When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)
The heavenly host cried out in joy as the Father unveiled what was in His mind.
The firmament, space, invaded the waters so that part of the waters covered the surface of the earth and part were lifted above space to an incomprehensible distance.
The unveiling continued.
The waters on the surface of the earth were drawn together and land appeared. From the land, vegetation sprang forth.
Still the host of Heaven watched in awe, concentrating on the revelation of God's intention.
The great and small of marine life surged through the seas and winged creatures of all sorts increased on the earth. Soon the air was alive with the sight and sound of a variety of birds.
So much had been unveiled! But more was to come.
Insects crawled on the ground. Domestic cattle, the members of the cat family, and the huge land mammals milled about, claiming their territories.
The angels observed all this in joyful astonishment.
But the purpose of everything had not been revealed.
From the red clay of the ground appeared the man. Then the woman from the man. Creatures in the image and likeness of God, as intelligent as the angels but having a soul like the Soul of God, able to have fellowship with God, to judge like God, to unite with God in a manner possible to no angel.
Now the angels had a small understanding of God's intention. The holy angels worshiped. The dark angels began to scheme.
The "two witnesses" of the unveiling, Adam and Eve, were fashioned from the clay of the ground. God had in mind to bring forth creatures in His own image, capable of union, destined to be fruitful and to possess dominion over the material creation.
God's intention in creating the material realm was shown in bringing forth Adam and Eve. Otherwise, the material creation has no significance. Apart from human beings, the creation of the earth and the firmament has no meaning, no hope, no joy. Adam and Eve were the heralds of the new day-the first day of the seven with which we are dealing.
Adam and Eve embodied in themselves the new day and were the matrix, the mold in which the new day was formed.
God proclaimed that Adam and Eve would multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. His power has brought into being the accomplishment of His eternal Word. Mankind has filled the earth and is in the process of subduing it.
The work of the first day, the day of unveiling, is continuing until the present hour. Every day, that which God has in mind becomes clearer. There yet are many surprises ahead for all of us-angels and men alike. The revealing of the sons of God, at the time Jesus returns to earth, will be the greatest unveiling of God's mind since the atonement made on the cross of Calvary. But there still will be more to come.
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, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Kingdom of God Is at Hand, #3
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:27,28)
The pattern of the seven days of Divine working is true of mankind and also of the individual Christian.
Perhaps if we examine the seven days we may gain a helpful understanding of what is taking place in our time.
The Day of the Lord, the sixth day, the day of making man in God's image and bringing him into restful union with God, the Millennium, the thousand-year Kingdom Age, is now at the door. A new day is at hand, and whenever a new day is at hand there is a season of unsettledness and preparation, a heralding of the new day, a bringing to pass of what has been proclaimed, and then the carrying out of the work of the new day throughout the creation.
The Day of Unveiling
The concept of unveiling is that of moving from what is unknown (darkness) to what is perceived (light). The counsels of God are hidden in His mind until He reveals them to Christ, and through Christ to us. Prophecy announces future circumstances but often in a puzzling form. We see in a mirror dimly. It is the actual coming to pass of the vision (the unveiling) that shows us clearly the Father's intention.
We have termed the first day the day of unveiling. As we examine the first chapter of the Book of Genesis we can see there was a time of preparation. The Spirit of God brooded on a formless earth. Then there was a spectacular exercise of God's power: light came into being and was separated from the darkness.
In the physical realm, darkness is the absence of light, so it is difficult to understand how light was separated from the darkness. Perhaps the spiritual and physical realms were in union in some manner, as evidenced by the presence of light for the first three days while as yet there were no sun, moon, or stars. Also, the spiritual tree of life grew from the material ground of Eden-another indication of the union of the spiritual and physical realms.
In the spirit realm, darkness and light dwell together and light must be separated from the darkness. When we come to the Lord Jesus, God creates light in us and then separates it from the darkness in us.
God knows all things from the beginning. Before any aspect of the material creation came into existence, God envisioned all He would do, including the creation of sons in His image.
The host of the spirit Heaven gathered in awe as they realized something new was to be brought into being.
God spoke! The physical heaven came into existence. The earth was summoned into being, covered with a blanket of water. God spoke again! The pure light of God flashed in the darkness and was separated from the darkness.
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 pattern of the seven days of Divine working is true of mankind and also of the individual Christian.
Perhaps if we examine the seven days we may gain a helpful understanding of what is taking place in our time.
The Day of the Lord, the sixth day, the day of making man in God's image and bringing him into restful union with God, the Millennium, the thousand-year Kingdom Age, is now at the door. A new day is at hand, and whenever a new day is at hand there is a season of unsettledness and preparation, a heralding of the new day, a bringing to pass of what has been proclaimed, and then the carrying out of the work of the new day throughout the creation.
The Day of Unveiling
The concept of unveiling is that of moving from what is unknown (darkness) to what is perceived (light). The counsels of God are hidden in His mind until He reveals them to Christ, and through Christ to us. Prophecy announces future circumstances but often in a puzzling form. We see in a mirror dimly. It is the actual coming to pass of the vision (the unveiling) that shows us clearly the Father's intention.
We have termed the first day the day of unveiling. As we examine the first chapter of the Book of Genesis we can see there was a time of preparation. The Spirit of God brooded on a formless earth. Then there was a spectacular exercise of God's power: light came into being and was separated from the darkness.
In the physical realm, darkness is the absence of light, so it is difficult to understand how light was separated from the darkness. Perhaps the spiritual and physical realms were in union in some manner, as evidenced by the presence of light for the first three days while as yet there were no sun, moon, or stars. Also, the spiritual tree of life grew from the material ground of Eden-another indication of the union of the spiritual and physical realms.
In the spirit realm, darkness and light dwell together and light must be separated from the darkness. When we come to the Lord Jesus, God creates light in us and then separates it from the darkness in us.
God knows all things from the beginning. Before any aspect of the material creation came into existence, God envisioned all He would do, including the creation of sons in His image.
The host of the spirit Heaven gathered in awe as they realized something new was to be brought into being.
God spoke! The physical heaven came into existence. The earth was summoned into being, covered with a blanket of water. God spoke again! The pure light of God flashed in the darkness and was separated from the darkness.
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, November 27, 2009
The Kingdom of God Is at Hand, #2
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
The central characteristic of each of the seven days is as follows:
1. The heavens and the earth, light, and the separating of the light from the darkness.
2. The firmament of heaven, the separating of the lower waters from the upper waters.
3. The gathering together of the waters, the appearing of dry ground, and vegetation.
4. The sun, moon, and stars to separate the day from the night, for signs and seasons, to give light upon the earth, and to govern the day and night.
5. Fish and birds.
6. Land animals, mankind in God's image, male and female, fruitfulness, dominion.
7. The rest of God.
Drawing out what we believe to be the essence of these seven concepts we would set forth the seven eras of God's eternal plan as follows:
1. The day of unveiling.
2. The day of separation.
3. The day of dry ground.
4. The day of revelation.
5. The day of life.
6. The day of image and union
7. The day of rest.
Saved man will witness the unveiling of God's purpose.
Saved man will submit to separation from what is animal and from what is evil.
Saved man will receive dry ground on which to stand.
Saved man will experience the revelation of God-who He is, what His will is, and what is man's relationship to Him.
Saved man will be filled with eternal life.
Saved man will be formed in the moral image of Christ and brought into restful union with God.
Saved man will enter the day of rest.
Whenever we pass from one "day" of God's working to the next there is a season of preparation. The Spirit of God broods on circumstances that are chaotic in terms of what God envisions as being His eternal purpose in Christ. There is a period of unsettledness, and sometimes tribulation and persecution.
There also is an appearance of two witnesses. The witnesses proclaim the new day at hand. The witnesses embody the new day and are the matrix from which the new day comes into being. The Divine heralds bring Divine understanding, Divine revelation, Divine light.
There must be an exercise of the power of God in order to bring to pass what the light (the two witnesses) reveals to be the purpose of God. The new day is born in the creative wisdom and energy of God Almighty.
The work of the new day begins and continues until all the Father has determined in advance has been accomplished to His standard of perfection.
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 central characteristic of each of the seven days is as follows:
1. The heavens and the earth, light, and the separating of the light from the darkness.
2. The firmament of heaven, the separating of the lower waters from the upper waters.
3. The gathering together of the waters, the appearing of dry ground, and vegetation.
4. The sun, moon, and stars to separate the day from the night, for signs and seasons, to give light upon the earth, and to govern the day and night.
5. Fish and birds.
6. Land animals, mankind in God's image, male and female, fruitfulness, dominion.
7. The rest of God.
Drawing out what we believe to be the essence of these seven concepts we would set forth the seven eras of God's eternal plan as follows:
1. The day of unveiling.
2. The day of separation.
3. The day of dry ground.
4. The day of revelation.
5. The day of life.
6. The day of image and union
7. The day of rest.
Saved man will witness the unveiling of God's purpose.
Saved man will submit to separation from what is animal and from what is evil.
Saved man will receive dry ground on which to stand.
Saved man will experience the revelation of God-who He is, what His will is, and what is man's relationship to Him.
Saved man will be filled with eternal life.
Saved man will be formed in the moral image of Christ and brought into restful union with God.
Saved man will enter the day of rest.
Whenever we pass from one "day" of God's working to the next there is a season of preparation. The Spirit of God broods on circumstances that are chaotic in terms of what God envisions as being His eternal purpose in Christ. There is a period of unsettledness, and sometimes tribulation and persecution.
There also is an appearance of two witnesses. The witnesses proclaim the new day at hand. The witnesses embody the new day and are the matrix from which the new day comes into being. The Divine heralds bring Divine understanding, Divine revelation, Divine light.
There must be an exercise of the power of God in order to bring to pass what the light (the two witnesses) reveals to be the purpose of God. The new day is born in the creative wisdom and energy of God Almighty.
The work of the new day begins and continues until all the Father has determined in advance has been accomplished to His standard of perfection.
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, November 26, 2009
The Kingdom of God Is at Hand
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. (Isaiah 42:9)
The Lord Jesus is coming soon. We know that. The thousand-year Kingdom Age, the Millennium, will be a reality on the earth in the near future.
Most believers in the Lord Jesus Christ may understand this is true. What we may not understand is the kind of events that take place when God moves from one creative day to the next; what we can expect to happen during the period in which we are living.
Whenever we pass from one "day" of God's working to the next there is a season of preparation. The Spirit of God broods on circumstances that are chaotic in terms of what God envisions as being His eternal purpose in Christ. There is a period of unsettledness and sometimes tribulation and persecution.
There also is the appearance of two witnesses. The witnesses proclaim the new day at hand.
It is the purpose of Christ in the Church to bring the rule of God into the personality of every saved person on the earth. This is the work of the Kingdom-the bringing about of the doing of God's will in the earth as it now is performed in Heaven.
When we state that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that the Lord Jesus is coming soon to set up His rule on the earth, we are saying we are entering the period of transition from the fifth day of creation to the sixth day of creation. By day of creation we mean a period or segment of God's working as He proceeds toward the attainment of the eternal purpose He has determined in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The original six days of creation of the universe, and the seventh day of Divine rest, are a foreshadowing of the seven eras of God's plan. Let us think for a moment about the days described in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis:
1. The creation of the heaven and the formless earth, the creation of light, and the separating of the light from the darkness.
2. The creation of the firmament, the separating of the waters below the heaven from the waters above the heaven.
3. The gathering together into one place of the waters, the appearance of the dry ground, and the bringing forth of vegetation.
4. The creation of the sun, moon, and stars to separate the day from the night, for signs and seasons, to give light, to rule the day and the night.
5. The creation of fish and birds.
6. The creation of land animals, and mankind-male and female, the assigning of fruitfulness and dominion to man.
7. God rested.
This is the description of the creation of the physical universe and also is an advance notice of what God intends to do, from the creating of the physical universe to the coming down from the new heaven of God in His tabernacle to dwell among mankind on the new 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
The Lord Jesus is coming soon. We know that. The thousand-year Kingdom Age, the Millennium, will be a reality on the earth in the near future.
Most believers in the Lord Jesus Christ may understand this is true. What we may not understand is the kind of events that take place when God moves from one creative day to the next; what we can expect to happen during the period in which we are living.
Whenever we pass from one "day" of God's working to the next there is a season of preparation. The Spirit of God broods on circumstances that are chaotic in terms of what God envisions as being His eternal purpose in Christ. There is a period of unsettledness and sometimes tribulation and persecution.
There also is the appearance of two witnesses. The witnesses proclaim the new day at hand.
It is the purpose of Christ in the Church to bring the rule of God into the personality of every saved person on the earth. This is the work of the Kingdom-the bringing about of the doing of God's will in the earth as it now is performed in Heaven.
When we state that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that the Lord Jesus is coming soon to set up His rule on the earth, we are saying we are entering the period of transition from the fifth day of creation to the sixth day of creation. By day of creation we mean a period or segment of God's working as He proceeds toward the attainment of the eternal purpose He has determined in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The original six days of creation of the universe, and the seventh day of Divine rest, are a foreshadowing of the seven eras of God's plan. Let us think for a moment about the days described in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis:
1. The creation of the heaven and the formless earth, the creation of light, and the separating of the light from the darkness.
2. The creation of the firmament, the separating of the waters below the heaven from the waters above the heaven.
3. The gathering together into one place of the waters, the appearance of the dry ground, and the bringing forth of vegetation.
4. The creation of the sun, moon, and stars to separate the day from the night, for signs and seasons, to give light, to rule the day and the night.
5. The creation of fish and birds.
6. The creation of land animals, and mankind-male and female, the assigning of fruitfulness and dominion to man.
7. God rested.
This is the description of the creation of the physical universe and also is an advance notice of what God intends to do, from the creating of the physical universe to the coming down from the new heaven of God in His tabernacle to dwell among mankind on the new 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
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #56
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)
Dear reader, when you are awakened from your sleep in the dust of the earth, what will be your recompense when you are judged?
Not once in the Gospel accounts, that we are aware, does the Lord Jesus permit or deny entrance into the Kingdom of God to any person on the basis of a theological statement of faith in Christ. The issue always is our conduct in the world.
When Christ exhorts the churches, as described in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, He states repeatedly: "I know thy works."
According to the Gospel accounts and the Book of Revelation, Christ will not refer to anyone's position concerning the virgin birth, anyone's stance regarding a premillennial or postmillennial coming, or anyone's view of the holy Trinity. The great issue of the Kingdom of God is not theological understanding, nor will our understanding or lack of it carry much weight in the Kingdom.
