increase of the Kingdom (cont.)
211
59.
Qualifying for Kingdom Dominion
224
60.
Qualifying for Kingdom Dominion (cont.)
238
Chapter
42
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
A
Pentecostal, Charismatic or Fundamentalist Christian who has been fed the
dispensationalist scheme of things has only a future concept of the
Kingdom of God. On
the other hand, there are those who preach a right now word about the Kingdom,
the present reality of the Kingdom, but conclude that the present expression and
manifestation of the Kingdom is all there is. They have no concept of any progressive or
future dimensions of the Kingdom. I do not hesitate to tell you, my beloved, if
what I have seen of the Kingdom up till now is all
there is, then the Kingdom will never be victorious, triumphing in all realms! If the
present activity and power of the Kingdom is all there is, I believe I have reason to fear
that it will never break in pieces, subdue and consume all other
kingdoms as the prophets have prophesied, and all nations will never come
to worship before the Lord, Gods will will never be fully done on
earth as it is in heaven, and God will never be
all in all!
Those
who read these lines are, for the most part, Gods very elect, a people beloved of
the Father, a people chosen and predestinated to sonship, the most enlightened and
obedient people out of all the children of God on the face of the earth. But if
what you and I currently have in God is all
there is, then the power and glory of the Kingdom is most limited, and the hope of
creation is cut off. There
is a glory yet to be revealed in us! There is
a manifestation of the sons of God that all creation is
still groaning and travailing to
see. There
is an age, and there are ages yet to come of Kingdom increase, for it is in those glorious ages to come that God shall put on display before the whole
creation, in and through the saints, what are the riches of His grace and kindness toward
all men (Eph. 2:7), and of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end (Isa.
9:7), and in the dispensation of the
fullness of times He shall gather together
in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him
(Eph. 1:10).
Unknown
to mankind as a whole, yet clearly revealed in the prophecies of the scriptures, the plan
of God for mans salvation, transformation and eternal happiness has been progressing
steadily onward in an orderly and systematic manner. The experience of evil, mans
participation in the heartbreak of sin and the anguish of death, Gods dealings with
Israel, the sending of the Son of God into the world as the Redeemer, the formation of the
Church and the preparation of the sons of God have all been steps in
Gods great plan. They
have all been paving the way for the glory that shall
be revealed when God shall set His hand to
save all the nations, restore all things, and fill the whole earth with His glory as the
waters cover the sea.
We
can only grasp Gods great plan of the ages when we understand that God has a goal and
a timetable by which He works, and His dealings with men are
different at various times and stages of history, according to the need, in order to
advance His Kingdom program. God has manifested His power and glory in
different ways at different times and for different purposes. As the
great pendulum of the ages has relentlessly ticked away the centuries and millenniums one
second at a time, Gods Kingdom has come, and continues to come from glory to glory,
from realm to realm, from stage to stage, until it shall be all-triumphant and
all-encompassing. The
great and glorious consummation of the Kingdom has not yet come, but it is coming,
it is on the way, and it is right on schedule. When Gods timetable reaches a certain
point, His dealings with mankind will again undergo a dramatic change. His power
and glory will be manifested in an altogether different way from what it has been during
the age now ending. We
are right now standing at the point of transition into the new age of Gods great
Kingdom purposes!
Every
time God brings a fresh revelation and new experience to His people many of them are prone
to say, This is IT! This is the ultimate truth and the crowning
glory of God! This
is what it is going to be! At the beginning of this past century when
God brought the baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues, many of those people
believed that such was the last great move of God. They had come out of Holiness and Evangelical
Churches and the Lord led them into a blessed new experience. Very
quickly they settled down in it. For fifty years they organized and
systematized it and Pentecost became one of the more respected denominations among the
church systems.
In
1948 God moved again with power and great glory. It was called Latter Rain. Rain,
whether it be the former or the latter, or showers between, is the Lord coming to His
people. The
Lord Himself came in the Rain! When this outpouring began, again we found
many people believing that was it, this was Gods greatest and final move, and
thousands have settled for the blessings and manifestations which characterized that move
of the Spirit as being permanent. Already the clammy arms of the sectarian
octopus have crushed its vitality and sucked the life-blood from it.
So
God moves on! God
brought Luther out of the Roman Catholic denomination, but God did not desire to stop
there. The
Holy Spirit drew the Wesleys out of the Church of England, but again He did not stop
there. Latter
Rain was unquestionably a shower of great refreshing and quickening power, but God did not
stop there, and He is not stopping with any of the present-day movings, manifestations or
dealings of His Spirit. His
pathway is ever onward and upward, from glory to glory. What anticipation this stirs in our hearts! The fact
is there will
never be any stopping with God for He ever moves ahead, and of the increase of His government and peace THERE SHALL BE NO END (Isa. 9:7).
The
present emphasis of the Holy Spirit is upon the imminent manifestation of the sons of God.
We
are privileged to be living in blessed days of preparation for this grandest of all
events, days fraught with holy and awesome responsibility for Gods elect. But I
would be remiss if I failed to acquaint the saints with the fact that even the placing of
the sons of God is not the last revelation, nor the final act, in Gods great drama
of the ages. It
is easy for the apprehended ones to settle down in the beautiful hope of sonship to God. But God
will move on, beloved, making
sonship, too, but a stepping-stone to realms higher and grander, for, as sonship is not
the ultimate reality or position in the natural life, neither is it in the spiritual life.
We
praise God for the call to sonship, and with bated breath await the glory of its
unveiling, but the crowning glory of God remains to be demonstrated in the age of the ages
yet to come. Saints
of all ages have stood in awe, wondering in great amazement as in spirit they caught faint
glimpses of the divine mystery of Gods purpose of the ages, and deep within my
ransomed being lies the sacred knowledge that even this marvelous reality of sonship,
glorious and far-reaching as it is, is NOT THE ULTIMATE IN GOD!
God
has put His hand to the task; He is ready to grasp the
whole world and, through the
ministry of the manifested sons of God, switch it onto another track, changing its course
and destination. I
tell you, dear ones, we are not waiting nor preparing our hearts in this hour to behold
the dawn of the Kingdom; as sons of God we are laborers
together with God in inaugurating the next
stage of the Kingdom. We shall
work and work, minister and minister, reign and reconcile and bless and deliver and
transform all nations and all men and all realms and all worlds and all ages until we
accomplish the end. Then
cometh the end, when He shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and
all authority and power. For He must reign, until He hath put all
enemies under His feet. The
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (I Cor. 15:24-26). If it
takes a week, a month, a year, a decade, a century, a millennium, a billion years or a
trillion years, it matters not one whit the Kingdom of
God shall increase and expand and triumph until that blessed day when from pole to pole
and from sea to sea and throughout all the unbounded heavens everywhere God shall be ALL
IN ALL.
Let
the truth sink deeply into the heart of every saint of God who now reads these lines, the
great and glorious truth that GOD HAS A PLAN. Gods plan is His aionian plan,
His wonderful PLAN OF THE AGES. God is not an experimenter doing test
procedures and making trial runs, driven to His wits end by clever and cunning
enemies, just doing the best He can as occasion demands. Let the
notion forever perish from our minds that God is something like a chess player arduously
straining for opportunities to out- maneuver an expert opponent (the devil). Oh, no! The great
Architect of the ages drew out His plan before ever He commenced the vast work of creation
and redemption, and those plans were complete, in both principals and details, long before
He spoke the first angel or atom into existence. The wonderful goal of creation, and the
methods and means for attaining that goal, were settled before ever a star twinkled in the
night sky or brook babbled over mountain rocks. In this wise and magnificent plan the
UNSEARCHABLE WISDOM of God is exhibited, His INEXHAUSTIBLE RESOURCES revealed, His
INFALLIBLE JUDGMENT displayed, and His IRRESISTIBLE POWER manifested. And now,
in the midst of our present distresses and travail, our faith quietly rests in the blessed
assurance that the end will justify God in all His ways. The
triumphant declaration of the prophet is, As for God, His way is perfect, and He maketh my way perfect
(Ps. 18:30,32).
THE
PROGRESSION OF THE KINGDOM
From
the very heart of events from the morning of creation there can be observed a gradual development of everything that came from the hands of the
omnipotent Creator. From
the lips of the almighty Elohim came that irresistible command of the word of God,
Let there be! And there was. But it
was not a single command, the heavens and the earth were not formed in an instant nor
fashioned in one day, by one divine word. Again and again there issued forth the
majestic proclamation, Let. Let there be light. Let there be a firmament. Let the waters be gathered. Let there be lights in the firmament. Let the waters bring forth. Let the earth bring forth. Let us make man. Dispensations
had come and gone with their Cain and Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the
prophets before our Lord Jesus explained to the inquiring Nicodemus, Except a man be
born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And now
through the dreary years of every century since Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God with
power and birthed His anointed body in the earth, the blessed Holy Spirit has been
planting within the believing hearts of men and women the seed and power of that
ever-increasing Kingdom and, wonder of wonders, yet true to Gods progressive purpose
of the ages, that incorruptible seed is ready to bring forth a company of sons of God in the fullness of the nature, power and glory of
Gods firstborn Son and Christ.
It
cannot be otherwise! All
things have a beginning, followed by various stages of development, formation, growth, and
increase until ultimately comes the fullness and perfection. Space
travel did not begin by sending a man to the moon. Men first jumped off cliffs, trying to fly
with crude, homemade wings. Then men flew in balloons. The
Wright brothers invented the first airplane, and other types of aircrafts followed until
the Russians startled the world by sending their Sputnik into orbit around the earth,
inaugurating the space age. Today we are sending space probes throughout
our solar system, and it is only a matter of time, if God permits, until Star Trek will
move from science fiction to living reality. Can we not clearly see by this how it is that
each and every step was required in the grand and epochal work of creation and
redemption. For
six thousand years the race has witnessed the natural evolution of civilization, human
government, science, economics, medicine, and technology. Nothing
ever happens overnight! But
all things move inexorably forward.
How
old is this earth of ours? How long were each of the creative
days in which the word of God brought forth the things now seen and enjoyed by
mankind? Nobody
knows of a certainty, but the evidence is on the side of antiquity, a million years might
be conservative. It
takes a vast stretch of time eons, indeed to produce coal and diamonds and a variety of other natural
resources of earth. It
reminds me of a story I read once about a little boy with a small shovel. He was
trying to clear a pathway through deep, new-fallen snow in front of his house. A man
paused to observe the childs enormous task. Little boy, he inquired,
how can someone as small as you expect to finish a task as big as this? The boy
looked up and replied confidently, Little by little, thats how! And he
continued shoveling. Progression is a divine principle rooted in the very way of
our omniscient Creator! He
took seven days (epochs, periods) to create this world in all its
beauty and splendor. Notice
how He began by creating first the grass, then the herbs, and then the trees, followed by
the sea creatures, then the winged fowl, then cattle, then the great beasts, and finally
the greatest miracle and crowning work of all man in the
likeness and image of God! The implications of such a marvelous, precise and determinate process is
staggering to the imagination, and it is small wonder that our elder brother, whose name
is The Word of God, by whom and through
whom all things were made, has instructed us with these words of wisdom and understanding,
So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should
sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
For
the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after
that the full corn in the ear (Mk.
4:26-28).
God
is revealing His Kingdom plan to us piece by piece, revelation by revelation, and from
each piece of the puzzle revealed to us, we know that the entire, completed picture will
be beyond our wildest imaginations! I do not profess today to have all the pieces
of the puzzle nor to understand all the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. But of
one thing I am very confident I do possess
the next piece of the puzzle! And so do all the sons of God! I can
assure you today that the next thing on Gods agenda is the manifestation of the sons
of God! The
ministry of Gods Son-company will bring to pass the subduing of the living nations of earth to the dominion and glory of the Kingdom
until the heavenly words are fully fulfilled, The kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign to the ages of the ages! (Rev. 11:15).
When
our lovely Lord Jesus came into this sin-cursed world bringing the word and power of the
Kingdom, He ushered in a new and glorious age. But it should be clearly evident to all who
have eyes to see and hearts to understand that the blessings of the new order did not, and
have not, come to all men. Even in Jesus day not all the blind
received their sight, not all the lame were healed, not all lepers were cleansed, not all
demons were cast out, and only a few dead were raised. Multitudes of deformed, sick, diseased,
tormented, sinful, lost, and dead men in Palestine remained untouched by the life of the
new-born Kingdom of God. Rome remained pagan and the unnumbered
millions of humanity of all the nations throughout the ends of the earth had not even
heard that God had sent a
Redeemer and a Christ! The
saving power of the Kingdom was not universally operative. It was
resident only in Jesus and His little flock of footstep followers. The
mighty signs of the Kingdom wrought by Jesus and His early disciples were but a token, an
earnest, a
parable and prophecy, not the fullness nor the consummation.
It
is very doubtful that any in those days had the remotest idea that it was the
Fathers intention to take the next two thousand years to complete the great work of
preparing the kings of the Kingdom.
Jesus came to bring in the new age of the
Church, the seedbed in which the Kingdom could grow and develop to its next stage. When the
conditions are fully ripe for this next
stage of the Kingdom, this age will completely pass away. How our
glad hearts rejoice in the sacred knowledge that we are standing even now at the door of
the next new age and the greater
glory of the Kingdom that it brings! Oh, the
wonder of it! Sonship! Sons
of God and joint-heirs with Christ receiving power over
the nations to rule them with a
rod of iron! Sonship
is the hope of all creation and the joy of the Fathers heart. The
manifestation of the sons of God is now ready to bring to fruition the desire of all
nations. The
hopes and dreams of all the years for peace and righteousness and blessing and life upon
the teeming billions of the nations of this benighted planet are met in the unveiling of
Gods sons, the increase of the Kingdom for the new age.
When
all the ages have passed, and the sun has set on every progressive stage of the unfolding
of Gods glorious Kingdom, there will be no more deaf or blind or
leprous or demon possessed or crime or violence or wars or sin anywhere. Death
shall be swallowed up in life! Here we discover the mysterious law of the
Kingdom. Its
blessings entered the old age of the law, introducing a new order of life for all who
would believe. This
new order of the Spirit that Jesus brought is not the final age, nor even the age before the
last age! The
blessing and glory of each new age is rooted in the previous age and springs forth from
it. The
new age of the Kingdom upon the nations is not by any stretch of the imagination the
closing dispensation in Gods great plan of the ages. Oh, no! A new age
is hidden in this present age, as the blade is hidden in the seed, and another even more
glorious age is hidden in the new age now dawning, just as the stalk is hidden in the
blade. Another
age will proceed from that age and on and on and on until the dispensation of the
fullness of times (Eph. 1:10). Thus did
the Holy Spirit speak through the apostle Paul, But God, who is rich in mercy, for
His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ: and hath raised us up and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show (demonstrate, put on display, reveal) the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus...that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things into
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him (Eph. 2:4-7;
1:10). The
issue is not in doubt. The
Kingdom of God moves onward from stage to stage, from age to age, to its inevitable
triumph: THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS.
Well
did Paul Mueller write: As the ages unfold in harmonious and ordered progression,
all the attributes of God will likewise unfold to be revealed in a vast and increasing
manifestation. As
we have already shown, grace is increasing as is righteousness, peace and joy. When one
age ends, the spiritual characteristics of that dying age do not end. Rather,
each divine aspect of the previous age is raised up to a higher spiritual level of
fulfillment and is then carried over into the next age. Thus, the
grace of God will not end with this age, but will increase because the Lord has raised it
up to a higher order. All
the other attributes of the divine nature that we have known in the past will not decrease
but will be fulfilled in a greater measure, and manifest in increasing fullness to the
saints of the new order. Amen and amen!
It
is impossible that our Father of grace, mercy, love and power should endure forever the
moral entanglements and spiritual darkness of the world. Creation
would be a tragic failure if nothing better than our mixed circumstances of good and evil,
of truth and error, or light and darkness were to continue forever. The
present condition of the world does not justify its existence or vindicate the creation of
man. There is something better to eventuate! The present is only tolerable as a stage
in the vast process of Gods creative genius. The
forecast of scripture anticipates a time when evil will have run its course, and when all
that remains obstinately and persistently evil shall meet with swift, severe, stern
measures of judgment and doom. Jesus came into the world to seek and
to save that which was lost, to be the Saviour of the world, and to
give life to the world. He was born, He lived, He taught, He labored,
He worked miracles, He gave Himself a sacrifice for sin, He died, He rose, He ascended up
far above all heavens, He poured out His Spirit, He sent forth His apostles to establish
His Church, to raise up His body in the earth. And is that all? If so, it
is not enough!
The
very purpose of the Christs coming demands something more. We are
not satisfied with such a climax. So far as it goes, it is well, but it does
not go far enough. Sin,
sickness and death still stalk the world.
If
Jesus came to be the Saviour of the world,
to give life to the world, but the world
still lies in the power of the evil one, and is not of the Father, something is
missing! The
nations are angry and there are wars and rumors of wars. Deceit, plunder, greed, lust, hatred,
bigotry, tyranny, sorrow, pain, trouble and poverty plague all peoples and nations. If what
we have had for two thousand years is all there is, and the last thing we are to see on
earth is a miserable handful of Christians getting ready to die or be evacuated away to
some far-off heaven somewhere, then Jesus mission was a failure, and He might as
well have remained in heaven so far as planet
earth is concerned. If the
ages of the future are to go on in endless repetition of what has been; if the age-long
battle between Christ and Belial, between righteousness and evil, between the Church and
the world is to continue forever with only slight advantages to one side or the other, but
without a definite outcome of victory for one of the sides; if there is to be no progress
or decisive and triumphant conclusion to the fact of Jesus Christ being the SAVIOUR
OF THE WORLD, and the PRINCE OF THE
KINGS OF THE EARTH, then there is an
incompleteness about the entire message of the Kingdom of God which is not to be
reconciled with the omniscience and omnipotence of our heavenly Father. What is
begun here on this planet is to be finished here! If Christ came to save the world and rule all
nations with a rod of iron, then His work is not finished until the world is saved,
and the nations are subjected to His glorious rule!
There
should be no need to remind any who read these lines that there is much more to come for
this sin-weary world! It
is somewhat like touring a beautiful and spacious mansion. Entry
into the foyer is only the beginning. It would be unfair and misleading to judge
the whole house by what is first seen, or to conclude that nothing more remains to be
seen. Likewise,
it is unfair to judge the whole Kingdom of God from the standpoint of this present Church age. This age
has been but the foyer, the introduction to the grand and glorious Kingdom of God! The
extent of the riches of Gods kindness and the excellence of His glory will only be
revealed in the age and the ages to come as the Kingdom expands, unfolds, and intensifies
from glory to glory. This
age is but a small segment of the rule of God for the ages! This age
is not the whole stage for that rule. It is merely the scenes in the First Act. In these
few scenes a great drama is being played the outcome,
however, is assured, for the Finger of God has been lifted up in the person of Jesus
Christ. These
scenes will give way to greater scenes when the righteous will shine like the sun in
the Kingdom of their Father, and all creation shouts for joy at the manifestation of
Gods sons!
For
those who lived during the Second World War and suffered the terrible consequences of that
conflict, one of the most important days of this past century was D-Day. That was
the day when the Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and won the decisive
battle against Hitlers army. True, it would still take another year for
V-Day, or Victory Day, to occur, but it was D-Day that delivered the death blow to the
Nazi enemy and guaranteed its ultimate defeat. For all of us who live with sin, sorrow and
death and who suffer the terrible consequences of their destructive power, the most
important day in all human history took place some two thousand years ago just outside
Jerusalem. That
was our spiritual D-Day! For when Jesus walked out of the tomb alive
He won within Himself and for every son of God and for all humanity the decisive battle
over satan, sin, and death! Ah, we still see the effects of these enemies
in our violence-filled world, in our broken-down and abusive relationships, in our
weaknesses and fears, in our disease-ridden and aging bodies, and self-centered attitudes.
But
as surely as there has been a D-Day in the Kingdom of God, just that certain it is that
there shall also be a V-Day! Thats where the sons of God stand at
this moment between D-Day and
V-Day! The
battle is on, but the victory is sure, and the sons of God are pressing their way forward
to overcome all things in this great Day of the Lord. This glorious victory will herald the day of
manifestation and usher in to the visible world the next
stage of THE INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM!
Long
centuries ago in far-away Babylon the aged prophet Daniel received this challenging and
assuring word from the Lord: And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of
the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and
ever (Dan. 12:3). Our
blessed Lord Jesus Christ is the bright Morning Star (Rev. 22:16). There are
many other stars besides the Morning Star in Gods glorious celestial realm, His
spiritual heavens. Here
the signification of stars is identified with the saints. Each
member of Gods elect is one star in Gods spiritual universe. You are a
star in Gods economy! You are appointed to have an eonian fixed
position in Gods heavenly Kingdom as a star, as a shining one, as a luminary. There are
different degrees of glory to the stars, There is one glory of the sun, and another
glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another
star in glory: so also is the resurrection
of the dead (I Cor. 15:41-42). As one star outshines another in glory so is
it in the incorruptible Kingdom realm of God. Stars have different dimensions of glory. The
greatest of all stars signified to us is as the Sun Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord. But there
is a vast multitude of stars possessing differing degrees of glory
in the Kingdom of God but they are all
called wise stars and they all turn many to righteousness,
therefore they burn as bright lights in the Fathers Kingdom. Stars are
bright lights that give light where there is darkness.
I
am sure most of my readers are familiar with the old song, Will There Be Any Stars
In My Crown? There
is no scripture to indicate that the saints will wear starry crowns, but there
is scripture which is greater by far! It is the privilege of all who treasure the
beautiful hope of sonship to dwell upon the bright hope of this marvelous promise,
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that
turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever. Gods
universe embraces all places. This little world of ours, and each star and
sun and planet
and moon are but tiny grains of sand on the seashore of infinity. Each one
is small indeed in relation to all the rest of the systems, and in relation to limitless
space. A
conception of its magnitude can be gathered only from the stellar worlds themselves. What are
those stars, in the likeness of which the wise teachers of righteousness are to shine to
the age and beyond? How
much brightness, and majesty, and length of days is involved in this analogy?
There
are stars, as, for instance, Arcturus, which emits light equivalent to one hundred
fifty-eight of our suns; Capella, one hundred eighty-five; and so on, until at last we
reach the great star Rigel, in the constellation of Orion, which floods the celestial
spaces with a brilliance fifteen thousand times that of the ponderous orb which lights and
controls our solar system! Why, then, does it not appear more luminous
to us? Ah,
its distance is equivalent to thirty-three million diameters of the earths orbit;
and the latter is one hundred eighty-six million miles! Figures
are weak to express such distances and sizes. It will be sufficient to say that its glowing
light must traverse space as only light travels one hundred
eighty-six thousand miles a second for a period of
more than ten years before it reaches this world of ours. There are
many other stars which are hundreds of light years from our solar system. A few
years pass away, and all things earthly gather the mold of age and the odor of decay as
the desert winds blow the swirling sands over the crumbling ruins of ancient empires. But the
stars shine on in their glory as in the beginning. Centuries and cycles have gone by, kingdoms
have arisen and slowly pass away. Yet the stars brightness is not dimmed,
nor their force abated. The
dew of youth still seems fresh upon them. No faltering motion reveals the decrepitude
of age. These
shine on in undiminished glory through all the ages of time, for they are the lights of the ages.
Thus
shall those wise and blessed sons of God shine who turn the inhabitants of the world to
righteousness. Thus
shall their ministry and their years roll on from age to age until that wonderful age of
the ages, the dispensation of the fullness of times wherein everything in heaven and on
earth and throughout all realms is gathered together into one in Gods Christ and God
becomes All-in-all. What
glories lie beyond this, we cannot yet know, but methinks there will be more worlds,
further universes, vast new creations from the hands of God and His sons who, in Christ,
become the Word by which the creative power of God brings forth His pleasure and purpose
forever. God
has always been a Creator, for He has always been all that He is. God will
always be a Creator, for should He stop creating, He would cease to be God!
Of
this we may be sure: We who are redeemed have entered a progressive institution, a Kingdom
in which stagnation will never enter. We will ever go on from glory to
glory, for of the increase of His government...THERE SHALL BE NO END! We will
never come to the place where we can sit down with folded hands and say, This is the
end. The
end of one creation, of one order, of one plan of the ages, will only bring us to the
next. We
who have been born into the heavenly realm, have entered a stage of action, we have become
active agents in the greatest development program ever conceived. A whole
universe awaits our touch and guiding hand. What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? Thou hast
put all things in subjection under his feet. For in
that He put ALL in subjection under him, He left N-O-T-H-I-N-G that is not put under him. But we
see not yet all things put under him (man). But we see Jesus crowned... (Heb. 2:6-9). Surely
these words can mean nothing less than UNIVERSAL DOMINION! Away out
there in the blue is a Kingdom of life and light and love for every son of God to explore
and develop and perfect. And if ever, in all the countless ages to
come, that Kingdom should become too small or overcrowded for its citizens, let us
remember that we, being as He is, are therefore, one and all, the very same kind of Beings
as He who simply spoke the word, and lo! the present worlds appeared. Being
like Him, we will also be creators, one and all, and not destroyers, as in our human
state. WE
SHALL BE LIKE HIM.
God
says that men enter His heavenly Kingdom by being born into it (Jn. 3:5). Men do
not die to go to heaven, they are born there. And then after they are born into that state after they become
heavenly beings they can lay up,
by their obedience to the heavenly Father, heavenly riches which will not only be a place,
but royal pomp and splendor and majesty and dominion beyond compare. Sonship
does not only entitle one to residence in Gods limitless and eternal domain, but to
the ownership and rule of that domain. Ah, the sons of God are heirs of God and joint-heirs
with Christ their Lord, who is the heir of all
things! Oh,
that it were possible to lift men up above the shadows, and give them just a glimpse of
something higher! Mortal
minds are so entirely inadequate; human eyes so dim; human ears so dull!
Heaven
is not a mansion over the hilltop, nor the gratifying of the needs and desires of this
vessel of clay. It
is not that which will bring creature comfort. It is not a state of eternal creature
enjoyment and rest. The
celestial realm is something infinitely higher. It is eminence, power, majesty, glory. It is
becoming the same kind of a Being as the One who made the worlds (Jn. 10:34-36; I Jn.
3:2), and will bring, not inactive rest with fluttering wings and strumming harps, but
activities and accomplishments far surpassing that of earths mundane limitations. And it
includes kingship and priesthood over Gods eternal and infinite domain. It is
dominion and power and influence far above that which carnal minds can contemplate or even
imagine. And
then the place which we receive after entering this heavenly state is not heaven, but that
which we receive as a consequence of our entrance into the celestial sphere. The place
is the reward which faithful heavenly beings will receive as their very own, a part of
their inheritance, heavenly real estate!
The
stars are distant lights. They shine in other spheres. There is
no doubt that vast numbers of these stars are suns like unto our own, the
centers of great solar systems, with heavenly bodies that revolve around them, perhaps
populated by beings of which we know nothing at this present time. Thus will
it be in the Kingdom of the Son, in the spiritual heavens of Gods universal and
eternal dominion. Each
son of God will be a star, a sun, shining forth in living and everlasting luster. Each
member of the elect will faithfully radiate his beams of life and light and love, shining
in those spheres which the omniscient Father shall allot to them. Thus each
shall become the central star of a spiritual solar system composed of myriads of creatures
in Gods glorious creation which revolve around them, unto whom they shine as the
revelation of Gods nature, glory and power. And thus shall the scripture be fulfilled,
Then shall the righteous SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the Kingdom of THEIR FATHER. Who hath
ears to hear, let him hear (Mat. 13:43). The Kingdom does not become the Kingdom of
the Father until Christ, having put all enemies under His feet, including the
last enemy death, delivers up the Kingdom to God, EVEN THE FATHER, and God becomes all in
all (I Cor. 15:24-28). What
glorious and ineffable prospects lie before us!
LIKE
A SEED
The
Word of God contains mysteries which little by little are opened to us like the opening of
a rose. In
His wonderful Kingdom parables Jesus revealed the great mystery of the progression of the Kingdom from stage to stage and realm to realm. He said,
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and
sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is
the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge
in the branches thereof(Mat. 13:31-32). Again, Behold a sower went forth to
sow; and when he sowed, some seeds (the word of the Kingdom) fell by the wayside, and the
fowls came and devoured them. Some fell upon stony places...some fell among
thorns...but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold,
some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who has ears to hear, let him hear
(Mat. 13:3-9). And
yet again, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his
field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his
way... (Mat. 13:24-25).
In
this illuminating teaching Jesus reveals to His disciples the nature of the Kingdom of
God. He
teaches them how to know the mysteries of the Kingdom. What mystery is it? Ah,
before anything else, it is the truth that the Kingdom comes as a seed
into the midst of men, seemingly the smallest, most insignificant, weakest and most
defenseless thing there is. It can be devoured by the fowls, it can
choked by the thorns, it can be scorched by the sun, and sometimes it can hardly be
distinguished from the tares. That is the secret of the Kingdom! But just
as life lies hidden within a seed, and springs forth in power and unfolds in beauty and
substance to become a mighty tree, so the Kingdom of God has entered this world in the
person of Jesus Christ and now the world is full of the redemptive power of God.
What
a wonderful thing is vegetation! Look at this tiny acorn. Little
sign does it give of the vital energy locked up within it the costly
diamond is more promising! But plant that diamond, plant it carefully in
the richest of soil, under the most favorable conditions. Let your
descendants ten thousand years hence visit the spot. No dazzling tree is there, flashing with
countless jeweled leaves. Nothing is there but just what you planted an unchanged, cold, dead diamond, perhaps much depreciated in
value. But
the acorn an autumn wind
sweeps through the forest; that little brown, seemingly dead acorn falls to the ground. The hoof
of a browsing deer presses it beneath the sod. There it lies in its grave an
unnoticed thing. But
the germ of a great life is in it. The winter chill breaks away, amidst spring
showers the sun warms the earth, the finger of its secret power touches its inner life,
and, lo, the little brown nut is quickened, swells, bursts, roots, springs forth, grows,
develops, and by the time your descendants visit the spot the whole earth is filled with
mighty oaks! As
the acorn embodies the tree in embryo, but is not the oak tree in extenso, so is the Kingdom in this age
within the hearts and lives of Gods elect. But Gods elect shall, in due time, fill
the earth with the power and glory of the Kingdom.
The
mighty king Nebuchadnezzar beheld in a dream the same wonderful truth under another
figure, and the aged prophet Daniel interpreted the kings dream with these words,
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon
his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was
the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and
became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that
no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
earth (Dan. 2:34-35). The revelation in this instructive experience
of Nebuchadnezzar is that the Kingdom of God comes into the earth, smites the kingdoms of
man until they no longer exist as the kingdoms of man, and the Kingdom of God increases
until its glory and dominion fill the whole earth.
God
has a wonderful plan for the earth! The
firstborn Son of God came into the world,
the cross of Christ was placed in this world,
and Christ arose here, and poured out
His Spirit here, and began to conquer
the hearts of men here, and to build the
new society of His Kingdom here. It is
this effective power of the increase of the
Kingdom in the earth that Jesus unfolds in
His parables of the mustard seed and the other seeds. The seed is planted in the earth. The seed
is very small but the tree is very great, the birds lodge in its branches and people seek
shelter under its leaves. The Kingdom seeks the people and the ends of
the earth and the heights of the heavens and the depths of the underworld. The
Kingdom of God, which began as a small seed in these vessels of earth, has the very life
of God in it. The
Kingdom seed, which is Christ, is growing within us to become a great tree in the earth. The
growing, increasing, and expanding Kingdom of God in
the earth is forcing man out of the
picture. And
the mighty and all-glorious Kingdom of God shall continue to grow and expand in the earth, and in the whole universe, until
there is nothing else, but only GOD. He shall fill all things with the glory that
He is, until He shall truly be all in all.
A
dear brother with whom we correspond shared the following in one of his letters. I
recently took a sack of acorns to my Sunday School class and passed them out. I asked
the class what they could see in them. Then I compared the acorn to the word of the
Kingdom. Starting
small it produces an oak tree, which then produces many trees, which
produce a forest. When
man rightly divides the Word, bringing his chain saws, then planers, table top
saws, jig saws, etc., from one acorn comes a fine home, then a subdivision, then an entire
city. Inside
the homes the acorn produces trim, shelves, closets, and beautiful furniture. All from one
acorn, one seed and that seed
is Christ!
The
notion that there is but one single age of the Kingdom, or the Kingdom Age as
it is called, is foreign to scripture and contradictory to Gods great purpose. Gods
Kingdom plan is a plan of the ages, not one Kingdom Age. The ages
of the Kingdom of God stretch into infinity! Of the increase of
His government and peace there shall be no
end (Isa. 9:7). That doesnt sound like one age or
a mere thousand years to me! Ah, the purpose of God is a purpose that
encompasses the ages, and the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom that progresses and triumphs through the ages. As Jesus
taught, it is like a farmer planting his seed in the soil. He makes
the field ready and plants the seed in the ground. The seed lies buried under the earth, lost
from sight, of course. If
I had my way, I would expect a field full of corn tomorrow morning! After
all, I put a lot of time and energy and money to prepare this soil and plant this seed. I did the
right thing. I
sowed the seed. An
experienced farmer understands, however, that it is going to take time for the seed to sprout, to grow, to develop through
all its stages, and ultimately bear fruit at harvest. The consummation doesnt come
immediately nor instantly, but in season. Seedtime and harvest! That is
Gods method of operation in everything He does. Its been this way since the beginning,
when God took six days to fashion the heavens and the earth, and it will
continue to be His way throughout all the limitless ages. The Lord
is ambitious. He
enjoys growth and expansion! That is the way of His plan and purpose,
always. Do
not despair, precious one, if the work of God in you seems very slow. As long
as there is some progress, however infinitesimal it may appear to the eye, GOD IS AT WORK!
He
will never leave you nor forsake you, He will not abandon the work of His hands, nor will
He turn from His purpose in you. God will complete that good work He has begun
in you! Oh,
yes, He will! You
see, this is the deep mystery of the Kingdom of God. Jesus has taught us that it comes like silent
leaven, grows like a grain of mustard seed, develops like corn, which is first the
blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. Of the
increase of His government and peace within
you and in all the earth beneath and the
heavens above, there shall be NO END! Eternal increase! God has
only gotten started!
I
heard a brother relate the following experience. He said, It was 1977, and I really lost
half my crop. It
was a bad, bad year. It
was so wet, I couldnt get half of it harvested and it didnt develop. So, at
the end of the year, in October, I would walk through the fields and try to pick up a
bushel here and a piece there. Then, I saw standing by itself a most
extraordinary soybean plant. I walked over and I was shocked by its size
and its good looks. I
went and I carefully picked off the pods. There were 202 pods and I opened them and I
counted out 503 soybeans and I took them home. I kept them in a pan all winter, and they
dried out. The
next spring they just seemed special to me. In 1978 I took those 503 soybeans and I
planted them in a little plot behind my house. When October came I harvested 32 pounds! 32
pounds! I
dried them out in the winter, and in 1979 I took those 32 pounds and planted them on one
acre. When
October came, I harvested. I had 2,419 pounds. Well,
next spring was 1980 and I took those 2,419 pounds and planted them on 68 acres, which was
all the land I had available. In October I harvested 2,100 bushels and
cashed it out for $15,000 dollars! Now, one bean stalk four years later, $15,000
dollars. Not
too bad, is it?
What
a beautiful modern day parable this is of the Kingdom of God! The
extraordinary seed this farmer discovered in his field in the midst of desolation and ruin
represents the only good seed to ever spring forth in the presence of the sin, darkness
and death of earth's benighted ages. This good seed, this extraordinary seed, is
our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Word
of God. It
is a very good seed, for it is the germ of spiritual life. It is the incorruptible seed. When this
seed was planted in the earth it began to grow vigorously and brought forth first the
glory of the early Church. Then, from move to move, from visitation to
visitation, from revival to revival, from dealing to dealing this seed has grown and
multiplied and reproduced in the earth and now it is time for the cash crop
that will bring blessing to all the families of the earth the manifested
sons of God. The
sons are the increase of the Kingdom of God within the Lords elect. Within
that first, extraordinary seed was a preview of the Kingdom when Christ with His entire
body of sons will appear in the glory of sonship. And that, precious friend of mine, is how the
Kingdom of God will also increase and expand from age to age throughout the ages of the
ages with the unending increase of God! Think about it! Just as
Jesus was the first seed for this age, bringing forth a harvest of many sons, so the sons
are the first seed for the next age. What an increase of the Kingdom they will
bring! And the harvest out of the age now dawning will be the seedbed for the age that
follows after that. And
of the increase of His Kingdom there shall be NO END!
Mans
God gets bigger each time a man grows.
His Lord becomes greater, the more a man knows.
One time, a lone mountain, His total domain.
He grew with His people, Their gain was His gain.
In Israels small country, they centered His grace
He stayed with His people, their place was His place.
He grew with their concepts, He grew with each thought.
Bigger and bigger grew all that He wrought.
From sacrificed creatures...to sacrificed wills.
From temple that held Him...to heavens to fill.
From war with the heathen...to love for all men.
He grew, and He grew, and He grew...again.
I know God is constant...His size cannot change.
And never, no mountain, could limit His range.
Gods quart in our pint? Such greatness in man?
God shows us as much, each day, as He can.
A soul that is hard...sees not the Lords kindness.
A person thats rude...sees not the Lords fineness.
As children were apt to misunderstand.
So oft misinterpret, the heavnly command.
We limit Gods size... cause we are so stunted.
Its not the Lords fault, that we are thus runted.
As we grow in grace...as we grow in love..
So groweth our God...we keep learning of!
By
Bob Robin
(Used by permission)
Chapter
43
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
As
I begin this message on THE INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM I am moved to share these words from
the pen of brother Paul Mueller. He writes,
With each revelation and manifestation of Christ to His people, the Truth that He is
increases, the Life that He is increases, and the Light of His glory increases, so that we
know Him in greater fullness than we did previously. When
Christ appears to His elect, as He is doing now, He comes in His increased presence. How wonderful to know the Christ of increasing
truth, life, light and glory! He was revealed
and manifested as the Latter Rain in 1948-1953 (Hos. 6:3).
Since then, Christ has been revealed and manifested as the Living Word. He appeared within us as the Living Word, not in a
manifestation of outward glory as in previous visitations, but to impart His word of truth
in a hidden manifestation of Himself. And to
know and experience Him in His greater glory as the King of kings and Lord of lords, as
the One who increases in glory, is more spectacular than any previous manifestation of
Christ. His glory, as revealed in us now, will
do more for the needy of the world and for the creation than anything of the past. Also, the work of the Holy Spirit within us is to
guide us into all truth, and show us things to come (Jn. 16:13). And when He shows us things to come, we have no
desire to continue in the old ways of the past. Therefore,
the glories of the past dim and fade from view when compared with the glory of His present
revelation and manifestation. The glory of
Christ increases with each revelation of Himself (Isa. 9:7).
Thus, the revelation and manifestation of Christ as the King of kings and
Lord of lords is a far greater glory
end quote.
The
increase of Gods Kingdom extends to all realms everywhere, but the reality and power
of the increase of Gods government is first experienced in our individual lives. Each of us is a microcosm of the macrocosm. You say, How do I get to the place of
maturity and fullness in the Kingdom? Well,
as I heard brother Bennie Skinner say one time, you dont get there by pulling an
acorn out of your pocket now and then, and saying, Ive got an oak tree. Everybody look at my oak tree! There are a lot of people that are presuming
things, they are talking as though they have arrived, or they are settling for the measure
they have and are calling it manifested sonship. They
are manifested sons, they say, and they have even now entered into the fullness of God,
they have already put on incorruption and immortality but they havent even
planted the acorn yet! They have heard the
message of sonship and the kingdom, they have been quickened in the revelation of this
word, they can spout out all the terminology and doctrine of it, and speak all the
high-sounding phrases and clichés, but live a low-sounding life. Amen, brother Eby, thats the truth if I
ever heard it! they shout, and then go on living their carnal lives. They have their oak tree in an acorn their
sonship exists in the seed that has been placed in their hearts, but they have not planted
the acorn. The power and glory of the Kingdom
are not growing, developing and increasing within them.
The word of the Lord to you today is: Plant the acorn! Water the acorn, fertilize the acorn, cultivate the
acorn, let it grow, let it mature, and your potential as a son of God will unfold. The acorn will become a mighty oak tree spreading
its branches through the heavens. I say today
to all who read these lines, Come on up to mount Zion, come on up to your place in the
throne, come on up to your full potential in the Kingdom.
Expose your acorn to the conditions that will cause it to germinate, grow, develop
and increase, and your branches will reach to heaven and your branches and leaves will
overshadow and bless humanity.
The
government of God is the Kingdom of God. His
Kingdom is His authority, His lordship, His rule. The
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into our spirit is the seed or life-germ of His Kingdom. That is the beginning of His Kingdom within. We have already noted how Jesus described His
Kingdom as a tiny grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest seed of them all, but it
grows to be the biggest of plants. It becomes
a tree, big enough for the birds to come and nest in its branches. The coming of the life of God into our spirit is
the beginning of the Kingdom and it is the gift of God.
Fear not, little flock; for it is the Fathers good pleasure to
give you the kingdom (Lk. 12:32). That
germ of life, which is the word of life, comes into our spirit and it immediately changes
our spirit. When there is no change in an
individuals spirit, in his spiritual consciousness, Christ has not come in. That is the first beginning of His government and
His peace. By the operation of God we become a
member of Gods New Creation Man.
The
Kingdom is birthed into us in an infinitesimally small beginning. But it comes with sufficient power to begin to
change our lives! The government of God
begins in that undistinguished place where the spirit of Christ takes root in the inner
life. Little by little we begin to become
aware of what God wants in our life, and the paths of obedience begin to be learned. The desire is created within us, by the new genetic
makeup of our new mind, to want to do His will. We
want to do what He wants us to do and to be what He wants us to be. It is right there that the church systems begin to
lay upon the Lords people their own man-made laws, creeds, commandments, rules,
regulations, traditions, rituals, works, and a whole world of religious tomfoolery, and
leads the child of God down the dead end street of man-made religion. But if the child of God will turn a deaf ear to the
seductive voice of the gaudy harlot of the church systems, and hear only the voice of
Christ by the Spirit, the Christ in him will continue to give him more light and
understanding, and the Kingdom of God will grow and increase within him. As we walk in the light that the Spirit brings, the
Kingdom of God increases and develops from stage to stage, from glory to glory within our
lives.
Within
the indwelling Spirit of God we possess that which has the power to open up, unfold and
develop the government of God in our lives. But
we do not have the rule of Gods government within us just because we have Christ
within us, or just because we speak in tongues, receive blessings, miracles, answers to
prayer, or have some gifts of the Spirit. All
of those are mere blessings and gifts. We do
not have His governmental rule operating within us and through us until we have
spiritually matured, becoming an overcomer by the conquering power of His life and nature! There is not a man or woman on the face of the
earth today who has received spiritual authority and power to rule for God apart from
putting on the mind of Christ and being an overcomer.
Men have received great and wonderful gifts of the Spirit while still weak
and immature (babes), but not KINGDOM AUTHORITY AND POWER.
There is a great difference!
We
can never rule anything until first we overcome it within ourselves. To overcome means to COME UP OVER THAT
WHICH IS OVER US. The term implies the
existence of obstacles in the pathway of the righteousness, peace, joy, and power of the
Kingdom of God. When, within ourselves, we
rise up above the circumstance, above the problem, so that it no longer harasses, troubles
or controls us, we are then ready to begin to control it; to no longer be the victim of
circumstances, but the master of them. Ah, my
beloved, come up over what the religious systems have fed you! Come up over your own pride and inherent
weaknesses! Come up over your timidity, fears,
and carnal mindedness! Come up over the desire
to build a reputation for your name! Come up
over the myriad pressures from within and without! Come
up over the old order of religious thinking, understanding, and works of the past! Come up over the world of turmoil and confusion
about you! You are called to be an OVER-COMER. Come over that wall!
Come over into the Kingdom of God and a realm of complete victory. If we cannot come out victoriously over ourselves
and over the little temptations and frustrations of our fleshly life, and if we cannot
stay out of the harlots house (church systems) how can the Lord trust us to reign
over that which is without? What kind of
warriors would we make? How much could He
depend upon us? He will give us the place for
which we are prepared and qualified; we must set our faces to be overcomers if we are to
sit with Him upon His throne and reign with Him over all things.
As
sons of the Most High, we have access to the same strength that enabled Jesus to live an
overcoming life and to conquer even death. He
has given to us that same authority and power that gave Him victory of sin, self,
religion, death, hell and the grave. Have you
ever wondered what would happen if Jesus would come and trade places with you? If suddenly He would come to dwell in your body? I have often wondered what He would do if He had my
circumstances, my weaknesses, my lusts, my fears, my pressures, my problems. If the Master came to me and said, Move over,
I am coming to live in your house for a season, I do not doubt that in a short
period He would have all my problems straightened out and all my weaknesses and turmoil
under control. He would overcome all of the
things that I struggle with. But the wonderful
truth is, dear one, HE HAS COME! HE DOES LIVE
IN MY BODY! AND HE LIVES IN YOURS! I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me... (Gal. 2:20). But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His (Rom.
8:9). Ah, He is right here within each one of
us and He is fully able to be the power of our life as we yield to Him. This is the wonderful victory Christ is bringing to
His elect in this hour as He comes within us as King of kings and Lord of lords! He has come in lesser ways in the past, to do
lesser things, but He is coming in great power and in great glory in this hour within
those who are apprehended to the be kings in His Kingdom.
You
see, until Christ in you becomes your very life you wont know anything about the
government of God except that it will some day rule over you. You will have to be subject. There are subjects in the Kingdom, and there are
kings who rule over the subjects. You will be
under those who are over you in the Lord, you will have to learn to be submissive, you
will be required to take a servants place, you will hardly be qualified to be called
a friend, because a friend knows his masters will (Jn. 15:15). The servant never shares the inside information and
intimate thoughts, plans, and purposes of his master, he just does what hes told. That is where the vast majority of Christians are
today! They are mere children in the family of
God. Even the preachers and great
personalities and super-stars of the church orders today are only babes in the family of
God. They cannot lead you into the Kingdom of
God. They are busily engaged in playing their
little religious church games, and in making great names for themselves, and making great
claims for their ministries; but their spiritual minds are darkened, having no
understanding of what God is really doing, no vision of the purposes, principles,
potentials, powers and responsibilities of sonship
in the Kingdom of God.
Come
hither into the son realm, into the throne zone, and learn the ways of Gods
government! All things are given by the Father
into the hands of the Son. He that
overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son
(Rev. 21:7). To him that overcometh
shall I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with
my Father in His throne (Rev. 3:21). And
he that overcometh...to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers (Rev.
2:26-27).
It
is in the realm of sonship, this realm of maturity, this realm of overcoming, that the
increase of Gods government is known. As
Christs life grows within us His government increases within. We find that we are able to reign over all His
enemies within ourselves. We all have
inherited characteristics, have learned ways, acquired traits, developed habits and
personality quirks carried over from childhood, that are in opposition to the laws of the
Kingdom of God. His government must increase
within us until all those things are so ruled over by the mind of Christ that no one would
ever suspect that they ever existed in our life. Many
who know me would be surprised to hear that at one time in my life I suffered from an
inferiority complex! Some people have been
stubborn all their life and rebellious. They
started in that rebellion in their teenage and never outgrew
it. Theyve been stubborn,
rebellious and bull-headed all their life. They
want to have their own way. Some have fallen
again and again to the lusts of their flesh, to greed, immorality, drunkenness, etc. But
by the indwelling life of Christ you have been given power to lay down your life, and
there is another government that is progressively being raised up within you, and as this
government unfolds within you, you find that that stubborn will is broken, that rebellion
is conquered in you, all your weaknesses are mastered within yourself. The increase of His government within delivers us
from all the enemies of His Kingdom. Christ is
King in us. He rules! He delivers! He
is mighty to save to the uttermost!
Some
people are naturally shy. You say, Good
morning, to them and they blush. You
look into their eyes and they drop their head. They
are so bound up with timidity that they are limited in every way. The increase of His government within will deliver
you from that timidity! Other people are
loud-mouthed, overbearing, and obnoxious. Every time you get within sight of them you hear
their mouths. Yakity, yakity, yak...it goes
all the time. The truth is that they are
covering up something deep within them that is very painful often a deep-seated insecurity. That
person is trying to compensate outwardly for a deep inner lack. But when Christ the King unfolds within us
sufficiently He equalizes us, bringing balance, harmony, sufficiency. His Lordship brings stability and
wholeness. He fills up the valleys and brings
down the high places, He makes the rough places smooth and the crooked places straight. The government of God can take the vilest of men
whoremongers, murderers, thieves, blasphemers, liars, haters, violent men whose
lives have been marred and ruined by sin and disobedience and dissipation and
transform them into gentle, gracious, lovely, honest, clean, caring, humble, beautiful
saints of the Most High God. THAT IS THE POWER
OF HIS GOVERNMENT WITHIN! It is the power of
Gods divine life and nature wrought in the lives of men and women.
God
purposes that His government rule not only in us, but through us. The government of God through us can bring peace in
our homes. You can bring peace to your home
if you want it. You may have an unsaved
husband, or an unsaved wife. Or there may be
all kinds of personality conflicts and clashing of wills in your marriage or between
parents and children. Just because a man and
woman are married doesnt mean they dont have personality conflicts. Just because they are saved, baptized in the Holy
Spirit, speak in tongues and sing in the spirit doesnt mean they dont have
personality conflicts. They may love each
other deeply and still have personality conflicts. When
the personality conflicts outweigh their love for one another the marriage ends in
divorce. But the increase of His government in our lives will bring peace in the home! We cry out for peace in the world, and dream of the
day when the sons of God will bring it, but let us begin by bringing the wonderful peace
of Gods glorious Kingdom into our homes! The
Kingdom of God will bring peace to your children. It
will bring stability and blessing at difficult times.
Someone may say, But brother Eby, you dont know what I have to
put up with, you dont know how impossible things are! Well, then, have we not found an enemy that
Gods Kingdom cannot destroy? Have we not
discovered something that the life of sonship cannot overcome and conquer?
I
say to you today by the authority of God if Gods Kingdom is coming in you, if
His government is increasing in you, then His government is absolutely capable of ruling
in righteousness and peace and deliverance in your situation and circumstance. I do not say it will all happen overnight or
tomorrow. But nothing is too hard for the
government of the almighty Christ! You do not
have to settle for things as they are. YOU can
change them! He that is in you is mighty, and
He will make you an overcomer right where you are. You
must overcome within yourself before you can expect to see changes in those about you. God will flood your heart with a divine love that will go the second mile, that will
swallow up all anger, resentment, hostility and reactions, that will give itself for the
blessing of your mate, or your children, or your in-laws, or your neighbor, or your boss,
no matter how difficult or ungodly they are. God
will give you a heart to serve them in love, to be gracious, kind, merciful,
compassionate, and forgiving. LOVE is the
power of the Kingdom of God! You have been
apprehended as a King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
You have power to reconcile, to bless, to redeem, to change, to transform
all things. The overcomers are given power to
rule. Unless we can first rule in our own
lives, emotions, desires, circumstances, finances, problems, and life situations
how can we rule nations and worlds and galaxies!
Do
we have enough of the government of God in us to influence the things around us? How much salt do we have in us? We are the salt of the earth! How much light shines forth out of us? We are the light of the world! Beloved, God wants His government to so increase in
us that we change the complexion of all things about us.
God is raising up His elect in this hour to sit with Christ right now on His
throne. Oh, yes!
His divine authority is beginning to operate in and through our lives in that
undistinguished place where we are. Dont
tell me that you are reigning in some mystical way in a high place in the spirit over
Russia and Europe and Asia and Africa and America, calling the shots of what is happening
in the political, social, judicial, military and economic realms, if you arent
ruling right where you are. Peace and
righteousness and blessing shall be established wherever we go! It is our ministry to bring the Kingdom of God to
bear on all situations great and small. The
Kingdom of God is not just in word, it is not something we talk about in church, or read
about in papers, and it is not a doctrine the Kingdom of God is that power which is
working in us. We are the salt of the earth
and the light of the world. We are given power
to rule and reign over the earth (Rev. 5:10).
Of
the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end (Isa. 9:7). Something has gotten hold of us to which there is
no end. It is not that the Kingdom
doesnt end, although that, too, is a great fact, but it is the increase of that
government and peace that shall never end. The
Kingdom of God is an eternally increasing government and peace! It eternally increases within us. How far does it go?
It just keeps on going and expanding. There
is no end to the enlargement. It never stops. It consumes your whole being, reaches out to your
wife, your husband, and your children. It
reaches out to your family. It reaches out to
your neighbors and your friends and your enemies. It
reaches out to your community and your city. It
reaches out to your county and to your state. It
reaches out to the United States of America. It
reaches out to the nations, to continents and hemispheres and empires. It reaches out to all the ends of the earth. It extends to every planet in every solar system
and to all the billions of galaxies. It is a
universal Kingdom. It increases with eternal
increase until everywhere throughout all the unbounded heavens every knee bows and every
tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It increases until God is all in all. God is raising up Princes in His ever-increasing
government, to bind all kings with chains and all nobles with fetters of iron, to execute
upon them the judgment written. Know ye not
that the saints shall judge the world? Know ye
not that the saints shall judge angels? Gods
government of sons is about ready to appear.
Just
this week while writing this message a letter arrived in the mail from a dear brother in
New Zealand, and his sharing stirs me deep to the depths of my spirit. He writes, About three months ago, when in
prayer, I saw a little vision which is so encouraging.
Looking downwards, I saw the earth enshrouded with a plastic film-like substance,
and just beneath that film was a motionless man fully dressed. The man was being pushed from below or drawn from
above, somehow. The head and shoulders were
protruding into the film which was stretched to the point of almost causing it to split. On inquiring of our Father, What is this,
Lord? understanding was given to me by Him replying, The imminent birth of the
sons of God. I understood that the earth
was the womb and that the Corporate Man is in the birth canal ready to be born. Oh! What
a Day lies immediately before us, my brother...
To
the saints is given the authority to baptize men with the Holy Ghost, but also to baptize
them with fire, to cast them into the great lake of fire and brimstone which our God is
and which in Him we are, to burn out of their minds, souls, and bodies the thoughts and
ways and passions and wills that are contrary and hostile to the will of God. The fire of God is His all-consuming and
all-powerful LOVE. Out of His love the sons
of God shall send decrees and commands coming from the Most High God out of Zion. The sons of God will send decrees to individuals,
to rulers, to authorities, to governments, to nations we will even send commands to
the elements as our Lord did when He spoke to the winds and the waves, hushing the gale
and calming the waters with His Word.
There
is no doubt about it Jesus brought the reality of the Kingdom of God into the earth
and the Kingdom has been here ever since. May
I say again that this Kingdom is a progressive and growing thing. Of the increase of His government and peace
there shall be no end. No
end transcends even the ages, reaches beyond all time as we know it, and bespeaks of
eternal increase. That is one of the glories
of the Kingdom! It has always existed, for God
in His omniscient purpose and omnipotent power and dominion has always existed. Two thousand years ago Jesus brought the Kingdom
into the earth, into the world of men in a unique way.
But the Kingdom already existed in God, and will always exist! It will increase, grow, and expand from realm to
realm throughout eternity. The universe itself
reflects this divine principle of unending expansion.
Exquisite measurements by the Hubble telescope have lent strong evidence to
the idea that the observed expansion of the universe will continue forever. Previously, scientists who believe the galaxies and
the space between them were created in a cosmic explosion about 15 billion years ago had
wondered whether the swelling of space would eventually stop and all matter would
eventually reverse its direction and begin to move backward, converging in the same
infinitesimal point where it all began. The
Hubble data suggest that the universe will keep expanding, rather than collapsing. And all the while new stars and new worlds are
being birthed! Eternal increase!
There
is nothing static or sterile about this Kingdom at all, but a constant, eternal growth! This wonderful reality of the Kingdom is defined in
the Lords Prayer where He taught us to pray, Thy kingdom come. One of the greatest revelations of the Kingdom that
one can receive is the wonderful truth of divine increase.
All that pertains to God and His Kingdom is increasing! The Lord and all the blessings and benefits of His
Kingdom are increasing daily. Grace, mercy,
goodness, wisdom, righteousness and power are increasing in the earth with each succeeding
age. Grace and peace be multiplied unto
you, the inspired apostle Peter wrote. To
multiply is to increase! Gods covenant
with Abraham was, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply
thee (Heb. 6:14). Abraham has been
multiplied into millions of people as the stars of the heavens for number. What increase!
God is increasing Himself in His sons, just as Abraham has increased through
his offspring. And not holding the Head,
from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered...INCREASETH
WITH THE INCREASE OF GOD (Col. 2:19). This
is an incredible and marvelous revelation and it unlocks for us the beauty and power of
Gods great purpose of the ages. If we
observe history, we will discover that the unfolding of Gods grace and goodness and
will has been intensified with each passing age, and will continue to expand and increase
with each succeeding age until all is gathered up into God again, and He is all in all.
Someone
has written, If only the people of Israel would have had minds that were being
renewed, as well as the spiritual degree of maturity that we have today, when they
traveled for forty years through the waste-howling wilderness! But their spirits and minds were dull, for God had
not given them an understanding heart, eyes to see and ears to hear. Also, we are a few thousand years and many
fulfilled purposes of God beyond that day. Furthermore,
the revelation of Christ, which increases with each age of time, has been increasingly
manifest from that day to this. And we are the
recipients of that greater manifestation and revelation of Christ! What a process of spiritual increase from that day
to this! And what tremendous spiritual growth
has taken place in our lives! Only as we
discern the limited spiritual growth in most Christians today can we properly appreciate
the extent of our own growth in God. Yet, we
are not to compare ourselves with others, for Christ is our only true, spiritual standard
and example.
God
in the beginning ordained in the earth the orderly progression of the seasons. Most areas of the world experience what is spoken
of as a rainy or wet season and a dry season. In
the land of Israel, between the early and latter rains, there was a period of great
dryness and dearth. The pools dried up and
the brooks ceased to flow. But there was a
wise design in the dryness, even as there was a beneficent purpose in the rain. It was the time when under intense heat of the sun
the grain was able to develop in a particular stage. We
know from Church history that the Lord Jesus visits the earth with special outpourings of
Himself from time to time, in order to accomplish the work of the Kingdom. There are seasons of refreshing that come from the
presence of the Lord! The reformation, the
great Methodist revivals, the move of God in Scotland, the Great Awakening in America, the
revival in Wales, the Pentecostal outpouring, the Latter Rain visitation, and present
movings of the Spirit in various regions of the earth the Lords presence and
power and glory comes among His people in a mighty way, but afterwards lifts for a season,
so that other purposes can be accomplished. Such
flowings and ebbings of divine life are according to the law and design of God.
Some
necessary changes are wrought in our lives through means of blessing and glory, and others
take place when we go through dry seasons or through the fires of testing and refining. So there are times of refreshing from the presence
of the Lord, and there are times when it seems He has pulled the veil over His face,
hiding His presence from us. There are times
when there is a forward thrust new dimensions are opened up, great revelations
stream forth, mighty power is displayed, there is blessing, quickening, growth all around,
and spiritual advance is made. Then the glory
lifts, the blessings diminish, the siftings and shakings commence as we are brought before
His judgment seat, and that which was received with great joy is put to the test. It is during these times of nothingness
that the elect, the remnant of the Lord is severely tried, that they may be proven and
found faithful. Will the vision and deposit received during the rain now take
deeper root to become a firm, stable and permanent inward nature, the planting of the
Lord; or will the adverse circumstances and pressures from without cause the tender shoot
to wither and die?
This
crucial time between the seasons of refreshing will either make or break the
follower of the Lord! Each refreshing begins
with the Spirit of God sovereignly moving over the heads of men. God has never asked for either the approval or
cooperation of any chief priest, scribe, rabbi, bishop, pope, preacher or organization
when He is ready to visit His people in power. Suddenly,
without warning, He thrusts forth upon the scene the thundering voice of a John the
Baptist or a Luther; brings to the stage of action a Knox, a Wesley, a Whitefield; or
showers from some bright cloud, refreshing rain-drops of His life and graces and gifts,
unfolding the beautiful blossoms and exquisite flowers of glowing faces, transformed
lives, weeping, repenting sinners, spontaneous testimonies, healings and miracles and
provisions, revelations and gifts of the Holy Ghost, mighty blessings and powerful
baptisms of grace and glory. The leaders,
superintendents and bishops of the time-honored religious systems beat on their desks,
rant and rave, denounce it as heresy, attribute it to the devil, label it as wild-fire,
and declare that it will not last. And, of
course, it doesnt last! In due time the
fiery cloud of glory passes and the invigorating showers evaporate. But let me tell you something! Though the visitation ends, there is an
establishment of something permanent in the earth, the thing that God was bringing forth
out of His presence.
Let
me illustrate. Martin Luther is gone, and much
of the movement he founded has since gone into
apostasy, but the truth the Spirit of God spoke so eloquently and powerfully through his
lips remains in the earth, yea, is established in the earth, and millions of Christians
who have nothing whatever to do with the Lutheran denominations do believe, and know, and
have experienced that men are justified by faith. When the baptism in the Holy Spirit with
speaking in tongues was again poured out more than a century ago, all the main-line
denominations of Christendom rejected it as wild-fire or satanic manifestations. But it did not go away. God by His sovereign power established that
glorious experience in our generation, and now, behold, most of the denominations that
mocked and ridiculed the holy-rollers are now themselves speaking in tongues! Oh, it isnt called speaking in
tongues anymore, it is now called by the more refined title glosalalia. And the time-honored denominations still spurn the
name Pentecostal, so it is called the Charismatic Renewal. Then when Christ came in 1948 as Latter Rain, all
the Pentecostal denominations, without exception, rejected Him and there was a great
exodus out of the denominations. Fanaticism! Heresy! Delusions! Deception! they cried. And they would have nothing to do with the heavenly
worship, prophecy with the laying on of hands, or the message of the Kingdom of God. By 1953 the rain had ended. The great glory cloud lifted. The movement split and splintered and splintered
again, and practically disappeared from off the earth.
But today in a great many Pentecostal Churches you will hear them
singing the worship choruses, and singing the harmonious song of the Lord in the Spirit,
and prophesying with the laying on of hands! They
dont even have a clue where these things originated, where they came from. But they came from the Christ of the Latter Rain! God brought forth a manifestation of His life by
the outpouring of Christ and it raised all things in all realms. And make no mistake about it the unique
things God was doing in that visitation were established in the earth! They have infiltrated even the very movements that
rejected them. Those pressing on in God are
not to remain there, but each truth and experience in God remains, like a grade or course
in school, for others who are coming along progressively in God. Ah, God does have a sense of humor, doesnt He
He gets the last laugh! But the great
truth is: OUR GOD IS MARCHING ON!
My
father in the flesh was a Pentecostal minister, and by Gods design, he was stuck in
Pentecost. The Lord moved my wife and me on
into a deeper move of the Spirit, into a further word, and I remember I used to talk with
my dad, and of course, I wanted him to see the glorious things we were seeing in the
Spirit. I wanted him to have an ear to hear,
but he never could hear. So usually our
discussions would end up in an argument. One
day the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me, and the Lord said, Leave him alone! He is in the realm that I have appointed him to,
and he will not be in another. And you
know, that brought me a great peace, because now I was able to fellowship with him on the
level that he could fellowship with me, without strain or condemnation, realizing that he
was in the place that God ordained for him, and I was in the place that God had ordained
for me.
My
father died thirty-five years ago, and he passed away in the Pentecostal realm, just as
the Lord had said. Shortly after he passed
away, the Lord gave me a dream. In this dream
I was in the living room of our home and all of my family was there, my father and mother,
my brothers, my wife and my kids were all there sitting in chairs and sofas around the
walls. My dad was sitting on the end of a sofa
and looked exactly the way he did just before he died.
Nobody was saying anything, we were just there.
Suddenly my dad looked up, gazed intently across the room into my eyes, and said,
P-r-e-a-c-h t-h-e MANCHILD!
I then awoke out of that dream and immediately I knew two things by the Spirit. I knew that now my dad knew something that he did
not know before he died. But I also knew that
he represented a cry that comes from the very realm of death itself, the cry of the
groaning creation, that is groaning for the manifestation of His life. It is the cry of creation for the manifestation of
the sons of God who shall deliver creation from the bondage of corruption!
You
see, when I said that my dad was stuck in the Pentecostal realm, I didnt mean that
he was stuck there forever! We are all on a
journey into God which is pictured by the entrance of the priesthood into the tabernacle
of Moses in the wilderness, first into the Outer Court where our sins are dealt with by
the blood of the Lamb; then into the Holy place with its candlestick, table of showbread
and altar of incense, where we experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit, begin to eat of
the good word of God in the loaf of the body of Christ, and learn the powers of prayer and
praise; and finally into the Most Holy Place of the fullness of Gods life, nature
and glory. But you see, dear one, the end of
the matter is not the Outer Court, the Holy Place, or the Holiest of All. Thats but a blueprint of our progression
into God. It should be obvious to all who have
eyes to see that the vast majority of Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christians never get
past the Outer Court. Pentecostals and
Charismatics dwell in the Holy Place. Those
called to sonship have entered on into the Most Holy Place where Gods glorious
fullness may be known. These same heavenly
realities are figured in the three feasts of Israel Passover, Pentecost, and
Tabernacles. But the end of the matter is not
the three steps of the tabernacle or the three stages of spiritual life experienced in the
spiritual feasts of the Lord. Oh, no, that is
merely a blueprint of the redemptive process of God! In
the end, when God becomes All-in-all, there will be NO COMPANIES. There will not be Fundamentalists, Pentecostals,
Latter Rain, the Bride of Christ, Servants of God, and Sons of God. In the end there are not people living in the Outer
Court and others living in the Holy Place, while others dwell in the Most Holy Place. IN THE END THERE IS ONLY GOD ALL IN ALL, God
everything to everyone!
You
see, its just like a school. The purpose
of a school is not the school itself. The
purpose of a school is that people may progress through the grades and eventually get
beyond the school. Everybody that enters the
school is supposed to graduate! So the purpose
is not to glory in the fact that I am in the first grade, or the eighth grade, or that I
am a junior, sophomore, or senior. Thats
not the glory of it at all. The glory of it is
that each grade accomplishes its purpose, brings everyone to the final, same
accomplishment. The purpose of every step,
level, and realm in God is that every man may, in Gods due time, pass through all
the grades and graduate into the fullness of God. We
have been moving through the Feasts, and God has now brought a people to the Feast of
Tabernacles. He has brought us to the Third
Day. He has brought us to the Most Holy Place. Each step is but a temporary arrangement, we have
been passing through the grades, and all creation will pass through the grades. And when every man who has ever lived, or ever
shall live, has received his diploma and walked off the stage on his graduation day, God
will be all in all. Hallelujah! A sign will then be posted on the door of the
school, Closed. If everybody
graduates, you dont need a school anymore. Such
is the increase of the Kingdom of God!
Spiritually,
no one can hinder or stop the ongoing seasons of God as He brings forth His purposes in
the earth. Historically, the purposes of God
have marched forward triumphantly from age to age, from dispensation to dispensation, from
dealing to dealing, unfolding Gods Kingdom in the earth from realm to realm. The New Testament record begins at the period just
before and at the time of the coming of Jesus into the world. Just like the seasons, When the fullness of
time was come, God sent forth His Son (Gal. 4:4).
He came into the world to do away with the old dispensation and covenant of
law, which had no power to bring life to dead souls and is symbolized by winter, and to
usher in the new dispensation of grace, which is symbolized by spring. The law of God has never been fulfilled except in
Jesus Christ. That which man could not do,
Christ came and did as He walked upon earth and when He died upon Calvary. The darkness and winter of condemnation and bondage
which rested upon man, were done away by the Lord Jesus Christ, who satisfied every demand
of the law. The rain of the Holy Spirit which
came with the doing away of the law softened the ground and prepared it for the bringing
in of a better covenant.
As
we think of the faint light that the people of God had under the old dispensation, we see
that it truly was winter. It was like the
warmth of the sun in midwinter, when its rays can scarcely penetrate and disperse the
frost in the air. There was no more power in
the law to give life to one soul, than there is power and warmth in the midwinter sun to
bring out the flowers of spring and the fruits of summer.
In the individual this is a picture of the soul who is dead in trespasses and
unbelief; full of deadness and darkness, full
of fruitlessness; whose life is bleak, cold, dead, like midwinter. When the breaking up comes, and the rays of the sun
begin to fall upon the winter of death and unbelief, the clouds of doubts and fears and
ignorance begin to roll away, and the warmth of the Sun of righteousness brings life and
warmth to the soul. It is the rain that comes
when the winter begins to break up that prepares the ground for the seed and fruitfulness. It is the breaking up that comes in deed conviction
and dealing, with godly sorrow and repentance, that prepares the heart of man for the seed
of Christ and the fruit of the Kingdom. The
rain cannot bring fruit any more than can the snow and winter; but it prepares the ground
for the germination of the seed, which has life in it, and has life more abundant.
Dispensationally,
we are standing at the springtime of our development into the fullness of Gods
Christ. As the summer comes on the Sun of righteousness arises within us and the flowers
appear upon the vines of the heritage of the Lord, giving promise of a rich harvest of
mature fruit upon every plant and vine that the Father has planted in His vineyard. This is the beginning of the setting up of the
Kingdom of God in that earth which we are. Everything
is either in blossom or in flower; upon the olive tree and upon the vine appear the bud,
the blossom, the green fruit. Though the fruit
has not yet ripened, though the many brethren have not yet come fully into the
likeness and image of the firstborn Son, nor into the fullness of His power and glory, yet
the fragrance and beauty of the first days of spring cover the Lords vineyard; the
sunshine of the Fathers approval is over the vineyard of His sons. The warmth of His grace and the light of His
revelation is wooing the buds to burst forth into flowers, the flowers to give place to
the tiny fruit, and the immature fruit to go on to perfection. And, blessed be God! none can hinder or stop the
mighty working of God in this hour to bring forth His sons and the next stage in the
manifestation of His Kingdom.
The
wonderful truth is: NO ONE CAN HINDER OR STOP THE PROCESSES OF GOD! God has a plan!
At the beginning of the Church age the world was visited by events so momentous in
their power and glory that all things were changed from that time onward. In the eternal realm before the ages were formed,
and ages before man ever saw the light of earths day, the almighty Lord set in
motion His omniscient and immutable purpose for the ages which were to follow. As a year is filled with weeks and a week is filled
with days and a day is filled with hours, so time is filled with ages and ages with
dispensations. Let all who read these lines
thoroughly understand that our all-wise heavenly Father planned the events of each
successive age from the very first age unto the ages of ages far beyond the comprehension
of mortal man. It is not by accident nor by
natural evolution that the world has progressed from the darkness of paganism to the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It is by divine design!
The
plan of the ages conceived in the heart of Him who purposed all things after the counsel
of His own will is being worked out one step at a time in each succeeding age in like
manner as you and I have often planned in advance the work for each successive day of a
week. Is it not true that many of the wives
and business people now reading this paper have plans in mind for today and tomorrow and
perhaps even weeks and months into the future? I
do! Each week I can tell what I, Lord willing,
will be doing on each day of the week. There
is mail to answer, days for study and writing, business with the printer or at the post
office and numerous other things, and each week is mapped out in advance. Whether consciously or unconsciously we all plan
ahead, daily and hourly working toward some human goal.
There is nothing that opens the wellspring of love, of understanding and
hope and faith, in the hearts of Gods people like THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS PURPOSE. What infinite illumination floods our souls, what
joy and satisfaction and assurance fill our hearts when by the spirit of wisdom and
revelation from God our great and wonderful Father is seen to be a God of purpose, knowing
the end from the beginning, because He planned the end from the beginning! He created all things by His omnipotent power that
His glorious purpose might be fulfilled. And
the power that made all things is the same power that upholds all things, and fills all
things, and controls all things and shall bring to a successful conclusion the divine
purpose in all things.
The
Kingdom of God came first of all in the person
of Jesus. Then it came in 120 disciples of
Jesus on the day of Pentecost. Then it came
upon the household of Cornelius the centurion, and upon the Gentiles. But upon the rocky slopes of the isle called Patmos
the beloved John saw beyond the redeemed of his day he beheld with wonder a
great number that no man can number. John
was a great mathematician, and he managed to count up to one-hundred and forty-four
thousand footstep followers of the Lamb
standing upon mount Zion. But that was only a
representative number for the company of the manifested sons of God: as for the Church of
God, gathered out of all the tribes and tongues and peoples and nations of earth, he gave
up all idea of computation, and confessed that it is a number that no man can
number. When He heard them sing he said,
I heard a voice like the voice of many waters and like great thunder. There were so many of them that their song was like
the Aegean sea lashed to fury by a tempest, nay, not one great sea in uproar, but ocean
upon ocean, the Atlantic and the Pacific piled on each other, and the Indian ocean upon
these, and other oceans upon these, layers of oceans, all thundering out their mightiest
roar: and such will be the song of the redeemed when every creature which is in heaven,
and on earth, and under the earth, is heard
saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb unto the age of the ages! (Rev. 5:13).
There
you have the glorious outcome of the increase of the Kingdom! Behold, and see, ye who laughed at His Kingdom, see
how the little Lamb has become hundreds of billions! Now
look ye, ye foes of Christ, who saw the handful of corn on the top of the mountains; see
how the fruit thereof doth shake like Lebanon! Who
can reckon the drops of the dew or the sands of the seashore? When they have counted these then shall they not
have guessed at the multitude of the redeemed of earth, and of the underworld, and of the
starry worlds above, that Christ shall bring to glory.
And all this harvest from one grain of wheat, which except it had fallen into the
ground and died would have remained alone! Oh,
beloved, what a harvest from Marys little Lamb!
What fruit from that glorious Man of Nazareth!
Men esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted; and they made nothing of
Him, and yet there sprang from Him a great and glorious and universal Kingdom filled with
multitudes which are as many as the stars of heaven! This
day shall declare it without fail. Oh, the
wonder of it! Oh, the mystery of it! The increase of the Kingdom of God! What anticipation thrills our ransomed souls as we
contemplate the potential of the wonderful age and the ages to come! God acted yesterday.
He acts today. He will act
tomorrow. We cannot mark the boundaries of His
Kingdom any more than we can mark the boundaries of the universe.
In
the late 1950s a military idealist styled by the American press as an agrarian reformer sought to liberate the people of Cuba from the
repression and corruption of President Fulgencio Batista. Fidel Castro was hailed by the New York Times as a
man of high ideals, with strong ideas of liberty, democracy and social justice. Lorain and I were missionaries in Cuba during and
after the Cuban revolution. Castro was in
power for only a few months when it became crystal clear to us, as it was not yet to the
Cuban people, that the Castro government was an atheistic, Communist regime. But apart from the negative character of his
revolution, the methods he employed in his takeover of the Caribbean island do serve as a
powerful illustration of the increase of the Kingdom of God.
When
Fidel Castro arrived in Cuba from Mexico with a handful of men to spark the revolution, he
was practically unknown. He spent time
gathering around him men who were fired with the same zeal as he to see their country
under new government. In those early days they
were only a few men with Castro as their leader. But
after the creation of some incidents the Cuban people rapidly became aware of
them and their professed objectives. Little by
little fathers and sons commenced to leave their homes, families, and jobs to join
Castros forces in the mountains in order to liberate their country. Soon support increased, the number of rebel
soldiers, sympathizers and supporters began to swell, and the passions of the Cuban people
were stirred. Castro expertly organized his
forces and ruled and controlled the mountain areas where his armies freely roamed. His men were well trained and equipped and fought
courageously.
The
area of the country under Castros domination was declared to be the territory of
Free Cuba. It had its own
government Castro and his top aids. But
most of the Cuban territory and people was still under the control of the Batista
dictatorship. After several fierce battles the
territory of Free Cuba was enlarged. We
fell into that territory during the latter part of 1958, and were cut off from the outside
world, from mail service, and from the rest of the island.
Fighting and bombing became daily occurrences in our town. Several times a day we would run for shelter when
we heard the airplanes approaching town. As
Castros advance continued, suddenly President Batista, in the dark of night, fled
the country. The revolution was victorious! But though Batista had departed, and
technically the revolution has triumphed, Castro was still not in control of
the nation. He and his troops began the long
trek up the island to Havana. As soon as he
arrived in the capital he began consolidating his power, taking over every function of
government from the top to the bottom. Many months passed before all things were firmly
established under the revolutionary order.
There
are many things to learn from parables, both old and new, for by them truth is taught with
more force than any spoken word. Almost two
millenniums ago God manifested His first Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The seed of Gods Kingdom on earth was planted
in that one man who is the Head of all the sons of God prepared of God throughout
the age. He is the leader and initiator of
the Kingdom. Jesus was unknown among all the
rulers and the kingdoms of earth. He gathered
around Himself a handful of men from the province of Galilee in the tiny land of Israel. Into them He impregnated the revelation and life of
the Kingdom. They in turn, with the
resurrected and ascended Jesus directing, marched through the nations proclaiming the
Kingdom of God with power and announcing that finally this Kingdom would rule from pole to
pole and from sea to sea. Through the age men
and women have defected from the kingdom of darkness, from the kingdoms of this world, to
join themselves to the free New World of the Spirit, becoming citizens of
Gods Kingdom. For two thousand years
Christs army has been forming, being meticulously trained and adequately equipped by
the power of the Holy Ghost. These sons of God
have fought many battles, although these battles for the most part have been confined to
the small and undistinguished territory of their own earth soul and body. Long has been the preparation and persistent the
struggle. And even now, at the end of the age,
it still seems that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one! But soon yes, very soon there shall
be a glorious and decisive victory! Our lovely
Lord Jesus Christ, together with all the glorified sons of God who through the furnace of
affliction and the heat of battle have qualified to reign with Him, shall come forth into
full manifestation. The clay feet of the image
of great Babylon shall be smitten by this heaven-sent army as by a stone cut out of the
mountain without hands, and by them will be crushed the whole system of Babylon with its
millenniums of confusion, deceit and darkness Oh,
my soul! What a word! But even as the sons of God make their appearance,
marching forth conquering and to conquer, not by the sword of man, but by the sword of the
Spirit which is the Word of God, all will not yet be as it should be, and for this reason
they must reign on and on and on...until ALL ENEMIES are put under His feet.
We
have all eternity to dwell with God and to work with people.
The challenges and tasks shall extend into all ages of time, calling for redemptive
ministry to flow through us to the whole creation, just as the Lord Jesus ministry
flows forth unto us today. Through us God
shall wipe away all the tears of earths teeming billions of all who have ever
lived and died upon this planet, and of all who shall yet live. All shall be raised up and redeemed, all shall be
saved, delivered, and transformed, and all shall live in righteousness, peace and joy in
the presence of God. There shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. In those blessed ages sin and death and hell shall
be destroyed in every creature and in every world, throughout all Gods vast
universe, and God shall be all in all. Praise His matchless name! Such is the increase of the Kingdom of God! If there is no more pain there can be no more hell,
for the torment of hell is pain. If there is
no crying there can be no death, for death floods our faces with tears. If there is no more sorrow there can be no sin, for
sin begets heartbreak and sorrow. Oh glorious
victory! Only the increase of Gods
Kingdom can bring creation to that Day!
Chapter
44
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
It
is a conspicuous fact that the various errors and inconsistencies found in the King James
Version of the New Testament serve to obscure any clear understanding of the teachings of
the scriptures in regard to Gods wonderful plan of
the ages. One of the most inexcusable of these
misleading translations is the unqualified use of the English word world. The word world has a
limited meaning in English, but is used by the translators as the one English rendering
for at least three widely differing ideas in the Greek text. This one word,
world, is used to translate a Greek word which means a distinct
period of time such as an age, epoch, or dispensation; it is also used to translate a
Greek word denoting the visible things created
the earth or the universe; and finally it
is used to translate a Greek word denoting the inhabitants of the earth together with
their culture, morality, customs, life style, organized society, government, etc.
One
of the Greek words erroneously translated world is the word AION. AION denotes a specific period of time
an eon
or an age. The ages are often referred to in the
scriptures, and the study of the exact conditions and purposes of each of them is not a
fanciful pursuit, but is rather the only foundation for any true knowledge of the
development of Gods plan and kingdom in the earth. It is not possible to consider all of
the ages in this writing, but only a few that might be confused one with another.
The
age of law, which began with the giving of the law to Israel at mount Sinai, and ended
with the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
on the day of Pentecost, is mentioned by Zacharias in his prophecy at the birth of John
the Baptist: As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since
the world (aion age) began (Lk. 1:70). The same period is referred to by
Peter in Acts 3:21, Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of
all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world (aion
age) began. These references, as one can clearly
see, are not to the creation of the world,
as the King James rendering would indicate, but to the beginning of that particular period
in which the prophets spake, beginning primarily with Moses. As a distinct period of time which was
to end, the age of law is mentioned about forty times in the New Testament and is called
the world in the King James Bible! Here are a few examples. And
whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever
speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world (aion
age, the age of law), neither in the
world (aion
age, the church age) to come (Mat.
12:32). The disciples came unto Him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy
coming, and of the end of the world (aion
age)? (Mat. 24:3). And the Lord commended the
unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world (aion
age) are in their generation wiser than the children of
light (Lk. 16:8).
The
present age of the calling out of the body of Christ, in which the grace of God has had
its appearing unto salvation, began where the law ended, with the coming of Christ and the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh. This age, and the fact that it, too,
will end, is referred to as world in a number of places. A few of the passages follow: And, lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world (aion
age) (Mat. 28:20). Which He wrought in Christ when
He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world (aion
age), but also in that which is to
come (Eph. 1:20-21). Teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world (aion
age) (Tit. 2:12). By these and other passages it may be
seen that the present
age is a
particular limited period of time in which special conditions are to prevail, and definite
purposes to be realized.
In
explaining one of the Kingdom parables to His disciples, Jesus mentioned that The
harvest is the end of the world (aion
age) (Mat. 13:39). Because of the King James misuse
of the word world in this and other passages, people have latched on to this
and fabricated all kinds of doctrines about the end of the world. But the world
is not about to end! This age will end, of course, for
every age has its ending, and then gives way to the dawn of another age
so why then all the upset and fear? Furthermore, if WE ARE NOT OF THIS
AGE, and have by Gods grace tasted of the POWERS OF THE AGE TO COME, why do we get
overly concerned about this age ending? The desire of all the Lords
people should be for that new age
which lies before us, and however God chooses to bring this present evil age
to an end, will but open the flood-gates of far greater glory to come! We say that we are not of this
world/age, yet we are constantly clinging to it and fearing the doom to come upon it. Ah, how we need the Holy Spirit to
guide us into ALL TRUTH, until we are ready to joyfully relinquish all of the old, to lay
hold upon the new.
Judging
from the mass of Christian writings and from utterances in sermons and teachings from many
different doctrinal persuasions, this age is assumed by many to be the final
age, ending with the coming of Christ, the final judgment, and the destruction of the
world. Others believe that there is yet
one more age which they
term the Kingdom Age or the Millennium, which will wind up
Gods great program on earth. These are the two errors abroad in the
land today in respect to the Kingdom of God. There is a tendency among Gods
people to limit the Kingdom either to this age
of the Church economy, or to the next age called
the Millennium or the Kingdom Age. The first group can see nothing in the
Kingdom beyond our present experience except to die and go to heaven! To these the Kingdom is
identical with our salvation experience and the multiplied gifts, blessings, provisions,
and benefits of the Church age. This concept views the Kingdom as a
little flock right up to the end of time, in the world, coexisting as it were
with the world, yet not of the world, but never triumphing over the world. According to this view the Church and
the world, or the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil, both continue as they now
are right up to the end of time when Jesus comes again and terminates the whole program,
destroying the present heavens and earth, casting the wicked into everlasting hell fire,
and shipping the saints off to glory. In this view there is no ultimate
triumph of the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of darkness on earth, no consummation of
the Kingdom where all kindreds and tongues and peoples and nations serve Him, and God is
all in all. Instead of consummation these
dear people settle for termination.
God just winds things up
and the whole program on earth comes to a jarring halt. According to this scheme the prophecy
of Daniel will never be fulfilled: And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left
to other people, but it shall BREAK IN PIECES AND CONSUME ALL THESE KINGDOMS, and it shall
stand for ever (Dan. 2:44). Nor, if these brethren are right, can
the prophecy of Revelation 11:15 come to pass: The kingdoms of
this world ARE BECOME
THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
The
second error recognizes no present literal Kingdom of God on earth, pushing the Kingdom
off into a future age, making its present reality utterly meaningless. These people are always talking about
the coming Kingdom.
Men with their human theology have
imagined that the Kingdom of God has not yet come on earth and that it remains to be
established during the Millennium. People often declare in no uncertain
terms that Jesus is returning to set up the Kingdom. They proclaim that the Kingdom is an
age of one thousand years duration. I do not hesitate to tell you that
every shred of evidence is to the contrary! All such notions are utter rubbish and
have no foundation in the spirit of Truth. At this very moment, when Christians
are busily looking for a one-world government under the antichrist, and the great
tribulation followed by the return of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom, we who
have followed on to know the Lord, and have sought first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness, have had our hearts ravished by this blessed reality: Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness and hath TRANSLATED
US INTO THE KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR SON (Col. 1:13). Let demons rage. Let fools and unbelievers hang their
heads in shame. The Kingdom of God is a present
reality to those who have been caught up into the high places of the Spirit! It is not a matter of
this or
that, of here
or there,
of now
or then,
of this age
or the next age.
The Kingdom is none of those things. It is more than all. It is this and
that, here and
there, now and
then, this age and
the next
and much, much more!
The
great truth I declare to you today is that Jesus Christ came two millenniums ago and
brought the Kingdom and set up and established the Kingdom in the hearts and lives of the
sons of the Kingdom. Now after that John was put in
prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, and
saying, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the good
news (Mk. 1:14-15). And again, The law and the
prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and
every man presseth into it (Lk. 16:16). God has a plan for His great and
glorious Kingdom! Indeed, God has a wonderful plan for
this world! It is a plan of which the
architectural drawings were made in eternity. It encompasses the minutest detail of
all creation. I assure you that when time has run
its course, and the curtain is drawn upon the final scene, we shall discover that that
plan has been worked out to its tiniest detail, just as God planned it in eternity.
Upon
your table today there is or should be a book we call the Bible. This book alone reveals Gods
secret plan of the ages. It unfolds with unerring accuracy the
mysteries of ages in the dim and misty past, and points with unerring finger to the
purpose of countless eons yet to come. The Christian Church as we know it has
been living in a fools paradise, propounding pet doctrines, ranting and raving about
an endless eternity with golden streets and harps and white nightgowns for some and
crackling, searing, tormenting flames for others, while almost completely overlooking
Gods wonderful PLAN OF THE AGES. Paul writes of this plan of the ages
in Ephesians 3:8-11. Unto me, who am less than the
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; and make all to see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by
Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places
might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal
purpose which He
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. The word translated
eternal in the phrase eternal purpose is the Greek word AIONON
which means ages. Youngs Literal Translation
reads, And to cause all to see what is the fellowship of the secret that hath been
hid FROM THE AGES in God, who the all things did create by Jesus Christ, that there might
be made known now
to the principalities and authorities in the heavenly places, through the
assembly, the manifold wisdom of God, according to A PURPOSE OF THE AGES, which He made in
Christ Jesus our Lord. The Emphatic Diaglott renders verse 11
thus, According to A PLAN OF THE AGES, which He formed in the Anointed Jesus our
Lord, and Rotherham says, According to A PLAN OF THE AGES which He made in the
anointed Jesus our Lord.
As
men with the aid of Gods Word have gazed into the vista of the future, it seems to
have missed their understanding that God says very little in His Word about eternity,
while devoting many hundreds of passages to His will and works wrought through THE AGES. God, who at sundry times and in
divers manners spake in time past
unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by
whom also He made the worlds
(Heb. 1:1-2). What tremendous statements we have
here! God has spoken to us through His Son literally, spoke to us in
Son, or, God spoke to us in One who has the character that He is a
SON, revealing the realm and relationship of sonship to God. Every age has its beginning and its
end, its first
days and its
last days. So the writer to the Hebrews tells us
that God has spoken unto us in the person of His Son in these
last days, that is, in the closing days of the age of law in which Jesus came into the
world. People talk about the last
days, as though the end of our present dispensation were the only last days or end time to ever exist!
This
Son is heir of all things and, blessed be God! we are joint heirs with Him. By whom also He made the
worlds. Many people believe this refers to the
creative act In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. It does not refer to that at all. The word here for worlds
is AIONAS. It means ages
...by whom He framed the
ages. This goes beyond His being the Creator
of matter and its arrangement into multiplied billions of galaxies, stars, suns, planets
and moons with their atmospheres and inhabitants. This lends purpose to everything. He is the heir who GIVES THE PROGRAM
FOR THE FUTURE! He planned and framed the ages, He
ordained the end from the beginning; not only did He create everything, He did it for a
purpose, and known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world
(Acts 15:18). Notice
the Amplified Bible says, But in
the last of these
days He has
spoken to us in the person of a Son, whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all
things, also by and through whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the
AGES OF TIME
that is, He made, produced, built,
operated and arranged them in order! Through faith we understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God (Heb. 11:3), but it should read, the ages
were planned by the word of
God. God made, planned, and determined the
destiny of all the ages in and by Jesus Christ.
The
age we are now living in is not the last age, nor is the age to come the final age in
Gods vast Kingdom program. The apostle Paul tells us that God
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus: that in the AGES TO COME He might show (put on display, exhibit) the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6-7). According to these inspired words
there are ages yet to
come
so there can be no less than
two ages beyond
our present age and there could be many, many more! It is during these ages to
come that God shall take the wonderful work He has so meticulously wrought in His
elect throughout the past age and put it on
display in and through
them for the whole creation to behold and consider. This will certainly not be to the
condemnation of creation, the masses of unregenerated men that have lived and died upon
this planet, but rather redounds unto their blessing, deliverance and transformation; for
it is HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US IN JESUS CHRIST that is exhibited through the saints
throughout the coming ages. Grace and kindness on display! Think of it! That is no curse, no judgment
it can only mean salvation! The grace of God appears
unto salvation. This glorious display is for the
instruction and enlightenment of all men. What a marvelous prospect!
The
Word of God is crystal clear that there is to be an increase
of the Kingdom from age to age. The very fact that there are yet
ages to come shows that the Kingdom advances from one age to another. Historically, every new age has
superseded the previous ones, bringing greater light, a further revelation of God, and
more advanced dealing with mankind. Each new age inaugurates a higher
dimension of Gods purposes in the earth. Nothing is clearer in the scriptures
than the fact that THIS IS NOT THE LAST AGE. There is no final windup
at the close of this present dispensation. We can expect, therefore, fresh and
greater manifestations and administrations of Kingdom dominion as we move from this age
into the new one now beginning. What anticipation this evokes in our
hearts!
