I AM NOT SO SURE THAT YOU ARE SERIOUS, ONE WAY TO FIND OUT IF YOU ARE IS THAT IF AND THAT IS A BIG IF, IF YOU READ THIS AND UNDERSTAND THEN YOU ARE SERIOUS.
The Carnal Nature of Man
Physically, we human beings have a mere chemical existence. God says, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19).
Mentally, emotionally and spiritually, however, man is possessed of what we call "human nature."
And what IS "human nature"? The answer to this question contains the key to understanding the so-called fall of man, and the need for spiritual redemption.
Almighty God placed within man the senses, and an imaginative, creative, fabulously intricate mind, by which man could accumulate knowledge.
Almighty God placed clear-cut choices in front of our first parents. Read the first three chapters of Genesis! Notice how our first parents were completely "neutral" toward God-feeling neither fear nor threat from the Divine Presence. Books could be written describing the first few days of creation; how God led a procession of animals before Adam to see what names he would give them; the creation of Eve, and the presentation to Adam of his wife.
God gave the man and woman careful instructions. They could freely eat of every one of the trees in the garden-bearing every type of fruit. There was only one "forbidden fruit" of which man was not to partake. Notwithstanding the arguments which have lived through the centuries as to whether the trees were literal or figurative or both, the biblical account tells us that a bright, magnetic being (not appearing as a "snake." which the Hebrew word nachash does not demand) subtly caused Eve to make the wrong choice; to partake of the "forbidden fruit" from the tree of the "knowledge of good and evil," and to give of the fruit to her husband.
Read the account! Immediately after their sin. our first parents' very nature seemed to have become sullied, altered.
Where they were cheerfully companionable with God, neither fearing His presence nor His voice-now, suddenly, they hid from Him!
Where they were unconscious of their nudity, exactly as tiny babies are completely unabashed and unashamed (how many mothers have been shocked when their tiny toddlers of only a year and a half or so have ventured out into the yard or even down the street following their bath, wearing not a stitch?), now, they were "ashamed" of their nudity!
Why?
First, you need to understand that the popular view of what happened in the garden is sheer nonsense! The tree was not an apple. The protuberance in human necks is not an ''Adam's apple," but the vocal apparatus, the "forbidden fruit" did not consist of sex! After all, had not God commanded them "Be fruitful, and replenish the earth!"? Read Hebrews 13:4! God says. "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled." He had explained that the very purpose for presenting Eve to Adam, was that a "man should leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife," saying they "twain" (together) "shall become one flesh!"
In other words, Almighty God instituted marriage!
It is not true, no matter the philosophies of human religious organizations; the books and doctrinal arguments that have gathered dust down through the ages alleging to the contrary, that the first sin was sex!
Actually, Adam and Eve broke several of the Ten Commandments!
They disobeyed their only parent, thus breaking the fifth commandment. They coveted what they saw with their eyes, thus breaking the tenth. They stole that which was not rightfully heirs, thus breaking the eighth commandment. They allowed their desire for the "forbidden fruit" to come between them and God, thus breaking the principle of the commandment against idolatry, the second commandment! (Paul said "covetousness is idolatry''!) Thus, they directly broke four of the cardinal points of God's Ten Commandments, and as James said, if we break one point, we are guilty of all!
''Sin is the transgression of the law'!'' (I John 3:4).
Adam did not "fall," he was pushed by Eve, who had listened to Satan, the devil!
Now, what was changed?
The change was in the ATTITUDE of man toward God! God's attitude toward man had not changed one whit! But Adam and Eve, by giving in to the pulls and tugs of their human sensory perceptions; by seeing with the eye, perhaps smelling with the nose, reaching out to investigate with the sense of touch and feel, they lusted after the very fruit which God had forbidden!
Now, guilt and shame set in.
God says, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:6-7).
As a result of breaking God's laws, Adam was denied access to the tree which represented eternal Life!
Think about it! Almighty God possesses all power. He is Creator. Since God has the power to create, He also has the power to DESTROY! But Almighty God is holy, righteous, PERFECT character! He is not capricious; not whimsical, not given to radical change-but sound, wise, righteous, just and
GOOD!
Now, Almighty God could not allow our first parents to become immortal, spirit beings, because, in their corrupted state of sin; with their attitude of guilt, shame and resentment, they would have the power to DESTROY-they would not be perfectly SELF-governed!
