Chapter 17: The Day of the Lord (Page 1 of 2)
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The Judean hills were hot, the smell of sage pungent as the little group made their way through the desolate plain. A lonely ailing breeze accompanied them, winding through the heather and sighing mournfully as one who has ever searched for a love long lost.
Three men plodded in methodical dirge, to the cadence of two donkeys laden for a short trip. Behind them at a forlorn pace there trailed an old man. His face was haggard, his gaze lost in wonder. He trod the dusty path with the deliberate will of a condemned man. In each step was foreboding. Every stride seemed to bring him closer to agony, a torment exquisitely designed by the purpose of God.
Over and over the old man mulled his plight, “Can it really be? Did I hear him correctly?” His chest was tight, his stomach ached as he wandered in thought. “Is it possible? Have I erred? Never has mortal flesh been called to such pain, as he who must slay his own son.”
Through a parched vale of weedy scrub they passed, and as the third day dawned, Abraham spied the hill where his dreams would die. Leaving the others behind, he and Isaac set out alone. Serene innocence walked alongside bewildered anguish. Together they climbed until the horizon stretched far, and the land fell away in every direction.
By the time they reached the mountain top the sun was low in the western sky, and the east wind gave urgency to their doleful task. Isaac, then thirty-three years old, learned of his father’s dread purpose. Stones were gathered and the wood he had carried was arranged.
On this bed of rock and split logs, Isaac laid himself down and watched as his hands were bound with leather straps. Looking up at the sky, never had he seen it more fair. The gentle clouds floated in azure pools, reflected in his father’s eyes, now brimming with tears. The knife was raised high in ritual prayer, then the cruel iron blade placed against his throat.
There
Abraham sacrificed Isaac, his only son, the delight of his life,
counting the promise of God a greater treasure than every earthly joy.
And though Abraham should live to the end of time, never could he know
a greater grief, nor could he be called to a higher faith. There is no
greater strength, nor any more magnificent spirituality, than the
willing surrender of that which you love most. This is the covenant of
sacrifice, the New Covenant of God’s great plan. And this law of the
Begotten Realm applies even to God himself. By
faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had
received the promises offered up his only begotten son.
Sacrifice is
the key to understanding the plan of God. It is the foundation of God’s
dealings with man. Upon the principle of sacrifice, the wisdom and
word of God is fashioned. It is the vehicle to the acquisition of
every spiritual blessing. It is the path to the fulfillment of every
promise. It is the method by which Jesus Christ entered the perfection
of Sonship. Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life. And it is the reason for all the
pain that has ever existed upon the face of the earth. The
LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy
seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, that thou mayest live.
* * * * *
In the ages
past, God hand-crafted a man and a woman and breathed into them the
promise of his life. These two stepped upon the earth in innocence,
moving shyly among the primordial creatures as the essence of an
ambitious plan.
About 4,004
BC, God “sacrificed” this man and his wife. At great emotional
expense to himself, he lowered them into a spiritual abyss. The
actions of Adam and Eve were well known and planned by God. He placed
failure directly in their path, and withheld their ability to avoid
it.
The new
realm that Adam and Eve entered was a dimension of confusion and
failure- a kingdom of spiritual darkness. To them the light of God was
made dim, as a candle suddenly removed to the edge of space. They
gained bodies of clammy wax, and found themselves besieged by
loathsome thoughts. Fear was drawn over their eyes as a black sheet.
Their desires were twisted toward evil and they became addicts of
sensual gratification. In their animal cravings and actions, they
became indistinguishable from the beasts around them.
So began the
captivity of Adam in the depravity of carnality. This was an
environment specially prepared by God, to produce spiritual maturity
in man.
Over the
years, God blessed the fallen Adamites and prospered them. After a
great while, he selected a particular strain for his mysterious
purpose, choosing Abraham, Isaac, and then Jacob. He called them Israel, which means “man ruling with God.”
This family
he subjected to a new and greater suffering, a deeper captivity,
leading them with dread purpose into Egyptian servitude. In Egypt the
Israelites learned to work for food while their children were
murdered. There, in the afflictions of Egyptian bondage, God fashioned
the Israelites into a nation, multiplying them as the stars of heaven.
Though only seventy souls had gone down into Egypt, 2.3 million
Israelites were eventually delivered to the safety of the Arabian
wilderness.
After forty
years in the wilderness of Sinai the Israelites invaded the land of
Canaan and conquered its inhabitants. There they initially prospered.
But like Eden and Egypt, Canaan had been specially formulated to bring
forth a new, more grievous captivity. The nations of Canaan were
pagan. And since these nations were left largely intact, their
religions remained in the land, as arsenic hidden in a sumptuous
feast.
After a
time, Israel sampled the sensual worship of the Canaanites and found
it to their liking. It was pleasant to the eyes, good to the touch,
and desired to make one wise. And the children
of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and
Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: and they took their daughters
to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served
their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
The
Israelites had no antibodies to the Canaanite religions. Their clouded
minds were no different than the other people of Canaan. Their spirits
remained dormant and dead. Iniquitous debauchery ensued. Lawlessness
became the order of the day. Immorality and perversion flourished. The
spiritual truths they had learned from God proved ineffectual, and
unable to prevent a massive slide into heathenism. They
followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were
round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they
should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the
LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made
a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
But all these actions were foreseen by God. He could have prevented them, but instead, took positive steps to bring them about. When he placed the Israelites in Canaan, he sacrificed them to idolatry. He took his closest friends, his treasure and his hope, and allowed them to betray him. All the events of history were foreknown and have been orchestrated by God. Nothing has happened by accident. He has arranged the circumstances and assigned human limitations in accordance with his greater plan.