The
apostle James made a statement to the council at Jerusalem in which he clearly defines the
complete outline of Gods purpose for the so-called age of grace and the dispensation
that is to follow. Simeon hath declared how God at
the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out
of them a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the
prophets; as it is written, AFTER THIS (after God has taken out of the nations a people
for His name) I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David (the fullness of
Gods glory in a people), which is fallen down (following the great apostasy); and I
will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the RESIDUE OF MEN MIGHT
SEEK AFTER THE LORD, and ALL THE GENTILES, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord,
who doeth all these things (Acts 15:14-18). Dispensationally, this is one of the
most significant passages in the New Testament! It gives Gods divine purpose for
this age and the
next age. James says that the purpose of God
during this age now ending has been to visit the Gentiles, or the nations, as it is in the
Greek, to TAKE O-U-T O-F T-H-E-M A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME.
One thing that nearly all Christians have missed is
the fact that it has never been Gods purpose to save the world during the Church
age. While the gospel was to be preached as
a witness to all nations, there is no hint of it being accepted by all. Jesus never led His disciples to
expect any such result from their ministry! Wherever the preached gospel is
referred to in the New Testament, its limited acceptance is at the same time made clear. Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be condemned (judged)
(Mk. 16:15-16). The witness of Paul is equally clear. He says, I am not ashamed of the
gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to
everyone that believeth (Rom. 1:16). I am become all things to all
men, that I may by all means save some
(I Cor. 9:22). For we are a sweet savor of
Christ unto God, in them that are being saved, and in them
that are perishing.
All
through the centuries the Church has been found holding to the false hope of converting
the whole world during this age. Frequently one hears preachers,
especially missionaries and televangelists, speaking of winning the world to
Christ. In missionary conferences and
evangelistic crusades people are admonished to go forth and win the world. But as honest and sincere as these
persons are, the fact remains that the efforts of those who walk in the spiritual feasts
of Passover and Pentecost are doomed to failure. The fact remains that nowhere did the
Lord tell His disciples to save the world! Rather, Jesus said, I will build
my church. And that is precisely what the Lord
has been doing for the past two thousand years building His Church! But never did He say that all would
believe or that we should win the world to Him or sweep the nations into the Kingdom of
God in the age now ending. If He would have said it, it would
have happened, for He is the omnipotent Lord with all power in heaven and in earth! The fact that the world hasnt
been saved, and the nations have not been subjected to the rule of God, is the only proof
needed that it has not been Gods plan to do so! He who holds to the hope of converting
the world by Pentecostal preaching, or by gifts of the Holy Spirit, or by well organized
revival crusades, or by forty days of fasting and prayer, is running after a mere phantom.
It simply wont happen!
But God has been
calling out a people for His name saving, delivering, teaching, purging, purifying, dealing,
maturing and bringing them progressively unto the full stature of Jesus Christ. It has taken the process of two
millenniums to bring His people to birth that a manchild, the manifested sons of God,
might be revealed. Meanwhile, the Lord has not interfered
with the downward course of the world! He has allowed the selfishness of the
human race to drag it down into ever lower depths of sin and degradation. Even when His professed people,
misguided by their lack of understanding, and motivated by their unscriptural and
unspiritual ambitions, have established church-state systems in His name, He has not
interfered. And when these have fallen, and when
all the misguided efforts of those people who have tried to establish peace for the Prince
of Peace by carnal warfare and bloodshed and tyranny in the Lords name, God has
still not intervened. His plans for the salvation of the
world have been separate from all human efforts, and He wants the whole world, including
worldly churches, to learn that apart from GODS CHRIST and GODS TIME they can
accomplish nothing beyond the limited work prescribed for this dying age. He wants them to learn that in order
to achieve success they must work with Him, and in keeping with His plans,
rather than expect Him to bless their
plans and
their efforts to establish
His Kingdom.
I
once wrote articles against communism. That was because of their atheism and
rejection of God and His word and His people. But I think I realize now, more than I
did then, that ALL NATIONS have been cut off from
God by Gods own decree, since the time of Adam and Eve. Jesus emphasized this when He said,
No man can come to me, except
the Father...draw him (Jn. 6:44). Many nations have never known much if anything
about God. In ancient Egypt they worshipped their
fictitious gods, Isis and Osiris, about the time the ancient Chinese were worshipping
their ancestors even before the appearance of Confucianism and Taoism. The ancient Greeks and Romans had their idol gods, such as Jupiter,
Diana, Hermes and others, and the ignorant worship of these gods was the state religion in
almost every land and among all peoples. They had no salvation
but neither were they lost
God Himself had cut off the descendants of Adam. They simply were not being
judged at all by God
nor are they even yet today! God is not now dealing with nations,
He is building
His Church and bringing His sons to birth!
Since
God is not now judging the nations, WHY SHOULD YOU OR I? I know that I myself
am being judged
now! The temple of God is being measured in
the heavens, the elect of God is being judged by the measure of the stature of Jesus
Christ as the sons of God stand in this hour before the judgment seat of Christ. Some of us are called
now and the work
of the Spirit will be completed in us now. The world as a whole has not been
called YET! Those now called to salvation to be a
part of the body of the Christ are the firstfruits
merely the first small
harvest of spiritual life. To all others, God said, in effect,
Go, since you have rejected me, my government, my salvation, my revelation and
knowledge, GO form your own gods and your own religions and philosophies and your own
cultures and moral codes and your own governments. And, for six long millenniums has the
world so done! Therefore I do not judge their
governments, or their religions, or their cultures. I do not go to try to sweep
nations into the
Kingdom of God, as some say. BUT GOD DOES HAVE
A PLAN FOR THE NATIONS and a glorious day of release and restoration into the Kingdom of
God! And those called and chosen as the
elect of God, as the sons of the Father in this significant hour, are being given understanding
of the sacred secret of God
His plan of
the ages! Out from among the billions of earth
God is choosing an ELECT COMPANY to bear His name
His nature and His authority. It is here, in the true Church, which
is His body, that Jesus Christ FIRST ESTABLISHES HIS GOVERNMENT that He might rule and
reign on the throne of mens lives. And now soon
very soon
these sons of God shall be revealed to
all creation that the exceeding riches of the grace and kindness of God unto these sons
might be exhibited for all to see and be blessed thereby! But most Christians will not come to
this! They are too busy playing Church,
rejoicing that they are not going to hell or that they are going to heaven when they die,
and blundering around in the carnal programs, immaturity and shame of a wretched, fleshly,
religious system which falsely calls itself the
church. But just as the dispensation of the
law, at its conclusion, brought forth that which it typified and pointed to
Jesus Christ the Son of God
so this present Church age must, in
these last days, at its conclusion, bring forth that for which it was
intended and to which it pointed
a many-membered body of
Christ, perfected, matured, overcoming, and full grown into the exact likeness and
glory of the firstborn son of God, its Head and Lord.
God
never intended that Christ should rule over all the earth and all nations during this age.
His reign is confined completely to
that company of footstep followers who have heard His voice and follow Him all the way
unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ. Baptized in His fullness these sons of
God become the very embodiment of His government in the earth. This may seem to be an extremely slow
method and a very small Kingdom for such a great and exalted King, but we cannot over
emphasize the importance of this lowly beginning for a government whose authority is
destined to subdue ALL THINGS. So let us see that not only is God
establishing His government in the lives of His elect, but through His dealings with them
He is actually FORMING THEM INTO A GOVERNMENT
a ruling body of sons of God, kings and
priests after the Order of Melchizedek!
God is calling out a people to bear His name, to be
His nature, authority and power in the earth! But
to bear His name WHERE? WHEN? HOW? To bear His name only through their
fleeting years in the flesh? Not at all. James says, AFTER THIS (after
the Lord has completed His work of calling out a people for His name) I will return and
build again the tabernacle of David... THAT THE RESIDUE OF MEN MIGHT SEEK AFTER THE LORD,
AND ALL THE
NATIONS...saith the Lord. The residue of men denotes
all the rest, that is, all who were not part of the called out. I tell you, my beloved, God is now
forming a government composed of
faithful sons (the tabernacle of David) whom He shall use in the age now dawning and in
the ages yet
to come as kings and priests after the Order of Melchizedek to bring Gods Kingdom to
pass in all the earth and in all realms. Through this glorious anointed body of
sons ALL THE REST OF MEN...ALL THE NATIONS...SHALL SEEK THE LORD. What wonderful news that is! While the church world is getting
ready to fly away to some far-off heaven somewhere, the sons of God are even
now being prepared and equipped to rule all nations with a rod of iron. This is not the coming of
the Kingdom it is the next step
of advancement and increase of the Kingdom! The Kingdom has already come. It is being refined now in the hearts
of all those blessed ones who have received the call to sonship. This next step of the Kingdom will come with great power and glory when
the elect of God is fully matured, perfected, prepared and equipped. God, through nearly two thousand
years, has been slowly, methodically, meticulously, surely and wisely choosing this body
of sons, preparing them through the furnace of affliction and the discipline of testings
to sit together with Him on His throne, for those that suffer with
Him shall also reign with
Him!
The
promise is sure! And he that OVERCOMETH, and
keepeth my works unto the end (of the processing), to him will I give POWER OVER THE
NATIONS: and he shall RULE THEM with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they
be broken to shivers (Rev. 2:26-27). To him that OVERCOMETH will I
grant to SIT WITH ME IN MY THRONE, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father
in His throne (Rev. 3:21). And now they sing a new song,
saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on it, for You
were slain and with Your blood you purchased men unto God
from every tribe and language and people
and nation. And You have MADE THEM A KINGDOM AND
PRIESTS to our God, and they shall REIGN OVER THE EARTH! (Rev. 5:9-10, Amplified).
This
great truth cannot be any more forcefully presented than it is by the prophet Daniel when
he writes, These great beasts which are four, are four kingdoms (Babylon, Persia,
Greece, Rome), which shall arise out of the earth. But THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH SHALL
TAKE THE KINGDOM and
POSSESS THE KINGDOM for ever,
even for ever and ever. I beheld and the same horn made war
with the saints (throughout the Church age), and prevailed against them;
until the Ancient of
days came, and JUDGMENT WAS GIVEN TO THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH; and the time came that
THE SAINTS POSSESSED THE KINGDOM (world rule). And he shall speak great words against
the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High...BUT THE JUDGMENT (of the
saints) SHALL SIT, AND THEY (the saints) SHALL TAKE AWAY HIS DOMINION TO CONSUME AND
DESTROY IT UNTO THE END. AND THE KINGDOM AND DOMINION AND THE GREATNESS OF THE KINGDOM UNDER
THE WHOLE HEAVEN, SHALL BE GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE (elect) OF THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH,
whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and ALL DOMINIONS SHALL SERVE AND OBEY HIM
(Dan. 7:17-18, 21-22, 25-27).
The
work of the sons of God only begins at
the opening of the age that follows the Church age. Even as I pen these words we are in
the transition of the ages, the overlapping of the ages as the old age dies and the new
age is inaugurated. Already the sons of God are beginning
to move in the authority of God within the high realms of the Spirit. A word is proceeding forth from their
lips by the inspiration of the Spirit that is shaping
the nations for the
greater glory soon to be manifested before the face of all peoples and every nation. These sons are not filled with the
darkness of mans carnal mind, but are heralds of the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom of
God! They cherish the precious truth of
their Fathers plan of redemption and restoration for all! They are the true sons of God, or sons
of Life, Light and Love, who are by their proclamations dispelling the darkness of this
long night of sin, sorrow and death. They are the sons of Zion raised up in
this hour to bring righteous judgment into the
earth! By the Spirit, they are lifting
mankind from the depths of sin onto the new highway into the Kingdom of God. They are lifting up their voices as
trumpets in the Most Holy Place, in the high place of the Spirit, singing the praises and
victories of their King and Lord of all. By the spirit of their sonship they
are crying aloud, saying to all who shall hear, The Lord God omnipotent reigneth!
As we ascend in the Spirit into the place of
Gods throne, we thereby rise up above all the lower realms of evil and darkness, to
dispel them by the power of His word. This is the present ministry of the
sons of God in the new order of the government of God on earth! As we press forward into our new
Kingdom ministry, the power of all evil and darkness shall eventually be removed, to
trouble the world no more. Preaching and ministering according to
the old church order will avail nothing in this conquest of the nations. The five-fold ministry was given for
the edification of the saints during the Church age, but only the ministry of
sonship is given to
rule the nations and restore all things to God! We are entering into a ministry in the
Spirit that will manifest the power and glory of the Kingdom of God to all mankind. We are called, not merely to preach
the gospel, but to RULE AND REIGN with Christ!
Make
no mistake about it; we have an awesome responsibility! We are to RULE with a rod of iron,
over all the enemies of Christ, including the nations and all darkness, error and evil. There is a world of difference between
edifying the saints and
ruling the nations. We are called of God to REIGN with
grace and love and mercy and wisdom and power over the affairs of mankind in the earth by
ministering the authority of God in the Spirit and by the Spirit. We will never understand this deep
mystery of reigning in the Kingdom until we know that the work of the Kingdom of God
is spiritual work. As Paul Mueller recently wrote,
It is work that is nothing like the carnal, religious, church works of the flesh,
which have now become works of iniquity! As we minister from this high and holy
place of Gods throne in the Spirit it shall come to pass that All the ends of
the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and ALL THE KINDREDS OF THE NATIONS shall
worship before Thee (Ps. 22:27). That will be the blessed effect of our
ministry from the throne! By this spiritual ministry from the
throne we shall see and know that The Lord most high is terrible; He is a great King
over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us,
and THE NATIONS UNDER OUR FEET (Ps. 47:2-3).
Scripture
could be piled upon scripture, but it should be clear to every honest heart that God has a
plan beyond this
age, and beyond the
Church, the called out a plan that includes ALL THE NATIONS OF EARTH! The age now ending has been the age of
the called out, the age for the formation of Gods elect into a Kingdom
of Priests. The next age is the age for that
Kingdom of Priests to take authority over the nations and bring the Kingdom of God to pass
in the earth among all
living nations. That is the difference between the two
ages! And it means a difference in
ministry, for God is now raising up in His sons the new
ministry for the
new age! In the ages beyond
God shall deal with all the billions of men who have lived and died from
father Adam all the way down to this and future times. All these shall be restored to God and
to life and brought into the courts of His Kingdom. It is an extraordinary and awesome
thing that the Lord by revelation of the Spirit gives His sons understanding
that what He is doing on the earth today is merely a
beginning. Nothing is finished yet! The dawning new age will accomplish a
mighty work of God in the earth, far beyond that of the previous age, but the new age will
not finish Gods purpose, either! We are not even approaching the end of
the world, or the consummation of the ages, or the great wind up of Gods
program. Nothing is so complete, so perfect,
that it is to remain unchanged from what it was in its time. What the sovereign Lord has given us
is a root and not yet a tree. The Kingdom seed still must grow, the
branches spread out; the blossoms will come later. In the end the fruit will come, for
that is how the Kingdom develops, saith the Lord, first the blade, then the ear,
then the full corn in the ear. This wonderful work goes on from
generation to generation, from dispensation to dispensation, from age to age, from realm
to realm, from world to world, from galaxy to
galaxy, until all things everywhere find their life in God.
Within
this divine and glorious principle lies the nature of the Kingdom of Christ and the
purpose He represents. Gods Christ, Head and body, is
for the redemption of creation and how can that be completed in a day? How can that be finished in one
earthly generation? How can that be accomplished in one
age, or in two or three? Creation took a long time
seven incredibly long epochs called days in the
book of Genesis. In like manner
redemption, restoration, and
re-creation
require time! It is not for just a few people or for
several thousand or several million; it is not for one race, or one nation, or just for
the Church; it is for all mankind, for every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, and for
the whole vast creation! The Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning
and the end regarding the Kingdom of God and must reign until all enemies are under His
feet, all things are made new, and God is all-in-all (I Cor. 15:25-28). All must be restored to Him in the far-flung heavens above,
in the earth, and under the earth. No wonder there are yet AGES TO COME!
THE
ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK AND THE AGES TO COME
Gods house of sons is a Kingdom of Priests
after the Order of Melchizedek. The Lord Jesus Christ is a King-Priest
after the Order of Melchizedek, and we are the body of Christ. Thus, Christ is the Head of the
Melchizedek Order of King-Priests, and we are the body of that divine and heavenly Order. Jesus has inherited that exalted
position as King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek, and we are joint-heirs with Him. Him that overcometh will I grant
to sit with
me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His
throne (Rev. 3:21). That throne is the throne of the
Melchizedek order of King-Priests after the power of an endless life!
I
would now draw your attention to the duration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Melchizedek Priesthood is after
the power of an indissoluble or indestructible life, but does that mean that the ministry
of the Melchizedek Order continues forever? It is stated, Thou art a priest
forever after the
order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7:17). The average person sees that word
forever and assumes
that it means that the Order of Melchizedek is an eternal Order.
But this is not the case! The Greek word from which
forever is translated is AION from which, as we have already pointed out, we
get our English word eon. Whenever one speaks of
eons he is not talking about eternity, for eons denote specific spans of
time.
Any
thinking person should clearly see that if you translate the word AION, which means an
age, by the words eternal or
forever, which have nothing to do with time, you immediately get the
wrong idea. While the King James Bible says,
Thou art a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek, the Greek form is
eis ton aiona which
literally translated is to the age. The Melchizedek Priesthood lasts for
time. In this tremendous passage we see the
precise duration of this Priesthood TO THE AGE. We have no conception yet of the great
and vast ages that are still ahead of us! When the ages have all been completed, then a
priesthood will not be needed, but as long as time lasts, the priesthood is a necessity,
for it falls within the scope of Gods PLAN OF THE AGES!
A
priesthood to...THE AGE! The true understanding of the Word of
God is freighted with far more glorious meaning and depth of purpose than the shallow
traditions of church creeds. While the scriptures speak of an age, and the ages, and the
ages of the ages,
one age proceeding from, or out of, a
previous age until all the ages have run their courses, it also points to that glorious climatic
age of all ages. We read the phrase, Thy throne,
O God, is for ever and ever (Heb. 1:8). We carelessly suppose that it refers
to the eternity of Gods throne! But this expression, for ever
and ever, comes from the Greek which literally reads TO THE AGE OF THE AGES. This is very familiar terminology in
the Greek scriptures.
Few
men have been caught away by the spirit of inspiration as was the wise king Solomon when
he penned the beautiful Song of Solomon. God dropped one thousand and five
songs down into the heart of Solomon, but of these, only five comprising the Song of
Solomon, have been preserved and have found a place in the canon of scripture. Inspiration named it The Song of
Songs, that is, the one song which was above and beyond all the songs that have ever
come from human heart and human lips. Just as the Song
of songs
was chief above them all, just as the Holy of
holies was the Holiest place of all, just as the King
of kings
is the greatest King of all, so all through the scriptures, though obscured by many
translators, we have this remarkable phrase TO THE AGE OF
THE AGES. It points to that age which shall be
the most glorious of all, and which finds its type in the year of Jubilee. This is the Holy Spirits way of
expressing the superlative, and so far as Gods plan of the ages is concerned this
AGE OF
THE AGES is THE AGE PAR
EXCELLENCE of them all!
A
simple illustration of this is our expression, a day of days,
meaning a day that comes out of previous days, but which crowns them, and embodies not
only what they contained, but the full fruition of all that was elementary in them. Eternity does not emerge full grown in
mans consciousness until this wonderful age, the age of ages,
is ended. This AGE OF THE AGES is that glorious
climax to Gods purpose and process of the ages, wherein He states, Behold, I
make all things
new (Rev. 21:5). And when He says, A-L-L,
it is self-evident that there is nothing remaining in the whole vast universe which shall
not be made new, else all is not all. For He must reign
until He hath put
ALL enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed
is death (I Cor. 15:25-26). When the last enemy is under His feet,
destroyed, and there is no more death no more physical death, no more spiritual death, no more
first death, no more second death
in any creature anywhere in all
Gods great universe, in any heaven or in any hell, then shall God be
ALL IN ALL! The Amplified gives, ...be
everything to everyone. Time comes to an end when the ages end
and eternity, with God all in all, becomes a conscious reality. There is no more
change, therefore there is no more time.
Our
blessed Lord Jesus Christ is a great priest after the Order of Melchizedek, not forever,
as we have erroneously been taught, and not for just this one age of the Church
dispensation, either, but unto THE
AGE, that wonderful climatic age of all the ages, the grand
finale of
Gods great plan of the ages! It cannot be made plainer than it is
in Youngs Literal Translation where we read, And
those indeed are many who have become priests, because by death they are hindered from
remaining; and He, because of His remaining
TO THE AGE, hath the priesthood not
transient, whence also He is able to save TO THE VERY END, those coming through Him unto
God
ever living to make intercession for
them (Heb. 7:23-25).
Great
are the mediatorial and redemptive glories of Gods Priesthood! What distinguishes this ministry above
all others is the fact that it carries its wonderful mission to a successful, victorious
conclusion. The Melchizedek Priesthood is a
priesthood TO A FINALITY. The fact that there will come a day, O
glorious day! when it will no longer be needed, is the highest praise that can be brought
to the Melchizedek Priesthood. It will, in due time, have
accomplished its mission, and finished the task God intended it to do. All other ministries retire because of
their weakness and inability to bring aught to perfection. That is why God shall bring His son
Company into the fullness of incorruptible
life
the sons of God must be able to
live for the ages in order to
fulfill their role in this Priesthood of the Ages. All creation is standing on tiptoe to
see the wonderful sight of Gods sons coming into their own! All creation is in travail and pain
waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God! All creation is groaning together for
each of Gods elect to come to their adoption
to wit, the redemption
of the body! And this is because the creation
itself also
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty from sin, sorrow, limitation and death, which is
the liberty of the sons of God!
The priests of the old covenant all died, so that
even the good and faithful priests were not able to stay on the scene to see that
Gods purpose was fully fulfilled in His people Israel. They could never bring anything to
perfection because of death! But the Royal Priesthood after the
Order of Melchizedek retires with honors having accomplished its glorious mission! Oh, how it drags the Christs
highest honors in the dust to distort Gods Word so that His priesthood is eternal
and His reign everlasting! Christ does not reign forever, my
friend, for He must reign till
He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed
is death. For He (the Father) hath put all
things under His feet. But when He saith that all things are
put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. And when all
things shall be
subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all
things under Him, that GOD may be all in all (I Cor. 15:25-28). May God forgive the ignorant zeal
which seeks to gild the glory of His crowns with the tarnished tinsel of mans
imagination! What He starts He will finish, and
what He commences He will consummate, praise His wonderful name!
One
of the main arguments of the book of Hebrews is that the Aaronic priesthood and sacrificial ritual brought
nothing to completion. It was a treadmill of repetitive
service which could not make the participants perfect. But Christs Melchizedek
Priesthood does and will bring mankind into perfect harmony with God, however many ages it
takes, for He continues to live and remains a priest unto THE AGE. During the Church age the Lord Jesus
has been the only
priest of that High Order, a priest for us,
His younger brethren, to bring us
to the perfection of His incorruptible life. But now we, together with Him,
shall make up that priesthood for the age and the ages to come. Oh yes! We shall REIGN WITH HIM. Thou hast made us unto our God
kings and priests, and we shall reign over the earth (Rev. 5:10). In and through His body of sons He is
well able to complete the work and bring the priestly service to a close! If the Melchizedek Priesthood should
continue forever, then His priesthood would be just as impotent as Aarons,
never able to obtain its objective. Hence Christ, and those who share His
Priesthood, are priests after the order of Melchizedek eis ton aiona
to the age. WITH WHAT ANTICIPATION DO WE AWAIT
THAT GLORIOUS AGE! WITH WHAT JOY DO WE GIVE OURSELVES TO
SERVE IN THIS MELCHIZEDEKIAN ORDER TO BRING THAT AGE TO PASS! At last, at long last, praise God, the
Royal Priesthood will be able to say with finality, IT IS FINISHED! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
That
God might advance His Kingdom from one stage to another He has by omniscient wisdom
designed dispensations, epochs, and ages. From time to time He brings about a
change in dispensations, which means the bringing forth of new means, methods, and
revelations, always richer and more glorious and powerful and earth-shattering than the
previous ones. There always lies between the closing
of one age and the opening of another, a short period which partakes of the powers and
methods of both ages, and is especially filled with dramatic manifestations of Gods
activity. We are now in the very throes of such
a time, which lies between the age of the building in the earth of the many-membered
Christ body and the age when the Kingdom shall subdue and break in pieces all the
governments and nations of man. The rule of the Kingdom of God over
the nations is about to open in power and great glory! This new age that is even now dawning
will see the most extraordinary move of God, so vast in proportions, so dynamic in power,
so revolutionary in its effects that it will transform all the present cultures and
society of mankind, switch the currents of civilization, and alter the structure of the
nations. This earth will receive such dramatic
shock, such a global earthquake, such a divine impact of wisdom and glory and power that
the whole world will be changed, completely remodeled.
This
revolution will come through the manifestation of the sons of God and will penetrate and
judge the motives, character, intents, activities, and institutions of the whole world! This marvelous work and ministry will
be wrought by a company of King-Priests after the Order of Melchizedek. This sonship ministry will be the most
awesome and powerful ministry the Lord has ever unleashed on the earth. Nothing will be able to stand before
it! It will consume and break in pieces
the whole fabric of the nations. The economic, cultural, educational,
military, ecclesiastical and political structures that man has erected by the carnal mind
and fleshly wisdom will disintegrate before the very eyes of all men. These sons of the Most High are even
now being prepared and empowered with the mightiest weapon in the universe
the sword of the Spirit which is
the living word of God! All things and all creatures obey the
command of the word of the Most High God! At His word creation springs forth and
darkness flees from before His face.
The
Lord shall utter His voice (speak His word) before His army: for His camp is very great:
for He that is strong executeth His word: for the day of the Lord is great and very
terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:11). This army of God is earths
deliverers and the Lords restoration hosts; not a revival crusade, not a political
action committee, not a movement or organization, not a regiment of soldiers, but a
spiritual company of divine origin and formation
invincible and all-conquering! These are the marching men and women
of God progressing through the ages, tramping the corridors of Gods purposes,
binding time and eternity together, fulfilling their mission, bringing the Kingdom of God
on earth as it is in heaven. Wherever the desperate needs of men
are, from Indias vast land, teeming with hundreds of millions, from Africas
dark juju ceremonialism, from the igloos of Iceland to the farthest reaches of Tierra del
Fuego, from Wall Street to the Great Wall of China, from the ivory-covered halls of
learning in Paris, or Cambridge, to the dusty roads of the commonplace of all nations
wherever man may be found
the sons of God shall bring the blessings and benefits of the
Kingdom of Heaven with power and great glory!
THE
GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
What
a high and holy calling! But God, who is
rich in mercy...hath quickened us together with Christ...that in the
ages to come He might
SHOW the
exceeding riches of His grace... (Eph. 2:4-7). Those dear people who teach and preach
that the day of grace will soon be ended know nothing at all of grace, nor do they
understand that God Himself is grace.
He is the God of
all grace. You may as well say that God can die
as to say that grace will end. So vast, so marvelous are the wonders
of His grace, it will require the ages to come to continue to unfold these wonders, and He
has purposed that there shall be a people
through whom He would give this demonstration. That in the ages to come He
might show...
Show is from a Greek word
meaning to exhibit, to put on display like a work of art, to demonstrate. The Amplified Bible reads, He
did this that He might CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE through
the ages to come the
immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace... Kenneth Wuest translates, In
order that He might EXHIBIT...in the ages that pile themselves upon one another in
continuous succession the surpassing wealth of His grace... What a word! Show...demonstrate...exhibit the
riches of His grace unto whom? Not to those who already know it, for
they are the
demonstration! For those who have experienced His
grace to demonstrate that grace unto themselves would be useless nonsense. Ah, but to demonstrate it to those who
do not know it! To the whole vast creation of men and
realms and worlds and universes who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
Ah,
God is preparing a divine show for all the earth, indeed for the entire universe. The mighty Barnum, in describing his
circus, said it was THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. True, Mr. Barnum was a great showman
and, for its kind, he had a great show, but God is the Master Showman and He is preparing
to give the world THE GREATEST SHOW IT HAS EVER SEEN. It is a theatrical of MERCY and GRACE
and LOVE in a world of wrath and despair and sin and death. This will be Gods master stroke
as the curtain rises on creations greatest drama
Gods Great Show
THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD!
Praise His name, once the finishing
touch is put on the last stone of His living temple of Kings and Priests, the firstfruits
of His redemption, in ages yet to come He shall put His grace and kindness and wisdom and
power inwrought in us ON DISPLAY so that the entire creation may walk across the stage of
His cosmic theater and behold and see and finally come to understand
and appreciate
what God has provided for all men in Christ.
Our
ears have heard the sound of the trumpet and we cannot, dare not, settle for anything
less, we must follow on to know the Lord in all His glorious fullness, to put on the mind
of Christ, to be transformed into His image, to drink deeply of His incorruptible life, so
that we in turn may be His Givers unto all. Let us not sell creation short in
these days! All creation is groaning and
travailing together in pain to be delivered from the bondage of corruption. Mankind is sick and tired of sin and
fear and hatred and sorrow and pain and empty religious platitudes, rituals, ceremonies,
doctrines and programs. The whole race is gripped by the most
intense desire to
receive, there is everywhere an unprecedented hunger for deliverance, life and
reality. Let us not deny the Lord who purchased
us to be a Kingdom of Priests by settling for something less, a comfortable position in
the church realm, or a mansion over the hilltop. While we seek no glory of our own,
there is, nevertheless, great wealth and heavenly glory for all who fulfill the will of
God. You never lose with God!
The
compelling passion of my life is to be filled with all the fullness of God and come to the
image of Jesus Christ. The deep cry of my heart is for the
satisfaction of knowing that my life counts for God. As God knows my heart, it is not a
selfish desire. The reason I want to be like Jesus is
because I love Him so, but also because it is the only way I
can ever be used in the restoration of the fallen creation. I see the needs of the world around
me, and realize that I am practically powerless to do anything about it. Oh yes, I can pray, and give a little,
and believe God, and see occasional conversions, deliverances, and blessings. But anyone who says they have reached
the place where their ministry is meeting the needs of the world is either blind to the
needs of humanity, a proud hypocrite, or a compulsive liar. Lord Jesus! Breathe Thy Spirit into all who read
these lines until we are like Thee in all of Thy ways that Thou mayest be glorified and
all creation blessed. Make us a center of omnipotent God! May the great river of Thy love and
grace and power flow, and flow, and flow until the outflow of Thyself from our center
knows no circumference, enveloping all creation in Thy life and light and love. Amen!
God
will make the reality ours. And it shall bring the
increase of His Kingdom
into the next age and unto the ages to come. Blessed be His name!
Chapter
45
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
From
the dawn of history right down to the present time men have dreamed of a golden age when
peace and prosperity, health and happiness should be blessed realities among all peoples
of every kindred and tongue and people and nation on earth.
Poets, philosophers and prophets have sung and spoken of harmony and brotherhood
when all strife and discord should cease and the earth should be reborn. Plato wrote of an ideal republic, and the Lord
Chancellor of England in the reign of king Henry the Eighth described a glorious Utopia
one day to be established among all nations throughout the world. The ancient Hebrew prophets prophesied of a time
when the nations would beat their swords into plowshares, men would live so long that one
who died at an hundred years of age would be a mere child, and the whole earth would be
full of the glory of the Lord. Hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of others, politicians, military generals, ministers, and visionaries
of all kinds have predicted the arrival of the Golden Age, the Utopia to come. Were all these men suffering from delusions or
merely indulging in wishful thinking? Shall
these things be, or is it in vain that men look forward to the coming of a nobler, truer,
happier, more blessed and righteous order in the world?
If such a vision is to be relegated to the realm of fiction and fantasy, or if such
realities exist only in the realm of the spirit or in some bright glory-world above, then
it is useless for us to pray, Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, AS IN HEAVEN SO IN EARTH.
Oftentimes
when a motel or restaurant is poorly managed and thereby develops a bad reputation, its
business falls off and the owner is forced to sell or vacate. The first thing the new manager does is to put up a
huge sign conspicuously located, reading, UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. This is what will happen to this planet soon! Truly things are in a bad, distressful and
deplorable condition. The manager, old Adam
with his carnal mind, human reasoning, and sinful nature, has been wicked and deceitful,
selfish and immoral, causing strife, heartaches, wars, deaths, tragedies, pains, troubles
and sorrows everywhere. Thank God his lease is about up!
The first man Adams days are numbered, and the second man, who is the last
Adam, is about to take over this earth, and will become its new manager, if you please, as
is indicated in the following verses: I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said
unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give unto thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters
vessel (Ps. 2:7-9). This is the destiny
of all the sons of God!
God
is not one bit interested in whisking us off this planet and hiding us from the devil in
some far-off heaven somewhere. But He is
vitally concerned with making us overcomers, the sons of God in the midst of the land, to
inherit all nations and rule them with a rod of iron.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he
shall be my son. It is not Gods
purpose to burn up the earth and destroy the nations of men that He has created to inhabit
the earth, exiling billions of men and women into eternal damnation in the abyss of hell. Oh, no! It
is His purpose to heal the nations! And
the leaves of the tree (of life) are for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:2). And the nations of them that are saved shall
walk in the light of it (the City of God) (Rev.
21:24). God is going to destroy
the sin and rebellion in the world, but He is going to bring healing to the nations. The Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing
in His wings for all men and for all the nations!
Only
with great difficulty can we even imagine what the world will be like under the ministry
and rule of the manifested sons of God. Its
wonderful to look at whats in that new world, but its almost as great to think
of whats not there. Satan and all his
cronies will be missing (Rev. 20:1-3). The
Kingdom of Heaven on earth will have no crack houses or
rehabilitation centers, no police stations or courthouses or prisons, no locks or alarms. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my
holy mountain (kingdom): for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9). In the
new world there will be no guns, no missile factories, no abortion clinics, no sirens
wailing, no ambulances, no hospitals, no cancer clinics, no morgues or funeral parlors. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Rev. 21:3-4). The shroud of Turin is an ancient burial
cloth that shows the wounds and facial features of a crucified man. Certain analysts think it has undergone a kind of
radiation. Some Christians believe it is the
shroud in which Jesus was buried, and that gets them excited. But Im not so excited about any shroud Jesus
may have preserved. Im excited about the
shroud Jesus destroys. On this mountain
He shall destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
He will swallow up death forever. The
sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from off all faces (Isa. 25:7-8).
At
the present time men are, on account of sin, made to be afraid of one another. This is really the meaning of all the policemen,
the detectives, the FBI, the CIA, security guards and neighborhood watch programs. All these exist in order to protect us from
violence, injury and violation at the hands of our fellow-men. This is the meaning, too, of all the carefully and
strongly constructed locks, bars, and security systems in our houses and businesses, to
protect us from thieves and rapists and murderers and others who would molest us. This is the meaning of the millions of soldiers who
are trained in the art of warfare, as well as the great navies patrolling the seas, the
air force flying the skies and the satellites scanning the globe. They exist for the purpose of affording protection
from hostile invaders or terrorists bent on coming to take away our freedoms and power and
position on the earth. This is the meaning of
the large burglar-proof safes made to be so specially strong and secure that men cannot
steal away our treasures and wealth.
I
am reminded of something I read some time ago. Standing
before a masterpiece in a national museum, a tourist says in a snide tone, I
dont see anything in that! Then
another tourist, looking at the same work of art, replies thoughtfully, Dont
you wish you could? As we witness our
nation and society deteriorating year after year, and as we read and see reports that
confirm our worst fears, ordinary citizens tend to sigh in despair and say, I see no
reason for hope. And as they despair, we
hear the still small voice of the Spirit asking, Dont you wish you
could? Thank God for the hope of
creation! According to the apostle Pauls
teaching in the eighth chapter of Romans the hope of all creation is the manifestation of
the sons of God. Together we can praise God
that this present evil order is shortly to come to an end.
The world, which for ages has been marred by sin and ruled in unrighteousness, is
to experience the rule of heaven. Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That
is the prayer of sons! That will make this
earth of ours like heaven, because heavens conditions will prevail and Gods
will shall be done here everywhere and in all things.
Isnt that simple, now? Isnt
that much more reasonable than going into this theological blackout and thinking that this
world is sort of a diving-board from which men jump into either eternal torment, or up
into the clouds somewhere? Doesnt the
gospel of the Kingdom of God fill your soul with the realism of Gods great plan and
give you a redemptive vision? Ah, it will give
you an incentive to fulfill the will of God here and now upon the earth!
The
first great work of the new age is the manifestation of the sons of God. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works
unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod
of iron (Rev. 2:26-27). The spectacle
will be absolutely unique and glorious, as the Saviour of the world, the King of kings and
Lord of lords, comes to be revealed in the fullness of His love, righteousness, power and
glory in the splendor of myriads of glorified sons of God!
The sons of God will hold in their unerring hands the reins of government over all
the earth! The mighty Christ within us knows
all languages. He certainly understands and
knows all hearts with all their hopes, dreams, desires, and ambitions, whether good or
bad. He is the fountainhead of all wisdom and
grace and power, and foreknows all things from the beginning. Morning stars shall again sing together, and all
the sons of God shall shout for joy, when Jesus comes to be revealed in His saints and to
be admired in all them that believe in that day.
The
disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ were greatly perplexed when Jesus died. But then He arose the conquering Christ! The fact of the Christs resurrection is
historic. The man who disputes it disputes the
best established fact in history. He was seen
by those who despaired of His existence. He
ate with them. He drank with them. He walked with them in a bloodless body. He talked to the despondent and broken-hearted
apostles, the eleven, for nearly forty days. It
was impossible to be deceived. He spoke, and
was heard and seen on one occasion by five hundred, most of whom were living at the time
that Paul made the declaration that they knew Christ and had seen Him after His
resurrection. He proved His resurrection by
telling them that if they would go to Jerusalem and enter into an upper room, and wait for
the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirits power would come. The promised outpouring took place. Christ went up and the Holy Ghost came down. They saw Him go and they saw Him come. It shook the place where they were sitting. The divine earthquake shook Jerusalem. It shook Israel.
It shook the Roman empire until it fell, to rise no more. It shook the world.
The Spirits power came. The
Christ returned in mighty Spirit-power. He
ascended up far above all heavens that He might return as the Spirit to fill all things
(Eph. 4:10). He who is the Truth came again as
the Spirit of Truth. He came as an indwelling
Life. Men who were weak became strong. Men who were wicked murderers and devils were
transformed into men of virtue and power with God. Men
who were illogical became great and mighty reasoners.
Men who were feeble stood up, and in their spiritual majesty tower today above all
the men of their time. All history
substantiates the claim. Every philosopher and
potentate of their time had to recognize them so that Peter, Paul, James, John, and many
of their successors, became the mightiest Powers even in a heathen Empire.
The
day had dawned, the shadows were fleeing away, darkness dispelled. We would but deceive ourselves were we to conclude
that the conflict of the ages between Christ and Satan, between truth and error, between
light and darkness, between righteousness and unrighteousness, between life and death has
ended. The second thousand years are drawing
to a close since Jesus came, died, conquered death, and poured out His life-giving Spirit
and, blessed be His name, He pursues His mission still and reigns in majesty over His
Kingdom by entering into these temples of clay, and filling our spirits, and souls, and
bodies with His own eternal presence and power, making us one with Him, members of His
very own body, of His flesh, of His bone, of His blood.
He has gathered millions into His gospel net of salvation that out from their midst
He may birth a vast company of sons who have put on the mind of Christ, been conformed
into His image, with the Law of His Life inscribed upon the tables of their hearts, that
they may then be filled with the fullness of His Spirit.
And the hour is wonderfully nigh at hand when there shall be a further
transformation, even the bodies of His elect sons shall be changed in likeness unto His
body of glory as this corruptible puts on incorruption, and this mortal puts on
immortality, so that we, who were destined from the beginning to be the revelation of
HIMSELF to creation, may complete His mighty work for the redemption of humanity.
And
now, a new Day has dawned! Thank God, a few of
His chosen ones have arisen to behold the dawn and to drink in the intoxicating freshness
of the morn. A new age has arrived. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men
(humanity, mankind), and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And
God shall wipe away all tears from their (mankinds) eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former
things are passed away. And He that sat upon
the throne said, Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW (Rev. 21:3-4). Blessed promises of a mighty deliverance, which by
the Spirit we even now begin to see fulfilled. The
time has come for the nations to hear the voice of the Son of God and live! There shall be a glorious victory as the devil that
has deceived all nations is bound with the great chain of the word of God through His
sons. The un-deceiving of the nations means a
new mentality, new understanding, new thought processes, the unveiling of the truth about
all things in the minds of the vast multitudes of earth.
The light of divine truth and reality will at last shine into the
speculations of science, the theories of education, the practice of commerce, the world of
politics, the dogmas of religion, and all things will be MADE NEW! What anticipation this evokes in our hearts! And it shall come to pass, that...all
nations...shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and
to keep the feast of tabernacles (Zech. 14:16).
This scripture reveals that it is by the ministry of those who have partaken
of, and entered experientially into, the FEAST OF TABERNACLES, that the nations shall be
brought into living relationship with the Lord! Ah,
those walking only in the feast of Passover (Fundamentalists and Evangelicals) or the
feast of Pentecost (Pentecostals and Charismatics) can never get this job done! Only those who press on into the fullness of God
will have the power to rule the nations! And
the nations...shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their
glory and honour into it...and there shall be no more curse (Rev. 21:24; 22:3).
The
ministry and rule of sonship is ready to be poured out upon the nations of this world. What a perfect luxury of blessing shall come upon
all mankind! The ministry of Christ revealed
in the four Gospels, shall be intensified by tens of thousands of manifest sons of God in
the midst of the earth! The wilderness
and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom
as the rose...they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then
shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert (Isa. 35:1,2,5,6). When the mighty work of salvation, restoration, and
transformation is complete there will be none of those painful and debilitating diseases
which now plague mankind. There will be no
cancers wasting away the frame, no multiple sclerosis, multiple dystrophy, or Parkinson's
disease destroying the nervous system. Because
streams of healing and deliverance shall flow out to earths needy, helpless and
hopeless, there shall be no need of medicine, and drug stores will disappear. We shall need no doctors and the great clinics and
hospitals of our cities and towns will have no patients who need treatment, surgeries, or
nursing. From every mental hospital the
inmates will stream forth shouting for joy at finding that Gods Christ has touched
their minds with His omnipotent hand of love and power.
From every prison in the world will leap forth prisoners of each sex and
every age to testify to the saving, delivering, transforming work of God in their lives,
breaking completely and forever the shackles of sin and satan, turning thieves, murderers
and rapists into men of mildness, righteousness and compassion. The power of sin and death being broken, the
undertaker will look in vain for corpses and will find it the hardest thing in the world
to keep his business open.
NOW
HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD! When Gods
spiritual work of mind, will, heart, nature and character is finished in each of His sons,
the sign that the hour for the manifestation of the sons of God has arrived will be given
throughout the whole earth. On a day much like
today, those who have been fully awakened within and transformed into His likeness in
spirit and soul, will step into another dimension. Suddenly,
instantaneously and simultaneously every sickness and disease in each and every body of
all the sons of God will be totally and permanently healed.
This will be the most astounding mass-miracle of the ages! A shuddering will run through their bodies. In an instant these sons will burst into the
resplendence of the shimmering glory of God brighter than the noonday sun. Incorruptible life will surge forth from within
quickening their mortal bodies with vibrant, self-perpetuating life. Their minds will at the same time be expanded with
divine wisdom and understanding. All things
will become open and known. The secrets of the
universe will become as clear as the letters of the alphabet. Creative power will flow from their mouths and
their hands. The secrets of mens hearts
will be revealed and they will know all that is within man; but they will not be permitted
to speak these things, only mercy, grace and omnipotent love will flow forth to mankind! But the very first sign that the hour of
manifestation has arrived will be the sudden, instantaneous, and simultaneous healing of
every sickness and disease in the body of every son! You
can watch for that sign that the day of full manifestation is here! Some will not receive this word, but it does not
matter. The sign will be fulfilled, and
glorious shall be the Day unto those who are appointed to it!
The
lovely Christ who two millenniums ago spoke to the winds and waves and with a word hushed
the seas mad raging, will through the authority of the many sons He has brought to
glory control the climates of the world, giving freedom from howling tempests, raging
hurricanes, devastating tornadoes, destructive floods, and desolating droughts. By the increase of His Kingdom and peace ferocity
in man and beast and nature will cease and the sucking child will play on the hole
of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den, unharmed. The natural mind can barely comprehend what the
world will be like when there is no hatred, strife, bigotry, broken homes, domestic
violence, child or spouse abuse, alcohol or drug abuse, no war nor crime, no soldiers nor
policemen, no doctors nor hospitals, no beggars nor homeless people, nor hungry people,
nor children with bloated stomachs, no suicides, no election frauds nor stealing and
buying votes, no wicked scams, no pornography nor prostitution, no adultery nor
fornication. All people of all nations will
speak of Gods Christ as THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, for everyone will be righteous! The nations will be spiritually clean. Righteousness will fill the Kingdom. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover
the earth as the waters cover the sea. The
laws of God will be in the hearts of the people. The
Spirit will be poured out on all flesh, and the joy and peace which God intended for man
to enjoy will be restored to him. The Kingdom
of God shall triumph over all and there shall be no more curse.
During
the age now ending the dealing of God has been with His Church, and not with the nations. The nations have been affected, of course, but only
in an overflow of blessing from the work and righteousness of God in His people. The Kingdom in its present state does not rule over
the nations of the earth, but the nations, for the most part, have a rule over the Church. The nations have persecuted the Church, and still
do. The nations have placed limitations upon
the Church. In most countries the church
systems are even chartered by the government! The
apostle Paul admonished the saints to be obedient to kings and rulers, and to submit to
every ordinance of man for conscience sake. Christ
now rules in the hearts and lives of His chosen ones in the midst of His enemies. But the day is coming when He will rule through His
Kingdom Sons over His enemies. While world
governments exist under the supervision of God for the good of mankind, those governments
are not by any stretch of the imagination a reflection of the Kingdom of God! The spiritual forces that influence them are often
the malignant spirits from realms of darkness, and most of their activities are
manifestations of the carnal mind, works of the flesh.
No government on earth today is truly Christian. No, not one! Human
progress without God has always been progress in evil, not good. His upward progress, progress in return to God, has
not been discernible at all through the centuries. God
turned the world over to man to govern. But
man ruined the world through sin, wrecked his happiness, and sold his life for death. There can be no such thing as upward progress apart
from God! With every invention of man evil
only multiplies. With all the medical
knowledge and great hospitals mans wisdom has built, there are more sick people
today than ever. In the past century of
mans enlightened civilization more people have died in treacherous,
bloody wars than in all the wars from the beginning of time put together. Man has tried to rule the earth, and failed. He is failing now.
The vast experience of six thousand years is now nearly complete. With pollution pouring into our atmosphere, soil,
rivers, lakes, and oceans; with atomic bombs stockpiled by more and more nations, and
terrorists stalking the earth with fanatical zeal, the case is most manifestly going
against man.
At
this crisis we now stand. We are on the verge
of momentous events. We are at the close of a
long series of experiments made by Adam the banished.
And we find the world more wicked and more lawless than at the first. Peace does not reign among the nations. Misrule has not departed. Righteousness is not ruling the world, nor our own
nation. Holiness does not beautify the homes
of men. Man has found no cure for the
deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of the human heart.
Sin and sorrow rage on, and he is powerless. The
curse still rests on the earth and poisons the air. Man
cannot check it. The thorn and thistle, the
prickly memorials of the first sin, still shoot up. And
the thorns and thistles in the garden of mens lives are thicker and taller than
ever. Disease still scourges the body. Man cannot drive it out. Death still smites down its daily myriads. Men cannot disarm or check it. The grave still receives the loved, and preys upon
the young and the beautiful.
These
are the fruits of the first Adams doings, and this is the powerlessness of his
children to remove so much as one in ten thousand evils!
It has been manifestly demonstrated that man can ruin, but not restore, the world. His attempts at restoration have resulted only in
greater evils. Every invention of science has
ultimately proven detrimental to the earth and to the lives of mankind. His antibiotics produce super-viruses more deadly
than before. His automobiles and airplanes
spew pollutants into the atmosphere. His
chemicals spread sickness, deformity and death throughout the planet. His television and movies destroy the moral
conscience of both children and adults. His
food additives and prescription drugs kill hundreds of thousands, yea, millions annually. His guns and bombs and sophisticated implements of
war have killed millions, and are still killing today in every corner of the globe. But this progress in evil has a limit. God has set bounds which He will not allow it to
pass! He will not allow this earth to become
altogether a hell. Even now He makes the wrath
of man to praise Him, and the remainder thereof He restrains. We are now nearing the boundaries of mans
evil. The second man, the last Adam, has been
formed in the earth as a many-membered body, and is now at hand and with Him the kingdom
and the glory. This Man is ready to assume the
dominion that was given to man in that long ago beginning.
He will bring the cure. He will
knit the broken world. He will subdue and
subject it, beginning with the hearts of men. He
will break mans rebellion with a word of power and life a rod of iron. He will redeem, reconcile, and restore mankind to
the fellowship of God. He will teach men the
ways of righteousness and bind their hearts to the will of the Father. He will rebuke disease and sorrow. He will bind death.
He will rifle the grave. He will
deliver creation. And on His righteous
peaceful throne He will rule until God is all in all.
The
sons of God are now waiting in the wings. That
is the essence of their action. They patiently
watch as the men of this dying age are moving helter-skelter. These sons know in their enlightened minds that all
the feverish activities of the worlds rulers is but the last frantic stages of a mad
rush to save the world of mankind from destruction by the formation of a new world
order already in view, a true City of Man, built by mans ingenuity for man
this, finally, is the avowed goal they forecast for themselves, shimmering on the
mountains of the future. But Gods holy
sons are waiting growing in the knowledge, wisdom, nature, and power of their
heavenly Father but not for that City of Man that man is building, the modern-day
Tower of Babel, for that city will not be built, at least not as men have configured it. The Kingdom of God will come upon the nations
after all the efforts of Transnationalists and Internationalists, of the Trilateralists
and Illuminatists, of liberals and humanists, of globalists and ecumentalists have come to
utter shipwreck upon the shoals of the treachery, deceit, greed, bigotry, wretchedness and
wickedness of the human heart.
The
day is coming, Oh glorious Day! when Gods nature and glory and power and rule will
no longer be found only in Gods elect, no longer in a tiny minority of people in
every city, state, province and nation, but in all people of all the nations. There will not any more be one people redeemed,
but all people redeemed; not one land glowing with the glory of God, but all lands
radiating His life; not one nation owning Christ as King, but all nations become the
Kingdom of God through the wonder-working achievements of the sons of God. That great day is coming, the world will do the
will of God, for Christ is not only the redeemer of His called and chosen people, but He
is the SAVIOUR OF T-H-E W-O-R-L-D. For
Him the banners of all people shall wave in the breeze; to Him shall the kings and
presidents and prime ministers and rulers bow themselves, and unto Him shall the gladdened
hearts of the children of men uplift their songs of triumph.
He
who came to redeem the world will not fail! To
deny that the world and the nations of earth will be gathered into the Kingdom of God is
to wickedly deny Christ His victory. The
Kingdom of God is for the world, and the world is for the Kingdom of God. Make no mistake about it: Christ our Lord shall be King of all kings and Lord
of all lords! Onward, ever onward, rolls the
glorious song of redemption, and to the sons of God who yearn to see the glory of the Lord
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, I say: The
world, and the whole of it, for God and His sons! No
less will satisfy the Father. No less will
satisfy His sons!
Someone
has eloquently written: What a scene of unimaginable grandeur that will be, when at
last all nations are gathered to His feet! That
will include the people from all the European States, from Iceland in the far north to
Greece in the south, and from Portugal in the west to Russia in the east. There will the people from Algeria, Morocco, and
the Atlas Mountains of the Sahara; from the great lakes of Central Africa, from the banks
of the Niger, the Calabar, the Congo, and the Zambesi rivers; and from the upland of South
Africa. There will be gathered to Christ the
people from Israel, Jordan, and Arabia; India will contribute her millions; and even from
closed lands like Nepal, Sikkim, and Tibet, Christ will gather His inheritance. From the Islands of Indonesia they will come
Java, Sumatra, Bali, Celebes, Lombok, Soembawa, Borneo,
and the rest and they will be gathered to the feet of the Redeemer. From the teeming millions of Central Asia, from
China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia, there will
be an immense home going to the Saviour. From
the myriad islands of the Pacific, the peoples of
Polynesia and Melanesia will be gathered to the Lord who redeemed them. From Australia and New Zealand there
will be multitudes who will join in the glad song of praise.
Every republic of Central and South America, and the West Indies
Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles, they will come. From the far-off forests and lakes of Canada and
the plains of the United States and the mountains of Mexico there will be a similar
homegoing. This gathering to Christ will be
overwhelmingly splendid!
Author unknown.
This
is how the Christ will be revealed in His saints in this hour: Christ is coming in power and in great glory! He is coming to judge the earth with righteousness! I am not talking about military power or political
power. I am not talking about power in the
way men know power NO! The power of the
Kingdom is spiritual power. It is power
greater than Pentecostal power, for Pentecostal power is but the earnest of the Spirit. Christ is coming in the power of sonship, the power
of the Man of Galilee multiplied and intensified in a many-membered body tens of thousands
of times. The mighty works of Jesus of
Nazareth were but a sample, a swatch, a preview, a foretaste of the glory of Gods
Christ, Head and body. The Christ Himself
prophesied of this greater glory of sonship to come when He said, The works that I
do shall ye do also, and greater works than these shall ye do... And again, He that overcometh shall inherit
all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
To him that overcometh will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I
received of my Father (Rev. 21:7; 2:26-27). He
says that He intends to come to this little planet (in His elect) and finally put down the
rebellion that has broken out He will break the nations with a rod of iron and
smash them to shivers like the vessels of a potter. Maybe
you dont like that. Well, you take it up
with Him. He said it, and He is going to do it
just that way.
Suppose
Jesus came back to this earth tomorrow like He came two thousand years ago, the man of
Galilee, the carpenter of Nazareth, the gentle Jesus.
Suppose He were here. Suppose He went
to the Communist Party Headquarters in Beijing, China and knocked on the door. Whoever keeps the store over there would come and
say, Yes? He would say,
Im Jesus. Im here to take
over. Do you think they would say,
My, we have been expecting you! No,
theyd put Him before a firing squad in the morning.
My friend, how do you think He could take over if He came to China today? He would have to break them with a rod of iron! Now suppose He goes to France, England, and
Germany. There are no strong men in these
nations anymore, but some ambitious men rule those countries. They dont want Him. Their constitutions make no provision for the
transfer of power to Gods Christ. Suppose
He came to the United States of America. He
could never be King because we have no king, and He could not be President unless He ran
in the primaries of the Democratic or Republican parties.
And if He wanted to put prayer and truth and righteousness in the schools,
in the courts, and in the halls of government they would brand Him an unconstitutional
right-wing fringe fanatic and He would never make it past the first primary in New
Hampshire.
Suppose
He went over to Rome. I was there some years
ago and walked the halls of the Vatican, stood under the dome of Saint Peters, and
paused in the revered quietness of the Sistine Chapel.
Suppose our Lord would go and knock on the door of the Vatican. The man with the long white garment would come to
the door, and the Lord Jesus would say, Im here to take over. What do you think he would say? I think he would say, Now look, youve
come a little too soon. Im preparing a
mass, and my pope-mobile is being readied for a historic trip to Asia, and we have two
thousand years of tradition and orthodoxy and organization to back up what we are doing. I dont need you. I dont think he would want Him. Now maybe you think the nations reactions
would be different. Perhaps you are saying,
Oh, they would take Him. Then why
dont they take Him? They do not because
they wont have Him! Suppose He went to
the World Council of Churches today, and He said to Protestantism, Im here to
take over. Would they receive Him? They would not!
Suppose He went to Hollywood and New York and announced to the heads of the movie
industry and the news media, Im here to take over. They would hate Him, they would reject Him, they
would ridicule Him, they would mock Him, they would make jokes about Him on the Tonight
Show and on the David Letterman Show, laugh Him to scorn, sue Him, call the SWAT team and
have Him hauled away!
When
Christ comes in His sons He is coming with power and great glory, with wonder-working
power, paralyzing, mood-altering, will-subduing, rebellion-breaking, mind-changing,
heart-transforming, mighty regenerating power! Let
me quote it again: And he that overcometh...to him will I give POWER OVER THE
NATIONS: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; AS THE VESSELS OF A POTTER SHALL THEY
BE BROKEN TO SHIVERS... When all the
sons of God are manifest vengeance against evil and all the institutions of the carnal
minds of men will be the first order of business. Only
the sons of God can rend the shroud of darkness and death that hangs over the whole earth. These magnificent beings will possess the power of
God to chase the darkness away. After they
have broken the power of sin and satan, the sons will begin a heavenly restoration. As kings and priests of the incorruptible Order of
Melchizedek they will with divine authority correct every physical and spiritual disorder. This wonderful company will shimmer with celestial
glory, and the life of light will emanate from them to illuminate and quicken all men. These sons of God are the living government of God,
the essence of His heart and throne. They are
the chosen and proven, the called and tested, the nobodies who walked closely with God and are elevated to the heights of His Kingdom. All the firstborn sons of God will step into
magnificent permanence and find themselves clothed with the glory of universal power.
These
sons will arise in the midst of the earth out of every hamlet and cove, from the deserts
and rain forests, from the valleys and the mountains, from every town and city, from every
province and state and every nation on earth and will be gathered together by the power of
the Holy Ghost to form the governing council of the new world order of the Kingdom of God. Jesus will stand in His rightful place at the helm
of this invincible body. Every son of God will
be the brother of Jesus Christ, birthed in the image of their Father. These are fantastic beings, focused, strong,
powerful, mighty, formidable, overwhelming, supreme, conquering warriors who love creation
and rule the created realms with all the power of God.
As an invading army of celestial kings they shall advance to subdue the
earth. In tumult and conflict, in
reconciliation and restoration, their truth and light will cover the land.
No
device of men money, worldly wisdom, political clout, military genius shall
deter this unstoppable army of the body of Christ. They
will crush the ignorance of carnality, and abolish the power of darkness in the hearts of
men. The glorified sons of God will fear not
to slay, for they are also the resurrection and the life.
Their actions are wisdom, their weapons are truth, and their motives are
love. They will dispense the knowledge of the
holy as a clear stream, to bring forth judgment unto victory. All the peoples of the nations will become their
possession (Ps. 2:8). Then shall the teeming
millions of earth know peace in a new and unspeakable tranquility, for righteousness shall
be established in every heart and in every institution.
All creation shall rest as the
nations beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. This is the plan of God for all the nations of this
earth, and its implementation is the legacy, ministry, and destiny of Jesus the Christ.
THE WORK OF GOD IN THE
NATIONS
The
scriptures reveal many wonderful promises and much enlightening revelation concerning the
rule of God over the nations. THESE PROPHECIES
HAVE NEVER YET BEEN FULFILLED. By no stretch
of the imagination can any development or condition during the Church age be construed as
fulfilling these beautiful prophecies. The
glorious Kingdom of God will break in pieces and subdue all other kingdoms, kings, rulers,
lordships, religions and gods and replace them with one glorious Kingdom of God in this
earth.
Nothing
is more evident in the Word of God than the fact that God has a great and wonderful plan
which He is working out among the nations of earth. Many
saints recognize that God has a predestined purpose in the life of each of His people, an
appointed end for Israel, an eternal purpose for the Church, and a foreordained plan for
the overcoming sons of God. But we fail in our
understanding of Gods wonderful plan of the ages until we understand the great truth
that the Lord has a determined plan and purpose for ALL THE NATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS OF MEN
UPON THE EARTH.
From
the very dawn of human history God has had the formation, development and destiny of
NATIONS in mind and purpose. God has always
been actively dealing with nations. I am
indebted to Dr. Harry Rimmer for the following information.
The present nations of earth had their origins in the early days following the
Great Flood. In Genesis chapter ten is found
a most remarkable and comprehensive list of the descendants of Noah who became the heads
of the families and tribes which subsequently developed into nations. Even higher critics have often admitted that the
tenth chapter of Genesis is a remarkably accurate historical document. There is no comparable catalog of ancient nations
available from any other source. It is
unparalleled in its antiquity and comprehensiveness.
You would do well to read the entire chapter.
Here is the one link between the historic nations of antiquity and the prehistoric
time of Noah and the antediluvians. The
grandsons and great-grandsons of Noah are listed, each of whom is identified with the city
or country established by his descendants. It
has been possible in many cases to identify the names in Genesis ten with nations and
peoples known to antiquity, especially as revealed by archaeology.
An
interesting verse is found in Genesis 10:25. And
unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; FOR IN HIS DAYS WAS THE EARTH
DIVIDED; and his brothers name was Joktan.
Peleg or rather, the event associated with his name is of special
interest at this point. In his days was
the earth divided. Evidently this was a
memorable event, and Eber named his son in commemoration
of it. The name Peleg means
division. Almost nothing else is
said about Peleg apart from mention of his family line and how long he lived. The fact that the earth was divided in his days
seems the only possible item of distinction that can knowingly be attributed to Peleg
himself. The important thing concerns the
meaning of this indicated division of the earth.
It is obvious that this division was the division of the peoples that took place at
the Tower of Babel, rather than some cataclysmic splitting of the continents. We have such statements as this: From these
were the isles (coasts) of the Gentiles (nations) DIVIDED IN THEIR LANDS; everyone after
his tongue, after their families, in their NATIONS, and again, These are the
families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their NATIONS: and by these were
THE NATIONS DIVIDED in the earth after the flood (Gen. 10:5,32).
The
descendants of Noah migrated over the whole face of the earth, forming tribe after tribe,
city after city, and nation after nation. Let
all men know that it is the Almighty God who is the designer and architect of all the
nations of the world! The time periods and
localities in which nations flourish have all been pre-arranged by the will of Him who
worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11). The truth of this cannot be made any plainer than
it is by Moses in Deuteronomy 32:8: When the Most High divided the nations their
inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, HE SET the bounds of the people according
to the number of the children of Israel. Paul
refers to this verse in Acts 17:26-27: And (God) hath made of one blood all nations
of men for to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determined the times appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord. This reveals that it was God who, from the
beginning, set the national boundaries of ALL NATIONS.
These boundaries were established in relation to Israel and with a view to their
being able to seek after the Lord. While these
things have not fully played themselves out, yet it is remarkable that the ancient land of
Canaan was originally reserved by the wisdom and goodness of the Lord for the possession
of His special people, Israel, and the display of the most stupendous signs and wonders. The theater was small, but wonderfully suited for
the convenient observation of the whole human race at the junction of the two
continents of Asia and Africa, and almost in sight of Europe. From this spot as from a common center the reports
of Gods wonderful works, of His mighty power and awesome glory, of the glad tidings
of salvation through the ministry, death, and resurrection of His firstborn Son, of the
wonder-filled outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as the footstep followers of
Jesus were set ablaze by the life and power of their glorified Lord, might be rapidly and
easily wafted to every part of the globe. Yes,
God set the bounds of habitation for all nations and planted Israel at the crossroads, to
the end that all nations might seek after the Lord! What
a plan!
Can
we not see by this that out of Israel came Christ; out of Christ has come the Church,
which is His bride (Eph. 5:23-32); and out of the Church is birthed the Manchild, the holy
sons of God who are destined to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5) and bring
deliverance to the whole creation that it might be fulfilled which was promised to father
Abraham: And in thy seed shall ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED (Gen.
22:18). ALL NATIONS shall be blessed!
From the very beginning God not only designed the nations of men that dwell upon
the earth, He also planned and purposed to BLESS THEM each and every one of them! Not only Israel, not only the Church, but the
nations themselves must come under the gracious hand of God in blessing and quickening. Oh, the wonder of it!
One
of the prophets of ancient Israel sang of this hope in the spirit of prophecy: God
be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us; that Thy way may
be known upon earth, Thy saving health among ALL NATIONS.
Let the people praise Thee, O God; let ALL the people praise Thee! O let THE NATIONS be glad and sing for joy: for
Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth...yea, ALL
KINGS shall fall down before Him: ALL NATIONS SHALL SERVE HIM (Ps. 67:1-4; 72:11). The day is surely coming when all nations shall be
joined to the Lord and fulfill their obligations to Him as their Maker and Saviour. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for Thou
shalt INHERIT ALL NATIONS. ALL NATIONS whom
Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy name. For Thou art great and doest wondrous things
(Ps. 82:8; 86:9-10).
Many
precious fragments reveal Gods ultimate purpose for mankind, when
ALL the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and ALL KINDREDS OF
THE NATIONS shall worship before Thee, for the kingdom is the Lords, and HE is the
governor among the nations (Ps. 22:27-28). In
the beautiful second Psalm the Father says to His Son: Ask of me, and I WILL GIVE
THEE THE NATIONS for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy
possession (Ps. 2:8). Surely the will
and plan of God is revealed in this most gracious request, and surely this was the purpose
for which Jesus came and was sent. The
Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of THE
WORLD (I Jn. 4:14). With this divine
plan in view, well may the Lords people triumphantly sing, O let THE NATIONS
be glad and sing for joy, for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and GOVERN THE
NATIONS UPON EARTH...and ALL the ends of the earth shall fear Him (Ps. 67:4-7). ALL NATIONS SHALL CALL HIM BLESSED...and
blessed be His glorious name forever, and let THE WHOLE EARTH be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen (Ps. 72:17-19).
If
you are truly destined to stand among the company of the sons of God you assuredly share
the thrill of the heavenly vibration in these inspired words: But in the last days it shall come to pass,
that the mountain (government) of the house of the Lord (the priesthood of God) shall be
established in the tops of the mountains (strong kingdoms, super- powers), and it shall be
exalted above the hills (smaller kingdoms, third-world nations); and people shall flow
unto it. And MANY NATIONS shall come, and say,
Come, and let us go up to the mountain (government) of the Lord, and to the house
(priesthood) of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His ways, and we (the nations) will walk in His paths: for the law (authority) of
the Lord shall go forth of Zion (the sons of God), and the (living) word of God from
Jerusalem (the bride of Christ). And He shall
JUDGE among the people, and rebuke STRONG NATIONS afar off; and they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore
(Mic. 4:1-3). Blessed beyond my puny ability
to articulate shall be that day when it shall come to pass that He shall sprinkle
(cleanse, sanctify) MANY NATIONS; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which
had not been told them they shall see; and that which they had not heard they shall
consider (Isa. 52:15).
The
same ecstatic exclamation of joy and gladness at the prospects of Gods salvation
poured out upon the nations is commanded by the prophet in these words, Sing and
rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith
the Lord. And MANY NATIONS SHALL BE JOINED TO
THE LORD in that day, and shall be my people (Zech. 2:10-11).
The
national message of the Bible is one of the most neglected themes of the church systems. It is possible erroneously to limit God and His
program of redemption to a narrow personal and individualistic interpretation. In the light of such a profound array of scriptures
as those we have just considered (and there are many, many more!), I am at a complete loss
to understand how anyone who knows God at all could fail to grasp the living hope that a
radiant age of splendor, in which Christ and His glorious body shall rule and reign and
subdue all enemies and all nations and all things unto God, is coming. A careful study of the scriptures reveals an
outline of the progressive expansion of Gods Priesthood Ministry in the earth. Its headings are:
1. In Genesis we have the Priesthood for the
Individual.
2. In Exodus and Job we have the Priesthood
for the Household.
3. In Exodus and Leviticus the Priesthood for
the Nation.
4. In Hebrews the Priesthood for the Church.
5. In Revelation the Priesthood for the
Nations.
6. In Colossians 1, Romans 8, & Hebrews 2
we have the Priesthood for the Universe all of creation.
The
first four of the above orders are now fulfilled and we are standing at the very beginning
of the fifth a Priesthood for the nations! Has
this wonderful reconciliation of the nations been accomplished? History shouts aloud that it has not not
yet! God has called Israel, built His Church,
and brought His sons to birth, but He has not yet saved all the nations. The kingdoms of this world have not yet been broken
to pieces and consumed into the Kingdom of God. The
Kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven has not
yet been given to the saints of the Most High. All
dominions do not yet serve and obey Him. All
nations have not been subdued unto Him nor do all nations come before Him to serve and
worship Him. China does not! Tibet does not!
Iraq does not! Iran does not! Egypt does not!
The European nations as a whole do not! In
fact, only the Church worships and serves Him not any nations! But fear not, dear ones, for a people is prepared
to take the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom and reign until the kingdoms of this world are
become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ!
On
the rocky slopes of the isle called Patmos the beloved John beheld in spirit the
wonder-filled scene of Gods throne with its Kingly or Royal Priesthood. He beheld, and lo, the four beasts (kingship)
and the four and twenty elders (priesthood) fell down before the Lamb, having everyone of
them harps...and they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book , and to
open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God KINGS
AND PRIESTS: and we shall REIGN ON THE EARTH (Rev. 5:8-10).
We
have come to a period of the world, and to a condition, for which there are no precedents. There are no instructions left for guidance in the
details of the restoration of all things, beginning with the deliverance of the nations
and their entrance into the Kingdom of God. The
Holy Spirit has given no exact direction concerning the manner in which the priesthood for
the nations is to minister or its work to be effected.
We have, in the Word of God, abundant instructions for the in
part realm of Church age ministry. It is
not difficult to learn how to function in the body of Christ as an apostle, prophet,
evangelist, pastor, teacher, deacon, bishop, elder, or to move in the gifts of the Spirit. But I defy any theologian to find anything that
will give direct help, even in the words of Jesus Himself, concerning how to reign as
King-Priests over the nations! He left that
for the Holy Spirit to teach to the elect company of overcomers who should be the heirs of
the Kingdom of God. We have come to that hour. Ah, we can only learn these sacred and secret
things by being TAUGHT OF HIM! I have
yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He
will guide you into all truth...and He will SHOW YOU THINGS TO COME (Jn. 16:12-13).
We
think we have seen some wonderful moves of God, and we have, but we havent even
scratched the surface, we havent seen anything yet that faintly resembles the
glorious things God will do in the days that lie before us.
With all its multiplied missionary programs and evangelistic efforts the Church has
not yet even started on world evangelism. God
is laying a groundwork and teaching. processing, qualifying, equipping, and empowering His
people for the coming invasion of all the world. He
must do something unprecedented for us first, so that we will be ready. We dont have all that we need for this great
work, but God is quickening us for it. He is
stripping away our dependence upon money, methods, and materials, drawing us to move out
of that and into HIS REALM. The realm of God
is the realm of Spirit. It is the realm of
Being. God is teaching us the ways
of His Spirit.
The
word came to Phillip the evangelist in Samaria to go down into the desert to meet the
Ethiopian eunuch. Phillip didnt say,
Lord, I havent got a helicopter, how can I go down there? Give me time to mail out a newsletter to my
partners in faith and raise the money for the trip. How
am I going to find one man in all that vast desert, and anyway, Lord, Ive got a big
revival going here in Samaria. Phillip
did not speak like that at all, but he obeyed the Lord and went immediately. God TRANSPORTED HIM BY THE SPIRIT into the desert
and pointed out the chariot and said, Go and join yourself to that chariot. Phillip had to run and outrun the horses to get
into the chariot. And when God was through
with him, the Spirit took him up and he was found at a place called Azotus.
Can
we believe that when God wants any of His sons in any place, HE will put them there? God, omnipotent in power, need pay no attention to
iron or bamboo curtains. He need not take into
consideration national borders or immigration or passport offices. He is in no way restricted by man-made laws and
regulations. We are talking about the miracle
working power of God and a level of resurrection life to be manifested in the ministry of
the sons of God after the Order of Melchizedek! We
have really known little of the Melchizedek Order, but God is teaching! We have not experienced the fullness of this, but
God is working! We have yet to see a pure,
unadulterated move of the Spirit with everyone in total subjection to the mind and will of
God, but we are going to. It is coming in this
hour. Some are already beginning to walk in
these realms with baby steps. Giant leaps lie
before us!
We
have not yet witnessed the magnitude of ministry that shall be revealed through the
King-Priests of the Melchizedekian Order. At
times God has raised up mighty men and, as it were, pulled apart but a little the veil,
giving a glimpse of the force of a ministry filled with the fullness of His power, the
harbinger of greater things to come. Such a
man was Charles Finney, an attorney, who upon being apprehended of the Lord left his
vocation, waited upon, and then followed the Lord. When
he entered into a town often all the taverns and houses of prostitution and other
hell-holes would close, not because of some law, nor out of respect for religious
gatherings, but because there was no longer any need for them, there werent any
customers, the whole town had turned to God! One
man wrote of Finney, No one has ever approached the gigantic stature of the mighty
Charles Finney, who alone, without an evangelistic society, without a radio or television
program, without a computer, without 10,000 partners to
appeal to or a business manager WON TWO AND A HALF MILLION SOULS TO CHRIST. A hundred like Finney
WOULD WIN THE ENTIRE AMERICAN NATION. And
do I have some good news for you! God is going
to turn 144,000 incorruptible sons of God, with a thousand times more power than Charles
Finney, loose on this sin-cursed world!
Chapter
46
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
The
day when the kingdoms of this world indeed become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His
Christ is the day when all nations are ruled by the authority of the many-membered Christ
of God. That time has already begun! Everything that God did in the millenniums and
centuries that preceded this Day was designed to bring us to this Day. Everything Jesus Christ did on earth and has since
done from the heavens was designed to bring us to this Day.
All that God has done in the lives of His elect up to this present moment
was designed to bring us to this Day. Oh, what
glory! What a Day this is!
Periods
do not suddenly burst upon us. They come by
degrees, as the darkness of the night steals upon us at the close of the day, or the dawn
of the morning chases the darkness away. There
are days and nights in the worlds history. We
are entering a wonderful day in the worlds history when the saints of the
Most High shall take the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom unto the age of the ages, and all
dominions shall serve Him. Prophecies which
have been spoken by holy men of God since the world began are being fulfilled in these
days. Mysteries which have been sealed up in
the Book of God for millenniums are now being opened.
Streams of events which had their source in the dim, remote past are now converging
in a mighty river of divine destiny, which is rushing on with irresistible swiftness to
the dispensation of the fullness of times.
The
Kingdom now advances,
The great Messiah reigns,
And virgins join in dances
On Zions blissful plains.
How happy we, who live to see
The glorious Day increasing!
Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks,
Be thankful without ceasing.
Nothing
in the world today is as when God made it. Everything
has been interfered with and changed in a greater or less degree by the power of sin and
death. God pronounced everything good when it
came from His hands, as He made it. Before
things can be restored as they were at the beginning they must be shaken to pieces and
changed. And he that overcometh, and
keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the
vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers... (Rev. 2:26-27). And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold,
I make all things new... (Rev. 21:5). When
the sons of God reign on this earth everything is to be good and pure and beautiful. There is to be no sin and no sickness and no death. Death is the last evil to be abolished. Sickness and disease and sin and self and
wickedness will be destroyed first. Some do
not believe that God will rule the nations or that creation will be restored to its
pristine glory. They entertain the notion
that there is only the new creation and that the old will never be subjected to and
swallowed up into the new. Their idea is that
the natural creation will simply pass from existence, it will be annihilated. But that is not the testimony of scripture nor is
it the heart of the Father! The truth is that
the old things pass away by being changed and made new.
That is why the scriptures tell us that Jesus came to be the Saviour of the world,
to reconcile all things, to restore all things, and to make all things new! There is a world of difference between making all
new things, or making all things NEW! The
sons of God are being prepared at this very hour in the bosom of the Father to deliver
creation from the tyranny of sin and death the bondage of corruption.
If
I believed that this world was to continue to be misruled and misgoverned as it is, that
the abominable press and vile politicians and greedy money-lords and devilish religions
would continue forever to curse this earth, I should despair of the whole plan of
redemption. Redemption means a buying
back. Reconciliation means to
restore to a previous harmony. Restoration
means a return to a former condition or state.
I proclaim to you today the great truth that Christ the Lord is the Redeemer, the
Reconciler, the Restorer of THE WORLD! He is all this because He is the worlds
Creator and Owner. God has never given it up. Righteousness, purity, peace and power are in God. The gospel which our Lord Jesus, the Christ, came
and preached as Good News to planet earth is the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven coming
down to earth that the will of God might be done in earth as it is in heaven! Any other gospel is a spurious gospel that denies
the work of God in redemption, reconciliation, and restoration.
The
apostle Peter, speaking of these things, wrote, The heavens and the earth which are
now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men (II Pet. 3:7). But
Peter had prefaced these ominous words with the following illustration. By the word of God the heavens were of old,
and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished (II Pet. 3:5-6).
The heavens and earth of old perished, but they were not obliterated out of
existence! When righteous Noah stepped out of
the ark that bright morning he stepped onto the soil of the very same earth that existed
before the flood, and at night he gazed into the star-spangled splendor of the same
heavens above. Yet all was changed! Was it not a new heaven and a new earth by being
purged through the overflowing waters of the flood from the wickedness and corrupt order
that previously pervaded it? With what joy and
satisfaction do we now entertain the precious promise, For behold I create new
heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind
(Isa. 65:17). Hallelujah! What a wonderful thing that God will so thoroughly
cleanse our own little world and the whole vast cosmos that even our minds will be purged
from the remembrance of it! God will make such
a good job of His work, that the past will be completely obliterated and never thought of
any more! God shall not end this present evil
world and call forth the new by destroying either His creatures or His creation. Not one thing, not one precious person shall be
lost! He shall bring this world to an end and
establish new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness by MAKING A-L-L T-H-I-N-G-S
N-E-W changed, purified, and transformed by the fire of His
Word!
The
coming world will be one that will see the fullness of God in operation
through His sons, the demonstration of the mighty power of the Kingdom of God! It is not a mansion over the hilltop, nor a cabin
in the corner of glory-land, nor white night gowns, nor harps, nor palm branches, nor
dangling feet in some celestial stream. There
is a job to be done! A battle to be fought! A victory to be won!
Enemies to be conquered! And
there shall be no more death. This is
not a hope for heaven, this is Gods will for humanity on the earth, and this is what
our call to sonship is all about. It would be
a most beautiful thing if all the saints of God could have an open vision that would
enable them to understand the glory of Gods purpose on earth, and His election in
man.
We
read in Hebrews 6:5 of those who during this age have tasted the powers of the world
to come. The Rotherham translation
renders this, the mighty works of a coming age.
The Interlinear Greek New Testament says, The works of power of the age to
come. How reminiscent that is of our
Lords beautiful promise, The works that I do shall ye do also, and GREATER
WORKS THAN THESE SHALL YE DO... But have
the followers of Jesus during this past age really done any greater works than our Lord
Jesus did? The book of Acts certainly
doesnt record them! Neither do the
epistles. Nor does Church history. The apostles actually never did any works even as
great as feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, turning water into
wine, or hushing the raging sea with a word. And,
my friend, after a century of the restoration to the Church of the baptism in the Holy
Spirit; after fifty years of the restoration of all nine gifts of the Spirit and the
five-fold ministry, and the prophetic flow have you seen any greater works than
raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and walking on water?
You know you havent! But
Peter prophesied of the MIGHTY WORKS OF A COMING AGE GREATER WORKS THAN JESUS DID
TWO MILLENNIUMS AGO! And all the miraculous,
the power and the glory, the visions and revelations we have experienced in all previous
visitations of the Spirit of the Lord have been merely a small taste, a sampling, an
appetizer of the glory and power of that coming age! Why,
beloved, we have only seen the firstfruits of what God will do through His enChristed body
upon this earth! The hospitals emptied, the
dead raised incorruptible, natures changed, the crucial problems of poverty, crime,
strife, violence, war, corruption, and natural disasters solved, the whole world-system
transformed, the elemental forces of nature harnessed and controlled by the power of a
spoken word and GREATER WORKS THAN THESE SHALL YOU SEE as the glorious mind of
Christ rules and reigns over the earth through the manifest sons of God! The fullness of what we have just had a taste will
be the normal works on behalf of humanity during that wonderful world to come. The next dispensation is to be so different as to
be the very reverse of the present one in almost every particular. Rejoice, O ye saints of the Lord, for the end of
the world is upon us! Behold, I make all
things new! saith the Lord.
THE PEOPLE OF THE NEW DAY
These
are tremendous and exciting times in which our lot is cast; days full of momentous
happenings, when an era is closing and a new chapter in our human history is opening;
when, whether we like it or do not, the world we have known is vanishing; and another and
very different one is taking shape before our eyes. The
Spirit of God these days is summoning the elect of the Lord, each in his own place, to
play his part with faith and valor, that the purpose of God in this Day be not hindered;
but that we may prove worthy of the daring trust God has put in us, and may so respond to
it, that this great earth with its billions of people and more than two hundred nations
may be gathered into His arms of love. And to
no one does this call come more plainly or more powerfully than to those called to be the
sons of God!
While
a few years one way or the other is a small matter in relation to the unnumbered ages in
Gods vast universal plan, it seems clear now that we have entered upon a definite
change in dispensations. Therefore we can say
by revelation of the Spirit that certain aspects of the old economy are now passing away
and those of the new age are coming in. Mighty
changes are taking place in the earth, and man supposes that he is doing it! But it is God all the time. All is according to Gods plan and is the
design of His hands as He moves by His Spirit among the inhabitants of the earth.
Recently
I read one of Paul Muellers powerful exhortations wherein he wrote, Father has
a purpose for each age, a purpose that may not be revealed until the time for the
administration of that purpose has arrived. The
mystery of Christ that was revealed to Paul was not made known in previous ages. Not until the new day of grace dawned did the Lord
reveal His plan for that age. So it is with
the new age of the dominion of the kingdom of God in the earth! The new truths and the great mysteries for this age
shall soon be revealed to those who have ceased walking in the ways of the dead past. The firstfruits of the kingdom, who have been
awakened by the appearing of Christ, the Day Star, in them, shall hear the fresh, new word
of the kingdom. The prophet Micah prophesied
that the first dominion of the kingdom shall come to the remnant of Jerusalem (Mic. 4:8). And indeed it is!
And, like Paul in His day, we shall hear a fresh, new word. It will be a revelation of the mystery for this new
age of the kingdom of God on earth, making clear Fathers plan for this age.
New
Truths, revealing Fathers new administrative order for the new age, are necessary
for every age. With the dawning of the new age
of the kingdom of God, the Lord shall reveal new truths for the administration of His
purposes for this age. The new administrative
order for the church was revealed to Paul. That
was new truth that Paul declared was not made known to the sons of men in
other ages. The truth Paul received was indeed
new truth. Men of earth never before heard
such truths as Paul received by revelation of the Spirit.
Paul wrote to the Romans, telling them that the mystery he received was kept
secret since the world began (Rom. 16:25). So
it is in this time of the dawning of the new day of the Lord! There is a fresh, anointed word of truth for today
that has also been kept secret since the world began.
Think of it! We shall hear a fresh word
from the Lord that no other person has ever heard before!
Like the revelation of the mystery given to Paul in his day, we also shall receive
a fresh new word of kingdom authority and administrative purpose. That new word shall shake Christendom and the
world, and bring the blessings and benefits of the kingdom of God to many more people. Doesnt it excite you and encourage you in God
to know that He has chosen you to receive the new truths of His kingdom, truths that
mortal man never heard before? Are you ready
for this new kingdom word? Have you repented
of the past with all its dead forms and ceremonies? Are
you emptied of all the religious, church-age plans and works of man that are now obsolete
so that you may receive Fathers new administrative order for this new age of the
kingdom of God?
When
Jesus spoke to the people in parables, He said He did it that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter
things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world (Mt. 13:35). Did you know that the Lord keeps secrets from His
people, secrets that are reserved for its time of fulfillment? Well, He does!
And did you also know that God reveals His secrets to those chosen before
hand, to those whose eyes and ears He has opened? Indeed,
He does! The fact is, the truth I am writing
at this very moment is fresh truth. If you can
receive this truth, then it is obvious that the Father has given you hearing ears and
seeing eyes, to both hear and see the fresh, new, secret word of the kingdom, and enter
into its fulfillment. This word has been
hidden and kept secret from former generations and those of previous ages. That fresh, new word is specifically reserved for
this day of our transformation and the dominion of the kingdom of God in the
earth. It shall be revealed to those who love
Him; to those who have hearing ears; to those who have entered into His rest, and have
ceased the dead works of the past ages of man. New
kingdom truths and mysteries are being revealed and are now coming forth out of Zion. That new word of the kingdom will reveal more
clearly how we are to walk to be in full harmony with our Father and His kingdom purposes
in this new day. A new, fresh, anointed word
of Christ, who is light and life, shall flow out of Zion to impart that life and light to
all whose hearts have been prepared in advance
end quote.
The
only people who have ever marched on with God in this world-plan have been those who have
listened to His voice, heard what He said, obeyed His commands and believed and did all
that this absolute surrender to His will involved. Such
people in ages past were the faith heroes referred to in the eleventh chapter of the
epistle to the Hebrews. It was greatly
illuminating to me when I first saw that everyone of the individuals mentioned there stood
at the junction, threshold or crisis of a dispensation.
You can verify that for yourself by turning to every stage of history associated
with such people as Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, etc. The names are not casually or indiscriminately
selected by the inspired writer. He sees that
they were pioneers in faith, that they lived ahead of their times, that they perceived
what God had arranged to do, and come what may they walked on in the promises and purposes
of God and did exploits in His name. Each in
turned condemned the world of the previous age, and brought in a new day of Gods
purposes through their faith and obedience. And
each brought in and established a new administrative order for the new day! And now the sons of God have come to such a
time as this!
In
the gross darkness of this present hour I do not believe the age is ending simply because
I observe great changes in the outer world in technology, lifestyle, and in the order of
the nations. Oh, no! It is true, we have in one remarkable century come
all the way from the horse and buggy to the atomic, space and computer age. We have passed through two world wars that have
changed the social, economic and political structure of the world. Nearly all of the kings and thrones of Europe and
the whole world passed away during the twentieth century, being replaced by an entirely
new governmental order in the earth. The
former ruling houses of Russia, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, China, Japan, India,
Egypt, Portugal, Hungary, Turkey, Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Iran and a
number of other nations are completely destroyed. Who could have foreseen such things?
Yet
none of this convinces me that we have entered a New Day!
Nor does the fact that the calendar has turned over to the year two thousand
convince me! The revelation of the Spirit is
not communicated by reading Newsweek magazine or by doing intellectual, carnal-minded
studies of chronologies, times, and cycles. If
it can be figured out with the natural mind, it is not a revelation of the
Holy Ghost! It is the voice of the Father by
the Spirit, the living word of God that convinces me we are standing in the threshold of a
new age! Believe me, the sun is now setting on
the Church age with its administrative order of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors
and teachers. The transcendent glory of that
brighter and greater age ruled by King-Priests after the Order of Melchizedek is even now
dawning upon us! Some of Gods sons are
already rising up into high realms of the Spirit, into the throne-zone of the heavenlies,
and are speaking a governmental word to the nations by which they are being shaped for the
hour that is at hand. Marvelous things are
happening among those who hear the Fathers voice and receive the revelation of His
purposes for this time! In 1984 by revelation
of God I began a ministry to Russia in and by the Spirit and saw the collapse of Communism
there just as the word of the Lord showed me. Everything that has happened there has been
according to that word of the Lord and the proclaiming of it! Later I declared in the presence of brethren that
Mikhail Gorbachev was a dead man politically, and within three months he was removed from
office and has never been able to regain power. When
the present distress in Russia has run its course there will be an unprecedented,
sovereign move of God in that country that will bring multitudes into living relationship
with God through the power of the Holy Spirit. The
sons of God are beginning to reign in the heavenlies, and earth is being impacted by their
authority and dominion!
Ah,
precious ones, we are receiving a fresh word from the throne! We know that we are standing at the transition of
ages, and that the manchild is being caught up unto God and His throne, not by claiming a
scripture or by embracing a doctrine, but because the Holy Spirit has powerfully spoken
and testified of it among vast numbers of the Lords elect in recent years. It is a revelation come down from
heaven and proclaimed in the power of the Spirit. Those who cannot see the change in dispensations,
and know nothing of the sons of God ruling in the heavens, have not heard from God. The present work of the Spirit has to do with the
Kingdom of God increasing into the new age, not established just in the lives of the elect
body of Christ, but through them upon all the nations and peoples of the earth. It is a new day and a new work! It is a new kind of ministry! And it will change again in the near future. In the previous age the Lords dealings have
been for the formation of His body, the sons of God. In
the dawning age the Lords dealings will be through the manifest sons of God,
gathered out of the previous age, for the increase of His Kingdom and peace throughout the
earth. Of the increase of His Kingdom and of
His peace there shall be no end! From age to
age the Kingdom shall increase, first in the Lords people, then in all the earth,
and finally throughout all the endless vastnesses of infinity forever more!
Since
the great Latter Rain outpouring of the Spirit in 1948 God has thundered by the mouth of
His holy apostles and prophets throughout the whole world proclaiming that GODS NEW
DAY IS HERE! One of the many prophetic songs
given by the Spirit in the years of that wonderful coming of Christ to His people
eloquently expresses the word the Lord began to speak and has continued to speak through
the years:
The
time has come to take the Kingdom,
Rise up ye strong, tis Christs command;
For every power and dominion
Is given now into your hands!
Ye that have ears to hear the trumpet,
Ye that have hearts to understand;
The time has come to take the Kingdom,
Rise up ye strong, possess the land!
Another
is this:
In
the year of Jubilee, in the year of Jubilee,
The prisons shall be opened, the captives all set free;
What a mighty restoration, what a mighty victory,
The sons of God appearing in the year of Jubilee!
These
are not the words of man, they are the words of the Holy Spirit! These words were written under the inspiration of
the Spirit at the time of a sovereign, supernatural move of God and are inspired just as
the scriptures of old were inspired when holy men of God spake as they were moved upon by
the Holy Spirit. Within them is contained the
message the almighty Father is conveying to His very own sons for this significant hour. When Elohim created the earth in the beginning, the
inspired record states, And God said. Ten
times in the first chapter of Genesis our heavenly Fathers creative acts began with
the speaking of a word. And God
said... Each creative day
began with that same statement. The very first
creative word spoken was the wonderful command, Let there be light! Light then appeared out of incomprehensible
darkness, flooding space and illuminating the earth. Again
and again we read, And God said... Each
day was brought forth by the creative word of the Lord. By His creative word of power, our Father spoke
every day, epoch, and age into existence. One
scripture tells us that it was by His word that God framed the ages (Heb. 1:2). This is the wonderful pattern set forth in Genesis. The Genesis days therefore become the
example for all the age-days that follow. And
now, it is our Fathers word that has begun another new Day, even the day of the
advancement of His Kingdom to deliver, redeem, and restore all nations under the
government of Gods sons! By that same
spiritual process, in the power of His word, the Lord has proclaimed the end of the old
age of Church order and the dawn of the new age of His manifest sons. The change came by the Spirit, when Father released
His creative word of Kingdom power and authority into the hearts of His elect. We have heard that word! We have received that message! We have said Amen to the proclamation! We have presented ourselves before the Father for
His new work! We have been given our orders! That is why the excitement of the so-called
revival realm holds nothing for us anymore.
Father reveals His words to those whose ears He has opened. All those elect, who worship the Lord by ascending
to His holy mountain, are hearing the mighty declarations of His creative word, announcing
Gods great purpose in the transition of the ages, and the new order to be revealed
through His kings and priests after the Order of Melchizedek.