Paul explains it thusly, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the flrstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15:19-26).
Notice it is "by man" that death reigns!
Because Adam directly rebelled against God. Adam died.
"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," God said.
"...in Adam ALL DIE..." says Paul. The wages of sin is death! (Romans 6:23).
But, "In Christ shall all be made alive!"
Obviously. the first death-human, physical natural death, from whatever cause, is not the penalty for sin. Sin may cause death, as in murder. But the murderer who is put to death (very rare in today's society) is not paying the penalty for his sin. Society may exact a penalty, according to its laws, but society cannot carry out God's penalty!
No matter how "good" you are-no matter how fine a person-the day is coming when you shall die. Death is the natural end of life, because life is a physical, chemical, temporary span of time-sustained by the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Deprived of any of these three, we die.
God says. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; So Christ was offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews
9:27-28).
God says, speaking of the great resurrection to judgment (NOT to "sentencing," there is a difference!), "But the rest of the dead [those who were not the 'dead in Christ'; not converted Christians-but those who had died in ignorance and disbelief ] lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:5).
Notice! The Bible speaks of TWO DEATHS! The "first death" is what has come upon man, naturally, as a result of Adam's sin-the inevitable consequences of living; whether through old age. or for whatever cause-death.
But the Bible speaks of a "second death"-a death in GEHENNA FIRE, which is the final result of sin which is
UNREPENTED of! "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power..." (Revelation 20:6).
Do you see? The wages of sin is death-the SECOND death, from which there is NO RESURRECTION! "And death and the grave [margin] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Revelation 20:14).
The Proverbial Controversy
The traditional view of man and his destiny goes something like this; Almighty God constructed a beautiful creation. He placed innocent, child-like, perfect human beings in the midst of a garden filled with wonderful animals and beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers. Here was an absolutely fabulously, PERFECT creation! God was completely satisfied. Apparently, while God's "back was turned" (as if that is possible with God), along comes Satan the devil, like a garter snake entwined around the branches of a small tree, and somehow entices the woman to give the man of the forbidden fruit.
God then returns from His journey, and lo and behold, His perfect creation has been wrecked! Satan the devil has managed to somehow "sneak in," influence the man and woman, and DESTROY God's beautiful handiwork!
Now, God devises an idea. It may be makeshift; something like the chewing gum and baling wire approach the farmer might use on his broken-down tractor, but God decides He will attempt to "redeem" man; He will try to salvage His perfect creation, by sending His own Son to die for the sins of suffering mankind-and then, those who will receive and accept Jesus Christ can once again achieve a beatific state, and someday their "souls" can go to heaven!
Every bit of this traditional fable is just that-FABLE! It is sheer nonsense.
Believe it or not, Almighty God has never allowed anything to occur over which He had no control!
If you can get this concept down deep into your mind; if you can come to UNDERSTAND what you have already read about CHARACTER-about the requirement that character
must be built, and cannot be produced by divine fiat, automatically, then you will come to a level of understanding that is shared by only a minuscule percentage of the human race.
That truth is this: The creation was not COMPLETED in the garden of Eden-it was only BEGUN!
Adam and Eve did not represent a "finished" creation! They were merely a clay model-a prototype! Physically, they were made in the similitude and image of God. But spiritually, they fell far short! God's great PLAN of redemption was conceived from the far reaches of eternity-long before the construction of matter, and the creation of our universe, solar system, and this earth!
Man's Nature Must be CHANGED
God's Word reveals that all of us, from the time of our childhood, have been human beings possessed of a carnal nature! That nature is defined as an almost automatic resentment against God; resenting control, direction, law and authority! Of and by ourselves, we are cunning, avaricious, greedy, egocentric, selfish, impatient, angry; we have resentment, jealousy, hatred; human nature is basically a collection of vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed! It is, above all things, egotistic! It wants to acknowledge no authority but that of SELF!
Anciently, God set down the parameters for human behavior. Get this! Understand it! Almighty God has decided HOW we are to worship Him-He has left man to decide whether!
He places before us daily choices! Read it! "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deuteronomy 30:15-19).
>From time immemorial, our human forebears have made the wrong choice!
