Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
Or are the Jews part of an earthly kingdom, an earthly bride, an earthly body? If they are they have no part in the four Gospel accounts; for John the Baptist and Christ came preaching one Kingdom—a Kingdom born in the hearts of men. This is the Kingdom of which Daniel spoke, the Kingdom that will rule the nations of the earth forever.
The one Kingdom of God is the new Jerusalem, which is the glorified Church, the Body of Christ—God in Christ in the saints reigning over the nations of the earth. It is the Kingdom of which Isaiah prophesied.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7)
The teaching of two different called-out peoples, one spiritual and one earthly, is not found in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Paul taught clearly and consistently that there is only one holy olive tree, Israel, and we Gentiles have been grafted on it.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
In the last days the Jews by race will be joined once again to the one true Olive Tree, the true Vine, the one true Stock of Abraham, which is Christ. Thus there will be one Body, one fold, one Shepherd, one Israel, one holy nation of kings and priests.
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. (Ezekiel 37:22)
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (John 10:16)
At one time we Gentiles were not part of Israel but now we have been made a part of the true Israel founded on the Apostles and Prophets.
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (Ephesians 2:12)
Paul is stating here that at one time we Gentiles were not a part of Israel. The implication is we are now being added to Israel and to the covenant God has made with Israel. We are not a separate body of "Gentile Christians."
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken the middle wall of partition between us [between Jew and Gentile]; (Ephesians 2:14)
In Christ we Gentiles have been made one with the Jews.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Two Israels - Two Kingdoms - Two Second Comings
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:28,29)
The teaching that there are two different called-out peoples, one spiritual and one earthly, is not found in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Paul taught clearly that there is only one holy olive tree, Israel, and we Gentiles have been grafted on it. In the last days the Jews by race will be joined once again to the Olive Tree, the true Vine, the one true stock of Abraham, which is Christ. There will be one Body, one fold, one Shepherd, one Israel, one holy nation of kings and priests.
There are not two kingdoms, a spiritual Gentile kingdom and a natural Jewish kingdom. There is only one Kingdom of God, of Heaven. It is the Kingdom announced by the Hebrew Prophets.
Of all the errors of current Christian theology, one of the most weakening and misleading, in terms of the spiritual strength and diligence of the believers, is the teaching that there will be a special, secret coming of Christ prior to His actual, prophesied coming to establish His Kingdom on the earth—a secret coming whose purpose is to carry the Gentile elect to Heaven while the Jewish elect are left on the earth.
Two Israels?
The scheme of biblical interpretation termed Dispensationalism chops into pieces God's dealing with men. The truth is, the entire Scriptures, the Old Testament and the New Testament, are one seamless robe of Christ. Christianity is based solidly on all that has gone before. By no means is the Christian Era a special parenthesis in God's dealings with mankind.
There are several aspects of the Dispensational model that are misleading, that prevent a coherent, straightforward interpretation of the Scriptures. One of the doctrines that proceeds from Dispensationalism maintains that during the great tribulation a special "Gentile Church" will be "raptured" into Heaven while the Jews preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a teaching more removed from or more destructive of the scriptural concept of the Kingdom of God.
Are there two Israels of God? Two kingdoms of God? Two bodies of Christ? Two wives of the Lamb? Are there two called-out peoples, one Gentile and one Jewish? If so, to which body do Paul and Peter belong—the Jewish body or the Gentile body?
If, as is taught commonly, a "Gentile Church" (are there no Jews in it?) is "raptured" into Paradise, and the Holy Spirit has left the earth and gone into Paradise with it, how are the physical Jews to preach the Kingdom of God? They cannot be born again without the Holy Spirit, and no one can see the Kingdom until he is born again.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
How, then, can the Jews preach salvation and a spiritual kingdom without the Holy Spirit?
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The teaching that there are two different called-out peoples, one spiritual and one earthly, is not found in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Paul taught clearly that there is only one holy olive tree, Israel, and we Gentiles have been grafted on it. In the last days the Jews by race will be joined once again to the Olive Tree, the true Vine, the one true stock of Abraham, which is Christ. There will be one Body, one fold, one Shepherd, one Israel, one holy nation of kings and priests.
There are not two kingdoms, a spiritual Gentile kingdom and a natural Jewish kingdom. There is only one Kingdom of God, of Heaven. It is the Kingdom announced by the Hebrew Prophets.
Of all the errors of current Christian theology, one of the most weakening and misleading, in terms of the spiritual strength and diligence of the believers, is the teaching that there will be a special, secret coming of Christ prior to His actual, prophesied coming to establish His Kingdom on the earth—a secret coming whose purpose is to carry the Gentile elect to Heaven while the Jewish elect are left on the earth.
Two Israels?
The scheme of biblical interpretation termed Dispensationalism chops into pieces God's dealing with men. The truth is, the entire Scriptures, the Old Testament and the New Testament, are one seamless robe of Christ. Christianity is based solidly on all that has gone before. By no means is the Christian Era a special parenthesis in God's dealings with mankind.
There are several aspects of the Dispensational model that are misleading, that prevent a coherent, straightforward interpretation of the Scriptures. One of the doctrines that proceeds from Dispensationalism maintains that during the great tribulation a special "Gentile Church" will be "raptured" into Heaven while the Jews preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a teaching more removed from or more destructive of the scriptural concept of the Kingdom of God.
Are there two Israels of God? Two kingdoms of God? Two bodies of Christ? Two wives of the Lamb? Are there two called-out peoples, one Gentile and one Jewish? If so, to which body do Paul and Peter belong—the Jewish body or the Gentile body?
If, as is taught commonly, a "Gentile Church" (are there no Jews in it?) is "raptured" into Paradise, and the Holy Spirit has left the earth and gone into Paradise with it, how are the physical Jews to preach the Kingdom of God? They cannot be born again without the Holy Spirit, and no one can see the Kingdom until he is born again.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
How, then, can the Jews preach salvation and a spiritual kingdom without the Holy Spirit?
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Symbolism of the Two Witnesses, #4
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25)
The eleventh chapter of Revelation is speaking of the overcoming of the testimony, of the witnessing power of the majority of the believers, by means of the subtlety and viciousness of Antichrist. Christ Himself never can be harmed, but His followers indeed can be overcome (and indeed are being overcome in the present hour) by the world and the spirit of Antichrist. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that the saints will be overcome in the last days.
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:7)
What happens to the saint happens to Christ, according to the Scriptures. When the saints are in prison, Christ is in prison. When they are thirsty, He is thirsty. When they are sick, He is sick (Matthew 25:45).
If we are correct in our interpretation, the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation is describing a double portion of God's witnessing power that will enable the saints of the last days to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom for a testimony to every nation on the earth. We saints are one witness. The Lord Jesus who works with us and confirms the Word with signs following is the second Witness.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:20)
This is similar to the pattern of Jesus and the Father working together:
I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. (John 8:18)
The end-time witness will be borne, and when it is finished God will permit Antichrist to overcome the testimony for a season. The "bodies" of the witnesses lying in the "street of the great city" refer, we believe, to the Christian institutions, such as churches and schools, that Antichrist will subsidize but that will be void of the witnessing power of the Holy Spirit.
Only the strongest, most faithful of the saints will survive Antichrist's season of temptation.
As soon as God determines that wickedness has come to the full He will enter His true remnant of saints in the sight of the wicked of the earth (including the worldly "Christians"). Then will come to pass that which is written:
The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16)
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. (Isaiah 60:1,2)
After the testimony of the resurrection of the saints has been given, God will raise His witnesses from the earth until a cloud hides them from sight, just as the Lord Jesus was taken up until a "cloud received him out of their sight" (Acts 1:9; Revelation 11:12).
The wicked, beholding the awesome majesty of the Lord, will be terrified; but this is just the beginning of their torment.
Now will commence the Day of God's wrath and the work of judging the dead. Now will the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. (from The Symbolism of the Two Witnesses; from It Is Time for a Reformation of Christian Thinking)
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The eleventh chapter of Revelation is speaking of the overcoming of the testimony, of the witnessing power of the majority of the believers, by means of the subtlety and viciousness of Antichrist. Christ Himself never can be harmed, but His followers indeed can be overcome (and indeed are being overcome in the present hour) by the world and the spirit of Antichrist. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that the saints will be overcome in the last days.
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:7)
What happens to the saint happens to Christ, according to the Scriptures. When the saints are in prison, Christ is in prison. When they are thirsty, He is thirsty. When they are sick, He is sick (Matthew 25:45).
If we are correct in our interpretation, the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation is describing a double portion of God's witnessing power that will enable the saints of the last days to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom for a testimony to every nation on the earth. We saints are one witness. The Lord Jesus who works with us and confirms the Word with signs following is the second Witness.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:20)
This is similar to the pattern of Jesus and the Father working together:
I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. (John 8:18)
The end-time witness will be borne, and when it is finished God will permit Antichrist to overcome the testimony for a season. The "bodies" of the witnesses lying in the "street of the great city" refer, we believe, to the Christian institutions, such as churches and schools, that Antichrist will subsidize but that will be void of the witnessing power of the Holy Spirit.
Only the strongest, most faithful of the saints will survive Antichrist's season of temptation.
As soon as God determines that wickedness has come to the full He will enter His true remnant of saints in the sight of the wicked of the earth (including the worldly "Christians"). Then will come to pass that which is written:
The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16)
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. (Isaiah 60:1,2)
After the testimony of the resurrection of the saints has been given, God will raise His witnesses from the earth until a cloud hides them from sight, just as the Lord Jesus was taken up until a "cloud received him out of their sight" (Acts 1:9; Revelation 11:12).
The wicked, beholding the awesome majesty of the Lord, will be terrified; but this is just the beginning of their torment.
Now will commence the Day of God's wrath and the work of judging the dead. Now will the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. (from The Symbolism of the Two Witnesses; from It Is Time for a Reformation of Christian Thinking)
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Symbolism of the Two Witnesses, #3
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (forty-two months), clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)
There is the incident in which two bears (two witnesses) slew forty-two lads (II Kings 2:24). The number forty-two is symbolic of the forty-two "months" during which the two witnesses will prophesy.
An "Elijah" portion of anointing rested on the saints of the first century—a "former" (planting) rain of the Spirit. An "Elisha" portion will abide on the saints of the last days—a "latter" (harvest) rain of the Spirit.
James 5:7 associates the "latter rain" with the "coming of the Lord." The latter-rain downpour of God's Spirit, the outpouring of Joel 2:28, cannot be found in the Book of Revelation except for the two witnesses of the eleventh chapter.
The "two olive trees" are the two "anointed ones" who stand by the Lord of the whole earth (Zechariah 4:14). Only Elijah and Elisha used the expression, "the Lord God before whom I stand."
However, it is difficult for us to accept the idea that the two sons of oil are Elijah and Elisha from Heaven. These two prophets are not going to return to earth and preach the message assigned to the members of the Body of Christ. It is possible that God may place the spirit and power of Elijah and Elisha on the saints of the last days as He placed the spirit and power of Elijah on John the Baptist (Luke 1:17).
We find it more reasonable to believe that the anointed ones, while they may be two cherubim through whom the Holy Spirit continually anoints Christ—Head and Body, actually are a symbolic way of representing the power of the Holy Spirit to bear witness.
We believe this to be true because the golden Lampstand of the Tabernacle of the Congregation typifies the fullness of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit of God who abides on Christ.
It is not likely that Christ is anointed continually by Elijah and Elisha. More reasonably, Elijah and Elisha were a reflection on the earth of the Spirit of Christ in Heaven.
The golden Lampstand of the fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah, and the lampstands of the first and eleventh chapters of the Book of Revelation, can symbolize only Christ, the Anointed One of God, and the churches that are an integral part of His Personality. A lampstand, being solid gold, cannot typify humanity. Gold always symbolizes the Person, the Substance, of Deity.
It is our point of view that the fact there is only one lampstand in the fourth chapter of Zechariah, but two lampstands in the eleventh chapter of Revelation, suggests that the second lampstand is the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ was not in existence at the time of Zechariah's prophecy. There was only the one Lampstand, representing Christ Himself.
To those who may object that the Body of Christ is human and not Divine, let us submit that the Body of Christ indeed is Divine. The Body has been fashioned from the body and blood of Christ, not from the fallen human nature of man. The testimony of God always is of God Himself even though it is borne by human beings.
To those who may object that Christ cannot be overcome and killed (Revelation 11:7), let us remind the reader that the eleventh chapter is a symbolic vision no matter what one's interpretation may be. It is not that Christ Himself is overcome and killed or that a true member of His Church can be harmed by Antichrist (unless the saint is deceived and walks out from under the protection of God.)
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
There is the incident in which two bears (two witnesses) slew forty-two lads (II Kings 2:24). The number forty-two is symbolic of the forty-two "months" during which the two witnesses will prophesy.
An "Elijah" portion of anointing rested on the saints of the first century—a "former" (planting) rain of the Spirit. An "Elisha" portion will abide on the saints of the last days—a "latter" (harvest) rain of the Spirit.
James 5:7 associates the "latter rain" with the "coming of the Lord." The latter-rain downpour of God's Spirit, the outpouring of Joel 2:28, cannot be found in the Book of Revelation except for the two witnesses of the eleventh chapter.
The "two olive trees" are the two "anointed ones" who stand by the Lord of the whole earth (Zechariah 4:14). Only Elijah and Elisha used the expression, "the Lord God before whom I stand."
However, it is difficult for us to accept the idea that the two sons of oil are Elijah and Elisha from Heaven. These two prophets are not going to return to earth and preach the message assigned to the members of the Body of Christ. It is possible that God may place the spirit and power of Elijah and Elisha on the saints of the last days as He placed the spirit and power of Elijah on John the Baptist (Luke 1:17).
We find it more reasonable to believe that the anointed ones, while they may be two cherubim through whom the Holy Spirit continually anoints Christ—Head and Body, actually are a symbolic way of representing the power of the Holy Spirit to bear witness.
We believe this to be true because the golden Lampstand of the Tabernacle of the Congregation typifies the fullness of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit of God who abides on Christ.
It is not likely that Christ is anointed continually by Elijah and Elisha. More reasonably, Elijah and Elisha were a reflection on the earth of the Spirit of Christ in Heaven.
The golden Lampstand of the fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah, and the lampstands of the first and eleventh chapters of the Book of Revelation, can symbolize only Christ, the Anointed One of God, and the churches that are an integral part of His Personality. A lampstand, being solid gold, cannot typify humanity. Gold always symbolizes the Person, the Substance, of Deity.