From
our vantage point in the Spirit we can see that we are living in a wonderful era when the old age is swiftly
grinding to a halt. The next age of greater
glory, light and life is appearing on the horizon. As
the sun of the new age arises, the trumpet sounds heralding the dawn of the new day. That trumpet is the prophetic voice now sounding
forth alerting the Lords elect to the hour that has arrived and the work now to be
done.
At
a specific moment appointed by God, John the Baptist emerged from the wilderness of Judea
proclaiming, The kingdom of God is at hand!
In like manner, so are the Lords anointed messengers of this hour called to
announce the next stage of the manifestation of Gods Kingdom in the earth. The purpose for Johns ministry was to alert
the people to the hour that was at hand, which was the fixed time, the predetermined hour,
as ordained by the omniscient mind of God, when God would move to bring forth His Kingdom
among men. His mission was to announce the
coming of Jesus and the Kingdom. As soon as
John appeared among the people sounding forth his message, Jesus laid aside all His other
activities, left the carpenter shop in Nazareth, and came forward to make Himself known.
With
the preaching of John, the time appointed for the appearance of the Kingdom was at hand. It was the time for the King of the Kingdom to be
revealed. Thus the scriptures declare,
But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son (Gal. 4:4). The time allotted for the age of the law and the
prophets ended the day the Father witnessed, This is my beloved Son in whom I am
well pleased, hear ye Him. The precise
time had now arrived for the coming forth of a new day with a new administration of the
Lords purpose. No longer would the age
of law with its ceremonies, commandments, and priesthood be the standard by which men
would worship and serve God, and by which the administrative order would function. A new day had come, and it was time to turn from
the dead past to the new thing the Lord was doing. And
now, with the sounding of the prophetic trumpet in our generation, a new day is being
announced, and all who are among the wise and chosen will heed the prophetic call of the
Lord!
When
Jesus came THE WHOLE PRIESTHOOD WAS WRONG! When
John the Baptist began his preaching, strange as it may seem, he was the ONLY MAN IN ALL THE WORLD who had the
right message! Everyone was out of spiritual
step but John, and when Jesus began also to preach, they were the only two who had the
message of the hour. Today we are standing at
the transition of the ages and God is raising up men and women over the nation and around
the world to proclaim the message for this Day. But
we must be able to forget the things of the past and look only to Gods purpose in
this Day. We cannot put new wine in old
bottles, nor can we patch old garments with new cloth.
Just as Jesus and John announced the inception of the Kingdom two millenniums ago,
so the apostles of the Kingdom in this day are announcing the arrival of the next stage in
the increase of the Kingdom.
It
is now time for the apostles of the Kingdom to be sent forth into all the earth! These apostles of the Kingdom are the firstfruits
company. In these firstfruits the foundations
of the Kingdom are being laid. It is to these to the elect remnant of the
Lord that the first dominion or reign of the Kingdom of God comes. Christ must first rule and reign in the lives of
His elect before He can reign in the lives of anyone else.
And when Christ fully reigns in our lives, the scepter, or ruling authority of the
Kingdom of God, is then bestowed upon us. According
to the measure that Christ reigns in our lives He has given us the authority to reign with
Him from His spiritual throne in the heavenlies. And
according to the measure that His life, wisdom, grace, nature, power and purposes are
established in our lives WE ARE GIVEN THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN! How wonderful and complete is the plan of our God!
Those
people who have received a revelation of Gods purposes in sonship received it not
from man, but by revelation of the Spirit of Truth. It
is God Himself who has delivered a vast company of saints from the bondage of
Babylons harlot system into which the whole church world has been taken captive,
bringing them out into the pure light of His truth yea, the light which Jesus
Himself is. It is God Himself who has washed
away the darkness and confusion of the false doctrines and silly delusions and static
creeds and vain traditions of the church systems which for years held the Lords
people in a spiritually starved and stunted condition and shut them up from the light of
Gods eternal purpose. It is God Himself
who has opened the eyes and unstopped the ears of the called-out elect, teaching them more
in weeks and months than they were able to learn in all the years they were held in
bondage to church teaching and the doctrines of men. It
is God Himself who has opened within our hearts the heavenly vision of the Kingdom of God
and given us the beautiful promise and hope of sonship, which is the high calling of God
in Christ. It is God Himself who has declared
in the hearing of our ears and within our very hearts that we have entered into the
transition of the ages, and the hour is wonderfully nigh at hand for the manifest sons of
God to arise and bring the Kingdom to all the nations of earth. It is God Himself who has set the agenda!
In
these awesome days of Fathers dealings we have waited in His presence until all
earthly voices were stilled, until the mundane sounds of earthly interests and pursuits
were silent, until we could, in the wonder of His presence, hear Him whisper to our hearts
the revelation of His will and the instructions of His purpose. May God disturb His people from the paralyzing
lethargy, laziness, slumber and death of the carnal mind!
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light! The promises, challenges, and
opportunities of Gods New Day are upon us, and only those who with abandon embrace
the Day, forsaking the things of the past orders and all of Egypts bondage, shall
attain to the glory, power and victory which is freely offered to those who follow the
Lamb upon mount Zion.
God
has called us to have a role in establishing the new order of the Kingdom of God over the
nations. God is offering to His called-out in
this hour something He has never offered to any other generation before, He is giving us
an open invitation to participate in the activity that will lead to the prize of all the
ages. It is greater than anything He has ever
done from the time of Adam to the present, and it will never be done again! It has never been done before, because it is
Gods NEW THING. Hes inviting a
people to obey Him, to follow on to know Him, to be His sons and daughters indeed for the
deliverance of all creation. Beware lest old
order brethren rob you and steal this hope from you. Its
very important that we not let anyone rob us of this reward.
Its our inheritance! The
inheritance is the absolute fullness of God to deliver creation!
God
is preparing a people He will put His stamp of approval on and endorse with all His
wisdom, power, and majesty. The voice will
come from heaven and say, These are my beloved sons, in whom I am well pleased, hear
ye them! You who have been thoroughly
processed by the Father have His likeness, you bear His image, and He will put His full
endorsement upon you to represent His Kingdom purpose in the earth. We are called to live such a life and walk in such
a dimension of righteousness, peace, joy, and power in the Kingdom of God that we can
testify, If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. It will take a life of total abandonment to walk
with God as sons and express His nature in the earth before all men and nations. It has been said that we beheld the Saviour and
became the saved, we beheld the Redeemer and became the redeemed, we beheld the Healer and
became the healed, we beheld the Baptizer and became the baptized, and now it is time to
behold the Father and become the expression of the glory of Fatherhood in the earth! We must not bear a message about the Father, we
must be the message!
Beyond
thy fondest expectation are the days that lie before,
No mortals have ever seen them, no days like these in store.
Like the days that are in heaven, they have come upon the earth;
Mankind has never seen them...tis His Kingdom come to birth.
Like the sound of many waters, like the voice no man has heard,
So the former things are ending; its the Newness of His Word.
Its the revelation of His glory spoken of so long ago,
Every knee to Him is bending, every heart in Him aglow.
And
shall ye not know it? Former things I take
away;
Every bondage shall be broken, tis Gods new Sabbath Day.
Tis the Feast of Tabernacles, its the year of Jubilee,
The sons of God appearing, all creation is set free.
Great
is the Lord! And greatly to be praised,
Beyond all expectation, the new creation raised;
The glory of New Jerusalem is descending from above,
Its the fullness of the Father, its the fullness of His Love.
Expectation has been granted to all the nations of the earth,
Its the glory of the Father, NEW CREATION BROUGHT TO BIRTH!
Jack Hodgdon.
WHEN THY JUDGMENTS ARE IN THE
EARTH
Through
the cunning of the adversary, both the world and the popular church have been robbed of
the blessed assurances of the time when Gods RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENTS break forth in the
earth. Most people know that the Bible tells
of a judgment day, but the average person, believer or unbeliever, regards it
only with a certain sense of fear and dread. Because
of this fear there is, to them, no more unwelcome tidings than that the Lord is coming to
JUDGE THE EARTH. Many tremble inwardly at the
thought of Gods judgments, and in this mind put them far from them, preferring not
even to hear the subject mentioned. At various
times in the past many people have become terror-stricken when some unusual event or
terrible calamity has occurred, because they have supposed that the event signaled the
finale for our planet with billions of people suddenly thrust into eternal damnation. They have absolutely no idea of the wonderful
blessings in store for a sin-weary world under
the glorious reign of the sons of God filled with all the nature, wisdom, grace, power,
and glory of God!
The
end of divine judgment no matter its form, no matter its subject is to bring
the whole universe into harmony with His will. With
what optimism did the holy prophets and apostles regard the coming of the Lord in
judgment! Note the expectation in
Isaiahs spirit as he announces: Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have
we waited for Thee...with my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit
within me will I seek Thee early: for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants
of the world WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS (Isa. 26:8-9).
Here Isaiah assures us that the day when Gods judgments are in the earth will
be a most glorious and desirable day, a day in which the inhabitants of the world W-I-L-L LEARN
RIGHTEOUSNESS! How opposite to the idea
entertained by many that when Gods judgments come into the earth the inhabitants of
the world will finally get what they
deserve and be sent into oblivion or damnation.
If
the desire of your heart is anything like the desire of my heart, this is a blessed
thought and a wonderful assurance: The inhabitants of the world W-I-L-L LEARN
RIGHTEOUSNESS! How my ransomed soul yearns to
behold the wonder of such a thing! Every time
I scan the headlines of the morning paper I am seized with an intense longing that the
inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Oft
times as I watch the evening newscast my spirit is mightily moved within to intercede
earnestly that the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. As I drive across this great land of ours; as I
walk the streets of our cities and towns, observing the condition of those about, my
spirit groans with unutterable supplications that the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness! What a marvelous provision of
our omniscient and loving Father that, to this very end, He has ordained judgment to come
forth in the earth. Bless His name!
While
the Lord has permitted the devil, the great adversary, to rule in the hearts of the
children of disobedience for a season, He has never ceased to plan and purpose for
the ultimate release and blessing of mankind. In
fact, throughout all the thousands of years during which He has refrained from interfering
on any large scale with the reign of sin, darkness, and death, God has been laying the
groundwork for a glorious day of deliverance! Our
heavenly Father has had a strategy! Up until
this time His plan of redemption and restoration has progressed silently and unobserved by
the world. God has been quietly dealing with
His apprehended ones, processing, purging, purifying, perfecting, teaching, training,
equipping and preparing them for the day of battle and overthrow of Satans kingdom. He has done this without any fanfare! Just as Jesus, the firstborn Son of God, was
prepared in His Nazareth, the place of no good thing, so today the
Lord has a remnant, unseen, unobserved, and as yet unheralded, hidden away from all the
activity of the world and of popular religion, in the secret place of the Most High in the
Spirit, learning the ways of the Father, taught and instructed in the principles of His
Kingdom, changed and transformed in mind, heart, desire and purpose, brought under the
Lordship of their King and High Priest, in preparation for the day when the great
Commander shouts, Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee! And the nations shall come to
thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
All they gather themselves together, they come to thee. The abundance of the sea (multitudes) shall be
converted unto thee, the forces of the nations shall come unto thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they
shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the nations,
and that their kings may be brought. They
shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The City of
the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 60:1-14).
The
ways of the Kingdom are not at all like the ways of the Church. The ministry of sonship is not in any way like the
Church age ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Sonship is the new administration for the new age! The order of the new age will be altogether
different from the order of the passing age! George
Hawtin graphically articulated this wonderful truth when he wrote in his paper, The Page,
Some years ago it was revealed to me that the evangelization of the nations during
the coming age would be accomplished in exactly the opposite way to the method used in
this age. In the church age the commission
has been, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. In the next age entire nations will come to
Jerusalem and to Zion to seek and find the Lord. What
could be more certain than the words spoken by Micah the prophet when he said, But
in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be
established in the top of the mountains (Zion) and it shall be exalted above the hills;
and people shall flow into it and many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord (Zion), and to the house of the God of Jacob and He will teach
us His ways and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem (Mic. 4:1-2).
The
terms Zion and Jerusalem as well as the mountain of the Lord and the house of the God of
Jacob speak prophetically and spiritually of kingship and priesthood. John the Revelator beheld the 144,000 sons of God
standing on mount Zion having the Fathers name written in their foreheads. Mount Zion, the highest hill in Jerusalem,
spiritually represents the very highest pinnacle attainable in Gods Kingdom. Such are the ruling class prefigured by king David
of old who dwelt on the natural mount Zion in
the earthly Jerusalem. From there he reigned. This company, standing on mount Zion, following the
Lamb of the throne, can represent nothing other than those who have followed Jesus all the
way, who have put on the mind of Christ and the nature of the Father, and shall now reign
with Him on His throne forevermore. The house
of the Lord, on the other hand, bespeaks of the temple on mount Moriah in Jerusalem with
its order of sacrifices and priesthood. The
two together are Gods ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, or Gods KINGLY PRIESTHOOD, the kings
and priests after the Order of Melchizedek. Kingship
and priesthood, embodied together in the ministry of sonship, constitute the new
governmental order for the new age!
During
this church age, by the ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and
teachers the Lord has sought the people. The
Lord has sought the people in this way because the members of His body must be gathered
out of the world. But in the new age, when the
Kingdom of God comes upon the nations, He will pour upon them the spirit of grace and
supplication and the billions of earth will come, as nations, to seek the wisdom,
goodness, life and glory of the Lord revealed in His sons.
What an indescribable wonder! You see,
when the Lord removes the veil, the covering that has been cast over the minds of all
people, then all men will see in a clear light and will come to Gods holy nation to
seek His face. Centuries ago the prophet
Isaiah wrote with great clarity of this same wonder, saying, Behold, thou shalt call
a nation that thou knowest not, and nations which knew not thee shall run unto thee
because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified
thee (Isa. 55:5-6). This is a glorious
promise revealing that entire nations will run to seek the Lord, because He has glorified
His sons upon mount Zion.
I
have already quoted earlier the passage from Isaiah, chapter sixty, which clearly agrees
and bears witness to this great truth. Time
and space forbid me to even try to quote all the passages that speak of the universal
conversion of the seeking nations in the day when Gods sons are revealed. Therefore I will quote only one more and pass on. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, It shall come
to pass that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: and the
inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the
Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. Yea,
many people and strong nations (industrialized super-powers) shall come to seek the Lord
of hosts in Jerusalem (Gods governmental people),
and to pray (seeking the blessings and benefits of His Kingdom) before the
Lord (Zech. 8:20-23).
What
a marvel that will be when the Great Commission has fully come to an end! No longer will the Lord say, Go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel. It is
an historical fact that each of the first apostles to whom that word was spoken, left
Judea and carried the word of Christ to different parts of the world. According to histories I have read Peter went to
Babylon, Thomas to India, James to Spain, Andrew to Scythia, John to Asia, Philip to
France, Thaddeus and Bartholomew to Armenia and Persia, Matthew to Ethiopia and Parthia
and Macedonia, James the less to Syria, Jude to Armenia, Syria, and northern Persia, Simon
the Zealot to Armenia. The dispensing of the
Word in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome by Paul is a well-documented fact and there is some
evidence that he went as far as Britain in his spreading of the gospel. Thus, the Great Commission was completely fulfilled
in the days of the early Church and continued to be carried out throughout the age now
called by many the age of grace.
That
was a wise and wonderful plan for this age when God was calling out a people
from among the nations for His name. Those who
were sent were never able to reach all the people, and it was only whosoever
believeth that responded to their word. That
is how Christ built His Church! No one could
improve on that method for doing the job the Lord required for that age. But now in the new Day the residue of men,
earths teeming masses, and all the nations of the world are being called upon to
COME TO THE LORD. Billions of the worlds
darkened, dejected, weary, and oppressed souls shall come streaming into the Kingdom of
God. The sons of God are the Light that shall
shine upon them (Isa. 60:1-22; Rev. 21:24) and the voice that shall bid them come. We are also the gates through whom the
multitudes of earths needy shall enter the New Jerusalem City of God (Rev. 21:25). That glorious event shall so overshadow and eclipse
all previous spiritual visitations, outpourings, and revivals, that none of our old church
age terminology will be adequate to describe it. God
will indeed have to give us a new vocabulary!
In
this new age of the Kingdom all our former ideas, opinions and methods of evangelism will
have to be discarded. The emphasis of the past
age has been upon GO and DO. Constantly we
were going places and doing things for God! But,
thank God, the order is changing! God is doing
a new thing! He is establishing a new order in
the earth! And we will have to change with
God! And we will change, because we will be
changed! All the old religious methods of the
past age are passing away! The time of raising
money and sending missionaries and establishing churches is ending. I do not say that it has ended; it is a good plan
as long as God is calling out a people for His name. But
the new age demands an intensified program of God to harvest all the nations into the
Kingdom of God!
Instead
of sending messengers to go into all the world, the Lord will so pour out the spirit of
grace and supplication upon all the nations of the world through the ministry of the
manifest sons of God that it will cause billions of earths sick and sinning and
dying people to flow like a mighty river into Gods Kingdom, to find rest for their
weary souls. We may think we have
witnessed mighty manifestations of Gods power and glory in the past, but we
havent seen anything yet!
I
was greatly inspired by the following testimony of Paul Mueller which I share in closing
these thoughts. I grew up on a farm; before the Lord called me to serve Him, I was a
farmer. About fifty years ago, the Lord gave
me a vision of a great harvest field. In that
vision, I saw a field of ripened grain being harvested by old, outmoded means. The farmers were using a hand scythe, cutting the
grain and then bundling it all by hand, as farmers once did before the invention of
binders and combines. But then, the Lord let
me see that He had a large combine being prepared on the side of that field, waiting for
the right time for it to be used. I was
encouraged when the Lord revealed to me that that massive combine represented the new
thing He would do in the earth. By the Spirit,
I saw that the Lord was preparing a people who would represent Him and His kingdom
purposes in the earth. They would be used of
the Lord to gather in the ripened harvest of the worlds billions. In due time, the multitudes of the world will be as
ripened grain to be gathered into the kingdom by His massive, spiritual
combine. They will all be fully
prepared and ready to come to the Lord. With
heavenly eloquence and vision the prophets prophesied of this time. We are now living in the hour when much of the
prophetic word of the Lord shall come to pass. And
we are the people God has chosen to fulfill His purposes! end quote.
Even
with the light of divine revelation it is difficult to imagine the wonderful sight of
whole nations coming to the Lord! Think what
it will be like! One day a nation is
communist, filled with people spouting by rote the godless line of Lenin or Mao. The
lives of the people are tightly controlled by that totalitarian system, with all its
restrictions and tyranny. But then, the sons
of God speak a word from the throne of the heavenlies releasing a mighty flood of the
Spirit of the Lord over that nation, and the whole nation is set free by the power of God. The glory of the Lord appears to millions of
people, and the truth of Christ is unveiled to their minds and hearts. All the people of that nation will turn to the Lord
to love, worship, and serve Him. They will
seek God in the persons of His sons, and there will be a dispensation of life, light and
love unto them. In the sons of God they will
see and learn and know the ways of the Lord, the will of the Lord, and all aspects of
their national life will become transformed by the wisdom and nature of God. With one mighty sweep of His Spirit, God has
changed a communist nation into a nation that loves and serves the true and living God! The Kingdom of God has then come to that people and
nation.
What
wonders shall be wrought when our Father has glorified His sons with the glory of Christ! All the nations of the world shall remember and
turn unto the Lord, bowing before the feet of this glorious Christ, confessing Him as
their Saviour, Lord, Redeemer and King, to worship Him in spirit and in truth. And since it is nations, and not individuals, that
shall come to the Lord, it is obvious that they shall not come to a geographical location. There will be no literal, physical throne nor any
literal, earthly city. The government of God
is a glorified people reigning in and by the Spirit from heavenly places in Christ Jesus! But they shall COME to the mountain of the
Lords power, to the beautiful and spiritual temple of living stones, to a kingdom of
priests and an holy nation, glorified in the midst of the earth. It is an absurd impossibility to imagine whole
nations coming to a literal mount Zion, or to great crusades in buildings or stadiums,
which are all so limited. Such carnal thinking
is a remnant from the old age now passing, and has no place in the new order of the
Kingdom of God upon the nations. God will not
repeat the limited methods of the past, for they can not prevail to do the work that must
be done in this new Day.
The
Lord is doing a new thing in the earth. The
manifestation of the sons of God is the next thing on the agenda in Gods Kingdom
program. This manifestation will bring
multitudes, even many nations at a time, into the greater glory of the fullness of God
dwelling among men. What a marvelous plan,
revealed and confirmed now by the Spirit of the Living God within our hearts! We know Gods purpose because He has called us
and chosen us to be a vital part of the redemption and restoration all things. We wait in holy expectation!
Chapter
47
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
Even
though we have heard that we are living in such a day of miracles and sensational
happenings that people are shock-proof, let me remind you that people are not shock-proof! Soon a series of prophetic fulfillments of a
sensational nature will be transpiring right here on this earth that will shock millions
of people who thought themselves to be shock-proof heretofore! Truly, we are living in a day of miracles. Every time we look at a new born baby we are
looking at a miracle, and every time we see a giant plane take off the ground into the air
with hundreds of people on board, we are looking at a miracle. I have seen paralyzed people jump out of
wheelchairs, tumors and goiters disappear
before my eyes, and gasoline created in the tank of my automobile. However, these will fade into insignificance,
compared to the miracles that are just ahead.
The
prophetic word of the Lord gives promise of a time when the Lord will move in a marvelous
and unprecedented way by His Spirit. At that
time the Lord will restore all that was lost through the ages past and the long night of
mans selfhood, sin, sorrow and death. There
is an event soon to take place which shall overshadow and eclipse all former, partial,
manifestations of Gods glory and power in the earth.
The glories of this great event will inspire, initiate, and bring to fulfillment
the times of the restitution of all things. The
grandeur, the splendor, the glory and the great power of God to be manifest at the time of
this event is impossible for us to comprehend presently, for we are still living and
moving in the realm of the firstfruits of Gods Spirit. The grand and glorious event to which we refer is
the manifestation of the sons of God.
The
supernal glories that lie like towering sierras before us are beyond compare. The grandest event of all time is now at the doors! For almost two thousand years the Lord has been
gathering out of all nations and peoples an elect body, refining its members in the
furnace of affliction, transforming them in mind and heart by the deep dealings of His
Spirit, preparing them by experience and in wisdom and knowledge to possess the reins of
the government of the world. And while we
rejoice and praise God for all the mighty visitations of the past, and those glorious
movings of the Spirit we have experienced in our life-time, yet we know by the word of the
Lord that the next great move of God will be greater than all the manifestation of
God through His many sons. Nothing is more
certain than that. The Spirit witnesses all
across the land and around the world that the long awaited unveiling of Gods sons is
at hand. The unveiling of the in-Christed is
upon us! The cry of the groaning creation and
the prayer of the travailing saint are joined with the unutterable longings of the Holy
Spirit, all crying in unison and harmony for the arising of Gods deliverers. The desire of all nations is at hand. The next stage of the Kingdom of God is ready to
unfold!
Let
the mountains reverberate with the sound of the message, let the hills shout aloud for
joy, and all the trees of the forest clap their hands!
For we now stand on the threshold of a new dimension of the Kingdom of God, and we
must be prepared to receive HIM in fullness. As
we earnestly look for His appearing, we are to receive ALL THAT HE IS, for when He appears
in His glory in His manifest sons, all the traditions of yesterday will be swept away and
the realms of limitation swallowed up in His surpassing glory. I cannot overemphasize this great and important
truth: When Christ appears in the fullness of Himself in His many brethren, we must be
prepared to receive Him on a higher plane than we have known Him hitherto. We cannot tell Him what portion of Him we will
receive and what portion we will not receive. WE
WILL RECEIVE AND MANIFEST HIM IN FULLNESS, and without any reservations or preconceived
ideas, or we will not receive Him at all. Either
we will walk in the power and glory of His sonship, or we will miss the glory. Should we cling to the ministries and methods of
the past, we will not be manifest sons. Vast
multitudes of Christians will not stand in this new glory because of their tradition
but their time of visitation will come later. But
for those who are willing to pay the price, to be thoroughly purged of all that is of the
flesh, and disposed to turn loose of the past religious traditions, the old forms and
ceremonies, the former means and methods, and the stagnant remains of yesterdays
visitations, there awaits great glory and heavenly wealth, and a world-shaking ministry
beyond the comprehension of mortal mind.
Some
of us have surely noticed that in every generation and age God is doing two different
kinds of work a general work and a specific work.
For instance, in Noahs day there is no doubt that God was acting in diverse
ways and on different levels, doing numerous general things in the earth. He certainly was caring for His creation and we
know that His Spirit was striving with all mankind (Gen. 6:3). But God was also doing a very specific thing. The Lord appeared to Noah and gave him His word for
the new day He would bring to pass. The Lord
told Noah that because of mans wickedness He was going to destroy all flesh by a
flood, except his family, and that he should build an ark to save his family and two of
every kind of creature on earth. Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord! He was a just
man and perfect in his generation. He walked
faithfully with God and became related to God in that specific thing He was doing in the
earth at that time.
To
fulfill Gods purpose required that Noah build an ark on dry ground in a world where
rain had never been seen. Nobody really knew
what a flood was, for God had not caused it to rain upon the earth. The face of the earth was watered nightly by a mist
that the Lord caused to cover the land. No one
had ever seen a rainbow, for there was never sufficient moisture in the air by day. After receiving his instructions from the Lord,
Noah labored faithfully to build the ark. With
every stroke of his hammer Noah was judging that generation.
I do not doubt that the scoffers mocked Noah and ridiculed him for building such a
huge monstrosity which he maintained would one day float above the mountains and save his
family from death. With no rain in sight, the
mockers had a hundred years to laugh at Noah, taunt him, shout obscenities at him, while
calling him a stupid and crazy old man. But
when the flood came and the waters overflowed the earth, their mocking came to an abrupt
end. Gods word to Noah, and Noahs
involvement with that specific thing God was doing in that generation, judged the whole
world and brought the dawn of a new age. When
the flood was over, Noah and his family stepped out of the ark to see a new earth that was
cleansed of the evil of previous times.
Ah,
time fails me to speak of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Jeremiah
and a host of others who dared to become related to God in that specific work He was doing
in their day. It is easy to be related to God
in the general things He is doing. Today God
is moving in the earth to touch and bless and use people on may different levels of His
purposes. Vast multitudes of believers throng
to the activities of these general movings of God. You
will always find the crowd at the general move of God!
But we live in a unique period of
the history of the world, just as Noah and others did.
And in our generation, as in theirs, God has a SPECIFIC PURPOSE in mind,
that one precise, unique, special and transcendental work which He is performing for the
advancement of His Kingdom into the new age. The
masses of Christians flocking to the meetings, crusades, projects and activities of the
church systems in this hour are related to God only in the general things He is
accomplishing in the earth.
There
is a people unto whom the Lord has appeared and to whom the Lord has given His word for
the New Day. For this reason we are a people
to be conformed to a higher standard a people made in His image and likeness,
trained in His ways, instructed in His purposes, initiated into His sacred secrets,
devoted to His will. The apostle Paul also
lived in a unique period. He was called to
bridge the gap between the old and the new. Paul
was called and ordained and equipped to establish a new order in the earth. So is it in this Day!
The specific purpose of God in our generation is to bring the many-membered body of
Christ to maturity, to birth the company of the manifest sons of God, to bridge the gap
between the old Church age and the new age of the Kingdom of God upon the nations. I speak as a prophetic voice in the earth in this
generation. The manifestation of glory and
power and righteousness that will be manifested in this Day will eclipse all former moves. Who can carry on with the programs of man anymore,
who can wade in the shallows of former visitations once he has received the vision of what
shall be realized as Gods people launch out into the deep. The last or most recent shower of
blessing came as the great outpouring of the Lord as Latter Rain during the years
1948-1953. The effect and blessing of that
outpouring is with us still and various smaller showers have fallen also. But the celestial deluge is yet to come in GREAT
POWER AND GLORY. Glorious beyond words to
describe was that wonderful outpouring of Gods Spirit at Pentecost, but no language
of men below nor of mighty angels above can begin to describe the SURPASSING GLORY of the
manifestation of God in this New Day. The
waters to swim in are coming, the outpouring of the fullness of the spirit and
life of the almighty Christ of God, and compared to these waters the former outpourings
are but trickling streams compared to the vast ocean currents beyond the power of man to
either produce or control.
Here
me now and believe me later if you cannot believe me now soon there will
come the manifestation of the sons of God, for which all creation has groaned for long
millenniums and ages. Then the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed from the living, completed temple of His body. His glory shall flow out and fill the earth. His power shall shake the nations and all nations
shall come and worship before Him. The harvest
of this age shall be gathered. Everything
shall live whithersoever the River cometh. The
Spirit of God has witnessed to many thousands of saints around the world in this hour that
a NEW DAY is upon the horizon. The next great
move of God is even now at hand. There will
not be another revival. There will not be
another visitation. It is not the hour for the
restoration of the New Testament Church. All
that has already been accomplished! A new day
dawns. God is marching on. He shall do an entirely new thing in the earth. A new age lies directly before us. The manifestation of Gods sons is at hand. That has never happened before! A new and unspeakably wonderful stage of the
Kingdom of God is upon us! In this New Day the
ministry of the fullness of the Spirit of God shall be released through many sons in
reconciliation, blessing, and transformation unto all the ends of the earth! It shall bring a deliverance and change beyond any
the world has ever witnessed.
There
can be no hanging on to the things of the past. There
must be a clean break away from all of the old order, not only the orders of men, but the
old order of God Himself. We must forsake all
that has waxed old and is ready to vanish away that we may attain to that specific thing
God has called us to. For my part, nothing
short of attaining will satisfy! We must
attain without counting any cost. It means the
loss of friends and fellowship. It means
misunderstanding among our relations and often the closest members of our family. Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of
God (Rom. 8:14). All others will go the way of
the flesh, receiving their instructions and guidance, not from the Spirit, but from
carnal-minded preachers, childish, immature Christians, and apostate church systems. Do you want to share in the Kingdom? Then there are responsibilities for you which
Martin Luther, John Wesley, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, the Full Gospel Business
Mens Fellowship, and all the other orders of the past and present have not had. Therefore, for you to live an earnest and dedicated
Christian life as these have, is not enough. Did
not the generation of Jews, on whom the end came in the days of Christ Jesus the
generation that saw or might have seen the glory that came with the new activity of God in
those days have responsibilities their fathers did not have? And were they not judged accordingly?
Unless
we are enlightened by the Spirit and given eyes to see as God sees, and hearts to
understand as God understands, our minds will be filled with the darkness and spiritual
foolishness of these times. The Christ within
should always be our guide! The Christ within
will open our eyes and cause us to see new things in the Spirit and by the Spirit. Then we will see this great Day and Fathers
Kingdom purposes to which His chosen, faithful and mature sons are called. Only when we are enlightened by the light of Christ
are we able to look beyond the feverish religious activities of the carnal church world
and the evil and darkness of these times, to see the hope and purpose and glory of a
people prepared to rule and reign with Christ in His Kingdom in this Day!
When
this people arises in the earth the Kingdom of God shall prevail through an altogether new
ministry for the new age. Yet many of those
who yearn for the manifestation of Gods sons are left feeling much like the
expectant woman whose due date for delivery of her baby has come and gone. All the signs are there that there is a baby
the tummy is swollen so tight it cant be pinched, the baby is kicking, the water may
even have broken and contractions begun yet the birth has not followed. At such a time the mother may wonder if things
could go on like that indefinitely. It seems
almost unbearable, the waiting grows intolerable, the nights long and depressing. Still, all signs give assurance that the hoped for
event will take place. And, praise God, it
surely shall! We are getting very near the end
of our journey. For some of us it has been
long, hard, and treacherous; the road often rough and stony, feet becoming torn and
wounded. But the glad news is this, the
morning is at hand, the day is dawning, the glory of the Lord is arising upon the elect,
and the overcomers are ready to be clothed with His resurrection and immortality. We have been set apart from birth. We were always different from others. We were in the world, at times we were part of the
world, and for a season we enjoyed the pleasures of the world. Yet something
within us pulled us away and led us to the spiritual...to the unseen...to the eternal. HE was always with us. Through all the steps of our growth and development
in the spirit we always sensed...knew...that there was more.
We were never satisfied at any stage of the journey, with any church or move
or ministry. We were irresistibly impelled
onward to things we did not yet see nor comprehend.
Carl
Schwing wrote of the beauty of this great truth, There is a field, a very lovely
field, where the lilies grow. They stand tall
in the sunlight and dance freely in the wind; white
trumpet-shaped flowers with the fragrance of a rare perfume.
They neither labor nor toil...they are free from things like that. They simply do what they were created to do; they
grow and become beautiful and are admired by every passerby.
But sadly there comes a cold gray day when the flowers fade and all of their
loveliness is gone. Yet deep within the cold
dark earth they rest, until summers sun. I
have often wondered if the lilies know that someday the sun will rise to set no more, and
that they will bloom forever in the Fathers lovely field. Ah, then shall they be free from change and decay. They will be free to live on and on, and be a
thousand times lovelier than they were before. I
must share a secret: I know that they know...for they moan for the hour of the
Manifestation of the Sons of God.
There
is another field...the earth which we are. And
deep within that cold harsh earth there is
hidden an inner son. Within this son dwells
all the mysteries of the ages. All the wisdom
and knowledge of the Father dwells in him. He
is the inner being out of which the River of Life shall flow. He is the emancipator that the whole creation cries
out for. He is a son of Gods Christ. And now he rests within the body of flesh...till
the call of the Rising Son. This, my beloved,
is the unrest which you feel. The earth which
you are is being shaken by the knowledge of the inner truth.
This is the feeling we have of something breaking forth. The stone of flesh is soon to be rolled away. The light of God is swelling within you and His
Kingdom is being prepared to come forth. Even
now the Rock is grinding to powder the kingdoms of the world. Even now we can hear the songs of the Kingdom as we
dwell in the presence of the Father. Even now
the Kingdom Light is shining forth from our eyes (understanding). Even now upon the horizon we can see the coming of
the Manifestation of the Sons of God...and they shall live on and on, and be a thousand
times lovelier than they were before. They
will be the eternal glory of the Father, the pillars of His House, and the joy of all
creation. They, with their Elder Brother, form
the Son of God by whom all things were created, redeemed and restored. Who can be compared to these Holy Lilies of the
Field? Hallelujah!
There
is coming a new and fresh and full revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The night is falling on the present order. Already we are seeing evidence of the dawning of a
new day breaking forth upon us as thousands of
the Lords elect are arising to behold the first rays of the dawn and to drink in the
intoxicating freshness of the morn. There is a
mighty cry in our hearts for the Lord to move in an altogether new way in our lives and in
the earth. Many things are happening in the
Pentecostal and Charismatic realms today, but I do not hesitate to tell you that all of
those things are but stale leftovers from previous visitations. We are due for a fresh move and a new work of God
in the earth in this hour! So the night is
coming upon the religious realms, bringing an end to particular forms of the movings and
operations of the Spirit of God. Though all
the manifestations of the past have been precious and needful, yet our God in this hour is
moving on. A new manifestation and revelation
of the Christ is coming in the midst of us, and I hear and see the signs that He is
beginning to come. We are living in the early
dawn of the fullness of the APPEARING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. This appearing will be through the long-awaited
manifestation of the sons of God. It will not just save and heal and bless people, it will
deliver creation from the bondage of corruption. It
will bring full salvation, spirit, soul and body! This
truth is burning within my bones, pulsating within my bosom.
I am being quickened by these things. My
one desire is to be available to be a part of this appearing of the Lord that is preparing
the sons of God for the wind-up of this age and the inauguration of a far greater age of
glory.
We
must be willing to move with God into the new, and that means to be completely released
from, separated from, stripped from the old. Oh! How we try to bring the old along into the new, to
adapt the old methods, the old order of the church systems to the new order of sonship and
the Kingdom of God. But God will not have
that, my friend. It is human nature to want to
fit the passing into the mold of the new. Have
you ever noticed, for example, how it worked in the automotive industry. How many of you remember what the first automobiles
looked like? If you do, then you remember they
looked exactly like horse-drawn carriages without the horses! When the designer sat down to draw up a concept for
this new vehicle of transportation known as an automobile, he was so hitched to the past
that he came forth, not with a new vehicle at
all, but merely with a reproduction of an old one. The
first automobiles were made to resemble horse-drawn carriages
right down to the sockets for the whips!
Every
time there is a change in the working of God we are thrown into a crisis situation. There is something about us that is never quite
prepared for change. There is always that
shock of seeing a cherished order vanish, while wondering what the next order will be. But this is how it is. The Lord reveals His glory and it accomplishes a
purpose. Then the end of that day comes. The night steals in upon that era. God is ready for a new order, a new day, another greater phase of His workings. Again, even as I pen these lines, there is a fresh
revelation and working of God in the earth. Again
there is a going forth of Jesus Christ, released in a fuller form through a
many-membered body of mature and transformed sons of God.
I
must speak very frankly, my friends. The next
move of God, the manifestation of the sons of God, will not come through those who are
waiting for a rapture to whisk them away to the skies.
It will come through people who are
crying out from the depths of their spirits, Oh God, visit us afresh. Do a new thing!
We need YOU! Creation groans for
a mighty deliverance! Come, Lord Jesus, move
through us on a higher order, a higher dimension of your power and glory. Come to your temple in fullness. Come in the manifestation of your sonship. Come! that we might behold you as you are and be
changed into your image, clothed with your life and immortality. The whole earth is waiting with bated breath for
the glory of the Lord to be revealed. Come!
and cause righteousness and praise and incorruption to spring forth before all
nations!
THE GLORY OF MANIFESTED
SONSHIP
Old
as it is, there is always something new, something prophetic, in the miracle of the coming
of spring. No man of us, unless he be utterly
dead of soul, but feels a new thrill and throb of heart as he witnesses the wonder of the
world renewed. Behold, I make all things
new is a text of which nature writes a new lesson every year, lest we forget. Gently the earth, but yesterday so gray and
winter-worn, is bathed in sunlight; silently a new life wells up from within, and the
wonder is wrought. The dead grasses are gone,
they are reborn in living green; the stark trees adorned in elaborate foliage and ornate
blossoms. Since time began this demonstration
has touched the heart of man with new hope that, if God so reclothes the grass which
perishes, shall He not much more by a mightier ministry renew the men made in His image
together with all creation?
The
word of God clearly teaches that the manifestation of the sons of God at the close of this
age brings FULL SALVATION salvation for spirit, soul, and body. The purpose of this manifestation is two-fold:
first, to bring full redemption to Gods elect; second, to bring deliverance to all
peoples, tongues, kindreds and nations, to those now living as well as to those vast
multitudes who have lived and died throughout the ages, until sin, sickness, sorrow,
darkness, pain and death shall exist no more anywhere in Gods unbounded universe,
worlds without end. Let us notice how the
apostle Paul reveals this purpose of God in the following words: For even the whole
creation waits expectantly and longs earnestly for Gods sons to be made known
waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship.
For the creation was subjected to frailty to futility, condemned to
frustration not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of
Him who so subjected it. Yet with the hope
that creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption and gain an
entrance into the glorious freedom of Gods children.
We know that the whole creation has been moaning together in the pains of labor
until now. And not only the creation, but we
ourselves too, who have and enjoy the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit a foretaste of
the blissful things to come groan inwardly as we wait for the redemption of our
bodies from sensuality and the grave, WHICH WILL REVEAL OUR ADOPTION, OUR MANIFESTATION AS
GODS SONS (Rom. 8:19-23, Amplified).
As
our Lord did after His resurrection, so will the sons of God do. We will be in glorified bodies and we will belong
to the heavenly world, but we will appear and take part in earthly life and show forth the
fullness of the power and glory of His resurrection right here on earth. This is Christ coming to be revealed in the
fullness of Himself among all peoples and over all nations.
Our Lords life on earth after His resurrection gives us an illustration of
what resurrection life ultimately means. He
was in a place simply by willing to be there, regardless of space, time, or of material
obstructions. He had access to heaven and to
earth. This is the destiny of all the sons of
God! Since this is the truth concerning the
resurrection of the firstborn son of God, it follows that this is the glory that shall be
manifested when all the sons of God are
glorified. Furthermore, the glory of the Lord
to be manifested on this earth when all the sons of God are transformed and glorified
shall be much more magnificent than it was when Jesus was glorified. Jesus was glorified to ascend and pour out the
firstfruits of the Spirit; the sons of God shall be glorified to express in the earth the
fullness of the Spirit and to deliver all creation from the bondage of corruption.
Although
the glory of the Lord revealed and manifested when Jesus was glorified was awesome, there
is a glory coming that shall be greater by far! For
it shall not be just one son glorified, but many sons brought to glory. The whole creation is standing on tiptoe to see
the wonderful sight of Gods sons glorified and manifested! Every created thing is waiting to be delivered from
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the family of God. Deliverance from corruption means the abolition of
death resurrection life for everyone and everything.
Oh, the mystery of it! Oh, the wonder
of it! Imagine the glory to be revealed when
all the sons of God are transformed and glorified! And
not to ascend to heaven in a cloud, but to minister deliverance, transformation and glory
to the whole creation! Truly this is the
promised coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That great event will be the transformation and glorification of the entire body of
Christ, resulting in creations deliverance from the bondage of decay and death, into
the glorious liberty and victory of the very sons of God.
And what a triumphant victory that shall be!
Most
Christians today are expecting the end of the world. I cannot but feel astonished that any serious Bible
student should have his mind fettered with the common and vulgar notion that the great
Creator and our heavenly Father intends to destroy the earth and creation. God so loved the world that He sent His Son to be
the Saviour of the world. The Christ came and
consecrated even this earth by His presence, and by spilling upon it His lifes
blood. He drenched the very soil with His
precious, divine blood! There is a special consecration upon the earth which makes it
revolting to think of its being handed over to oblivion.
God created it to be inhabited and established it that it be not moved. The footsteps of the Son of God upon its soil, the
breathing of its atmosphere by His lungs, the wearing of its dust upon His person, the
warming of its fluids in His arteries, and above all, the glorification of its atoms and
particles by the resurrection of His earth-body, ought to be enough to satisfy us that
neither the devil nor destruction will ever possess it.
It is the place where the Son of God took the earth into His very existence, where
He was born and reared, and where He taught, and slept, and suffered, and died. It is the territory on which Divine Love and Mercy
have poured out the costliest sacrifice the universe has every known. It is the chosen theater of the most momentous
deeds that have ever attracted the adoring interest of angels. It has furnished the body, the death-place, the
grave, and the glorious resurrection and triumph of Jesus Christ. And how is it to be delivered over to everlasting
nothingness? Perish what may, a world so
consecrated can never be blotted out, or cease to be one of the most cherished orbs in
Gods great creation!
God
has purposed that the Christ shall be glorified in the whole creation, in the earth and
throughout the unbounded heavens, to the whole extent of His grace. He has already glorified Him in the realm above all
heavens. He will now glorify Him where He
lived in poverty, where He had nowhere to lay
His head, and where He gave His life a ransom for all.
As He, in humility and obedience, went down below all that God created, He has been
raised as man above all that is created. ALL
between those depths and those heights, ALL, I say, must own His authority, ALL must be
gathered beneath Him as head over all things, ALL must be infused with His divine life,
ALL must be delivered from the bondage of corruption.
That is the testimony of the written Word and it is the testimony of the Holy
Spirit in the mouths of His holy apostles and prophets in this Day. What unspeakable joy!
What immeasurable glory!
Many
of the Lords people are caught up in prophecies of gloom and doom, predictions of
the destruction that they believe will come upon the earth.
But these are messages that come out of the darkness of mens carnal minds and
soulish imaginations. Such teachings pertain
to the blindness of religion. Gods plan
is not to destroy the earth or the universe, but to redeem and restore it. The whole purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ
with the glorious gospel of the Kingdom of God is to bring forth a new earth filled with
righteousness in the lives of all mankind, and not to destroy the earth or the world that
He has graced with His divine presence and atoning blood.
Gods elect are destined to be the agents and ministers of that
restoration! If we know what time it is on
Gods great prophetic clock, we will understand that it is time for one age to end
and another more glorious age to begin right here on earth.
We will then stir ourselves from the blessings and orders of the dying age and
arise to become related to God in His purposes for the new age. We will put away all those prophecies of gloom and
doom, of the destruction of the earth and multiplied billions of people with it. We will then seek the Lord for His appearing in
us, for we are the hope of the restoration of all things.
Certainly there will be judgments, but not unto destruction and everlasting doom,
rather unto correction and salvation. Yes,
Great Babylon will fall, but will be replaced by the light and the rule and the glory of
Gods New Jerusalem people and His sons who reign from mount Zion. And what a Day of deliverance this shall bring when
the sons of God begin to reign!
As
Carl Schwing has written, It has been appointed to the sons of God to establish the
New Heaven and the New Earth in righteousness and peace.
The high places shall shout for joy and leap with gladness; the low places shall be
filled with blessing, honor and glory unto the Lord. And
like a mighty river the Word of the Lord shall go forth, baptizing all things in the light
and life of the Son of God. All creation shall
gather before the Father to proclaim His power and might.
Everything that has breath shall glorify the Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
that Gods Christ is Lord and King over all...unto the eternal praise of the Father. Knowing that such glory lies just ahead, should we
not lose sight of all else? Even now our inner
son can ascend to the place of his former birth and eat of the feast that has been
prepared. Even now we can walk at the
Fathers side amid the Paradise of our former dwelling.
Though all the powers of the world and of
religion oppose the hand of the Lord, He shall, through the sons of His Christ, bring
forth His good pleasure. Not one portion of
His plan will be altered, not one among His creation will be able to resist His authority. Among the lightening and the thundering of the
Fathers infinite glory, the sons shall send forth the proclamation of freedom, to
establish the justice and goodness of the
Lord. Life, and love, and grace, shall burn as
a purifying flame throughout all creation, until God is all and in all. The New Age dawns before us; bask freely in the
rays of this earthly morning. Let thy spirit
soar upon the wings of the Spirit to the place known only to the sons of God. Enter into the peace and stillness of the age;
enter into the rest of the Greater Sabbath. Where
we are, there is light; for He who is our light hath enlightened us with Himself. He is the True Light, born from the Divine Energy
of the Supreme Being. He is the Light that
conquers all darkness; the Light that shall lead all creation into the City of Life. He is the Eternal Light that rises as the Morning
Star within our hearts.
For He is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; for to make in Himself of
twain ONE NEW MAN (Eph. 2:14-15). Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
PERFECT MAN, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). God is making a new man, a perfect man. There is going to be a new man after a new order. This new man is a new creation in the Christ. That is Gods purpose for calling us, for
birthing us, for filling us with His Spirit, for dealing and changing and transforming us
from glory to glory into His own image and likeness. And
here is what this new many-membered man is for: A NEW MAN FOR A NEW AGE. For two thousand years God has been fashioning and
forming this new man in Christ. This new man
is the new Adam, the second man, the head and authority and ruler over Gods vast
creation.
Through
our many years in the pews of Babylon all we ever heard was the end of the world,
the end of the world, the end of the world is coming!
So we grew up looking for the end of the world.
All the preachers ever thought about, it seems, was the end of the
world. Now I am going to tell you
something folks there isnt going to be any end of the world! Someone, to make it spiritual, says, Well, my
world has ended! That may well be, but
the truth is the Bible does not speak of the end of the world. If you will look up all those scriptures in the
King James Bible where Jesus spoke of the end of the world, you will discover
that in the original Jesus never said the end of the world at all; He just
said the end of the age. The Greek
word is AION, meaning an eon or an age. Ages
end, but the world does not end. Jesus Christ
is THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD! Look up the times
where Jesus spoke of those who would be accounted worthy to attain the next
world, etc. Check it, and you will find
that in the Greek text Jesus didnt say anything about a world to come, but He said,
those that are accounted worthy to attain THAT AGE. And THAT AGE is going to be right here, beloved!
There
isnt going to be an end of the world. You
might as well stop packing your suitcase and testing your wings and praying God to kill
you and take you to heaven. We have far too
many Christians in the world today with dying faith, but they dont have any living
faith. Theyre always wanting to die and
go off to heaven to be with the Lord. That is,
until they get a dizzy spell or chest pains, then they rush down to the hospital and spend
their very last dime to keep from flying away out there to be with the Lord! It gets rather ridiculous. They talk about going away to heaven to be with the
Lord, they sing about going to heaven, they preach about going to heaven, they shout about
going to heaven, they clap about going to heaven, then do positively everything they can
to KEEP FROM GOING TO HEAVEN! They go to every
doctor, enter every hospital, swallow every pill, pass through every healing line, and
call the saints far and near to fast and pray so they wont have to go off to
be with the Lord! Ah, something is wrong, very
wrong, somewhere!
Should
I die, certainly my desire is to be with the Lord. But
I am with the Lord even now! My vision is not
to die in order to go and be with the Lord, but to live and reveal the life and the power
of God here upon this earth. God is raising up
a people in this hour with a vision for LIVING, not so they can stick around to see their
great-grandchildren, or go on another cruise, or raise another garden but because
of an inner consciousness of the mind of
Christ that the Spirit of God doesnt want us out there, He wants us right here
bringing in this NEW AGE! There will be no end
of this world, only the end of an age. The end
of an age bespeaks of change, transition, progress, furtherance, upward movement,
breakthrough, growth, advancement, enlargement,
increase, new order. When Gods new man
has come to perfection, to the full measure of the stature of Christ, then the age in
which the carnal mind and wicked heart of man has ruled over the world will end, and the
new age will be brought in, in which Gods many-membered man will be ruler over all
this world that God has created for the sons of God right here. Hallelu-yah!
God
is making a covenant in this Day with His chosen elect, a covenant of miracles, a covenant
of power, a covenant of glory, a covenant of life. He
is going to keep His word and we will see miracles, signs, and wonders on a higher plane
and of a higher caliber than we have ever seen before.
It wont elevate men in the flesh, making one man a superstar, another man
Gods man of faith and power for the hour, or Gods handmaid
for the age. It will bring the sons of
God into the ministry that will exalt Jesus Christ and bring His kingship and dominion
into the earth in mighty power and glory. This
sonship ministry will begin in the Spirit and it will end in the Spirit. It will not parade across a stage with theatrics
and showmanship. Flesh can have no part in
this Day!
The
manifestation of the sons of God will break suddenly and rapidly upon the scene. It will begin to happen everywhere at the same
time, spontaneously and supernaturally. The
glory of God will arise upon a people, an unknown people, an unheralded people, prepared
in the isolation of solitude of the wilderness experience and in the crucible of the
furnace of affliction. There wont be
time for anybody to come along and educate people or explain what has happened, how it is
happening, that this is a move of God that is originating with this one or that one, with
this movement or that movement, or who is in charge. The
spontaneity and power of it will blow our minds away and defy everything we have ever
learned or known about evangelism or ministry of any kind.
The Lord will suddenly cause the paralytics and quadriplegics to walk and leap as
an hart, the tongue of the dumb will sing for joy, the blind will see out of darkness, the
deaf will hear the words of the Lord, the embalmed dead will be raised out of their
coffins at the mortuaries, the secrets of mens hearts will be revealed and men will
fall on their faces and admit of a truth that God is in us.
The wisdom of God will pour forth like mighty Niagaras of living water, the
righteous will have divine information from God, the omniscience and omnipotence of God
will be revealed through His people, revelation knowledge will abound in the lives of the
elect, and this Word will be spoken to all men great and small, without respect of
persons, from the beggar on the street to kings, presidents, prime ministers, tycoons, and
men in all positions of authority will recognize that there is a God in heaven and that
the sons of God have arisen in the earth!
The
One who shall be glorified in this Day is the Lord Jesus Christ. God is preparing a company of sons who will walk
with God in the moccasin print of their leader. The
Native Americans were tremendous strategists. Those
were intelligent people, and we could use them in our intelligence apparatus today. The leader would walk along and all of those who
followed would walk in the leaders moccasin print.
They did this to confuse the enemy. The
enemy would come along and see only one set of moccasin prints, and the enemy would say,
Well, an Indian passed this way today one Indian. But the truth of the matter is that perhaps 120
Indians passed that way, armed with bows and arrows, but they didnt know it.
Thats
what our great Captain has in mind when He says in Luke 9:23, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. He is saying, Whoever will be my successor,
or participate in this sonship ministry, let him deny his own identity and presence in
this world and follow in my footprints. Were
going to see it happen on this wise. The devil
and the wise men of the world will come along and say, Well, look at this
whats going on here? because hospitals will be emptied, dens of iniquity will
be cleaned out, great men and rulers will be astounded, all the people will be saved,
healed, delivered, filled with the Spirit, and transformed in spirit, soul, and body.
You
see, its not enough to say that thousands of people made a decision for Christ or
were healed. So what? Thats not what the manifestation of the sons
of God is about! Creation is not groaning for
more Christians, Church members, or people who have been blessed or received a miracle. Creation is groaning for the manifestation of the
sons of God because creation is to be DELIVERED FROM THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION. That is deliverance from all sin, limitation, and
death in spirit, soul, and body. It means
total transformation. It bespeaks of a
complete metamorphosis. If thousands of people
in any town or city are raised up out of hospitals, mortuaries, slum, dens of iniquity,
and are healed, delivered, regenerated, changed, and transformed by the resurrection power
of Jesus Christ, I want you to know that the houses of prostitution will be affected, the
pornography shops will be affected, the crack houses will be affected, the medical
industry will be affected, the funeral business will be affected, the work places will be
affected, the homes will be affected, the schools will be affected, the lawyers will be affected, the judicial system will
be affected, the city government will be affected, everything and everyone will be
impacted by the Kingdom of God. God will move
in such incredible and unprecedented power that the multitudes of men and women and entire
nations will be swept into the Kingdom of God as it were in a Day!
It
will not be said, Billy Graham had a crusade here today, or Benny Hinn
had a great meeting and hundreds of people were healed, or Pat Robertson shook
this place with a word of knowledge, or Preston Eby passed this way today and
gave a great teaching. Oh, no! The people will declare, It was Christ the
Lord who did this the Lord of glory passed this way and He has set us free! Only one set of footprints, but 144,000 sons of God
in the fullness of Gods Christ! Thats
what the Lord has waited on all this time as He has prepared His sons in secret, He has
had long patience for the precious fruit of the earth, until they receive the former and
the latter rain, bringing forth a people conformed into the exact image of Jesus Christ,
the Son of the living God. These sons will
give all the glory to Jesus just as Jesus gave all the glory to the Father.
A
brother has said that the three things which most easily destroy the ministry of preachers
are the gold, the girls, and the glory. The
final test is the hardest. It is because we
covet the glory that there is so much petty jealousy and strife among brethren. We are so concerned that our church, our talent,
our opinion, our counsel, our position, our gift or our ministry gets the recognition, the
praise, and the glory. We want to get the
credit. And the credit IS the glory! Many religious people cannot receive the things I
now say, but, because it is the truth it will strike a chord within the hearts of all of
Gods elect. To pray, Thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, demands full humility, brokenness and
obedience. And right here is where the Kingdom
laws come into operation. When we abdicate the
throne of our own lives, our own strength, our own ambitions, plans and ways, the Lord
makes us kings and priests unto God. When we
confess that all the power is His, He makes us strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might. When we refuse to touch the glory, He
glorifies us with the glory He had with the Father before the world was. And this is an unfolding glory, an
ever-intensifying glory that shall shine as the stars and the brightness of the firmament
forever.
We
are commissioned to preach the Kingdom, and commanded to do the works of the Kingdom; but
we must always be careful to understand and acknowledge that the Kingdom is His, the power
is His, and the glory is His. If we get a
touch of the Kingdom in revelation, in preaching it, or in demonstrating its power, and
use that to elevate ourselves, to gather men to us, to manipulate and control people, to
build a little kingdom around our talent and ministry, or to fleece Gods people of
their money for our self-aggrandizement, then that is all there is. Such can never be kings and priests that reign over
the earth. Such are not sonship material. Those ministries will hang their heads in shame and
slither away into the woodwork in the day when the sons of God arise in the earth.
Those
who splash their pictures over every page of their magazines, know nothing of what it
means to walk in Jesus footprints. They
will not be a part of the sonship ministry. God
has used great men, He has used superstars as they have been known, God has used men with
great religious pedigrees, with magnetic personalities, charisma oozing from their pores,
promotional abilities, talent and soulical powers, but the time has come when God looks
back on the foolishness of these lesser orders, which have been blessed by His mercy and
grace, and no longer winks at it. He says,
Now the real thing is coming, Im going to stand my sons up in the earth, I
will pour out, not of my Spirit, but I will pour out all the plenitude, all
the fullness, all the majesty, and all the glory of the seven spirits of God upon all
flesh, I will show the world my ways, my acts and my life, and the scripture will be
fulfilled, All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all
the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee (Ps. 22:27). If what we have had up to this time is all there is
in God, then the devil has already outsmarted God and won the day. But there is a ministry coming, even now it dawns
upon the horizon, the heart of God is being fashioned in a whole army of people who are
after His own heart. To these He is revealing
the fullness of His power and His greatness and His total majesty and they are going to
turn the world right side up, never to sink again into the abyss of selfhood, sin and
death.
God
has called us to have a role in establishing this new order of the Kingdom of God. God is offering to His elect in this hour
something He has never offered any generation before.
He is calling us to participate in the activity that will lead to the prize of all
the ages. It is greater than anything He has
done from the time of Adam to the present; it will never be done again! It has never been done before, because it is
Gods new thing. He is calling a people
to obey Him, to follow on to know Him, to be His sons and daughters indeed for the
deliverance of all creation. Be aware lest
old-order brethren rob you by stealing this hope from you.
It is very important that we not let anyone rob us of this treasure! Its our inheritance. The inheritance is the absolute fullness of God to
deliver creation.
God
is preparing a people He will put His stamp of approval on and endorse with all His
wisdom, power and majesty. The voice will come
from heaven and say, These are my beloved sons in whom I am well pleased hear
ye them! You who have been thoroughly
processed by the Father have His image, you bear His likeness, and He will put His full
endorsement upon you to represent His Kingdom purposes in the earth. We are called to live such a life and walk in such
a dimension of the righteousness, peace, joy and power
of the Kingdom of Heaven that we can testify, If you have seen me, you have
seen the Father. It will take a life of
total abandonment to walk with God as sons, expressing His nature before all men and
nations. It has been said that we beheld the
Saviour and became the saved, we beheld the Redeemer and became the redeemed, we beheld
the Healer and became the healed, we beheld the Baptizer and became the baptized. But now it is time to behold the SON OF GOD and
become the sons of God in the earth. We must
not bear a message about the Father, we must be the message.
Men
and women are reading these lines at this very moment of whom the world is not worthy. They are part of a company under the dealings of
Gods great hand and the world has no clue of their true stature and destiny. The day is wonderfully nigh at hand when these
shall arise in such power and glory that all nations will come up the mountain of the
Lords house to learn the Lords ways. All
nations will come and sit at the feet of the sons of God to learn the wisdom and knowledge
of God. Upon these sons shall rest the spirit
of Yahwey the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. The
world will sit at your feet because you have sat at the feet of Jesus. This people is partaking of the mind of Christ, the
heavenly calling, and these are the ones who receive sonship authority and have influence
over nations to rule them with a rod of iron the irresistible power and
all-consuming passion of the love of God. My
greatest hope is to live to walk into this Day as it dawns brighter and brighter upon the
world. And if not, I will be back in the power
of His resurrection! The nations dont
yet know that a kingdom of priests is being
prepared for the great transition of the ages. These
are now being abased under the mighty hand of God in order that they might be exalted in
due time. In this new age of the Kingdom there
will be no more superstars for God is raising up an obscure, motley crew in this Day to
manifest sonship authority that will scare the devil out of the devil, raise the dead,
release the prisoners, and do mighty signs and wonders that will stop every mouth and
testify of the Father to all men.
The
sons of God will not minister out of talent, natural
ability, personality, charisma, nor out of theological training or organizational skills,
but in power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost. I
say to you by the word of the Lord its coming, and it is going to be
powerful! There shall be a glorious showdown,
this sonship ministry will show forth the glory of the living, exalted Christ in the face
of every power on earth. The sons of God will
actually accomplish more for the Kingdom of God in one year than the church systems have
been able to do in all these hundreds of years of history.
Hallelu-yah!
The
religious crowd will never bring in the Kingdom of God with power. Look at Jesus followers when He walked the
pathways of earth. Thousands thronged about
Him to see the miracles and eat of the loaves and the fishes. His followers were at one time five thousand, then
later five hundred, there was the seventy, and then twelve, and finally we find Him with
just three Peter, James and John the innermost circle. Is that not how it was with Davids army? There were 800,000 men that drew the sword, but
only thirty mighty men (II Sam. 23-24). One out of every 26,666 was a mighty man of valor. Think about it!
There was a small inner circle that was distinguished among them all. Gideons army at the beginning was 32,000,
then it was decreased to 10,000, and in the end there were only 300. Out of all the ministry there is in the body of
Christ today the hand of God is upon a small remnant that is aiming for excellence. So whatever spiritual level you fit in you can just
stay there, but if you have heard the trumpet, if you have received the call, if the
urgency of the Spirit has been birthed within you then set your face as a flint, turn
neither to the left nor to the right, and go
for the one-hundred percent THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.
The
best is yet to come! We havent seen
anything yet! The glory of Christ is about to
appear, the banner will wave, and the whole world will say, This is our God; we have
waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be
glad and rejoice in His salvation (Isa. 25:9). The
ears of the people of all nations will tingle, it will be glorious for multitudes, and
frightening for others, but there is coming a shaking, there is coming a quaking, as all
creation comes face to face with God. There is
a people unknown by the church and unheralded by the world, who in the secret place of the
Most High has discovered the rarest extract of God, these have drawn so close to the
Father that they have sucked the very breath out of the mouth of God and live by every
word that proceeds out of His mouth. To these
the true and un-cut word of the Lord is revealed, the incorruptible word of God is being
inworked, and by the metamorphosis from corruptible to incorruptible a new ministry will
shed forth in these significant days.
In
the time of glory that lies before us the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunk man
under the impact of the power of God in His sons. The
thing God will do will get the attention of whole cities, of whole states, of whole
nations, and finally the entire world will see that God is in this people that has the
ensign, that has the seal, that bears the banner of the presence, nature and power of the
Lord of glory. The Day is upon us. The season of preparation is now drawing to a
close, for soon we will speak and the lame
will leap as the hart, little paralyzed children
in childrens hospitals will be overwhelmed by the power of the Kingdom, their little
bodies will be made straight, whole wards of precious little ones will leap and dance
under the supernatural power of God, the dumb will sing for joy, blind eyes will open,
deaf ears will unstop, drug addicts will cast their needles
and paraphernalia from them, men of pomp and power will be broken and melted in the
presence of the Lord, worshippers of false religions will be quickened to the living
reality of Jesus Christ the Saviour, wicked men shall be cleansed and transformed by the
consuming fire of God and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see
it together!
There
is a sound in the heavens and there is a rustle in the mulberry trees. This is the New Order! This is the New Day!
I have lived my whole life for this Day. Thank
God, we have not wasted our inheritance; thank God we have not squandered the substance of
our Father in riotous living with the wanton harlots of Mystery Babylon. Thank God we are just now ready to cross over the
threshold to see the glory of the Kingdom of God reserved for this Day. The spirit of wisdom and power in Gods sons
will bring a fatal blow against humanism and against religious, scientific, educational,
medical and political professionalism. It will
be marvelous beyond description! We will be
able to accomplish more in a day than we have
been able to do in a lifetime of preaching the gospel.
The power of God will reach from one end of the earth to the other, from pole to
pole, and from sea to sea. The glory of God
will reach every cavern, every foxhole, every hidden valley, every isolated hamlet, every
remote jungle, every mountain height, every tribe, every tongue, every people and every
nation. God will reach them in spite of the
vast populations and expanses of earth, despotic rulers, blinding religions, entrenched
customs, and godless cultures. THERE SHALL BE
A MIGHTY AND UNIVERSAL INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
Chapter
48
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
The
grandest event of all times is now at the doors! For
almost two millenniums the Lord has been gathering out of all nations and peoples an elect
body, refining its members in the furnace of affliction, transforming them in mind and
heart by the deep dealings of His Spirit, preparing them by experience and in wisdom and
knowledge to possess the reins of the government of the world. And while we rejoice and praise God for all the
mighty visitations of the past, and those glorious movings of the Spirit we have
experienced in our life-time, yet we know by the word of the Lord that the next great move
of God will be greater than all the manifestation of the sons of God. Nothing is more certain than that! You see, its not enough to say that thousands
of people have made a decision for Christ or were healed and blessed in this way or that. Thats not what the manifestation of the sons
of God is about! Creation is not groaning for
more Christians, Church members, or people that have been blessed or received a miracle. Creation is groaning for the manifestation of the
sons of God because creation itself is to be DELIVERED FROM THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION
(Rom. 8:19-23). That means deliverance from
all sin, limitation, and death in spirit, soul, and body.
It means total transformation. It
bespeaks of a complete metamorphosis. The
Spirit witnesses all across the land and around the world that the long-awaited unveiling
of Gods son-company is at hand. The
unveiling of the in-Christed is upon us! The
cry of the groaning creation and the prayer of the travailing saint are joined with the
unutterable longings of the Holy Spirit, all crying in unison and harmony for the arising
of Gods deliverers. The desire of all
nations is at hand. The next stage of the
Kingdom of God is ready to unfold!
Things
will be very different than I have thought, and Im sure they will be a lot different
than you have thought. The Lord has spoken
deeply within my spirit, Youre going to have to see things my way. I am going to do a new thing and it will be
different than anything you have seen or heard. Nothing
will be carried over from the old, it will be an entirely new thing that I do in this
Day. I do know this. It will take far more to bring the Kingdom to its
conclusion than it took to get it started! If
it required apostles and prophets, and divers gifts of the Holy Ghost, and healings and
tongues and signs and wonders to launch the Kingdom of God in the world, it will take a
ministry greater than apostles and prophets, greater than gifts of the Spirit, greater
than the level of miracles performed in the early Church, to bring this Kingdom to the
glory of its consummation. It will require a
pure, full, mature, powerful, glorious SONSHIP MINISTRY to finish the work!
The
glory of the latter house shall be greater than the glory of the former, saith the Lord. The apostles of the former house literally turned
the world up-side down! On the day of
Pentecost the whole city of Jerusalem was stirred and shaken by the power of God and three
thousand souls were saved in one day without a meeting, a building, an advertisement, a
radio or television program, a choir or a crusade. But
when the sons of God are manifested, one son will do more in one day than all the apostles
and prophets did in a decade. God will do
things through His sons that are unprecedented, different than anything He has done
before. That is how it has been in every new
move of God! What God did in Noahs day
was altogether different than what He had done in Abrahams day. The thing God did in Moses day was entirely
different than His work in Noahs day. The
events in the life of David in no way resembled those in the experience of Moses. The day of Pentecost was unlike anything God had
done in any of His previous visitations. In
like manner, the manifestation of the sons of God will eclipse all former moves of God and
will bring a glory in the earth greater than you and I can ever dream of in our wildest
imaginations! The fame of this will go
throughout all the world and eventually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
No
saint has ever trod where we are treading. Millions
trod in their appointed paths, did their work, triumphed gloriously, and entered heaven. But, although the same faith of the Son of God, His
presence, love and power animates and sustains us, as it did them, our pathway into
sonship is a very different one to their walk in the church order. They never had the work to do that we have. They never experienced the dealings of God in the
way we do. They never saw the goal of the
fullness of Christ as we see it before us in this hour.
They never saw the vision we see, nor cherished the hope we have in the
Father. They fulfilled their appointed roles
in the on-going purposes of God, and received their reward.
But the time of the unveiling of Gods sons had not arrived, and the
glory of such a high calling was seen but dimly and afar off.
My
father in the flesh was a Pentecostal minister, and by Gods design, he was stuck in
Pentecost. The Lord moved us on into another
move of His Spirit, into a further word than we had in the Pentecostal realm, and I
remember I used to talk with my dad, and of course, I wanted him to see. I longed for him to have an ear to hear what the
Spirit was saying, but he never could hear. So
usually our discussions would end up in an argument. One
day the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me, saying, Leave him alone! He is in the realm that I have appointed him to,
and he will not be in another. And you
know, that brought a great peace, because now I was able to fellowship with him on the
level that he could fellowship with me, with no condemnation, realizing that he was in the
place that God had ordained for him during his sojourn on earth, as I was in the place God
ordained for me.
Thirty-five
years ago my father died and he passed away in the Pentecostal realm, just as the Lord had
said. But shortly after he passed away, the
Lord gave me a dream. In this dream I was
standing in the doorway in the living room of
our home, and all of my family, my father and mother, my brothers, my wife and my
children, everybody was there. They were
sitting along the walls, on chairs and the sofa. My
dad was sitting at the end of the line, on the sofa. He
appeared exactly the way he looked just before he died.
No one was saying anything, we were just there.
Suddenly my dad looked up, gazed across the room straight into my eyes, and said,
P-r-e-a-c-h t-h-e MANCHILD!
Immediately I awoke out of that dream and I knew two things by the Spirit. I knew that now my dad knew something that he
didnt know before, but I also knew that he represented a cry that comes from the
very realm of death itself, the cry of the groaning creation, groaning for the
manifestation of HIS LIFE that sets creation free from the bondage of corruption.
Well
did Paul Mueller write, Many years ago the Lord got my attention through visions and
other experiences with Him. One vision, in
particular, was an urgent call to ascend the high places in God. In that vision, I saw a large mountain. It was the mount of the Lords presence. Many people were climbing that mountain, higher and
upward toward the pinnacle of His presence. But
few were reaching the heights. In that vision,
the mount of His presence was like the literal mountains.
The higher one goes, the fewer trees there are.
And the higher we go in God, the fewer believers there are at that level. As I watched the people climb that mountain, they
appeared on the spiritual level where they were when they died. Some of the people climbing that mountain of the
Lords presence were loved ones and friends. One
among them was a man whom I considered a man of God, a man I had known quite well. By the Spirit, I was taken up that mountain but
close to the people who were on various levels ascending that mountain. As I passed by some friends and loved ones, they
all cried out to me, Go higher! Dont
stop now, but keep going higher and higher. That
vision made a profound impact on my life. I
shall never forget it! By His grace and His
Spirit, I intend to keep climbing higher and higher in God!
Those
who have lived and died in Christ are now in a realm where they can see and understand
more clearly. The true reality is in the realm
of Spirit, and they know it well now. They
know what it means to walk with God toward perfection, and they appreciate it more now
than when they were in this earthly realm. If
the Lord would give us ears to hear the cries of those who have gone on before us, we
would hear them crying unceasingly for us to ascend the very heights of the mount of the
Lord. I heard them briefly. And the tone of their voices persuaded me to
believe that our spiritual growth will also mean something significant and wonderful for
them. Their call to keep going higher was
almost a cry of desperation, but was one of hope as well.
Without us they cannot be made perfect (Heb. 11:40).
Therefore, the remnant of this hour must ascend in the Spirit to the heights of the
mount of the Lord, where we shall be changed. And
we shall also release many who died in Christ from their limited, static positions where
they rest on the mount of the Lord.
As
we ascend the heights of the mount of the Lord, we will find that it is a lonely walk. To take a step higher in God may mean forsaking old
friends and loved ones. When Moses made his
seventh and last ascent up mount Sinai, the Lord said to him, And be ready in the
morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me IN
THE TOP OF THE MOUNT. And no man shall come up
with thee... (Ex. 34:2-3). Like Moses,
some are invited of the Lord to ascend the mount of His presence and meet Him there. Half way up the mount will not do! Those who shall partake of His life and the
fullness of His kingdom must go all the way up. God
said to Moses, present thyself there to me IN THE TOP OF THE MOUNT. The top of the mount was Moses goal, and it
is ours as well. And it is impossible for us
to take anyone else with us. We must go alone! Spiritual progress is not based on fellowship with
people, but on fellowship with God! A few
others will also go alone to meet the Lord in the top of the mount, so that a remnant
all the remnant shall ascend the mount to present themselves to Him in the
top of the mount. Not one member of that
remnant company shall be missing, for the Lord will lead them all there by His
Spirit end quote.
AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
A
miraculous event is soon to occur, the most startling and revolutionary in the history of
the world. This is nothing more nor less than
the manifestation of the sons of God. There
will be a terrible and mighty manifestation of power and brilliant glory, as the sons of
God arise and step upon the stage of world history. It
will come upon both the church and the world as a thief in the night. Christians have been trained and taught that the
world is getting worse and worse, and that finally the church will be evacuated off the
planet, and the devil and the antichrist will take it over.
What a shock it will be when the sons of God suddenly appear on the scene
bringing salvation and transformation to all the ends of the earth!
Recently,
as I was meditating upon these things, I thought about the element of surprise that God
has manifested in His activities throughout history. Consider
Adam in the garden without a companion, suddenly put to sleep, and then awakening to find
this exquisite creature awaiting him. How
could Adam ever anticipate a thing like that? Who
could have anticipated the flood in Noahs day, or the separating of the Red Sea, or
the manna from heaven, or the water out of flinty rock?
Who could have anticipated the fall of the walls of Jericho, the overnight
overthrow of ancient Babylon, or if you like, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, His
ascension to heaven, and the manifest power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost? As I look back at the history of Gods
activity, Im just excited and on tip-toe to see what He is going to do in this hour!
The
thing God is doing, and shall do, is so stupendous, so altogether glorious and
unprecedented, that I am reminded of the little story I read one time. There was a little boy who came home from Sunday
School. His mom said, What did you learn
in Sunday School today? The little boy
answered, Oh, we learned about Moses. Oh? And what did you learn about Moses? He answered, Mom, if I told you, you
wouldnt believe me. Well,
try me, she responded. So the little boy
began. Well, Moses was in a terrible
situation. He had all of these soldiers coming
at him on chariots and he was pinned at the Red Sea. So
he prayed to God, and suddenly, all these tractors came rolling along and workmen and
steel crews appeared, and within half an hour, they built a bridge that spanned the Red
Sea. Then Moses and the Israelites walked
across it safely, to the other side. His
mother looked suspiciously at him and said, Son, I dont believe you learned
that in Sunday School today. To which
the little boy muttered, Mom, if I told you the TRUTH, you really wouldnt
believe it!
There
is something very powerful and awesome going on in the world today! God is at work doing something hidden and quiet
and it is so supernatural, its beyond human comprehension. Yet what He is doing right now is going to affect
the whole world in these days. God is
preparing a small but powerful company of kings and priests in the glory of His sonship. And the Lord shall come forth within them to do
exploits and to shake all nations. He is going
to bring in a new age with a small band of heavenly revolutionaries! A whole new realm of ministry is about to come
forth! Oh yes, there is an act of God that
transcends anything that has ever been known. For
many millenniums all creation has groaned and sighed under the thralldom of sin, sorrow
and death, but our heavenly Father had a purpose wonderful and glorious beyond words to
express when IN HOPE He subjected the creation to the desolation of the curse. For the creation was subjected to frailty
to futility, condemned to frustration not because of some intentional fault
on its part, but by the will of HIM who so subjected it.
Yet WITH THE HOPE that creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay
and corruption and gain an entrance into the glorious freedom of Gods children
(Rom. 8:20-21, Amplified). Ever since that day
and because of that hope which springs perennial within the bosom of every man and all
things, the whole creation waits expectantly and longs earnestly for Gods sons
to be made known waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship
(Rom. 8:19, Amplified). The blood, the sword,
the fire, the cross, and the deep dealings of God have not been working in us through
these many years in order to make us ready for a harp in heaven. Oh no! God
is preparing us to set creation free!
Carl
Schwing has asked the question, How much longer must the sons be silent? How much longer must they remain hidden? How much longer until they are clothed upon with
the garments of immortality? We
dont know the precise answer to that, but he continues, It will be in the
twinkling of an eye...as the sons are taken beyond the barriers of time and distance, and
the lightning of His great glory penetrates the stronghold of their flesh, and the fire of
God consumes the remaining marks of Adams curse...that the sons of God shall stand
in the awesome majesty of their Fathers presence as He proclaims to a waiting
creation: These are my beloved sons, hear ye them. We shall stand with our Elder Brother upon the
highest regions of Zion, and all mankind shall hasten to the mountain that glows with the
Light of Gods fullness.
THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD
The
manchild company, the sons of God, will be born, literally and dramatically birthed upon
the stage of this world, in a blaze of earth-shaking supernatural power and glory. They will be the total, corporate incarnation of
God upon earth. That will be the greatest of
all spectaculars the world has ever witnessed.
The inhabitants of the world will at first be terrified, yes, even
paralyzed! Instantly they will know this is no
natural phenomenon, no traditional religious activity, while deep within the voice shall
witness: TRULY, THIS IS THE SON OF GOD! The
effulgence of His Person shall appear upon His chosen ones, the intensity of His
brilliance, equating to that of seven suns, shining through the undulating
garment composed of tens of thousands of glorified saints, a star-studded
super-spectacular, seven times the power of Pentecost, the likes of which has never been
witnessed by any man since the dawn of creation.
John
on lonely Patmos beheld this greater glory and recorded, And immediately I was in
the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat upon the throne...in the
midst of the throne...stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD (Rev. 4:3; 5:6). And out of the throne proceeded lightnings
and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,
which are THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD (Rev. 4:5). John
saw One sitting upon a throne, and He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and sardine
stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald. A rainbow is one but it has seven colors, and the
seven colors of that glorious rainbow represent the sevenfold intensified fullness of the
Spirit of God, even as the seven lamps of fire, the seven horns, and the seven eyes are
the Seven Spirits of God. Some imagine that
the One sitting upon the throne is God the Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is
both, yet more, for just previous to this celestial scene Jesus spoke to the overcoming
members of His body, saying, To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne
(Rev. 3:21). There is only one throne and only
One upon the throne GOD IN HIS MANY-MEMBERED SON!
In
the day when the fullness of these seven Spirits of God is realized in the body of Christ
it shall also come to pass that the light of the moon shall be as the light of the
sun, and the light of the sun (the glory of Christ) SHALL BE SEVENFOLD, as the light of
seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the
stroke of their wound (removes the curse) (Isa. 30:26). Malachi prophesied of this day too, saying,
But unto you that fear my name shall the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARISE with healing in
His wings...and ye shall tread down (overcome) the wicked...in the day that I shall do
this, saith the Lord of hosts (Mal. 4:2-3).
Gods
promise is the sending forth of the Sun of Righteousness, not in the single light of the
man Christ Jesus, nor yet in the double portion of the Spirit, the former and latter rain
in the first month, but AS THE LIGHT OF SEVEN DAYS CONCENTRATED IN ONE. Many are the figures of this coming sevenfold glory
of Christ upon His people. When the Lord Jesus
was on the mount of transfiguration His face shone as the sun. Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus,
experienced something of that brightness, was blinded and fell from his horse, and was
completely transformed. In the book of
Revelation we read of a symbolic angel (a company of saints with a message) which comes
down from heaven and his countenance is as the sun shining in its brightness. In chapter twelve of that book we read of a woman
clothed with the sun, having the moon under her feet.
In chapter one John saw one like unto the Son of man, Christ glorified in
that body of sons conformed to His image, and of Him he witnessed, His eyes were as
a flame of fire...and His countenance was AS THE SUN SHINING IN HIS STRENGTH (Rev.
1:14-16). Isaiah looked forward to this Day
with intense anticipation and described the glory of its dawning in this way, Then
shall THY LIGHT BREAK FORTH AS THE MORNING, and thy health (full salvation) shall spring
forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be
thy reward (Isa. 58:8). Solomon wrote
prophetically of this army of the Lord: Who is she that looketh forth as the
morning, fair as the moon, CLEAR AS THE SUN, and terrible as an army with banners
(S. of S. 6:10).
The
body of Christ is now maturing and moving out of the darkness of tradition, bondage,
carnality, and limitation into the bright light of the fullness of the glory of God. The history of the church is a history of darkness and sorrow and bitterness. But, thank God, rays of promise are even now
breaking forth from the heavens, and there is a company of apprehended ones that is rising
up into the realms of the Spirit to drink in the intoxicating freshness of the morn! To these God is witnessing that in this Day He
shall bring forth a light that is sevenfold in its intensification, so that there will be
nothing hidden from it, and all things will be illuminated and quickened by it. This is the DAY OF THE LORD! Nothing short of this will lift this sin-cursed
world out of the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of Gods dear Son.
The
early church with all its glory and power did not bring to consummation the Kingdom of
God. Its glory was eclipsed, sinking into that
which even secular history records as the Dark Ages. The
Reformation in the sixteenth century was unable to bring the Kingdom to its consummation. All the mighty revivals of church history have
failed to bring the nations under the sovereign rule of God and to deliver the groaning creation. The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements have been
unable to subdue all things unto God. All the
methods and programs of religion, all the missionary and evangelistic crusades, all the
deliverance ministries and healing campaigns, have in turn failed to deliver this old
world from the tyranny of sin, sorrow and death. The
Bible Societies, the door-to-door witnessing campaigns, the train loads of gospel tracts,
the prayer meetings, and all the other feverish activities and promotions by the
worlds churches have not gotten the job done.
All
of us are thankful to God for what we have known of His power, we rejoice with joy
unspeakable for every evidence of His manifest glory today, and we honor everyone who is
demonstrating any measure of the life of God and accomplishing anything to His glory; but
to break the dominion of sin and satan and ignorance and death over the nations in this
hour of overshrouding gloom and darkness will require a SEVENFOLD REVELATION OF THE LOVE
AND POWER OF GOD! Nothing God is doing in the
lesser realms today can get the job done. God
intends to send forth this sevenfold brightness of His life, light, love, grace, glory,
righteousness, peace, joy and power. When this
happens, and that glorious company of Gods sons is manifested, then shall come to
pass the word spoken by our Lord, The works that I do shall ye do also, and GREATER
WORKS THAN THESE SHALL YE DO (Jn. 14:12). For
this, my beloved, God is shaping the nations and preparing His elect in this great hour!
The
prophet Daniel witnessed of this Day: But the people that do know their God SHALL BE
STRONG, and DO EXPLOITS (Dan. 11:32). God
is raising up a people that will be fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners. Yes, a people
who, in the darkness of this hour at the end of the age, shall arise and shine
until the nations come to their light and kings to the brightness of their rising. The DAY is at hand, my beloved, the greatest hour
for the greatest body to march forth in the greatest glory to secure the greatest victory
for the Kingdom of God in the history of Gods great purposes! Be encouraged and strengthened in this wonderful
hour!
When
the sons of God are manifested more people will come to Christ and salvation than have
from Pentecost until now. As the new age dawns
every village in every nation will have been visited by the manifestation of the glory of
God through His sons. Every living person will
encounter the power of God! The knowledge of
the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and many whole cities and some
entire nations will be converted to Him. As
strange and impossible as it may seem today, the state of Israel and the country of Russia
will be among the first to be transformed by the power of Gods Christ! That is the clear word God has spoken in my spirit. The magnitude of this sonship ministry cannot be
measured by anything that has been before. Even
nature itself will be infused with life and transformation as creation begins to be
released from the bondage of corruption. These
results will be obtained without church meetings, revival crusades, healing campaigns,
deliverance services, television programs, outreaches, missionary projects, literature
distribution, or any of the methods, teachings, and programs of the church systems. This ministry will not stand in the wisdom of
mens words, but in supernatural power and unparalleled demonstrations of the Holy
Spirit.
The
sons will move in the fullness of the in part anointings, gifts and powers of
all who have gone before them. The greater
works promised by Jesus will be done by the sons of God.
The works that He did have in measure been done by believers during the
church age, but the greater works have been reserved for the anointing of the
Seven Spirits of God. The sons will walk in
unlimited power and authority. Men will no
longer look back wistfully at the early church and historic moves of God because of the
exploits of those days, beseeching God to do it again. All will recognize that He certainly has saved the
best wine for last! The most glorious times in
the worlds history now lie just before us. The
magnitude of this unveiling of the glory of Gods Christ will astonish even the most
optimistic believers. Miracles which exceed
even the greatest Biblical marvels will cause whole nations to bow before the authority of
Gods sons.
The visible glory of the Lord will appear upon multitudes of people, and
power will flow out from them to convict, deliver, and transform all who come into their
presence. The cloud and pillar of fire that
hovered over Israel in the wilderness will not even compare to the intense presence of the
Lord in these days. Never has the Lord Himself
been as personal and intimate with His people as He will be at this time. The whole world will stand on tiptoe continually,
wondering each day what great new wonders they will behold.
Wondrous
things await the people of God, things that it is not possible for a man to utter. We do not know, we may not know all that awaits us. But enough is known, enough is revealed, to wean us
from the things of earth, from the priorities of religion, from the concerns of time, and
fill our souls with rapture on account of the extraordinary vision. For He hath made known unto us the mystery of
His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him...that we should be
to the praise of His glory...and...that in the ages to come He might show (display) the
exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ (Eph.
1:9-12; 2:7). We are now come to the
dispensation of the fullness of times. This
dispensation was yet future in Pauls day, he pointed to it and to the comprehensive
work of restoration God would do in it, but it is now upon us with its power and glory. The world has never yet seen anything like that
which shall take place when Gods sons are manifest in this dispensation of the
fullness of times! The transformation of the
saints is the next event in the commencement of this Day.
THE SYMPHONY OF LIFE
A
brother related the following experience. When
I first went to Nashville, Tennessee, some friends, thinking they were doing me a favor,
called me and said, We have tickets for the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra
thats coming to town, and we want to take you as our guest. Well, I love music, but I know nothing about it,
and I cant sing it I always help congregational singing by keeping quiet. Frankly, I cant think of anything more boring
than a whole evening of symphony! But I had to
go because they were so polite and I wanted to be polite, so I accepted graciously and
went along.
I
had never been to a thing like that before, and I was impressed by what I saw. We went in, took our seats, and in a few moments
there began to drift out from the sides the musicians.
They were in shirt sleeves for the most part, and each man went up to his
instrument and started tuning it. The fellows
with the fiddles too big to put under their chins sawed back and forth oh, it
sounded terrible. The fellows with the little
ones they put under their chins squeaked up and down with those. The ones with the horns oh my, nothing was
in harmony. It was a medley of discordant,
confused noise. Then after they got through
with that kind of a disturbance, they all disappeared again, went out through the wings.
Another
five minutes went by when all of a sudden the lights in the auditorium went off, the
lights on the platform came on, and the musicians walked out. This time they had on their coats. My, they looked so nice. Each one came out and stood or sat at his
instrument. Then there was a hush in the
auditorium, a spotlight was focused on the wings, and the conductor stepped out. When he did there was thunderous applause for him. He bowed. Then
he came up to the podium and picked up a thin little stick.
He turned around again to the audience and bowed, then turned his back to
the audience, lifted that little stick total silence came over that auditorium, you
could have heard a pin drop then he brought that little stick down. And, my friend, there were goose pimples all over
me. I never heard such music in all of my
life. Oh, what harmony, what wonderful harmony
there was!
I
tell you today God is preparing His sons for the greatest symphony the world has ever
heard, a symphony of divine wisdom, omnipotent power, and unconditional, unbounded love. The sons themselves will be the symphony! All the chords of Gods nature, wisdom, and
power will be struck in them. At this present
time, as God is fine-tuning our lives it seems as if every man is tooting his own horn,
everyone is playing his own little fiddle; it sounds like everything is out of tune, a
medley of discord. But as God deals in our
lives, teaching us His ways, writing His laws in our hearts, bringing every thought into
captivity to the obedience of Christ, establishing His will and transforming our beings,
He is creating within each of us a chord of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Our minds and our souls are now being renewed,
through repentance, by the Spirit of God. Through
the crucible of daily experience by the dealings of God we are learning to perceive and
fully understand by the wisdom of the mind of Christ instead of thinking with old
Adams carnal mind. As God by His
refining fire purges out of us the trusting in our own strength, our confidence in the
flesh, the inbred mentality of Babylonish religion, and the spirit of the world, what a
raucous screeching is emitted from our lives!
We
all seem so different, and Fathers purposes in us appear disparate. What a motley crew the sons of God appear to be
today! But you, precious friend of mine, are
an instrument designed to be a channel of Life, Light, and Love. And Jesus Christ is the Master Conductor, and wants to play the strings of emotions and
thoughts and desires and nature within you until you become a son indeed, the Song of the
Lord in the midst of the earth. Your life,
when it is hid with Christ in God, becomes a beautiful thing; your thoughts and actions
all in unison with God are running along the lines that lead to God, for they diverge not. When the hour strikes for the unveiling of
Gods sons, Jesus Christ the Lord is going to lift His scepter oh, the harmony
that will sound forth from all His many brethren! Then
the world shall see the fullness of Christ, which includes Christ, the Head, and Christ,
the body, in all the life and glorious harmony of the Kingdom of God!
Every
knee on this globe, and in the heavens above, and in the underworld, shall bow before the
majesty of the presence of the Lord as they awaken to hear the pure melodies of the
harmony of God in His sons. Never again will
they be satisfied with the discordant notes of this worlds pleasures and programs,
nor the off-beat of the worlds religious systems.
As they hear the pure song that flows from the heart of God in His sons, all men
shall hunger and thirst to be filled with the same, the harmonious chord of the
righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God. We
have not yet witnessed the glory of Gods manifestation in the way it is going to be
expressed. We have not seen the hand of God
move in the way it is going to move. The Lord
spoke through prophecy years ago, at the time of a mighty move of His Spirit, and said
that He was moving by His little finger, and I tell you when He moved that little finger
there were tremendous things that happened, glorious things took place. But now just think of the glory that shall
come when He moves by His hand and makes bare His holy arm!
THE
GREATER WORKS
Amazed,
the sons themselves will stand awed, as suddenly before them unfolds the true purpose of
their lives on earth. Quickened within them in
all its power and potential will be the great and high secret of God. They will become within themselves the magnificent
expression of the greatest glory God has ever revealed.
Reproduced in them will be the sonship ministry of Jesus intensified into the light
of seven days in one. They will stand in the
earth as the firstborn brothers of Jesus Christ, the sons of the Father in heaven.
When
a man becomes a father, he is not diminished by his children, but enriched, increased, and
expanded. If his children grow up with
nobility and accomplishment, he is proud and delighted.
His children make him greater than he ever was before. Sonship is the Fathers delight, the
culmination and climax of His ages-long plan and purpose.
God is electrified with anticipation to see His sons with skill and maturity
visibly revealing the invisible things of His eternal power and Godhead to creation. This is the
message of sonship revealed in the life of the firstborn Son of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Sonship is the singular objective of
God, and the sole purpose of the formation of His body.
The sons of God are the principle players in the awesome plan of God for all the
wonderful ages to come.
The
sons of God are reality. This company of
divine-human beings is even now rapidly reaching completion.
These will become what Jesus is and have what He has as their very own reality. God will be in them and through them in all His
unutterable plenitude. What He is they will be
also. They are the express image of their
Father in Jesus Christ. This is the revelation
of God and the staggering message of the Bible! The
sons of God are destined to inherit all things on earth and throughout all the vastnesses
of infinity, for they are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus, who is the heir of all
things (Heb. 1:1-2). They are destined to be
the blessers, deliverers, quickeners and transformers of all the created realms. Thus creation groans with expectant birth pangs,
longing for their arrival.