Look around you in the world today, and you will see that man persists in making the wrong choice every time! The world is ravaged by despotism, dictatorships, leftist guerrillas, communist insurgents, Islamic mystics and "holy men" who drench the gulf region in blood. Brutal, egotistical, self-centered human leaders have sacrificed the lives of countless millions of human beings down through the ages to satisfy their own lusts!
Men such as Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and the Ayatollah Khomeni have sacrificed countless millions on the altar of their own incredible, swelling ego!
Our society is filled with pornography, burglary, arson, rape, robbery, incest, homosexuality, child abuse, kidnapping, mass murder! We view a planet ravaged by war! Civil war, with participants from every conceivable political and religious point of view continue to fight in the turbulent, war-ridden Middle East! Guerrilla-type warfare rages in country after country from Central America to Southeast Asia. "Christians" murder each other under the symbol of the ''cross" in northern Ireland!
Today, in a world armed with supersophisticated nuclear weapons; with the capacity for the destruction of the WHOLE EARTH-human leaders continue to reject the government of God; to attempt, instead, to rule through the human, carnal reasoning of selfish, egotistical human nature!
The harsh truth is, that until HUMAN NATURE is CHANGED, we shall have only WAR!
God's great plan has to do with the changing of human nature!
That change is called "repentance" in the Bible!
Following his inspired message on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, Peter said unto them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
(For a full and complete Bible understanding of the subject of REPENTANCE; how you repent, why, how you are to feel; what do you repent of doing-all the scriptures concerning this vital subject, write immediately for my free booklet. "Why Should You Repent?")
When we repent, God says He will, after we undergo baptism (study the sixth chapter of Romans!) give us of His Holy Spirit! Yet, God says He gives His Holy Spirit to those who "obey Him!" (Acts 5:32).
Now, we are called a "new creature in Christ Jesus."
At this point, God begins to use the analogy of the family.
Kind Begets Kind
Remember, God created man in the image of God! As stated, human reproduction is a true cycle. We can discover no beginning of the cycle short of actual creation.
Not only did God reveal that He created man "in His image," but when Adam and Eve had children, the Bible says "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and called his name Seth" (Genesis 5:3). Of course, Cain and Abel came along before Seth, and perhaps several daughters were born somewhere in between, but the important point is that in this first of the genealogical tables of the Bible, God's Word says Seth was "in the image" of Adam and Eve, his parents.
There is no more obvious law at work in our ecosphere than that of the law of biogenesis! Kind begets kind. Like produces like. Horses do not produce dogs; chickens do not produce cows; dolphins do not come from elephants, and, for all the obvious similarities in comparative embryology, (which should prove to questing minds the fact that the same great DESIGNER produced all forms of life!) the embryo of the egg becomes a chicken, and the human embryo becomes human!
It is a fabulous MIRACLE that a microscopic spermatozoon (male sperm cell) can unite with a virtually invisible human female egg in the womb of the mother, and that this new life which is now engendered by the uniting of male and female cells, is on its way toward becoming a separate, individual HUMAN BEING!
I have said, for many years, that birth is ABSOLUTE! There was a moment when you did not exist! Then, there was a moment when that life which became you was the result of intense competition between potentially hundreds and thousands of others, but YOU were begotten, instead!
Humorously, I have told audiences for many years that "never has a young girl come home, frightened, and said to her mother, 'Mom, I am half pregnant!'"
Begettal is a positive act. When it takes place, a separate,
unique human life is being developed!
It is a fabulous miracle that height, shape, weight, texture of skin, color and texture of hair and eyes, tone of voice, abilities and proclivities, talents and aptitudes can be conveyed from parent to child.
No wonder David marveled that he was "fearfully and wonderfully made!" No wonder David gave God the credit for having "knit me together in my mother's womb," and exulted, "How marvelous art all thy works, 0 Lord God!"
When human parents reproduce, it is as if a microcosm of the whole plan and purpose of GOD-a microcosm of ultimate human destiny!
There was a moment in time when you were begotten. For the sake of understanding one of the great "mysteries" of the plan of God-understanding your own human destiny, you need to understand the process by which YOU came to be! You need to understand the difference between begettal (conception), the gradual development of the fetus in the womb, and actual parturition, or birth!