It is our point of view that the fact there is only one lampstand in the fourth chapter of Zechariah, but two lampstands in the eleventh chapter of Revelation, suggests that the second lampstand is the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ was not in existence at the time of Zechariah's prophecy. There was only the one Lampstand, representing Christ Himself.
To those who may object that the Body of Christ is human and not Divine, let us submit that the Body of Christ indeed is Divine. The Body has been fashioned from the body and blood of Christ, not from the fallen human nature of man. The testimony of God always is of God Himself even though it is borne by human beings.
To those who may object that Christ cannot be overcome and killed (Revelation 11:7), let us remind the reader that the eleventh chapter is a symbolic vision no matter what one's interpretation may be. It is not that Christ Himself is overcome and killed or that a true member of His Church can be harmed by Antichrist (unless the saint is deceived and walks out from under the protection of God.)
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Symbolism of the Two Witnesses, #2
These [the two witnesses] are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks [lampstands] standing before the God of the earth. (Revelation 11:4)
The fourth objection may be the most convincing. It is that there are statements in the Scriptures themselves that reveal the meaning of the two witnesses. In these passages, the two witnesses are not portrayed as two men who will come down from Heaven and preach on the earth.
Two olive trees and two lampstands.
The reference here is to the fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah.
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, And behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. (Zechariah 4:2,3)
Zechariah asked the angel the meaning of the golden lampstand and the two attending olive trees.
Then the angel gave the meaning of the vision to Zechariah.
Notice carefully that the angel did not say, "These are two prophets of God who will return to the earth in the latter days and announce the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth."
Rather, the angel declared:
. . . This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)
The immediate application of the vision was to the rebuilding of the Temple of Solomon after the Babylonian captivity. The Lord was informing the builders that it was God's Spirit who would accomplish the work of restoration.
The prophecies of Zechariah concern Christ and His Kingdom. Therefore we apply the above interpretation of the vision to the work of the Kingdom of God.
The meaning of Revelation 11:4 and Zechariah 4:2,3 is stated in the Scriptures. It is that the work of God, in particular the finishing of the work of building the house of God, will be accomplished by the Spirit of God and not by the efforts of men. This is the interpretation of the "two witnesses" of Revelation, Chapter Eleven.
The two witnesses of Revelation are clothed in sackcloth. God's "witnesses" of today often are arrayed in the most expensive of clothing, drive the finest of automobiles, and attempt to live as wealthy people. If our understanding is correct, the day of the "big preacher" is drawing to a close. The massive "latter rain" revival at hand will utilize the humblest of people. The Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day!
The number two signifies the double portion of God's power that will abide on the saints who bear the end-time witness of the soon return of Christ in His Kingdom. Two speaks of the validity of the witness:
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. (Deuteronomy 19:15)
Two speaks also of the power of God:
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. (Psalms 62:11)
The latter-rain revival is the "second" prophecy (see Revelation 10:11), the first prophecy (former rain) being the revival of the Book of Acts.
The symbolism of the two witnesses is related to the two wave loaves of the feast of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17), and also to the double portion that rested on the Prophet Elisha. The life of Elisha is strongly typical of the ministry of the two witnesses.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The fourth objection may be the most convincing. It is that there are statements in the Scriptures themselves that reveal the meaning of the two witnesses. In these passages, the two witnesses are not portrayed as two men who will come down from Heaven and preach on the earth.
Two olive trees and two lampstands.
The reference here is to the fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah.
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, And behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. (Zechariah 4:2,3)
Zechariah asked the angel the meaning of the golden lampstand and the two attending olive trees.
Then the angel gave the meaning of the vision to Zechariah.
Notice carefully that the angel did not say, "These are two prophets of God who will return to the earth in the latter days and announce the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth."
Rather, the angel declared:
. . . This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)
The immediate application of the vision was to the rebuilding of the Temple of Solomon after the Babylonian captivity. The Lord was informing the builders that it was God's Spirit who would accomplish the work of restoration.
The prophecies of Zechariah concern Christ and His Kingdom. Therefore we apply the above interpretation of the vision to the work of the Kingdom of God.
The meaning of Revelation 11:4 and Zechariah 4:2,3 is stated in the Scriptures. It is that the work of God, in particular the finishing of the work of building the house of God, will be accomplished by the Spirit of God and not by the efforts of men. This is the interpretation of the "two witnesses" of Revelation, Chapter Eleven.
The two witnesses of Revelation are clothed in sackcloth. God's "witnesses" of today often are arrayed in the most expensive of clothing, drive the finest of automobiles, and attempt to live as wealthy people. If our understanding is correct, the day of the "big preacher" is drawing to a close. The massive "latter rain" revival at hand will utilize the humblest of people. The Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day!
The number two signifies the double portion of God's power that will abide on the saints who bear the end-time witness of the soon return of Christ in His Kingdom. Two speaks of the validity of the witness:
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. (Deuteronomy 19:15)
Two speaks also of the power of God:
God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. (Psalms 62:11)
The latter-rain revival is the "second" prophecy (see Revelation 10:11), the first prophecy (former rain) being the revival of the Book of Acts.
The symbolism of the two witnesses is related to the two wave loaves of the feast of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17), and also to the double portion that rested on the Prophet Elisha. The life of Elisha is strongly typical of the ministry of the two witnesses.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Symbolism of the Two Witnesses
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)
It is believed commonly that the two witnesses of Revelation, Chapter 11 are two men from ancient times who will descend from Heaven, or who will be raised from the dead, in order to bear witness of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. We find it more reasonable to believe that the anointed ones are a symbolic way of representing the power of the Holy Spirit to bear witness.
If we are correct in our interpretation, the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation is describing a double portion of God's witnessing power that will enable the saints of the last days to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom for a testimony to every nation on the earth.
We saints are one witness, and the Lord Jesus who works with us and confirms the Word with signs following is the second Witness.
The understanding that the "two witnesses" are two men from ancient times who will descend from Heaven, or who will be raised from the dead, in order to bear witness of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth is based in part on the resemblance of the deeds of the two witnesses to the deeds of former witnesses of God, such as Elijah and Moses.
There are some problems with this interpretation.
First, the text of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation does not speak of two witnesses coming down from Heaven or being raised from the dead. The assumption in the passage is that they have been present but now are empowered to prophesy.
Second, Jesus declared that he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than any of the prophets. Also, the Book of Hebrews points out the superiority of the new covenant to the old covenant.
Why would the Lord Jesus, at this most critical period of earth's history, resort to persons from an inferior covenant to bear the end-time witness of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth? The responsibility for bearing witness of the coming of the Kingdom of God belongs to the Christian Church.
Although the message of the two witnesses is not described, it no doubt will be as follows: "Christ will return soon in the power and glory of His Kingdom to judge all men. Repent and be baptized so you may be saved in the Day of the Lord!" This was the message of the apostles and prophets of the early Church.
If Christ were to recall two men to bear this witness they probably would be Paul and Peter, or perhaps James and John. A possible combination might be Paul and Elijah. However, Jesus informed us that many who are last in time will be first in rank in the Kingdom of God. Therefore we feel certain there will be saints in the last days whom Christ will use to proclaim the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.
A third reason for not accepting the common understanding is that nowhere in the Scriptures, Old Testament or New Testament, is the statement made that two prophets from former times will return to the earth and bear what well may be the most important witness of all history. There is no scriptural basis for the current teaching. It is conjecture.
Are the members of the Body of Christ so spiritually weak they cannot be trusted with such a tremendous work? Or are they so "precious" in God's sight that God cannot bear to have them perform a dangerous task?
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
It is believed commonly that the two witnesses of Revelation, Chapter 11 are two men from ancient times who will descend from Heaven, or who will be raised from the dead, in order to bear witness of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. We find it more reasonable to believe that the anointed ones are a symbolic way of representing the power of the Holy Spirit to bear witness.
If we are correct in our interpretation, the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation is describing a double portion of God's witnessing power that will enable the saints of the last days to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom for a testimony to every nation on the earth.
We saints are one witness, and the Lord Jesus who works with us and confirms the Word with signs following is the second Witness.
The understanding that the "two witnesses" are two men from ancient times who will descend from Heaven, or who will be raised from the dead, in order to bear witness of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth is based in part on the resemblance of the deeds of the two witnesses to the deeds of former witnesses of God, such as Elijah and Moses.
There are some problems with this interpretation.
First, the text of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation does not speak of two witnesses coming down from Heaven or being raised from the dead. The assumption in the passage is that they have been present but now are empowered to prophesy.
Second, Jesus declared that he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than any of the prophets. Also, the Book of Hebrews points out the superiority of the new covenant to the old covenant.
Why would the Lord Jesus, at this most critical period of earth's history, resort to persons from an inferior covenant to bear the end-time witness of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth? The responsibility for bearing witness of the coming of the Kingdom of God belongs to the Christian Church.
Although the message of the two witnesses is not described, it no doubt will be as follows: "Christ will return soon in the power and glory of His Kingdom to judge all men. Repent and be baptized so you may be saved in the Day of the Lord!" This was the message of the apostles and prophets of the early Church.
If Christ were to recall two men to bear this witness they probably would be Paul and Peter, or perhaps James and John. A possible combination might be Paul and Elijah. However, Jesus informed us that many who are last in time will be first in rank in the Kingdom of God. Therefore we feel certain there will be saints in the last days whom Christ will use to proclaim the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.
A third reason for not accepting the common understanding is that nowhere in the Scriptures, Old Testament or New Testament, is the statement made that two prophets from former times will return to the earth and bear what well may be the most important witness of all history. There is no scriptural basis for the current teaching. It is conjecture.
Are the members of the Body of Christ so spiritually weak they cannot be trusted with such a tremendous work? Or are they so "precious" in God's sight that God cannot bear to have them perform a dangerous task?
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Monday, August 24, 2009
Going to Heaven, #12
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:4)
The Prophets describe the restoration of God's Presence to the earth.
All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. (Psalms 66:4)
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)
The Prophets speak of growth during the Kingdom Age:
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)
The Prophets speak of our being established in righteousness during the Kingdom Age:
In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. (Isaiah 54:14)
The Prophets speak of our being glorified marvelously:
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. (Isaiah 54:11)
The Lord Jesus warned that some of His servants would be punished because of their behavior:
And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (Luke 12:47)
Paul goes on to teach:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10)
The "we" includes Christians. Some Christians will receive a heavy punishment when the Lord comes. Paul knew the "terror" of the Lord in this respect.
There are those who are beyond redemption. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire to dwell with the False Prophet, Antichrist, Satan, Satan's angels, and the people of this depth of evil. Never again will they be released to destroy the handiwork of God. Any human being who is judged worthy of the Lake of Fire has brought on himself a fate far worse than anything we can comprehend.
The Prophets never portrayed the righteous as living forever in the Heaven above us. Rather, they spoke of the glory of the saints when they have been perfected in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Father, and then established as the Kingdom of God: that is, as the city that rules the nations of saved peoples of the earth.
The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time. (Isaiah 60:19-22)
The true saints go to be with the Lord when they die. This is marvelous beyond all marvels.
It is also true that one day the Throne of God will come down from Heaven above us and be established on the earth so that the nations of the saved can enjoy the Presence and blessing of God in Christ in His saints forever, ages without end. This is even more wonderful. (from Going to Heaven)
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Prophets describe the restoration of God's Presence to the earth.
All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. (Psalms 66:4)
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)
The Prophets speak of growth during the Kingdom Age:
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)
The Prophets speak of our being established in righteousness during the Kingdom Age:
In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. (Isaiah 54:14)
The Prophets speak of our being glorified marvelously:
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. (Isaiah 54:11)
The Lord Jesus warned that some of His servants would be punished because of their behavior:
And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (Luke 12:47)
Paul goes on to teach:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10)
The "we" includes Christians. Some Christians will receive a heavy punishment when the Lord comes. Paul knew the "terror" of the Lord in this respect.
There are those who are beyond redemption. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire to dwell with the False Prophet, Antichrist, Satan, Satan's angels, and the people of this depth of evil. Never again will they be released to destroy the handiwork of God. Any human being who is judged worthy of the Lake of Fire has brought on himself a fate far worse than anything we can comprehend.
The Prophets never portrayed the righteous as living forever in the Heaven above us. Rather, they spoke of the glory of the saints when they have been perfected in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Father, and then established as the Kingdom of God: that is, as the city that rules the nations of saved peoples of the earth.
The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time. (Isaiah 60:19-22)
The true saints go to be with the Lord when they die. This is marvelous beyond all marvels.
It is also true that one day the Throne of God will come down from Heaven above us and be established on the earth so that the nations of the saved can enjoy the Presence and blessing of God in Christ in His saints forever, ages without end. This is even more wonderful. (from Going to Heaven)
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Going to Heaven, #11
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. (Revelation 21:5)
Since the perfected Church, the new Jerusalem, is not seen at the beginning of the thousand-year period but is revealed at the end of the thousand-year period, it may be true that the spiritual Jerusalem will be perfected during the thousand-year period known as the Millennium.
At the end of the thousand-year period (Millennium; Kingdom Age) the eternal purposes of God concerning the Church, the nations of the saved, and the wicked (who will be cast into that worst of all prisons, the Lake of Fire) will have been fulfilled. Then the present physical earth and heaven will "pass away." Peter states that "the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat" (II Peter 3:12).
How God will preserve the bodies of people during this time we do not know.
Now there will come into being a new heaven and a new earth; not just a new heaven, but a new heaven and a new earth.
God is not making all new things, He is making all things new. The program is one of restoration, of the redemption of that which God created in the beginning.
The new earth will be filled with Heaven, with God's glory. The nations of the saved will be living on it.
Down from the new heaven, from the newly created firmament, will descend the glorified Church that has been "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." This marks the full and eternal restoration of God's Presence to the earth. God once again can walk in the garden in the cool of the day, but this time in His elect as well as with them.
The end result of redemption, therefore, is not to "go" anywhere. It is to receive into ourselves the Life of Heaven. If we make a profession of faith in Christ, and then wait to die and go to Heaven, we will have missed the mark. If we do not address ourselves with all our heart to serving the Lord Jesus Christ we will be laying up for ourselves punishment and terror (or worse), and not a crown of glory, when the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven.
The wise give themselves every day of their discipleship to the development of the Kingdom of God within themselves, to receiving the Life of Heaven, Christ, into themselves. They keep Jesus' Word; they do what He says. They serve the Lord in all good works as the Holy Spirit gives them the wisdom and power to do so. When the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven with His holy angels, they will shine as the stars of the firmament.