In his
infinite wisdom, God had determined to intensify the captivity of
Israel. Canaan though sweet in the mouth, was to become bitter in the
belly. According to God’s plan, the plight of Israel was to be made
worse, not better.
And long
before Israel’s plunge into idolatry, God had already prepared a
devastating response
this too was part of his plan. In 611 BC, God sent the Assyrians to
conquer the northern Kingdom of Israel. Israel was decimated and the
bedraggled survivors were hauled off as trophies.
In similar
fashion, God sent the Babylonians against the southern Kingdom of
Judah. In 496 BC, Jerusalem was finally beaten down and the last of
the people were carried away into Babylonian servitude. The
king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of
Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
The people
of Israel and Judah were deported by their captors. They were removed
far away into foreign lands. There they became tribal and assimilated
into the local cultures. Over time their identity was lost. Unto
all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the
countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass
that they have trespassed against thee.
Through the
dire processings of God, the Israelites had already acquired the
corrupt carnality of Adam. In Egypt they had learned to thrive in
slavery. In Canaan they were enjoined to a religion of sensual
heathenism. Finally, in Assyria and Babylon, they entered the hollow
serfdom of contented amnesia. These captivities are cumulative. And
from these captivities, Israel has never returned.
These
destructions imposed upon Israel are the sacrifice of God. Just as
Abraham sacrificed his only son, so also God sacrificed his beloved
Israel to carnality, servitude, paganism, betrayal, and forgetfulness.
The purpose
for this sacrifice of Israel is explained by Abraham’s sacrifice of
Isaac. Before Isaac was ever born, God made a magnificent covenant
with Abraham. Get thee out of thy country, and
from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will
shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.
Many years
later, after the birth of Isaac, God told Abraham to take Isaac to
Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. Take
now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into
the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering.
As it turned
out, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son, secured for
both himself and his son an infinite blessing. For after the sacrifice
of Isaac, God’s earlier covenant with Abraham was made
unconditional. And by being the object of the sacrifice, Isaac
received a destiny of unchangeable magnificence. By
myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this
thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed [Isaac]
as the stars of the heaven.
When Abraham
sacrificed his son, the covenant to Isaac was made sure. So also, when
God sacrificed Israel and Judah in 496 BC, his covenant to them was
made unconditional and irrevocable.
In a
national sense, Israel is God’s “firstborn son,” and the delight
of his life. For the LORD'S portion is his
people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert
land, and ... kept him as the apple of his eye. When God
accepted upon himself the pain of destroying Israel, he “sacrificed”
his Isaac. I have forsaken mine house, I have
left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into
the hand of her enemies.
By this
terrible anguish, shared between Father and Son, Israel’s spiritual
destiny was made an unchangeable certainty. For
the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness
shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be
removed, saith the LORD.
There is no greater strength, nor any more magnificent spirituality, than the willing surrender of that which you love most. And this law of the Begotten Realm applies even to God himself. This is the covenant of sacrifice, the New Covenant of God’s great plan.
Every
treasure in the spirit realm is apprehended by sacrifice
it is the gateway to the substance of God. As with the sacrifice of
Isaac and Jesus, the sacrifice of Israel purchased for them an
unconditional, celestial glory. Therefore
shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem
shall become heaps.
496 BC, the date for the final conquest of Israel and Judah, comes from the Companion Bible. Though it may be new to you, this date appears to be far more accurate than any other. Only the Companion Bible has taken into account the long standing erroneous interpretation of the chronology in Ezra and Nehemiah.
To research this for yourself, see the Companion Bible, appendix 50, 58, 86, the note at the end of 2 Chronicles, and the structure of Ezra-Nehemiah that is given at the beginning of the book of Ezra.
Furthermore, in his Companion Bible appendix 91, footnote 1, Mr. Bullinger shows that his dates agree with Archbishop Ussher’s original chronology, and that some of Ussher’s dates have been maliciously changed in modern times.
In 496 BC the people of Israel and Judah entered the final phase of their captivity. When they were conquered by Assyria and Babylon, their sacrifice was complete. In this greatest of their five-fold devastations, the Israelites lost their identity and were scattered across the face of the earth.
Two thousand
five hundred years have elapsed since those turbulent days, and
nothing much has changed. Today the Israelites are still mired in
bondage, living in the same conditions of impenetrable captivity that
were imposed by God in 496 BC. Even now they slave for their carnal
cravings. They toil in economic servitude. They love the soothing
deception of organized religion. And they serve their political
masters, with an identity that rides the east wind. I
have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all
is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made
straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
Since the
fall of Adam, God has moved among his people, proclaiming his plan.
For six thousand years he has shouted his wisdom. His truth has been
written down, tested, and confirmed. His Spirit has covered the earth,
and his firstborn Son has demonstrated the process to life.
But for all
this goodness of God, the multitudes have not heard. In spite of his
flooding truth, they continue in a trance. Though God calls to them,
they do not respond. They cannot
for they lack the capacity.
In
accordance with divine wisdom, the masses of mankind were not given
the ability to perceive the presence of God. They were not endowed
with hearts that are able to discern his truth.
Instead,
they have been incarcerated in a grievous captivity. They are mired in
carnal deception and spiritual death
and so shall they remain. For according to the wondrous plan of God,
the Adamic race has been sentenced to a captivity of 7,000 years. Go,
and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye
indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and
convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered,
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without
man, and the land be utterly desolate.
During this 7,000 years, the Adamites will remain captives in spiritual darkness. They will toil under the supernatural forces of good and evil. In deluded servitude they will obey their own five senses. They will live briefly upon the earth, and dying, they will fall into their lonely graves. There nearly all will rest until the 7,000 years reach their consummation.
This 7,000
year period can be thought of as a “Great Week,” with each day
having a duration of one-thousand years. This is God’s Great Week.