The concern of the Day of the Lord is our behavior. Were we a good, kind, generous person, serving the Lord Jesus faithfully; or were we an evil, treacherous, grasping, selfish individual, walking in self-will and pride? God's requirements for His fellowship with people remain unchanged from the time of Adam and Eve.
The greatest single error in Christian understanding is the belief that the people of today have been exempted from God's standard of behavior because they have professed faith in Christ; that God will accept an assent to the facts of Christ's death and resurrection in place of righteous, holy, and obedient behavior (Ezekiel 18:1-32).
This may prove to be the greatest heresy of all. Is it possible that the churches can understand, before the Day of the Lord, that they are teaching and living that which God never will accept?
To what type of destiny is your behavior leading you? What are you sowing in this life?
If you have never come to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you must do so at once. The individual who rejects the salvation of the cross of Calvary will certainly come face to face with an angry Creator.
If you have been a Christian for a while, ask God today to give you a "report card." Ask Him to let you know in some manner how well you are pleasing Him. Ask the Father to enable you to prepare yourself to enter His royal Presence. Ask Christ to show you what to expect at His judgment seat. He will enable you to make corrections in your behavior now.
It will be too late to make corrections when you are standing before Him in the Day of the Lord.
Let us pray with David:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalms 139:23,24)
God desires to be your God. Would you like to become His son?
You can. You can become a true son of God, an heir of all of the works of God's hands.
You can, if that is what you desire above all else.
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
Dear reader, when you are awakened from your sleep in the dust of the earth, what will be your recompense when you are judged?
Not once in the Gospel accounts, that we are aware, does the Lord Jesus permit or deny entrance into the Kingdom of God to any person on the basis of a theological statement of faith in Christ. The issue always is our conduct in the world.
When Christ exhorts the churches, as described in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, He states repeatedly: "I know thy works."
According to the Gospel accounts and the Book of Revelation, Christ will not refer to anyone's position concerning the virgin birth, anyone's stance regarding a premillennial or postmillennial coming, or anyone's view of the holy Trinity. The great issue of the Kingdom of God is not theological understanding, nor will our understanding or lack of it carry much weight in the Kingdom.
The concern of the Day of the Lord is our behavior. Were we a good, kind, generous person, serving the Lord Jesus faithfully; or were we an evil, treacherous, grasping, selfish individual, walking in self-will and pride? God's requirements for His fellowship with people remain unchanged from the time of Adam and Eve.
The greatest single error in Christian understanding is the belief that the people of today have been exempted from God's standard of behavior because they have professed faith in Christ; that God will accept an assent to the facts of Christ's death and resurrection in place of righteous, holy, and obedient behavior (Ezekiel 18:1-32).
This may prove to be the greatest heresy of all. Is it possible that the churches can understand, before the Day of the Lord, that they are teaching and living that which God never will accept?
To what type of destiny is your behavior leading you? What are you sowing in this life?
If you have never come to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you must do so at once. The individual who rejects the salvation of the cross of Calvary will certainly come face to face with an angry Creator.
If you have been a Christian for a while, ask God today to give you a "report card." Ask Him to let you know in some manner how well you are pleasing Him. Ask the Father to enable you to prepare yourself to enter His royal Presence. Ask Christ to show you what to expect at His judgment seat. He will enable you to make corrections in your behavior now.
It will be too late to make corrections when you are standing before Him in the Day of the Lord.
Let us pray with David:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalms 139:23,24)
God desires to be your God. Would you like to become His son?
You can. You can become a true son of God, an heir of all of the works of God's hands.
You can, if that is what you desire above all else.
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, November 24, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #55
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Receiving the Gospel of Christ does not diminish God's demands on us, it increases God's demands on us. The new covenant does not make fewer demands on us than was true of the old. The new covenant makes far, far greater demands on the worshiper than has been true of any other covenant or relationship of God with people. Never before has it been true that God has required that we set aside our life and follow Him with a perfect heart. Yet this always has been true of those rare individuals, such as Abraham, who somehow gained a true perspective of man's relationship to God.
To whom much is given, of him shall much be required.
The heathen sinner will be beaten with few lashes.
The born-again, Spirit-filled believer who does not take up his or her cross and follow Christ with a pure heart will be beaten with many lashes.
Beaten when, where, with what kind of lashes?
We cannot say at this time. But we know the whipping will take place sometime, somewhere, and it will be painful!
We cannot state for certain the sun will rise in the morning, or if it does, that we will be alive to witness its rising.
But there is one thing we do know.
There is a time coming in the life of every individual when he or she will hear the voice of the Son of God. He will awaken from the dead, and then he will stand before Christ (for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son).
What will it be like when we stand before Christ?
Can you imagine the joy that will flood the face of Christ when He awakens Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Peter, John, Paul, John Wesley?
"Well done!" The bells of Heaven will echo the triumphant cry of praise and congratulations.
But other "believers" will face a wrathful Christ.
"You disobeyed me constantly. Many, many times I urged you to go into the harvest and labor for me. But you found one excuse after another.
"Do you see that multitude of souls waiting over there? They were to be your inheritance. Now I must deal with them in terms of their ignorance. Were it not for your disobedience, there would have come forth fine fruit for my table from among those people-precious souls who would have grown in faith and in the knowledge and love of God.
"You wicked servant! You are not worthy of the Kingdom of God. You took care of yourself on the earth, holding back the wages due to those who labored in your employ. You lived in luxury while others about you perished in spiritual and material poverty. But now many of them are rejoicing in the Kingdom of their Father while your inheritance will be misery and darkness.
"Take him away! Cast him into outer darkness. He will not be allowed to share in My glory."
If you do not tremble at this thought you probably are walking in deception. Your teachers may comfort you with the idea that you are in a dispensation of grace and no harm can come to you. They are deceived-blind leading the blind.
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
Receiving the Gospel of Christ does not diminish God's demands on us, it increases God's demands on us. The new covenant does not make fewer demands on us than was true of the old. The new covenant makes far, far greater demands on the worshiper than has been true of any other covenant or relationship of God with people. Never before has it been true that God has required that we set aside our life and follow Him with a perfect heart. Yet this always has been true of those rare individuals, such as Abraham, who somehow gained a true perspective of man's relationship to God.
To whom much is given, of him shall much be required.
The heathen sinner will be beaten with few lashes.
The born-again, Spirit-filled believer who does not take up his or her cross and follow Christ with a pure heart will be beaten with many lashes.
Beaten when, where, with what kind of lashes?
We cannot say at this time. But we know the whipping will take place sometime, somewhere, and it will be painful!
We cannot state for certain the sun will rise in the morning, or if it does, that we will be alive to witness its rising.
But there is one thing we do know.
There is a time coming in the life of every individual when he or she will hear the voice of the Son of God. He will awaken from the dead, and then he will stand before Christ (for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son).
What will it be like when we stand before Christ?
Can you imagine the joy that will flood the face of Christ when He awakens Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Peter, John, Paul, John Wesley?
"Well done!" The bells of Heaven will echo the triumphant cry of praise and congratulations.
But other "believers" will face a wrathful Christ.
"You disobeyed me constantly. Many, many times I urged you to go into the harvest and labor for me. But you found one excuse after another.
"Do you see that multitude of souls waiting over there? They were to be your inheritance. Now I must deal with them in terms of their ignorance. Were it not for your disobedience, there would have come forth fine fruit for my table from among those people-precious souls who would have grown in faith and in the knowledge and love of God.
"You wicked servant! You are not worthy of the Kingdom of God. You took care of yourself on the earth, holding back the wages due to those who labored in your employ. You lived in luxury while others about you perished in spiritual and material poverty. But now many of them are rejoicing in the Kingdom of their Father while your inheritance will be misery and darkness.
"Take him away! Cast him into outer darkness. He will not be allowed to share in My glory."
If you do not tremble at this thought you probably are walking in deception. Your teachers may comfort you with the idea that you are in a dispensation of grace and no harm can come to you. They are deceived-blind leading the blind.
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, November 23, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #54
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)
He has attained the first resurrection from the dead. When Jesus comes, there is no need for him to be reviewed and evaluated. He has been continuously reviewed and evaluated throughout his lifetime on the earth. He is ready now to be invested with Divine authority and power. The crown of life is his.
But if the individual makes a profession of Christ and is baptized in water, and then turns again to the world, he will be worse off than if he had never started in the way of righteousness. He is as a dog returning to its vomit (II Peter 2:22). He is not abiding in Christ, in eternal life. He is walking in eternal death. The Divine condemnation rests on him as well as on all who are practicing sin, whether or not they make a profession of faith in Christ (Romans 2:6-11).
What would have happened to the young man of the Quonset hut and the flipped-open Bible if he had promptly proceeded to forget God's law; to despise God's commandments; to allow mercy and truth to forsake him? Would the Lord have continued to bless him and then have received him into glory? Not if the Apostle Paul has written the truth of God!
God will chasten the sinning Christian and work with him. Trouble will come on him. If he repents, Christ will lead him toward growth in the Spirit. But if he rebels against the Spirit of God, choosing instead to pursue the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life, he will be cut out of the vine (John 15:2).
Most Christian people appear to be somewhere in between the two extremes. They are not living as hundredfold overcomers; neither are they walking totally in the flesh and disobeying God in every area of their lives. They are lukewarm and will receive the reward of lukewarmness.
What the majority of believers must understand is that we will be judged according to our conduct in the world. The reality of judgment and rewards should cause us to think seriously of the quality of our Christian walk.
The wrath of God hovers over the nations of the earth in the present hour. The righteous scarcely will be saved in the days to come. All of us need to repent, confess our sins, and turn again to the Lord.
God's grace in Christ is not primarily a ticket to Heaven, although it may function that way in the case of a last-minute, deathbed repentance and confession of faith.
Rather, God's grace in Christ is our opportunity to escape the authority and power of sin and to choose to serve righteousness; to press vigorously into the Kingdom of God, into the doing of God's will in the earth as it is in Heaven. Being a saint requires all of our strength and attention, not just a token service while the main interests and efforts of our life are elsewhere.
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
He has attained the first resurrection from the dead. When Jesus comes, there is no need for him to be reviewed and evaluated. He has been continuously reviewed and evaluated throughout his lifetime on the earth. He is ready now to be invested with Divine authority and power. The crown of life is his.
But if the individual makes a profession of Christ and is baptized in water, and then turns again to the world, he will be worse off than if he had never started in the way of righteousness. He is as a dog returning to its vomit (II Peter 2:22). He is not abiding in Christ, in eternal life. He is walking in eternal death. The Divine condemnation rests on him as well as on all who are practicing sin, whether or not they make a profession of faith in Christ (Romans 2:6-11).
What would have happened to the young man of the Quonset hut and the flipped-open Bible if he had promptly proceeded to forget God's law; to despise God's commandments; to allow mercy and truth to forsake him? Would the Lord have continued to bless him and then have received him into glory? Not if the Apostle Paul has written the truth of God!
God will chasten the sinning Christian and work with him. Trouble will come on him. If he repents, Christ will lead him toward growth in the Spirit. But if he rebels against the Spirit of God, choosing instead to pursue the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life, he will be cut out of the vine (John 15:2).
Most Christian people appear to be somewhere in between the two extremes. They are not living as hundredfold overcomers; neither are they walking totally in the flesh and disobeying God in every area of their lives. They are lukewarm and will receive the reward of lukewarmness.
What the majority of believers must understand is that we will be judged according to our conduct in the world. The reality of judgment and rewards should cause us to think seriously of the quality of our Christian walk.
The wrath of God hovers over the nations of the earth in the present hour. The righteous scarcely will be saved in the days to come. All of us need to repent, confess our sins, and turn again to the Lord.
God's grace in Christ is not primarily a ticket to Heaven, although it may function that way in the case of a last-minute, deathbed repentance and confession of faith.
Rather, God's grace in Christ is our opportunity to escape the authority and power of sin and to choose to serve righteousness; to press vigorously into the Kingdom of God, into the doing of God's will in the earth as it is in Heaven. Being a saint requires all of our strength and attention, not just a token service while the main interests and efforts of our life are elsewhere.
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, November 22, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #53
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8)
The preaching of today is that the Lord Jesus came to deliver us from Hell. There is not one passage of Scripture to support this preaching.
The Lord Jesus did not come to deliver us from Hell. He came to deliver us from sin. If we will seek victory over sin through the Lord Jesus we do not have to worry about Hell. But if we persist in our sinning we will inherit Hell, whether or not we are a Christian, because Hell is God's prison where He incarcerates the wicked. We have not borne the fruit of righteousness and so we shall be cut out of the Vine, out of Christ.
In many instances people today are not seeking to be delivered from sin but from the consequences of sin.
The demons cried out that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Does their "faith" save them?
The "damsel possessed with a spirit of divination" proclaimed, "These men are the servants of the most high God, that show unto us the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). Did her "faith" save her?
If we are a child of Hell it is manifest, whether or not we profess to be saved by Christ.
The Pharisees of Jesus' day lived by the Law of Moses, the man of God. But it was Satan, not Moses, who was their father. It is our actions, not our beliefs, that truly reveal the kingdom to which we belong.
"But," some will question, "isn't it a fact that when we receive Christ we pass from death to life? Isn't it scriptural that there is no condemnation on those who are in Christ?"
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
Let us consider once again what Jesus means by this statement, for it is used as the cornerstone of Christian theology.
Christ Himself Is the Resurrection and the eternal Life.
When any human being "hears" in his spirit the Word of Christ, he comes to life, just as happened to the young man in the Quonset hut. Christ forgives all of his sins. He has passed from spiritual death to spiritual life. There is no condemnation resting on him.
At this point he makes a choice.
Either he begins to walk in this new resurrection life that has been given to him, or else he continues to live as he always has, trusting that when he dies he will go to a place of joy rather than to a place of grief.
If he keeps on walking "in the Lord," being taught each day by the Holy Spirit, feeding on Christ, obeying the elders, reading the Scriptures, obeying the Father, he will pass from death to life; death to life; death to life; until finally there is nothing left in his personality that is not of God. He has become a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new and all things are 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 preaching of today is that the Lord Jesus came to deliver us from Hell. There is not one passage of Scripture to support this preaching.
The Lord Jesus did not come to deliver us from Hell. He came to deliver us from sin. If we will seek victory over sin through the Lord Jesus we do not have to worry about Hell. But if we persist in our sinning we will inherit Hell, whether or not we are a Christian, because Hell is God's prison where He incarcerates the wicked. We have not borne the fruit of righteousness and so we shall be cut out of the Vine, out of Christ.
In many instances people today are not seeking to be delivered from sin but from the consequences of sin.
The demons cried out that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Does their "faith" save them?
The "damsel possessed with a spirit of divination" proclaimed, "These men are the servants of the most high God, that show unto us the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). Did her "faith" save her?