From
the lowest darkness of demons and devils to the inhabitants of the farthest galaxy of
light, the universe stretches in anticipation of the glorious unveiling of Gods
sons. They will be the full and complete
expression of God in all the attributes of His deity.
Like a super-nova the sons will burst into everlasting splendor, streaming glory
and power for all creation to behold. These
noble beings will conquer and restore all things to God on earth and throughout all worlds
of the unbounded heavens. As priestly
shepherd-kings they will lead the creation, dispensing judgment unto righteousness. As Saviours they will loose the bands of
Adams curse from this world, and the darkness from all worlds in all realms. The sinful will be redeemed and changed, the
ignorant will be taught of God, those in the church systems will be delivered from their
delusions and guided into the pure truth of God. The
angelic realms will behold the birth of Gods manchild and arrive to honor Gods
sons. All creation will marvel at the splendor
of a race of beings who are the offspring of God matured up into the fullness of all He
is. The reins of creation will be surrendered
to them, and all created beings everywhere will be committed to their loving and skillful
care. These divine sons of the omnipotent and
loving heavenly Father are the only answer to creations lack and problems. They have been ordained of God as the power that
shall deliver creation from the bondage of
corruption.
These
sons are the anointed sovereigns, the appointed rulers of all things. Today they stand in the wings, at this very moment
they fine-tune the instruments which they are, but suddenly shall they enter upon the
stage of history, strike their majestic chord, and all flesh shall hear the word of the
Lord and see the salvation of God. Then a
mighty power shall arise from the earth, as a stream of expanding light it will race
through the galaxies, spreading out and penetrating all things with the life of God. Every creature on earth and in distant worlds will
see the wonder of God. Every kingdom will be
subdued, changed, instructed, and brought into harmony with the Father of lights. Throughout the endless eons to come, the sons of
God will govern the creation in righteousness, infusing all things with the dynamic of His
life.
When
the sons of God arise, cruel oppression shall be banished.
When the sons of God appear, savage war shall be driven from the face of the earth. When the sons of God come, the power of sin shall
be broken, every sickness and pain shall be healed. When
the sons of God march forth, the last enemy, even death, shall be destroyed. When the sons of God are unveiled, Satan shall be
bound to deceive the nations no more; darkness shall flee away, the sorrowing shall be
comforted, the meek shall be exalted, the weak shall be made strong, the broken-hearted
shall be healed, and the glory of God shall cover the earth.
These are Gods kings and Gods priests, a Kingdom of priests unto
God and for creation. Every son is royalty
a king born out of the loins of the King of the universe. As a king he rules in the sphere in which God
places him, and as a priest he serves. He is
kingly in his sphere and it is the priestly spirit that makes the nobility of character in
the king. In Christ the sons stand above all
authority and dominion and glory, holding the scepter of infinite love and power.
The
ancients wrote on the pillars of Hercules, Ne Plus Ultra, meaning No more
beyond. For centuries those words
chiseled on the mighty rock of Gibraltar reminded seafaring men that beyond those straits
was nothing but a shoreless sea. One day,
however, a man named Columbus sailed through those straits and set his course westward. In spite of storms, discouragements, and threatened
mutiny, he sailed on and on and discovered a new world.
Later men climbed the rugged straits of Gibraltar and removed the word Ne,
leaving the message Plus Ultra meaning More beyond.
Captain
James Cook was a famous English explorer who lived more than two hundred years ago. His adventurous life began when he joined the
British navy at the age of 27. He surveyed the
St. Lawrence Channel and the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador before he was given his
own ship, the Endeavor, to command. He sailed
this ship all the way around the world, exploring the coasts of eastern Australia and New
Zealand on the way. After returning to England
he set out again for the South Pacific with
two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure, and explored the icy Antarctic Ocean. He explored the New Hebrides Islands and discovered
the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean off Australia. Early in his career Captain Cook made this amazing
statement, which I am paraphrasing: It is not my desire to merely go where other men
have not gone; I WANT TO GO AS FAR AS IT IS POSSIBLE FOR MAN TO GO! And his wish was granted, for when he was killed in 1779 by natives of the
Hawaiian Islands, there were no more frontiers on this planet to explore, and no more
coasts to be charted.
Ah,
in the spiritual world just such a desire has arisen within a company, those destined to
become the manifest sons of God, the desire to not merely press on in God into heights and
depths not discovered by those great ones who have blessed this earth with Gods
grace, glory, wisdom and power, but indeed to GO AS FAR AS IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A MAN TO GO
IN GOD! What a vision! We are well acquainted with the in
part realm, where God anoints men with the Holy Ghost and with power, and their
gifts increase and their ministries expand and many are blessed. But then they die, and while others might try to
carry on their vision, it is never again the same as the movement crystallizes around the
part the ministry possessed, and while men try to perpetuate it, it finally
stagnates and dies. For one thing, every
generation needs a new vision and not a carry-over of the old, but in this transition of
the ages God is birthing a SON COMPANY that desires not merely to rebuild and restore the
work of God of yesteryear, be it New Testament Church Order, five-fold ministry, gifts of
the Spirit, expressions of worship, or whatever; but we are possessed of a heart to become
identified with Jesus Christ beyond the veil, in the Holiest of all, after the power of an
endless life, to know God not just in a measure, but in His fullness, and receiving that
ministry after the order of Melchizedek which
can proceed through the ages until a full victory is consummated and God is ALL IN ALL.
A
dear brother, in opposition to this teaching of the ministry of manifested sonship, wrote,
We cannot have any selfish ambitions. It
may sound very good to have the desire to change the world, to walk up and down the earth
doing miracles, releasing people from their misery. This
would make us look great in the eyes of people, yet that would be receiving glory for
self. This desire for glory has to die! My question would be just this: If doing miracles
and releasing people from their misery is self-glory, then why did the firstborn Son of
God do just that! And why did the apostles go
out and walk up and down the earth doing the very same thing! Was Jesus grasping after glory for Himself? Were the apostles in this thing for the glory they
would receive from men? I DONT THINK SO! Creation is groaning for deliverance and God is
birthing in His sons the intense desire and holy passion to set creation free.
When
those who treasure the beautiful hope of sonship speak the words the Spirit is speaking to
His elect in this hour, people demand, Who do you think you are? When we declare that we are called to be the sons
of God, to grow up into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, to partake
of a ministry greater than that of the church age, to set creation free and reconcile all
things, people ask, Just who do you think you are? It really makes no difference who we think we are,
but it makes a great deal of difference that we know and understand WHAT WE ARE
APPREHENDED TO BE IN HIM. Our ears have heard
the sound of the trumpet and we cannot, dare not, settle for anything less, we must follow
on to know Him in all of His glorious fullness.
Are
you willing today, in the presence of God, to hear the word of God, As the Father
has sent me, so send I you. Someone
says, How can you declare such things? Because
they did not originate with us, it is the Father who is saying them in us. We are not commissioning ourselves. We are not a group of people who of our own selves
have a burden for the lost creation, we bear the burden of the Lord in our hearts. And what His burden is, that is what matters. If we were a people with our own burden for the
lost, to try and help people, we would say, We have tried everything else; we have
had apostles, we have had prophets, we have had evangelists, pastors, and teachers; we
have had gifts of healing, working of miracles, we have had money and missionary programs,
we have had everything and it did not get the job done, so let us now try this sonship
message.
We
are not such a people. God has not put on us
the problems of the world God has called us unto HIMSELF that we may live
unto HIM, that we may be totally committed to HIM, that He may send us out to being
salvation to humanity. If this thing began
with OUR BURDEN, I would be suspicious of it. If we were wondering whether the communists were
going to take over the world, and what about the masses of Moslems and Hindus, and the
millions of lost souls in Africa, and we must hurry and reach the whole world before they
slip away into damnation and hell; if we were speaking in that sentimental, religious
vein, I would be suspicious. But our vision is
not turned that way, we are not need conscious, nor problem
oriented, nor world centered, nor self conscious our eyes
are turned toward the Father. Ye shall
be unto me a kingdom of priests, saith the Lord.
Jesus never went around looking for that which He could do, or needs He
could meet, or problems He could solve. Jesus
went around looking to see what His Father was doing.
Thats all!
God
wants sons today who are not caught up in world events and prophecies of gloom and doom,
not worried about the desperate needs everywhere, but who are occupied with the
Fathers words and the Fathers works. God
is raising up sons in these days who do not have to explain anything, defend anything,
build anything, promote anything, protect anything. God
is merciful to us in saying to us, that the reason we can declare this, the reason this
commission is coming, is because the burden is not of ourselves, but the Father is sending
us. He is saying to us, I am setting you
to be lights. I am ordaining you to be
Saviours. I am forming you to be the
habitation of God, I am anointing you to be kings to reign and priests to minister my
salvation. I am sending you forth to be bread
to be broken and fed to the hungry multitudes. I
am pouring you out as a flowing, surging, bounteous river of life. Let us not sell creation short in these days. Let us not deny the Lord who has purchased us to
be His people with a purpose for the ages. While
we seek no glory of our own, there is, nevertheless, great wealth and heavenly glory for
all who fulfill all the will of God. You never
lose with God!
The
compelling passion of my life is to be filled with all the fullness of God and be
conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This
is what sonship is. The deep cry of my heart
is for the satisfaction of knowing that my life counts for God. As God knows my heart, it is not a selfish desire. The reason I want to be like Jesus is because I
love Him so, but also because it is the only way I can ever be used in the restoration of
fallen creation. I see the needs of the world
around me, and realize that I am practically powerless to do anything about them. And should I initiate a program it would not even
scratch the surface of the need. Men hold
great crusades today and when you listen to their glowing reports you would think the
whole world is turning to God. But should you
walk the streets of the city they just left, you can barely find a trace of evidence that
they were ever there. Oh yes, we can pray, believe God, and do our thing, and see some people
saved, blessed, healed and delivered. But
anyone who says that they have reached the place where their ministry is meeting the needs
of the world is either blind to the needs of men, a proud hypocrite, or a liar. But God is not blind to the need of this day, nor
is He impotent to move. He has a plan, a
wonderful plan! And He is going to move in
mighty power just as soon as the time is ripe for it.
Chapter
49
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
The
great characters of the past who have cut new channels, blazed new trails, opened new
frontiers, opened up hidden secrets and led humanity onward to better days have been men
of vision. Without a vision and the ability to soar on the wings of imagination there
would be no progress of humanity. Back of every great development that thrusts man
forward is the vision of someone who caught a glimpse of something higher and grander. What is
it that discovered new worlds, opened new territories, built the great cities, tunneled
the mountains, plowed the mighty deep, brought forth astounding inventions, developed
technology, and conquered the air and space, but the power of vision? Society
would be stagnant indeed without the vision of better and greater things to come!
The
wise man said, Where there is no vision the people perish. That is,
where there are no new, fresh, vital thoughts there can be no progress into transcendental
realms. The
Old Testament prophets were called seers.
They
stood in the high places of the Spirit and looked down through the ages and caught visions
of the coming purposes and glory of Gods unfolding plan hundreds of years ahead of
the reality. The
scripture itself is a document of visions. It starts with Abraham. As
someone has put it, When God first called Abraham He inundated his soul with a
sea of promises. He
spoke to him from the starry heavens, from the soil of Canaan on which he walked, by the
visit of angels, and by the Holy Ghost in his deep nature. Abraham
saw great fields of light, great possibilities of things for himself and his posterity. His soul
drank in these promises until his faith became wide and powerful, even before any of them
were fulfilled. God
deals with souls in a similar way. Yet when He calls anyone to a great degree of
perfection or usefulness He begins by opening up to them the promises of His word and the
possibilities which they may achieve even before there are any outward symptoms of their
fulfillment. That
heart anchors itself in the promises of God until those promises become as real as God
Himself.
Joseph
began as a mere wisp of a boy having visions of the distinguished life he was to lead. No man,
except our Lord Himself, ever suffered such indignities against the
hope of God he cherished in his soul as Joseph. Yet through it all he remained steady, calm,
and resolute because of the word that burned within him. The
secret of the great life of Moses, the deliverer of Israel, is that he lived as
seeing Him who is invisible. It was this that motivated him to forsake the
throne of Egypt with its wealth, honor and glory and join an ignorant, despised,
oppressed, destitute company of slaves. A vision of the supernal spoiled him for the
fleeting things of earth. Later God called Moses up into the Holy Mount
to commune with Him at the counsel-table of His divine government. While there God
communicated to him a vision of the divine order of His redemptive purposes and gave him
the plans for a model of it to be erected in the midst of His people on earth: its size
and shape, where every curtain was to hang, its furnishings and order of ministry, its
golden altar and the Holy of holies. Moses had a mental-spiritual picture of all
this before it became a reality. He was commanded to build it according to the
pattern that was shown him in the Holy Mount. He brought the pattern down from the Mount as
a vision in his spirit of the glorious plan and purpose of God!
Ah,
God has a wonderful plan and purpose for the life of every son of God. The Bible
is full of this thought, that for each of us there is a course, a race, a work, a divine
plan to be unfolded and fulfilled. To this end we have been birthed on this
planet and for this purpose there is ample provision of grace, revelation, and power. Never
forget, dear one, you were born to be victorious and to achieve something transcendental. Just as
the scientist and poet can look down on the lower animals and say, Poor things, if
only you understood the glory of this world of mind and intellect, of wisdom and
knowledge, of harmony, beauty and purpose, so the son filled with the inner spirit,
with the mind of Christ and the nature of the heavenly Father, can look upon the poor
worldlings, the rich and the famous, the great and the powerful, philosophers, scholars,
politicians, and say, Oh, poor things, if only you knew the purity, the peace, the
joy, the interior brightness, the vastness, the sacred secret, the divine purpose, the
sweetness and the divine personalities that I see and enjoy and respond to ah, if only you knew! And of
course they shall, in Gods due time!
This
is the spiritual vision where our spiritual nature, with its inner senses, unfolds to the
heavenly world. The
Holy Spirit, quickening our spirit, opens our inner eyes and ears and reveals to us the
vision of our high calling. This is the meaning of Pauls wonderful
prayer where he prays that the saints might have the spirit of wisdom and
revelation, through the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye
might know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches
of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His
power to us-ward who believe... (Eph. 1:17-19). Another translation says, the eyes of
your heart being enlightened, which is the very core of
our being and the fountain of our thoughts and conception of divine realities. It is not
through the intellect of the natural mind that God reveals Himself to us, but it is
through our inner spirit, the seat of our spiritual consciousness.
Let
us not rest contented with present attainments. There is a higher, larger, deeper, fuller
experience that awaits each one of us, where we can have all the mind that was in Christ
Jesus, all the nature of our heavenly Father, and all the fullness of the power of the
Holy Spirit. This
is the substance of the heavenly vision!
Many
years ago the sainted A. B. Simpson wrote, If you could see all the fullness of His
grace and love, all the rich provision of His great redemption, and all the possibilities
of His indwelling life; if you could but get a glimpse of what it means to be a son of God, a temple of the Holy Ghost...if
you could but fully realize what it means to have the peace of God which passeth all
understanding, to have your sun no more go down in sorrow, but have the Lord for your
everlasting light, and the days of your mourning forever ended; if you could for one
moment taste the exquisite delight of the life of Jesus in your mortal flesh, as an
antidote for disease and death, and the very mind of Christ to quicken your weak and
erring brain; in a word, if you could see, as Moses saw, the good land which the Lord hath
given thee, you would quickly arise and, casting all else behind, you would go over this
Jordan and let nothing hinder your entering into your full inheritance. What a
word!
The
Spirit is saying today that He is preparing a people, He is preparing a body, He is
preparing sons who shall be conformed to the image of His Son, who shall be partakers of
the divine nature, who shall have the mind of Christ, who shall be brought to glory and
who then shall become the very image of the Father. These shall become the very brightness of the
Fathers glory and the express image of the Fathers person. Even as
the first Son, who went into the ground and died as a grain of wheat to produce other sons
in His likeness, bearing His image He was the
brightness of the Fathers glory and the express image of the Fathers person and God sent Him to be the Saviour of the world. God is
now preparing sons, God is now preparing
a body for that first Son, we are the body of the first Son, the body of Christ. We are
the body of the Christ and in and through these sons, when all have grown up into His
fullness, His salvation shall be manifested unto the ends of the earth. The Lord
is saying unto His people in this Day, For this cause have I raised thee up and sent
thee to be a light unto the nations, and thou shalt be my salvation unto the ends of the
earth (Isa. 49:6; Acts 13:47).
God
is not talking to babies today. God is not talking to spiritual children
today. Spiritual
children get all sentimental and starry-eyed over the provision of the Father in
prosperity, healing, miracles and blessings. Little children cannot do much, but oh, how
they love to receive things! Gifts mean everything to them! How
excited a child gets over a shiny bike, a new doll, the latest toy, or a little spending
money. Children
know their parents will supply all of their
needs and often ask, even beg, for things
they want. There is
nothing wrong with that, that is just how children are!
And this, my friend, is a perfect picture of the spiritual level of most Pentecostal and
Charismatic Christians today! Spiritual children have a little knowledge
that puffs them up. Spiritual
children fight among each other. I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of
Cephas. Spiritual
children pride themselves who shall be
the greatest. Spiritual
children want to know which side of the throne they will be sitting on, What am I
going to get out of all this. Spiritual children like to play adult,
imagining that they possess much more than they actually have, and that they have attained
a stature far beyond their experience. Ah, now Ive stopped
teaching and started meddling in the attitudes of some in this
Kingdom message! But
God is not sending children today, He is sending sons, whose only desire is that the
Father may be glorified, that the pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand, that the
will of the Father may be done. What happens to us has no bearing on the
situation.
Christ
says, As my Father has sent me in this total
commitment to His will, so that I desire only to reveal the Father so I am sending you, in a total commitment to the
Fathers plan and purpose, that the Father may be revealed in the multitude of
sons. And
let me assure you, precious friend of mine, if through one son in Edens fair Garden
who disobeyed, the whole creation came into bondage and death because of disobedience; and
if through one Son in the Garden of Gethsemane who obeyed, God was able to provide a
salvation for all humanity because of obedience if God could
bring such a revelation of Himself through one Son, a Son who was crucified and rejected,
whom God raised again and set at His own right hand what will happen
in these days, when through a multitude of sons who have been identified with Him, buried
with Him in His death, raised again in the likeness of His resurrection, ascended with
Him, seated with Him in the heavenly places, anointed with His Spirit, glorified with His
glory, invested with His wisdom, nature, and power what is going to
happen in all creation when many sons are revealed in the glory of God?
The
future the Father has planned for His sons is away beyond our ability to comprehend or
even imagine. I
am overwhelmed with awe when I think of what is ahead for us! In Romans
8:18 the apostle says, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Phillips
beautiful rendering of this reads, In my opinion whatever we may have to go through
now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for
us. Oh,
the glory of it! Oh,
the wonder of it! Who
can express it! On another occasion Paul said, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither hath entered the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that
love Him (I Cor. 2:9). I have heard preachers attempting to describe
the future glory with the most eloquent language, but it didnt come anywhere near
the truth. Even
my feeble attempt in these pages will prove no more fruitful! The human
mind is incapable of conjuring up a picture of what the omniscient Father has prepared for
His sons. We
can let our imagination run as wild as the wind and it will not come anywhere near
comprehending the grandeur of what the Father has in mind! Yet we
cherish, as did Joseph, the vision Father has given us.
THE
GROANING CREATION
The
jubilation, gladness, and joy that will take place at the manifestation of the sons of God
is beyond our wildest expectations. The Christ body, the sons of God, will
experience great transport at their change from mortal to immortal. And the
creation will also express the ecstasy that will be theirs when they are released
from six millenniums of bondage and servitude to sin, sorrow, and death The songs
of victory and glad tidings will be greater far than on that first glad occasion when the
morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy (Job 38:7). For
the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath
subjected the same in hope. Because the creation itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For
we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now
(Rom. 8:20-22).
The whole creation groaneth... The word
groaneth signifies to sigh, to pray, to be moved with inward feeling. Creation
is depicted as a slave in bondage, groaning in its captivity, crying out to be free. Today the
world is full of broken hearts, men suffer lack, pain, and indignities, the hospitals are
crowded, the cemeteries are being filled, and all nature is groaning under its bondage to
corruption and death. You
go down to the seaside and you can hear the sob of the waves, you go to the mountains and
you can hear the low sigh of the wind in the tree tops. Can we
not hear the sigh and groan of nature in the hiss of the cat, in the yelp of the dog, in
the lowing of the cattle, in the roar of the lion, in the tremor of the earthquake, in the
howling of the storm, in the shriek of the captive, in the weeping at the graveside, and
in the universal cries of disillusionment, sorrow, and pain? The bondage of
corruption. The
word bondage means more than being bound, it means servitude, slavery; and
corruption signifies ruin, decay, death, to perish. The
servitude to decay resulting in death conveys the meaning. Creation
is said to be longing for deliverance from this servitude of decay resulting in
death with earnest expectation. Those
longings which are implanted by God in all of nature will surely be met by Him! It is a
fact in nature that God never puts an intuition within, without meeting it without. Therefore
while creation is in bondage, it is not in despair, for an earnest expectation throbs
through it and makes it to be like one who is looking out with intense longing for someone
who is expected. The
Greek word rendered expectation is made up from apo-kara-dokia. Apo signifies from, or from afar. Kara means the head, and dokia means
to wait for, or to look with intense expectation. This compound word at once suggests a
striking figure, namely, one whose head is raised, and who is looking out on the distant
horizon with intensity on the countenance, and longing in the eyes, as one expecting to
receive something from another, or the arrival of a loved one from afar.
The
whole creation is joining us in unutterable groans and birth pangs, earnestly looking
forward to its release with ours, out into full and free eternal inheritance. EVERY
CREATED THING is waiting, looking anxiously and with a kind of universal travail waiting for what?
A
greater manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit? More missionaries? More
Bibles and gospel tracts? Greater evangelistic crusades? Another
televangelist? Or
are they waiting for the combined efforts of all the churches to get together in an
all-out assault against sin, sickness, and evil? Are they travailing for another preacher,
another movement, another revival, or a restored New Testament Church? NO, NO, A
THOUSAND TIMES NO! Creation
is not standing on the seashore of history gazing expectantly across the ocean of time,
looking with anticipation for any of these things. The whole creation, without exception, is
waiting for the manifestation of the sons of
God which is nothing less than our FULL
SONSHIP, THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR BODIES. It is full and complete and eternal victory
over sin, sorrow, limitation, sickness, and death. It is the life and glory of the Father fully
revealed upon earth in a people! That,
my beloved, is the hope of creation!
The
story is told of a little boy who couldnt play outside because it was raining. His
father, who was trying to take an afternoon nap on the sofa, became annoyed. Go
to the other room, son; Daddy wants to sleep. Find something in there to play with. Like
what? Anything,
snapped the father. There
isnt anything, replied the lad. Grabbing the newspaper, the man tore out a
page with a large map of the world printed on it. He knew the boy knew nothing about geography.
With
the scissors he cut it into hundreds of odd-shaped pieces like a puzzle. There,
see if you can put it together, and dont bother me till youre done. The
father settled down on the sofa thinking his problem was solved, but ten minutes later
there was a tug on his shirt. You cant be done yet! But
there on the floor was the neatly constructed world. How did you do it? he asked. Easy,
said his son. A
mans picture was on the back, and when I got the man together right, the world was
right. Ah,
yes when God gets HIS
MAN put together in the fullness of Christ all the problems of the world will simply fall
into place! Let
us not expend our energies trying to get the world straightened out and ordered aright in
this hour. Rather,
let us give ourselves to apprehending that for which Jesus Christ has apprehended us to grow up unto a PERFECT MAN, unto the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ. Then the whole creation will fall into place!
If
Alexander the Great could march his armies across the earth and conquer the whole
civilized world before he was thirty-three years old; if Hitler could change the world for
evil; if the communists could march forth to enslave one-third of the worlds
population, weaving a hundred million into the vortex of communism each year it is not
presumptuous to believe that the sons of God, armed with the immortal life and glory of
Christ, can turn all nations to God, deliver the whole creation from the tyranny of sin
and death, and bring the Kingdom of God to pass under the whole heaven, from pole to pole,
and sea to sea, in power and great glory. As Ray Prinzing has written, What
glory, what wonder awaits the revelation of that true character and quality which HE is
producing in His new creation species. Resurrection life shall burst forth,
Babylons shame and corruption shall be ended. Holiness is to be personified in a people. Religious
racketeers will come to naught. Light will dissipate the darkness. No more
will there be wells without water, and falling stars that fade into the darkness. HIS SONS
will be a revelation of such character and quality as to satisfy all that men have waited
for.
THE
MINISTRY OF THE SONS OF GOD
I
have shared this before, but am deeply impressed to relate the following vision again,
received by an old prophet of God (Bill Brittons cousin) many years ago, one of the
Lords pioneers of this gospel of the Kingdom of God. He wrote
of his experience: In that vision which lasted all night, the most wonderful vision
I ever had, in which I saw the sons of God in action all over the world, ministering to
the multitudes in every tongue and nation, to all people, I saw both men and women
ministering. I
saw them standing, suspended in mid-air, in the midst of a busy intersection of a large
city, with all traffic stopped, and thousands of people seeing them with their eyes, and
hearing them with their ears, regardless of distance, and without the aid of mechanical
devices. I
saw them speaking to a people of one language, and in a moments time I saw them
transported to another people of another language, speaking to them in their own language,
having power over all mechanical devices and natural laws, so that they could cause every
activity to cease, and every eye to be fixed upon them, until their message had been
delivered.
I saw them walk upon the water; I saw the
terror in the faces of the wicked, at the sound of their voices. I saw the
professing Christians fall upon their faces in true repentance, crying out for mercy, and
I saw them being genuinely converted. I saw the skeptics being convinced, and the
blasphemy of the wicked, as they would rail and mock, only to be struck dumb or blind at
just a word from the manifested sons and daughters of God.
The vision lasted all night, as in my spirit I
was living in that future time, when God will be manifested in fullness in His sons and
daughters, while my body was back there in bed alongside my wife. Sometimes
the scenes would make me weep and I would sob, my body shaking violently with pain and
agony, whereas another scene would cause me to laugh with holy laughter, as I witnessed
the genuine repentance of the shallow church members. Ill never forget the vision of the
young girl (the daughters of God) who spoke with the voice of many waters. Human
language could never describe the quality of her voice. All I can
say is, it was so filled with love and compassion, it would break the hardest stone, and
at her command, every infirmity, every sickness, every blindness, every lameness was
healed; every one was made perfectly whole, even those who had been lunatic from birth.
Sister Britain got no sleep that night, and
finally when the dawn was ready to break, she asked me why I didnt get up and write
the vision. I
did try, but could not hold my hands on the keyboard of the typewriter. Some
unseen force held them aloft over my head. I walked the floor and wept, and begged the
Lord to permit me to write some of the visions I had seen, to preserve them in black and
white. At
last He did, and I wrote just a very few of the visions I had seen, for a large book could
not contain them all.
And
now, many years afterward, the old prophet has passed from the scene. But
today, not only the small number who were touched by his word, but multiplied tens of
thousands of saints in every nation under heaven have been quickened to these wonderful
truths. It
has not been the work of any man or group of men, nor of any movement or organization, nor
of any organized effort or theological promotion. It has been the sovereign work of God by the
Holy Spirit! A
vast army of saints is now in preparation for the greatest day in earths long
history the manifestation of the sons of God!
Some
time ago brother Paul Mueller admonished the saints, This age has been the time when
the Lords purpose was to bring people into His kingdom by the foolishness of
preaching (I Cor. 1:21). We rejoiced to see many gather together to
hear the anointed messages of preaching and to be saved by that means. But God
has a more perfect way! The
old order of meetings, of the manifestation of the gifts, and of the foolishness of
preaching is ending. We
once preached, prophesied, and ministered in part. That which is in part is being removed, and
that which is perfect is coming! The new, perfect order will function by
perfect love. It
is now time for us to put away the childish, foolish things of the past (I Cor. 13:8-13). The Lord
is replacing the old order with a new order of greater Spirit Life and manifestation. And we
are highly privileged to be the firstfruits of that new order in God.
Imagine the wonders of the mighty moving of
the Spirit as the new highway to God is revealed. Instead of church meetings, the Spirit of the
Lord will move on an entire body of people wherever they may be gathered, and the whole
group will be converted without a preacher, a choir, or an altar call. Instead
of one man preaching to a group of people, the transformed saints will stand amidst many
on the streets, on the highways or byways, or in a shopping mall. When they
see the glory of Christ on us, they will gladly accept the Lord and their lives will be
immediately transformed. Instead of one man preaching or ministering
healing to a group of people, and seeing many turn to the Lord, the transformed body of
Christ will point
the way to the new highway to God, and many more multitudes will be brought into the
kingdom. It
may be difficult for us to envision entirely, but that new highway to God will be far more
glorious than anything we have seen in the past! The Lord will do more in one minute by His
Spirit than a man has been able to do in his entire lifetime. Yesterday
the Lord worked and moved in the 30 and 60-fold degree, tomorrow He will move
mightily in a l00-fold manifestation of His power and glory. And all of this will be the result of our spiritual
growth unto sonship. Multitudes shall then find the peace and joy
of Christ, and will embrace the fullness of His kingdom and dominion.
Another
brother has added his testimony of how the Spirit has opened to his understanding events
that will herald the unveiling of Gods sons. Many believers today are ready in
spirit, as they await this great wave with excitement and expectancy. Some have
already been given a glimpse of this great Light that will move upon the waters. Gods
remnant will involve individuals who are humble, word-filled, trustworthy, meek: those who
have died to self and have kept their eyes on things above. Many,
like yourself, are they who are usually unnoticed or lost in a crowd. Let us
look at a few examples of this coming anointing. We may hear of an elderly lady, one whom the
world has never given so much as a second glance. She is walking to a nearby store, but the
Holy Spirit speaks and directs her to enter a theater en route. She
enters, as if invisible, and standing at the rear of the great audience the Holy Spirit
begins to sing through this lady and instantly everyone becomes quiet; even the picture on
the screen and the sound in the theater stop. Every individual in that audience feels the
notes rising in their soul and all that are in need are made free, and all those sick are
made whole and well. Much
weeping and praising and giving glory to God is heard from that theater, but during this
time the song ends and the little lady simply leaves unnoticed. Indeed
the audience is stunned, but The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the glory
of God thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice
of the Lord is full of majesty (Ps. 29:3-4).
We shall now witness another move, or event. We see a
large church in service and during the service the Holy Spirit directs a man to enter the
church and he walks directly to the organ that rests at the side of the platform. Having
never played an instrument in his life, the Holy Spirit causes his fingers to play
heavenly chords of music that immediately paralyze the entire congregation. Tears flow and
hearts beat unto that higher sound, and again all are made whole, set free from earthly
bondages. The
entire body is now giving glory to the Most High, and our little man simply turns and
walks out of the service without notice, receiving no personal glory. Whatever
the situation, whatever the conditions, THERE WILL BE NO STRONGHOLDS THAT GODS LIGHT
WILL NOT PENETRATE. The
land will shine here and there as God causes His vessels
of light to move forth. They
shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb upon the
houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth
shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble...and the Lord shall utter His voice
before HIS ARMY: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for
the day of the Lord is great, and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel
2:9-11).
Truly we see that the Lord shall have an army
of Light-bearers. Words
cannot describe the acts and supernatural wonders that God will yet perform. It is
your opportunity among that called remnant to stand among the number of this great army. Your life
may have had many trials, testings, and hardships, you may be old and sickly, but if you
believe that God has prepared you with all these exercises in order that you may stand in
this hour, then nothing is impossible unto you. You have undergone a life training for such a time as this, so spend your time
wisely now until that moment...
A
dear sister in the Lord, Rita Kahr, wrote a letter to a friend of ours a few years ago. I quote a
portion of her letter. About
ten years ago I was in bed late at night reading a paper by Preston on the Greater
Works ministry of the manifested sons of God that are to come forth. My spirit
was leaping then, but I was also overwhelmed by my lack
lack of
anything and of everything to help in any way in the ministry. I felt
absolutely drained, and so I cried out to the Lord then and there, Father, I
dont think I can attain to this ministry. Its too precious and wonderful and I
have nothing to offer. I
cant prophesy, I cant write like Preston Eby and others, I cant teach
and I cant even sing to offer some praise. About the only thing I can do is speak in
tongues, and that only a little. I feel I am failing in my very lack.
I then fell asleep and had a dream. I never
dream, or at least very seldom do I remember them. Here I was in this dream in front of a large
group of people. I
opened my mouth to speak and out came words of great wisdom and profound teaching. The
people cried out, Its the Lord! Its the Lord! I then stretched
forth my hand and people cried out, Im healed its the
Lord! Its
the Lord! I
awoke and was confused because I was doing these Greater Works and more, and
then the Spirit spoke to me: Rita, do you believe the message you just read in
Prestons paper? I answered, Yes, but it seems so far
beyond my reach. The
Lord answered, You couldnt even believe it if the seed wasnt
in you with all the potential for its growth. Ill water and bring the sunshine and it
shall prosper in my time. Oh, what joy and comfort that word brought
me! I
ceased all my fears and that word has kept me to this day I still havent any ministry, most of Gods people
dont even recognize me as a brother (sister), my body confesses to a Job
experience, and I can say the time has been long and dry. Nevertheless,
the seed has grown greatly in these last years, but there is
yet to be a demonstration of that which I believe I can hardly
wait, though, for it shall surely come to pass.
Earth
has not yet witnessed the magnitude of ministry that shall be revealed through the
manifest sons of God. In
this hour at the transition of the ages, God is preparing His perfected and matured body,
anointed with the seven-fold intensified fullness of the Spirit of God, and this
enChristed company shall appear on the cosmic stage of history with ten thousand times
more power than any of the revival showers of the past centuries. God has
moved deeply upon my heart to proclaim to Gods elect that there is soon coming a
great and glorious MANIFESTATION OF CHRIST before the face of all nations and the whole
earth. There
will be a full and complete revelation of Jesus Christ in His many brethren and it shall
usher in the next stage of the Kingdom of God on earth the
dominion of the Kingdom over all the living nations on earth. I know
God is on the move, and my deepest desire is to be a part of this manifestation that will
usher in a new day for this sin-cursed planet. The Lord wants to reveal Himself in our midst
in a new, dramatic, and powerful way, and through us to creation.
The
church order and ministry of the past two thousand years has been good and appropriate for
saving a remnant and bringing the elect into the beginnings of their life in Christ. Let no
man say that we are opposed to it! I still rejoice when I see hundreds of people
walking down the isles in a Billy Graham Crusade to give their hearts to the Lord. And I
still praise God when I see people testifying to the healing, miracle working power of God
upon the stage of a Benny Hinn Crusade here or abroad. But it is not sonship ministry! Therefore,
it can contribute but a little to the Kingdom of God in the earth. To
deliver the creation from the bondage of corruption GOD HAS A MORE PERFECT WAY! He has
given us a sneak preview of this way in the life and ministry of the firstborn Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Pattern Son was never meeting oriented. Meetings happened but they were
not called, announced, planned
or organized. Jesus
never advertised that He would be speaking or ministering in the temple, or at any other
place. No
date was set for a meeting to commence on a certain day at a particular hour. There was
no place and no time.
All
was entirely spontaneous! Jesus ministered at all times and in all places. He taught
and healed in the streets. He ministered in the homes. He
ministered in the places of business. He taught by the sea. He
ministered in the fields. He spoke to the multitudes in the mountains. He
proclaimed the word of the Kingdom in the courts of the temple. He
ministered to one person alone. He ministered to ten people. He
ministered to crowds of many thousands. It made no difference! Buildings,
dates, praise services, campaign managers, music directors, choirs, announcements, and
offering plates were all completely irrelevant to His sonship ministry. He
ministered the same wherever He was, day or night. There was no need to sing hymns and choruses
to create an atmosphere to bring Gods presence or stir up
His gift so it would work. HE W-A-S GODS PRESENCE! JESUS WAS
HIMSELF THE VERY ATMOSPHERE OF GODS GLORY! There was absolutely no meeting
or church mentality in the life of the firstborn Son of God. God was
God in Jesus at all times, in all places, to all people, in a perfectly natural expression
of omnipotence. And,
my beloved, JESUS IS THE PATTERN OF SONSHIP not Paul, or
Peter, or the apostles, or the early Church, or the Church Fathers, or the revivals of
past centuries.
When
God roars out of His Zion Company in the fullness of His incorruptible life and divine
glory and presence, the old drunk will rise up out of his drunken stupor and know that
there is a God upon the throne. All will know, kings and presidents and prime
ministers and members of congress and parliament, and rich men and mighty men
everywhere will be made to know that there is ONE to whom they all owe their allegiance. Do not
doubt for one moment, precious friend of mine, that when God wants any of His sons in any
place, He will put them there. God need pay no attention to iron or bamboo
curtains, vast oceans, boundaries between nations, immigration laws, passports or visas,
airline schedules, or any form of transportation. I am talking about the miracle-working power
of God to be manifested when the sons of God arise as King-Priests after the Order of
Melchizedek, in the power of an endless life. Creation shall soon behold a pure,
unadulterated move of the Holy Spirit through a people moving on the plane of
incorruption, doing just what the Father wants them to do, without any limitations
whatever. The
Spirit will be poured out upon ALL FLESH. In the cities, on the plains, in the jungle
paths, in the deserts, on the mountain heights, upon people of means and education and
culture in the industrialized nations and upon the few savages remaining in earths
remote corners, in all the dwelling places of men the Spirit shall flow. In the
time of which I speak there shall be a complete overthrow of every government,
institution, religion and power on earth. God will not leave one place on earth where
the adversary can rally his forces. If God did not cover the seas with His
Spirit, and move upon all flesh upon the seas, the adversary would have a place to rally
his forces. If
God did not pour His Spirit out and flood the deserts, the adversary would have a place
for recruiting his followers. But, thank God! The glory
of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. God will
have this time, this day to do His mysterious work in all the earth and all the kindreds
of the earth shall turn unto the Lord. All nations and peoples will come and bow
down before Him. The
Lord alone shall be King over all the earth in and through His body. The
saints of the Most High shall take the Kingdom (government) and possess the Kingdom and
reign forever and ever. Hallelu-yah!
Chapter
50
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
Earth
has not yet witnessed the magnitude of ministry that shall be revealed through the
manifest sons of God. In
this hour at the transition of the ages God is preparing His perfected and matured body,
anointed with the seven-fold intensified fullness of the Spirit of God, and this
in-Christed company shall appear on the cosmic stage of history with ten thousand times
more power than any of the revival showers of the past centuries. God has
moved deeply upon my heart to proclaim to Gods elect that there is soon coming a
great and glorious manifestation of Christ before the face of all nations and the whole
earth. There
will be a full and complete revelation of Jesus Christ in His many brethren, and it shall
usher in the next stage of the Kingdom of God on earth the dominion of
the Kingdom over all the living nations of earth. I know God is on the move, and my deepest
desire is to be a part of this manifestation that will usher in a new day for this
sin-cursed planet. The
Lord wants to reveal Himself in our midst in a new, dramatic, and powerful way, and
through us to creation.
In
this message I want to deal with some issues that are vital to our understanding and
appropriating the purposes of God for our lives in this important hour.
History
is full of the vain-glorious attempts of well-meaning men to calculate, interpret, and
figure out the date of the coming of Christ, the beginning of the great
tribulation, the so-called rapture of the church, the manifestation of the sons of God,
the beginning of the millennium, or some other great event, real or imagined, in relation
to the coming of the Kingdom of God. But all the prophecies and booklets are
misleading when they suggest that this Day comes according to some calculation of time!. Many
misconceptions regarding the last times are in circulation and only by the
spirit of wisdom and revelation from God do we know the things that pertain to our Day. The HOLY
SPIRIT BEARS WITNESS that the manifestation of the sons of God is the
next great event on Gods prophetic schedule but I know of no
system of chronology,
no Biblical time-prophecy, no pattern of cycles, no numerical calculations, or prophecy
that can accurately tell us the hour, day, year, or decade when this coming glory shall
break forth!
The
elect of the Lord has little interest in dates and years, or in the passing of time. Our
primary interest, yea, our all-consuming passion is to KNOW HIM in the fullness of
Himself! It
is that we might experience Christ in the perfection of His nature, in the fullness of His
spirit and power, in the accomplishment of His purposes, and in the revelation of His
sonship glory, that the creation might behold HIM in the dawn of the New Day. Then
everything and everyone will be blessed and quickened because of what He has wrought in
us, not merely because a date on the calendar has arrived. Only by
the power of Christ raised up in us, the Light that He is, can anything anywhere be
transformed by our hand. By His Light all darkness shall be dispelled.
The
arising of His glory, the dawning of His Day is not a date to be calculated, but an
attainment to be realized! It is the power of the voice of God, and the wonder of the work of God in His elect that alerts us to the reality of this
Day not dates, times,
cycles, prophecies, numbers, or calculations of any kind.
Look
into any period of history and you will find prophets of all types who claimed they knew
when the next end-time event would occur. Most have claimed to have discovered the hidden secret to the Bibles time-prophecies or found hidden meanings in Biblical numbers, cycles, or chronologies. Some time
ago brother Ray Prinzing penned the following wise observation: Searching what
manner of time... seems to be the occupation of many. We find
there are those of a more negative nature that keep close watch of all the doom events every
earthquake, flood, war, etc., has them asking the question, Does this fulfill the
prophecy, and indicate that the end of the age is here? And there
are those who look for the more positive elements, and with every surge and quickening of
the Spirit, they are convinced that it means that the end is nigh.
Some take their clue from Daniel, who said,
I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of
Jerusalem (Dan. 9:2), and so they study the books, every one they can
find that is related to prophetic events, to see if they can understand the NUMBER OF THE
YEARS. Let
it be clear, we have no condemnation for those who make these searches, and if
the Spirit quickens any fragment of truth to them, we are delighted to share it, and hold
it before the Lord for His quickening, and following confirmations. Some
would try to search out the times with a solar calendar, others use the lunar calendar. Some
would go back to Israels times of old to see if they can glean understanding and
relate it to these present times. And all the while, we find our own challenge
being to hold a balance between looking to the future for its glorious
fulfillment of that TOTAL SALVATION, and our living in the present times with a
deep consciousness of just ABIDING IN HIM.
Efforts
to set dates for the so-called end time began early in the Churchs
history, some as early as the first century after Christ. Saint
Augustine (A.D. 354-430) talked about the end of human history. He tried
to determine when human history would end. He divided human history into six ages of
1,000 years each. This
was based on the six days of creation and Psalm 90:4, For a thousand years in Thy
sight are but as yesterday, and II Peter 3:8, One day is with the Lord as a
thousand years. Therefore
the end would come in the year 6,000!
Many
supposed that the second coming of Christ would take place in the year 1000, a thousand
years after the first coming of Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom in the earth. As the
year 1000 approached the message which was emphasized throughout Christendom was that the
end of the world and the final judgment were eminent. Because of this approaching event, all were
advised to repent and prepare themselves for the end of time. The end
did not come! Its
failure to materialize was a great disappointment to the faithful, for it had been the
expectation of generations of Christians. When the second coming did not happen the church
system had to change its message. The next date was set in the fourteenth
century exactly one
thousand years after the church became the official religion of the Roman empire. It was
taught that the rule of the church over the nations of Europe and the world was the
reign of the saints with Christ over the nations, therefore the millennium would end at
that time, Christ would return, the final judgment would be set, and the world would come
to an end. Of
course, it didnt happen then, either!
Martin
Luther found that the birth of Christ was approximately 4,000 years after creation. So the
year 5525 had arrived (A.D. 1525), and Luther looked for the great wind up
near the end of six one-thousand-year days, or the year A. D. 6000. Then
Luther found that Jesus had said the time would be shortened for the elects sake (Mat. 24:22). The year
5525 was 475 years short of 6,000, and Luther concluded, because of the earth-shaking
spiritual events that were taking place in his day, that the end of human history could
come in the year 1525 or very soon after. Then the great world Sabbath would begin and
last forever! (Luther
did not believe in a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ). In 1527
Luther and a friend published a book describing two events which they regarded as
signs of the end. Somebody had discovered the carcass of a
monster with a donkeys head and a human body on the bank of the Tiber River in Rome.
Luther,
who believed the Pope was the Antichrist, called it the Pope-ass. The other
sure sign of the end was a calf born with a monks cowl over its head. That
meant that the end of Roman Catholicism and all false religion was at hand. That was not
all. There
always were wars in Europe, but the war in A.D. 1525 was different. Emperor
Charles V and Pope Clement VII were fighting the war to end all wars. Jesus had
said, Nation will go to war with nation, and kingdom with kingdom (Mat. 24:7).
Kingdom
with kingdom surely meant Emperor with Pope! Even that was not all. In 1524,
the planets Jupiter and Saturn met in the sign of the fishes: The fish was a significant
Christian symbol. Jesus
had said there would be signs in the heavens and the powers of the heavens will be
shaken (Mat. 24:29). Jesus had said, This good news of the
kingdom must be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations, and then shall the end come (Mat. 24:14). In
Luthers mind the gospel proclaimed by the Protestant Reformation was that preaching
of the gospel in all the world. Therefore, the end was at hand!
In more recent times similar prophetic schemes have
been promoted among the Lords people. During the second quarter of the nineteenth
century William Miller, who became the founder of the Millerite sect, traveled through New
England, New York, New Jersey, and Canada, with the announcement that Christ would return
in 1843. He
thought he saw, plainly, the time indicated, in the scriptures, when our Lord would
return. In
1818 Miller, during his systematic study of the Bible, began to focus on Daniel 8:13-14
wherein we read, Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that
certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice,
and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden
under foot? And
he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed. Miller
concluded that the cleansing in this passage referred to the purification of
the earth (Gods sanctuary) by fire. He understood that in Biblical
time-prophecies a day stands for a year, therefore there would be 2,300 years until the
earth would be purged by Gods fire. Using also Daniels prophecy of the 70
weeks, Miller determined that the 2,300 day-years began with the decree of Artaxerxes in
457 B.C. to rebuild Jerusalem. This scheme is too detailed to go into here,
but when one reads it, it is quite convincing to the intellectual mind. Proceeding
from the beginning date of 457 B.C. Miller counted the 2,300 years forward, arriving at
the year 1843 as the end. He restudied his conclusions for several
years and in 1831, convinced of their certainty, began to teach and preach the second
coming of Christ to take place in 1843.
Being
a signally gifted and scholarly man, he led thousands to adopt his views. The
burden of his preaching was: Christ will soon be here; are you ready to meet Him? There
were many conversions born of fear in view of the imminent appearance of Christ the Judge. The meetings of the people were often scenes
of wild confusion; emotion was aroused, people fell down crying, men shouted and women
fainted. Despite
all the opposition of the churches to this unbounded sensationalism, Miller continued his
crusade with great persistence and assurance. As the predicted day drew near many took
their horses, with fodder for two or three days, and went out into the woods, expecting to
be all the more likely to see all that was to be seen when once away from the crowded
city. All over the States there were people who had made ascension-gowns in which to soar
into the air in proper costume. They waited, and they waited. But when
the year 1843 passed by without any unusual occurrence, Miller had to resort to the
subterfuge that Christ had indeed come but remained in hiding temporarily because the
people had not yet repented sufficiently; and when the year 1844 also passed by in the
ordinary way, he finally had to admit that his calculations had been mistaken.
Pastor
Russell, the spiritual father of Jehovahs Witnesses and several other groups of
Bible Students, reasoned that Gods plan of the ages would be worked out on earth
through seven one-thousand year days. He, like many today, believed that the
seventh thousand-year epoch would be the epoch of Christs millennial reign, the
great Sabbath Day of the restoration of the world and all mankind, an age of refreshment
and rest from their own carnal works in which the whole creation labors and groans under
the bondage of sin and death. Russell presented a detailed study of Bible
chronology by which he demonstrated that 6,000 years from the creation of Adam were
complete in A.D. 1874. The
millennium, therefore, began in 1874 and at that time Christ returned in His spiritual
presence to reign until all enemies are under His feet.
According
to Russells reckoning the forepart of the millennial age would be the Day of
the Lord, the day of trouble, the Great Tribulation, which
would witness the breaking into pieces of the kingdoms of this world and the establishment
of the Kingdom of God under the whole heavens. This great work would take one generation of
forty years those living when
Christs invisible Presence began in 1874 would not pass away until the final end
came. Therefore
Russell prophesied that the Times of the
Gentiles would end in 1914 and from thence
forward the saints would reign over the nations. Russell further proved his
calculations by another novel idea. In Leviticus 26 Moses prophesied that
Israels scattering among the nations would last seven
times. To
Russell those seven times were prophetic times of a day for a year, and using
the day for a year theory he reasoned seven times would be 2,520 day/years. He said
Israel ceased being a nation in 606 B.C. when the Babylonians destroyed their nation and
carried them away into captivity. By counting seven times, or 2,520 years, from
606 B.C. he arrived at the date A.D. 1914, thus verifying his 1874 plus 40 year generation
date. Russell
died in 1916, admitting that things had not worked out as he anticipated and that was the end.
Russells
successor, the eloquent Judge Rutherford, kept alive the expectation of the speedy
transformation of the living saints. He changed the time of Christs coming
in His spiritual Presence from 1874 to 1914 and said the final resurrection would take
place in 1925. The
burden of his message, which was spread nationally over billboards, shouted over the
radio, and blazoned to the world in paid advertisements, was Millions now living
will never die! It
was a rather daring assertion, seeing that it could be so easily proved or disproved. A leading
laundry, which had more humor than reverence, adopted the slogan as its own, making it
read in this fashion: We do the dyeing for the millions now living.
Then
there was the Great Pyramid delusion. Back about the turn of the century a man by
the name of Morton Edgar published a book titled PYRAMID PASSAGES. The
thrust of this book was that the Great Pyramid of Gizeh in Egypt was built by divine
wisdom and under Gods direction, probably by Shem, the son of Noah, to be one of
Gods witnesses to men, the object of its construction being to establish in stone a record and a prophecy of Gods great
redemptive plan of the ages. The scriptural basis for this was Isaiah
19:19-20, In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land
of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it
shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. This
altar and pillar was assumed to be the Great Pyramid often referred to
as THE BIBLE IN STONE.
It
was conjectured that every passage and chamber therein silently but eloquently symbolized
in size, length, structure, etc., the whole wonderful plan of God from the heaven blest
garden in Eden down to the times of the restitution of all things when every enemy should
be destroyed and God would be All-in-all. Those who studied the Pyramid from that
standpoint were able to locate all the major events of history there Creation was
there, Calvary was there, the Reformation was there, the return of Christ was there, and
the Millennial Age.
It
was all laid out neatly and precisely in the measurements, passages, chambers, and
symbolism of the Great Pyramid! And, since the measurements from certain
well-established points to another, for instance, from Calvary to the Reformation, were
all quite precise, it followed that the measurements from the Reformation to the beginning
of the Millennial Kingdom (and hence, the second coming of Christ) were conclusive. The testimony of the Great
Pyramid showed irrefutably that Christ would return in 1914!
When
Christ didnt make the anticipated appearance in 1914, the theory was later revised
by Dr. Adam Rutherford of England. According to Rutherfords careful
calculations, the entrance into the Kings Chamber, typifying the beginning of the
Millennial Age, would be reached on August 20, 1953. With 95% of the chronology of the passage
system of the Great Pyramid supposedly already verified by history, the attention of
thousands was focused upon August 20, 1953. Their expectancy was that the events of that
day would demonstrate beyond question that their understanding of the purport of the Great
Pyramid revelation was correct. In the summer of 1953 thousands of followers
began to anticipate the development of spectacular events to climax, perhaps, with the
visible appearance of Jesus, on the Great Pyramid dating of August 20. They
hoped that what would occur would then firmly establish their belief in the reliability of
the prophecy. But
the day came and with it the failure of the hoped-for developments. Jesus
didnt show up! The
Millennium didnt begin! Armageddon didnt break out! NOTHING
HAPPENED!
Again,
the system was revised! According
to Rutherford the mistake that had been made in his reckonings was
discovered and duly corrected. A new date was set: 1978. This date
was bolstered by a study of the seven times of Israels judgment,
Daniels 2,300 day/years, the 1,260 day/years of Johns vision in the book of
Revelation all of which,
according to Rutherfords reckonings, ended in 1978-79. You see,
beloved, everyone was using the very same
system of deciphering the time prophecies
of Daniel and the Revelation but each used a
different starting point! Even if
this application of these time prophecies is correct, the fact remains that unless one can
be absolutely certain of the exact beginning point of any of them he will
never wind up at the right ending point! And that does make a difference, doesnt
it? The
88 Reasons why Jesus Will Come In 1988 delusion used the very same type of
chronological scheme altered to fit
their own agenda, of course. It caused hysteria and chaos all over the
nation and around the world. But Jesus didnt return in 1988, either!
In
July of 1978, I published an article in which I admonished the Lords precious
people, Others are proclaiming that the Millennium will begin in 1978-79 according
to the revelation of the Great Pyramid in Egypt. I must speak a word against that! I have no
fear in offering to buy all your Pyramidology books for 1 cent each in 1980. Ill
even pay the postage! Beloved
brethren, I have no desire to be cynical about these things, but the Spirit of the Lord
would have His chosen ones to get their eyes off of dates, pyramids, computers, newspaper
headlines, world leaders, world events, conspiracies, supposed antichrists, beast
governments, banking and economic systems, and all the rest of the ten-cent side shows
which would capture the minds of those apprehended to be sons of the Most High. How much
more profitably will our time and meditations be spent in LOOKING UNTO HIM. A correct
understanding of all the above mentioned things (and most saints understanding of
them is not correct!) can never add one
inch to our spiritual stature nor bring us to perfection in Christ. The
finishing touches on Gods great Building, His House of Sons, are not yet complete. Let
your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves LIKE UNTO MEN THAT
WAIT FOR THEIR LORD (Lk. 12:35-36). Look unto HIM! That is
the only act you can perform in this hour that will in any way hasten the Day of
manifestation end quote.
The
error of these delusions is manifest in their repeated failure. I am sure
that most of my readers remember the great 1982 Planetary Alignment hype. According
to certain Fundamentalist and Charismatic preachers the rapture was going to
take place on September 6, 1975. The logic for this was that in
1982 all of the nine planets of our solar system would be
perfectly aligned on the same side of the sun. Two scientists, writing in Newsweek magazine,
September 16, 1974, theorized about the catastrophic effect of this planetary alignment on
the upper part of the atmosphere caused by the magnetic pull of this line-up of the
planets on the sun, creating an increase in the magnetic activity on the sun with huge
storms of sunspots and solar flares, some spreading over fifty million miles. These
would greatly disrupt weather patterns around the world by sharply altering wind
directions. This
in turn would give our rotating planet a jolt large enough to trigger many major
earthquakes in those areas of the world under severe geological strain. It was
expected that the earthquakes around 1982 could destroy large populations of the earth. Some even
theorized that the sun would nova in which case the earth would be completely
burned to a cinder!
Therefore,
reasoned certain preachers and teachers, since the earth would be purged by fire in 1982
(sounds like William Miller, doesnt it!), the Great Tribulation must precede that
event by seven years, necessitating a beginning in 1975. Furthermore,
since Jesus must come, according to their imaginings, before the Tribulation; and considering that He would come
with the sound of a trumpet, and at the last trump, it was concluded that He
would split the eastern sky on the date of the FEAST OF TRUMPETS in the year 1975 precisely on
September 6! I
arrived in Big Spring, Texas on the afternoon of September 5, and found a large number of
Charismatic brethren weeping, wailing, and repenting in preparation for the rapture the
following day. It
fell my lot to declare to the brethren assembled in the meeting where I was speaking that
night that nothing, absolutely nothing,
would happen the next day! Of course, Jesus didnt come on
September 6, 1975 and seven years afterward the long-awaited planetary alignment turned
out to be a non-event! The
mischief done by these well-meaning men is all the greater when they coolly fix a fresh
date when the march of time has utterly falsified their previous chronological
predictions. It
is still a very adulterous generation that seeks after a sign.
Let
me briefly insert a partial list of date setters. These speculators set themselves up
above the knowledge of God, futilely attempting to date events about which they know
nothing by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation from God, in fact, dates which the Holy
Spirit Himself has chosen not to reveal! It is amazing how many Christians, including
many in this word of sonship and the kingdom, fall for this spectacle of scholastic
manipulation! Here
are only some of those who throughout church history have set
dates for the coming of Christ, the beginning of the Millennium, or the end of the world. First the
name, followed by the date they predicted.
Tichonius 381
Hippolytus and Lactanius 500
Joachim of Floris 1260
Michael Stiefel 1533
Isaac Newton 1715
William Whiston 1734
William Miller 1834
Joann Albrecht Bengel 1836
Joseph Wolff 1847
Philo Britannicus 1849
Irvingites of England 1864
Hans Wood 1880
Mother Shipton 1881
Joanna Southcott 1884
Charles T. Russell 1914
Edward D. Griffin 1921
Judge Rutherford 1925
Adam Rutherford 1953,
1978
William Branham 1977
Edgar Whisenat 1988
You
may smile to yourself at the errors and mistakes of others, but I will incur the wrath of
many well-meaning people when I declare that not a few of these chronological
prognosticators are in the sonship and kingdom message, right in the midst of those
sincere saints pressing on into the fullness of God. One of the fads recently occupying the
attention of some has to do with JUBILEE CYCLES. One of the several theories is that there
would be 40 Jubilees from A.D. 33 (Pentecost) that effectually bring us to the end of the
church age. The
Jubilee came every fiftieth year in Israel and forty Jubilees would be reckoned as 40
times 49 years (the 50th being the Jubilee). This would add up to 1960 years from
Pentecost to the end of the church age. By adding 33 to 1960 we are brought to the
year 1993. This
theory was concocted before 1993, and some were expecting the manifestation of
the sons of God, or at least some great move in that direction, at the time of the Feast
of Tabernacles in that year. Since there was no obvious outward change in
the spiritual order on that date, it has now been determined that the church age, or
Pentecostal age, is typified by king Saul of old. Saul represents flesh, and the Feast of
Pentecost had leaven which is construed to represent the fleshly ministry
of the church systems the church under
carnal mans control. Following the death of Saul, there was a
seven year period before David was crowned king of Israel. David
represents the ministry of the manifested sons of God. According to these calculations, at the end
of the 40 Jubilees allotted to the church age, in a spiritual sense the carnal church
systems die, or come to their end, in 1993. But the seven year lull between the death of
Saul and the reign of David brings us to the year 2000. It is
believed that David was crowned king in November. The inference
is that in November of the year 2000 some
great change is to take place possibly the
manifestation of the sons of God! (This message is being written prior to
November, 2000 in order to get it to the printer and ready to be mailed early in the year
2001).
The question follows by what authority
does one determine that there are 40 Jubilees from the day of Pentecost to the
close of the age? Where
does the Bible reveal such a scheme? And how does one then reach the conclusion
that the years between Sauls and Davids reigns are to be applied to the years
here at the end of the age: 1993-2000? The folly of such methods should be obvious! By
playing with numbers, chronologies, types, dates, etc., one can take nearly any year from
the time of Christ until now and make it seem significant. All kinds
of seemingly unique and interesting things can be done with numbers, times, and types having nothing whatever to do with inspiration or revelation.
Look
at the following predictions made by a brother. We may see other events occur even
before the end of 1999. December
29 seems to stand out as a potential date for something, since this is 2000 years from the
slaughter of the children in Bethlehem. It is also 1260 days from July 16, 1996, when
we began our Red Dragon wars. I had thought the 1260 days ended on January
1, 2000, but I made a mistake in calculation. It actually ends on December 29, 1999. This puts
that date in a whole new perspective, since it is the 2000th anniversary of the slaughter
of the children in Bethlehem. Others also say that they have had some
revelation about this date that it is a time of judgment. By the
time you receive this letter, we should know one way or another. Let the
heart of every faithful son of God be assured of this that is not divine
revelation, it is merely playing silly numbers
games with the Word of God! We are
living in a day when men without any true revelation from God are pawning off ridiculous
carnal-minded calculations and intellectual tomfoolery as end-time truth.
Those
who promote these senseless numbers games usually use terminology like, If our chronology is correct, whether this
proves out or not remains to be seen, could this possibly indicate? and
numerous other carnal-minded, wishy-washy admissions that what they are writing is NOT A REVELATION FROM
THE LORD but mere human speculations. This is not the foundation on which TRUTH is
built! Notice
the following expressions in the one short paragraph quoted above: We may see...December 29 seems to
stand out...I had thought...but I made a mistake...by the time you receive
this...we should know one way or the other!
One
brother in the Kingdom message who has repeatedly, over many years, predicted dates for
this and for that event, including the coming of the Lord, and has missed every time, wrote the following
acknowledgment: Now swiftly I shall set before you the proof that our Lords
return is immediately at hand; yet I cannot say that I
know (with absolute and positive
knowledge). It
is but the human mind dealing with the Infinite; wherefore, unless the
conceit be too great, we will recognize the possibility of error. Unless
the Lord Himself were to appear and speak to a person, stating clearly the year, month,
and the day and hour that He would return, we are not justified to use the word
know. But
when we have sufficiently studied His Word, and weighed the massive evidence which concurs
that these are the days, then we can certainly say that we know (are aware)
that the time IS NOW. In
fact, we can be far more specific by narrowing down the now to the limited era
of an odd few years; in fact the year and day might even be pinpointed! If you
analyze what this brother is saying, he is contending that it is possible for the human mind
to figure out and pinpoint
with precision the timing of events that
the Lord Himself has chosen not to reveal!
Obviously
this man knows nothing because all his projections are based on
calculations made by natural understanding the carnal mind! The
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he
know them, for they are spiritually
discerned.
Another
sign of the carnality of such schemes is that they are constantly being
revised. When the prophesied dates come and go uneventfully,
they then discover the error in their calculations and correct
them. Hogwash!
The
Holy Spirit does not make mistakes. The carnal mind makes mistakes. I have
made mistakes. I
even expressed once that I felt the sons might be manifested within a certain decade, but
I am not revising that, for it was a mistake and I have learned my own lesson from it. But some
brethren never learn! They
continually spew out date after date, none of which amounts to a hill of beans, and
mysteriously Gods precious little gullible people never seem to learn that they are
being conned, for they get all excited over every new prediction. When God speaks, His
word does not have to be corrected! And when we speak by the Holy Ghost our words
do not need to be corrected, either. Its just as simple as that!
All
predictions based on types, times, cycles, and chronologies will fail. You can
put that down in your little black book. It would seem that all the mistakes of the
past would provide a warning, but the inquisitiveness of carnal minds never gives up. INQUIRING CARNAL MINDS WANT TO KNOW! And let me assure you God will not
dignify any of the foolish dates and predictions of men by doing His strange and wonderful
work at that particular time! Here me now, and believe me later if you are assembled some year at the Feast of Tabernacles
expecting the sons to be manifested at that time because man has
determined from some study of types, cycles, times, or chronologies that this
is the year it will happen, you can rest assured that nothing
supernatural or divine will transpire and you will leave your gathering disappointed. Oh, how
gullible we still are! Dont
get carried away, beloved, with teachers who tickle your ears with some strange
key, some obscure clue, some magic formula, some
alleged cycle, or some special understanding of times, etc. The
difference between spiritual truth and fiction is just this if it can be figured out with the natural mind it is fiction, not truth. The deep
things of God are revealed by the Spirit and discerned
by the Spirit, not intellectually by pouring over charts, time prophecies, historical
data, world events, cycles or chronologies.
Now another flaw of
the scheme of figuring out prophetic dates through the study of those things
just mentioned is that our present calendar is not dependable for such usage. In fact,
the calendars are so messed up that there is absolutely no way to accurately ascertain the
correct date for anything not even the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ! The proof
of this is that the men who have done scholarly studies on the birth of Jesus all arrive
at different conclusions! In the spring of 1999 a brother sent me his
article exposing the fallacy of date-setting based on man-made calendars. I
concurred then with what this brother wrote, and I still agree today.
Let
me quote a portion of what this brother shared. Our God in His marvelous creation of
the heavens and the earth provided mankind with the means to determine times and seasons
and days and years. Then
God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the
night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years (Gen. 1:14). This
marvelous system of days and years has been beneficial to man down through the ages by the
making of solar and lunar calendars. The lunar calendar, based on the phases of
the moon, goes back to the beginning of history. Consisting of twelve lunar months, with
periodic adjustments, it continues in use throughout many parts of the world. The
children of Israel were using the lunar calendar in Egypt, like their forefathers Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, but when the time for their exodus out of Egypt came and the night of
the Passover took place, God gave Israel new meaning and new reckoning dates for their
calendar. The
Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, This month is to be for you the first month,
the first month of the year (Ex. 12:1-2, NIV). More instruction followed; on the tenth day
of that month each household was to set aside a (Passover) lamb; it was to be kept until
the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel was
to kill the lamb, take the blood and strike it on the two side posts and also the upper
door posts of the house. Thus the house was prepared and spared from
death. According
to the lunar calendar, that night would be a full moon. One can
only marvel at the planning of God, giving them moonlight for travel during the next
several nights, enabling the exodus of probably two million people on foot, with all their
cattle.
Many centuries later, during the time of Roman
domination in the known world, history tells us that Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. issued a
solar calendar that was based on a 365 day year. The names of the months in the Julian
calendar are still used in our present calendar. As many centuries went by, the Julian
calendar continued in use and it was not till 1582 that Pope Gregory XIII replaced it with
a revised calendar of 365 days with a 366 day year (leap year) every four years, each year
beginning January 1, and ending the following December 31. The
changes included the designating of many of the Roman Churchs religious observances
and holidays which still affect our lives. It is called the Gregorian calendar and is
probably the most commonly used today for international datelines, international trade and
record keeping. It
is the same calendar that hangs in your kitchen, marked with your schedules and
appointments.
When this present year (1999) runs out these
calendars will read year 2000 which is really a non-event, just another New Years
day, but the news media is carrying stories of how millennium fever is showing up in many
places. One
article stated that even in Christian circles individuals and house holds take this change
very seriously. Two
men said they have been stockpiling goods for the past year: a gas-powered generator, a
solar-powered lamp, six-gallon pails of grain, 55 gallon drums of water, canned goods and
extra clothes. Others
told of digging their own back-yard wells. In addition to the interviews a poll showed
that among those who take the Bible literally, 40% believed that the new millennium is
tied to Christs return. Among those who are not Biblical literalists,
only 18% said so.
This leaflet is written in April of 1999 with
the intent of showing that the new millennium and the transition from one century to the
next is a man-made situation and our God with His plans and purposes is not involved. He will
continue to flow out to this world with His grace just as He has done for almost two
millenniums. Our
man-made calendars, useful as they are, have no connection to any Biblical prophecy or
coming event. On
December 31 of 1999 the earth will continue to rotate and at midnight the Gregorian
calendar will change to January 1, 2000.
One other matter of concern to many people is
the man-made Y2K computer problem that could possibly cause some isolated disruptions in
older computers. Those
problems, made by men, will be worked out by men. The days and years of time will continue to
roll by until the day comes, known only to God, when He will intervene in the affairs of
men and assume His authority in this world. God has His own calendar...when God
intervenes, the times and seasons of HIS CALENDAR will bring great blessing to this world,
changing every individual and all life upon this earth...we are encouraged by the Lord to
pray for His Kingdom to come David R.
Hettema. And
let me hastily add GODS
CALENDAR is simply that which HE REVEALS TO HIS PEOPLE
BY THE SPIRIT! That is how we know the times and seasons,
that is how we gain
enlightenment about what God is going to do God reveals His
plans and purposes by revelation of the Holy Ghost! If you dont have a word from God, my
friend, then stay out of the date-setting business. The hour is too late, and Gods purposes
too serious, to be playing games. He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith to the churches!
THE
GLOOM AND DOOM FOLLY
A
gloom and doom interpretation of history and world events sees culture and
history descending into a diabolical abyss in which all of society degenerates until the
Antichrist takes over and the Lord has to come back to save what is left of the church. The
gloom and doomers keep track of every famine and earthquake, view the enemies
of our nation, and even our own politicians, as involved in dark and sinister conspiracies
for our destruction and the overthrow of God, watch every planetary lineup and
extra-terrestrial activity, observe every new world leader to see if he might be the
Antichrist, and expect communism, the new age movement, or a one-world government to take
over any day. Gloom
and doom sees the coming of the Lord and the manifestation of His Kingdom in relation to a
series of end-time cataclysmic events and over-whelming evil, rather than a
progressive new stage of Gods intensified dealings with humanity. The gloom
and doomers think that when things get bad
enough God will be
forced to step in and do something!
No
matter what you have been hearing about the dark and dreadful things to come upon the
earth, let me tell you something about the doomsday prophecies that keep coming year after
year and decade after decade. Sherlock Holmes once solved a famous murder
case by noticing what did not happen. He observed that the victims dog did
not bark on the night of the crime. Therefore the dog and hence the
victim must have known
the assailant. The
rest was easy. So
it is in the events of the end time. What hasnt happened for instance, a
great Doomsday Crash mindlessly foretold by the parrots of pessimism year after year has tremendous significance by its very absence! Despite
all the prophets of gloom and doom the communists have not taken over, America has not
been invaded, California has not fallen into the ocean, the economy has not crashed, the
government has not declared marshal law, the churches have not been closed, our money has
not been confiscated, our old money was not called in when the new money was printed,
Clinton was not our last president, the Antichrist (as people think of him) is nowhere to
be seen, we have not been laser-tattooed with 666 on the forehead, Y2K went the way of all
flesh and the folks who fled to remote areas with their generators, out-houses, guns, and
stockpiles of food had plenty to eat for a while before creeping back into civilization and the sons of God continue to be processed and matured for
the Day of Unveiling! Only
the word of the Lord has stood! All the false prophets have been proven
liars, and God alone is true! In my files over the past twenty years or so,
I have purposely saved booklets and papers in which people have set dates for devastating
tidal waves, killer earthquakes, the collapse of the money system, the fall of America, and a
host of other ominous events, which I refer to from time to time. With the
passing of time, their falseness is evident not one single
prophecy of gloom and doom has come to pass! Ah, Sherlock Holmes, what is missing is
significant!
All
these doomsday apocalyptic pictures of the end of the age, the antichrist, the great
tribulation, etc., are based upon carnal-minded interpretations of certain prophecies in
the Bible, have nothing whatever to do with the unfolding of the Kingdom of God on earth,
are completely irrelevant to Gods purposes for this hour, and simply do not enter
into the equation at all. They are founded upon a confusion of thought a failure to
understand the scriptures by the Spirit.
The
expositors take totally unrelated and disconnected passages from different parts of the
Bible, and weave them together into an elaborate tapestry which is pure fiction. The
scriptures that are put together to prove the end-time events of the rapture, the antichrist,
the great tribulation, the seven year covenant with the Jews, the rebuilt temple in
Jerusalem, the revived Roman empire, one world government, and all the other imagined
happenings at the end of the age when understood
by the spirit of wisdom and revelation, these concepts make no more spiritual sense than
the moronic letter I read one time that goes like this:
Dear
So and So,
I
set down pencil in hand to typewrite you a letter (excuse the pen). I
dont
live where I lived before. I moved to where I live now. When you
come to see me,
ask anyone where I live, because no one knows. Im so sorry were so far together,
I wish we were never apart. We are having more weather this year than
last year. I
started to Fulton to see you last week and I saw a sign that said, This takes you to
Fulton. So
I got on the sign and set there for three hours and the crazy thing never
moved. I
mailed you an overcoat, but took off the buttons to make it lighter (those in
the pockets). If
you dont get this letter let me know and Ill mail it to you. I would
have sent you the $600.00 I owe you, but I didnt think of it until after I had
sealed
this letter. Enclosed
you will find a picture, but for fear it would get lost, I took it out.
Yours
very truly,
THE LITTLE MORON
That
letter, my friend, makes absolutely as much common
sense as most preachers prophetic
teaching makes spiritual sense! If you
escape this confusion and refuse to be moved by the fleshly sensationalism of uninspired
literalistic prophetic interpretations of men, then you have taken the first step into the
revelation of the Kingdom of God!
Let
me quote a passage which I am sure you have heard as descriptive of our times and the
signs of the end of the age. Our earth is degenerate in these latter
days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption
are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book, and
the end of the world is evidently approaching. What a sad commentary of the times! But what times? These
words are inscribed on a tablet in a museum in Constantinople, Turkey. They were
written 2,800 years before Christ and yet it sounds
so modern! Heres
another: Our youths love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority they show disrespect for their elders, and love to chatter in
place of exercise. Children
are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when their elders enter
the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up food, and tyrannize
teachers. This was written by the philosopher Socrates in 400 B.C.!
Today
we pick up a newspaper and read of all these things happening, so we are assured that the
prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled, and we conclude that it must be about THE END based on external evidence. Darkness shall cover the earth, and
gross darkness the people. In the last days perilous times shall
come... The
doom-casters quote every verse that speaks of negative conditions in the outer world, yet they have not the foggiest
notion of the awesome inward work of God in His sons to bring forth a NEW ORDER IN
CHRIST. They
know what the world is doing, but have no idea of what GOD IS DOING! They must
look to the world around for the signs of the end of the age. They must
see and hear in the fleshly realm around them with their natural eyes and ears, and with
the understanding of the carnal mind. They can understand outer, natural, earthly,
dark things, but cannot hear and see in the Spirit and by the Spirit. They lack
spiritual vision and understanding. But Gods elect are not spiritually
blind! They
are not dependent upon what the eye sees and the ear hears and the carnal mind
comprehends. The
Lord would not have chosen us if we were stuck in that realm! He has
given us His faith, vision, and understanding. Now we live by His faith, we hear truth by
the voice of His Spirit, we see with spiritual eyes enlightened by Him, and we understand
with the mind of Christ.
There are many who feel that every earth-shaking
event that shocks the public must be a sign of the end-time, and we must make
certain that we are prepared for the doom day which is upon us. Millions
of Christians suffer from a malady called the Doomsday Syndrome. They
constantly fear what the future holds. Hardly a day goes by that we dont hear
some doomsday disciple pronouncing imminent judgment and damnation. Babylons
preachers and teachers continually have a hey-day with sensational world events, trying to
make them fit the fulfillment of specific Bible prophecies, speculating about their
meaning, projecting, predicting, and even prophesying about their outcome, and never
apologizing for all their past mistakes and erroneous conclusions. Every
year a new super-disaster hoax is promoted among gullible Christians.
To
the above brother Paul Mueller adds this timely testimony: Our Lord has said, The
light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be
full of light. But
if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If
therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness (Mat. 6:22-23). We are
entering a new age of increased Light. A new day has begun in the world! It is a
new day of the Light and glory of Christ in a greater measure. This new
kingdom Day is a Day when the darkness is being dispelled by the Light of Christ. And all
who are awake and aware are keeping their single, spiritual eye focused on Christ and the
wonderful things He is now doing in all the world as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. No longer
do we see only the negative things taking place in the world. Now we
see that Christ is reigning, and things are changing because of His increased dominion in
our lives and in the world around us. Messages of doom, gloom and darkness cannot possibly
bring anyone to sonship fulfilled.
In this new Day the Lord is changing our
spiritual diets! He
is giving us the type of messages that are necessary to our spiritual growth, messages
that will bring about our change. The Lords chosen elect must have
Gods pure word that gives them hope! Yesterdays messages of doom, gloom and
darkness will only discourage and defeat us. To read and assimilate the negative stories
coming from the news media, or even from the writings of some current
come-outers, will keep us in defeat and cannot help but adversely affect both
our minds and our bodies.
To read and speak of war, lawlessness,
immorality, violence, tribulation, distress of nations, and all the other ills of the
world, only fills us with darkness. And darkness only begets more darkness within
us! We
need a single eye in this great Day that sees only the Lord and His great glory. We
must feast on the royal food of the kingdom! We must feed on food that begets Light within
us. We
must feast on Christ to the full! Let nothing turn your single eye away from
Him. There
are those who would saturate your mind and wrap it in the darkness of man and his shadowy
world. But
this will only impede your spiritual growth! The wise will keep their minds centered on
Christ and the positive, kingdom work He is now doing in this great Day. This
indeed is the way to sonship! This is the path to the throne of God! And this
is the route that leads to the fullness of the Life of Christ and the glory of the kingdom
of God!
I
was once among those who believed the negative predictions of man. But I must confess,
something wonderful has happened to me! I spent a lot of my early life and ministry
with an apocalyptic mentality. By apocalyptic I mean that mentality that is
always looking for the end of the age with great cataclysmic upheavals and tremendous
earth-shaking events kingdoms falling,
nuclear bombs exploding, economies crashing, and all those violent, catastrophic
happenings that are supposed to take place in the world. I was
looking for that. In
1964 I believed the issue was God and Goldwater, and I just felt that if Goldwater
didnt win the election, brother, this country was down the tube, the antichrist
would rise up in the earth, and we would be in great tribulation. We watched the stock
market, because we knew if it crashed, the jig was really up! We were
concerned about the Russians, the Chinese, the Illuminati, and a thousand other things.
God
delivered me from that apocalyptic mentality! It takes the same power of God to deliver one
from that spirit as it takes to deliver one from any other demon. You see,
every nation of earth has experienced economic collapse, including ours. Every
nation has had war and destruction. All the saints of God from time immemorial
have suffered persecution. All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution (II Tim. 3:12). Two thousand years ago the apostle John
wrote, Even now there are many
antichrists. All
these things have been happening out there in that external world for ages, but let me
tell you, it has nothing whatever to do with the Kingdom of God. NOTHING! None of
those things will herald the Kingdom or bring the Kingdom. Only the
nature of the Father formed in His elect, only the full measure of the stature of Christ
found in Gods New Creation Man, only the power of God upon His people, only the
glory of God in His sons, will signal the hour of transition into the greater glory of His
incorruptible and all-conquering Kingdom of God!
The
mind of Christ is now being imparted to Gods elect in greater fullness. By the
spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the glorious mind of Christ we are beginning to see all things as
they really are. We
are now seeing new things, a new heaven and a new earth. This
knowledge and vision come not by any outward observation, but by the mighty working of God
in our lives. This
is a marvelous transition for me and for the body of Christ, as I trust it is the reality
of all who read these lines, who are moving on in God. The hope and promise and power and glory of
the Kingdom of God burn more brightly in my spirit today than at any time in the past. I rejoice
that this is the DAY of manifestation when Christ and His body shall see the Kingdom
triumph and reign over the nations. bringing Life, Light, Love and Peace to all mankind. This is
the Present Truth. This
is what the Spirit IS SAYING to the overcomers in this great hour! Hallelujah!
Great
and glorious things are at hand!
Chapter
51
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
For
those longing for the coming of the Kingdom of God upon the nations of earth, todays
march of history-making events has special interest. Millenniums ago ancient prophets saw our
times, prophesied the rise and fall of world empires, revealed the frantic efforts for
global peace and a new world order in the last days, and finally outlined clearly and
unmistakably the last great world empire of all. The Spirit of God has revealed the course of
human history today. He
shows the finale of the efforts made by mortal men to resolve their differences and live
peaceably, every man beneath his own fig tree and by his own vineyard.
In
the days of Daniel the prophet, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a dream in the night.
He
awoke disturbed, perplexed. Then the king commanded to call the
magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king
his dream. So
they came and stood before the king (Dan. 2:2). The king shared with them his problem. He was
certain the dream he had had was a significant one. But now he could not remember any of it! So he
called upon the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell him
the dream and to give him the interpretation of it. It was common practice for these men to give
the king fanciful, highly colored interpretations of his dreams. They were
usually twisted to please the king and build his ego. But now there could be no guessing! They were
called upon to not only interpret the dream but to
provide the dream! They were
left speechless. They
pled with the king to at least tell them the dream; then they would give the
interpretation. But
try as he might, the king was unable to remember his dream. In wrath
the king ordered their execution.
Numbered
among the wise men in Babylon was Daniel. He, along with others, had been taken into
captivity when Nebuchadnezzar invaded and destroyed Jerusalem. The first
he knew of the kings disturbance and drastic
action was when Arioch,
the captain of the kings guard, came to take him to the place of execution with the
rest of the wise men. The
record states: And Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of
the kings guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: he answered
and said to Arioch the kings captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then
Arioch made the thing known unto Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king
that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. Then
Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his
companions: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret;
that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was
the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven
(Dan. 2:14-19).
You
see, God has promised Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His
secret unto His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). God will
not leave His people in darkness about the future. God is in control! In the
annals of human history the rise and fall of empires appear to be dependent on the will and power of man. But by
the word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, behind, above, and through all
the play and counter play of human interests and power and passions, the workings of the
great God, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will.
King
Nebuchadnezzars question to Daniel was to the point: Are you able to make
known to me the dream which I have seen and the interpretation of it? Daniel
answered the king, The secret that the king has demanded neither the wise men,
enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers can show the king; but there is a God in heaven who
reveals secrets, and He has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what it is that shall be in
the latter days at the end of the
days. Your
dream and the visions of your bed are these... (Dan. 2:26-28, Amplified). And then
came the dream, one of the most dramatic revelations of all history, in which God outlined
the rise and fall of global empires, moved beyond to our day with its struggles for peace
and safety among the great powers, on to the setting up of earths last great world
empire. The
dream accurately portrayed
the events now transpiring before our very eyes. God...has made known to king
Nebuchadnezzar what it is that shall be in
the latter days...
THE
GREAT IMAGE
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great
image. This
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible. This
images head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou
sawest till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that
were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the
silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and
the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is
the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king (Dan.
2:31-36).
Now
it all came back to Nebuchadnezzar. This, indeed, was the
dream he had dreamed in the night! And Daniel informed the king concerning the
significance of the dream: As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon
thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and He that revealeth secrets MAKETH KNOWN TO
THEE WHAT SHALL COME TO PASS (Dan. 2:29). This was a dream whose interpretation was
to reveal the FUTURE. Painted
dramatically, unforgettably, unmistakably, was a precise outline of world history the rise and
fall of world empires and the exact events which would lead to the establishment of the
last great empire of all.
FIRST
KINGDOM OF GOLD
With
what interest and astonishment must the king have listened as Daniel began his
interpretation of the dream and informed the king that his own kingdom was the golden head
of that magnificent image. Gold, the king of metals, represented the
Babylonian empire. Daniel
informed the king that the God of heaven had given him his kingdom, and made him ruler
over all. The
character of the Babylonian empire is indicated by the head of gold. It was
indeed the golden kingdom of a golden age! A natural center of trade and commerce,
Babylon was immensely wealthy. Site of the ill-fated effort of Nimrod to
erect the tower of Babel centuries before, it boasted one of the seven wonders of the
world, the hanging gardens, which tradition says Nebuchadnezzar built to console his
Median wife who missed the mountains of her homeland. The city of Babylon itself was another and
still mightier wonder which there is neither time nor space in this message to recount. There,
with the whole world prostrate at her feet, a queen in peerless grandeur, drawing from the
pen of inspiration itself this glowing title, The glory of kingdoms, the beauty of
Chaldees excellency, stood this magnificent city, fit capital of that great
world kingdom which was represented by the golden head of this great historic image.
SECOND
KINGDOM OF SILVER
The Babylonian empire was not to stand forever. It was to
give way to another. Interpreting
the dream, Daniel added: And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
thee (Dan. 2:39). The
breast and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian empire (538-331 B.C.). Fulfilling
a word of the Lord (see Isaiah 45:1), Cyrus damned up the river Euphrates flowing through
Babylon, marched his armies beneath the two-leafed gates, and through this stratagem
overthrew the kingdom of Babylon. Across the banqueting hall of Belshazzar, the
king of Babylon at that time, appeared the dreadful words: Mene, mene, tekal,
upharsin, (thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting). Before
the night was over, blood flowed in the streets as Belshazzar and his thousand lords
perished at the hands of the Medo-Persian armies. Medo-Persia, inferior to Babylon in some
ways, was nonetheless a great empire. The king had two capitals, one at Persepolis
and the other at Susa. The
one he occupied in summer, the other in winter. Medo-Persia had the first organized mail
system. While
it did not launch the Pony Express, it did have the Dromedary Express camels carrying messages throughout the empire. Its great
armies are said to have numbered in the millions.
THIRD
KINGDOM OF BRASS
Great
as was the Medo-Persian empire, it too, was to topple. Daniel declared: And after thee shall
arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another
third kingdom of brass, which shall bear
rule over all the earth (Dan. 2:39). Alexander the Great assumed the leadership of
the Grecian armies at the age of 20, and marched with lightning rapidity to conquer the
then-known world by the time he was 33. From the beginning of his military career he
was a marked man a man of destiny.
Ambassadors
came to Alexander almost from all parts of the world: some to congratulate his victories,
others to tender his crowns, others to make leagues and alliances with him. However,
Alexander could conquer cities but not his own spirit. With contemptible arrogance, he claimed for
himself divine honors. He
gave up conquered cities, freely and unprovoked, to the mercy of his bloodthirsty and
licentious soldiers. He
often murdered his friends and favorites in his drunken frenzies. He encouraged such
excessive drinking among his followers that on one occasion twenty of them died as the
result of their carousal. Finally, having sat through one long drinking
spree, he was immediately invited to another, when, after drinking to each of the twenty
guests present, he drank twice, history records, incredible as it may seem, the full
Herculean cup containing six of our quarts. He was seized with a violent fever and died
eleven days later while he yet stood only at the threshold of his life and career for he was only 33 years old! His
kingdom was divided among his four generals.
FOURTH
KINGDOM OF IRON
What kingdom succeeded Greece as the empire of the
world? Daniel
said to Nebuchadnezzar: And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: fore as much
as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these,
shall it break in pieces and bruise (Dan. 2:40). One kingdom did this and only one. Rome. Rome
conquered Greece; it subdued all things; like iron, it broke in pieces and bruised. Rome everywhere
victorious! Rome
with its universal language, Latin; its universal highway system, of which the Appian Way
is a surviving example; Rome with its invincible armies moving undefeated to the outposts
of the globe. In
A.D. 312 Rome experienced a radical change. In that year, Rome became so badly divided
that Diocletian abdicated as emperor. The two most likely successors were the
general Constantine who was in the West, and the general Maxentius who was in Rome. Constantine
rounded up his loyal followers and marched into the capital to battle Maxentius for the
throne. When
Constantine approached Rome he found that he was greatly outnumbered by Maxentius. That
night at a bridge Constantine had a dream. He was shown a sign which was the combination
of the Greek letters Chi and Rho. These are the first two letters of the name
Christ in Greek. These letters had been used as a symbol or
logo by the Christians in Greece. In Constantines dream, the Latin words,
Hoc signo victoreris appeared beneath the Greek logo. These
words mean, By this sign conquer. At dawn, Constantine ordered the logo to be
painted on every soldiers shield, and the soldiers were encouraged, By this
sign, you will be victorious! Against overwhelming odds and against a very
strong defense by Maxentius, the army of Constantine was victorious at one of the
worlds greatest battles, the Battle of Melvian Bridge. In
gratitude, he caused Christianity to emerge as the state religion. Constantine
moved his imperial capital to Constantinople, thus dividing the kingdom into two parts,
East and West. Nebuchadnezzars
dream of the image with the two legs of iron points to this period when ancient Rome was
divided into two segments, with government at both. Romes years of power were from 168 B.C.
to A.D. 476.
A
logical deduction would be that after Rome another world empire would emerge. Not so!
TEN
KINGDOMS EMERGE
It
should be noted that at first the fourth kingdom is described with two legs which are
unqualifiedly as strong as iron. This was the symbol of its strength, by which
it has been likened in history to a mighty colossus bestriding the nations, conquering
everything, and giving laws to the world. But this was not to continue. Daniel
went on to say: And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters
clay, and part of iron, the kingdom SHALL BE DIVIDED; but there shall be in it of the
strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as
the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so
the kingdom SHALL BE PARTLY STRONG AND PARTLY BROKEN (Dan. 2:41-42). The
decline and fall of the Roman empire was a gradual thing. Luxury, vice, an almost total
moral breakdown, disintegration of the family it culminated
in A.D. 476 when the barbarian hordes overthrew the Roman empire.
Ten
kingdoms, represented by the ten toes of the image, emerged. The ten
peoples which were the instruments in fragmenting the empire were the Alamanni,
Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli, Anglo-Saxons, and
Lombards. The
kingdom was indeed divided! These barbarian peoples not only overran the
Roman world, but planted themselves within the territory of the empire and thus became the
empire! The
connection between these and the modern nations of Europe is clearly discernible in such
names as England, Burgundy, Lombardy, France, etc. These are the roots of the leading nations of
Europe today! The
geography of Europe is determined by the ethnic identities of these ten peoples! A study
of the history of the last days of Rome shows that the empire did not really
fall. It
has been suggested that its political and judicial system, religion, culture, and
militarism continue to exist in Europe and many countries of the new world having European
roots. In
reality, the ancient empire only fragmented.
REVIVAL
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE?
The
earth was never again to see the cohesive strength of the Roman empire
welded into the superstructure of one great World Empire. For
Daniel, in one of the most significant prophecies of all time, declared: And whereas
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they (the ten toes) shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall
not cleave one to another, even as iron is
not mixed with miry clay (Dan. 2:43). It is important that we take more than a mere
casual perusal of these words of the prophet, for in them is contained the KEY to, and
UNDERSTANDING of, the worlds history from the time of ancient Rome all the way down
to, and including, events that shall unfold in this our day.
Many
are proclaiming a revival of the Roman empire here at the end of the age under
the Antichrist. Some
speak of a One World Beast Government which they believe to be even now
arising in the earth. Preachers
declare to us that the European Common Market will give birth to a political alliance in
the United States of Europe that is to be the coming last great revived Roman
empire through which the Antichrist, or the beast, shall rule the world and universally
enforce the mark of the beast. Nearly everyone is looking for a world
government under the beast to arise out of a UNITED EUROPE. And right
here, before going any further, I want to speak a word against that. I will
say plainly that IT SHALL NOT COME TO PASS. Now, I do not say there will not be a United
States of Europe or some kind of political alliance in Europe. There has
been before. If
there is, it will not last, and should it come, it
will not be a World Empire nor a World Government. It will not be the beast government nor the
government of Antichrist. That is what I am saying.
One
brother said in a meeting with us in 1971 that the Beast Government would
arise in the earth and take over the United States within three or four years. And for
many years until his death he continued preaching and proclaiming that the beast
government would rise up and take over the world within three or four years. One
wonders just when three or four years will end!
One
of the problems today is that men read too much trash. People read all kinds of politically oriented
literature telling about the Illuminati, the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,
conspiracy theories about the Rothschilds, Rockefellers and others who control great
financial empires and international money systems, much of which is either spurious or
misinterpreted or misapplied. Many take this kind of information and try to
harmonize it with what they imagine to be the prophecies of Daniel or the Revelation and
come up with all kinds of speculations that they embrace as revelations about so-called
end time events. Many years ago the Spirit spoke to me that
all those kinds of revelations are false because, in reality, they are NO
REVELATION AT ALL! At
best, they are merely carnal unions of flesh and spirit, mixture of mens ideas,
theories, speculations, and lies with the word of God. Most the sources for this information about
the great banking conspiracy, the Illuminati, the Council on Foreign Relations, the
Trilateral Commission, etc., are not Christian at all. Granted, there are many Christians promoting
these ideas, but they are not the originators of them. When one accepts the political theories and
speculations of unregenerated men and mixes them with the prophecies of the scriptures,
calling it
a REVELATION, promoting it as the word of God, he has created an abomination before the
Lord. None
of the true, proven prophetic voices that I know across the land are prophesying those
kinds of things. And
those who are will live to see their prophecies come to naught!