The Scriptures do not emphasize our going to Heaven but rather the coming of the Kingdom of God into the earth. God's intention is to restore, through the Lord Jesus Christ, all that was lost to mankind by Adam's disobedience; and then to add immeasurably more of His Presence and glory.
The Hebrew Prophets never at any time spoke of the righteous going to Heaven, but on many occasions they portrayed the restoring of God's glory to the earth. It is the Prophets who make us wise unto salvation.
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ. (II Timothy 3:15)
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Since the perfected Church, the new Jerusalem, is not seen at the beginning of the thousand-year period but is revealed at the end of the thousand-year period, it may be true that the spiritual Jerusalem will be perfected during the thousand-year period known as the Millennium.
At the end of the thousand-year period (Millennium; Kingdom Age) the eternal purposes of God concerning the Church, the nations of the saved, and the wicked (who will be cast into that worst of all prisons, the Lake of Fire) will have been fulfilled. Then the present physical earth and heaven will "pass away." Peter states that "the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat" (II Peter 3:12).
How God will preserve the bodies of people during this time we do not know.
Now there will come into being a new heaven and a new earth; not just a new heaven, but a new heaven and a new earth.
God is not making all new things, He is making all things new. The program is one of restoration, of the redemption of that which God created in the beginning.
The new earth will be filled with Heaven, with God's glory. The nations of the saved will be living on it.
Down from the new heaven, from the newly created firmament, will descend the glorified Church that has been "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." This marks the full and eternal restoration of God's Presence to the earth. God once again can walk in the garden in the cool of the day, but this time in His elect as well as with them.
The end result of redemption, therefore, is not to "go" anywhere. It is to receive into ourselves the Life of Heaven. If we make a profession of faith in Christ, and then wait to die and go to Heaven, we will have missed the mark. If we do not address ourselves with all our heart to serving the Lord Jesus Christ we will be laying up for ourselves punishment and terror (or worse), and not a crown of glory, when the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven.
The wise give themselves every day of their discipleship to the development of the Kingdom of God within themselves, to receiving the Life of Heaven, Christ, into themselves. They keep Jesus' Word; they do what He says. They serve the Lord in all good works as the Holy Spirit gives them the wisdom and power to do so. When the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven with His holy angels, they will shine as the stars of the firmament.
The Scriptures do not emphasize our going to Heaven but rather the coming of the Kingdom of God into the earth. God's intention is to restore, through the Lord Jesus Christ, all that was lost to mankind by Adam's disobedience; and then to add immeasurably more of His Presence and glory.
The Hebrew Prophets never at any time spoke of the righteous going to Heaven, but on many occasions they portrayed the restoring of God's glory to the earth. It is the Prophets who make us wise unto salvation.
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ. (II Timothy 3:15)
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Going to Heaven, #10
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
The Kingdom comes from above, from Heaven. The Kingdom is of Heaven, that is, of the Presence and Glory of God. When the Kingdom of God comes to the earth, the earth will be filled with God's glory. All we associate with Heaven will then be found in the earth, not in the sky above us.
The Kingdom of God is the clothing of Divine Glory with flesh and bones, and the clothing of flesh and bones with Divine Glory, with eternal Life.
When the Lord shows people visions of Heaven, He is revealing to them that which is true in the holy area of the spirit realm. That which is true in the holy area of the spirit realm is destined to be united eternally with flesh and bones, with all that is of the saved material creation. This is the coming to earth of the Kingdom of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Firstborn of the Kingdom of God. Christ is filled with Divine Glory and clothed with Divine Glory, with incorruptible resurrection Life. Christ includes within Himself all that is desirable of the spirit realm, all that is of the Heaven of God. Christ Is the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God.
Eternal Divine Glory was born in a manger. Divine Glory became flesh and tented among us. Divine Glory revealed on the earth the powers of the age to come. The Life from Heaven was crucified. The Word from Heaven descended into Hell, and then was raised up again to the surface of the earth, now being resurrected flesh and bones—no longer only a Spirit. Eternal Divine Life was raised from the surface of the earth and "a cloud received him out of their sight."
When we receive Christ, eternal Divine Glory is born within us. When we die we lose our flesh and bones because Christ (eternal Life) has not touched them as yet. But our saved spirit and soul continue in the Presence of Christ and God through the Holy Spirit.
One day soon the physical heaven (sky) above us will be rolled back as a scroll. The Presence of God will appear, not in blessing only but also in fiery judgment. The Presence of God in Christ will destroy the demons from the face of the earth. Satan will be bound for a thousand years.
Then the Presence and ways of Heaven will begin to be restored on the earth. The nations of saved peoples of the earth will be forced by a rod of iron to observe the Kingdom laws given in the Sermon on the Mount. There will be great peace and glory on the earth during the thousand-year period, but God's throne will remain "in Heaven," that is, above the clouds, but the throne already will have begun to be transferred to the hearts of the victorious saints, starting at the time of the rule of Antichrist, we believe.
At the conclusion of the thousand-year period the perfected elect will descend from the new heaven to the new earth as the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Kingdom comes from above, from Heaven. The Kingdom is of Heaven, that is, of the Presence and Glory of God. When the Kingdom of God comes to the earth, the earth will be filled with God's glory. All we associate with Heaven will then be found in the earth, not in the sky above us.
The Kingdom of God is the clothing of Divine Glory with flesh and bones, and the clothing of flesh and bones with Divine Glory, with eternal Life.
When the Lord shows people visions of Heaven, He is revealing to them that which is true in the holy area of the spirit realm. That which is true in the holy area of the spirit realm is destined to be united eternally with flesh and bones, with all that is of the saved material creation. This is the coming to earth of the Kingdom of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Firstborn of the Kingdom of God. Christ is filled with Divine Glory and clothed with Divine Glory, with incorruptible resurrection Life. Christ includes within Himself all that is desirable of the spirit realm, all that is of the Heaven of God. Christ Is the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God.
Eternal Divine Glory was born in a manger. Divine Glory became flesh and tented among us. Divine Glory revealed on the earth the powers of the age to come. The Life from Heaven was crucified. The Word from Heaven descended into Hell, and then was raised up again to the surface of the earth, now being resurrected flesh and bones—no longer only a Spirit. Eternal Divine Life was raised from the surface of the earth and "a cloud received him out of their sight."
When we receive Christ, eternal Divine Glory is born within us. When we die we lose our flesh and bones because Christ (eternal Life) has not touched them as yet. But our saved spirit and soul continue in the Presence of Christ and God through the Holy Spirit.
One day soon the physical heaven (sky) above us will be rolled back as a scroll. The Presence of God will appear, not in blessing only but also in fiery judgment. The Presence of God in Christ will destroy the demons from the face of the earth. Satan will be bound for a thousand years.
Then the Presence and ways of Heaven will begin to be restored on the earth. The nations of saved peoples of the earth will be forced by a rod of iron to observe the Kingdom laws given in the Sermon on the Mount. There will be great peace and glory on the earth during the thousand-year period, but God's throne will remain "in Heaven," that is, above the clouds, but the throne already will have begun to be transferred to the hearts of the victorious saints, starting at the time of the rule of Antichrist, we believe.
At the conclusion of the thousand-year period the perfected elect will descend from the new heaven to the new earth as the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Going to Heaven, #9
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (I Corinthians 15:22,23)
If the Scripture teaches (and it does) that our mortal bodies will be redeemed, then the mortal body is destined to become eternal. Having once been raised from the dead, it can die no more. Eating from the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God will finally bring eternal life to our death-doomed body.
Isn't it true that flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God? Yes, that is a fact. But flesh and bones that are filled with eternal, incorruptible resurrection life can and shall enter the Kingdom of God. The new Jerusalem is filled with glorified flesh and bones, just as the Lord Jesus today dwells in a temple of glorified flesh and bones. It may be true that the nail prints yet are in His hands although now gleaming with the beauty of priceless rubies.
Isn't it true that we are not sowing the body that we will have in the future? Yes, such is the case. The body we possess at this time will be raised from the dead when the Lord returns, and then will be clothed with our new body from Heaven, a body fashioned from eternal, incorruptible resurrection life—the Life of God.
Will we have a new body? Yes! Will our former body still be present? Yes! Would God raise our mortal body from the dead and then destroy it? No, He will not do that. God has promised to redeem our mortal body (Romans 8:11).
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: (Job 19:26)
The Ark of the Covenant was constructed from acacia wood covered on the outside and the inside with gold. This is a type of the Glory of God covering the "wooden" physical body.
The Apostle Paul groaned for the "adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:23)
We too ought to be groaning, not that we should be unclothed, that is, that we should lose our fleshly body, but rather that our fleshly frame should be clothed with eternal life.
The burden of the Spirit is not that we be removed to Heaven, to the spiritual paradise, but that the spiritual paradise be restored to the earth. The prayer is not that the Father should bring us to His eternal home in the heavens, but that His Kingdom, the performing of His will, should be brought down to the earth.
The saints, then revealed as sons of God by their resurrection from the dead, will deliver the material creation from corruption and futility and release it into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. This is the apostolic word concerning the eternal purpose of the Lord God of Heaven (Romans 8:18-23).
The coming of the Kingdom of God is the appearing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven and the union of the spiritual Heaven and the physical earth. When this takes place, the earth no longer will be merely physical. The earth itself will be the eternal blend of the physical and spiritual that is the Kingdom of God.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
If the Scripture teaches (and it does) that our mortal bodies will be redeemed, then the mortal body is destined to become eternal. Having once been raised from the dead, it can die no more. Eating from the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God will finally bring eternal life to our death-doomed body.
Isn't it true that flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God? Yes, that is a fact. But flesh and bones that are filled with eternal, incorruptible resurrection life can and shall enter the Kingdom of God. The new Jerusalem is filled with glorified flesh and bones, just as the Lord Jesus today dwells in a temple of glorified flesh and bones. It may be true that the nail prints yet are in His hands although now gleaming with the beauty of priceless rubies.
Isn't it true that we are not sowing the body that we will have in the future? Yes, such is the case. The body we possess at this time will be raised from the dead when the Lord returns, and then will be clothed with our new body from Heaven, a body fashioned from eternal, incorruptible resurrection life—the Life of God.
Will we have a new body? Yes! Will our former body still be present? Yes! Would God raise our mortal body from the dead and then destroy it? No, He will not do that. God has promised to redeem our mortal body (Romans 8:11).
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: (Job 19:26)
The Ark of the Covenant was constructed from acacia wood covered on the outside and the inside with gold. This is a type of the Glory of God covering the "wooden" physical body.
The Apostle Paul groaned for the "adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:23)
We too ought to be groaning, not that we should be unclothed, that is, that we should lose our fleshly body, but rather that our fleshly frame should be clothed with eternal life.
The burden of the Spirit is not that we be removed to Heaven, to the spiritual paradise, but that the spiritual paradise be restored to the earth. The prayer is not that the Father should bring us to His eternal home in the heavens, but that His Kingdom, the performing of His will, should be brought down to the earth.
The saints, then revealed as sons of God by their resurrection from the dead, will deliver the material creation from corruption and futility and release it into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. This is the apostolic word concerning the eternal purpose of the Lord God of Heaven (Romans 8:18-23).
The coming of the Kingdom of God is the appearing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven and the union of the spiritual Heaven and the physical earth. When this takes place, the earth no longer will be merely physical. The earth itself will be the eternal blend of the physical and spiritual that is the Kingdom of God.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Going to Heaven, #8
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1)
The Book of Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth. It appears that the term "heaven," as used in Revelation 21:1, is referring to the firmament, that is, to the physical heaven, the sky. The last two chapters of the Book of Revelation describe the descent of the perfected spiritual Heaven from the new physical heaven (sky) to the new physical earth (Hebrews 12:23).
God's Kingdom indeed shall come. His will indeed shall be done in earth as it now is being performed in Heaven. This precisely is what the Hebrew Prophets have announced will come to pass in the earth. When God's will is being done in the earth as it now is in Heaven, the nations of saved peoples of the earth will behold the fullness of God's glory in the Church descending from the new sky.
Heaven always and eternally is God's throne.
Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? (Isaiah 66:1)
But in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of the Book of Revelation we find that the new Jerusalem descends to the surface of the new earth, and that "the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it" (Revelation 22:3).
When God's will is being done in the earth and the Throne of God is located in the earth, then the earth has become Heaven; not the physical heaven, the firmament (sky), or the spiritual area where Paradise is now, but the place where God dwells and rules.
In the present hour the spiritual Heaven appears to be located in the physical heaven (sky), although in another dimension. But in the future, when the Kingdom of God has been perfected, the spiritual Heaven no longer will be located in the physical heaven. The spiritual Heaven will be located on the physical earth—and perhaps in the same dimension, although we cannot be certain of this.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:17)
Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, that is, "Heaven."
Will the new heaven (sky) and new earth be physical? Yes, they will.
When God created the material dimension, He created the form of it for eternity. This is illustrated by the fact that the body (the flesh and bones) of the Lord Jesus was raised from the cave of Joseph of Arimathea. The Lord Jesus still possesses His flesh-and-bones body, although now glorified.
If the material creation were not eternal, there would be no purpose in the resurrection from the dead. If our bodies are not an eternal creation, what would be the purpose of the resurrection from the dead?
Why would God raise our bodies from the dead if they are not to be redeemed? Indeed, as some are teaching, we would have only the body from Heaven. Therefore there would be no resurrection from the dead of our mortal bodies. It is being maintained, contrary to the Scriptures, that our physical body never will be made alive, never redeemed.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Book of Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth. It appears that the term "heaven," as used in Revelation 21:1, is referring to the firmament, that is, to the physical heaven, the sky. The last two chapters of the Book of Revelation describe the descent of the perfected spiritual Heaven from the new physical heaven (sky) to the new physical earth (Hebrews 12:23).
God's Kingdom indeed shall come. His will indeed shall be done in earth as it now is being performed in Heaven. This precisely is what the Hebrew Prophets have announced will come to pass in the earth. When God's will is being done in the earth as it now is in Heaven, the nations of saved peoples of the earth will behold the fullness of God's glory in the Church descending from the new sky.
Heaven always and eternally is God's throne.
Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? (Isaiah 66:1)
But in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of the Book of Revelation we find that the new Jerusalem descends to the surface of the new earth, and that "the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it" (Revelation 22:3).