If we are a child of Hell it is manifest, whether or not we profess to be saved by Christ.
The Pharisees of Jesus' day lived by the Law of Moses, the man of God. But it was Satan, not Moses, who was their father. It is our actions, not our beliefs, that truly reveal the kingdom to which we belong.
"But," some will question, "isn't it a fact that when we receive Christ we pass from death to life? Isn't it scriptural that there is no condemnation on those who are in Christ?"
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
Let us consider once again what Jesus means by this statement, for it is used as the cornerstone of Christian theology.
Christ Himself Is the Resurrection and the eternal Life.
When any human being "hears" in his spirit the Word of Christ, he comes to life, just as happened to the young man in the Quonset hut. Christ forgives all of his sins. He has passed from spiritual death to spiritual life. There is no condemnation resting on him.
At this point he makes a choice.
Either he begins to walk in this new resurrection life that has been given to him, or else he continues to live as he always has, trusting that when he dies he will go to a place of joy rather than to a place of grief.
If he keeps on walking "in the Lord," being taught each day by the Holy Spirit, feeding on Christ, obeying the elders, reading the Scriptures, obeying the Father, he will pass from death to life; death to life; death to life; until finally there is nothing left in his personality that is not of God. He has become a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new and all things are 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
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #52
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)
How could a person, in the face of such love and glory, accept the grand Divine pardon and then live unto himself, trusting that God in His mercy will overlook his continued insincerity and disobedience?
Should we not lay aside all else and press forward in Christ so we might grasp that for which Christ has grasped us?
Many times people ask us, "Will I be saved anyway even though I fail God?"
We can understand that an individual would seek the assurance that even though he is weak, God will deal with his shortcomings and save him from his sin and rebellion. The Scriptures teach us that God will work tirelessly to strengthen the bruised reed and renew the smoking flax. The Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings.
God will deliver those who seek Him diligently.
But another type of individual is asking if he will be saved whether or not he chooses to serve God in the world, or if it is possible for a person having once been a Christian to end up being lost to the Kingdom of God.
This inquirer is seeking to make a deal with God. He is attempting to determine if he can love the world and still not be cast into Hell. He wants to live like the world but not suffer the fate of the world. He wants to have fellowship with Satan, to worship Satan, to do the works of Satan, but not suffer Satan's punishment.
He does not love God. There is little of the love of God in him. He loves the world and the things of the world. He is an enemy of God.
He has been taught that if he will acknowledge (as the demons acknowledge) that Christ has been raised from the dead, he will be saved and cannot be lost in the Day of the Lord. He makes the Word of God of none effect by his traditions.
Neither he nor the demons will be saved in the Day of Christ.
He does not love God, Heaven, or the saints. He loves and practices sin. He loves the ways of Satan. He is a child of Hell, not a child of Heaven.
He desires to know if he will go to Heaven when he dies, even though he lives his life on earth according to the ways of Hell.
If the truth be known, he does not really care what God's attitude is toward him, if he is pleasing God or is not pleasing God. His only concern is that he will not be punished.
There are many preachers and teachers who will assure him he is saved by his "faith" in Christ and can never be lost.
We are lifting up our voice in warning: This individual and the multitude of professing Christians whom he represents are lost. They are not saved. They love the things of Hell and are filled with the spirit of Hell. Will their profession of "faith" save them?
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
How could a person, in the face of such love and glory, accept the grand Divine pardon and then live unto himself, trusting that God in His mercy will overlook his continued insincerity and disobedience?
Should we not lay aside all else and press forward in Christ so we might grasp that for which Christ has grasped us?
Many times people ask us, "Will I be saved anyway even though I fail God?"
We can understand that an individual would seek the assurance that even though he is weak, God will deal with his shortcomings and save him from his sin and rebellion. The Scriptures teach us that God will work tirelessly to strengthen the bruised reed and renew the smoking flax. The Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings.
God will deliver those who seek Him diligently.
But another type of individual is asking if he will be saved whether or not he chooses to serve God in the world, or if it is possible for a person having once been a Christian to end up being lost to the Kingdom of God.
This inquirer is seeking to make a deal with God. He is attempting to determine if he can love the world and still not be cast into Hell. He wants to live like the world but not suffer the fate of the world. He wants to have fellowship with Satan, to worship Satan, to do the works of Satan, but not suffer Satan's punishment.
He does not love God. There is little of the love of God in him. He loves the world and the things of the world. He is an enemy of God.
He has been taught that if he will acknowledge (as the demons acknowledge) that Christ has been raised from the dead, he will be saved and cannot be lost in the Day of the Lord. He makes the Word of God of none effect by his traditions.
Neither he nor the demons will be saved in the Day of Christ.
He does not love God, Heaven, or the saints. He loves and practices sin. He loves the ways of Satan. He is a child of Hell, not a child of Heaven.
He desires to know if he will go to Heaven when he dies, even though he lives his life on earth according to the ways of Hell.
If the truth be known, he does not really care what God's attitude is toward him, if he is pleasing God or is not pleasing God. His only concern is that he will not be punished.
There are many preachers and teachers who will assure him he is saved by his "faith" in Christ and can never be lost.
We are lifting up our voice in warning: This individual and the multitude of professing Christians whom he represents are lost. They are not saved. They love the things of Hell and are filled with the spirit of Hell. Will their profession of "faith" save them?
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, November 20, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #51
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:28)
A number of years ago, during World War II, a young man serving in the armed forces was seeking the meaning of life. He had been raised in a home in which the parents did not know the Lord, although they were good to him and did what they could for him.
While in the military service he met some men who had been taught the way of salvation. They explained the Gospel of Christ to him. The Holy Spirit was working, and one night the seeker found himself in a church service being held on the base.
The chaplain was teaching: "And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you will be my people, and I will be your God."
At this point the Holy Spirit came on the young man. The love of God filled him. It sounded to him as though God were saying, "I greatly desire to be your God, if you are willing to be My people."
He exclaimed half aloud, "Did God say that?"
It seemed to him this was the reverse of what it should be. We humans should be the ones asking God if He would consent to be our God, not God asking us if we would be His people. The love being expressed by his Creator touched him deeply.
After the service he walked from the Quonset hut. The stars shone more brightly than ever before. The night air was alive with a new Spirit. He had been born again by the Word of God.
Two or three weeks later, feeling a need to hear directly from this God who expressed such love, he tried something that he does not advocate today because it could lead to a superstitious approach to the study of the Scriptures.
He asked, "O God, speak to me."
Then he flipped open the Bible at random and put his finger down blindly.
Under his finger were the words:
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them on the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:1-4)
The truth burned into him as though God were talking directly to him: "My son, forget not My law; but let thine heart keep my commandments."
Obedience to His Word is all that God requires of any of us. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us His Kingdom. If we will obey Him, He will be our God.
How wonderful that God should be our God! How wonderful that we should become a son of God, that God should become our Father!
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
A number of years ago, during World War II, a young man serving in the armed forces was seeking the meaning of life. He had been raised in a home in which the parents did not know the Lord, although they were good to him and did what they could for him.
While in the military service he met some men who had been taught the way of salvation. They explained the Gospel of Christ to him. The Holy Spirit was working, and one night the seeker found himself in a church service being held on the base.
The chaplain was teaching: "And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you will be my people, and I will be your God."
At this point the Holy Spirit came on the young man. The love of God filled him. It sounded to him as though God were saying, "I greatly desire to be your God, if you are willing to be My people."
He exclaimed half aloud, "Did God say that?"
It seemed to him this was the reverse of what it should be. We humans should be the ones asking God if He would consent to be our God, not God asking us if we would be His people. The love being expressed by his Creator touched him deeply.
After the service he walked from the Quonset hut. The stars shone more brightly than ever before. The night air was alive with a new Spirit. He had been born again by the Word of God.
Two or three weeks later, feeling a need to hear directly from this God who expressed such love, he tried something that he does not advocate today because it could lead to a superstitious approach to the study of the Scriptures.
He asked, "O God, speak to me."
Then he flipped open the Bible at random and put his finger down blindly.
Under his finger were the words:
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them on the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:1-4)
The truth burned into him as though God were talking directly to him: "My son, forget not My law; but let thine heart keep my commandments."
Obedience to His Word is all that God requires of any of us. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us His Kingdom. If we will obey Him, He will be our God.
How wonderful that God should be our God! How wonderful that we should become a son of God, that God should become our Father!
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, November 19, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #50
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. (Luke 19:41,42)
Jesus wept concerning what could have been true had Jerusalem been willing and obedient. The Jews missed the day of their visitation. Let us make sure that we as individuals do not miss the day of our visitation!
The Kingdom of God is at hand. The lovers of God are pressing into it. The crowns of glory are at stake.
Multitudes of "Christians" are determined to enjoy the present world, believing they will go to Paradise when they die if they make a profession of belief in Jesus. They do not understand the program or purpose of the Gospel.
Among the multitudes of Christian believers there is a handful of saints who are pressing into the Kingdom of God. They are gaining eternal life and authority under God. They are being fed by the Lord because they are doing His will and completing the tasks they have been assigned. They have been chosen, therefore, to be close to Him throughout eternity.
These saints will rule the nations of the earth because the Father and the Son are ruling them from the core of their personality. They behave righteously and will be empowered further to live righteously throughout the ages to come.
They will not be deceived by Antichrist because they are being kept by the indwelling power of Christ. They have guarded carefully the Word of Christ; now the Word of Christ is guarding them carefully.
They are being created an integral part of the Divine Godhead (John 17:21) and the name of God is being inscribed on them.
They reign over all things from the throne of Christ, which is in Heaven and in them at the same time.
To inherit all things (21:7).
Those who, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, overcome the world, Satan, and their own bodily lusts and soulish self-will, shall inherit all that God is, all that God has done and will do. Theirs is an inconceivable, incomprehensible, unimaginable inheritance that stretches far, far beyond our mind's ability to grasp. The life we are living now on the earth is our one opportunity to attain exceedingly great glory.
Those who do not choose to make the effort to overcome the world will not attain the glorious inheritance of the conquerors. The New Testament writings say little about the non-overcomers, except that they are in danger of suffering eternal loss.
Our relationship to God Almighty is the most important part of our inheritance as sons of God.
To have God be one's God, and to be God's son (21:7).
God is the God of the conqueror. He is delighted to be the God of the conqueror.
God is not the God of the covetous Christian. His money is his god.
God is not the God of the lusting Christian. His flesh is his god.
God is not the God of the lying Christian. Satan is his god.
God is not the God of the self-seeking Christian. He himself is his own god.
God is the God of the overcomer.
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
Jesus wept concerning what could have been true had Jerusalem been willing and obedient. The Jews missed the day of their visitation. Let us make sure that we as individuals do not miss the day of our visitation!
The Kingdom of God is at hand. The lovers of God are pressing into it. The crowns of glory are at stake.
Multitudes of "Christians" are determined to enjoy the present world, believing they will go to Paradise when they die if they make a profession of belief in Jesus. They do not understand the program or purpose of the Gospel.
Among the multitudes of Christian believers there is a handful of saints who are pressing into the Kingdom of God. They are gaining eternal life and authority under God. They are being fed by the Lord because they are doing His will and completing the tasks they have been assigned. They have been chosen, therefore, to be close to Him throughout eternity.
These saints will rule the nations of the earth because the Father and the Son are ruling them from the core of their personality. They behave righteously and will be empowered further to live righteously throughout the ages to come.
They will not be deceived by Antichrist because they are being kept by the indwelling power of Christ. They have guarded carefully the Word of Christ; now the Word of Christ is guarding them carefully.
They are being created an integral part of the Divine Godhead (John 17:21) and the name of God is being inscribed on them.
They reign over all things from the throne of Christ, which is in Heaven and in them at the same time.
To inherit all things (21:7).
Those who, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, overcome the world, Satan, and their own bodily lusts and soulish self-will, shall inherit all that God is, all that God has done and will do. Theirs is an inconceivable, incomprehensible, unimaginable inheritance that stretches far, far beyond our mind's ability to grasp. The life we are living now on the earth is our one opportunity to attain exceedingly great glory.
Those who do not choose to make the effort to overcome the world will not attain the glorious inheritance of the conquerors. The New Testament writings say little about the non-overcomers, except that they are in danger of suffering eternal loss.
Our relationship to God Almighty is the most important part of our inheritance as sons of God.
To have God be one's God, and to be God's son (21:7).
God is the God of the conqueror. He is delighted to be the God of the conqueror.
God is not the God of the covetous Christian. His money is his god.
God is not the God of the lusting Christian. His flesh is his god.
God is not the God of the lying Christian. Satan is his god.
God is not the God of the self-seeking Christian. He himself is his own god.
God is the God of the overcomer.
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, November 18, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #49
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (I John 2:17)
God loves all people because He is their Creator. God loves the members of His Church.
But God's eye especially is on His sons who, through the grace of Christ, are beginning to bring the rule of God into the material creation.
God blesses diligence, faith, and courage. Those who are performing His will are greatly blessed and helped by the Lord. He is with them to reward them and to guide them into ever greater victories.
The conquerors will be rewarded to an incomprehensible extent for they are performing the Lord's will. They are moving the creation toward righteousness.
But the weak believers, who often are overcome by the pressures and problems of the world, may not be entering God's program.
Some of those who appear to be defeated are strong saints who are passing through fiery trials. They will emerge stronger than ever. God will bring them forth when they have been formed to His satisfaction. Others who are being overcome may be physically, mentally, or emotionally handicapped in some manner. They are to be assisted by the stronger believers. This is pleasing to the Lord.
Still others who are faltering are lukewarm, deluded Christians. They are trusting and hoping God will save them in the Day of Wrath for Jesus' sake, and also that they suddenly will be transformed into divinely ordained kings and priests and will inherit the fullness of the inheritance of the sons of God.
Of this group, many are dangerously close to the fire. If we as a "Christian" continue to love the ways of Satan we will be cast into Hell. We may disobey God until we are lost to the Presence of our Creator for eternity. Consider the life and fate of Judas Iscariot, who was chosen to be one of the twelve disciples of the Lord!
God knows those who are weak but who love Him sincerely. He will send help to them so they may become stronger in the Lord. But every individual who hopes to be a part of Christ in that Day must seek the Lord with all of his heart. Christ is strict with us concerning the use of the talents given to us.
The weak, wavering believers are not as yet part of the solution to the problem of causing God's will to be done in the earth as it is in Heaven. The weak still are part of the problem. As was true of Lot, they are in one predicament after another. The stronger saints must help them at every turn (II Timothy 2:25; Jude 23).
God may save many of the weak in the Day of Christ. But they may be punished severely for their laziness and disobedience; they may be stripped of every reward.