Obviously, begettal and birth are not the same! There is difficulty with a Greek word, gennao, which means the entire process of begettal and birth! The Greek makes no distinction between begettal, and birth, but is used interchangeably.
It is only in the context that we can discern whether the Bible is speaking of a spiritual begettal, or spiritual BIRTH!
And there is a DIFFERENCE!
When you were begotten, your mother was probably unaware of it. She may have discovered it about a month or so later, but wasn't really sure, until after two or three months, and a visit to the doctor. Meanwhile, you were gradually developing within the womb of your mother. Now, the placenta that was forming was causing the nutrients from your mother's own bloodstream to flow into the tiny, strange-looking little shape (bearing resemblance to other types of embryos) that was to someday become YOU!
The Bible instructs us through analogies often. It speaks of God (the great God whom Jesus came to reveal, but who no man has ever seen!) as "the Father."
Jesus said we are to pray "our Father, which art in heaven..." He warned us not to call any man "father," in a spiritual sense on this earth, for "One is your Father, who is in heaven!"
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
The church is depicted as a woman (see Revelation 12) and is spoken of as the "mother" of those who are the members of the church.
Within the church, converted men and women are called "brothers and sisters." The apostles spoke of "the brethren," and these family terms are found throughout the New Testament!
What have we here? We have words commonly applied to a human family being applied to God and Christ in heaven, to the church, and to members of the church!
Now, follow the analogy: Even as you, as a tiny embryo, had to be protected and nurtured in the womb of your mother; so newly-begotten Christians must be "fed with the milk of the word" (I Corinthians 3:1,2), and must be nourished and protected within the church, which is a group or assembly of "called-out ones."
The nourishrnent is not physical, but SPIRITUAL! The food comes through sermons from the pulpit, perhaps radio broadcasts or telecasts, written literature such as articles, Bible study courses, pamphlets and booklets, through personal/social contact with other Christians, through private conversation, and, MOST importantly, through personal Bible study and PRAYER! In these ways, God's Holy Spirit flows into the mind of the newly-developing Christian, in sirnilar fashion as nutrition flows through the mother's body into the placenta, and to the developing embryo.
At last, after approximately nine months in the womb, you were "full-term," and ready to be BORN!
Now, a shocking change occurs!
No longer are you carried about in the womb of your mother; no longer are you fed through the umbilical cord directly into your stomach from your mother's bloodstream and the placenta. Now, shockingly, you enter the world, gasp your first breath, perhaps begin to cry from the shock and surprise of it all, and are truly ON YOUR OWN! Of course, if a loving mother (or nurse) did not care for you immediately, you would die of starvation or exposure, or both.
But now, you are truly a separate human being!
Another analogy can be developed beginning at birth, relating the Christian development, but for the sake of the analogy I am drawing here, being BORN of your human parents, becoming completely SEPARATE; beginning to develop your own personality, your own peculiar talents and abilities, developing your own thoughts and mind, developing your own individuality, your own conscience and personal morality-all these things are uniquely YOU!
These analogies are not imaginary-the Bible truly uses analogous representations of the family unit as a teaching method. It is through understanding the physical creation we can come to understand Almighty God as an invisible Spirit Being!
"The invisible things about God are clearly seen by looking at what He has created-they are understood by the things He made-including His eternal power and godhead-so ungodly men are without excuse!" (Romans 1:20, paraphrased).
Jesus used the physical creation; specifically, the phenomenon of wind and its actions in attempting to teach
Nicodemus about spiritual rebirth.
"You Must Be Born Again"
Jesus told Nicodemus "Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born again [gennao, Greek-meaning 'born from above'], he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
The Greek word Jesus used has already been explained. You can only discern whether He intended "begotten" or "born" in the context.
In this case, we need not wonder, for Nicodemus was responding to Jesus in the Greek language.
"Nicodemus said unto Him, how can a man be born [gennao, Greek] when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" (John 3:4).
Do you see? Was Nicodemus engaging in a little sarcastic humor? The point is, Nicodemus did not misunderstand the word Jesus used. He knew the word Jesus used connoted birth! Stunned, dumbfounded by Jesus' statement, Nicodemus spoke of the utter impossibility of what Christ implied.
Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit IS SPIRIT!
"Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again.
"The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell where it comes from, and where it goes. So is everyone that is born of the spirit" (John 3:5-8).