It is the period of Adam’s captivity. This is the time that God has
ordained for his interaction with the fallen Adamic race upon planet
earth. Beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day.
This week began sometime between 4,004 BC and 3,975 BC, with the fall of Adam in Eden. The first four days of this week stretched from Adam’s fall to the arrival of Jesus Christ. The fifth and sixth days were the two thousand years from Jesus until now. The last day of this week is called the Millennium, and it will span from approximately AD 2,000 to AD 3,000. Ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
During God’s Great Week, carnality will remain
an element of the Adamic race. The Adamites will remain prisoners in
the created realm, sojourning as captives in the earthly quagmire of
good & evil. This will be a 7,000 year experience in pain,
confusion, and death.
But God
intends to use these afflictions of earth to bless the spirits of men.
For the creature was made subject to vanity,
not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in
hope. According to his plan, while on the earth the spirits of
mortals are to be individually inseminated with the genetics of
spiritual immortality. This is to be accomplished through the work of
Jesus Christ. This union of God’s spirit with the spirit in a man is
designed to produce a brand new creature. If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new. This new creature is a
spiritually conceived, Son of God. The Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God.
Each Son of
God will be conceived within a container of Adamic flesh. But this
spirit Son is a warrior and an Overcomer. Each is trained, tested, and
matured by slaying his spiritual enemies.
It is for
this reason that God has incarcerated man in the dreadful captivities
of earth. The trials and evils of this place are required for the
perfecting of his spirit Sons. The pains, pleasures, and delusions of
sensual existence are the battleground where spiritual warriors are
made conquerors. We have this treasure in
earthen vessels.
The 7,000
years of God’s Great Week is a period of “seven times.” During
this period, offenses will prevail. Hew the
tree down, and destroy it ... and let his portion be with the beasts
of the field, till seven times pass over him. ... Until thou
know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men. Evil will
be energized, and the mechanism of forgiveness will be allowed to
operate. Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? This
will produce an environment of intense spiritual conflict, and during
this time, those who can perceive Sonship will attain it. The
words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times.
Sonship is
the singular objective of God, and the sole purpose for the existence
of the created realm. From the larger Adamic race, God selected the
family of Israel and decided to initiate the process of Sonship in
them. Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of
Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my
sons.
Accordingly,
in the middle of his Great Week, God turned up the heat on his chosen
people. In 496 BC he arranged for the Israelites to be conquered,
enslaved, and scattered by the armies of Assyria and Babylon. Therefore
he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven
times more than it was wont to be heated.
Since then,
Israel has lived in ignorance and been ruled by heathens. Her people
have been exploited by organized religion. They have been subjugated
by kings, despots, and democracies. This destruction of Israel,
imposed by God in 496 BC, was the national sacrifice of God’s own
Son. As a father slays his own child, so God sacrificed the nation of
Israel on the plains of Palestine. Thus saith
the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn.
Since Israel
was destroyed in 496 BC, they were sacrificed in the “midst” of
God’s Great Week. 496 BC is displaced only eight years from the
exact center of the 7,000 year span. It is almost precisely 3,500
years after the fall of Adam, and 3,500 years before the end of the
Millennium. Even if you adhere to the traditional date of 606 BC or
the modern date of 586 BC for the destruction of Jerusalem, Israel’s
final sacrifice is still displaced only a few years from the center of
God’s Great Week. This is still well within limits to be called “the
middle” of the week. The Covenant will be
guarded by many for a week, and in the middle of the week [496 BC], He
will make the sacrifice and the offering to cease [Israel conquered].
Daniel 9:27 (Fenton).
The
sacrifice of Israel divides God’s Great Week into two equal halves,
each half with a duration of 3,500 years. These two time periods are
symbolized throughout the Bible by periods of 3 ½ days or years.
During the
first 3,500 years, Israel had a visible, public place amongst the
nations of the world. At the end of that period they were sacrificed.
So also, the visible, public ministry of Jesus Christ lasted three and
a half years, after which he was sacrificed on Calvary’s cross.
After being conquered in 496 BC, Israel was scattered across the earth. Their identity was stolen and they were lost to history. This state of anonymity will remain for 3,500 years, the second half of God’s Great Week. So also, when Jesus was a boy, he was “lost” for three and a half days. When they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple. As symbolized by the example of Jesus, the multitudes of Israel will remain in their captivity- deceived, “lost,” and spiritually dead for 3,500 years.
In
Revelation 11:2, this captivity of Israel is represented by 42 months.
42 months is equal to 3 ½ years, which represents the 3,500 years
that Israel will be lost and trodden down. The
court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for
it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread
under foot forty and two months.
In
Revelation 12:6, the captivity of Israel is represented by 1,260 days.
1,260 days is also equal to 3 ½ years, which represents the 3,500
years that the masses of Israel are to remain scattered, protected,
“hidden,” and nurtured in the wilderness of Salvation. During this
time, very few will enter the promised land of Sonship. The
woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of
God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days.
In
Revelation 12:14, this same period of 1,260 days is expressed as three
and a half “times.” Both of these symbols represent the 3,500
years of Israel’s captivity. And to the
woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into
the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
When the
final captivity of Israel began in 496 BC, Daniel was among the
captives. It was then that God spoke to Daniel in a vision and showed
him that 496 BC was the middle of the Great Week.
In Daniel’s
vision, a man clothed in linen stood in the midst of a river,
indicating a mid-point in time, the middle of the Great Week. And
one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the
river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? This
man said that the captivity of lost and unresurrected Israel would
last for three and a half “times.” I heard
the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when
he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by
him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an
half [3,500 years]; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the
power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Note the
perfect symmetry of Daniel’s vision. Daniel lived at the center of
God’s Great Week. Thus 3,500 years had already elapsed from Adam to
Daniel, and from Daniel to the end of Israel’s captivity would be
another 3,500 years, reaching to the end of the Millennium.