How often the Kingdom of God would have made great advances in the earth, only to be slowed to a halt by the slothfulness and unbelief of the "believers" in Christ. God is fully aware of the details of each such incident. All will be brought forth; all will be made manifest in the Day of the Lord.
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
God loves all people because He is their Creator. God loves the members of His Church.
But God's eye especially is on His sons who, through the grace of Christ, are beginning to bring the rule of God into the material creation.
God blesses diligence, faith, and courage. Those who are performing His will are greatly blessed and helped by the Lord. He is with them to reward them and to guide them into ever greater victories.
The conquerors will be rewarded to an incomprehensible extent for they are performing the Lord's will. They are moving the creation toward righteousness.
But the weak believers, who often are overcome by the pressures and problems of the world, may not be entering God's program.
Some of those who appear to be defeated are strong saints who are passing through fiery trials. They will emerge stronger than ever. God will bring them forth when they have been formed to His satisfaction. Others who are being overcome may be physically, mentally, or emotionally handicapped in some manner. They are to be assisted by the stronger believers. This is pleasing to the Lord.
Still others who are faltering are lukewarm, deluded Christians. They are trusting and hoping God will save them in the Day of Wrath for Jesus' sake, and also that they suddenly will be transformed into divinely ordained kings and priests and will inherit the fullness of the inheritance of the sons of God.
Of this group, many are dangerously close to the fire. If we as a "Christian" continue to love the ways of Satan we will be cast into Hell. We may disobey God until we are lost to the Presence of our Creator for eternity. Consider the life and fate of Judas Iscariot, who was chosen to be one of the twelve disciples of the Lord!
God knows those who are weak but who love Him sincerely. He will send help to them so they may become stronger in the Lord. But every individual who hopes to be a part of Christ in that Day must seek the Lord with all of his heart. Christ is strict with us concerning the use of the talents given to us.
The weak, wavering believers are not as yet part of the solution to the problem of causing God's will to be done in the earth as it is in Heaven. The weak still are part of the problem. As was true of Lot, they are in one predicament after another. The stronger saints must help them at every turn (II Timothy 2:25; Jude 23).
God may save many of the weak in the Day of Christ. But they may be punished severely for their laziness and disobedience; they may be stripped of every reward.
How often the Kingdom of God would have made great advances in the earth, only to be slowed to a halt by the slothfulness and unbelief of the "believers" in Christ. God is fully aware of the details of each such incident. All will be brought forth; all will be made manifest in the Day of the Lord.
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, November 17, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #48
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)
What happens when we receive Christ as our personal Lord and Savior? Our sins are forgiven. Our spirit is joined to the Holy Spirit. Christ, the King of the Kingdom of God, is born in us.
But our physical body, that which is of the outward material creation, remains dead, cut off from God, because of the sin that still resides in it.
Salvation already has begun in our inward spiritual nature. But we stated that the outward form of the Kingdom of God is the material creation while the inward life of the Kingdom of God is the Spirit of Holiness, the eternal Spirit of God.
If Christ is in us our spiritual nature is alive because it has been joined to the Holy Spirit of God through the atoning authority of the blood of Christ. The Kingdom of God now is in us and we are citizens of that Kingdom.
But the outward form of the Kingdom of God, which is our body and the material environment of our body, still is dead because of the sin that is in it. It is cut off from the Presence and Life of God.
To enter the Kingdom of God is to begin to bring the rule of the Holy Spirit, which has been formed in our inward nature, into our physical body, and then into the spiritual and material environment of our body, that is, into the peoples of the earth and the earth itself. "Thy will be done in earth." It is as straightforward as that.
If we adopt the attitude that the Christian salvation is a blanket pardon of our sinful state so when we die physically we will be permitted to make Heaven our eternal home, we will not make the effort to enter the Kingdom of God. We will not work with Jesus and the saints in bringing the rule of God into the earth.
We will miss the Glory of God if we take that attitude. The sinning, disobedient, unclean Christian is not entering the Kingdom of God and has no part in the Kingdom of God. He does not possess a righteous inward nature that he can bring into his physical body. He is wasting the opportunity that God has given to him to bring the rule of God into the earth.
When we understand that the redemption of the material creation is one of the principal goals of the Christian salvation, our outlook and behavior will be transformed. Each day of our pilgrimage will become a new opportunity to enter the Kingdom of God.
Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we will lay aside the demands of the world and our flesh and begin to seek the power of God so we can govern our behavior. Then we will be able to bring the will of God into our immediate surroundings.
Our part is to pray, use the faith that God gives us, and act, speak, and think in the will of God. Christ's part is to send from Heaven all the wisdom and power we need to overthrow the rule of darkness and to install the rule of God in the material realm.
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
What happens when we receive Christ as our personal Lord and Savior? Our sins are forgiven. Our spirit is joined to the Holy Spirit. Christ, the King of the Kingdom of God, is born in us.
But our physical body, that which is of the outward material creation, remains dead, cut off from God, because of the sin that still resides in it.
Salvation already has begun in our inward spiritual nature. But we stated that the outward form of the Kingdom of God is the material creation while the inward life of the Kingdom of God is the Spirit of Holiness, the eternal Spirit of God.
If Christ is in us our spiritual nature is alive because it has been joined to the Holy Spirit of God through the atoning authority of the blood of Christ. The Kingdom of God now is in us and we are citizens of that Kingdom.
But the outward form of the Kingdom of God, which is our body and the material environment of our body, still is dead because of the sin that is in it. It is cut off from the Presence and Life of God.
To enter the Kingdom of God is to begin to bring the rule of the Holy Spirit, which has been formed in our inward nature, into our physical body, and then into the spiritual and material environment of our body, that is, into the peoples of the earth and the earth itself. "Thy will be done in earth." It is as straightforward as that.
If we adopt the attitude that the Christian salvation is a blanket pardon of our sinful state so when we die physically we will be permitted to make Heaven our eternal home, we will not make the effort to enter the Kingdom of God. We will not work with Jesus and the saints in bringing the rule of God into the earth.
We will miss the Glory of God if we take that attitude. The sinning, disobedient, unclean Christian is not entering the Kingdom of God and has no part in the Kingdom of God. He does not possess a righteous inward nature that he can bring into his physical body. He is wasting the opportunity that God has given to him to bring the rule of God into the earth.
When we understand that the redemption of the material creation is one of the principal goals of the Christian salvation, our outlook and behavior will be transformed. Each day of our pilgrimage will become a new opportunity to enter the Kingdom of God.
Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we will lay aside the demands of the world and our flesh and begin to seek the power of God so we can govern our behavior. Then we will be able to bring the will of God into our immediate surroundings.
Our part is to pray, use the faith that God gives us, and act, speak, and think in the will of God. Christ's part is to send from Heaven all the wisdom and power we need to overthrow the rule of darkness and to install the rule of God in the material realm.
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, November 16, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #47
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (Revelation 22:11)
Are you content to be joined eternally with those who behave as you do? Are you content to be clothed in the Day of Christ with the garments you have woven by your conduct in this life?
Some visionaries have suggested that there are various levels of Hell and various levels of Paradise. There may be depths of Hell where the vicious, hardened souls are kept, consigned like chained animals to the flames that give no light; and perhaps there are realms of darkness that are not as severe in their environment.
In like manner, the visionary saints inform us that there are many levels in Heaven, and that souls of like spiritual attainment are grouped together in families. Those who would temporarily visit a higher level of Heaven must shield their eyes, and those who would descend must partially cover their glory.
Perhaps this is true, because even on earth we enjoy associating with those of like spiritual development. But do we desire to be with our chosen companions for eternity? That is the question we must ask ourselves.
One of the governing principles of the Kingdom of God is that we reap what we sow. If we sow wheat we reap wheat. If we sow tares we reap tares. If we sow to the Spirit of life we reap life. If we sow to our corrupt flesh we reap corruption.
God is perfectly righteous and cannot be mocked: we will reap what we are sowing.
Christian grace is not pointed toward changing what we reap but what we sow.
God's net brings in such extremes! There was Enoch whose faith pleased God to such an extent God took him. And then there was the man who came to the wedding without being dressed properly. (How did he enter in among the guests?) The King commanded that he be bound and cast into outer darkness (Matthew 22:13).
Is this man a type of the Christian who does not practice righteous conduct? If not, of whom then is he a portrayal?
The prevailing concept of judgment and rewards is incomplete at best, dangerously misleading at worst. No doubt our own concept of judgment and rewards proceeds from our perception of what the Christian salvation is.
Is the Christian salvation a blanket pardon of our sinful state so when we die physically we will be permitted to make Heaven, the spirit Paradise, our eternal home? Is that what our salvation means?
Or does the Christian salvation include the redemption of the material creation (Romans 8:21)?
The outward form of the Kingdom of God is the material creation with which we are familiar. The inward life of the Kingdom of God is the eternal, incorruptible Spirit of Holiness-the Spirit of God.
What is true today? The material creation is dead-cut off from the Life of God in Christ. The outward material form of the Kingdom of God is being governed and driven by wicked spirits who are in rebellion against 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
Are you content to be joined eternally with those who behave as you do? Are you content to be clothed in the Day of Christ with the garments you have woven by your conduct in this life?
Some visionaries have suggested that there are various levels of Hell and various levels of Paradise. There may be depths of Hell where the vicious, hardened souls are kept, consigned like chained animals to the flames that give no light; and perhaps there are realms of darkness that are not as severe in their environment.
In like manner, the visionary saints inform us that there are many levels in Heaven, and that souls of like spiritual attainment are grouped together in families. Those who would temporarily visit a higher level of Heaven must shield their eyes, and those who would descend must partially cover their glory.
Perhaps this is true, because even on earth we enjoy associating with those of like spiritual development. But do we desire to be with our chosen companions for eternity? That is the question we must ask ourselves.
One of the governing principles of the Kingdom of God is that we reap what we sow. If we sow wheat we reap wheat. If we sow tares we reap tares. If we sow to the Spirit of life we reap life. If we sow to our corrupt flesh we reap corruption.
God is perfectly righteous and cannot be mocked: we will reap what we are sowing.
Christian grace is not pointed toward changing what we reap but what we sow.
God's net brings in such extremes! There was Enoch whose faith pleased God to such an extent God took him. And then there was the man who came to the wedding without being dressed properly. (How did he enter in among the guests?) The King commanded that he be bound and cast into outer darkness (Matthew 22:13).
Is this man a type of the Christian who does not practice righteous conduct? If not, of whom then is he a portrayal?
The prevailing concept of judgment and rewards is incomplete at best, dangerously misleading at worst. No doubt our own concept of judgment and rewards proceeds from our perception of what the Christian salvation is.
Is the Christian salvation a blanket pardon of our sinful state so when we die physically we will be permitted to make Heaven, the spirit Paradise, our eternal home? Is that what our salvation means?
Or does the Christian salvation include the redemption of the material creation (Romans 8:21)?
The outward form of the Kingdom of God is the material creation with which we are familiar. The inward life of the Kingdom of God is the eternal, incorruptible Spirit of Holiness-the Spirit of God.
What is true today? The material creation is dead-cut off from the Life of God in Christ. The outward material form of the Kingdom of God is being governed and driven by wicked spirits who are in rebellion against 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, November 15, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #46
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)
Is this what you truly desire? Would you care to live in a world in which there is no sin of any kind? Not even one tiny sin? Not even your tiny sin and disobedience to the Father?
If an uncompromising Yes! roars from the depths of your personality, then join the ranks of God's conquerors. He has placed His Spirit of Holiness eternally in you. Let your faith be strong. You are moving toward complete and perfect victory in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If, however, a timid and fearful Maybe proceeds from your heart, then you need to ask God for faith. The timid and fearful cannot possibly enter the new Jerusalem.
You are the one who will decide. Satan has no power to overcome you if you choose to serve the Lord. In order to conquer a Christian, Satan must persuade him to believe a lie. Satan must successfully deceive him in one way or another.
In order to overcome a saint, Satan must enlist the saint's cooperation, either by lust, or pride, or an incorrect understanding of the written Word, or in some other manner that prevents the believer from choosing to conquer in Jesus' name.
People can be healed from sickness in Jesus' name if they will put their trust in Christ and obey Him. People can be healed from sin in Jesus' name if they will put their trust in Christ and obey Him.
Both sickness and sin are works of the devil, although sometimes God uses sickness in order to accomplish His purposes in us. It is not a sin to be sick.
We can conquer sin if we will follow Christ. We can be established in righteousness if we will read what God has written to us and then mix faith with that holy Word.
We can gain the upper hand over the works of the devil.
We can conquer.
The purpose of this essay is to explain the judgment and rewards that result from our behavior after we are saved.
We know from the Scriptures that some believers will reap Christ a hundredfold; others, sixtyfold; others, thirtyfold.
Since we know of no Scripture to the contrary, it seems likely that physical death does not change what we are. When we awaken to the spirit realm, after physical death, we essentially are the same personality.
Since God does not like mixtures (Leviticus 19:19), it no doubt is true that the holy will be with the holy; the filthy will be with the filthy; the lukewarm will be with the lukewarm.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (Revelation 22:11)
It may prove to be true that the Lord's "mighty men" are with others of their rank. How equitable this would be. How glorious for the saints! But how dreadfully threatening to the family member who always has relied on the saint of the family to yank him from the flames.
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
Is this what you truly desire? Would you care to live in a world in which there is no sin of any kind? Not even one tiny sin? Not even your tiny sin and disobedience to the Father?
If an uncompromising Yes! roars from the depths of your personality, then join the ranks of God's conquerors. He has placed His Spirit of Holiness eternally in you. Let your faith be strong. You are moving toward complete and perfect victory in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If, however, a timid and fearful Maybe proceeds from your heart, then you need to ask God for faith. The timid and fearful cannot possibly enter the new Jerusalem.
You are the one who will decide. Satan has no power to overcome you if you choose to serve the Lord. In order to conquer a Christian, Satan must persuade him to believe a lie. Satan must successfully deceive him in one way or another.
In order to overcome a saint, Satan must enlist the saint's cooperation, either by lust, or pride, or an incorrect understanding of the written Word, or in some other manner that prevents the believer from choosing to conquer in Jesus' name.
People can be healed from sickness in Jesus' name if they will put their trust in Christ and obey Him. People can be healed from sin in Jesus' name if they will put their trust in Christ and obey Him.
Both sickness and sin are works of the devil, although sometimes God uses sickness in order to accomplish His purposes in us. It is not a sin to be sick.
We can conquer sin if we will follow Christ. We can be established in righteousness if we will read what God has written to us and then mix faith with that holy Word.
We can gain the upper hand over the works of the devil.
We can conquer.