When God's will is being done in the earth and the Throne of God is located in the earth, then the earth has become Heaven; not the physical heaven, the firmament (sky), or the spiritual area where Paradise is now, but the place where God dwells and rules.
In the present hour the spiritual Heaven appears to be located in the physical heaven (sky), although in another dimension. But in the future, when the Kingdom of God has been perfected, the spiritual Heaven no longer will be located in the physical heaven. The spiritual Heaven will be located on the physical earth—and perhaps in the same dimension, although we cannot be certain of this.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:17)
Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, that is, "Heaven."
Will the new heaven (sky) and new earth be physical? Yes, they will.
When God created the material dimension, He created the form of it for eternity. This is illustrated by the fact that the body (the flesh and bones) of the Lord Jesus was raised from the cave of Joseph of Arimathea. The Lord Jesus still possesses His flesh-and-bones body, although now glorified.
If the material creation were not eternal, there would be no purpose in the resurrection from the dead. If our bodies are not an eternal creation, what would be the purpose of the resurrection from the dead?
Why would God raise our bodies from the dead if they are not to be redeemed? Indeed, as some are teaching, we would have only the body from Heaven. Therefore there would be no resurrection from the dead of our mortal bodies. It is being maintained, contrary to the Scriptures, that our physical body never will be made alive, never redeemed.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Using your gifts
I need to divert from the usual lesson. I will finish the Thompson message about heaven later. Right now I need to write down what has happened in my life.
I was with my Tuesday small group. We were following a study on how to live a Gospel centered life. Last week was on being an adopted son/daughter. We had a mixed of men and women, so we split the group by sex for this lesson. All of the men came over to my house to discuss last weeks lesson.
I thought I had an anointing to teach about what the true meaning of Sonship was. I have been taught, and the Holy Spirit has revealed to me, that True Sonship is a process. We must continually strive, like Paul, to perfection. By perfection I mean, living in Christ's will for our lives 100 % of the time.
Then I mentioned the definition of true Sonship, this particular group of men thought that I meant that works were a necessary part of Salvation and they went on the attack. They did not listen to anything else. I lost the anointing to teach them anything.
Over the course of the week God showed me that I was NOT using the gift of teaching. I was trying to show how smarter I was than them when it came to deeper things of God. He also showed me that I was not to try and teach them anymore.
Last Tuesday, we met again at my house. I told them that I did not have the anointing to continue teaching them. They insisted that I explain more - really they wanted to defend their position and never intended to listen to my teaching.
It did not end well. They said that I was arrogant. This was coming from one of the most arrogant people I know! I tried to say that I did not have permission from God to talk to them more about it. But they pushed. Of course my fleshly self decided it was ok to try and explain myself. Nothing I told them made an impression at all. They just said "What about this and what about that." They even told me to never listen to Pastor Thompson again. They forbid it!
The thing that God showed me after is that I, again, did not operated with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I have now been given the task of never teaching without the anointing of the Holy Spirit - with out God's permission.
We always have choices - to follow God's leading, to be in Christ OR to following our own thoughts, to be in the flesh.
Using your gifts outside of His anointing can have dire consequences. Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, pray more than you use your gifts and never assume that God wants them to learn a lesson because you see a need.
Your brother in Christ,
RBT
I was with my Tuesday small group. We were following a study on how to live a Gospel centered life. Last week was on being an adopted son/daughter. We had a mixed of men and women, so we split the group by sex for this lesson. All of the men came over to my house to discuss last weeks lesson.
I thought I had an anointing to teach about what the true meaning of Sonship was. I have been taught, and the Holy Spirit has revealed to me, that True Sonship is a process. We must continually strive, like Paul, to perfection. By perfection I mean, living in Christ's will for our lives 100 % of the time.
Then I mentioned the definition of true Sonship, this particular group of men thought that I meant that works were a necessary part of Salvation and they went on the attack. They did not listen to anything else. I lost the anointing to teach them anything.
Over the course of the week God showed me that I was NOT using the gift of teaching. I was trying to show how smarter I was than them when it came to deeper things of God. He also showed me that I was not to try and teach them anymore.
Last Tuesday, we met again at my house. I told them that I did not have the anointing to continue teaching them. They insisted that I explain more - really they wanted to defend their position and never intended to listen to my teaching.
It did not end well. They said that I was arrogant. This was coming from one of the most arrogant people I know! I tried to say that I did not have permission from God to talk to them more about it. But they pushed. Of course my fleshly self decided it was ok to try and explain myself. Nothing I told them made an impression at all. They just said "What about this and what about that." They even told me to never listen to Pastor Thompson again. They forbid it!
The thing that God showed me after is that I, again, did not operated with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I have now been given the task of never teaching without the anointing of the Holy Spirit - with out God's permission.
We always have choices - to follow God's leading, to be in Christ OR to following our own thoughts, to be in the flesh.
Using your gifts outside of His anointing can have dire consequences. Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, pray more than you use your gifts and never assume that God wants them to learn a lesson because you see a need.
Your brother in Christ,
RBT
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Going to Heaven, #7
The word heaven is employed profusely throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. The problem is, neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament distinguishes between heaven as the space above the earth, and Heaven as the spiritual paradise, the abode of Christ and His angels. The one word, heaven, is applied with equal force to the space above the earth and to the spiritual abode of holy and righteous spirits.
It is true also that there are several spiritual heavens. The Lord's prayer actually reads, "Our Father who are in the heavens." Paul was caught up to the third heaven. It appears that God, the saints, and the holy angels dwell in the highest heaven.
It is our point of view, therefore, that the spiritual Heaven of God and Jesus is not in a dimension that includes the earth. The earth is in the physical dimension; the spiritual Paradise, or Heaven, is in the spiritual dimension.
The location of the spiritual Heaven is not as significant as it would be if the spiritual Heaven were in the same dimension as the earth. It is true, rather, that Heaven is all around us.
But the Scriptures consistently refer to the spiritual Heaven as being above us. The Lord Jesus "lifted up His eyes to heaven." The disciples saw Jesus ascend into Heaven (or into the heaven, perhaps referring to the area of the clouds—Acts 1:11).
We would suggest that the entire spirit realm, or dimension, coincides and coexists with the earth, with the lower atmosphere, and with outer space.
The spiritual prisons are located within the earth.
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (Philippians 2:10)
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (Revelation 13:11)
The spirit realm of Satan and his angels is located in the air, the lower atmosphere.
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2)
The spiritual Paradise, the abode of God, is in the heavens above the atmosphere of the earth and may extend into outer space. Perhaps the clouds are the point of division.
The spiritual Paradise was on the earth in the beginning. Adam and Eve did not have to pray to God in Heaven. God was accustomed to walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, Paradise (Heaven) disappeared from the surface of the earth. God walked no more in visible Presence with men.
Now it appears that Heaven is in the sky, so to speak, awaiting the day when it once again will be visible to people.
And the heaven [the sky] departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (Revelation 6:14)
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
It is true also that there are several spiritual heavens. The Lord's prayer actually reads, "Our Father who are in the heavens." Paul was caught up to the third heaven. It appears that God, the saints, and the holy angels dwell in the highest heaven.
It is our point of view, therefore, that the spiritual Heaven of God and Jesus is not in a dimension that includes the earth. The earth is in the physical dimension; the spiritual Paradise, or Heaven, is in the spiritual dimension.
The location of the spiritual Heaven is not as significant as it would be if the spiritual Heaven were in the same dimension as the earth. It is true, rather, that Heaven is all around us.
But the Scriptures consistently refer to the spiritual Heaven as being above us. The Lord Jesus "lifted up His eyes to heaven." The disciples saw Jesus ascend into Heaven (or into the heaven, perhaps referring to the area of the clouds—Acts 1:11).
We would suggest that the entire spirit realm, or dimension, coincides and coexists with the earth, with the lower atmosphere, and with outer space.
The spiritual prisons are located within the earth.
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (Philippians 2:10)
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (Revelation 13:11)
The spirit realm of Satan and his angels is located in the air, the lower atmosphere.
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2)
The spiritual Paradise, the abode of God, is in the heavens above the atmosphere of the earth and may extend into outer space. Perhaps the clouds are the point of division.
The spiritual Paradise was on the earth in the beginning. Adam and Eve did not have to pray to God in Heaven. God was accustomed to walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, Paradise (Heaven) disappeared from the surface of the earth. God walked no more in visible Presence with men.
Now it appears that Heaven is in the sky, so to speak, awaiting the day when it once again will be visible to people.
And the heaven [the sky] departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (Revelation 6:14)
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Monday, August 17, 2009
Going to Heaven, #6
Unto whom [the Prophets of Israel] it was revealed, that not unto themselves [the Old Testament Israelites], but unto us [the Jewish Peter and the Gentile converts whom he was addressing] they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. (I Peter 1:12).
The prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Joel and so forth are addressed to Christians, not to the physical Jews, except for the passages that clearly deal with the physical land and people of Israel. If this is the case we can look for our land of promise, our rest, our "heaven," in the writings of the Prophets.
The Book of Isaiah, for example, contains many visions, many utterances that describe the goal of the Christian redemption. Isaiah was not speaking to his contemporaries but to the elect of our day. His own people were blind to his message (Isaiah 6:9,10).
The coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth is the subject of the Hebrew Prophets. It is that Kingdom into which we Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles by natural birth, have been born spiritually.
The end result of salvation is not an aimless wandering in a spiritual paradise not described in the Scriptures, a paradise of which we gain glimpses only through the testimonies of dying saints. Rather, our heaven, our rest, the goal of our pilgrimage, is set forth boldly by the Hebrew Prophets.
If you desire to know where the Holy Spirit is leading you, read Isaiah; read Ezekiel; read Zechariah.
God has not concealed our destiny from us. He has portrayed our goal in the Scriptures. The rest, the inheritance into which we have to fight our way, is set forth in the sixtieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah, and again in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of the Book of Revelation.
The Christian "land of promise" is the Kingdom of God in the earth, just as the Hebrew land of promise was the Kingdom of Israel in the area now known as the Middle East.
The Kingdom of God is God in Christ in the saints ruling and blessing the nations of the earth.
We believe there is a gloriously beautiful and wonderful spiritual Paradise. It is inhabited by God, Christ, the holy angels, and the spirits of the righteous dead. It is this area, the temporary resting place of the saints, that we refer to as Heaven.
The spiritual Paradise, Heaven, is not a part of the physical universe. One could not get into a space ship and then journey through space until he reached the spiritual Paradise. Some assume and teach this but it is not a true understanding.
The term paradise is used but three times in the New Testament and not at all in the Old Testament. It does not appear that the Prophets or the Apostles proclaimed that going to the place termed "Paradise" is the goal of the Christian salvation.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Joel and so forth are addressed to Christians, not to the physical Jews, except for the passages that clearly deal with the physical land and people of Israel. If this is the case we can look for our land of promise, our rest, our "heaven," in the writings of the Prophets.
The Book of Isaiah, for example, contains many visions, many utterances that describe the goal of the Christian redemption. Isaiah was not speaking to his contemporaries but to the elect of our day. His own people were blind to his message (Isaiah 6:9,10).
The coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth is the subject of the Hebrew Prophets. It is that Kingdom into which we Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles by natural birth, have been born spiritually.
The end result of salvation is not an aimless wandering in a spiritual paradise not described in the Scriptures, a paradise of which we gain glimpses only through the testimonies of dying saints. Rather, our heaven, our rest, the goal of our pilgrimage, is set forth boldly by the Hebrew Prophets.
If you desire to know where the Holy Spirit is leading you, read Isaiah; read Ezekiel; read Zechariah.
God has not concealed our destiny from us. He has portrayed our goal in the Scriptures. The rest, the inheritance into which we have to fight our way, is set forth in the sixtieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah, and again in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of the Book of Revelation.
The Christian "land of promise" is the Kingdom of God in the earth, just as the Hebrew land of promise was the Kingdom of Israel in the area now known as the Middle East.
The Kingdom of God is God in Christ in the saints ruling and blessing the nations of the earth.
We believe there is a gloriously beautiful and wonderful spiritual Paradise. It is inhabited by God, Christ, the holy angels, and the spirits of the righteous dead. It is this area, the temporary resting place of the saints, that we refer to as Heaven.
The spiritual Paradise, Heaven, is not a part of the physical universe. One could not get into a space ship and then journey through space until he reached the spiritual Paradise. Some assume and teach this but it is not a true understanding.
The term paradise is used but three times in the New Testament and not at all in the Old Testament. It does not appear that the Prophets or the Apostles proclaimed that going to the place termed "Paradise" is the goal of the Christian salvation.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Going to Heaven, #5
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:28,29)
It is not true that a Gentile church will be in Heaven while Jewish saints inherit the earth. This is contrary to the teachings of the Apostle Paul, who taught us that we Gentiles are part of the one family of God (Ephesians 2:11-22).
To whom, then, did the Prophets of Israel speak? Precisely who are the recipients of the utterances of Isaiah, of Ezekiel, of Micah?
To whom are the Scriptures written?
The holy Scriptures are written to only one set of people—the elect. The elect are the one true Seed of Abraham. Christ, and those who are an integral part of Him, regardless of their physical race, compose the elect of God, the one Seed of Abraham.
The elect of God were known by Him before the creation of the world. They have been predestined to be changed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are the brothers of Christ, having been born of the same Father.
The entire earth, the heavens, time, mass, energy, human history, and everything else are bringing forth the elect, the brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak to God's elect.
The Hebrew Prophets were not addressing their own race except for specific events of their own history. The visions of the Prophets that speak of Christ, of the Kingdom of God, were written for the Lord Jesus, and then for God's elect, whether Jewish or Gentile by physical birth.
The Messianic Kingdom does not consist of physical Jews. Both the Jew and the Gentile must be born again of the Spirit of God in order to see or to enter the Kingdom of God.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. (Galatians 3:19)
Is it not clear that the Seed of Abraham, the one Seed from God, is Christ and those who are of Christ? The physical Jew must receive Christ in order to be an heir of the Kingdom of God. It is the Seed of Abraham who is the Heir of the Kingdom of God.
The Hebrew Prophets were addressing Christians, not the Jews of their own day:
Unto whom [the Prophets of Israel] it was revealed, that not unto themselves [the Old Testament Israelites], but unto us [the Jewish Peter and the Gentile converts whom he was addressing] they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. (I Peter 1:12).
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
It is not true that a Gentile church will be in Heaven while Jewish saints inherit the earth. This is contrary to the teachings of the Apostle Paul, who taught us that we Gentiles are part of the one family of God (Ephesians 2:11-22).