Paul was inspired to write, "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.
"Behold, I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised in-corruptible and we [we who are alive and remain at that time] shall be CHANGED!
"For this corruptible must PUT ON incorruption, and this MORTAL must PUT ON immortality" (I Corinthians 15:50-53).
Read that again! Come to understand!
Your Bible plainly tells you that you CANNOT ENTER the "kingdom of God" as a human being!
Jesus Christ said you must be born anew-born from above! When Nicodemus assumed Jesus was referring to the impossible, Jesus told him "Marvel not!" He then explained. He said you can hear the noise the wind makes in the trees, or under the eaves of the house-but that the wind, while powerful enough to uproot trees, blow down buildings, or sink ships with hurricane force, is invisible!
And what did He say? "SO IS everyone that is born of the spirit!''
How is one who is born of the spirit? He is like the wind! He is invisible! He IS SPIRIT!
WHY cannot many sincere, yet deceived people see the plain, simple TRUTH of what Jesus SAID?
He said, "That which is born of the flesh [you and I-we human beings who are physical, fleshly, created 'in the image' of our physical parents!] are flesh!"
So far, so good. Are you physical? Are you human? Are you FLESH?
Of course you are!
Were you born of fleshly parents? Of course!
And what are you? You are FLESH!
Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh IS FLESH!"
Now then. Read the rest of John 3:6. "and that which is born of the spirit IS SPIRIT!"
Have you, then, been "born" of the spirit? How to answer the question? ARE you spiritual essence? Are you composed of spirit? Can you appear or disappear at will? Can you walk through solid stone, granite, concrete block or brick? Can you zip around the heavens, visiting Mars, Venus and Jupiter?
No, you are mundane, temporal, mortal, human, FLESH!
Then you HAVE NOT been "born of the spirit" according
to what your Savior, Jesus Christ, plainly tells you!
You can become "begotten" by God's Holy Spirit! You can repent, be baptized, and receive a spiritual begettal by receiving the Spirit of God! (Acts 2:38).
But you cannot, now, be "born of the spirit" UNTIL a certain moment, of which you have already read! (I Corinthians
15:23).
Go back and read that quotation from I Corinthians 15 again! Better yet, turn to and read the entire chapter of I Corinthians 15! Here is the "resurrection chapter." If you read it slowly, carefully; if you ponder what you read, drinking in meaning from each word, you will learn great and profound truths which are not known; not taught, by the churches of this world!
No one, reading the simple and beautiful words of Almighty God concerning the coming resurrection at the return of Christ could believe in the pagan fables of the "immortality of the soul"; that people go either to heaven or an ever-burning hell when they die!
Rather, they would come to know the TRUTH of the Bible; that man is physical, fleshly, mortal! That when man dies, his very thoughts cease, and he shares the very same kind of death as do beasts. Call or write for your free copy of our booklet, "Do You Have an Immortal Soul?"
And what did Paul say? "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God!"
What is the Kingdom of God?
You have heard of "the plant kingdom," "the animal kingdom," and "the human kingdom."
Biologically, the term "kingdom" is often used to connote flora and fauna, or humankind. A famous television series is entitled, "Wild Kingdom."
Technically, however, a "kingdom" is the government of a king.
A "kingdom" correctly includes four parts: (1) A king,
(2) A territory over which that king rules; (3) Subjects, living in the territory under the rulership of that king; (4) Laws, by which that king rules over his subjects in his territory.
When we speak of "the kingdom of Great Britain," or "the kingdom of Norway," we know exactly what we mean. Even though parliamentary and democratic-type governments have supplanted monarchies, the _expression "kingdom" is clearly understood.
Read Revelation 19! In this shocking chapter, you see the description of the returning, conquering CHRIST! Notice! "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written KING OF KINGS, and LORD OF LORDS!" (Revelation 19:16).
The great KING of the coming kingdom of God is Jesus Christ!
His territory? THIS EARTH! Notice many Bible PROOFS! "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: [the physical, human nations of this earth!] and He shall rule them with a rod of iron..." (Revelation 19:15).
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the EARTH!" (Matthew 5:5).
"...ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven SHALL SO COME in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven!" (Acts 1:11).
"Behold, the day of the Lord cometh. . then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.