Even
apart from the teaching of the Holy Spirit, I have no faith at all in the
conspiracy-mongers who harp on the above issues and the coming One World Government. I have
followed their writings for at least forty years, both political and economic forecasts,
and have found them liars. Their predictions have been proven false time
and time again in fact, they
have rarely been right! This one-world
conspiracy of the Illuminati has supposedly been around for more than two hundred years. In the meantime we have passed through a
civil war, two world wars, the great depression, the rise and fall of communism, and they
still have not taken over our government, formed a one-world government, or imposed the
mark of the beast. Either
the conspirators are extremely stupid and
inept or the whole
supposed conspiracy is a lie. The fact is the world is fractionalizing, not uniting. The
prophecies of the Bible are opposed to the concept of a coming world government. In
Nebuchadnezzars dream of the course of history in the form of a great image there
were only FIVE world governments Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Kingdom of God. Thats all! There was
NO other world empire between Rome and the Kingdom of God. And the
kingdoms of Rome that exist just prior to the triumph of the Kingdom of God are fractionalized ten toes of iron and clay mixed, that will not cleave
together. Many
have historically tried to unite those ten toes into a powerful one-world government Charlemagne, Napoleon, Kaiser Bill Wilhelm, Hitler, the
Communists. And
all have gone down in ignominious defeat before the infallible word of the omnipotent God!
So
I put no confidence in the prognostications of the fundamentalist conspiracy-mongers.
The
church today is full of energetic and sincere preachers and teachers who are just full of
and bubbling over concerning things that are going to happen. Eighty-five
years ago men were telling how the Kaiser was the Antichrist and was going to upset the
world. Then
when that failed to materialize, they frittered away much time and wasted much good paper
and printers ink telling what the next war was going to be like, and how it was
going to be fought. There
were to be death rays, and a hundred and one other horrible devices. There
were to be rays that would melt a gun in a soldiers hand even as he held it. But the
next war came. There
were no death rays. It
was fought in much the same manner as the last one had been, except that there was very
little or no poison gas used, and the equipment and methods were much more effective,
particularly on the Allied side. And yet, even after this next war had
actually begun, certain religious periodicals published these blood-curdling articles
telling of the awful inventions which were ready to be used against mankind. The
actual battles that were being fought at the time the articles were published made a lie
of the articles. And
the unbelievable reality is that many of Gods people today are so
gullible and so susceptible to this kind of sensational trash, that they have no better
sense than to glory in it, even though the statements are proven false by actual events
then transpiring before their very eyes.
Then
Mussolini arose, and he was to be the future superman who would revive the Roman empire
and do this, that, and the other. Then Hitler formed a deceitful alliance with
Russia, and the false prophets loudly predicted that they would soon fight side by side. But we
now know the answers to all these predictions. They were nothing more than the presumptuous
guesses of idle shepherds who were destitute of truth. Other men, now that the Kaiser, Mussolini,
Hitler, and other hoped-for candidates for the office of Antichrist have passed out of the
picture, pinned their hopes on Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Saddam
Hussein, and others. And
all the books written about these are today worthless except as kindling to start a fire!
My
prayer is that God will deliver His people, especially those who have heard the call to
sonship and Gods great Kingdom purposes, from all this carnal and soulish
sensationalism. I
fear that even many of the Lords precious saints who have a vision for higher and
deeper things havent progressed far beyond Dr. Scofields footnotes when it
comes to their understanding of events at this transition of the ages. Many
people today fear the term New World Order as it has been used by George Bush,
Mikhail Gorbachev and others. But those who are afraid of it have a
misguided One World Government mentality. Learn this, my friend, and you will know a
great truth. THERE
WILL NEVER BE A MAN-MADE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT! When it comes to the so-called New World
Order I must ask: Which one? History records one in 1815, 1848, 1861,
1918, 1945, and 1990. And
they each collapsed into chaos and war!
The
question follows: Will this latest effort at forming a New World Order be any more
successful than those that preceded it? According to the prophet Daniel not a chance! And our
recent experience in Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo and other places confirm the word of
the Lord! Im
glad David said, In all their evil imaginations they are vain. That
means their evil imaginations will not come
to pass! Whatever
those who roar against God and His purposes devise, their imaginations are vain, vanity,
emptiness, and they fall on the ground before His face and in His
presence. Their
imaginations cannot triumph over our God, His word, or His Christ.
Those
who are looking for the Antichrist are always calling on us to imagine a world with no
national boundaries...one global government...one international economy...one monetary
system with one universal currency. Imagine a world where conflicting religions
are unified into one supreme ecumenical force, presided over by one self-exalted
god. Imagine
a world leader so powerful that he personally directs the worlds economy and
military might...a man so crafty that he enforces universal peace even in the troubled
Middle East! My
friends, it wont happen. Do the
worlds leaders want this? Some do. Is there a movement in that direction by the
worlds governments? I do not doubt it. But just
because men wish for it, hope for it, plan for it, and work toward it, doesnt mean it will happen! The word
of almighty God is against it. And even if God had not spoken against it, it
is unlikely that it would happen due to the deceitfulness of the human heart and the
treachery of human nature.
Let
us look for a moment at the practical political ramifications of the idealistic concept of
one world government. President
Clinton attempted to follow the idea which George Bush proclaimed, namely that a New World
Order can be inaugurated under the UN which should use the NATO organization as its main
police force. China
laughs at that. The
British government feels obligated to make polite noises, but doubts such a system
is practical. Germany
does not believe that America will be able to construct a single New World Order. Germans
know that a One World Government cannot be set up without China gaining numerical
superiority, and Germans would not accept that. Like Russians, they are still nationalistic,
as are the French. China
and Russia and the Middle East all have their own aims which do not fit in with a One
World Government, especially if Europe or America is in the drivers seat. The whole
Moslem world, about a billion people and many nations, have no intention of being ruled by
a One World Government. Neither
a unified Europe nor the current NATO system can now stop or change the course of events
that those four influences will cause. Every nation and block of nations has its own
agenda! We
are no more on the verge of a One World Government today than we were in 1815, 1848, 1861,
1918, or 1945!
Ah,
beloved, every son of God must be able to distinguish between FACTS and TRUTH. Truth is
Reality, Life, Christ. Truth
is a Living Person! In
Truth there is a flow of Life. If there is no quickening flow of Life, then
you are not receiving Truth. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life (Jn. 14:6). Now Truth always brings Life because Christ
is the Truth and Christ is also the Life. Truth always brings Life, but there are
things that are true that can sometimes bring death. For example, were I to rob a bank this
morning, and someone stood up in your fellowship next Sunday to tell how Preston Eby
robbed a bank, would it bring you Life? Would you say, Hallelujah, praise the
Lord for that word, we are blessed! Do you see what I am saying? The word
would be true but it would not minister Life. Therefore, though it would be true it would
not be the Truth, for the Truth and the Life are one, the Spirit and the Word are joined
together as one Living Stream. There are many things that are true,
but they are not the Truth and if you
live in them you will die. Truth brings Life and because we are the
children of Truth we desire Life.
And
now may I exhort you further to flee from those things that are true but are not Truth, as
surely and swiftly as you would flee from your home if you discovered it to be a den of
rattlesnakes. We
have a whole crop of doom-casters in the land today who spend their time in nothing else
but informing the Lords people of all the negative situations which are going to
overtake our nation and the world. Many believers are continually being fed a
diet of messages, articles, books, and tapes about world conditions, politics, intrigue,
crisis, economic collapse, conspiracies, antichrist one-world government, mark of the
beast, tribulation, so-called safe areas, planetary conjunctions, earthquakes, tidal
waves, wickedness, and a whole catalog of other fearful and frightening events, some of
which may happen, but most of which I tell you now are nothing more than carnal-minded
sensationalism proclaimed by men masquerading as end-time teachers and prophets,
bewitching the saints.
Let
every child of God in whose bosom has been birthed the bright hope of sonship answer this
one question: Do
any of the before mentioned things minister LIFE? Does the study of them or the knowing of them
cause you to be more filled with the Spirit? Do they aid you in putting on the mind of
Christ? Do
they work deliverance in your life? Do they transform you into the image of God? Do they
imbue you with divine wisdom, spiritual understanding, righteousness, peace, and joy in
the Holy Ghost? Do
they add an inch or a cubit to your spiritual stature? Are they Truth, Life-giving Truth, or are
they merely things that are true, or may be true, or may not even be true!
My
deepest prayer is that the reality and force of this may grip your believing heart! I cannot
over-emphasize the importance for every son of God that our thoughts be His thoughts and that our words be the Fathers words of Spirit and Life. One of
the unmistakable marks of a son is that he speaks as His Father speaks. The mind
that dwelt in that glorious firstborn Son of God was His Fathers mind. Is that
not why He could say, For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me,
He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I
know that His commandment is LIFE everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the
Father said unto me, so speak I (Jn. 12:49-50). How could He do otherwise when the
Fathers mind possessed Him! As we walk in blessed unity of mind and
spirit with the Father, the words of our mouths automatically become a river of Life unto
all who hear them.
We
do not have our heads in the sand, pretending that the horizons are not dark, or that the
world has no problems, or that sin and death do not stalk the lands. But those
who walk in the Fathers purpose for this Day are able to distinguish between the voice of man and the voice
of God. You
will hear a multitude of voices from both the secular and the religious world in this
hour, but the sons of God do not parrot the words of scientists, politicians, economists,
ecologists, psychologists, military leaders, or theologians. Sons
speak only the words of their heavenly Father! We do not get our revelation of
end-time events from Newsweek magazine, USA Today, or the Wall Street Journal.
The
words spoken by the learned ones of this
world hold nothing for me, for I know only
and always as I am taught of my Father, and I must speak only the words I hear my Father speaking.
For
years preachers warned us that the communists had a plan and time-table for world
domination, and we were told that they were ahead
of schedule. What
fear this struck into mens hearts! But it was not the word of the Lord, it was
the word of the communists! The
preachers didnt take time to hear from God, they just accepted the word of the
communists. So
they jumped on the anti-Communist bandwagon and stomped around the country warning
Gods people about what the communists were going to do. But the
word of the communists was merely a lying vanity within their own deceitful and wicked
hearts. Finally
they came face to face with the power and purpose of the Most High God, and the Lamb
overcame them! And
even if they could have been successful in dominating the world for a season, their plans
would have been true, but not THE TRUTH.
Preachers
today are just full and running over with information about what Russia is going to do, or
China, or the Illuminati, or the Antichrist, or the Common Market, or Saddam Hussein, or
somebody else. The
question follows Has GOD
revealed those things unto them by the Spirit, or has the knowledge of them been gained
from the reports, books, and tapes of men? You see, if I accept the word of the
Illuminati as being true; if I then teach Gods people that this fulfills certain
prophecies about an end-time One World Government; if I proceed to show how gun control,
oil crisis, economic collapse, martial law, etc. are instruments in the implementation of
this One World takeover, then I have accepted the DEVILS WORD as Truth and have
transformed myself into a messenger of Satan, convincing men that the devils word
can be counted on, he will surely do all that he says he will do! I care
not one whit about any conspiracy on earth or the aims, plans and goals of any group of
men or nations. Satan
is a braggart and a liar. He is defeated! This is
the LORDS DAY, the day of victory and triumph, the Day of the unveiling of the
Christ, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His
Christ! The
next thing on Gods prophetic schedule, my beloved, is the manifestation of the sons of God!
In
Noahs day, in Abrahams day, in Moses day, in Elijahs day, in the
days of all the prophets, and in the day when Christ Jesus trod the pathways of earth, it
was the man of God who notified the world, by the spirit of revelation from God, of the
impending events that would determine the future course of men, kingdoms, and the world. The
prophets didnt get their information from the counsels of men, rather, the counsels
of men received a word through the prophets from almighty God who rules in the heavens and
in the earth. In
our day it is the world that is feeding the information to the preachers about what is
supposed to happen! If
your revelation of events that are going to transpire in this hour at the transition of
the ages is dependent upon what comes over the wire services, or what you read in
someone's book, then you need a NEW REVELATION! And if God has not spoken about the events
unfolding before our eyes from day to day, then we need not worry about our ignorance of
those things. Our
only concern is to hear the voice of our Father, and when He sends us light, that we
receive it and walk in it. The words of God are always Spirit and Life
and by them we are quickened to those things which are above, where Christ sits at the
right hand of God. About
many things happening in the world I confess that I know very little, but my heart sings a
thousand hallelujahs, for I do know that this earth in Gods good grace is yet to see
a whole race of sons of God begotten by the Holy Spirit in the extremity of the age, and
the wonderful life of Jesus Christ shall flow out from the throne of God within their
innermost beings as mighty surging torrents of Life-giving water in those blest days that
lie just before us. This
word I have received of my Father!
THEY
SHALL NOT CLEAVE TO
ONE ANOTHER
Let
us now examine more closely the prophecy of Daniel 2:43. There are
two important statements in this prophecy concerning the final stage of the Roman empire,
the ten toes. Of
them Daniel says, And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay,
1.
They
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men:
2.
But
they shall NOT CLEAVE one to another,
even as iron is not mixed with clay.
Hear
it! They
shall NOT cleave one to another! This reference is to the ten divisions of the
old Roman empire which remain with us unto this day in the nations of modern Europe. But if
these ten toes must yet be formed into the superstructure of a World Empire of Antichrist,
where is the signification of that COMING WORLD GOVERNMENT? Daniel
revealed that there would be four great
World Empires of man. The
fourth would be divided into ten parts, brought into a condition of fragmentation. Then, in
the days of those kings, in their weakness and fragmentation, the God of heaven would set
up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed. If there is to be a World Government here at
the end of the age, then God left something out! The Holy Spirit was wrong! The word
of God was missing something! There was an oversight on His part! Perhaps
there really was to be a FIFTH WORLD GOVERNMENT in
between the fourth World Empire and the Kingdom of God but in His haste
to reveal to king Nebuchadnezzar the plan of the ages God momentarily overlooked
that fifth kingdom!
Perhaps
one of the most astonishing features of this prophecy is the declaration that the Roman
kingdom would be the last not the last of
four but the last of
all, the end of mans political domination of earth through World Empire. How could
Daniel have known that no other kingdom would ever rise to world dominion? It would
have been but the natural supposition that since the Babylonians would give way to the
Medes and Persians, and they in turn would fall before the Greeks, who, in course of time
would surrender their scepter to the Romans that, at length,
when the Romans ceased to dominate the world, that surely another great warrior-conqueror
would rise on the horizon who would gather in his hands the reins of power, and forge a
new World Empire, perhaps stronger than any in previous history. How has
the continent of Europe, for nearly two millenniums, escaped unification? Everything
in Europe seems to call for it; great men and mighty armies have tried to accomplish it;
yet history testifies to the futility of every effort. Had Daniel written out of his own
imagination, why should he have stopped at four in predicting coming empires in Europe and Asia? Why not
fourteen? or forty? Because only God rules
over the nations and controls human destiny! Ah, God almighty has a controversy with the
statesmen and leaders of this world who dream of a United Europe and a New World Order. They
should know that the future is not Europe nor a world based on it. All
attempts to reconstitute the Kingdom of Iron will not succeed. Europe is
no longer the Kingdom of Iron, it is now a mixture of iron and clay in divided form, a
conglomeration of peoples culturally, ethnically, linguistically, and religiously
different, and because of its inherent weaknesses can never again be the Kingdom of Iron.
Furthermore,
if these ten toes were to be united into a fifth World Empire, they would have to be
symbolically joined together in a sort of webfoot. Men do not have web feet, and this image of
Daniel being the image of a man, therefore signifies no joining of the toes. If God
had wished to give such a signification, He would necessarily have given Nebuchadnezzar a
dream of an aquatic animal, such as a muskrat. He did no such thing. Furthermore,
if there were to be this union of the Empire of the Toes, then Daniel, in his explanation
of the vision, surely would have said something about it. Instead,
he stated the exact opposite: in speaking of those toes he said, but they shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. If these
toes still have to be joined to form a kingdom for the Antichrist to rule, then they must
cleave one to another, and that would make Daniel a false prophet. I leave
my readers to judge who are false: Daniel, or those who contradict him and thus contradict
the Word of God.
With
Rome fell the last of the worlds universal empires. Heretofore
it was possible for one nation, rising superior to its neighbors in prowess, bravery, and
the science of war, to consolidate them into one vast empire. But when
the Kingdom of Iron passed away, such possibilities forever passed away! The iron
was fragmented and then mixed with clay, and lost the power of cohesion. No man or
combination of men can again consolidate the fragments as a power over the
earth. No
other human empire was to succeed it, as had the three which went before it. It was to
continue, in this ten-fold division, until the Kingdom of the Stone smote it upon its
feet, broke them in pieces, ground them to powder, and scattered them as the wind does the
chaff of the summer threshing floor!
In
the afterglow of a thousand battlefields, in the shattered dreams of would-be world
conquerors, in the light of two world wars, the words stand invincibly true... they
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another,
even as iron is not mixed with clay.
CHARLEMAGNE
TRIES IT
In
A.D. 800 Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Voltaire, an able French writer and
intellectual, observed wittily and sarcastically that while the coronation had plenty of
pomp associated with it, as for the empire, it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an
empire. Charlemagne
grasped for world empire, came close, then found himself defeated by the words of the
great God: They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
LOUIS
XIV TRIES IT
Louis
the Fourteenth was a vain and pompous Frenchman. He sent his armies into Holland and the Low
Countries, to no avail. At
death, he too, had failed. Before him, Charles the Fifth had marched his
armies across much of Europe, then found himself unable to achieve world empire. The words
still stood: They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
NAPOLEON
TRIES IT
From
the ashes of the French Revolution arose Napoleon Bonaparte. I
will tear the heart out of glory, he promised a friend. The supreme object of
Napoleons life was to get the Roman empire together again, and he very nearly did
it. Christian
people told Napoleon that he was the beast and he was flattered. In
Marengo, Ulm, and Austerlitz everywhere
Napoleons armies were victorious. Then came the invasion of Russia. Due to a
set of circumstances Napoleon made a fateful decision. He would return to France. The
retreat that followed was the most disastrous of all history. Literally
hundreds of thousands of soldiers fell in the ice and snow as the coldest winter of
Russian history struck. Napoleon
was captured, and escaped, and returning to France rallied his troops for one last great
effort to unite the nations of earth under his control. June 15,
1815, as the sun sank on the third day of the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleons career
sank with it. In
captivity Napoleon wrote his memoirs. And he gave what he felt was the reason for
his failure: God almighty has been too much for me!
They shall mingle themselves with the seed of
men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
KAISER
WILHELM TRIES IT
For
decades prior to the outbreak of World War I, the world had been at peace. Men
anticipated the Golden Age. On the fateful night when the ultimatum
delivered by the British empire to the Kaiser had been rejected, Sir Edward Grey stood
with his military aide looking out over the London skyline. It was
late. Lights
in the buildings of the city were winking and going out. Pondering
the implications of the outbreak of the first World War, Grey turned to his aide and said,
The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our
lifetime.
Kaiser
Wilhelms armies met Allied forces in No Mans Land in France. For a
time it appeared victory would be his. The horror of trench fighting had demoralized
the Allied armies. Then
came the battle of the Marne. From every standpoint, German armies
should have been victorious. But up and down Allied battle lines the
slogan went, They shall not pass. Victory went to the Allied armies! Before
the war was over 60,000,000 casualties had been sustained on the land, in the sea, and in
the air. Armistice
day came. Kaiser
Wilhelm had failed as had all the others before him. He too, had come face to face with
the words of our God: They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they
shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
HITLER
TRIES IT
In
the 1930s, fed by the injustice of the Versailles Treaty, the storm clouds of war
began to gather. September
5, 1939, Hitlers panzer divisions swept through flimsy barriers that separated
Poland and Germany. World
War II had begun. Unstable
and mercurial, Hitler deceived and misled the Germans, a people with a proud and ancient
heritage. He
sought absolute power for himself. He held out the promise of a thousand-year
Reich.
Five
weeks, and Poland was defeated. The Low Countries were quickly conquered too,
with Blitzkrieg, a new lightning war technique that utilized the mightiest mechanized army
the world had ever seen. Bypassing Frances
invincible Maginot Line, Hitler plunged through France to Dunkirk. Military
experts gave England a few weeks at the most a few
months before she too
would be crushed beneath Hitlers mighty military machine. Nazi
armies at that point seemed to be unstoppable. But Dunkirk was a turning point. For when
the picture appeared hopeless and the logical course for Britain to follow was surrender,
Winston Churchill, British prime minister, announced the course England would take:
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight in the seas and
oceans, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we
shall never surrender.
Had
Hitler at this point launched a massive invasion of England with paratroops and air cover
supporting, there is little question the British Isles would have fallen. Possibly,
eventually, the whole world. But curiously he did not. He was
sure England would sue for peace. So he waited for an event
that never came. Then,
too late, after England along with refugee troops from Europe had had opportunity to
rally, Hitler launched the Battle of Britain. Hitler
invaded Russia, making the same mistake of Napoleon before him. Later
came D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the invasion of continental Europe by the Allies. Hitler is
believed to have died a suicide in a Berlin Bunker. Like military leaders before him who had
dreamed of world conquest, Hitler was defeated. But he was not defeated by military might this he had in super-abundance. Rather,
it was the fateful words of our never-failing God that doomed him to failure: And
whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed
of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with
clay.
Hallelujah!
The
Lord God omnipotent reigneth! Next month we will consider the Kingdom of
Stone.
Chapter
52
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
Millenniums
ago ancient prophets beheld in spirit the scroll of history, prophesied the rise and fall
of world empires, revealed the frantic efforts for world domination, and finally outlined
clearly and unmistakably the last great world empire of all. The
Spirit of God has revealed the course of human history today. He shows
the ultimate outcome of the efforts by mortal men to resolve their differences and live
peacefully, every man beneath his own fig tree and by his own vineyard.
The
unfailing promise of God is, Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth
His secret unto His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). God has
not left His people in darkness about the future. God is in control! In the
annals of human history the rise and fall of empires appear to be dependent upon the will and power of man. But by
the word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, behind, above, and through all
the play and counter play of human interests and power and passions, the workings of the
great God, silently, patiently working out His own purpose and will.
In
the days of Daniel the prophet, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a dream in the night.
He
awoke disturbed and perplexed because he knew the dream was significant, but he could not
remember any of it! The
king called the magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers, all the wise men of Babylon, but
none was able to tell him his dream or give the interpretation. When
Daniel received news of this, he requested an audience with the king. King
Nebuchadnezzars question to Daniel was to the point: Are you able to make
known to me the dream which I have seen and the interpretation of it? Daniel
answered the king, The secret which the king has demanded neither the wise men,
enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers can show the king; but there is a God in heaven who
revealeth secrets, and He has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what it is that shall be
in the latter days at the end of
days. Your
dream and the visions of your bed are these... (Dan. 2:26-28, Amplified).
And
then came the dream, one of the most dramatic revelations of all history, in which God
outlined the rise and fall of global empires, moved beyond to our day and its efforts
toward a New World Order, on to the setting up of earths last great world empire. God...has
made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what it is
that shall be in the latter days...thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible. This
images head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou
sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet,
that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the
silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and
the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is
the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof to the king (Dan. 2:28,
31-36).
With
what interest and astonishment must the king have listened as Daniel began his
interpretation of the dream and informed the king that his own kingdom was the golden head
of that magnificent image. Gold, the king of metals, represented the
Babylonian empire. Daniel
informed the king that the God of heaven had given him his kingdom, and made him ruler
over all. But
the empire of Babylon was not to last forever. It was to give way to another. The
breasts and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian empire which overthrew the kingdom
of Babylon. Great
as was the Medo-Persian empire, it too, was to topple. It was succeeded by the Grecian empire. The
fourth and final empire to arise and dominate the whole of the civilized world was Rome. Of this
fourth kingdom Daniel said, And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters clay, and part of iron, the kingdom SHALL BE DIVIDED; but there shall be in it of
the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as
the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so
the kingdom SHALL BE PARTLY STRONG AND PARTLY BROKEN (Dan. 2:41-42).
The
brokenness spoke of division. Ten kingdoms, represented by the ten toes,
were to emerge. The
earth was never again to see the cohesive strength of the Roman empire
welded into the superstructure of one great World Empire. For
Daniel, in one of the most significant prophecies of all time, declared, And whereas
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they (the ten toes) shall mingle themselves with
the seed of men: but they shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay (Dan. 2:43). It is
important that we drink very deeply of these words of the prophet, for in them is
contained the KEY to, and the UNDERSTANDING of events that shall unfold in this our day!
Hear
it! They
shall NOT cleave one to another! This reference is to the toes of the image,
the ten divisions of the old Roman empire which remain with us unto this day in the
nations of modern Europe. But if, as some say, these ten toes must yet
be formed into the super-structure of a World Empire of Antichrist, where is the
signification of that COMING WORLD GOVERNMENT? Daniel revealed that there would be but FOUR
great World Empires of man. The fourth would exist first in two parts
(the two legs), as East and West, and finally would be divided into ten parts, brought
into a condition of fragmentation and weakness. Then, in the days of those kings, at the time
of the ten toes of iron mixed with clay, in their fragmentation and weakness, the God of
heaven would set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed! If there
is to be a World Government of the ten toes here at the end of the age then God left
something out! God
was wrong! There was an oversight on His part! Perhaps there really was to be a FIFTH WORLD
GOVERNMENT in between the fourth world
empire and the Kingdom of God but in His haste
to reveal to Nebuchadnezzar the plan of the ages God momentarily overlooked
that fifth kingdom!
Time
and again men have dreamed of rearing on these ten fragments of the fourth kingdom ONE
mighty empire. A
single verse of scripture was stronger than all their hosts... Partly strong,
and partly broken, was the
prophetic description. And
this is exactly the history of these ten kingdoms! They shall NOT cleave
together! God announced. And yet
men have tried to mold them together. And men of God, who ought to know better,
predict that they shall unite and form a Fifth World Empire a World
Government in our time! This
shall not be, says the word of God. This has not been, replies the
book of history.
But
in the light of historys dramatic chapters and the current move toward a united
Europe a UNITED STATES
OF EUROPE what of the
future? Will
the elusive mirage of world peace based on the foundation of European solidarity, the
result of wishful thinking, again cause men
to forget the counsel of the word of God? They shall not cleave one to
another! Ah,
alliances may come, as they have for brief periods in the past, even some strong-man may
arise, and it may appear that the iron and the miry clay of the feet and toes have finally
fused to again dominate the world, but the word of God standeth sure: They shall not
cleave one to another! It may seem that old animosities have
disappeared and that the ten kings have truly become one, but I must assure
you that the scripture cannot be broken (Jn. 10:35).
What
further proof of divine inspiration need anyone than these words of the Lord: They
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another. Everyone
who knows the history of Europe knows that for generations and centuries the royal seed of
these nations intermarried and mingled to foster unity, but the result was always the same they never could
cleave together! And
neither can they now. In
the year 1957 the European Economic Community (Common Market) was created under the Treaty
of Rome. This
is the latest, perhaps final, effort to unite the ten toes that cannot cleave
together, and thus revive in some form, by a United States of Europe, the old Roman
empire. This,
too, is ultimately doomed to failure no matter how promising it appears at the present
time. Even
now all is not peace and harmony within the European Union. A
struggle for unity and direction has become increasingly tense. Germany
and France insist on a strong central government. Luxembourg, Belgium, and The
Netherlands, wedged between the two giants, are forced to join the two stronger powers. Denmark
has been a reluctant participant, fearing the Catholic Church. England
has been reticent from the beginning to surrender sovereignty to a strong central union. Spain and
Italy have at times sided with England. Greece, Iceland, and Portugal are going along
for the ride. I
do not say there will not be some kind of European unity. There
have been in the past for short periods of
time, only to be violently broken apart by age-old resentments, mis-trust, and
hostilities. But
I can prophesy this: Should such a union materialize for a season it will NOT be a world
empire, neither will it last!
When
the Soviet Union collapsed, some observers thought they heard its crumbling superstructure
sputtering out promises of a new world order a grand new era
of peace, cooperation and easing of international tensions. The
tearing down of the Berlin Wall, a precursor of the Soviet breakup, became a symbol of
fresh winds of freedom and hope blowing over the European continent. Winds, it was
proposed, that would blow goodwill and understanding around the world! As we
look honestly at todays rapidly changing political world, I doubt that most people
are being deceived into believing that some wonderful new era of man-made peace is
developing. It
is other winds, renewed dark winds of long-standing hatred and religious and economic
confrontation, that have all but devastated the idea of a new world order. The end
of the Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the West is leading to far-reaching
consequences. The
shape of the world is changing. New power blocs are emerging. Frightening
scenarios of economic upheaval, intensified regional armed conflict dividing the interests
of the super-powers, more starving populations and ecological disaster loom on the
horizon. Once
again the almighty Lord is setting the stage to show the immutability of His word They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but
they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with
clay.
THE
COMING WORLD EMPIRE
The
awe-inspiring vision of Nebuchadnezzar did not end with the vision of the feet and toes of
iron and clay. The greatest event of all was yet to come, for he saw a stone cut out of a
mountain without hands which smote the image on its unsteady feet. The blow
fell upon the feet because they represent the ruling power at the time of the end when
these events take place and the vision is fulfilled. The moment that blow was struck by the stone
from the mountain, the whole Babylonish system fell and crumbled to dust beneath its own
weight. It
became like the dust of a summer threshing-floor and the wind blew it away. Then the little stone cut from a mountain itself became a great mountain and filled
the whole earth (Dan. 2:35, 44-45). This, of
course, is the beginning of the Kingdom of God over the nations which will eventually fill
the whole earth!
That Daniel should have thus so accurately and
precisely foretold the past two thousand five hundred years of world history is
convincing proof that we have in his writings a divine revelation, and it demands that we
expect the due fulfillment of the rest of his forecast. We are
bound to expect the sudden and dramatic overthrow of all the nations that have emerged out
of the old Roman empire by a heaven-sent power, the stone cut out without
hands, which smites the image, grinds it to powder, blots it out of existence, takes
its place and then rapidly increases and fills the whole earth, not merely with the gospel
of salvation, but with the GOVERNMENTAL RULE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD OVER THE NATIONS.
Some
have imagined that this was fulfilled in the days of Christ and the early church as the
apostles and disciples went forth proclaiming the name of Jesus and the Kingdom of God,
triumphing at last over the pagan religions and gods of the Roman world. But it is
clear that this stone cut out without hands has nothing to do with that. In the
first place, the stone falls on the feet of the image. Now you will observe that the stone
did not fall on the head, nor on the breast, nor on the belly, nor on the legs, but on the
feet of iron and clay it was upon the
feet that the stone fell! This helps wonderfully to identify the stage
of world history when the stone is cut out of the mountain without hands and smites the
image. The
ten toes, representing the ultimate fragmentation of the Roman empire, did not even exist
in the days of Christ or the early church! Christ came and the church grew from one
hundred twenty souls into millions in the time of the undivided
imperial strength (the iron kingdom), not
after its decay and division (iron and clay mixed). Christianity had already been established for
centuries, as the religion of the Roman empire, before the state of things symbolized by
the ten toes of iron and clay arose. The days of these kings were not
yet come. The
hordes of barbarians from the north and the east had not poured into the empire and broken
it up. You
see, the church came before the legs were fully formed. The
church came and triumphed over the pagan religions and gods of the Roman empire. The
church began and triumphed, not in the days of the toes, but in the days of the loins of
the image. The
church did not destroy human government, and then take its place. The
church has been growing alongside of human government for two thousand years. No, the
stone is not the advent of Jesus two thousand years ago, nor is it the church!
In addition to this, the destruction of the image is
attributed to the sudden fall of the stone, not to its gradual expansion into a
great mountain that fills the whole earth. Nothing whatever answering to the crushing,
destructive fall of the stone came upon the Roman empire at that time. The Roman
empire barely knew that a man called Jesus had walked upon earth. The
growth and development of the stone into a mountain does not even begin till
the image has been struck by the stone, broken to pieces, ground to powder, and blown away
like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor! The stone will fall on the feet of the image.
Earthly
politics will then crumble forever into dust. Empires, monarchies, republics, and
democracies alike, the iron and the clay, will disappear from mans experience upon
this earth and the Lord shall be King over all the earth, and alone be exalted in that
Day. The
gospel of salvation preached among all nations for the past two millenniums has never
destroyed the civil powers of human government; to the contrary, the church systems have
ridden upon the back of the civil powers as a gaudy harlot riding the beast (Rev. 17:3). But what
we have in Nebuchadnezzars wonderful dream of the stone smiting the image is that
there comes a power that sets aside every human empire and government, and then is
introduced the rule of the Kingdom of God over every dimension and institution of national
life. In
fact, even the residual influence of human government in culture, politics, government,
judicial systems, social orders, philosophy, education, science, art, religion and all
other realms shall be smashed to smithereens, ground
to powder that the wind (spirit) drives
away the whole thing
disappears to be remembered no more!
Gods
own nation on earth must take up the scepter. This Kingdom SHALL NEVER BE DESTROYED! Never
covers a long time. This
Kingdom of God shall not be left to other people. The four preceding kingdoms
were left to others. Babylon
became a prey to Medo-Persia, which in turn was seized and held by Greece, which in turn
was left to Rome to subject and dominate. Rome has fallen into its fragments which in
due course shall be subjected to the rule of the saints of the Most High. It is
Gods Kingdom which must break in pieces and CONSUME A-L-L these kingdoms, and
it shall stand forever! (Dan. 2:44). Furthermore, this is no fiction or fairy
tale: this is history in the making. The dream is certain and the
interpretation thereof sure (Dan. 2:45).
As
the fourth kingdom, the Roman empire, was represented in a two-fold state, first strong
and flourishing, with legs of iron, and then weakened and divided, with
feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, so this fifth kingdom, or
Christs Kingdom on earth, is likewise described in two states. But while
Rome passes from strength to weakness, from iron to iron mixed with miry clay, the fifth
kingdom begins small, merely a stone, and advances to become a great mountain. First it
is cut out of a mountain to become the kingdom of a stone. The final
phase is when itself becomes a mountain, larger and greater than the mountain it was cut
from, and filled the whole earth. There is ANOTHER KINGDOM coming! It is the
Kingdom of the Stone, and yet it is not another kingdom, but another stage of the same Kingdom of God. It is the
Kingdom of the LIVING STONE! It is the Kingdom of God in His sons! It is not
made with hands it is not of
mans doing. It
is cut from the mountain of the house of the Lord (Micah 4:1). It shall
roll irresistibly forth from the mountain (kingdom) of the Lords house (the true
church), smiting the feeble feet of the great image, leaving it in ruins, and as the chaff
of the summer threshing-floor the wind (spirit) shall carry it away that it shall be no
more. Thus
will the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and we
shall reign unto the ages of the ages. Hallelujah!
The great majority of commentators have missed the
truth here, assuming this stone to be Jesus Christ, when God says it is A KINGDOM. The text
does not state that God sets up the Christ, who shall never be destroyed, as beautiful as
that fact is. Furthermore,
in verse 45 we find this stone cut out of a mountain. Jesus was
not cut out of a mountain. But this fifth kingdom was cut out of a
mountain. And
the next verse definitely states that this kingdom is set up by God in the days of
these kings, that is, in the days of the kingdoms of the toes. The ten
toes did not even exist when Jesus came! Rome was not even in its feet
stage at that time. And
the stone smites the feet!
I
do not deny that there is a Kingdom of God in the world today. The
Kingdom of God has been here among the Lords people ever since Jesus came and
brought it. If
a man has been born again, he has been delivered out of the power of darkness, and
translated or transferred into the Kingdom of Gods dear Son, submitting to the will
of God in the Spirit as supreme. And yet this Kingdom is
as a mountain in the earth co-existing with the image of Nebuchadnezzar. The
Kingdom of God in the earth is one kingdom among all the kingdoms of men, one mountain
among all the majestic peaks of human government. But this present mountain form of
the Kingdom is not the one that shall smite the image and break it to pieces and utterly
destroy and replace it. A stone must be cut out of this mountain without
hands, by the sovereign move and work of God, and it is the stone that
smites the image! The
stone destroys all human government! Only then does the stone begin to grow and
become a mountain so great and mighty and immense and boundless and all-consuming not a little mountain co-existing with the image, but a great mountain that fills the whole earth! Ah, can
you not see it, my beloved? There are TWO MOUNTAINS AND A STONE. The stone
is cut out of the first mountain, and the stone becomes the
second mountain. The
first mountain is a small mountain, the second mountain fills (dominates) the whole earth!
The
first mountain exists in the days of these kings. The
second mountain only materializes after the image of human government has completely passed
away! The
stone and the two mountains are different forms or stages of the Kingdom of God in the
earth!
The
apostle Peter, when writing to the church,
says, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, AN HOLY NATION, a peculiar
people... (I
Pet. 2:9). He
calls the church a nation. He also
calls the members of the church a race,
for the word generation is from the Greek GENEA which means race. The
Amplified Bible renders this, But ye are a chosen race. Nations are generally
built up after ethnic lines. The church is both a race and a nation
because it is composed of people who have been born
of God! God
is thus the head of an entirely new ethnic
entity which is heavenly in
its origin! Born again, born of the Spirit! The off-spring of God! And God has formed this new race of men under
His government, making them a nation. It is
Gods nation. He
is the King over this people. And in the scriptures mountains are used to
denote kingdoms or nations. So when we read in Daniel 2:45 of a stone CUT
OUT OF A MOUNTAIN, it is a stone, a force, a power cut out of a kingdom out of a nation! And that
nation, or mountain, is GODS CHURCH! The stone is, therefore, the many-membered
Christ of God, the overcomers out of the church age who form His divine government for the
nations the sons of God! The Hebrew word for stone is
EBEN, taken from the root word BANAH, which means to build. The
Hebrew word for son is BEN, also derived from the root word BANAH. Thus, in
the Hebrew language the association between stone and son is
clearly established. The stone is
the sons!
The
stone is the corporate Christ, the body of sons. It is the body of Christ, which we are,
united with Christ the Head. Our spiritual maturity and union with Christ
make us the stone of Daniels prophecy. And this anointed body of Christ is now ready
to smite the image, mans systems and governments, the remnants and residue of the
fourth kingdom of Rome lingering in the modern institutions and nations of the
industrialized West, breaking it into pieces. This will begin to happen when the body of
Christ steps forth into the full expression of Christs immortality and omnipotence
at the manifestation of the sons of God. This manifestation is not afar off, beloved,
it is even at the door! That
mighty stone, which is this glorious Christ company, including the Head and the body,
shall smite the image, representing mans governments and systems, by the power of
the fullness of the Spirit of Sonship. It will be the mighty spiritual manifestation of the glory of God! It will
be the power of God of which Pentecost was but a foretaste, a sampling, the appetizer! This will
be the balance of the meal the fullness of
the Feast of Tabernacles! In due time, all those bits and pieces of
mans corrupt and fallen systems shall become like chaff to be carried away by the
wind of the Spirit, leaving no place on earth for any of them. And that
stone shall become a great mountain or kingdom that shall fill the whole earth, not with
laws, rules, force, or coercion, but with the eternal glory and transforming life of
Christ.
Even
now that stone is being fashioned and formed, chiseled and cut out of the mountain without
hands, by the sovereign dealings and work of God in the elect members of His body. We are
truly members of our Fathers glorious Christ! According to the prophecy of Daniel we are
gods, sons, lords and kings in union with Jesus the Christ. I find
myself too limited to set forth this truth as I should do, but king Nebuchadnezzars
heart was pierced by these sacred words when Daniel interpreted the kings dream by
the spirit of revelation from God. Hear the words of the king in response to the
mysteries opened up to him in that awesome hour: Of a truth it is, that your God is
a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
seeing thou couldest reveal this secret (Dan. 2:47). What a
word! Our
God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings. Now it naturally follows that we are those
gods of whom Yahwey is the chief God, and we are those kings of
whom Yahweh is the Lord!
The
elect of God are beyond doubt a very special people, members in particular of the body of
Christ, called and chosen unto a divine and supernatural calling. They are
a people hand picked for sonship from the teeming multitudes of redeemed men and women. They are
few in number, for they are but a small stone cut out of a great mountain. They are chosen by the sovereign purpose of
God and refined in the furnace of affliction. They have welcomed Fathers call and
have stripped for the race. They have girded up their loins with truth. They have
laid aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset the human frame. They have pressed toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. They are
fashioned in the heights of the mountain of the Lord. They are destined for full sonship in Him. They have
counted every dear and precious thing of earth but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus their Lord. Christ has become all in all to them. They have brought into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and He is high and
lifted up within them. They
love Him first and foremost, and all other men they love-in Him.
We
have thus become the mighty Stone of Christ that is ready to smite the image. The hour
is at hand when this mighty Stone of Christ will bring down all the carnal, worldly
systems of man, replacing them with the righteous and just and beneficent Kingdom of God
in all the earth. Whenever
we turn away from the religious doctrines, traditions, ceremonies and orders of the church
systems of man to embrace completely the truth, life, maturity, mind, will, power, and
authority of the Spirit of the Son in our hearts, we thus enforce the mighty, kingdom
Stone of Christ. Whenever
we reject the will of man, the ways of the flesh, the systems of the world, and the
religious principles derived from eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and
seek to do only and always the will of the Father in the earth, we thus enforce the mighty
Stone of Christ. When
we cease eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil after the rules, laws, and
doctrines of the religious systems of man, and begin to eat of the tree of Life by the
Spirit, we receive the greater wisdom of the mind of Christ and transformation into His
image by the spirit of His Life working within. We then become partakers of Him who shall
feed the peoples of the nations, and impart to them the Life that He is.
This
mighty and glorious Stone of Christ is taking form as it is chiseled out of the mountain
without the aid of any of mans works or religions methods. It is cut
out of the mountain without hands! Oh, the
wonder of it! Thousands
who now read these lines can testify to the fact that it is the Lord Himself who has
revealed Himself and these truths to their hearts, and who has directed their steps,
ordained their path, and brought forth His dealings in their lives to conform them to the
image of Gods Son. Only the work of the eternal Spirit within
their hearts has purged, purified, refined, delivered, changed, enlightened, transformed
and empowered them to do nothing but the absolute and perfect will of their Father. Because
we have come before Him declaring our solemn purpose and intention of submitting to every
one of His dealings in our lives to make us His sons, we see that the Lord is taking away
the former order of things and preparing our minds, hearts, and bodies for the fullness of
His resurrection life, glory, wisdom and power. We are being readied for the great fall down
the side of the mountain which shall bring the more glorious order of the Kingdom of God
upon the nations of the earth. How marvelous is this day and Fathers
sovereign, omnipotent purpose for it!
The
same analogy of the stone cut out of the mountain is drawn in Johns vision of a
woman bringing forth a manchild in chapter twelve of the Revelation. The woman
is the church. The
manchild, born out of the woman, is that company of Gods overcoming
sons who are to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5). Thus, the woman of
Revelation twelve, and the mountain from
which the stone is cut, ARE ONE AND THE SAME Gods
church! The manchild out
of the woman and the stone out
of the mountain refer to the same company
that is also the 144,000 overcoming sons of God who come with the Lamb upon mount Zion to
reign! Immediately
following the marvelous description of the 144,000 sons of God in chapter fourteen of
Revelation, John sees an angel flying through the mid-heaven crying, Babylon is
fallen, is fallen! The remainder of the chapter symbolically
portrays the process of the destruction of this Babylonish system by the stone which was
cut out of the mountain without hands!
Can
we not see by this that the manchild out of the woman, the overcomers out of the
seven churches, the 144,000 symbolically out
of the tribes of Israel, and the stone cut out of the
mountain all bespeak of the same company. Of the manchild it is written, And she
brought forth a manchild, who was to rule
all nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5). Of the overcomers the record states,
And he that overcometh...to him will I give
power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a
potter shall they be broken to shivers (Rev. 2:26-27). In Revelation, chapter
14, the 144,000 come up on mount Zion, the symbol of kingship and dominion,
where typically king David ruled gloriously over the kingdom of Israel. Daniel
says of the stone, And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was
cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay,
the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to
pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure (Dan.
2:44-45).
So
the stone rules and
breaks in pieces all these kingdoms. The overcomers rule and
break the nations into shivers. The 144,000 rule from
the dominion of mount Zion. The manchild
rules all nations with a rod of
iron. And
each of these comes out of something else out of a larger group of
Gods people! They
all fulfill the same function smashing the
kingdoms of this world and bringing the Kingdom of God to pass over the nations of earth! This,
precious friend of mine, is GODS GOVERNMENT. And this is the NEXT WORLD GOVERNMENT! After
Rome, the NEXT WORLD EMPIRE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD! Hallelu-yah!
Is
there not joy in your heart to think that the One who came, and had nothing but a borrowed
cradle, a cross built for a criminal, and another mans tomb I say, is there
not joy unspeakable and full of glory in your heart today that God is going to establish
His Kingdom over ALL? I
freely confess it is a great joy to me, and I am blessed with the sacred knowledge that we are sharers of His glory, we are called to
sit with Him on His throne and reign with Him in His Kingdom, and we are glad to the full
because it is the Day of the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ as King over the nations
and Lord over all. At
the present moment, when I think of Gods dealings with men, I learn this, that
grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life (Rom.
8:21) it is divine grace upon
a righteous basis that saves men today. But in that glorious age now at hand
Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment (Isa. 32:1) there righteousness reigns and there comes forth a new heaven and a new earth
wherein dwelleth righteousness. Righteousness is perfectly at home, so to
speak, there. It
is the Day when righteousness reigns upon the earth through the transforming authority and
rule of the sons of God. The unrighteousness of men, institutions, and
nations shall be broken to shivers, ground to powder, and carried away like the chaff of
the summer threshing-floor.
Press
on, saints of God, for we are on the winning side! We are on the way up, and the kingdoms of
this world are on the way down! All of the distress and perplexity among the
nations today does not indicate the imminent rise of a world dictatorship under
Antichrist. Oh,
no! Rather,
it heralds the hour for the final collapse and destruction of this present evil system of
things and the victory of Gods glorious Kingdom. The kingdoms of puny, unregenerated men are
growing old and wearing out like a garment. Democracy is not the greatest form of
government ever devised, it is the weakest,
the clay mingled with the iron. It is the
rule of the people with unregenerated hearts and uncircumcised minds. Democracy
cannot stand. Communism
cannot stand. Dictatorships
cannot stand. Kingdoms
of men cannot stand. They
are all time-worn and threadbare, faded and dilapidated
ready to be
discarded like a worn-out garment and replaced by a new order.
The
carnal-minded rulers of this world plan for a One World Government, a New World Order
of their own making. But
it matters not what the Fabian Socialists or any other group plans dont you believe for one moment in any scheme that
the carnal mind devises! Just because men plan doesnt mean they
will succeed. Man
that is born of woman is born in sin and shapen in iniquity and because men have sinful
natures and dwell in a world where sin with all its sordid evil and wicked deceptions and
vain illusions, they craftily devise many inventions, plans and plots, and the vast
majority of Christians believe these things. Man boasts of what he is going to do and all
the Christians say, Amen! fully expecting it to come to pass. The
confession of many of Gods people corresponds with what the devil is promoting. Remember,
beloved, millenniums ago men were promoting the same ideas. And
they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and
let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth
(Gen. 11:4). But
GOD had other plans! And
the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the
Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin
to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to,
let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one
anothers speech. So
the Lord scattered them abroad...and they left off to build the city (Gen. 11:5-8).
The
effort to World Government today is just as contrary to the will and word of God as was
Babel of old. And
the whole world, including the people of God, must yet again, one more time, come face to
face with the word of the Lord: They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men:
but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
The
present nations of the earth, and most of the Christians of the world today, will be
surprised...shocked...when God steps in again and by His sovereign power derails
the well-laid and proud and boastful schemes of the great men of the earth, bringing forth
a company of unknown, unrecognized, and unheralded sons of God, the instrument in His hand
to establish in the earth HIS OWN WORLD GOVERNMENT!
Gods
word is always true, but it is our meddling with it that makes it awkward and difficult to
explain. The
simple truth is just this: But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even forever and ever...the Ancient of
days came, and judgment was given to the
SAINTS of the most High: and the time came that the
saints possessed the kingdom...and the kingdom and dominion, and the
greatness of the kingdom under the whole
heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and ALL DOMINIONS SHALL SERVE AND OBEY HIM (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27).
These saints who
take and possess the Kingdom, to whom is given judgment and dominion, are THE STONE OF
CHRIST THE COMING WORLD GOVERNMENT! You have Gods word for it!
Chapter
53
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
You
wont find the English word millennium in your Bible. Our
English word millennium is derived from the Latin word mille, meaning thousand. The Greek
equivalent for millennium comes from chilias,
meaning a thousand, and annus,
meaning year.
The
only place in the entire Bible where the millennium is mentioned per se is
in chapter twenty of the book of Revelation. Still, this lone passage has built a doctrine
and expectation as firm in most minds as that of eternal torment or the rapture! We are
inclined to lightly pass over the fact that the book of Revelation is written in symbolic
language, using elaborate figures of speech to convey spiritual truths. I think
this should be obvious to every spiritual mind, but some of our brothers and sisters in
Christ try to use the literal method of interpretation (the letter rather
than the spirit) even within
this book of symbols. A
statement like: The Bible means just what it says and says just what it means! sounds good,
perhaps even spiritual, and often brings some hearty amens, but this cannot
apply when the Holy Spirit speaks and conveys truth through symbols. The very
nature of a symbol is that it means something
else. Otherwise
it would not be a symbol!
In
the opening verse of the book of Revelation the beloved John is told that the message of
the book would be signified to him. This word means just what the syllables say: sign-i-fied, that is, communicated to him by
means of signs and symbols, in parables, in the typology of numerology, figures of speech,
and so forth. These
signs and symbols were not to be taken literally!
For
instance, the lamb in the midst of the throne is not a four-legged lamb with
wool. The
beast out of the sea is not some weird pre-historic reptile from Jurassic
Park. The
1260 days are not twenty-four hour periods. The
woman clothed with the sun and in pain to be delivered is not an ordinary
female having a baby. Why
should the Holy Spirit suddenly change His style once He nears the end of the book? Why
should it seem strange that the thousand years should have a spiritual meaning beyond a literal age lasting for exactly a thousand
earth years? Why
should not the angel still be sign-i-fying when He shows John this millennial reign of Christ
with His saints?
One
brother has well written, Principles of interpretation are very important. This is
the only passage in the entire Bible which speaks of a thousand years period
of Christ and His saints reigning. A single passage such as this, sitting as it
is in the midst of all the symbolism of the book of Revelation, should not be used to
explain other passages of scripture in the Bible by taking it as
having a natural fulfillment instead of being symbolical. Rather,
this passage of scripture should be interpreted in the light and understanding of all the
other teachings of the Bible. Many take this one passage of scripture and
try to fit a hundred or more other passages into a supposed meaning of it, thereby
distorting the meaning of the many other passages...in this, they do not properly handle
nor rightly divide the word of God.
The
chief difficulty is in a literal or carnal or letter
of the word understanding of the nature,
place, and time of the thousand years. Most teachers make it an earthly scene, with
a physical Jesus reigning on a material throne in the old city of Jerusalem, for a
thousand earth years. I
do not expect men to love me for pointing out that the understanding of many who call
themselves sons of God has not progressed one whit beyond that of the Baptists,
Pentecostals, and other Fundamentalists in these things! The fact
is, the Lord Jesus Christ did not preach even one sermon about the millennium publicly to
the multitudes that followed Him, nor did He teach it privately to His disciples, either
before or after His death and resurrection. Think about it He was completely
silent on this now popular doctrine! The apostles, in their epistles, are likewise
silent on the subject of a thousand year reign of Christ. The Holy
Spirit did show them things to come, but a thousand year kingdom was never
proclaimed as one of those things.
Now, dont misunderstand me! I do not
say that the next age of the Kingdom of God will not last for one thousand years. It may. Or, it
may not. I
will not debate the point with any man. What I am saying is just this: Of all the wealth
of scripture truth nothing is more certain or clear than the great truth that the book of
Revelation is a symbolic and spiritual
book. Can
we not see by this that the spiritual
meaning of a thousand years is
something higher and grander by far than a mere time period or number of years? There is
no value whatever in the letter of the Word.
It
is when a man begins to see the spirit of
the Word that truth and reality are
quickened as life within. My spirit rejoices today in thankfulness to
my Father in heaven for that divine, eternal, life-giving wisdom which is the secret of
His own heart.
In
Bible usage, one thousand is a round, indefinite number. Psalm
50:10 states, Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand
hills. Does
that mean only a thousand? Or are all the cattle and all the hills His? In like
manner, does the Kingdom of Christ last a thousand years, or does it stand forever? Do the
sons of God reign with Christ for a thousand years, or do they reign throughout all ages
until God is all in all? Is the Kingdom really an age of a thousand
years? God
keeps covenant and mercy unto a thousand generations, says the prophet (Deut. 7:9). Does His
mercy stop there? He
commanded His word to a thousand generations (Ps. 105:8). The
thousand is not literal in any of these. They speak figuratively of an abiding
principle and the unchanging character of God throughout all generations and ages.
THE
DAY OF THE LORD
In
chapter twenty of the Revelation God has clearly revealed the scenario of the millennium
by symbols an angel, a
key, a bottomless pit, a great chain and a dragon. Are any of these literal? NO! Not one. Therefore,
when we understand by the Spirit the great truth of the symbolic meaning of the thousand
years, we find that it signifies something infinitely more meaningful and glorious than a
mere period of time! The
thousand years signifies a complete and total reign with Christ IN THE FULLNESS OF THE DAY
OF THE LORD. The
essence of the millennium is within us now because in measure the light, the illumination,
and the glory of the Lord has risen within His elect and to that degree we are even now
reigning with Christ.
We
live in a day when almost everyone, saint and sinner, recognizes that this is a crazy,
mixed-up world we live in. But most preachers and multitudes of
Christians are constantly talking about how bad it is and how dark it is getting. Hogwash! It might be getting dark in the world you
live in, but in the Kingdom Ive been translated into ...the path of the JUST
is as a SHINING LIGHT, that shineth MORE and MORE unto
the perfect Day (Prov. 4:18). Rotherham translates, But the path of
the righteous is as the light of dawn, going on and brightening, unto meridian day. The
Revised Standard Version reads, ...which shines brighter and brighter unto full
day. The
Moffatt translation says, ... like a ray of dawn, shines on and on unto the full
light of Day. Youngs
Literal Translation renders, ...going on and brightening till the Day is
established. The
Amplified Bible is so clear and expressive, But the path of the uncompromisingly
just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more brighter and
clearer until it reaches
its full strength and glory in the perfect (to-be-prepared) Day.
Many
think Christ will reign for a thousand years and He will, for
one thousand years is as a day, and a day is as a thousand years, and that day is the Day
of the Lord in your life. I know no words, be they many or few, that
could more adequately establish that the term thousand years is the New
Testament code-word for THE DAY OF THE LORD. The thousand years is the symbol of a time in
the life of a son of God where he experiences the power and glory of ruling and reigning
with Christ. It
is not a literal thousand years, it is the symbol of an attainment of reality and ministry
whereby the authority and power of Gods Christ is revealed and expressed through us
as the elect of God. It
is not a date on the calendar it is reality
in the spirit.
We
know that the Kingdom of God does not last for a thousand years. The
Kingdom came with Jesus and it shall stand and increase throughout all the ages of time
and Christ is the King eternal. Of the increase of His government and peace
there shall be no end. So there
is a deep mystery here. The
mystery is in Gods word, and if we search out the scriptures with the spirit of
wisdom and revelation we will be able to see the mystery. The
mystery is just this: A day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day
(II Pet. 3:8). This
lofty thought should assure us beyond doubt that the thousand years ARE THE DAY OF
THE LORD! Understanding
the Word spiritually I believe that this interpretation is the correct one. The
one thousand year day is the Day of the Lord in your life. The Day
of the Lord in your life is when, by the illumination and work of the Holy Spirit, Christ
is fully revealed to you, in you, through you, and as you. When Christ rules in you one hundred per
cent, the brightness of the Day of the Lord has reached its zenith within your life.
The
Biblical imagery for the Day of the Lord begins in the very first verses of the Bible, in
the opening chapter of Genesis. Right at the beginning of the creation
account we are told that God created light and named if
Day (Gen. 1:2-5). May God
give us eyes to see just what happened at that moment! The Spirit of God was hovering, brooding,
vibrating over the face of the deep, and God said, God spoke creatively by His Word, Let there be light! This
means that when God created light, it sprang from His Logos-Word, which is Christ the
light of the world. God
has spoken to us in the person of His Son...who being the brightness of His glory, the
out-raying, effulgence, and emanation of the divine... (Heb. 1:3). What the
suns rays are to the sun, Christ is to God. From the start, therefore, we are taught to
associate Day and Light with Christ and God. And now we have
been made the (light) body of Christ!
The
firstborn sons of God are the Day of the Lord, for upon them is risen the glory of the Lord and they are the
light of the world. I know what the church system has taught, but
they taught a lie. They
teach that the Day of the Lord is the seven-year tribulation at the end of the age. They have
no scriptural foundation. I am making known a DAY unto you, beloved,
and the day I am proclaiming is the Day of the Lord, and it is upon us now. We must
not be established upon the traditions of the elders nor the doctrines of men. We must
allow the Holy Spirit to unfold Christ, that we may know Him when He appears, in whatever
form or manner He appears, that we miss not the Day of visitation as did the Jews of old. A great
light shined in the darkness, the greatest light that has ever been upon this earth and
yet, to this day, they are living and walking in darkness. The very
glory of the Father was revealed to them as the scripture said it would be. All God
ever could be or ever shall be was manifested in Jesus Christ, the firstborn son of God. No
greater light could have shone unto them than that light, because the Light of lights was
there to see. Most
of them did not recognize Him, neither did they suspect that the Lord of glory was right
there in the midst of them. If they had entered into Him, He would not
have declared that another day yet remained for the children of God. Let us
not fall short of what He is now speaking into our hearts! God is in
this Day raising up a people that is hearing His words of instruction and is beginning to
walk in the light of the glory of Gods Christ.
I
admonish all who read these lines be established
in YOUR DAY. It
is a new day, the Day of the Lord! It is not the great tribulation, nor is it
the literal millennium. It
is the Day of the unveiling of the glory of Christ and this Day comes in like a thief. Christs
presence is beginning to fill the whole earth and the glory of the Lord is risen upon a
people. This
is not a fallacy, this is the sovereign work of God in the lives of those who have been
called to this Day. This
is the very truth, the very understanding as the Spirit has made it known unto His chosen
people, that we might know the counsel of God for this very Day. Though
multitudes continue to walk in darkness, the darkness of the world of the carnal mind and
of the carnal religious systems of men, you shall walk in the Light! Many
stubbornly cling to those things which are passing, to the former orders and moves of God
that have ended, the relics of a former day of glory, but those whose hearts have
responded to the call to sonship are taking hold of those things that are new. The
former heavens are being rolled up like a scroll and set aside. There is
a new order, a new heaven and a new earth for you today, saints of God!
The
Day of the Lord is the Light that Christ is.
Jesus
said, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life (Jn. 8:12). John, in the first chapter of his Gospel,
gives additional revelation on this great truth, when he speaks of the Word being with the
Father in the beginning, and how all things were made by Him, and without Him was not
anything made that was made. Then he goes on to make this significant
statement, In Him was life; and the LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN (Jn. 1:4). From this
verse we see that life and light
are essentially the same thing. The
life was the light! So when
the Christ came as a light into the cosmos, He was also the life that was injected into
the creation, to give life to all mankind. John goes on to say, That was the TRUE
LIGHT, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (Jn. 1:9). All other
lights are artificial, imitation, be they sun, moon, stars, sages, teachers, or holy men. Only the
Word of God, the Logos, the Christ is the TRUE LIGHT, and He came a light into the cosmos.
When
God separated the light from the darkness in that long ago beginning, He called the light
DAY, and the darkness He called NIGHT. We are also told that He made two great
lights, one to rule the Day and the other to rule the Night. Man with
his limited carnal understanding and dead letter-of-the-word interpretations has
restricted this to our solar day and lunar night, and the sun and moon in the sky. But our
almighty Father has something infinitely higher than this in mind! These are
mere shadows and types of reality. There is a great spiritual meaning to all
this. There
is a REALM OF LIGHT and a REALM OF DARKNESS in creation which have nothing to do with our
solar day and lunar night. They are realms in the spirit, and we can be
inhabitants of either. The
realm of light is ruled over by the Son of God, the Sun of Righteousness, who is THE LIGHT
in our spirit; and the realm of darkness is ruled over by satan, the prince of darkness
enthroned in the ignorance of the carnal mind. Paul, when writing to the saints at
Thessalonica, stated, Ye are all the children of the Light, and the children of the
Day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness (I Thes. 5:5). There are
many other passages where we read of the children of Light, the children of the Day; and
the children of the night or of darkness. So we can be either children of the Day, or
children of the night. We
can either walk in Light, or walk in darkness; it all depends on whom we are following Adam or Christ. Jesus
spoke this beautiful truth: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the LIGHT OF LIFE (Jn. 8:12).
As
we consider this world in which we live, we see that all the physical light we have
springs from the sun in our sky. Take away that orb and darkness would soon
cover the earth. All
vegetation would droop and die as it turned yellow, then brown and black and crumbled into
the earth. Soon
after that all animal and human life would have the same fate. The
verdant creatures which grace the surface of the earth have been created to live in light
and by light. No
one who has ever seen the sickly color of some plant that has struggled for life in
semi-darkness can fail to miss the contrast between the green thing which grew in the
sunshine, and the pale travesty which grew in the shade. In total
darkness every man would become blind within three days, and death would follow shortly
after. The
life that we know comes from the sun, for the light is the life. In the
same way, Christ Jesus our Lord is the Sun of Righteousness! He is the
illumination of our Day, and the light
of our Life! The
suns rays are the vital life in the environment of earth; the light of God in the
face of Jesus Christ raised up within us is the vital life of the heavenly realm of the
Kingdom of God where the sons of God live and move and have their being.
The
sweet singer of Israel penned these meaningful words: The entrance of Thy words
GIVETH LIGHT; it giveth UNDERSTANDING to the simple (Ps. 119:130). The
prophet Hosea, speaking of the Lord, said, Thy judgments are as LIGHT that goeth
forth (Hos. 6:5). Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a LIGHT unto my path (Ps. 119:105). Also in
II Corinthians 4:6, Paul declares, For God, who commanded the LIGHT to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the LIGHT of the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. Can we not clearly see by this that TRUTH is
LIGHT, UNDERSTANDING is LIGHT, KNOWLEDGE is LIGHT, and LIFE is LIGHT. We often
hear someone say, I got some light on that. They are
declaring the reception of understanding. In like manner, DARKNESS is ignorance and
error. But
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath
BLINDED THE MINDS of them which believe not, lest the LIGHT of the glorious gospel of
Christ should shine unto them (II Cor. 4:3-4). The Day of the Lord speaks of the illumination and enlightenment
that come by the Spirit. The inner
revelation and transformation which bring the Day of the Lord into our lives begin the
very moment that we turn from the dead letter of the word and seek for its spirit. We have
turned from religion and the old static order of the church systems unto the living
reality of the Christ within. The elect of God who are being spiritually
enlightened and quickened in the full reality of Christ in this hour are now
experientially entering into the DAY OF THE LORD!
If
we have considered the matter as we ought, we have surely discerned that there are two kingdoms in the world: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of
man, the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness, the Kingdom of Life and the kingdom
of death, the Kingdom of Truth and the kingdom of error. Praise
God, He hath delivered us from the power
of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom
of His dear Son (Col. 1:13). In this world darkness and light, day and
night co-exist. Here
in El Paso, Texas it is a bright, sunlit day. On the other side of the world people slumber
upon their beds in the darkness of night. Therefore I learn in the natural a principle
that teaches me a spiritual truth: It is day and night at the same time! These
lines are being read by many thousands of people around the world. Some of
you walk in light and some of you walk in darkness. Some of you walk in spiritual light in
different dimensions, while some of you walk in spiritual darkness in different
dimensions. Some
of you walk in the unveiling of the unbounded wisdom, understanding, power and glory of
Christ within you, while some of you still walk in the bondage and limitation of the dead
doctrines, traditions, and orders of the carnal church systems. Its
a matter of your UNDERSTANDING! Its not a matter of whether you speak
in tongues, how you were baptized, how many meetings you attend, or rules, regulations,
methods, programs, or externals of any kind. It is a thing of the spirit, a condition, a state of being, a
spiritual mentality, a KNOWING OF THE LORD IN TRUTH AND UNDERSTANDING that brings
transformation unto maturity.
Darkness
is but the absence of light, or the lack of understanding. Christ
Himself IS THE LIGHT OF LIFE. Life comes from light, therefore, if we want
to know the condition of life in a man, we must see the state of enlightenment within him.
I
dont mean his knowledge about doctrinal facts, but the inward revelation of
spiritual truth, purpose and reality. We often think that if a man becomes a little
more zealous, his life has grown; or if he is a little more pious, his life has increased.
Such
concepts are totally erroneous. Life is not in the zeal of man; neither is it
in the piety of man. There
is only one realm and one source of life, and that is LIGHT. Life
rests with light; life comes from light. Show me a man who has only a carnal
understanding of the things of God and I will show you a man who has a very low level of
spiritual life. The
churches are full of them! And the pulpits, too! To
determine whether a person has grown in life, we must discern the condition of his INNER
ENLIGHTENMENT. Furthermore,
if we want to help others grow in life, we must help them to be enlightened, to experience
the truth of God as reality. If they can receive enlightenment from us,
they can obtain life and develop that life. In this the sons of God are made manifest.
It
is in this spiritual enlightenment that we step into GODS DAY. It is in
this Day that Christ is and that Christ brings, in which those who shall rule and reign
with Christ now walk. The
Day of the Lord is not a date on the calendar, not a period of twenty-four
hours or a number of years. THE LIGHT OF CHRIST IS THE DAY! This is our Day! We are children of this Day! The Day of the Lord is not a thousand years but the symbol of
one thousand years stands for the Day of the Lord. The sons
of God reign with Christ for a thousand years that is, they
reign with Christ IN THE DAY OF THE LORD! That is the only place one can reign
with Christ! No
man who walks in the darkness of sin, or in the darkness of carnal religion, will ever
share the throne of the Lord. No man devoid of spiritual understanding,
illumination, and enlightenment can experience the power of God to rule. And no
man who abides in death is able to reign in
life by Christ Jesus.
And
I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the
souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
years (Rev. 20:4). One great cause of error among the
Lords people is their failure to understand this single precious passage of
scripture. If
we can lay aside the traditions of the theologians and sects and listen instead to the
voice of the Spirit, we will clearly see that it is those who live that
also reign, and those who live and reign
do so in the Day of the Lord. And
they lived and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years. We speak the truth in saying that only by
life can we reign! Paul
speaks of our reigning in life by one, Jesus Christ.
Those
who reign in life with Christ are also those who have been beheaded for
the witness of Jesus and have gotten the victory over the beast of
the Adam nature. Unfortunately
the Greek word rendered beheaded in our King James Bibles is not fully
understood. It
appears nowhere else in the scriptures except here. But one fact stands out plainly: It cannot
allude to only those who died as
martyrs. This,
too, is a symbol! The
beloved John who penned these words of inspiration did not die a martyrs death. However
John intimately knew Christ in the fellowship of His sufferings and the fact is, he
suffered more by living than if he had actually been beheaded. Legend
tells us that he was once boiled in oil in an effort to kill him. He was
exiled to the isle of Patmos there to starve, where he was given the Revelation. When you
read church history you find that a martyrs grave was very often but a release from
persecution, an easy way out. So martyrdom does not necessarily mean an
untimely death. Those
who take up their cross daily and follow Jesus, who lay down all claims to their own lives, to know Him in the power of His
resurrection and in the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His
death, always bearing about in their bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus, are those who are
beheaded for the witness of Jesus. These blessed ones lose their own heads that they might put
on the mind of Christ, thus making the
Lord Jesus Christ their head. If we have not died to self, my friend, we cannot reign in
life by Christ Jesus! And
when you begin to live and reign with Him, you live and reign with Christ IN THE
SURPASSING GLORY OF THE DAY OF THE LORD. This is not the letter of the
Word that I now share with you, but this is the spiritual
meaning of the MILLENNIUM!
A
day is the result of sunlight, and night is the absence of sunlight. Just as
the natural sun rises to bring an earthly day, so the rising of Christ in the hearts and
lives of His elect also denotes the beginning of a new spiritual day in
Gods purposes. When
Jesus said, I am the light of the world, He was not referring to natural
light. He
is the enlightenment that comes spiritually, enabling us to see things in the spiritual
world. Christ
is now rising in fresh, new, and higher dimensions in the hearts of His elect! And this
spiritual action within us heralds the arrival of the Day of the Lord in a new intensity
of Gods unfolding plan of the ages. It is not a day as man reckons time; it is a spiritual reality determined
only by the moving of the Spirit. The millennium is not a span of
time from one point to another spiritual
reality is incalculable! It is not a quantity of time, rather it is a quality of experience. We must
be careful to both read and interpret the scriptures in
the Spirit or we will think that everything
will be fulfilled some day IN TIME, instead of seeing that the fulfillment is IN CHRIST. All the
sacrifices, offerings, sabbaths, feast days, temples, vestments, rituals and laws find
their fulfillment in Christ. HE is the
reality of every type, the substance of every shadow, and the fulfillment of every
prophecy!
Carl
Schwing spoke of this beautiful truth when he wrote, Our God is Spirit; and we, as
His sons, are led by His Spirit. He is the dawning Spirit, or the Spirit of
New Beginnings, that has been sent forth to give us Kingdom Light, Kingdom Life, and
Kingdom Knowledge. He
is the Spirit that is dividing the time. As we leave time and times past, we move into
the time that is to come. This, my brethren, is the dividing of
time of which our brother Daniel was told. In the time that is behind us men look for signs; while in the realm of Kingdom Time, we
are laying hold of the reality. As men
struggle at the foot of the mountain with their end-time events, methods, and means, we
are the handful on the top of the mountain beholding only Jesus, our Elder
Brother and Crowned
King; into whose image and likeness we are being born.
The glory that is transpiring will change the
course of time. It
is bringing to pass the merging of the two realms. Shall deep call unto deep and there be no
answer? Shall
spirit cry unto spirit and there be no reunion? Shall the old pass away and the new not
appear? Ah,
it is appearing, my brothers...we are seeing it, we are touching it, tasting it, handling
it and becoming it. We
are the NEW CREATION of which Paul spoke. We do not belong to time as
the world knows it...our kingdom is not of this world...nor do we belong to the times for
they are lifeless and belong to vultures. Time that is to come belongs to us. Hallelujah!
Eventually,
every eye shall see this glory and all shall know that He is God.
The
time of which I write, goes beyond the prophets voice, beyond the hope
of the patriarchs, beyond the wind of doctrine, and far beyond the teachings of a pseudo
Christianity. I
write of Gods time and of the sons time. It is the
time when the still small voice is like the sound
of many waters. It
is the time when the storehouse
of the Lord is being opened to the sons of
God. It
is the time for the meeting of the
Bride. Can
you not see, are you not aware, that we are in the Spirit on the dawning of the
Lords Day? He
who was behind John is now before us...all that remains is to become Him. He is
sending forth the seven Spirits which are before His throne. Within
the dimension of Kingdom
Time dwells the fullness of all that the prophets foretold, all that Jesus taught, and all
the early church died for; and it is in that dimension we have our true citizenship. It is the
City of our former birth, the City our fathers sought for, the City of His abode, and it is the
City John saw coming down.
The
sons are hearing the call of the Spirit. They know it is daybreak; the transforming
rays of the Morning Son, shine upon their yearning souls. This is
the beginning of the Rule of the ages, and it is given to the sons to have dominion. Be not
deceived, the day of this glory is not far off; already it appears in the eastern sky of
the Sons Realm. The
light of day pierces the darkness of mans rule, it crumbles into dust the stronghold
of Babylons vain religions, it is the substance of all creation hoped for. The
Spirit of the many-membered Lamb goes before us to lead us into the knowledge of the Holy
One, that we might know, even as we are known. He is leading us unto the Day where the sun
never sets; yea, even the darkness shall be light around us...the day when they that
toil not shall blossom as the lilies of the
harvest, the Day when the wolf nature of our flesh shall lie down with the Lamb of God...the Day when the vipers and
hypocrites shall not be able to hurt the children of God in all His Holy Mount...the Day
when a thousand shall fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand; but it shall
not come nigh us, for we have made the most High our habitation...the Day when the Feet
shall stand on Zion...the Day of speaking with a pure tongue, yea, even the language of
our Everlasting Father.
If you should hear the voice of orthodoxy
saying, But there are many things that first must be, let it not dishearten
you, rather let it strengthen your vision and press you onward toward the Perfect Day.
There
are, indeed, many things that shall occur upon the earth within earths range of
time. We
do not belong to time as such; we belong to the Fathers
Time, to that invisible dimension, to that City whose builder and maker is God. Our
vision goes beyond today and tomorrow, it reaches out to the Day of the Lord. Though
battles rage and beasts appear, though death and darkness fill the air, and kingdoms fall
and nations fail, and kings of earth are no more; yet, there is a plane where sons do
dwell...at the right hand of the Glory Lamb. Where He goes, they too must go, and when He
shall appear, they too shall appear, and when He reigns, they too shall reign...for they
were faithful and passed, with boldness, into the Fathers Time; they heard what
mortal ears could not, or perhaps would not hear; they answered and were taken
there... end quote.
Those
who are spiritual, having eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand, know that
God is now beginning to do a new thing in the earth. God is now moving by His Spirit to restore
all things beyond any work He has ever done in the past. The new
order of the Kingdom of God over the nations is now replacing the old church order of the
past, bringing to pass in the earth a new Day in the purposes of God for this world. This new
order has begun within Gods elect by the establishment of the Present Truth in their
minds, hearts, and natures. This Day begins in those who are called to
establish the new order in the earth.
The
Day of the Lord is one continuous Day known only to the Lord, but it dawns upon different
territories as it moves along in Gods purposes. The natural earth-day is one continuous day,
for it is always day somewhere in the world.
The
day is not only arriving each morning, it has always been in existence since God spoke the
command, Let there be light! The day never really begins or ends, it
simply moves across the earth bringing its light and warmth to different areas throughout
a twenty-four hour period. Likewise, the Day of the Lord is an eternal,
never-ending Day, nor did it ever have a beginning. The Day of the Lord has no darkness in it. It shines
and illuminates continuously. The Day of the Lord is the light that He is, for God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at
all. The
beginning of a day means the ending of night, but in a realm where there is not, nor ever
has been, darkness, day has no beginning and no ending
it is Eternal
Day. This
Day of the Lord had its beginning for us when it arrived in our experience, to shine upon the
territory of our lives. No
man knows when this Day begins apart from a revelation from the Lord, for it is the
brilliance which He is. He
reveals this Day to those who are given eyes to see. It is now time for the NATIONS to come to our
light, and KINGS to
the brightness of our rising (Isa. 60:1-3). That is the next step in the Day of the Lord.
Some
time ago I read a book titled Einsteins God. It is a
book that delves deeply into Albert Einsteins concept of the Theory of Relativity. One thing
that stood out to me was that Einstein believed that there is no future and there is no
past. He
claimed that the distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion,
however persistent. Time,
said Einstein, is not at all what it seems. It does not flow in only one direction, and
the future enters simultaneously with the past. He concluded that within time, there is only
NOW. Everything
that ever will be exists only in the now.
Let
me explain how this works. Lets imagine that they are having a
great parade through your city. So you go downtown early and put up your
little chair on the sidewalk in front of the hardware store. You have
the perfect vantage point from which to view the parade as it passes by. The hour
arrives and you begin to hear the beating of the drums, the tramping of the feet, and the
noise of the wheels and you know that the parade is approaching. Soon the
floats begin to pass before your vision. But you see, there are people all around,
thousands of people standing and sitting on the sidewalk and curb. There you
are in your little seat and the only thing you can see is the one float, or perhaps two,
that are right there in front of you. So one by one, by one, you watch the floats
pass by. Soon
there are a number of floats that are in the past they have
already rounded the corner and passed out of sight. There are some floats that are in the future
because they are still far down the street, and you cant see them yet. You are
like a horse with blinders. All you see is that little portion right
there in front of you. That
is your present, your now. Those out of sight are in your past, and
those still on their way are in your future.
Now
lets suppose that you make your way up to the top of a three-story building. You perch
yourself there on the edge of the roof and you have another view of the parade. In that
instant past and future pass away, because now you see the whole thing at once! You see
the float that is down in front of the chair you were sitting in. But you
also see all the floats that already passed by and all of those still coming up the
street. You
see the whole parade at the same time, and there is no past or present the entire parade
is in YOUR NOW! If
you get high enough you see it all at once and the whole parade, from beginning to end,
and before the beginning, and after the
end is all NOW!
This
is where we touch God. This
is where we meet eternity. This is where we discover the mystery of
immortality. This
is the great mystery of life and reality.
This
is where we converge with the Eternal Day of God. The past and the future are the present for
the Lord. In
the high realm of the Spirit there is only now. When you get high enough there is no past or future, everything that ever
happened or ever shall happen is in Gods Eternal Now. If you
are sitting on your little chair in front of the hardware store, that will blow your mind.
But
the LORD SAYS, I AM that I AM. God IS, and He changes not. God
dwells in that light that no (carnal) man can approach unto. He lives
in His Eternal Day, the Day of the Lord.
The
Light shines in the darkness of this world at this very moment, and it shall yet shine to
dispel all darkness from all realms, bringing Eternal Day. There
shall be no more night! Speaking
of the light of Christ John wrote, The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not (Jn. 1:5). That word comprehend is an
unfortunate translation. And a wiseacre did not help it by rendering
it, and the darkness was not able to put it out.
That is no translation at
all. The
word in the Greek is katelaben, meaning
actually to take down. It is the picture of a secretary to whom the
boss is giving dictation, and she stops and says, I cant take that down, I am
not able to take it down. The light shines in darkness and the darkness
is not able to take it in. That is it exactly! Someone
said to me, Man, was I in darkness before I met Christ! And I
dont know why I didnt see. And after we met Christ, held captive in the
blindness of the carnal church systems, there was still so much we didnt see! Well,
that is it, we were in darkness and we did not see. Just as walls keep out the sunlight, so the
denseness of the carnal mind evades the penetrating light of the Spirit. The
darkness just cannot take it in!
Thank
God, there is a time for the darkness to be chased away. You go
into a room and the minute you switch on the light, the darkness leaves, it disappears. Darkness
and light cannot exist together, although they do exist side by side. Darkness
and light, night and day, co-exist side by side on planet earth. While it
is day time here in the United States of America it is night time in China. We are working
in the day while the Chinese are sleeping in the night. The
astronauts see both day and night at the same time as they circle in their orbit high
above the earth. There
you have light and darkness side by side and the darkness just cannot take it in. But the
sunlight moves across the earth and the darkness is swallowed up. In like
manner, when Gods time comes for a man, a woman, a people, or a nation to be brought
into the light, He has only to bring the light to shine upon them, and the darkness flees
away. The
hour is wonderfully nigh at hand when the sons of God shall shine their light upon the
nations of earth! The
darkness of all people shall be dispelled and billions shall come to the full light of
Gods Christ. Only
the sovereign revelation of the Lord by His Spirit can accomplish this, and it shall be done.
It
was when the prophet Joel beheld this Day in Spirit that he exclaimed, The sun shall
be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible (awesome)
Day of the Lord come (Joel 2:31). This doesnt mean that the literal,
physical sun up in the heavens, ninety-three million miles from earth, is going to nova and
go dark. If
it does, were all dead! There wont be even a cinder of earth
left floating through space. And if the sun could somehow go dark without
exploding, we would be plunged into an instant ice age the likes of which planet earth has
never seen. Nor
does it mean that the moon which graces the night sky with its beauty is going to turn
into literal, physical blood. This is symbolic language! What does
it mean when it says the sun shall be turned into darkness? The sun
is our natural light. It
is the natural source of all life. Without the sun we would be in total darkness
and instant death. Should
the sun of our solar system go out an icy coldness would grip us and we would all be dead
before we could get to the door thats how
terrible and catastrophic the event would be.
The
figure speaks of light turning to darkness. Natural light, figuratively and
metaphorically, bespeaks of human understanding, intellect, reasoning. The moon
speaks of reflected light, that which has no light of its own, turning to blood. Blood is
a symbol of life the life is
in the blood (Lev. 17:11). Spiritually
we have a lot of reflected light in signs, symbols, rituals, ceremonies, ordinances,
rules, commandments, creeds, doctrines and programs. None of these have any light of themselves,
they merely reflect the light of God and truth and reality. Water
baptism, for example, is merely an outward symbol or reflected light of that true baptism
into the death of Christ whereby our sins are carried away into the sea of forgetfulness. The
Lords supper or communion is but an outward symbol or reflected light of the deep spiritual experience whereby we eat the flesh (word) of Christ and drink
His blood (spirit) in truth and reality. We read of the woman in chapter twelve of the
Revelation who has the moon under her feet.
SHE
IS LIVING IN THE REALM ABOVE ALL TYPES AND SHADOWS AND SYMBOLS, ABOVE ALL REFLECTED LIGHT,
CLOTHED WITH THE SPLENDOR OF THE NOONDAY SUN, THE MAJESTY AND GLORY OF THE LIVING CHRIST. She has
risen above the outward shadows! Few Christians or churches in this world have
touched that realm! This
woman, the virgin bride of Christ, dwells in a heavenly place in the dazzling glory of
spiritual understanding, reality and power. Only the woman thus clothed with the sun, with
the moon under her feet, is able to birth the manchild, the manifested sons of God. The sons
of God are not birthed out of the carnal, earth-bound religious systems of men who are
ruled by the reflected light of the moon. Coming out of Babylon was not our birth into
sonship. Oh,
no! It
is only in the high place of pure spiritual experience that the life of sonship is
conceived and brought to birth.
The
Spirit of God is speaking to us today that in order to enter into this new Day of the Lord
the natural light, the natural source of life, all of our carnal, letter-of-the-word,
religious understanding which we have put upon the word of God and the things of God, must
be turned into darkness. There is no hope for it! It has no
spiritual illumination in it, nor can it quicken us or produce within us any spiritual
seed of life. That
natural light must be turned off! We must
be clothed upon with the glory of the Living Christ! And the
moon all those
reflective ordinances, rituals, creeds, religious works, programs, and activities must be turned
to blood, brought to life within us, so that we are made partakers of the reality, having no need any more for the shadow. Instead of the cold, reflective light
that only rules over us in the night time darkness of our walk as carnal Christians, the
Lord is now bringing His elect into the hot, throbbing, pulsating, radiating, penetrating
LIGHT OF LIFE. Ah, our sun shall
be fully turned into darkness, and our moon into blood, before that great and notable Day of the
Lord comes in our lives! The natural light of the carnal understanding
must pass away, while the typical and
symbolic must be spiritually fulfilled within each of us. This is
how the Day of the Lord is now dawning in our hearts! This is the process by which the Day of God
arises upon us in our experience!
The
Day of the Lord is the Light of Christ illuminating the earth realm. Christ is
both the light and the life. Sweet mystery of life, at last we have found
Thee! And
we have found that Thou, O Christ, art the light
of life, not life like the life of men, but everlasting life, the life of the ages. For
if by one mans offense death reigned by one; much more they who receive abundance of
grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign
in life by one, Jesus Christ (Rom.
5:17). Much
more shall we reign! When? Where? How? How long? A day? A thousand years? During
the millennium? In
heaven? In
Jerusalem? In
the sweet by and by? No IN LIFE! ...shall
reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. To reign
in life is to reign in light; to reign in light is to reign in the Day of the Lord; to
reign in the Day of the Lord is to reign for a thousand years in the symbology of
scripture. God
has given us authority by the life of Christ raised up within us, and in and by that life
we are destined to reign in the Kingdom.
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the
glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory
shall be seen upon thee. And the NATIONS shall come to thy light, and KINGS to the brightness of thy rising. The sons
also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised
thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The
City of the
Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 60:1-3,14).
God
is raising up Christ in a people as the Light of Life. The elect of the Lord is the illumination of
the Day of the Lord. Just
as Jesus stood on the mount of Transfiguration and went through that chrysalis metamorphosis and His astonished disciples
saw His face shine as the sun, and His raiment as white as the light, and His whole being
radiating the glory of God, so God is bringing many sons to that same glory, and this
time the whole world will see the light, and all nations will come to your light. Thats
how the Kingdom of God is coming upon the nations in this hour of transition into the next
age. God
is coming in a light that cannot be hid, and kings shall see that brightness and that
rising upon all the holy sons of God. They will want that light, hunger for that
truth, yearn for that reality, and thirst for that life, and they will come to it and the
NATIONS of them that shall be saved will walk in the light radiating from the City of God.
You,
my beloved, will be called upon by presidents, kings, prime ministers, lawyers, educators,
doctors, business leaders, and great men of the nations for the Lord shall bring heaven to
earth and stand it up in a people. The word that flows out of this people will
be channeled out of the throne room of heaven, it will be the mind of God, it will be the
mind of Christ, it will be a more sure word of prophecy, it will be a creative word that
changes and transforms all things. There shall be a wonderful, glorious,
equitable outpouring of the Spirit of God on men and women, boys and girls, and little
children the fire, the glory, and the power and the whole
world is going to see this thing. It will no longer be necessary to go out
there in the energy of the flesh, knock on every door, mobilize, organize, and by carnal
methods and religious techniques try to get the world saved. A brother
of perception once said to a large church crusade, There are hundreds of people here
tonight who have pulled your loved ones by the ears into the Kingdom of God. And all
you have accomplished is lop-eared loved
ones! Ah,
when God arises, when God does His strange act, your loved ones, your friends, your
neighbors, your associates, your enemies will fall all over you getting to God. All they
need is the divine revelation of the love and glory and majesty of God and they will come
to your rising and run to your glory!
The
natural light of the world is the sun, and the sun brings the day. THOSE WHO
ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD ARE THE DAY OF THE LORD! Nothing
could be plainer than that. We who are of the Day, and are not lovers or sleepers of the
night, have a high heritage. For ye were one time darkness, but now
are ye light in the Lord: walk as sons of light (Eph. 5:8). While
ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the sons of light (Jn. 12:36). Ye
are all the sons of the light, and the sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of
the darkness. Therefore
let us not sleep, as do others... (I Thes. 5:5-6). We who
have received the love of the truth and have been made the light of the world have a
higher calling. We
have privileges, and duties to perform. We must be about our Fathers business! There
must be a parting of the ways with all who walk in the night of sin, negativism, religious
bondage and spiritual drunkenness. It is time to forsake the shame and error of
former carnal and religious realms, and time to look up, time to arise and shine.
The
Day is at hand! The
night is far spent. We
must go forth and lead the way for all who will follow. The Day
of the Lord begins with those who are enlightened, cleansed of all error, bondage, and
carnality, and clothed upon with the glory of Christs presence, mind, and nature. The Day
of the Lord begins with those who have eyes to see the true purposes of God for this hour,
and commit themselves to walk therein. There is glory and power and rejoicing and
praise ahead for those who walk in the light of this new Day. This is
the Day of deliverance, not bondage. The bands are broken. Christ is conqueror. He
reigns! We
are not expecting the Antichrist nor the Great Tribulation, for we have met the Christ, we
have heard His heart, we
have beheld His glory, and have been made one with His purposes. His hosts
are invincible, and we are those hosts. Our coronation draws nigh. We are
the City foursquare, the heavenly Jerusalem, and mount Zion where the King reigns
gloriously. The
Kingdom of God is within us! Its glory overshadows us! Its light
emanates from us! Those
who are born of this Word of the Kingdom are now standing on new Kingdom ground.
What
is light? No one
has ever seen pure light, or even sunlight, for light is invisible. Those
things which we see are really only the objects that are revealed by light. You and I
do not see light, we only see that which reflects the light. Remove
the objects and we would see nothing. Even what we perceive in our atmosphere as
sunlight, or in our houses as light, is not really light, but those things within our
atmosphere and in the room where you now sit, which reflect the light. Light is
invisible. Light
cannot be seen! That
is why outer space consists of vast reaches of complete darkness, unless
interrupted by some planetary body revealed by some source of light. Truly did
the apostle write, God is light,
and in Him is no darkness at all. And just as truly it is written, No man
has seen God at any time. You
dont see light, therefore you cannot see God, for God is light! That is
why God has channeled Himself through Jesus Christ, for in Jesus is revealed all the
essence of God in visible form. The light of the knowledge of the glory of
God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
Jesus
is to God what a light bulb is to electricity. Electricity is invisible, but channeled
through the bulb the energy becomes revealed and expressed in a visible way, a way that we
perceive as light. As
members of the Christ body, the light that God is, is also channeled through us. God is
invisible, but expressed through His people on earth He is perceived by the world in all
the glory of His attributes and power.
The
Father is now appearing within His chosen sons, imparting the light that He is within
them. By
His light within, we shall dispel the darkness of this dark world. He is
awakening us to the new Day in which we now live. We are like light bulbs that have just been
screwed into the light socket. God is now ready to appear in His saints in
the greatest manifestation of His glory ever! He shall shine throughout the earth in a
brilliance that will outshine a thousand noonday suns. By His glorious appearing in us, the Day of
the Lord shall come in the full brilliance of the glory of Christ, to turn this long, dark
night into endless Day. When
the Day of the Lord has fully risen, all shall be awakened, illuminated, and quickened by His
Light of Glory. In
the Day of the Lord there is no night! There is no darkness! That
means the light illuminates all things and all men, for only by the reflection of the
light is the darkness dispelled. The realm of darkness no longer exists for
those who walk in the light as He is in the light. The church and the world shall be
transformed, and this old earth of ours shall become the Paradise of God. I tell
you the truth, I lie not. The Day is at hand! Rejoice
and arise, oh ye sons of the most High! The glorious dawn is now painting the eastern
sky, and the river of God is full of water!
Some
people have asked me, Brother Eby, dont you believe in the devil? No! I believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Dont you believe in the power of
the devil? they persist. Some people do, and they are under that
power. They
believe in the power of the devil, they believe he exists everywhere, behind every bush,
in every circumstance, at every church meeting, in every sickness and trouble, everywhere
all the time the devil is fighting them, tempting them, opposing them, hindering them,
trying to trip, ensnare, discourage, and defeat them. And no matter how many times they rebuke him,
bind him, and cast him out, he always pops right back just like the roadrunner in the
cartoons. For
them the devil is a power to constantly be reckoned with.
Do
you believe in witchcraft? people inquire. No! Im not afraid of voodoo or any other
kind of darkness. No
one can cast a spell on me. That has nothing to do with me. Oh,
but Brother Eby, dont you stand in awe of the power of darkness? No, I
dont. I
stand in awe of the greatness of THE LIGHT! Darkness is but the absence of the light. How can
light fear darkness, or attribute to it any power? Dont you believe that as the
people of God we ought to stand against the darkness, fight the darkness, pray and plead
the blood against the darkness? NO!!! Turn on the Light. That is
the only cure for darkness! For
darkness to cast a spell on me, or do anything to me, would be like trying to get a duck
wet with a water hose. Darkness
has no power over light, but light has total power over darkness.