To whom, then, did the Prophets of Israel speak? Precisely who are the recipients of the utterances of Isaiah, of Ezekiel, of Micah?
To whom are the Scriptures written?
The holy Scriptures are written to only one set of people—the elect. The elect are the one true Seed of Abraham. Christ, and those who are an integral part of Him, regardless of their physical race, compose the elect of God, the one Seed of Abraham.
The elect of God were known by Him before the creation of the world. They have been predestined to be changed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are the brothers of Christ, having been born of the same Father.
The entire earth, the heavens, time, mass, energy, human history, and everything else are bringing forth the elect, the brothers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak to God's elect.
The Hebrew Prophets were not addressing their own race except for specific events of their own history. The visions of the Prophets that speak of Christ, of the Kingdom of God, were written for the Lord Jesus, and then for God's elect, whether Jewish or Gentile by physical birth.
The Messianic Kingdom does not consist of physical Jews. Both the Jew and the Gentile must be born again of the Spirit of God in order to see or to enter the Kingdom of God.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. (Galatians 3:19)
Is it not clear that the Seed of Abraham, the one Seed from God, is Christ and those who are of Christ? The physical Jew must receive Christ in order to be an heir of the Kingdom of God. It is the Seed of Abraham who is the Heir of the Kingdom of God.
The Hebrew Prophets were addressing Christians, not the Jews of their own day:
Unto whom [the Prophets of Israel] it was revealed, that not unto themselves [the Old Testament Israelites], but unto us [the Jewish Peter and the Gentile converts whom he was addressing] they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. (I Peter 1:12).
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Going to Heaven, #4
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (I Corinthians 10:11)
What does Canaan, the land of promise, the land of "milk and honey," the "rest" of God, portray? Of what is Canaan a type? Specifically what does Canaan represent?
What is the goal, the end result, the "Heaven" of the Christian salvation?
We know that Canaan is not a type of Heaven because we do not (as far as we know) have to fight our way from city to city after we get to Heaven.
Our destiny is the Sabbath rest of God. When we enter God's rest we shall seek the Lord's pleasure, speak the Lord's words, and walk in the Lord's ways for eternity (compare Isaiah 58:13,14).
Our destiny includes change into the moral image of the Lord Jesus, and union with God through Christ.
We are being created the eternal Temple of God, a place where God can find rest. We shall have attained the goal of our existence when all sin and self-seeking have been removed from our personality and God and Jesus have settled down to rest in us. God and we enter rest at the same time.
Why have we become confused concerning our destiny in Christ?
One reason for our blindness is the teaching of the so-called "rapture" of the "Gentile Christians." One of the teachings that attends the doctrine of the "rapture" is that a "Gentile Church" will be carried off to Heaven to do we know not what, while the saints who were physically born Jews will inherit the earth.
As long as this concept is held, the Christian people never will understand the goal of their redemption. They will remain ignorant of the fact that when the Hebrew Prophets speak of the Kingdom of God, they are referring to the coming of the Christian Church to the earth to govern the nations.
Is there a difference between Jewish saints and Gentile saints? Once an individual becomes a Christian the distinction between Jew and Gentile disappears. There only is the new creation, and the new creation is neither Jewish nor Gentile.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ. (Galatians 3:28)
The Kingdom of God always is for God's Israel, and God's Israel includes all who are in Christ. We Gentiles have been grafted on the one true Vine, Christ. There is no such thing as a "Gentile Church." It cannot be found in the Scriptures. There is but one fold, one Shepherd.
The Kingdom of God began among the physical Jews and will end among the physical Jews. All the Apostles of the Lamb were Jews. The Body of Christ originally consisted of physical Jews, and God will turn again to physical Israel in the last days. Those to whom God turns will become part of Christ, the Olive Tree, the one true Vine of which the believing Gentiles are an eternal part.
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; (Romans 11:17)
If we are not part of the one Israel of God, we have no place in the Kingdom of God.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
What does Canaan, the land of promise, the land of "milk and honey," the "rest" of God, portray? Of what is Canaan a type? Specifically what does Canaan represent?
What is the goal, the end result, the "Heaven" of the Christian salvation?
We know that Canaan is not a type of Heaven because we do not (as far as we know) have to fight our way from city to city after we get to Heaven.
Our destiny is the Sabbath rest of God. When we enter God's rest we shall seek the Lord's pleasure, speak the Lord's words, and walk in the Lord's ways for eternity (compare Isaiah 58:13,14).
Our destiny includes change into the moral image of the Lord Jesus, and union with God through Christ.
We are being created the eternal Temple of God, a place where God can find rest. We shall have attained the goal of our existence when all sin and self-seeking have been removed from our personality and God and Jesus have settled down to rest in us. God and we enter rest at the same time.
Why have we become confused concerning our destiny in Christ?
One reason for our blindness is the teaching of the so-called "rapture" of the "Gentile Christians." One of the teachings that attends the doctrine of the "rapture" is that a "Gentile Church" will be carried off to Heaven to do we know not what, while the saints who were physically born Jews will inherit the earth.
As long as this concept is held, the Christian people never will understand the goal of their redemption. They will remain ignorant of the fact that when the Hebrew Prophets speak of the Kingdom of God, they are referring to the coming of the Christian Church to the earth to govern the nations.
Is there a difference between Jewish saints and Gentile saints? Once an individual becomes a Christian the distinction between Jew and Gentile disappears. There only is the new creation, and the new creation is neither Jewish nor Gentile.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ. (Galatians 3:28)
The Kingdom of God always is for God's Israel, and God's Israel includes all who are in Christ. We Gentiles have been grafted on the one true Vine, Christ. There is no such thing as a "Gentile Church." It cannot be found in the Scriptures. There is but one fold, one Shepherd.
The Kingdom of God began among the physical Jews and will end among the physical Jews. All the Apostles of the Lamb were Jews. The Body of Christ originally consisted of physical Jews, and God will turn again to physical Israel in the last days. Those to whom God turns will become part of Christ, the Olive Tree, the one true Vine of which the believing Gentiles are an eternal part.
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; (Romans 11:17)
If we are not part of the one Israel of God, we have no place in the Kingdom of God.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Friday, August 14, 2009
Going to Heaven, #3
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (Revelation 19:11)
Our point is not that there is no spiritual paradise or that the righteous do not go there when they die. It is clear, however, that the Scriptures do not speak of Heaven as being our eternal home. Heaven exists. Indeed it does. Our personal belief is that Paradise will be a place of rest for the saint while the army of the Lord is being prepared for the invasion of the earth in the Battle of Armageddon. But eternal residence in Paradise is not the goal of the Christian salvation.
The true message of Jesus is that all the righteousness, peace, joy, and wonder of Heaven are coming to the earth. First, as an overcoming power that crushes resistance during the thousand-year Kingdom Age, and then as the permanent possession of mankind throughout the eternity of the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
Notice the teaching of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews. The godly always are seeking the city that "hath foundations," a city that is coming to the earth.
The godly have died in faith. Assuredly, they are in Heaven with God. But have they attained the goal, the "rest" of God?
Speaking of the righteous who are with God in Heaven, the heroes of faith:
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: (Hebrews 11:39)
If Heaven is the "rest" promised to the Lord's people, the "land of milk and honey," why, then, does the infallible Scripture declare that Enoch and Abraham have "not received the promise"?
Also, we are not going to live in the city that has foundations. The city that has foundations is coming to us.
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. (Hebrews 13:14)
We are seeking a city that is coming to the earth.
But if Heaven is not the goal of salvation, then what is?
The goal of the Christian redemption is the "rest" of God. Canaan, the land of promise, the goal of our wanderings, is set forth in the Scriptures as the "rest" that remains to the people of God.
For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (Hebrews 4:8,9)
It is obvious that the Spirit of God, in the Book of Hebrews, is associating the "rest" of God with the land of promise of the Jews.
The Israelites wandered for forty years in the wilderness. The events of the Exodus, the wandering, and the entrance into Canaan were real experiences of real people. However, they happened to the Israelites in order that we who are entering the true and eternal Kingdom of God might have examples placed before us of what to do and what not to do.
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (I Corinthians 10:11)
The various episodes associated with the history of the Hebrews, particularly their exodus from Egypt and entrance into Canaan, serve us Christians as types—the foreshadowing of spiritual realities.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Our point is not that there is no spiritual paradise or that the righteous do not go there when they die. It is clear, however, that the Scriptures do not speak of Heaven as being our eternal home. Heaven exists. Indeed it does. Our personal belief is that Paradise will be a place of rest for the saint while the army of the Lord is being prepared for the invasion of the earth in the Battle of Armageddon. But eternal residence in Paradise is not the goal of the Christian salvation.
The true message of Jesus is that all the righteousness, peace, joy, and wonder of Heaven are coming to the earth. First, as an overcoming power that crushes resistance during the thousand-year Kingdom Age, and then as the permanent possession of mankind throughout the eternity of the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
Notice the teaching of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews. The godly always are seeking the city that "hath foundations," a city that is coming to the earth.
The godly have died in faith. Assuredly, they are in Heaven with God. But have they attained the goal, the "rest" of God?
Speaking of the righteous who are with God in Heaven, the heroes of faith:
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: (Hebrews 11:39)
If Heaven is the "rest" promised to the Lord's people, the "land of milk and honey," why, then, does the infallible Scripture declare that Enoch and Abraham have "not received the promise"?
Also, we are not going to live in the city that has foundations. The city that has foundations is coming to us.
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. (Hebrews 13:14)
We are seeking a city that is coming to the earth.
But if Heaven is not the goal of salvation, then what is?
The goal of the Christian redemption is the "rest" of God. Canaan, the land of promise, the goal of our wanderings, is set forth in the Scriptures as the "rest" that remains to the people of God.
For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (Hebrews 4:8,9)
It is obvious that the Spirit of God, in the Book of Hebrews, is associating the "rest" of God with the land of promise of the Jews.
The Israelites wandered for forty years in the wilderness. The events of the Exodus, the wandering, and the entrance into Canaan were real experiences of real people. However, they happened to the Israelites in order that we who are entering the true and eternal Kingdom of God might have examples placed before us of what to do and what not to do.
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (I Corinthians 10:11)
The various episodes associated with the history of the Hebrews, particularly their exodus from Egypt and entrance into Canaan, serve us Christians as types—the foreshadowing of spiritual realities.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Going to Heaven, #2
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:8)
Where do Christians go when they die? The true saints go to be with the Lord Jesus, for they belong to Him.
As for the destiny of those who are not true saints, such as the lukewarm believers, or the wicked, there are enough warnings in the Scriptures to encourage us to avoid their fate by seeking the Lord with all our strength.
What will it be like to pass into the spirit realm? We do not know. The Scriptures have little to say concerning what happens to us when we die.
The concept of the "many mansions in Heaven" is based on a mistranslation of the Greek term for abode. In fact, Jesus' comments in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John are not referring to Heaven. Christ is telling us here that He is returning to the Father (not stressing Heaven), and that the Father and He will return to the faithful saint and take up Their eternal abode (the same term translated "mansions" in John 14:2) in him (John 14:23).
The entire Scriptures, Old Testament and New Testament, never once portray the spiritual Heaven as being a paradise of lawns, trees, fountains, lakes, children, birds, flowers, where we can stroll peacefully with our loved ones.
This author has no doubt that God's Heaven indeed includes a glorified park, a realm of righteousness, beauty, peace, joy, and love beyond our ability to describe. Nevertheless the Scriptures do not present the spiritual Paradise as the eternal home of the saints.
At some point in the history of the Christian Church the Gospel of the Kingdom of God changed to the gospel of going to Heaven. The goal of redemption became that of going to Heaven when we die. This concept certainly was not emphasized by the Apostles, who preached continually the return of Christ in His Kingdom (that which John the Baptist and Jesus also preached).
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, (II Thessalonians 1:7)
John the Baptist:
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2)
The Lord Jesus:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
One of the main sources of our concept of Heaven as a spiritual paradise is the dreams and visions of the saints, including the testimonies of the godly as they lay dying. It is our opinion that all or most of these are true.
There are many books available today that portray the spiritual paradise. One of the best of these is Visions Beyond the Veil (H.A. Baker, Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1973). From our point of view, Visions Beyond the Veil describes a true vision from the Lord. It satisfies and corresponds to our deepest feelings concerning what takes place when the righteous die.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Where do Christians go when they die? The true saints go to be with the Lord Jesus, for they belong to Him.
As for the destiny of those who are not true saints, such as the lukewarm believers, or the wicked, there are enough warnings in the Scriptures to encourage us to avoid their fate by seeking the Lord with all our strength.
What will it be like to pass into the spirit realm? We do not know. The Scriptures have little to say concerning what happens to us when we die.
The concept of the "many mansions in Heaven" is based on a mistranslation of the Greek term for abode. In fact, Jesus' comments in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John are not referring to Heaven. Christ is telling us here that He is returning to the Father (not stressing Heaven), and that the Father and He will return to the faithful saint and take up Their eternal abode (the same term translated "mansions" in John 14:2) in him (John 14:23).
The entire Scriptures, Old Testament and New Testament, never once portray the spiritual Heaven as being a paradise of lawns, trees, fountains, lakes, children, birds, flowers, where we can stroll peacefully with our loved ones.
This author has no doubt that God's Heaven indeed includes a glorified park, a realm of righteousness, beauty, peace, joy, and love beyond our ability to describe. Nevertheless the Scriptures do not present the spiritual Paradise as the eternal home of the saints.
At some point in the history of the Christian Church the Gospel of the Kingdom of God changed to the gospel of going to Heaven. The goal of redemption became that of going to Heaven when we die. This concept certainly was not emphasized by the Apostles, who preached continually the return of Christ in His Kingdom (that which John the Baptist and Jesus also preached).
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, (II Thessalonians 1:7)
John the Baptist:
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2)
The Lord Jesus:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
One of the main sources of our concept of Heaven as a spiritual paradise is the dreams and visions of the saints, including the testimonies of the godly as they lay dying. It is our opinion that all or most of these are true.
There are many books available today that portray the spiritual paradise. One of the best of these is Visions Beyond the Veil (H.A. Baker, Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1973). From our point of view, Visions Beyond the Veil describes a true vision from the Lord. It satisfies and corresponds to our deepest feelings concerning what takes place when the righteous die.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Going to Heaven
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (II Thessalonians 1:7,8)
Heaven is not spoken of as the goal of salvation or the reward for righteous living in either the Old Testament or the New Testament. The concept of going to Heaven when we die is one of the most deeply ingrained of the traditions of Christianity. However, the Apostles of Christ preached the return of Christ in His Kingdom, not our going to Heaven.