"And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.. .and the Eternal shall be King over all the EARTH: in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one!" (Zechariah 14:1-9).
"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth!" (Revelation 5: 10).
"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations [on this physical earth!] and he shall RULE them with a rod of iron...
(Revelation 2:26, 27).
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in
my throne [on this EARTH!] even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne!" (Revelation
3:21).
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them... and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years... 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!" (Revelation
20:1-6).
Study Isaiah 11, the whole book of Zephaniah, Zechariah 14, and especially the latter chapters of the book of Revelation!
Jesus Christ is the returning, conquering KING of the kingdom of God!
The territory over which His kingdom will rule is this earth! The subjects are those human, physical remnants of rebellious, war-making nations which will still be alive following the great battle of Armageddon, the outpouring of the last plagues of God, and who will be forced to submit to the government of God after the second coming of Christ!
The laws by which Jesus Christ will administer His kingdom are God's Ten Commandments as magnified by Jesus Christ; GOD 'S LAWS, mercifully and justly applied at last to a sinning, rebellious, war-mongering world!
The kingdom of God is the living, ruling, governing FAMILY of God! At this present moment, it consists only of Father and Son!
Yet, it is into this ruling family we must be BORN!
Now comes the greatest truth you could ever come to understand!
Christ the "Firstborn"
Jesus Christ is called the "firstborn from the dead"!
"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).
Do you now understand what that scripture means?
When Jesus came back to His disciples after His resurrection He said, "ALL POWER is given unto me in heaven and in earth-go ye therefore..." (Matthew 28:18-20).
Did you notice it? Jesus said He had now inherited ALL POWER! Now, He was no longer merely flesh and bone, but SPIRIT! He was once again VERY GOD!
He had risked everything, and won! He had overcome Satan the devil; dispossessing and disenfranchising him as the present world ruler. He had overcome sin in the flesh. He had qualified to become the super WORLD RULER! Now, as VERY GOD; having been BORN OF GOD by a resurrection from the DEAD, He said He had inherited "all things!"
Yet, He says you and I have the opportunity to be born of God just as HE WAS!
He is the Captain and Author of our salvation-the "first born" from the dead!
Notice! "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption [son-ship!] whereby we cry, 'Abba,' Father.
"The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
"And if children, then HEIRS [not yet inheritors!] heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:15-17).
And what did Christ inherit?
ALL THINGS! He has been given eternal life forevermore! He now has ALL POWER! He has conquered death! He will live forever in joyous happiness; ruling, administering, carrying out the plans, policies and purposes of God the Father at His right hand! As such, Christ is the executive member of the Godhead; the KING of the coming "kingdom of God" to rule on this earth for one thousand years and throughout the UNIVERSE for all eternity!
And what did He promise you? Read again the promises of Revelation 2:26 and Revelation 3:21!
He promises you... are you ready for this? Are you willing to believe it? He promises you CO-RULERSHIP with Him in His kingdom!
Notice! "But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept" (I Corinthians 15:20).
Christ has been resurrected from the dead! He is alive! He is VERY GOD.
If you are to be BORN into the very family of God, then what will you BE?
Will you be a kind of "superhuman"? Will you be at the angel level? Will you be like a spiritual "plaything," a "pet," or some lesser being, staring up adoringly into the eyes of the Father?
What are you, now, in relationship to your human parents? Are you not, in every way their equal, except that you owe them HONOR as your parents? Are you not of their very flesh, bone and blood? Are you not a mature, adult human being, on an equal level with your fleshly, human parents? Are you not an intimate member of their family?
Of course you are!
And when you are BORN OF GOD what will you be? Will you not be a member of the very FAMILY OF GOD? Notice! "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.
"But every man in his own order: Christ the FIRSTFRUITS; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming!"
No one has ascended to heaven except Christ Himself. He said so! "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13).
What is the order of events-WHEN can you and I be born into God's kingdom? You just read it-"AT HIS COMING!" And not one second before!
Do you see, now? God is your Spirit FATHER! Christ is your Spirit OLDER BROTHER.
IF you are converted-begotten of God by His Holy Spirit, then you are ON YOUR WAY to becoming a full-BORN member of GOD'S OWN FAMILY!
Now, drink in what you are about to read-and NEVER FORGET it!