Darkness
has no power except that which we give to it. When I was a child we had a pitcher pump from
which we got all our water. The pump was down the hill just a little way
from the house. At
night my mother would often send me to get a bucket of water from the pump. I was
always afraid of the dark. To my childish mind the darkness was full of
unseen dangers, wicked men, monsters, ghosts, and dreadful creatures of all kinds. They were
right there ready to snatch me. They were behind the trees and hanging from
the branches. They
were in front of me and behind me. I would turn around and around and around all
the way to the pump and back to the house, trying to face all the spooks at the same time.
None
of them ever touched or harmed me and, of course, as soon as the sun rose in the morning
they were all gone. The
fact is they were never
there! They
existed only in my mind and possessed only the power my imagination gave them. And the
light is the only power on earth that could chase them away!
My
beloved brethren, know ye not that ye are
the light of the world? Brother Bennie Skinner once gave the
following illustration. What
if I came into your house at night and it was totally dark, and I found you standing in the
corner saying, I curse this darkness, I rebuke this darkness, I command this
darkness to go! I
come in and you say, Brother Bennie, please join me in prayer. Were going to
curse this darkness together. Were going to break the power of this
darkness. I
reply, Were going to do what?
Were
going to curse this darkness that is in this room. This darkness has caused me to bump into
things, I tripped and fell, I bruised and cut my face and nearly broke my arm. This
darkness is so dreadful, depressing, and threatening! Without a
word I reach over, feel along the wall, find the light switch, and flip it on. Instantly
the room is flooded with light. Every thing in it becomes visible. The
danger, depression, and fear are all gone. What happened to the darkness? WE JUST
TURNED ON THE LIGHT! Thats
all that is necessary to defeat the darkness. You are the light of the world! Turn
on the light! Ah,
as soon as we know this, when we truly understand
that we are sons of The Light, then the
darkness is past, and the true light NOW SHINES (I
Jn.. 2:8). All
creation is waiting for the manifestation of the SONS OF LIGHT! Know the reality and power
of the Light within your own experience, my beloved brother, sister, and you will be ready
to enlighten this darkened world.
Chapter
54
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
What
is man? The
question is asked five times in the scriptures by men who probed the deep purposes of God.
We
first find this question in the book of Job, which is the most ancient of the inspired
writings we have come to know as the Bible. It predates the first five books of the
Bible, the books of Moses, and its exact origin is a mystery. It came
out of antiquity, emerged from the mists of obscurity, and has always been a classic of
human history. Job
was a man of whom God witnessed that he was a perfect man, none like him in all the earth,
an upright man who feared God and hated evil (Job 1:8). And yet
God subjected him to testings so severe, that it is hard to believe that any man has been
more severely tried. Why
did God do this? Job
wondered about this himself. He wondered about the plight of all humanity,
the good and the evil that befalls every man, the joys and the sorrows, the triumphs and
the tragedies. Job
saw that all men were being tested in various ways. Why was this? In some
cases mans lot didnt seem reasonable. So Job asked the probing question, What
is man that Thou shouldest magnify him? or
that Thou shouldest set Thine heart upon him? and that Thou shouldest visit him every
morning, and try him every moment? (Job 7:17-18).
It
appeared to Job that there must be some great and divine purpose in man, that of all the
creatures God
had made in the universe, man was singled out for special treatment. God was
dealing with man every moment of every day, in a way that was hard to understand. Man
seemed to be in some great school of experience where the lessons were uncommonly
difficult and the discipline exceedingly severe. There must be some purpose behind it all,
some great goal, some grand scheme that God had in mind, and Job was moved to search out
what it was. And
so his question, What is man? What is the purpose of mans experience
on earth? What
is the plan behind creation? Why was man created and formed, and why do
You visit him every morning, and try him every minute? There has to be some divine reason
for all this, some mysterious purpose behind it all. But what?
Further
along in Jobs testing understanding began to break like the light of morning with a
view of Gods purpose in man and he cried out, He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall
come forth as gold (Job. 23:10). Ah, when God had tried Job he came out on the
other side a far different and better man, a greater man, with an experiential knowledge of God and His ways, and at the end of his training
was able to confess, I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye seeth Thee (Job 42:5). He had
heard of God before, he had been taught religion and doctrines and creeds and ceremonies,
and all he knew was mens opinions, ideas, concepts and theories; but now he saw God, he knew God for
himself, and understood the mystery of His great purpose in man as he had
not understood before. God
answered his question: What is man?
This
question is asked again in Job 15:14. The next time we meet it is in Psalm 8:4. What
is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visiteth him? This
was David, the shepherd king asking it this time. He prefaced his question with this astute
observation: When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the
stars, which
Thou hast ordained; What is man?
Come
with me now to the hills of Judea surrounding the village of Bethlehem, walk with me in
the stillness of a star-studded night long centuries before the Christ came to earth. A young
lad, a shepherd boy, at the close of the day has gathered his sheep into the fold, and
sitting upon a jutting rock, gazes with contemplation into the arching vastnesses of
space, at all those billions of galaxies with their trillions of stars and suns and
planets and moons, scintillating in all their glory. Observing the harvest moon coming up over the
dark horizon, he is awed and fascinated with the majesty of the heavens, and in the wonder
of the moment begins to commune in his heart with Yahweh, the Creator of it all. What a
beautiful situation that must have been! There alone in the sacred stillness of the
night, no city noises, no clapping tires of eighteen-wheelers on the freeway, no noisy
throngs of people rushing here and there, no gaudy flashing neon lights, no smog to blur
the beauty of those exquisite stars. Just himself, and his flock of sheep, now
resting in the fold and God.
As
David stared into the twinkling glory above him, he said to God, When I consider Thy
heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what
is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visiteth him? Lord,
what is all this? What
are they doing out there? Why did you make them? What am I
here for? What
is man that Thou art mindful of him? Why do you visit and deal with the sons of
men? Where
does man fit into the great scheme of creation? What role is man destined to play in your
universal purpose? Surely this was not all made for nothing! Perish
the thought that it is all merely your plaything, designed for your entertainment. There
must be some grand scheme behind it all, some great mystery yet to be unfolded. Lord,
tell me about it, give me understanding and wisdom, instruct my heart, enlighten my mind. Teach me
where I fit, where man fits, into the equation. Am I here only to tend sheep, to live out a
miserable existence, full of trials and sorrows, with only old age and the grave at the
end? Is
that all there is to this? Or is there something that I am
missing? Ah,
I know the feeling in Davids heart that blessed night, for I have felt the same way,
and have asked the same questions in my heart.
It
has always pleased the Lord to shroud the deep things of God in mystery and to cover them
as with a cloud of glory. Centuries ago David sought in prayer that he
might understand Gods ways in man. The word of the Lord came to him as it did to
Job, and God granted him to be among that elect people to whom understanding is given of
the great and glorious plan of God behind all His works. David
knew that God was dealing with man in a very special way, and he wanted to know why. To
Davids heart came
the most sublime of all truths. His spirit rejoiced as the heavens opened and
the mind of God was revealed in him. When God revealed to David the purpose of His
working with mankind, David began to speak eternal truths in the spirit of prophecy,
declaring, For Thou hast made man but a little lower than Elohim, and hast crowned
him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands;
Thou hast put all things under his feet (Ps. 8:5-6).
As
we meditate upon this blessed truth, surely we must realize that when God placed Adam,
formed of the ground, in the lovely garden of Eden, he was just in the first stage of
being the man that God wanted. He was like the lump of clay placed on the
potters wheel, he had not yet been scraped, glazed, and fired, and was in no way
ready to assume his role as ruler of the universe. Surely his fall is the proof of
that! He
was the most glorious of all Gods magnificent creation, yet he was like a little
baby in a state of innocence. How could he exercise dominion over the earth
and over starry worlds beyond (all the
works of Gods hands), how could he stand as a judge and ruler over nature, how could
he command celestial orbs, and living entities of all kinds, from demons of darkness to
angels of might and glory, when he himself had no sense of right and wrong, no knowledge
of good and evil, and no experience with the laws of the universe or the ways of divine
government?
The
scriptures tell us that we shall judge the world and angels, that we shall inherit all
things and rule from the Fathers throne, but how many of us are in a position to do
that yet? Have
any of us got the knowledge, the wisdom, the understanding, or the experience to fill such
a position? There
is only one man thus far who has qualified for this great task the man Christ
Jesus. Jesus
is Gods finished product! Jesus is Gods perfected man! And how
was he made perfect? Through
the things that He suffered (Heb. 2:9-10). This is
the revelation God gave to Job when he posed the question, What is man? Even
though Jesus was born the Son of God, as the Son of man He had to be processed, He had to
be subjected to the trials and the fire, He had to pass through Gods great school of
dominion, He had to learn the lessons and be trained in the ways and wisdom of His Father,
as every human-divine son has to be before he can ascend the throne and fulfill Gods
purpose in rulership over all things. For it became Him, for whom are all
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings (Heb. 2:10). Though
He were a Son, yet learned He obedience through the things which He suffered; and being
made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him
(Heb. 5:8-9). It
was absolutely necessary that the firstborn Son of God first be perfected to bear the
image and likeness of God before ascending the throne at Gods right hand. But,
praise God, He is not to be the only one! There is going to be a vast multitude of sons
who will be just like Him, and they are in the process now, even as I pen these words, of
becoming like Him.
Can
we not see by this that our present travail is distinctly necessary for the bringing about
of Gods glorious purpose for His sons. Our singular experience of trial, suffering,
and overcoming is to render itself in a unique position of glory! The
eighth Psalm is a poem on the excellence of the divine government in all the world, yea,
through the entire universe. It begins by stating that God has set His
glory above the heavens. Then follows a not unnatural contrast between
mans littleness and the greatness of the unbounded heavens. The
universe in all its immensity is contrasted with man, who seems but a speck in the ocean
of infinity. What
thoughtful mind does not echo the sentiment, What
is man, that Thou art mindful of
him! and the son of man, that Thou visiteth him! Yet there is something altogether unique
even in the local habitation of planet earth which has been assigned to this mysterious
being. But
it is not to this that the Psalmist refers. He speaks of the extraordinary position of
man in what may be called the spiritual
universe, and describes him as being made but a little lower than Elohim, and being
crowned with glory and honor,
and enthroned as the ruler of all. Man was meant to rule ALL THE WORKS OF GODS HANDS! Man was
destined to exercise a divine and spiritual
dominion, the authority of God Himself invested in man. The image
of God would clothe him with divine power. All things would be subject to his word. His life
fluid would be heavenly. His will would be in God, and the fullness of
God would dwell in him. He
would live in paradise, clothed with heavenly glory. The light of the majesty of God would emanate
from him, and he would live on the paradisical fruit of the Word of God. He would
know no limitation, no sickness nor sorrow, and no death. All
things everywhere would be subject to him in the fire of his love.
MAN THE IMAGE OF
GOD
It
all goes back to the creation of man. Jesus said, The Father hath given Him
(the Son) AUTHORITY...because He is the SON OF MAN (Jn. 5:26-27). One might
think it should have read, because He is the SON OF GOD, but it doesnt
say that. The
awesome and universal authority of the Son is rooted in the fact that He is the SON OF MAN. Why was
it necessary for Jesus to be the Son of man to have authority on earth? That man
should bear the image of God and have dominion over all things is the first announcement
of Gods intention regarding man and the first announcement of His purpose, and
locked up in that wonderful declaration is a universe of meaning that does not reach the
eye and that the mind has never understood. We must re-establish and re-define the
purpose of our existence. Why are we here? The
purpose of God in man has been blurred, distorted, and hideously mangled by the carnal
teachings of the church systems.
Oh
that men would awaken to the truth that God has provided the answer to
humanitys dilemma! Because He hath appointed a day, in the
which He will judge the world in righteousness by that MAN whom He hath ordained; whereof
He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead (Acts
17:31). I
hope that we all have become aware that that MAN by whom God shall judge the world in righteousness is a CORPORATE MAN. But
unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ...for
the perfecting of the saints...till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto A PERFECT MAN, unto the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:1,12-13). Do ye not know that the saints
shall judge the world? and if the
world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye
not that ye shall judge
angels? how much more things that pertain to this life (I Cor. 6:2-3).
God
in His great purpose of redemption and restoration is raising up A MAN, the MANY-MEMBERED
CHRIST OF GOD. He
is preparing an instrument, a channel through which to rule, deliver and bless. God has a
MAN to fix creations problems! You see, beloved, when God injected Himself
into the history of this world to save, lift, redeem and restore it, He could not do it as God. He had to do it as man. That is why God was manifest in the flesh, because
anything that is done in a governmental way on this earth must be done through man. Let them have
dominion... is Gods own sovereign edict and delegation of governmental
authority. Mans
rulership of the earth and the heavens is built into the constitution which He framed for creation. For God,
as God, to do the job would be unconstitutional!
Man
is Gods constitutional agent. To man has been given the stewardship of the
earth and of the heavens! That is why there is now a perfected MAN reigning in the heavens! God
remains the owner, but man is the manager and overseer
the judge,
ruler, priest and king! Jesus
Christ had to take upon Himself the form of man, the likeness of flesh, being made in all
things like unto His brethren, because nothing
happens on this earth except through man The Captain of our salvation, the High Priest
of our profession, the Head of the Christ-body, the firstborn Son of God, the King of
kings and Lord of lords IS THE MAN CHRIST JESUS, not
the God Christ Jesus; He is the SON OF MAN,
not God the Son.
Man in the image of God is God's government in the
Kingdom of God. Creation
was originally established with a degree of splendor suitable to the dignity of Adam as
its appointed ruler. Man
was the final and crowning work of Gods hands! I would draw your attention, beloved saint of
God, to the fact that man was not created on the first day, nor on the second or third,
but in the end of the sixth day when all the rest of Gods creation had been
completed. It
was only after the vastness of the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of them had
been made that the Creator proclaimed the awesome fiat, Let us make man in our
image, and after our likeness: and let them have DOMINION (Gen. 1:26). You see,
the dominion of the whole Kingdom was given unto man! David explains this universal dominion in the eighth Psalm. When
I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy
fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what IS man, that Thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that Thou visiteth him? And then he answers the question! Thou
hast made him a little lower than Elohim, and hast crowned
him with
glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands;
Thou hast put all things under his
feet.
Now
that phrase, under his feet, is a Hebrew term which means that man was to have
authority over all the works of Gods hands, over all creation, over the earth, the
moon, and the stars, over absolutely everything!
He
was to rule it all, govern it all, be head of it all. God made man for that intent and purpose. That is
the answer to the question, What is man? That is what
man is! The writer to the Hebrews makes this truth so plain that only a fool could
question it. But
one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of
man, that Thou visiteth him? Thou madest him a little lower than God; Thou
crownest him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands; Thou
hast put ALL THINGS in subjection under his feet. For in that He put ALL in subjection under
him, He left NOTHING that is NOT put under him (Heb. 2:6-8). There is
holy wonder to these words that is almost beyond our understanding. Nothing has been left
outside the dominion of man! Weymouth puts it this way: Thou hast
put everything in subjection under his feet. For this subjecting of the universe to man implies leaving nothing that is not subject
to him. But
we do not yet see the universe subject to him. The whole cosmos really belongs to mankind,
it is his dominion, his sphere of authority, and everything is to be put under his
control.
Now
for Jesus to have anything to do with this dominion He had to become a man, for the
dominion was given to man, and in order for Him to receive the kingdom, He had to be a
man. As
the eternal Word of God He could have nothing to do with this dominion, though it was
through Him that all these things were made. But become a man He did, and through His life
of obedience to the Father, by His holiness, His purity, His grappling with sin, sorrow,
pain, limitation, and death, and triumphing over it, He
qualified to receive the Kingdom
and be the ruling head of it, the King of glory. The man in Gods image has a divine and
royal destiny to exercise dominion and authority in this world and throughout the
unbounded heavens. He
is to be the head of all. All that happens in the cosmos must take
place under the direction of man. God created all things and then man in His
image and likeness, as the connecting link between God and His creation, that through man
in His image and likeness the invisible God might be seen and known and touched by the visible
creation. The
face of God would be revealed for all creation to behold, in the face of man. The
likeness of God would be made known to the entire universe in and by man. The love,
grace, wisdom, knowledge, power and glory of God would be exercised toward every creature
and world and order throughout the vastnesses of infinity through
the man in the image and likeness of God!
When
God gave the world and all things into the power of man, who should rule it as a viceroy
under Him, it was His plan that Adam should do nothing but with God and through God, and
God Himself would do all His work in the universe through Adam. Can we
not see by this that Adam was appointed Gods KING-PRIEST on behalf of all creation? It had
nothing to do with the fall of man or of other worlds, but everything to do with the
revelation of God to creation and rule over it. When sin entered the world, Adams power
was proved to be a terrible reality, for through him the earth, with the whole race of
man, and all things, was brought under the curse of sin and death. When he
fell his kingdom fell with him. When he came under the dominion of sin and
death he took all that he ruled with him. But when creations new rulers, the
second man, the last Adam, the corporate Christ, Head and body, are manifested as the sons
of God, their kingdom will be elevated again with them. Christ
has raised us up, and we shall raise them up!
As
the sons of God are forever freed from sin, sickness, sorrow, fear, limitation and death then will their
realm be.
From
the earliest dawn of creations light it has been Gods intention, and His
eonian purpose, to make man in His image and after His likeness. This was
His initial, original and only statement about His will for mankind: Let us make man
in our image and after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the works of our
hands. We
read in Genesis how God affirms that it was good after each act of creation except after
the sixth day, when man was created. There follows a concluding assessment that
God saw that all of His creation was good but not necessarily the creation of man. Man was
not declared to be good, He was declared
to be THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD! This was Gods purpose from the
beginning, and He has never deviated from that purpose or changed or revamped it in any
way. When
our Fathers great plan of the ages has been consummated, He will have accomplished
exactly what He set out to do in that long ago beginning. He initiated this purpose when
father Adam stepped forth out of His creative hand, He has been working on it ever since,
and will continue until the whole race of mankind shines forth in the brightness, wisdom,
knowledge, holiness, power and glory of the omnipotent Creator.
The
making of man in His image and after His likeness is the pivotal point of all Gods
actions. This
cherished plan which God kept hidden in His mind from eternity motivates all that He is
working toward in the whole scheme of creation. Everything that has happened in the history
of mankind, or is happening, is working to bring about this glorious end. It is
with this unwavering resolution that God arranges all His works. When once
we see this by the spirit of wisdom and revelation from God, we are for the first time
able to truly understand all the various aspects of His plan, and all His
doings, and all that shall take place in the ages to come. As the
light of revelation streams from realms above, and our minds become enlightened to the
higher and divine purpose behind all things, we see how great and glorious is the
intention of God in man! The idea held by most Christians, that God
finished this work with Adam in the garden is far, far, from the truth. Gods
original plan was not to make just one man in the garden in His image, or one Son two
thousand years ago in His image, or a few saints through the ages into His image, but to
make a whole race of beings in His image and likeness and give them dominion
over everything He has made! When God began this vast, beautiful and
wonderful creation, that is what He had in mind to do. Oh, the wonder of it!
The
grandest of all truths is that CHRIST IS THE IMAGE OF GOD! If you
want to know what God had in mind when He said, Let us make man in our image, and
after our likeness, you have only to look at Jesus Christ. That
is what God meant! But
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD, should shine unto them (II Cor. 4:3-4). In
whom we have redemption through His blood...who is THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD, the
firstborn (prototype) of every creature
(Col. 1:14-15). His
dignity is still further elaborated in these words of the writer to the Hebrews: Who
being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all
things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels...
(Heb. 1:3-4). The
Amplified Bible reads, He is the...expression of the glory of God the
Light-being, the out-raying of the divine and He is the
perfect imprint and very image of Gods nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding
and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power...taking a place and rank by which
He Himself became...superior to angels...
How
totally inadequate do our words become in the light of words of such wonder as these! Jesus is
the prototype of what God intends man to be. He is
Gods finished product, Gods perfect man; what every man should be and
ultimately will be. We
will only understand the majesty of man in Gods image when we see Jesus
as THE BEAM OF THE DIVINE GLORY, or THE OUT-RAYING OF GODS PERSON. We have
never seen the sun we have only
seen the light-rays which emanate from it. The light that floods our earth is not the
sun itself, for were the sun to truly come into our world there would be nothing left but
a cinder. The
sunbeams radiate from the sun, travel ninety-three million miles through space, arriving
at planet earth some eight minutes later. The ray is of the same constitution as the orb
from which it comes; if you analyze its character you will learn something of the very
nature of the sun; they live in perpetual and glorious unity. The
sunbeam originates in and as the sun itself, and is the
emanation, out-raying, effulgence, expression manifestation and revelation of the sun. We are reminded of those inspired words which
tell us that no man has ever seen God at any time; the uniquely begotten Son, who is
in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him He has revealed
Him, brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him
known (Jn. 1:18, KJV & Amplified). Gods Christ is the out-raying,
projection, expression and revelation of the very Father Himself!
The
Christ is also the express or exact image of the Fathers person, the perfect imprint
and very image of Gods nature. The allusion here is to the impression made
in ancient times by a seal on molten wax; and as the image made on the wax is the exact
representation (though on another substance) of the die, so is Christ the exact
representation of the Father in human flesh. And thus He was able to say, He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father. The life of Jesus is the life of God
transmuted into the form of our human life, so that we may see, touch, hear, know,
understand, and experience the very being and nature of God in human terms. The
natural mind cannot understand such a truth as this, but this is what God meant when He
said, Let us make man in our image and after our likeness. CHRIST is
the image of God and God meant for every man to look and speak and act and be just like
Jesus Christ. This
is the value of mans life in redemption, for God sent One who was all that man
was meant to be to purchase us not to harps and
golden streets and fluttering wings in some far-off heaven somewhere but back to relationship with God as sons in His very own
image.
As
we consider the wonderful advent of man created in the image of God we can
only conclude that this is a SPIRITUAL MAN brought forth out of the very spirit-substance
of God almighty, and bearing His own divine nature, character, power and attributes. The image
of God is the nature of God reproduced in man. Thus, man is the true image of God! The
divine nature was best and fully expressed in the man Christ Jesus who shined upon mortals
the truest revelation of God and lifted man's sights higher than their poor thoughts would
allow. Jesus
revealed to men their true origin, heritage and destiny. He came
to show man what man really is, was intended to be, and through redemption and so great a
salvation shall be THE IMAGE OF GOD.
Christ
is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. In Jesus
Christ you see man as he was in the beginning, and as he ever shall be world without end THE IMAGE OF GOD WITH DOMINION OVER ALL THINGS.
We
have come to the most sublime of all truths. The beauty of these celestial realities is
found in the fact that all Jesus did He did for us not in our
place, but on our behalf. A
musician demonstrates the beauty of the music he teaches in order to show the learner the
way by practice as well as precept. This was the precious import of our
Lords sinless life and of His demonstration of power over the whole flesh realm,
including death. Our
heavenly Father demands that all men should follow the example of our Lord and Master. In order
to enter the Kingdom of the Heavens, the anchor of hope must be cast beyond the veil of
this carnal, dying realm into the Shekinah into which Jesus has passed before us; and this
advance beyond the law of sin and death must come through the joys and triumphs of a
people led by the Spirit who are the sons of God as well
as through their sorrows and afflictions. It is by facing the enemy in the crucible of
experience and by the authority of the Spirit that victory is snatched from the jaws of
defeat. Each
and every test in our lives is an opportunity to prove for ourselves and demonstrate to
those about the triumph of the Spirit over the flesh. Step by step, battle by battle, victory upon
victory we ascend into the heights of the Kingdom of Heaven. the image of God and the
dominion restored in man.
One
can never comprehend the length and breadth and height and depth of Gods great plan
of creation and redemption until he first understands that Jesus Christ is the revelation
of the value of every man. In the
mysterious mists of Eden God breathed into man the breath of His own divine life and
prophesied of this man that he would be the image and likeness of Himself, and in due time
would take his place in the Fathers great Kingdom with dominion over all the works
of His hands. There
is a story about a little piece of wood that once bitterly complained because its owner
kept whittling away at it, gouging it and making holes in it. But the
one who was cutting it paid no attention to the sticks protests. He was
making a flute out of that piece of ebony, and he was too wise to stop when the wood
complained so bitterly. The
man said, Little piece of wood, without these rifts and holes, and all this cutting,
youd be just a stick forever a useless piece
of ebony. What
I am doing now may seem as if I am destroying you, but instead it will change you into a
flute. Your
sweet music will charm the souls of many and comfort sorrowing hearts. My
cutting you is the making of you, for only thus can you be a blessing in the world. The
meaning of this little parable is clear: That flute, whose music blended so sweetly in the
orchestra, was made a flute only by the knife and file that filled it with rifts and holes
which seemed to be its very destruction. But the purpose of the master was that it
might become a melodious instrument to the praise of God. The Lord
is shaping us. He
is processing us into His image, that His glory might be revealed in creation. Hallelujah!
This
divine potential lies in the spirit of every
man and shows the value of mans life. Some do
not believe that the seed of God abides in every man, but I do not hesitate to tell you
that the spirit of every man
originated with God and came out of God. If every man is spirit, soul,
and body, then where else did mans spirit come from? When the
Word became flesh and tabernacled among us we learned the true dignity of man. The
wonder is not that God could stoop so low but that man
was created so high, that He took our nature. The sinless Son of Man reveals indeed what a
fall man has suffered, but shows what a destiny is his, when once the image of his Creator
has been restored. Why
lift a sot from his gutter to care for him and rehabilitate him and bring him to God? The
reason is that man has in him some touch of the eternal and must be
saved; and some ultimate tide of compassion moves us to save him! His
salvation is not merely from his drink, from his lust, from his sin and bondage and hell;
it is salvation unto all his awesome potential as a child of the Father
in heaven! Is
that not what Jesus parable of the Prodigal Son teaches us? Man was
meant to be the head of creation.
Can
man who has sunk so low be raised so high? Consider with me the destiny of one muddy road. The clay,
left long enough, hardens into a sapphire. The sand becomes by refraction of light an
opal. The
soot is a diamond in the rough. And the water when it freezes, is a
snow-white star. Ah,
there is a finer destiny for muddy humanity, but you do not see it in our raw state! Only the
mighty pressures and processes of Gods redemptive dealings can transform the murky
elements into the essence of divine beauty, glory and power! And this,
my beloved, is the answer to Jobs piercing question, What is man,
that Thou shouldest magnify him? and that Thou shouldest set Thine heart upon him? and
that Thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
Sin-cursed and sin-broken, sick and weak, murderer and
prostitute, proud and arrogant, mean and vindictive all that is
humanity! But
is that the value of mankind? What is the value of human life? JESUS is
the value! For
just such humanity there was the Man from Galilee, the Son of God, the express image of
the Father, the pure, sinless, harmless One, love personified, the heir of all things, the
Lord of the universe there was that One nailed
to a cross, to redeem every man that ever lived or shall live. THAT IS
THE VALUE OF MANS LIFE! JESUS IS THE VALUE OF MAN! The price
that is paid for an object reflects its value. The price God paid for humanity was His own
Son in the image and glory of the Father. God saw beneath mans tattered garment
and marred image His own omnipotent potential buried there. Love
pierced through the gloom and roughness and saw a diamond in the rough, but a diamond sure
enough. It
was in that divine spark within mans spirit capable of being renewed that we find
the reason for the cross. The cross was Gods great act by which
He released His life-flow, the precious
blood of Jesus, to heal, quicken, and restore man to his place in God.
It would do us all a world of good to take inventory
of our attitudes how we see men.
I
fear that we would be both surprised and disturbed to see how often we view men out of our carnal minds rather than with the eyes of our heavenly Father the prodigals Father! Oh
mystery of mysteries! Jesus
went to the cross not only to take away our sins, He went there for
the good in man, to redeem it and restore it into the image
and likeness of God. The
deepest mystery of all is that God is multiplying
Himself in man, and is bringing Himself into a new dimension. There is
a MAN seated upon the highest throne of heaven. Not an angel, not a cherub, but a MAN! That man
still is clothed in the body that walked along the shores of Galilee, for the cave of
Joseph of Arimathea is empty, although that body has been spiritualized by the power of
incorruptible life.
The
dwelling place of a son of God is in the
Father and the dwelling place of the Father
is in the sons. The sons
are the out-raying of the Fathers substance and the perfect imprint of His nature in
human form. I
never enjoy trying to see pictures where no picture exists, but it is plain to an
understanding born from above that ultimately all
men will be manifested sons of God, for Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, died and rose again to
save and redeem and restore all men to God as His very own children. That will
be the glorious consummation of Gods ages-long purpose to make man into His image and after His likeness. Nothing
short of that can suffice. Only then will God be ALL-IN-ALL!
This
wonderful truth cannot be stated more eloquently than it has been by F. B. Meyer in his
book THE WAY INTO THE HOLIEST. He writes, We behold Jesus...crowned
with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9). This is the crown wherewith His Father
crowned Him in the day of the gladness of His heart, when, as man, He came forth victorious from the
wrestle with the prince of hell. All through His earthly life He fulfilled the
ancient ideal of man. He
was Gods image; and those who saw
Him saw the Father. He
was Sovereign in His commands. Winds and
waves did His bidding. Trees withered at His touch. Fish in shoals obeyed His will. Droves of
cattle fled before His scourge of small cords. Disease and death and devils owned His sway. But all
was more fully realized when He was about to return to His Father, and said, in a noble
outburst of conscious supremacy, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in
earth.
As He is, we too shall be. He is
there as the type and specimen and representative of redeemed men. We are
linked with Him in an indissoluble union. Through Him we shall get back our lost
empire. We
too shall be crowned with glory and honor! The day is not far distant when we shall sit
at His side joint heirs in
His empire; comrades in His glory, as we have been comrades in His sorrows; beneath our
feet all things visible and invisible, thrones and principalities and powers; whilst above
us shall be the unclouded empyrean of our Fathers love, for ever and for ever. Oh,
destiny of surpassing bliss! Oh, rapture of saintly hearts! Oh,
miracle of Divine Omnipotence! end quote.
Bill
Britton penned these instructive words: Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:49 that
as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly. We
were once in the image of the Adamic man. We once bore the image of the man of sin, of
the earthly man, but we shall bear the image of the Christ. We have born
the image of Adam, we shall bear the image of Christ, Paul says. Have
borne is past tense that means I am
not bearing it now. I
am not under his control. I am free from sin I dont have to walk in sin. I
dont have to obey it any more. I am not a slave to sin any longer. But
Im not yet bearing the fullness of the heavenly image because we shall
bear is a future tense. Im not yet bearing the fullness of what
He has prepared for me. Then where am I? I am in a process a progressive development. There is
a present, progressive work going on in me. Thats that redemption of the soul that
is happening. The
quicker we get our souls redeemed, the quicker we yield to the spirit, the quicker we are
going to get in there for our bodies to be redeemed. As we have borne the image of Adam, we shall
bear the image of Christ.
John 1:14 says that the Word of God was made
flesh and dwelt among us. Does that mean the Word of God actually put
on the wicked, sinful nature of old Adam? When Jesus was here, was He a man of sinful
nature? The
word flesh here is not the word for sinful nature. Nor does
it mean that He was just made fingers, toes, and so forth. If that
was true, we would all have to try to work on our natural appearance so we could look like
Jesus as much as possible. I dont know, and thank God the Bible
doesnt say, what Jesus looked like physically. It doesnt tell us whether He was tall
or short, fat or skinny, whether He was black, white, or brown. Some
folks say He had a Jewish father, so He must have been brown. But He
didnt have a Jewish father! He wasnt a Jew by race. He had a
Father in heaven, and He was born of a virgin. He had a heavenly nationality. So I
dont know what He looked like physically. And thank God I dont, because I would
want to be just like that to bear His image, and I would be dissatisfied with the way I
look, and I couldnt change it! But Ill tell you what I can change I can change
this nature by the help of the Spirit, into the likeness of the
nature that He was made of. That Word became human nature, or flesh,
inside of a physical body. And that human nature was a holy nature the image of God! end quote.
One
of our long-time readers, Paul Stumpo, wrote in one of his letters this beautiful
illustration of the image of God in His sons. There is a technology today for making
pictures that can be viewed in three dimensions. That is, the image has height, depth, and
breadth. This
technology is called holography. As with
all photographic processes, light is needed to radiate a photographic plate with the
desired object. However,
with a holography, a special source of
light is needed, light that is produced by a LASER. LASER light, simply stated, is completely
harmonious with itself, light that is in time, in phase, and traveling in the same
direction. Using
a LASER, the object and the photographic plate are radiated and the image becomes
inscribed onto the photographic plate. The amazing thing with a holograph
is that the complete image resides
everywhere on the plate. This means that if a small piece is broken
from the whole plate, that small piece will have the complete image on it and the complete
image can be seen. Now,
because this piece is not the whole piece, the image on it is blurry not clear for
lack of details. The
remaining large piece is diminished somewhat because of the few details lost by the
removal of the small piece, but most of the clarity of the image is still there. Is it not
the same with us, since we are very small pieces of that whole which is the body of
Christ. As
He radiates our life with HIS Image, we begin to take on that same Image. Now, if
we view this Body as He views it, it is one complete whole, and that whole is now being
radiated with the Light that He is that perfect,
complete, in time, in phase, same direction LIGHT. Each of us being small parts carry within
ourselves the whole Image with a certain aspect of the whole more pronounced within each
of us, so that when fitly joined together, one clear, crisp, distinct Image can be
seen.
THE
SON OF MAN
Jesus
constantly referred to Himself as the Son of man. Most
Christians read right over that, thinking it means Son of God, though it says He is a man.
This
does not mean that He was born of Adam, the fleshly man, nor even that Mary in some
mysterious way contributed to His genetic makeup. In solemn truth we may search the Bible
through and we will not find that the second man was in any way derived from
the first man. Jesus was not conceived by the union of
divine sperm with Marys human egg. Marys life was Adams life, and if
Mary contributed anything at all to Jesus life He would then have been from the
fallen Adam and would have Himself been of the first man Adam. He would,
therefore, have needed a Saviour instead of being the Saviour! Nothing is more certain than this Adam cannot
redeem Adam! The
fallen cannot perfect himself to redeem and
restore himself. The
very thought is an absurdity. I have heard men say that when Jesus says,
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, He
means that He Himself was both the first man Adam who sinned and the last man Adam who
redeemed. I
do not hesitate to tell you that this is not only an improbability it is an impossibility!
The
first man is of the earth, earthy, the record states; the second man is the Lord from
heaven! The
first man fell by sin, marred his image, lost his dominion, forfeited his inheritance,
becoming a poor, miserable, degraded creature, ignorant and godless, the impotent
plaything of circumstances, and weak and helpless to the last degree. The
second man knew no sin, was holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and walked even upon this earth in a realm
higher than the heavens. Have you ever wondered how the second man
became the Saviour of the first man if He Himself was the first man? How could the fallen man become the
Saviour without a Saviour? If Jesus was like us in that He needed a
Saviour, but was able to save Himself
without a Saviour, and then save others, then mankind really needed no Saviour at all,
for they could have, like Jesus, simply saved themselves. Such
reasoning is spiritual tomfoolery and theological drivel.
What,
then, does Jesus mean when He calls Himself the Son of man? He means
that He was born from the realm of true manhood, formed in that state of being in which the first man dwelt before he sinned.
Jesus
stepped right out of that prophetic,
spiritual, creative dimension where the
word of God proclaims, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. He was
the second man to be fashioned in that realm of true manhood by the creative word of God. Being the
second man of GODS MANHOOD CREATION, He is called the Son of man or the
offspring of GODS MANHOOD IDEA. The first man Adam stepped forth out of the
Creative Mind of Gods Idea of Manhood, and Jesus was the second man to proceed out
of that Creative Manhood Idea of the Father. As the second man He is the SON OF MAN, the
second of an Order, the second revelation of the image and likeness of God in man, birthed
from the Manhood Mind of the Father. This man, being tempted in all points
like as we are, yet without sin, is THE
IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD!
What
is an image? An
image is something which is formed, a representation of something, a likeness. A true
image would be that which correctly depicts the appearance, form, substance, nature,
character, and being of whatever it stands for. A true image of God would have to be a true
expression of who and what God is! Today we have many false images of God! These,
whether idols, concepts, ideas, or theological creeds are manufactured out of the carnal
minds of men according to their own darkened understanding. So we
have a distorted image of God. Many preachers portray God as vengeful,
vindictive, unforgiving, unmerciful, demanding, laying heavy yokes upon His followers,
taking away our salvation the moment we slip or fall into sin, consigning
all who die outside of Christ to unending torture in hell-fire, and many other hideous,
monstrous images. But,
blessed be God! Jesus
Christ brought a true and correct image of God, by faithfully walking out the true and
divine manhood. It was in
MAN, the highest of Gods creations, that God placed the
invisible things of Himself for display. Now we are being conformed to the image of
Jesus Christ the image of God
that Christ gave. All
the holy sons of God are
becoming the image of God in the earth to reveal the heart, nature, wisdom, power, glory
and love of God to every order of the universe, worlds without end. Through
these manifested sons all realms shall be blessed to see and touch and experience the
image of God. ALL
shall come to know Him! This
is the purpose of God in man. And THIS IS THE INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM OF
GOD!
Chapter
55
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
Man
in Gods image, man in Christ at the right hand of God, is Gods government in
the Kingdom of God. This
magnificent purpose burned in the heart of the heavenly Father when on the sixth creative
day He proclaimed the wonderful decree: Let us make man in our image...and LET THEM
HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle,
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth
(Gen. 1:26). Far
away in the depths of my spirit I am convinced that within this shadowy type we behold a
vivid portrait of Gods purpose for man, that when man comes fully into GODS
IMAGE he shall be, first, the ruler of things beneath,
the lowest realms of the bottomless, typified by the fish swarming in the depths of the
seas, and the creeping things; next, the things upon the earth, typified by the cattle, and all the
earth; and finally, the things of the heavens
also, typified by the fowl of the air. One may
find it difficult to embrace so great a truth from so small and insignificant a type, but
did not our Lord Jesus employ many of these same analogies when He said things like,
Ye shall tread on serpents, and on scorpions...I
give you power over all the power of the enemy. Spake He of creeping creatures slithering
through the grass? Certainly
not! He
spoke of spiritual realities represented by the orders of things in the natural. The
natural world is but the type, symbol and shadow of the
heavenly.
Was
it not upon this very Edenic type that the writer to the Hebrews enlarged when by the
Spirit he wrote, For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to
come, whereof we speak. But
one in a certain place testified, saying, What IS man, that Thou art mindful of him? Thou
madest him a little lower that Elohim (Ps. 8:5, Hebrew); Thou CROWNEST HIM WITH GLORY AND
HONOR, and didst set him OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS: Thou hast put A-L-L T-H-I-N-G-S
in subjection under his feet. For in that He put ALL in subjection under
him, He left N-O-T-H-I-N-G that is NOT put under him! (Heb. 2:5-8.
You
wont quite grasp that at first. Its too overwhelming! To be
CROWNED means to be given KINGLY RULE. To be crowned with GLORY and HONOR is to be
given such rule as Jesus Christ has now,
and of that rule we read, Wherefore God also hath HIGHLY EXALTED Him, and given Him
a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue (in
all those three realms) should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father (Phil. 2:9-11). We have already stated that man in
Gods image, man in Christ at the right
hand of God is Gods government in the
Kingdom of God. Paul
said it this way, Who (Jesus) IS THE IMAGE of the invisible God...by Him were all
things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers...and ye are complete IN HIM WHICH IS THE HEAD OF A-L-L PRINCIPALITY
AND POWER (Col. 1:15-17; 2:9-10).
Have
you noticed that the rule the firstborn Son of God now has is the very same rule over the identical THREE REALMS of heaven, the earth, and the abyss, which
God delegated to Adam, the man in Gods image, in Genesis 1:26! This is
the dominion reserved for all of Gods sons! What a hope! What a
calling! How
much better, how much higher and more meaningful is this than harps and fluttering wings
and white night gowns! A
kingdom denotes rulership and advancement of all kinds. It means work and responsibility and a place of ministry and authority to bless. All who
in Christ come to Gods image are destined to share that awesome dominion, seated
together with Him, far above all principality and power. The
reason so many people fail to attain to the great heights of the Spirit is because they
are unable to see Gods purposes, and therefore they have no particular incentive to
seek the great heights that are IN HIM. So many Christians are far too taken up with
carnal ideas and childish notions about mansions in the skies and harps and wings and
sitting on clouds eating pork chops with nothing to do and all eternity to do it in, to be
able to see the true purposes of God at HIS RIGHT HAND. Simply
speaking, the purpose of God is that we might reign with Him, and to reign is to exercise
authority for God to rule all
things. Paul
tells us that we are to seek those things which are above where Christ
sits at the right
hand of God. This
means that we are to SEEK THE THINGS OF THE RIGHT HAND! Reigning
with Christ must become one of the great goals in the life of every man and woman who has
received the call to sonship.
When
our Lord Jesus said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it, He spoke of that true church which is
His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. It should
be abundantly clear that He spoke of His many brethren who would be conformed
to His image, matured in His life, and perfected in His wisdom, power, and dominion. The sad
truth is that for nearly two thousand years the gates of hell have prevailed
against those systems which call themselves the church, and every foul and unclean
spirit has overrun them and sits enthroned in their creeds, liturgies, ceremonies,
rituals, and ecclesiastical orders.
The
Greek word for church is ECCLESIA. We all think we know the meaning of this
word, for we hear it so often. Ecclesia means called out,
its a chosen, separated people. That is true. But ECCLESIA means much more than that! The word
ECCLESIA is a special word, with a particular usage in the Greek in which our New
Testament is written. It
is a word that denotes a legislative body.
In
New Testament times when they wanted to gather people together for various purposes they
had different words for different gatherings. For instance, the word SUNAGOGE (synagogue)
means a gathering of people for the purpose of worship. In every
Jewish community there was the synagogue, the gathering of people to worship the God of
Israel. But
whenever they wanted to gather together the ruling class, the legislative body the mayor, the
senate, the pro-consul, etc. they would
announce the gathering of the ecclesia. It was a
ruling class of people with power to legislate, to make laws, to initiate governmental
actions, to control events within the nation.
That
is what the church is intended to be! What today is called the
church is not the church at all! The gatherings are not gatherings of rulers, but gatherings of babes seeking
blessings and spiritual thrills. The church has become a spiritual
kindergarten where people go to be entertained and taught and taught and taught again,
those things which are but the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ. These
so-called church systems are decaying before our eyes and nothing can save them. They are
not at all what
Jesus had in mind when He said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it. The imperfect
things that have been used of God in an imperfect age are vanishing away with the age itself, for when
that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part (imperfect) shall
be done away.
KINGDOM
DOMINION
Dominion
means to live in authority, to reign in life by one, Christ Jesus. God is
teaching His sons in this hour to live victoriously! With the pen of inspiration Daniel wrote of
this Kingdom-Dominion: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of
man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him
near before Him. And
there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve him: and his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Dan. 7:13-14). Daniel
said that he saw something in the night visions. He saw one like unto the Son of man. There was
given unto Him dominion, glory, and a kingdom. These
were given Him for the purpose that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. It
describes His dominion as an enduring dominion, an invincible dominion that shall not pass away and a kingdom that
cannot be overcome or overthrown.
KINGDOM
DOMINION! The
terminology that Daniel used is that the dominion and the kingdom are given to Gods
Christ, Head and body, and it is an enduring dominion and an indestructible kingdom. That is powerful! The
kingdoms of men crumble very quickly, all the vaunted empires of history lie in ruin in
the dust of the ages. The
rise of any earthly empire is but the early proclamation of its fall. The Roman
empire, apparently invincible, exists today only in the crumbling ruins of buildings,
roads, and aqueducts. All
of mans systems are doomed the short span
of the twentieth century saw the decline of the British empire, the meteoric rise and fall
of the Third Reich, and the emergence and collapse of Russian communism. If this
is the American Age, then nothing is more certain than the fact that our
greatness, too, shall pass away. The kings of the earth have dominion one day,
and lose it the next. But
when you connect with Gods Kingdom, you connect with an enduring dominion and an indestructible
kingdom. The
dominion that you receive from God and His Kingdom will not only last forever in your
life, but it can never be defeated. The victory of Christ is being raised up within every
son of God that will triumph and remain it cannot be
affected by anything within or without or diminished in any degree. You, my
beloved, have omnipotent potential in Christ! What we are walking in as citizens of the
Kingdom of Heaven is an everlasting, continual, full and indestructible Kingdom!
One
cannot talk about Kingdom dominion without recognizing the King of the Kingdom. Jesus
Christ is the King of the ages. It is Jesus who now reigns and shall rule for
all the ages. It
is the Lord Jesus Christ who has been given power, authority, influence, and control over
the spiritual heavens, over the universe, over the earth, over humanity, and within your
heart. Matters
not what demons, devils, men, or any other creature says, those called to sonship to God
have received the spirit of kingship the Lord of
glory sits in royal majesty upon the throne of our lives and all power in heaven and in
earth is given unto us. And
the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall
be given to the people of the saints of the
Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and
obey Him (Dan. 7:27). Fear not, little flock, for it is the
Fathers good pleasure to give you the
kingdom (Lk. 12:32).
The
power of the Kingdom of God begins to have dominion first within our individual lives. The
beginning of the Kingdom dominion of God is right there in your heart
today. In
1932 a young actor, trying to make his mark in Hollywood, took a screen test. A talent
judge who watched the performance was less than enthusiastic. His note
about this particular actor read, Cant act, cant sing, can dance a
little. The
actor was a man named Fred Astaire the same one who
went on to stardom. When
the world looks at us or when we look
at ourselves there
doesnt seem to be much potential in us for sonship. We have
little natural ability that God can anoint and use for His Kingdom. Fortunately,
the reality of our sonship doesnt depend upon any potential we have in our natural
constitution all the potential comes from God! It is the
potential of the Christ who has come within! Our potential is not limited by our own
resources but, instead, is limitless because of Christs infinite resources!
Jesus
Christ did not come to earth to win the world by political action or military rule. He
didnt come to set up a police state. My kingdom is not of this world (system), Jesus said. Some of
the Jews came to forcefully make Him a king and what did He do? The
scripture says that He escaped away from them, He walked right out of their midst and
vanished. He
came representing and manifesting the spiritual
rule of God, the invincible heavenly
dominion, which is destined to consume all the visible kingdoms of this world and raise
them up into the realm of the Kingdom of God. Thats exactly what Jesus came here to
do to consume the
visible kingdoms, the existing ones, until the words of the prophet are truly fulfilled:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ;
and He shall reign to the ages of the ages (Rev. 11:15).
The
rule of God on earth begins to become a reality when the dominion of the Spirit is
established in the minds, hearts, and lives of Gods elect. When the
Kingdom of God is fully established in Gods elect, then God begins to take hold of
the kingdoms of the world. It is just as simple and effective and
powerful as that! God
doesnt take the kingdoms from the top down, He takes them from the bottom up. He starts
at the grass-roots level. Every time a man or woman is born again into
the Kingdom of God there is the increase of His government and peace. There is
the increase of Kingdom dominion in the earth as He forms His Kingdom in His sons and
daughters.
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost
returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days
tempted of the devil. And
in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered. And the
devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the
devil said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is
delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If Thou
therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get
thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve (Lk. 4:1-2,5-8). All youve got to do is worship
me, and all will be yours. Well, it is true that all the kingdoms of the
world, their glory, their power, their beauty and their splendor were delivered into the
hands of the devil through the transgression of Adam.
Have
we considered that the apostle John knew what he was talking about when he wrote,
And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one (I
Jn. 5:19). Thats
the very reason Jesus came to take the
dominion back and give it to the sons of the Most High. It is
delivered into the hands of Gods elect! Notice the testimony of God: The
Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to
the saints of the Most High; and the time
came that the saints possessed the kingdom...the judgment shall
sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the
end (Dan. 7:22,26). Can you imagine what was going through the
mind of the firstborn Son of God when Satan offered Him all the kingdoms and dominion of
the world if He would fall down and worship him? By revelation of the Spirit Jesus could say,
You dont give me anything Ive come to take it! Just stick around, devil, youre going
to lose it, but not because you gave it to me. Ive come here to take the dominion from
you, and all power in heaven and in earth shall be given unto me and to the sons of the
Most High God. Youre
not offering me anything. Im about to subdue you!
Jesus
came into the world to transfer the power and the dominion to the sons of God. He came
as a Son of God, He came by divine force, by might, by strength, by ability, by Gods
potential in man. Within
Himself He entered into the adversarys dominion, to his throne room, to the seat and
stronghold of his kingdom and wrested from him the power and the dominion. He came
upon him abruptly, suddenly, powerfully, seized him and took his dominion from him, left
him humiliated, stripped of all his power and dumbfounded at the swiftness and magnitude
of his defeat. Jesus
accomplished all of this within Himself,
and now His victory is given
to us to accomplish within ourselves. Sons of
God! The spirit of sonship is within us! Thats what Jesus came to do: to
destroy, render impotent, make of none effect the devil and bring to naught all his works.
This
power and authority is within the Christ,
and ye are the body of Christ. Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, and it is He who lives within us. The Life
He lives is nothing less than the Life He is. Within His Life is all His love, grace,
wisdom, ability, power and authority. Dont let anybody tell you the devil is
after you, the devil is fighting you, hindering you, tripping you up, defeating you or
thwarting Gods purpose in your life. Oh, no! All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, says
Christ the Head. All
power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth, must be the testimony of every member of Christ the body.
All
power is
all power. For those who stand in Gods Christ no power belongs
to the devil anymore! For
these blessed ones the devils kingdom has come to an end! His rule
is terminated! His
dominion is over! His
power has been stripped, his authority revoked! And now the sons of God are Giving
thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light: who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of His dear Son (Col. 1:12-13). Therefore
may I boldly say, Fear not, little flock; for it is your Fathers good pleasure
to give you the kingdom its
righteousness, its joy, its peace, its incorruptible life, its power, its authority, its
dominion, its wisdom, its
knowledge, its anointing, its blessing, its potential, its fullness, its riches and its
treasures! It
is the Fathers good pleasure, it pleases Him
to make you the sons of God with power. It pleases Him to give you life more
abundantly. It pleases Him to raise you up into the fullness of His Christ and send you
forth as deliverers of creation. Jesus took it all all power and raises it up
within the sons of God. The
hour has now come for this to be realized, personified, and consummated in the many
brethren of our Lord.
Men
of God throughout the church age have tasted the earnest and firstfruits of this Kingdom
dominion, but just as the seed planted eventually produces a harvest of many seeds in
which the life settles, reproducing in
form, quality, and power the original seed, so now the life of the all-triumphant Jesus is
settling in fullness of form, quality, and power within the sons of God. We who
have received the call to sonship are learning, growing, developing and maturing into His
dominion within ourselves, the rule of His Kingdom raised up within us. We can
never understand the
deep mystery of Kingdom dominion until we clearly see that Jesus does not now enforce His
victory over satan and His acquisition of All Power on behalf of all creation. If He
did, there would be no sin, no darkness, no sickness, no sorrow, and no death anywhere! Though Jesus has all power in heaven and in
earth, and has fully and forever overcome sin, satan and death, men continue to be ravaged
by fear, carnality, sin and death. It is like a boxer who fights the world
champion boxer and defeats him. HE has defeated him for himself, but no one else has defeated
him. Now
suppose that the new champion trains every other man to box as he does, and one by one
they are developed into world-class boxers and enter into a match with the former world
champion and each in turn defeats him. The new world champions ability has thus been transferred, conveyed, and imparted to all men, making them champions. This is
the law of Kingdom dominion! We do not merely glorify the victory, power
and authority of the man Jesus two thousand years ago, but through His Spirit we are
brought into the same relationship with God that He knew. Then by
the gracious ministry of the sons of God all
men shall be ushered experientially into
the same victory! How
awesome is this Day!
Paul
Mueller has ably written, David expressed the magnificent wonder of man having the
glory of the Lord. When
I see Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast formed;
what is man that Thou shouldest think of him, and the son of man that Thou shouldest care
for him? Yet
Thou has made him but little lower than God, and
dost crown him with glory and honor! Thou madest him ruler over the works of Thy
hands, Thou hast put all things under his feet; all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of
the field; the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, that traverse the paths of
the seas. O
Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the earth! (Ps. 8:3-9,
Smith-Goodspeed).
This is a Psalm showing the authority God has
given man over His creation. It presents a picture of man as he is now,
and as we shall be when redemption is complete. During this and previous ages, man was given
dominion over all Gods vast creation (Gen. 1:26-28). The earth
and all things of it have been given to man to manage and to govern according to his
ability. But
man has not done a very good job of managing the Lords creation. We have
polluted the earth and its environment. Man has not judged the world in justice and
righteousness, nor has man handled the economic affairs of this world with equity. And man
has certainly not represented the Lord and His kingdom very well. Man has
had the God-given authority and dominion of the earth, according to the Lords plan
and purpose, yet he has done a miserable job managing the Lords wonderful creation.
Why is this true? What is
lacking in man that makes him such a poor administrator of Gods creation? Those who
managed the creation did poorly because they were not yet in Gods image and
likeness, nor were they crowned with glory and honor. The glory and honor of the Lord was lacking! The
likeness of Christ also was lacking! And unless man is transformed into the image
of God, and crowned with glory and honor, he cannot possibly take the dominion of the
creation and govern it in righteousness. The whole fallen, corrupt order of man is in
the debased condition it is because man has ruled in his fallen state. And the
Lord has ordained that it should be this way for an appointed time. But in
the age to come, a corporate man shall come forth in Gods image and shall be crowned
with glory and honor. They
shall then administer His kingdom with justice, equity, peace and righteousness just as
the Lord intended it to be.
The glory of the Lord now rests upon the sons
of God who make up the true church, the body of Christ. Gods
glory is not now, nor has it ever been, on a denomination or a building of mans
design. His
glory is the glory of Christ, which is His splendor in the realm of the Spirit. The glory
of the Lord is that holy and awesome presence of the Lord that is miraculous, marvelous
and beyond the feeble words of man to tell. That glory belongs to the Christ body. And the
hour is upon us when we shall be anointed, empowered and crowned with the fullness of the
wondrous, majestic, and awesome glory and honor of the Lord. Then we
shall be qualified by the authority He has given us to have dominion over His creation. Then it
shall truly be said by many, O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the
earth! When
the Christ body is complete and united in one, we shall all be changed into His likeness
and crowned with glory and honor. We shall then have dominion over the whole
creation in that wonderful, resurrected, new creation state.
The writer to the Hebrews also proclaimed the
truth of the creation of a new heavens and
earth. And,
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are
the works of thine hands: they shall perish, but Thou remainest; and they shall all wax
old as does a garment; and as a vesture Thou shalt fold them up, and they shall be
changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail (Heb. 1:10-12). One
aspect of the vision the elect shall have in this hour is the vision of a new heaven and a
new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Pe. 3:13). We shall not forever rule and reign over an
earth that has been worn out and destroyed by the effects of mans sin, perversion
and darkness, and by Satans dominion. We shall eventually reign over a restored
universe.
The earth, as we see it now, is slowly wearing
out and its resources are diminishing. It is all waxing old as doth a garment, just
like the word of God says it will. To those without a vision, it appears that we
will not have enough water, oil, gas, trees, rain forests, vegetation, spotted owls,
birds, beasts, creeping things, insects, fish, and sea mammals. Environmentalists
are trying to stifle agriculture and industry, for they think that we are at the end of
earths resources. There
are many unbelievers and skeptics who are far from God and have no vision. They are
worshipping the creation rather than the Creator (Ro. 1:25), putting the creation before
man. But
man was given this dominion (Gen. 1:26-30). God and man must always come before the
creation. That
is the divine order! Many
millions of those in darkness have no vision of Gods power of restoration! Though
mankind has done a terrible job of managing our resources, there will be enough of
everything to the end of this age. Then the whole creation shall be made new
again. And
the reason we are running out of the earths resources is because we are at the end
of the ages of mans dominion.
By the inspiration of the Spirit, the writer
to the Hebrews prophesied that both the heavens and the earth would perish,
and would wax old as doth a garment. Thank God he didnt end his dire
prediction there, but went on to declare, And as a vesture (garment or mantle) shalt
Thou fold them up, and they (the heavens and
the earth) shall be changed: but Thou art
the same, and Thy years shall not fail. The entire universe is in Gods sight as
a vesture, as a mere piece of cloth or garment that the Lord shall pick up and turn over
in His hands, thus making it all new again. With the ease and simplicity of someone
changing garments the Lord will restore the whole creation. The
restoration of the earth is to the Lord as if He would remove an old coat from the mantle
of the earth and put on a new one. That is the truth of Gods word which is
presented in Hebrews chapter two, in Peters epistle, and in Old Testament prophecies
(Ps. 102:25-28, Is. 66:22).
The heavens and the earth will be changed and
restored by the same power that is changing
us. The
whole creation shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious freedom
of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19-22). When the
Lord has completed His work of restoring the earth, there will not be one needy, starving,
famine-ravaged person anywhere on earth. Then every man shall sit under his own vine
and fig tree; and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath
spoken it (Mic. 4:4, Zech. 3:10). Only our omnipotent God could make such a
promise as this, and back it up with His glory and honor. And He
alone is worthy to be adored, revered and worshipped by all. The
restored heavens and earth will not be under the dominion of angels, but will be given to
the saints of the most High. Let this be our vision, and the daily
struggles and conflicts of this life will be seen as nothing when compared to the greater
plan and purpose of our omnipotent Father that is now coming into view end quote.
REIGNING
FROM THE HEAVENLIES
Many
a sermon has been preached on the rule of the Kingdom of God on earth, and I think most of
them have missed the mark because they see only God reigning over His Kingdom. The
greatest mystery of the ages is that seated at the right hand of God today is a MAN. God came
down from heaven and invaded humanity, He took upon Himself the nature and the body of a
man, so that when He went back to the throne (His omnipotent power in the Spirit), He
would take humanity back to the throne. There is no mystery to it that God sits on
the throne, He belongs there; but to think now that MAN is sitting on the throne! Jesus
of Nazareth, a MAN approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs...THIS
JESUS hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore
BEING BY THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD EXALTED... (Acts 2:22,32-33).
There
is confirmation of this in Acts 7:55-56 where we read concerning Stephen, But he
being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God
and JESUS STANDING ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. And said, Behold I see the heavens opened and
the SON OF MAN standing on the right hand of God. The
right hand of God is simply a metaphor denoting the spiritual realm of all authority, power, and dominion. It is the
divine realm of Gods omnipotence. It was
rankest blasphemy in the minds of the persecutors of Stephen for him to say that he saw
JESUS, the SON OF MAN, standing at the RIGHT HAND of God. Such
words were for him to seal his doom at the hands of the high priest and all the council. If
Stephen had said he saw the SON OF GOD there, it would not have been so grievous,
perhaps, but when we realize that it is the SON OF MAN seated in such a place, then it
assumes proportions that we never before have thought about.
The
right hand of God is not a physical location somewhere in the universe. The
throne of the God who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent spirit is
not a material one, but bespeaks of the REALM OF HIS SUPREME AND UNIVERSAL AUTHORITY AND
RULERSHIP; and our Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted to the glory of that rulership. The right
hand of God is a realm of power and authority, a position of eminence, a condition and a
state of divine being. It
is the assumption of the almighty power and universal dominion of the Father! It is the
dispensing of His positive energy force into
His creation. Exalted
to that high realm Jesus no longer walks in a limited physical body, for He now indwells
the spirits of His many brethren, who are the FULLNESS OF HIM THAT FILLETH ALL IN ALL
(Eph. 1:22-23).
And
blessed be God! We
now have a share in the REALM OF THE RIGHT HAND. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, and not
on things on the earth. For
ye are dead, and your life is hid with
Christ in God (Col. 3:1-3). Ephesians 2:5-6 tells us that when we
were dead through our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ...and raised us
up with Him, and made us SIT TOGETHER WITH HIM in the heavenly places (the heights of His
own exaltation). This
shows that as we come to know the resurrection life of Christ, we are also made to
experience the ascension of Christ. We are chosen of God not only to be made
alive from the dead and have Gods life, but also to sit in the heavenly places as
ASCENDED MEN. He
causes us to ascend with Him and sit with Him in the heavens NOW! Therefore,
ascension truly is the position of those who know Christ in His fullness. The
position of ascension rests not only on the fact of Christs ascension, but on the
LIFE OF ASCENSION WE HAVE OBTAINED WITHIN US. The Christ who indwells our hearts and is
being formed in our lives is THE ASCENDED CHRIST, and His life is ascended and heavenly,
and is given from heaven. Although in the conditions of the outer man
we still live on earth, yet according to the inner man we are already in heaven. The
situation is just like our Lords during His time on earth. He said
then that though He descended from heaven He was still in heaven
(Jn. 3:13). This
was due to the fact that His life and consciousness were heavenly and one with heaven.
It
is true therefore that as we ascend into the high places of God in the spirit, we are
reigning with Christ from His heavenly, spiritual throne. As we
truly become overcomers by the ascended life of Christ, we are also given power over the
nations to rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessels of a potter they shall be
broken to shivers (Rev. 2:26-27). This rule is given to the overcomers in Christ! As the
life of ascension within us raises up Kingdom dominion in our lives we reign with Christ
in the Spirit, and the worldly powers of man can be broken by the authority within
Gods sons. The
will and ways of man are displaced by the power of the Spirit and replaced by the
spiritual power of the Kingdom of God. We are a spiritual people. And the
Kingdom of God is the spiritual realm of our Fathers dominion. Therefore
our reign in Christ is a spiritual reign, which is accomplished as we move in and by His
Spirit in relation to things in the earth realm. Through that spiritual dominion Gods
will is brought to pass on earth as it is in heaven.
All
the vaunted thrones, powers, and dominions of earth are as sand castles on the beach
before the power of the Kingdom within us. The greatest power in the universe is that
which flows forth from the throne of God in the heavenlies! Although
the Lord has ordained the powers that be for a purpose and for a season, the
true throne of God remains in the heavenlies in the realm of the Spirit. During
the days of king David, who was one of the most powerful and honored kings of Israel, and
who reigned gloriously from his physical throne on the earthly mount of Zion, the throne
of the Lord was really in heaven, for David ruled by the Spirit of God and it was the
Spirit of God upon Him out of the heavenly realm that constituted the throne of the Lord
in the midst of His people. The prophet Isaiah, who prophesied during the
reign of four kings of Judah, also beheld in spirit and saw the throne of Yahweh in the
heights of the heavenly realms of the Spirit (Is. 6:1, 66:1). Jesus
also proclaimed the truth that the throne of His Father was in heaven (Mat. 5:34, 23:22).
Armed
with this sacred knowledge that the throne of God is a spiritual throne in the spiritual
heavens of His divine life, wisdom and power, it is clear that there is no throne anywhere
that can withstand the moving of God by the Spirit in Kingdom dominion. As His
sons we must take our place in the heavenlies, acknowledge that we are seated with Christ
at the right hand of God, and begin to move more and more out of the unity of His mind and
will within us. As
we sit in the high place of spiritual ascension in union with our Lord we are establishing
a vital link between heaven and earth by which the Kingdom of God more fully comes to
earth, thus usurping and overcoming the powers of man. As one has written, Each time we rise
in the Spirit to worship our Father at His spiritual altar, the fire from His altar is
cast to the earth to change the world (Rev. 8:3-6). This is the direct result of the reign of
Christ, which shall continue to increase until all is changed!
The
sons of God are called in this hour to minister to the Lord and for the Lord from the
realm of His presence. The
throne of God is in the presence of the Lord in the heavenly realm of His Spirit. Our
spiritual ministry in the presence of God releases a mighty stream of Gods life and
power from the heavenlies that flows from the presence of the Lord to all the earth. As heaven
casts its shadow upon the earth, all things are changed just as the sick were healed when
the apostle Peters shadow fell upon them. It is by the word of the Lord that flows
through us from the throne in the presence of God within ourselves that causes Gods
will to be done on earth even it is being done in the heavens. This is
taking place even now as God calls His sons higher into His presence and glory. There is
nothing that cannot be affected on earth through the spiritual ministry of the sons of God
in the Most Holy Place in the heavens of His Spirit!
Multitudes
of Christian ministers today are ministering from the lowlands of carnal church programs
and promotions. We
have a higher calling in God. Only as we rise into the heavens of
Gods Spirit and minister to the Lord and for the Lord from the realm of His greater,
spiritual presence in the Most Holy Place of His throneship, shall the blessings and
benefits of His heavenly Kingdom continue to change us and the world. Father
has raised us up into a unique place in this spiritual temple of the body of His sons. Our
hearts cannot settle for anything less, for we yearn and long and pray and travail and
seek for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Nothing
else will satisfy! As
we abide in this heavenly realm of His presence, taking our position seated in Christ
Jesus at the right hand of God in the higher than all heavens His mighty
spirit-power shall continue to flow to the earth, changing the world and shaping the
nations for the full and powerful reign of the Kingdom of God. Those who
are called to sonship are experientially ascending in the Spirit to the high places in
God. They
are recognizing and taking their rightful place on the throne of the Lord, by the Spirit,
where they reign with Christ.
Today
we are living in momentous times. We are living in a period between the ages,
and God is initiating a new order and ministry in the earth. My prayer
is that all who read these lines will see in the spirit this new ministry of the Kingdom of God on earth! As we
fulfill this Kingdom ministry, this Kingdom dominion in the Spirit and by the Spirit, all
evil and darkness shall eventually be removed, to trouble the world no more. The
spiritual ministry in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly realms of the presence of the
Lord is the secret to conquering all evil and all darkness! Preaching and ministering
according to the old carnal methods and techniques of the church systems will avail but
little in this battle against the corrupt kingdoms of this world. But when
we ascend in the Spirit to the heavenlies where Gods will is revealed to our hearts,
and Gods word is put in our mouths, and we worship and intercede and speak from the
throne of the Lord, we then begin to defeat all darkness and evil and put every enemy
under Christs feet by releasing the presence and power of the Kingdom of God in the
world. This
is a new ministry we are entering at this time, and it is real and very powerful. It will
bring the blessings and benefits of the Kingdom and Gods power and glory to all
mankind. Make
no mistake about it sons of God
have a tremendous responsibility. We are not called to merely learn deeper
truths; we are called to RULE AND REIGN WITH CHRIST! We are called to possess the Kingdom, to take
the Kingdom, to take dominion over all darkness, sin, and death. We are
called to break the kingdoms of man to shivers, and to rule mankind as if we were
shepherds tending a flock of sheep.
God
is bringing us in the power of the Spirit to a new place. There are
certain principles of the Kingdom of God that must be a part of the frame of mind and the
experience of all who fulfill the high calling of sonship. We must
learn to think like God. We must begin to RULE WITH CHRIST IN THIS
LIFE. Kingdom
dominion begins in that inauspicious place where we now dwell. Too many
saints are weak, frustrated, troubled, and defeated. Many run
to and fro seeking someone to deliver them out of their distresses and problems. May the
dynamite of Gods Spirit blow us all out of the low places of lethargy,
discouragement, oppression and defeat into a vibrant walk with Christ in the high places
of joy, peace, faith and triumph of His Kingdom within. Strengthen
yourselves in the Lord and in the power which His supreme might imparts. Put on
the complete armor of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of
the devil. For
ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires,
the forces that control and govern this dark world the spiritual
hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. Therefore
put on the complete armor of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground in the evil
day, and having fought to the end, TO REMAIN
VICTORS ON THE FIELD (Eph. 6:10-14, Weymouth).
Once
the believer embraces the truth that he is now seated with Christ at the right hand of God
in the higher than all heavens, his heart will find rest and joy and confidence in the
face of all situations and circumstances. The right hand of God is the place of
omnipotent universal power and dominion FAR ABOVE ALL
THINGS! Such
all-embracing majesty is far too vast for my feeble understanding, yet I know by the
Spirit that the body of Christ is being formed and prepared for the explicit purpose of
UNIVERSAL DOMINION! Yet,
how can a man rule over principalities and powers and universes if he cannot rule his own spirit? If my
mother-in-law, my boss, or my neighbors get me down, how can I handle nations? It is my deep conviction that what happens in
your life and mine is a result of the use or abuse of the principles of the Kingdom of
God. Learn
this, beloved, and you will know one of the fundamental principles of reigning
with Christ in the heavenlies: OUR AUTHORITY IS OVER SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS FIRSTLY IN OURSELVES!
I
never think of the glory of reigning with Christ without remembering an incident that
happened many years ago. In 1966 three brethren and I made a mission
trip from Florida to Central America by automobile. We arrived late one night in Tegucigalpa, the
capital of Honduras. From
there we were scheduled to fly to the island of Roatan for a series of meetings. Three
things needed to be done the following day before our departure. The
brakes on the car must be fixed, we must find a place to leave the car while away from the
capital, and we must locate the Embassy of El Salvador and secure visas for our return
trip through that country.
After
breakfast at our hotel the next morning we inquired at the desk for the address of the El
Salvadoran Embassy. The
desk clerk courteously gave us directions and we set out to accomplish our business. But there
was no Embassy at the address we were given. Driving around the block we found nothing in
that area that resembled an Embassy. Finally, inquiring of a man on the street, we
were informed that the Embassy had moved to another location. But when
we arrived at the new address, there was no Embassy there, either! I entered
a small shop nearby and introduced myself to the owner, a well-dressed, distinguished
looking business man. He
said, Oh, yes, I know exactly where the Embassy is; in fact, I have business in that
part of the city and will be most happy to accompany you. He
climbed into our vehicle and happily we sped away. An hour later we were driving around in
circles and our distinguished guide still could not find the building he was quite certain
he had seen a hundred times before! Disheartened, we dropped that project, concentrating
instead upon getting the brakes repaired. In a matter of minutes we discovered a large
garage and were motioned in. We stated the problem, whereupon a mechanic
proceeded to jack up the car, take off the four wheels, and disassemble the brakes. Once the
parts were laying out on the floor an attendant informed us that it would be three days
before they could fix the brakes! Astonished, we instructed them to reassemble
the brakes, and made our departure.
I
was aware of an American church in the city and thought perhaps we should seek help from
the pastor. We
did find the church rather quickly. Leaving the brethren in the car I made my way
to the door of the residence attached to the sanctuary, and rang the doorbell. A young
American girl answered the door. I asked if she could direct me to the pastor
of the church. Her
response was that she didnt know the pastor, neither did she know his name, where he
lived, or how he might be contacted. By this time I was completely confounded! We had
spent the entire morning accomplishing absolutely nothing! Our
efforts to locate the Embassy were fruitless. The attempt at getting the brakes repaired
ended ridiculously. And
now here we sat atop a hill in front of an American church in a Spanish-speaking capital
in the heart of Central America, and an American girl in that American church denies any
knowledge of the pastor of that church!
I
related this news to the brethren, whereupon one brother, especially sensitive to the
Spirit, exclaimed: The Lord shows me that this city is RULED BY SPIRITS OF
CONFUSION. We
must agree together and bind these governing spirits in Jesus name! We joined
hands there on that hilltop and spoke to the spirits of confusion reigning over the city
of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, commanding them to loose their hold. After
several minutes of praise and rejoicing we drove down that hill, saw a Texaco station, and
were impressed by the Spirit to pull in. We met the proprietor, an English-speaking
gentleman. In
the conversation that ensued we found that he knew where the Embassy was, and he
graciously offered to park our car by his station while we were in Roatan; furthermore, he
would fix the brakes while we were gone and then the
icing on the cake he picked up his
phone and arranged a free nights lodging for us at a Bible School on top a mountain
just outside the city. Within
forty-five minutes after we took our position in the higher-than-heavenlies and bound the
spirits of confusion that had us (and the entire city) running in circles, every problem
was solved, every need met, and all our business accomplished! Furthermore,
we were convinced in spirit that not only had we personally triumphed in Christ, but
something tremendously glorious had transpired in the heavenlies that would redound in
blessing to that city and country for years to come. And the subsequent history of Honduras in
relation to events in Central America over the past thirty-five years proves that we were right!
Simply
speaking, the purpose of God is that we might reign for Him, and to reign is to exercise
authority for God to rule all
things. All
who in Christ appropriate the fullness of His life and glory and exaltation are destined
to exercise that awesome dominion by the Spirit, seated together with Him, far above all
principality and power. This
is the blueprint and strategy for the triumph of His Kingdom in all realms, from the
lowest hell to the highest heaven. Ah, beloved, we shall reign throughout the
age and the ages to come until all enemies are conquered and Christ is All in All.
Let
me give you another example of how we are called to rule and reign over the nations at
this present time. In
1983 the Lord spoke to me in a dream. In the dream I was standing on a wide
boulevard at a busy intersection in the city of Moscow. At this
intersection was a large vacant lot, and erected on this lot was a tall pole on the top of
which was affixed crucifixes and religious emblems of the type used by the Russian
Orthodox Church. I
stood in transfixed wonder, astonished that in a nation ruled by an atheistic government
which harshly suppressed all outward expressions of religious faith, this religious symbol
should be planted in such a prominent place with no connection to any nearby church
edifice. As
I marveled, I turned and saw to my left a vast throng of people coming, marching down the
boulevard. The
street was completely flooded with this crowd of demonstrators, and those at the head of
the parade (who I presumed were priests) held out in front of them a great number of
crucifixes and religious emblems identical with those on the pole. Again I
was amazed that in an atheistic nation where public religious demonstrations were
forbidden, this multitude of people should be uninhibitedly parading their religious
symbols through the thoroughfares. At that moment I started across the side
street, but the demonstrators turned toward me and I found it necessary to run in order to
keep from being trampled.
Immediately
the scene changed. I
was in the same city, but found myself in a storefront building. There was
nothing in the large room where I stood except a number of folding chairs. I was
aware that this building was used by certain believers who met for prayer, counsel,
preparation and planning; for from this place teams of ministry were sent forth throughout
the length and breadth of Russia. Suddenly I was transferred to a small room at
the back of the building. The room was furnished only with a single cot
with a small table at its head, upon which lay a book with a dark purple cover, and
embossed across the front in gold letters was this title: THE UNITED STATES IN PROPHECY. The next
scene was back in the larger room where several people were congregated. I knew
that a meeting was soon to begin, with prayer and a strategy session for sending out the
ministry teams. In
connection with this activity I was shown a massive intervention of Gods power
accompanied by a dramatic move of the Holy Spirit across Russia, by which the nation would
be stirred with the manifestation of the glory of God. With this electrifying knowledge planted
within my consciousness, I awoke.
Immediately
the interpretation of the dream flooded my spirit. It was clear that a new condition of
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY was to come to the people of the Soviet Union. Remember this was 1983. At that
time Yuri Andropov was in power and Mikhail Gorbachev was unknown to the Western world. We had
not yet heard the words GLASNOST and PERESTROIKA. And the imminent collapse of the Soviet Union
was the farthest thing from anybodys mind! In 1984, first at a Convention in Daytona
Beach, Florida, I commenced to proclaim the word the Lord had given me; following that in
meetings in El Paso, Texas and in other parts of the country. The
Spirit revealed to me that the advent of religious
liberty (typified by the pole) would be
followed by a revival of religion (represented by the parade). This we
have seen come to pass! Late
in 1989 as I watched the NBC Evening News, suddenly THERE IT WAS! The
reporter was giving a report from Moscow. Down the broad avenue I saw them coming...a
vast throng, literally hundreds of Christian believers marching on foot...at the forefront
of the crowd marched the Russian Orthodox Priests holding out the crucifixes and icons the exact scene I had witnessed in my dream six years prior! I shouted
through the house to Lorain, Honey, come, look! Thats it! There is
the procession I saw in my dream!
Exactly
as the Lord said, much of what is happening in Russia today is taking place within the
precincts of religious Babylon. The Russian Orthodox Church has had a
dramatic increase of people, priests, seminaries, and restoration of power and prestige. Thousands
of new churches have opened representing many denominations and groups. The Lord
has opened doors tremendous
avenues for the gospel of salvation. Teaching services in Russian churches are now
diverted to evangelistic messages in deference to the masses of unbelievers (most
first-time attendees) flooding the meetings. Invited by friends or attracted by a printed
invitation, many Russian people come to churches seeking an answer to their great
spiritual hunger. Evangelical
churches are filled with new inquirers, and many newcomers are converted to Christ. Most have
dramatic and emotional experiences all are
life-changing. Excitement
permeates Russian churches as believers have the joy of leading unbelievers people who have never prayed before in their lives to the Lord. And there is a very significant revival in
the cities, especially among the youth. But for the most part this is all an
elementary move of the Spirit within the context of the church systems of man.
The
sovereign move of God in miracle working power that the Lord showed me in 1983 HAS NOT YET
BEGUN but it looms
upon the horizon. There
was to be a revival of religion first, then the mighty move of the Spirit of God. Since
1984 I have had a ministry to Russia in and by the Spirit and through that saw the
collapse of Soviet Communism there just as the Lord had moved me to proclaim. Everything
that has happened there has been according to that word of the Lord and the proclaiming of
it! That
is what it means to be given power over the nations and to reign over them from the
heavenlies! By
prayer, by faith, and by the revelation and proclamation of the word of the Lord we have
heavenly governmental power and authority to change
things! The
sons of God are beginning to reign in the heavenlies, and earth is being impacted by their
authority and dominion! When
the present distress in Russia has run its course, there will be an unprecedented,
sovereign move of God in that country that will bring the glory and honor and power of the
Kingdom of God in a new and higher dimension, and bringing multitudes into living
relationship with God beyond the religious systems of man through the power of the Holy Spirit! I was
made to understand that the book I saw THE UNITED STATES
IN PROPHECY indicated that
American ministries were destined to play a pivotal role in this move of the Spirit in
Russia. But
beyond that, America represents to the whole world the concept of LIBERTY, and God is
about to PROCLAIM LIBERTY to the captives of communist ideology, sin, darkness, bondage,
hopelessness, poverty, sorrow and death throughout Russia!
The
groundwork is being laid. The preparation is in progress. The stage
is being set. And
regardless of what events, positive or negative, may yet transpire, the mighty God, in due
time, will utter His voice from the heavens and great shall be the sound of abundance of
rain. Can
you comprehend, dear reader, what effect you can have upon creation by REIGNING FROM THE
HEAVENLIES? There
is no need to board a great airliner and fly to far-away nations with strange sounding
names and quaint customs in order to bless the world. I have never set foot on the soil of Russia,
yet I do not doubt for one instant that the faith and prayer in my heart and the
declarations of Gods word through my mouth aided in some mysterious and divine way
the amazing events that have unfolded and are unfolding in that land.
The
sons of God are now arising on the world scene. It will be MORE than revival this time, my
beloved, IT WILL BE THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITH POWER! There is a fresh move of the Spirit, a new
ministry from the Holiest of all, and a new work of God in the earth that transcends by
far anything that has ever been seen or known. We are nearing the hour of the full
manifestation of the sons of God. The long awaited liberation of planet earth
is near at hand. The greater works that Jesus told us of are ready to begin. The hour
is at hand when THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER and the enduring Kingdom of God
which shall never be destroyed shall consume and destroy forever all other kingdoms. The sons
shall reign in the power and authority of the Spirit over all dominions from pole to pole,
from sea to sea, and from galaxy to galaxy, and all nations and peoples and entities shall
know and serve the Lord. There shall be peace on earth and goodwill to
men, with justice and judgment and equity and LIFE ABUNDANT FOR ALL.
Chapter
56
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
Its
a fascinating thought . . . could there be somewhere out there in the vastness of space .
. . beyond the solar system . . . beyond our Milky Way galaxy . . . other worlds of
intelligent beings? This is a subject that intrigues scientists and theologians alike. What is
the likelihood of
other intelligent life in the universe? It is not a new question. In the
4th century B.C., Metrodoros of Chios observed: It seems impossible, in a large
field only one shaft of wheat to grow, and in an infinite universe, to have only one
living world. We
do not know what other races of intelligent creatures there may be, but I think it is no
stretch of the imagination to believe that, as this world is only one speck in the vast
creation of God, there may be millions, yea, billions of other races in the countless
worlds around us, and all of these are invited to behold the glory of the invisible God
manifested in the many sons who are His image and likeness.
In
1966 two astronomers, Carl Sagan and Josef Shklovoskii, desired to estimate the number of
planets in the universe with favorable environments for the support of biological life. They
determined that it takes a certain kind of star with a planet located at just the right
distance from that star to provide the minimal conditions for life. Working
with just these two parameters, they estimated that 0.001% of all known stars could have a
planet capable of supporting advanced life. By that estimate there could be more than one
million life-supporting planets in our galaxy alone!
We
must not think that when our ministry is finished here on earth, and all men have bowed
the knee and happily owned Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, when all the earth has been
set free from the curse and sin, sickness and sorrow have flown away; when the dirge music
has sung its last song, and the minor chords are all gone, that the Master will then say,
Go and sit on a heavenly mount, and sing yourselves away forever and ever. No way! What
Bethlehem was among the thousands of Judah, this little earth is to the great Universe of
God for it is here
that the glory of God has broken forth! All those stars, those worlds of light, who
knows how many of them are inhabited? It is my conviction that there are regions
beyond our imagination to which every son of God shall become an everlasting illumination,
a living expression of the love, wisdom and power of their Creator and God. The
people in those far-distant lands could not see Calvary as this world has seen it; but
they shall see it in the redeemed that are conformed to His image. Some
entertain the foolish notion that each of those worlds have their own way to
God, but such cannot be the truth, for it is the testimony of scripture
that it is in Christ that all
things are gathered together into one, of things both in the heavens and
in the earth (Eph. 1:10).
Truly
in that day the Lord shall say to His sons who have brought the Kingdom of God to pass in
the earth, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. He is to
keep on doing something, you see. Gods Kingdom does not stop here on this
globe, and Gods revelation is not limited to mankind. Compared to the orbs of space
the earth is insignificant. The celestial realm is unutterably greater
and its glories grander. Men will risk all of their fortunes and their
lives to seize the reins of even the smallest of earths governments. Yet the
glory of universal dominion promised to the sons of God is greater than all! The man
who has been a faithful and wise steward of God here, will be promoted by our heavenly
Father to more eminent service in the ages to come. This shall be our heaven, not to go there and
walk on golden streets waving palm branches and playing harps, but to enter upon some
larger, nobler ministry for which we are preparing by the lower and more arduous service
of this present time!
There
are worlds beyond this one, scattered throughout the vastnesses of infinity, all created
by our Lord Jesus Christ and all included within the scope of His ever-increasing Kingdom.
Long
millennia ago God created the heavens and the earth. A
universe of raging infernos called stars came into existence. Astronomers
estimate that their number is equal to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or one sextillion yet, their utter
extremity has never been seen! There seems to be no end to the twinkling
points of light. Only
of the earth was it said that it was without form and void empty. The scriptures refer repeatedly to the hosts of
the heavens. Scattered
among these myriads of stars and nebulae are millions of solar systems composed of suns,
planets and moons. Those
worlds, too, are to be explored and Gods great purpose fulfilled in them through the
sons of God, for Gods Christ is heir of A-L-L T-H-I-N-G-S. Ages to
come...it will take them all, precious friend of mine, though there should be billions or
trillions of them, to complete the great and grand purpose of our Creator. What a
calling! What
a plan! What
a destiny! How
magnificently awesome and meaningful the words of the inspired prophet: And of the
INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE there shall be no
end!
UNIVERSAL
DOMINION
More
than thirty years ago, standing in the darkness of a jungle in South America, many miles
from the nearest road or town, and further yet from anything that could be called a city,
it seemed that every star and galaxy of the heavens adorned the night with the
scintillating brilliance of diamonds. Looking up I could see the immensity of God. On some
dark night look up and behold the infinity of God, look up and consider the majesty of
God, look up and see the glory of God, look up and wonder, look up and be awed, look up
and be overwhelmed. Take
a look at the heavens, consider this infinite universe, contemplate the immensity of it,
examine the balance of it, reflect upon the order of it, give attention to the symmetry of
it, observe the way everything works by divine law and purpose in the light of
all this, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of
man, that Thou visiteth him? (Ps. 8:4). What is man, that God cares for him and visits him do you want to see it? Continuing this divine assessment of man the
inspired Psalmist says, Thou crownest him with glory and honor. Hes
showing how mindful God is of man, the greatness of His purpose for man. Thou
didst set him over the works of Thy hands. Do you
want to see how great man is in the scheme of things? Consider what are the works of Gods
hands over which man, crowned with glory and honor, is set: When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and
the stars, which Thou has
ordained... (Ps. 8:3).
Thou
has put all things under his feet (Ps. 8:6). Now his feet is not Jesus, his feet is
MAN. Its
not talking about Jesus, its talking about MAN. Quoting this passage and speaking again of
man, not Jesus, the writer to the Hebrews says, Thou has put all things
in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in
subjection under him, He left nothing that is not
put under him! (Heb. 2:8). Man was created to be king of the universe. Man was
designed by God to rule and reign over all things everywhere. Man was
destined to have dominion on earth and in the heavens. Man was to have authority in all realms. Man was
appointed to be sovereign not merely over
the earth, but over all the unbounded heavens. Did you know that? It was
the divine intent that man should be lord of all with all created things under submission
to him, that man would explore, conquer, control, harness, utilize, bless, rule, and
direct all the earth, the elements, the heavens, and all worlds and realms, visible and
invisible, and all creatures, visible and invisible the whole
creation of God!
But
there is a problem. Although
man is destined for universal rule and dominion, the apostle continues: We see not yet all
things put under him. Does any wish to debate that? Take a
look at the world in which we live. Man was made to reign over the earth, but man
broke his covenant with God. When man sinned he brought ruin to the earth,
the ruin of sin, the curse, and death. Before sin mans hair was not turning
gray, his teeth were not decaying, his heart was not giving out, his skin was not becoming
wrinkled and flabby, his bones were not getting brittle or his body weak and stooped. There was
no cancer, there was no stroke, there was no disease. There was no famine. There was
no weed. There
was no rust. There
was no flood. There
was no plague. There
was no storm no frightening
hurricane, no devastating tornado. There was no hatred, no greed, no lust, no
cheating, no lying, no deceit, no murders, no crime, no war. God
created man in His own image, He placed him in a perfect environment, and he told man that
he was to rule and reign and that all things
were in subjection under his feet. But man violated his union with God. Every
broken body, every disturbed mind, every lack and weakness and sorrow of the human race
for at least 6,000 years can be traced to mans violation of his union with God. Therefore,
we see not yet all things put under man! Look at
the terrors of our world and it is plain to see that not
yet has even the earth been
subjected to man, much less the celestial realms above!
But WE SEE
JESUS! (Heb. 2:9). It is interesting to note, there are two
prominent words used in Greek for see HORAO and BLEPO and the
writer uses both in one sentence. He says, We see not
yet all things put under man, that is, take an in-depth, studied, wide-angled look,
examine carefully we see not yet
all things put under man. That is HORAO. But
we see Jesus its a
fleeting glance, one look is enough to settle the issue
that is BLEPO. Ah, we see not yet all things put under man,
but we see Jesus made a little lower than the deity for the suffering of death,
CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOR... (Heb. 2:9). Jesus was lowered for a season that He by the
grace of God might taste death for every
man, that through His redemption He might restore all men to the righteousness,
joy, peace, wisdom, authority, power and dominion that was theirs in the beginning.
The
world is filled with hopelessness today only because men do not see Jesus! All is
despair and futility and lack if we dont see
Jesus! He
is the great Captain of our salvation and the Firstborn of many brethren. He
is the Firstborn from the dead, and the Firstborn of every
creature. He
is the proto-type of Gods ordained destiny for all men. Oh yes,
we who have been quickened by His Spirit, infused with His life and imbued with His mind we SEE JESUS! We see
Him overcoming sin, self, the curse, and death. We see Him risen, ascended, crowned with
glory and honor, exalted to the throne of the Majesty on high, heir of all things, with
all power in heaven and in earth, having obtained a name above every name, Lord of all,
King of the universe, higher than angels and principalities and powers, the image and
likeness and dominion of God over all things restored
in man. That
is what we see! We see Jesus
and in Him we see our very own calling and destiny!
Therefore,
let us consider the honor and glory with which Jesus has been crowned. Present
estimates no doubt underestimates put the size of the universe at over twenty thousand million
light years in diameter. Thats about 120,000 million million
million miles. Present
estimates also no doubt underestimates put the number of galaxies in the known universe at over
100,000,000,000. Since
each galaxy has roughly 100,000,000,000 stars, that means the universe has over
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (ten thousand million million million) individual stars or
suns. Why
did God design such an immense universe? And why did God create such an innumerable
number of stars? For no reason?
For some reason?
For
an incredible reason!
God,
away back before the mountains were formed, or ever the sun and moon appeared, had
perfected His plans for the future rulers of the works of His hands. Those
plans called for a planet named earth, and for His future rulers, his sons, to be placed
there for their training in Gods school of dominion. And those
plans called for a tempter to ensnare the original pair, who were made to be deceived and
subjected to a realm where they could learn to overcome and rule, first within themselves, then over the earth, and
finally over all things of Gods vast creation. For the creature was made subject to
vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope
(Rom. 8:20). God
had a better plan for men than a garden a very beautiful
garden, of course, yet a garden in which nothing ever happened and no one ever learned
anything or got anywhere. If there had never been a fall, then there
could be no salvation, and man could never have learned through grace to rule over his
enemies within and without.
The
fall with its plan of redemption provided the perfect school where man could experience in
a practical way the principles of dominion.
Man was created a human being, formed of the earth,
infused with the spirit of life from God, with not one thing wrong with him. He never
had a headache, nor a heartache, nor a trouble, nor a care. He was
just a perfect specimen of humanity, a son of God, a prisoner of earth, placed in a garden
to dress and to keep it. This man was completely untested, untried,
undeveloped, and inexperienced. And if there had been no tempter and no fall,
then man would never have attained to anything higher. I dont like farming. I am
neither a farmer nor the son of a farmer. Im rather glad Adam got out of that
place! I
have higher aspirations than messing around eternally in a park, tending to the birds and
beasts in it, and bossing them around. Oh yes, I know that park must have been a
very delightful place and filled with allegorical realities. But I
soon get tired of frittering away my time in beautiful parks. Man was
not made for that! If
man would have been made for that, God would have kept him there. Its
just as simple as that. I
am getting tired of being a prisoner of earth. Instead of being shut up in a park with Adam
and the rest of his race, having dominion over the beasts and the fowls and creeping
things in it, my feet are beginning to itch to go exploring beyond this old world. And
whats more, that is exactly what I am in preparation for! And I am
going to do more than that; for my Father tells me that now, since breaking out of Eden, I
am not only going to explore, but I am going to own, as a joint-heir with Christ, all the
countless worlds of His endless heavens and every creature in them. Who wants
to go back to Eden?