An incorrect goal leads to the wrong approach to the process of redemption.
In view of the fact that the Scriptures have little to say about going to Heaven, perhaps we ought to review our belief about what happens to us when we die.
The Old Testament writings do not point toward Heaven as the eternal abode of the righteous or the goal of redemption. Several times in the Old Testament the righteous who die are spoken of as being "gathered to their people." But the Old Testament destiny of the dead is Sheol, and Sheol is not pictured as the reward for righteous living.
For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave [Sheol ] who shall give thee thanks? (Psalms 6:5)
I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave [Sheol], whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. (Psalms 88:4,5)
However, the resurrection from the dead is spoken of in the Old Testament Scripture, but not in connection with going to Heaven.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 37:12)
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
It is true also of the New Testament that Heaven is not spoken of as the goal of salvation or the reward for righteous living. This tradition is so deeply ingrained, as we have said, that the reader may find our statement difficult to believe.
In the nations that have been influenced by Christian doctrine, even the unsaved and many of the Jewish people think of Heaven as the reward for righteous conduct. But the New Testament definitely does not set forth eternal residence in Heaven as the goal of salvation.
The phrase "going to Heaven" does not appear even one time in the New Testament. The Apostles of Christ preached the return of Christ in His Kingdom, not our going to Heaven. We may have assumed that they preached or inferred that Heaven is the eternal home of the righteous, but they did not do so.
Do the Scriptures teach that there is a place called Heaven? They do indeed! Heaven is spoken of in both the Old Testament and the New Testament as the abode of God and the holy angels. There is a place called Heaven, and the Lord Jesus came from Heaven and went back to Heaven. He will return from Heaven when He is ready to make the kingdoms of the world the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Heaven is not spoken of as the goal of salvation or the reward for righteous living in either the Old Testament or the New Testament. The concept of going to Heaven when we die is one of the most deeply ingrained of the traditions of Christianity. However, the Apostles of Christ preached the return of Christ in His Kingdom, not our going to Heaven.
An incorrect goal leads to the wrong approach to the process of redemption.
In view of the fact that the Scriptures have little to say about going to Heaven, perhaps we ought to review our belief about what happens to us when we die.
The Old Testament writings do not point toward Heaven as the eternal abode of the righteous or the goal of redemption. Several times in the Old Testament the righteous who die are spoken of as being "gathered to their people." But the Old Testament destiny of the dead is Sheol, and Sheol is not pictured as the reward for righteous living.
For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave [Sheol ] who shall give thee thanks? (Psalms 6:5)
I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave [Sheol], whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. (Psalms 88:4,5)
However, the resurrection from the dead is spoken of in the Old Testament Scripture, but not in connection with going to Heaven.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 37:12)
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
It is true also of the New Testament that Heaven is not spoken of as the goal of salvation or the reward for righteous living. This tradition is so deeply ingrained, as we have said, that the reader may find our statement difficult to believe.
In the nations that have been influenced by Christian doctrine, even the unsaved and many of the Jewish people think of Heaven as the reward for righteous conduct. But the New Testament definitely does not set forth eternal residence in Heaven as the goal of salvation.
The phrase "going to Heaven" does not appear even one time in the New Testament. The Apostles of Christ preached the return of Christ in His Kingdom, not our going to Heaven. We may have assumed that they preached or inferred that Heaven is the eternal home of the righteous, but they did not do so.
Do the Scriptures teach that there is a place called Heaven? They do indeed! Heaven is spoken of in both the Old Testament and the New Testament as the abode of God and the holy angels. There is a place called Heaven, and the Lord Jesus came from Heaven and went back to Heaven. He will return from Heaven when He is ready to make the kingdoms of the world the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2008 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #13
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. (Ezekiel 18:21,22)
If the saint, through God's help, ceases to practice the sin he has confessed, he then is freed from it—delivered from its guilt and power by the grace of God. He never will have to answer for the sin again. It has been revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ and has been forgiven. Since, by God's grace, he no longer is practicing it, it never will be mentioned to him again.
In this manner a believer may walk in confession and subsequent victory until he has been cleansed. He can complete, while on this earth, his court appearance concerning sin, or come close to completing it. All that remains in the way of judgment is for the Lord to evaluate the decisions he has made as a believer—his faithfulness in serving the Lord. He will be rewarded according to his faithfulness and diligence and the fruit he has borne.
The Christian who is not walking in the light of God's Presence, who is not confessing and gaining victory over his sins and self-love, who is disobeying God's will, who is neglecting his salvation (as is true of many Christians of our day), is facing a terrifying scene—either in this world, if God is merciful, or else when he dies and stands before the Lord Jesus Christ in person.
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26,27)
The writer of the above passage is addressing lukewarm Christians.
The Judgment Seat of Christ has commenced with the judgment of the house of God. The nearer we are to God the stricter and more immediate is our judgment. Jerusalem always receives double for her sins (Isaiah 40:2). After the accounts of the righteous have been settled, Christ will turn His attention to the disobedient.
And if the righteous scarcely be saved [is saved with difficulty], where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (I Peter 4:18)
It requires the body and blood of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Word of God, much prayer, the fellowship of fervent saints, and prolonged fiery trials in order to save those of godly character. What will it be like when the ungodly and the sinners appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ?
The New Testament writings exhort us to live in the fear (not "reverence," as the modern translators would have it) of God. The holy fear of the Lord is a wise, wholesome attitude for each of us to maintain. The true saints fear and love the Lord Jesus and serve Him from both motivations.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
We work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because of the countless snares and temptations that confront us each day. To overcome our fleshly lusts, our miserable self-centeredness, the world, Satan, Antichrist, and lukewarm believers, is no minor undertaking. We can overcome sin but we do so with the greatest difficulty. However, the rewards for conquering sin are great.
The Judgment Seat of Christ is in session. The first to be tried are God's saints. When we suffer let us hold steady in the Lord, knowing that when we are tested we, through Christ's own grace and Virtue, shall come forth as refined gold. Then we shall have no fear. Then we shall have perfect love.
Then we shall have boldness in the Day of Judgment.
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. (Isaiah 4:3,4) (from The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session; from It Is Time for a Reformation of Christian Thinking)
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
If the saint, through God's help, ceases to practice the sin he has confessed, he then is freed from it—delivered from its guilt and power by the grace of God. He never will have to answer for the sin again. It has been revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ and has been forgiven. Since, by God's grace, he no longer is practicing it, it never will be mentioned to him again.
In this manner a believer may walk in confession and subsequent victory until he has been cleansed. He can complete, while on this earth, his court appearance concerning sin, or come close to completing it. All that remains in the way of judgment is for the Lord to evaluate the decisions he has made as a believer—his faithfulness in serving the Lord. He will be rewarded according to his faithfulness and diligence and the fruit he has borne.
The Christian who is not walking in the light of God's Presence, who is not confessing and gaining victory over his sins and self-love, who is disobeying God's will, who is neglecting his salvation (as is true of many Christians of our day), is facing a terrifying scene—either in this world, if God is merciful, or else when he dies and stands before the Lord Jesus Christ in person.
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26,27)
The writer of the above passage is addressing lukewarm Christians.
The Judgment Seat of Christ has commenced with the judgment of the house of God. The nearer we are to God the stricter and more immediate is our judgment. Jerusalem always receives double for her sins (Isaiah 40:2). After the accounts of the righteous have been settled, Christ will turn His attention to the disobedient.
And if the righteous scarcely be saved [is saved with difficulty], where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (I Peter 4:18)
It requires the body and blood of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Word of God, much prayer, the fellowship of fervent saints, and prolonged fiery trials in order to save those of godly character. What will it be like when the ungodly and the sinners appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ?
The New Testament writings exhort us to live in the fear (not "reverence," as the modern translators would have it) of God. The holy fear of the Lord is a wise, wholesome attitude for each of us to maintain. The true saints fear and love the Lord Jesus and serve Him from both motivations.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
We work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because of the countless snares and temptations that confront us each day. To overcome our fleshly lusts, our miserable self-centeredness, the world, Satan, Antichrist, and lukewarm believers, is no minor undertaking. We can overcome sin but we do so with the greatest difficulty. However, the rewards for conquering sin are great.
The Judgment Seat of Christ is in session. The first to be tried are God's saints. When we suffer let us hold steady in the Lord, knowing that when we are tested we, through Christ's own grace and Virtue, shall come forth as refined gold. Then we shall have no fear. Then we shall have perfect love.
Then we shall have boldness in the Day of Judgment.
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. (Isaiah 4:3,4) (from The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session; from It Is Time for a Reformation of Christian Thinking)
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #12
And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (Luke 12:47)
If we have not walked in stern obedience to the Father but have resisted the crosses and prisons He has sent for our perfecting, we will be disciplined at that time—perhaps being cast away from His Presence and assigned to the flames of Hades, or to outer darkness.
Some may ask, might not God decide to accept us anyway, even though we have walked in disobedience?
Only Christ will decide on whom He will show mercy. Jesus has warned us clearly that he who disobeys God's will shall receive lashes.
Our disobedience and self-love will have left their marks on our soul. Would we be happy in the Kingdom of God, living with people who love the Lord and who obeyed Him while on the earth to the point of martyrdom? Would we not be ashamed and miserable? We have not enjoyed the company of such while on the earth, why would we desire to be with them around the Throne of God?
Throughout history the people of God have suffered. They have been as sheep for the slaughter. Their tribulations are an evidence of the righteous judgment of God. The saints of God suffer so they may be deemed worthy of the righteous Kingdom that is coming from Heaven (II Thessalonians 1:5).
The sufferings of the cross strike down our human personality causing the new creation of God to be brought forth in us. Apart from such sufferings we cannot be made new creatures in Christ.
If we suffer the judgments of the cross we will rule with Christ.
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (I Peter 4:17).
The beema (judgment seat) of Christ was instituted in the first century, according to the Apostle Peter. All human beings have been accused of sin because of Adam and therefore each must appear before the judgment seat.
God has devised a plan for the salvation of His elect and of all who will accept His provision. God has sent Christ as a sin-bearer so that whoever places his trust in Him may be saved.
God's plan includes the forgiveness of sins that are past, through the atoning blood of the sin-bearer, and also Divine grace by which the believer, while he is continuing to be forgiven by the authority of the atoning blood, may work out his salvation. The believer works out his salvation by confessing his sins, as the Holy Spirit brings them before him, and then, through the Spirit's help, by ceasing to practice them.
Thus the believer is revealed before the Judgment Seat of Christ. He names his sins and asks the Lord to forgive him (I John 1:7-9). Then, by the Lord's help, he overcomes them.
This procedure is an eternal judgment of sin. When a Christian confesses his sin to God, God is faithful and righteous to forgive that sin and to cleanse the Christian from all unrighteousness.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
If we have not walked in stern obedience to the Father but have resisted the crosses and prisons He has sent for our perfecting, we will be disciplined at that time—perhaps being cast away from His Presence and assigned to the flames of Hades, or to outer darkness.
Some may ask, might not God decide to accept us anyway, even though we have walked in disobedience?
Only Christ will decide on whom He will show mercy. Jesus has warned us clearly that he who disobeys God's will shall receive lashes.
Our disobedience and self-love will have left their marks on our soul. Would we be happy in the Kingdom of God, living with people who love the Lord and who obeyed Him while on the earth to the point of martyrdom? Would we not be ashamed and miserable? We have not enjoyed the company of such while on the earth, why would we desire to be with them around the Throne of God?
Throughout history the people of God have suffered. They have been as sheep for the slaughter. Their tribulations are an evidence of the righteous judgment of God. The saints of God suffer so they may be deemed worthy of the righteous Kingdom that is coming from Heaven (II Thessalonians 1:5).
The sufferings of the cross strike down our human personality causing the new creation of God to be brought forth in us. Apart from such sufferings we cannot be made new creatures in Christ.
If we suffer the judgments of the cross we will rule with Christ.
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (I Peter 4:17).
The beema (judgment seat) of Christ was instituted in the first century, according to the Apostle Peter. All human beings have been accused of sin because of Adam and therefore each must appear before the judgment seat.
God has devised a plan for the salvation of His elect and of all who will accept His provision. God has sent Christ as a sin-bearer so that whoever places his trust in Him may be saved.
God's plan includes the forgiveness of sins that are past, through the atoning blood of the sin-bearer, and also Divine grace by which the believer, while he is continuing to be forgiven by the authority of the atoning blood, may work out his salvation. The believer works out his salvation by confessing his sins, as the Holy Spirit brings them before him, and then, through the Spirit's help, by ceasing to practice them.
Thus the believer is revealed before the Judgment Seat of Christ. He names his sins and asks the Lord to forgive him (I John 1:7-9). Then, by the Lord's help, he overcomes them.
This procedure is an eternal judgment of sin. When a Christian confesses his sin to God, God is faithful and righteous to forgive that sin and to cleanse the Christian from all unrighteousness.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #11
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)
We attain the first resurrection from among the dead by allowing the Spirit of God to press our earthly personality into the death of the cross. We learn to cultivate and nourish, and to live in, our new resurrection life in the Spirit of God. We are to look always to the Lord Jesus for guidance and consolation.
God does not just hand eternal life to us. Rather, God makes it possible for us to enter life. The atonement, the reconciliation, is not only a legal state we accept by faith. The atonement is an opportunity for us to bring down to death the enemy of God in us, and to enter eternal life by receiving Christ who Himself Is the Resurrection and the Life.
Meanwhile, the blood serves as the propitiation (appeasement of God's wrath) for all of our sins—past, present, and future. The atonement is one whole. We cannot avail ourselves of the propitiation and then refuse to enter Christ's death and resurrection. Yet that is the impression being left by current teaching. It is as though we could receive the forgiveness of sins apart from sharing in the Life and sufferings of Christ, apart from experiencing Divine judgment on our personality.
We experience the power of Christ's resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. Death, and life! Death, and life! Death, and life! If we choose to save our soulish, fleshly life, our first personality, we will die spiritually. If we choose to walk in the Spirit we will attain eternal life.
The cross is the place of Divine judgment. When we assign our fleshly nature to the cross we are handing it over to Divine judgment.
Our soulish personality, our "old man," hates and rejects the life of the Spirit. Therefore God subjects our old nature to the fiery trials of the cross of Christ. God casts down our whole first personality, the evil and the good of it, until we can say in truth, "I am crucified with Christ."