The purpose of this essay is to explain the judgment and rewards that result from our behavior after we are saved.
We know from the Scriptures that some believers will reap Christ a hundredfold; others, sixtyfold; others, thirtyfold.
Since we know of no Scripture to the contrary, it seems likely that physical death does not change what we are. When we awaken to the spirit realm, after physical death, we essentially are the same personality.
Since God does not like mixtures (Leviticus 19:19), it no doubt is true that the holy will be with the holy; the filthy will be with the filthy; the lukewarm will be with the lukewarm.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (Revelation 22:11)
It may prove to be true that the Lord's "mighty men" are with others of their rank. How equitable this would be. How glorious for the saints! But how dreadfully threatening to the family member who always has relied on the saint of the family to yank him from the flames.
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
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #45
Therefore, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:12,13)
Notice how verses twelve and thirteen (above) are in the context of, and have a direct bearing on, the resurrection from the dead (Romans 8:11).
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)
Two forces are resisting each other in our lives. The Holy Spirit and Christ in us are striving to perform the will of the Father. Satan, the world, and our flesh and self-love are striving to perform the will of Satan. This is true in our actions, our words, and our motives and imaginations.
Which force will win, in our case? Which force will overcome, will conquer? Which force will maintain control of our behavior and be displayed in the earth? This is the challenge of the Christian discipleship.
It is not a question of who possesses the greater power. Christ possesses infinitely greater authority and power than is true of Satan.
The question has to do with our faith and truth. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
If we desire to perform God's will while we are on the earth, and if we believe Christ can and will enable us to perform God's will, then we gradually will learn how to conquer our lusts and self-will. Little by little we will gain the upper hand. Through Christ we actually will conquer the sin and death that reside in our flesh and in the world.
The sin and pride in our actions are burned and driven out. The sin and pride in our speech are burned and driven out. The sin and pride in our motives and imaginations are burned and driven out.
We do not conquer sin and self by our own striving, although God expects us to use the strength that we have in choosing to perform His will. But the true and eternal victory comes as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the total destruction of sin and self-seeking from our personality.
The Lord Jesus through the Spirit of God is leading us to victory upon victory. Lust is fleeing before the army of the Lord. Lying is being destroyed. The gossiping tongues are being stopped. Fornication is being speared through by the Word of God.
Self-seeking is being crucified. Satan's personality and works are being crushed, cut in pieces, speared through, denounced and mutilated in every conceivable manner as Christ comes to us in the power of the latter rain.
Through Christ's grace we are conquering. We have chosen to conquer. The written Word states that we can conquer. God is giving us the faith to conquer. We will not cease until all sin of action, all sin of speech, and all sin of thought have been driven out of the earth.
We are looking and hoping for new heavens and a new earth in which dwells righteousness of conduct. Is this what you desire? Then have faith in God. God has determined to destroy the works of the devil, through Christ, not only in the heavens but also 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
Notice how verses twelve and thirteen (above) are in the context of, and have a direct bearing on, the resurrection from the dead (Romans 8:11).
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)
Two forces are resisting each other in our lives. The Holy Spirit and Christ in us are striving to perform the will of the Father. Satan, the world, and our flesh and self-love are striving to perform the will of Satan. This is true in our actions, our words, and our motives and imaginations.
Which force will win, in our case? Which force will overcome, will conquer? Which force will maintain control of our behavior and be displayed in the earth? This is the challenge of the Christian discipleship.
It is not a question of who possesses the greater power. Christ possesses infinitely greater authority and power than is true of Satan.
The question has to do with our faith and truth. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
If we desire to perform God's will while we are on the earth, and if we believe Christ can and will enable us to perform God's will, then we gradually will learn how to conquer our lusts and self-will. Little by little we will gain the upper hand. Through Christ we actually will conquer the sin and death that reside in our flesh and in the world.
The sin and pride in our actions are burned and driven out. The sin and pride in our speech are burned and driven out. The sin and pride in our motives and imaginations are burned and driven out.
We do not conquer sin and self by our own striving, although God expects us to use the strength that we have in choosing to perform His will. But the true and eternal victory comes as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the total destruction of sin and self-seeking from our personality.
The Lord Jesus through the Spirit of God is leading us to victory upon victory. Lust is fleeing before the army of the Lord. Lying is being destroyed. The gossiping tongues are being stopped. Fornication is being speared through by the Word of God.
Self-seeking is being crucified. Satan's personality and works are being crushed, cut in pieces, speared through, denounced and mutilated in every conceivable manner as Christ comes to us in the power of the latter rain.
Through Christ's grace we are conquering. We have chosen to conquer. The written Word states that we can conquer. God is giving us the faith to conquer. We will not cease until all sin of action, all sin of speech, and all sin of thought have been driven out of the earth.
We are looking and hoping for new heavens and a new earth in which dwells righteousness of conduct. Is this what you desire? Then have faith in God. God has determined to destroy the works of the devil, through Christ, not only in the heavens but also 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
Friday, November 13, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #44
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16)
If the rewards described in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation actually are the fruit, the result of the behavior we are practicing today, and are not unrelated "gifts" that will be handed out to all who profess belief in Christ whether or not they learn to live as saints, then it is important that every believer understand what it means to overcome-to conquer according to the guidelines of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation.
The term overcome refers to a struggle. It is a fight between two or more personalities, two opposing forces, two wills. The one that overcomes is the force that manages to impose its will on its adversary.
Basically, two wills are involved in the Christian warfare-God's will and Satan's will. God's will is being performed in Heaven. To a certain extent, and always with Christ's permission, Satan's will is being performed in the earth. The Kingdom of God is the performing of God's will in the earth as it is in Heaven.
The believer chooses whether to agree with God's will or with Satan's will (Romans 6:16).
A person believes in Christ, is baptized in water, and thus becomes a Christian. His sins are pardoned. God hears his prayers. If he should die he will be saved from the claims of Satan and his demons.
Let us assume the individual was saved at the age of twenty and lives to be seventy-five years of age. He acts, speaks, and thinks on the earth for fifty-five years after receiving Christ as his Savior.
How important is it that he act, speak, and think in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God? Is he limited, in the Christian redemption, to being pardoned while the spirit of the world compels him against his will to act, speak, and think in unrighteousness, uncleanness, and disobedience to the God of Heaven?
Does the Lord Jesus Christ save us from our sins or in our sins?
The question is, is it possible through Christ to overcome the world, or are we doomed to failure? Does the New Testament teach that we can conquer sin and disobedience to God, or does it teach that as long as we are in the world sin will have dominion over us?
The New Testament teaches us that the Christian redemption includes pardon from the guilt of sin and also the ability to overcome the power of sin. It warns that if we do not lay hold on the freely given grace of Christ until we conquer our sinning we stand in jeopardy of serious loss in the Kingdom of God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (Romans 6:14,15)
Therefore, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:12,13)
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 the rewards described in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation actually are the fruit, the result of the behavior we are practicing today, and are not unrelated "gifts" that will be handed out to all who profess belief in Christ whether or not they learn to live as saints, then it is important that every believer understand what it means to overcome-to conquer according to the guidelines of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation.
The term overcome refers to a struggle. It is a fight between two or more personalities, two opposing forces, two wills. The one that overcomes is the force that manages to impose its will on its adversary.
Basically, two wills are involved in the Christian warfare-God's will and Satan's will. God's will is being performed in Heaven. To a certain extent, and always with Christ's permission, Satan's will is being performed in the earth. The Kingdom of God is the performing of God's will in the earth as it is in Heaven.
The believer chooses whether to agree with God's will or with Satan's will (Romans 6:16).
A person believes in Christ, is baptized in water, and thus becomes a Christian. His sins are pardoned. God hears his prayers. If he should die he will be saved from the claims of Satan and his demons.
Let us assume the individual was saved at the age of twenty and lives to be seventy-five years of age. He acts, speaks, and thinks on the earth for fifty-five years after receiving Christ as his Savior.
How important is it that he act, speak, and think in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God? Is he limited, in the Christian redemption, to being pardoned while the spirit of the world compels him against his will to act, speak, and think in unrighteousness, uncleanness, and disobedience to the God of Heaven?
Does the Lord Jesus Christ save us from our sins or in our sins?
The question is, is it possible through Christ to overcome the world, or are we doomed to failure? Does the New Testament teach that we can conquer sin and disobedience to God, or does it teach that as long as we are in the world sin will have dominion over us?
The New Testament teaches us that the Christian redemption includes pardon from the guilt of sin and also the ability to overcome the power of sin. It warns that if we do not lay hold on the freely given grace of Christ until we conquer our sinning we stand in jeopardy of serious loss in the Kingdom of God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (Romans 6:14,15)
Therefore, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:12,13)
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, November 12, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #43
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13,14)
By not pursuing the life of victory in Christ we lose most of the benefits we associate traditionally with being saved, with being a Christian. The rewards that ordinarily are associated with being a Christian are not the recompense that results from having our sins forgiven, they are the prizes for running the race of diligent discipleship; they are the results of conquering.
How can we be sure that we indeed will lose the crown of glory if we do not press forward in Christ? It is because the rewards to the overcomer are not some kind of gifts that will be handed out to us as we stand in line in the Day of the Lord. Rather, they are the natural result of our growth in Christ.
The ability to swim is not a gift that is handed out to us as we stand in line. The ability to swim is a skill that we gain after we have been taught, have attempted to put into practice that which we were taught, and have made many mistakes and have overcome our fear of the water.
The Divine pardon is a legal act that is based on our acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary.
The Christian race is a struggle to arrive at life and rulership in and with the Lord Jesus.
The moment we become a Christian by believing on Christ and being baptized in water a door is opened to us. That door leads to the fullness of the possession of God Himself.
Redemption always is an opportunity.
If someone gives us a grand piano he gives us the opportunity to learn to play the music of Bach. He does not give us the ability to play Bach; he provides us with the opportunity to learn to play Bach.
So it is with Christ. When God gives Christ to us He does not give us the full stature of a son of God, an heir of the Kingdom of God. Rather, He provides us with the authority, the opportunity to become a son of God. Also, He gives us the grace to enable us to become His son.
We are pardoned by God the Father when we believe in Christ. Now what do we do? Do we wait until we die so we can escape from the pain of this life and go to live eternally in Heaven? Or do we set out to gain the Kingdom of God, to attain the first resurrection from the dead?
Is our goal to die and go to Paradise? Or is our goal to live in the fullness of the resurrection power of 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 © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
By not pursuing the life of victory in Christ we lose most of the benefits we associate traditionally with being saved, with being a Christian. The rewards that ordinarily are associated with being a Christian are not the recompense that results from having our sins forgiven, they are the prizes for running the race of diligent discipleship; they are the results of conquering.
How can we be sure that we indeed will lose the crown of glory if we do not press forward in Christ? It is because the rewards to the overcomer are not some kind of gifts that will be handed out to us as we stand in line in the Day of the Lord. Rather, they are the natural result of our growth in Christ.
The ability to swim is not a gift that is handed out to us as we stand in line. The ability to swim is a skill that we gain after we have been taught, have attempted to put into practice that which we were taught, and have made many mistakes and have overcome our fear of the water.
The Divine pardon is a legal act that is based on our acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary.
The Christian race is a struggle to arrive at life and rulership in and with the Lord Jesus.
The moment we become a Christian by believing on Christ and being baptized in water a door is opened to us. That door leads to the fullness of the possession of God Himself.
Redemption always is an opportunity.
If someone gives us a grand piano he gives us the opportunity to learn to play the music of Bach. He does not give us the ability to play Bach; he provides us with the opportunity to learn to play Bach.
So it is with Christ. When God gives Christ to us He does not give us the full stature of a son of God, an heir of the Kingdom of God. Rather, He provides us with the authority, the opportunity to become a son of God. Also, He gives us the grace to enable us to become His son.
We are pardoned by God the Father when we believe in Christ. Now what do we do? Do we wait until we die so we can escape from the pain of this life and go to live eternally in Heaven? Or do we set out to gain the Kingdom of God, to attain the first resurrection from the dead?
Is our goal to die and go to Paradise? Or is our goal to live in the fullness of the resurrection power of 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 © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #42
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:5)
What does this mean?
From our point of view it means those who do not attain life and rulership now, in the world, will not live and rule with Christ on earth during the thousand-year period. In no manner are they kings and priests of God.
If it is true that no matter how he lives, every believer will receive the same reward as every other believer, then it is true that the Divine pardon and the prize for Paul's running the race have the same end result.
It follows that it is not truly important, at least in terms of our reward and eternal destiny, whether or not we take up our cross and follow Christ.
It follows also that the rewards to the overcomer, of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, are interesting perhaps, but have no vital relationship to the behavior or faith of the Christian.
If such is the case, then the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, and the author of Jude, are not accurate. Their exhortations and warnings are made of no effect by virtue of the Divine pardon that is pronounced when we recite the four steps of salvation and assent to them.
The Book of Acts does not portray the Apostles of the Lamb preaching any such gospel. The Apostles of Christ never preached or contemplated the Christian beliefs of today. We have overemphasized the doctrine of grace. We have not balanced grace with the need for godly living; and godly living is by far the major theme of the Gospel accounts, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation.
"I will give unto every one of you according to your works," Jesus warned the angel of the church of Thyatira.
"I have not found thy works perfect before God," Jesus advised the "dead" church in Sardis.
Every word of the Scriptures is eternally binding on the conduct of all men, especially the members of the elect. The Scriptures will be standing intact long after the universe as we know it has disappeared from the memory of God's creatures.
Those who live the life of victory in Christ-and only those-will live and reign with Christ throughout the thousand years. Of that we are certain. The non-overcomers, those who do not "win the race," will be raised at the end of the thousand-year period. They will be judged on the basis of the things that were written in the Books, according to their works (Revelation 20:12). Their destinies will be according to the findings of the final judgment.
We will reap that which we have sown while we have pursued the Christian life. The lukewarm believers will be vomited out of the mouth of Christ.
If we are ruling in Christ now we will be assigned to the throne of glory in the Day of the Lord. If we have been found faithful in small tasks we will be given greater responsibilities.
If we have not been found faithful in the small tasks that have been entrusted to us we will be raised to face a stern rebuke (or possibly much worse!) from the Lord Jesus. If this is not true, then the Book of Matthew is not a part of the Word 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
What does this mean?
From our point of view it means those who do not attain life and rulership now, in the world, will not live and rule with Christ on earth during the thousand-year period. In no manner are they kings and priests of God.
If it is true that no matter how he lives, every believer will receive the same reward as every other believer, then it is true that the Divine pardon and the prize for Paul's running the race have the same end result.