God is a Family
The Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God created..." is "Elohim." Elohim is a plural. The "im" ending connotes MORE than one-a duality of Persons in the Godhead.
Notice! "And 'Elohim' [God] said, 'Let us make man in our image...'" He did not say, "I will make man in my image"-but, "Let us," MORE THAN ONE-"make man in OUR image."
You know now that Jesus Christ of the New Testament is the Person or the Godhead who DID THE CREATING! (John 1:3, 10). The member of the Family of God who wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger; who parted the Red Sea; who wrestled with Jacob; who spoke to Abraham-that Person was one of the Divine Beings called, in the Hebrew tongue, Elohim. He became HUMAN; changed from Spirit to flesh, born of a virgin, and came among us as Jesus Christ of Nazareth-a human, to become the Author of our salvation; our redeemer from sin and Satan-the firstborn from the dead.
He revealed to us that He had a FATHER in heaven!
He said, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18).
Jesus said, "I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me..." (John 8:18). He enraged the Jews when He proclaimed, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM!" (John 8:58).
The Jews knew by heart what God had said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM; and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel; I AM hath sent me unto you!" (Exodus 3:14).
To them, this was BLASPHEMY! They "took up stones to cast at Him" when He made that statement! They later accused Him of "making Himself EQUAL WITH GOD!"
And WHO WAS Christ?
He WAS THE CREATOR-come in HUMAN FLESH! He was the executive member of the Elohim (GOD) who did the commanding; who "Spoke, and there was light," Truly, before Abraham was ever thought of-HE EXISTED!
He reveals to us that there is a divine FAMILY of beings;
which HE chooses to call the "Father," and the "Son."
He says we can be "begotten by His Holy Spirit, and become "children" of God! We are then "brothers and sisters'' in Christ.
The church, which nourishes and protects us, is likened to our "mother." When we are resurrected, or when we are instantaneously changed, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump..." at the second coming of Christ, then we are BORN OF GOD! Yes BORN into our new, spiritual, divine FAMILY!
We are then "JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST!"
And what did Christ "INHERIT?"
ALL THINGS!
Now do you see?
Your great human potential-your divinely-appointed human destiny-YOUR PERSONAL FUTURE is to become a MEMBER OF GOD'S OWN DIVINE, SPIRIT FAMILY!
YOU are to become a MEMBER of the FAMILY (KINGDOM) OF GOD!
Paul said, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" (I Corinthians 6:3).
Yes, those who are resurrected in the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5) are to share RULERSHIP OF THE WORLD with Christ for the first one thousand years (Revelation 2:26, Revelation 20:4), and are to be like "pillars in the temple of God" (Revelation 3:12) living, ruling, reigning with God the Father and with Jesus Christ His Son FOR ALL ETERNITY!
God says the time will come-after the millennium-AFTER the great judgment of the "rest of the dead" (Revelation 20:5, 11:15) that He, God the Father, will come down to THIS EARTH-and ".... the throne of God and of the Lamb [Christ] shall be in it..." (Revelation 22:3), and then Christ says, God will"... MAKE ALL THINGS NEW" (Revelation 21:5).
Then is a "NEW BEGINNING" in the great plan and purpose of God!
THEN it will come clear WHY Almighty God is SO GREATLY enlarging HIS FAMILY! Then we will know perfectly what we can now know only in part!
Does your mind comprehend it? Can you really grasp it? YOU were born of your human parents as a POTENTIAL MEMBER OF GOD'S SPIRIT FAMILY! As you are a full-fledged member, an equal, in your HUMAN family, so through God's Holy Spirit-through growth, development, overcoming-and, finally, through an actual, literal CHANGE; a change from HUMAN to DIVINE; a change from FLESH TO SPIRIT-you will experience your own great personal, human destiny-YOU WILL BECOME A SPIRIT BEING-A MEMBER OF THE GOVERNING KINGDOM, THE FAMILY OF GOD!
This GREAT TRUTH is somehow hidden from the eyes of the MILLIONS, today! The churches don't teach it! But you have SEEN, with your own eyes, in your own Bible, the real truth about YOUR personal DESTINY!
May God help you to surrender your will to HIM; to repent; to be baptized; to receive His Spirit-to become HIS CHILD-to finally be BORN into His great Spirit FAMILY. That is the only real reason you are living on this good, green earth!