Thanks
be to Gods wise and wonderful plan, we now, who are recipients of Gods
grace, His dealings, processings, and His glory, have advanced to the place where we shall
judge angels and reveal God to the principalities and powers in the
heavenly places (I Cor. 6:3; Eph. 3:10). Go on with your Eden, you folks who want to
go back to it. I
have something better. The
Bible begins with man in a garden, but it ends with the Holy City coming down from God out
of the heavens with life and light and love and glory for all creation: Behold, I
make all things new! (Rev. 21:5). I never
did like cleaning out horse stalls and cow stables anyway. I have
aspired to a better job; for my Saviour now promises me a seat with Him on His throne,
helping to rule over His endless and eternal universe (Heb. 2:5-8; Rev. 3:21; Rev. 21:7). This
heavenly calling is not as a park attendant, playing valet to a lot of beasts and birds,
but a king-priest after the order of Melchizadek (Heb. 3:1). Eden
never offered anything comparable to this!
The
Bible clearly teaches that Gods sons shall inherit all things
(Rev. 21:7; Heb. 2:8). The whole universe shall be theirs! Every
world that floats in space shall be subject to their word and at their disposal, as they
range the broad fields of the boundless heavens. Here and now we are a people in whom there is
royal blood; sons of God, heirs to the throne; we are born to rule over all things, and
God is preparing us for that dominion. The rule of one little world is not enough
for a man born of the omnipresent God of the universe. It may be for a chipmunk. It is not
for a son of God, because one born from
above is too big in his spirit, which is
his real divine self. To
be a spiritual man, a heavenly man, he must reach out to the future, to infinity, to
eternity, and grapple with the powers of the ages to come, and compel them to gird him with
strength to fulfill the ultimate intention of our heavenly Father.
It
reminds me of the review I read of Thornton Wilders famous play, Our
Town. A
little girl is leaning out a window on a beautiful moonlight night, telling a little boy
friend about a strange letter that has just arrived in their crossroads town of Groves
Corner. The
letter was addressed in a most unusual way. Instead of just having the name of the
crossroads post office, and state, it was addressed:
Groves
Corners,
Sutton County, New Hampshire,
United States of America,
Continent of North America,
The Western Hemisphere,
The Earth,
The Milky Way Solar System,
The Universe,
The Mind of God.
When
the little girl finishes telling about it, the little boy who listens has enough insight
to pause and say, Well, what do you know! What do you know! All the
while he thought he had been living in Groves Corner, New Hampshire, and that was all. Instead,
all the while he had been living in the Universal Mind of God! Ah, my
beloved, you have a more complete address to which your mail must be addressed when once
you perceive yourself as spirit seated together in union with Christ in the
higher-than-all-heavens at the right hand of God. And if you have the insight, even of that
little boy, you will pause long enough to say as you contemplate the fact that in union
with God you live not just in Connecticut or California, in the United States of America,
or Europe, or Asia, or Africa but in the
omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Spirit of God, Well, what do you know! What do
you know! We
are children of the universe. As sons of our heavenly Father we are
universal children not to be confined to any spot or place in the cosmos. Even as
now our minds roam over the vast expanses of Gods universe, even so shall we
ourselves follow our minds and fill all things. This is our heritage. We are
not bound to this earth. God yet has an obligation to all of the
creation and it will be by and through us that He will fulfill that obligation. The sons
have not yet come to manifestation to bring deliverance to the earth, but that is about to
be accomplished, and it is only after that that the work of revealing God to the whole
universe will begin. With
humbleness of mind and holiness of heart let us prepare ourselves for the change that is
coming.
If
you wish to be dwarf men, stunt them, cut them down, reducing them to a race of spiritual
Lilliputians, then proclaim that earth is the extent of the dominion of those who rule in
the Kingdom of God. But
God made us on no such diminutive, low-down scale as that! He made
us so big that unless we can penetrate beyond the outer shell
of flesh and lift our spirits, breathe the air of eternity, and soar into the
All-ness of God, our understanding fails, and we will grovel like worms of the earth. The King
of glory comes and irradiates us with the glory of transcendent hopes. He begets
within us a living hope, an eternal hope, an unbounded hope which, like leaping and
dancing flames, lights up all that is within us, and then throws its golden glory out to
the farthest shores of infinity. Sons of God!
Oh,
the mystery of it!
The
sweet singer of Israel was a seer and this truly is the understanding he had when by
inspiration he penned the Eighth Psalm. When we read the words of this Psalm we get
the impression that the writer is a great astronomer. He speaks as though he had just come from one
of our observatories where he had been peering into the depths of the universe through a
great telescope. But
David did not have access to a modern observatory. We can only understand the wisdom of his
marvelous words when we recognize that he spoke by the spirit of wisdom and revelation
from God. When he considers the heavens and the stars, he asks as we all might
ask who know that the earth is but a grain in the towering mountain of creation What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of
man, that Thou visiteth him? For Thou hast made him for a little while
lower than Elohim, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou
madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things
under his feet.
A
report that came across my desk recently states: Today a small group of physicists are
seeking to understand the infinite. Their cherished goal is beautifully expressed
in a statement by Murray Gell-Mann. He put it this way. It is the most
persistent and greatest adventure in human history, this search to understand the
universe, how it works and where it came from. In strictly geographical terms it seems
astoundingly presumptuous of men and women to even seek such understanding. Physicist
Gell-Mann explains the paradox of human desire to understand where and why everything
began: It is difficult to imagine that a handful of residents of a small planet
circling an insignificant star in a small galaxy have as their aim a complete
understanding of the entire universe, a small speck of creation truly believing it is
capable of understanding the whole. But in fact, such ambitious projects are
typical of the story of man. As the proverb says, It is the glory of
God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter (Prov.
25:2). Never
satisfied with what he knows today, man always wants to know something more tomorrow. He never
rests content.
Today,
unregenerated, carnal man is shooting rockets to the moon and Mars, boasting that he is
going to use the planets as a launching pad to soar to the universe beyond. But man
is simply getting in too big a hurry! He is striving to take over and
rule what he has not fitted himself to manage. There is that deep, innate knowledge in the
subconscious of man that he is destined to explore and subjugate the universe. But man
has not yet proven his ability to rule this planet, much less the worlds beyond! Man with
his history of greed, lust, strife, treachery, wars, bloodshed, deceit, and perversion has
now stockpiled enough atomic bombs to not only blow this earth to smithereens, but twenty
more just like it! Shall
God indeed commit into the hands of corrupt, depraved human nature the rulership of the
universe? No
way! Man
is reaching out to rule that which he has not qualified himself to rule and before it
has been made lawfully his! Man is still a rebel. But what
mankind does not know is, that when, through Christ, he first qualifies
for the trust, it has been Gods intention all along to place not only the
moon and Mars, but the WHOLE VAST, LIMITLESS UNIVERSE under his jurisdiction!
We
see not yet all things put under man, but we see
Jesus, crowned with glory and honor. We see the first son of God to qualify for
universal dominion! To
be crowned means to be given kingly rule. To be
crowned with glory and honor speaks of the excellence and greatness of the rule
Jesus has now as the administrating, Ruling Executive over the ENTIRE UNIVERSE! He has
ascended far above all heavens that He might fill
all things. All
authority and power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth.
God
has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:
that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. Oh yes! A man in
Gods image and likeness is now the Head
of all principality and power, angels, authorities and powers being made subject to Him.
Christ
is now ruling over all things, for He overcame all things. As
qualifying sons of God we are now in preparation to be raised up with Him into
the power of an incorruptible life in spirit, soul, and body, to inherit with Him ALL that
HE has now inherited! When
we have been changed by the redemption of our bodies, we will need no space craft to
ascend through the heavens, but will soar to worlds unknown just as Jesus did in His
resurrection and ascension.
So that is
the supreme heritage of man if he is
willing! Man,
and man only, of all the life-forms God has created, has been given the incomprehensible
privilege of being born into the GOD FAMILY, the ELOHIM, the universal
ruling family of GOD. This
family relationship is a GOD-PLANE relationship, not an animal-plane, human-plane,
angel-plane, or alien-plane relationship. Angels are ministering
servants of God in the administration of
His universe-ruling government. Are there aliens flying around the galaxies
in flying saucers? I
do not doubt it for one minute. But the fact is it is really irrelevant to anything! Some are
caught up in the different orders of aliens the Grays, the
Nordics, the Reptilians, etc. but to none of
them is the dominion given. God may have many kinds of servants throughout
the universe, but it is a higher calling to be the very SONS OF GOD. He
that overcometh shall inherit all things;
and I will be his God, and he shall be my
son (Rev. 21:7). Even the angels of might and glory are mere
servants, ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them (not to them!)
who shall be the heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). During
the days of His flesh, in times of severe testing and weakness, angels came and ministered
to Jesus. But
not any more! For
when He ascended He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they (Heb. 1:4). And seated with Him in the heavenlies we are
seated far above the dominion of angels! For unto the angels hath He not put
in subjection the world to come...Thou hast put all things in subjection under his
(mans) feet (Heb. 2:5-8). Some speak of angels as sons of
God, but such a notion contradicts the word of God. For
unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee? Or,
I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a son?
(Heb. 1:5). We
speak the truth in saying that angels are servants, but
we are the sons and the heirs of God.
A
young son of a wealthy man, while still a child, may be under the care of an adult
servant. The
servant is older, farther advanced in knowledge, on a higher plane physically and mentally but far lower potentially.
For
when the son is mature, he will inherit ALL HIS FATHERS WEALTH AND POWER! Therefore,
the servant who is temporarily older and more mature is a servant to the young heir. But when
the heir comes into his manhood he will then command the servant. Such are the angels! Rulership
over the universe does not mean merely the physical universe, the moon, sun, stars and
galaxies. It
is a dominion over ALL THINGS, ALL REALMS, and ALL DIMENSIONS within that universe;
every being, entity, order, all worlds, aliens, angels, devils,
principalities, powers and dominions. Therefore, the apostle wrote, He seated
Him (Christ) at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above ALL
RULE and AUTHORITY and POWER and DOMINION, and EVERY NAME that is named above every title that can be conferred not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age
and in the world that is to come...and He raised US UP TOGETHER WITH HIM and made us sit
down together GIVING US JOINT
SEATING WITH HIM in the heavenly sphere (Eph. 1:20-21,
Amplified).
Oh,
the wonder of it! Our
Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God. He has
been given the dominion and the kingdom. The whole universe has been delivered into
His mighty hands, and now He tells us that it belongs to us; that we have been raised to
sit together with Him at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being
made subject unto us (I Pet. 3:22). We are to sit with Him on His throne, which
is the Fathers throne (Rev. 3:21). We are not only raised up to sit with Him on
His throne, but He has been given a name that is above every name, and we are also to
share that wonderful Name. Listen to this: To him that
overcometh...I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city
(government) of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my
God...and I will write upon him MY NEW NAME (Rev. 2:12).
This
present time is but a proving ground for those who through grace will reign with their
Lord over the endless vastnesses of infinity. They have proven faithful over few things. Now they
shall soon be made rulers over many...over ALL HIS POSSESSIONS (Mat. 24:45-47). He has
given us His glory because we are His brethren, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh,
spirit of His spirit, life of His life, mind of His mind. We are of
common parentage, brothers by the new birth, becoming like Him in name, nature and being. We are
all out of one for which reason He is not ashamed to call us brethren. He has
raised us up to sit with Him in the higher than heavenlies, hence we belong on His throne.
And
the place which He has been preparing for each one is not only a world to come, and a
Kingdom of Life and Light, but a position, a place of eminence at His side, ruling with
Him over all the eternal endlessness of His unbounded heavens!
As
I have pointed out before, I now remind you that the Kingdom of God, having filled the
earth in the dispensation to come, will from thence extend eternally outward to
reconstitute, reconcile, bless, quicken, illuminate and transform the entire universe,
enfolding within its mighty branches the vast limitless expanse of nebulae, luminaries,
and galaxies until the multiplied myriads of the ransomed and reconciled shall in chorus
fill the vastness of the universe with this glad song: Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye
the Lord from the heavens: praise Him in
the heights. Praise ye
Him, all ye angels: praise ye Him, all
ye hosts. Praise ye
Him, sun and moon: praise ye Him, all ye stars of light. Praise
Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that
be above the heavens. Let
them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created. He hath
also established them for ever and ever: He made a decree that shall not
pass...let them praise the name of the Lord: for His name alone is excellent; HIS GLORY IS
ABOVE THE EARTH AND HEAVEN (Ps. 148).
For by Him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things
were created by Him and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist. And,
having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you that
were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled (Col. 1:16-17,
20-21).
I
must emphasize that God is the Creator of ALL THINGS. Notice the things that the inspired apostle
includes in creation. ALL
things in the heavens, all stars, galaxies and worlds with all the life forms, entities,
and powers they contain. ALL the things on earth, from the highest to
the lowest. ALL
things that are visible, or that are discernible to the physical senses ALL that the
eyes can see, ALL that the ears can hear, ALL that we can touch, feel, taste or smell has been created by God. ALL things that are invisible were created by
our God ALL the wisdom,
ALL the knowledge, yea, even all that which has not been discovered, tapped, or conceived
by the mind of man God created. ALL of
the myriad machines and devices that shall yet come out of the mind of man, were created
by God. ALL
of the vast forces and powers and universal laws that science has discovered and has not
yet discovered, were created by God. ALL the thrones, and the glory and the power
of them that occupy them, in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, were created by
God. ALL
the dominions and lordships, the mastery and the supremacy, were created by God. ALL the
principalities and powers, angels, intelligences, chief ones, demons, devils, and spirits
of every order in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, were created by God.
It
is not just the fact that all these were created by God that startles us the most, but it
goes on to say that BY THE BLOOD OF HIS CROSS ALL
THESE THINGS ARE RECONCILED TO GOD IN
HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. This
implies that every alien entity on every planet in all the galaxies of the universe are
reconciled by the blood of Gods Son. Furthermore, it means that the principalities
and powers in the heavenly realms needed reconciling and are
reconciled by the blood of Gods Son. Is this
not why the blessed Redeemer was both a heavenly
being and an earthly
being? He
was the Word from heaven made flesh upon the earth, heaven and earth, spirit and flesh,
divinity and humanity, blended into one so that the Son could say, No man hath
ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in
heaven (Jn. 3:13). Praise God, even the principalities and powers in the heavens are included in the glorious reconciliation, peace,
blessing and life secured by the blood of His cross! The man who was from heaven, born on earth,
is reconciling both realms and gathering all things INTO HIMSELF what a wonder
that is!
Hear
it! By
Him to reconcile PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS IN HEAVEN and on earth (Col. 1:16-20). These are
the words that stopped me in my tracks one fair day. What is therein heaven that needs
to be reconciled, I queried. The thought had never crossed my mind! I had
always assumed that all was at peace and that never a cloud had darkened any brow in that
bright eternal realm of Spirit. Discord in heaven? Perish
the thought! Sin
in heaven? Impossible!
Negative
forces in heaven? It
couldnt be! Wickedness
in heaven? No
way! But,
I thought, not only does it plainly state that Christ will reconcile things in
heaven, but it furthermore states that among the things to be reconciled are
PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS. Principalities in the heavens that are
discordant with the will of God! Powers in the heavens that are hostile to
God! Principalities
and powers in the heavens that must be
reconciled, and that by the blood of Gods heavenly
Son! I had always assumed that Jesus died only for men. But
comparing the following three scripture passages it becomes very plain. He
hath quickened us together with Christ...and hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:5-6). For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers...against WICKED SPIRITS
IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES (Eph. 6:12). For by Him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers...and having made peace through the
blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all
things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether
they be things in earth, or things in heaven (Col. 1:16-20).
It
is not just the scope of things on earth being reconciled that startles us the
most, for it goes on to say, and things in heaven. One day
the words struck me with such incredible force! There I faced anew one of the old,
well-known verses of the Bible, and when the profound truth of it broke in wonder and
glory within my consciousness, I had a completely new Bible, and an increasingly wonderful
God. For
the first time in my life I saw what God had created in the beginning. In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
And
the scope of things created is the full scope of the things reconciled! God must
reveal the fullness of Himself to all realms and worlds and bring every spirit, creature,
and entity in the whole vast universe into relationship and union in Himself. I
discovered at least sixteen different items or groups of items CREATED AND RECONCILED in
that one short passage in chapter one of Colossians:
1. All
things in heaven
2. All
things on earth
3. Visible
things
4. Invisible
things
5. Visible
things in the heavens
6. Visible
things on the earth
7. Invisible
things in the heavens
8. Invisible
things on the earth
9. Thrones
in the heavens
10. Thrones
on the earth
11. Dominions
in the heavens
12. Dominions
on the earth
13. Principalities
in the heavens
14. Principalities
on the earth
15. Powers
in the heavens
16. Powers
on the earth
All
this is to be reconciled BY THE BLOOD OF GODS SON! God is
raising up a priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, the body of the High Priest in the
heavens, the king-priest sons of God. Their parish will be not only the earth, but
the heavens also. God
is going to make Himself known through us to the myriad hosts of the heavens. Our bliss
will be to bestow the boon of Gods favor and redemptive power throughout the bounds
of stellar space. Out
of the magnificence of Gods grace and glory we will gladden the hearts of all His
creatures in worlds we have never seen. Can we not see by this that the Royal
Priesthood, which shall be the instrument of God to effect this universal reconciliation,
is itself both earthly and heavenly,
composed of men of earth who have been born from above, raised up and made to sit AMONG
THE CELESTIALS IN JESUS CHRIST? Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of
the heavenly calling, consider the
Apostle and High Priest of our profession,
Christ Jesus... (Heb. 3:1).
There
is to be a restoration! Today
we see a terrible lack of things being right, or in divine order. There is
a divine order for creation, an order of life and harmony. There is
a proper order for animal life, vegetable life, and human life. There is
a proper order for every planet, every world, every life form, every order of beings
throughout all the infinite stretches of space. Reports I have heard from those who have been
abducted by aliens in space ships indicate that many of those aliens do not know the life,
ways, or power of the living God. They do hideous things to people, leaving
them psychologically traumatized, physically mutilated, and filled with fear and torment. All
things everywhere are out of order, in frightful chaos. The curse
must be lifted, every enemy put under our feet. Divine order for the universe must be
restored. All
creation is groaning and crying for release from the curse of sin, decay and death. And
everything hinges on that body of sons that are to be manifested in that perfect state of
divine order. And
those who receive of this victory and glory, the wonderful mind of Christ, conformed to
the image of the Son, with a full and complete triumph over sin, carnality and death, in
spirit, soul and body these make up
that blessed company TO WHOM IS GIVEN DOMINION OVER ALL THINGS!
How
we praise God that we are living in the times of this restoration! It is the
greatest day in the long history of man. It is at hand! I know
its at hand because I see a people being pressed and processed into the very life of
God. Over
fifty years ago the revelation of manifested sonship broke forth in the earth in a blaze
of glory, and since that time God has been dealing in deep and powerful ways with those
who have embraced the hope. The knowledge of Gods purpose has
spread over the whole earth, to every kindred and people and nation. It has
been the sovereign work of God apart from any organization or the united efforts of any
group or ministry. Not
only you and me, but all creation as well will thrill to what God brings to pass in this
grand and glorious restoration! The creation itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the sons of
God (Rom. 8:21). The
word of God, as well as the witness of the Spirit, makes us know that this is not for some
other age. It
is now! It
is here! Be
ready! Prepare
yourself! Cast
aside all doubt and fear! The kingdom and the dominion is being given
to the saints of the Most High! Victory over every enemy is arising within a people the SONS OF THE
LIVING GOD!
While
we thus stand, as it were on Pisgahs heights, and view the grand prospect just
before us, our hearts rejoice in the Lords great plan, with unspeakable joy; and
though we realize that Gods true church is still in the wilderness of humiliation
and testing, and that the hour of divine breakthrough has not yet fully come, yet, seeing
the indications of its rapid approach, and in spirit already discerning the dawn of the
New Day, we lift up our heads and rejoice, knowing that our redemption draweth nigh. Oh what
fullness of blessing and cause for joy and thanksgiving the truth contains! Truly, the
Lord has put a new song into our mouths. It is the grand anthem, the first note of
which was sung by the angelic choir at the birth of the infant Jesus Behold, I
bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be unto all people, for unto you is born this day a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. Thank
God, the harmonious strains of this song shall ere long fill heaven and earth with eternal
melody as a whole family of sons in His
exact image and likeness and form are born Saviours on
mount Zion and the work of
universal salvation, the restitution of all things, which they come to accomplish
progresses toward its GLORIOUS CONSUMMATION!
What
glories lie beyond this, we cannot know. Of this we may be sure: we who are redeemed
have entered a progressive institution, a Kingdom in which stagnation will never enter. We will
ever go on from glory to glory, for of the increase of His government
and peace there shall be no end. We will
never come to the place where we may sit down with folded hands and say, This is the
end. We,
who have been born into the heavenly realm, have entered a stage of action, we have become
active agents in the greatest development program ever conceived. A whole
universe awaits our touch and guiding hand.
Away
out there in the blue is a Kingdom of life and light and love for every son of God to
explore and develop and perfect. And if ever, in all the countless ages to
come, that Kingdom should become too small or overcrowded for its citizens, let us
remember that we, being as He is, are therefore, one and all, the very same kind of Beings
as He who simply spoke the word, and lo! the present worlds appeared. Being
like Him, the offspring of His own nature, wisdom and power, we will also be creators, one
and all, and not destroyers, as in our human state. WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM.
THE
LAUNCHING PAD
We
are inclined to lightly pass over many profound statements of holy scripture. Consider
with me for a moment the opening words of the divine record. In
the beginning God created the heavens... (Gen. 1:1). That
phrase, the heavens, is an inclusive one, and it is the heavens
not heaven. The
Hebrew word used in that way is always in the plural, and used in that way it refers to
what we would speak of as the whole universe.
You
may have heard of Heptarchus who attempted to catalog all the stars in the sky, and in his
final report he said, There are thousands of them. Now scientists today tell us that, if we took
the time, even with the naked eye we can count up to 2,000! They say
that is the extent of the possibility of vision of the human eye. But with
the aid of telescopes and reflectors, it was Ptolemy long ago who peered into the vastness
of space and said, There are millions of them! And when Herschel turned his great reflector
on to the heavens he made this announcement, They
cannot be numbered. That is the last word of the scientific
investigators of the heavens. The most recent estimates reveal that there
are at least trillions of them!
The
divine record continues, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now why
is the earth referred to in a sweeping cosmic statement? Is it not
enough to say the heavens? Is not the earth included in that great
statement? This
earth of ours is just one tiny speck in this cosmic sentence why specify it?
Simply
because the moment you say earth you set the scene of the great drama of the
Bible. In
the scriptures the scene of all its activity is this earth on which we are now living. That is
because Gods purpose in the whole universe begins with earth! Earth is the cradle of Gods
revelation of His glory to all realms!
The
earth is but a speck and the sun a spark in the vast creation that is known to the modern
astronomer. So
insignificant is this earth in comparison with the universe of celestial bodies, that its
removal from space would cause less commotion than the loss of a penny from the trillions of
dollars in the national treasury in Washington. But with all our modern knowledge of
astronomy, which reduces to insignificance our infinitesimal planet and the people that
populate it, we have no scientific or scriptural ground, strange as it may seem, for
believing that this world in which we live is anything less than the ancients imagined it
to be the center of
the universe! It
is the revelation of Gods infallible word that has mightily magnified the importance
of this grain of sand in the mountain of creation.
In
this hour when our whole universe is becoming our backyard, there are some who have
settled for a very small and inconsequential purpose for the earth. Such as
these have great difficulty understanding why our little earth, by comparison so small a
place in the universe, should be the divine
stage whereon God is enacting His great
plan of the ages. The
inference seems to be that Gods purpose in man and in redemption cannot be so great
when the place chosen for its chief events is so small and insignificant. But this
miscalculation arises from the failure to discern the difference between a seed plot, where the seeds are planted, and
cultivated, and grown, and the immeasurable acreage in which those same seeds are
afterward sown to produce a vast harvest. The great mistake that many have in their
minds is the notion that this world is the whole sum and substance of Gods
redemptive plan and purpose. OUR PLANET IS ONLY THE PLACE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEED. Christ (Head and body) is the seed, yes! He
is the wondrous seed corn that fell into the ground and died and rose again. And in
the end, this seed shall grow and multiply and bring forth and fill and satisfy all the
acreage of Gods vast field of the cosmos! Thus, we are justified in calling earth the launching pad of the universe!
Just as the space shuttles
and rockets blast off for other worlds from the launching
pad at Cape Kennedy, so is the earth itself
the launching pad from whence the sons of God, when their hour comes, shall blast off by
the power of resurrection life to fulfill Gods great purpose in all realms of the
unbounded heavens.
Not
only is the earth the present center of interest, but the attention of all creation was
centered in this orb in those prehistoric days when the morning stars sang together and
all the sons of God shouted for joy. Methinks that they sang and shouted the
wondrous message penned millennia later by the inspired apostle, that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in the heavens, and which are upon the earth: in whom
also we have obtained an inheritance (Eph. 1:10).
The earth was, is, and
shall continue to be the seed plot of the universe! Do you think those sublime sons of God
shouted over
the beauty and grandeur of a sterile and purposeless universe? No, it
was a wise plan and a glorious purpose for every galaxy and world and creature that called
forth this oratorio of the sons of God. And there was a special reason why these sons
of God should rejoice in this new creation called earth. It was to
be the first sphere of their development and dominion the launching pad of Gods cosmic purposes!
The
whole creation, suns upon suns, systems upon systems, worlds upon worlds, immensity beyond
comprehension is centering its attention upon what is transpiring upon this little earth,
and the reason for all of this is because God has graciously seen fit to make this world
the theatrical stage of the universe. It is here that the drama of Gods
universal program is presented. It is here that Jesus Christ, the proto-type
of man in Gods image and likeness with divine life, power and dominion is first
introduced. It
is here that His many brethren, the manifested sons of God, enter into their inheritance
and commence their ministry and rule. And to make all see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages hath been hid in God, who
created the all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the
heavenly spheres might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to a plan of
the ages which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph. 3:9-11). Wherefore
seeing that we also are compassed about by
so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth
so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2).
The
church systems today offer no hope for this earth and no plan or purpose of God for the
universe. In
their view the world is going to the devil, getting worse and worse, and will end with the
antichrist, the great tribulation, and fiery vengeance, with only a few saints evacuated
off to a heaven somewhere beyond the blue. Their attitude pictures humanitys
condition somewhat like poor George. George fell off a scaffold from three stories
up, broke half the bones in his body, scalded himself with hot tar and lay in the hospital
covered with bandages from head to foot, strapped in traction, fed intravenously only his left
eyeball was visible! The
doctor came in, checked the chart at the bottom of the bed of pain, hummed knowingly, but
not too encouragingly, came around the side of the bed, looked closely at George and said,
I dont like the looks of that eye! Hopeless! That is how the church world views humanity
today.
The
wonderful truth is that the whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight
of Gods sons coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see
reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in Gods purpose it has been
so limited yet it has been
given hope. And
the hope is that in the end the whole of
created life will be rescued from the
tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only
belong to the children of God! It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that
at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is
plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension,
while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that we have realized our
full sonship in Him (Rom. 8:19-23, Phillips).
Chapter
57
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
Scientists
finding fossil footprints of extinct dinosaurs assure us that these great creatures must
have roamed the earth in the long ago. As they walked upon the semi-solid earth,
later hardening into rock, they left these indisputable evidences of their existence. In like
manner God has trod this earth; He has traveled the infinite depths of space leaving His
mark on everything touched. The starry heavens are studded with countless
universes flung from His omnipotent hand. He has set them in their destined locations
and marked out for them their appointed speeds and orbits.
The
notion that God for many ages through incomprehensible measures of time countless
billions of trillions of earth years remained inactive
and then at a comparatively recent date created the universe and our world is both
illogical and fallacious. This view assumes that eternity preceded
time, that time began from several thousand to several billion years ago, and God was
within eternity uncreative and unproductive.
Here,
in the picture people have of God first contemplating the idea of a creation and then
resolving to bring it into existence, we have God suddenly becoming something in recent history that He
had never been before!
Just
as a king is not called a king until he has a people subject to him, so in like manner the
name Creator cannot be applied to one unless there is something that has been
created. God
is not called God until He has a people, as it is written, And I will be
your God, and ye shall be my people (Lev. 26:12). Furthermore,
the smiter can smite, but he is not called the smiter until he has smitten
something. Even
if there is no smitten object, and there is nothing lacking in the ability of
one to smite, yet it is only when there is a smitten object that it is proper to call the
smiter by that name. Thus
with the Creator possessing the
ability, wisdom, and power to create does not make Him a Creator. Only when He has created something is He the
Creator!
I
declare to you today that our God is spontaneously
creative. He
is not systematically creative. What I mean by that is that God does not
employ a program in His purpose and activity. God is a God of spontaneity. God
moves, not by system or method, but by the creative power of His life. God is
speaking in this hour a word of life. He is energizing us with His life,
transforming by His life. The life of God is the creative power of His nature. When I say that God is spontaneously creative, it is my conviction
that God has always been everything that He is. He says, I am Yahweh, I change
not. You
cant add anything to God. There is no increase of what He is. There is
an increase in manifestation, a progression in His purposes, but God Himself does not
change. If
God changed one iota today, He would cease to be God. He is God by virtue of the fact that He IS. I
am that I am; I change not; I am the eternal. By this God is saying, I am what I am. I always
am all that I am. I
have never been anything that I am not now. I never will be anything that I am not
already. What
I am I have always been. All that I am I ever will be. I change
not. That
is what makes God eternal. Anything
that changes in any way is not eternal, for in the change some characteristic is left
behind or a new one acquired. In every change something ends or something
begins. That which dwells in an eternal state knows no
change. Change
is possible only in that which is not stable, is limited, is imperfect, or not fully
developed. The
Lord declares of Himself, I am Yahweh, I CHANGE NOT (Mal. 3:6), and the
inspired apostle says of Him, with whom there is no VARIABLENESS, neither shadow of
turning (James 1:17). God is never surprised. God has
not learned anything this week, nor this year, nor in the past billion trillion years. If God
learned one thing today, it would destroy Him. He would no longer be the omniscient One, the
all-knowing One, for known unto God are all His works from the creation of the world. God does
not experiment. God
does not become stronger, wiser, mightier, or increase Himself in any way. God is
the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent One. He CHANGES NOT. He
eternally is all that He is without any decrease or increase or fluctuation whatsoever. Therefore
He is the ETERNAL GOD! Eternal means more than unending, it means unchangeable, and therefore
unending! Therefore,
God has always been Creator!
I
dont know about you, but I used to have the idea that God sat around in His heaven
for all of eternity past and never did anything. There was
just God, there was nothing else. God had never done anything except be God. God had
never spoken a word. God
had never created anything. God had never related to anybody, for there
was nobody else, just Himself. He was just God and that was all there was! And then
one day, unexpectedly, suddenly, mysteriously an idea came into His mind. A thought
presented itself. God
thought, Why dont I do something? Why dont I speak a word? Why
dont I make a creation? And in that sublime moment God first purposed to
bring forth a creation!
We
are wrong when we teach such a concept. God is life and the wellspring of life. In the
outflowing of that life I know Him; and when I discover that He is love, I see that if He
were not love He would not, could not create. Now let us consider together the nature of
this God who has eternally been Creator. We must clearly see that God is
all-inclusive, and that He lacks nothing whatsoever. And God is
love all goodness. Having said that God is complete within
Himself and therefore good, we can now go on to describe the attribute through which we
are aware of His existence His desire to share. This
is the consequence, the effect of His goodness.
Some
have said, and I have said it too, that God created man because He was alone and yearned
for fellowship for creatures
of like kind with whom He could commune. But this falls short of the nature of God
which is Love. Love
does not give because of the desire to receive;
rather, love gives purely out of the desire to bless.
The
desire for fellowship is the desire to receive not give! Now God
possesses that attribute also, as we shall presently see, but is first and foremost love the pure, unmixed
desire to impart. Here we
have the first principle of creation Gods
infinite desire to impart led to the creation of a vessel to receive His blessings. The
creation of the vessel (the one we know and are a part of, the present cosmos) is the
revelation of God by creation. He created the universe with all the hosts
thereof, and this world with its inhabitants. Thus the Creator could now bestow upon the
creation His infinite love and inexhaustible abundance. God is
the Lover, creation the beloved, as it is written, For God so loved the world...
We
have shown that the Creators nature is that of sharing, giving, imparting, and
blessing. However,
there can be no sharing unless there is some agent that can receive. So
Gods infinite and eternal desire to impart implies a desire to fulfill every
possible dimension and quality of desires to receive. Can we not see by this that Gods
infinite and eternal desire to give demands AN AGENT WITH THE DESIRE TO RECEIVE! The very
nature of God requires CREATION! To impart
or share with others, on any level, can only be considered noble or kind when the
recipient desires and enjoys that
which is offered him. When
the recipient rejects the gift, yet the donor continues to insist on its acceptance and
finally forces him to accept, one can hardly consider this an act
of giving much less of love. In fact, it is brutality and tyranny!
All
who read these lines know by experience that the mere mechanical act of giving is, in
itself, unsatisfactory and unfulfilling. Clearly there must be a desire to receive on
the part of the recipient, a knowledge of what the gift entails and signifies, before we
can say we are truly giving. If I should give a box of books to a thousand
people who cannot read and have no interest in books, I have not really given anything. It
follows that God could never give anything to anyone without an active desire to receive
on their part. So
the first step in creation was to bring forth the manifestation of the DESIRE TO RECEIVE! This
desire is inherent in creation, just as the would-be mother desires the implantation of
the seed from the father. Although some are so blinded by sin and
benumbed by death that they seek the answer to their cravings in all the wrong places,
even rebelling against the glorious Giver, yet God has a plan for all these, to bring them
to repentance (a change of mind and desire) so that they can
desire properly and discover the true source of life, blessing and reality. And thus,
as it is written, it is the goodness of God that leadeth men to repentance.
It
readily follows that because of His giving nature God must create an instrument with both
the capacity and desire to receive. The only way to accomplish this was for God
to withdraw Himself, to remove Himself, that there would be a place or condition where HE
WAS NOT. God
is light, the scripture declares, and in Him there is no darkness at all. Therefore,
let it be clearly known that darkness is naught but the ABSENCE OF GOD! And
the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). You will
understand a great mystery when you see how it is that creation was brought forth in the
domain of darkness, the realm from which, though created by God, God had withdrawn Himself! For
the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected
the same in hope. Because
the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God (Rom. 8:20-21).
Someone
asks, But isnt God omnipresent how could there
be some place where He is not? We say that God is omnipresent, yet there
certainly are realms from which He withholds some measure of Himself, otherwise He could
not say, Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me
(Rev. 3:20). We
say that God is omnipotent; yet He has
placed a limitation upon the exercise of His own power, just as it is written of Jesus
that He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief (Mat.
13:58). We
say that He is absolutely free, that He can do anything He wishes; yet He has put Himself
under obligation by His promises and is bound by His covenants.
Not
only was darkness (the absence of God) the first state of creation, it remains the
condition of the Adamic creation unto this day. The command, Let there be light!
is not merely an historical event, but a prophecy of the glorious reality that would be
birthed out of the darkness of the first creation. The work begins with darkness. God said,
Let there be light, and at once light shone where all before was dark. It is
only when the word of God pierces the dense darkness of our alienated, carnal mind with
the divine fiat, Let there be light! that our darkness displeases us and we
are turned to the light. In that blessed moment the shroud of
ignorance and death is removed from our heart and the light of life shines in to
illuminate, quicken, and transform that world which we are. The
people which sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and
shadow of death light is sprung up (Mat. 4:16). I am the light of the world: He that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (Jn.
8:12). Giving
thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light: who delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of His dear Son (Col. 1:12-13).
Gods
method in His going-forth cannot be better understood than by the use of a somewhat
uncommon word parsimony. We may say that Gods method of
realizing Himself in creation is by parsimony. To use an illustration if we desire to understand the composition of the great white
rays of light, we break them up into their constituents and see them as the colors of the
rainbow. All the colors are in the white light, for that is what white light is. When we
pass white light through a prism, through stained glass, or even through the cover on the
tail light of your automobile, what takes place is that part of the light is held back and
we see the remainder. This
is parsimony. To
change the figure, those who love little children often act upon the same principle. We have
to shed a portion of our experience, dispense with a part of our resources, yield up a
measure of what we are, and become children ourselves if we are to understand and relate
to children. We
isolate some of our persona, as it were. Your little boy or girl knows you as father,
but perhaps your fellow citizens know you as professor, banker, lawyer, carpenter,
electrician, mechanic, or proprietor. You have a larger life than the little child
knows anything about, and yet to live your fatherhood properly you have to shed the other persona in
the presence of your child and live and act as a child. Chapter
of your nature is dismissed, or withdrawn, or held back. Many know
me as a man of God, a preacher and teacher of the Kingdom of God, and there is a certain
esteem of the ministry the Lord has favored us with; but for a few years my little
grandson knew me as someone to play cars with! A lot of who I am was held back in my
relationship with him. Now
he is discovering other parts of me that he did not know at that time. There is,
furthermore, a part of me that only my wife knows, it is withheld from all others. What is
this but parsimony? The
principle of parsimony helps us to live our life truly. When we
get home from work we shut the world out; when we are at business we live in that as
though there were nothing else to live for. In different relationships we insulate or
restrict portions of our being.
It
is not difficult to see how this applies to Gods great principle of creation. God
withdrew Himself, creating darkness and void this is the
self-limitation of Deity; or to state it in other words, God retained, or held back, His
full resources in order that there could be formed outside of Himself and beyond Himself
and yet within Himself the desire to receive.
The
desire to receive is the basic mechanism by which the world operates, the dynamic process
at the base of all manifestation. The desire to receive affects all creation
because it is the basis of all creation. As we view the animate creation we find a
remarkable physical dependence upon the external world for survival culminating in man,
who has the greatest desire to receive of all creation
not only for physical things like food, clothing, houses, and
possessions, but also for psychological things like peace, happiness, satisfaction, love,
and above all, the deep inner craving for spiritual life, the insatiable hunger after
reality.
When
God created man male and female in His image, He revealed the great truth that He is
Himself male and female in His nature and attributes. God would never have known the action of
giving and receiving had He not known them as characteristics inherent within Himself. The
masculine nature is the nature of the Giver. Aggressiveness, boldness, strength, valor,
authority, power, and dominion are among the traits of the masculine nature. And it is
the man who provides the sperm out of himself for the creation of a new life. Thus, man
is the Giver. Modesty,
gentleness, tenderness, sensitivity, and dependence are attributes of the feminine nature.
It is the woman who receives the sperm in the act of procreation. And this
is why men hold doors open for women, and offer a woman their seat on the bus, instead of
the other way around. Woman is therefore the Receiver. When a
woman conceives, the realm of her conception is in
darkness the new life,
the new creation, the product of her union is formed in the seclusion and darkness of the
womb. In
its beginning the new life is without human form and darkness is upon the face of the
deep. What
marvelous things are wrought in darkness! Said the Psalmist: I will praise Thee;
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth
right well. My
substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being
unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were
fashioned, when as yet there was none of them (Ps. 139:14-16). And yet,
the receiver in
turn becomes a giver! The mother who receives the sperm at last gives a
child and pours out upon that child love, affection, care, instruction, and discipline as a Giver!
We
have been receivers up to this day, but with Peter we can say, Such as I have, give I
unto you! The
great principle of sonship is that we receive in order to be able to give! The sons
are receiving in fullness that they may give out of fullness. The sons
are receiving ultimately that they may give ultimately. The sons
are receiving infinitely that they may pour into creation infinitely. All men give out of
the measure they have, but God is bringing forth a people in this hour in such a dimension
of His nature, life and power that He shall be expressed through them in the fullness of
Himself. For
these creation groans, for only as this mortal puts on immortality, and this corruptible
puts on incorruption, shall we be able to deliver
creation from the bondage of corruption.
I
know nothing deeper in God than love, nor believe there is anything deeper than love, nay,
there can be nothing deeper than love! The being of God is love, and love demands an object the beloved. If God never created until six thousand years
ago or twenty billion years ago, then He could have not been love before that event, for
there was no object of love, therefore no expression of love. God would
have been throughout eternity before time loveless. Our existence is not accidental: it had to
be. God
must love, therefore God must create. The reality of love is a property inherent in
the essence of the lover. The Divine Lover, God, cannot love in a
limited way because in His nature and being He is limitless, so He loves to the furthest
limits of possibility. Creation
is therefore intrinsic to Gods very life, it is the outer landscape of His own
being, God making Himself visible to Himself and simultaneously making Himself visible to
us. It
is in some sense His very self, as Eve was Adams self. And in
this relationship with His creation Gods love is revealed in the interchange of
giving and receiving!
Far
away in the depths of my spirit I see that from all eternity God has been creating! In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same
was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him
was not anything made that was made (Jn. 1:1-3). Through faith we understand that the
ages were framed by the word of God (Heb. 11:3). That creative word was already there with God in
the beginning of our present cosmos. In the beginning...God said, Let there be...and there was... That
never-begun existence of the Word has eternally been the out-raying of the Fathers
nature. The
Word did not come into existence at the beginning of the present creation He already was. He is the CREATIVE WORD! To say that God
never created anything before Genesis 1:1 is to deny God His own being, nature, and
expression from eternity.
If
God never until recent times created anything, then God eternally never spoke and
never loved! If at any
time He either spoke or loved, then He created! These truths are self-evident. There has
never been a time when there was nothingness and only God in existence. The
scripture says that He is before all
things, but that doesnt mean that He eternally existed alone, only that He is
the origin, the source, the cause of all things, as it is also written, For from Him
and through Him and to Him are all things for all things
originate with Him and come from Him... (Rom. 11:36). There was
never a time when His omnipotent power was not outspread everywhere. We are so
narrow when we naively suppose that this universe is the first or only thing God has ever
done! God has never been contented to be alone, for He is love. He has
ever willed and labored to give existence to other creatures and worlds who should be
blessed with His blessedness creatures whom He
has eternally purposed to conform to His own image and likeness, a likeness developed over
eons of time, forever growing: perhaps never one of them yet, though unspeakably blessed,
has had even an approximate idea of the blessedness in store for him. It is the
ministry of Gods firstfruits company of sons to bring this blessedness to all realms
of all the creations of God in all dimensions forevermore!
It
would make no difference if there were a googolplex (the largest number that has a name)
of universes and a googolplex to the googolplex power of sons of God. Eventually Gods plan of the ages would be finished, and
then comes eternity what would seem
to be an eternity of stagnation, of the status
quo, of no more change or growth or creation forever after.
There
would then be nothing more anywhere with the need to receive,
and Gods nature of love would forever cease to be expressed, His creative power eternally
inactive. If
we can lay aside the traditions of men we will see that the creation of God and the family
of God will increase forever. And that is what the prophet Isaiah
indicates: Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end... (Isa. 9:7). The key
word is increase the government of God forever increasing in number, area,
power, scope, responsibility, creativity, fulfillment, fullness of life and purpose.
What
happens when the universe is fully occupied, and the glory of Gods sons has brought
the fullness of God to all worlds everywhere? Ah, some astronomers postulate that the
physical universe is potentially infinite in size, with space expanding and matter
continually coming into existence. Even if this were not the case, God is
CREATOR and other universes and dimensions may exist or be created. There is
nothing impossible with God! It is absurd to straitjacket Gods great
plan and power by the confines and limitations of the cosmos as we know it today. God is unlimited, almighty, omniscient in wisdom,
infinite in potential, omnipotent in power and ability. The human
mind cannot even conceive of, much less verbalize, what the scope and glory of Gods
activity and purpose throughout the unending eternity shall be! No end to the increase!
What
incomprehensible potential! Involvement in Gods government unto infinity is what God is offering us as His very own sons.
Infinity
for eternity! What
a prospect!
If
God has always been Creator, it follows that He is still creating today. One
astronomer describes how throughout the interstellar space freshly created particles of matter cluster first into gaseous thin
clouds and then swirl into even denser forms, finally bursting into flaming suns whose
energy is nourished by the transmutation of matter itself. These
swirling celestial fires are not merely single stars, but systems of stars within systems
of stars. Hundreds
of millions of them move in the rhythm which produces the galaxies. Who can deny that God is still creating!
You see, my beloved, creation is co-extensive with
the Creator. I
dont believe there was ever a time when God was not Creator, and therefore creating, because if God one
fine day became a Creator, then He changed. Something
was added to Him. He became something that He had never been
before. As
long as there has been God, there has been creation. I dont know how many creations there
have been, or how many parallel universes exist even now in other, unknown, dimensions. I know
the one that I see with my eyes, that I perceive with my senses. I know
the one that my natural man has been birthed into. I gaze at the majesty and immensity of the
heavens at night. I
behold the symmetry, the harmony, and the wonder of this earth with its towering
mountains, vast oceans, and teeming life forms. But I cannot conceive today that what I see
is the only thing God has ever done! There may have been ten billion zillion
googolplexes of creations, on scillions of levels, before the one that we are beholding
today. And
I do not hesitate to tell you that this is not the last creation! God
continues to create today and without His ceaseless activity all would sink into chaos and
nothingness. Jesus
said it this way: My Father is working still, and I am working.
Ray
Prinzing contributed a beautiful depth of insight into Gods Createrhood when he
wrote, The security of all the good
things to come is in Jesus Christ since it is IN
HIM that all things are to find their perfection and fulfillment. We
see Him as the Son of man, we see Him as the Son of God, we see Him as the great High
Priest, but we need to also see Him as the GREAT CREATOR for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible...all things were created by Him, and for
Him (Col. 1:16). It
is this GREAT CREATOR who has become our Redeemer, and you cannot separate redemption from
His creativity. As
Peter writes, Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping
of their souls in well doing, as unto a FAITHFUL CREATOR (I Pet. 4:19).
What about this CREATOR part in
todays sufferings? For the majority of Christians, CREATING was
an historical happening that was wrought a long time ago. In
the beginning God created... A creation was brought forth hazy, nebulous,
but in some way a revelation of His power. Then the erroneous teaching follows that an
enemy came by guile, treachery, and marred that creation, so now God has to try and patch
things up, rescue a few, and then close the book on the whole sorry chapter. What
nonsense! Rather,
we firmly declare unto you that CREATING IS A PROCESS STILL BEING CARRIED OUT BY THE WILL
AND GRACE OF GOD. Our
Redeemer, as our Creator, is still creating us, and we are being perfected in His hand as
He conforms us into His own image and likeness. This is why Peter, by inspiration, holds
before us the fact that the Creator is
faithful still operating
as such, and using suffering as a part of the creative process. As
we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Gods creative acts are not just limited
to history they are still in
progress, and some are very much yet in the future. I have showed thee new things
from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are
CREATED NOW, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not;
lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them (Isa. 48:6-7). Even though He has given
us promises of things that shall happen, good
things to come, yet there is such a unique creativity involved that no man shall
out-guess the way He shall accomplish His plan. That is why Peter admonishes us to be
established in the present truth (II Pet. 1:12). Our God
is marching on, but are we marching with Him?
The usual first thought for
Creator is Genesis 1:1, In the beginning GOD CREATED the heavens and the
earth. I
realize that one could go off in several directions with this, perhaps placing the
emphasis on the fact that it was God who did the creating; or, that it was the beginning
of His plan of the ages; or, we could spend hours meditating on what it was He
created. But
the thought that strongly comes to me is that far too often we limit HIS CREATIVITY to the
book of Genesis, chapter one, and we are not aware that HE IS OUR CREATOR RIGHT NOW. There is
a NOW-NESS in His creating which is presently taking place in a people. To say,
remember now THY Creator, the THY makes it a personal experience now. Yet it is
the proclivity of the carnal man to turn away from the Creator, and involve himself with
what was created instead.
How beautifully the scriptures turn our eyes
to behold a higher creation. For
Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building (Heb. 9:11). The Greek
word used here for building is ktisis which literally means: thing
made, a creation, and could rightly be read, not of this creation,
meaning, not of this present Adamic man. THERE IS A NEW MAKING TAKING FORM, in His
image, with His divine nature. This NEW MAKING is a part of the on-going
creativity of our God. And
each member of this new creation is an original handiwork of the Creator. If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (thing made, creation) (II Cor. 5:17). There is
a totally new creation being formed, and
it is not of this building, not after the realm of the earthy, but OF THE
HEAVENLY. It
is in the new that the scripture shall be fulfilled which saith,
For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).
With a broad sweep the prophet declares that
God is the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth (Isa. 40:28). The vast
galaxies, its farthest outreach, beyond the beyonds HE prepared,
formed, created it all. But
lest one would become overwhelmed by the immensity of it all, the prophet also reminded
them that I am the Lord, your Holy One, THE
CREATOR OF ISRAEL, your King. Thus saith the Lord, WHICH MAKETH a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty
waters (Isa. 43:15-16). Yes, He created the entire universe, but He
also CREATED YOU, and He reveals that creativity by making a way for you now, a path through the waters, a way
where there is no way. Who
ever heard of a path through the Red Sea? God created one when needed! But
Gods creative acts are not just limited to history, they are still in progress, and
some are very much yet in the future. Christ consistently pointed the people
towards the new, things that were to
happen in their day, and the future, because the working of the Father was progressive in
its unfolding. My
Father worketh hitherto, and I work (Jn. 5:17). He is the Lord our MAKER, and He is still
MAKING/CREATING that which furthers His
plan and purpose. And
then, in tremendous love and grace He includes us in that creative working. How
utterly awesome!
These are truths being revealed today which
have been reserved for this very time, and no one can say I already knew them.
God
has a creative work for this day which has never been seen before! God has a
truth for our today and it is sufficient for our times as we walk on
in His creative unfolding. People are so prone to look back to
yesterdays revival and want to repeat it over and over again, so they can say,
it is just like the good old days. Little do they know that those days are gone,
that God has a most unique, original work of creation for this day which is peculiarly
fitted to our times. Why
do we think He has ceased to be OUR CREATOR,
and has now become a Do It Again Worker. I find no witness of His Spirit within me to
return to the early church patterns. I have no inner Divine Urging to dredge up
the pattern of Israels historical dealings for a repeat. Indeed,
we are challenged to Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things
of old. Rather,
we are to REMEMBER NOW THY CREATOR, He is the Originator of that which
is ever new, and He says, Behold, I will do a new
thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will
make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert...this people have I formed for
myself; they shall show forth my praise (Isa. 43:18-19,21).
We have borne the image of the earth. We do not
need to go round and round on the wheel to see how many times we can bear this earthy
image, or have a repeat of His earthy works, or works in the earthy. There is
also an image of the heavenly to be borne. Let the natural give way to the spiritual,
let the earthy be replaced by the heavenly! He continues to mold and shapen and form,
because HE IS CREATING A NEW SPECIES,
that is, CREATING AN HEAVENLY HOST. Resurrect
and build replicas of all the old orders that you desire then pray them
through repeated cycles of revival after revival, but they will always go into a decline,
for God has not meant for them to endure. In our heart He has spoken of A NEW, and for us the former has now waxen
old, and we pray it will swiftly vanish away. We do not belittle the days that have passed.
We
praise God for every move of His Spirit, every work that He has wrought, but we see them
as stepping stones of preparation for that which is to come. For, we
repeat, HE IS THE HIGH PRIEST OF GOOD THINGS TO COME!
Even Paul, in turning the attention away from
himself, and unto God, told the people, Ye should turn from these vanities unto the
living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are
therein (Acts 14:15). When you worship let it be THE LIVING GOD, He
has the power to
create, He is OUR MAKER, the living Lord of all. Briefly and simply stated, when we need help,
let it go beyond Christ being our Healer, see Him as our CREATOR, He can create whatever is necessary
for us. We
can see Him as our Provider, but when we see Him as our Creator He can create provision
when there is nothing in hand. HE is our MAKER, and He can continue to make,
to produce, to create. My
help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth (Ps. 121:2). Ah, to see Him
as our faithful Creator means that we are connected to One of total sufficiency, total
power, total victory.
Remember
thy Creator, the Spirit speaks today,
And let His love and mercy attend thy pilgrim way.
To turn the shades of darkness into the dawning light,
Oerthrow the force of evil, and turn the wrong to right.
Why need we fear the future, or fret at things behind?
For He is all-sufficient een when our faith is blind.
And He remaineth faithful, to succor those who call,
Remember thy Creator, He is our All in all.
Ray Prinzing
We
are even now a new creation. If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. There is
an old creation and there is a new creation. But I have news for you! The new
creation shall also be a creator, for the new creation is that which is in union with Him who is the ETERNAL CREATOR. And I
tell you that I have higher objectives than this, but I did joke with my wife on occasion
that when I become a creator and create my worlds, I think one of the first things I am
going to create is a six-legged chicken! (I guess you can tell which part of the
chicken is my favorite!). That, of course, is merely a humorous
thought, for I am quite sure that any kind of chicken will be the farthest thing from our
minds when we come to that awesome and glorious task of being participators with God in
His ever-expanding, universal Kingdom. What I am saying is this: God IS. God has
always been everything that He is, and always will be all that He is. God has always been
Creator! He
will always be Creator! And now
He is making us His sons that we may in all things be like
Him! God
is creating today, and He is a God that is infinite in all of His ways. The sons
of God are SONS OF THE CREATOR and are therefore creators as is their Father.
The
creative spirit already dwells within man. If you have ever noticed even a child
loves to create. Have
your children not brought something to you, a picture they drew, something they made,
something they did? They
were so proud of it, so excited about it! But that is really the image of GOD in them
shining through! You
see, the nature of creativity is within every man. Thats why we have artists, poets,
musicians, architects and inventors. Where does a picture, a poem, a song, a
building, or an invention come from? Someone says, Well, the picture is
canvas and paint, and its the artist who does it. But give me canvas
and paint and you
dont want to see it! I bought a guitar once, too, and you
wouldnt have wanted to hear it! These things all proceed out of mind,
out of spirit. They
emerge from the invisible realm and are made visible by those who receive them. They come
right out of that creative nature breathed into mans nostrils, the very breath
and life of OUR CREATOR. They are not made, they are created! They are products of the inspiration of the
Almighty!
Paul
Mueller once quoted a letter he received from a brother who obviously has a deep
understanding of the creative processes of God. A portion of the letter said, This has
been a very exciting morning for me, as the Lord gave me a new picture and understanding
of what He is doing and how He is doing it. These are days of continuing creation. Our
Father, being a Creator, has never stopped creating. He is still creating out of nothing! A Creator
cant stop creating. Now He is creating through His sons. But how
is He creating? Where
is He creating? That
is the glorious mystery that is unfolding to me as I journey on His highway! We sons
are learning the higher way of God, our Father, who created everything out of no-thing. It all
came out of Himself. We
are creators made in His image, learning to create the kingdom as we live, move, and have
our being moment by moment, day by day. We are creating the kingdom where there was
and is no kingdom, only darkness. We are bringing it right into the midst of that
darkness!
How do we go about turning spiritual darkness
into Light? Just
by knowing and being who we are, children of light! It is all done out of rest! It is
done by the Person of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. It is actually the Holy Spirit who is doing
the creating through us, precept by precept, speaking the word of faith that becomes fact.
It
is taking many of us, who together are His body, to create the world-wide kingdom. We are
interconnected in Spirit. In Christ, we are one omnipresent Spirit. Now
instead of 120 in an upper room, we are a world-wide body of spiritual creators, bringing
the kingdom into being where before there was no kingdom in manifestation.
The kingdom of God appears in the midst of the
darkness as the sons speak the word of their Father from His center of higher spiritual
knowing, wisdom, and understanding within, Let
there be light! As the sons of God walk in earths
spiritual darkness and nothingness, wherever they are, they all say the same word, Let there be light! And that
light shines away the darkness. Because we are children of light, made in the image and
born into the family of our Father in Light, we may knowingly and purposefully speak His
Word. This
is spiritual Light, spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is
omnipresently networking the children of Light, those who speak the same Word with the one
mind of Christ in them, and who are brought into one accord and agreement together. If one
hears this Word in the Spirit, Let
there be light! although he may be
surrounded by spiritual darkness, he will speak to that darkness, and it must go. In that
higher way, each child of Light enters into the creation of the kingdom on earth and
becomes a living part of the present kingdom. Were busy creating the kingdom that was
not there beforehand in visible form. By faith it comes into manifestation, and
those who have been held captive to the worlds systems are loosed from the darkness.
They
come into the kingdom with rejoicing, singing, and an abundance of feasting on kingdom
infinite supply end quote.
Everything
that God creates is unique. He is a God of unlimited diversity, of
infinite variety, of inexhaustible capacity. We see this throughout the whole creation of
God. To
me it is amazing, its a wonderful thing that astronomers tell us the heavens are
composed of more than two hundred billion galaxies yet I
dont accept that! I
believe that not only is the creation co-extensive with the Creator in the sense that God
has always been creating, but I also believe that the creation is co-extensive with the
Creator in the infinity of His person. In other words, the only reason the
scientists believe that
there are two hundred billion galaxies is simply because that is as far as they can see. The fact
is that everywhere God is He is creating! Not only
is God always all that He is, He also is all that He is
everywhere that He is! His power, his glory, His wisdom, His
knowledge, His love, His goodness, all is as omnipresent as God Himself. God does
not have two eyes somewhere out in space with marvelous X-ray vision that can pierce
through all things. No!
The
eyes of the Lord are spirit eyes, and
everywhere Gods Spirit is, the eyes of the Lord are. God does
not see you today, my friend, from heaven above. God in the room where you are, God within by
His Spirit, sees you right where you are, for the eyes of the Lord are
all about you and within you. All the attributes, powers, functions, and
abilities of God are spirit and are as omnipresent as His Spirit. God is
all that He is everywhere, and He can do
all that He does everywhere. The
mouth of the Lord is an omnipresent spirit
mouth, His ability as Spirit to speak in every place at the same time. Out of
His Spirit He can speak within your own heart or ears, while at the same instant He is
speaking to millions of other people around the world and to holy angels and creatures of
all kinds in far distant worlds. He speaks to each out of His Spirit present
with them, not from some distant place where His mouth is. In like
manner the creative power of God is an omnipresent power and God creates, not in one
locale, but out of the infinity of Himself.
The
astronomers can discern and calculate two hundred billion galaxies, but no man can see
further than his vision can go, naturally or spiritually. God is
quickening His sons in this hour to see further, to see deeper, that we might perceive the
truth of all things. It
is only as we see by the Spirit that we can see as God sees, know as God knows,
understand as God understands, and act as God acts. God is infinite. I
dont know how many galaxies there are, because there is no end to them. You could
never find the outer extremities of the universe because God is everywhere, all
things are out of Him, God upholds all things, He fills all things, and if you were to
discover the limit of the creation, you would discover the limit of God Himself! Not only
does God always do everything that He does, He always does everything that He does everywhere that He is. So there
is no limit!
God
is always doing. Jesus
said, My Father works, and I work. Again He said, I do only those things I
see my Father doing. That is the mark of every son of God. We must
see farther, we must see deeper, because we can only do what we see our
Father doing. Most
Christians see so little of God! But
within His sons that are coming to maturity God is expanding and enhancing our vision. Our
Father is bringing us to the place of His perspective, to see as He sees, to see according
to His own heart and purpose. God IS Spirit; therefore the Spirit is God, searching and
comprehending all the inner depths of Gods being. Because
He has been sent into all who are in Christ, He brings the insight of divinity into us as
sons of God. Not
only does He impart to us the thoughts of God, but for the first time we become awake to
His nature, out of which all His actions spring. We are now beginning to SEE WHAT THE FATHER
IS DOING, and are becoming participators with Him in His Kingdom purposes.
Our
minds cannot comprehend infinity, but if you were to discover the end of God you would
discover the end of creation. Yet Paul assures us that in all the universes
of the universes there are no two stars that are equal in glory. And stars
are still being created! Universes are still coming into existence
throughout the immensity of what we call space. With my natural mind I cant conceive of
creating two hundred billion stars, and making every one of them different, giving each of
them a glory that is unique from any other glory, and then realize that over the millions
and billions of time-years, with literally millions and billions of new stars coming into
existence, there will be no duplication in the glory of any one of them! And God
knows every one of them and calleth them byname! Our
hearts are awed with reverence by the sacred knowledge that spiritually each star of the
heavens represents a son of God.
The
natural sun is the brightest luminary in the natural heavens. And to
help us in correctly interpreting the spiritual meaning of the sun, Genesis 1:16 informs
us that God made the greater light to RULE the day, and the lesser light to RULE the
night. Here
we first have the idea expressed of both the sun and the moon being RULERS. Then we
find that God, the supreme Ruler, is called in the Word a Sun. For
the Lord thy God is a SUN and a shield (Ps. 84:11). Also, our
Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, is in Malachi 4:2 called the SUN of
righteousness. He
rules! Furthermore we read that He that RULETH over men...shall be
as the light of the morning, when the SUN ariseth (II Sam. 22:3-4). And in II
Samuel 21:17 we find David the king called the LIGHT of Israel. In
Matthew 13:43 we find, concerning saints who are kings and priests and rule with Christ
(Rev. 3:21; 5:9-10), that they are compared to the sun: Then shall the righteous
SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. Of these
same ruling saints, who are the manifested sons of God, Jesus says, He that
overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations
and he shall RULE them with a rod of iron... Then He hastily adds, And I will give
him the MORNING STAR (Rev. 2:26-28). That is, I will give him power over the
nations rulership and I will give him the POSITION AS THE MORNING STAR to
herald the dawn of the Day of the Lord for all mankind. Now
consider how meaningful these words of Daniel the prophet wherein He foretells the
manifestation of the sons of God: And they that be wise shall SHINE AS THE
BRIGHTNESS OF THE FIRMAMENT; and they that turn many to righteousness as the STARS for
ever (Dan. 12:3).
Then
we find in Daniel 4:26, the HEAVENS DO RULE. Gods
heaven is His throne. Heaven
I-S M-Y
T-H-R-O-N-E
(Isa. 66:1). Heaven
in the spiritual terminology of the scriptures is the seat where the SUN, the MOON, and
the STARS RULE. As
Gods heaven is His throne, so
Gods heaven is not a place in some far-off space, but includes all the governmental
realm through
which God rules, and He is Lord of all. You, my beloved, are a star in
Gods governmental heavens! Ye are
the light of the world, said Jesus,
the firstborn son of God. Dont try to be like anybody else. Each
star has its own glory. How many
snowflakes do you suppose have ever fallen upon the earth? And yet
they tell us that no two snowflakes have the same design! More than
six billion people walk the face of this planet today, and no two fingerprints duplicate,
and there are no two people who are identical. Everybody and everything is UNIQUE. You
cant be like Preston Eby, and I cant be like you, but we can all be
sons of God, stars in the firmament of His ruling Kingdom. And you
are very special, beloved, for when God speaks the superlative comes into existence! The
shining constellations spreading across the enormous expanse of the heavens represent the
Lords dwelling place in the Kingdom of His new creation people. God is
setting His star-sons in the heavens of His throne to rule and reign over all things. Just BE
what God has called you to be where you are, and let Christ shine through you in the glory
He has given you there cannot be
another YOU!
Praise
God, the heavens are ablaze with the glory of God a people who
embody and personify the hopes of creation, a people who are experiencing deep within the
transformation so necessary to bring deliverance to the earth, and to make all things new.
The
reason there is darkness today is because of the false doctrines and dark traditions of
the church systems and all religion. No wonder Gods precious people are full of
unbelief, filled with doubts, held captive by circumstances, and overwhelmed with fears. No wonder
they magnify the works of the devil and declare him more than they declare God. They know
not the DAY in which we are living, because of the darkness of their minds. They
receive death and feed on darkness all about them. But God has arisen within you, my brother, my
sister, as a light this very day, first dispelling the darkness within you, that you might
dispel the darkness and remove these heavens that men have been living under and establish
something altogether new in the earth. Bring forth in your life a new likeness, the
image of God, that you may declare HIM that is supreme throughout all the earth and to
every world that God has made, that He may reign in every heart. Just BE
what He rising up to be in you. Thus you have a share in the glorious
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM!
Chapter
58
THE
INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM
(continued)
The
sons of God do not have to be afraid of the passage of time, because time is on our side. History is working toward our objectives which are
according to Gods plan of the ages. Nearly
four millennia ago God appeared to Abraham with the promise that through him and his seed
all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abraham
was only one man in the midst of a pagan world of false gods and superstitious religion. How could such a promise be realized? Must he form an organization, design a strategy,
and begin to enlist workers to help bring the objective to pass? Not at all! He
stood by faith in the God who promised and staggered not in unbelief. He did nothing more than that. He understood that this was Gods strange
work, not mans.
Centuries
passed monotonously and uneventfully by until the day God appeared to Moses in the burning
bush at the backside of the desert. Swiftly
momentous events were set in motion which brought Abrahams multiplied family out of
Egypt and formed them into a nation at the
foot of blazing Sinai. Forty years later God
gave them their homeland in Canaan, according to His promise to their father, Abraham, and
eventually they became a power to be reckoned with among the nations. Then fifteen hundred more years of unclimatic
history passed until the angel Gabriel was dispatched to the young virgin in Nazareth and
announced, Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the
throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of
His kingdom there shall be no end (Lk. 1:31-33).
Jesus
came into the world at the time of the Roman empire. He
was crucified on a Roman cross, pierced with a Roman spear, and sealed in His sepulcher
under a Roman seal. But, praise God! He burst the bands of death, shattered the seal of
mighty Rome, and arose the Conquering Christ. And
not only that He ascended victor over sin and all the powers of darkness, having
brought to naught the prince of this world, having brought in eternal redemption and
everlasting hope for a lost world and reconciled all things back unto Himself. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high and poured out upon the first few citizens of His Kingdom the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of God was birthed, and gathered from
Jew and Gentile alike a vast multitude into its bosom.
What a flood of light and glory and power fell upon the world through the
ministry of the humble followers of the Lamb!
What
glorious days those were! How God blessed His
people! Mighty signs and wonders were
performed as God confirmed His word with signs following.
The word of God, anointed by the Holy Spirit, swept the world like a prairie fire. It encircled the mountains and crossed the oceans. It made kings to tremble and tyrants to fear. It was said of those early Christians that they
turned the world upside down so powerful was their message and spirit! The knowledge of the glory of the Lord covered the
earth as the waters cover the sea. Paganism fell.
The mighty Roman empire shut up its pagan temples, sheathed its persecuting
sword, and sat down as a disciple at the feet of Christ and His apostles. Jesus had said, I will build my church,
and build it He did!
Now
two thousand years more have gone by and nothing new has happened! But can you not see the progression? God appeared at the first to one man
Abraham. It is plain to see that out
of Abraham came a nation. Out of that nation
came the Christ. Out of Christ has come the
church. And now, out of the church is being
birthed the manchild, the manifested sons of God, destined to rule all nations with a rod
of iron. No man understands history who has
not the knowledge of this progression of events! The
truth is that not one history teacher out of ten thousand has any idea of what history is
all about. The proof of the Bible is found in
the fact that its prophecies have been, and are being, meticulously and precisely
fulfilled. The mighty works of God throughout
the ages are the very core, the momentum, the purpose, and the meaning of history. History reveals the outplaying of Gods
purposes in the earth. Just as surely as
Abraham fathered a nation, just as surely as that nation produced the Christ, just as
surely as Christ raised up the church just that certain is it that the church shall
birth a manchild! It is history in the making. It is the mighty God controlling destiny. It is Gods plan of the ages unfolding through
the divine events that shape the course of the world.
The
ministry and rule of sonship is ready to be released upon the nations of earth. At this junction of history we now stand. We are on the threshold of momentous events! The Lord God of the universe is about to
sovereignly interject Himself once more into the world of mankind. The sons of God are now standing in the wings. Every day brings us closer to the realization of
the glory of the Lord covering the entire world, changing and transforming the nations,
all people, all cultures, and all things. The
nations will love and serve the one true God and Father, and will cease to make war; the
earth itself will be changed, restored to Edenic conditions; all nations will be released
from the bondage of corruption: sin, sickness, sorrow and death. It is a wonderful thing that we have been called
and chosen at this junction of history to enter into the Kingdom. The prophets prophesied of this Day and I do not
doubt that some of us will see the power and the glory of it with our own eyes.
The
coming age will be one that will see the fullness of God in operation through His sons,
the demonstration of the mighty power of the Kingdom of God.
It is not a mansion over the hilltop, or a cabin in the corner of glory-land, or
white night gowns, or harps, or palm branches, or dangling feet in some celestial stream. There is a job to be done! A battle to be fought! A victory to be won!
An enemy to be conquered! A
glory to be secured! And there shall be
no more death. This is Gods will
for humanity upon this earth, not in some far-off heaven somewhere. And this is what our call to sonship is all about! It would be a most beautiful thing if all the
saints of God could have an open vision that would enable them to understand the glory of
Gods purpose on earth, and His election in man.
The writer to the Hebrews spoke of those who have tasted the heavenly
gift, and are made partakers of the Holy
Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and THE POWERS OF THE AGE TO COME (Heb.
6:4-5). The Rotherham translation renders this
last statement, Mighty works also of a coming age. The Interlinear Greek New Testament says, The
works of power of the age to come.
Jesus
said concerning the mighty miracles which He did, Greater works than these shall YE
DO! But have the followers of Jesus
really done any greater works than He did? The
book of Acts doesnt record them. Neither
do the Epistles. Nor does church history. And, my friend, after a hundred years of the
restoration to the church of the baptism in the Holy Spirit; after more than fifty years
since the restoration of the five-fold ministry, the gifts of the Spirit, and the
prophetic flow, have you seen any greater works than raising the dead, cleansing lepers,
walking on water, calming storms, and turning water into wine? You know you havent! But according to Hebrews 6:5 all the signs,
wonders, gifts, miracles, and glory we have experienced are simply a taste, a small
sampling of THE MIGHTY WORKS OF THE COMING AGE, GREATER WORKS THAN JESUS DID 2,000 YEARS AGO!
Why friends, we have seen only the firstfruits of what God will do through
His enChristed body upon this earth. The
hospitals emptied, the dead raised incorruptible, natures changed, nations turned to God,
the crucial problems of poverty, crime, violence, war, corruption and the environment solved, the whole world system transformed
and GREATER WORKS THAN THESE SHALL YOU SEE as the glorious mind of Christ rules and reigns
over the earth through the manifested sons of God bringing THE INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM OF
GOD! The fullness of what we have had just a
taste will be the normal works on behalf of humanity in that new age of the Kingdom. The next dispensation is to be as different and as
much more glorious as every succeeding dispensation has been to the one preceding it.
ALL THINGS NEW
Those
who are now being transformed by the Spirit and gathered into Gods Christ are the
new creation (II Cor. 5:17). How little we
knew when we started this wonderful journey into God what glories He had prepared for
those who love Him! And even less did we
realize that in that blessed day when we began to follow Christ we had joined the
triumphant march that leads at last to the reconciliation and transformation of the
universe. We did not know that one day every
thing and every one throughout all the unbounded heavens would echo and re-echo the praise
of Him who created all things for His pleasure and redeemed them with His own precious
blood. And He that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And He
said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful (Rev. 21:5).
Gods
purpose is not merely to make the members of the body of Christ a new creation, but to
make ALL THINGS NEW. Like the sons of God who
are now being raised up into the heavenlies and made one in Christ, from the moment of
creations first dawning it has been the divine intention that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him (Eph. 1:10). I believe Paul gives the clearest insight into this
supernal mystery when he writes: In my opinion whatever we may have to go through
now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has in store for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the
wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.
The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to
be blind, but because in Gods purpose it has been so limited yet it has been
given hope. And the hope is that in the end
the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have
its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!
(Rom. 8:18-21, Phillips).
What
a glorious liberty! What a wonderful purpose! What a transcendent hope! Ultimately the whole creation will be raised up
into this same spiritual, heavenly, divine and incorruptible realm that God is now
bringing His sons into. Gods plans are
as big as the universe! This shouldnt
seem strange. God created all the stars and
planets and all who inhabit them. So should
not the vast universe fit into Gods Kingdom purpose?
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that
formed the earth and made it; He hath established it not in vain, He formed it to be
inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is none else (Isa. 45:18). This passage confirms that the physical creation
exists as the arena for Gods majestic purpose. But
consider the imperfection throughout the known universe.
It needs further development, a transformation, a mighty change! The spectacular novas and multicolored clouds are
undeveloped galaxies. Our own moon offers evidence that outer space needs much
reworking. The other eight planets, like our
moon, are also disordered, bleak, uninhabited, seemingly purposeless places.
God
has raised His firstborn Son, Jesus, to an exalted position above all things. He has made Him Head over all things to the church;
but we miss the whole truth of His glory until we see that God has made Him Head also of
all principality and power (Col. 2:10). He has
given Him all power in the heavens and on the earth. He
has given Him a name that is above every name anywhere.
So far as position and honor and glory and authority is concerned, Jesus is higher
than all else in the universe, and all things are being made subject to Him and gathered
into Him. He and His government of sons will
reign until everything in the universe is brought into subjection to Him and resonates
with His life; and when this is accomplished, Jesus will deliver the Kingdom up to the
Father that God may be all and in all (I Cor. 15:24-28).
Everything in all realms, from the depths of the bottomless to the heights above
all heavens, will find their one Head in Christ. And
this is in harmony with Gods merciful purpose for the government of the world when
the times are ripe for it the purpose which He has cherished in His own mind of
restoring the whole creation to find its one Head in Christ; yea, things in heaven and
things on earth, to find their one Head in Him (Eph. 1:9-10, Weymouth).
It
should be clear to every enlightened mind that God is in the process of making an entirely
new creation, or making all things new not this time a mere natural creation, nor
yet a purely spiritual one, but a spiritual-physical one.
This present natural creation is really only a step in the process of making the
creation God had in mind from the beginning. First
that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual, is the divinely
revealed order. Does that mean the natural is
completely done away with, supplanted by the spiritual?
Not at all! It means that the
natural is swallowed up by the spiritual. The
natural is a necessary step in the process of making the kind of creation God purposed
from the beginning. Jesus Christ is the
proto-type of that new creation the PHYSICAL SPIRITUALIZED, RAISED UP INTO THE
DIVINE AND HEAVENLY! The physical body of
Jesus was raised from the dead, brought out of the tomb, spiritualized, and made a
spiritual body not a spirit, mind you, but a spiritual body. Jesus is still referred to as a man all through the
New Testament. There is one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
The
firstborn of this new creation order is a GOD-MAN upon the throne of universal power! Think of it! When
you see Jesus as a divine-human, a God-man, one of the natural creation metamorphosed,
spiritualized, raised up into the celestial and incorruptible, then you see exactly what
God is after in the whole creation. This
mortal must put on immortality. Oh, the
wonder of it! We see the natural creation all
around us, but this natural creation is not the finished product any more than the ore dug
out of the earth is the fine piece of jewelry the artisan has in mind when he begins his
work. The whole creation is still in the
process of being made into the kind of creation God started out to make. God is still Creator!
We
have in our theology limited the new creation to the church or to all mankind, as though
we are the only ones or the only things that God cares about or that Christ has redeemed. God has a great plan for man, but the rest of His
creation is included in it, and when God was in Christ He was reconciling not just the
world, as we have it in the King James Bible, but the KOSMOS (universe) unto Himself. Then in the letter of Paul to the Colossians we
have this remarkable statement, For it pleased the Father that in Him should all
fullness dwell; and having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile
all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in the
heavens. And you, that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His
flesh...to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight (Col.
1:19-22). Here we can see the whole plan
of God in a nut-shell!
Odd
it is that we limit Gods restoration to planet earth, when the ultimate objective of
God , as portrayed in the Bible, heralded by prophets, taught by mighty men of old, is the
complete redemption and recreation of the whole universe.
The purpose of God reaches out to infinitude and to eternity. The formation and glorification of the body of
Christ is but the first step on the way to heading up all things in Christ,
the ultimate raising up of the universe into its union with God in the Spirit where God
becomes All in all. Grace has ordained that
twice-born men should be the first to experience the powers of the age and the ages to
come, but how much more there is beyond that for the glory of God and the admiration of
His people! First of all that in His
earth-born Son the fullness of Deity should dwell, and then making peace through the blood
of His cross, by Him to reconcile or bring into oneness ALL THINGS, whether they be THINGS
on earth or THINGS in the heavens. God in
Christ proceeds to reconcile or to merge the natural world with the spiritual world, making
them ONE NEW CREATION. God is not simply
reconciling things to things, He is reconciling all things to Himself the natural
to the spiritual, making something that has never been one new creation that is
neither natural or spiritual, but both. I
would draw your reverent attention to those significant words: ALL THINGS. He doesnt say all men, or some men, or all
entities, or all creatures, but ALL THINGS. Things
includes a lot more than men, and it isnt only all things on earth that He is
reconciling, but all things also in the heavens or the worlds above, and the realm of
Spirit. What a word!
All
the kingdoms shall become
His whose imperial brow with crown of thorn
The men of war in mockery did adorn.
Peace shall prevail, and every land shall own
His rightful sway, and low before His throne
Shall bow and worship; angels there shall kneel.
The soul of the vast universe shall feel
The quickening touch of its life-giving Head,
And shall break forth in song. The heavens
shall shed
In the lap of earth immortal joys,
And every living thing, with thankful voice,
Shall sweetly raise the universal psalm
Of glory unto God and to the Lamb.
BOYD
Paul
Mueller has articulated so well the travail of all creation: The whole creation also
groans to be delivered of its bondage to corruption. The
creation has no language or voice, yet their message reaches from the ends of the earth to
the throne of Gods heavens (Ps. 19:1-6). The
whole creation is expressing the desire for the kingdom, just as we are, without speaking
it audibly. Every created thing groans for
release from this bondage. The whole creation
travails to be delivered from the curse, and to be restored and raised to enjoy the
blessings of the liberty of the sons of God. Like
the rest of Gods creation, we may not speak forth this kingdom prayer. But it is the universal groan that emanates from
every one of us. We groan within ourselves,
waiting for our adoption, which is the glorious manifestation of the Life of Christ and
the kingdom of God (Rom. 8:18-23). And God
hears the groans of His suffering, burdened creation, from the smallest form of life to
every person on earth. In due time, death
shall be conquered in us first, for God has made us a firstfruits (Ja. 1:18).
The
whole creation is attuned and synchronized in spirit with our spiritual growth. Every blade of grass, tree, shrub, bug, bird,
animal, creeping thing and fish, including every microscopic form of life, has an inbred
intelligence, instinct or faculty that will trigger its release from the present bondage
when the manifestation of the sons of God takes place.
Then, there will be no hurt nor harm in all the earth. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard will lie down with the kid, and the
calf and the young lion and the fatling shall also lie together, and a little child shall
be able to lead them in peace and harmony. The
cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall
eat straw like the ox. The suckling child
shall play on the hole of the once poisonous serpent, and the weaned child shall put his
hand on the den of the adder. They shall
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:6-9). If we truly want to see the rest of creation
changed, restored and blessed with the Life of Christ, we will grow in Christ and in the
knowledge and wisdom of the truth that He is. We
will earnestly seek to grow to the fullness of Christ, for our spiritual growth in the kingdom of God is the only answer to the
many problems facing the world
end quote.
What
a glorious and beautiful picture the prophets have painted of this great day of the
release of creation from the nature of the curse and the bondage of corruption! No genius or artist, or wisdom of poet can
ever convey the glory and beauty of this bright Day! No
matter where you live, you will awaken every morning to be greeted by a smiling sun that
will shine through an atmosphere as pure as the very breath of heaven. The army of germs and viruses will be neutralized
by the very breath of heaven. The curse and
the sorrow that the curse brings will be removed. Farmers
will plow the soil with the knowledge that no tares will grow, and every troublesome weed
will turn to a beautiful flower at the word of the sons of God. With all curse lifted, the glories of Eden will be
restored. Glorious indeed will be the sight
as you stand on the summit of the mountains and gaze across the fertile plains, vibrant
with beauty, fertility and color. Mankind
shall no more eat bread by the sweat of his face. Nor
shall men any longer return to the dust of the earth, for all men shall freely eat of the
tree of life which is the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
All enmity and strife shall be removed. All
sorrows, trouble, sickness, pain, sin and death shall cease to exist. The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears
of the deaf shall be unstopped, literally and spiritually.
The
Spirit of the Lord will draw all mankind to Himself, giving them eyes to see and ears to
hear. The stranger you meet in the city will
be no stranger, for all men will know one another by the spirit and all will know the
Lord, from the least to the greatest. Waters
shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert, both literally and
spiritually for the literal is but the sign and parable of the spiritual. No nettle will sting the legs of the playing child,
who in that glad day can play anywhere without danger from ferocious beast or reptile. No mountain lion will ever again stalk the
beautiful deer, for the lion shall eat straw like the ox. No hunter will ever sight the muzzle of his gun. The wild goose on his swift unerring flight will
not have to fly at a dizzy height because of its fear of man. No woman will be afraid on the street, no one will
fear anyone or anything anywhere, for they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain (kingdom), saith the Lord. No
hungry man will walk the icy streets, no sobbing mother or father, wife or husband, son or
daughter will gaze into the casket at the ashen face of their beloved. No aged saint will hover over her small stove to
measure out her meager food just enough to keep body and soul together until her
body wears out and her heart gives up. The
heavens will no longer be as brass. The
presence of the Lord will be closer to us than the air we breathe, closer even than the
blood coursing through our veins. Before
anyone shall call Him, the Lord will answer them. And
while they are yet speaking, He will respond to their plea.
The earth, without and within, shall be full of the glory of the Lord!
The
whole of created life, according to Romans 8:19-21, will be delivered from the bondage of
corruption. This presents a very striking
truth about Gods grace to the lower creations, including the animal and all other
animate creatures, and to the whole system of things, who are also under the bondage of
the curse, violent natures, fear, decay and death. Against
their own wish they were put into this bondage. The
thing that appeals to our sympathies at once is that the creation is spoken of as though
conscious of this. It, too, is suffering as well as we.
And the man, woman or child who has felt oftentimes to the point of pain,
the mute appealing look in the eye of some horse or dog as though asking for sympathy or
help, or the melancholy braying of the burro in Mexico, will feel at once an answering
within, to this marvelous promise of God. The
whole creation is joining with us in unutterable groans and birth pangs, earnestly looking
forward to its release with ours, out into full free Life.
It is this exalted thought of the glory, that will come at the manifestation
of the sons of God, that makes us so eager for the blessed Day of release!
Creation
groans in every wisp of grass blown by the breeze,
In every stirring of the countless leaves upon the trees,
In every minor song of feathered fowl that rides the air,
In every blossom fading fast away just everywhere
Creation
groans in every dogs low whine and muted sound,
In every kittens tongue-tied plaintive mew the world around,
In every caged and bright plumed singing bird that chirps its plea
Yea, all of these repeat creations groan to be set free.
Creation
groans in jungle land and fen and desert dry,
In every mountains soaring rocky heights that pierce the sky,
In every rock that hides an insects nest beneath its weight,
In every grain of sand too numberless to estimate.
Creation
groans and echoes in our hearts its longings deep,
That YAH will manifest His own indeed, His promise keep;
For we are groaning, too, to be released, redeemed, set free,
That we in turn might grant creations hope His liberty!
CRYSTALIA
In
this connection A. E. Knoch wrote, The resurrection of the Son of God has a wider
range of beneficence than we are accustomed to consider.
Gods glory demands that not only mankind who sinned and marred His glorious
creation, but every part of that creation itself shall be restored to Him in more than
pristine perfection. Mankind has many
characteristics in common with the lower creatures and is linked to them by the possession
of a body...resulting in a living soul. This
is the reason why Jesus did not tell His disciples to go to every nation or
all men but, using a word of special emphasis, He tells them to go into all
the world and herald the evangel of His resurrection to the entire creation (every
creature). Man is not the only creature on
the earth! He is not the only one to be
blessed by the resurrection. The lower
creatures have suffered with man in his plight. They
have come in for a share in the corruption and bondage and death which is his due, and
theirs only because they were made subject to him. Let
us rejoice, then, that these who suffer on our account, they also shall obtain
deliverance, by the same power which delivers our mortal bodies. Paul tells us, further, that the creation has a
premonition of Gods unveiling of His sons.
The
animal world will be transformed, their natures changed, and they will prey upon each
other no more, for there shall be no more death. Eventually
in this restoration process God will touch even the plant life and infuse it with eternal,
iridescent glory, for God will be All in all and all things shall be made new. Even the inanimate creation shall have its share in
the release from the bondage of corruption. What
science calls the order of nature is really her disorder; for all creatures
feed upon other living things and all systems are slowing down, wearing out, and passing
away. Every star, sun, planet and moon is
moving inexorably toward its day of dissolution. Here
also will be felt the renovating, transforming, spiritualizing power of Gods Christ! If we can see this by the Spirit nature
itself, an unwilling slave to vanity and corruption, stands, impatient in her bonds, with
uplifted head, scanning with longing eyes the distant point of the horizon from which she
looks for help, her hand stretched out to grasp and welcome the redemption into freedom
and perfection which she yearns for and confidently expects.
What a calling rests upon Gods firstfruits to deliver the whole
creation from the bondage of corruption and give them an entrance into the glory of the
liberty of the sons of God! Hallelujah!
GOD ALL IN ALL
And
when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto
Him that put all things under Him, that God may be ALL IN ALL (I Cor. 15:28). GOD ALL IN ALL this will be the grand
conclusion of the great drama of universal history and of Christs redemption. As someone has said,
there will come a day the glory is such we can form no conception of
it, the mystery is so deep we cannot realize it when the Son shall deliver up the
Kingdom that God gave Him and which He won with His own blood and established and
perfected from the throne of His glory. He
shall deliver up the Kingdom unto the Father...that God may be all in all. ALL IN ALL such is the grand goal of our
God! He will yet be everything to every one of
His creatures and all things will radiate the effulgence of His glory. Nothing less will satisfy His heart for
He has created all things, and for His pleasure they are and were created
(Rev. 4:11). Nothing less than this will
vindicate His love, or form a fit conclusion for the sins and sorrow and death of the
ages. Let us with joy believe it! Let us exult as we receive it! Let us be laborers together with God to
accomplish it! May this simple phrase, that
the smallest child can utter, become the very basis of our being, the root of all our
faith, the strength of all our dreams, the background of every act, the key to every
occurrence, a light in every darkness, a balm for every wound, and our ages-lasting
consolation and good hope!
Let
all who read these lines awake from the terrifying nightmare of Babylons delusions
and let us wing our spirits to Gods glorious consummation! Here is a vision worthy of the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ GOD ALL IN ALL. And
now, this ultimate reality must begin in us who have this day received the call to
sonship. If this is what fills the heart of
Christ; if this expresses the final end of the work of Christ, then, if I would have the
Spirit of Christ within me, the motto of my life must be: Everything made subject and
swallowed up in Him that God may be all in all.
What a life that will be when that truly becomes our hallmark! To walk with the Father fully, to keep ourselves
unto Him wholly, only, to have Him ALL IN ALL! I
am praying, believing, yielding, and pressing on that God may be all in all. By this the day of glory is hastening! Would that all the saints of God realized what a
grand cause we are made participators in, that all had some conception of the scope and
power of the Kingdom we are walking in, and
what a manifestation of God we are preparing for!
That
God is not All in all at the present is quite obvious, for only a fraction have faintly
felt that God was indeed ALL to them. Some
have known Him as their Saviour, some have experienced Him as their Healer, some have
received gracious gifts from His hands, some have acknowledged Him as their Lord, but I am
not certain that any have found Him as their ALL. Some
have tasted of the cup ineffable, which quenches every thirst, satisfies every hunger,
meets every need, dispels all darkness, conquers every enemy, and destroys all death. I, too, have only tasted, but I live for this and
only for this that God may be All in all. I
am living in Him, and as I move and have my being in Him I shall have a part in it all
the Kingdom delivered up to the Father, and God All in all! I shall have a part in it and in adoring worship
share the glory and blessedness with all creation. Let
us permit this to penetrate deeply into our hearts that it may rule our lives this
one thought, this one faith, this one aim, this one joy: GOD ALL IN ALL!
Everything
in history is moving inexorably toward a day when Jesus will have conquered everything and
everyone. Like a mountain of dirt before a
gigantic bulldozer steadily moving forward, all that can be conquered is being collected
into the loving arms of Jesus, whose right it is to rule.
When Christ ascended on high after His resurrection, He led many captives out of
the prison house and also set forth His great purpose: Now He that ascended, what it
is but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up
far above all heavens, THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS (Eph. 4:9-10). The message is clear redemption includes the
complete transformation of the entire universe (all heavens) and all that is within it so
that God in Christ shall FILL ALL THINGS. There
shall not be left one corner of this vast universe, nor one creature in it, where He shall
not be Lord and King. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE
SHALL BE RESTORED TO THE BEAUTIFUL HARMONY AND ORDER OF THE LOVE OF GOD. Indeed, HE SHALL FILL ALL THINGS SO THAT GOD MAY BE
ALL IN ALL!
All
that God has ever done or ever will do, all that He has said or ever will say, will
ultimately redound to His glory, that He may be All in all and why not? In the beginning GOD... Everything else is because of God Gods
love, Gods wisdom, Gods purpose, Gods power, Gods righteousness. And for all things to find their purpose, their
reality and their end in Him is the final goal of salvations history. It is an extraordinary thing, yet sublimely true,
that the Lord Jesus gives us to understand that what He is doing on earth today and
throughout the ages to come is only a beginning. What
He has given us is a root, and not yet a tree, a foundation, and not yet an edifice. The Kingdom Seed must grow, the branches spread
out, the blossoms appear, and the fruit be formed. In
the end the Kingdom of God will have filled all realms everywhere and God will be All in
all! And yet, this work first begins in man. Those who are now being perfected in Christ are the
firstfruits of this marvelous revelation of God All in all.
Truly HE is becoming ALL in us, as the poet has written:
Suddenly
one day
The last ill shall fall away,
The last little beastliness that is in our blood
Shall drop from us as the sheath drops the bud,
And the great spirit of man shall struggle through
And spread great branches underneath the blue.
In any mirror, be it bright or dim,
Man will see God, staring back at him!
When
God is finally All in all the Kingdom will have been delivered up to the Father. By this is meant that there will no longer be any
external rule of one person ruling over another, or one group ruling over the other
not even Gods Christ! God Himself will
then be everything to every one as one translation beautifully expresses it. God Himself will so be the indwelling factor,
principle, mind, nature, will and power of each life that there will be no need of anyone
ruling, teaching, guiding or instructing anyone else.
It is evident that our God is reserving for that glorious consummation the greatest
wonder of all time GOD ALL IN ALL! When
God is all in me, what could you add? When God
has become all in you, what can I contribute? God
Himself will be everything we need within us! God
will be all to us, in us, through us, and as us. Oh,
the mystery of it!
The
writer to the Hebrews spoke of it thus: For this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will imprint my laws upon
their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon
their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And it will nevermore be necessary for everyone to
teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or everyone his brother, saying, Know the Lord;
for ALL WILL KNOW (perceive, have knowledge of, be acquainted by experience with) ME, from
the smallest to the greatest of them (Heb. 8:10-11, Amplified).