It follows that it is not truly important, at least in terms of our reward and eternal destiny, whether or not we take up our cross and follow Christ.
It follows also that the rewards to the overcomer, of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, are interesting perhaps, but have no vital relationship to the behavior or faith of the Christian.
If such is the case, then the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, and the author of Jude, are not accurate. Their exhortations and warnings are made of no effect by virtue of the Divine pardon that is pronounced when we recite the four steps of salvation and assent to them.
The Book of Acts does not portray the Apostles of the Lamb preaching any such gospel. The Apostles of Christ never preached or contemplated the Christian beliefs of today. We have overemphasized the doctrine of grace. We have not balanced grace with the need for godly living; and godly living is by far the major theme of the Gospel accounts, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation.
"I will give unto every one of you according to your works," Jesus warned the angel of the church of Thyatira.
"I have not found thy works perfect before God," Jesus advised the "dead" church in Sardis.
Every word of the Scriptures is eternally binding on the conduct of all men, especially the members of the elect. The Scriptures will be standing intact long after the universe as we know it has disappeared from the memory of God's creatures.
Those who live the life of victory in Christ-and only those-will live and reign with Christ throughout the thousand years. Of that we are certain. The non-overcomers, those who do not "win the race," will be raised at the end of the thousand-year period. They will be judged on the basis of the things that were written in the Books, according to their works (Revelation 20:12). Their destinies will be according to the findings of the final judgment.
We will reap that which we have sown while we have pursued the Christian life. The lukewarm believers will be vomited out of the mouth of Christ.
If we are ruling in Christ now we will be assigned to the throne of glory in the Day of the Lord. If we have been found faithful in small tasks we will be given greater responsibilities.
If we have not been found faithful in the small tasks that have been entrusted to us we will be raised to face a stern rebuke (or possibly much worse!) from the Lord Jesus. If this is not true, then the Book of Matthew is not a part of the Word 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
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #41
Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:2)
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)
Every saint, every diligent disciple, knows how the Lord Jesus deals with each detail of his conduct. As we confess our sins and achieve victory over the flesh and soulish pride, the Lord removes our sin and self-will from us by several Divine means. This is the operation of eternal judgment, and it will be administered to us now if we will cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
We believe it is possible to pass completely through death, spiritual resurrection, and eternal judgment now-in the world. We can enter life and rulership now. In this manner we arrive at the spiritual dimension of the first resurrection from the dead.
We believe further that only those who pass through judgment and spiritual resurrection now will participate in the first resurrection from among the dead, will rise from the dead and ascend to meet the Lord when He comes.
How could it be otherwise? It is not possible that we can be raised from the dead, rise to meet the Lord in the air, be ever with the Lord, and then be judged. The only way in which this could be possible would be if our judgment is a sort of gala awards ceremony in which every believer receives a blessing and is not punished to any significant extent.
If we believe Christ bore all of our punishment on the cross, and by believing in His name we escape punishment, then it is plausible that every believer will be raised from the dead, ascend to meet the Lord, be ever with the Lord, and rejoice throughout the administration of the Judgment Seat of Christ, realizing that no punishment of a serious nature ever will be administered to him. Also, we can sit in the balconies of Heaven in air-conditioned comfort and eat candy while we watch the Jews without the Holy Spirit preach the Gospel in the face of Antichrist. How the Jewish evangelists learned the Gospel without the Holy Spirit is not always made clear.
This error is believed by numerous Gentile Christians and perhaps by some Jewish Christians. It is true that the victorious saints will have boldness in the Day of Judgment. It is not true that the lukewarm, indifferent (to spiritual matters) "believer" of today has a scriptural basis for any such assurance. The prevailing carefree attitude is not supported by II Corinthians 5:10,11 or the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. Neither is it in harmony with the fourth chapter of I Peter, Jude, or the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation.
In fact, the concept that a correct doctrinal position concerning Christ delivers us from reaping what we sow is contrary to the entire Scriptures, especially and emphatically the New Testament-particularly Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
It simply is not true.
If it is not true we can see immediately the danger facing the Christians and their teachers.
It is not possible that a believer can be raised from the dead, ascend to meet the Lord at His coming, be ever with the Lord, be glorified together with Him, and then be judged. It will not happen. We must be judged in advance of the first resurrection. Revelation 20:4-6, the passage that describes the first resurrection, does not mention the books of judgment.
Peter informs us that judgment already has begun in the house of God (I Peter 4:17).
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 by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)
Every saint, every diligent disciple, knows how the Lord Jesus deals with each detail of his conduct. As we confess our sins and achieve victory over the flesh and soulish pride, the Lord removes our sin and self-will from us by several Divine means. This is the operation of eternal judgment, and it will be administered to us now if we will cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
We believe it is possible to pass completely through death, spiritual resurrection, and eternal judgment now-in the world. We can enter life and rulership now. In this manner we arrive at the spiritual dimension of the first resurrection from the dead.
We believe further that only those who pass through judgment and spiritual resurrection now will participate in the first resurrection from among the dead, will rise from the dead and ascend to meet the Lord when He comes.
How could it be otherwise? It is not possible that we can be raised from the dead, rise to meet the Lord in the air, be ever with the Lord, and then be judged. The only way in which this could be possible would be if our judgment is a sort of gala awards ceremony in which every believer receives a blessing and is not punished to any significant extent.
If we believe Christ bore all of our punishment on the cross, and by believing in His name we escape punishment, then it is plausible that every believer will be raised from the dead, ascend to meet the Lord, be ever with the Lord, and rejoice throughout the administration of the Judgment Seat of Christ, realizing that no punishment of a serious nature ever will be administered to him. Also, we can sit in the balconies of Heaven in air-conditioned comfort and eat candy while we watch the Jews without the Holy Spirit preach the Gospel in the face of Antichrist. How the Jewish evangelists learned the Gospel without the Holy Spirit is not always made clear.
This error is believed by numerous Gentile Christians and perhaps by some Jewish Christians. It is true that the victorious saints will have boldness in the Day of Judgment. It is not true that the lukewarm, indifferent (to spiritual matters) "believer" of today has a scriptural basis for any such assurance. The prevailing carefree attitude is not supported by II Corinthians 5:10,11 or the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. Neither is it in harmony with the fourth chapter of I Peter, Jude, or the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation.
In fact, the concept that a correct doctrinal position concerning Christ delivers us from reaping what we sow is contrary to the entire Scriptures, especially and emphatically the New Testament-particularly Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
It simply is not true.
If it is not true we can see immediately the danger facing the Christians and their teachers.
It is not possible that a believer can be raised from the dead, ascend to meet the Lord at His coming, be ever with the Lord, be glorified together with Him, and then be judged. It will not happen. We must be judged in advance of the first resurrection. Revelation 20:4-6, the passage that describes the first resurrection, does not mention the books of judgment.
Peter informs us that judgment already has begun in the house of God (I Peter 4:17).
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, November 09, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #40
To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: (Romans 2:7)
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, that the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)
We attain eternal life only as we are judged worthy of life.
It is as we are tested and proven to be faithful in the testing that we are issued the power of eternal life.
Those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the Beast or the image of the beast, who had refused to receive the Beast's mark on their foreheads or in their hands, will live and reign with Christ. This is the first resurrection.
The concept of the first resurrection is not limited to first in the sense of order; it is first also in the sense of the quality of the resurrection.
It is not only that the bodies of the conquerors are awakened before the bodies of other people, the important aspect is that they will live and reign with Christ. This is the essence of the first resurrection.
We have just finished reviewing many of the rewards that are designated for "him who overcomes." Would you agree with us that if we were to group these rewards they could be summed up as, living and reigning with Christ ?
The victorious saint is attaining the first resurrection because he is learning to live and to rule with Christ.
What, then, is true of the believer who is not overcoming the world but rather is being overcome by the world, by Satan, and by his own bodily appetites and self-will?
Will the defeated, lukewarm believer in Christ be raised from the dead when the last trumpet sounds? This question has been asked several times as the overcoming message has been preached and taught. We have sought the Lord concerning this question.
In the prior edition of this booklet, Judgment and Rewards, we stated our belief that the nonovercoming believer would be raised when the Lord comes but would not enter life and reign with Christ at that time.
We went again to the Lord Jesus and asked for a word from the Scriptures. What seemed to be given to me was the parable of the ten virgins. The simplicity and clarity of the answer convinced me that only those who are prepared will go to meet the Lord when He comes. The remainder of the Christian believers will be raised at the end of the thousand-year period and will be rewarded according to their works, being either saved or lost according to their conduct.
There is no question that the ten virgins, all having lamps (the testimony of Jesus) and oil (the Holy Spirit) represent Christians. They all were "virgins." Yet, five were taken and five remained. The Lord's meaning seems to be clear.
There is another important concept, one that is of interest to the victorious saint. It is that if we are living and reigning with Christ now, in this life, then it is true also that we are passing through Divine judgment now (I Peter 4:5,17).
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
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, that the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)
We attain eternal life only as we are judged worthy of life.
It is as we are tested and proven to be faithful in the testing that we are issued the power of eternal life.
Those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the Beast or the image of the beast, who had refused to receive the Beast's mark on their foreheads or in their hands, will live and reign with Christ. This is the first resurrection.
The concept of the first resurrection is not limited to first in the sense of order; it is first also in the sense of the quality of the resurrection.
It is not only that the bodies of the conquerors are awakened before the bodies of other people, the important aspect is that they will live and reign with Christ. This is the essence of the first resurrection.
We have just finished reviewing many of the rewards that are designated for "him who overcomes." Would you agree with us that if we were to group these rewards they could be summed up as, living and reigning with Christ ?
The victorious saint is attaining the first resurrection because he is learning to live and to rule with Christ.
What, then, is true of the believer who is not overcoming the world but rather is being overcome by the world, by Satan, and by his own bodily appetites and self-will?
Will the defeated, lukewarm believer in Christ be raised from the dead when the last trumpet sounds? This question has been asked several times as the overcoming message has been preached and taught. We have sought the Lord concerning this question.
In the prior edition of this booklet, Judgment and Rewards, we stated our belief that the nonovercoming believer would be raised when the Lord comes but would not enter life and reign with Christ at that time.
We went again to the Lord Jesus and asked for a word from the Scriptures. What seemed to be given to me was the parable of the ten virgins. The simplicity and clarity of the answer convinced me that only those who are prepared will go to meet the Lord when He comes. The remainder of the Christian believers will be raised at the end of the thousand-year period and will be rewarded according to their works, being either saved or lost according to their conduct.
There is no question that the ten virgins, all having lamps (the testimony of Jesus) and oil (the Holy Spirit) represent Christians. They all were "virgins." Yet, five were taken and five remained. The Lord's meaning seems to be clear.
There is another important concept, one that is of interest to the victorious saint. It is that if we are living and reigning with Christ now, in this life, then it is true also that we are passing through Divine judgment now (I Peter 4:5,17).
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
Judgment and Rewards, #39
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (Revelation 3:12)
Christ writes on him who is created a pillar in the Temple of God. Christ writes the Father's name because the victorious saint is the son of the Father and is identified eternally with the Father (Revelation 21:7).
Christ writes "Jerusalem" on the conqueror because he is an eternal part of the Wife of the Lamb. Christ writes His own new name on the faithful Christian because he has become the Bride of Christ. He has been made an integral part of the new creation of God, the Kingdom of God, the making visible of the invisible God. The conqueror belongs eternally to Christ and forever is a part of Christ.
It is one matter to be pardoned. It is another matter to be created a part of the revelation of God to the universe.
All believers are invited to the ranks of the conquerors. What incomprehensible loss we suffer if we sell our inheritance as sons of God for the miserable "treasures" of the present age!
The conqueror, now having been sealed into God Himself for eternity, is established forever with Christ on the throne that rules the creation, the throne that possesses total dominion over all of the works of God's hands.
To sit with Christ in His throne (3:21).
This is the first resurrection from the dead, the complete and perfect fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles.
Notice the statements of the following passage:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and that had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:4,5)
What is the first resurrection from the dead? It is the resurrection of the royal priesthood-that which will take place when the Lord returns from Heaven. The first resurrection is for the victorious saints. It is not the general resurrection of salvation.
To participate in the first resurrection from the dead is to live and reign with Christ.
The Scriptures teach that the order is as follows: death, resurrection, judgment, and then sentencing to eternal life or to punishment. Much of this program can take place in a spiritual sense while we are alive on the earth, if we will count ourselves as dead and follow the Lord Jesus diligently.
The raising of our body from the ground is not necessarily the attainment to eternal life. All bodies will be raised from the ground so the individual can be judged before the throne of Christ.
Every person will be judged.
After he has been judged, each individual will be assigned to his or her own reward. His reward may be to receive the authorities and powers we have described on the preceding passages. His reward may be to be carried forward naked and barren of spiritual fruit to the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
His sentence may be eternal banishment from the Presence of Christ into a place of everlasting torment.
But all shall be raised and all shall be judged.
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
Christ writes on him who is created a pillar in the Temple of God. Christ writes the Father's name because the victorious saint is the son of the Father and is identified eternally with the Father (Revelation 21:7).
Christ writes "Jerusalem" on the conqueror because he is an eternal part of the Wife of the Lamb. Christ writes His own new name on the faithful Christian because he has become the Bride of Christ. He has been made an integral part of the new creation of God, the Kingdom of God, the making visible of the invisible God. The conqueror belongs eternally to Christ and forever is a part of Christ.
It is one matter to be pardoned. It is another matter to be created a part of the revelation of God to the universe.
All believers are invited to the ranks of the conquerors. What incomprehensible loss we suffer if we sell our inheritance as sons of God for the miserable "treasures" of the present age!
The conqueror, now having been sealed into God Himself for eternity, is established forever with Christ on the throne that rules the creation, the throne that possesses total dominion over all of the works of God's hands.
To sit with Christ in His throne (3:21).
This is the first resurrection from the dead, the complete and perfect fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles.
Notice the statements of the following passage:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and that had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:4,5)
What is the first resurrection from the dead? It is the resurrection of the royal priesthood-that which will take place when the Lord returns from Heaven. The first resurrection is for the victorious saints. It is not the general resurrection of salvation.
To participate in the first resurrection from the dead is to live and reign with Christ.
The Scriptures teach that the order is as follows: death, resurrection, judgment, and then sentencing to eternal life or to punishment. Much of this program can take place in a spiritual sense while we are alive on the earth, if we will count ourselves as dead and follow the Lord Jesus diligently.
The raising of our body from the ground is not necessarily the attainment to eternal life. All bodies will be raised from the ground so the individual can be judged before the throne of Christ.
Every person will be judged.