This is how the sufferings of the cross of Christ, which are the sufferings that proceed from the righteous judgment of God, save us from sin. It is necessary for Christians to suffer. We must suffer because we possess a human nature that is sinful, deceitful, and rebellious. The sufferings of the cross that we share in Christ slay our sinful nature. They purify our soul and spirit and teach us obedience to God.
We are exhorted to believe to the saving of our soul. We are required to endure to the end of our appointed tribulations and imprisonments.
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [destruction]; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:39)
When we die, our soul passes into the spirit realm and appears before the Lord Jesus Christ. If we have walked on this earth in humility, obeying the Lord throughout the fiery testings that have been our portion, we are ready to walk with Him in white.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
We attain the first resurrection from among the dead by allowing the Spirit of God to press our earthly personality into the death of the cross. We learn to cultivate and nourish, and to live in, our new resurrection life in the Spirit of God. We are to look always to the Lord Jesus for guidance and consolation.
God does not just hand eternal life to us. Rather, God makes it possible for us to enter life. The atonement, the reconciliation, is not only a legal state we accept by faith. The atonement is an opportunity for us to bring down to death the enemy of God in us, and to enter eternal life by receiving Christ who Himself Is the Resurrection and the Life.
Meanwhile, the blood serves as the propitiation (appeasement of God's wrath) for all of our sins—past, present, and future. The atonement is one whole. We cannot avail ourselves of the propitiation and then refuse to enter Christ's death and resurrection. Yet that is the impression being left by current teaching. It is as though we could receive the forgiveness of sins apart from sharing in the Life and sufferings of Christ, apart from experiencing Divine judgment on our personality.
We experience the power of Christ's resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. Death, and life! Death, and life! Death, and life! If we choose to save our soulish, fleshly life, our first personality, we will die spiritually. If we choose to walk in the Spirit we will attain eternal life.
The cross is the place of Divine judgment. When we assign our fleshly nature to the cross we are handing it over to Divine judgment.
Our soulish personality, our "old man," hates and rejects the life of the Spirit. Therefore God subjects our old nature to the fiery trials of the cross of Christ. God casts down our whole first personality, the evil and the good of it, until we can say in truth, "I am crucified with Christ."
This is how the sufferings of the cross of Christ, which are the sufferings that proceed from the righteous judgment of God, save us from sin. It is necessary for Christians to suffer. We must suffer because we possess a human nature that is sinful, deceitful, and rebellious. The sufferings of the cross that we share in Christ slay our sinful nature. They purify our soul and spirit and teach us obedience to God.
We are exhorted to believe to the saving of our soul. We are required to endure to the end of our appointed tribulations and imprisonments.
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [destruction]; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:39)
When we die, our soul passes into the spirit realm and appears before the Lord Jesus Christ. If we have walked on this earth in humility, obeying the Lord throughout the fiery testings that have been our portion, we are ready to walk with Him in white.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:10)
The teaching that Christians are not to suffer comes from the heart and mouth of Antichrist. Satan knows it is only through suffering that Christ can be formed in us. Satan prefers we Christians save our life—even our life of religious activities. The one thing Satan fears is that we Christians will die to our own life and Christ will come forth in us and destroy Satan's kingdom in the earth (Mark 8:31-33).
Let us examine the purpose for our fiery trials.
Every human being is born guilty of sin. We are born dead. We bear the guilt of Adam's sin. In addition we possess a human nature that is rebellious against its Creator. The human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
Every human being at some point in his existence must stand before the Judgment Seat (beema) of Christ.
The term beema is employed twelve times in the New Testament. A beema, according to New Testament usage, is an elevated throne where people accused of crimes are brought for judgment. Pilate judged Christ at a beema. Paul stood before the beema of Festus and requested that he be brought before the beema of Caesar.
No individual is brought before a beema unless he is accused of a crime.
Every human being will be made manifest at the beema of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ was brought before the beema of Pilate; but one day Pilate will be revealed before the beema of Christ. How will Pilate feel when he stands before Jesus? What will he say? What will the judges of this world say when they stand before the saints whom they found guilty of the crime of being a Christian and then assigned to imprisonment, torture, and death?
Where does the atonement made by Christ fit into this picture? If Christ made an atonement, a reconciliation for us, why is it necessary for us to be saved by fiery judgment?
If any human being will choose to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, the Lord will extend to him forgiveness—forgiveness made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus. The full penalty for sin fell on Jesus, the Lamb of God. Jesus had not sinned. Therefore, according to God's righteousness, Jesus can declare to be guiltless whomever He will.
If a person will repent of his sin, place his faith and hope in Christ, and be baptized in water as Christ has commanded, Christ will declare him to be righteous in God's sight.
The substitutionary death of Christ has made us acceptable to God. We must confess with our mouth that Jesus is the Lord, the chosen One of God. We must believe in our heart that Jesus has been raised and is alive eternally—positive proof that whoever believes in Him is righteous in the sight of God.
After having received Christ as our Lord and Savior, our personality is divided into two parts. Our old personality, our original soulish nature and physical body, remains on the earth. Our new born-again spiritual nature is raised in the Spirit and is hidden with Christ in God.
We by faith, in obedience to the written Word of God, are to assign our entire first personality (the good and the bad of it—all that was born of our human parents) to the cross of Christ. Our new life in Christ has been raised with Christ to the right hand of God.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The teaching that Christians are not to suffer comes from the heart and mouth of Antichrist. Satan knows it is only through suffering that Christ can be formed in us. Satan prefers we Christians save our life—even our life of religious activities. The one thing Satan fears is that we Christians will die to our own life and Christ will come forth in us and destroy Satan's kingdom in the earth (Mark 8:31-33).
Let us examine the purpose for our fiery trials.
Every human being is born guilty of sin. We are born dead. We bear the guilt of Adam's sin. In addition we possess a human nature that is rebellious against its Creator. The human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
Every human being at some point in his existence must stand before the Judgment Seat (beema) of Christ.
The term beema is employed twelve times in the New Testament. A beema, according to New Testament usage, is an elevated throne where people accused of crimes are brought for judgment. Pilate judged Christ at a beema. Paul stood before the beema of Festus and requested that he be brought before the beema of Caesar.
No individual is brought before a beema unless he is accused of a crime.
Every human being will be made manifest at the beema of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ was brought before the beema of Pilate; but one day Pilate will be revealed before the beema of Christ. How will Pilate feel when he stands before Jesus? What will he say? What will the judges of this world say when they stand before the saints whom they found guilty of the crime of being a Christian and then assigned to imprisonment, torture, and death?
Where does the atonement made by Christ fit into this picture? If Christ made an atonement, a reconciliation for us, why is it necessary for us to be saved by fiery judgment?
If any human being will choose to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, the Lord will extend to him forgiveness—forgiveness made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus. The full penalty for sin fell on Jesus, the Lamb of God. Jesus had not sinned. Therefore, according to God's righteousness, Jesus can declare to be guiltless whomever He will.
If a person will repent of his sin, place his faith and hope in Christ, and be baptized in water as Christ has commanded, Christ will declare him to be righteous in God's sight.
The substitutionary death of Christ has made us acceptable to God. We must confess with our mouth that Jesus is the Lord, the chosen One of God. We must believe in our heart that Jesus has been raised and is alive eternally—positive proof that whoever believes in Him is righteous in the sight of God.
After having received Christ as our Lord and Savior, our personality is divided into two parts. Our old personality, our original soulish nature and physical body, remains on the earth. Our new born-again spiritual nature is raised in the Spirit and is hidden with Christ in God.
We by faith, in obedience to the written Word of God, are to assign our entire first personality (the good and the bad of it—all that was born of our human parents) to the cross of Christ. Our new life in Christ has been raised with Christ to the right hand of God.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Sunday, August 09, 2009
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #9
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. (I Peter 4:7)
Was Peter incorrect in believing he was living at the end of the age? Not at all. When Christ died and rose again the end of the age had come. The Day of Judgment had arrived and it began with the saints.
God's judgment began with Christ's death on the cross. By associating themselves (not in theory only but in a daily embracing) with Christ's death on the cross, the saints obtain deliverance from the wrath of God. The righteousness of the Law of Moses is imputed (ascribed) to them, having been fulfilled in Christ (Romans 8:4).
We still are in the same era, the same period of Christ's judgment, as was true of Peter. Nothing has changed. The end of all things is at hand. The Judgment Seat of Christ is in session. The wheat and the tares, the righteous and the wicked, are being brought to maturity as part of the work of the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (I Peter 4:12,13)
What, then, is the significance of our fiery testings and tribulations? The fourth chapter of I Peter points out three areas of significance:
They motivate us to cease from our sinning.
They are a judging, a disciplining of us so we will not be condemned with the world.
They are a part of Christ's sufferings, which we are to share.
Are these three areas parts of one whole? Yes, they are. They are three aspects of the one method of redemption God is employing to save us. We are being redeemed, being saved from the bondage of wickedness, by judgment.
Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. (Isaiah 1:27)
So great is the wickedness of man that even those of righteous character are saved with difficulty, requiring prolonged periods of tribulation for the perfecting of their spirits in the sight of God.
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just [righteous] men made perfect, (Hebrews 12:23)
To those who may claim we are changing the character of the Christian salvation from one of salvation by grace through faith to one of salvation by suffering, our answer is: read what Peter said and decide for yourselves. It does not matter what our traditions state or what we think must or should be true. It matters only what the Scriptures state.
The doctrine of the redemption of God's elect by judgment may go against our traditions and ideas but it is found throughout the Scriptures.
Which is [persecutions and tribulations] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: (II Thessalonians 1:5)
It is being taught today that Christ suffered for us so we never shall be required to suffer. However, the Scripture teaches we are to enter the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. We are to enter His death on the cross and be changed into that death in our daily living.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Was Peter incorrect in believing he was living at the end of the age? Not at all. When Christ died and rose again the end of the age had come. The Day of Judgment had arrived and it began with the saints.
God's judgment began with Christ's death on the cross. By associating themselves (not in theory only but in a daily embracing) with Christ's death on the cross, the saints obtain deliverance from the wrath of God. The righteousness of the Law of Moses is imputed (ascribed) to them, having been fulfilled in Christ (Romans 8:4).
We still are in the same era, the same period of Christ's judgment, as was true of Peter. Nothing has changed. The end of all things is at hand. The Judgment Seat of Christ is in session. The wheat and the tares, the righteous and the wicked, are being brought to maturity as part of the work of the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (I Peter 4:12,13)
What, then, is the significance of our fiery testings and tribulations? The fourth chapter of I Peter points out three areas of significance:
They motivate us to cease from our sinning.
They are a judging, a disciplining of us so we will not be condemned with the world.
They are a part of Christ's sufferings, which we are to share.
Are these three areas parts of one whole? Yes, they are. They are three aspects of the one method of redemption God is employing to save us. We are being redeemed, being saved from the bondage of wickedness, by judgment.
Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. (Isaiah 1:27)
So great is the wickedness of man that even those of righteous character are saved with difficulty, requiring prolonged periods of tribulation for the perfecting of their spirits in the sight of God.
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just [righteous] men made perfect, (Hebrews 12:23)
To those who may claim we are changing the character of the Christian salvation from one of salvation by grace through faith to one of salvation by suffering, our answer is: read what Peter said and decide for yourselves. It does not matter what our traditions state or what we think must or should be true. It matters only what the Scriptures state.
The doctrine of the redemption of God's elect by judgment may go against our traditions and ideas but it is found throughout the Scriptures.
Which is [persecutions and tribulations] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: (II Thessalonians 1:5)
It is being taught today that Christ suffered for us so we never shall be required to suffer. However, the Scripture teaches we are to enter the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. We are to enter His death on the cross and be changed into that death in our daily living.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Friday, August 07, 2009
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #8
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)
Being "saved" does not mean we have been given a ticket to a paradise in the sky. Being "saved" means God has given us the opportunity to escape the image and works of Satan and to lay hold on the image and works of Christ. The faith and diligence with which we respond to our opportunity will determine our eternal destiny. This is the thesis of many of our writings. A thorough reformation of Christian thinking is necessary if our thesis is to be established as a guiding principle of Christian doctrine and practice.
It is our understanding that both the physical and spirit realms are places of instruction for us. We believe also that God's purpose in creating the physical realm is that through it He may reveal His will to all His creatures.
While the revelation of God's Person takes place in us to a certain extent during our sojourn in the present era, it may require many millennia before the unique revelation of the Lord God that each of us is has begun to approach maturity.
Before we can participate in the program of revealing the invisible God we must be willing to die to all we are, to come forth as a naked spirit before the Judgment Seat of Christ, and through His judgment of us be brought into newness of life.
No eternal witness of God can come through the human personality but only through the new man who is the unique union of Christ and the individual. All of the first personality must be so burned by the Divine fire and infused with Christ as to constitute a new creation.
As it is true that the judgment of the saint can take place in either the physical realm or the spirit realm, so it is true that the wicked can be judged in either realm. The wheat and the tares are growing together, not only in the physical realm but also in the spiritual, as we understand it. Certainly Satan and his followers are maturing in evil.
Physical death does not change anything of significance, because human beings are eternal spirits, not fleshly animals that perish in the dust. We are alive somewhere, and the process of redemption through judgment continues, or else will continue in the Day of the Lord.
The Divine judgment will not have been concluded until the saints descend from Heaven as the gloriously perfected Wife of the Lamb, the nations of saved peoples of the earth are walking in the Light of God's Presence shining in the saints, and the wicked have been thrown into the Lake of Fire. The Divine judgment, which began with the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, will continue until that time.
For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (I Peter 4:6)
Christ entered the spiritual prison and brought the Gospel of the Kingdom to the spirits confined there. Those spirits then were required, as we are, to choose to receive Christ as both Lord and Savior. They were judged as we are, although they were not at that time alive on the earth.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Being "saved" does not mean we have been given a ticket to a paradise in the sky. Being "saved" means God has given us the opportunity to escape the image and works of Satan and to lay hold on the image and works of Christ. The faith and diligence with which we respond to our opportunity will determine our eternal destiny. This is the thesis of many of our writings. A thorough reformation of Christian thinking is necessary if our thesis is to be established as a guiding principle of Christian doctrine and practice.
It is our understanding that both the physical and spirit realms are places of instruction for us. We believe also that God's purpose in creating the physical realm is that through it He may reveal His will to all His creatures.