The Two
Witnesses of Revelation 11 also symbolize Israel. These Witnesses have
a visible, public presence for 1,260 days, which represents the first
3,500 years of God’s Great Week. I will give
power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
This first
half of Israel’s history is represented by the Law and the Prophets.
Moses (the Law) turned the rivers of Egypt to blood, while Elijah (the
Prophets) shut up the heavens and called down fire on his enemies.
These two men also appeared with Jesus on the mount of
Transfiguration. Fire proceedeth out of their
mouth, and devoureth their enemies. ... These have power to shut
heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power
over waters to turn them to blood.
After those
3,500 years, the glory of Israel was terminated by the wisdom of God. When
they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out
of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome
them, and kill them. After their destruction, Israel was to
remain spiritually dead, but not buried, for another period of 3,500
years. And they of the people and kindreds and
tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an
half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
This
prophecy is fulfilled in the Anglo-Saxon nations of Israel. Even today
these people appear dead to the world, though they remain in plain
sight. They are spiritually dead, but not buried. And since their
destruction in 496 BC their enemies have celebrated, stealing the
Israelite name and heritage for their own devices. And
they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make
merry, and shall send gifts one to another.
At the end
of the Millennium, after Israel has dwelt in a condition of lost
sacrifice for 3,500 years, they will come to the general resurrection.
After three days and an half the Spirit of
life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and
great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice
from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.
The Two
Witnesses are defined as two olive trees and two candlesticks. These
symbolize the oil of God’s spirit, and the light of his truth. These
are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the
God of the earth. These character traits are found only in God’s
chosen people. The true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the
Father seeketh such to worship him.
The Two
Witnesses are the nations of Israel
they are a two-fold witness of God’s plan. Whether living or dead,
they remain the single greatest testimony to God’s truth upon the
face of the earth. These are the same people that Jesus came to seek. I
am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
In Daniel
9:24-27, Daniel relates a vision he received regarding the people of
Israel. This is his prophecy of the “Seventy Weeks.” At the end of
the Seventy Weeks, six specific events were to occur which would cause
Israel to blossom into spectacular glory. Seventy
weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish
the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
the most Holy.
The first
sixty-nine weeks of this vision were completed at the crucifixion of
Jesus, in approximately AD 29. From the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the
Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.
But the
seventieth week has never been located. According to the Companion
Bible, Appendix 91, “This is the one seven, i.e. the seventieth
(or ‘last’), seven which has still to be accounted for. ... None
of the six definite events (of [Daniel] 9:24), which mark its end has
as yet taken place. These belong to the whole seventy sevens, and are
thus connected with the seventieth or last seven, being the object and
end of the whole prophecy.”
Some people
think that the seventieth week followed continuously after the first
sixty-nine weeks. If that is true, then the Seventy Weeks were
completed seven years after Jesus was crucified, in approximately AD
36. If this is so, then the six spectacular events of Daniel 9:24
would have been fulfilled at that time. But these six events did not
happen in AD 36, nor have they happened at any time since.
If fact, the seventieth week of Daniel’s vision has remained a mystery. The Companion Bible continues, “If the seventieth, or ‘one seven’, is to be reckoned from the cutting off of Messiah in direct, continuous, and historic sequence, then it leads us nowhere. ... If [the seventy weeks] are continuous, then there is no point or crisis in the Acts of the Apostles which marks their end. If they coincided with any events of importance, ... that would be something. But there is nothing.”
This missing
seventieth week of Daniel’s vision, is God’s Great Week. It is God’s
entire plan, the 7,000 years from the fall of Adam to the end of the
Millennium. It was in the midst of this week, in 496 BC, that Israel
was sacrificed. “The Covenant will be
guarded by many for a week [7,000 years], and in the middle of the
week [496 BC], He will make the sacrifice and the offering to cease
[Israel sacrificed], and the Loathsome Brute will desolate to the
extreme; but at last a wound will be given to the Desolators.”
Daniel 9:27 (Fenton).
At the end
of the Millennium, Israel will be resurrected. Then in the “second
death,” they will complete their gestation to Sonship, and God’s
covenant to them will be unconditionally fulfilled. As the covenant
was made unconditional to Isaac by being sacrificed, so also the
covenant of Sonship was made unconditional to Israel by their
sacrifice in 496 BC.
This final
act of Israel becoming the Sons of God will fulfill the six events of
Daniel 9:24. It will finish the transgression, make an end of sins,
and bring in everlasting righteousness. At the end of God’s Great
Week, Anglo-Saxon Israel will burst into spiritual opulence, as the
newborn Sons of God.
At the end
of the Millennium all flesh will be resurrected and the multitudes of
Israel will be processed into unspeakable glory. But you don’t have
to wait that long. Not all men will lie in their graves until the
7,000 years are ended. Not every person will experience the second
death. For from this present painful captivity on earth, God is
bringing forth a “firstfruits” from Israel. He
that hath an ear, let him hear. ... He that overcometh shall not be
hurt of the second death.
Some from
the remnant of Israel, a small group of people, will complete their
spiritual maturity now, during this “first death.” These will
become the firstfruits of Israel and the “firstborn” Sons of God. These
are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.
These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These
were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to
the Lamb.
These individuals will come to their resurrection at the beginning of the Millennium, one-thousand years before the rest of the world. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
For six
thousand years the Adamic race has been besieged by carnal addiction,
spiritual deception, and political oppression. The vast multitudes of
men have succumbed to these forces and have been exploited as helpless
chattel.