After he has been judged, each individual will be assigned to his or her own reward. His reward may be to receive the authorities and powers we have described on the preceding passages. His reward may be to be carried forward naked and barren of spiritual fruit to the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
His sentence may be eternal banishment from the Presence of Christ into a place of everlasting torment.
But all shall be raised and all shall be judged.
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, November 08, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #38
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (Revelation 3:12)
God the Father is building a house, a temple, for Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is the chief Cornerstone and also the Capstone of the eternal House of God.
God is a Spirit. Now He desires to reveal Himself throughout His universe in a visible, tangible form. Christ is the beginning of the manifestation of Almighty God.
We who are members of the Body of Christ are being created as the fullness of the manifestation of God. God dwells eternally in Christ. Christ is being formed in us and is abiding in us to an increasingly greater extent as we press forward into resurrection life.
In the Tabernacle of the Congregation and the Temple of Solomon, which were former houses of God, the pillars were of the greatest significance. They upheld the structure. Their placement, appearance, and number were an integral part of the whole.
So it is in the eternal Temple of God. The pillars are very important. Once they are built into place they cannot be changed in any manner whatever without destroying the entire temple.
To be created a pillar in the House of God is to be placed forever as an integral part of the manifestation of the God of Heaven. When this happens to any saint, his destiny has been established for eternity. The saint's faithfulness in pressing through to victory has created him an eternal part of God.
The non-overcomer is not created a pillar in the Temple of God. He is not suitable as a part of the manifestation of Almighty God because he is sinful and self-willed.
How could a self-centered person be a pillar in the eternal Temple of God? Would the Glory of the Lord abide in the Tabernacle of the Congregation if it were filled with self-seeking Israelites who had not bothered to wash their hands and feet in the bronze Laver? Is this the way of God?
There are vast rewards for the individual who will press forward in Christ. There are eternal losses incurred by the believer who neglects his great salvation in Christ.
To be created a pillar in the Temple of God is to be identified with God throughout the universe forever.
To have inscribed on one's self the name of God; the name of the city of God; and the new name of Christ (3:12).
The Lord Jesus Christ wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.
Christ wrote to the King of Babylon that he was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and that his kingdom was finished.
Christ wrote on the ground when a woman taken in adultery was brought before Him. Twice He wrote on the ground, no doubt showing us that He who wrote on the tables of stone will write again, but this time on tables of the human heart.
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
God the Father is building a house, a temple, for Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is the chief Cornerstone and also the Capstone of the eternal House of God.
God is a Spirit. Now He desires to reveal Himself throughout His universe in a visible, tangible form. Christ is the beginning of the manifestation of Almighty God.
We who are members of the Body of Christ are being created as the fullness of the manifestation of God. God dwells eternally in Christ. Christ is being formed in us and is abiding in us to an increasingly greater extent as we press forward into resurrection life.
In the Tabernacle of the Congregation and the Temple of Solomon, which were former houses of God, the pillars were of the greatest significance. They upheld the structure. Their placement, appearance, and number were an integral part of the whole.
So it is in the eternal Temple of God. The pillars are very important. Once they are built into place they cannot be changed in any manner whatever without destroying the entire temple.
To be created a pillar in the House of God is to be placed forever as an integral part of the manifestation of the God of Heaven. When this happens to any saint, his destiny has been established for eternity. The saint's faithfulness in pressing through to victory has created him an eternal part of God.
The non-overcomer is not created a pillar in the Temple of God. He is not suitable as a part of the manifestation of Almighty God because he is sinful and self-willed.
How could a self-centered person be a pillar in the eternal Temple of God? Would the Glory of the Lord abide in the Tabernacle of the Congregation if it were filled with self-seeking Israelites who had not bothered to wash their hands and feet in the bronze Laver? Is this the way of God?
There are vast rewards for the individual who will press forward in Christ. There are eternal losses incurred by the believer who neglects his great salvation in Christ.
To be created a pillar in the Temple of God is to be identified with God throughout the universe forever.
To have inscribed on one's self the name of God; the name of the city of God; and the new name of Christ (3:12).
The Lord Jesus Christ wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.
Christ wrote to the King of Babylon that he was weighed in the balances and found wanting, and that his kingdom was finished.
Christ wrote on the ground when a woman taken in adultery was brought before Him. Twice He wrote on the ground, no doubt showing us that He who wrote on the tables of stone will write again, but this time on tables of the human heart.
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
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #37
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (II Timothy 3:2-4)
Truly, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Truly, they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; they are lovers of their own selves. Truly, they are haters of their parents. Truly, they heap to themselves false prophets who will tickle their ears.
There is a godly remnant today who have turned to Christ with their whole heart, having escaped the teachings of Jezebel that are filling the Christian churches.
"Nicholas" is teaching us that if we believe in Jesus it does not matter how we behave. We have been saved by an unconditional grace that is unrelated to what we say and do.
"Balaam" is teaching us how to make money from the Gospel; how to employ Kingdom principles in order to become prosperous and successful in the world.
"Jezebel" is instructing the Lord's people to commit fornication with the demon gods of lust, violence, covetousness, witchcraft, and partying.
If we follow these "teachers," whom the Lord rebukes in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation, Christ will fight against us with the sword of His mouth. He will kill us with spiritual death, even though at one time we had been part of the Lampstand of God.
How can we escape from the strong delusions that have entered the minds of Christian people? If we will guard the Word of Christ's patience, that is, if we will take up our cross and do His will, trusting Him completely and waiting patiently for Him to bring to pass all that we desire, making Him our security, our pleasure, our achievement, then He will guard us from all of the deluding temptations that are spewing from the heart and mouth of Antichrist.
Thus far in our study we have been eating of the tree of life; we have been ruling our circumstances by the authority and power of resurrection life; we have gained spiritual authority greater than the authority of the second death; we have been eating Divine food that is hidden from those who are walking in the flesh and seeking their own will.
We have been voted into the ranks of the chosen; we have been assigned authority and power over the nations of the earth; Christ has been formed in us and is abiding in us; we have been walking with Christ in righteousness; our name has been inscribed eternally in the Lamb's Book of Life; our name has been made known to the Father and to the holy, elect angels; and we have been kept each day from the deceptions of the devil.
If all of this is true of us, God will create us as a pillar of His eternal Temple.
To become a pillar in the Temple of God (3:12).
There are few promises in the Scriptures as lofty as this.
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
Truly, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Truly, they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; they are lovers of their own selves. Truly, they are haters of their parents. Truly, they heap to themselves false prophets who will tickle their ears.
There is a godly remnant today who have turned to Christ with their whole heart, having escaped the teachings of Jezebel that are filling the Christian churches.
"Nicholas" is teaching us that if we believe in Jesus it does not matter how we behave. We have been saved by an unconditional grace that is unrelated to what we say and do.
"Balaam" is teaching us how to make money from the Gospel; how to employ Kingdom principles in order to become prosperous and successful in the world.
"Jezebel" is instructing the Lord's people to commit fornication with the demon gods of lust, violence, covetousness, witchcraft, and partying.
If we follow these "teachers," whom the Lord rebukes in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation, Christ will fight against us with the sword of His mouth. He will kill us with spiritual death, even though at one time we had been part of the Lampstand of God.
How can we escape from the strong delusions that have entered the minds of Christian people? If we will guard the Word of Christ's patience, that is, if we will take up our cross and do His will, trusting Him completely and waiting patiently for Him to bring to pass all that we desire, making Him our security, our pleasure, our achievement, then He will guard us from all of the deluding temptations that are spewing from the heart and mouth of Antichrist.
Thus far in our study we have been eating of the tree of life; we have been ruling our circumstances by the authority and power of resurrection life; we have gained spiritual authority greater than the authority of the second death; we have been eating Divine food that is hidden from those who are walking in the flesh and seeking their own will.
We have been voted into the ranks of the chosen; we have been assigned authority and power over the nations of the earth; Christ has been formed in us and is abiding in us; we have been walking with Christ in righteousness; our name has been inscribed eternally in the Lamb's Book of Life; our name has been made known to the Father and to the holy, elect angels; and we have been kept each day from the deceptions of the devil.
If all of this is true of us, God will create us as a pillar of His eternal Temple.
To become a pillar in the Temple of God (3:12).
There are few promises in the Scriptures as lofty as this.
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, November 06, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #36
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:9-11)
"Here is the patience of the saints" (Revelation 14:12).
This refers back to Revelation 3:10, "hast kept the word of my patience."
"Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).
In order to escape the deceptions of Antichrist we must (1) exercise patience while in our "prison"; (2) keep the commandments of God; and (3) keep the faith of Jesus.
Some are teaching today that this is not referring to Christians because Christians are not obligated to keep the commandments of God. This is a departure from God's holy Word.
Compare:
And hereby we do know we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:3,4)
By this we know that all who are teaching that Christians are not obligated to keep God's commandments given through Christ are liars.
The same John who wrote Revelation 14:12 wrote also I John 2:3,4. There is great deception among the Christian people today: deception concerning the nature of the Judgment Seat of Christ; deception concerning the way in which grace operates in the Christian redemption; deception concerning what the Scriptures teach concerning judgment and rewards; deception concerning the coming of Christ, the Day of the Lord. The resurrection to eternal life is not being preached as being the goal of our efforts.
We can escape from deception if we will turn to Jesus, repent of our sins, and take up our cross and follow Him.
But if we choose instead to continue in the delusion that all of us will be raptured out of trouble no matter how we behave ourselves, and that we all will be rewarded in the Day of Christ, receiving the good we have done but not the bad (although this is in violation of the written Word), we will be deceived continually until we have been raised from the dead and face a frowning Christ instead of a crowning Christ.
What will it be for you, a crown or a frown?
It can be a crown. But you will have to turn to Christ immediately and ask His help in escaping from the watered-down, lukewarm, pleasure-loving, sinful, rebellious behavior that characterizes so many of the "Christian believers" of our day.
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
"Here is the patience of the saints" (Revelation 14:12).
This refers back to Revelation 3:10, "hast kept the word of my patience."
"Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).
In order to escape the deceptions of Antichrist we must (1) exercise patience while in our "prison"; (2) keep the commandments of God; and (3) keep the faith of Jesus.
Some are teaching today that this is not referring to Christians because Christians are not obligated to keep the commandments of God. This is a departure from God's holy Word.
Compare:
And hereby we do know we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:3,4)
By this we know that all who are teaching that Christians are not obligated to keep God's commandments given through Christ are liars.
The same John who wrote Revelation 14:12 wrote also I John 2:3,4. There is great deception among the Christian people today: deception concerning the nature of the Judgment Seat of Christ; deception concerning the way in which grace operates in the Christian redemption; deception concerning what the Scriptures teach concerning judgment and rewards; deception concerning the coming of Christ, the Day of the Lord. The resurrection to eternal life is not being preached as being the goal of our efforts.
We can escape from deception if we will turn to Jesus, repent of our sins, and take up our cross and follow Him.
But if we choose instead to continue in the delusion that all of us will be raptured out of trouble no matter how we behave ourselves, and that we all will be rewarded in the Day of Christ, receiving the good we have done but not the bad (although this is in violation of the written Word), we will be deceived continually until we have been raised from the dead and face a frowning Christ instead of a crowning Christ.
What will it be for you, a crown or a frown?
It can be a crown. But you will have to turn to Christ immediately and ask His help in escaping from the watered-down, lukewarm, pleasure-loving, sinful, rebellious behavior that characterizes so many of the "Christian believers" of our day.
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, November 05, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #35
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Matthew 24:12)
Antichrist will employ many strategies and tactics to overcome the saints, including violence and fear, and preventing the victorious saints from buying and selling. In order to buy and sell, the Christian will be required to compromise his testimony of Jesus (Revelation 19:10).
But the most effective weapon of Antichrist will be the filling of the earth with sin and material prosperity. The believers will be so loaded down with material comforts and sin will be so prevalent that the majority of them will trim their Christian zeal enough to gain access to the security, pleasures, and acceptance offered by the world.
This is an extremely effective deception. The devil overcomes the witnessing saint by giving him the illusion that the world is his friend; that he ought to be prominent and successful in the world; that he deserves to have the best the world can offer because he is a son of God.
This particular strategy will, if possible, conquer God's elect. It may be peculiar to the twentieth century (but see Luke 4:5-7). Many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of God's people already have been overcome and their power to testify destroyed because of their adultery with the world.
The Lord's sheep have been deluded into believing God desires they be wealthy and prominent in the world and that they should use their faith to gain wealth and worldly success. This tactic of the enemy has been extremely effective in destroying the spiritual life of Christians who otherwise might have stood successfully in the hour of persecution that is at hand.
Antichrist has joined the Christian assemblies and is teaching in them.
After the latter-rain revival has borne witness to the entire earth of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus, prosperity and sin will fill the world. The newly baptized believers will be caught off guard. God will allow the power of the Spirit of God to subside so the "tares" can come to maturity.
The result of the sin and prosperity of the earth following the latter-rain revival will be the backsliding and coldness of most Christians living on the earth.
During the post-revival era Christ will require great patience of His people. It will be easy to join the worldly Christian churches. Antichrist will support those churches with money and approval. Governmental approval of the churches will prove to be a heady experience for those who are accustomed to persecution from the government. This approval and acceptance will catch the saints off guard and beguile them away from the Spirit of Christ.
It will be extremely difficult to fight against all of society (including Christian society). All but the strongest and most determined of the saints will become weary of the unceasing struggle to stand against the whole world, now that the revival glory and power have abated.
But those who overcome the Antichrist spirit, who guard carefully the Word of Christ's patience, will be guarded carefully by Christ. The Spirit of God will make clear to them all of the lies of the enemy. They will not be deceived into serving Antichrist.
But the majority of the believers shall be deceived. Their love will grow cold. Deception through material abundance already is taking place.
The Christian person who is deceived into yielding to the worldly spirit will suffer terribly in the Day of 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 © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVE
Antichrist will employ many strategies and tactics to overcome the saints, including violence and fear, and preventing the victorious saints from buying and selling. In order to buy and sell, the Christian will be required to compromise his testimony of Jesus (Revelation 19:10).
But the most effective weapon of Antichrist will be the filling of the earth with sin and material prosperity. The believers will be so loaded down with material comforts and sin will be so prevalent that the majority of them will trim their Christian zeal enough to gain access to the security, pleasures, and acceptance offered by the world.
This is an extremely effective deception. The devil overcomes the witnessing saint by giving him the illusion that the world is his friend; that he ought to be prominent and successful in the world; that he deserves to have the best the world can offer because he is a son of God.
This particular strategy will, if possible, conquer God's elect. It may be peculiar to the twentieth century (but see Luke 4:5-7). Many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of God's people already have been overcome and their power to testify destroyed because of their adultery with the world.