While the revelation of God's Person takes place in us to a certain extent during our sojourn in the present era, it may require many millennia before the unique revelation of the Lord God that each of us is has begun to approach maturity.
Before we can participate in the program of revealing the invisible God we must be willing to die to all we are, to come forth as a naked spirit before the Judgment Seat of Christ, and through His judgment of us be brought into newness of life.
No eternal witness of God can come through the human personality but only through the new man who is the unique union of Christ and the individual. All of the first personality must be so burned by the Divine fire and infused with Christ as to constitute a new creation.
As it is true that the judgment of the saint can take place in either the physical realm or the spirit realm, so it is true that the wicked can be judged in either realm. The wheat and the tares are growing together, not only in the physical realm but also in the spiritual, as we understand it. Certainly Satan and his followers are maturing in evil.
Physical death does not change anything of significance, because human beings are eternal spirits, not fleshly animals that perish in the dust. We are alive somewhere, and the process of redemption through judgment continues, or else will continue in the Day of the Lord.
The Divine judgment will not have been concluded until the saints descend from Heaven as the gloriously perfected Wife of the Lamb, the nations of saved peoples of the earth are walking in the Light of God's Presence shining in the saints, and the wicked have been thrown into the Lake of Fire. The Divine judgment, which began with the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, will continue until that time.
For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (I Peter 4:6)
Christ entered the spiritual prison and brought the Gospel of the Kingdom to the spirits confined there. Those spirits then were required, as we are, to choose to receive Christ as both Lord and Savior. They were judged as we are, although they were not at that time alive on the earth.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Thursday, August 06, 2009
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #7
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: (I Peter 4:12)
When Christ rose from the dead He began the work of purifying His elect by means of fiery tribulations and testings. The work of Divine judgment, according to our understanding, has been taking place ever since that time in history (He is ready to judge the living and the dead). It is our point of view that the judging of the saint is independent of whether the saint is in the spiritual or the physical realm.
We are not suggesting that the saints in the spirit realm are suffering fiery tribulations and testings. They experienced those while they were alive on the earth.
Nevertheless the patriarchs cannot be made perfect apart from us (Hebrews 11:40). This means Abraham and the other heroes of faith cannot be made perfect in righteousness apart from the other members of the Body of Christ. The whole Body is moving toward perfection, being built up by that which every part supplies.
The whole Body of Christ, the Church, the Wife of the Lamb, is moving toward perfection as one organism. It is not of significance whether the member of the Body of Christ is alive on the earth or living with God in the spirit realm.
We Christians always have believed that the members of the Body of Christ will be judged in the spirit realm. Isn't it possible that we can also learn from Christ and grow in righteousness in the spirit realm? Certainly we do not believe spiritual growth is impossible in the spirit realm!
One of the immature concepts of Christian thinking, it seems to us, is the "freezing" of the Kingdom of God after we die physically. The idea is fostered that we can learn only in this world, and our change into the image of Christ is limited to only that which is accomplished during our lifetime on the earth.
Let us hasten to add that the Christian who postpones to life after death his growth in Christ and his service to Christ, hoping to obtain the best of both worlds, will face an angry Christ. He has not been faithful with that which is least—the opportunities given to him in this life. Let him be assured he will not be trusted with the true riches.
God cannot be mocked. When the unprofitable servant dies he will go to be with the other lazy, careless individuals who have neglected the part of the Kingdom work that was entrusted to them.
While a rough hewing takes place on the earth, much refining still will be required after we leave this arena of strife and tears. Our real life will commence with the new heaven and earth reign of the Lord Jesus, and we shall be being prepared for our new, real life from now throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
We envision a growth in the image of Christ taking place in us throughout the eternities to come. "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end" (Isaiah 9:7).
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
When Christ rose from the dead He began the work of purifying His elect by means of fiery tribulations and testings. The work of Divine judgment, according to our understanding, has been taking place ever since that time in history (He is ready to judge the living and the dead). It is our point of view that the judging of the saint is independent of whether the saint is in the spiritual or the physical realm.
We are not suggesting that the saints in the spirit realm are suffering fiery tribulations and testings. They experienced those while they were alive on the earth.
Nevertheless the patriarchs cannot be made perfect apart from us (Hebrews 11:40). This means Abraham and the other heroes of faith cannot be made perfect in righteousness apart from the other members of the Body of Christ. The whole Body is moving toward perfection, being built up by that which every part supplies.
The whole Body of Christ, the Church, the Wife of the Lamb, is moving toward perfection as one organism. It is not of significance whether the member of the Body of Christ is alive on the earth or living with God in the spirit realm.
We Christians always have believed that the members of the Body of Christ will be judged in the spirit realm. Isn't it possible that we can also learn from Christ and grow in righteousness in the spirit realm? Certainly we do not believe spiritual growth is impossible in the spirit realm!
One of the immature concepts of Christian thinking, it seems to us, is the "freezing" of the Kingdom of God after we die physically. The idea is fostered that we can learn only in this world, and our change into the image of Christ is limited to only that which is accomplished during our lifetime on the earth.
Let us hasten to add that the Christian who postpones to life after death his growth in Christ and his service to Christ, hoping to obtain the best of both worlds, will face an angry Christ. He has not been faithful with that which is least—the opportunities given to him in this life. Let him be assured he will not be trusted with the true riches.
God cannot be mocked. When the unprofitable servant dies he will go to be with the other lazy, careless individuals who have neglected the part of the Kingdom work that was entrusted to them.
While a rough hewing takes place on the earth, much refining still will be required after we leave this arena of strife and tears. Our real life will commence with the new heaven and earth reign of the Lord Jesus, and we shall be being prepared for our new, real life from now throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
We envision a growth in the image of Christ taking place in us throughout the eternities to come. "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end" (Isaiah 9:7).
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #6
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, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. (Malachi 3:3)
The Prophets teach us clearly that when Christ comes He will purify us by fire so we will walk in de facto righteousness (actual righteousness of behavior). De jure (legal; imputed) righteousness is not at issue here.
Christ has come and has begun to purify His Church by fire.
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:12)
Christ baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, and then with the fire of disciplining judgment. This is what Peter is describing.
Christ performs all the judging of people. The term beema, translated judgment seat, is used consistently in the New Testament to mean a raised throne where those accused of crimes are brought for judgment. Each human being is accused of sin, having been born of Adam and possessing a desperately wicked, profoundly deceitful personality.
Each of us was born dead in sin. We were doomed to hear only "Guilty!" at the Judgment Seat of Christ. But Christ has come from God to save us from our sins.
Christ saves us from our sins by washing us in His holy blood so we can be received of God. Then Christ, the Judge of Heaven, begins the work of separating us from our sins. He reveals our sins to us and then gives us the opportunity to confess them, repent of them, and overcome them through Divinely imparted grace.
The Judge is our Savior and our Savior is also our Judge. If we will allow the Judge to do so He will save us from the sins of which He accuses us. The Judge becomes our Savior.
If we refuse to allow the Savior to save us from our sins, our loving, tender, merciful Savior becomes the Judge who decides whether or not we are worthy of eternal life.
The Lord Jesus is as severe a Judge as He is a loving Savior. Today the believers do not understand the severity of the Lord, because of the errors in Christian doctrine.
The Father, God, judges no one (John 5:22). The disciplining fire that comes on the saints proceeds from the white throne of Christ as He works to save us from our sins. We are not speaking of the guilt of our sin, for that was forgiven on the cross of Calvary. The problem now is the presence of sin; not the guilt, but the presence of the sin in us—the sin that dwells in us, as Paul says.
All disciplining of the Christian is performed according to the judgment of Christ. Christ judges that we need to be rebuked and chastened. When there is no more sin or rebellion in us, the chastening ceases (Revelation 3:19; I Peter 5:10).
The concept of Christ judging both the living and the dead raises another issue. There is a continuity between the physical realm and the spirit realm. The Lord does not regard our physical death as being spiritually significant. It appears that our disciplining and instruction take place whether we are physically alive or dead.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Prophets teach us clearly that when Christ comes He will purify us by fire so we will walk in de facto righteousness (actual righteousness of behavior). De jure (legal; imputed) righteousness is not at issue here.
Christ has come and has begun to purify His Church by fire.
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:12)
Christ baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, and then with the fire of disciplining judgment. This is what Peter is describing.
Christ performs all the judging of people. The term beema, translated judgment seat, is used consistently in the New Testament to mean a raised throne where those accused of crimes are brought for judgment. Each human being is accused of sin, having been born of Adam and possessing a desperately wicked, profoundly deceitful personality.
Each of us was born dead in sin. We were doomed to hear only "Guilty!" at the Judgment Seat of Christ. But Christ has come from God to save us from our sins.
Christ saves us from our sins by washing us in His holy blood so we can be received of God. Then Christ, the Judge of Heaven, begins the work of separating us from our sins. He reveals our sins to us and then gives us the opportunity to confess them, repent of them, and overcome them through Divinely imparted grace.
The Judge is our Savior and our Savior is also our Judge. If we will allow the Judge to do so He will save us from the sins of which He accuses us. The Judge becomes our Savior.
If we refuse to allow the Savior to save us from our sins, our loving, tender, merciful Savior becomes the Judge who decides whether or not we are worthy of eternal life.
The Lord Jesus is as severe a Judge as He is a loving Savior. Today the believers do not understand the severity of the Lord, because of the errors in Christian doctrine.
The Father, God, judges no one (John 5:22). The disciplining fire that comes on the saints proceeds from the white throne of Christ as He works to save us from our sins. We are not speaking of the guilt of our sin, for that was forgiven on the cross of Calvary. The problem now is the presence of sin; not the guilt, but the presence of the sin in us—the sin that dwells in us, as Paul says.
All disciplining of the Christian is performed according to the judgment of Christ. Christ judges that we need to be rebuked and chastened. When there is no more sin or rebellion in us, the chastening ceases (Revelation 3:19; I Peter 5:10).
The concept of Christ judging both the living and the dead raises another issue. There is a continuity between the physical realm and the spirit realm. The Lord does not regard our physical death as being spiritually significant. It appears that our disciplining and instruction take place whether we are physically alive or dead.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
The Judgment Seat of Christ Is In Session, #5
Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick [living] and the dead. (I Peter 4:5)
The Lord God of Heaven disciplines every son whom He receives and the discipline consists of fiery testings and tribulations. These are part of the normal Christian experience. They are decisions made at the Judgment Seat of Christ at which our personalities are being revealed.
The judgment has begun already and is abiding on the living and the dead. We are the living. After we are born again and filled with God's Spirit, having died and been raised again in the spiritual sense, the work of judgment begins. We have been brought forth from the tomb, as was Lazarus, and now it is time for the unwrapping of the graveclothes.
The pattern is for people to die and after this to be judged. But here we find that the Lord is ready to judge both the living and the dead. The idea seems to be that the Lord desires that His saints get as much as possible of their judgment accomplished before they die physically so the way will be clear for the judging of the sinners among the Lord's people and the wicked of the world.
Perhaps this is what Paul meant by striving to attain the resurrection that is out from among the dead (Philippians 3:11). Perhaps Paul was seeking to draw near to Christ until every aspect of his personality had been cleansed by the flame of God's Personality.
It appears from Paul's statements in the fourth chapter of II Timothy (verses 7,8) that his warfare had been accomplished, his wickedness pardoned. He had been revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and through the pardoning and transforming grace of Christ had been found not guilty. All that remains for the Apostle Paul is the resurrection to righteousness, bodily immortality, and glory.
It is our point of view that only the victorious saints will be raised in the first resurrection from the dead—that which will occur when the Lord returns. How could it be possible for an unjudged, undisciplined, rebellious believer (of which there are many) to be changed suddenly into immortality and rise to be ever with the Lord? The Spirit of God still is contending with him concerning his sins and self-will. How, then, can he be caught up to Christ as one of His kings and priests without first having these issues settled? (Revelation 20:4-6).
Perhaps a work of judgment is being accomplished now in both the spiritual and physical realms so that when Jesus appears all members of the true Israel, the Seed of Abraham, will be prepared to be ever with the Lord. One thing is certain: no individual will be brought into eternal life in his body until he has passed through the judgment of Christ.
No one can eat of the tree of life until he has overcome sin and rebellion. We cannot get past the cherubim guarding the tree of life or the flaming sword flashing back and forth until no sin is found in us.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Lord God of Heaven disciplines every son whom He receives and the discipline consists of fiery testings and tribulations. These are part of the normal Christian experience. They are decisions made at the Judgment Seat of Christ at which our personalities are being revealed.
The judgment has begun already and is abiding on the living and the dead. We are the living. After we are born again and filled with God's Spirit, having died and been raised again in the spiritual sense, the work of judgment begins. We have been brought forth from the tomb, as was Lazarus, and now it is time for the unwrapping of the graveclothes.
The pattern is for people to die and after this to be judged. But here we find that the Lord is ready to judge both the living and the dead. The idea seems to be that the Lord desires that His saints get as much as possible of their judgment accomplished before they die physically so the way will be clear for the judging of the sinners among the Lord's people and the wicked of the world.
Perhaps this is what Paul meant by striving to attain the resurrection that is out from among the dead (Philippians 3:11). Perhaps Paul was seeking to draw near to Christ until every aspect of his personality had been cleansed by the flame of God's Personality.
It appears from Paul's statements in the fourth chapter of II Timothy (verses 7,8) that his warfare had been accomplished, his wickedness pardoned. He had been revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and through the pardoning and transforming grace of Christ had been found not guilty. All that remains for the Apostle Paul is the resurrection to righteousness, bodily immortality, and glory.
It is our point of view that only the victorious saints will be raised in the first resurrection from the dead—that which will occur when the Lord returns. How could it be possible for an unjudged, undisciplined, rebellious believer (of which there are many) to be changed suddenly into immortality and rise to be ever with the Lord? The Spirit of God still is contending with him concerning his sins and self-will. How, then, can he be caught up to Christ as one of His kings and priests without first having these issues settled? (Revelation 20:4-6).
Perhaps a work of judgment is being accomplished now in both the spiritual and physical realms so that when Jesus appears all members of the true Israel, the Seed of Abraham, will be prepared to be ever with the Lord. One thing is certain: no individual will be brought into eternal life in his body until he has passed through the judgment of Christ.
No one can eat of the tree of life until he has overcome sin and rebellion. We cannot get past the cherubim guarding the tree of life or the flaming sword flashing back and forth until no sin is found in us.
To be continued.
We extend permission to make as many copies of this essay as you need, in both paper and electronic formats. Please include the following statement of copyright:
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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