But all
through the misty centuries of tumultuous darkness, there has been
another, smaller, secret class of individuals. Some of earth’s
sojourners, a very few, have escaped their captors. These have slid
the chains from their spirits and raised up from the mire to behold
the brilliant light of another realm. I have
reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to
the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a
remnant according to the election of grace.
These few
have caught a glimpse of eternity, as a bright radiance streaming from
behind a door left slightly ajar. Following after this alluring
luster, they have reached for it, and seized it as a precious prize. From
the days of John the Baptist until the present time the kingdom of
heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force
as a precious prize. A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought for
with most ardent zeal and intense exertion. Matthew 11:12 (Amplified).
These hungry
individuals yearned for something more than the soon tarnished glitter
of mortal life. While they lived on the earth, they hoped to find some
single permanent treasure amongst the heaps of temporal tinsel. With
the zeal of the half-starved, these sought for and found the secret
plan of God.
They
discovered that by the death and rising of Jesus Christ, God perfected
a resurrected spirit that could be planted as a seed into the hearts
of men. When he ascended up on high, he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. They learned that
if this seed should become bonded to their own spirit, a new child
would be formed. The Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. This
child is an entirely new entity, a new spirit being. If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new.
Those who
uncovered this secret discerned that this new spirit child is the
offspring of its Father
it is a Son of God. As many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God. This spirit
Son is developed in the travails of earth, but it has an otherworldly
existence, with a destiny far beyond the created realm. And
why did God make you two one? Because He sought a godly offspring from
your union. Malachi 2:15. (Amplified).
Finding this
Son within them, they perceived that though it begins in embryonic
form, this Son is a sibling to Jesus Christ. For
both he that sanctifieth [Jesus] and they who are sanctified [you] are
all of one [God]: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren. And if this stripling spirit within them was brought
to maturity, he would stand to inherit all the same substance that
Jesus Christ inherited. This is all the wealth of divinity. If
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
Finding this
entrance to immortality, even the life of Christ dwelling within them,
they strode out of this world and into his, to share in his eternal
treasures.
Woven
through the ages as a thread through a garment, there have been a few
individuals who have set out on this path to Sonship. These came into
possession of the seed of life, and then began their journey by
avoiding the clutches of Organized Religion. They could not be
appeased by the perfumed lap of religious ceremony. Instead they
turned from the shallow precepts of men and sought to find God alone,
in personal, intimate communion. Wherefore, my
dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
These are
they who saw through the barren doctrines of Modern Christianity. Ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Instead
of accepting the self-centered religious concepts of man, they labored
with patience and skill to discover the infinite. Labour
not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life. They rushed after knowledge and truth,
as hunters pursuing a prey. Ask and keep on
asking, and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking, and you
shall find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door shall be opened
to you. Luke 11:9 (Amplified). Through diligence these found
the hidden promises of God and finally looked into the spirit realm,
as a spy peers over a wall. Having seen them
afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Detecting
the fledgling life of Christ within them and discerning its potential,
these mortals began to restrict their lives. They turned away from the
corruption that is common to the unregenerate. They reordered their
daily priorities to conform with heavenly goals. They pushed for
mastery of self-control, and wrapped their existence in a cocoon of
Godly circumspection. Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ.
These are
they who have eschewed evil. First they recoiled from the external
evil in the world around them. Abstain from
all appearance of evil. Then, more importantly, they attacked
the evil that dwells within them. They accepted the task of cleansing
their own personalities. Mortify therefore
your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is
idolatry. All their motives and actions were scrutinized for
selfishness and disbelief; nothing was spared. Teaching
us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.
Being
vigilant, guarded, and intolerant of their own failings, these people
slowly shed the scales of carnality, and their spirits began to grow
inside their death doomed bodies. Having
stript off the old man, together with his practices, and having put on
the new who is being moulded afresh unto personal knowledge, after the
image of him that hath created him. Colossians 3:9,10 (Emphasized).
These then
turned all their desires toward good. He that
will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from
evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. They made their
actions conform to righteous behavior, and commanded their minds to
orbit God’s truth. Whatsoever things are
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things.
These are
they who have walked softly in daily affairs, looking always for the
leading of their Father. Pass the time of your
sojourning here in fear. All their energies came to be riveted
upon doing the right thing, and winning the approval of God. Lay
aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Committing
themselves to Sonship, these people would not turn back. They never
returned to the ways of mortals. They were propelled by the quest. No
man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God. They refused to forget the delight of their
life. Whoso looketh into the perfect law of
liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but
a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed. They would not
swerve from their pursuit of excellence within and innocence without. Let
us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is
faithful that promised.
These are
they who have clung to their heavenly vision. Meditate
upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may
appear to all. They sought perfection in word, thought, and
deed. Brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure. All their actions became ordered by
their spiritual goals. Beside this, giving all
diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to
knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make
you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful.
Discerning
that the Adamic race is oppressed by worldly desire, these rare
individuals sought to free themselves from this genetic curse. They
refused to be human. They found the spiritual strength to turn away
from temporal allure, as a moth suddenly loosed to fly away from a
light. Having seen a greater treasure in the spirit realm, they set a
new course for a new destination. That he no
longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of
men, but to the will of God.
These are
they who turned away from the world. Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Their
earthly lives came to a sudden stop, and were redirected toward the
heavens. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. They attacked their cravings for
physical ease, and denied their normal desires. I
train my body and lead a slave’s life; for fear that, after having
trained others, I myself should be disapproved. 1 Corinthians 9:27
(Fenton). They made the will of God more important than the
comforts common to mortals. Every one that
hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an
hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
These
pioneers refused to be ruled by earthly interests. No
man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life;
that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. They
abandoned their lives to the acquisition of Christ. What
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
These
developing Sons then began to give. They perceived that those enslaved
to carnal failure served always their hunger to receive. Rather than
joining with the multitudes in this obsession, these bold travelers
opted to reverse this destructive trend. Instead of only taking-in,
they labored to become sources of supply.