The Lord's sheep have been deluded into believing God desires they be wealthy and prominent in the world and that they should use their faith to gain wealth and worldly success. This tactic of the enemy has been extremely effective in destroying the spiritual life of Christians who otherwise might have stood successfully in the hour of persecution that is at hand.
Antichrist has joined the Christian assemblies and is teaching in them.
After the latter-rain revival has borne witness to the entire earth of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus, prosperity and sin will fill the world. The newly baptized believers will be caught off guard. God will allow the power of the Spirit of God to subside so the "tares" can come to maturity.
The result of the sin and prosperity of the earth following the latter-rain revival will be the backsliding and coldness of most Christians living on the earth.
During the post-revival era Christ will require great patience of His people. It will be easy to join the worldly Christian churches. Antichrist will support those churches with money and approval. Governmental approval of the churches will prove to be a heady experience for those who are accustomed to persecution from the government. This approval and acceptance will catch the saints off guard and beguile them away from the Spirit of Christ.
It will be extremely difficult to fight against all of society (including Christian society). All but the strongest and most determined of the saints will become weary of the unceasing struggle to stand against the whole world, now that the revival glory and power have abated.
But those who overcome the Antichrist spirit, who guard carefully the Word of Christ's patience, will be guarded carefully by Christ. The Spirit of God will make clear to them all of the lies of the enemy. They will not be deceived into serving Antichrist.
But the majority of the believers shall be deceived. Their love will grow cold. Deception through material abundance already is taking place.
The Christian person who is deceived into yielding to the worldly spirit will suffer terribly in the Day of 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 © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVE
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #34
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3:5)
Part of having our name established firmly in the Book of Life is the open confession of our name in the Presence of God the Father and in the Presence of His holy angels.
To have one's name confessed before the Father and His angels (3:5).
The victorious saint is not ashamed of the Lord Jesus but confesses Him in the world by his behavior and his speech. Jesus is his Savior, present Lord, and soon-coming King.
The conqueror walks with Jesus. Jesus is central in his life, in his speech, in his thoughts. He looks, acts, and talks like a Christian, like a man or woman of God. The saint is a constant reminder to the people of the world that Divine judgment truly is coming and that God has commanded us to place our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ; for He will judge all men (Acts 17:31).
Heaven is proud of such a saint. Jesus, with the greatest pride and joy, calls out his name before the Father and before the holy angels. God, and the angels who obey God, are conscious of each overcomer. He is guarded carefully and his prayers are heard.
The lukewarm believer is ashamed of the Lord Jesus. When he is in the midst of the people of the world and of other lukewarm believers he is anxious to gain their acceptance and approval. If it becomes necessary or desirable he will conceal his relationship to the Lord. The opinion of people is important to him-more important than the opinion of God.
Heaven is ashamed of such a "believer." Jesus is the pride and joy of the Father, the holy angels, and the saints in Heaven. That anyone ever would be ashamed of Jesus is unthinkable to the inhabitants of Heaven. Why be ashamed of the glorious Lord and Savior of mankind?
Jesus will not call out, in the Presence of the Father and the holy angels, the name of the lukewarm believer. He is ashamed of Jesus and Jesus is ashamed of him. Also, Jesus will be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father to set up His Kingdom on the earth.
God gives His mighty, holy angels charge over each Christian who bears the testimony of His beloved Son. Jesus Himself guards the saint who is representing Christ in the midst of the darkness of this evil world.
To be kept from the hour of temptation (3:10).
Because thou hast kept [guarded] the word of my patience, I also will keep [guard] thee from the hour of temptation, that will come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10)
The latter-rain revival already has commenced in the earth. It will not reach its climax until every man, woman, boy, and girl on the earth has seen the power of God and has heard the Kingdom Word of repentance to life in Jesus' name.
After the testimony has been given, Antichrist, through deception, will be able to overcome the testimony. God will allow this to happen in order to purify the Wife of the Lamb.
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
Part of having our name established firmly in the Book of Life is the open confession of our name in the Presence of God the Father and in the Presence of His holy angels.
To have one's name confessed before the Father and His angels (3:5).
The victorious saint is not ashamed of the Lord Jesus but confesses Him in the world by his behavior and his speech. Jesus is his Savior, present Lord, and soon-coming King.
The conqueror walks with Jesus. Jesus is central in his life, in his speech, in his thoughts. He looks, acts, and talks like a Christian, like a man or woman of God. The saint is a constant reminder to the people of the world that Divine judgment truly is coming and that God has commanded us to place our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ; for He will judge all men (Acts 17:31).
Heaven is proud of such a saint. Jesus, with the greatest pride and joy, calls out his name before the Father and before the holy angels. God, and the angels who obey God, are conscious of each overcomer. He is guarded carefully and his prayers are heard.
The lukewarm believer is ashamed of the Lord Jesus. When he is in the midst of the people of the world and of other lukewarm believers he is anxious to gain their acceptance and approval. If it becomes necessary or desirable he will conceal his relationship to the Lord. The opinion of people is important to him-more important than the opinion of God.
Heaven is ashamed of such a "believer." Jesus is the pride and joy of the Father, the holy angels, and the saints in Heaven. That anyone ever would be ashamed of Jesus is unthinkable to the inhabitants of Heaven. Why be ashamed of the glorious Lord and Savior of mankind?
Jesus will not call out, in the Presence of the Father and the holy angels, the name of the lukewarm believer. He is ashamed of Jesus and Jesus is ashamed of him. Also, Jesus will be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father to set up His Kingdom on the earth.
God gives His mighty, holy angels charge over each Christian who bears the testimony of His beloved Son. Jesus Himself guards the saint who is representing Christ in the midst of the darkness of this evil world.
To be kept from the hour of temptation (3:10).
Because thou hast kept [guarded] the word of my patience, I also will keep [guard] thee from the hour of temptation, that will come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:10)
The latter-rain revival already has commenced in the earth. It will not reach its climax until every man, woman, boy, and girl on the earth has seen the power of God and has heard the Kingdom Word of repentance to life in Jesus' name.
After the testimony has been given, Antichrist, through deception, will be able to overcome the testimony. God will allow this to happen in order to purify the Wife of the Lamb.
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, November 03, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #33
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Romans 11:22)
But what of the overconfident Christian of today? He has been taught that as long as he has made a profession of Christ he has no need to fear God. He is spiritually proud, self-assured, self-confident. He will tell God what to do and God is required to do it.
He does not believe in working out his own salvation with fear and trembling. He believes that he cannot be lost, and that he will suffer no serious inconvenience in the Day of Christ. He will be "raptured" out of the world's problems before too long whether or not he is living a godly life.
There is no genuine fear of God in him. He cannot comprehend that the righteous are saved with difficulty (I Peter 4:18). To him, salvation is a free ride to Heaven; it has little or nothing to do with his conduct on the earth. Because he has stated that he receives Christ as his Savior, he no longer will be held to account for the kind of person he is.
This is the current understanding of what it means to be a Christian.
But this is not what the Scriptures teach. This is not the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Kingdom of God. This is the word of the "False Prophet."
The current attitude toward salvation is far removed from the truth. Those "believers" who are living careless lives will be visited with Divine fire in the near future.
The Scriptures, which never can be altered, state Christ will not erase the name of the victorious saint from the Book of Life. It is implied those who are being overcome by the evil of the world are in danger of having their names erased from the Book of Life. Revelation 3:5 is addressed to Christians.
It is this scriptural danger that caused the Apostles to tremble in remembrance of the terror of the Lord. Our God is a consuming Fire. The Scriptures, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31) is addressed to Christians.
The terror of the Lord Jesus and the need for repentance must be proclaimed to the Church of Christ in the present hour. The saints are asleep because of false teaching.
The trumpet of the Lord is sounding in order to wake us up. Let us arise and go to meet the Lord. He has a special work to perform in our day. Let us not be counted among the multitudes of professing Christians who are not taking up their cross and following Christ.
Either we will awaken and judge ourselves now or else the Lord will wake us and judge us later. It is not a delightful experience to have God destroy our flesh in order to save our spirit.
It is a risky business indeed to gamble on being saved as by fire. Instead let us come to the Lord for cleansing today, even though our fellow "Christians" may scorn our concern over our soul's welfare.
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
But what of the overconfident Christian of today? He has been taught that as long as he has made a profession of Christ he has no need to fear God. He is spiritually proud, self-assured, self-confident. He will tell God what to do and God is required to do it.
He does not believe in working out his own salvation with fear and trembling. He believes that he cannot be lost, and that he will suffer no serious inconvenience in the Day of Christ. He will be "raptured" out of the world's problems before too long whether or not he is living a godly life.
There is no genuine fear of God in him. He cannot comprehend that the righteous are saved with difficulty (I Peter 4:18). To him, salvation is a free ride to Heaven; it has little or nothing to do with his conduct on the earth. Because he has stated that he receives Christ as his Savior, he no longer will be held to account for the kind of person he is.
This is the current understanding of what it means to be a Christian.
But this is not what the Scriptures teach. This is not the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Kingdom of God. This is the word of the "False Prophet."
The current attitude toward salvation is far removed from the truth. Those "believers" who are living careless lives will be visited with Divine fire in the near future.
The Scriptures, which never can be altered, state Christ will not erase the name of the victorious saint from the Book of Life. It is implied those who are being overcome by the evil of the world are in danger of having their names erased from the Book of Life. Revelation 3:5 is addressed to Christians.
It is this scriptural danger that caused the Apostles to tremble in remembrance of the terror of the Lord. Our God is a consuming Fire. The Scriptures, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31) is addressed to Christians.
The terror of the Lord Jesus and the need for repentance must be proclaimed to the Church of Christ in the present hour. The saints are asleep because of false teaching.
The trumpet of the Lord is sounding in order to wake us up. Let us arise and go to meet the Lord. He has a special work to perform in our day. Let us not be counted among the multitudes of professing Christians who are not taking up their cross and following Christ.
Either we will awaken and judge ourselves now or else the Lord will wake us and judge us later. It is not a delightful experience to have God destroy our flesh in order to save our spirit.
It is a risky business indeed to gamble on being saved as by fire. Instead let us come to the Lord for cleansing today, even though our fellow "Christians" may scorn our concern over our soul's welfare.
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, November 02, 2009
Judgment and Rewards, #32
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation 3:5)
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness (righteous acts) of saints. (Revelation 19:8)
We will be clothed with the white raiment that is the result and expression of walking with Christ in white during our life on the earth.
But what of the non-overcomer? What of the believer who has received the Divine pardon but who then has continued to live in sin and half-hearted obedience to God? With what will he be clothed in the Day of Christ?
He will be found naked, fruitless, barren, in the Day of Christ. He will reap corruption. If the Lord Jesus chooses to save him, he will be rebuked. He may suffer many lashes. If he is saved it will be as by fire. His is not an enviable state.
The neglectful, careless, worldly "Christian" will not escape the judgment of the Lord.
We can see that the judgment that follows the resurrection from the dead will produce diversity among the members of the Kingdom of God. In any kingdom there can be found various offices, many different occupations, several types of dwelling places. So it is in the Kingdom of God.
Each of us has been chosen for a specific place in the Kingdom. God knows us thoroughly as an individual and will provide every talent and resource necessary for our complete success and attainment. But whether we finally arrive at our predetermined destiny depends on the diligence with which we run the race, the faith with which we fight the battle.
God is righteous in all of His decisions. Also, He is compassionate and merciful. He will place us where we will fit best, where we can grow and be fruitful for eternity.
God calls His elect to the high ranks of the overcomers. There are thrones to be gained. God cheers us on, but we must conduct ourselves with courage and faith. It is not easy. Attaining the Kingdom of God requires the utmost patience (Revelation 1:9).
We can overcome if that is what we desire above all else. Through Christ we can ascend to the throne of glory.
God has called us to Christ's throne. Let us press forward and grasp that for that we have been grasped by the Lord of glory.
Those who are walking with Christ in white today will be clothed in their own conduct in the Day of the Lord. God never will blot out from the pages of the Book of Life those who are walking in white with Jesus.
To not have one's name blotted out of the Book of Life (3:5).
To be blotted out of the Book of Life is to be lost. It signifies the individual will be cast into the Lake of Fire. This is a fearful sentence.
Christ promises the victorious saint that his name will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. The conquering Christian has boldness in the Day of Judgment. He knows that he never will be banished from the Presence of His Creator. The fact that he is walking in the light of Christ's Presence is his guarantee that he always will be with the Lord.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness (righteous acts) of saints. (Revelation 19:8)
We will be clothed with the white raiment that is the result and expression of walking with Christ in white during our life on the earth.
But what of the non-overcomer? What of the believer who has received the Divine pardon but who then has continued to live in sin and half-hearted obedience to God? With what will he be clothed in the Day of Christ?
He will be found naked, fruitless, barren, in the Day of Christ. He will reap corruption. If the Lord Jesus chooses to save him, he will be rebuked. He may suffer many lashes. If he is saved it will be as by fire. His is not an enviable state.
The neglectful, careless, worldly "Christian" will not escape the judgment of the Lord.
We can see that the judgment that follows the resurrection from the dead will produce diversity among the members of the Kingdom of God. In any kingdom there can be found various offices, many different occupations, several types of dwelling places. So it is in the Kingdom of God.
Each of us has been chosen for a specific place in the Kingdom. God knows us thoroughly as an individual and will provide every talent and resource necessary for our complete success and attainment. But whether we finally arrive at our predetermined destiny depends on the diligence with which we run the race, the faith with which we fight the battle.
God is righteous in all of His decisions. Also, He is compassionate and merciful. He will place us where we will fit best, where we can grow and be fruitful for eternity.
God calls His elect to the high ranks of the overcomers. There are thrones to be gained. God cheers us on, but we must conduct ourselves with courage and faith. It is not easy. Attaining the Kingdom of God requires the utmost patience (Revelation 1:9).
We can overcome if that is what we desire above all else. Through Christ we can ascend to the throne of glory.
God has called us to Christ's throne. Let us press forward and grasp that for that we have been grasped by the Lord of glory.
Those who are walking with Christ in white today will be clothed in their own conduct in the Day of the Lord. God never will blot out from the pages of the Book of Life those who are walking in white with Jesus.
To not have one's name blotted out of the Book of Life (3:5).
To be blotted out of the Book of Life is to be lost. It signifies the individual will be cast into the Lake of Fire. This is a fearful sentence.
Christ promises the victorious saint that his name will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. The conquering Christian has boldness in the Day of Judgment. He knows that he never will be banished from the Presence of His Creator. The fact that he is walking in the light of Christ's Presence is his guarantee that he always will be with the Lord.
To be continued.
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Trumpet Ministries Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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