In
long ago Israel, before the people rejected God as their King and anointed a king of their
own choosing, it is stated that In those days there was no king in Israel; every man
did that which was right in his own eyes. Now
some view that state of things negatively, as though because there was no external
authority, it was just one big free-for-all, everyone doing as they pleased! But it seems to me that the state of things in
Israel at that time, when the Lord Himself was King in their midst, should be the model
for all who truly walk with God in the Spirit. As
we enter into the relationship of sons we discover the glory of being and doing everything
exactly as we desire because we desire nothing but the Fathers glorification. This must have been the awareness of Saint
Augustine when he exhorted, Love God and do what you please! When one is under the will of God by love, he is in
dominion of all things.
At
that same time in Israel a certain family set up a place of worship in their own home and
there was much ignorance, superstition and abomination in their form of worship, until God
sent a Levite to be their household priest. Is
that not a dramatic picture of the priesthood of God being raised up in our own house, in
that living temple of God which we are? Those
who are the true worshippers of the Father do
not worship Him at certain times or in prescribed places, for they worship the Father in
spirit and in truth. The Father seeketh such
to worship Him! Worship is not something we go
somewhere to do, rather, it is the living expression and manifestation of our devotion,
love, and honor of our glorious Father within the Most Holy Place of our own spirit and
reality. When we have learned what it means to
be a true worshipper, we will see that worship is not something we do, but it
is what we are. We ARE WORSHIPPERS!
During
our journey into God there are varying degrees of growth, experience, fellowship, and
relationship with the Lord. In a great
house like the Kingdom of God, there are not only vessels of gold and of
silver, but also of wood and of earth (II Tim. 2:20).
The Kingdom is indeed a great house, in which are many vessels, varying in quality,
capacity, purpose, rank and order. Jesus said
it this way, Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 8:11). Paul stated this truth yet another way. For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are but one body: so also is
Christ. For the body is not one member, but
many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not
the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye,
I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members everyone of them
in the body, as it hath pleased Him (I Cor. 12:12,14-18).
The
scriptures and our own experience both give ample evidence that there are degrees in the
spiritual race. The fruit of God that men bear
in their lives are, Jesus taught us, some thirty fold, some sixty fold, and some a hundred
fold. Paul spoke of those he had fed with milk
because they were babes. John wrote his
epistle to three classes of believers: little children, who are the new born in Christ;
young men, who are those who have grown up and become strong in many ways, but lack
experience; and old men, who are the fully matured sons of God. These are not permanent states, but merely stages
of growth and development. Let patience
have her perfect work, that ye be perfect and entire, lacking nothing (Jas. 1:4). I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
We see the same variety of levels of attainment in the Old Testament economy. Moses was above other prophets (Num. 12:5,8). Only the tribe of Levi were priests. The birthright was given to Ephraim and Mannaseh. The scepter was given to the tribe of Judah. David classified his mighty men according to their
attainment (II Sam. 23). All men shall be made
alive in Christ, but each in his own order or rank (I Cor. 15:23).
More
than half a century ago Seeley Kinne shared the vision given to a brother David Lee Floyd
who wrote: I stood upon a large stadium, that had been erected to face a large
gradual sloping hill. The hill sloped downward
toward the stadium. Thousands of Spirit-filled
Christians were seated upon the hillside, and they faced the stadium. They were grouped in many orders. They were also in many shades of color. I do not mean races or nationalities. Some were very white, some very dark. There were many varieties of shades between black
and white. These thousands of Spirit-filled
believers were gathered and seated in their various ranks.
They were waiting for the Lord to give them the Last Great Message, for the
preparation to set up the Kingdom of God among men. I
was seated in the stadium not knowing that I was going to do more than to just view the
thousands of Gods people, seated in their various ranks upon the hillside. I studied their faces. I was fully aware that the Holy Spirit was opening
my eyes and my understanding to discern the many ranks of His people. As I have stated above, every group or rank was of
a different shade or color. The highest order
was the whitest; and the lowest the darkest. Everyone
was in rank according to the light of God abiding within them. This has nothing at all to do with their race or
nationality. Everyone was located according to
their individual rank in the Spirit. I was in
deep meditation concerning their various degrees of experience. The Spirit of the Lord began to move upon me. I
was moved to raise up and say something. I
arose to my feet, opened my mouth, and the voice of the Lord began to pour forth like
water, calling upon the people to repent...and prepare for the judgment of God that begins
with His house.
In
the great house of our Fathers Kingdom there are different degrees of experience and
various heights of attainment. In the book of
Revelation we see in the progressive unveiling of Jesus Christ within His people a number
of different companies or levels to which men attain in Christ there is one
outstanding company called overcomers, or kings and priests, or the manchild, or the
144,000, or the sons of God; another called the woman, or the bride, or the New Jerusalem;
another called the church, or the candlesticks, or the woman; and then the remnant,
witnesses, martyrs, messengers, the great multitude, harpers, etc. These are all a variety of redeemed people who walk
with God in varying degrees of light and glory, different depths of intimacy, and diverse
levels of calling and experience. Some are
very near to the heart of God, while others dwell and serve in the outer courts of His
presence. Some are queens, virgins and
concubines; others are counselors, judges, priests and kings; some are soldiers and
warriors of various ranks; still others are servants, guests, and courtiers.
I
pray that the Holy Spirit will impress upon all who read these lines the great truth that
the end of the matter is not any or all of these various companies and ranks. These are merely the blueprint of our progression
into God. In that glorious end where God is
All in all there are no companies or ranks. In
the end there is no Outer Court. In the end
there is no Holy Place. In the end there is no
Holiest of all. At the conclusion of
Gods great plan of the ages there is no Passover, Pentecost, or Tabernacles; no
first Day, second Day or third Day. In the
great consummation of all things there are no servants, no bride, and there are no sons. In the end there is only GOD ALL IN ALL! God All in all reveals the blessed fact that every
creature will move through the progression from realm to realm. All may not move in this Day, just as all have not
moved in other Days, but God has a great, tremendous, glorious plan of the ages, and all
creation will move forward!
You see, my beloved, its just like a school
it is the great school of God! The
purpose of a school is not the school itself. The
purpose of a school is the progression through the grades so that you graduate. Everybody who enters the school is supposed to
graduate! So we are not to glory that we are
in the first grade, the seventh grade, or the twelfth grade.
We are not to cling to our status as a junior, sophomore, or senior. It is wonderful to be a senior, but if you remain a
senior you will never graduate! To be senior
is not the goal. The beauty of all the grades
is that each in turn accomplishes its purpose, bringing everyone to the same, final state
of accomplishment and attainment. Everyone
receives their diploma and goes out into the world a finished product.
Thats
how it is in the Kingdom of God! Today we view
believers as being Nominal Christians, Catholics, Orthodox, Fundamentalists, Evangelicals,
Charismatics, Pentecostals, Kingdom, Sonship or some other identification. We equate their standing in God with whether they
are in the Outer Court, the Holy Place, or the Most Holy Place but those are merely
pictures of their growth and development, their progression into God. Each is just a temporary arrangement, a grade to
pass through, and all creation will pass through the grades!
When every man who has ever lived, or ever shall live, has received his
diploma and walks off the cosmic stage of spiritual graduation God will be All in
all! There will be a sign posted on the door
of the school of Gods great redemptive and restorative purposes
Closed. When everybody graduates,
you dont need the school anymore!
Some
of us have been in school for a long, long time and have moved through many levels of
Gods teaching. We have been passing from
grade to grade, from realm to realm, from experience to experience, from discipline to
discipline, from dimension to dimension in God. We
have moved through the Tabernacle with all of its furnishings and compartments. We have partaken of the Lords Feasts one
after another and He has now brought us to the Feast of Tabernacles. We have arrived at the threshold of the Third Day. We have stepped into the Most Holy Place. He has ushered us into the throne room within the
City which has the glory of God. We have been
passing through the grades, and all creation will pass through the same grades. God has plenty of time. His plan is the plan of the ages. It began ages ago, and will extend ages into the
future. In one sense each of us is a microcosm
within the macrocosm. There are ages within
us. I lived a Pentecostal age, and it ended. I lived out a Latter Rain age, and it ended. I lived out an Anglo-Israel age, and that ended
too. I lived out an Apocalyptic age, and God
took that heaven and rolled it up. Every one
of us has lived ages within ourselves, according to Gods plan of the ages. All creation will come the same way, not
necessarily with identical ages, but they will grow experientially into God from glory to
glory, and God has plenty of time! God has
brought us from Abraham to the Manchild in our brief lifetime, for the ages are within us.
There
is a beautiful truth wrapped in the arms of one single verse in I Corinthians 15:24. Then cometh the end, when He shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and
all authority and power. The Amplified
and a number of other translations make the import of these words clearer and more
meaningful. After that comes the end,
the completion, when He delivers over the kingdom to God the Father after rendering
inoperative and abolishing every rule and every authority and power. The message is just this: When Christ delivers up
the Kingdom to the Father so that God may be All in all, He will have put down and
nullified and rendered inoperative ALL SOVEREIGNTY AND AUTHORITY AND POWER.
All
rule out of Gods sovereignty that has been delegated to subordinates, as
administered by authorities and powers, be they kings, presidents, prime ministers,
judges, policemen, apostles, prophets, pastors, priests, teachers, or any other
when God becomes All in all such rule becomes obsolete.
God will no longer rule anyone anywhere through those agencies, as He does through
the ages, for He will rule by the authority of His divine nature and the mind of God in
every man. I know that these words seem to be
incredible but they are the truth. Christ and
His holy sons continue to reign only until all other authority is swallowed up into the
Allness of God in every heart. When every
enemy is subjected and all immaturity, carnality, self-will, self-hood, rebellion, sin and
death is swallowed up of HIS LIFE, God will no longer need to govern through the medium of
His saints. The external rule of delegated
authority will give way to the internal rule of the Spirit of Life. His will, His word and His ways will be the
motivating spirit within the renewed heart and mind of all His creation. They will have found their All in Him! School will be over, classes dismissed, the
teachers relieved, and all men everywhere will have obtained their diploma of DIVINE LIFE!
All
the sons of Adam shall one day become the sons of God; that was Gods purpose in
creating man in the first place. Let us
make man in our image, after our likeness. Those
who complete their growth and development into the image of God now will be the firstborn
sons of God. Theirs will be the highest
possible calling, bearing the greatest of all responsibilities, for upon them rests the
ministry of shepherding the rest of creation into the Kingdom of God. It is my conviction that in the ages to come there
will be company after company after company graduating from Gods great School of
Sonship the second-born sons, the third-born sons, and so on. What a beautiful plan and purpose! What a glorious, breath-taking prospect! What everlasting hope and joy! This is THE INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM!
Chapter
59
QUALIFYING
FOR
KINGDOM DOMINION
Let me
help, Mommy! cries little Mary to her busy Mom. She then proceeds to mop the floor
with streaks and messy wet and dry spots here and there. Having finished, she eyes it with a
satisfied sigh and says, Didnt I do good, Mommy? Her mother stands back and with a
cheerful smile replies, Yes, sweetheart, you did a wonderful job! Now, does that mother need Marys
help to get her house clean? Not really. In fact, Marys childish efforts
at helping actually create more work for her mother. As soon as Mary is out of the house
Mom will quickly re-mop that floor! But she knows that Mary needs to learn
how to do housework, and feel the importance of her contribution, because one day Mary
will have her own house to clean!
The
question follows Does our heavenly Father really need our puny help with the
accomplishing of His great universal Kingdom work? Not really, for He is self-sufficient,
omnipresent, and omnipotent! As such He is not dependent on man for
the fulfillment of any of His plans or the accomplishment of any of His purposes. But
God has purposed within Himself to
expand Himself in us as His
very own sons and daughters, and bring us, upon our maturity, into HIS FAMILY BUSINESS. Gods love for us is utterly pure
and unselfish, and His plan for us is paternal, eternal and sovereign. He bestows upon us the high honor of
sharing His nature, life, wisdom, knowledge, glory, power and dominion. Our work in Gods
family business
His great and eternal and inexhaustible
Kingdom
is our response to His love. We are destined to rule all things for
God and therefore we must learn how
to rule! Sometimes, along our journey to
maturity, we may not do the job much better than little Mary, but our Father is patient
and persistent and we will
eventually grow up into Him in all things, praise His name!
If
a young athlete wants to play major-league baseball, he usually has to play in the minors
first. Major-league teams raise their players
in their minor-league farm teams. Every year they hope to get a harvest
that justifies what the minor-league teams cost them. The Kingdom of Heaven is similar. Jesus said that if we are faithful in
little things, He will increase our responsibilities, and that if we use our gifts and
resources for His purposes and only for His glory, He will give us more to use. The reward for work well done is . . .
well, more work! God has great responsibilities just
waiting to be entrusted to His sons. His Kingdom has major-league openings
to manage, judge, lead, supervise and rule to establish His Kingdom forever. But whom will He put in those
major-league slots? Those who have been faithful in the
farm leagues of the Kingdom! God is, at this very moment grooming a
body, a people, a company of kings and priests to bring the glory of the Kingdom of God
upon earth and throughout the universe. Men and women are being selected for
this awesome responsibility from among all nations, cultures, races and tongues around the
earth, and are being processed and prepared in their present walk with God. We are in contact with thousands of
people who are experiencing the special dealings of God for this Day! The world as a whole is not cognizant
of what God is doing, but this selection and preparation process is nonetheless well
underway.
Have
we, in our desire to reign with Him, forgotten that if we suffer, we shall reign,
and if we deny Him, He will deny us? Have we forgotten the words of Jesus,
which He spoke, saying, Ye that have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son
of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Do we know what it means to follow
Jesus? Do we know what it means to
drink His cup and
be baptized with His baptism? Are we truly followers with Him from
the cross to the throne, or are we merely the throng that flock about Him seeking the
blessings, the loaves and the fishes, and not brethren at all?
David,
Christs kingly ancestor, is in this way himself a type of his Lord. For chosen by God to succeed the
lawfully appointed but rejected king (Saul), he was yet for many years allowed to be
hunted and persecuted by the doomed monarch whom he was to follow. During these wanderings over the
mountains and wilds his faithful followers shared his hardships, and he and they together
learned to endure and to fight; and thus when Gods time of preparation was over, and
their training had been completed, David and his men were found equal to the great task of
freeing Gods people from all bondage to their foes. And, of course, those brave men who
had shared their leaders path, with its dangers and distresses, were rewarded with
the chief positions of glory in his kingdom. Surely all who read
these lines can see the correctness of this, and can appreciate how worthwhile it finally
proved to be to have shared their kings rejection and persecution. And thus in an intensified measure
will it be in this Day of the Lord! There is truly a price to be paid to
walk with God in the new order of this new Kingdom Day that is now dawning, and there is
great heavenly reward to those who pay that price!
A
brother we have heard from through the years shared this illustration in one of his
communications: It is as a great king of old who had two sons. Twins they were. The sons grew together. Soon they
reached an age when much correction came. The boys needed the rod and found it
in full force for their errors. One day both sons still felt the pain
of the rod and their tears still flowed. There came by a young orphan about their age. He said to them, I am free to do
what I want. I am not as you who must endure the
force of a father. I can skip and play and do cartwheels
in the streets. I can beg, lie, steal, and sleep
anywhere I please. I have fun every day for I am under
the kings protection as one in his realm but I need not suffer as you with his
corrections. I am free! Why do you not come with me and we can
be free together?
The
boys made a decision that day. The first said, No, though I am
hurting from my fathers rod, I would endure it every day for I will grow and inherit
all that belongs to my father. I will learn and follow him wherever
he leads me. The other boy was sore tempted for the
pain of correction and the harshness of restrictions laid upon him was so much to bear. Soon he decided to follow the young
orphan. Oh, how they played for days and
years! They skipped and jumped and did
cartwheels. They lied and stole as they wanted. They begged in the streets when it
pleased them. They rejected the call of the king to
serve him in any way. They only thought of their great fun
and so chased after it. The two children grew. One learned of, and thus loved
greatly, his father and his ways. The other rejected the loving call to
come back into the household. The father let him go to do what he
wanted. He knew that a love that is forced
upon another will only bring bondage and hatred. Thus, for the will of the rebellious
child, he left him to his fun.
The
hour came to inherit the kingdom. The first son received great honor. All that his father had became his. The other son wanted some of his
fathers riches, too, for he also grew old and the pleasure of being an orphan left
him. Being of age, if he stole, he would go
to prison. Skipping and playing failed to please
him anymore. Begging got him little. He wanted some of the kingdom too. However, the judge of the kingdom
deemed him unworthy of even a morsel from the kings
table. In like manner, God has many who want
all that is His. They say, If it is of my
Fathers, I want it! They want the mercy, the grace, the
blessings, the benefits, the healings, the miracles, the experiences
anything they can
enjoy without coming
under the disciplining hand of their Father. Oh, they want to skip and jump and do
cartwheels and shout and rejoice and prosper and get rich and use Gods blessings in
any way they want, and to their own ends. But they have no desire to learn
Gods ways,
to put on
His mind, to be conformed
to His image, to do His
will and be
involved in His purposes. The churches today are filled with
blessing seekers who follow
the Lord for the loaves and the fishes, but have no heart for His corrections, to suffer
with Him, to endure the cross, to die to all the carnality of the flesh and of the fleshly
religious systems, in order to qualify to share His throne. The way to sonship is not an easy way,
and some find it a little too hard, and would rather choose an easier way. This reminds me of the young aspiring
musician who said to an old master, Can
you tell me of an easy way to become a great musician? The old master just looked him in the
eye and said, Son, there is no easy way. And there is no easy way to sonship
and the throne of God! This is why God has chosen certain
ones, who have the stamina to seek first and only His Kingdom, to endure, and persevere,
submitting to His will and His dealings, come what may.
I
will have you to know that the Lord, having saved the children of Israel out of Egypt,
afterward destroyed them that believed not. There is a teaching that God saves,
and the devil destroys. I do not believe that the devil can
destroy anybody. After having saved the people out of
Egypt, GOD destroyed them, not the devil! And the angels that kept not their
first estate, GOD cast them down, not the devil. When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the
Holy Ghost, GOD slew them, not the devil. I could go on and on. The old idea is, you try to live for
God and the devil is on your trail trying to drive you to hell. But once God has called you and you
belong to Him, whatever happens to you after that is from HIM, not the devil. When Israel was in the wilderness, it
was not the devil that sent fiery serpents. The Bible says, And YAHWEH sent
fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel
died (Num. 21:6). God sent the plague that judged them. So we need not be afraid of the devil,
we need the fear of God, the reverence for the disciplines of our Father, in our hearts. God is not out to kill people, for all
of these things are examples written for our learning. God is after the carnal nature, the
religious foolishness, the selfhood of the Adamic mind
He is out to slay the
beast in us. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom
that cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-29). For whom the Lord loveth He
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth
with you as with sons (Heb. 12:6-7).
These
are the days in which God is preparing a people to reign in the Kingdom of God over all
things. These will have to be those who are
washed in the blood of the Lamb. They will be those who have been
filled with all the fullness of God. They will be those who have learned to
be led only and always by the Spirit. They will be those who have kept His
word and walked according to His will. This company of people will be one
with God in mind, heart, and purpose. They will have put on the mind of
Christ and their will shall have given way to His will in all things. The people whom God shall use to reign
over the nations and the universe, bringing Gods Kingdom to pass in all realms, will
be a strong people. They will be those who live in the
presence of God and breathe in union with Jesus Christ.
Those
who reign with Christ cannot be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, nor deceived
by every good sounding theory of man that poses as deep revelation. They will not be moved by
smooth-tongued orators or fast-talking deceivers. They will perceive the hearts of men
and understand the true nature of all things. God is not interested so much in what
is going on today within the church systems of men. God does not want just anybody to go
out and do miracles, signs and wonders. He is preparing an incorruptible order
of people to do these things on a level never seen before. There are many miracles and good works
done in the name of Jesus by men whom the Father has not sent. God is very selective in this hour of
those He chooses to manifest His power in the earth. Not just anybody is suitable. God trains and chooses in many ways. Moses was in the backside of the
desert for forty years. David went through many years of
battles and trials and testings to be eligible for the throne to which God elevated him.
In
the natural realm you can get away with a lot of things. You can break the law and get away
with it. You can go 50 miles an hour in a 30
mile an hour zone and probably not get caught. You can squander your bosses time on the
job and cover it up. But you cannot get away with anything
in the Kingdom of God! You can wallow in carnality, live in
sin and partake of the harlots table in the carnal religious systems of man and
still go to heaven when you die. That is grace. But one does not
reign in the Kingdom
by grace. Oh no! Paul said, By grace are ye
saved... He did not say, By grace you
will reign...
Of a truth I tell you that God knows
all of our thoughts, He knows every motive and intent of our heart, every root of
bitterness and lurking power of sin, every hidden weakness, and those unexplored
tendencies and propensities that, under the right conditions, would make us
traitors like Judas. He just knows everything! The very hairs of our head are
numbered and He knows all of our ways.
We
are talking about the Kingdom of God, not about being saved by grace. If you want a shack in the corner of
glory-land, you can have it. Grace will secure it. But we are talking about the power and
the glory of the Kingdom and those to whom it shall be given. To be saved there is only one
prerequisite Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved. But there are higher qualifications to
rulership in the
Kingdom! We cannot come to God and say, I
am eligible because I have attended church every Sunday for many years; I have brought a
certain number of souls to Christ; I am eligible because I have paid tithes and given
offerings to support the work of the gospel; I have taught Sunday School and worked in the
programs of the church. There are many reasons that we could
come to God and try to pay our entrance into the Kingdom. None of these will suffice. Not even the fact that we have come
out of Babylon and believe the truth about sonship, reconciliation, and the Kingdom of
God. What God wants is
character
the mind of Christ formed in us, the
obedience, submission, love, purity and maturity of the life of Christ raised up in us as
our very own reality, the image and likeness of God appearing in us, and the will of God
done by us. Nothing else will suffice!
God
is shaping our lives with a view to the future. What is happening to each son of God
today has a bearing on what his role will be in the Kingdom of God throughout the ages to
come. Our present travail will be easier to
bear when we understand this truth. A crown prince cannot live like other
people. When the crown prince of Great Britain
is born, he is a marked child from the day of his birth. He is different from other children. His education, his way of dress, what
he is taught in the home, his associations, his activities, where he goes and when and
how, his leisure time everything about his life is planned to prepare him to be a
king. The man or woman called to sonship
cannot be like other people or other of Gods children any longer. God has a special plan for this one! The truth is that a son of God marches
to a different tune than his contemporaries. He hears the band playing the march of
victory. He stays in line with those enChristed
ones who march with him. He keeps in step with his leader,
Jesus Christ. He marches to the music of the
celestials. He marches in the procession of
Christ. His music is the music of the Kingdom.
Because this is a different kind of
marching from that of those in the church systems, he is often out of step with them. They are not
all marching to the same place! Most Christians are marching to a
place in the sky with golden streets, palm branches and harps, to sing and dance and play
and frolic for eternity. Sons do not have time for such
frivolity, for they are marching to the throne of the universe, to a position of eminence,
power, authority, responsibility, and eternal glory as lords and kings and priests and
creators after the likeness of their eternal Father. Their business is not dancing over the
hillsides of glory, but bringing the Kingdom of God to pass throughout the infinity of
Gods universe.
The
great artist, Sir Joshua Reynolds, once painted a picture of Lord Holland, a prominent
Englishman. The artist asked a large sum for his
work, which he had completed in only a few hours time. Lord Holland said to him, You
get money very quickly. It did not take you much time. How long were you in painting this
picture? Reynolds replied, All of my
life. The artist meant that the talents
which had been developing all his life had entered into the picture and had made possible
its production in a few hours. And he was correct. No great picture is painted in an
hour. Life is back of it. And kings are not made in the day of
their coronation. Oh, no! The willingness to submit to
Gods dealings and the work of conformation into the image of Gods Christ is
not reached in a moment. It is the outcome of an upward process
by which we are transformed from glory
to glory into the
likeness of God. Kingship is the outcome of breakings,
purgings, experience, growth, and development in the spirit throughout long months or
years. God gives us a lifetime to build the
character of a king, and that is generally how long it takes. It is the flowering out of the seed of
Life which has been nurtured in our experience and testings day after day after day. It is not attained by one grand leap
into a spiritual experience.
A.
E. Knoch put it so well when he wrote, Those who endure shall reign with Christ for
the eons
(II Tim. 2:12). It is a great pity to make this
everlasting. Eonian life
will, indeed, never end, because death itself shall be abolished at the
consummation. Therefore it is unwise to overstress
that the word eon
does not denote endlessness in relation to our life in Christ, for it does
involve it. But reigning
is a different matter. All will be made
alive eventually,
but by its very nature, all cannot reign. Some must be subject.
Reigning implies submission to
intermediaries, and insubordination to God. When the kingdom is handed over to the
Father, God cannot be All in all so long as some of His creatures reign over others. All rule, even that of Christ, shall
cease when all authority is transferred into the hands of the Father. Endurance now
is the proper preparation for reigning with Christ in the
future. How different would rule be today if
every officeholder had to undergo a thorough course of training in patient suffering! A prominent medical specialist in
Europe tried to express a similar thought when he said that every physician ought to be
thrown out of the window before he should be allowed to practice on a patient. He should know what suffering is, to
deal with it sympathetically and successfully. So it is with governing! Only one who has felt the pains and
penalties of mortality, and has endured the consequent suffering and shame, is fitted to
rule. Only such a one will reign so
successfully that ruling will eventually be ruled out!
Today
God is preparing the nobility of His Kingdom. Therefore, the qualifications are
exceedingly stringent. The constant challenges and testings
of our pilgrimage in Christ are not for the purpose of earning our salvation, rather the
challenges and testings are for the purpose of preparing us to reign with
Christ. The story is told of a certain bank in
which there was a trust department in which four young men and one older man were
employed. It was decided by the directors that
they would promote the older employee and also promote one of the younger men to have
charge of the trust department after the older gentleman was removed to his new position. After considering the merits of each
of the men, a certain one of the four younger men was selected for the new position and a
substantial increase in salary. It was decided to notify him that
afternoon at four oclock.
At
the noon hour the young man went to a cafeteria for lunch. One of the directors was behind him in
the line with several other customers in between them. The director saw the young man select
his food including a small piece of butter. The butter he flipped on his plate and
threw some food on top of it to hide it from the cashier. In this way he lied to the cashier
about what was on his plate. That afternoon the directors met to
notify the young man that they had intended giving him the promotion, but because of what
had been seen in the cafeteria they must discharge him. They felt that they could not have one
who would lie and steal as head of their trust department.
It
reminds me of when Lorain and I were in Egypt. We took a cruise up the Nile to the
Aswan Dam, visiting a number of ancient Egyptian temples along the way. At these temples are great, huge,
colossal granite, sculptured pieces of kings and queens and gods. It was interesting to learn that these
great sculptured pieces were all mined from one super granite
quarry. The tremendous obelisks that the
ancient Egyptians made were carved from one chunk of granite. These huge obelisks were monuments to
history. They were placed at the entrance to a
temple. Often an obelisk was more than a
hundred feet high. Their sides were carved with
hieroglyphs telling of the wonderful things their rulers had done. We saw a number of them at the
temples, but in past centuries the finest pieces were dispersed all over the world by
nations that controlled Egypt. Theres one in Saint Peters
Square in Rome. Others are in Paris, France, London,
England, and in Central Park, in New York City. But the best and biggest one of all
still lies in the quarry up near Aswan. They spent decades cutting it out,
chiseling it, filing it, sanding it and there it lies. It is fourteen feet square at the
base. We were able to walk all over it. Its 142 feet long. And its still lying there. Why? Because just before they got ready to
move it, the experts looked at it, and they saw what no one else could see
flaws in the basic quality of that granite. Flaws! And because there were flaws, they
wouldnt move it. They abandoned it!
Many
students who enter college are required to take an entrance exam. As with every test, the entrance exam
is given to determine, and prove, those who qualify, and eliminate those who dont. Those who pass the test will remain
and continue with their studies; those who fail are rejected. Every test and trial has within it the
element of elimination. Those who do not stand and pass the
test are eliminated not killed or tortured
but cast off, excluded, rejected,
prevented from entering in to the new realm. That this possibility exists in the
callings of God is clearly seen by the earnest exhortation of Paul when he writes to the
saints at Corinth, So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as
uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I keep my body under, and
bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway (I Cor. 9:24-27). The Revised Standard Version reads,
I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air (a shadow boxer), but I
pummel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be
disqualified. Paul realized that the thing that
could disqualify him from the high calling of God was his old body with its desires,
passions, and deceits
his
flesh. He fought against it, he pummeled it,
he beat it down, as some translations say, not yielding to the desires of the flesh, but
bringing his flesh man into subjection to the spirit, lest after a wonderful and
successful preaching ministry setting forth the deep things of God, he himself would be
cast away, rejected from the High Calling of God. Being a preacher, even a great
preacher, articulating the wonderful truths of manifest sonship and the Kingdom of God, is
not sufficient to qualify one for sonship in the Kingdom or the priesthood after the order
of Melchizedek. And I can assure you that there are
vast numbers of preachers who will be eliminated in that day; those who have not been able
to pass the test!
Listen
carefully to the wonderful provision God has made for those who love Him and seek His
Kingdom above all else. Who may abide the day of His
coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiners fire, and
like fullers soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He
shall purify
the sons of Levi, and purge
them as gold and silver... (Mal. 3:2-3). In the refining and purifying
process there is a purging taking place. Purging is getting rid of unwanted and
unnecessary material. When Hitler came to power in Germany
he instituted a purging of the government. He cast out all of those not in favor
of his agenda and whom he believed he could not trust to cooperate completely with him. These were put out of office. When a conspiracy to get rid of him
was discovered there was another purge. Those involved in the purge were not
just relieved of their responsibilities, they were executed. Under the communist government of the
former Soviet Union there was a purge of the high officials every time there was a change
of leadership. Many were demoted to a lesser office, some were retired
altogether, while others were promoted to higher positions and power. This is what is called a purge.
The
Lord, when He comes to His temple of living stones and purges the sons of Levi, or His
kingly priesthood, He first of all purges out one man
old Adam! He comes to cleanse us from the
carnal, Adamic mind, nature, and ways. He comes as a consuming fire to burn
out of us all that is contrary to the righteousness and wisdom and purposes of the Lord. He is coming to each one of us in the
new Day of the Lord and is executing the old man of sin in us. But on a corporate level He is also
coming to those who have received the call to sonship and is separating out all who
talk the Kingdom
but do not walk
the Kingdom. Only the ones who have completely
surrendered to His will, and have walked in His ways, and have obeyed each sound of His
voice, who have clean hands and pure hearts, will remain to reign with Him. How can anyone be put in a place of
authority and power in the Kingdom who has not come to the place of complete SUBORDINATION
TO THE KING? He will purge the sons of Levi, the kings and priests of His Kingdom,
disqualifying those He cannot trust to do His will and cooperate completely in the
administration of His Kingdom. The ways of Babylon and all the
soul-possessing demands of the insipid church systems must be purged, the attributes of
the carnal mind must be cleansed, all self-hood must be purified, and all desire to make a
name for ourselves and to gather men to ourselves rather than to Christ must be purified. The ones who will abide the day of His
coming and stand when He appeareth are those He is refining and purifying now.
Kings and priests are not honorary
titles conferred on us because we have believed on Jesus, had our sins forgiven, and made
it to heaven. Rather, these are positions of
responsibility ,authority and
power. Kings and priests of God must be
trained with far, far more rigor than are subjects of the Kingdom who bear little
responsibility. They must also be trained and equipped
more thoroughly than the church age ministries which are in part and
last only until the
Perfect Man is formed. The sons of God partake of a more
excellent ministry and bring in a better age! The Kingdom of God is God in His
Christ ruling over all things, performing the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. Obviously a great transformation must
take place in our personality if we are to meet the standards for ministry at this high
level!
This
is a day of instant things. In the fast-paced, fast food society,
we are used to having things as we want them, when we
want them. Everything is instant. We can walk into a room and get
instant light, heat, and air conditioning by flipping a switch. We get up in the morning and drink
instant coffee, eat instant oatmeal, instant soup, instant mashed potatoes, and instant
other things too numerous to name. If it isnt instant, then we turn
on the microwave. All too often we also expect instant
results in our spiritual life instant perfection, instant power, instant maturity, instant
sonship! But, dear one in Christ, God
doesnt believe in shortcuts! Haste in the high and holy things of
the Kingdom of God is freighted with grave danger. As someone has pointed out, when the
almighty Creator plants a redwood tree in the womb of mother earth, He is looking forward
in infinite wisdom and patience perhaps five thousand years to a day when it is a towering
monarch of the forest. Think it not strange, then, that He
would spend the entire span of a mans brief life-time in bringing to perfection a
saint who is to rule the world as a son of God, bringing life and order out of the
dreadful death and chaos that everywhere reigns upon earth. The wonder is that it does not take
much longer! Let us, therefore, not be weary in
well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
I
am deeply impressed with the words of George Hawtin penned some years ago in his paper THE
PAGE. God increases our faith through
patience. At first what faith you had was void
of patience. It wanted to see creation leap in
response to its impatient demands. The sick must be healed
right now. The world must be converted
right now. You must get rid of carnality and
become perfect now,
of course; but as years went by and things continued much as they were before you tried to
set the world on fire, you began very slowly to see that God is not enthused about
impatient faith; you came to see that faith and patience are inseparable and methinks
someday you will see that patience is
faith. We have heard a great deal about
faith, much of it springing from the desire of the carnal mind. Little indeed have we heard of
patience without which there can be no real and lasting faith.
Harvests
do not come without patience and waiting. Vainly we have tried to squeeze God
into our mold of haste and hurry. We have cried, wept, and teased like
spoiled children in an endeavor to get our way and hurry God in His program. We have demanded of God and tried to
command Him. We have quoted scriptures to try and
bolster our position but all in vain. To learn faith in patience is much
more important than for us to have our own way about things. In Hebrews 10:35-37 the apostle wrote,
Cast not away therefore your confidence which hath great recompense of reward. For YE HAVE NEED OF PATIENCE that
after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise end quote.
Ah,
beloved, does it seem that you shall never overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil;
that you shall never live the abundant life, never arrive at perfection or attain unto
maturity of sonship? Be encouraged, dear ones, for our
gracious heavenly Father dropped a word into my heart in such an hour of foreboding when
progress seemed so slow in my spiritual life that it appeared I was going backward instead
of forward. His voice fell in quickening
illumination upon my attentive ear with this beautiful word of wisdom: My son, look
back upon your walk five years...ten years...twenty years...how were you then? Have you changed at all? Have you grown some? Have you learned lessons and gained
victories? Are you in any measure wiser,
stronger, more enlightened, experienced, and triumphant? Do you know me in a deeper way than
you did at the beginning? Have you made some progress? Can you see
how much different is your life today in the deepest recesses of being than
it was before? Ah, my son, if all this has been
wrought by my hand in your life within the span of these years, can you not now
trust me to finish
and perfect that good work which I have begun in you? Do you not know that I am silently but
faithfully working in you this very day to conform you to the image of my Son?
Sons
of God! Do not spend your days fretting about
whether you are making progress. There is nothing in the world that
grows so fast that you can see
it grow! My eight grandchildren are growing
every day of their lives, but I cannot see
them grow. Tomorrow they will be taller,
stronger, and wiser than today but I will be unable to discern it. Let God be the judge of how much or how little you have grown.
Your duty and mine is to press
relentlessly onward heedless of circumstances or conditions, but pressing patiently toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Few of us look in the mirror and come
to the conclusion of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath. During his heyday as a player, Namath
wrote a book titled I
Cant Wait Until Tomorrow ... Cause I Get Better-Looking Every Day. As egotistical as that title sounds,
it can help us see how we as sons of God being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ
should view ourselves in the lifelong process of becoming like Him. Scripture tells us that to become more
like Christ, we need to keep getting better every day!
I
will tell you a great secret. I read a story about a wonderful
violinist who traveled to Houston to give a concert. He had recently spent thousands of
dollars on a Stradivarius violin. Naturally all the news media carried
stories about this wonderful opportunity to hear the fabulous music that such an exquisite
violin would produce. The local newspapers ran photographs
of the Stradivarius and published articles about its history and marvelous tonal quality. Few words were printed about the
violinist himself. Most of the praise went to the violin.
On the night of the concert, the hall
was packed. The crowd was thrilled with every note
and the auditorium filled with wave after wave of tremendous applause. The concert ended with a prolonged
standing ovation.
But
then the violinist did something quite shocking! He took his violin, that beautiful
instrument that had been the source of such wonderful music, and lifted it over his head. After the crowd rose to its feet in
adulation, he brought the instrument down hard
across his knee. Its back was broken and the strings
hung loose. Now it was completely worthless. A gasp of horror went through the
auditorium as people wondered if the violinist had lost his mind. But he raised his hand to quiet the
murmuring and said, This is not a Stradivarius! I went down to the pawn shop and
bought this violin for ninety-five dollars. The message is clear
it wasnt the quality of the instrument that produced
those beautiful, soul-stirring sounds. It was the quality of the person
playing that instrument! And today, in our present state of
spiritual growth and development, some of us may feel like ninety-five dollar pawn shop
violins along side the famous Stradivarius
Jesus, the firstborn Son of God! But the reality is that it
doesnt matter whether youre as gifted, accomplished, fluent, knowledgeable,
wise and externally holy and spiritual as other saints. If your life is committed into the
Fathers hands, then you too, can produce the most beautiful music imaginable. The key is to get your focus away from
yourself and on to the Great Musician
God Himself. Right where you are, let God
begin to play you!
A
dear friend of ours in the city of Detroit shared this meaningful experience with us some
years ago following a message I brought along this line. She said, I will never forget my
first day in school in a rural community in the South. I arrived alone, but refused to go
inside. I didnt think that I would enjoy
school, and was quite certain that I didnt need an education. In my childish mind I made a firm
decision not to go to school at all. Quickly I passed by and went straight
to my grandmothers home. Grandmother, surprised at seeing me,
asked, Why, Veta, what are you doing here? Didnt school start today? I actually felt that I was in command
and could carry out my plans, so I replied with finality, I have decided not to go
to school!
Grandmother was a wise old woman, and appeared
to respect my decision. She didnt scold, but sadly said,
Im so sorry to hear that, Veta. Im really disappointed that you
arent going to school. You see, grandmother needs someone to
write letters for her, and I had hoped that you would go to school and learn to write. I thought you would be the one to
write the letters for me. I loved my grandmother very much, and
her words impacted my childish mind. I changed my mind, deciding to go to
school just long enough to learn how to write. I left grandmothers, made my way
back down the road to school, arriving late, of course, and walked in with my hat and coat
on for I was certain that I would be there for only a short time. The teacher was very understanding and
quite gentle with me. Later, I found myself at the
blackboard, chalk in hand, the teachers hand upon mine, showing me how to make the
number 2 along with the letters of the alphabet. After some minutes I asked the teacher
when would we get on with the writing. Suddenly the whole prospect loomed
menacingly before my mind and irritatedly I inwardly shouted, If we dont go
faster than this, Im going to be here ALL DAY! And I was, of course! I went back to school the next day,
and the next, and the next for many years to come! I became a star student, and a joy to
my grandmother.
So
God, omniscient and omnipotent, has established here upon earth a School for the training
of those destined to be the future rulers of the universe. This School is known as the
church, the body of Christ. None shall ever rule as King-Priests
after the order of Melchizedek who have not graduated from this School! And what a great Teacher we have! One begins in Gods School of
Kingship and Priesthood in the first grade. You start with the ABCs. God opens the class and says,
Now children, we are going to learn how to rule. To rule means to govern, to control,
to be master over that which is ruled. You can never rule anything until
first you overcome it within
yourself. To overcome means to COME
UP OVER THAT WHICH IS OVER YOU. When, within yourself, you rise above
the circumstance, the problem, the obstacle, the weakness, the temptation, so that it no
longer controls you, you are then ready to control it, no longer to be the victim of
circumstances, but the master of them. That is the first lesson, the first
step in becoming a King! And so, in the nitty-gritty of
everyday life God teaches us how to overcome, how to reign, how to bless, how to love, how
to have compassion, how to be a King and a Priest in His Kingdom.
The
promises of God are vast and varied. Some of them, like forgiveness of sins
and healing, are free and unconditional and may be obtained very easily. That is why so many receive them! But
if you would be a King-Priest and receive the power to rule over, bless, and deliver
creation, if you would learn the life, authority, and government of God to reign in His
Kingdom, then that is a different matter altogether! You must become a follower of them who
through faith and patience inherit the promises. It takes patience to attain any worthy
goal. It takes endurance too. No man having put his hand to the plow
and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. Even in this hour some do look back to
the former orders of the church age that God has brought them through, and clinging to a
lesser realm disqualify themselves for Gods fullness. We do not attain sonship by a single
bound. Neither do we qualify for Kingship and
Priesthood in a moment of time. It is not an experience we can receive
one night at the altar. It cannot be conferred on us by the
laying on of hands. We cannot claim it and seize it today
by faith. We have need of patience. We must through faith
and patience
grow up unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ. We must become mature, spiritually
skilled ones through experience. Only such can serve as Kings and
Priests of the Most High God!
The
following historical sketch came across my desk. It was the time of the French
Revolution. They beheaded the king and then the
queen. The crown prince was left orphaned. Somebody said, Behead the little
prince. But then the devilish suggestion was
made, Dont behead him; youll only send his soul to Heaven; thats
too good for royalty! I say turn him over to Old Meg;
shell teach him the vile, filthy words and ways of the street. Then hell end up going to
hell. So, as the story goes, he was turned
over to this wicked woman of the streets, who tried to get him to repeat these ugly,
profane words and commit vile, filthy acts. But, he would stamp his feet, clench
his fists, and his little golden curls would shake on his velvet shoulders, and he would
say, I will not say
it; I will not do
it; I was born to be a king, and I will not do it! I say to every person reading these
lines today, you were born to be a prince, you were born to be a king with Christ upon His
throne and His Fathers throne, and therefore you will be
an overcomer!
Ern
Baxter, who worked and ministered with William Branham and the great healing revivals of
the late 1940s and the 1950s was once asked to share how he later faced the
change in his relationship with William Branham and the whole healing movement. He said, In the ministry with
William Branham, I saw a dimension of the supernatural that had in it such seeds of
spiritual unity and other good fruits that my excitement was hard to contain. But when I saw carnality start to
invade the movement exaggeration, misrepresentation, metaphysics, and eventually
the breakdown of many of the healers in critical areas of their lives because they
couldnt handle the crowds, the popularity, or the money
I had to withdraw from it. That was one of the most traumatic
times in my life. I did a lot of praying at that time, a
lot of groaning. In fact, I did a lot of screaming
because I was close to an emotional breakdown. A tremendous move of God had been sold
out so cheaply; it was difficult to handle. If I hadnt had an experience
with God, if I hadnt had a consciousness of His sovereignty, if I hadnt had
some kind of a relationship with God based on process, I dont know what I would have
done. I had maintained the pastoral
oversight of a church while working with Branham, and I went back and gave myself totally
to that. I was now ministering in a church,
where before I had been with thousands of people in city-shaking meetings. It was quite a shock. I would go to my study, get down on
the floor, and just groan. Id talk to God, and just wait. I couldnt do anything else. If it were not for my relationship
with God, my knowing
God, I could have taken the extreme position that Christianity was all just
a bunch of bunk. But I couldnt do that, because
it wasnt a matter of Christianity; it wasnt a matter of the healers; it was a
matter of who was the most important person in this, and that was GOD. God wasnt bunk to me. I knew that. I knew God, and I knew where God
was.
Ah,
yes, my beloved, many
have failed in the in-part realm and have been disqualified and fallen by
the wayside, leaving heartbreak, tragedy, and disaster in the body of Christ. Of a certainty I know that it
shall not be thus in the King-Priest ministry of the manifested sons of
God! Those who come with the Christ making
war, subduing the nations unto God, restoring all things and delivering creation from the
bondage of corruption shall themselves be
incorruptible, having been called,
and chosen,
and faithful,
tested in the wilderness, tried in the fire, proven under pressure, purged, refined,
purified, molded and fashioned into the very nature and character of Christ. These shall reign with Christ over all
things because they have first reigned with Him within
themselves!
As
I have pointed out many times before, the journey to the throne of the universe begins in
that small and undistinguished place where you
are. The Kingdom of God is
within you. The enChristed who are to reign with
Christ from sea to sea, then from planet to planet, and finally from universe to universe,
are being prepared. Think not in your heart, precious
friend of mine, that you may pass your life here careless, indifferent to the dealings of
God, suddenly to awake one fine morning to find yourself sitting with Christ governing the
galaxies, because such a thing will not be. Begin today to prepare for the kingship! This present time is but a proving
ground for those who through grace will reign with their Lord over the endless vastnesses
of infinity. He is raising us up to sit with Him in
the higher than heavenlies. And the place which He is preparing
for each one is not only a world to come, and a Kingdom of Life and Light, but a place IN
HIM, bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, spirit of His spirit, mind of His mind, nature
of His nature, wisdom of His wisdom, power of His power, authority of His authority, and
life of His life!
Years
ago an IBM junior executive made a mistake that cost the company several million dollars. IBMs founder, Thomas J. Watson
Sr., summoned him into his office. Assuming the worst, the sullied young
executive said, I guess you want my resignation? Mr. Watson replied, You
cant be serious. Weve just spent millions of
dollars educating you! God is the founder of the most
important enterprise of all the Kingdom of God. God is now in the process of hiring,
educating and developing His management team. He is training
us to become
powerful rulers in that Kingdom in the day when He initiates the next
phase of the Kingdom
of Heaven on earth. How much has God already invested in
your training and education? God has made a supreme investment in
us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Without that price none of us could
even enter into the Kingdom of God, much less attain the high-ranking positions God has
waiting for those who overcome
who graduate from His school. But God doesnt stop there. He invests in us daily through His
guidance and processings, and through the continuous gracious outpourings and deep and
vital dealings of His Spirit. God is at work in
us!
In
a very real sense, God owns us. The apostle Paul reminds us, For
ye were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which
are Gods (I Cor. 6:20). The great King of this Kingdom expects
to see a profit for all of His time, effort, and sacrifice. God, of course, is not interested in
making money. He already owns everything. God is in the business of developing
His family sons with character.
If those of us who are called now
succeed in qualifying for positions of rulership, we will in turn be able to help millions
of others become citizens of the Kingdom. To put it in business terms, our
future profit to the Kingdom of God will more than make up for our present losses
if we stay with the organization and
apply the new lessons! Saints, like the junior executive at
IBM, are capable of making costly mistakes. Have you ever felt that God has given
up on you? Do you feel like you are wasting His
time? Sometimes our mistakes are very costly
to us,
too! Have you ever felt that the cost is
too high, and that you are wasting your time? Lets see what God says:
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).
God
will never give up on us! He is investing in us with every
intention of making a profit and expanding His Kingdom. Our all-wise Father sees our
potential. He knows our capacity to grow and
develop. He is keener at discerning it than we
are. He is also well aware of our weakness,
and is ready to help. I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me, said Paul. The children of God make a lot of
mistakes, for children are children. Our ability to learn from our mistakes
is part of what God uses to build character in us. In the book of Revelation, we read
that it is the overcomers those who dont leave Gods school or resign from
His calling who ultimately are given power in His Kingdom. And behold, I am coming quickly,
and my reward is with me, to give every one according to his work (Rev. 22:12). For everyone to whom much is
given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they
will ask the more (Lk. 12:48). Have you made costly mistakes? Have you been stumbling and seemingly
wasting Gods time? Dont resign! Dont drop out of Gods
school! His investment in you is too great! He will see you through! Graduation day is coming! The positions in His authority and
glory are waiting! Learn the lessons that will help you
to better serve in the Kingdom of God. If you do, great heavenly wealth and
power and opportunity lie ahead for you in the age and in the ages to come. Through you creation will be lifted,
redeemed, restored to life and liberty and glory
and thats where the real profit
begins!
Let
us learn our lessons well
and let us never presume that we have
attained to something in God that we have not yet qualified for. And let us never grasp after a place
or position the Father has not conferred upon us. There is no need to DECLARE OUR
SONSHIP
the Father Himself declares His sons. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. This is my Son, hear ye Him. Some today have grown weary of waiting
for the manifestation God has promised, so they have watered down the hope and
settled for a lesser reality, declaring themselves sons of the Kingdom on a lower plane
than God has called us to. Some have settled for a
revival realm, or a New Testament Church realm and now speak
disparagingly of what they term classical sonship. These impetuous souls just
cant wait for
the Fathers appointed
time. The place that God has called us to
will be in His time, not ours. The heir, as long as he is a
child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and
governors until the
time appointed of the Father (Gal. 4:1-2). The story is told of a fifteen year
old boy who stole his fathers car keys. The fathers plan was to give the
keys to his son a year later. The boy, however, thought that he had
all the attributes necessary to drive the car. The father knew better; he understood
the law, insurance liability, driving skills, and such like. As a result, the court would not let
the boy drive a car until he became twenty-one. Let us earnestly seek wisdom from
above to avoid such a costly error of SELF-MANIFESTATION!
Brother
Bob Torango wrote the following powerful exhortation some years ago, and it is still as
pertinent today as when he penned it. Are we ready now for the
greater things of this word
and walk? I pray so. If not, you can be sure of one thing,
the Lord will be faithful to hide them from us until such a time as they will be a
blessing in our life and not a curse. I believe it to be vital that we leave
the rudimentary basics of this word and shove away from the shore to the deepness of the
waters. We have only dealt with the surface
things thus far. We have striven to be happier than we
were yesterday, more prosperous than we were last year, try not to cuss so much and love
our families like we should. Excuse me for being so blunt, but
shouldnt we be doing these things by now? I may be wrong, but it seems to me
there are too many people connected with this revelation that are constantly having to
attend self-help meetings and seminars on How To Keep Your Marriage and
Have You Talked To Your Kids Today? Those are First and Second Day
problems. Surely somebody is ready to venture
into the things beyond the keeping of the basic rules necessary to live in a civilized
world. The ten commandments should suffice to
keep us from killing each other! If we cant even love our own
mate or friends, how in the world can we expect to come into a word that says we must love
our enemies? We need to be EMPOWERED!
I
hear from the community of Kingdom folk how much revelation we have, and we are in the
Third Day, and we have arrived into the Holiest of all, and just any moment now we are
going to walk on water and glow in the dark. But look around you! Ministry are still playing a game of
politics and preying on feeble-minded people, and the body of Christ cant even
forgive one another of wrongs or say an apology if they have wronged someone else. There has to be a people that is ready
to go on into the things that God has prepared for this new dimension of ministry
regardless of whether their friends are ready to go or not. Well just have to pick them up
on the next go around visit them in the next visitation and leave them our
forwarding address. We must go on! If we stay here we will die. The only hope for those who refuse to
pay the price of this next transition is for you to leave them in the hands of the First
and Second Day ministries and go through the door and believe that God will send you back
to them at another time.
Everything
that is worthy and valuable is filled with labor, and the road to it always lies through
the mountains of difficulty and the valleys of testing, never through the plains of ease. Dearly beloved, let us
give diligence to make our
calling and election sure. Let us strive to
enter the straight gate. Let us run
that we may receive the prize. Let us fight,
not as those who beat the air. Let us press
toward the mark and never flinch under stress or the pain. Let us not be mere
religious wind bags who make
great claims of revelation and attainment but do not live up to them. A religious windbag claims intimate
knowledge of God, but his behavior shows no signs of such knowledge. He claims to walk with God and to know
the ways of God, but such a
relationship has little affect on the way he treats his wife and children. He is like the farmer in the fairy
tale who brags that his daughter can spin straw into gold
but, of course, that is all talk. His poor daughter is forced to try and
live up to her fathers lie, but she never can. Our claims to sonship must not be
empty. If we want to be sure we have this
Life, our expression of nature and character must be like Jesus. Love describes Jesus! Love was made perfect in Him, and it
must be in us, too.
A
dear brother pointed out that there was a time in our childhood when we played
grown-ups. He added, I see in my spirit
that there are children who are merely playing sons.
They appear to be sons, they speak
like, and they act like, yet there is more pretending than being. They still cling to worldly joys, to
family ties, and to the old ways and customs of Babylon. My dear brethren, this is not a voice
of condemnation, for there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ, it is a voice of
discernment, a voice of love, tenderly admonishing the precious jewels
of the Father to abandon all, and to enter into the dawning of the Day of
the Lord, that He might manifest Himself in us, as He prepares to manifest us to each
other and then to the word. God grant it!
Chapter 60
QUALIFYING
FOR
KINGDOM DOMINION
(continued)
To
Jesus, the firstborn Son of God, the Kingdom of God was the most precious thing in the
universe and possessing the reality of it was of all things most valuable. Repeatedly He made it clear that the Kingdom had a
worth which was above all earthly things and standards.
He admonished, Seek ye first the kingdom of God. He said, If your eye causes you to miss the
mark, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than
with two eyes to be swallowed up of death.
He spoke many parables about the value of the Kingdom. He said that once there was a man who was digging
in a field; as he dug his spade struck across a buried treasure It was the law of Israel that such finds
might be kept by the finder; and so the man went away and sold every single thing that he
possessed in order that he might buy the field and so possess the treasure. He said that once there was a merchant man who had
spent his whole life searching for lovely pearls. At last he found a pearl which was the
most perfect and beautiful pearl he had ever seen; so, when he found it, he went and sold
out his whole stock and everything he had in order to buy the one precious pearl. It is
that way, said Jesus, that a man must be about the Kingdom! To inherit the power and the
glory of the Kingdom is worth everything that a man possesses and all that a man is; and
if anything hinders a man from inheriting it, even if that thing is the dearest thing on
earth, it must be rooted out and thrown away.
Only
the spiritually ambitious man will lay hold upon the Kingdom of God. Note I do not
say merely ambitious, but spiritually ambitious. To be spiritually ambitious is to
earnestly desire Gods best in His
way and time, according to His purpose, and always and only for His glory. It means to
seek first the Kingdom of God in all things. It
means to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul and strength. It means to come only to do the will of the Father,
and to do only what we see the Father doing. To
be spiritually ambitious is the very spirit of sonship! There is a place for
ambitious men in the Kingdom of God. Jesus
said, Whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. He did not turn the man away from the ambition to
be great. He simply told him how greatness can
be achieved become the servant of all! And
then there are degrees of this greatness. If
you want to be great, be the servant of all. If you want to be first, be the
bond-slave of all. The servant and the
bond-slave represent degrees of self-giving, and they, in turn, represent degrees of
greatness attained, namely great and first. Beyond that is a level to which Jesus Himself had
attained. The Son of man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. In other words, since He went deeper than being
servant of all, or a bond-slave of all, in that He gave His very life, so He becomes the
Son of man, which is more than being great, or first, among a group it is the acme
of being! So the door is open for ambition. You may be least, or less, or great, or greater, or
greatest, or first, or one like unto the Son of man!
Yet,
it does not mean that we give in order to get that is not the Kingdom
of God at all! We do not put on humility and
serve others with the motive of becoming great, attaining to exalted positions of power
and honor. If we are serving to gain
advantage, to receive a position of authority over others, for the sake of authority, then
our motive is all wrong yet carnal, earthly, sensual and devilish. That is not how the Kingdom works! We do not serve to be made great we serve
because we are great with Gods greatness. This is not a position of exercising power over
others but of serving them. Serving is the
power and the greatness. The motivation of our
desires must be the same as that of the Captain of our salvation. Filled with the great love of God, the desire to
attain to this position is to give ourselves in sacrifice and service for the deliverance
and restoration of the rest of Gods creatures. Having
attained to this deliverance from the bondage of corruption as the firstfruits of the
creation, our only desire will be to labor together with the Lord in the deliverance of
the rest of His creation, to lift them up to the same level of life as He has lifted us. The heart of God, the heart of unconditional and
unlimited love and all goodness, is the greatest heart in the universe. It is not serving that makes us great, it is true
divine greatness that causes us to serve! Oh,
the mystery of it!
Let
us see how beautifully Jesus taught this by His own example.
Everything is prepared and set in order for the last supper, to the very
water to wash the feet of the guests, as their custom was.
Christ and His disciples gather in the upper room to eat and fellowship
together on this solemn night. Each one waits
for the other, for there is no servant available to perform the customary service of
washing the guests feet. Washing feet
was one of the basest tasks in the culture of Jesus day. It was a job usually done by a house slave. Just as we offer a visitor hospitality, so in
Jesus time they customarily washed a visitors feet. Washing feet was an undesirable responsibility: the
roads were dusty well enough. But the filth of
the road was more than dust. The
transportation of that day was the camel, the donkey, the horse and the mule. It takes little imagination to understand that the
streets and roads were littered with their manure. The
traveler's feet would be covered with this as well as being caked with dust. The washing of feet was assigned to the lowliest
slave because it meant handling the filth of the streets.
This job was thought to be below the dignity of the good man of the
house.
Not
one of the twelve thinks of humbling himself to do the job, for, are they not the honored
ones, the disciples of the very Son of God, the flaming evangelists of the Kingdom, the
future rulers of the world! Even at the table
they were full of the thought who should be greatest in the Kingdom that was then
beginning to dawn. Suddenly, unexpectedly
Jesus stood up from the table, and began to take off His inner layer of garments until He
was stripped to the waist, wearing only His loincloth.
He then took a large towel and wrapped it around Himself, poured water into
a large brass basin, and, beginning with one of the men at the end of the table, laid
heavy emphasis upon His words of a few moments before, I am in the midst of you as
one that serves. Oh, the wonder of it!
on which angels gazed with adoring wonder. Christ, the Creator and King of the universe,
at whose word all worlds and galaxies flooded the infinity of space, who might with one
word have compelled any man or legions of angels to do His bidding, Himself chose the
slaves place as His own, taking the soiled, filthy feet in His own holy hands, and
washes them. It was to this task that the Lord
of Glory stooped!
But
listen more carefully to the divine why and how of this wondrous spectacle. Jesus does it in the full consciousness of His
divine glory, for the apostle John records, Jesus knowing that the Father had
given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God and went to God,
rose... What a startling combination of
sublime cause with curious consequence! How
could Jesus have done this? How could the
Master and the King of the universe wash dung from His disciples feet? He could do it because HE WAS SECURE IN WHO HE WAS. He knew that the Father had given all things
into His hands. He knew that He had
come from the Father and that He was the Son of God and the promised Messiah. He knew that He was going back to the Father
after He defeated sin, sickness, death, the grave and hell.
He didnt have to prove anything to Himself or to anyone else. His life had already proven who He was to those who
had eyes to see. And He didnt stoop so
low to become a tyrant, to rule over this world by force.
He came to heal and bless and deliver, to reign by serving! Ah, yes, precious friend of mine, once we
thoroughly know who we are there is no need to proclaim it, no need to sound a
trumpet, no need to wear a badge, to remind people of who we are. Once we know that we are the sons of God WE
ARE FREED TO SERVE!
You
see, it wasnt in spite of the fact of His greatness that Jesus took the place
of the servant it was because of His greatness! The greatness of Jesus is the greatness of the
Fathers heart. The greatness of Jesus is
the greatness of divine love and humility. The
greatness of Jesus is the greatness of sonship!
For the hands into which the Father gives all things nothing is common or
unclean. Because one is the offspring of the
God of all grace, compassion, love, mercy and goodness, in whose hands all things are
given, it is not difficult for him to stoop so low. In
this taking the form of a servant, Jesus proclaims the divine order of the Kingdom of God
and the house of sons. The higher one stands
in attainment in the Kingdom, the more it must be his joy to be servant of all. Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be
your servant (Mat. 20:27). He that
is greatest among you shall be your servant (Mat. 23:11). The higher I rise in the consciousness of being
like Christ, the deeper shall I stoop to serve the creation around me. The reason why we so often do not bless others is
that we wish to appear to them as their superiors in blessing, calling or rank, or at
least their equals. But that is not the spirit
of sonship! The truth is that only as a son
can we truly be a servant. It was the Son of
God who assumed the form of a servant and humbled Himself.
Ah, beloved elect of the Lord, walk among men as a son of the Most High
God. A son of God is only in the world to
show forth his Fathers glory, to demonstrate how Godlike and how blessed it is to
live only and always to find a way to love, bless, redeem and restore Gods lost
creation. Someone has said, God has three sorts of servants in the world: some are
slaves, and serve Him from fear; others are hirelings, and serve for wages; and the last
are sons, who serve because they love.
In
a book I read there is a story which beautifully illustrates why the mighty God would
stoop so low as to appear as a servant in His sons in order to restore creation. A little child is handed over to the keeping of
another by her own father not that he wants to part with her, but they are poor,
and so he gives her into the rich mans keeping, making her the rich mans
daughter so far as a resolution can do it, in order to find bread for both. He then hires himself as a servant to the rich man
and stays about where she is. He keeps watch
and care over that little life until it is matured; and the girl, as she grows up, begins
to feel that she can always rely upon the unselfish love of him who seems but a serving
man. But her father, as she supposes him to
be, is cold, distant, and even cruel. The day
came when he repudiated her with anger, selfish and base, because she had brought what
seemed disgrace on his name. Then forward
stepped the serving-man, and flung his arms around her, shouting, with the fierceness of
righteous indignation to the man who had evilly entreated her, She never was your
child! Then the girl knew why it was
that she had felt such rest, peace and joy in the presence of the serving-man. She had listened to his language of love many a
time, not knowing the speaker was her real father.
Old
father flesh, old father world, old father the devil repays all men with cruelty,
injustice, baseness, lack, sorrow and death. But
there is a better Father the One that sent you here, the One who has watched over
you, blessed you, cared for you, counseled you, entreated you, wood you and
overshadowed you with His love. Even when you
knew it not, He was already your Father! And
in Jesus He came as a servant to minister to your need, to lift and redeem and restore you
unto Himself and His Kingdom. And now, bless
His name, He comes in many sons to reveal His heart of love to the whole vast
creation and restore all things. We, as sons
of God, are among men as Him that serveth!
This
is the great miracle of sonship! It unites
greatness and humility in a divine combination. This
is the new creation in Christ Jesus! This is
the balance that is rarely attained in this world of natural men. The great secret lies in the indwelling spirit of
Jesus. Being made partakers of His nature and
mind we are able to stand before Pilate, and when he says, Are you a king? we
answer, Thou sayest it. At the
same time it is possible to kneel before our brethren with a towel and a basin of water,
washing their feet cleansing their walk in the spirit of service and
humility. Only in sonship do power and
humility find their true relationships and their true balance. Have you ever seen the President of the United
States cutting the grass at the White House? How
about Queen Elizabeth scrubbing the floors of her palace?
Or the Prime Minister of Canada washing dishes? We dont expect people of high position to do
lowly and seemingly unimportant tasks. Yet
Jesus has revealed the law of a Higher Kingdom, a Kingdom where power and humility are
joined together in a divine outpouring of love, grace and goodness!
Lyn
Gitchel, a dear friend of ours in Pennsylvania, shared a precious point about the meaning
of what we call ministry. She wrote, The Son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and give His life a ransom for many.
The whole idea that we have of ministry has got warped up in
these days, and I believe we shall have to have a new picture of what ministry really is
put into our minds by God. The word ministry
comes from two Latin words, minis, (from which we get minus), which means lesser,
and tri, which is the Latin word for servant.
Now, when you think about it, a LESSER SERVANT is a whole lot different from
what we think of when the word ministry is put in our minds. We think of famous evangelists, and large meetings,
crowds with a tremendous flow of miracles and of worship, and people that can really hold
your attention by their great preaching and then we find that the word means LESSER
SERVANT!
The
impact of this hit me recently and Ill share the experience with you. For most of my life I have served in a professional
capacity. Before I was an ordained minister I
was a registered nurse. I have never really
worked as a servant of any kind, until recently. A
friend of mine was doing a little job here in town which involves helping an elderly lady
who has had a stroke. You need to help her in
whatever capacity she needs, from housework to bathing her.
My friend had to leave town and, to help her out, I took the job. Nearly a year later I am still doing it! One day I was kneeling on the bathroom floor drying
her feet when suddenly I said to myself, Whatever am I doing here? Im
supposed to be an Ordained Minister! Immediately
the Spirit of God answered within my heart, You wanted to minister,
didnt you?
The
time has come when we must understand that ministry is not preaching but servanthood. We are going to have to learn all over again what
it means to serve people with the same heart of love that Jesus had when He walked among
men. It was not beneath Him to lift a woman
caught in adultery to her feet and speak a word of reassurance to her, nor was it beneath
Him to eat at the house of an ungodly tax-gatherer and his friends. Jesus did not hire a huge auditorium and put out
publicity announcing great meetings. He simply
moved among men and women where they were and touched them with love, and healing, and
compassion end quote.
There
is the story of a man who desired from the Lord a true understanding of heaven and hell. One night in a dream he was told that he would soon
receive this understanding. He was taken into
a room where a few dozen people were sitting around a huge kettle of stew. Each one had only a long handled spoon to eat with,
and their arms were straightened so they could not bend them and bring the food into their
mouths. This, he was told, was hell. Then he was taken into another room which would be
a picture to him of heaven. To his surprise,
the room was identical. The large pot was
there, as well as people with stiff arms and long spoons.
There was one major difference, however.
In this room, each one would dip into the stew with his or her long-handled
spoon and feed his fellow on the other side of the kettle! In this day we are being
translated from hell to heaven within ourselves as we learn the way of the Kingdom of
Heaven which is the Kingdom of Love by SERVING!
Every
new year the Queen of England publishes her Honors List, conferring titles and decorations
upon the men and women who have rendered distinguished service to mankind or to the
country or to the political party in power. I
have in my mind a little Honors List of my own. There
is not much point in publishing it, because you will never have heard of these people. They include a dear sister who was poor in this
worlds goods, who lived in a little house that approached being a shack, yet was
committed to Gods purposes in this Day and vibrant with the love of God. She was always sharing the word with the
neighborhood children who graced her porch, continually cooking and sharing with others,
fixing up and maintaining a building for the gatherings of the saints, entertaining the
ministries the Lord sent their way, and encouraging everyone. She never murmured or complained about anything
that came her way.
Honor
goes also to a brother who prayed earnestly and is credited with praying down
a mighty move of the Spirit of God many years ago, by which others with whom he was
associated were propelled into world-wide fame, while he unpretentiously cherished the
deep truths and hope of sonship and the reconciliation of all things, continuing in
prayer, setting an example of righteousness and humility before his family and community,
regularly visiting the widows, orphans, and shut-ins.
I honor another brother whose name I do not even know who, during our
Conferences in Florida years ago, would sweep and clean the meeting place until the wee
hours of the morning (without being asked it wasnt his responsibility!),
while most of the brethren and the preachers were enjoying rich fellowship over food at
the local restaurants. The one thing that
these quiet heroes have in common is that they lived the spirit of servanthood
without pretense or any motive other than a pure love and the deep desire to bless
creation and advance the Kingdom of God into mens lives. Truly such shall be called great in the
Kingdom of Heaven!
That
there are different levels in the Kingdom of God, from the least in the Kingdom to the
greatest in the Kingdom, Jesus clearly taught. He
told His disciples, Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there
has not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in
the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Mat. 11:11).
And again we read of Jesus disciples that they disputed among
themselves who should be the greatest. And
Jesus sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first,
the same shall be last of all, and servant of all (Mk. 9:34-35).
Christ Himself was the greatest among them. He
said, I am in the midst of you as he that serveth. He was the humblest, and, therefore, the greatest,
but had He no authority? He had authority in
heaven and on earth! Because He takes the
place of deepest humility, does that strip Him of His kingly authority? No! It
intensifies and magnifies it. And
whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant. Bondservant is
the meaning of the word in the Greek. The man
who is to be the greatest among Gods kings and priests must be the slave of all. The man who will be the greatest, the primus,
or first, will be the man who is, as it were, the very bondservant; willing to serve his
brethren as if he were their slave with a deep and true humility. Jesus Christ died the death of a slave. Amongst the Romans, crucifixion was the death
reserved for a bondservant. No Roman citizen
could be crucified, but the slaves were punished in that manner. Christ was the greatest, yet He took the place of
the lowest. He who stooped from the highest
heaven, not only to earth, but to the deepest hell, who went into the deepest depths to
seek for sinful men, is greatest. That is why
He exercises authority today in the heavens and on the earth. He now takes the highest place as the Head of the
body, the High Priest of our profession, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the
Head of all principality and power. He
is the greatest!
He
that would rise to be the highest,
Must first come down to be the lowest,
And then ascend to be the highest
By keeping down to be the lowest.
It
is only when you keep down to be the lowest that you can be a power.
The
following words by brother Paul Mueller clearly express another aspect of this same
beautiful truth. What does it mean to
rule and reign with Christ? The Greek word poimaino
is translated rule in some New Testament passages, and means to tend as a
shepherd. This agrees with the prophecy
of Isaiah, See! the Lord is coming with might, His own arm having won Him the
kingdom; See! His reward is with Him, and His
recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He
tends His flock, with His arm He gathers them; the lambs He carries in His bosom, and
gently leads those who give suck (Isa. 40:10-11, Smith-Goodspeed). Like a shepherd He tends His flock,
this is the manner of the Lords dealings with mankind.
He cares for each one, observing them and supplying their individual needs. He gathers them with His arm so that not one is
lost (Mat. 18:12). Some He carries and still
others He leads, but all will be gathered into His kingdom, for He is a faithful Shepherd.
The
story is told of a person who saw himself walking in the sand as he was going through a
very difficult trial. Suddenly another set of
tracks were seen in the sand next to his. He
knew instinctively that the other set of tracks were made by the Lord, who was faithfully
walking by his side. Then, just as suddenly,
he saw that there was only one set of tracks in the sand, and fearfully he thought the
Lord had left him. But then he was made to
realize that there was only one set of tracks in the sand because the Lord had picked him
up and was carrying him through that most difficult time.
Indeed, the Lord had not left him after all, but was carrying him in His
bosom. And these are the ways of the Lord that
must be imparted to all who will rule and reign with Him.
The love of the Lord for all mankind is as the love of a faithful, loving
shepherd. The kingdom of God shall be
established in the earth by the omnipotent and sovereign power of the Lord. He shall rule and reign in union with all His sons
in the spirit of a loving shepherd who gently leads his subjects, yet His power is mighty.
The
same Greek word is used for rule both in Matthew 2:6 and Revelation 12:5. It is the Greek word poimaino which means to
tend as a shepherd. What does it mean to rule
and to reign in the kingdom? All who are
chosen for this high calling will shepherd the people into the kingdom of God. Each one of them will be like a hiding-place from
the wind, and a shelter from the storm. They
will cover and protect their subjects, sheltering them until they are firmly rooted into
the life of the kingdom. They are like streams
of water in a dry place, and like the shade of a great rock in a wearisome land. Their new Life, which is the very Life of Christ,
flows from them like streams of water in the desert. They
are that mighty Rock which has smitten the image of the nations, causing them all to fall
(Dan. 2:34), but which now gives forth shelter and protection. They are entrusted with the ring of kingdom
authority, the best robe of kingdom righteousness and life, and the royal scepter of the
kingdom of God. Indeed, when one rules over
men as a righteous one, when one rules in the fear of God, then it is as the light of the
morning when the sun rises, a morning cloudless and clear, after rain upon the tender
grass end quote.
God
has called a people aside in this hour and brought them to a place of brokenness,
humility, and nothingness in the eyes of the world and the church systems of man. We have obeyed the word the apostle Peter
admonished, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may
exalt you in due time (I Pet. 5:6). God
is about to exalt His sons, but it shall be the exaltation of humility.
The
following prophecy from the late Norene Nicholls has come into my hands at this time, and
it surely speaks for this Day. A strange
and wondrous thing is about to come, for the Lord has spoken to those that will hear, and
their ears have been sharpened. There is a
gathering of the royal family, and the shepherds of Israel shall become rulers on the
thrones. They have stood in desolate
places and listened to the low sound of the sheep even a little flock in a
wilderness place, but now it shall change. The
shepherds who have proven their worth in aloneness shall now come forth to be
acknowledged of those who would not have Me to reign over them in times past. Behold the thing is at the door. Some have chosen high places for themselves, but
others have allowed the Lord to choose for them, and thus have they been separated from
their brethren and lost to sight. But now
shall events bring forth the deserted ones and show them before kings who are really not
kings at all. The scepter of these kings shall
be righteousness and the girdle of faithfulness shall be upon their loins. They shall be recognized, not because they are of
great stature nor commanding of personality, but they shall be recognized because the
Spirit of the Lord is upon them.
Men
shall no longer gather to men, but the men of God shall gather to the establishment of
truth where the angels activate the holy ground. There
shall strange but wondrous things take place, for instructions from the presence of the
Lord shall be heard, and kings shall lift their voices in confidence and courage at
the declaration. And, there too, shall be that
peculiar anointing reserved for kings come into being; and that anointing shall teach
you all things. Then from that pillar of truth
shall the kings issue forth to do exploits and turn the aliens back from the shores of the
land promised. Be not afraid nor amazed, for
the Lord has spoken in verity and truth and shall bring it to pass. No longer shall you stand idly by and wait for
another day, but there shall be activity of a new source yet activity that is
effortless and quiet. You shall slip quietly
into palaces and judgment halls and speak a word in season.
You shall stand before prelates and counselors, but not one of your words
shall fail. You shall see the manifestation of
what you have spoken, and men shall shut their mouths nor argue the point. This is a strange work to be done, but it shall
come by the decree of God and stand unmovable before heaven and earth. The closing of the day is also the opening of
the Day, and to this time have you been called. See
to it that you be not discouraged, for you shall stand in the land and turn the enemy from
the shores. So it is and shall be end quote.
SONS
AND SERVANTS
It
is when we come to this thought of servants that there is a great deal of
misunderstanding among the Lords people. When
we speak of servants, some boast that this calling does not apply to them, for they are no
longer servants, but sons. That is true in the
spirit in which Paul argues in Galatians 4:6-7 wherein he says, And because ye are
sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a
son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
It
is far from the truth, however, to say that there is no sense in which those who are sons
are also servants. Paul is speaking in the passage above of our relationship to God,
the Father. Under the Old Covenant the
people of God had not received new birth by the Spirit, to live in the Spirit and walk
after the Spirit, but were placed under the rule of law.
They were not a house of sons, but a house of servants. Their relationship to God was the
relationship of servants. They were not sons. God had not sent the spirit of sonship into
their hearts. By the New Covenant God has
redeemed us from the curse of the law that we might receive placement as sons and has
birthed into our hearts the Spirit of His Son, the spirit of sonship, whereby we cry,
Father! This has brought a change
in our relationship to God. Unto Him we
are no longer servants, but sons. As sons,
however, we become related not only to God, but we also become related to men. Jesus is the Son of God, but He is also the Saviour
of men, the Redeemer of men, the Reconciler of men, the Blesser of men, the Deliverer of
men, the Sovereign Lord over all flesh. It is
here that we must be very clear in our understanding.
Unto God I may be a son; but unto men I must be a servant. I am Gods servant, sent of the Father to
serve mankind. I cannot be a
servant to God, for I am His son; and I cannot be a son to men, therefore I
much approach unto men in a relationship through which I can minister unto them the life
of the Son who dwells in me. The only way I
may minister Christ unto men is as a servant. To
minister means to serve, and both
minister and servant are a number of times translated from the same Greek word.
Can a son be a servant? Jesus, the pattern Son declared, Even as the
Son of man came not to be ministered unto (served), but to minister (serve) and give His
life a ransom for many (Mat. 20:28). It
is the SON who SERVES! The Son is a
Servant-Son. The very same Jesus of whom the
Father witnessed, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, of
Him the Father also witnessed, Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect,
in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment
to the nations (Isa. 42:1). Matthew
12:15-21 shows unmistakably that this servant of the Lord is Jesus. The Son came as a Servant-Son.
John
understood this significant truth, for the same John who wrote, Behold, what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God,
later stated, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto
His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it
by His angel unto His servant John (Rev. 1:1).
Paul understood this truth, for the very same Paul who wrote,
Wherefore thou art no more a servant but a son, also said, Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle. Apostle
means a sent one, therefore Paul was sent to serve! To God he was a son, but he was the servant of men. Is Jesus a Son or a Servant? Was John a son or a servant? Was Paul a son or a servant? And lest the elect of God in this Day should exalt
themselves above John, or Paul, or even Jesus, we further find that of the 144,000
overcomers, that glorious company of the sons of God who stand with the Lamb on mount
Zion, having the Fathers name in their foreheads, it is written, Hurt not the
earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the SERVANTS OF OUR GOD IN
THEIR FOREHEADS (Rev. 7:3). So there you
have it! The sons are the servants! Not
servants to God, but sons who are servants to men, humble ministers
of the mercies and goodness of the Lord.
What
blessedness, what value has sonship without the outpouring into the depths in which men
dwell? The whole purpose of sonship is that
God may be revealed, expressed, and communicated to men even unto the lowest hell. Sonship is not some country-club set of
super-spiritual-elite-gods who spend their time polishing up their halos while basking in
the meretricious brilliancy of their own self-importance. If, upon our road to manifested
sonship, we first learn to identify with the creation which we are ordained to deliver, to
associate with the lowest and basest of men in the blessed spirit of a servant, what a
blessing we shall become to the world! THAT IS
WHAT JESUS DID. If Jesus were here today He
would be condemned for eating with politicians, lawyers, mobsters, drug lords, call girls,
crooks, drunks, and a whole host of unsavory characters, just as He was two thousand years
ago. We think of the mighty anointing of the
seven spirits of God that rested upon the firstborn Son, and shall rest upon all the
manifested sons of God. But is it not written of these seven spirits that they are sent
forth into all the earth into the earthiness of mans experience. Only as a son can one truly be a servant, for only
the son possesses that life which can quicken all things!
There
is a striking and beautiful parallel between sons and servants, between kings and priests. It is the son who reigns, and the priest who
serves. As sons we are destined to reign as
kings, as servants we are called to serve as priests.
For thou wast slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God KINGS and
PRIESTS: and we shall reign over the earth (Rev. 5:9-11). God makes us kings that we might rule; He makes us
priests that we might serve, bringing reconciliation, blessing and transformation to
mankind. As priests we live for others, to
pray for them; to work among them; to teach and instruct them; to bless and lift them; to
deliver and redeem them; to bring them to God! And
I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne . . . stood a Lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns (power, kingship) and seven eyes (perception, vision, communication,
priesthood), which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth
(Rev. 5:6). The sevenfold intensified Spirit of the Lord is given to Gods
King-Priests so as to be a channel for the outpouring of His glorious life to creation. To be a king is marvelous beyond words, but to be a
priest is no idle self-seeking blessedness. It
is a compelling power to enter into Gods presence on behalf of mankind; the power to
receive from the Lamb all the blessings and provisions of His wonderful life, and to
receive and carry and distribute them!
You
will never be a priest without the servant-nature. The
story is told of a farmer who had just sat down to the table and prayed, Oh Lord,
bless the poor people in this neighborhood, and feed them. Very soon after, there
was a knock at the door and a poor neighbor came in and asked the farmer for a bushel of
potatoes. The farmer began to make all kinds
of excuses. He had fifty bushels of potatoes,
and his little boy said, Papa, there is a chance to answer your own prayers. That is the servant-nature, and the spirit of
priesthood. So many in this hour want to be
sons and kings and priests while living in their own little world, studying the deep
revelations, singing beautiful kingdom songs, but never having any practical outworking of
the servant-nature in the nitty-gritty of everyday living where the needs of creation are
met. May the Spirit of God make very real to
all our hearts the great truth that he who will not serve cannot be a son. For even the Son of man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life... The sons come for the same purpose!
What a blessing there is in giving! Even on the natural plane it is a part of the
makeup of everyone that they feel good when giving or helping others. But in many people, and even in some who aspire to
be kings and priests of God, this attribute is never developed into becoming a part of
their life-style, so the opposite takes place. However
many wonderful people spend their lives in giving service to others. When analyzed, the
servant-nature is the most prized possession of the human race. What a joy is the restaurant waitress who gives
true service. To be a real nurse requires this
above all else. The secretary in an office can
be an inspiration to everyone through her ability to be of help and support in every
situation instead of merely doing what is required of her.
Then there is the teacher who is vitally concerned for every member of her
class. In such as these is the servant-nature
revealed even on the earthly level. Serving
those about you will never of itself make you a priest of God, but YOU CAN NEVER BE
A PRIEST WITHOUT THE SERVANT-NATURE! HE
makes us kings and priests! Because we
have priestly hearts we shall stretch forth our hands to heal the nations and speak forth
the word that brings them life!
Many
years ago amidst a great moving of the Spirit of God the revelation of sonship fell with
wonder upon our ears and burst with glory within our hearts.
We sat enraptured for hours, day after day, and were taught by the Spirit
about the Father and His purposes and about that elect company He has called, apprehended
and chosen to be His sons to rule with Him in His Kingdom and restore all things. We learned that these sons would have power
unlimited power over everything. Power
over sin, power over sickness, power over the elements, power over demons, power over all
the power of the enemy, and power over death. We
were going to rule and reign in power, and our eyes sparkled
like diamonds in the light and our hearts swelled with joy in expectation of
the wonderful position and authority we would soon have in the Kingdom. We could think and talk of nothing else but the
power we would have, and in our glorying we tried to usurp and demonstrate this power. We were intoxicated with illusions of grandeur as
we pressed our way into the Kingdom and the exalted position of sitting on the throne with
Jesus and ruling the world and the vastnesses of infinity forever.
Little
did we understand in those early days that the way up is down. The carnal mind would have us believe that the way up
is up. Thus we have pressed our way
into ministry, pressed our way into the Kingdom, stood on the promises,
demanded of God our rights, presuming even to command God to do this
and that, and sought to seize the throne. It
is true, elect of the Lord, that God wants to take us UP high into the realms of God
UP to the throne but God would have us know that the way UP is always DOWN! Do you remember what Jesus said to His disciples
when they aspired to greatness in the Kingdom? Now
an eager contention arose among them, which of them was considered and reputed to be the
greatest. But Jesus said to them, The kings of
the Gentiles are deified by them and exercise lordship, ruling as emperor-gods over them;
and those in authority over them are called benefactors and well-doers. But this is not to be so with you; and on the
contrary let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and he who is the
chief and leader as one who serves. For
which is the greater, he who reclines at table (the master), or he who serves? Is it not he who reclines at table? BUT I AM IN YOUR MIDST AS ONE WHO SERVES (Lk.
22:24-27, Amplified). The one who serves the
people well as a priest is the one who will also reign well as a king. They shall be priests . . . and they
shall reign. That is the order! Though He is calling us to be kings with authority
over all, yet our inner spirit must be that of a servant, that we might freely minister,
loving, touching, doing good, speaking kindness and encouragement, healing, reconciling,
restoring, with mercy, compassion and love. The
problem with many people is that they have never learned to live for anything other than
themselves and their own me, my wife Mary, my daughter Sue, my son John, these
four, no more.
God
by many and varied experiences brings preparation into our lives to teach us the attitude
of a servant. Pride shows that that person has
failed to grasp that rulership is rooted in God, who is Love, and not in ourselves. Jesus was the most lowly and humble of all men, and
also the most powerful and authoritative. He
was not a super-duper-elite-country-club Son of God. He
didnt bounce onto the platform under the lights with a flare of worldly showmanship
and then disappear out the back door to escape contact with the people. Although He existed in the form of God, He
did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the
form of a bond-servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled
Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil.
2:6-8).
THE
MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD
At
the last supper, in addition to taking the form of a servant and washing His
disciples feet, Jesus offered His disciples bread and wine. These are the two symbols of the Melchizedek
Priesthood. And Melchizedek king of
Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God (Gen.
14:18). Deep down in the heart of men there is
a strong and instinctive demand for a priest, to be a mediator, to lay one hand on man,
and the other on God, and going between both to bring the two together into unification. A priest or priesthood infers that there is a
reason why such has been called into play. It denotes that there is an estrangement
between God and His creatures and the priest ministers to bridge that gulf and bring about
peace or at-one-ment. Many today proclaim that
there is no estrangement, no separation between God and man, that it is only a false sense
of duality in mans mind, that he has only to see that he himself is God,
and as soon as his true identity is recognized, he can proceed to manifest out of his
divine self. If that is the truth then man did
not truly fall, there was no sin in Eden, and no penalty for that sin; God did not drive
man out of paradise, there was no need for Jesus to come to ransom us with His precious
blood, and there certainly would be no need for the Melchizadek Priesthood! Nor would there be any purpose in any scriptural
teaching of forgiveness by God, atonement with His blood, redemption through His blood,
justification by the blood, sanctification by the blood, regeneration, new birth, or the
baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus should have
just come and told us who we really are and explained to us
that none of these things can add anything to our inherent divinity, and
gone back to heaven.
Websters
dictionary defines priest as: a mediatory agent between God and man. In the Old Testament the word priest is translated
from the Hebrew word cohen, the root meaning of which is one who stands up
and draws nigh for another. The Greek
word, in its root, means to minister. Thus,
a priest is one who draws near and ministers on behalf of another. And the priest always draws nigh and ministers in two
directions drawing nigh to God on behalf of the people and drawing nigh to the
people on behalf of God. The priest stands and
ministers unto the Lord on behalf of the people while, on the other hand, he ministers
unto the people on behalf of the Lord. The
ministry of the priest is an intermediary or go-between ministry. He reaches out with one hand and takes hold of God;
he reaches out with the other hand and takes hold of humanity; and he brings the two
together by virtue of his priestly ministration.
The
inspired writer to the Hebrews says of our Lord Jesus the Christ, We have such an
high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a
minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not
man (Heb. 8:1-2). What does he mean when
he says that Christ is the minister of the sanctuary? In every temple there was a god, an unseen god, to
whom the temple was devoted. But there was a
priest, the priest of that temple, who was to receive the petitions and sacrifices of the
worshipper and to get the answer back from the god. So
it was with Aaron in the Old Testament. It is
said of him and of the priests of Israel, they shall stand in my presence to
minister, and they shall go out and bless in my name.
The
High Priest in Israel was the mediator between God and the nation. He carried into the presence of God the sins and
needs of the people, and carried the people in him. He
obtained from God the power to declare the remission of sin and the right of blessing the
people. God drew nigh unto the people in the
person of the Priest. God ministered of
Himself unto the people through the blessing of the Priest.
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and
came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all
the people (Lev. 9:23). From this
Old Testament shadow the service of the priesthood under the New Covenant is clear, first
to minister to the Lord, then to minister the life of Christ to those who sit in
darkness, in the region of the shadow of death, until all are fully reconciled to God. The sons of God are called to be a kingdom of
priests, the government of God ministering unto creation!
There
is both a Godward and a manward work in reconciliation, redemption, and restoration. And so our great High Priest, Jesus, stands as the
minister of the sanctuary, the temple of God, which temple ye are. Not only are we Gods Royal Priesthood, WE are
also the temple of the living God, a temple of living stones, an habitation of God through
the Spirit! WE are the realm of His dwelling
and the sanctuary in which, and from which, Christ ministers to creation! As we minister unto the Lord, there flows back from
His presence a stream of blessing to impart to men upon the earth.
I
cannot emphasize too strongly the important truth that ALL PRIESTHOOD has a double
outreach ministry to both God and man. It
could not be otherwise, for a priest is one who stands between two factions in
mediation, and the moment a priest ceases to touch both God and man, unifying the two, he
simply ceases to be a priest. He may be
a worshipper who speaks to God, or a king who rules the people for God, or a
prophet who delivers a message from God, but no man can have a one-sided ministry
and be a priest. The priest must touch God
with one hand, and mankind with the other, bringing the two together by his ministration. Anything less or different than this is not
priesthood at all.
It
is interesting to note that the Melchizedek Priesthood is likewise a priesthood flowing in
two directions. And Melchizedek, the
king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of the most high God. And he blessed him (Abraham), and said, blessed
be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be the
most high God (Gen. 14:18-20). How
meaningful that Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and then goes on to also bless the most high
God. God is raising up a priesthood, the body
of the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, that will not only be able to bless
men, but they will bless God, for they BECOME THE BLESSING OF GOD in the earth.
Our
Lord Jesus Christ is the High Priest of the Melchizedekian Order, to which we, the members
of His body, the Royal Priesthood, are called. As
we grow up into His fullness we shall experience all that the Order of Melchizedek
represents. In Jesus we see the dual aspect of
true priesthood for while He has beautifully offered Himself up to God as a sweet
smelling savor, an acceptable sacrifice, with the incense of all His divine attributes, He
also is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them (Heb. 7:25). I have met many would-be sons of God across the
land who pride themselves that they have been called aside to minister unto the Lord,
but they have no corresponding vision to bless or save men, and wouldnt walk
across the street to minister to a needy soul. I
do not hesitate to tell you, precious ones, that such have no true revelation of what is
embodied in the Melchizedek Priesthood. How I
rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the Melchizedek Order, does
indeed have a ministry manward. He is still
saving all who come to God by Him! He is
still touched with the feelings of our infirmities! He
still maketh intercession for us! He is still
writing His law upon our hearts! He still has
compassion on the ignorant and them that are out of the way!
He is still reconciling by His blood all who call upon Him! Without His Priestly Ministry I, and you, too,
precious friend of mine, would still be lost without God and without hope in the world. Thank God, HE REACHED DOWN HIS HAND FOR ME! What if Jesus only ministered unto the
Father?!
n light of the Melchizedek High Priesthood of Jesus
we are admonished, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Heb.
4:16). . . . that He might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17). And He
is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world (I Jn. 2:2). He ever
liveth to bring such victory to His creation, none left out, none rejected, none too
filthy or depraved or rebellious for Him to touch, for I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto me (Jn. 12:32), and all the ends of the
world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall
worship before Thee (Ps. 22:27). And
there shall come a priesthood that shall truly labor together with Christ until all
enemies are subdued under His feet, until death is no more, until all things are made new,
until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea,
and until HIS LIFE FILLS THE UNIVERSE, praise His name!
We
have received the call from our Father to follow Christ into His new Kingdom order for
this New Day. He is preparing our hearts to
enter into an entirely new kind and dimension of ministry that will transcend the church
age ministry as far as the heavens are above the earth.
This is the ministry of the Melchizedek Priesthood! The Melchizedek Priests are the genetic
reproduction of God, born of His life, revealing His heart, expressing His love,
manifesting His glory. The Melchizedek Priests
inherit all the wisdom, splendor and power of their Father.
They are the fullness of God shed upon the earth in the ministry of the
restoration of all things. They are the source
of divine blessing for all the families and peoples of the earth. Being born of God, the Melchizedek Priests do not
minister according to mans carnal religious ways, ideas, traditions, methods, or
means. They are motivated only internally, by
the leading of the spirit of God and by the outflowing of agape-love. The Melchizedek Priesthood is the new, spiritual
state of being Gods sons for the new age of the Kingdom now dawning.
The
Melchizedek Priests are born of this new order and character that transcends the in-part
ministry of the church systems wherein we walked in our childhood in Christ. These Priests are not apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors, or teachers they are King-Priests after the order of
Melchizedek, which is the order of manifested sonship.
They live in the fullness of God, but come forth with bread and wine to
nourish and bless and restore in the form of servants.
They are the sons of men who become the sons of God. They are born of agape-love, enter the Melchizedek
Priesthood, and become Gods Kings and Priests unto all creation. Becoming a son is not an ego trip. It is a position of great responsibility. We pray that we will be equal to the challenge God
has set before us, and that we will be enabled to fill the place He is calling us to. Amen
The
End of the Series
The Kingdom of God
Links to other ministry websites
Not finding what you need? SEARCH HERE
Search this site
or the
web powered by FreeFind |