These are
they who found that spiritual strength is developed by giving. Sell
all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven. They sought to give a morsel of truth or a
word of comfort. They gave their knowledge, encouragement, and
resources, to those who could not repay. When
thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
and thou shalt be blessed. They gave away all that they had,
and all that they were, in trade for the permanent wealth of God. Give,
and it shall be given unto you. ... For with the same measure that ye
mete withal it shall be measured to you again. In this
persistent desire to give, they imbibed the antidote to carnality. If
thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul;
then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the
noonday.
Scattered
through the centuries of earthly travail, these few seeking striving
individuals, were never content to live in spiritual infancy. They
wanted spiritual maturity. Leaving their fearful siblings behind, they
exercised their spirits to stand on their own. Through lonely
perseverance they labored for independent strength. In patient and
difficult gestation, they developed the character of God.
These are
they who searched personally for the wisdom of God. Desire
that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding. They perfected their knowledge of
God’s secret plan. We speak the wisdom of
God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before
the world unto our glory. They reversed their spiritual
destitution by valuing the infinite over the temporal. Be
not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind. They walked in the weary shoes of an apostle. Being
defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are
the offscouring of all things unto this day. They became the
autonomous endurance of unfailing faith. That
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of
God. They pursued spiritual perfection as warriors closing in
battle. I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. They brought forth
a mature spirit. Be ye therefore perfect, even
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Pushing
beyond the boundaries of humanity, these Overcomers came to the
frontiers of Godlikeness. There they were empowered to see God in
sovereign control of all that touched their lives. They discovered
that God’s wisdom is supreme and his power absolute. I
am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me. They
learned that he is the instigator of every earthly action, whether it
is labeled good or evil. I form the light, and
create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all
these things. Finding this key to the Begotten Realm, they
cautiously entered the heavenlies. We all,
with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory.
In ancient times, the race of Adam and the nation of Israel were sacrificed by the wisdom of God. But there is one step more. There is the sacrifice of individuals in willing surrender. By sacrifice the covenant to Sonship is made sure. This is the New Covenant, and ultimately, it must be ratified individually by each participant. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. Those who complete this sacrifice will become the firstborn Sons of God. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
These are
they who have put their belief in God’s sovereignty to the test. Though
he slay me, yet will I trust in him. In trials of Devilish
design, yet ordained by the hand of God, they have crucified their own
desires and laid down their lives. Father, if
thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done.
By the
bitterness of sin against them they learned to forgive. Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do. By forgiveness
they became the perfection of agape-love. Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends. In devastations undeserved, and calamities hot with
God’s love, these were swept into Sonship. He
that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and
he shall be my son.
Many people
will hear about the firstfruits of Sonship, but very few will attain
it. Most of mankind will never truly discern the path to the first
resurrection. Instead, they will remain in spiritual death until the
7,000 years of Adam’s captivity have expired. Narrow
is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Those who
adhere to the doctrines of Organized Religion will not become the
firstborn Sons of God. When thou prayest, thou
shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be
seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Those
who need the approval of men will never come to spiritual maturity. How
can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the
honour that cometh from God only?
Those who
delight in the things of earth will not find the treasures of heaven. Whosoever
he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple. Those who are offended by new truth will not enter
into the secrets of God. This is an hard
saying; who can hear it? ... From that time many of his disciples went
back, and walked no more with him.
Those who
will not crucify their own carnality, will dance in a trance to the
rhythm of the flesh. Whosoever doth not bear
his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. But while
they deny the existence of Sonship, there are others who will
apprehend it. It remaineth that some must
enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in
because of unbelief.
Today in the
world around you, those who will attain to the firstfruits of Sonship,
place no value in the religion, politics, or economics of man.
Reciprocally, they are rejected by the world. Since they do not run to
the music of mortals, they are slandered by the ignorant, cursed as
misfits, and dismissed as heretics. But these individuals live in
communion with God, their Father. And they know that all the
afflictions of earth are only the guarantee of their success. For
our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
Let there be
no mistake about the identity of the Firstborn Sons. If you hope to
join their ranks, you must be willing to relinquish your dreams at the
request of your Father. Whosoever will lose
his life for my sake shall find it. You must re-order your
goals to prefer the eternal. For to me to live
is Christ, and to die is gain. You must be willing to watch
through tears as your precious things are destroyed. What?
shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive
evil? You must accept unmerited pain from your Father’s
superior wisdom, responding only in silent awe. For
this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief,
suffering wrongfully. ... If, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye
take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
If you wish
to enter the maturity of a Son, you must master your own five senses,
and crucify your carnality. 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. You must seek to please
God by the sacrifice of yourself. Thou fool,
that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. You
must abandon the fetters of self-preservation. We
must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. You
must carefully follow the example of Jesus. As
Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind.
Before you
are called a Son of God, you will release all claim to human prestige.
Ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and
brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends. You will forgive your
accusers, returning mercy for malice. Being
reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we
intreat. You will respond to adversity by giving.
Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again;
and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the
Highest. You will stand in unwavering trust as your humanity is
stripped, trampled, and destroyed. And they
loved not their lives unto the death.
To attain
the grandeur of Sonship, you will have to make the substance of God
your only desire. You will have to seek him alone, and study his
truth. You will have to suffer, and love, warring against the
confusion and doubt in your own mind. For unto
you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him,
but also to suffer for his sake.
If you can
do these things, you will bring forth the faultless character of a
Firstborn Son. You will make the jump from the created realm to the
begotten, and be called to the first resurrection. [Love]
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things. Love never faileth. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (ASV).
The earthly
experience is a captivity in a swirling realm of unbridled flesh and
rebellious spirit. Yet this loathsome turmoil was specially prepared
by the love of God, as a womb for his Sons. When Adam and Eve fell
into the carnal death of good & evil, they entered the birthplace
of begotten beings. The environment of earth is a reactor that
converts temporal pain and confusion, into eternal forgiveness and
love. In this laboratory hothouse, new creators are born from the
spiritual genetics of God. By their subjection to the ingredients of
earth, they will grow to become conquerors of the created realm. For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.
Within the
darkness of human existence, there is an exit, well hidden. It is
concealed in sacrifice; it lurks in bewildering trial. This door is
unlocked by the death of self-centeredness, the slaying of both evil
and good in your own spirit. It isn’t enough to turn from evil and
to want only good. You must turn from the earthly and want only God.
You must turn from death and want only life. When your carnality is
passed through the fiery sword of God, the resulting flames will light
the path to your own resurrection. Those transformed into this blazing
pyre will exit the mortal realm. Being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.
The power
that is generated by sacrifice is the power for resurrection
they are one and the same. Others were
tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection. As you develop the power for self-sacrifice, you
take hold on resurrection life. I lay down my
life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay
it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to
take it again.
The
resurrection to Sonship is not a gift, it is the result of a process.
Only those who crucify their own fallen carnal natures will come to
the first resurrection. Be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life. This coming
resurrection is the act of spirit birth. He
hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm,
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
The
challenge of true Christianity is not to assail the evil people around
you and gloat in your own goodness. Rather, it is to suffer the death
of your own Adamic nature in such a way, that your spirit is matured
and called to the first resurrection. This first resurrection is out
from among the dead. Those who complete
this task will become the Firstborn Sons of God. That
I might come to know Him in an experiential way, and to come to know
experientially the power of His resurrection and a joint-participation
in His sufferings, being brought to the place where my life will
radiate a likeness to His death, if by any means I might arrive at the
goal, namely, the out-resurrection from among those who are dead.
Philippians 3:10,11 (Wuest).
For six
thousand years the firstborn Sons of God have been in preparation.
Quietly, almost invisibly, they have walked the earth in submission to
the bewildering will of God. Each in his own order, and during his
lifetime, came to his cross, surrendered to the wisdom of God, and
entered into spiritual maturity. By the cross they were readied for
spirit birth. For God has enriched me in the
land of my wrongs. Genesis 41:52 (Fenton). From these silent
and bloody stakes that litter the landscape of history, they shall
soon arise in resurrection splendor. These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
By your
experience in earthly travail you can inherit incorruptible wealth. Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Your
subjection to carnal decay is your ticket to the Begotten Realm. Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me. Though you began as a slave to the
flesh, you can arise as a creator of spirit. I
will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you
than at your beginnings. From your spiritual gestation on earth
you can be birthed as a Son of God. Thy seed
shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs [earth], and shall
serve them; and they shall afflict them ... and afterward shall they
come out with great substance.
God is a
timeless spirit being. He is the source of all wisdom, knowledge, and
power. His existence is self-sustaining and without limitation. And so
also are his Sons. For as the Father hath life
in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.
Those who
become the Sons of God are conceived from the spiritual ancestry of
God. They are born from his genetics. They will develop into what he
is. The glory which thou gavest me I have
given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. They will
no longer be human. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world. They will become timeless spirit
beings. Without father, without mother,
without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life. They
will become reactors of radiant life. By your
endurance shall ye gain your lives for a possession. Luke 21:19
(Emphasized). As the offspring of God they will stand in his
presence, and see his face, and possess his glory.
That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
These Sons
will become the custodians of all that can be known. Then
shall I know even as also I am known. They will hold the
scepter of all authority. Christ the power of
God, and the wisdom of God. They will be limited by nothing,
save the bonds of unalterable paternal love. For
I do always those things that please him. These are the Secret
Sons, and they are fast becoming a reality. Because
as He Himself is, we also shall be, in that world. 1 John 4:17
(Fenton).
Six thousand
years after the fall of Adam, the firstborn Sons of God will arise
from earthly mortality. This celestial event will comprise the
glorification of a small group from the Adamic race. This is the first
resurrection. After six days Jesus
taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into
an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before
them.
In any crop,
some individual plants reach their maturity well before the general
harvest. These are called the “firstfruits.” So also with the
spirits of men. Some will reach their maturity and be readied for
spirit birth, long before the rest. These will be raised to immortal
splendor at the start of the Millennium, one-thousand years before the
resurrection of the sleepy multitudes. The
rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished.
God will assemble these firstfruits from the halls of time and gather them unto himself. The firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. They will be lifted out of the created realm, far beyond the reach of flesh or created spirit. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. They are destined for the Begotten Realm- that divine state of being that has thus far been occupied by Yahweh and Jesus alone. Thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion.
After the
seven seals of the Revelation, and at the blast of the seventh
trumpet, the secret purpose of God will be complete. In
the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to
sound, the mystery of God should be finished. This mystery is
the Body of Christ. It is the anointing of “Christ,” perfected in
many individual members. The mystery of God,
Christ, in whom are all the hidden treasures of the wisdom and
knowledge. Colossians 2:2,3 (Wuest).
Very soon
now, on a day much like today, those who have ratified the New
Covenant of sacrifice within their own spirits, will be collected from
the ages. Gather my saints together unto me;
those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. Those
whose lives have been shipwrecked upon the purpose of God, will be
assembled in divine counsel. And he shall send
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other.
These are
the firstfruits of the Adamic race, and they will be summoned to the
first resurrection. 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 they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. These
Overcomers will be raised into faultless perfection- this is the act
of spirit birth. Blessed and holy is he that
hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with him a thousand years.
At the sound
of the seventh trumpet, those who have completed their spiritual
gestation upon the earth will be raised from the dead and changed in
the atoms. In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
These
illustrious travelers will step into another dimension and be
transformed into divine beings. This is the first resurrection, and
those who are called to it will ascend to the helm of creation. And
the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven,
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Arriving at
the counsel hall of the ages, these individuals will meet their Father
face to face. They go from strength to
strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. There
they will learn who they are. Arise, shine;
for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. As
the magnitude of Sonship washes over their spirit, they will be
transformed into their Father’s likeness. We
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall
see him as he is.
Just
imagine. Webs of intense light will begin to arc through their hair,
as so many colored bursts of electric lace. As the curling flashes
replicate, they will slowly form into shimmering rings. Encircling
each participant, these celestial adornments roll slowly downward,
passing over each body from head to foot, as a ripple of blue-green
iridescence.
Astonished,
they will peer into their hands and chest, suddenly made translucent
with incandescent power. A shuddering wave will run through their
bones. Their outer forms will begin to dissolve, coalescing inward,
shrinking until each body is reduced to a tiny spot, brighter than the
sun.
As each
becomes an infinitesimal point, much smaller than an electron, from
each will explode all the power of creation, all the stars that were
ever made. The galactic current of time will swerve to avoid these
beings, swirling into a fractal stream and pooling to await their
bidding. Suddenly they will emerge in another realm, as babes ejected
from a womb.
In an
instant these Sons will burst into the resplendence of autonomous,
self-perpetuating life. At once, they will find themselves small
enough to enter an atom, and large enough to put the universe in their
pocket. That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. They
will be clothed with the traits of divinity, a bequest that cannot be
reversed. Suddenly they will understand. All things will become open
and known. The secrets of the universe will become clear as a child’s
puzzle. For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
From these
rites of passage, swift and sure, these newly manifest Sons will
emerge as glorified, life-giving creators of flesh and spirit. The
LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten
thee.
Yahweh their
Father will be there. Jesus, their oldest brother and captain, will
welcome them with a knowing joy. One by one they will present them to
the fellowship of their brethren. I will see
you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh
from you.
Then joining
with their new comrades, they will fall into the revelry of ecstatic
reunion. As soon as she is delivered of the
child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born
into the world. Adam, Elijah, and Peter will roar with elation.
Eve, Rachel, and Ruth will burst into musical laughter. Noah and
Abraham will excitedly rehearse the marvels of their experience.
Joseph and Benjamin will weep with joyful gratitude. All will flow
with an explosive energy of euphoric ebullience that will peal in
waves past the bounds of creation. And they
sung as it were a new song before the throne ... and no man could
learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which
were redeemed from the earth.
They will
all be changed. No longer limited by gender or form, they will have
vibrant bodies of light which obey their every whim. For
in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but
are as the angels of God in heaven. Each will be free, an
individual without restraint, clad with the brilliance of life. For
one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the
resurrection of the dead.
All will
enter a timeless existence, without beginning and without end. The
LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after
the order of Melchizedek. They will exude the faultless
character of deity. In their mouth was found
no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. And
each will be known by a new name, which cannot be understood,
slandered, or even spoken, by those outside that gathering. The
Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and
thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall
name.
The angelic
realms will hear of the birth and arrive to honor God’s Sons. All
creation will marvel at the grandeur of God’s wisdom, made alive in
his offspring. The Gentiles shall come to thy
light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. All will
exalt at their presence, and be washed in the living flow. For
the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation
of the sons of God.
Jarred from
joyous reunion by the sudden blast from a battle horn, the din will
subside and these new commanders of galaxies will convene in divine
congress. This cartel of ruling divinity is called the Body
of Christ. For as the body is one, and
hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body: so also is Christ.
The Body of
Christ is composed of the glorified firstborn Sons of God, the
firstfruits of Israel. Ye are come unto mount
Sion, ... to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which
are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits
of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new
covenant.
Jesus will
be chairman of this heavenly group, and the members themselves are his
brothers. So He fixes the time for the birth
of her child [Jesus], and He will restore with the Children of Israel
the rest of His brothers! ... They rest, when tired, at the bounds of
the earth. Micah 5:1-3 (Fenton). All the brothers of Jesus will
share his destiny, for they all will have been born by the same
process. To him that overcometh will I grant
to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down
with my Father in his throne.
Assembled
into this divine federation, the reins of creation will be transferred
to them. Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O
God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre
of thy kingdom. They will be given the heavens and the earth.
All the realms of creation will be placed in their care. Ask
of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Every
facet of time, space, power, good, evil, life, and death, they will
receive as a personal possession. Fear not,
little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.
Then turning
their attention to the crisis on earth, they will invade from the
heavenly realms. Intense as a phalanx of kings, they will pass through
the plasmatic veil that restrains creation, and enter the realm of
flesh. In a moment they will appear on the earth, as warriors emerging
from a shimmering mirage. Their hearts will pulse with righteousness
and their hands will be laden for war. And I
looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an
hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in
their foreheads.
This group
of divine beings is the only answer to earth’s problems. They have
been ordained of God as the power that shall end the captivity of evil
that now enslaves the world. Behold, the Lord
GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him:
behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. These
are unyielding sovereigns, the appointed rulers of all things. With a
mission of dread purpose they will arrive to cleanse the earth. I
have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones
for mine anger.
In stealth
they will be suddenly present, as gentle as fog, as piercing as truth,
as lethal as God himself. They come from a far
country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his
indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the
LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt.
All flesh will sense their arrival, and the terrors of men will turn inward. Saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.
End of Section 4.
Continued on next page.
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